Share barrygevitpop's profile
barrygevitpop
barrygevitpop's stats
- Review count2
- Helpfulness votes0
- First reviewDecember 26, 2011
- Last reviewDecember 2, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating2
barrygevitpop's Reviews
Overall rating
3
/
5
Formulaic, Wasted Effort, Makes War Horse Look Good, Wait for DVD
PostedDecember 2, 2012
Dialogue
2
/
5
Special Effects
3
/
5
Art Direction
4
/
5
Acting
3
/
5
Story
3
/
5
Camerawork
4
/
5
This movie is so average, disappointing, and a let down, it is not even worth the time to write a real, full, no-spoilers review. Here you have Lincoln, freedom for slaves, the 13th amendment, the Flying Nun !, James Spader being James Spader (ho ho ho, ha ha), Spielberg, this movie, on paper, has it all!
Or maybe not so much. I never thought I'd see a movie that could make Spielberg's 2011 Christmas rip-off super-dog War Horse, which challenged Hugo as the biggest el-flop-O woof-woof doggy of last Christmas look good, but here you have it. A WIDE, wide miss, no question. The maestro takes a great story and kills it! 1 hour too long among the most egregious offenses. The visual of dumping a cart full of amputated limbs into a pit of amputated limbs. Adds so much, and of course, we couldn't 'see that one comin.' And the follow-up: "Where/when do I enlist?" emotes that great thesbian I omitted from above, Joseph Gordon Levitt. He brings extra triteness to his role. But, of course, it is politically incorrect to say "The Emperor (Steven Speilberg) isn't wearing any clothes for a second year in a row!
No, let's hop on the bandwagon and cheer this pile of meandering, pandering, PC mush. Just because of who the director is, and the cast, and the $$$$ spent to put it all on film. So it MUST be a great film, right?
Uh,.........no. Remember, this is the guy who made AMISTAD. If this movie had been 1/2 as good as that movie, and remember also, in THAT movie Spielberg was handicapped by having to work with Matthew McConaughey, from whom he got a good performance, so Spielberg has PROVEN how to get a GREAT movie on the general topic of the US history re: slavery and treatment of blacks, so my expectations of this movie were dashed by the reality ... a formulaic, sodden, trivial, overblown, "phoned-it-in" effort. OH! I forgot. The scene of James Spader running from the Capitol to Lincoln, waiting in the White House! A joke! Anyone who has ever lived in or visited Washington knows this cannot be done in anything like the time hinted at in the movie. What a farce! Dumb. Cute, but dumb. Bad writing if nothing else.
My advice: skip the rip, wait for this turkey to come out on DVD, then rent it, never buy it, you'll see, I'm right. Or, do as I did because I'm an idiot and pay theatre prices + $14 for snacks and have your pocket picked. At least my wife isn't talking to me as a result of my feelings; but she never saw Amistad, and having ME for a spouse, she disagrees with everything I say about the arts ... just to get even.
Pros none !!!!
Cons bad acting, slow, way too dark
No, I do not recommend this movie.
Share:
-2points
0of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
1
/
5
Hugo 2, Simply Dreadful
PostedDecember 26, 2011
barrygevitpop
from Cincinnati, OH
Monday's New York Times says movie execs are worried about the poor B.O. for 2011. I know why .... so many movies are AWFUL !!!! As in, STINK. This is actually the 3rd disappointment of the season: Hugo by Scorcese, terrible, a story there which he manages to overkill, too long, too slow. Sad. The Descendants is a fraud, a genuine 20 minute story stretched out, Clooney doing his trademark stare as last seen in The American, also a Thanksgiving movie, ie, as in "It's a TURKEY!" The older daughter is marvelous, but she can't carry this dismal slice-of-life loser. And now this brings us to War Horse, an absolutely gripping, powerful, stunning PLAY on the STAGE has been stupidly brought to the big screen in this stunningly awful mess. Some terrific scenes, particularly the horrors of war - the cavalry charge, the trench warfare, and the arrogance of the British upper classes, but too much of the movie drags, drifts off course, is tossed in or "phoned in" and does not add to the experience, or, worst of all, is just plain silly - the grandpa-in-the-window scene is right out of B-grade MGM movies of the 40's and 50's - DUMB, trite, it was painful to watch, particularly the brain-dead lighting in this scene, and frankly, embarassing to sit through, and grandpa is right out of central casting. Then, as if on cue, at the end of the movie - oh yeah, did I comment on the predictable ending, like they're really going to spend $100 million and the horse dies or ends up in France? ... uh, don't think so .... the audience mindless and listlessly claps (only a few but I was surprised there were that many) at the abrupt end, so many story lines left unresolved (but barryg, remember, he only had 2 hours 24 minutes to complete the job!) and rushes to the exits. Two minutes after the credits end, out in the lobby, you get an "ok" when you ask if they liked it, what they thought about War Horse, but a ringing endorsement, positive buzz, enthusiasm, the feeling they're going to rush to tell their friends to see War Horse, ..., none, I will not be surprised when this "Best Picture of 2011" according to the industry lobbyists, awards panels and robotic movie critics, totally flounders. I question, do these movie geniuses actually sit down and watch the movies they have just cut? Or are they so revered, they cannot be questioned? From the genius who has brought us so many winners .... ET, Jaws, Close Encounters, Schindler's List, ... THE INDIANA JONES trilogy !!! ... Hello! ... to name but a few of his so-so efforts (No, seriously, these ARE real M O V I E S !!!, truly exceptional works, all of them first rate), poor War Horse is nowhere close, NO WAY. Sad. Very Sad. Worth seeing? On rental, on 2nd run, yes. Worth the cost of the Big Screen, first-run experience? A huge, resounding no, No, NO !!!! Save your hard earned money, and do go to M.I. That's receiving POSITIVE BUZZ and that's where I'm headed next.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
Share:
-1point
0of 1voted this as helpful.