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Reviews
Vice (2018)
Will split audiences
Amy Adams and Christian Bale were just fantastic performances. The other actors 'merely' very good, though I felt Sam Rockwell was a little underutilised.
I like the quick-cut style as a way to convey the gravity of words and political machinations into real-life consequences. I noticed quite a few in my cinema didn't like it however, especially older viewers.
On a theatrical/narrative level, I think those who liked The Big Short will be split into those that really like or really dislike this film.
If you liked The Big Short for the villain corporations, banks, capitalism, etc. and basic preaching to the choir - Vice is for you. If you liked The Big Short because you found it fascinating most individuals and institutions misread and misunderstood just a couple of pieces of accepted wisdom that snowballed to a depression - Vice is likely not for you.
I'm firmly in the latter group. Many of Vice's 'poignant' moments felt contrived. Carell's Rumsfeld roaring in laughter to a certain question in the film stands out as childish if only taken at face value, the biggest laugh of the film if you appreciate irony.
Put simply, Vice tries too hard to dramatise and fit to prevalent cultural tropes.
The Super-Rich and Us (2015)
If you believe in 'trickle-down economics', this show is for you.
I imagine you could take exactly the same message from this program with your tv on mute. The slick visuals of evil rich folk sipping champagne and polo playing while heroic single-mums protest being evicted (from dilapidated public housing scheduled for redevelopment) really says it all.
It's seemingly made for confirmation bias in simplistic populist 'economics'. Some might get their rocks off on that kind of thing, the rest can only find some ironic laughs in this schlock. It isn't worth adding anything further.
Berlin Station (2016)
Season 1 pretty good, Season 2 pretty bad.
I quite enjoyed the 1st season. The struggle of spies with their private relationships, their conscience and integrity, their co-workers, the media and public perceptions, all within the murky current era. Berlin was a nice backdrop for it all to play out, but it was about a CIA station that could have been anywhere in the West. 8/10 for the 1st Season from me.
Season 2 sadly left most of the the Season 1 dynamic behind for a story about the USA influencing German domestic politics. The political subtext was so overt and so cliché it often broke the immersion for me. 4/10 for the 2nd Season.
Both seasons have some good characters and actors making the most of them. I particularly liked Rhys Ifans, Leland Orser, Michelle Forbes, and Richard Jenkins.
Dunkirk (2017)
Less than the sum of its parts.
If you have seen many Nolan films I feel you already expect a certain style of product walking into this film. I think it fulfills expectations there.
Great production values. Great actors making the most of what they have to play with. Great visuals and cgi. Tense atmospheric score and sound effects.
Sadly it doesn't really come together as a whole package. My opinion is there has been a steady downward trend in Nolan films since Inception (with the exception of The Dark Knight which was only elevated by Heath Ledger's epic performance). This film fits right in that trend.
IMO, many directors given the elements here would be able to craft a better film. Can't give it more than half marks.
Rogue One (2016)
A little better than TFA, still pretty bad.
The Force Awakens ruined classic characters and a classic universe. This mostly only does the latter.
Ben Mendelsohn made the most of his character. The others put in solid performances with what they had to work with.
If you liked TFA for some (unfathomable to me) reason, I can only presume you will like this. It has the same pew-pew's and nostalgia throwbacks aplenty.
If you are anything like me - this was Disney's last chance to get it right by casting off the failure of TFA while sticking within the universe. It failed.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Lots to like, a little to dislike.
It's not perfect, but I found lots to like in this movie.
I liked the plot. Convoluted and a bit all over the place but that's preferable to pedestrian. No immersion breaking moments for me.
Good character introductions. Good back-story hints given the time available and numbers. Good balance between dark/gritty and cartoon-y for me.
Actors all do a solid job. Nothing stand-out like a Heath Ledger Joker but something new and nuanced brought to the table for all.
Twin Cities of Gotham and Metropolis are a nice touch. It wasn't just downtown generic skyscraper cities which are overdone recently.
Batplane and Batmobile were good. Sound effects distinctive and somewhat memorable which is difficult these days.
Comparison to other recent franchises:
- I liked Batman Begins and I rate it on par with this. Dark Knight and Rises were terrible movies and only Health Ledger saved the former.
- Better than Avengers 2, equal to Civil War for me.
- Far FAR better than Star Wars VII, that movie had nothing to like, lots to dislike and immersion breaking stupidity throughout. This is a solid EU franchise starter, STVII killed its franchise for me.
The Expanse (2015)
The Game of Thrones of space opera
Easily the best sci-fi / space opera for a long time. I hadn't read the books when I started watching this series but I have read the first one now. It's not the best space opera to me but boy has it translated to TV well.
The world-building is fantastic. Lots of sci-fi realism compared to most and without dumbing it down to tedious explanations for everything. It's a joy to pay close attention so you don't miss anything. A few moments of the Belter patois are hard to follow are a slight downside.
Pacing is perfect in my opinion. Characters and actor performances are great. Thomas Jane and Shohreh Aghdashloo are outstanding so far.
The cgi and effects are quality, From the sparrow to the long-limbed humans they really add to the atmosphere without detracting from the story. To me that is exactly how effects should be.
One big name movie franchise was relatively disappointing recently. This show has filled that void. It's the Game of Thrones of space opera for me. Like GoT, I want the episodes and the season to last longer and Im already enjoying re-watching episodes.
Star Trek (2009)
loud, fast and dumb
Where to begin. How to compare the reboot to original trek and whether to compare it to TNG?
Firstly, what made trek trek? Above all, star trek had at its core a humanistic theme and vision. It was often a story of how to tackle 1 or 2 specific current day issues without the pragmatic constraints of our current day world. It was often hopelessly idealistically naive (from our point of view) but always thought provoking and sometimes (mainstream) ground-breaking. This is what set the star trek franchise apart from generic sci-fi and space adventure like Star Wars.
Sadly, this movie utterly failed to capture that essence of trek.
The first 20 mins of opening sequence are a beautiful and somewhat emotional alternate/new back-story to Captain Kirk. If all the movie were like this it would get 9 or 10 stars from me. From there on however this movie primarily trades on nostalgia quotes and references in-between modern cgi explosions and fisticuffs. By the middle of the movie this is starting to wear thin and you are starting to notice the omnipresent lens-flares. A pointless scene shot in an obvious distillery marks the low-point and realisation that this is all it has to offer.
This is a cheap, popcorn action flick trading on the beloved franchise in name and nostalgia only. Worse than that, the time taken by the shallow and transparent throwbacks leaves the characters feeling very 2 dimensional and there isn't any room for a plot worth speaking of (except by the many plot contrivances). It manages to have less gravitas than the average stand-alone, high-budget, Hollywood action movie.
In short; it's just loud, fast and dumb, exactly what classic trek was deliberately and notably not.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Poor follow up to the reboot
What to say about this movie. I actually admire the direct attempt to remake what is considered the best trek movie. The combination of 'superior in all aspects but arrogant' genetically engineered augments combined the the 'irrationally vengeful villain' was an amazing concept the resonated with audiences on both superficial and deeper levels.
Some of the previous TNG movies have, in part, tapped into these ideas. Most notably Nemesis which had both a superior enemy ship an arrogant villain.
Sadly, this movie failed to follow through on this winner of a premise.
Nostalgia quotes and references quickly wore thin in st2009, in this film they are gratingly obvious crutches in place of a compelling story, characters and emotion between the action. The essence of classic trek is the focus on a humanistic theme. This and st2009 are cheap, popcorn action flicks trading on the beloved franchise in name only.
In short; it's more of the same 2009 reboot - loud, fast and dumb and trek in name alone.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Pretty rehash
I like space battles. I like death-defying stunts and acrobatic choreographed combat scenes. I like action. I like cgi.
I like all these things but they need to support a somewhat engaging story and characters.
Sadly, we get a rehash of the same story we have seen before. The same plot lines with the same progression as before.
The actors give good performances. Very good within filling the shoes of old characters recycled with a twist. Those boundaries quickly become obvious however undermining all their effort.
Disney/JJ Abrams have clearly banked a nostalgia filled cash-in on their purchase of the franchise. Their no-risk approach is well polished but ultimately forgettable.