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Jujutsu Kaisen (2020)
The Overhyped Spectacle with Shallow Heroes and Wasted Potential..
Introduction
"Jujutsu Kaisen" has taken the anime and manga world by storm, earning praise for its dynamic fight scenes, intriguing supernatural elements, and a cast of seemingly cool and powerful characters. However, a closer examination reveals significant flaws in its storytelling and character development. Despite its popularity, "Jujutsu Kaisen" often fails to deliver on its own hype, particularly when it comes to the purposeful killing of well-developed characters while sidelining others who should be central to the narrative.
Purposeful Killing of Well-Developed Characters
One of the most striking aspects of "Jujutsu Kaisen" is its willingness to kill off characters who have been given significant development. Characters like Junpei Yoshino and Nanami Kento are introduced with compelling backstories and personal growth arcs, only to be abruptly removed from the story. These deaths are not just shocking but feel purposefully designed to elicit an emotional response from the audience. While this can be an effective narrative tool, it often feels manipulative in "Jujutsu Kaisen," as these well-developed characters' deaths serve more to shock than to advance the plot meaningfully.
Overhyped Main Characters
Conversely, the main characters, particularly Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Satoru Gojo, are often hyped up within the story but fail to deliver substantial development. Yuji, the protagonist, is presented as a typical shonen hero with immense potential and a strong moral compass. However, his character arc is relatively stagnant, with little growth beyond his initial motivations. Similarly, Megumi's potential as a powerful sorcerer is frequently mentioned, yet his development is sporadic and lacks depth.
Satoru Gojo: All Hype, No Substance
Satoru Gojo, arguably the most hyped character in the series, epitomizes this issue. Gojo's introduction as an invincible and charismatic mentor figure sets high expectations for his role in the story. His overwhelming power and cool demeanor quickly made him a fan favorite. However, Gojo's character development is minimal. Despite his frequent appearances and pivotal role in major battles, his backstory and motivations remain largely unexplored. This lack of depth reduces him to a mere spectacle, a character who exists primarily to display flashy abilities rather than to drive the narrative forward.
Gege Akutami's Neglect of Character Potential
Gege Akutami, the creator of "Jujutsu Kaisen," seems to struggle with balancing the development of his characters. While secondary characters receive detailed backstories and emotional arcs, the main cast often feels neglected. This uneven focus results in a narrative where the most intriguing characters are those who are swiftly removed, leaving behind a core group that fails to engage the audience on a deeper level.
Comparative Analysis with Other Shonen Series
When compared to other successful shonen series like "Naruto," "One Piece," or "My Hero Academia," the shortcomings of "Jujutsu Kaisen" become more apparent. These series manage to balance the development of their main characters with a well-rounded supporting cast. For instance, "Naruto" delves deeply into the protagonist's growth while also providing rich backstories and arcs for characters like Sasuke and Sakura. "One Piece" excels in developing its core crew, ensuring that each member has a unique and evolving journey. "My Hero Academia" similarly balances its vast cast, ensuring that characters like Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki receive substantial development alongside engaging supporting characters.
Conclusion: Jujutsu Kaisen is Far from a Masterpiece
In conclusion, "Jujutsu Kaisen" is an overrated story that fails to live up to its immense hype. The series excels in creating well-developed secondary characters only to kill them off prematurely, while its main characters, including the overhyped Satoru Gojo, lack significant development. Gege Akutami's uneven focus results in a narrative that feels superficial and unbalanced.
Despite its popularity and some undeniable strengths, "Jujutsu Kaisen" falls short of being a masterpiece. It remains a visually impressive but ultimately shallow addition to the shonen genre.
Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
SPIRITLESS CASH GRAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jurassic World Dominion is the equivalent to the Roland Emmerich film Moonfall. Its big, loud and dumb and has plot I guess.... but it don't matter cuz look at the shiny new visual!! But it still takes some brains to make that kind of blockbuster, Dominion however is overly long, made up of contrivances and coincidences, repeats the same old story which has been done to death and by the end leaves you with little to no recollection of what happened and did it even matter??
So Dominion picks up after the events of Fallen Kingdom, four years to be precise.. after the destruction of Isla Nublar, dinosaurs have been freed and now live and hunt alongside humans all over the world. Now humans and dinosaurs live together in this big blue planet. If anyone remembers.. the clone daughter Maisie Lockwood from the previous one is now living with Chris Pratt and Dallas Howard's character. But she isn't allowed to go outside because she is a clone and some people might just have sinister interests with her and her genetics.
Sam Neil and Laura Dern return as their iconic characters from the first one. Jeff Goldblum is present too so the original die hard fans will have something to look at.
The plot as is the norm with these blockbusters these days is needlessly convoluted, Maisie gets kidnapped so Pratt goes on a globe trotting rescue mission to save her, meanwhile dangerous genetically modified locusts are destroying all harvests and crops of the planet and Ellie Sattler is here to investigate and drags Alan Grant along.
Campbell Scott who played Peter Parker's dad in The Amazing Spiderman films plays a brilliant scientist who does some genetic research on the modification of genes to cure cancer and stuff. Yep pretty much the same character from those films. He heads Biosyn another evil corporation who has control over the dinosaurs and their living and everything. And if you are wondering what about the free roaming dinosaurs on our planet? Well don't worry because there isn't anything going on.
Yep they did it in the previous one but didn't have the creativity to back it up so once again there are dinosaurs running around mostly in closed environments and humans are running and so on and so forth. There is one good chase sequence in a bazaar that keeps you entertained .
A huge chunk of this film is dedicated to having the Maisie Lockwood plot running all over, but they fail to really ever give her any personality or character traits with which we can connect with you know like everyone did with the characters of the first one?
Speaking of legacy characters Sam Neil as Alan Grant and Laura Dern as Ellie Sattler are having fun and Jeff Goldblum seems to be having a great time. Easily the most fun you can have is with him. The rest of the cast are decent and Chris Pratt carries the film some way but even he cannot take on the messy plot coincidences, overused CGI, boring characters and a stale, done to death storyline of Jurassic Park.
The movie has been assembled pretty well with some decent sequences here and there, but its runtime is way too long. The biggest problem is that there is hardly anything to grasp at in this overkilled franchised that should have been extinct after the second part itself. Nothing new, crazy or even half memorable in this new installment. Just pretty stuff to look at, eat your popcorn, clap and consume and move on. The seemingly bland cinematography and a generic bland score doesn't help the cause at all.
There isn't much to say well because Dominion doesn't give you anything to say!, Its your dumb blockbuster to which everyone is already numb too, following tropes and beats all too familiar this is well and truly what you call forgettable trash!
Pi (1998)
OBSESSION, PARANOIA AND MATH!!!
Pi is an indie film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. Showcasing the life and personality of one brilliant, gifted mathematician Max Cohen.
Particularly his obsession for finding that one true pattern of life that we aren't too sophisticated to be aware of.
He looks for patterns in nature, in the stock market, in the value of Pi, in anything. While dealing with seizures that come from time to time.
The film is shot in black and white purposefully to give it a minimalist and authentic look, most shots linger on our protagonist giving us a sense of paranoia and claustrophobia which suitably depicts the character's mindset.
The supporting characters include a greedy stock market group , religious fanatics and neighbors and in true Requiem For A Dream fashion some of them are hallucinations.
The film showcases a comparison between the err of humanity and its strive for perfection and absolute control. Like Cohen's determination to find a pattern in the world that governs everything but his own errors, emotions and imperfections tell him something else that perhaps true madness is searching for these equations and patterns which don't exist and that the world is too complicated to be solved by Math alone.
His struggle with his own paranoia is showcased in true gritty fashion and yes the film gets upsetting as usual. But it makes for a compelling story one which anyone can relate to but bear in mind it ain't for everyones taste. The bleak tone and depressing imagery doesn't make a jolly good time but an intellectually interesting one anyways.
It is an interesting debut from a director who's gone on to show his talents further.
X (2022)
MESSED UP AND A BIT OF A LET DOWN!
This is technically well-made movie. It's a slow burn and pretty good at that. It builds up curiosity and its murders pretty well one can enjoy it and be curious to see what comes next. Until it gets lackluster and gross.
This is coming from someone who watches tons of horror and gore. That wasn't the problem. The gore is one of the movies best qualities.
However the climax and the whole 3rd act isn't all that interesting and becomes a big bloody fest...... just not an enjoyable one. It is a slasher and a sexy one or so it thinks.... It turns out a bit flat in its sexiness but I guess it was good to see a proper no holds barred attempt at inhibited sex scenes that felt raw and untamed, to see some unabashed nudity and then to see all of it get chopped off!!!
Its a misguided one.. a misguided attempt to make a tribute to slasher films and also to explore the relationship between sex and violence...the end result isn't all that satisfying.
The Batman (2022)
A GOOD REBOOT
The Batman is a technically well made, brilliantly shot, well acted perhaps a bit too long, but a solid new reboot that could set us off on a new and unique Batman journey that perhaps this legacy character needs.
Matt Reeves brings us his take on the Batman, Gotham's dark knight in his second year of being the caped crusader takes on the serial killer Riddler, while also dealing with his own inner demons and startling new revelations about his own legacy, Bruce Wayne goes on an investigative journey meeting friends and foes alike.
The run time is a strength and an issue, allowing the scenes and shots to properly flow and allow us to have an immersive experience in the new world of Gotham. Which looks darker and more depressing than ever. At the same time the film is ponderous and could do with a little 'Move the hell on!'. They could have used it to give us a little more backstory for Batman or explain things better.
Pattinson brings a more emotional and depressed Bruce/Batman to the screen struggling with issues of the past and present and battling to secure a better future for both, himself and Gotham. The latter proving to be an improbable task, with crime on an irregular high and his presence having little effect. ''This cess pool we call a city!'' Riddler's words have a strong resonance with us and Bruce.
His performance is pretty spot on but for some reason he is being told to display a pretty one note depressing Bruce from beginning till the end with indications of him becoming more layered for the next one. Bruce is supposed to have three personalities, one to show to the world, one as himself , one as the Batman. Matt Reeves gives us an emo Bruce all throughout which wears your interest off with it's three hours of screen time.
Perhaps the point is that he will now become the Bruce we know but boy it sure takes a long time. Just like Daniel Craig's Bond, Pattinson's Bruce is a sulk with no fun allowed at all. Serious and sad always! Elevated by Pattinson himself rather than the writing for the character.
Zoe Kravitz is good enough as Selina Kyle and gets some layered writing for her character. Jeffrey Wright as Gordon is brilliant and works ever so well with Pattinson. Colin Farrell as Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred and John Turturro as Falcone round up the impressive cast.
The other major player who kicks things in motion is the Riddler with an excellent turn by Paul Dano, chewing out each scene he is in either with his voice or by his menacing presence. He sure feels creepy with his sadistic Riddles giving everyone a run for their money. He brings terror and camp to his version of the Riddler, unpredictable and scary Dano just might be the underrated show stealer for this one.
Michael Giacchino's score is phenomenal and the legacy of great Batman music continues. As is Greig Fraser's cinematography, perfectly capturing the dark alleys and crime ridden world of the city which elevates Gotham to a character of itself to some extent.
The script, the general story isn't all that intriguing at least not as the presentation, which is a bit of a let down as you feel emotionally distant from our new emo Bruce/Batman as a result the emotional end and his change feels less personal and the long run time struggles to justify itself. The film feels more like a pre cursor, an introduction to this new world, with more to happen and to come later, on its own it still manages to justify its existence and despite its flaws the film is pretty focused on its characters and their relationships and has enough fuel to run along to the finish line and provide a good enough conclusion to round it all up.
The third act falls flat after all the buildup it feels that the stakes are quite low and has an anti-climactic feel to everything that enrolls as everything gets quite easily resolved without much inconvenience.
Overall The Batman isn't the best thing to happen to the character but a new reboot that is worth a watch.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
GARBAGE GALORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a pathetic and stupid sequel!!! Who the hell gives a greenlight to these scripts!! Atrociously bland, stupid and boring. So a bunch of influencer kids go to to Harlow in Texas to gentrify the place so that people can have a new fresh start.........whatever!! The point is leatherface ain't that happy with new intruders and wants to kill them.
The film has none of the grittiness, violence and darkness of the original and can't even churn out anything new by itself, bringing back the original surviving woman only to kill her off as unceremoniously as possible. The new kids are annoying and behave as stupidly as possible but the film expects us to care for them by giving them a half baked backstory which I can't even remember.
Some of them die sooner than the others but the killings have no real style or tension. Its a big slugfest......except a few cool shots and one great murder at the end its another leagacy-quel that should have been abandoned back at the barn!!!!
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
BORING AND MESSY
Remember the Matrix from 1999? Remember its moments? Its iconic dialogues, Hugo Weaving as agent Smith, Morpheus , Trinity..... of course you do!! In fact this film banks on it and forcefully reminds you of all the iconic moments, scenes, dialogues from the first Matrix movie by literally having footage from the 1999 flick.
It starts out pretty interesting with its meta self aware plot, where we learn what Neo has been upto and the where Trinity has been. Its self awareness is perhaps a bit too on the nose but intriguing nonetheless. Its probably the best part of the film because it abandons all that to settle back into the older Matrix questions and ideas.
There are lot of great ideas particularly in the first 30 minutes, less so in the rest of the film, the execution however is questionable. One of the greatest shocks that this film delivers is its disappointing action!
Its ironic that the franchise known for staging some of the most revolutionary action set pieces of all time has now delivered some of the most forgettable ones in modern cinema. The film looks and feels like any other modern generic sci-fi show and is devoid of any artistic personality that made its predecessors stand out.
The tone switches from comedic self-aware to intense and super serious, which leads to some really bad techno babble which is pretty hard to understand or care about. It at times feels like a parody of the Matrix but then there are some really intense moments that force you to take it seriously and those two things don't mesh with each other well.
There are still cool things and sci-fi concepts being displayed but in meagre numbers, the editing is sloppy and pacing haphazard. They are quick to remind us of the original Matrix by playing the original footage over and over in many of the scenes to literally feed us nostalgia. The plot gets increasingly convoluted and quite needlessly dumb if you stop to think about it.
Keanu Reeves and Carrie Ann Moss are on point but the film just doesn't stick with them for most parts, the other new characters are forgettable and aren't that interesting to begin with. We get Niobe back and a revisit to Zion which looks interesting but are only there briefly so it isn't much valuable.
The third act should be simple to understand but certain changes and character growths are so seemingly drastic that you are left with more questions than answers. Ultimately this sequel pretty much kills any desires of any more sequels or spin-offs that we might have expected or wanted , in fact there seems to be a general intent from Lana Wachowski to bash on this whole idea of franchises which she has subtly conveyed through the films first 30 minutes or so and also with an end credit scene.
Is this an Anti-Sequel? Are we supposed to enjoy the trashing of the Matrix franchise by its own Sequel??Is it romance?? Meta Commentary??? All of it ?? Lana Wachowski doesn't stick to one thing but adds all of it in one film that results in yet another messy Matrix sequel. For many fans this could be the worst one.......and will probably leave them with no desire to rewatch it anytime soon for this one for whatever reasons feels the most heartless and passionless.
Or maybe I am looking at it from the wrong perspective?? Maybe ......maybe not....time will tell but for now The Matrix Resurrections is another messy sequel that fails to capture the hearts or the imagination that the 1999 one did so brilliantly.
Return to Oz (1985)
DARKER ENTHRALLING SEQUEL THATS STILL GOOD!
Return to Oz is a sequel(kind of) to the Wizard of Oz.
With almost everyone recast and a new director this sequel is still entertaining but its tone isn't much friendly but perhaps scarier.
Set after months of the tornado of the previous film our Dorothy has been having sleepless nights leading to her aunt being distressed over her condition as Dorothy keeps rambling on about Oz.
To cure her of these thoughts Dorothy is sent for an electrical therapy!!
Yeah it got serious pretty quick.
However a magical girl helps her escape and soon she lands back to Oz,
where things are not the same as they once were.
A king nome has turned everyone to stone taken all the Emeralds and trapped King Scarecrow, plus there is a queen Mombi who has her own evil desires.
Queen Mombi, Jack-o-lantern, tik-tok are some of the creations of the original author in his sequel books plus Ozma is here too.
If you are a fan of the books there will be several things to notice and point out.
If the first one was characterized by loving and whimsical songs this one has creepy creatures and imagery, the wheelers are a group of sadistic skating beings all slaves of Mombi who herself has 14 different heads (which she has taken from other women) and Mr. Nome who has a habit of turning everyone to stone!!
Its all entertaining in a twisted way but a lot of fun nonetheless. However the emotinal impacts of the first one were spot on and this sequel misses quite a few marks on that one. Plus the absence of Judy Garland is felt even if the new actress is charming.
Dorothy is still our lovable girl who uses her intelligence and wits to overcome the odds and return truimphant once again even if the journey was scarier than ususal.
There seems to be an undertone of mental illness which I feel the director seems to subtly want to convey that adds another layer to this film and it clearly is a directors vision even more so than the first one.
I would still recommend this one even if it might mess with your head alittle bit.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
ONE OF THE BEST ADAPTATIONS!!!!
Magical and fun, a feel good whimsical story that can enchant your kids even today!!!! A really good musical led by a buoyant Judy Garland.
The Wizard of OZ is a story about Dorothy who one day gets blown away by a tornado into the magical land of Oz, a land full of magical unique beings, like a princess, a witch, a talking cowardly lion, a tin man and so on...
The songs are beautiful and appropriately used, Judy Garland as Dorothy is perhaps one of the best castings Hollywood may have made.
She beautifully encompasses the wonder and innocence of a child, the fear of being amongst strangers, but having the strength to do whats right and being brave and bold enough to carry it out.
She is a compassionate and loving girl who encourages her new companions that she meets along the way to step up for themselves when the time is right.
Without any violence and without encouraging any malice or hatred, she goes up against the evil witch, with no overpowering abilities or help only her own intelligence and wits and courage. We cry with her , fear for her , cheer for her and are along every step of the journey she undertakes.
The finale reveal is silly and whimsical and perfect!!
Simply put The Wizard of OZ is a great reminder of what films can do,
they can entrap you in a new world, feel for characters that are fictious,
cry and laugh with them as they take new steps forward in their journey , and wish and perhaps even try to embody some of their great characteristics into ourselves!!
No Time to Die (2021)
NOT THE FINALE CRAIG DESERVED!!!!
Apart from the first hour of the film which is packed with amazing action set pieces and a great opening song from Billie Ellish. There isn't much to celebrate.
Slogging through the next hour or so with a basic BOND type plot and some mediocre fun here and there, the film finally does pickup in the finale only to have a climax which can only be described as Dumb sappy try-hard nonsense to shock the audiences, which Hollywood seems hell-bent on doing and failing quite miserably to do so.
Skyfall should have been the finale for Daniel Craigs version of Bond and its evidently clear from the plotting of this one that the writers didn't really work too hard to come up with something new and great.
Technically great with on-point performances throughout and Craig as usual delivers his version perfectly, but as the send off to one of the longest serving actors to this role it was vehemently dissapointing!!!
And please no one wants to see a female James Bond. FFS.
Dune (2021)
DUNE PART 1- AMBITIOUS,UNIQUE AND ALMOST PERFECT!!
Dune is a mature, brilliantly made sci-fi epic with epic performances and ambitious world-building. Accomapanied with serene audio-visual sequences the film enchants you into its new world.
Dune is an 2021 american science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve with a screenplay by Jon Spaihts. However it is only a part one as Mr. Villeneuve wished to adapt the book into two parts to fully realize the epic and grand scope of the whole story.
Which seems to have worked very well in this case as this film has a lot of subplots, world building, characters, overarching themes and stories, character arcs running all alongside one another, all of them masterfully executed and told by Denis and his team resulting in a film that looks epic, is beautifully edited, wonderfully paced, accompanied with Hans Zimmer's bombastic and sometimes melodious score, amazing cinematography, beautiful sci-fi tech on which clearly the millions have been spent by Warner Bros.
Coming to the other aspects, Dune mostly if not completely delivers a decent sci-fi epic. Packed with an impressive cast led by Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson who play Paul Atreides and Lady Jessica respectively. Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac, Stellen Skarsgaard, Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa are also there and play their parts well enough. Zendaya and Javier Bardem eventually join in towards the end.
Rebecca Ferguson as the mother of Paul is the standout character and performer followed by Timothee's Paul. Their mother-son relationship and bond is believable and relatable and perhaps the most emotional string of the film. There are quite a few characters that are dispatched in this film, but for whatever reason they were never fully realized to begin with, maybe there wasn't enough run time.
So you are left a little distant when their eventual fates are realized. You feel for Paul as he witnesses or learns about their tragedies, but not specifically for them. Since also this is a part one the film abruptly ends just as when it seemed a new chapter was beginning."This is only the beginning" Zendaya's character Chani says.
There are plenty of visions and dreams and forewarnings of things to come that we see through Paul's visions all of them hinting at bigger, complex, important revelations and battles which I guess we'll have to wait for. The film takes its time at world building and hence you are never confused and very much enthralled at the visual spectacle on the big screen.
Paul is an interesting character if not the greatest, he has the personality of a calm, slightly timid, overprotected kid of the royal family, who when thrown in the worst of circumstances has to learn to adapt and survive and perhaps live upto his parents expectations and his own. Filled with doubt and uncertainty but gifted with power, his heart is stricken with turmoil as he needs to decide on whether he should become the leader like his parents wish him to be or he should be something else."A great man never seeks to lead, he is called to it" says Oscar Isaac who plays his father Leto Atriedes.
Overall, Denis delivers a competent sci-fi epic which dazzles with it's filmmaking and more or less captures your intrigue with its new and promising world and diverse characters even if a little more work could be done for some of the characters.
Dune Part 1 may not be a great film however it is a good film even if it leaves you on a bit of an unfulfilling note which can only be done justice with a sequel.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
VENOM 2 REVIEW-:LET THERE BE CARNAGE CUZ ITS BEEN BARREN ALL YEAR.
Reluctantly accepting his fate, Eddie Brock tries to co-exist with Venom. However, it's a rocky relationship, to say the least. Brock also attempts to revive his career by interviewing Cletus Kasady, a serial killer who doesn't trust anyone else. But things go wrong when Cletus also gets infected with a deadly and bloodthirsty symbiote. Brock must quickly find a way to work with Venom and deal with the Carnage brought on by Kasady.
Although the plot is pretty straightforward for a comic-book flick, the banter between Brock and Venom is often the film's most fascinating element. Brock is constantly trying to quench Venom's thirst for, well, HUMANS! Leading to some amusing exchanges - even if the humour doesn't land always.
Nevertheless, Tom Hardy's performance with the CGI character carries the film through some rough patches. Like Hardy, Woody Harrelson fully embraces the film's quirky, often absurd tonality and certainly enjoys playing the antagonist. Together, they make some of the apparent plot holes easier to ignore.
Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), Francis Barrison (Naomie Harris) and Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham). They have potentially intriguing roles but don't get much development beyond some hasty plot beats and they end up being the story's weakest links. In addition, the editing is shady in places, indicative of significant trimming, perhaps the right decision.
The action is easy to follow and looks great in 3D without being overbearing. While the film meets the basic requirements for comic-book movie enjoyment, its most essential sequence is the post-credit scene that raises the bar for the Venom character.
Not only does it change the scope for where he and Eddie Brock will show up next, but it also makes this problematic yet oddly entertaining sequel more than worthwhile.
Ojing-eo geim (2021)
DISTINCT WITH ITS CHARACTERS
Squid games is another one of those concepts which we have seen quite a few times before(Battle Royale, Hunger games, Belko Experiment, Escape Room...).
A bunch of people locked up in an environment where they have to battle it out to the death, all for a cash price for 45.6 billion or something.
The games are all unique, all the type which we probably have played before as kids. With the added incentive of life or death there is a real intensity to these games which intrigues us throughout.
The characters all have unique and relatable motivations and circumstances. They all need money for one reason or another be it for themselves, their family members , debts, etc.
The characters surprisingly are very well written and rounded up which is what keeps us hooked right unitl the end and perhaps seperates this show from other violent shows.
The show throws concepts of morality in the face of adversity, consumerism, democracy, class separation, gender equality, all very subtly and naturally weaving and fitting into the story without taking any unneccesary stops.
It lets you form your own opinion of these concepts and themes instead of drilling its own politics into you.
From the standards of storytelling in modern times its Oscar worthy!
The ending revelations perhaps felt uninspired even if they were executed well(driven mostly by the actors performances and direction),
the twists and turns ranged from genuinely shocking, emotional to 'Havent we seen that somewhere else?'.
Yes the plot twists at the end remind you of Escape Room perhaps even of Hunger Games or Battle Royale but the writing and character development is what elevates the show a notch above.
I dont think we need a sequel....the show is clearly one of the best of the year.
WandaVision (2021)
ELIZABETH OLSEN SHINES.....
Fresh off the huge success of Avengers Endgame and Far From Home, Wandavision was the first MCU tv show to hit Disney+ , the new streaming service for all the Marvel shows and Disney material. It had the massive pressure of being the immediate succesor of one of the biggest Marvel hits in Far From Home.
Led by Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany Wandavison follows the everyday life of Wanda Maximoff and Vision in their suburban town as they deal with neighbours, jobs, everyday life and juggling their romance with it all......or so it seems. Strange occurences happen to Wanda during the course which raises some mysterious questions. The answers to which she may or may not want to know about or perhaps is purposefully keeping things a secret?
The show starts out pretty promising and it cleverly gives you hints and clues however never the full picture, until around episode 4 you really get to see behind the scenes stuff which offer some explanations for all the events and some clarity over the entire situation.
Elizabeth Olsen shines as Wanda Maximoff, she easily switches from everyday housewife of the sitcoms from Full House to Modern Family which this show gives nods to, to a grief stricken, miserable, trauma induced, superherione, who frankly from the looks of it looks like is done being a hero and perhaps being an Antihero could very well be on the cards.
Paul Bettany and his scenes with Elizabeth Olsen are the best moments of the show . However the other cast memebers are not that compelling. The actors themselves are fine but I don't think anyone wants to see any more of their characters to reappear. Monica Rambo comes in, the little daughter of Captain Marvel's best friend and she is "A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER!". Pretty annoying and an entitled spoilt teen is what her character reeks of, but I guess this is what Hollywood considers STRONG!
Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) from the Thor movies is here and she is just about fine accompanied by a few others and very forgettable generic bad guy.
Kathryn Hahn's performance as Agatha is another memorable aspect of the show .
Perhaps the most underwhelming point was the finale, which seemed rushed and just about gave the answers which the show had raised in the beginning. However when it came to facing the consequences for her actions Wanda isn't given any. Which is quite bizzare considering what she had actually done just to cope with her personal tragedies and plus our new Hero Monica Rambo joins in on this charade with her.
Is this what the show teaches everyone? No matter what you do even if it means harming other people, it's fine as long as we are sad about our own tragedies???
The show does hits some beats properly when it can, we learn Wanda's full backstory and thanks to Olsen's brilliant performance we grow to care about her deeply as we see how much hardship she has endured and has been pushed to the brink of a breakdown, Paul Bettany as vision is compelling as ever and Kathryn Hahn is delightful as Agatha.
At the end of it all Wandavison is a show that does the proper setup and buildup but messes it all up by the finale, juggling too many ideas all at one time. Be it grief born out of the personal losses we endure, getting depressed and in turn distracting ourseleves with lies and the comforting augmented realities of the world, faking smiles to hide our vulnerabilities instead of just crying our hearts out and for once just dealing with our miserable feelings properly.
Overall resulting in two thirds of TV show which is decent and which does introduce some new concepts and tones for The MCU which could lead to interesting new stories.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
NOSTALGIA AND HEART
Nostalgia and heart is what defines the third installment in the MCU Spiderman film.
The film starts with Peter's identity revealed to the world, and what follows in a world of mobile phones, paparazzi and The Daily Bugle - both fame and ignominy. One fallout is the rejection by MIT of not just Peter's college application but also of friends MJ (a charming Zendaya) and Ned (a winsome Batalon). It's this that ultimately drives Peter to ask Dr Strange to turn the clock back to the time before his identity was revealed or, if not that, to make people forget who he was.
Superheroes nowadays can't just have fun and beat the bad guys. There has to be a larger purpose to their gift. What Peter chooses at this point is set to have consequences that he doesn't really think through - or the film even lets him face.
The creatures who step out of the parallel universes into ours are a lot more fun. Molina has the meatiest screen presence and gets his own delectable fight on a bridge, complete with dangling cars and swinging men and women. Dafoe largely snarls and gnarls, but when they do get together, the actors who personify two of the greatest Super-Men villains, remain vile but now are also much funnier.
The same is true of two other creatures who step in through a portal into our universe. The shrieks with which the cinema audience greets them say all about how much they have been missed despite the years in the middle. Holland, whose Spider-Man has always been just one of the many Avengers, holds up well when called to be one of a team.
The editing is wobbly and rushed in several scenes but is far from capable in denying the fun that everyone has been seeking for.
The dialogue is witty and funny, Holland, Zendaya and Batalon are believable as kids who find themselves often out of their depth, the battles are coherently staged, a mirror dimension of the world that Dr Strange builds in one such clash is just wow, Spider-Man is satisfyingly nerdy ("What's cooler than magic? Math"), and the past is adroitly linked with the present.
Yes, No Way Home is all that you have been hearing and talking about. Yes, it gives you bangs to the power of three for your buck. Yes, it is gratifying to indulge in your favourite Spider-Men films of the recent past once more.
And yes, Holland remains as likable and eager as ever.
But when the dust settles on this metaverse of multiple villains and many heroes, which Cumberbatch's Dr Strange conjures out of some very furiously moving hands and not seemingly as engaged thoughts, it's unclear what all that was about.
Eternals (2021)
MARVELS ETERNALS: AMBITIOUS, UNIQUE & BORING
The Eternals, a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years, reunite to battle the evil Deviants.
The Chloe Zhao directed MCU flick is a lengthy epic that is all about the creation of life , humanity, the progress and conflicts and the eventual destruction of it all for the inevitable creation of something new and thus the cycle shall repeats. The Eternals has a lot of ambition and unique stories to tell, which leads to Zhao using exposition whenever possible including an opening crawl that gives you further insight into the world.
We follow the Eternals from Mesopotamia and before to modern day as we see their impacts throughout history and how they shaped human existence and advancement throughout. The first half of the film is spent hopping from one timeline to another, with jarring stops in the present day where a neccessary armageddon is steadily approaching.
In the flashbacks, Zhao hurriedly takes us through the Eternals' arrival on Earth, how a few instantly fell in love with humans while others were frustrated by their greed and violence.
The characters are mostly half-written, inspiring barely any affection and emotion from our side. But at least it looks beautiful as the vast story unfolds in front of your eyes. For Eternals, Zhao brought on board cinematographer Ben Davis, who has previously worked in five other MCU films. She also brings in her own love for the golden hour, dusk and landscape shots, wedging in the setting sun wherever she can.
The film looks gorgeous, packs in a ton of interesting ideas, character introspections and the general superhero gist. But despite all of its flamboyance and grandeuer, its weak character development, stoic performances from most of the cast,unfunny humour, and the obvious pandering to DIVERSE audiences lets the Eternals completely down especially by the end.
Zhao seems uninterested in action and thus the sequences come across flat as well, Angelina Jolie is easily the best actress but has little to do and Salma Hayek as Ajak is wasted. The most screen time goes to Gemma Chan who plays Sersi. She is perhaps the most one note actress I have seen which is really detrimental as the film relies on her and Ikaris's(another Eternal) romance, her eventual hero's journey as in the end she is the one who carries out justice.
Their romance which even includes a sex scene(first in the MCU) but their general lack of chemistry renders it all emotionally hollow, devoid of uniqueness and personality.
There are a few other Eternals(Phastos,Druig,Sprite and Kingo) and all of them have great ideas for their characters which are just cruised past without exploring their depths and meaning.
Thus we are left with a film which has too much to offer for its own good. For it sacrifices its characters and glosses past them by the end of the film to hurriedly remind you with its credits sequences that the next one will be great.
This is perhaps a notch above or two above the last MCU release, Black Widow. Unlike that lazy, uninspired snoozefest, Eternals did aim for a lot, however was very unsuccessful in delivering on most of the fronts. A lot could have been better but I guess it isn't the worst.
At the end Eternals is watchable and yet perhaps skippable, for its lenghty runtime and uninspiring characters don't warrant anything precious from our side.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
BANG AVERAGE
Its your average Marvel movie to the last bit. Go see it if you want to be bored and slightly entertained.
I cannot be too bothered about this.
Loki (2021)
"IT ISNT ABOUT YOU!!!!"
Loki starts out pretty promising with Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson leading the show, their chemistry and banter is what keeps us hooked and engaged for the first 2 episodes. The small and big revelations set up interesting plotlines and adventures.
And then well........................Someone comes along and reminds us that "This isn't about Loki"!!!
Yeah! Someone in the writers room thought this was a great idea......as episode three rolls on you start to realize the shift in perspective and focus which isn't great to experience and you also start to think the very important character building scenes for Loki which play a really big part in his decisions in episode 2 were rushed because ........well this isn't about LOKI. Ugh! Really ? Who was in the trailer for this show? Why do you think millions of marvel fans are watching this show????
As episode 4 5 and 6 come along it gets increasingly pedestrian and vehemently boring as the pacing comes to a screeching halt, show don't tell! More like always talk talk talk talk and talk and barely do anything interesting.
Richard E Grant comes along and provides some respite but it doesnt last long, by the end startling revelations happen which will be either great or detrimental for the MCU, but our Hero/Villain is reduced to a sappy, idotic , whiny , incompetent fool,an insecure whiny chid whose whole purpose of existence was attention and nothing more! We never get to seehim use his wits , smartness , shrewdness instead we get someoe else who is vastly better at everything he is supposed to be.
Great, ruined one of the best fictional villains , well done DISNEY!
If the MsheU.......... uhhhhh MCU is what you have watched your entire life and you have zero clues about any other shows and films, then I guess this will work for you but do not go about whining to someone else who might have a better knowledge of films and television, moaning and shouting about the greatness of LOKI.
Loki is another show with great potential, promising actors, great aesthetic , great score, visuals and a good budget. Sadly when your whole focus is to bait and switch your talent goes down the drain.
Another bang average Marvel show along with films like Black Widow , Shang chi, and the other shows it isn't looking good for the M-she-U.......uhh I mean MCU!. The die hard fans can stay in denial but those smart enough know that perhaps the glory days might be over for this once juggernaut of a universe.
Black Widow (2021)
UTTERLY POINTLESS AND BORING
Black Widow is a terribly made, utterly ridiculous, pointless, CGI fest with occasionally some good moments in it.
The film has a promising and a tense opening finally giving us an insight into Natasha's past and her background and then it opens again with some credits and music and takes another 10-15 minutes to actually kickstart it's story and plot.
The screenwriters never really settle on a particular thread and keep juggling different ideas and story beats resulting in a mess of a film.
The action is cartoonish and quite pathetic. Natasha a spy, a normal human falls off a three storey bulding and hits her head twice on some pipes and gets back up immediately without a scratch.
The actors do their part but the script is haywire and there seems to be a lack of creativity from the people who helmed it , everything just comes across as mundane and flat.
The villain, well....... Taskmaster shows up occasionally. The film tries to tie Natasha and the villain's stories together but it is done in such an odd
haphazard way that ultimately it leaves you feeling frustrated instead of emotionally capturing you.
The movie is genuinely uninteresting and is an abysmal send off for one of the most beloved MCU characters and Actors. The editing is fine , the cinematography is bland, the music is forgettable.
David Harbour and Florence Pugh may be the only positives in this film along with Scarlett's presence, all three of them have a genuinely good chemistry which does bring a few laughs and emotions from our side.
The film has a weird and twisted morality and a clear and obvious undertone which it didn't need and quite frankly leaves a sick taste in your mouth.
Don't waste Your time with this , go watch Winter Soldier instead.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
DISASTER!
Back in 2014 everyone was still excited to see spidey again in a theatre. There is something just too good about this character to ignore. But Sony did what they did with Spider Man 3 , ruined it!!
The film adopts a much more colorful and brighter tone and look unlike its predeccesor and has more goofs, humour and romance than before. Spiderman is much more friendlier and goofier and comedic, truer to the comics and it feels great to have him back and save a whole bunch of people and inspire a few kids along the way.
The romance though is also heavily amped up, and for some reason takes up the whole film!
They break up, they are friends now, can't live without each other, back again,
and so on....... It undermines everything else in the film ,as the whole film becomes a backdrop for their romance. Our villains Electro and Green Goblin are shoved in the background along with everything else.
The villains motivations are all contrived and unreasonable despite the writing trying really hard to get you onboard.
It doesn't take too long for the film to fall into complete mayhem and disarray as we move from one character to another, one sub plot to another , one villain to another, one setup to another, until disorientation grabs you and smacks you dead.
The film has so many beats and tones , plot threads that just contradict each other and never really aloow you to comprehend the plot and story at all, it never really settles down to accept one and adopt that particular tone and story, instaed it tries doing several things at once. Resulting in a confusing mess of a story that offers little moments and glimpses of real quality and interest.
Andrew Garfield is great as Peter Parker , he handles every range of emotion perfectly, but sadly the script sends him on these ludicrous quests and makes him carry out overly stupid, nonsensical tasks that leave you scratching your head. Jamie Foxx hams it in and goes all out as the Electro, Dane Dehaan as Harry Osborne also gives everything he has, but the writing creates these unreasonable, awfully planned out situations and motivations which just make you lose your interest in them.
The dialogue is awful most of the times making you cringe heavily when it can, the cinematography is just flat, the music feels bordeline experimental so be your own judge of it, the action feels ambitious but pretty underwhelming (except the New York Times Square scene), the effects are great once again, but the ludicrous script that seems to be a mix mash of several ideas and scripts destroys and derails everything resulting in a Spiderman film that feels
more like a product designed to appeal to everybody.
The film is unfocused, apparently Sony interfered heavily in the process(Not a surprise!) With an entire alternate ending scene, around 45 minutes of deleted scenes on the blu-ray to account for it. There are some glimmers of quality, which probably are the leftovers of the director(Mark Webb) trying to make a competent sequel, the deleted alternate ending scene was his preferred ending
It certainly would have been better than the one thrown in the actual film.
Ovearll, The Amazing Spiderman 2 is a disaster, watch it only for the performances and the effects and one really good action set piece.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Could Have Been Amazing
In 2012 there was the much hyped Spiderman reboot with Andrew Garfield as our lovable Peter Parker. It had been some years since the Raimi trilogy ended and we obviously wanted more. So Sony decided it was time and made a reboot for us.
The Amazing Spiderman is another franchise reboot which falls prey to the success of the Dark Knight trilogy. Given a much grittier, darker , serious tone to a character that is supposed to be fun, humorous and colorful.
It strips all the color and style from the Raimi films to settle for a tone and look
that resembles a sci fi drama rather than a comic book. All of that can be overlooked if they didn't make the fatal mistake of marketing the film as "AN UNTOLD STORY". They should have just called it a reboot and it would have been fine.
Instead we slog through stuff we have already seen in the previous films.
The film also chooses to have a lot of fun, cute, quirky humour in between really seroius drama which sadly comes at the expense of our Hero's morality and character development.
This new version of Parker beats up Flash and humiliates him not in self defense but just to have a lot of fun, he develops a mean streak after a significant event in his life and comes across as a sinister hero who resembles more of Batman than Spiderman.
But there are a few redeeming qualities within the film , the sequence where he saves the kid from a bridge is a heartfelt one, one which respects him as a character, the action looks a lot better even if it isn't ambitious, the effects look believable, the performances are fairly good across the board, our lead pair in Gwen Stacy(Emma Stone) and Andrew Garfield(Peter Parker) are pretty great,
the first person perspective shots when Spiderman swings look cool.
The cinematography is fairly decent, given that the film adopts a darker Gotham-esque look and feel to it, the music by James Horner is amazing and unique and much under appreciated and can easily stand on its own without recalling the Raimi trilogy.
Overall the film lacks a certain style , a pace, to keep things interesting, there are large stretches which just drag on and on and feel lifeless. There are some strange choices, especially character choices which just make your eyes roll and really don't make a whole lot of sense but just happen to move the plot along.
Again all that is passable if you are engaged in the story and characters which this film shows potential to do but doesn't exactly swing it all the way.
The occasional humour and the goofyness doesn't fit at all with the tone that they take, making you confused as to whether you should have fun or not.
The film adopts a darker tone and rides on it but it seems to not fully commit to it resulting in a reboot that disappoints, but in a good way I guess, you could say that they tried to make it work, they did their own thing, didn't rely on any nostalgia, they created something on their own with an established well known property, maybe the sequel could be better(It wasn't!).
Army of the Dead (2021)
DEAD DEAD DEAD!
Army Of The Dead, the newest film from Zack Snyder is a zombie-hiest-thriller-action movie. But Its got big Twists to it!
It doesn't have the horror or tension of the zombie genre, cleverness and smartness of a heist film, the action gets old pretty quickly, the characters aren't funny, witty or likeable! So what does it offer??Absolutely Nothing!
This time there's no one to blame but Snyder, as the guy wrote, directed and was the director of photography as well. Which becomes apparent as the terrible dialogue, boring , redundant, contrived story, gaping plotholes, awful camerawork plague the whole film and never let you enjoy anything.
The moments that are supposed to be shocking turn out to be unintentionally funny and you see them coming from a long distance. There is no tension or enjoyment in most of the action scenes as everyone is inexplicably amazing at getting headshots but inevitably miss when the plot needs it to happen.
The plot starts out dumb and rushed and keeps getting worse and worse, ripping off from obvious films (ALIENS) but tinkered enough to be different to be called an original concept. I guess Zack wanted to feel what Whedon must have felt during the Justice League fiasco!
The actors do their part, the humor is a hit and miss, the characters are once again either mildly interesting or wafer thin like his previous films and they make weird, out of order, awful decisons which make you cringe and laugh at them at the same time. The pacing is awfully slow, for a simple plot that should be over within ninety odd minutes the film slogs for a good two and a half hours. Somebody needs to tell Snyder to get a friend with good film making sensibilities, who might advise him to try hiring a capable film editor.
Zack Snyder gave us Dawn Of The Dead,Watchmen and showed potential with Man of Steel but it's getting clearer that the guy is obsessed with himself
and his so called vision, making constant misses instead of hits and severely compromising his stories which always boast a great concept and potential but fail to live up to their promise. The Snyder Cut made it clear that his fans are going to like whatever he does, be this mess of a film or Justice League.
The Zack Snyder who made Dawn Of The Dead is clearly gone and now we have a self indulgent, self obsessed director who couldn't care less about any constructive criticism of his films. Well good luck to the guy and his legion of fans, as for Army Of The Dead, its a boring, contrived, dumb film with a couple of good set pieces which are also marred with terrible character decisions which just blow your mind away and not in a good way I must say!
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
THE DEFINING MOMENT
Directed by Rian Johnson The Last Jedi is the the sequel to The Force Awakens.
It picks up exactly where the last one left off with Luke and Rey.
The best way to describe this film is that it is TONE DEAF.
It is ambitious and aims for the stars and is a huge mess of a film and those things dont mesh with each other well.
Lets talk about Luke Skywalker, as the franchise has finally come back to him after 30 years of wait. But what now? What does Luke has to offer? Is there anything left in his hero's journey?
Well no, there isn't but just one.... Deconstruction. And that is the path which Rian Johnson chooses, he attempts to break his character down bit by bit, Luke the once beacon of hope and happiness is now a frustrated, purposeless, depressed, hopeless man and also a jerk. But when you break the monolith down you have rebuild it because that is the whole point of going down this path.
Be it Iron Man 3 where we see Tony battle PTSD or The Dark Knight Rises where Bruce regains a sense of fear, a sense of life, similarly Luke has to regain his sense of hope and responsibility.
But Rian Johnson fails to build him back-up, instead we spend our time with Rose a new addition who frankly is one of the most annoying characters I have seen. Finn who is thrown to the wayside, Poe who is taught a lesson in gender politics, Leah who is asleep for the middle portion and the whole subplot of Resistance vs Empire , we have to go on a side quest and do this, all of which becomes pointless at the end all of these characters do a lot throughout the film and eat up a lot of the screen time but nothing comes of it.
And thus since we have limited time , the Luke skywalker arc along with Rey and Kylo starts becoming a bit of a hindrance for the story.
We never spend enough time with Rey and Luke to allow their relationship to blossom into anything , Rey literally learns nothing valuable or atleast we never see it, the poorly written and poorly thought out explanation for Luke's depression needed more context and perhaps time. Kylo ren toggles between bad and mildly bad and in the end when Luke finally makes up his mind to do something someone else just comes in and takes the spotlight.
If you reduce Luke Skywalker to a hopeless old man and your attempt is to write a redemption arc for him, you need more time for the character to develop and properly deal with all his emotions but clearly Rian couldn't care.
The film switches between comedy and seriousness and fails to blend it well, it does its own thing and offers new insights into the force powers, has a few memorable scenes with Luke reconnecting with R2D2 and his sister which only reminds us of the potential wasted in this film.
Mark Hamill and Adam Driver(Kylo Ren) are phenomenal in the film. There standoffs are clearly meant to be in a much more epic and well written script. Daisy Ridley does good again, unfortunately the rest of the cast are given ridiculous things in the script which just undermines their talent. John Williams music reaches new heights and the cinematography is excellent.
The screenplay also helmed by Johnson is the real problem coupled with the annoying editing at times. The film moves at slow pace which is good at first but when you just start counting the missed opportunities, you just want to get to the end quicker. It seems like a semi final draft one which needs a lookover and re-writing to make it better.
The themes and ideas are extravagant but their execution with the story they choose to tell is mediocre at best. The reveal of Rey's lineage has no bearing on the story whatsover neither does Luke's redemption in the end , the film manages to cycle back to where it began having achieved nothing significant ....did I mention Snoke? It doesn't matter.
The Last Jedi had enormous potential, the whole idea of Luke having given up on hope and having to deal with his actions, to finally find solace and redemption is great but poorly executed resulting in a mess of a movie which looks great, sounds great, is acted well throughout and yet falls flat on it's face by the end despite its grand ambitions in the beginning.
Sucker Punch (2011)
SUCKER PUNCHED
The film opens with a 'sweet dreams' cover song which plays in the background while a music videoesque opening enrolls filling you in with the neccessary info in a short amount of time.
You are introduced to a fascinating world and a promising protaganist whose visible turmoil intrigues you a lot and you are sucked in the film for the first 10 minutes.
And then it all goes downhill.......
The plot gets overly complicated and yet somehow feels laughably stupid and simple, the story feels like a teenage(mostly boys) dream come true with Samurais, Samurais with machine guns, Nazis , Zombie Nazis, dragons and Saturn hangs in the background.
All of which looks seamless and mesmerizing but offers very little in terms of substance or driving the plot forward.
The film runs in a loop with exposition and action taking their turns while characters like our protaganist BabyDoll(Emily Browning) are given in almost nothing in terms of character building , no sense of their personality , their psyche , their turmoil or anything which they built up in the first 10 minutes.
It juggles two contrasting tones, one is the relentless action packed fantasy adventure on which these girls go on and another is their pitiful real world state full of abuse, assault and lobotomy.
Unfortunately you never enjoy any of it, its action wears down soon enough and you are left with wafer thin characters who could be replaced by anyone and anything.
The film throws everything at you, all the references to Alice in wonderland, Wizard of Oz , several anime tropes , metal gear solid and a bunch of pop culture songs and settings, all of which looks cool but does little service for our characters.
Oscar Isaac gives an enjoyable performance and Emily Browning does what she can but the rest of the girls and the people...................... Nope couldn't care less.
The film's bleak and confusing ending only exaggerates the film's missed potential and early promise that it never except a few times lived upto.
Moneyball (2011)
MONEYBALL
Written by Aaron Sorkin, moneyball is a sports drama that's worth your time even if you don't care about baseball or in a sports journey.
The film follows Billy Beane the manager of Oakland Athletics who leads his team to unprecedented success via some unorthodox means.
Realizing that his team doesn't have the finances to compete with the Yankees or the red sox, Billy with the help of Peter Brand his assistant uses statistics to build a potential championship winning side.
Their methods emphasize the use efficient players over star studded million dollar players who may or may not succeed. The ignored , overlooked, underplayed, missed out , discarded players whom the baseball world seems to have no use for.
But Billy and Peter come up with stats and maths to find out certain attributes in them which no one can even notice, thus over time gathering and building a squad full of unorthodox and despised professionals that with time develop a into more than useful players. It's the ultimate underdog team.
This film showcases the rise of the use of sports science, which is widely used and considered a crucial aspect of every sport today.
But this time Billy Beane makes it work like no one else ever could , his team reaches big heights and breaks unprecedented records, thus popularizing their "Moneyball" philosophy which later on the Red Sox of Boston would go onto use and would spread to other territories like English Football predominantly in Liverpool FC.
The performances are great, Brad Pitt gives one of his best performances of his career and Jonah Hill is brilliant as his assistant Peter.
Philip Seymour Hoffman does a good job with the small role he has plus the daughter of Billy Beane is a heartwarming presence.
The filmaking is the real hero here, with a screenplay that never loses any focus on it's characters, the seamless editing that helps you reach the critical points coupled with a great score that just makes the entire experience a memorable one.
The film reaches emotional heights along with the tense sports moments,
Billy's determination and strive for success due to his failure in the same sport as a player drives him forward and forms one of the core aspect of the film. His eventual success and dissapointment, the end lesson he gets from Peter, his emotional and heart warming relation with his daughter carries this film through, buoyed by brilliant direction from Bennett Miller with Sorkin and Zallian's screenplay, the film is a great accomplishment and a great reminder of the work that goes on behind the camera regardless of the budget and scale of the film.