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gambit70
Reviews
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Much better than the first one
Saw this last night and really enjoyed it, and here are 4 reasons why:
1) Asgard didn't look as plasticy this time which was something that bugged me in the first movie.
2) Hemsworth seemed more comfortable in the role. He got the balance about right I thought - although possibly a little soft and not berserker enough.
3) Loki stood out for me as well played character. Subtle and solid.
4) Humour was well placed and a fun watch. Sometimes the one liners felt like one liners (didn't always mesh well with what was happening... but were still usually funny.
Much stronger effort than the first Thor movie and one I will watch again. As usual stay until the end of the credits.
Man of Steel (2013)
Finally Superman is Superman
I didn't have high expectations going in to this movie, especially after the appalling mess that was The Dark Knight Rises. However I would go beyond "pleasantly surprised" and say it left me with a buzz. Cavill really looked the part, the pacing of the movie worked well for me, and I thought it was the first movie that captured what it would be like for someone like Kal El growing up so different on another world.
It is also the first time Superman has been.. well.. SUPER. Every other movie has portrayed him as pretty much a human with powers. Man of Steel was a movie about a guy so much beyond human that we can not even compare.
Perfect movie? No. Great Superman movie? Heck Yes!
Die (2010)
Interesting
I found this movie better than expected (given its lowish rating). In some respects it didn't go anywhere but it had clever elements and I found the role reversals of the deaths interesting. ***Spolier*** How would people who commit suicide feel about having to deal with the same situation they are putting other people in (eg the person who found them)
It seemed to be based on the concept of "The Dice Man", a novel by Luke Rhinehart, which I read years ago (and has also stuck with me... a powerful book).
This movie wont rock anyone's world but the acting is solid even if the storyline is a little... vague?
Sinners and Saints (2010)
A mix of OK and absolutely terrible
Think of your favorite action movie... now remove any good characters, any good acting... any witty lines... a plot that has more depth than a rough first draft... pretty much anything good. Replace these with an incredibly bad script, awful disjointed clichés and wooden "read your line now" acting... there you have Sinners and Saints.
I am not against B grade movies where bad can be good. But sometimes bad is just bad.
If I have to think of something good to say about this movie some of the gun fights were OK, the blood splatter etc was a reasonable quality... that's it. Oh and the lead actor guy (John Strong) tried hard to deliver in a truly crappy role. OK... those are the only positive things I can say.
The 25th Reich (2012)
It is what it is so laugh, drink your beer and watch it
There is a particular genre of movie which has always been made and hopefully will always continue to be made. They are usually low budget but we love them anyway (maybe because of this).
What The 25th Reich reminds me most of is movies like "Them" (the 1950s scifi about giant ants). Its tongue-in-cheek fun.
The 25th Reich doesn't have giant ants by the way.
It has good guys, bad guys, and hillbillys (I think he was a hillbilly?) its a good old fashion scifi with a few unexpected moments thrown in which make you laugh (or wince). The special effects were better than I expected (I wasn't expecting much), the cinematography was good, the music was good, the acting was just the right level of hammy (I thought)
Is it a classic? Nope. Did I enjoy it? Heck yes :)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Was this rushed into cinemas before final editing?
I was really looking forward to the last Nolan Batman installment. I had heard good things and therefore was definitely not there to pick holes or put it down...
Sigh... It feels long... some of the scene editing is awful... there is not discernible tension... the fight scenes are slow, plodding and very low quality... the plot holes in the story made it all a bit silly.
(and here is my only semi-spoiler comment)An example (one of many)... batman is trying to force a truck containing "something" to a specific place... the bad guys don't care if they die and in fact expect to... so why why why do they keep driving and being herded towards the specific place???? Just stop the truck! Drive it into a building so it cant be moved.. anything... just stop driving!
Anyway... overall a disappointing and disjointed last effort. Sigh