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Reviews
The Witcher (2019)
Boring and disappointing
Haven't read the books, but was disappointed since the show seemed promising.
The bad:
- The acting. Some key actors, including Henry Cavill, is doing a decent job with what they've been given, but apart from that nothing else stands out in a positive way.
- Dialogue. Often corny and pretentious.
- The plot. Too confusing for someone who hasn't read the books. They throw you right into world events. Too much going on at the same time. Too much time spent on subplots and supporting characters. They should have taken a lesson from GoT: Introduce a few key characters at first, focus on them, make the audience invest in them. Then gradually expand. The Witcher is trying too hard to do too many things at the same time, and it becomes a mess. In short, the writing is poor.
- Not enough screentime for The Witcher. This is related to my previous post. The first few episodes should have focused much more on the Witcher himself. At the end of the show I still feel I don't 'know' him enough.
- Politically motivated casting / diversity quotas. Certain ethnicities and races are cast in roles that don't make sense. Let me put it this way (to emphasize my point): Would it make sense to cast The Witcher as a black woman? No, and it's not racist saying that's not ok.
The good:
- High production values. Not at the same level as GoT, but still pretty good.
- Special effects / CGI: Pretty good, especially the creatures, given the budget.
- The fight scenes with The Witcher. A pity we don't seem him fight that much.
Overall, I'd give this TV show a 6/10. I found it rather boring, and it's difficult to get involved in the plot and characters.
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Alita is a great audiovisual experience, driven by a likeable heroine
Alita doesn't pretend to be anything more than a sci-fi action film, with a dose of personality and some darker overtones, and as such it succeeds very well. I'd say it's the best film I've seen in quite some time.
It also adds some meaning and depth to its characters, by exploring Alita's relationships with certain people, and by giving some glimpses into her hidden past. But Alita is primarily an action film, and it doesn't make the mistake of spending too much time on subplots. There are also some interesting thematic issues, related to existentialism, memory, consciousness, etc., which help to elevate the film above the standard popcorn flick.
Although James Cameron didn't direct the film himself (as he originally planned to), it still has that James Cameron feel (he did co-write the screenplay, and also served as producer). If you've enjoyed Camerons past sci-fi films (such as Avatar, Aliens, etc.), I'd highly recommend checking this one out as well.
The visual effects artists (I believe the main effects house was WETA) did an incredible job blending Alita with her environments and real actors. The shaders and lighting really gave the impression that this is how Alita would look like if she really existed physically. I almost forgot I was watching a CG character. Of course, her big eyes was a (deliberate) constant reminder that she wasn't entirely human. In the film there are also other hints as to why her eyes are so big. It may also be a slight nod to her Anime roots (the film is based on Yukito Kishiro's manga series, Battle Angel Alita).
Rosa (who played Alita) and the artists also did a great job bringing Alita to life: She comes off as a cute, likeable, spunky girl, despite her dark past. I found her to be far more interesting than many 'real life' protagonists I've seen in films such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Wonder Woman. The mocap (motion capture: a technique used to capture an actors movements) and character animation (including facial animation) is some of the best I've seen.
Big budget, event films have gotten longer and longer in recent years. Many superhero films, for example, now have running times closer to 2,5 hours. But in most cases these long running times hurt the movie, and it starts to drag. It seems the filmmakers want to cram as many subplots and characters into the film as possible. But very often simpler is better and less is more. Although Alita isn't exactly a short film with its 2:02 running time, it makes every efficient use of its running time: The editing is tight, keeping the story focused on the big 'issues', without getting sidelined by numerous side/subplots.
The critics haven't been too kind to the film, but I get the feeling that many 'highbrow' critics try to 'dissect' the film, instead of just trying to have a good time at the cinema. Film is ultimately and primarily a visual medium, and sometimes I think people forget that. Alita is a great audiovisual experience, driven by a likeable heroine. It's the kind of film that needs to be seen on the big screen.
Rogue One (2016)
Better than Episode 7 (TFA)
Summary: I'm definitely going to see this movie again at the cinema. I really enjoyed it.
The Good: - Good protagonists: I felt that the female protagonist (played by Felicity Jones) was better than the one played by Daisy Ridley in TFA. I also think Mads Mikkelsen and Diego Luna were well cast. In all, I felt that the characters in this film were better developed.
- Good antagonists: Ben Mendelsohn was great as Orson Krennic. And Darth Vader: Need I say more? - Interesting plot, with some twists here and there.
- Good action-sequences: I liked them better than the ones in TFA. And the Death Star destruction sequences were awesome.
- More diverse cast: Colored people in film are represented by black actors 90% of the time, so it's refreshing to see some Asian characters (one of them played by Donnie Yen) among the main cast (who don't play the bad guys for a change).
- Lots of nods to the first film (Episode 4).
- The music by Michael Giacchino was surprisingly good.
- An ending that made a bigger emotional impact than TFA. Not going to be too specific here to avoid some serious spoilers, but I wish more movies would end like this. It doesn't have to end on just a happy note.
The bad:
- Some clunky dialogue.
- Some humor that doesn't really work that well.
- No Star Wars-theme in the opening. But since this is not a Star Wars 'main' movie, they probably wanted to avoid that.
The Ugly:
- Nothing that I can come up with.
Heatstroke (2013)
Better than expected
No spoilers in this review, but a brief summary of my impressions about the film: The movie was better than I expected, and I was a bit surprised by the low 4.8 rating (at the time of writing) on IMDb.
Granted, it's not a very good film, but it's not that bad either: The dialogue is OK and it avoids many of the narrative clichés you often see in low-budget films (even big-budget films as well), and the acting is (in general) more than decent enough (more about that later).
Thumbs up to the screenwriters for at least attempting to add some depth to the film: At first you may get the impression that this is some sort of action-film, but it's more like a thriller with some underlying "family" drama (with focus on father/"stepmother"-daughter relationships).
I was less enthusiastic about the pacing of the last half of the movie: I think the film could have been shortened a bit, to add more focus towards the end. I also felt that the foreign accent of Tally was a bit distracting, even though English was not the native language of her character (or the actress herself).
Peter Stormare was, as usual, quite funny. It's almost over-the-top, but he somehow manages to sell the performance because it seems to fit his character.
Maisie Williams is a young and very talented actress. Her character starts off as an annoying, bratty teen, but the turn of events help to bring her into a more sympathetic light (a lesser script could easily have made the character much more two-dimensional and clichéd). Kudos to Maisie for bringing her character to life, even though she didn't have that much material to work with.
However, one reviewer here wrote that "she does not have much acting skill. ... Maisie mesmerizes the audience with her eyes. People mistaken it for acting".
The reviewer couldn't be more wrong, in my opinion: Good acting is not only how you act or perform, it's about how you *RE*act. And Maisie's ability to communicate and express emotions via her eyes is one of the very reasons why she's so talented. She listens and reacts. Maisie's performances are also emotionally honest and "real", and it's not often I see these qualities in young actors in their first screen roles.
Overall, I think this film passed the "watch clock" or "falling asleep" tests: In general, if a film manages to entertain me enough to avoid these things from happening, then it usually deserves at least 6/10. Heatstroke started of well, and although it started to slow down towards the end, it still left a positive impression.
Avatar (2009)
A grand cinematic experience
AVATAR is one of the few films in recent years that I've really looked forward to. Given Cameron's solid track-record when it comes to sci-fi/action-films, there was no doubt in my mind that this film would be good, even though it's been 12 years since his last feature film. The only question in my mind was whether the film would be great or merely good. Fortunately, it turned out to be the former.
I'll start by mentioning a few things that I really liked about the film, and areas in which I feel it succeeded very well:
- The characters: Cameron invests enough time in his characters so that the viewer actually care about them when the going gets tough later on in the film. Most action-directors put too much emphasis on the action and fail to involve the audience on an emotional level: You couldn't care less what happens to the main characters and the feeling of genuine suspense is severely undermined. AVATAR is an action/adventure film with a heart.
- The CG (primarily by WETA Digital) looks great, especially when it comes to organic objects, such as plants and the blue humanoid-looking natives. The great attention to detail makes a significant difference in terms of photorealism. The natives move and express themselves in a very convincing, natural manner. Mocap (*) has been used for many years, but this is one of the few films in which the movements (both body and face) look completely realistic. AVATAR sets a new milestone when it comes to photorealistic characters. I was also very impressed by the seamless integration of CG and live shots, and the CG explosions: The explosions were actually created using fluid simulations which made them look very realistic (the normal approach is to use live shots of real explosions, composited on top of CG elements).
- The directing: With AVATAR, Cameron demonstrates why I consider him one of the best action directors in modern cinema. The long finale, in particular, is one of the best action-sequences I've ever seen. It's dynamic, intense and exhilarating to watch. The rhythm and pacing is spot on. Cameron also slowly builds the film to its finale, and this makes the action-sequences even more rewarding (because the buildup serves as 'foreplay' and creates anticipation).
- Other things that I liked: The beautiful cinematography and the interesting, underlying themes related to imperialism and the environment. It makes you think a bit after you leave the theatre, and it adds a bit of extra depth and meaning to the film. This is more than you can expect from a typical film in this genre nowadays.
It's hard to pick things that I didn't like about the film, because there was nothing that really bothered me. If I had to mention one thing that I was hoping would be better, then it would be James Horner's score. It didn't seem as prominent or memorable as it should've been. Its impact on the overall movie experience was much smaller compared to his score for films such as TITANIC, ALIENS or BRAVEHEART. I'm not saying the score is bad, far from it, it just lacked that little extra.
Some people have complained about the simple plot and predictable ending. I personally didn't have any issues with the plot, and I must admit that I don't really understand those who get too obsessed with spotting plot holes and logical problems. First of all, it's not really the story itself that matters, its the way it's told, because film is primarily an audiovisual medium. Cameron's films are simply structured in general and they're easy to follow. But he makes things interesting and engaging to watch because of his storytelling skills. Although the film lasts for over 2,5 hours, I never felt there was a dull moment. Cameron sucked me into the film from the get go and he didn't loosen his grip until the end-credits started to roll.
I've seen both the 3D and 2D version. Some people clearly prefer the 3D version, but I didn't feel that I lost anything substantial when I saw the 2D version. Cameron doesn't make the mistake of trying to use 3D as a cheap gimmick, and the use of 3D effects isn't exaggerated. The 3D effect is impressive, though, and the technology has obviously improved significantly in recent years. After a few minutes into the film I almost forgot that I was wearing the glasses: They were comfortable and they didn't cause dizziness.
AVATAR is a visual tour de force that really needs be seen on the big screen in order to be appreciated fully. Don't wait until the DVD or Blu-Ray is released: The experience simply won't be the same, unless you have a big, high-end home-theatre.
(*) Motion capture: Technology used to capture the actors's performances, so that they can be reproduced by their CG characters.