Eidet Reviews

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

An expensive-looking super hero movie that entertains

[6/10 · 30 March 2016]

The visual-effects-heavy Zack Snyder film featuring arguably the two biggest superheroes in comic book history, is one where we find the two protagonists facing off with each other, lending the motion picture its quirky title. The prospect of seeing a square-off between two giants of DC comics-lineage served for many probably as an incentive alone to watch the film on the big screen. And as someone not particularly fond of the purveyor of arts in question (Snyder), I was pleased to see that the experience was worth the while. From the enormous $250 000 000 budget we get a glossy, stylized and action-packed blockbuster, a welcome collaboration between Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL (who made the musical score for "Mad Max: Fury Road"), and a satisfying Batman-rendering by a capable Ben Affleck, among other things.

The film does have appeal. For the most part it looks really good, in the way that is characteristic of Snyder's previous films, and chroma keying (green screen) is hence an important technique in achieving this. The new batman heavy-armour suit looks very cool also and works well within the fight scenes it is incorporated. The fight choreography was gritty and involved hand-to-hand combat that looked fairly realistic. Additionally, the impending confrontation between the two leads was solved in a nice way, without giving away any leads.

So the action is good, it entertains, but better writing wouldn't go amiss. The script by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer is overdramatic and self-important, and narratively speaking it relies more on showmanship rather than craftsmanship. Comparing Batman v Superman to any of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight instalments, although perhaps an unfair comparison, reveals a motion picture of lesser complexity and gratifying scope. It does enough however to sustain interest over 2 hours and 31 minutes and should be complemented for doing so.

The acting by Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck in particular, stood out to me as memorable performances. Gal Gadot playing the character Diana Prince who moonlights as Wonder Woman, also gave a performance that I think will help female superheroines appear more frequently in films in the future. A role that I feel people are very divided in their opinion of however, is Jesse Eisenberg as villain Lex Luthor. Some think he was great; others think not so much. I definitely belong to the latter category and whilst I acknowledge Mr. Eisenberg is capable of incredible feats of acting, I thought he gave an overacted, terribly silly performance that annoyed me beyond belief. His way over-the-top approach to the role was not at all necessary and took away a lot of the joy from the watching experience. Sometimes less truly is more!

It should be said that an intriguing component of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is that it introduces DC characters that will have new films of their own, as well as platforms for all these to assemble in the coming Justice league films, where Zack Snyder is set to direct. This is "alluded" to in the film, somewhat blatantly, and builds up expectation around the projects in question. Hopefully these films will fare well, as this one more or less managed to do.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

A Decent Film Anchored to DiCaprio's Breakout Performance as Mentally Impaired Arnie Grape

[7/10 · 13 September 2015]

"What's Eating Gilbert Grape" directed by Swede Lasse Hallström (director of "The Cider House Rules" and "Hachi: A Dog's Tale") focuses on Gilbert Grape, a young adult taking care of his brother with a developmental disability and his morbidly obese mother, in the days leading up to his brother's 18th Birthday. His brother Arnie Grape, splendidly played by a young Leonardo DiCaprio, has against all odds lived past the ten years medically allotted his life due to his condition. Arnie's upcoming birthday works as a backdrop for the movie.

The film's plot seemed a little too thin to me with the majority of the film being episodic occurrences in the Grape family's everyday lives. Although this lets us closer in on the characters, I got the feeling that the film lacked the direction it needed in order to advance the plot. The dialog felt awry on occasion discernible for instance in exchanges between Gilbert and his friends Tucker Van Dyke (John C. Reilly) and town coroner Bobby McBurney (Crispin Glover). In fact, I thought John C. Reilly gave a poor performance throughout.

Director Lasse Hallström has a tendency of making feel-good films without a lot of depth to them. I do not necessarily dislike films of this format, but they do have to redeem themselves in other departments to make up for this. The strongest selling point of the movie is therefore by far the performances by the actors. Casting director Gail Levin did well in bringing on Johnny Depp and Darlene Cates (the mother) as Gilbert and Bonnie Grape respectively, both whom delivers earnest and appealing performances. It goes without saying however that Leonardo DiCaprio is the one to watch out for in this picture. His acting is so convincing as to make it very difficult to believe he is acting a part in the first place. From the mannerisms he evokes to the way he talks and does his posturing, all bear witness to an immensely talented actor. DiCaprio, who was 18 at the time of filming, spent several days at a home for mentally challenged teens where he would talk to the kids as well as observe their mannerisms. This must have been a deciding factor in how he was able to act the part with such strong conviction.

The efforts of Editor Andrew Mondsheim left me scratching my head for a bit. Some scenes ended with almost no dialog at all, and I would have wanted him to show more patience during stretches of the film. Mondsheim was Oscar-nominated in 2000 for editing M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense", so he seems skilled enough to have done a better job with the film. The music in the film was too repetitive and dull for my taste. In addition, I thought the film was overlong. The fictional town of Endora with its gloomy atmosphere sets up the film nicely though, and the cinematography was befitting the themes of the film.

I would call this a good film, a simple one, but a good one still. It is worth the while if only to watch Leonardo DiCaprio's solid performance as autistic Arnie Grape. That the Academy could favour Tommy Lee Jones's role in "The Fugitive" over DiCaprio is absurd to me, but DiCaprio is no stranger to such disappointments as time has shown.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)

A good third instalment, albeit a slow burner

[7/10 · 21 November 2014]

This last outing by Francis Lawrence, the third instalment in a film series of four, is set in the war-torn districts of Panem left shattered by the Capitol's armed forces in an attempt to strangle the rebellion caused by Katniss' latest Games. The film takes off where the last one ended and works as a build-up for what is to come in Part 2. Though the film works as a "bridge" it is quite engaging with its 2- hour runtime and does enough to keep the audience entertained.

The film works great as an adaptation because I felt the imagery of the film was almost identical to those I had made myself reading the book. This is something of a rarity, though I believe it is recurrent in the previous two instalments as well. As to potential errors with the transition from book to film, none were worth noting as far as I am concerned. The avid book fans will not be disappointed in other words.

Probably the single strongest selling point in "Mockingjay - Part 1" is Jennifer Lawrence. She gives an overall good performance and though it is worth noting that this is not her best role till date, there are moments wherein she shines. Had Ms Lawrence been given more material with which to work, I am sure she would have taken opportune advantage of it. Additionally Liam Hemsworth in the role as Gale Hawthorne struck me as heartfelt and believable. The only casting choice I draw in question is Julianne Moore as President Alma Coin. I thought she gave a bland performance and I think the film would have benefited from another actress in her stead.

Although I liked the film, and thought Francis Lawrence did a decent job, I definitely believe that this is the weakest link in the series. The film does suffer from a lack of content that could have been averted by merging parts 1 & 2 in a longer cut. Some of the "propos"- scenes were quite awkward at times although I grant they felt awkward reading too. Also, to my annoyance Ms Lawrence had a scene or two where her acting felt very forced and where I thought low credibility was being conveyed. This left me slightly less impressed by her acting in this particular film, but I thought she did a great job overall notwithstanding the flaws as aforementioned.

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" is an entertaining teen film that will provide readers of the books with an accurate and satisfying rendering, and others that have not with a slight sense of disappointment perhaps. I enjoyed "Mockingjay" quite a lot, and although I acknowledge that it has its flaws, I would still recommend it. To call it one of the years best would be an overstatement, but it is however worth looking into.

The Hunger Games (2012)

A motion picture true to the source material

[7/10 · 17 May 2014]

When I first went to see "The Hunger Games" at the cinema, I did not quite know what to expect. Was it going to be a mediocre PG-13 film with a bad plot and with bland performances like that of the "Twilight"- franchise, or would it lean more towards uncompromising violence and a story of the human condition when faced with the extreme like in "Battle Royale"? I left the theatre thinking it was neither of the two and perhaps that it was a bit constrained.

Finding the dystopian look on future North America to be compelling though, I decided to give the book a chance at reading, curious to see if it was any better than the film. The book instantly got me hooked and I realized I needed to watch the film adaptation over again. To my surprise, it was better than the first time.

The film is very true to the source material and director Gary Ross envisions the different milieus of Panem perfectly. The locations in every scene are in absolute compliance with those in the book.

Jennifer Lawrence, playing the lead character Katniss Everdeen, delivers a great performance as a vulnerable adolescent girl with a tough exterior. Although her character could have developed a bit more, she is in no way devoid of emotion. Emotion she shows aplenty throughout the film. I also liked Woody Harrelson's portrayal of Haymitch. He was funny, believable and easy to like. As for the rest of the cast, their performances were good in general so kudos to the casting director.

Another thing I liked was the score by James Newton Howard, arguably the best composer for cinema these days. It really set the mood for the various scenes and I especially loved the song Rue's Farewell.

One of the things I disliked about the film was the shaky camera during the battle scenes. It did perhaps add to the sense of suspense, but one could see fairly little of what was going on at times. Understandably, this was to be able to reach out to a larger crowd of movie-goers. Additionally I found it slightly ironic and puzzling how little actual hunger there were in the games.

So overall "The hunger Games" was enthralling and quite excellent. It is satirical and in many ways, it surpasses most films aimed at a younger crowd. The film series will be worth looking forward to in the years to come and the prospects for the upcoming sequels are looking bright I would say.