On a technical level, this film is very solid. Cinematography, visual effects, lighting, music, etc. All the behind-the-scenes aspects of this film are really solid.
The biggest flaw is the script. The "characters" in the film are not really characters. None of them experience any growth or developement. They don't learn any lessons. They're just flat and boring. The dinosaurs are represented well (for the most part), except for Blue and the Indoraptor. Blue comes off as being more of a superhero, always there to save Chris Pratt when he's in danger, instead of being a real animal. The Indoraptor has a really cool design, but is ultimately useless. It runs through a house for about half an hour, stalking a little girl like a movie monster, then dies, not escaping with the others into the rest of the world, making it pointless to even have it in the movie. I also personally hate how it exists for the stupid plot of wanting to militarize dinosaurs. When the film takes place on the mainland, it honestly feels like a cartoon, not meant to be taken seriously. One last complaint is how disappointing it is that the film almost had a message, but only focuses on it for two minutes, then forgets about it. This film had the potential to be the second best Jurassic film, but utterly fails, like the others.
Reviews
7 Reviews
Black Panther
(2018)
A pretty good Marvel movie
6 June 2018
I can't say this movie's perfect, because it's not. However, it's better than most. So let's talk a little bit about the pros and cons.
Let's stay positive for a minute. The costumes, designs, music, and acting is all really good. I especially like Michael B. Jordan's performance. It was a different beat to everyone else in the film. This movie is also a lot more colorful than most Marvel movies, which are typically kinda drab. This one pops with colors, much like Thor: Ragnarok and the Guardians movies, so that's great. Now let's get to the part you've been waiting for: the villain. Killmonger is probably my favorite MCU villain so far (I haven't seen Infinity War yet, so I can't say anything about Thanos). The main reason I like him is not so much the motivation, but the impact he has on Black Panther. Killmonger's vision makes T'Challa change his mindset, which no other MCU villain has ever done.
The things I didn't like. The CGI was not always good. In some scenes, it looked like PS2 graphics, which is embarassing. This is my only big complaint with the movie.
Overall, this is not the best MCU movie, but it's definiteky not the worst. It's probably in my top five.
Let's stay positive for a minute. The costumes, designs, music, and acting is all really good. I especially like Michael B. Jordan's performance. It was a different beat to everyone else in the film. This movie is also a lot more colorful than most Marvel movies, which are typically kinda drab. This one pops with colors, much like Thor: Ragnarok and the Guardians movies, so that's great. Now let's get to the part you've been waiting for: the villain. Killmonger is probably my favorite MCU villain so far (I haven't seen Infinity War yet, so I can't say anything about Thanos). The main reason I like him is not so much the motivation, but the impact he has on Black Panther. Killmonger's vision makes T'Challa change his mindset, which no other MCU villain has ever done.
The things I didn't like. The CGI was not always good. In some scenes, it looked like PS2 graphics, which is embarassing. This is my only big complaint with the movie.
Overall, this is not the best MCU movie, but it's definiteky not the worst. It's probably in my top five.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
(2018)
This movie is fine. Why so much hate?
6 June 2018
I understand that people were not looking forward to this film. I wasn't initially. But then the trailers dropped, and I was liking it a little more. I was skeptical when going into this, but after seeing it, this movie is fine. It's actually good. It's not great, but that's ok. I think I needed a fun action-packed Star Wars film after The Last Jedi.
Let's start with the things I liked. The CGIonce again is phenomenal. Those guys at ILM are blowing my mind with what they can do. The practical effects and costumes are once again gorgeous. The technical aspects of this movie are overall really good. The direction annd camera-work is not great, but I'll get to that later. The music was new and fresh for Star Wars. I could barely tell this was even John Powell for most of it. The acting was all solid. Everyone gave a decent performance, but I'll get back to this later as well. I also like how the Empire was not the main antagonist again. This time it's crime syndicates and crime lords which was a nice change of pace. This movie needed to be smaller scale, and it was. The last thing I want to mention is the fact that this movie gets weird at times. Which is great! This honestly felt like an episode from "The Clone Wars", which was a great feeling. The other spinoff films should feel more like this. To finish off this segment, I'll say that I liked this one more than Rogue One. Just a little bit more.
Ok, so what didn't I like. Well, let's talk direction first. The camera-work is definitely not bad, but it's not as impressive as The Last Jedi. The editing was also kinda choppy at points, which I get that this movie is very fast-paced, but sometimes it feels a little too fast. Lastly, we have characters. None of the characters are terrible per se, but they're weak. Han Solo especially I did not like. It's not Alden portraying him that was the issue, because he was fine. It was the fact that Han Solo has poor motivations for doing anything. His relation with Qi'ra and Chewbacca also didn't feel organic to me. They also did a few unexpected things with secondary characters that I didn't expect, but I can't deived if I like it or not.
In any case, people are being a bit too harsh on this film I believe. You can certainly have your own opinions on the movie. I'm not trying to change them, and I do agree with some of the criticism, but this isn't a bad film at all. It's better than the prequels and RoguecOne in my opinion. And for people wanting to see a fun Star Wars movie, this is a nice addition to see.
Let's start with the things I liked. The CGIonce again is phenomenal. Those guys at ILM are blowing my mind with what they can do. The practical effects and costumes are once again gorgeous. The technical aspects of this movie are overall really good. The direction annd camera-work is not great, but I'll get to that later. The music was new and fresh for Star Wars. I could barely tell this was even John Powell for most of it. The acting was all solid. Everyone gave a decent performance, but I'll get back to this later as well. I also like how the Empire was not the main antagonist again. This time it's crime syndicates and crime lords which was a nice change of pace. This movie needed to be smaller scale, and it was. The last thing I want to mention is the fact that this movie gets weird at times. Which is great! This honestly felt like an episode from "The Clone Wars", which was a great feeling. The other spinoff films should feel more like this. To finish off this segment, I'll say that I liked this one more than Rogue One. Just a little bit more.
Ok, so what didn't I like. Well, let's talk direction first. The camera-work is definitely not bad, but it's not as impressive as The Last Jedi. The editing was also kinda choppy at points, which I get that this movie is very fast-paced, but sometimes it feels a little too fast. Lastly, we have characters. None of the characters are terrible per se, but they're weak. Han Solo especially I did not like. It's not Alden portraying him that was the issue, because he was fine. It was the fact that Han Solo has poor motivations for doing anything. His relation with Qi'ra and Chewbacca also didn't feel organic to me. They also did a few unexpected things with secondary characters that I didn't expect, but I can't deived if I like it or not.
In any case, people are being a bit too harsh on this film I believe. You can certainly have your own opinions on the movie. I'm not trying to change them, and I do agree with some of the criticism, but this isn't a bad film at all. It's better than the prequels and RoguecOne in my opinion. And for people wanting to see a fun Star Wars movie, this is a nice addition to see.
The Future Is Wild
(2003– )
A truly intriguing fictional documentary
6 June 2018
This is an interesting program. I've never seen anything quite like it, but I like it.
The best thing about this program is that it provides a look into the future of our planet in a way that is both creative and realistic. The show and featured scientists give reasonable scientific explanations for all of the weird fictional creatures that appear, and their abilities. It honestly makes me sad that I will never get to see if this show was right or not.
However, this program is not perfect. There are some things I do not like. First of all, the creature animations are constantly reused over and over, and it becomes annoying. Also, the CGI doesn't always blend well with the photo-realistic environments, making it look fake.
Despite that, this is very unique and interesting fake documentary, that not enough people have seen and need to see. It provides an intriguing look into what our planet may look like from 5-200 million years from now. I highly recommend it.
The best thing about this program is that it provides a look into the future of our planet in a way that is both creative and realistic. The show and featured scientists give reasonable scientific explanations for all of the weird fictional creatures that appear, and their abilities. It honestly makes me sad that I will never get to see if this show was right or not.
However, this program is not perfect. There are some things I do not like. First of all, the creature animations are constantly reused over and over, and it becomes annoying. Also, the CGI doesn't always blend well with the photo-realistic environments, making it look fake.
Despite that, this is very unique and interesting fake documentary, that not enough people have seen and need to see. It provides an intriguing look into what our planet may look like from 5-200 million years from now. I highly recommend it.
One of the best out there!
6 June 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This was a staple of my childhood. I watched it just asmich as I did the Jurassic Park and Land Before Time films. It's not just nostalgia that's the reason I like this documentary so much, but it's just a good spinoff of Walking with Dinosaurs.
It has the same style and structure as any episode of the original series would have, which is terrific. It feels like a slightly longer episode of the series, but makntains the feeling of being its own thing.
Unlike the show, this follows only one specific animal throughout. While the show did this as well, it also mixed that in with presenting a lot of other creatures, which is fine, but I'm glad that this one doesn't stick to that formula. This is the Ballad of Big Al, and Big Al is the central focus throughout.
The documentary also does a great job of making you feel simpathetic toward Big Al, which often does not happen since we like to depict carnivorous dinosaurs as ruthless killing machines, and not simpathetic animals. Once Big Al gets injured at the end, and dies just before the wet season returns, you really feel sad for this animal not able to make it long enough.
Overall, this program is a very nice addition to the "Walking with" franchise. It's one of the programs that made me not only love dinosaurs, but made Allosaurus my personal favorite dinosaur.
It has the same style and structure as any episode of the original series would have, which is terrific. It feels like a slightly longer episode of the series, but makntains the feeling of being its own thing.
Unlike the show, this follows only one specific animal throughout. While the show did this as well, it also mixed that in with presenting a lot of other creatures, which is fine, but I'm glad that this one doesn't stick to that formula. This is the Ballad of Big Al, and Big Al is the central focus throughout.
The documentary also does a great job of making you feel simpathetic toward Big Al, which often does not happen since we like to depict carnivorous dinosaurs as ruthless killing machines, and not simpathetic animals. Once Big Al gets injured at the end, and dies just before the wet season returns, you really feel sad for this animal not able to make it long enough.
Overall, this program is a very nice addition to the "Walking with" franchise. It's one of the programs that made me not only love dinosaurs, but made Allosaurus my personal favorite dinosaur.
Planet Dinosaur
(2011)
Worse than Walking with Dinosaurs
6 June 2018
I will admit, this is not the worst dinosaur documentary out there. But it is not to the same quality as the "Walking with" series was.
Let's talk about the pros first. This definitely contains a plethora of factual information to share with the audience, which is quite nice. It takes the time to explain how paleontologists have theorized certain aspects and behaviors of the creatures based on direct fossil evidence. The show focuses quite a bit on the actual fossils rather than always showing the dinosaurs on screen, which is a nice change of pace. With all the evidence they present, it makes the dinosaurs in the show more believable in their behaviors and actions.
Now to the cons. I don't like the style of the show. The models look very bland, especially with the models. Most of the creatures look very similar with their models, and the models themselves look cheap. When there is a feathered dinosaur, not all of the feathers look like they're really on the dinosaur. The creatures and the environments don't look real. It all looks like it was done on a computer (which I know it is, but it would be nice if it looked a little more realistic). I also do 't like how basically every scene with a dinosaur involves it fighting and/or killing another dinosaur. I get it, dinosaurs fighting each other is entertaining, but fighting is not something animals do 24/7. It's actually a last resort for animals, as it would be for dinosaurs. Now it's fine to have some scenes with fighting dinosaurs, but not too much. This is something that Walking with Dinosaurs did fantastically. That program had little fight scenes, and was mainly showing dinosaurs just doing what dinosaurs normally do, and it worked. So why does this show feel the need to only have fight scenes? It's unnecessary.
Let's talk about the pros first. This definitely contains a plethora of factual information to share with the audience, which is quite nice. It takes the time to explain how paleontologists have theorized certain aspects and behaviors of the creatures based on direct fossil evidence. The show focuses quite a bit on the actual fossils rather than always showing the dinosaurs on screen, which is a nice change of pace. With all the evidence they present, it makes the dinosaurs in the show more believable in their behaviors and actions.
Now to the cons. I don't like the style of the show. The models look very bland, especially with the models. Most of the creatures look very similar with their models, and the models themselves look cheap. When there is a feathered dinosaur, not all of the feathers look like they're really on the dinosaur. The creatures and the environments don't look real. It all looks like it was done on a computer (which I know it is, but it would be nice if it looked a little more realistic). I also do 't like how basically every scene with a dinosaur involves it fighting and/or killing another dinosaur. I get it, dinosaurs fighting each other is entertaining, but fighting is not something animals do 24/7. It's actually a last resort for animals, as it would be for dinosaurs. Now it's fine to have some scenes with fighting dinosaurs, but not too much. This is something that Walking with Dinosaurs did fantastically. That program had little fight scenes, and was mainly showing dinosaurs just doing what dinosaurs normally do, and it worked. So why does this show feel the need to only have fight scenes? It's unnecessary.
Dinosaur Revolution
(2011)
Not fit for a documentary
6 June 2018
While some paleontological information is offered from very famous experts in the field occasionally, with some footage of excavations, there really is not much educational content to be given.
The biggest pro I can give this program is the designs of the dinosaurs. They're very colorful and creative. Very birdlike, which is something most dinosaur documentaries actually lack, going for duller browns and greens primarily.
Everything else though is pretty bad. The animations of the dinosaurs are strange. It's jerky and looks like they're moving at a different framerate then they should be. They also act way too much like domesticated animals like dogs, and even some human-like behaviors are present as well, which is my biggest con. This honestly feels more like a high-budgeted cartoon than a documentary.
This is honestly one of the worst dinosaur documentaries of recent years. If you're looking for something educational on the subject matter, check out other Discovery Channel documentaries such as "When Dinosaurs Roamed America".
The biggest pro I can give this program is the designs of the dinosaurs. They're very colorful and creative. Very birdlike, which is something most dinosaur documentaries actually lack, going for duller browns and greens primarily.
Everything else though is pretty bad. The animations of the dinosaurs are strange. It's jerky and looks like they're moving at a different framerate then they should be. They also act way too much like domesticated animals like dogs, and even some human-like behaviors are present as well, which is my biggest con. This honestly feels more like a high-budgeted cartoon than a documentary.
This is honestly one of the worst dinosaur documentaries of recent years. If you're looking for something educational on the subject matter, check out other Discovery Channel documentaries such as "When Dinosaurs Roamed America".
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