taelru Reviews (6)

No Time to Die (2021)

Woke Bond?

[5/10 · 13 February 2022]

The acting, cinematography, music, and locations were all top notch. Even the premise of the story was ok, but it's execution was convoluted and confusing, overly PC, and often unrealistic.

When I say 'unrealistic', I mean within the parameters of the movie, such as Bond living 'off-the-grid' in a house without walls, doors or any kind of protection. It looked nice, but he wouldn't do that. There were a lot of these inconsistencies, where artistic style was put ahead of 'making sense', and often it felt more like a Marvel/DC movie than a Bond film.

Even some of the characters were overly cartoonish, like you'd find in the Marvel/DC universe (esp. The scientist and Q)

This Bond movie has become much more PC compared to the earlier instalments - I'm not against that, but they went too far and the soul of Bond (which was made famous by Sean Connery and Roger Moore) is completely gone. Bond is now more cliche than class, and I don't think the new writers truly understand Bond's psychology.

That being said, the movie was saved in the last 30 minutes, so don't walk out or turn off as it's worth persisting just for the finale.

Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance (2006)

Unlike Razor, this is pretty good

[10/10 · 14 October 2018]

For some reason my 10/10 rating carries over, but I would rate these short episodes 7/10. They are essential viewing for any fan, I just wish they were released in HD.

Watch these between Season 2 and 3.

The Circle (I) (2017)

Story fell apart halfway through

[4/10 · 31 August 2018]

The start was actually pretty good, a bit of a parody of Google/Apple hype and plans to covertly rule the world.

But then the story suddenly fell apart and never recovered. The main character undergoes several huge personality / value shifts for no apparent reason, and other characters (John Boyega) never develop. The acting is pretty good, script isn't bad, directing is decent, it's just the story that lets it down.

Had potential but failed in execution.

Legion (2017–2019)

How did they manage to screw up Season 2 so badly?

[4/10 · 28 June 2018]

In the spirit of True Detective, the creators of Legion have managed to turn a brilliant first season into a pile of garbage.

At first I thought maybe Rian Johnson might be directing, as the change from one season to the next was so jarring.

The first season of Legion was original and creative, a real psychological thriller with moments of horror. The story was great, acting wonderful, and the direction was beautiful. I'd give the first season an 8/10.

But the second season turned bad right from episode 1. It was honestly like watching a film school student trying to be weird at the expense of a good story. It became very 'marvel-esque' with superheroes and super villains, and it was no longer a clever psychological thriller. The story jumps around in silly ways, and the direction is just plain annoying. Acting is still good though, which is why I give season two 2/10 and not zero.

So much potential wasted!

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

Star Wars just ran out of fuel..

[2/10 · 18 December 2017]

Before the movie I was watching people come out of the imax cinema, and 90% looked depressed or bewildered. Compared to the smiling faces that emerged from Force Awakens and Rogue One, the change was clearly noticeable.

I won't belabour the same negative points raised consistently in these reviews - terrible meaningless story, negating the intriguing plot lines established in Force Awakens, transforming Luke into a grumpy wet paper bag of a character, then killing him literally with a puff of thin air, killing snoke / phasma without any character development, Leia flying through space without a suit, too many slapstick CGI puppets (probably the only part Lucas would like) that trivialise the spiritual aspects of the original trilogy, Rey's parentage anti-climax, BB8 shooting casino coins, the Maz holograph scene where she has a conversation while in the middle of battle, the strange 'save the horses' subplot (seriously wtf), yoda giggling with his legs wriggling around (so out of character) and many, many other examples of bad script and plot holes that went nowhere.

The good: Filming was awesome, as was the CGI and sound. Visuals couldn't be better, and in imax 3D it looked unbelievable. The opening scene with Poe in his Xwing was incredible - he's a good actor - and Carrie was fantastic too. Kylo and Rey also acted well despite the poor script - they did their best with what they had.

But give me a solid story and character development over visual effects any day - I'm sad to say this movie has pushed the Star Wars saga back a step, and has done a lot of harm to our beloved heroes. I only hope Jar Jar Abrams can restore the hope that was lost .. there is another..

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Blew my mind!

[9/10 · 18 December 2015]

I'm a veeery long-term Star Wars fan, since the release of A New Hope back in '77.

The Force Awakens was absolutely brilliant - everyone in the IMAX cinema clapped and cheered at the end. And it was a mixed audience too, not just Star Wars nerds like myself.

I would describe this movie as a Star Wars that's real and gritty - I felt immersed in every scene, and not once was the spell broken, unlike the tragic prequels.

The acting was superb, and cinematography was amazing. I couldn't tell when CGI was being used and I watched it on a 32 metre screen! Story was excellent with some unexpected twists, music great as always, action sequences were breathtaking.

Everyone in the cinema was quite emotional by the end. I don't know how some people are giving this a low rating, they must be dead inside.

Looking forward to seeing this again in a few days!

Thanks JJ. for coming through,

kTam

* Viewed at IMAX Melbourne, centre back in 3D