TheIneffable
Lifetime Total
100+
Lifetime Filmo
100+
Lifetime Trivia
5+
Poll Taker
10x
IMDb Member
12 years
Reviews
Follow Me (2020)
Predictable.
This concept was done a thousand times more effectively in 1997 when it was called "The Game". Adding in "Hostel" and "Saw" inspired elements does nothing to help this (mostly) bloodless mess.
Transcendence (2014)
Never has such a talented group of people come together to produce such an absolute heap of garbage.
"Transcendence" is the directorial debut of famed cinematographer Wally Pfister, who has spent the better part of the last fifteen years working alongside Christopher Nolan; without question, one of the greatest directorial minds of his generation. Pfister is responsible for the crisp and stunning visuals in "The Prestige", "Inception", and the entire "Dark Knight" trilogy. Combine this pedigree with a veritable who's-who of Hollywood's elite acting talent, and you've got a recipe that seems to all but guarantee success.
What we have instead is a film that is an early candidate for the biggest disappointment of the year.
The problems with "Transcendence" begin to appear right from the opening frame. It begins with a hackneyed narrative device that manages to simultaneously reveal how the film is going to end while also dampening your expectations for what the next two hours have in store. Unfortunately, things only get worse from there. First time screenwriter Jack Paglen's script does a disservice to everyone involved with this production. Even if we ignore the obvious comparisons to 1992′s "The Lawnmower Man", this film is still riddled with so many atrocious plot holes that I have to wonder if they're not there intentionally, as the story would logically be over in half an hour without them. In fact, as the plot becomes increasingly contrived, viewers can practically see deus ex machina at work as characters behave in increasingly erratic ways and Johnny Depp's transcendent abilities seem to come and go based entirely on convenience. Beyond all of this, the script's sense of pacing can be described as "irrevocably broken" at best; however, watching "Transcendence" with the assumption that some sort of unexplained and unmentioned temporal paradox is taking place might be for the best. Characters' story lines progress at such disparate rates that it often feels as though they're in different films until they eventually intersect. In one instance the converging of two sub plots (combined with a leap forward in time) is mishandled so badly that I was left with the impression that two of the characters had literally not moved from their seats for two years. Problems like this could have been solved with some basic script revisions and visual editing but, alas, the running theme of missed opportunities rears its ugly head yet again here. On some half-a-dozen different occasions, we're treated to absolutely unnecessary scenes (usually no more than ten seconds in length) that seem to be designed simply to spoon-feed the simplest of plot points to the audience, as though Pfister and Palgen believe they need to pander to an audience of imbeciles. Knowing that this screen time is essentially wasted and causes "Transcendence" to suffer elsewhere is incredibly frustrating. Finally, the film's ending – telegraphed from the very beginning – is so muddled and filled with mixed messages that I actually found myself despising the characters that I was apparently meant to be rooting for.
As I mentioned before, "Transcendence" features a bevy of A-list acting talent but, with such a poorly laid foundation, they're left with very little to work with. In the end, they're not so much characters on screen as they are a soothing presence, there to remind us that everything will be OK, and that there are much better films than this, because they've starred in them. Even Pfister's vaunted cinematography is absent, as he hands over those duties to Jess Hall ("Hot Fuzz", "Thirty Minutes or Less") while he takes the directorial reins for the first time — and hopefully the last. Hall's contribution is consistent, and even stunning in a few instances, but it's nowhere near enough to save this picture.
Hopefully "Transcendence" will mark the low point for the blockbusters of 2014. It had the potential for greatness but, instead, became the perfect storm of ineptitude, inadequacy, and missed opportunities. Never has such a talented group of people come together to produce such an absolute heap of garbage. [2/10]
What we have instead is a film that is an early candidate for the biggest disappointment of the year.
The problems with "Transcendence" begin to appear right from the opening frame. It begins with a hackneyed narrative device that manages to simultaneously reveal how the film is going to end while also dampening your expectations for what the next two hours have in store. Unfortunately, things only get worse from there. First time screenwriter Jack Paglen's script does a disservice to everyone involved with this production. Even if we ignore the obvious comparisons to 1992′s "The Lawnmower Man", this film is still riddled with so many atrocious plot holes that I have to wonder if they're not there intentionally, as the story would logically be over in half an hour without them. In fact, as the plot becomes increasingly contrived, viewers can practically see deus ex machina at work as characters behave in increasingly erratic ways and Johnny Depp's transcendent abilities seem to come and go based entirely on convenience. Beyond all of this, the script's sense of pacing can be described as "irrevocably broken" at best; however, watching "Transcendence" with the assumption that some sort of unexplained and unmentioned temporal paradox is taking place might be for the best. Characters' story lines progress at such disparate rates that it often feels as though they're in different films until they eventually intersect. In one instance the converging of two sub plots (combined with a leap forward in time) is mishandled so badly that I was left with the impression that two of the characters had literally not moved from their seats for two years. Problems like this could have been solved with some basic script revisions and visual editing but, alas, the running theme of missed opportunities rears its ugly head yet again here. On some half-a-dozen different occasions, we're treated to absolutely unnecessary scenes (usually no more than ten seconds in length) that seem to be designed simply to spoon-feed the simplest of plot points to the audience, as though Pfister and Palgen believe they need to pander to an audience of imbeciles. Knowing that this screen time is essentially wasted and causes "Transcendence" to suffer elsewhere is incredibly frustrating. Finally, the film's ending – telegraphed from the very beginning – is so muddled and filled with mixed messages that I actually found myself despising the characters that I was apparently meant to be rooting for.
As I mentioned before, "Transcendence" features a bevy of A-list acting talent but, with such a poorly laid foundation, they're left with very little to work with. In the end, they're not so much characters on screen as they are a soothing presence, there to remind us that everything will be OK, and that there are much better films than this, because they've starred in them. Even Pfister's vaunted cinematography is absent, as he hands over those duties to Jess Hall ("Hot Fuzz", "Thirty Minutes or Less") while he takes the directorial reins for the first time — and hopefully the last. Hall's contribution is consistent, and even stunning in a few instances, but it's nowhere near enough to save this picture.
Hopefully "Transcendence" will mark the low point for the blockbusters of 2014. It had the potential for greatness but, instead, became the perfect storm of ineptitude, inadequacy, and missed opportunities. Never has such a talented group of people come together to produce such an absolute heap of garbage. [2/10]
Serbuan maut 2: Berandal (2014)
The Best Action Movie Ever Made
((From: http://thinmanmoviereviews.wordpress.com/)) In 2011, Welsh director Gareth Evans gave us "The Raid: Redemption" – one of the best pure action films of the last decade – and hinted at his potential to be a new and exciting presence in the writer/director realm. The action was hard-hitting, lightning fast, supporting a simple, contained story of one man fighting against an entire tower of enemies in a way that was reminiscent of classics like "Die Hard". Well, if "The Raid" was one of the best action films of the last ten years, Evans' follow-up film "The Raid 2″ has now set the standard for the next twenty. In fact, I'm going to make a bold statement that you can feel free to quote me on:
"The Raid 2″ is the best action movie ever made.
Where sequels are concerned, this film does absolutely everything right. It takes the frenetic energy of the original, contained within the twenty-story drug den in which it took place, and lets it loose across the urban sprawl of an entire city teeming with warring crime syndicates, corrupt police officers, and the civilians often caught in the crossfire. No longer contained to just one address, the fight scenes in "Raid 2″ cover car chases, cramped subway trains, muddy prison yards, night clubs, and city streets, and every action set piece hits all the right notes. Every punch thrown and bullet fired is made even more effective by the fact that all of the action is done practically. In an era where so much of the action that we see on screen is dominated by the CGI-centric explosion extravaganzas of Michael Bay and the like it's incredibly refreshing to see highly trained stunt professionals being pushed to their limits to deliver a collection of the best action scenes in modern memory. Much of this work is shouldered by the film's lead, Indonesian-born Iko Uwais, the returning star of the first "Raid". Uwais is reminiscent of a younger Jet Li or – dare I say it – Bruce Lee; moving with such self-assured speed and practiced precision that every move deserves multiple looks to take in all the details. The comparison to Lee is bolstered by "The Raid 2″'s finale, which plays out like the final gatecrashing act of "Game of Death", in which our hero has to slug his way through opponents of increasing lethality. Unlike "Game of Death", "The Raid 2″ lets us see our villains in action almost as often as our hero, and it's a credit to Evans as writer/director that each of these characters is absolutely dripping with charisma and cool. There are no wasted characters here; we love every hero and love to hate every villain.
The script is, with few exceptions, always on-point. What could have simply been a straight-forward action flick with minimal plot to carry us from one action set-piece to another is instead a mad whirlwind of conspiracy, murder, and double and triple-crosses, steadily ratcheting up the tension to the film's explosive conclusion. From a technical standpoint, the impressive cinematography matches the action stride-for- stride and, looking back, there are a dizzying number of wildly choreographed long-takes that put every nuance of the environment, characters, and action on display. Combine this with a pulse-pounding soundtrack and some absolutely superb practical makeup effects accompanying every injury, no matter how small, and "The Raid 2″ is the complete package. With a third film already in the works, making this a trilogy, Hollywood has been put on notice: Gareth Evans has arrived; he's just dramatically changed the landscape of action films and shows no signs of pulling any punches. [10/10]
"The Raid 2″ is the best action movie ever made.
Where sequels are concerned, this film does absolutely everything right. It takes the frenetic energy of the original, contained within the twenty-story drug den in which it took place, and lets it loose across the urban sprawl of an entire city teeming with warring crime syndicates, corrupt police officers, and the civilians often caught in the crossfire. No longer contained to just one address, the fight scenes in "Raid 2″ cover car chases, cramped subway trains, muddy prison yards, night clubs, and city streets, and every action set piece hits all the right notes. Every punch thrown and bullet fired is made even more effective by the fact that all of the action is done practically. In an era where so much of the action that we see on screen is dominated by the CGI-centric explosion extravaganzas of Michael Bay and the like it's incredibly refreshing to see highly trained stunt professionals being pushed to their limits to deliver a collection of the best action scenes in modern memory. Much of this work is shouldered by the film's lead, Indonesian-born Iko Uwais, the returning star of the first "Raid". Uwais is reminiscent of a younger Jet Li or – dare I say it – Bruce Lee; moving with such self-assured speed and practiced precision that every move deserves multiple looks to take in all the details. The comparison to Lee is bolstered by "The Raid 2″'s finale, which plays out like the final gatecrashing act of "Game of Death", in which our hero has to slug his way through opponents of increasing lethality. Unlike "Game of Death", "The Raid 2″ lets us see our villains in action almost as often as our hero, and it's a credit to Evans as writer/director that each of these characters is absolutely dripping with charisma and cool. There are no wasted characters here; we love every hero and love to hate every villain.
The script is, with few exceptions, always on-point. What could have simply been a straight-forward action flick with minimal plot to carry us from one action set-piece to another is instead a mad whirlwind of conspiracy, murder, and double and triple-crosses, steadily ratcheting up the tension to the film's explosive conclusion. From a technical standpoint, the impressive cinematography matches the action stride-for- stride and, looking back, there are a dizzying number of wildly choreographed long-takes that put every nuance of the environment, characters, and action on display. Combine this with a pulse-pounding soundtrack and some absolutely superb practical makeup effects accompanying every injury, no matter how small, and "The Raid 2″ is the complete package. With a third film already in the works, making this a trilogy, Hollywood has been put on notice: Gareth Evans has arrived; he's just dramatically changed the landscape of action films and shows no signs of pulling any punches. [10/10]
300: Rise of an Empire (2014)
A capable, but lackluster, action flick.
((This review via: http://thinmanmoviereviews.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/300-rise-of-an- empire/))
When word of a follow-up to 2006′s "300″ first arose, I expected something small; a low-budget direct-to-DVD sequel set up to capitalize on the original's success. As casting news began to arrive, attaching a select few original cast members to the shoot as well as some welcome new faces, it became clear that "300: Rise of an Empire" was intended to be a proper theatrical release on par with its predecessor. Unfortunately, the mixed bag that's been delivered indicates that a smaller follow-up (or none at all) might have been the better course of action.
"Rise of an Empire" does not break the mold, by any means. From the opening frame and its accompanying voice over narration, it's clear that writer/producer Zack Snyder ("300″, "Man of Steel") and director Noam Murro want to play upon familiarity of form and presentation to more easily acclimate viewers to the action that lies ahead while also firmly setting this tale into the same series of battles as Thermopylae. To their credit, this works as intended but eventually it hampers the film. Much like 2011′s "The Thing" (another tie-in film playing on a well known original), which ended up simply being an almost point-for-point rehash of John Carpenter's original, "Rise of an Empire" keeps the successful aesthetics of its source material but never musters up the courage to branch out on its own. The central conflict – the battle of Battle of Salamis – plays out almost exactly like a naval version of the battle of Thermopylae as an outnumbered force of Greek defenders attempt to hold back the overwhelming Persian navy which conveniently attacks one wave at a time rather than all together. While this worked for 2006′s "300″, as Gerard Butler's Leonidas bottlenecked the Persian army in a mountain pass, one wonders why the Persian navy in "Rise of an Empire" can't simply send some of their hundreds of ships sailing around the smaller force to land on the Greek shores.
Fortunately this never crosses the minds of the Persian commanders on screen, resulting in no shortage of brutal, bloody carnage as attack after attack is shattered by the Greek defenses. Action is the strong point of "Rise of an Empire" and, not surprisingly, it delivers. Graphic slow motion kills still make their presence felt but they are somewhat less numerous this time around, which gives everything a more visceral feel even as nearly every wound is computer generated. Where the first "300″'s use of slow motion often made combat feel like a museum piece – something to be studied and examined in every minute detail – the more conservative approach this time around should help to draw viewers further into the battles as they seem more rapid, vibrant and alive.
If only "vibrant" and "alive" were terms that could be applied to the characters of "Rise of an Empire". With Lena Headey ("Game of Thrones") returning, and the addition of Sullivan Stapleton ("Strike Back") and Eva Green ("Casino Royale"), the cast certainly has the acting chops to carry the film, but they're given very little to do besides battle endlessly and make grandiose speeches about vengeance and honor. Stapleton again proves that he's a capable action star and the always- alluring Eva Green carries just the right amount of menace as the film's central antagonist, but any meager attempts at character development provided by the script are either awkward missteps or are simply glossed over amid the continuous clashing of swords and shields.
In the end, "300: Rise of an Empire" is a humdrum experience that provides more of the same without venturing into new territory as good sequels ("Hunger Games: Catching Fire", "Thor: The Dark World") should. It's a capable but heartless action flick that would have been better suited as a smaller direct-to-DVD sequel instead of a full theatrical release and, to use video game terms, feels less like a true sequel and more like the film equivalent to DLC.
When word of a follow-up to 2006′s "300″ first arose, I expected something small; a low-budget direct-to-DVD sequel set up to capitalize on the original's success. As casting news began to arrive, attaching a select few original cast members to the shoot as well as some welcome new faces, it became clear that "300: Rise of an Empire" was intended to be a proper theatrical release on par with its predecessor. Unfortunately, the mixed bag that's been delivered indicates that a smaller follow-up (or none at all) might have been the better course of action.
"Rise of an Empire" does not break the mold, by any means. From the opening frame and its accompanying voice over narration, it's clear that writer/producer Zack Snyder ("300″, "Man of Steel") and director Noam Murro want to play upon familiarity of form and presentation to more easily acclimate viewers to the action that lies ahead while also firmly setting this tale into the same series of battles as Thermopylae. To their credit, this works as intended but eventually it hampers the film. Much like 2011′s "The Thing" (another tie-in film playing on a well known original), which ended up simply being an almost point-for-point rehash of John Carpenter's original, "Rise of an Empire" keeps the successful aesthetics of its source material but never musters up the courage to branch out on its own. The central conflict – the battle of Battle of Salamis – plays out almost exactly like a naval version of the battle of Thermopylae as an outnumbered force of Greek defenders attempt to hold back the overwhelming Persian navy which conveniently attacks one wave at a time rather than all together. While this worked for 2006′s "300″, as Gerard Butler's Leonidas bottlenecked the Persian army in a mountain pass, one wonders why the Persian navy in "Rise of an Empire" can't simply send some of their hundreds of ships sailing around the smaller force to land on the Greek shores.
Fortunately this never crosses the minds of the Persian commanders on screen, resulting in no shortage of brutal, bloody carnage as attack after attack is shattered by the Greek defenses. Action is the strong point of "Rise of an Empire" and, not surprisingly, it delivers. Graphic slow motion kills still make their presence felt but they are somewhat less numerous this time around, which gives everything a more visceral feel even as nearly every wound is computer generated. Where the first "300″'s use of slow motion often made combat feel like a museum piece – something to be studied and examined in every minute detail – the more conservative approach this time around should help to draw viewers further into the battles as they seem more rapid, vibrant and alive.
If only "vibrant" and "alive" were terms that could be applied to the characters of "Rise of an Empire". With Lena Headey ("Game of Thrones") returning, and the addition of Sullivan Stapleton ("Strike Back") and Eva Green ("Casino Royale"), the cast certainly has the acting chops to carry the film, but they're given very little to do besides battle endlessly and make grandiose speeches about vengeance and honor. Stapleton again proves that he's a capable action star and the always- alluring Eva Green carries just the right amount of menace as the film's central antagonist, but any meager attempts at character development provided by the script are either awkward missteps or are simply glossed over amid the continuous clashing of swords and shields.
In the end, "300: Rise of an Empire" is a humdrum experience that provides more of the same without venturing into new territory as good sequels ("Hunger Games: Catching Fire", "Thor: The Dark World") should. It's a capable but heartless action flick that would have been better suited as a smaller direct-to-DVD sequel instead of a full theatrical release and, to use video game terms, feels less like a true sequel and more like the film equivalent to DLC.