There are certain moments that make you feel like you need to share them. Christians are, whether they like it or not, made evangelists by the idea that there is a bit of good news not everyone is privy to that they have to share. Beyond that, I am an evangelist for Netflix and Google. Any chance I get, I extol the praises of these brands, because I believe that they will make our collective lives better. Almost as often, I find myself bashing every Apple product I've ever owned for almost the same reason. I have had a negative experience and I want to keep others, those I care about from that pain and loss. Rarely do movies do that to me. But Flight has done just that. This film is so poorly put together that I feel the need to share.
Flight's biggest problem is its plot. This thing is full of absurd coincidence, but more importantly weak characters paired with extraordinary ability and luck. The story follows Denzel Washington, playing a very non-descript alcoholic pilot who wakes up one morning to pilot a passenger plane drunk, evened with cocaine, and then proceeds to drink himself into a stupor after takeoff too. Did I mention that he flies the plane better than most humans can, despite his condition. No spoiler that the plane goes down and he saves almost everyone's life and then has to face the consequences.
I wasn't excited, but I was willing to let the movie roll on, despite the gross overuse of music and the absurd volume of it.
But the last half of the film could've been pulled from an Alcoholics Anonymous pamphlet. The powerless alcoholic that makes good in the end. It was utterly predictable and loathsomely simplifying. There is no nuance, not in the writing, and not in Denzel's eyes. And whoever wrote the scene with the Christian co-pilot in the hospital should know that it was almost a good scene, except for the creepy, emotionless, Jesus-screaming wife behind him. Just in case the Oscar nod or any other parts of this movie made you want to see it, don't. If you value your time, avoid it.
Now let me tell you about some of the other things I've been watching recently. Another movie that was frighteningly bad is Gravity. I heard a lot of things, positive and negative, but I'll break it down for you. The problem was writing again. There are no characters and no story. That's not literally accurate. There are three characters that appear on screen. The first is killed off early. He is a cheap throwaway for effect. Then we have George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. It would be inaccurate to say that they play characters. George is an uninteresting cliche whose fate, which I'll not divulge here, was obvious from the first minute of the film. Sandra's character was so uninteresting and hopeless that I did not even want her to survive.
The most potent messages were all falsehoods, in my humble opinion. Lesson #1: All religions are more or less the same. Lesson #2: Human survival is meaningful in itself. One note, this is the best use of 3D I've ever seen in a movie. Caveat: I've only seen three movies in 3D and one of them was Avatar, but this was much better. Just don't expect a movie. Imagine you're going to the IMAX in 1998 and you don't care what you see.
Two other movies that didn't get 5 stars, but I feel like telling you a bit about. First, Thor: The Dark World was in most ways a good movie. If it hadn't been for the annoying and blindingly unnecessary part played by Kat Dennings, who reprises her role from that crappy sitcom on CBS, this would have been 5 stars, like its predecessor. It was not as good as Iron Man 3, but I was happy for it. Caveat: I am a comic book nerd and I'm just happy to see these great characters on the screen without wanting to gouge my eyes out.
I just got around to seeing Brave last week and it's not five stars, because I found the main thread of the plot unconvincing, but it was another good outing for Pixar overall.
I've been watching a good deal of TV on DVD recently and I would like to recommend the FX show
Justified, which I finished the first season of. It is witty and the characters are well thought out and complex. Overall, I'm excited for more. For another high compliment, it reminds me of Longmire.
I also watched the first seasons of Dollhouse by Joss Whedon and Human Target. I can't say I recommend either, which is a big disappointment for on the former, because I've been such a big fan of Joss Whedon recently.
Lastly, I watched a couple of comedy specials recently and I cannot recommend Aziz Ansari's second special, Buried Alive, which was boring and unoriginal compared to his first. But I can recommend Rob Delaney: Live at the Bowery Ballroom with the proviso that it is pretty filthy. His delivery is funnier than most people's best jokes.
I will finally bid you ado, my good friends. Hopefully soon I will finally finish my review of 12 Years a Slave.
Showing posts with label Iron Man 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iron Man 3. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Iron Man 3* (2013) 9, 9, 9.5, 27.5
I know it's been forever since I wrote a review on here. I apologize. I have only seen one movie since my last review on March 19th. For those who know me, this is nearly unbelievable. But I am a grad student. And busy. I saw Warm Bodies (2013) and I liked it but never got around to reviewing it. See above about busyness. But here I return for the first of Marvel's Phase Two films. As a big fan of Marvel Comics and the Marvel Studios adaptations, I was surprised to find I did not have any ratings for any of the phase one films on my list, so I get to start from scratch here.
For those of you in America, this film comes out tomorrow, on my birthday and I hope you get to read this before you go see it. To begin with, after Iron Man 2 (2010), I was skeptical as to what good could come next. I have been a fan of Jon Favreau since Made (2001) and that movie alone proved to me that he could direct. I loved Iron Man (2008), but something was lost in the sequel. I don't blame Favreau, though I guess someone did. Not knowing the new director from Adam, I came in with a healthy skepticism. But it was confounded. Overall, if you're still on the fence, go. I'll try to elucidate the why if my solid word doesn't convince you.
For wit, I gave the film a 9. This is a standard. Maybe if it hadn't been so close to In the Name of the Father (1993), which I also gave a 9, I could have let it go higher, but comparing any actor to Daniel Day-Lewis is a losing game. A shining leading pair in Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow is certainly a plus. I don't mean to downgrade them. They are genuinely better than the core cast of The Dark Knight (2008). I don't say that lightly, but Christian Bale and Maggie Gyllenhaal genuinely don't make that movie and in this one, the leading pair are very strong, with hints of greatness. But like the aforementioned superhero powerhouse, it's the supporting cast that seals the deal. In this analogy, Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau are Gary Oldman, solid but not scene-stealers. The big three for me are Guy Pearce, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Ty Simpkins. That's going up. Who's Ty Simpkins? I'll get to him.
First, Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian. This is him at his Memento best. He really works his charm and his ability to be disgusting here. Appreciate it. Ben is the Mandarin and if you've seen the trailer, you ought to already be excited. But if your worried, as I was, that he seems very similar to Heath Ledger's Joker, you'll be pleasantly surprised, as I was. I won't ruin the twist, but it gives Sir Ben the chance to show his full range. Lastly, Ty. This little guy is probably my favorite part. A pretty minor character, but he has that essential point in Tony Stark's rebirth, a bit too much like The Dark Knight Rises (2012), but they do it their own way. Plus I've been reading some of the comic source material and who knows whether Matt Fraction or the Nolans wrote this first?
The writing is good, solid, but not nearly as fantastic and flawless as it could have been, but fun all the way through.
For wisdom, I opted for the 9. I don't think that Tony is the wisest character or even that his platitudes are ingenious, but I do think they are more or less correct. The message is simple and clear, exactly like most of these Marvel Studios films have been and there's nothing wrong with that. They lack the complexity and depth of the Dark Knight Trilogy, but I forgive them for failing to meet that awesome standard. The simple version of this films idea is reaping and sowing, karma. It is a truth of life that most of our problems end up being our fault, in one way or another. And this is played out like a morality play. Sweet and to the point with explosions. Just like a morality play.
Lastly, the explosions and the music and the special effects. It's all great and I hope you enjoy the sheer scale of it. Wonder is a 9.5 for all the enjoyable things that I can't be more specific about because I saw it a week ago. Enjoy! Why are you still reading this? It hasn't come out yet in your country? Sorry. Take your time.
For those of you in America, this film comes out tomorrow, on my birthday and I hope you get to read this before you go see it. To begin with, after Iron Man 2 (2010), I was skeptical as to what good could come next. I have been a fan of Jon Favreau since Made (2001) and that movie alone proved to me that he could direct. I loved Iron Man (2008), but something was lost in the sequel. I don't blame Favreau, though I guess someone did. Not knowing the new director from Adam, I came in with a healthy skepticism. But it was confounded. Overall, if you're still on the fence, go. I'll try to elucidate the why if my solid word doesn't convince you.
For wit, I gave the film a 9. This is a standard. Maybe if it hadn't been so close to In the Name of the Father (1993), which I also gave a 9, I could have let it go higher, but comparing any actor to Daniel Day-Lewis is a losing game. A shining leading pair in Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow is certainly a plus. I don't mean to downgrade them. They are genuinely better than the core cast of The Dark Knight (2008). I don't say that lightly, but Christian Bale and Maggie Gyllenhaal genuinely don't make that movie and in this one, the leading pair are very strong, with hints of greatness. But like the aforementioned superhero powerhouse, it's the supporting cast that seals the deal. In this analogy, Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau are Gary Oldman, solid but not scene-stealers. The big three for me are Guy Pearce, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Ty Simpkins. That's going up. Who's Ty Simpkins? I'll get to him.
First, Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian. This is him at his Memento best. He really works his charm and his ability to be disgusting here. Appreciate it. Ben is the Mandarin and if you've seen the trailer, you ought to already be excited. But if your worried, as I was, that he seems very similar to Heath Ledger's Joker, you'll be pleasantly surprised, as I was. I won't ruin the twist, but it gives Sir Ben the chance to show his full range. Lastly, Ty. This little guy is probably my favorite part. A pretty minor character, but he has that essential point in Tony Stark's rebirth, a bit too much like The Dark Knight Rises (2012), but they do it their own way. Plus I've been reading some of the comic source material and who knows whether Matt Fraction or the Nolans wrote this first?
The writing is good, solid, but not nearly as fantastic and flawless as it could have been, but fun all the way through.
For wisdom, I opted for the 9. I don't think that Tony is the wisest character or even that his platitudes are ingenious, but I do think they are more or less correct. The message is simple and clear, exactly like most of these Marvel Studios films have been and there's nothing wrong with that. They lack the complexity and depth of the Dark Knight Trilogy, but I forgive them for failing to meet that awesome standard. The simple version of this films idea is reaping and sowing, karma. It is a truth of life that most of our problems end up being our fault, in one way or another. And this is played out like a morality play. Sweet and to the point with explosions. Just like a morality play.
Lastly, the explosions and the music and the special effects. It's all great and I hope you enjoy the sheer scale of it. Wonder is a 9.5 for all the enjoyable things that I can't be more specific about because I saw it a week ago. Enjoy! Why are you still reading this? It hasn't come out yet in your country? Sorry. Take your time.
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