I find it hilarious that people are mad that Jar Jar still appears in II and III, when all he does is pave the way for Palpatine to seize power, thus single-handedly allowing the Empire to be created. I don't even remember him being that annoying to begin with, so I'm not sure I understand the overwhelming amount of hate he gets.
Also, this video makes an interesting point about the performances in the movie. Generally, people tend to focus on actors when watching films, since they're the most visible and central part, but many forget the amount of effort and behind-the-scenes work that goes into making a movie. Bad directing is just as, if not more, detrimental as bad acting.
Anyway:
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Wow. This is really amazing. Heart of Darkness, off which this is based, is one of my favourite books, and I feel they really managed to translate the themes of the book well into this film. The cinematography, acting, sound design (love the use of the helicopter blade motif), everything, is perfect. I particularly like the use of colour to create atmosphere. As you probably know, the production of this film was notoriously troubled, and seeing it you can begin to appreciate the effort that went into this. The pacing feels slow yet engaging, surreal and by turns dream-like and nightmarish, rather like the river itself, perhaps. Either way, definitely a masterpiece.
Pacific Rim (2013)
I'm a huge fan of Guillermo Del Toro, so I was definitely excited to see this. It's pretty cheesy, but in an enjoyable sort of way (it's giant robots beating the crud out of sea monsters, after all...). Nevertheless, I feel that there's something of a lack of depth that is somewhat disappointing. Many of the characters act like one-dimensional caricatures, like the pilot who's a jerk... just because. No real reason given, and we never see any other facet of him. The two scientists are borderline cringeworthy. (Why does one have the obviously German name of Hermann Gottlieb yet act like a stereotypical Oxbridge educated Brit in every possible way?!) That said, Hannibal Chau was delightfully over-the-top
Spoiler (click to read)
I had no idea Ron Perlman was in this film, so it was hilariously awesome to see him pop up out of nowhere
and I would have loved to see more of him. However, whilst the cheesiness is enjoyable in some cases, it gets too much after a certain point. The dialogue especially feels half-baked in many instances. (Any half-decent army worth its salt would never tolerate a subordinate talking to a commanding officer the way Raleigh does to Stacker.)
I do feel like all this is to a certain extent deliberate ("Jaeger pilots became rockstars, Kaiju became toys"), and teh action scenes and special effects are amazingly well done--conveying the sheer scale of the Jaeger and Kaiju is no easy task, and the film manages it perfectly (cargo ship club, anyone?). Still, the intro promises a lot of interesting things that never get delivered. The whole movie has a bunch of interesting ideas (the Kaiju black market and sub-culture, the requirements for Drift compatibility and the implications of sharing your mind with someone, how Human-Kaiju Drifts work, the cultists who believe the Kaiju are divine punishment, etc.), but these are never really elaborated upon and never get more exploration than a few brief glimpses and throwaway lines.
In short, it's not bad per se, but it does feel shallow and underwhelming. It's beautifully shot and good enough as "dumb entertainment", but I think that it had the potential to be so much more, yet never quite delivers.
The Iron Giant (1999)
This is simply, put, beautiful. It's easily my favourite animated movie. The animation and art style is amazingly well done, the characters are well-performed and believable, and the whole story is executed perfectly. The 1950s setting is very fitting, and I love the overall tone and art direction of the film (love the design of the Iron Giant himself). The only downside is that it's perhaps is a tiny bit short and could have done with a slightly longer run-time, but that aside, it's perfectly paced, framed, and edited. It feels like a warm-hearted fable, yet it never condescends its audience and there's enough there for adults to appreciate. I never, ever, cry whilst watching films, but at the end, I just about did. It's that good. Go watch it now.
Last edited by Mr Vertigo (May 20, 2015 (05:57pm))
Retribution (3rd place in BRAWL 2015)&Smeagol make the most of being surrounded by single, educated women your own age on a regular basis in college
AquaMorph I dunno women are expensive