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badambowman
Reviews
65 (2023)
Good acting with a cliché story
4.5 out of 10
Positives are the acting, production (CGI and special effects), and setting. Negatives are the writing, which impact everything else
Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt did as good as they could with the writing.
Everything about the writing stunk - the story, the dialogue, the action, the conflict, the characters and their backstories. If you've seen any movie where they are left alone to escape a hazardous and dangerous world, you've seen this. There's nothing new about it. The writing was a whole bunch of cliches jumbled together and made the movie unenjoyable.
I was never on the edge of my seat or intrigued - quite the opposite, I wanted the movie to end. Every scene was predictable, all the action was conflict you saw coming and knew how it was going to play out - conflict with dinosaurs here, conflict with dinosaurs there, you save me, I save you, we save each other, done.
I wasn't attached to any of the characters. The story about his daughter - nope, another cliché of he has to leave his family behind, including a daughter who idolizes her father and gets sick while he's gone and love turns to resentment. Two protagonists who don't speak the same language, who are complete opposites - experienced and older, young and green - yet, they find common ground through family and the conflicts they face and somehow learn each others language enough to survive and communicate at the most important/gripping/climactic parts.
The story was a cliché. The characters were a cliché. The entire movie was one big cliché wrapped around strong special effects and good acting.
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
Nothing New and Liam is Liam
5.5 out of 10
There is nothing new here. It is the same tropes you've come to recognize again and again from a jaded, burnt out, ex-cop who is pursuing a cold case on his own. The conflicts are the same, the dialogue is the same, the story is the same - the finger should be pointed at the writer, it's not bad writing, it's just not good writing. The setup isn't particularly intriguing, there's nothing about the movie that stands out or pushes the envelope. It is a cut and paste of clichés and archetypes without much originality.
On top of that, one of the secondary characters, who the protagonist befriends, is baffling. I rewatched that scene multiple times and left confused - it was a forced friendship, through forced dialogue and action that didn't feel realistic or practical. It was done to carry the story forward with a new, young, different perspective and sidekick to try and make the story somewhat more intriguing, but it was wonky and forced - again, the blame goes to the writing.
Outside of the writing critiques, Liam is great as always. Across the board, the acting was strong and madeup for some of the jumbled dialogue, they brought the characters to life - first time seeing this kid actor, TJ (Stro) and did great. I like the cinematography, creating the setting of a dark and isolating NYC while also keeping up with all of the action.
Troll (2022)
Whole movie is a cliche
Every...single...part of this movie is a cliche. Every thing - the dialogue, the story, the characters, the plots. If you've seen any monster in the house / action movie, then you've seen this. There is nothing original about this - to the point where you can guess the dialogue of the next character.
The story stinks, IT STINKS!, it's not rewarding in any capacity. The ending BLOWS, it's poor writing - what?! You have a change of heart last second like you didn't know what you were doing the entire time, also your plan is SLOWER than what the military wanted to do, but both with same result, it's so dumb! And there's absolutely no strong message, no character arc or moment of truth you're hoping to see and definitely no character relationship that you're connect with, it's all surface level blah that again, is 100% every trope in every movie. This movie S-T-I-N-K-S! Cinematography and site location are both well done, there's my positive.
The Gambler (1974)
Great but that ending oof
Hi, I'm 50 years late but gotta say...I was hooked. The writing, the characters, the family, the story, the structure, the conflict, the accuracy of the roller coaster one goes through while gambling, felt the lows and the highs and was all in.
And Caans character was killer - love the writing and not making him a cliched degenerate who is some drab sad sap lonely clam the bartender cuts off - nope, he's got a prestigious job, recognition, a loving family, a beautiful girlfriend who would kill for him, and let's not forget style. In fact, he's so fly he buys button up shirts, doesn't even need to button them...tho that may just be a Caan thing. Everyone's rooting for this guy, even the bookies hurt to see him lose.
I'm all in.
Up until the last five minutes. WTF was that? Did the writer hand over the script and say yall finish it, it's basically done and someone completely fubar'd it?? WHO WROTE THAT GARBAGE ENDING? Cus you almost, ALMOST, ruined it. Good thing the other 95% was killer, cus that at the end...complete nonsense. You don't have to give us a fairytale ending, but that?? Nope, it stunk -- you hear me? S-T-U-N-K.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Wanted more from story
Simply put, the story left more to be desired. I wanted to have more detail to HAL's sudden erratic behavior, the fate of those who visited the monolith on the secret US mission to the crater of the moon, the ending set piece in a formal antiseptic room where he is aging at every turn with a final dying hand up to a rectangular black box, how it was all tied into the beginning of humanity with primitive apes who also discovered a monolith, as well as how we ended up in a final plunge through a colored paradigm entering us back to his rebirth. I can appreciate 'it ruins the mystery if everything's explained' - there is an appeal to letting the audience decide how to interpret the story's meaning - and still, wanted more of a conclusion. Even with Kubrick's brilliance, the storytelling and parallels between worlds felt to be more of an ellipsis vs a period.
Kubrick's inventiveness as a filmmaker was on full display, the cinematography, even 55 years later (55 years later!) is still incredible. The attention to detail, the use of Strauss's The Blue Danube and alignment with the docking (hello Interstellar), and the holding of the scene for extended shots to be a part and really absorb the environment was excellent. The dialogue was brief and well written. The acting stellar.
Shallow Hal (2001)
Jack Black and Jason Alexander killer - Paltrow stinks
Gwen Paltrow stinks up every scene - she's sooooo boring and mopey!! They should've made it where GP actually got more fat when Hal realizes how much of clam she is - by the end of the movie she's this giant michelin man with tits bc she's such an awful bore. Even the punch lines they gave her she botched because she couldn't tell a joke with her snoozefest personality and acting. The only time we actually enjoyed her performance was when she fell and broke the chairs - which is great symbolism to her acting
Outside of the mope show, movie is great and props to Farrely brothers for writing this and casting Jack Black and Jason Alexander, they were excellent.
Ondine (2009)
Meh writing and story, likable characters
Characters were good, slow pacing, and director made strange choices with the lighting and sequencing. The story was meh and didn't really do a good job explaining the mythological background - piecemealed together as we go along from a precocious child. Not knowing the background or mythological piece would have been fine, but there's an effort to really suggest that she is this creature and the protagonist begins to believe as well - so why not hit it harder, explain more?
Meh writing - the dialogue was funny, likeable characters - but the story itself found a lot of holes and desire for more to have that connection. Especially in her background - felt undeveloped and when revealed at end, was sort of glossed over, confusing and not convincing as to how she arrived in his presence. Also, his decision making toward the end fell out of line with his character - and the relationship with his ex, especially after car accident that put child in danger, somehow gets stronger? Didn't really add up.
Still, did leave as a fan of main characters tho - Syracuse, Ondine, Annie - thought their voices were fun and well established.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Loved premise and story, left loose ends
Cinematography, setup, characters, pacing and build-up, story - all were strong. End left a lot to be desired and felt like loose ends:
- costume shop owner and daughter / suitors change of heart unclear
- the mask laying on the bed, no questions as to why/how that is there - breaks from character who is very rational and methodical, who would normally question such an out of place occurrence
- is his friend lying? Why not ask further questions by:
- follow-up on jazz friend out in Seattle
- follow-up on girl who took his place with police / look into their formal investigation
- unclear of hooker's role or friend - or what the HIV diagnosis played any role? Even if they had gotten to her, wouldn't her friend be more visually upset or signs of hiding the truth?
The last hour thought there would shore up a lot of these questions, at least have some resolution with those in the party, left with more questions. Also, relationship with wife, Kidman, still appeared in question and not at a spot of any resolution - at least not one that Cruise's character would have been comfortable with (nor the audience).
Out of the Blue (2022)
Poor rendition of Body Heat
Follows similar story of 1981's Body Heat.
Could tell the director's decisions were aiming to have some sort of artistic value added but were questionable and fell short of the desired effect - odd transitions, meaningless scenes, forced music, and long scenes with dialogue that felt redundant failing to move the story forward.
Hard to root for or get attached to any of the characters - none of them felt real, all kind of forced stereotypes. Each of the main characters (Diane Kruger and Ray Nicholson) were equally mysterious, but didn't feel like any substance between them, just physical attraction. The dialogue and decisions they made felt more like a Hollywood creation than anything based on reality or logical thinking.
Side characters were pretty good. The boyfriend (Yousef Abu-Taleb) at the end stole the movie for me and felt like the only real character in entire story. Parole officer (Hank Azaria) was good, his intro scene playing the role of a no non-sense tough cop was over the top. The deputy (Fred Weller) was even more over the top, but felt more in-line with the spiteful, I am the law, kinda persona a cop on a power-trip gives off.
Entire time watching, felt like a different take on Body Heat. Want to again mention weird transitions - if the director.(Neil. LaBute) reads this, what are you doing??
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Very well done, wanted ending to be stronger
Pros:
The cinematography, the storytelling, the pacing, the acting, the dialogue, the protagonist, the conflict, and the score were all very well done. Had a steady pace that keeps you interested and entertained. Like all the fun and unique characters that felt well developed and you connected with, even if on screen for a short time.
Cons:
Very few complaints, was very well done. Dialogue at points was hard to understand - more sound than the delivery. The climax left more to desire. The ending felt like it was rushed to meet a time constraint and even though you saw it coming, wanted to have more of a struggle for the protagonist. It was a strong, long setup with only a few minutes - less than 10 - to unravel. Wanted to see more of a fight from a protagonist who fought the whole time.
Dune (2021)
Lots of positives - falls short of being the epic it wanted
Just finished watching first time.
Was hooked at the beginning. Two hours in, and I'm waiting for it to end.
The cinematography, music/score, sx, characters, acting, dialogue - all excellent. The story and action were both good, though the pace was a little slower to develop. All of the flashbacks to a different period - started as an interesting character trait - became underwhelming and confusing. Really wish after 2.5 hours we would've have had more clarity into the character, powers, story, etc. - but was anti-climactic and left more questions.
This felt like it wanted to be epic, but missed the mark in storytelling, resolution, and pacing. Also, the "why" for preserving and mining this planet - the whole storyline - was brushed over in a brief sentence that was hard to believe. If this element is why we're here, would have liked to have had more background or seen more of its unique abilities/special powers.
The Batman (2022)
PRO: cinematography CON: everything else
Based on the reviews, you're most likely thinking you gotta see this film - all the people giving poor reviews are bitter, jaded, purist, angry movie goers. Nope. This movie just stinks - from top to bottom. If you liked Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, this is the antithesis of that in just about every way.
Pros:
I really liked the cinematography - had a dark, gritty feel that gave Gotham a desperateness to it.
Now for the cons:
The story is a very, very, very, VERY long-winded crime drama - think if Batman was in SVU. Lots of drama, minimal action. And it is wayyy too long. Each scene extends 2 minutes longer than needed. The way they tell the story too is done so poorly and becomes exhausting to follow. But even if it was a good story, and it was told well, and it didn't feel like a poorly written SVU episode, you don't care because...
...you're not invested in any of the characters, not even Batman. If you're wondering what Batman is like, it is Edward from Twilight in a bat suit. Literally the exact same quiet, soft-spoken, mopey character (which isn't bad by the way! Just not exciting). Bruce Wayne is a bummer. Alfred is under-utilized and there is a cold, barely relationship between him and Bruce. Gordon, Catwoman, Penguin, The Riddler - honestly, you don't care about any of them. The Riddler's character is intriguing, but isn't bad/exciting enough to really have that hatred towards him because he's taking out the bad guys - seriously, are we the audience supposed to be staunch advocates for due process??
And the climax -- boy, oh boy -- after 2.5 hours this is what we've all been waiting for? Batman can LITERALLY stand up because the water is so shallow - but this is the big climactic moment??? WET SNEAKERS?!?
Also: dialogue is poor/laughable towards the end; music is good but builds up to nothing; action scenes are good but few and far between; Batmobile is a Pontiac GTO with a flame booster in the back; and the whole damn thing should've and could've been wrapped up in 1.5 hours - not nearly 3.
You know when people write "save your time and money and pass" - and you think they're jaded idiots? Okay, well this isn't one of those times, this movie stinks - please, save your time and money and pass.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Appalling Scene is Completely Unnecessary
David Fincher does a terrible job creating an unnecessarily graphic, tormented rape scene. You're completely caught off guard and it did not add to the movie - it was extremely disturbing and the fact David Fincher thought that making something so cringeworthy would add to the film is also disturbing. Out of all the avenues to go, this was appalling and not sure how, or why, he deemed it necessary. The counter argument - that he creates realism, or it's artistic, or this aligns with his other films - is not accurate. I'm very aware of his work, it could've been handled differently - this is done in extremely poor taste and takes away from the film.
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Left wanting more
The action was good and wasn't short of it. There were big name actors and thought the dialogue was good. The plot was good. But what was missing was the story telling.
I left wanting more. More vindication with those involved in the cover-up; more vengeance against those who committed betrayal; more of the story explaining the gaps in information. The decision at the end to do a solo trip was also confusing and didn't feel well thought out.