jorge_december Reviews

Awake (2012)

Pilot Shows Promising Premise

[10/10 · 16 February 2012]

Having watched the Pilot episode of the long-awaited show "Awake" I've got to admit that I felt surprised and proud of waiting patiently for this series to come.

Jason Isaacs stars in this melancholic show as Detective Michael Britten, a man who suffers a car crash with his wife and son. Soon, every time that he wakes up, either his wife or son appear, with the other having died in the previous accident. As Britten attempts to make progress in his own life, he realizes that having both of them in his dreams are better than having only one left in his life. At the same time, Britten tries to solve crimes as he starts finding connections between them and therefore possible clues.

The show has powerful family values, as well as the theme of faith. Jason Isaacs never lets go as the desperate father and husband who tries to deal with his dreams with the help of two psychiatrists, each one in one of his realities.

I have high hopes that this show has the will and power to go on, but most of it depends on the viewers. Let's hope they channel into this show every week and attempt to reflect on such a complex but original plot.

Safe House (2012)

Good But Flawed, Not The Actors' Fault But The Script and Direction's

[7/10 · 14 February 2012]

I went to see the movie with high expectations, but I left with a "nah" expression. I expected to see a powerful movie, with intriguing story lines. Yes, its fast-paced, but some of its pieces of the story didn't fit in.

The main message of the story is determination and taking charge of situations. It also plays with the force of authority, which sometimes may result flawed.

The characters are bland, except for the protagonists. Denzel and Ryan play their roles in an effective way, but the crossover of Gleeson and Farmiga are not necessary, not at least on a extent. It also seemed as if the director was rushed in the filming process, taking off all the suspense and sense of the movie. Some scenes, such as when Tobin and Matt talk several times, are completely dull, since the action taking place on the conversations is unnecessary.

The positive things about the movie are the action scenes, which are delivered with such a powerful touch. The whole scene of the safe-house attack was impressive.

I want to mention Robert Patrick, whose character is in a small but important portion of the movie. He chews the scenery, for real. He basically applies the "I'll take it from here" to Reynolds' character. And as of his involvement in the defense of the safe-house breach, it was superb. Even though his role is minimal, I rooted for his character, who faced an uneasy fate. I also fell claustrophobic when the mercenaries breached, and the CIA agents struggled to hold them back, but never laid down their weapons.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

A Story With A Heart But No Structure

[8/10 · 19 October 2011]

First of all, the movie stands for itself...but for the fans, the readers of the books, not quite.

I bet you David Yates hasn't read the books, and if he did, then his head wasn't right. He probably only read the scripts, that could explain the misguidance of the characters. Since the Order Of The Phoenix, he's made the same mistakes. No character development except for Harry, Ron and Hermoine (or whatever you spell that). He also made the films feel like a rush, as the scenes are also fast-paced. Since he took command, he made the supporting characters be treated as background characters. May as well not put such valuable actors if they're just going to be serving in the background, almost as if they were forgotten.

I mean, for example, Lupin and Tonks' death...one word, BOOM. One moment they're alive, the other dead. No mourning over them, no mention too...just a two-second glimpse at their bodies. How can you put Lupin (Thewlis did a magnificent job with him) in just a few minutes in the movie, with one mediocre line, and just kill him, when he was one of the main driving forces on the third movie, The Prisoner Of Azkabam? Or as well, Gary Oldman, just a minute on screen, barely a cameo? what's the point? The readers are not dumb, they wont be satisfied with such scenes like these. Ralph Fiennes...I like him, and sometimes he manages to make Voldemort look like a freak and sick bastard, such as when he "hugs" Draco, but there's no driving force behind him, just killing Harry Potter. The driving force for killing Potter is never explained, therefore, his character loses the interest of the audience.

Meanwhile, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman and Jason Isaacs are pure gold in this film. Even though their scenes are not as big, they make gold out of every moment they appear on screen. But then again, all these supporting characters may not be the heart, but they're the structure of the story, they hold it together as they surround Harry Potter.

And last, the final battle (sigh). We barely get a glimpse of it, because we were following the main characters all around, sometimes with boring moments. Some call the battle epic, but it's not. Epic should have moments of glory, and there was barely any moment of glory, except for Neville.

Excuse me for my bad writing.