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Reviews
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
Breathtaking version of the comics
As a big fan of the comics in the 70's this adaptation is beyond remarkable and a must see if you in any way enjoyed the comics. I can't say how much much it would make sense if you haven't read the comics as both the visual language and storytelling is a sensory overload.
I should also add that the first time I saw it it was hard to accept the male lead as he is nothing like Valentin, whereas Cara Delevingne absolutely nails it as the prickly but highly capable and independent Laureline. As I was prepared for the male lead the second time around it was easier to disregard this casting miss and concentrate more fully on the story, which is just an amazing visual experience that brings you back to the wonders of the Fifth Element as probably it's closest comparable relative.
I can see how it failed in the US market, as it is very pronounced French in many ways, and if you didn't grow up with it and have sentimental affiliation, it's storyline is admittedly mind boggling fast paced and confusing. Still, the craft is there and Luc Besson knows what he is doing and I fully expect this movie to be a future classic.
Glass Onion (2022)
Wow, this was unexpectedly bad
I was a bit disappointed by the first one but felt there was more buzz about this one so thought it would be a better mystery. Well, that was a mistake, this movie is basically in two parts and almost takes a break in the middle. The first half is interesting and sets up a mysterious and visually pleasing premise, but the Blanc shuts it all down (i won't explain the details) and after that the movie makes absolutely no sense. I'm not kidding, the whole story gets sidetracked and more or less becomes pointless and far fetched. My advice to myself if I could watch it all over for the first time would be to walk out after Blanc explains the first part.
Knives Out (2019)
Much ado about nothing
Had high hopes for this one, seemed like a fun cast in a murder mystery, but not only was the main plot a bit off (spoiler warning), it was really all based on a misunderstanding that caused the the poor heir to kill himself. There was indeed ill intent, but in the end it didn't seem to matter that the young protagonist did not check the label, and thereby confusing the old man's into his demise. I'm sorry, but that is just ridiculous. All characters were stereotypes, and beyond a few exceptions like Don Johnson, they were all easily disposable. No one unfortunately more so than the lead, who although relatable and sweet lacked any opportunities to show her acting skills beyond the deer in the headlight look. Daniel Craig was admittedly amusing, but over-acting ad nausea comes to mind.
Sometimes you can tell very early on that a movie is pretentious and nonsensical, I should have heeded my own advice and cut my losses while i was ahead. The minor twist we all knew was coming was not worth the wait.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Disregard all the negativity! An 11 out of 10
No spoilers.
I'm a hardcore fan and has been since 1977, and this was just a wonderful, wonderful experience. JJ completely and forcefully saved and wrapped up the most impactful movie experience of my life. I honestly can't understand where all the negativity comes from.
Perhaps this movie resonated differently with people who grew up with the original trilogy than those that came in at a later point and were expecting more focus on things happening in the prequels? I've read reviews that it was three movies in one, endless action scenes and zero character development, and nothing could be further from the truth. The film is extremely focused on the story line; no side tracks and gone are the silly excursions of casinos, code breakers and horse races that doesn't lead anywhere. No weird everybody has the force philosophy with kids and brooms, or dead pan silliness where Poe speaks to the First Order pretending to be put on hold. It is in a sense intense in that a lot is wrapped up, but so it should be as one has to remember it is the final chapter. This was a true Star Wars story for those to whom Star Wars matter, and the final scene in particular was wonderful and dare I say cathartic. Ignore the negative reviewers, as in the words of the late Michael Jackson, they don't care about us.
Le Mans 1955 (2018)
Not at all what I expected
Being familiar with the event I heard about this movie a while ago, and how it skillfully and delicately captured the drama and mood as it unfolded, it took a while before I had an opportunity to actually watch it, alas with high anticipation.
Well, it did not match the expectations and I have a hard time understanding all the fuzz. It has a distinct graphical style for sure, but not to the extent that it is different from many others. It is slick, but that's really it and it did not, at least to me, convey any particular sense of drama per se.
What effectively kills this movie though is that it takes serious liberties with the actual event it portrays, which begs the question of what really is the point of the movie? As a movie it barely makes sense, and I can understand that the representation as shown is both moving and shocking for a viewer/film festival reviewer, whom either hasn't heard of the accident before, or isn't familiar with the details, but to me it was a serious flaw that so much was just made up for dramatic effect. Especially since the reality was even more dramatic, and beyond making it more sinister by having it play out in the dark, I can't see any viable reasons for straying like this. The events are for example well documented in numerous articles, not to mention Wikipedia.
Mild spoilers ahead I guess, and I'm not an expert but for example, John Fitch did not have an argument with Neubauer at the time of the accident, he was standing next to Levegh's wife and saw the whole event unfold. John Fitch neither had to persuade Neubauer, as he too quickly came to the conclusion that it would be a PR disaster regardless if they won or not.
In all the movie oozes of lost opportunities. It was undoubtedly a horrific tragedy, but more interesting would have been to see the reasoning behind keeping the race running. Another aspect is that, as this was obviously before cell phones, apparently few people on the other side of the track realized the extent of what had happened until hours later, which is something that is so much more remarkable given that it happened during daylight, and not as shown in the movie when it was dark and the crowds had started to recede.
The Mandalorian: Chapter 4: Sanctuary (2019)
More like an episode of Orville
Had to happen sooner or later I guess, but a dramatic drop in quality nonetheless. This episode completely lacked the mood and atmosphere of the previous three episodes,and I'm seriously starting to feel the Howard family's directorial skills are over-rated. A whole episode that was beyond predictable, an over-use of baby Yoda cuteness, and constant self congratulatory smirks, made this feel more like Orville than the baseline set earlier. Not that there is anything wrong with Orville, on the contrary, but it is really a completely different show that has nothing in common with Star Wars. I knew we were in trouble the moment the otherwise awesome theme by Ludwig Goranson started playing in a lullaby version.
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Two movies in one!
Almost 1,500 reviews at this point so I'm obviously most likely writing this for myself only, but that is ok as I feel a need to sort through the impressions. Just like with TFA there is a lot to like here, but there are also just like in TFA a painful amount of lost opportunities. First off, this movie was a wonderful experience, there is absolutely no doubt about that and the positives far outweighed the negatives. Having said that the negatives that were, were all related to the general story arc and unfortunately pretty significant. There also seem to be a general trend in Hollywood that we need more humor and self-depreciation in movies nowadays, which proved valuable in films like Ant-man, Deadpool and especially Guardians of the Galaxy, but which went for example completely overboard in Ragnarok, making it a painful slap-stick mess. In TLJ some jokes and gags add comic relief depending on timing, whereas others are just plain disrespectful to the franchise, such as the response Rey receives after giving Luke his light sable.
Disclaimer, from now on there will be massive spoilers. TLJ is really two movies in one, with one following Rey, Luke and to some extent Kylo Ren and the other following the resistance with a focus on Finn and the new girl Rose. The first movie turns out to be among the finest Star Wars ever delivered, and Daisy Ridley is magnificent and flawless and quite frankly carries the whole movie. Adam Driver delivers another very solid performance, but this time the screenwriting partly let him down, as he was faced with situations that gradually made his personality more black and white cartoony in contrast to the conflicted character we were introduced to. In the end this movie belonged to Mark Hamill though, what a rush to see him confront Kylo Ren in the final sequence, and how it brought back memories from him entering the nest of Jabba the hut or confronting his father. All of it brilliant.
Coming back to that second movie nested into a great Star Wars movie, focusing on the resistance, very little made sense. The whole goose hunt for the code breaker, which ended up in nothing and did nothing to move the story further, no doubt designed to introduce a regular breather from the main story with Rey, Luke and Kylo. Unfortunately, neither John Boyega nor Kelly Marie Tran as Rose are very relatable or offer any convincing acting in this movie. Boyega's Finn is some form of Han Solo copycat in the story, but where Oscar Isaac's Poe has that kind of hot tempered, boyish charm, Boyega is not even close to pull it off. I hate to say it, but the Boyega/Tran portion of the movie felt like a Disney diversity stunt altogether, not doing the very worthwhile underlying cause any service. Leia's little space Sleeping Beauty sequence was ridiculous and didn't make sense and would have made a wonderful sendoff of the late Carrie Fisher, and although I understand they hade many scenes already shot they didn't want to waste or deny the audience, surely that scene could have been re-edited to the end when they again where under heavy bombardment. Now they really have a problem in the next one.
Other have commented that it feels as if Rian Johnson deliberately ignored many of the setups JJ Abrahams introduced in TFA, and it is hard not to agree. In the case of Snoke he even made a mockery of it, showing the mysterious and ancient Sith Lord lying like a gutted pig on the floor with his tongue sticking out. It is not that it was beyond Kylo to do something like this, but it removed the whole dynamics from the Kylo Ren story line and it would have made more sense if the victim was the other protagonist, General Hoax, who is nothing less than ridiculed in this movie. I do feel that people accepted Kylo Ren's explanation of Rey's parent too easily though, and I think and hope that this is one key reveal that was saved for the third act. My own theory is that Rey really is Luke's daughter with someone he met 20+ ago, but who never told him she was pregnant and decided to hide her away from the dangerous world of Jedis and Luke Skywalker in a place called nowhere or Jakku, knowing that the whole New Order was looking for Luke. It is to me the only explanation that makes sense, partly given her extraordinary connection to the force, and partly because these three trilogies are about family, and more specifically the Skywalker family.
Overall a great experience with half of the movie faultless and wonderful, but I sure wish JJ had done it instead, imagine what could have been. I enjoyed this movie without doubt, but it had fillers, and the sense of wonder and, for lack of a better word, pride I felt when seeing TFA, really wasn't present this time. I'm from a generation that saw the originals a little kid, and they have been one of my most important filmic influences ever since, but with Han, Luke and obviously Leia now gone, it finally feels it has gone full circle. Disney will keep churning these movies out, and from now on I will not count the days to the next one anymore. I will of course see them at will, just like I enjoy a good Bond movie now and then.
Abduction (2011)
Much more enjoyable than reviews indicate
Well, so I must confess I gave this a 10 just to compensate for some of the silly low scores. None the less, I did find the film enjoyable and should easily warrant a 6 or so. Quite contrary to some reviews I was very impressed with the lead, Taylor Lautner, and I think he has a natural and honest way to him that makes even this kind of dialogue digestible. The problem is that this movie is aimed at teenagers and therefore lacks all dark or threatening elements, making the movie a tad to much Disney. The screen writing is a bit sloppy and childish, which further accentuates the b-movie quality. None of this is the lead's fault though, I mean what could he do to change the concept of this movie? Turn it down? No, even this movie obviously never would have been made if it wasn't for the studio wanting to bank on the Twilight popularity, I actually felt Lautner made it enjoyable.