firacious321 Reviews

London Road (2015)

Great! But not for everybody

[8/10 · 18 October 2015]

It's not really surprising how an experimental film like this got polarized reviews... The idea, like many said, to create a documentary musical about a real-life murder is absurd, but the execution for the film was great. Many negative reviews regarding London Road mainly criticized this film because this is "not something you should sing about" like bloody hell people, WE'RE IN THE 21ST CENTURY! But once you get past that, you should be able to view London Road without clouded judgement. There really are no standout numbers or standout performances, which is what makes it great, considering it's a musical film about community (not the murder itself, really). The music is complex, but once the ensemble sing as one, it sounds beautiful. The lyrics taken from recordings in real life may be a bit annoying, but they sound quite natural with the characters singing them. The direction, production design and cinematography also surpass many films from Hollywood. Of course, it is for the viewers to decide, but you can't judge it until you've watched it.

Ant-Man (2015)

I get that it's Ant-man, but couldn't they get a taller actor?

[9/10 · 15 July 2015]

I was just messing with the title. I honestly didn't expect to like the film. Being a die-hard Marvel fan (though I won't let that cloud my judgment of the film), I was mad at MCU for cutting Ant-man out of the original Avengers lineup, so I wasn't really expecting anything great about this. But lowering my expectations actually paid up. I'll admit, the plot was pretty formulaic and full of cinematic clichés, but thanks to director Reed's sleight of hand, the film didn't look boring. In fact it's "fun" factor can rival Guardian of the Galaxy's comedy. The performance of the cast was also a delight. Paul Rudd is a charming new addition to the ever-growing superhero roster of MCU, even though I still can't get over his height. The supporting cast was fine but I won't bother mentioning them. The real deal here is Mr. Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym. I really hope we get to see more of him in future Marvel films. Now the saving grace of the film is its CGI, visual effects, and action sequences: the ants and insect chase scenes, the Falcon fighting scene, the fight in the playground, everything! Thomas the Engine has never been so creepier. I recommend this film, whether you're a die-hard Marvel fan, follower of the MCU franchise, or just looking for an entertaining film. Go See it!

Now You See Me (I) (2013)

This will make you wish that you were a magician, which is a good thing

[8/10 · 10 September 2013]

I really hate putting a pretty good movie into a microscope but here I am. I'm not really into summer movies because most of them are just great at first look but when you really think about it, they're somehow awful; barely a number of summer movies are really commercial and critical success, and I think I could count Now You See Me in the list. I just saw it yesterday and I thought it was pretty good. It reminded me of Chris Nolan's film about magicians also, The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Anyways, watching the film makes me feel the suspense, drama, action, humor, wit and most of all, wonder. The acting from the stellar-looking cast makes it wonderful, especially Freeman, Ruffalo, Eisenberg and Harrelson. Louis Leterrier did a great job directing this film. The visual effects, art direction and the score is amazing- not that awe-inspiring but amazing. The story itself is awesome but the screenplay really needs some polishing. I mean, sure the story is witty and fun and mind-bending, but the characters' back story and development through the story wasn't presented very well. The four magicians remained stagnant and Dylan the agent is just a gift wrap to make us all believe that he is just an ordinary man when he in fact is the most important character, which is not really a good way of storytelling, considering none of them actually got a chance to develop throughout the film. Anyhow, that pretty much sums up my view of the film. I hope we would get to see some improvement on its sequel, but for now, all I can say is "Kudos" to every cast and crew involved in the film, and for those who haven't watched it yet, go see it. Trust me, it will make you see wonder for 2-hours length of the film.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

The movie was great FOR the right audience!

[9/10 · 18 June 2013]

Considered as Disney's one of darkest films of all times, Hunchback of Notre Dame is still one of my most favorite masterpiece Disney has created (the other one being Beauty and the Beast). The songs, unlike what other reviewers said, were fantastic. I mean, compared to the likes of Lion King and Little Mermaid, the songs weren't for the children, but it's so moving and wonderful. Plus the orchestration and the score, Menken totally deserved the Oscar for that. It's so sad that this is considered one of Disney's most underrated film. Anyways, I'm really looking forward to see this on Broadway (there've been rumors), and I know that this will succeed on Broadway because the songs and the story for that matter is really Broadway's, if you know what I mean... All in all, great film nevertheless..