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Reviews
Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
How far the franchise has strayed from the original Jurassic Park...
I consider myself a very big Jurassic Park fan, but I'm also a very critical one. I love the original movie for its atmosphere, the fascinating dinosaurs, the scary scenes and the immersive story. After a few so-so sequels, Jurassic World did a great job of capturing what made JP so wonderful for me.
I guess I'm liking the wrong things about the Jurassic franchise, because the newer movies focus on totally different things. Compared to JP and JW, Jurassic World Dominion feels more like an action movie that happens to have dinosaurs and recurring characters in it.
It goes from dino attack to dino chase, to dino battle, to dino attack, etc. Hardly ever does the movie build up tension, let the characters grow friendships, or take the time to tell a nice story.
If you like seeing lots of different dinosaurs in different action scenes, you'll probably love this movie. If you were hoping for something with that Jurassic Park vibe, this might not be it. And no, not even the original cast and some Easter eggs can do the trick.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
It's hard to tell an original story in the Jurassic Park franchise, so they might as well make it spectacular
I see the term 'popcorn blockbuster' used a lot in reviews and that's probably spot-on. The movie is fast-paced, flashy and has more dinosaurs than it has time to properly show. It does stray from the formula of the original movie, but it probably has to.
That doesn't mean the movie lacks depth, or that the story is bad. Sure, the story is nothing amazing and it recycles some of the ideas of older movies. But it shows a deeper level of human nature and it places Jurassic World into a bigger picture. It also manages to make you sad, probably more than any of the other Jurassic movies.
The locations are gorgeous and the movie breaths a lot of atmosphere. One thing I can see people dislike is that the movie is split in two, with two completely different settings.
It's spectacular, it has a lot of dinosaur action, it's pretty, funny and sometimes terrifying. I can't wait to see it again.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
I had many worries - but it turned out to be my favorite Avengers movie
This is the movie we've been waiting for. The big villain, the big story, almost all of our heroes working together. In the last ten years, all MCU movies built up to this moment. And we're not just seeing the big heroes, but also their sidekicks. This isn't just another Avengers movie, this is Avengers³.
I was really worried. These were the questions on my mind : 1. Would it all work out? 2. Would all the different movie styles mesh together? 3. Would it make for a coherent, satisfying story? 4. Could enough characters get their own moments? 5. Would the movie dare to try enough new things? 6. Now that they cut the story in half, would the movie have a satisfying ending? 7. Would I want to watch this movie again and again? Would it be a great movie that I'd want to watch many times?
The answer to all questions is: Yes.
1. It all works out and makes for a great and epic movie. It's fast, it's exciting, it's funny, it's scary, it's dramatic. Marvel has not forgotten how to make movies.
2. The styles blend in flawlessly. Because the story takes place in different places, not all characters meet, so that definitely helps. And when they do, they are suitably introduced to each other. It never felt weird; if anything, it set up for some hilarious jokes.
3. The story is fast and feels like it could be spread out a bit more, but there's a lot of depth here. Thanos makes for a better villain than I dared to hope.
4. There are several great character stories here. A few sidekick characters only do some fighting and hardly get any lines, but most characters definitely get their awesome moments. The character interaction always feels very good.
5. The movie really dares to go where others did not. Not just in scale but also in drama; this is probably the most dramatic MCU movie to date.
6. Don't worry, the movie doesn't stop halfway the story. There's cliffhanger, sure. You'll be dying to see the sequel, sure. People will complain about the ending, sure. But it all works out. Next year, we can organize some great 5 hour's marathons.
7. There is so much to see and enjoy in this movie, I'll be watching it again and again. I daresay this is the most enjoyable Avengers movie to date.
Embers (2015)
Without memories, what is there to live for?
Imagine that you forgot what you were doing an hour ago. You don't remember your name. You don't know if you have friends or family. All you know is you're hungry and you should find a place to spend the night.
This is the setting for Embers, a movie that explores human behavior and how it is influenced by our memories.
We see a couple that tries to stay together. A kid that wanders the world aimlessly. A frustrated young man that has forgotten how to control his emotions. And then there's the young girl surviving in a bunker. She is unaffected and still has her memories, but her life in the bunker might be just as pointless as a life without memory.
Some of the many story lines are connected, but don't expect anything big to happen. The power lies in the concept and the emotions that the characters portray.
Enjoy this movie and remember to hold your memories dear.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
A bit more enjoyable than the second movie
If you have accepted the direction the trilogy has taken the Hobbit, then this movie will entertain. The Battle of the Five Armies (TBotFA) fixes some of the problems of the previous titles, but introduces a few of its own.
The movie starts with the scene that should have been the ending of the second movie. TBotFA has no introduction, no flashback, not a single word on the story of the trilogy: it jumps straight into action. This type of opening works only if people have watched the second movie very recently.
With a bit over 2 hours, the movie sits at a much more comfortable length than the first two. TBotFA does not focus on irrelevant details, but sticks to the main story, resulting in a more satisfying pacing.
Now that the Dwarfs are stuck in the Lonely Mountain most of the time, the movie relies on many new characters. Because these characters were introduced in the second or even in the third movie, it is difficult to care about them. Several of the newer characters are just plain unlikable. A few fan-favorite characters do return, but sadly they only get between 5 seconds and 5 minutes of screen time.
With so few female roles, the focus on Tauriel is understandable, welcome even. But the Dwarf-Elf romance continues to feel forced, uncomfortable and now even childish. This would not have been a problem if the relationship was not so prominent in the movie, but unfortunately it is.
The acting is not the problem here, the performances are top notch and are often a joy to watch. That is until the characters make unlikable decisions, giving the scenes an uncomfortable undertone. Often one does not know who to root for in the film. Although that may have been the purpose, it can be unsatisfying.
As for action, the bar has been further raised with TBotFA, basically turning the main characters into super heroes. For some viewers it may have reached the point where the action is unrealistic, unbelievable and therefore not enjoyable. Dwarfs killing armored Orcs with simple head-butts, or defeating whole battalions single handedly. Legolas' scenes are very guilty of this (and the question begs if he really deserves to be in 5 of the Tolkien films, one less than Gandalf). The one-on-one fights manage to make a huge deal of very little content.
The actual Battle in the second half of the movie is definitely fun to watch. 'Sit back and enjoy the show' seems to have been the idea here. Some scenes do tend to get messy, illogical and stretched out; new races and whole armies are introduced, but then hardly do anything of effect. With the movie named after the Battle, it seems the producers had to use a lot of filler material to keep it going for a while.
Once again the movie features breath-taking sceneries and everything looks gorgeous in HFR 3D. Finding a cinema that runs the movie in this quality is recommended.
Like the previous movies, TBotFA tries hard to be like Lord of the Rings. Sadly they still could not make it work. The decision to stray so much from the Hobbit tale that has proved itself for over 75 years will probably stay a topic of debate during the coming years.
If Lord of the Rings rules king, then its son The Hobbit is not the prince it should have been. It tried too hard and then barely made it to knighthood.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Decent fantasy-action slightly inspired by The Hobbit
Most reviews will tell you what's so great about this movie and why it's worth watching, but I figured you should hear the other side of the story.
First of all a small note for Tolkien fans. If you thought An Unexpected Journey strayed a bit too far from the book: The Desolation of Smaug looks like the script writers didn't even know there was a book. The movie tries hard to change the story wherever it can, reducing fan-favorite chapters to 5 minute scenes and writing new content that feels out of place.
But it's not only bad if you've read the book. I really wonder what the target audience is, because it feels like it's written for 15 year old boys. There are random action scenes every 10 minutes and 'funny' decapitations every 30. The worst thing here is that the action comes at the cost of character development. You have a band of 13 Dwarfs and a Hobbit, yet you rarely see them interact.
Now I like Elves more than Dwarfs, so I didn't mind seeing so much of them in this movie. But having them show up in every place to save the day feels wrong. Perhaps Peter Jackson thought his cast of Dwarfs wasn't good enough to create an enjoyable movie? Gandalf's scenes in Dol Guldur were an interesting addition in concept, but they are just too slow. I feel his scenes mostly serve as an attempt to raise The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings' level of epicness. And that just doesn't work.
The story is full of illogicalities. How does entering the mountain to steal the Arkenstone to unite the Dwarfs to kill the Dragon to enter the mountain work exactly?? And remember that heartwarming last scene of An Unexpected Journey, where Thorin finally accepts Bilbo? Well, that's all gone again. Even though he keeps outsmarting all the Dwarfs, Bilbo is back to being an unappreciated 5th wheel of the party. And did the writers really think viewers would be so desperate for a love story that they'd enjoy an Elf and a Dwarf flirting it up? Their scenes feel forced and are painful to watch.
Martin Freeman's acting is top notch again, but sadly he hardly gets any screen time. He only shines in his scene with Smaug. Now Smaug as a character is awesome, no complaints there. Yet most of his scenes are way too dragged out. There's a 20 minute scene with the Dwarfs running around thinking they can defeat him. Only at that point the movie already hinted at the only possible way of defeating him. Perhaps the worst aspect is that these scenes make Smaug look like an unintelligent creature. Dwarfs luring a Dragon around by going "Nana-nanana you can't catch me!" is not only silly and cliché, it's an insult to Smaug's character.
Final complaint: the whole movie builds up to a scene.... that's apparently going to be the opening scene of movie 3. Nobody in the cinema was sure if the movie had ended, or there was just an awkwardly long pause when the screen went black.
A movie like this you'll want to see, no matter how good or bad it is. You can't miss out on such a huge release, especially when it looks gorgeous in HFR 3D. But where I watched each Lord of the Rings movie 3 times in cinema, watching The Desolation of Smaug just once was enough for me.
In the end, most problems of the movie seem to stem from the decision to turn the cute Hobbit tale into three epic movies that have to live up to the Lord of the Rings hype. It doesn't work.
Space: Above and Beyond (1995)
Highly overrated?
When a friend recommended me a classic SF series, I was excited. The story of some soldiers defending Earth somehow promised a lot. But I don't think I've ever been more disappointed with a series. It was bad. It had a lot of potential, but never delivered. I started calling it the "almost"-series, because it was almost cool. Almost good. It almost had a good ending, good characters, a good story. But it didn't.
After half the series I really didn't expect much anymore. But it still managed to disappoint me. I just kept watching because I wanted to know how it ended. It had to get better near the end, right? Hardly.
It's tempting to suggest how this show could have been much better, but I won't. I'll just point out why I (and my brother) didn't like this show.
The acting is decent at best. The characters are not interesting enough and there is almost no character development. Two or three go through some changes at one point, but that's all. Overall, they lack something that you just expect marines to have: attitude. Our heroes are supposed to be the best of the best. Yet they run around like some school boys playing with toy guns. Did the writers of the show really think that shouting 'booyah!' every now and then would make them cool enough? The script has a lot of potential, but never achieves full glory. Some of the story lines are truly glorious, but somehow they managed to mess up most of them. Either the acting is subpar, the music suddenly stops when it needs to be dramatic as possible, or the characters utter the most silly and cliché words imaginable. The aliens are uninspired and lack intimidation. You need a lot of imagination to see something else than suited people. Every episode consists of a short story, but it only takes a while before you realize none of them seem to matter. Nothing big ever happens. They're sent out on a mission, run into trouble and barely make it back. They receive a medal and that's the end of the episode. With some notable exceptions, you might as well watch the first 2 and the last 2 episodes of the whole series.
I understand that it holds a lot of nostalgia value for many people and I don't mean to offend them. There are some pretty good episodes, but they could have been so much better, even for the mid 90s. Most episodes are just not worth it.
I had to go through a lot of trouble to find this series. I had to go through a lot more to finish watching it. o through in order to finish it.