Vice isn't The Big Short, so it should not be edited that way. The use of a narrator is McKay's biggest crutch which holds this film back. When the narration goes away, the movie instantly gets better. This movie needed time to breathe, it needed to let the actors stretch their legs in scenes. The beginning of the film is the worst offender and best example of the problems I am highlighting. It jumps from three different time periods, each having their own filming style. The movie can look like a documentary, or it can cut to a shaky cam, to then settle on a stationary shot. It's jarring for the audience and the connection to each shot is nonexistent. Vice is a movie worth watching at some point. It's not something you have to rush to theaters to see. It might even be preferable to watch it at home since the theater experience might involve people yelling or talking throughout the movie. Vice is a weird film with some important things to say accompanied by some really good acting. I am interested to see if it can generate any wins from its awards nominations but only time can tell. 7/10
The "mid credits" scene wasn't funny
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the film, being able to present all the events happening as reality. Nothing is blown up to be bigger than it could be in real life. I wouldn't blink an eye if this were a biographical piece about a real person; there is no reason to believe that the movie is fictitious. The main problems that this the film encounters should have been an easy fix. They have the actress who plays the young version of the protagonist also play the daughter of that same character when the movie has a time jump. Its a really odd choice that is compounded by the fact that only the main character switches actors for the time jump. Everyone else is still playing the same person and look exactly the same even though there was supposed to be a 20-year gap. The second problem was the editing. This problem is really only egregious at the start of the movie, but the way the narrator continues to give information throughout was an odd choice. Overall, Vox Lux was about a modern day pop star. With music written by SIA, the soundtrack was pretty good. The biggest claim to fame for the movie was that it seemed real and its actors did a pretty good job. It didn't need the 20-minute concert section at the end, especially since it seemed like the cheapest part of the film. With some better editing, this movie probably would have been an awards contender since Natalie Portman does such a good job. It could have been better, and for that reason, there is no reason to see this in theaters. 7/10
As flashy as it is, I always wanted more from it. The musics real good though
The thing that stood out the most about Aquaman came from its story construction. Aquaman doesn't have scenes, it has moments and they are all crafted exactly the same. It starts with a setup based on a familiar trope, then some build up followed by a joke. Sometimes the joke is a subversion of the trope, other times it's just a one-liner or a surprise. This is the only way the movie is constructed; just a bunch of these moments back to back from the very beginning. After two and a half hours of the same thing over and over, I was ready to leave the theater. This problem seeped into the locations the characters visited. Though there were many exotic places, I felt like I never got to spend any time there. It's like the movie was a train and I stared out the window, never knowing more than just a couple of seconds of superficial detail. The dialogue was a mixed bag, which is really weird since it actually had some interesting ideas. There were great lines of dialogue butchered by the delivery which was disheartening. All of the leads did a good enough job, but it was the side characters that consistently underperformed. The action scenes were a pretty big disappointment as well. James Wan's signature style of shooting hand to hand combat sequences was in full effect. Complete with camera spins and tracking shots, the over the top action was definitely on display. The problem that I did not foresee however, was how much Zack Snyder would influence Aquaman visually. Wan liberally used freeze frames, slow motion, and virtual camera moves to nauseating effect. It straight up ruined a few action scenes, depriving them of weight and impact. Aquaman is a movie that was entirely spoiled by its trailers. The first trailer shows off all the plot points for the movie and it only gets more egregious for the rest. It's lack of story coupled with its predictability make it really hard to watch. None of the characters have an arc; Aquaman starts the movie not wanting to be king and ends it as king only because he had to. It feels like the movie could have been better if it wasn't changing genres every 20 minutes as well. This is perfectly reflected in the soundtrack when the movie goes from action to techno, jumping from classic adventure to Pitbull's cover of 'Africa'. The movie is all over the place but people will love it because the DCEU now has jokes. "The lightheartedness isn't the basic problem that needs to be fixed here. The overused and unearned moment is DC's greatest foe" is one of the best quotes that sums up what went wrong with Aquaman. 5.5/10
It may steal ideas from seven other movies, but it constantly pushing forward made it not boring
It is pretty funny, though it helps to have a theater full of children to laugh along with. Sadly, the jokes don’t always land; most only draw out single exhales of acknowledgment. The ‘on the nose’ references that pass over most of the audiences’ heads, don’t help much either. So even though it does elicit a few laughs, it doesn’t achieve the campy vibe it strives for the viewers to experience. Bumblebee is really boring. With action being one of the franchise’s hallmarks, the absence of it left only a middling story that could put me to sleep. I was ready for a Transformers movie that accurately depicted the source material, but perhaps that was too tall an order. This movie only fills me with trepidation for the upcoming Birds of Prey film since the screenplays are written by the same person. Overall, I can’t wait to forget the little of the movie I can actually remember. 4/10
Should have just been a CGI fest on Cybertron
the people around him. This is a slight complaint, and a compliment, in comparison to the thing that really hurts the movie for me. Since it starts out so strong, it makes me sad to say that the quality does dip. There are two moments where the visuals and soundtrack create amazing moments that the story does not support. Miles' relationships with most characters are thin, so when the film asks you to care, it can be hard to fulfill that request. It does a great job of showing how hard life can be when you want to become Spider-Man. It nails the crushing experiences with the mantra "get back up no matter how hard you get pushed down". In committing to that great message, it never shows the growth from learning that lesson. Miles goes from zero to hero in the span of a couple of minutes. As a character it makes sense, but to become a full-fledged veteran Spider-Man overnight was hard to buy. It still ends up being the best movie I've seen this year. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is labeled by many as "the best in the series" or "the best Spider-Man story". To me, I realize that this movie wouldn’t work without all the other mainstream Spider-Man stories; comparing them wouldn’t be fair. You should look at this movie like this: Spider-Man is a popular property; it now has an animated movie that tells a story about what it would be like if YOU were chosen to be Spider-Man". Ironically, that's the message of Spider-Man anyways, but this movie is built upon respecting legacy without you even needing to know any of it. I can't wait for the sequel if it's this good. 8.9/10
The voice cast did a great job, but next time leave Peter Porker at home |
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