which inject some energy into the pacing. Another contributing factor to the watchability was the acting. Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt brought charisma and helped to smooth out any bumps in the story that occurs. Even the younger lead, Dominique Fishback, has a couple of pretty fun standout scenes. Even though this movie gets a lot right, there are still quite a few aspects holding it back. While there are CGI intensive scenes, not all of them look good. A few are quite bad, adding on top of some unintelligible action sequences where it's hard to follow what is happening. The pace is very fast, which helps to breeze through the two-hour runtime, but this breaks the tonality. One moment is supposed to be heartfelt, another suspenseful, it never settles into a groove and just bounces around. The inability to nail tone and story hurt character motivations. It's hard to understand why certain characters make choices the way that they do. Most of it comes down to needing a character to push the plot along instead of getting to the scene's natural conclusion. In contrast, Jamie Foxx's character has a clear, simple motivation that allows for passive viewers to follow the story easily. With a singular goal, it does a lot of the heavy lifting for anyone that just needs something on for two hours. Project Power is entertaining enough. There was only one scene that struck me as being interestingly framed, and the score sounded very bland. With charismatic performances and enough CG work to keep your attention, there isn't much else you could ask from it. This is what you can expect from Netflix Originals made for wide audiences. If you need something to watch this weekend, this probably won't offend you. 5.5/10
Had some cool insert shots though
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things about the movie. Even though it's billed as an action flick, that was the least interesting part for me. While there was nothing wrong with the action scenes, they just aren't why you should watch it. The parts that really took away from my experience were the plans of this story continuing—the multiple setups for a potential sequel cement the picture as an off-brand comic-book movie. It feels like 6 Underground was mashed together with any of the fantasy garbage that floods the ancillary market. The Old Guard is better than most of those, but nothing kills the mood more than impossible promises. I don't even want a sequel, nevermind that there will probably never be one. The reason why a sequel won't work is that Charlize Theron anchors the whole thing, she carries the film on her back. There is nothing that makes this movie or story unique. While her involvement in a sequel is possible, I can't believe it would be with the same presence. While she is not the only standout, two members made a considerable impression with their relationship that I enjoyed; she is the most important. Overall, The Old Gaurd is a good enough couple of hours. The sequel teasing might not annoy you as much as it did me, but the mid-tier action scenes might. The mythology is interesting, and the perspective given to century-old people is pretty well thought out. It works and is included in your Netflix subscription, so why not give it a shot. 5.5/10
A week later, I am struggling to remember what I liked about this movie. Mostly forgettable
In reality, Extraction is a mostly cookie-cutter picture with some above-average stylings. There's really only one sequence that can initially be considered impressive as it's action-packed with a fake no cuts presentation. Outside of this prolonged sequence, the rest of the scenes aren't as well shot or choreographed. It seems out of place for so much effort to be concentrated on one area while the rest tapers off. Outside of the action, there was a considerable effort made to have engaging characters. It seemed like anyone with a decent amount of screen time was given a backstory. This helps to connect the audience with who is on screen but opens the story up to some criticism. Some events that were set up don't make sense, and many resolutions don't either. These could have been brushed off in other movies, but since there was an effort made to make every detail matter, they stick out. Having actors get the chance to breathe life into their characters was a nice surprise as a couple of the performances were pretty good. The actor that plays the kidnapped boy, his handler, and the kid who cuts off his own finger(don't ask) stood out to me. Extraction is really similar to Triple Threat for me. A Netflix movie that has problems, is enjoyable enough, and I'm not upset since I didn't have to pay for it. Chris Hemsworth might be the leading man here, but he plays by far the least interesting character. It’s good enough to kill some time and nothing more. 4/10
Still waiting for a movie I actually care about during this world event
shaky-cam and zoomed-in framing make it very difficult to follow what is going on. Another facet of the movie that doesn't work is the story. While trying to mash The Matrix with Hardcore Henry, the end product is as bad as you expect. I never felt attached to any of the characters, didn't care what they cared about, or ever wanted to see them again. Even when a character grows a conscience, it comes across as desperate to keep the plot moving and artificial. At least it's wrapped in references lifted out of Fight Club and even calls itself out for the Reservoir Dogs one. There are three things that I did like about Bloodshot. First, Lamorne Morris injects some much-needed humor in this drag of a movie. I would love for him to get more roles so I can see him in actually good films. He shows up right before the third act, so he's not the brightest light at the end of this very dark tunnel. Second, Eiza Gonzalez continues to be a strong actress that doesn't stand out but makes a mark in her roles. Finally, some of the set design and costumes were very nice. This movie proves that you can dig into the genre and make it look great on a big screen. At one point, a character puts on a rectangular metal helmet, and it looks incredible. So like I said before, Bloodshot is not worth potentially getting COVID-19 over, so don't go to the theater to see it. If you are looking for movies to stream and come across it there, then it might be worth your time if you really want to see it. Other than that, I can't see a world in which this would be an acceptable way to spend an hour and forty minutes. 2/10
There were inconsistent aspect ratio and lenses used which became really distracting
All my grievances can be attributed to the script and editing. The first blatantly obvious setup of the movie is that it divides the women and men from each other. Not literally, but it basically creates two pens to hold the characters in, one labeled 'Good' and the other labeled 'Bad'. Even when you have Harley Quinn, a mass murderer, and certifiable villain, the film sticks her in the 'Good' pen. Only men are labeled as bad since little is done to develop these characters from being more than one dimensional. It helps make the 'Girl Power' message easier to implement as this plays more like a generic low budget affair than what's expected of a 'comic book movie'. Another point of extreme pain for me was Casandra Cain, played by Ella Jay Basco. Her performance could have been edited weirdly or just didn't fit with the overall tone that the film, but it was horrible. Her line delivery and acting was cringe-worthy as it never seemed like she belonged with everyone else. It's a shame because the character is in most of the movie. Somehow, this major grievance isn't the worst thing either. Black Mask, for the uninitiated, is an iconic villain for Batman. So debuting him in an offshute picture seemed fine to develop his origin story. What I don't apprieciate is how the ending handles him as a character. The amount of disrespect and laziness that this 'girl power' shitshow uses to wrap him up, visibly shocked me in the theater. I couldn't believe what just happened. Aside from characters and acting, Birds of Prey fails to be the fun light-hearted romp that it thinks it is. The situations that characters get into are low stakes until the very end, and almost none of the humor hits. The structure in which the story is told is entirely wrong, and a more traditional style would have helped for overall pacing and intrigue. There just isn't that much fun being had as most of the runtime focuses on voice over and scenes dedicated to driving home the 'girl power' message. Birds of Prey was bad, boring, and at the end, very upsetting. The vibe that was promised, a fun picture about women winning and men losing was only half delivered as there was nothing fun about it. The failure to capture the tone was the fault of editing, specific performances, and the horrible use of music. Some might take offense to how beloved characters were changed, but I personally was only affronted by how Black Mask was treated at the end. If you go see this, you're either a DCEU fan that thinks Batman v. Superman and Justice League are good movies or an agenda-pushing person that might not even see this at all. To everyone else, stay far away from the theater as the hope of interesting action sequences will fail you just like this picture did when it promised to be interesting. 2/10
The 'girl power' message is thrown out the window when a female character uses their connection to a male character as protection and abuses that
While Bad Boys for Life won't offend anyone, at least I hope so, it doesn't inspire confidence in me. With this reboot shooting for the stars as it tries to become a regular series, it doesn't do a good enough job easing back in. Martin Lawrence was always the heart in the middle, grounding the movies in a ridiculous fake reality; by sidelining him, the movie slots into the emerging low-big budget category. This is where the John Wick series and many others reside as tentpole films have left studios with under $100 million budgets to share. The good thing is when Lawrence is on screen he does a great job being the comedic relief.relief. I can't whole-heartedly recommend this movie. While it does do away with Michael Bay's signature shaky cam and depicts action more clearly, there just isn't enough here. If you've already seen the award season movies, then this actually might be the slight fun you need if you're bored out of your mind. It's another old franchise that started in the 90s trying to modernize, what did you expect? 4/10
There was a shot where they forgot to set the muzzle flashes to screen and it was hilarious
The Rise of Skywalker is offensive because it was boring; it's terrible because the plot doesn't make sense. You don't need to bring up the rest of the series to prove this is a bad movie as it dies on its own merits. For the first third, I was having flashbacks to 6 Underground and how the continuous cutting and nonstop pace made it hard to settle in for the over two-hour runtime. The Rise of Skywalker is in a hurry to get itself over and done with as its breakneck pace never slowed down. Characters are continually jumping to their next objective as so much grown has to be covered. While trying to erase everything that The Last Jedi stood for and having its own story, The Rise of Skywalker doesn't take the time to get everything right. It's sloppy, rushed, and offensive. In the place of substance, it relies on blatant uses of nostalgia in a weaponized form. Continually using music from the original trilogy to try and cover up everything wrong with the movie. I would go, "I remember liking this song, and it meaning something." It continually mines past films as a cheap party trick, and when it finally gets to its own story, all hell breaks loose. The villain in this turd on fire is ridiculous. The way all of the antagonists are setup is a tragedy. The leaps in logic for Rey and her abilities in the force are unfounded. What ends up happening to certain characters is complete bullshit. Pretending like this is ok, that it would be fine to accept what has happened as normal, would be a mistake. It surprised me that I wasn't angry while watching this movie. I usually can get irritated if a film gets on my nerves, but that didn't happen here. I think JJ Abrams's greatest accomplishment is that the presentation is good enough, so the only emotion I had was boredom. I was utterly bored, and none of the humor worked for me. Some will say that this is a hilarious movie, but if the stakes in your film don't matter and I don't care what's happening, then I can't laugh when forced humor is thrown at me. I genuinely laughed on three separate occasions, which is very low for the sheer volume of jokes that is put in every scene. The actors tried to do a good job with the material that they were given. I think they were collateral damage in the decisions that were being made. They, along with fans, were wronged so they should not be blamed. Just because their characters suck, doesn't mean its their fault. Please do not harass them online for the failure that is this movie. I can't believe I'm about to say this. Rise of Skywalker is the worst movie in the Star Wars franchise. While there are tons of technical and presentation problems in the prequels, there were still aspects to them that breathed life into the franchise. The Rise of Skywalker is devoid of any magic; it doesn't feel like the same thing. I can't think of one scene that you could watch on YouTube, and all of the music is ripped out of the old movies. This is bottom barrel stuff, and I couldn't watch it again. Star Wars is dead as a movie-going experience, and while I might have to see the eventual follow-up to review, I won't take pleasure in doing it. 2/10
There is no reason to see the movie if you are not a die hard fan, don't waste your time
making it look good is hard. Bay is the undisputed king of action; whether that's cars flipping over, explosions, or shootouts, he knows how to make them look good. I can even throw a bone to the actors as all of them seemed to play their parts well. While Ryan Reynolds is probably the main draw for most, he doesn't give the best performance. Honestly, none of the actors did anything to capture your attention, though that isn't their fault. The movie is stuck in the highest gear for its entire two-hour runtime; there isn't a moment for the characters to settle down. Read the comments made by actress Melanie Laurent about how Bay shoots on set, and you'll understand why this is. It honestly comes down to their ability to get their characters across in a short amount of time, which they do, and it's just enough to get to the next action scene. The rest of the movie is just constant cutting and motion, which can get nauseating. The first 20 minutes were unintelligible, as I had no clue where the characters were supposed to be when cutting to a different shot. This was a constant problem as characters teleport to new positions or major events happen offscreen. The fault lies squarely on two shoulders, the screenplay, and Bay himself. It doesn't help that there are constant flashbacks that the audience has no reference for and doesn't explain what is happening in the present. The best example comes right at the beginning of the movie, starting in present-day and going back six months for the first flashback. We spend approximately five minutes in this time period before jumping further back to four years into the past. With the amount of time switching, I'm surprised this isn't Back to the Future. Some might say the action scenes lift this dumpster fire from the hell hole from which it came into a place of watchability. I can guarantee you that if you know someone who enjoys this movie, you should probably never take their recommendations seriously from now on. You would have to be neurotic to be able to sit through the absolute mess that could only have been made for Netflix. On the bright side, I guess the streaming service really is the only place where creatives get full control over their projects. 2/10
This hurt to watch
by absurd dialogue. In second place again is Gillan as she continues to be the rock that is the foundation for the story. Since the cast expanded for the sequel, it would be remiss not to acknowledge Aquafina, who, at the ending of the movie, does the best acting. Everything else just doesn't work. The story is worse this time around, which completely boggles my mind. There is too much filler, which usually comes from scenes designed to make the audience laugh without any actual substance. It can all be traced back to the plot's inability to have motives for its characters' actions. This lack of direction that slows everything down brings the pacing to a crawl. Instead of being a tight fun movie, Jumanji: The Next Level ends up being a frustrating experience that is nowhere near as enjoyable. I know that for some viewers, the changes made to characters and pacing won't be a problem for them. But I would implore them to ask if the sequel really is as good as the first. It honestly felt like I was on an amusement park ride as I was whisked to different locations with little prompting. Though there are some funny moments and there is fun to be had, it just doesn't come close. It's not like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was an impeccable movie that knew what to do, but it was better than this. I was very excited about this film; I thought that I was going to get more of everything I saw from the first, and in a way, I did. Since the ending hints at a third Jumanji movie, I would like to advise for that not happen. They should have focused on this installment being fun instead of trying to make a Jumanji franchise. 3.5/10
It's time to stop
At first, I thought adding more people to the isolated incidents of the original would quickly make the story feel too crowded. Thankfully, the trailers are more extreme in this department, and the new additions don't drag the movie down. If anything, Zoey Deutch was the perfect thing to add, keeping everything fresh; she has some really great lines and interactions with the rest of the cast. The outcome of her performance overcame a lot for me, though, I could never shake the feeling that she was putting on an act. I could tell this was not her real personality. It threw me off at the start, but the material was so good that I just accepted it. The rest of the cast does a good job too. No one seems to have missed a beat during the ten year hiatus. This is mostly a shout out to the screenwriters, as writing characters that were defined by 2009 could have been tricky to continue in 2019. The temptation to sanitize a role that screams balls and dicks all the time would have been powerful. I could have done without the slow-mo intro, the same trick they used for Deadpool, but it wasn't egregious. Overall, Zombieland: Double Tap spiritually feels like the first, and that's good enough for me. It definitely lacks the tight storytelling and has pacing issues, but makes up for it with its charm. It gets you laughing and has quite a few scenarios to do so, making it very entertaining. The worst part is the ending, as it doesn't play to the movie's strengths, but as a whole, it delivered. This result was probably the best I could have asked for. 5/10
Might be fully tapped now |
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