Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - Into The Trees (2016) [Original Post]
Showing posts with label 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Monday, May 01, 2023
TrailerClub: Chuck
Chuck (2016) [Original Post]
Biopics in the age of Content have become increasingly tedious exercises in children cosplaying events that were probably on film, but Chuck has the benefit of coming a little ahead of that curve, and with a cast of adults that may or may not be familiar with the subject matter, but at least know better. Still, the prospect of a film based on the guy that inspired Rocky might sound like a tough sell, but Liev Schreiber gives the title character -- Chuck Wepner, boxer who almost went the distance with World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali in 1975 -- warmth and charisma. He's a rogue far less likely to be redeemed than his fictional counterpart, but that's okay. It's a good watch.
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Friday, October 28, 2022
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Friday, May 03, 2019
Infinite Wars: Avengers vs Thanos
AVENGERS versus THANOS
(Marvel)
Where: Free Comic Book Day Civil War II #1 When: May 2016 Why: Brian Michael Bendis How: Jim Cheung
The Story So Far...
An Inhuman known as Ulysses Cain may hold the secrets to the impending future! In an effort to verify his ominous visions, Inhuman Queen Medusa accompanies him to The Triskelion for further testing under the watchful eye of Black Panther and The Ultimates.
Upon his arrival, Ulysses is suddenly confronted with a glimpse into an oncoming threat: Thanos is coming!
The Mad Titan aims to claim a Cosmic Cube from Project PEGASUS, but as he teleports towards their secluded Mount Athena base in New York -- a powerful assembly of Avengers prepares to greet him with extreme prejudice!
Full Article: https://secretearths.blogspot.com/2019/05/avengers-versus-thanos.html
Where: Free Comic Book Day Civil War II #1 When: May 2016 Why: Brian Michael Bendis How: Jim Cheung
The Story So Far...
An Inhuman known as Ulysses Cain may hold the secrets to the impending future! In an effort to verify his ominous visions, Inhuman Queen Medusa accompanies him to The Triskelion for further testing under the watchful eye of Black Panther and The Ultimates.
Upon his arrival, Ulysses is suddenly confronted with a glimpse into an oncoming threat: Thanos is coming!
The Mad Titan aims to claim a Cosmic Cube from Project PEGASUS, but as he teleports towards their secluded Mount Athena base in New York -- a powerful assembly of Avengers prepares to greet him with extreme prejudice!
Full Article: https://secretearths.blogspot.com/2019/05/avengers-versus-thanos.html
Saturday, October 06, 2018
Letterboxd: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Up to this point I've made very little effort to see Batman v
Superman: Dawn of Justice. I've been a fan of Superman and Batman on the
page (and screen) for most of my conscious life, but it was clear from
previews this wasn't going to be for me. What I failed to grasp was how
totally and utterly terrible the experience would be.
It's difficult to think of any arena where this film doesn't meet with failure. At times it barely functions as a narrative film, shuffling from one sequence to the next, clumsily delivering pieces of information for future reference. I wouldn't like to say too many negative things about wardrobe or extras in the film, but nobody is spared the wrath of an ever-present layer of computer-rendered muting, damning almost all facets to condemnation.
The visual hue is evident to announce this as a Zack Snyder film, but it still stuns me the same director who so lovingly adapted Frank Miller's 300 is responsible for this! Sprinkled references to The Dark Knight Returns recall Snyder's previous passions, but the source material is so completely failed, it raises questions about how much blame the director should be allocated. The sense of a compromised vision is here. It's just a question of whether or not Snyder should've been here at all, bending to interests that weren't his.
As Warner Bros play catch-up with Marvel's superhero universe, someone probably thought it would be clever to organically sew the seeds of a Justice League sequel into the plot of Dawn of Justice. If only that were something they actually did! Commerce enters the room every time Gal Gadot is on screen, serving a sub-plot that has nothing to do with the rest of this film! It culminates in an interlude of Quicktime trailers for future DC players who are so utterly tainted by the bad taste of this film - I don't even want to think about seeing more!
No one is more soiled by the whole experience than Superman and Batman themselves. They plod and grimace their way through a film, barely motivated or engaged, full of sound & fury signifying nothing. They enter the movie idiots, long before the war is settled with a very obtuse reference to the ubiquitous "Martha": mother of macguffins.
The biggest shock of the film comes in the final act, when the obligatory rampaging CG monstrosity manages to focus the film toward something more enjoyable. Which is to say, everything in the preceding acts was so utterly miserable. This vision of Doomsday, like every other DC Comics character featured in the film, is only vaguely reminiscent of the comic book original. They managed to make a fairly shallow character even less remarkable.
Wonder Woman doesn't quite steal the show, but comes damn near close, arriving in full costume to cut a car in half, and smack the beast around without the baggage now dragging the title heroes down. Its enough to qualify as one of the three positive things I counted, but the commercial for his spin-off -- a photo -- wasn't necessary.
What were the other two positives? Laurence Fishburne isn't the Perry White of comics fame, but he's always a pleasant presence, and had a nice enough Wizard of Oz joke about Clark Kent disappearing back to Kansas. The other was the music cue for Lex Luthor. Presumably from JunkieXL's contribution, it's deliciously over the top, and could've been very fun had it been in contrast to a more crisp villain. Instead, it trips and smashes its face, accompanying an excruciatingly lame attempt to update an all-time classic.
The rest of the film is miserable. Utterly miserable. I'm stunned just how bad it is. Top to bottom: no good. During the movie I noticed I had a thorn caught in the back of my trousers and accidentally pushed it into my finger tip. That wasn't the worst thing that happened to me! The only benefit to having seen it is that there is absolutely no reason I ever need to think about it again. Except, perhaps, in my nightmares. Not to be confused with a "Knightmare", which probably should've been excised all together. Yeesh!
It's difficult to think of any arena where this film doesn't meet with failure. At times it barely functions as a narrative film, shuffling from one sequence to the next, clumsily delivering pieces of information for future reference. I wouldn't like to say too many negative things about wardrobe or extras in the film, but nobody is spared the wrath of an ever-present layer of computer-rendered muting, damning almost all facets to condemnation.
The visual hue is evident to announce this as a Zack Snyder film, but it still stuns me the same director who so lovingly adapted Frank Miller's 300 is responsible for this! Sprinkled references to The Dark Knight Returns recall Snyder's previous passions, but the source material is so completely failed, it raises questions about how much blame the director should be allocated. The sense of a compromised vision is here. It's just a question of whether or not Snyder should've been here at all, bending to interests that weren't his.
As Warner Bros play catch-up with Marvel's superhero universe, someone probably thought it would be clever to organically sew the seeds of a Justice League sequel into the plot of Dawn of Justice. If only that were something they actually did! Commerce enters the room every time Gal Gadot is on screen, serving a sub-plot that has nothing to do with the rest of this film! It culminates in an interlude of Quicktime trailers for future DC players who are so utterly tainted by the bad taste of this film - I don't even want to think about seeing more!
No one is more soiled by the whole experience than Superman and Batman themselves. They plod and grimace their way through a film, barely motivated or engaged, full of sound & fury signifying nothing. They enter the movie idiots, long before the war is settled with a very obtuse reference to the ubiquitous "Martha": mother of macguffins.
The biggest shock of the film comes in the final act, when the obligatory rampaging CG monstrosity manages to focus the film toward something more enjoyable. Which is to say, everything in the preceding acts was so utterly miserable. This vision of Doomsday, like every other DC Comics character featured in the film, is only vaguely reminiscent of the comic book original. They managed to make a fairly shallow character even less remarkable.
Wonder Woman doesn't quite steal the show, but comes damn near close, arriving in full costume to cut a car in half, and smack the beast around without the baggage now dragging the title heroes down. Its enough to qualify as one of the three positive things I counted, but the commercial for his spin-off -- a photo -- wasn't necessary.
What were the other two positives? Laurence Fishburne isn't the Perry White of comics fame, but he's always a pleasant presence, and had a nice enough Wizard of Oz joke about Clark Kent disappearing back to Kansas. The other was the music cue for Lex Luthor. Presumably from JunkieXL's contribution, it's deliciously over the top, and could've been very fun had it been in contrast to a more crisp villain. Instead, it trips and smashes its face, accompanying an excruciatingly lame attempt to update an all-time classic.
The rest of the film is miserable. Utterly miserable. I'm stunned just how bad it is. Top to bottom: no good. During the movie I noticed I had a thorn caught in the back of my trousers and accidentally pushed it into my finger tip. That wasn't the worst thing that happened to me! The only benefit to having seen it is that there is absolutely no reason I ever need to think about it again. Except, perhaps, in my nightmares. Not to be confused with a "Knightmare", which probably should've been excised all together. Yeesh!
Friday, October 05, 2018
Letterboxd: Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Find the local fat kid and go on an unannounced hike in the nearest
area of nature. Local authorities, to say nothing of casual observers,
probably won't find your adventure in kidnapping terribly exotic, or
charming.
Taika Waititi's episode of life in country New Zealand is ready for export, but may be too mundane for anyone living, or familiar with, similar semi-rural areas.
The regional characters all ring true, risking becoming unremarkable, if not for the charismatic personalities of its performing cast, and the availability of tongues in cheeks. Rachel House goes particularly big as the bombastically concerned child welfare worker, who seems as interested in filling the farthest conceivable corners of her job listing, as she is actually doing good for children.
Waititi, like many of his countrymen, keeps an eye on the unimpressive, dwelling self-deprecatingly on coveted mod-cons usually taken for granted in American cinema. It can be stretched a little thin, as with the director's cameo as a junkfood obsessed priest, but it creates a consistent and authentic vibe to the picture.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is predominantly a two-man show that could work on stage, with a little more writing, and the right cast.
Sam Neill keeps a stiff upper lip as the lovably cantankerous countryman ill at ease with his feelings, but full with emotion. Julian Dennison stands out as motormouthed Ricky Baker, a foster kid just trying to come to terms with a series of bad situations that are out of his control. It will be fascinating to see if Dennison keeps this screen energy into maturity, and how he will use it in the future. Both elicit genuine affection as they do an odd couple's dance toward friendship.
Survival and genuine action help keep the movie rolling, punctuating the chase with subdued comedy. Like other Waititi films, the laughs aren't as frequent as they could be. It wilfully stops short of being a great film, settling for good.
Taika Waititi's episode of life in country New Zealand is ready for export, but may be too mundane for anyone living, or familiar with, similar semi-rural areas.
The regional characters all ring true, risking becoming unremarkable, if not for the charismatic personalities of its performing cast, and the availability of tongues in cheeks. Rachel House goes particularly big as the bombastically concerned child welfare worker, who seems as interested in filling the farthest conceivable corners of her job listing, as she is actually doing good for children.
Waititi, like many of his countrymen, keeps an eye on the unimpressive, dwelling self-deprecatingly on coveted mod-cons usually taken for granted in American cinema. It can be stretched a little thin, as with the director's cameo as a junkfood obsessed priest, but it creates a consistent and authentic vibe to the picture.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is predominantly a two-man show that could work on stage, with a little more writing, and the right cast.
Sam Neill keeps a stiff upper lip as the lovably cantankerous countryman ill at ease with his feelings, but full with emotion. Julian Dennison stands out as motormouthed Ricky Baker, a foster kid just trying to come to terms with a series of bad situations that are out of his control. It will be fascinating to see if Dennison keeps this screen energy into maturity, and how he will use it in the future. Both elicit genuine affection as they do an odd couple's dance toward friendship.
Survival and genuine action help keep the movie rolling, punctuating the chase with subdued comedy. Like other Waititi films, the laughs aren't as frequent as they could be. It wilfully stops short of being a great film, settling for good.
Originally Posted: https://letterboxd.com/dialmformicker/film/hunt-for-the-wilderpeople/
Tuesday, July 03, 2018
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Friday, November 11, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Monday, August 22, 2016
Sunday, April 10, 2016
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