landingwiz Reviews

Suicide Squad (2016)

Losing My Faith In DC

[5/10 · 5 August 2016]

I was face-palming throughout the entire movie:

• The first thing each "hero" does when he makes his first appearance is to punch a cop or soldier just to show how badass he is. Really??

• Killer Croc is basically portrayed as a green version of "The Thing".

• The way they tried to use different old soundtracks for each scene, you knew they were trying to imitate "Guardians of the Galaxy".

• This joker is a joker. Nothing more than a wannabe gangster, instead of a psycho.

• Amanda Waller behaves like she is possessed by a demon. What's up with that?

• Enchantress talks in a holy Galadriel-like manner, but then suddenly blurts out, "You don't have the BALLS to do this". Wtf?

I could go on and on about how cringe-worthy and sloppy this movie is, but I'll leave it at that.

The only saving grace is Will Smith and Margot Robbie. But even they were not enough to save this potential-wasting, sloppily-edited, ultra-forgettable movie.

As a DC fan, I hate to say this, but DC desperately needs directors like Christopher Nolan to bring glory back to its Universe, or it'll just continue to be overshadowed by Marvel.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)

I liked it more than Part 1, but not everybody will...

[7/10 · 9 September 2015]

OK, so I found Scorch Trials exciting and more complete as a movie.

It also had a better cliffhanger in my opinion, because I felt like I needed to watch the next part NOW. Whereas for the ending of Maze Runner, I was like... "Here we go again???"

For sure... part 2 did not have the novelty of part 1, and for that reason alone some people might give a lower score. In fact, this movie felt more like a zombie survival movie with long screen time in darkness, jumpscares and all, so this is another reason some fans of the first part might not like Scorch Trials. It has a darker atmosphere.

It also has many cliché moments, and scenes taken right out from other movies like Jurassic park. Unoriginal ideas, but well, they worked OK in this movie.

As for the acting, I liked it. I thought everyone did a pretty compelling job. I liked the twist at the end, which unlike in many movies, doesn't feel forced.

All in all, Scorch Trials is a very different movie from the first. Different settings, different environment, different atmosphere. Once again, it did not have the novelty and originality the first part had.

But with that said, I can't say it wasn't exciting and entertaining, and made me look forward to the next part.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Phew! Not as Bad as The Avengers...

[8/10 · 23 April 2015]

I saw it on the opening day, and may I say that just for the Vision (Paul Bettany) alone, I might even decide to watch Age of Ultron a second time :)

Now here's the thing:

I'm so glad Whedon chose to give this movie a much "darker" tone compared to the first movie, which to me was full of roll-eye moments and basically, a joke of a movie.

Age of Ultron, on the other hand, actually has some heart and soul to connect with the audience on a deeper level. Why do I say this? The answer is simple.

In the first movie, all the good guys were pretty much overpowered and so you didn't feel the "need" to root for them. What's worse, the movie was so full of "Look at me, I'm so f***king cool!!!" moments, that the effect it had turned out quite the opposite - A big Yawn.

However, in Age of Ultron, the superheroes were made to suffer greater physically and psychologically (for example, due to Scarlet's haunting mind games). They were portrayed to be a lot more vulnerable, hence the "darker" tone of the movie. But that's also why I could, and perhaps you will, get more emotionally involved with the characters, which is why I enjoyed this movie much more than the first.

It's not even close.

The action? It's mind-blowingly awesome. Seriously. In fact, it would probably take multiple viewings just to fully appreciate some of those sequences and moments (like when Thor hammer-struck the city into dust). It was OMG... so good.

If there are any flaws to Age of Ultron, I would say it's mostly in the subpar dialogue and over-use of cheesy one-liners. But I guess that was to expected.

Overall, I highly recommend watching this movie because unlike the first, this actually has heart. Plus CRAZY good action aside, you might even decide to watch this movie again like I'm going to if you can't get enough of certain characters.

Heck, the Vision was, by far, the best part of the movie.

Child 44 (2015)

Better Than I Expected...

[7/10 · 16 April 2015]

OK, so before I watched this movie, I was reading reviews online and saw so many horrible reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave it like 27%, so I thought this movie was going to be a disaster.

Luckily, it wasn't so.

Now, I'm not going to get into the propaganda and all that or how they got their facts and history wrong and stuff. American (and other nations) movies bend stories to their bias all the time, so we've come to take what we see with a grain of salt.

All I'll say is this:

If like me, you're a Tom Hardy fan and you're watching Children 44 because you can't get enough of Tom Hardy's acting, then you're actually in for a treat as you watch the guy attempt to handle his role as a Russian anti-hero quite successfully.

In fact, generally the acting from the cast was great. Gary Oldman didn't have much screen time but he was excellent as always.

The plot and many parts however, had their flaws, convenient plot devices and "Why the hell would he do that??!!!" moments. These, in my opinion, are the downside to this movie.

On a whole, this movie is definitely worth a watch for the appreciation of how some of our favorite actors and actresses handled their respective roles in Child 44.

And if you don't want to get your panties in a bunch over how this or that wasn't portrayed accurately, watch with an open mind, and you may actually enjoy this movie like I did.

Cinderella (I) (2015)

I'm gonna watch this movie again... just for...

[9/10 · 14 March 2015]

... Lily James.

Never really knew who she was, but after watching Cinderella, I won't forget her.

I thought this movie was fantastic. A straight forward retelling of the tale, great acting by the whole cast, wonderful cinematography.

There were many children in the theater. I wouldn't say it's a perfect movie for children though, as they probably wouldn't enjoy much other than the cute little animals and "magic" and so on.

More for teenage and adults.

But what really impressed me was the chemistry between Cinderella and the king. So much charm. So much innocence. There's a certain spark between them so lacking in most other romance movies.

And simply watching Lily James being happy, dancing around, singing to herself, it just comes across as believable and unimaginably endearing.

I'm not embarrassed to say I was absolutely bewitched :)

Finally, some reviewers say that Lily James doesn't have a Cinderella "look".

Well, to be honest, I thought she was perfect for the role.

So happy they didn't instead cast a more seductive, sultry, slutty, sexy looking actress, because it would have ruined the innocent feel of the movie.

Straight forward retelling of the story.

But so, so, SO well done.

The audience also clapped at the end of the movie.

Loved it so much, I'm gonna catch it one more time!

Chappie (2015)

On a Whole... A Fun Movie That Brings the LOL's

[7/10 · 5 March 2015]

Just watched Chappie today, and before that I was reading a lot of negative reviews online.

Well, I'm happy to say it's better than I expected and some of them 'critics' didn't seem to get it. One critic even said the movie was full of unlikable characters.

He must be kidding, or unlikable himself. I found so many of the characters lovely each in their own way, from Chappie to "the gang" that raised him, and even his maker Deon.

The acting was good all around, and even though there were parts that were awkwardly laughable (bedroom scene etc), I believe the director meant for them to be this way. Those who didn't get those parts would've probably found them cringe-worthy. Too bad for them though, because for those of us in the cinema who got it, these scenes brought the LOLs.

The music was top-notch and what I felt carried the show. Not surprising since it was done by Hans Zimmer.

If there are any cons, I would say that the movie did not reach its fullest potential when it could have - it was well headed in that direction. We're talking about Inception, Interstellar, Nolan'ish mind-blowing. However, it stopped short of reaching that level of awesomeness. I honestly think Nolan could have one-up and pulled it off in spectacular fashion.

Still, Chappie is highly enjoyable and definitely worth catching in the cinema. Don't expect a serious dead-on-point movie like District 9, but a fun loving one that might warm your heart and put a smile on your face.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

I saw the sneaks, and I can't wait to watch it again!

[9/10 · 13 May 2013]

Let my start out by saying I'm not a Star trek fan. In fact, I don't even remember watching any episode of the series. The closest I've been to ST is that "facepalm" meme (of the baldy) that was rather popular years ago.

OK, so yesterday I watched Into the Darkness. So awesome, I felt the need to watch it again right after I came out of the cinema. I really appreciate it's one of those rare movies nowadays that does not insult the intelligence of the viewer. (COUGH *iron man 3* COUGH)

The acting was brilliant. The characters were so likable, specifically Spock and Khan, and the humor was always on point.

As for the CGI and special effects, if you thought those in Oblivion were impressive, ST will simply take your breath away. It's not even close.

In the end, I'm like... "Damn, I really need to go on a space adventure!"

Thanks J J Abrams, I knew you'd deliver.

Les Misérables (2012)

Please Watch This At Least Once.

[9/10 · 1 January 2013]

Today was the second time I watched Les Miserable.

The first time I tried hard not to cry because I'm manly like that, and I actually succeeded but my eyes were still kinda red...

The second time I thought, "Ha! I've watched it already. Now I can see all the ladies sniffle and weep!"

But damn, when I watched it this second time, I COMPLETELY LOST IT, and I'm still trying to figure out why. (I'm a guy by the way.)

And that, my fellow readers, is what's so brilliant about this movie.

Frankly, I can't even remember the last time a movie was so successful at making even tough guys like me cry.

I won't spoil the movie in this review, because if you like great music... and if you want an emotional ride... then really... you should go watch it if you haven't already.

The singing was excellent. Some people didn't like Russell Crowe's singing, but I thought he was just fine. It's just that he isn't very "Russell Crowey" in terms of singing lol.

The acting was perfect, especially from Hugh Jackman. Don't believe me? Just notice how most people cry during his scenes.

I thought the way the movie was put together, was simply magical.