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rwl1964
Reviews
Tron: Legacy (2010)
Special Effects are not the only thing that makes this movie GREAT!
I will only add a few spoilers but nothing that ruins this movie experience. So don't worry I only clicked on that check to cover my lower backside. Now read on without fear, I will not put you on the game grid.
I have to start off with pointing out that almost every review I have read says that this movie is only good because of the special effects. The acting, the script, the story, the young Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and the rest is described by most as being either poor or mediocre. This is simply not the truth at all. I won't call the performances Oscar winning but they are actually very solid. (WAAAAAAAY better than Avatar for acting!) I love the bar scene for instance, tell me I am wrong go ahead I dare you. The Mad Hatter played by Johnny Depp is less convincing than Michael Sheen in this similar role. Zuse at the bar is a great scene and there are many more. When Sam takes the trip to the Grid he shows incredible emotion and it is all spot on as he realizes what is happening. This is a very hard set of scenes to act well and he nails it. The digital face of Clu or younger Flynn is one of the best digital recreations of the human face done to a VERY high degree and I respect just how far animation has come in the last 5 years alone. People have this part just plain WRONG. Really the Clu character or younger Flynn is just plain awesome. He talks fine, and smiles VERY life like and all that, so go watch the movie again and appreciate it more because you got it all wrong if you think there is a problem here, what the heck are you people looking at?
Now we all agree the soundtrack is great. The techno music is perfect. I can't stand and say bravo enough about the wonderful music. So I will leave this alone since everyone pretty much likes or loves the music.
OK, the story has some flaws, but nothing serious at all. It is all tied together nicely and we see there is a complete tie in for everyone and everything for the most part. I am not sure why Tron decided to become a fighter for the users again, I think because he was close to Flynn again. This is a weakness I found. There are not very many moments like this in the movie. The script is well written and I love the plot. I love the ISO concept. How many people understand what the ISO is all about? I bet not many.
I love the nostalgia too. It really keeps true to the original and "upgrades" it all BIG TIME. Who thinks that is a stupid part of the movie? Not too many I think. It is obviously another thing that makes this movie great.
OK, are we suppose to be mad because they got good looking people to play the younger characters? They are good looking and they can act too, so get over it will you? I think the problem may well be that the special effects are so great that even good acting looks flat against such a super back drop. Let's face it the special effects blow even Avatar out of the water. Yup, it totally and completely blows it away. The acting in Avatar sucks by comparison and almost everyone agrees that Avatar is a great movie. Tron is a great movie and now gives any movie on the market a run for it's money. It will be on my top 10 list of movies of all time.
OK, here is another thing I read many times. It rips off the Matrix and steals from Star Wars. Nope, it really doesn't at all. Again, be specific if you are going to take that stance. Say hey the concept of going into a cyber world is the same. Remember in the Matrix they never actually go to the cyber world, but in Tron they actually do make a physical transformation. It is completely different and what is like Star Wars? Explain yourself please. I know there are certain apparent rip offs that may be unavoidable, but there is no blatant rip off anywhere in the movie. So what if they did anyway? Isn't most art nothing more than a rehashing of old popular themes?
I have to talk about the special effects for a minute. They are out of this world, and they are not too over the top since this movie truly calls for this type of super special effects. I love the special effects and these effects are part of what makes it a great movie but there is much more to this movie so go see it, it is a must see movie.
Into the Blue (2005)
major plot malfunction
This movie has some wonderful diving scenes, and the girls are nice to look at. All the elements are present that make a movie "fun". The premise of treasure hunting in the ocean is always intriguing. I can accept bubble gum plots, and a trite story line under many circumstances. I can accept many many things that make a movie mindless fun. The worst thing about this movie is that it has a flaw so bad it ruined even the mindless "fun".
Here is what makes this movie truly a stinker: You have 12 hours to save your lives, and the ones you love, but instead you take a ship out you don't need to recover cocaine. But, You don't go and get the cocaine instead you go after the treasure. You could always return for the treasure later after you returned the drugs to the stupid drug lord, but noooooo, you go after the treasure. I can't figure out why anyone would take this course of action. It makes no sense at all, The whole movie has stupid acts I am willing to look past in the name of fun. This one just went too far for me.
I can't see past this obvious story flaw. I vote 4 out of 10 stars. I am being waaaaay to kind.
Flightplan (2005)
Flightplan had a plan
It was clear to me even before I saw the movie that there was going to be some kind of conspiracy aboard this flight. It was going to be dramatic and there would be mystery. The movie preview was not in any way misleading or bad and sold me correctly on these points. For once I was treated to the movie I expected to see. It is refreshing to see genuine honesty from the movie world. Jodi Foster was once again right on for her role as Kyle. She has proved many times over that she alone is a selling point for the movie. Since "Silence of the Lambs", she has done well for the leading female. Her roles in various movies back my point. I especially liked her in "Contact", a role that showed a person that was driven to the breaking point. This movie shows a similar character also driven to the breaking point, and she pulls off such roles with true greatness.
The story line has a few flaws, and is imperfect. There are times I wonder why the coffin was not boxed up in a crate, surely no one would send a body onto an airplane with just 2 straps over the top of an exposed coffin. Things like this did bother me a little. But there are explanations that they might have wanted access to the coffin. The laws for transporting bodies would not have allowed for this type of thing, and so I struggled with this problem the most. There are other flaws in this movie as well. There is no real reason the middle eastern men should have been in this story, and why was there no ambulance waiting for the little girl, after all she had probably been drugged or who knows what. These little flaws do not ruin this movie, and it is a very good movie none the less. I vote 8 out of 10.
Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004)
Great Movie!!
The details in this movie are what make it truly a great movie. It's is true the acting is top notch, but the greatness of this movie is the attention to detail, and the completeness of it all. The story is nothing spectacular, nor is the setting or the plot. The lighthouse scenes inspire great romance and love from the heart and make for a wonderful interlude in the middle of this mystery. The flashbacks are perfectly presented and tell the story step by step in a way so real you will shake in your seat if indeed you can relax enough to sit. The war scenes are so real and the strange irregular angular shots make this movie so tense, you need not know a single word of french to understand the movie is "tres magnifique"!!!!