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Miguel_Melo
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Finding Dory (2016)
Completely unnecessary rehash
I never understood why people loved Finding Nemo so much: the story was unexciting and the main characters (Merlin and Dory) were fairly one-dimensional. So I went into "Finding Dory" with low expectations... and I can't really say that I was far off.
Dory really is a one-trick pony (fish?) - she forgets things... and that's it. To make matters worse, the film ensures we don't forget that by driving the point home until it grates.
The film does pick up a bit and provide a few laughs when a motley crew of quirky secondary characters like Hank the curmudgeon octopus or Becky the loony bird come to Dory's aid, but you have to worry when Pixar needs to rehash a story line around forgettable characters. Luckily, the intro short is a lot more endearing than the main feature. 6.5/10
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Starting to be a bit too onerous...
I was quite underwhelmed by CA:CW. For starters, I found the story vacuous and that the motivations leading to the conflict did not to strike a chord with me: so much so that I could no longer remember them anymore on the following day!
Yes, combat scenes are impressive and daftly edited for a brisk pace, but they are so plentiful - and the characters so many - that occasionally it gets complicated to work out who's fighting who and exactly why.
This, in fact, may well be the main problem with CA:CW - there's now so many heroes with so much back-story in other movies, that the whole thing is beginning to collapse under its own weight.
O Pátio das Cantigas (2015)
It starts so promisingly...
What a pleasant surprise... followed by absolute dismay. The film starts well indeed, photography is warm and inviting, and acting is accomplished. Some of the dialog is quirky, and you get a decidedly modern French (rather than old Portuguese) cinema feel. But then cracks start appearing in the canvas: certain character decisions seem to be outright obscure (why did Evaristo snap on Carlos after the party? How does Amália feel regarding, well, everyone else?) while others appear to no use at all (Oceana Balisio's character being the most obvious culprit). But the real clencher is the inordinate amount of scenes that seem to have been edited out for (I assume) brevity's sake, with complete disregard for cohesiveness or understandability. I won't elaborate so as to not give any spoilers but you will find them in the final third of the movie, a cardinal sin that leaves you with a bitter aftertaste when the credits roll. What a crying shame. 5/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
dull, Dull, DULL!
I'll give it to you straight: I have just walked out of this movie. I don't think I have ever done that and I am not proud of having done it now. As a film lover this really pains me.
I should take the time to affirm that I absolutely loved the first movie (8 stars, going on 9): it was fast, witty and altogether surprising - I am a fan of Johnny Depp but on that movie he especially awesome. Though there is no love like the first one I thought the second was pretty good too (7 stars), with a few really hilarious parts of its own.
I kinda knew this one would probably not live up to the others and, boy, was I right. From the very start, there's too much stuff going on that is neither funny nor exciting. The script is all over the place, you don't "get" where the characters' allegiances are or what they are trying to achieve: people keep floating between the action theaters with no rhythm or rime. The parts where Jack Sparrow talks to himself just don't work and, for all his craftsmanship, Johnny can't save his character from being just annoying on these sequences. In fact, none of the characters are really likable and I certainly felt no empathy with any of them which is a first. The combat sequences were dull throughout and, though I'm sure the last one would probably be an eye opener, I just couldn't endure any more boredom so after 2 hours and 10 minutes I left.
To my dismay, this really was one of the most disappointing films I have seen in a long time. For what it's worth, my suggestion is to wait for rental to watch it: I don't give it less starts solely because it would then be dangerously close to Catwoman... and not even this film deserves that.
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Not nearly as good as the book, but more consistent
Although I'm a Christian, I must admit I did like the book. As a work of fiction, I found it to be a fairly good yard - at least for the first part: up until Langdon and Neveu leave Teabing's home, I found it a gripping read. From then on, the book got a bit muddled on its purpose and dynamics and turned a lot less satisfying. A good thing about the film is that it is a lot more constant, in the sense that I didn't feel cheated with this "second part" after seeing the events up to that point. The problem is that it is uniform of the wrong side of good, and it all feels too long and drawn out. While I loved Audrey Tautou in "Amelie" and "A Very Long Engagement", where she played endearing and funny roles, I think she just feels too fragile as Neveu. Tom isn't nearly as bad as I feared as Langdon, but feels uneasy in the part as well (I think someone like Sean Bean would have been better). Sadly, the two of them, while competent, don't spark. And that is really the "sin" of the film: it's not bad, but everything about it (the directing, the actors, the screenplay with inevitably too much exposition) feels too safe to the point of being bland.
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
Not nearly as much fun as the first one
As much as I was surprised by how little most people like the original "Ice Age" I must say I am even more impressed with how much praise this second instalment is getting. While it is not a bad film in any sense, and the rendering quality has clearly improved, the whole thing just seems too uninspired, painting-by-numbers stuff: A lot of the time I feel I was just going through the motions, while the three main characters went from A to B with nothing much going on. On the original Ice Age there was a fair bit of tension between them: Diego seemed not to be trustworthy as he had a hidden and dangerous agenda, Sid was reluctantly tolerated by the other two while Manny's sorrow could only be understood towards the end. Now in The Meltdown, they seem to all be happy with each other and therefore there's no spark there. Help to liven up the proceedings could come from outside characters, but sadly, the baby from the first film is immensely more charismatic and endearing than Ellie and her two "brothers" put together. Also our heroes' nemesis' are, due their own nature and without giving anything away, very limited in character so you never feel threatened by them. Scrat again provides a few good laughs but since it is a one trick pony, seems to have run its course now. And sadly, there is no Dodo-like scene on this one to make me laugh so hard as to cry like the last one. OK film, but don't expect too much
Black Books (2000)
One of the funniest I've seen in a long time
I tend to be very fond of British comedy. Series like Monty Python's Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers, Black Adder, Only Fools and Horses and One Foot in the Grave (on most episodes) make you laugh with their quirkiness, seldom found in US sitcoms. But, in the last few years, few britcom's have made me laugh... some raise a smile and can kill an hour or so, sure, but it has been a while since I had a few good belly laughs on account of a series.
Meet black books, one of the latest to be screened on Channel 4. It was broadcast with half the fanfare of most series, and a lot of people missed it altogether - and the world is poorer for that. Some episodes I laughed so hard I couldn't keep watching for the tears in my eyes. The slightly surreal feel to the dialogs between Bernard (the Irish shopkeeper) and Manny (the long-haired shop assistant) make of these exchanges classic pieces. The girl on the series (a neighbouring shopkeeper) does a good job too, although her part is very under-written compared with the guys. Better yet, the series holds enough steam for the 6 episodes (I expected it would lose momentum after a couple, but it didn't).
Bad points? Well, I guess since most of the spark comes from the dialogs between the incredibly untidy "I don't want to sell books because people read them and then bring them back, and we start all over again" Bernard and the only slightly more balanced "I'm eating scrambled eggs out of a shoe using a comb" Manny, the whole things is slightly less inspired when they aren't together. It's worst is still better than most series at their best, though.
I hope they put it out on video, as I'm no longer in the UK and would love to re-watch it over and over again. Great stuff.