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alexissebastian
Reviews
Into the Woods (2014)
Terrible plot; characters do not at credibly
Into the Woods is like two movies. The first half - about a mission to fulfill the wishes of a witch- is loyal to the fairy tales narrative. But the second half of the movie bares almost no relation to the first half (other than having the same characters), the music feels terribly repetitive by then, and the movie is almost blue all the time, lacking the typical colorful aspect of musicals (even a musical as dark as "Sweeney Todd" keeps bright colors) and, worst of all, the plot is uninteresting and the characters actions are unbelievable (giving no details to avoid spoilers).
The actors are great, but out of that, this is maybe one of the weakest musicals I have seen on film.
Incredibles 2 (2018)
Why it feels forced...
Funny and fast paced: granted. Should that be enough? My two main concerns;
1) Everything feel forced: by example, the character of Edna is brought back with no real justification (the choice to babysit Jack-Jack, really?). You may cut her scenes and the plot remains the same. She is not here because the story needs her; this is the usual "making by the numbers" that defines Disney these days.
2) The motivation of the villain is extremely weak. (Spoiler ahead) She is upset because her father believed in superheroes and he lost his life during a home invasion. Sorry, but it sounds that she must consume her energies for revenge against petty criminals, instead of superheroes (Imagine somebody close is killed during an assault but police arrive late... Will you decide to convert into a vigilante against police officers or against criminals?). Once again, this feel extremely forced.
I know that the majority of moviegoers just want the thrills and easy laughs (thanks, Jack-Jack) and put character motivations and plot in second plane. If that is your case, you will have a great time indeed.
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015)
Hard to say this but: More creative than The Force Awakens
Warning: There is what may be considered a "spoiler" in this review. However, while I hate "spoilers", I consider that the "Sharknado" movies are pretty spoiler free, because no matter what to hear or read, you still have to see it to appreciate it.
*** I am still healing from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and the lack of creativity for the sake of playing safe recycling the bits and elements that the fans enjoyed in previous installments. Then my medicine arrived with a noon of "Sharknado 3".
First, all the negative reviewers are obviously missing the "tongue-in-cheek" attitude, a little like that uncle that is not able to take a joke and take anything you say at face value. The movie is obviously a parody, so well done that sometimes you doubt if they are exploding a cliché or making fun of it. This may be the reason why on the previous installment, when the sharks attacked a passenger airplane in "Sharknado 2", the pilot was no other than Robert Hays, from "Airplane!".
But back to "Sharknado 3": How many movies have you come across in which sharks attack a ship in outer space, and the hero must use a "light-chainsaw" to rescue his wife who is about to have a baby in the belly of one of the killer fishes? Now, that is creativity and imagination, and I always applaud that: Even if it is in a movie that explains religion using "force" as a metaphor, or in a movie with sharks attacking the White House.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
The end of Star Wars intelligence: Now is just mass appeal
The movie is full of action and fun... but that is NOT what makes Star Wars special... This episode lacks any philosophical thoughts, criticism of politics, or religious metaphors. It is the end of Star Wars originality... Given the box office and the "critics" response, now Disney can forget for good about those elements, scrap any remaining intelligence and just rely on formula for the masses... And as noticed by many reviewers, this is practically a remake of Episode IV (Will the Empire -please- find another engineer for those Death Stars? One that avoids obvious weak points that can blow up the whole thing, and with the switches for the shields protected by password or something, instead of a lever on a remote corner?). Sorry, I am not looking forward for the next installment. So sad.
La mala (2008)
Full of sad Latino stereotypes
Screaming Latinos... Families that fight all the time... Unfaithful wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends... All of the sad and shameful Latino stereotypes are present in this movie, which lack a coherent plot or central crisis to at least give some sense to the endurance.
The movie centers around a girl who wants to emulate "La Lupe", one of the greatest and most passionate singers in the history of Latin America, and who is actually like a cult figure to many. The imitation done by the main actress seems to be the gimmick to justify the movie, but actually there is no substance in the plot and no sympathetic characters.
"La mala" means "The Bad", which is a proper title for this movie.
Casino Royale (2006)
A traitor on the Bond series!
If you are a true Bond fan, be aware of the following:
1) James Bond is saved TWICE by other people. He is even saved from the villain by a mysterious character. Therefore, no more fun about "How is Bond gonna to pull out of this one?" 2) No Q 3) No Moneypenny 4) The plot: Bond must win at poker to avoid the terrorist to get the money. Without using any technology for cheating. The secret service -able to make submarine cars- can not steal the funds electronically? 5) He drives a Ford in one scene, for God's sake 6) The title song sucks, the singer is basically unknown 7) Bond is supposed to be "suave", like an ordinary gentleman. This Bond looks, really, more like one of his villains.
I really don't care if the producers wants to "freshen" the formula and return to the basics (that was the same excuse for the Dalton movies). Without the Bond elements, you don't have a Bond movie, you just have another action movie. Avoid it. Its the only way to force the producers to return to the fun and thrill of the series.