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Move Me No Mountain (2023)
Did we watch the same movie?
I'm sorry, but this was... just not a very good film. I caught it on a whim and thought it looked interesting, but found myself mentally checking out early on. I powered through the rest.
The acting is just not very good. I don't know who the lead actress is, but she could stand to take more lessons because none of her performance felt believable in the slightest. Lots of overacting and it made me cringe more than once. The directing and cinematography was okay, but nothing special either.
Overall, this is a poorly made film with. It's also incredibly pretentious. Save your hard earned money on something else.
Man of Steel (2013)
The Superman movie I was always waiting for.
If you're a fan of Superman, rest easy. This movie truly gave us the Man of Steel in all of his super powerful glory. This is definitely a movie with flaws, of course, but if you can overlook a few minor issues and just sink yourself into it, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
Let's start with the positives first. The scenes on Krypton in the beginning of the film are truly epic in scale and presentation. We get to see a view of Krypton like we never have before. Rather than just present us with the super clean, white, crystal-like Krypton from the Reeve era, we get a more gritty look this time. Krypton is in trouble and it is felt within the opening moments. Russell Crowe is fantastic as Jor-El, and gets much more screen time than I had initially thought he would. Even well after Krypton meets its fate, he still shows up as a guide for his son on Earth, and has a few surprisingly awesome moments. Even after death this guy is a formidable.
Then we have the Man of Steel himself, Kal-El. Henry Cavill did a great job with what he was given here. He shows us a vulnerable and yet still formidable version of Superman. He looks the part and fills the suit well. When it came time to go to work, we truly get to see Superman do things we've never, and I mean NEVER seen him do in a film. All the while, Cavill keeps us grounded with him and does his best to keep us interested in Kal-El's journey of self discovery. Great choice.
The rest of the supporting cast did their parts well also. Amy Adams did fine as Lois Lane. She wasn't completely vulnerable and was tough without seeming ridiculously over-written to be the quintessential damsel in distress turned super girl. She carried herself well. Michael Shannon was also great as Zod. He played all the right notes and didn't give us just a one-note villain who was bad just to be bad. Zod believe what he's doing is right, even though he knows it's cruel. Shannon gives us a Zod who feels regret at times, and we can read it all over his face. The only other character who was truly a stand-out here was Faora. She was a nice contrast to Zod, because while he seems grounded and aware, she is just cold-hearted and evil. She does what Zod asks her to do and is fiercely loyal to his cause, but you can tell she enjoys it much more than he does. Not to say the rest of the cast was bad in any way, but I'm just mentioning the stand-outs.
The action in this movie is FANTASTIC. A few moments my jaw literally fell open. If you want to see Superman fight, and I mean REALLY fight, then this movie has you covered. I'm well aware that some people don't get off on action, but I eat it up like candy. I was VERY pleased with the action in this movie and I didn't feel it overstayed its welcome at all. Some will inevitably disagree with me, but that's the way I see it.
On a small note, the score by Hans Zimmer in this film is orgasmic. I can't put it any other way. Seriously. I had chill bumps every time a new movement started up. If you're like me and feel like a movie is enhanced ten fold by the music, you'll be more than satisfied here.
As for the negatives. I'll do my best to lay them out as matter of fact as I can. It is true that there is a lack of character development in this film. I didn't want to believe it, but I can't lie to myself. I felt like Snyder was trying his best to give us those notes of emotional resonance to make us feel something for some of the events that happened in flashback, but the mistake was that not enough time was given to those scenes. When we see the flashbacks, they work. We get the message of what each particular flashback is trying to convey. However, had a little more time been focused on those flashbacks, we would have felt closer to Clark by the time he dons the blue and red suit. Which brings me to my next issue.
We literally get thrown into Clark becoming Superman. It happens so fast that you might feel like a part of the movie was left out by mistake. When Clark sets out of the Fortress of Solitude and tries to fly for the first time, we feel like we have barely heard him say a handful of words. It just felt "off" to me and going over it again and again in my head, I still think it felt a bit too rushed.
Any other issues? Well, not really. I had issues with this film just like I would with any other. No film is perfect, ever. With that said, I had A LOT of fun and felt like a kid again when Superman finally threw his kid gloves off. The action scenes, again, are brutal, fast and suited to this character. We don't have a 'weak' Superman in this movie, so don't worry if you were concerned about that. He gives as good as he gets, and personally I'm glad for that. Showing a Superman who has a challenge to face is much more interesting than just making him an unstoppable god.
I don't like giving number scores because it can throw everything out of balance. I won't do that for this film. All I can say is that if you go into this film with an open mind and let it take you in, you'll enjoy it. Dare I say, you just might even love it.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
A thoughtful review from a TF fan.
OK, so where do I begin here? I just got back from a showing here in Seoul, South Korea in IMAX 3D. I'm simply stunned at what I saw.
I have been a Transformers fan since I was a kid. I used to watch the G1 cartoon with my Dad while holding my Optimus Prime action figure closely. I'm a true fan, I promise.
Now, onto the review! Remember, this is a spoiler heavy review so turn back if you don't want to have anything ruined for you. If you don't mind that sort of thing, then read on!
OK, so most everyone knows the plot of the film so I don't think I need to go into that so much. Was it anything special? No, not really. Did I care? No, not at all... The plot was simply there to move the movie along and it worked well.
The human characters this time around are also playing second fiddle to the Transformers, which was something many fans were concerned about with the other films. I'm happy to report that they get some great dialogue and the movie is mainly about THEM this time.
The dumb comedy is gone. I didn't roll my eyes once during the movie, and that's saying something! Also, the Twins are nowhere to be found and that was fine by me. Wheelie is back, and he brought along another small friend named Brains. They are actually GREAT this time and serve a purpose. Brains particularly is hilarious. I'm not even joking. He had some hilarious lines and was a welcome comic relief that actually didn't feel forced or dumb at all.
Optimus Prime (my personal favorite) and the rest of the Autobots have much more to do this time around. Dino and Q, two of the new bots, both have small parts in the film. You still feel a bit of emotion when Q is executed in front of Bumblebee. "I'll miss you old friend" you hear Bumblebee spurt out from his radio when it happens, adding more emotion to the whole scene.
Ironhide's death is pretty sad. It happens quickly, but it's hard to watch him waste away if you're a fan. He definitely kicks ass in the film and has his moments, but it's hard to say goodbye to him. The only problem I had with his death is that it's not mentioned again after he's killed. It's obvious it happens when Sentinel Prime is wasting everything in sight, so they really didn't have time to react to it, but I still wish they had shown some reactions to his death.
One small gripe I have, is that Megatron is underused a bit. He looks pretty awesome, and has some good lines with Starscream and Soundwave, but he really only plays second fiddle to Sentinel. He does have a definite "Megatron moment" at the end when he attacks Sentinel Prime at the end of the movie, as it was clearly only to secure him as the master of Earth. He's still Megs at heart here, and I think it was perfectly acceptable for Optimus to execute him.
The special effects were absolutely ASTONISHING! I saw the film in Imax 3D and I have to recommend that you ONLY see it in this fashion. I felt like I was on a roller-coaster in a chair that was bolted down to the floor. That's saying something! You really get a sense of depth and just how big everything is. It's definitely worth it to shell out the extra dollars to see it this way. Don't miss out!
Crippled Creek (2005)
Absolutely Terrible
I'm not saying that because the production values were so low, but because it was filmed terribly. That shot of the girl washing her hair in the creek? Did we really need to sit there for an overlong shot and watch her do that for 5 minutes in the same spot? It was terrible, the lighting was just plain bad. You could barely see anything and when the characters were talking, you could barely hear what they were saying. Did I watch the whole movie? Of course not I skipped through most of it, and I don't want to hear anyone say I need to watch the whole thing first to judge it. This film was so poorly done and executed that even by independent and low budget standards it's just plain terrible. Awful movie...don't waste any time on it unless you want a good laugh, but even then it's not because of the actors "funny" lines, it's because of how painstakingly bad the production is.