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paulortiz12
Reviews
Autómata (2014)
Not bad for what it is!
Overall pretty enjoyable, even if a little slow paced and repetitive at times. Most of my problems with the film are, I imagine, related to the budget available to the filmmakers so I let a lot of stuff slide (and to be fair it does still look good in places).
My biggest issue is the way humanity is portrayed as an almost entirely irrational, desperate, dying race that can't see the virtue of living side by side with incredibly advanced, living machines. I mean, 99% of the worlds population is gone. Even something so simple as a car is considered rare. The extent to which humans are dependent on robots is never really revealed, so their fear of losing them as servants feels more like pride or ego than survival. And you wonder, with the radioactive desert expanding and human numbers dwindling, if this would really be a priority? I dunno. It just didn't quite sit right with me. But maybe that's how it'd be. Humans can be pretty silly sometimes.
Plus there's a huge discrepancy in the fact that human technology has regressed so far as people using fax machines yet the robots are built and maintained somewhere. The humans are using old crt screens and the robots have holographic displays. Hmm.
Anyway that said it was still kinda cool. I would've liked to know what Cleo and the newborn were heading towards in the radioactive zone. Other robots? Would she be able to build more once she got there? Who knows!
My Scientology Movie (2015)
It was....okay.
As others have said, the biggest problem with this documentary is the lack of access. Don't get me wrong; some of the testimony from ex members was pretty interesting. Although Louis didn't really push or probe them. And there were some genuinely funny moments. But in the absence of real access, or real insight I was at least hoping for some crazy encounters with the church. But we only got like, two or three brief appearances, none of which were particularly menacing or outlandish.
The reenactments were supposed to be menacing, but it felt a little like watching a drama class doing exercises.
So yeah I dunno. Overall a bit disappointed. I mean it was £15(!!) at the cinema! Expected more.
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
I feel emotionally numb
I just watched a truck that transforms into a robot ride a robot that turns into a dinosaur and it did absolutely nothing for me.
I don't know if it's bad CGI, sensory overload, a lack of connection to the characters or an understanding of why they're doing anything, bad dialogue, bad acting, a forgettable soundtrack (mostly consisting of the same motif played in different keys) or maybe all of it combined. But after the tenth slow motion shot of a robot tumbling through a cloud of debris I was pretty much done.
There's a place for cartoonish action scenes, and given the premise of the movie I'm not expecting realism. But nothing made sense. There were so many scenes where heat, deceleration or flying shrapnel *definitely* 100% would've killed all of the main characters dead. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy what I was watching.
Look don't get me wrong - I enjoy big dumb movies. But they have to be done right. Every ounce of nuance or dynamic was totally compressed out of this film. Every line of dialogue is slammed and smothered in futuristic SFX. Every shot is a detail-filled clusterfudge of "stuff" with no discernible purpose.
Oh and another thing - a LOT of people die. Like, it's never shown? But when a robot puts his fist through a bus, you know a whole bunch of Christmases just got ruined. But there never seems to be any sense of weight to these implied deaths. Everyone just keeps spitting out their one-liners and acting as though no-one else in the world matters.
And the product placement. My god the product placement. You could tell they were putting certain scenes in because x company paid x amount of money for x amount of screen time and they're obliged to fulfil their part of the deal. Slow panning shots of Bud Light on the ground. A pair of Gucci sunglasses glistening in the sun in front of a Coca-Cola truck. Overly prominent Victoria's Secret signage. I'm not making this up.
I'm late to the party but ya know, I decided to chuck it on while I did some particularly boring work. And somehow I'm more bored?
Three stars for SOME of the action scenes being visually impressive. But even then, it wore so thin by the end.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Blew its load way too early and had nothing else to offer
I have to give this film some stars for the things I thought it did well; the vehicle design, some of the camera work, the scale of the environment (however bland it was); all very impressive. On a big TV, at home, with the guys and a few beers I'm sure it's fun.
With that said, after the first half an hour I realised that I'd seen everything this movie had to offer. Driving, shooting, exploding, and lots of sand. This wouldn't have been so bad had there been any meaningful dialogue to break up the frantic action sequences. But the film never settled down for more than a few minutes before the sound of distant engines and gunfire signalled yet another impending chase sequence.
I appreciate that for some people, that's a good thing. But not for me. As an action movie, yeah it's probably very good (setting aside the fact that the first and second half are basically the same, but mirrored). But with all of the praise being heaped upon it, you'd swear it was something more. It's really not. If Michael Bay had made this movie, it'd get trashed.
Ender's Game (2013)
Pleasantly surprising, but ends in the wrong place...
I have a bit of an aversion towards films with kid-heavy casts. It has the potential to go so wrong, and I'll admit for the first third of the film I had a hard time getting into it. I mean they all acted pretty well - better than the limited adult cast I'd say - but I guess there's just something unsettling/uncanny about seeing children expressing adult emotions.
Anyway, with all of that said I found myself starting to enjoy watching Ender grow and use his diplomatic and tactical skills in dealing with some of the other commanders in training, and some of the space battle simulator sequences were really impressive (I'm a fan of Homeworld so...ya know...).
Now, what really irked me about this film was the way it began to weave together a more complex sub-plot about the nature of the alien threat, and some kind of psychic connection, and just as the film starts to build up a nice pace and we feel like it's all going to come together...Ender sets off into the endless void of space and the credits roll. I've seen this in a number of films recently; it's like the writers don't quite know how to finish the film, or they run out of time to develop a final act, OR they're under pressure to leave the movie open for potential sequels. Whatever the case may be, it's annoying. There's a fine line between leaving a little to the viewers imagination to keep them thinking after the movie finishes, and just robbing them of an ending. I feel that's what happened here, at least partly.
All of that said, I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would. And the message it delivers - about understanding your enemy, perhaps even coming to sympathise with them - is a really important one that loses some of its impact due to the slightly limp ending.