5/21/2017 0 Comments King Author: Legend of the swordI just saw this movie two hours ago in the movie theater, and I want to write this review while my emotion is still high. Also I will write a review for Alien: Covenant sometimes soon tomorrow since I did not write a review last week. I missed the opening weekend for this King Arthur movie, and for some reason I can't sleep well because of that. I was deeply attracted by the trailers of this movie, and I think it's gonna be a good one; however when I saw the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, I was shocked, it's only a 27. I then spent an hour to check the ratings on other websites and watched some movie review videos on Youtube, it turns out that the other social media all have a better attitude towards this movie than Rotten Tomatoes. Lucky for me, Rotten Tomatoes is wrong(from my perspective) again this time(I think the last time was "the accountant").
Story wise, it's about how King Arthur become King Arthur. I'm not really familiar with the original King Arthur novel, but from what I saw two hours ago, it's a revenge story, and I dig it a lot. The director is Guy Ritchie, one of my favorite directors in the world. He uses many flashbacks in the story telling this time. Well I'm actually ok with that even though Rotten Tomatoes says that's a no no. I will say that sometimes those flashbacks are a little unnecessary, this movie may have a way better rating if Guy Ritchie didn't show too much of his personal style in the movie. The great King Arthur becomes a street fighter in the beginning of this movie, but he is still full of charm and wildness. I like this character a lot, and I think Charlie Hunnam really did a good job to bring this character back to life. I do have a little basic understanding of the story of King Arthur, so I was also expecting characters like Lancelot and Guinevere, and the round table shows up, and some of them did, but in an unexpected way. Also, there are two(or maybe more) Games of Thrones actors in the movie, which made this movie really "Game of Thrones". The visual effects part really made me so excited in the theatre. Man, it's Guy Ritchie, so there is a tons of slow motion, long shots, match cuts, cool music while people fighting in a cool way. Everything I wanted, this movie has it. Too much CGI also becomes one of the main reasons why this movie has a bad rating, but I don't really care how much CGI is there in the movie as long as it looks cool. The fightings in this one reminds me those unreal fights in the Japanese anime, so either you like it or you don't. I only had one problem with this movie: Jude Law dropped that only one F bomb in the entire movie but I still think that's completely unnecessary. The whole movie is just really entertaining, I don't know why it got such a bad rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I really wish there will be sequels for this movie, but based on it's box office, it's gonna be hard(But this movie is coming to China, and Chinese people loves King Arthur a lot, so there is still hope!). In the end I want to share a movie review channel on Youtube, maybe you've heard it before, it's called Chris Stuckmann. Now I made my decision on whether should I see a movie or not based on both RT and this guy.
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5/8/2017 1 Comment Guardians of the galaxy 2Since it's guardians of the galaxy 2 opening weekend, so I will talk about it for sure. I saw every trailer of this movie, and I got spoiled about the ending before the I went to see the movie. Based on all the reviews, I was expecting a sequel that is as good as the last one or at least 80% good of the last one, but clearly this one shocked me again with its crazy action scenes and musics. This movie is so far the best blockbuster I've seen in this year.
Story wise, for those who haven't seen the movie, I'm not gonna spoiler anything like someone did to me, so I'm just gonna say that guardians met some new problems and they tried to solve it. This sequel spent more time to talk about each member in the team rather than talk about star lord himself in the first movie, and I think it's clever and awesome, because from my opinion the rest of the team is much more interesting than star lord, including those side characters like Yondu. The twist in the movie is really predictable but effective; base on what really happened in the comic book, I would say the setting for this movie is reasonable and easier for the audience to relate. The ending crushed me, I never shed any tears for marvel movies, but this one changed this fact. I still remember that father sitting next to me in the theater cried like a little baby. This is also a visually stunning movie, I can't decide which one looks better, this one or doctor strange. The sets in this movie is really beautiful, and the action scenes hit it right in spot. Everything you love about the last movie will appear in this one. The third act is just magnificent, there is so much to talk about in that act, and I think to talk about why that act is so amazing will ruin the surprise. This movie also played a role to expand the marvel universe to another level, so be ware of all those interesting Easter eggs in the movie cause you don't want to miss it. And don't forget to stay until the very end, since there are five end credit scenes in this movie. I would recommend this movie to anyone who has a family or has a strong father and son relationship, and now I'm gonna go listen to that one song called father in the soundtrack of this movie and cry alone. 4/30/2017 1 Comment Miss sloaneWell, since it's prom weekend, plus I have service job to do on Friday, I did not watch movies this week. So I want to use this chance to talk about a movie I watched during March, called Miss Sloane. There has been a time that I had a wired ambition: watch every movies (well, i mean blockbusters and those movies with great cast or good ratings) in the theater, and that ambition started last year. I had a list, and Miss Sloane is on it. When I started watching this movie, I considered it's my duty to watch it, so I was prepared for a boring, talking a lot, plot hard to understand drama movie. But, if it's really like that, I won't be writing this review now. This movie is really fun to watch.
Story wise, it's about a successful lobbyist called Miss Sloane tying to beat the law system, and that's all I can tell about the story, because the plot is full of interesting twists and the ending is awesome. I would give 60% my love of this movie to Jessica Chastain, her performance is incredible and she made Elizabeth Sloane so alive.(Also the character she played in this movie reminds me of Eileen Bunch, they both had red hair and strong personality, so Eileen if you're reading this review, watch this movie because that's literary you in maybe 10 years.) The other 40% of my love should goes to the screenwriters and the director, thanks to them, a movie about politics can be this straight-forward and easy to watch. This film feels like a movie version of House of Cards, but with less politics talking and more smart moves and action. However, if you're a teenager who only loves explosion and Disney like those stupid freshmen in my school, then don't watch this movie. What's more, this movie visually looks comfortable(maybe it's just me). The director chose to use a cool tongue filter to shoot the movie, the entire movie looks really pale and blue, and I like it a lot. The similar color choice can be seen in the John Wick series, so if you dig into that you can try this movie. There is no special effect in this movie according to my memory, but there is many focus on face shots(i just made that up, or not) in the movie, and most of them belongs to Miss Sloane, which gave this movie a cool looking appearance. It just feels great to see some filming techniques and nice shots in a low budget movie about politics. For conclusion, I just want to say that when you're watching this movie, what you see is probably is just Miss Sloane talking, but it feels like Batman just kicked superman's butt. 4/24/2017 1 Comment The fate of the furiousWhen I saw the trailer of this movie, I was thinking that this movie is gonna suck at story telling but incredible at visual effect. When I read the reviews of this movie, I was so surprised that it actually got a really good scores on Rotten Tomatoes(yes i know, i relied on that website too much). My first thought after I finished the movie is that: man, this is like the avenger. Yes, the fast & furious series has completely become something else.
Story wise, I believe if you saw the trailer, you would've known that Dominic Toretto has betrayed his family for some reason, then of course it's about how Toretto's team take him back to the good side. I don't want to spoiler here why Toretto betrayed his team, but I would say the reason why he did that is really kinda hard to relate or believe. Besides that, the third act of this film gave me a feeling that the director is out of ideas, but it stills looks cool. Visually, this movie is awesome. The opening racing scenes and the prison fight scenes made me want to watch this movie again. The New York chasing scenes is stunning, I can not imagine how much money was spent on that scene. The director of this movie is F.Gary Gray, who directed straight outta Compton, a movie I loved so much. I'm glad that he decided to use as less CGI as possible to shoot the car chasing scene, and I've seen a video before the movie about how they shoot a scene where all the cars were being driven out of a building then dropped to the ground: the crew literary just throw tons of cars to the ground. I like the fact that a franchise is always changing, to try something different, but for fast & furious, I think they need to try a little bit harder next time since they says that they're making two more. Maybe it's not a bad choice to return to that street racing series right now. 4/10/2017 1 Comment The great wallI've been hesitated for a long time, thinking about should I see this movie. The great wall is a really compliated movie, and for that I mean it's really controversial in the international filming industry. Technically, the great wall is not a Hollywood movie; it's a Chinese movie with a Hollywood production crew and production company(for the purpose of being international). This movie came out in China first, then America, and it received many different movie critics. I payed close attention to the reviews of this movie in both American movie review websites and Chinese movie review websites. Most American movie websites talked about whether this movie is a good movie from the perspective of making a film; However, the Chinese websites spent more focus on the topic that can this movie represent China in the international film industry. My own opinion of this movie is that this is a great try, and it has more business value than its "movie" value.
The story is simply and straight-forward: Two foreign soldiers came to China in order to find the mysterious "black powder", a secret weapon that has great power(it's real in ancient China). But unluckily, they got captured by a group of secret army who served on one of the world seven wonders: the great wall, and found out this army is fighting a tons of green aliens to protect China(this is not real, or maybe it is?). First thing I'd like to mention is that the secret army of China looks like power rangers, and I believe that's where the director, Yimou Zhang got his idea from. Secondly, many Chinese critics thought that letting some strange foreigners(sorry Matt Damon) save China is probably the dumbest idea ever. In this movie, Matt Damon is a foreign mercenary with some mad archery skills, and I think that's the only reason why he is the "hero" in this movie, or maybe it's just because he is white. So, what about that Chinese secret army? In one scene where they capture Matt Demon and that awesome guy from games of thrones, about 15 soldiers shooting arrows like 10 arrows per second and made those arrows form a circle to trap Matt Demon and that awesome guy form games of thrones inside. Can we let that soldiers be the heroes in this movie? No, because they're not Matt Demon. I understand the idea of letting Matt Demon be the leading role is to gain American audience in the theatre, but to achieve that goal, they need a better reason to let Demon to be that guy who can save China. Also, the ending of the movie is very much like what they did in "Star Trek: Beyond", but I'm not gonna spoiler here, lol. Yimou Zhang is consider a visual director in China, he is the one who directed the 2008 Olympic opening and closing ceremony in Beijing. In this movie, you can see many of his fantastic shots of the great wall, the secret army fighting and Matt Demon being a cool dude. The CGI in this movie is great but not convincing enough, which brought a question: why every time a Chinese movie claims that they have a Hollywood CGI crew, the CGI does not look like it's from Hollywood? Don't gave me wrong, the special effect in the great wall is probably 10 times better than the other "Hollywood CGI" Chinese movie, but it still looks nothing like King Kong or Godzilla. Even I'm a little disappoint about the CGI is not good enough, I still have to admit that there is progress, and maybe that's what matter to this film. Like I mentioned before, this movie is a great try in the Chinese movie industry. I'm happy to see China is getting closer and closer to Hollywood, and for those people who does not like this movie base on the concept other than the story itself, I would say be patient, it will get better. 4/3/2017 1 Comment Power rangersI understand that many people would say this is such a stupid idea, since they might find out the original TV show was pretty dumb too. However, I hope people do not judge a movie just based on it's appearance or it's background, they should put more focus on the story itself. I'm confident enough to say that this new power rangers is a fun, highly entertaining and convincing movie. This movie complete my dream that a TV show(about superpower human) that was first appeared in Japan and was finally reproduced by Hollywood(well, maybe Godzilla count too). I came from China, and the influence of those Japanese Tokusatsu to China is like what Star Wars means to America; I grow up with it, and it's always nice to pick up some childhood memory in the movie theatre.
The plot of the new power rangers pretty much follows the original franchise: it's about 5 teenagers with different background and race found a spaceship and 5 special coins underground, and they become "power rangers" under the guidance of Zordon, who was a formal power ranger and was acted by Bryan Cranston, who was obsessed with being a part of the Hollywood recreating Tokusatsu since Godzilla(just kidding). One thing I love about this movie is the character design and the character building. I'm not a big teenager movie fan since teenagers mainly have 0 IQ in a movie, but this movie actually did not make me feel that way, I'm not saying they did not do stupid stuff at all, but the reasons why they do, what they do and how they do is really relatable and fun to watch. And also I notice that pretty much in every "Teenager" movie, there is a teenager group mental therapy session in some parts of the movie, and in this one they have it too. Usually I don't care about those moments since they're a waste of time, but in this new power rangers movie, those moments really caught my attention. Also, I need to talk about the bad guy in this movie, Rita, acted by Elizabeth banks, who I think it's too hot for such a role. The existence of this role kinda break the entire mood of the film, because the director was trying to create a darker power rangers universe, but I still enjoy her performance, she is really a bad*** in this movie(except the ending). For those people who is worry about the CGI in this movie, no need to worry. The CGI looks great, even though it could be better from my perspective. There is several scenes in this movie would completely turns you on and make you want to rewatch this movie just because of those moments. Also the choice of music is really interesting. The movie use a tons of pop songs from nowadays, and they fit the scenes really well. But if you hate Kanye west, you might hat this movie. The director uses some really interesting shot choice, like some long shots in the beginning, and some other shots(those shots I remember what they looks like but just can't remember their names), which made this film really high class, and I like it a lot, this what Hollywood should feels like nowadays. The movie change its mood when the teenagers put on their colorful suits, and that the reason why many movie critics gave this movie a bad review on Rotten Tomatoes, but I don't understand why that's a problem, I totally buy it. I highly recommend this movie to those who had dreams in their childhood of becoming a super hero and drive awesome-looking vehicles. 3/28/2017 1 Comment Ace in the holeI'm going to thank Michal first for picking this movie for us, this is probably the most intense, suspense old Hollywood movie I've ever watched(For a time period, I thought Rope is my favorite). I didn't expect that this kind of movie would appeared in the 90s, since the concept and everything are so well-designed and advanced. The viewing experience is just fantastic.
Plot wise, the movie focused on an ambitious reporter, who would risk anything for a better career, even a stranger's life. So he met a stranger who is buried under a mountain, on one hand this reporter want to save the stranger's life, but on the other hand, he also tried to make a good use of this chance to help his career. The ending is unhappy, but reasonable: both the stranger and the reporter died. This movie successfully shows the audience how a human's nature can change on one's interest, how the world will react to something that only sounds interesting. The plot is really depressing from my perspective, it's really dark for a movie that was being made in the 90s. One thing I think it's pretty interesting is its title. When I first hear Ace in the hole, I thought it was a war movie, but it turns out to be a dark story about a "evil" reporter(well, that's how i feel). I guess Ace in the title means something with a good appearance but is actually something terrible. The sets of this film is really stunning. I don't know if they film it in a real place or not, but it looks so convincing. When the reporter entered the mountain, for a moment I felt a little horrifying, and I believe that's how the place should make audience feel like: scare and depressed. There is many close shots that focused on people's expression, by the way I have to say the acting gave me chills(that means its good). Kirk Douglas is just so amazing, he nails this reporter character, made this character so powerful on the outside but so vulnerable on the inside. I can feel his struggle based on his lines and acting in the end part. I have an interesting idea of this film, I think this film would be a lot better with color, just a wired thought. 3/28/2017 1 Comment PassengersI watched this movie at home last weekend, since I want to know is this movie really that bad or Rotten Tomatoes is making stuff up. The first thing came into my mind after I finished this movie is the plot is too dull, although there is some twists in it, the entire film still makes me want to fast forward, and I really did in some parts.
The story is actually kinda surprising to me, because it's really different from what I expected from the trailer. I don't want to spoiler here, but I just want to say the first half of the film is really well-done(what I say in the first paragraph is mainly for the second half of the movie), it's like "outcast" in space, which is fun and enjoyable. Also, the director has plenty time to develop the characters in the first half of the movie, made them relatable to the audience. However, in the second half, the movie lost it's atmosphere; it became a stupid space survive type of film. I expected this movie to be a space suspense story with some clever twist, but the ending is just really disappointing. And what makes me more disappointed is the movie actually gave me exactly what I want in the beginning. For most space movie, a good CGI effect and sets are one big important factor to attract the audience into the theatre. For Passengers, the CGI is gorgeous and convincing and all the sets have their purposes in the film. The use of light is the best part of the film in my opinion. The space ship has an auto light system, and that brings the mood of a lonely, survive journey. Also, in the film, the space ship will encounter some unique areas or accidents, and when that happens, the light will become really dark, to add some shades on the character's face. 3/20/2017 1 Comment Beauty and the beastMy original plan for last weekend was to watch the Belko experiment, but after I watched several reviews about that movie(Yes, i can't control myself to watch a movie review before a movie comes out), I decided to not go watch it since most people said that movie got a great concept but ends up poorly. So, based on Mrs.McQueen strong request, I went to go watch this movie last Saturday. The movie theatre is packed that day; I bought the 9:00pm tickets that Saturday afternoon, since all the tickets for the showtime before that were all sold out. I also read some reviews for the new Beauty and the beast, and people said this one did not do a better job than the animation one, but luckily, I have not seen the old one, so I guess it's fine.
Because of my low expectation of this movie, I actually enjoyed the viewing experience. I don't think it's necessary for me to explain the whole plot, except several changes in the story. The first one I had to talk about is the gay character in this movie. Because of the existence of gay characters, this movie was actually rated R in Russia and several other countries. Although people say that the character itself won't effect the story, when I'm actually watching this movie, the gay elements made some parts of the movie really weird. Is it that important to add some personal and politics stuff(the director is gay and right now gay is really "politics" in media's view) in a Disney fantasy? I don't think so. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying gay elements in movie are bad, I just don't think Beauty and the beast is a good platform for gay characters. What also could be mentioned is the new Beauty and the beast has more historical backgrounds for the characters, and I think that's another stupid part about this movie. It feels like the director tried to make some changes, but those changes are really out of the place. Other than that, this movie is fine. The CGI is the reason why I would recommend this movie to everyone I know, and for me, the CGI in this movie made me forget the shortage of the plot. It is magnificent! Disney really has some magic on the CGI they made. The beast in this movie is awesome, both in character design and character building(personality). Also I feel really sorry for Dan Stevens, he had only about 2 minutes in the movie to show his face, I was hoping the director add a little bit more about the life after. Such a hot guy!(I know it's weird, I love this actor so much because of Legion). Overall, this movie is ok for those who already knows about the plot and is ok with gay stuff in a Disney princess movie, but if you care for the plot, you might feel a little uncomfortable when you walk out of the theater. 3/13/2017 1 Comment Kong: skull islandAlthough my choice of movies has been largely increased lately, my taste for big production blockbuster movies will never change. I know for such a monster movie like Kong: skull island, as long as there is many big monsters fight against each other, i'm sold. As predicted, this movie meets my expectation, and at some points, it actually amazed me with some action scenes.
The story of Kong: skull island is really simple: some scientists found the existence of an unknown island, so they led a group of soldiers to check it out, but it turns out they entered a world of monsters and dangerous weather. I don't know if this movie has any connection with the previous King Kong movie, since the King Kong in this one is much bigger and the skull island looks really different. Also i noticed that this movie was produced by Warner Bros, so i'm not sure what's going on there. Back to the story itself, this movie has a tons of human characters, so i can see the director just decided to give up the character building except giving a few of them a little background. The plot is a straight forward adventure, it left many unsolved problems, but i guess nobody cares, since watching king kong smash around is satisfying enough. One thing i think movie is special is the use of colors and different shots. The whole film looks really yellow, and i really like it since it deliver the 80s feeling successful. When it comes to some monster fight, the color can also be really playful. There is a scene when Tom Hiddleston fight with a bunch of monster birds in the green gas, the director use a long shot with slow motion, make this scene really Zack Snyder(My favorite). Also the CGI of all the monsters in this movie are really well-made, and i'm running out of things to say here since it's really just a good looking blockbuster, i would recommend it to everyone i know. |
作者简单介绍一下自己。不需要很花哨,概括一下就行。 存档
May 2017
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