Post by Martin Stett on Feb 12, 2018 16:07:02 GMT
Magic Mike (2012) -- This is one of those rare comedies that relies on finding the humor in real people encountering every day situations, instead of some caricatures encountering outrageous events. Every laugh and every moment of drama feels sincere in ways that are rarely encountered. It never gets especially exciting (not that it tries to), but it's always good for a smile. 7/10
The Maze Runner (2014) -- This is the most misguided movie I've seen in a long time. Not one piece of it even fits a consistent internal logic. It can be entertaining at times in a trainwreck sort of way, but the obvious cynicism behind it hurts that enjoyment factor. It's one big amalgamation of YA cliches and senseless violence to appeal to what studio executives think that kids want, without one actual character in the whole movie. The ending is genuinely hilarious, though. I give it 3/10 for the unintended entertainment factor, but I admit that I felt dirty afterwards.
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014) -- It's pretty much a slow burn CSI episode, but Liam Neeson is competent as always. 6/10
Logan (2017) -- I admire what this movie strives for, if nothing else. By painting Charles and Laura as the two different sides of Logan (to simplify greatly, Charles in all of his wisdom and yes, mistakes, is the man Logan wishes he could be -- Laura in her feral, violent, mute ways is a representation of all that Logan currently is), the movie creates a portrait of a man struggling to come to terms with with his life and all he has done or will do. Patrick Stewart is downright amazing as Charles, and Dafne Keen more than holds her own as the other side of the coin, communicating her emotions to the audience without ever seeming to be acting.
The problem is this: Although Logan's relationship with Charles is always perfectly written, his relationship with Laura is based on the necessities of the plot. There is never one scene in which she is more than a symbol to him. They never truly communicate or get close to each other, and this makes the passages in which Logan is supposed to come to peace with her and love her... not quite work. They're forced melodrama. The problem is in making her a mute: a symbolically logical choice for the savage Wolverine, but the lack of dialogue means that they must bond through their actions through the film, and they rarely seem to be written as though they're in the same room. I hate to be negative about this, the film is trying to be something special. I think it was one rewrite away from greatness, is all. 7/10
Beast Wars: Transformers (Season 3) -- The show goes out with a whimper. No foreshadowing, none of the perfectly paced character development of the first two seasons. The show goes back to the one-off filler episodes of season 1, but without the evolving character dynamic: every member of every team is already set in their ways, so that if you watched any of episodes 3-10 out of order, you wouldn't know the difference. The ending is embarrassing, in that it suddenly tries to tie together several loose plot threads at once -- something the show has always been smart enough to avoid by peppering developments through each season -- resulting in a shitload of twists that happen without rhyme or reason. Not to mention the sudden body count killing off half the cast without warning. 4/10
Parade (1974) -- This was kind of fun for ten minutes. By twenty, I was rolling my eyes. By thirty, I was struggling to stay awake. 3/10
Being from Another Planet (MST3K version) -- Ehhhh. The riffing was done on autopilot this time. The movie was honestly so terrible that I don't think there's anything that could have been done to save it. It wasn't terrible in an enjoyable way. It was just irredeemably bad. 5/10
The Maze Runner (2014) -- This is the most misguided movie I've seen in a long time. Not one piece of it even fits a consistent internal logic. It can be entertaining at times in a trainwreck sort of way, but the obvious cynicism behind it hurts that enjoyment factor. It's one big amalgamation of YA cliches and senseless violence to appeal to what studio executives think that kids want, without one actual character in the whole movie. The ending is genuinely hilarious, though. I give it 3/10 for the unintended entertainment factor, but I admit that I felt dirty afterwards.
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014) -- It's pretty much a slow burn CSI episode, but Liam Neeson is competent as always. 6/10
Logan (2017) -- I admire what this movie strives for, if nothing else. By painting Charles and Laura as the two different sides of Logan (to simplify greatly, Charles in all of his wisdom and yes, mistakes, is the man Logan wishes he could be -- Laura in her feral, violent, mute ways is a representation of all that Logan currently is), the movie creates a portrait of a man struggling to come to terms with with his life and all he has done or will do. Patrick Stewart is downright amazing as Charles, and Dafne Keen more than holds her own as the other side of the coin, communicating her emotions to the audience without ever seeming to be acting.
The problem is this: Although Logan's relationship with Charles is always perfectly written, his relationship with Laura is based on the necessities of the plot. There is never one scene in which she is more than a symbol to him. They never truly communicate or get close to each other, and this makes the passages in which Logan is supposed to come to peace with her and love her... not quite work. They're forced melodrama. The problem is in making her a mute: a symbolically logical choice for the savage Wolverine, but the lack of dialogue means that they must bond through their actions through the film, and they rarely seem to be written as though they're in the same room. I hate to be negative about this, the film is trying to be something special. I think it was one rewrite away from greatness, is all. 7/10
Beast Wars: Transformers (Season 3) -- The show goes out with a whimper. No foreshadowing, none of the perfectly paced character development of the first two seasons. The show goes back to the one-off filler episodes of season 1, but without the evolving character dynamic: every member of every team is already set in their ways, so that if you watched any of episodes 3-10 out of order, you wouldn't know the difference. The ending is embarrassing, in that it suddenly tries to tie together several loose plot threads at once -- something the show has always been smart enough to avoid by peppering developments through each season -- resulting in a shitload of twists that happen without rhyme or reason. Not to mention the sudden body count killing off half the cast without warning. 4/10
Parade (1974) -- This was kind of fun for ten minutes. By twenty, I was rolling my eyes. By thirty, I was struggling to stay awake. 3/10
Being from Another Planet (MST3K version) -- Ehhhh. The riffing was done on autopilot this time. The movie was honestly so terrible that I don't think there's anything that could have been done to save it. It wasn't terrible in an enjoyable way. It was just irredeemably bad. 5/10
