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Pete's Dragon (2016)
Looks great, feels fake
I saw this at the recommendation of several critics whose opinions I respect, so perhaps I was expecting too much. Maybe it's just because I'm a 30 year old guy, and this is movie for children. However it may be, I was not moved nor entertained for the two hours of the running time.
The reason, in my opinion, why Pete's Dragon fails to connect with an audience is that it feels very, very fake. I'm from Serbia and I'm not an expert on small towns in the U.S. pacific northwest, so take this as you will, but to me, by the look of it, the story is supposed to be happening in 1970s. Police are driving those old boxy police cars, houses look like they belong in Rambo: First Blood, the clothes people are wearing are straight out of The Deer Hunter. Phones ring the old kind of ring, and no one in this town has a mobile phone, or even a computer, which I believe are commonplace even in smallest of towns. The whole place looks like they just recycled the first Rambo set, right down to the iconic bridge.
Having the plot set in the '70s is not a bad thing mind you! The problem with this is that characters behave in a very 2016 way towards each other. Adults have this distinctly modern attitude towards children for example: they treat them with respect and tact which came about only in recent ~20 years or so. Kids have the signature millennial snark. It's a bit hard to describe but just watch E.T. for example and you'll see how adults and children have completely different attitudes than in Pete's Dragon.
So everything looks like its 1975, but everyone behaves like its 2016 and the result of this is that the whole thing feels like it's a bunch of people acting. And that's the worst thing that can happen to a movie. It completely killed my immersion, and I believe not a lot of children will be able to connect with their counterparts on the screen for this very reason.
Not to be overly negative, the cinematography is top notch. Forrest shots look amazing, and all scenes are superbly composed. And Robert Redford acts circles around rest of the crew, even with the flat character he was given.
Bottom line, if you're looking for a good children's movie look elsewhere.
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
There are much better action movies to see
With the rebooted time line, Star Trek stopped being science fiction and started being action adventure - if that's not your cup of tea, well tough. I like both genres and I went into this movie wanting to see a good action flick, and was left wanting. It's just bad folks.
All action scenes seem too cramped and stuffed.They had all this great sets the action is supposed to take place in but all the director managed show us are two guys boxing in a few different places.
For example two characters are in a chase scene, happening in low gravity conditions. Instead of using that setting to do something interesting, one character simply catches up to the other and beats him up. If they just carried on to the logical conclusion of the scene it would be great! It's like they made it more bland and uninteresting on purpose.
Characters are really badly written too. They all behave the same way! You could have easily switched Kirk and Spock around and it wouldn't have made any difference in the events shown to us. Every one of the Enterprise crew is very brave, very patriotic, talks back at the villains, and has witty banter with other characters. This kind of character is already overused in movies so even having one of them be like this would be stretching it, having all of them behave like that redefines the term "lack of imagination"
The story is another disaster. It's so full of plot holes it felt like I watched a bunch of trailers for several generic space action movies instead of one coherent narrative. But if the direction and characters were better, this would not be as obvious as it is. Without anything interesting going on visually, your mind starts thinking about the story and the whole thing just falls apart.
The only good part were the actors. They all gave their best, even Chris Pine who was little one dimensional in the previous films shows great improvement. I always wonder how must it be for actors to know that the film is going to be horrible and still try and give good performance. All of them deserve an applause for a heroic effort in this catastrophe.
So, to conclude, if you want to see a good action adventure movie set in space, pop in "Guardians of the Galaxy" once again. "Star Trek: Beyond" is not worth anyone's time.
Rescue Dawn (2006)
Prison is a state of mind
This is a movie which shows us a completely different side of being a prisoner (of war, in this case) and a side which explains a lot about humans in captivity.
You know how every once in a while you come across a news story about how some dictator in a third world is torturing the whole country and you can't help but wonder "Why don't these people rebel?". Well, Rescue Dawn will give you a clue.
Going into this, I expected a lot of torture and graphic violence but to my surprise there wasn't that much of it. Sure, prisoners are tortured but not to the extent you see in other films about being a POW. The main focus of the story is the six men's daily struggle with their own minds as they rot away in the prison camp.
One of the best parts is how the title of the "bad guy" changes hands throughout the story - Fellow prisoners, United States armed forces, Viet Cong, the jungle - everything and everybody is a friend at one time and foe at other.
Don't expect explosions and fast paced actions scenes but if you like war movies and prison movies this is a must see!
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
It's a comedy for movie buffs
Acting is great, direction is great, music is awesome, there is no story and it's great! No story? Well, you see there is no classical story, no character arc or anything similar, but what we get instead is a "day in a life" view that's just an excuse for a bunch of really funny sequences. And it works brilliantly, in case you were wondering.
It's a world of an overworked producer full of promiscuous movie stars, prissy directors, communist conspiracies, clumsy kidnappers, and Jesus Christ too.
The only downside in my opinion is that some of the jokes rely too heavily on knowing the tropes of 1950s movies, but it didn't seem to bother anyone I was watching this with.
So yeah - it's a fun two hours!
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
A fairytale in space
Well, let's get right down to it shall we: This is not a deep philosophical film. It's a space opera about a ordinary girl who is forced by the hand of fate to be something she wasn't prepared for. Imagine what would happen if Katniss Everdeen was teleported into Guardians of the Galaxy and this is pretty much it.
The film is very, very FUN. Spaceships are beautiful, costumes are beautiful, weapons and gadgets are interesting, alien creatures are very creative and diverse. Part of what makes everything so beautiful is that there is a lot of colour which is a welcome change from a muddy-brown and dark palette that is prevalent in action films in recent years.
The story is - like mentioned in the summary - a classic fairytale. Bad guys are bad, good guys are good, it's won't blow your mind but it's good enough as a vehicle to explore a creative and engaging universe and give you a few laughs.
So, if you are looking for a fun and easy going film with spaceships go see this and you won't be disappointed.
Wild (2014)
A heroine's journey
In this film you will see a young woman's journey to recapture her will for life, and come to terms with the "wilderness" of the adulthood.
This is not an action film - there are no impressive "(wo)man vs. the wild" moments that you probably expect from a film about hiking 1000 miles on your own. Nevertheless, it is quite a thrilling ride, and if you ever went on a hike or a camping trip you will be more than able to immerse yourself in the world of the protagonist.
What impressed me the most is the subtlety with which conflicts and crises are portrayed - direction really manages to pull you in and connect you with the main character. Her fears became my fears, her hopes my hopes.
In the end, I can't say this changed my life, but it did leave me with a hopeful and fulfilled feeling in my heart.
Lucy (2014)
A couple of cool scenes, but nothing else.
It's very fun to watch Scarlett Johansson kick bad guys around, and the film has a lot of scenes that are so impressive you could use the stills as a cool photo in themselves. Luc Besson is a master of this, and you'll find yourself thinking "oh man, this is so cool".
You might have heard already that the science behind the story (10% of the brain thing) is flimsy to say the least, plot holes are abundant but that is not a problem - this is a action sci-fi film and there are many good films with a far more ridiculous premise.
The real problem of this film is that it spends very little time focusing on the main character and her (very interesting!) storyline and keeps insisting we sit through the completely generic car chases, gun fights and arrests. As you could see in the trailer Lucy gets superpowers but instead of featuring her abilities to the fullest, half of the finale is spent on showing us five minor characters shooting it out in a library lobby.
As with almost all films dealing with the topic of human potential and transcendence there is a lot of pseudo philosophical drivel about how "humans are sheep, we need to wake up" etc. It's quite cringe worthy, and without enough of expected eye candy you will find yourself embarrassed on the films behalf in every other dialogue.
All in all, this is a couple of cool scenes with a lot of generic action film stuff and penny-philosophy stuck in between. Skip it, you won't miss anything.
Zwei zum Fressen gern (2006)
A rare gem - do not miss
"Crocodile Alert" is one of those films that many will dismiss just for being based on a ridiculous premise, having terrible acting and abysmal direction. But for those of us who can look past this minor shortcomings and appreciate real cinema, there is a real gem of the seventh art.
The emotional investment of the main characters in their hunt for the beast that terrorizes their peaceful town is matched only by their complex and involved relationships that will keep you on the edge of your seat both literally and emotionally.
Do not, for one second, think that frequent display of breasts in this film is there just for the cheap titillation which adolescent males are susceptible to. Every scene has its semantic, and in the end artistic, purpose - to take the viewer further into their own soul.
And this is the ultimate goal of this film - to teach you something about yourself. For sure, if you sit through this one, you will find out something new, and maybe even disturbing about the very depths of your personality.
In the words of the poet, "10/10 would watch again"