That bad?

So I should save my pennies and wait for bluray instead

Finding Dory (2016)

Another sequel from Pixar. This time it is the sequel to one of Pixar's greatest hits, Finding Nemo (2003). All I can say is that I left the theatre with a little bit of apprehension.

Is Finding Dory good? The short answer is yes. It's entertaining enough. It's colourful, like its predecessor, which the kids will like. Dory is back, obviously and so is Marlin and Nemo but they take a back seat and Dory takes the centre stage. Apart from that we get other colourful characters that moves the tale along. Fine and dandy but it starts to feel kinda formulaic after a little while.

This time around, we see Dory going on a journey and from the trailers, we know that it's to find her family and that is what the movie basically is. Finding Dory seems to be missing the emotional core that Finding Nemo had that makes the movie compelling. We don't get or at least, I don't get the sense of urgency from the characters. In Finding Nemo, we rooted for Marlin and Dory every step of the way. In Nemo, we felt each setback and cheered for every success the characters experienced but that's missing in this movie.

Also, there are times when you find that things are a little too convenient to advance the plot in Finding Dory, for example the characters Destiny and Bailey. Luck plays a big part in Finding Nemo but the events never really felt contrived. In Finding Dory, some things seemed a little too easy to solve.

Overall, Finding Dory is still a nice little tale. It's all nice and warm but feels a little too targeted towards the kids. When the credits start rolling, it confirmed one of my fears. Pixar is losing its edge. The acquisition by Disney has given Disney animated feature films a leg up but I'm afraid that the leg came from Pixar's own production pool. Pixar's own features seem to be limping now. Jumping on to the sequel bandwagon has diluted the original spirit in Pixar which is never to make a movie unless you have a strong story.


Rating : 3 out of 5 stars (with 0.5 star awarded due to nostalgia)

Finding Dory (2016)

Did I want to see this to beging with?

No.

I wanted to watch Now You See me 2.

And have to add, I heard rumbling of it being bad so...

I watched this instead...

Why did I not want to see this?

Actually Finding Nemo is probably one of my Pixar Favorites.

It was original, and it has alot of heart.

So, why did I not want to see this initially?

Honestly, because of Dory!!!

She is the comedic sidekick!!

Is THAT enough to fill a full length feature film??

The power that be for Disney/Pixar seemed to think so...

Can Pixar do no wrong?

Well...

There are three Pixar movie which I do not go gaga over, namely

Cars (2006)
Cars 2 (2011)
The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Is Finding Dory joining that list?

From a story point of view (which was my main fear), it is actually.... decent.

You do not get invested as much as you would, compared with Finding Nemo.

In that you really feel for Marlin and Nemo.

Here... I have to honestly say I am not as invested in this scatter brain character... Dory.

Lots of heart in Finding Nemo, and here... not so much.

The problem with sequels is, if the predecessor is fantastic, the sequels get scrutinized, and I am not sure this passes scrutiny...

Second, the production feels... off

In Finding Nemo, the sea environment was SO inviting.

It looks super real. Here it looks as if they... skimmed on making it look so really... This shocks me the most.

Honestly, I think this movie will make money in the States, everywhere else... Not so much.

Do not shoot the messenger....

My Two Sen.

P.S. Credit where credit is due, the short at the beginning, Pipers, is really good!!

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jun 16 2016, 09:45 PM

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

People here may know that I like Independence Day (1996) alot.

At 6:40pm today, I was standing in front of the cinema, with tickets and snack.

I entered the cinema and the trailers and ads came on.

I was eager with anticipation.

This is Twentieth Century Fox big gun for the Summer and they plunked down 200 Million into this!!!

The movie started and... I really hate to say this, it is a dud...

Why?

In 1996, America was a likable bully, now... not so much.

The Chinese product placement and actors (Angelababy) to pander to the Chinese audience. Obvious much...

The new characters are so BLAH!!!!

America now has a lady President... Wah, so progressive one...

They forget women through history and now ladies holds the highest office in their respective countries, namely

Hatshepsut Ancient Egypt 1507–1458 BC
Wu Zetian Tang Dynasty
Catherine the Great Russia
Corazon Aquino the Philippines
Angela Merkel German Chancellor
(To name a few)

And when American has a lady President, HOLD THE PRESS!!! (Sigh)

Liam Hemsworth cannot pick a good role, if his life depends on it, PERIOD!!!

They rest of the new cast are going through the motions!

Jeff Goldblum is clueless here.

Why the heck is Judd Hirsch back? It proves that even he has to pay rent...

Brent Spiner is now the comedic relief... Really??

And the only one that actually got through this whole exercise with a little bit of dignity is Bill Pullman...

If you want something like this to work, GOOD STORYTELLING IS KEY!!

If the first and second arch is not BAD enough in the third arc they pulled a
ARRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Bad Fox!!

BAD FOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you think this would open the opportunity for Part 3, you are SOLELY MISTAKEN!!!

This movie CHEAPENS the first one like nobodies business...

My Two Sen...

when do sequels do better than original ones?

when will we ever even get good enough sequels?

Actually, I was told that The Godfather II is way better than it's predecessor

Star Wars Empire Strikes Back is almost everyone's favorite

I LOVE Conjuring 2

So it exist, but DEFINITELY NOT this!!!!

When it's James Cameron. Look at T2 and Aliens. Now just pray Avatar2 follow that same rule

Harry Potter 2, The Dark Knight, Captain America 2, Terminator 2, LOTR 2, Infernal Affairs 2, Toy Story 2, Spiderman 2, The Godfather 2, Indiana Jones 2, Xmen 2

The Godfather II is not better than the first. Equal, at most. And yet, part II is still one of the best films of all time.

Anyway, Independence Day 2 is big, dumb, and quite fun. Just like the first one. In fact some parts are a rehash of the first, with bigger scope and bigger explosions of course. As a disposable movie, it was quite satisfying. The points you mentioned are not untrue, but hardly significant I thought. Yes, none of the characters here matter, but whether they matter in a movie like this doesn't matter (but does score bonus points when the characters are fun, like the first one).

My biggest gripe is the pacing. Once it starts the pacing is ferocious, with almost no break time in between. Some pause would have been most welcome. Instead it feels like the whole invasion and came and ended within hours in real time. And more than a few times, I wished the camera had lingered on the money shot. The editing feels so urgent that everything is rushed. The first one is a lot better in this regard (as I remember it, haven't seen it in 10 years maybe).

Hey, Long time!!

And never the twain shall meet!!

I really despise this movie.

Ruined the first one for me...

Trivisa - A good crime-esque movie.

A simple premise of grouping three real life criminal from the 90's in HK, they are forced to live under a new reality when PROC took back HK. When a petty rumor circling these separate entities is colloborating for the first time...the narration steadily building toward that partnership moment. The best part of the movie is exposing the humanity aspect on each of the criminal. On the surface the hook might be on the explosive criminal portion of the movie...it smartly pivot to social commentary of the harsh reality of those who to a degree experienced all the crazy shenanigans one has to endure when working in China. It's an accurate depiction of the senseless social aspect in China. The ending might be anti-climatic but like any end of an era story archetype...it's inevitable to lose yourself to the new sea of changes.

Me Before You (2016)

This kind of movie will not be my first pick when you see me at the box office queue. It will not be my second or third pick either but heck, there comes a time when it would be your only pick. So pick it I did. And, surprise, surprise it wasn't all that bad. In fact it did leave me with some real world questions at the end and not many movies could do that.

Me Before You is a movie adaptation of a novel with the same name with the screenplay done by the author. It's a romantic tear-jerker and well, I would say that the ladies won't stand a chance against this one.

This movie does not end like the typical romance flicks but I thought that was part of the charm. Emilia Clarke was lovable as Louisa Clark and Sam Calflin is much too handsome for Will Traynor. Their performances are what carries the movie and the cinematography is beautiful.

Go watch this with your girlfriend and surprise her for once for not picking the usual fare. Afterwards the both of you could sit in a cafe and debate the ending. Nice way to spend a Sunday, right?


Rating : 2.5 stars out of 5 and remember to bring a pack of tissues for the girlfriend.

Green Room - It's better than you think it would.

Stunt casting of Patrick Stewart as a white supremacist may pique your interest to watch this movie...but the real reason to watch this movie is Jeremy Saulnier. He directed the pitch perfect 2013 "Blue Ruin", Green Room is one of those indie thriller that make no pretense they do not have a lot of money to play with. So it's the skillful handling of script, cinematography, and performance to keep you glue to the story development. It's way ahead of the typical Blumhouse productions that usually associated to making these type of movies. The twist and turn of plot development felt earned and happen in a rather organic fashion. You literally see how they deftly make use of good storytelling components to drive the movie forward and realistic violence that being depicted. It's not the usual hyper stylized hollywood violence.
If you somehow like the movie...do not miss out Blue Ruin as it is a far more superior movie but not to say Green Room is bad or anything. As a matter of fact it's already a bloody good one to begin with.

Finding Dory is a big hit with the children

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

Forget Tarzan (2013) (An European attempt at the material), let alone Tarzan (2003) (TV Series) (That I did not know exist), do even get me started on Tarzan and the Lost City (1998) (Shame on you Casper Van Dien), the terrible Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981) (believe it or not was a vehicle for Bo Derek), the kinda popular 60s series Tarzan (1966) (TV Series) and the original Tarzan Tarzan - Johnny Weissmuller who was an Olympic swimmer and his Tarzan always has to dive from a waterfall!!

I kidda like Disney's Tarzan (1999) and until now I've always figurred Christopher Lambert's Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) being the definitive Tarzan movie...

Warner just plunked down USD$180,000,000 on this and how does it fare?

Honestly, when I heard about this movie and when it was announced that Alexander Skarsgård is playing Tarzan, I went, HUH??!!?? A Swedish meatball playing a English aristocrat who grew up in the wilds of Africa??? Can anybody say, miscast??

I am glad to inform you that I WAS WRONG, and it ia actually a match made in Heaven.

Alexander Skarsgård IS Tarzan (well, as far as THIS movie is concern)

Christoph Waltz as Leon Rom!!! Can you say FIEND!!!

Let's go thru our Villainous Persona chacklist shall we?

1) Dress evil √
2) Understand the reason behind your evil motives. √
3) Have tricks up your sleeve. √
4) Have a brilliant yet dangerous mind. √
5) Be sneaky. √
6) Remember that villains do not have friends, they gain followers. √
7) Develop an evil grin and stare. √
8) Define a skill and use it. √

By Jove, it is official!!!! He is a VILLAIN!!!!

Samuel L. Jackson gets the funniest line!!!

Story, good, Cast good, cinematographer EXCELLENT!!

So, in short am I sold the movie??

You bet your bottom dollar!!!

What are you waiting for.

Go watch this.

SHow movie makers you appreciate good stuff, so hopefully they will stop making bad ones.... (Yes Independence Day 2, I am looking at you...)

My Two Sen

P.S. This Tarzan DOES NOT WEAR a butt flap (to borrow a phrase from George of the Jungle (1997))

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jun 30 2016, 07:50 PM

Haha just watched finish

Definitely worth my every penny

No butt flap, right??

Tarzan is indeed AWESOME!

It's been such a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time, movie buffs!



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Tarzan , me before you, independenve day which better