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Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman is a mythological delight...go with it
It's been years since I've written a movie review but after reading the reviews here, my conscience literally forced this one from my fingers.
First of all, I'm a guy who hasn't liked a superhero movie since The Dark Knight. I'm also super-picky about movies in general. Having said this, I found Wonder Woman uncommonly refreshing...better than 99% of what comes out of Hollywood these days. Why?
Gal Gadot - Her screen presence is breathtaking...mesmerizing. She portrays strength with vulnerability, naivete with intelligence.
Chris Pine - His timing and delivery are spot-on as usual. I bet every director loves working with this guy.
Cinematography - From the muted colors of WWI to the lush island paradise, brilliant.
The story - It's not Shawshank but the emotive elements are all there. Engaging from start to finish.
The mythology - Basic but intriguing and credible. Great tension is created against the prevailing left-brained mindsets.
The jokes - Corny at times but for the most part they provided nice relief from the drama without ripping the viewer out of the moment like every other superhero movie.
The twist - People hate on it but I bet no one saw it coming.
Anyway, forget all of this -- the movie just works. And what it lacks in originality, it makes up for with heart. One might call it the Armageddon of superhero movies. So let go. Give it a chance. Your life might not be changed but you may see this list of imdb trolls for what it is. 4/5
World War Z (2013)
So this is what it all comes to...
If you were to feed every post-2000 Hollywood action film into a computer and have the compiler spit out randomized script, that script would look very much like World War Z. In fact, not a single scene in WWZ gets by without borrowing from some all-too-recent-past "A-list" blow-em-up apocalyptic blockbuster. Upon its conclusion, I found myself longing to watch Ed Wood (the anti-WWZ)--a film that was blatantly constructed around one of the worst B-movies of all time, yet redeemed itself with ready doses of freshness, fun and yes-- originality.
Alas movielovers, those days are long gone and the pre-fab vampiric zombie hobbits have taken control.
To be fair, WWZ masks its weaknesses (read: tired constructs) well and even *transforms* them into strengths at times. It also held my attention for one hour, forty-eight minutes and thirty-nine seconds (though not a second longer). Thus, I must overlook the film's raging typhus and perhaps even call it a success (As one man said, "Filmmaking is illusionist work."). Yet the better parts of me seem to have flown around this one like a river which soon forgets anything that doesn't move along with it. 5.1/10
Circle of Iron (1978)
The contrast of brutality and Zen gracefulness
This movie served as my introduction to mysticism and eastern thought during a most auspicious time in my life--adolescence. Even as horrible as the production values were and with all the sub-par acting, I can think of no other film that has has a greater impact on the course of my life. Bruce Lee had an understanding of life and nature that few have ever glimpsed. If it didn't sound so irreverent I would call him the poster child for Richard Bach's book, Johnathan Livingston Seagull. But on to the movie..
Based on an idea Bruce Lee had before his death, Circle of Iron aimed at expressing his Zen philosophy through a an extremely raw martial arts forum. The central character, Cord, is a seeker on a quest for the book of all knowledge. He experiences the trials and tribulations spelled out in other reviews and eventually finds what he's looking for--only it's nothing that he ever imagined it would be. This is not a movie for those who are easily distracted or require an inundation of action and effects to keep them absorbed. But if one is patient, it gives the viewer a chance to identify with a part of themselves that perhaps started on such a journey at one time, before being sidetracked by daily routine and less intrinsic pursuits.
There is an arresting contrast between the brutality of the fight scenes and the sensitivity of the philosophical dialog. David Carradine plays multiple roles in the film, of which the primary one was to be played by Lee before he died--a blind man with a long wooden flute which serves doubly as a weapon of defense.
If you're feeling like you're lost in the desert of worldly things, it may be of benefit to track this one down..