Diogo_Costa Reviews

Deadpool (2016)

I know I am a comic book character.

[6/10 · 13 February 2016]

Deadpool, masterfully played by Ryan Reynolds is very entertaining, with a lot of funny jokes and not much else.

By the end of the initial sequence, the novelty will wear off, and you'll left wonder if there's anything left to see. There isn't. What follows is a torrent of one-liners between the occasional (more violent than usual) fight scene. Most of the jokes have no build up, are dick-related or pop culture references and are delivery in such an abrupt manner that you become numb to it. Worst of all, the lead characters can only interact through these jokes and seem incapable of any other kind of speech, and that's a shame.

It's almost impossible to relate in any way to these characters. Some of them come as bigoted, others as one-dimensional. There's no progression, no struggle and barely any conflict. The film starts at the end and doesn't add much more to the beginning.

Bound to an origin story, most of its shortcomings come from the wish of the creators to stay as close to the comics as possible. The film would certainly benefit from more creative freedom and more room to breathe.

Deadpool can by appreciated by it's mere existence and by the self- aware nature of the character. It's in the meta segments that Deadpool is at it's best. But in the end, it never delivers on the promise and fails to satirize its counterparts, becoming one more addition to the super-hero movie in the process - one where it's impossible to disassociate the man inside the suit, Wade, to it's alter ego, Deadpool.

Although there's much room for a much more interesting (and already confirmed sequel) Deadpool is exactly what one is expecting and that's disappointing.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

The dystopian world of Panem loses color and gains a lot of life in the process.

[8/10 · 20 November 2015]

What began as a funny 'Battle Royal' for teens comes to a conclusion as one of the best blockbusters in recent memory. It's almost unbelievable how the tone progressively changed from the colorful brutality of the first film to the grayscale palate of a very real world portrayed in Mockingjay - Part 2.

The conclusion to 'The Hunger Games' saga is slow, dark and heavy. Starts gloomy and goes downhill from there. It feels anti-climatic and manages to achieve levels of tension only grasped by the previous films. All at the same time.

The fascinating thing about the film is how unexpected and unforgiven it is. The struggles feel real as do the consequences, and hopelessness permeates all of it.

The film has its shortcomings. It starts slows, drags a little on some scenes and contains some lazy writing, but other than that it's almost perfectly executed. Jennifer Lawrence is flawless as Katniss and majestically leads the devastating journey towards its conclusion.

Part 2 is bold and devastating. It may not be the conclusion some fans wanted, it sure wasn't what they're expected, but it's a way better conclusion than one could hope for.

A thank you note to Francis Lawrence for the eerie sewer tunnel scene, which plays as the love child of "Alien" and "The Descent" - very unusual in tone and something no one is expecting to watch in a blockbuster​ of this size.

Minions (2015)

Uninspired, unimaginative, annoying, but still somewhat fun.

[4/10 · 24 July 2015]

Minions, the prequel to the 2010's hit, Despicable Me, attempts to tell the minimal story of how the loved yellow creatures came to meet the criminal mastermind, Gru. Without a doubt, the little banana lovers have an undeniable charm, and from a marketing point of view, Minions has everything to become a major hit, as it seems it was built to please the huge amount of fans all over the world and to support the unlimited capacity for merchandising of the franchise, and as such, Minions succeeds. As a movie, not so much.

The filmmaking is left in second place. There isn't an actual narrative, character development, conflict or consequence. Everything is shallow, emotionally blank and devoid of any meaning. The film just exists.

On the bright side, there are still quite a few laughs in the film, even though, the humor gets old soon, as the creatures early begin to lose their appeal and start to become more annoying than anything else. There is a reason why the minions work as a support piece in Despicable Me and it is because they are built to be just that. It's not surprising that the film looks like a collection of short clips stitched together, as the storytelling power of the creatures is more limited that it looks. Still, it is somehow shocking how unimaginative everything is. Almost every scene is built around an overused sequence with minions in it - it's often hard to tell if the movie is built around references and tributes or if it is the result of a baffling lack of imagination.

But overall, it is still, somehow, fun to watch and there are still some things to appreciate in the film. The inadequacy of political correctness of the franchise and the sometimes dark sense of humor of the little creatures, are more than welcome in a family movie and certainly appreciated by older audiences.

In the end, and despite everything, viewers who unconditionally love the characters or viewers with young children will surely enjoy the film - very young audiences will probably love it, but it's questionable if anyone else will.

Inside Out (I) (2015)

Psychology. The (brilliant) animation.

[9/10 · 26 June 2015]

After five years of relatively fine, solid releases, but with some missteps along the way, Pixar rises again and returns to its former glory with Inside Out.

Inside Out runs on the tracks of an apparently straightforward plot of a possible life-changing event for young Riley to present a wonderful display of creativity and imagination, maybe the best from the studio.

Human psychology is the setting where emotions come to life to tell the story of the chaotic and somewhat abstract events occurring inside Riley's head with exceptional attention to detail and an impressive clarity. Between nods to the studio's classics and the work of Hayao Miyazaki, everything is carefully thought and perfectly executed, adding an incredible depth and complexity to the amusing spectacle.

From all charm and fun to its heart-breaking moments and bittersweet realizations, there is no doubt that Inside Out deserves a place among the likes of Wall-E or UP. And although it suffers from a lack of a toys-holding-hands-in-a-furnace moment, Inside Out winds up to stand out as the most daring and inventive Pixar film to date - and one of my favorite displays of apathy ever.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

There is no word to describe how madly insane Mad Max: Fury Road is.

[10/10 · 15 May 2015]

The engines start roaring and without warning, you've fallen into this completely demented and absurd world - over the top and ridiculous - in Fury Road, Madness reigns.

The shock is so great that even if you're familiar with the universe, it may take you a while to swallow everything, to get all the visual clues, to try to understand what is happening and how you can believe and embrace such a ludicrous world, but once you do, and you will, Fury Road takes you in an exhilarating ride.

With a minimal plot and as little dialog as possible, Mad Max is a triumph on visual storytelling. Supported by the most epically constructed action scenes in years (or ever) and by unmatched imagination (or insanity), this two-hour car chase proves to be a lot more than a loud quest for gasoline. You'll be stunned by the action, but ultimately, left wondering what it all means - and suddenly Fury Road doesn't look that mad anymore.

Ultimately, the most surprising thing about Fury Road is that Max is still there, as silent as ever, but its Furiosa, beautifully played by Charlize Theron who owns this brutal and glorious extravaganza.

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

A Beautiful character study with a great sense of humor.

[10/10 · 20 January 2015]

Birdman is a multi-layered film that plays literal and metaphorical illusions with perfect mastery and execution.

At first glance, Birdman may speak louder to artists and creators, but it winds up to remind us all of how meaningless and chaotic life is, as is our desperate longing to belong in it. Telling a story of the constant pursuing of every little bit of fame, glory or approval, it finds itself 'loved' by millions, by no one or simply forgotten - but perhaps, free. The struggle of these characters is the struggle of us all - It makes us blind and numb to what matters and never free to live life as it is.

Birdman is a beautiful film.

Snowpiercer (2013)

A superb visionary experience.

[10/10 · 29 June 2014]

I was bit reluctant with Joon-ho Bong's transition to English language films and I was glad to see that the transition was handled almost flawlessly. This overwhelming spectacle may be Bong's best film to date.

The terrific cast and superb direction makes this visionary tale a terrific experience, despite what could be perceived as minor plot holes. It's a superb sci-fi social allegory and probably the best in the genre since district 9. Just brilliant.

Mind that Bong's tone and sometimes twisted sense of humor may be too much for the average western viewer (and indeed worked better in his previous Korean films). So, I'd not recommend this film to everyone - but if you're a film lover, Snowpiercer is just right for you.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

It's bigger, but not necessarily better.

[5/10 · 2 May 2014]

There is a lot to see in the Amazing Spider-Man 2 and not all of it is that great.

Some pretty "amazing" action scenes, cool CGI (visually the movie is great) and great acting save the movie from being a complete mess.

It's dumber, messier and unnecessarily longer than it's previous installment and as it's predecessor it feels like an incomplete set of sequences, with seemingly random tonal shifts, that never make a whole movie. There are way too many characters wrapped up in an overall decent plot, but that never tells too much - This new reboot on the franchise always feels like a backstory to me, I guess the huge production values and the fine acting makes up for all of it's major flaws.

The main problem with the movie though, is that it is a constant attack to the viewer's intellect. You'll have an hard time swallowing some of the scenes, and some of the characters, if you're not a 10 year old kid.

I wasn't expecting much of this, and still, I left the theater disappointed.