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carverhale
Reviews
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
Wanted so hard to like this.
For something that was originally intended as a Star Wars movie, that franchise appears to have far less influence here than so many other movies, shows, books & games.
Warhammer 40K, Lynch's Dune, Chappie, John Carter, Anime, even Lord Of The Rings, and in one scene it was Harry Potter meets Avatar.
But the thing is, this isn't reverent homage, or skilfully adapted influence, it's out & out cherry-picked plagiarism, and really badly, obviously done.
The whole film is one "wouldn't it be cool if . . . " moment after another, the action scenes are over-choreographed & reliant on excessively used slo-motion to cover up their shortcomings, and the character development is practically non-existent, except for the main protagonist, who gets extended flashback scenes to give her her 'Gamora' backstory. As a result there is no empathising with any of the cardboard cutout cliches this movie is populated with.
The plot is one that's been used over & over & over again. Seven Samurai, Magnificent Seven, Battle Beyond The Stars, and each one of those did it better.
I'm not a Snyder hater, but he's always been better at adapting existing stories (300, Watchmen) than producing original work.
Frankly, the prospect of a part two, and an extended cut is underwhelming & leaves me with no enthusiasm at all. I honestly couldn't care less.
Prey (2022)
Back on track, in style.
It's been a shaky few years for the Predator franchise. People are still split between liking or hating Predator 2 & Predators whilst pretty much united in regarding Shane Black's The Predator as a poor effort, overloaded with plot & cheese in equal measures.
So, hopes were high, as well as tempered, for this new entry.
And what we got is exactly what was needed.
A return to the basic premise of a protagonist locked in a battle for survival with a terrifying, brutal alien hunter.
We get this in spades, along with excellent performances from the human cast, that allow us to identify with and feel for them and a truly scary creature, brought to life with some excellent effects work.
The Predator has a unique look, both physically & with his equipment. It feels primal, savage and huge, in a way that hasn't really been conveyed as well, in any of the other sequels.
The setting of the American Great Plains in the early 1700s helps add a fresh feeling and the mostly Native American cast are excellent, especially main lead Amber Midthunder & her costar Dakota Beavers.
Dan Trachtenberg has given us something beautiful to look at & thrilling to watch.
Here's hoping for more worthy entries.
Ray Donovan: The Transfer Agent (2019)
Fantastic episode, but what's up with the sound mix?
A good deal of this episode is taken up with flashbacks into Mickey's past, the rest with the ongoing storyline. And all of it is classic Ray Donovan. Violence, dealing, back stabbing, Mickey screwing up, repeatedly
But the audio is mixed horribly. Any scene where characters are talking in a noisy environment, (and there are a lot of bar scenes, or conversations in cars) the dialogue is lost in the background noise, especially the lower pitched whispering growlers like Ray, or flashback Mickey & pals. Other times it was just weirdly quiet and echoing.
My sound bar is usually set to "movie" and works just fine with auto volume & drc enabled. But for this I had to switch it to asc, raise the treble & lower the bass to make it at least audible.
I don't know how this episode passed with the levels so badly mixed, but I found myself straining to hear what was being said on more than one occasion, and missed a lot of it, even after adjusting my sound bar.
I've never had this happen with any other episodes so far, so what's gone on here is a mystery.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
A great 3nd to a trilogy with a bad start
The ball was fumbled right out of the gate with The Force Awakens, an uninspired 2 hour bout of dèja vu.
The Last Jedi, whilst flawed, took risks, tried to be original.
The Rise Of Skywalker finally develops its characters, has them interract with eachother, and pulls all the threads together.
I'm not going to give spoilers in this review.
JjJ hadn't retconned the plot devices some people hated in TLJ. That would mean that Disney, a multi billion dollar powerhouse, had allowed the writer directors of each movie complete freedom, without any kind of framework or plan.
When Abrams & Kennedy commented and were interviewed after TLJ, they couldn't say "Don't worry, we'll change that, and this, and that in the next one."
It would have spoiled all the big reveals of TRoS
Johnson's TLJ was designed to get TFA to TRoS without ruining all the fun of finding out the truths in the finale.
As for the movie itself?
2hrs & 21 minutes of rollercoaster action, huge plot reveals, genuine character development, easter eggs, cameos, and genuine jaw dropping moments.
It has its flaws, it's not perfect. I didn't agree with where the trilogy started. But for something rooted in poor soil, it's grown very well.