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ronaldlfields
Reviews
Bumblebee (2018)
A welcome change from the past 10 years
This movie was a breath of fresher air compared to what we've seen in the Bayverse. Some of the story was cliche and predictable, but it was entertaining. The CGI wasn't nearly as high-quality as what we've seen in the Bay films, and as always the Transformers took a backseat to the humans.
Give us a movie with no humans, set on Cyberton, and we will watch it.
In all, I think this movie is to the Transformers series what Rogue One was to Star Wars.
9JKL (2017)
It's pretty bad
It was nice to see Linda Lavin back on the small screen, and Elliot Gould is a welcome treat. It's too bad they didn't have a better premise to work with, though. The entire show was boring and predictable, the script was trite and cliché. Every stock character that you can imagine was thrown together and made to haphazardly act their way through the premise. I really don't see this show making it past four episodes before the network pulls the plug.
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
Inept film-making and an even worse script
I just saw the new Transformers movie. I knew it would be bad, but it was far worse than I could have imagined. Two six year old children playing with their Transformers toys would have created a more interesting and entertaining story. Michael Bay knows nothing about film directing other than the occasional slow-motion action scene and big explosions. There was quite literally nothing of value to this movie, as any gems that could have been refined and polished were left to decay in the hands of an inept film-maker and a more inept screen writing crew. Movies that were more fun and enjoyable include Cabin Boy, any of the Ernest P. Worrell movies, and the worst Sylvester Stallone film ever made. I feel really bad for Sir Anthony Hopkins, who must have chosen to be in this movie out of sheer economic necessity. If he needs money that bad, perhaps I should start a Gofundme for him. That will at least give me a modicum of satisfaction in doing something worthwhile which, alas, this movie utterly failed to provide. Quite literally, the best part of the past two hours was the stale popcorn I ate at the theater.
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
The best part was the script and Scotty, unfortunately.
I was raised on Star Trek re-runs and original TNG episodes. As a child born in the very late 70s, Star Trek in its various incarnations was an important part of my journey through adolescence. This film, however, offered very little of benefit to me.
Justin Lin's camera style gave me nausea. I saw this coming, and was not disappointed. What was a brilliant script by Simon Pegg became largely incoherent under Lin's directorship. Uhura was under-utilized, Sulu's relationship and openly gay status was fascinating but not really developed in the film. Pine was, and pardon the pun, a bit wooden in his acting. The film relied too heavily on camera gimmicks and special effects.
I still believe that it is possible to make a great Star Trek film. Plot holes and the systemic destruction of all that Gene Roddenberry and Rick Berman had created aside, Into Darkness came closest to being a great film altogether. Beyond had that capacity, but Justin Lin blew it.
Suicide Squad (2016)
Very little of value in this film
I'm a fan of superhero and super-villain movies in general, so I was naturally looking forward to this film. Now, I wish I had my 12.00 back. Will Smith was humanizing and wonderful, as he almost always is. Viola Davis was a bright spot in the film as well. What was most disappointing was every other thing about the movie. The script was filled with un-necessary events and even more un-necessary people. Had this been a Batman versus Deadshot film, I think this would have been excellent. But the director, screen writer, producer, and every other actor/actress on the screen got in the way of what could have been a really interesting story. Jared Leto's Joker got a lot of screen time for some reason, though he was not central to the plot and Leto's acting was not even of peripheral importance. Harley Quinn was nothing more than eye candy and practically all of her scenes were gratuitous to the point -- if there was one -- of this absolutely worthless film. This movie COULD have complicated the status of super-villain a little more, showing the complexity that exists within even the darkest of human hearts. It almost did so with Smith's Deadshot, but that was due only to Will Smith's incredible performance. As a master,he turned very few ingredients into something palatable; alas, the rest of the film disappointed sorely. I believe that Marvel Studios knows what to do with an all-star ensemble cast. The DC studios-- I think they're better off rebooting Batman every four or five years. That's what they're good at.