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Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Great nostalgic scenes, but huge plotholes ruined if
Spoiler alert.
Was excited to see this based on the great reviews, but overall was a disappointment.
Pros:
1. Special appearances brought back good nostalgia and memories
2. Chemistry between all 3 spideys and villians were great
Cons:
1. Its really unbelievable that Peter could send the villians back with just a push of button, but did not do so out of "morality" or "good intention". Its feel so forced and that it was done just to move the plot along.
2. That Peter, a genius and prospective MIT student, would risk the fate of the world just to make people forget his identity; worse still, another genius who is more mature, Dr Strange, would agree to it and help him: even worse, they did not plan it out and mess up the spell!
Overall so juch potential, but let down by childishly huge plotholes,
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Critics?? Meh. This is pure entertainment, pure blockbuster, pure epic. (No Spoilers)
Ignore the critics. Nobody is expecting this to receive an Oscar for Best Picture. It is, however, the epitome of a blockbuster. A modern epic. An all-out action, entertaining and enjoyable film. With amazing visuals, loud (but great) music, an ensemble cast, scene-stealing acting performances, a good plot, put in a few twists, sprinkle in a bit of humor, and you got yourself a recipe for a modern-day, 21st-century, all-out action superhero ensemble blockbuster. Evidently, Snyder makes no apology for that. Also, seeing these iconic and legendary comic book characters come to life on screen will make the little boy in everyone jump in excitement.
PROS.
1. Amazing cast and great acting.
Ben Affleck brings an all-new interpretation of the on-screen Batman and boy, did he do it with aplomb.
Henry Cavill- for me a very underrated performance, and he is now to me the definitive on-screen Superman.
Gal Gadot had limited screen time but stole every scene she was in.
Jesse Eisenberg was the one I was initially skeptical of, but he nailed it as the quirky, nerdy, IT billionaire Lex Luthor.
Amy Adams and Jeremy Irons did well, while Diane Lane and Lawrence Fishburne had small but eye-catching roles.
2. Cinematography.
Visually dark yet beautifully crafted. Several scenes took my breath away. See it in the biggest screen that you can.I can't wait to see it a few more times.
3. Music.
Great.
4. Action.
There is enough in there to satisfy the masses and comic book fan boys.
5.The FIGHT.
You know which fight I'm talking about. I isolated this on purpose as that is what it deserves. You will get back the price of your ticket by this scene alone. So far the best fight scene of all time in superhero movies. Civil war and Apocalypse will come out later but I doubt they can top this.
CONS.
1.Editing.
This is my biggest gripe not because it is the worst but because I feel that it is something that can easily be corrected. Certain scenes changed too abruptly with no transition whatsoever. For me this movie is an 8 but better editing would make it a 9.
2. "Preview" scenes.
Justice League will be out next year and it would be hard to resist including some scenes as a preview to what is to come. However just- like Avengers 2, they stick out like a sore thumb. Does not add anything to the film yet take away its flow.
3. Love scenes.
Both Cavill and Adams gave great performances individually. But when both are on-screen together something just feels amiss- the lack of chemistry was apparent.
4. CGI. Although the cinematography was amazing, there were 2 scenes in which the CGI was atrocious- one involving a car chase and the ending involving Doomsday. A small blot on a 150-minute film, though.
SUMMARY.
An entertaining film and superhero epic. It is Watchmen on steroids and I mean it in a very good way as I'm a fan of the Watchmen film. Overall it has much more hits than misses and it's a pity as the flaws for me are minor. Perhaps if Ben Affleck, with his Oscar-winning film- making skills, had more say in the making of it it could be taken to a higher level??
The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
Predictably awful
'The Forbidden Kingdom' typifies what is wrong with Hollywood these days-disregard and disrespect of originality, truth, tradition and culture all for the sake of churning out cheap, intelligence-insulting, money-spinning over-commercialized films.
Those familiar to the story can easily tell that this movie is loosely based on the popular Chinese fairytale/myth/story 'Journey to the West', which is one of the most famous and most-beloved among Chinese literature. However, this movie made a mockery and insult of it by totally disregarding important elements of the story and blatantly adding other none-relevant Chinese elements making the whole movie an absolute farce. In short, it is akin to a messy collage made up of torn-up pages of several Chinese literature novels and films of old Chinese Kungfu flicks which is thrown into a mixture with a white Chinese Kungfu fanatic teenager's dream to be made into an awfully, horrendously tasting cocktail.
Yes, the movie maybe catered to Western audience who do not posses adequate knowledge regarding simple Chinese literature or culture but the way they made a mockery of it is simply nauseating and unacceptable to those with a slight understanding of it. But still, expect the movie to do well in this part of the world because of the producers brilliant plan to rope in 2 of the biggest Chinese stars to star in it for the first time in movie history - which sadly, makes the fact that this movie sucked even more appalling.
The cinematography comes across as very 'un-Chinese' even thought it is shot in China. One scene even look like they were straight out from a 'Lord of the Rings' movie. The plot, dialog and characters were poorly written, although there were a couple of funny moments here and there.
Overall, if you enjoy mindless 3-in-1(action+fantasy+comedy) movies, are a huge Jet Li or Jackie Chan movie who watches any of their movies no matter how bad they are, and/or have no clue regarding the basics of Chinese fairy tales, literature and films, by no means indulge yourself. However, if you really love old Chinese Kungfu flicks, have been reading Chinese novels throughout your teenage life, or are just looking for an intelligent, thought-provoking movie, stay away from it as far as possible.