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I won’t be responding to most reviews unless something really–and I mean really intrigues me. But just a word on the reviews.
Reviews need to have three elements.
1) basic premise of the movie– so we know what’s it about (but don’t spoil it too much)
2) positives and negatives of the movie (why you liked or didn’t like it; and generally all movies have both positives and negatives whether or not you liked or hated it)
3) conclusionSaying “It’s bad” isn’t a helpful review to people on this forum. I don’t want these reviews to be opinionated rants. Hopefully these reviews will actually be helpful to people when they are curious about a certain movie.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
Alright @mark-kamibaya, you want a movie review/opinionated rant. Your wish is granted.
Three words: La La Land. *Struggles with putting all the feelings into words for this post*
Okay, guys, I’m serious though. I think it is official that La La Land is my favorite movie. (And I’m the type of person who doesn’t have a favorite movie.) Last night I rewatched the movie for the second time, and I’m pretty sure it only gets better the more times you watch it. People who haven’t seen the movie and who have only heard of it seem to have this vague idea that it is only a musical with a romance plot. Yes, it is a musical, but it’s not a musical in the way you think of musicals with constant mass singing and dancing (I’ll get back to that later) But while romance does have a role to play. It is not about the romance. No, it is about an aspiring actress and a struggling musician who want to follow their hopes and dreams in L.A.
Every single detail about the movie is stunningly beautiful. One could go on for pages on the cinematography, and Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s acting just bring everything alive. The story is about music. In the beginning of the movie, there are two major choreographed scenes but then the “musical” aspect of the movie dwindles away as the “real world” sets in. The middle tends to be slower but it really follows the characters of Mia and Sebastian. And the simple tune (called Mia and Sebastian’s theme on the soundtrack) brings everything together even though it just a few notes played throughout.
I wish I could talk about the movie’s ending on this forum because the ending is what makes this movie as spectacular as it is. But I can’t spoil it. I encourage you to watch the movie and experience it for yourself. Now I’ve met a lot of people who hated the ending *cough* @spradlin is one of them *cough* But for me it is what makes this not only a good movie, but a perfect movie. I have not found a single thing I would want to change.
But if you have seen the movie, regardless of your feelings on this movie, I would encourage you to read this article over at the Rabbit Room by Jennifer Trafton The Mad Truth of La La Land-Jennifer Trafton DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE. But Trafton explains this movie way better than I ever can.
The entire movie is wonderful and I couldn’t love it more, also aside from just a tiny bit of cursing, it is completely clean. Go watch the movie, then let me know your thoughts, I’d love to hear what you think. And anyone who has seen La La Land talk to me. It is a movie worth discussing.
Theater kid. Currently depressed because I can't stop listening to sad musicals.
This is a great idea.
I recently watched a movie that I really loved called The Hunt For Red October.
The story takes place during the cold war and the premise is that there’s a Russian submarine captain who is trying to defect to the Americans. There are a couple problems though because he happens to command a special nuclear submarine that could take out huge portions of the US and the US thinks that’s just what he’s planning to do. On top of this, the whole Russian fleet is trying to take him out before he defects. The only one who suspects the truth is this guy who writes books for the CIA and knows a lot about the Russian Captain. He’s allowed a few days to try to find the Russian captain and prove his theory right before the Americans blow the sub out of the water.
Positives:
From a writer’s perspective, you can learn a lot from this movie. Every scene was used to its maximum, the characters were deep, and the conflict was very suspenseful. And there were so many layers of conflict on top of each other. If you want to study conflict, go no further. There’s also a phenomenal scene in there that uses comedy to increase suspension. You burst out laughing even as you scootch further forward on your seat. Oh, and another great thing it uses is the Chekhov’s gun principle. There’s so many details that are reused. Splendid movie.Negatives:
I can’t really think of any negatives to the storytelling itself, but there were probably about 100 instances of language in the movie. Also, though these aren’t technically bad, one guy gets shot and another guy murdered.Conclusion:
Watch it!🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
Review: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Summary: After a Fury attack at a museum, Percy Jackson gets taken to a camp by his friend Grover (a satyr) and driven by his mother, Sally. Sally gets seemingly killed by a minotaur at the entrance to Camp Half-Blood. In reality, she goes into some kind of bubble that takes her to the Underworld. Percy meets an Athena kid, Annabeth, and after using amazing water powers, his puny brain finally finds out he’s a demigod son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the ocean. Hades himself attacks camp to retrieve a lightning bolt, presumably stolen from Zeus by Percy (under Poseidon’s orders). Being the impulsive teenager that he is, Percy decides to go on a quest to retrieve the lightning bolt and save his mother. Then, off they go on a stupid quest with Annabeth, the daughter of the goddess of Wisdom, pointing out the obvious…
Positives: They got the names of the characters right.
Negatives: Complete inaccuracy to the book and stupid characters in general. All the Percy Jackson fans were enraged and drowned in disappointment upon the creation of this movie. To make matters worse, a second one was made. So, let me be slightly less opinionated and overlook the fact that Grover’s personality was completely wrong, or that Annabeth was a brunette or that Percy and Annabeth were supposed to be twelve, or that the producers seemed to have only read the blurb. The thing is, if a movie comes with the tag “based off the book”, it should be based off the book. I was very disappointed in this film and did not bother even looking at the second one. Weak plotline with a slight mix of the first and second books, unnecessary romance, a director that can’t read… I’m done with this rubbish.
Conclusion: DO NOT WATCH IT. EVER.
"Not all who wander are lost."
Wild Australian. INXJ.Now for something more positive. A proper Rogue One review.
Summary: Rogue One is a filler story set in between Episodes 3 and 4. It explains those missing details that fans have been pondering for years. Why is the Death Star so easy to destroy? How did Leia get this information? It is also the second Star Wars film to be focused on a female protagonist, after The Force Awakens. Jyn Erso is the daughter of Galen Erso, ex-Imperial scientist. At a young age, she watches her mother murdered and father taken into custody by Imperial leader, Orson Krennic, while she must go into hiding and under the protection of Saw Gerrera. Skipping to twenty years later, we see Jyn freed from Imperial Custody by Rebel officer, Cassian Andor. We learn that Galen is the engineer of the Death Star, but had sent a message through with an ex-Imperial pilot, Bodhi Rook. Jyn is convinced to help them on a mission to save her father and get the plans for the Death Star (but Cassian is covertly ordered to kill Galen on sight and simply retrieve the plans). A group of Resistors including Cassian; his sarcastic, reprogrammed Imperial droid, K2SO; blind warrior, Chirrut; mercenary Baze, and her old mentor, Saw Gerrera; embark on a suicidal mission to retrieve the Death Star plans for the Rebel Alliance.
Positives: Heaps of references to the other Star Wars films. Fills in the gaps. Best droid I have ever seen. No annoying romantic subplot (possibly a little Jyn and Cassian, but not so it’s distracting). Unique and interesting characters. Uses riffs and parts of John Williams’ original scores. Forget episodes 1, 2 and 3, this is the only prequel we need. 🙂
Negatives: A lot of death.
Conclusion: Brilliant movie. You have to see it.
"Not all who wander are lost."
Wild Australian. INXJ.@Mark-Kamibaya Conclusion: Brilliant movie. You have to see it.
Well, since @f5a8c3e92 did a comprehensive review, I can say that. 😀
I’m going to add to the positives that the acting was extremely good, far better than the other Star Wars movies. And agree that K2SO is the best droid ever, and about the interesting characters. (Though some were flatter than others, and I didn’t think they were all incredible.) Cassian Andor is my all time favorite SW character now and Rogue One my favorite SW movie. And I’m being really understated right now because I could literally shout about this. It’s great.
Also, yeah—the deaths…negative…but that’s kind of the point. The movie wouldn’t be better if they didn’t all die, so I’m not sure I’d rate that as negative. *shrug*
@Ethryndal you may or may not want to get over here.
@Daeus The Hunt for Red October is a good one. It’s been too long since I’ve seen it. Isn’t Ramius great? “Tea, anyone?” *stunned silence*
Have you seen Rogue One yet?@emma-flournoy Yes, Ramius is wonderful. *sheepish grin* I especially like his eyebrows.
No! I haven’t seen Rogue One yet. I so long to, but movies are the one area for me where longing and action don’t meet up very well.
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@emma-flournoy I was trying to think of a negative, but I really couldn’t. XD
"Not all who wander are lost."
Wild Australian. INXJ.@Daeus I know, the eyebrows are great. 😀 Sean Connery…
Aaah, you need to make ’em meet up soon! It’s out on DVD now at least.
@f5a8c3e92 I know. That’s about the most negative thing you could point for it, if you had to find one.@Emma-Flournoy *gets over here* Shall I copy and paste our twelve page rant? 😉
Everything you and @f5a8c3e92 said. And I will add that they did a really good job of not staying within the typical SW box, unlike the Force Awakens. (Though I really like FA, despite that.) Rogue One broke the mold in every conceivable way: Good acticing (for once!) no Jedi, no obvious romance, and, as previously mentioned, a lot of death. AND they fixed one of the biggest plot holes of A New Hope, that weird death hole on the Death Star that would blow up the entire planet if shot at.
Basically, it’s a really good movie and everyone should see it.
INTJ ➸Your friendly neighborhood mastermind. ➸https://thesarcasticelf.wordpress.com/
@emma-flournoy Alright *shoves longing and action inside a room together and locks the door* Good. They won’t be able to get out until they team up. 😀
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@Ethryndal Nah, better not. XD
@Daeus Excellent. 😀@Emma-Flournoy Seriously, I feel like my Rogue One voice has gotten hoarse from all the screaming I’ve done…
INTJ ➸Your friendly neighborhood mastermind. ➸https://thesarcasticelf.wordpress.com/
@Ethryndal Um yes. I know exactly what you mean.
Never mind. I’ll reply to reviews. At least just a one-liner.
@christi-eaton So glad that somebody absolutely adores the best movie of 2016, La La Land!!!
@daeus Watched that when I was young, and I got bored. Maybe, now that I’m older, I’ll appreciate it.
@f5a8c3e92 Basically, Rogue One is a much watch, huh?I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
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