Tag Archives: Film Reviews

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, No Spoiler Reviews

WONDER WOMAN 1984 (2020): The Things I Liked…

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Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Kristen Wiig, Warner Bros. Pictures
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Kristen Wiig, Warner Bros. Pictures

The trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 didn’t fill me with as much confidence about the movie as the trailer for the first Wonder Woman film in 2017. Having now seen both films, unsurprisingly, the first one is better.

Key highlights of director Pattie Jenkins’s sequel include most of the time Gal Gadot is on screen, simply because the lady is quite magnetic. Secondly, there’s the final fight sequence between Wonder Woman and Kristen Wiig’s Cheetah. There’s also the cleverly executed moment towards the end when Wonder Woman addresses the people.

If you haven’t watched the movie yet but plan to, be sure to wait for what happens after the end credits start to roll; something tells me it may just lift your spirits. Last but in no way least, we have the musical score by Hans Zimmer. The only unfortunate thing about it is that the worst scenes had me thinking of Zimmer’s talents as wasted on this project.

I had hopes of loving Wonder Woman 1984. The problem is I kept noticing more and more things that increased my level of disappointment. Additional examples include the dreamstone element of the story which came across as silly and somewhat nonsensical. I’m also not a fan of a fair amount of the aerial work, including when Wonder Woman is ‘flying’.

Furthermore, why, oh, why wasn’t the father/son reunion dialogue more tightly edited? It was so unnecessarily long-winded. There’s also the fact that I still remain unsure about how Kristoffer Polaha’s character came to be Steve (Chris Pine). And I’m mad that this movie/story did not make Pedro Pascal look great in the villain role. As for Wiig, I liked her best once she went to the dark side. I still think that the Cheetah look is too much like Cats (2019). I haven’t seen Cats but I hear that such a comparison is not a compliment.

What good or bad things stood out most for you in Wonder Woman 1984? I really could go on about the things wrong with this movie, but I have other tasks to complete today. Watch Wonder Woman 1984 if you’re curious enough.

Happy Film Loving, 

G

Source: JustWatch
Action, Horror, No Spoiler Reviews, Thriller

TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS – PENINSULA (2020): The Things I Liked…

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Train to Busan Presents - Peninsula (2020), Lee Jung-hyun, Dong-won Gang,
Train to Busan Presents – Peninsula (2020), Lee Jung-hyun, Dong-won Gang

Train to Busan Presents – Peninsula, the sequel to my second favourite Korean film, Train to Busan (2016) has unfortunately not managed to escape the dreaded ‘sequel curse.’ The curse being that movie sequels are rarely, if ever, better than, let alone as good as the original.

Set four years after South Korea was devastated by a zombie attack, the story of Peninsula follows a former soldier who managed to escape overseas. The same soldier takes on a mission to go back. And to his surprise, there are survivors.

Had Peninsula been absolutely terrible, I’d have stopped watching and I probably wouldn’t commit any words to type about the experience. ‘Great’ is not a fitting word to describe Peninsula. Yet, there are a few moments in director Sang-ho Yeon’s movie that I’ll remember fondly. The first being the ‘daughter’s driving’ and the second involves a scene or two where the action is so intense that I had to pause to catch my breath.

As for specific elements that didn’t work well, part of what made Train to Busan great was the humorous moments. There’s sadly none of that in Peninsula. Furthermore, the zombie makeup looked as good as the first time. But the first movie had much better zombie action sequences.

Performance-wise, generally, everyone did well. Yet, they were let down by the film’s reliance on many very familiar tropes. The most frustrating moment of all frustrating moments in Peninsula concerns the use of an overly familiar trope to the most EXCESSIVE degree; to the point where it was r.i.d.i.c.u.l.o.u.s. Ridiculous!

If you haven’t already watched the original movie, please do so because it’s great. Now, try your best to forget that this new one exists. That is, of course, unless disappointing sequels happen to be your thing.

Happy Film Loving,

G

Source: JustWatch
Drama, No Spoiler Reviews, Romance

SYLVIE’S LOVE (2020): The Things I Liked…

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Sylvie's Love (2020), Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha
Sylvie’s Love (2020), Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha

I found plenty to enjoy in writer/director Eugene Ashe’s romance/drama Sylvie’s Love. A delightful movie that’s dreamy, stylish and romantic in a way that’s both old fashioned and modern; thanks to the visual style, costumes, lead character and the 1957 setting.

Starring Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Aja Naomi King and Regé-Jean Page; Sylvie’s Love is just the kind of well-acted escape one needs from time to time. It’s a film that deals with the kind of predicaments/challenges most, if not all of us can relate to when it comes to friendships, romantic relationships, family and life.

I enjoyed Sylvie’s Love as a story that happens to be about more than the romantic love between Sylvie and Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha), a young man with dreams of becoming a saxophone player. In my mind, the film should almost be called ‘Sylvie’s Loves’ because it’s also, to a significant extent, about her professional aspirations/love, since she is a woman determined not to lose herself and what matters to her, regardless of external pressures from various angles.

Don’t be surprised if, by the end, Sylvie’s Love has you reflecting on just how helpful it is to have people in your circle looking out for your relationship.

For those who enjoy jazz music, like a little romance and or the costume design in shows such as The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, you’ll likely be glad you watched this one.

Lastly, if you’re wondering whether Sylvie’s Love shares strong similarities with the impressive If Beale Street Could Talk, (2018) the answer is ‘only in the sense that both stories feature the love stories of two young black Americans. Meaning, Sylvie’s Love isn’t going to completely shatter your heart due to a tragic and hugely unjust, racially motivated event.

Happy Film Loving,

G

Source: JustWatch
Comedy, No Spoiler Reviews, TV

DEATH TO 2020 (2020): The Thing I Liked…

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Death To 2020 (2020), Cristin Milioti, Netflix

My favourite thing about Netflix’s Death to 2020, a comedic retrospective of the year that was 2020, is the phrase ‘Prime Ministerial scarecrow, Boris Johnson.’ I laugh every time I re-read it, because it’s true.

There’s certainly a handful of more amusing moments within the show, whether it’s courtesy of Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Lisa Kudrow, Leslie Jones, Cristin Milioti or several others. Nevertheless, one of my key issues with Death to 2020 relates to how disjointed it feels; even with the narration used to bring everything together.

Furthermore, the show felt a lot like a less amusing version of Trevor Noah’s The Daily Show; even though I’ve only ever experienced The Daily Show via the best clips on their Youtube Channel.

Unfortunately, Death to 2020 also had me nodding off to sleep a few times. A reality I can blame on the above reasons, and the fact that my favourite comics already helped me laugh at 2020, a little closer to when much of the madness was happening.

I say give Death to 2020 a chance if you’re curious. After all, you may not be as avid a consumer of current comedy as I am.

Happy Film Loving and a fantastic 2021!

G

Source: JustWatch
Action, Adventure, No Spoiler Reviews, Sci-Fi

MAN OF STEEL (2013): The Things I Liked…

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Man of Steel (2012), Henry Cavill, Warner Bros. Pictures
Man of Steel (2012), Henry Cavill, Warner Bros. Pictures

Three things I realised while watching director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013): 

  1. Henry Cavill is a great Superman.
  2. Christopher Nolan, a.k.a ‘Inception (2010) and Tenet (2020) director Christopher Nolan’ wrote the script. Had I known this beforehand, I’d have watched the movie much sooner. Nolan’s involvement may also be why the musical score was so noticeably good. You know, as per most, if not all Nolan films.
  3. This third point is a tad random, but here we go: To my (I want to say ‘expert’) eyes, Diane Lane and Paula Pattern (not in the movie) look as though they could be related. Do you see it too?

I enjoyed most of what happens in Man of Steel, from the music, performances, very engaging story, to the special effects and action. Yet, I can’t deny that I did start to lose interest after the two-hour mark, when there were still another twenty-three minutes remaining. 

Other things that stood out less positively include the fight sequence between Superman and General Zod (Michael Shannon) towards the end. It just wasn’t quite the exciting, well-choreographed face-off I expected. Also, there’s a strange moment in the movie when a military officer references Superman’s ‘hotness’/attractiveness. Instead of being funny, the dialogue felt more out of place.

I know it’s been seven years since this film was released, which means you’ve probably seen it already, if not more than once. Nevertheless, I say Man of Steel is worth watching, particularly because of Cavill and all the other positive points mentioned above. 

Happy Film Loving,

G

Source: JustWatch