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Wonder Woman (2017)
DC is on the right way but still has to improve a lot
"Wonder Woman" is the latest installment in the DC Extended Universe and the first one to receive excellent critical responses. The movie is considered an empowerment for women and equality. Having finally seen the movie, my feelings towards it are unfortunately mixed.
There are many aspects I really liked about the movie. Gal Gadot and Chris Pine are perfectly cast in their roles. Diana Prince is a naive but fierce heroine and very likable. She definitely is the best part of the movie for me. Her character is well fleshed out and she has great chemistry with Chris Pine's character. Furthermore there are some spectacular action sequences in the movie. The stunt work is just stunning and the often present slow motion additionally helps to appreciate the action scenes. Despite the brilliant action throughout the movie, the film really thrives on its quite moments that focus on the character development, which is very present in this superhero flick.
Sadly there are a few aspects about the movie that I did not like. The humor was not funny at all in my opinion and the movie could have easily gone without it. Further there were a few scenes that appeared forced to me like the conversation at the gala between Wonder Woman and General Ludendorff. These minor points of criticism did not ruin the movie for me though.
However, the third part of the movie did. I do not want to go into spoilers here but one character was in my opinion extremely miscast and appeared quite hilarious to me. Additionally, the last part of the movie is quite CGI heavy which also added to taking away the tension, since the CGI was not exceptionally well done and could have been handled better. Also the big reveal at the end was kind of disappointing and felt forced in my opinion, since there has not been a single hint towards it and I had the impression that it was included simply because they felt that they could not go for a straight forward plot. For all the reasons, I was not able to enjoy the last part of the movie and unfortunately it took away a lot from the experience.
To sum up, Wonder Woman is definitely the best DC Extended Universe movie that has been released yet but I simply cannot relate to the excellent reviews it receives. Most part of the movie I really enjoyed but the third part just ruined so much for me that it makes it impossible for me to say I am a fan of the film. Nonetheless, I think DC is on the right path with investing more into character driven movies instead of cramping every possible into a single film.
Martyrs (2015)
Less violence, less emotion, less quality
Being a huge fan of the French 2008 movie "Martyrs", I had strong doubts about the quality and necessity of a remake. Still I tried to push all those negative feelings aside and give the movie a fair shot.
Like the original, it starts out when the young girl Lucy escapes from a terrible situation unknown to the viewer. She lands in an orphanage where she meets her best friend Anna while being haunted from the past. Ten years later, Lucy kills a family claiming they are her former capturers.
One aspect I love about the French version is, it basically consists of two stories with the turnaround in the middle of the movie. The remake adapts the first half of the film more or less faithfully though clearly worse than the original and the second half deviates completely from it. With those drastic changes it feels more like one consisting story rather than two. They tried to create a new story instead of copying the French movie shot for shot and the attempt of doing so I appreciate about it. Still the second part fells illogical and is a mess. For me it does not work and felt even cheesy sometimes.
The acting is not exceptional but also not terrible. It has some beautifully shot scenes but there is some shaky cam in it which is bothering. Furthermore the movie is a lot less violent and gory which basically is okay but leads to some illogical moments in the second half. Also there are some genuinely boring moments considering the short running time and overall it is a lot less emotional than Pascal Laugier's Martyrs. Especially an aspect from Lucy's struggle with the past is left unresolved and you care a lot less about her.
Over all, I think someone who has not seen the French version or does not like extremely brutal movies can watch this toned down version and might actually enjoy it for its story. Fans of the New French Extremity masterpiece should stay away from the remake and everybody else I clearly advise to check out the former one!
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Not terrible but also not good
Similar to "Batman v Superman" opinions divide greatly on "X-Men: Apocalypse". While Rotten Tomatoes is not fond of the movie, audiences and a great many people love it. In the end all this does not matter since everybody has to decide on their own whether they like a movie or not. And after all it is good that each person has a different opinion on a piece of art because it is fun to discuss and learn other people's views.
"X-Men: Apocalypse" is set in the 80ies and adds a lot of new character portrayals to the franchise. The movie starts out with the awakening of Apocalypse, him learning about the present world and recruiting his four horsemen. A young Scott Summers discovers his powers and arrives at Charles Xavier's school for gifted youngsters, where he meets Jean Grey. Meanwhile Mystique grew to be a role model for many mutants since the events in the 70ies while Eric lives secluded with his family in Poland.
First of all, there are many aspects I loved and enjoyed about this movie. The performances in this movie where overall good. Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender prove again they are fantastic in their roles and we witness some good character developments. Especially Magneto has some emotional moments. Evan Peters stays the greatest Quicksilver ever put to screen, this time receiving more screen time and another outstanding scene even better than the one from "Days of Future Past". Olivia Munn is great as Psylocke and it would be cool if we get to see more of her character in the future. Nightcrawler was awesome as well!
Unfortunately there were some performances that were not as great. Sophie Turner as Jean Grey was not my favorite part of the movie. I respect her as an actress but there were some moments in the movies when I could not help but see Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones on screen. Also Apocalypse left me disappointed. Oscar Isaacs is a great actor and one can tell he did his best but to me En Sabah Nur is another generic villain. He had some cool powers but I was not fond of his design and most of the time he was more annoying than threatening. In general the look and design of some characters bothered me (looking at you Angel and Storm).
Additionally there is a section in the middle of the movie that felt forced to me, even though it is understandable why they had to put it into the movie but still this could have been handled better or left out and it would not have changed a lot about the plot. In general the plot is the main problem of the movie, since some parts felt unnecessary and forced and sometimes the movie is slow, though I would not describe it as boring. Furthermore some scenes were way over the top! Especially the end battle with a great amount of it involving Jean Grey. It felt stupid.
As much as I hate to say this, but "X-Men Apocalypse" is my least favorite superhero movie this year and ranks rather low on my list compared to the other installments of the franchise. It had great moments and was enjoyable but it still had too many things bothering me about it. Stay in your seats for the post-credit scene though!
Creed (2015)
Good but not great
"Creed" is a spin-off/sequel from the Rocky Balboa franchise and focuses on the story of Adonis Creed the son of the famous Apollo Creed. He yearns to become a professional boxer just as his father was, without being overshadowed by the name Creed. Therefore he seeks out Rocky Balboa, who becomes his trainer.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" just recently proved that the fact being the 7th installment of a movie is not necessarily representing its quality. Similar conditions appeal here. "Creed" adds many new elements to the franchise and pays homage to it at the same time. Especially Adonis is a likable, multi-dimensional and interesting new protagonist portrayed by an outstanding Michael B Jordan, who redeems himself from the awful "Fant4stic" we had to witness last year. Additionally, Sylvester Stallone reprises his most famous role as Rocky Balboa and achieves to add new depth to this beloved character and in my opinion delivers the best performance of the movie.
Furthermore, the fight scenes are well made and edited, though for some inexplicable reason they didn't get me to the edge of my seat as they were supposed to do. In total the whole movie just was not as exciting to me as other movies of the franchise or genre! It definitely is a fun time watching it and has great character development but after witnessing the hype I just expected a little bit more!
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Marvel's best movie?
Most people probably would have answered "Iron Man" when asked about their favorite stand-alone Marvel movie since Favreau's adaption hit the cinemas in 2008 but in 2014 our beloved Marvel superhero received some serious competition. At this time "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" hit the cinemas. Having never been a huge fan of the first movie or of the hero himself in "The Avengers", my hopes for this one were pretty low and I even considered not watching it but gladly I did!
Steve Rogers alias Captain America (Chris Evans) still tries to accustom himself to the new era. He and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) regularly observe secret missions by the order of SHIELD 's director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Soon he learns that SHIELD got infiltrated by agents of HYDRA and additionally the world 's most dangerous assassin the Winter Soldier is in pursuit of him.
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" takes Marvel movies to a new level. When watching a Marvel movie you can usually expect a lot of well-done action, a great protagonist, a little bit of a love story and enough humour to keep yourself entertained. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" brings all those elements typical of Marvel to perfection and even adds something new. Besides the Winter Soldier being for Marvel's standard an extraordinary villain with a great emotional impact on Chris Evans' Captain America, the movie can be viewed as a political thriller taking place in the Marvel universe as well.
If you are a Marvel fan you probably will love this movie such as if you are a fan of action movies in general. The only recommendation before watching this film would be to be familiar with the first Captain America movie (and in the best case "The Avengers" as well) otherwise you might not understand every notion of the movie fully.
To sum up, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is my favorite movie of 2014 and every fan of comic book adaptations should watch it!
The Big Short (2015)
Anything can be of an interest
Finance and economy are usually topics considered not worth digging into by the majority, since, let's be frank, there are more interesting themes out there. However, when a topic is presented the right way anything can be of an interest. I had the pleasure of experiencing this phenomenon already a few times during my school years and I did with this movie again.
This movie is about the financial crisis from 2007/08 and it explains the circumstances leading up to it in a way even a complete amateur like me can understand. The film transmits knowledge and is entertaining at the same time though it can be sometimes hard to follow with all the terminology given, but they did their best to make it relatable to everyone. Furthermore, there is a lot of well placed comic relief in it!
Initial reason for me to watch this movie was its enormously talented cast. The best performances are by far from this year's Oscar nominee Christian Bale and from Steve Carell, who proves again that serious roles suit him very well.
Besides that, the cinematography is really outstanding since it provides a feeling of watching a documentary, when really it isn't one. Also they had characters talk to the viewer directly from time to time though I found that a bit distracting and it didn't really add a lot to the movie.
I recommend watching "The Big Short" since it really is gripping, filled with excellent performances, has great cinematography and may trigger a new interest!
The Revenant (2015)
Artful yet suspenseful!
Being one of the apparently very rare people that are not a huge fan of Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Birdman", I at first considered not watching his latest installment, but gladly I did!
"The Revenant" is a suspenseful movie from its first second until its last even though it might not have typical and expected action sequences. The whole film is more of an alternative project and deviates greatly from mediocre film making. The camera work is fantastic and unique! It is especially impressive if you consider that the whole movie was shot using only natural lightning! Especially the images of the landscapes are tremendously beautiful! Furthermore, the performances were outstanding! Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Hugh Glass, was really good and convincing. As a viewer you cannot help but feel pity but also admiration for Glass! It is so unbelievable that those events really transpired! But to me, the real scene stealer was Tom Hardy, whose character is closely linked to Glass'suffering! Concerning the plot it takes some time until it is clear what kind of movie it really is and it may leave some people disappointed because in the end there is not that much substance to it and some scenes just felt a little bit unnecessary. But that really is nitpicking and does not annoy during watching just when reflecting afterwards! This movie was also surprisingly gory which I did not expect going into it! The trailer already gives hints to that but there really is a lot of blood and gore in this film though it really adds to the tone of the movie and as a special make up enthusiast I have to say it is very well done and impressed me greatly! In general, there is some stuff in this film I really would like to know how they achieved it (specially a certain bear scene). Additionally the score is beautifully fitting! Most of the time it is very calm but the typical drum sounds (similar to Birdman) are also present.
In total, this movie really surprised me and I hope that it gets the recognition it deserves and I cannot wait to read the book about the story of Hugh Glass!
Hungry Hearts (2014)
Good, realistic characters but a bit repetitive
In the beginning of this movie you get more or less the "romantic" story about how our two protagonists, Mina and Jude, got together, but things really start to get interesting when their child is on the way. During the pregnancy the viewer already experiences the opposite positions that each partner has about their baby. Mina, who is portrayed by and outstanding and excellent Alba Rohrwacher, has a rather extreme attitude towards modern medicine, nutrition and cleanness. Jude (Adam Driver) tries to be the supporting husband but after seeing that Mina's methods endanger their child, he is forced to act against his wife's will.
This movie has a very realistic tone to it. There isn't much music to be heard and the colors are kept quite cool as well. Already in the first scene of the movie, where the couple meets in the bathroom you experience an awkward feeling that didn't really let go of me throughout the whole film. Maybe that is because the actions of all three main characters (including Jude's mother who also distributes a lot to the plot of this movie) seem somehow relatable even though they are sometime quite drastic. Especially Mina is an interesting character. She has those really extreme obsessions but somehow you still can relate to her and she feels like a real person and in no way stereotypical crazy. On the other hand there is Jude who really loves his wife and tries everything to be supportive of her but at some point that can't continue and so he is more or less forced to act against her interests for the good of their child. As a viewer I could understand both characters very well and it left me kind of torn between whom to sympathize with.
All in all, it really is an enjoyable movie though it is more of a psychological drama than a thriller and my problem with it was that the plot got a bit boring in the middle part because the actions of the characters seem repetitive. Although the ending and the character portrayals were great it is not a must-watch and certainly not a movie for everyone.