ijwalkr Reviews

Dinotopia (II) (2002)

A whimsical fantasy that drags you in

[9/10 · 23 March 2017]

The Dinotopia miniseries (presented as four hour movie on DVD release) brings to life the whimsical, and presents some of the most beautifully realised fantasy seen on television even today.

The special effects of this 2002 mini series stand the test of time today - slowly ageing, but they are by absolutely wonderful set design and costuming that keep them enjoyable. One must remember this is a made for TV series, and in the context of the badly done things Syfy churns out today and the age of Dinotopia, this series features amazing VFX for TV.

Waterfall City is still one of the most beautiful fictional cities ever, and the costuming and VFX filled the world of Dinotopia with life. The society that is showed to the viewers eyes is simultaneously believable and awe-inspiring. This is what makes Dinotopia so enjoyable; the stunning society the plot takes place in.

The plot of this series is far from revolutionary, the acting by the main character's actors is flawed and not perfect, but massively improves quite a bit after episode one. Zippo remains one of my favourite supporting characters, but the whole supporting cast was fabulous and really helped to build the wonderful world that is Dinotopia.

As I understand it (having not read the books) this work does simplify Gurney's world, but it certainly achieves making a four hour marathon quite enjoyable. Further, Wentworth Miller had his earliest role in Dinotopia, and it is great to watch him as David Scott.

Much of the criticism seems to stem from people not liking Dinotopia's government system (which even the series shows is flawed and I don't understand how that cripples your enjoyment of a fantasy work) and Zippo resembling Jar Jar Binks (but while sometimes serving as comic relief, Zippo has real heart and is an intellectual).

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Yawn . . . wake me up when it is over

[1/10 · 1 January 2017]

I'm not quite sure how I got to the end of this movie. I think that Black Panther was the only thing that saved me from falling asleep, being a childhood favourite superhero. His cameos were enjoyable thanks to nostalgia.

The recipe for Captain America : Civil War seems to have been 1 cup American patriotism, 2 cups moral quandary we will forget about by the end of this movie, half a cup of explosions, a pinch of action and a sprinkle of superhero cameos. That action could've saved this film if there was more of it, but really the only enjoyable moment of this flick was the penultimate fight scene that appeared in every trailer.

Everyone seemed to have lost their common sense for the duration of Civil War; characters deified their personalities and beliefs to support things that they'd never be caught dead doing in the past.

And this is where the 1 cup patriotism was liberally stirred in, as we're told to choke down the idea that the governments of the world have any control over superhumans, aliens, magicians, genius inventors with arsenals of exploding gadgets and literal deities. Some of whom are the leaders of countries, dimensions or trillion dollar companies themselves. This follows the preceding film that involved just a small segment of your (not my) favourite heroes destroying the supposedly most powerful organisation in the world.

We're also told to swallow those cups of moral quandary, about how awful it is that innocent people die when the heroes save the day. Ignoring the fact the planet would have been destroyed thrice over by now without them, it is hard to get the claim that the governments only care to do this now, after years of cities being destroyed (though to be truthful, rarely because of the heroes).

Honestly, the plot was so bad it made me want to snore. But the fact that the action was sorely lacking in lustre most of the movie only helped hurt it. Tony Stark's attitude is just annoying at this point, and Captain America fulfills the stereotype of the jock, rushing off without a second thought, and nearly destroying many things in the process.

I think we were supposed to peg this whole plot down to 'friendship is important', but sacrificing your freedom, other friendships and possibly the planet for someone you haven't seen for sixty years? Yeah right.

Spectral (2016)

Spectral isn't memorable

[6/10 · 1 January 2017]

Spectral is confused. Is it action? Is it thriller? Is it horror? The team behind this film apparently did not know. The entrance to this film tries to recall every B grade horror film, though with betterspecial effects.

The rest of the film cannot quite decide what it is doing; the flailing of the plot writers almost, but not quite, crashes this film.

The action and honestly fabulous special effects manage to save the whole thing. I am bad at pointing out positives, and honestly, these are two of the biggest. The action scenes are quite good, the special effects are beautiful.

Onto the downsides; the acting hurts, the one liners hurt, the 'science' hurts and we get bashed a few times with the clichés of every action film either - the tough as nails American soldiers, the female spy, the action hero scientist who can do solve anything.

Feeble attempts were made to give the characters personality, but they would have been better to abandon all hope of that. We're not here to emphasise with them. No one watches these type of films for that reason.

Simple plot holes that could have been solved easily are disappointing. At one point, the cast ends up hiding out in a fortress that is apparently immune to the creatures. No one bothers to explain; someone seriously exclaims "Oh, we're safe here for some reason." Given the established lore by that point, it would've been easy to handwavium an excuse; the last time they ended up hiding out, the film spent several minutes building up to why they were safe.

But these are not failings unique to this film, most action films get them, so in the end I enjoyed it enough to excuse the time spent. A lazy day film, not something to choose over the many better ones out there, but if you are like me and watch most blockbusters as soon as they come out, you'll find you need enjoyable but quickly forgotten films like this to fill in the spaces.

Max Steel (2016)

Underrated but still cheesy

[7/10 · 1 January 2017]

Far from awful, as many reviewers would like to say, and nothing to do with the 1997 film by Johnson. Based on the Mattel toy and following cartoon series, which was in my childhood a firm favourite. I went into this film with low expectations, but I came out of it having enjoyed my time spent.

Let me be clear, this is not an amazing film. But it is good enough to enjoy on a lazy day.

The love interest is boring, the plot linear, and the film is let down by one liners that fall flat. Special effects were good, though that is something any film these days can claim.

Though it is never going to be be a work of art, I enjoyed Max Steel far more than when I recently watched the critically acclaimed Captain America: Civil War (pro tip: Do not waste your time on that).

Why? This film (unlike most superhero action flicks) is not saturated in a truckload of "Merica!" patriotic drivel, the character relationships are far from groundbreaking but they are realistic, and it is self-aware enough that it doesn't feel the need to take itself seriously every second.

As Steel proclaims "It's called Turbo Energy!", Max just looks at him and says "Really?"

It made me laugh, the relationship between Max and Steel was fun and realistic enough to make me empathise with them. I loved the voice acting by Josh Brenner, and Ben Winchell as Max was surprisingly good for the mediocre role of 'tween hero'.

The story hinted at more to learn in the way of lore, which I think would've been great to see unfold, but sadly will not happen thanks to the commercial bomb that was Max Steel's theatrical release.

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

Far from the best sci-fi, but still good

[8/10 · 2 August 2016]

Independence Day : Resurgence is far from the best film out there, but it is fun and enjoyable. A lot of people seem to have joined the herd mentality, enjoying a bit of 'Independence Day bashing'. Much like Nickelback bashing, this isn't entirely warranted.

Like Nickelback, this isn't the best film but it is one of the better ones. The CGI is superb, truly surpassing its predecessors. The old characters are brought back well. Though some moments proved cringe worthy (I really don't know what they were thinking with the Cheyenne Mountain scene) and this film had the usual expected unhealthy dose of rabid American patriotism, it didn't break it. Rabid American patriotism is now sprinkled with Chinese propaganda (a trend began by Transformers), but oh well.

I have to applaud the film for a realistic vision of how humanity would recover from an alien invasion, a touching portrayal of a gay couple, inclusiveness of minorities beyond the usual, and less cardboard than usual action characters. I see people decrying this as the 'worst action film of recent time'. You apparently have not watched London Has Fallen. I honestly think the reason people like London has Fallen and not Independence Day : Resurgence mostly has to do with the lack of minorities in London has Fallen, but that is just me.

Cheesy used to be a hallmark of good disaster/action sci-fi. We didn't expect great romances or heartbreaking stories; we watched them for relaxation. To have a laugh, enjoy some hair raising action, the latest in special effects, while that generations heartthrobs escaped risky scenarios. Mediocre acting, with some great performances sprinkled in, was expected, as long as it was tied together with an adventure that felt real and exciting. This film ticks all the boxes!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching.

Warcraft (2016)

The critics are wrong

[9/10 · 7 July 2016]

Far from the best film I have ever seen, but a thoroughly good fantasy story, and very good for a game adaption. And I can proudly say this from the perspective of a non-WoW player. I have only played the free trial of that intriguing but confusing game, though I have I admit thoroughly enjoyed reading its Wiki and playing Hearthstone.

But being far from an expert at the lore of Warcraft, and far from a devoted fan, I have to say, I liked this movie a lot. It is crafted stunningly; the special effects just beautiful. The portrayal of the Orc's is good, though I much prefer the aesthetic of the Green ones (see 'villains are lime green'). The uncanny valley effect of the non-green ones played a bit with me.

I saw some critics decrying WoW as 'ridicilous' and 'never meant to have deep lore'. You can be sure these people have never played an RPG in their life. The source material is bursting with lore, and it really shows. There is an uncovered depth beneath this film, and I hope it is explored in the future.

I think to a point the script writers may have decided to skirt around explaining lore when they felt like they could do so, for fear of upsetting fans if they got it wrong. And this I feel hurts film as it can be confusing at times, even with my cursory knowledge of WoW. But overall, a good time spent watching with some popcorn.

I always said they needed Blizzard films. Their trailers are always breathtaking. And I am glad it has happened and gone so well. It was never a question of whether this film would be successful financially - given WoW still pulls in a billion dollars a year, nearly two decades after launch. The name would pull people to the theaters as surely as Star Wars has this year as well. But it was up for debate about how good this film would be. And it is great!

The Man from Earth (2007)

Fabulously thoughtful

[10/10 · 24 March 2016]

Certainly not everyones movie but The Man from Earth is one of my favourite films of all time. I wasn't expecting that when I put it on, I'd rented it from the sci-fi bin at the store which is normally full of B-rated cringe inducing flicks, but I was wowed. From the moment I turned it on, I was enthralled with this complex film.

It's not special effects or action that enthralled me. The script in this film is phenomenal, the characters diverse and real. It challenges the viewer and the characters and the beliefs they hold dear, and I've never had a science fiction film actually make me wonder if it could be real. I'm not sure of the validity of the science, but it certainly was strong enough to make me ask questions. The Man from Earth questions humanity's core beliefs; religion and our concept of mortality and the supernatural.

I was amazed to find even my 13 year old brother enjoyed this film. It's message is not so complex as to alienate the viewer, yet it is not so banal as to bore the mind. A must watch for all thoughtful cinema goers.

Cloverfield (2008)

If I had a time machine . . .

[1/10 · 21 September 2015]

If I had a time machine I'd go back and make myself not watch this. What a waste of my time. I'm way over the jerky hand-held gimmick but even that wasn't the worst part of this.

Partially it was the constant feeling of being treated like an idiot by this film. From the camera surviving a nuke, to the cliché lines, the statue of liberty surviving being used as a bowling ball by a monster, a helicopter crashing and only the main characters surviving (of course the soldiers die and the idiots survive?), other stupid gimmicks.

But most of all it was like this movie has no point. Plot is non- existent. Normal disaster movies you get a happy ending with 'humanity working together' and a feel good ride off into the sunset after enjoying some fun special effects. Occasionally you got a scary one which impresses how fragile humans are, blah blah blah. This one? Neither. Everyone dies but you don't really care. The special effects can't be enjoyed because of the nausea inducing filming style, and there is no happy ending.

Teen Wolf (2011–2017)

It's fun, but frustrating

[8/10 · 16 February 2015]

EDIT: Now, Season 5 has concluded. And I am happy to say that my hopes came to conclusion. Though Derek has vanished entirely, without explanation - something I find most annoying, I always hate when TV shows do this. But overall everything is picking up. The show is more mature, and some epic fight scenes have happened. The female characters are developing as badass supernatural creatures themselves, and less of side-lines. The plot has matured and grown interesting and deeper, and the LGBTI characters are no longer just a sideshow - the development of two major characters as being gay and their romance is really satisfying to see. - I love Teen Wolf, I do. I wasn't sure I would when I began. The first couple of episodes the special effects were lacking, the acting not up to par, but I persevered.

The series changes a lot as it goes on. The characters really look more mature, they begin to treat the male leads less like sex objects (they stop constantly sleeping near nude and or featuring shower scenes, for example), and character development goes up. I really loved the early romance in this.

But then it goes down hill. Important people vanish and reappear frustratingly, because the actors have run off to do other projects and abandoned Teen Wolf. New characters are brought in and never developed as well. The males go somewhat back into being underwear models and not characters (though not quite as bad as when it began).

I still like it. It has many interesting characters and new takes on mythology, but character development has begun to stumble. I hope season 5 improves this when it comes out, because it is not to far gone to kill it at the moment, it just needs some TLC.

Teen Wolf is overall great, fun to watch, but getting frustrating. I pray it gets better.