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Reviews
Beyond (2016)
Different
"Here I come to save the day!" Is the song of a super hero created back in 1942. It's Mighty Mouse's theme tune.
And so roll out nearly every super hero since then basically singing the same old tune.
It's nice to see something different. I'm on the 8th episode, season 1. Does it have bad guys? Check. Are you sure you know who the bad guys are? Nope. Could they all be bad guys or all be good guys who's motives are at odds? Check.
As for formulaic? At 10% the audience must know what a successful outcome looks like. I don't even know now. At 25% the hero must buy in to the plot. I'm not even sure he's bought in at this point...
Lastly, if someone wakes up one day and has super powers? Well, the natural course of action is to save the world. "With great power comes great responsibility." and "Here I come to save the day!". One question I asked as a kid and ask now? Why? Where did that come from? I agree, it's the moral high ground but would you really do it? I mean, actually? Or would you sit there and wonder how you could turn this power into a money spinner so you can give up your meaningless job that your supposed to be oh so proud to have?
Guess he's not really here to save the day and, so far, would definitely prefer to live a normal life.
As for the women? Well, if I was 12, slipped into a coma and came out at 24? Well, yeah, girls would be high on the list of 'things to do'.
This is coming across as trying to be more realistic, as apposed to: "I'm doing this for my dead Uncle!" (Spiderman) or "Dead parents!" (Batman) or "Dead world!" (Superman) or "Dead mum!" (Meredith Quill). I call it "The dead dog syndrome." - always cracks me up when that heart felt moment pops up in the latest comic to movie cross over... and my brain says: "DEAD DOG MOMENT!!!" Are all your parents alive? Is so? You got NO HOPE of getting super powers! Ain't how it works buddy!!! Lolz! So as I said, nice to see something different.
Talked to one guy and he pointed out he prefers Marvel to DC because in Marvel, even when the world is in imminent danger, the hero always has time to crack a joke and make light of the situation. DC is far to dark for his liking. And, you know, I respect that. Hey, we all come to entertainment for our own reasons... but lets just say I won't be recommending Beyond to him.
Cardboard Boxer (2016)
Slow and seemingly without direction
If you don't have a natural sympathy for the homeless there's nothing to see here.
I felt the movie tries to give you: "a day in the life of..." kind of feeling. If you don't find yourself warming to the main character, again, turn it off.
If you do warm to him though, it's an enjoyable ride. I did find moments where the film tries to make you feel something but you don't and a few little cracks which will need your forgiveness. (I agree with another review on here, the main 'baddie' is a little too cliché and, considering his proposed intellect, would have used a clever bit of manipulation psychology rather than something I've seen a thousand times before.)
There are, however, hard hitting scenes where I responded emotionally whereas the movie took it's time, no dramatic music, no sentimentality. I loved those moments, really spot on. Great direction, script and acting.
The end scene I felt was under cooked and could have done with a bit more air time between the characters in question. I just don't think their emotional bond was that strong - that the film was relying on my buy in instead.
But all in all? Yeah, nice film, good acting, directing, script (for the most part, couple of forgives, no biggies) and it does what it's supposed to do.
Enjoyed.
Mind's Eye (2016)
Even sci fi can't save it
During the 80's there were good films and there were bad. The bad were terrible. This movie is like locking someone in a room, getting them to watch these terrible movies over and over again and then make them write a script.
The plot themes don't hold together nor do they tie together. The filming is a little worse than a bad 'made for TV' movie. Cliché after cliché after cliché from the 80's - which is why the acting is so bad...
If there's an attempt at lighting? It didn't show. The locations the 'skipping scenes' are shot in have no baring on the plot.
It feels like the sci fi 'multi dimension' and 'quantum physics' is an interpretation which fits snugly into a bad 80's movie - i.e. it makes no sense and has no grounding in reality. It feels more like the writer doesn't really understand what these two physics concepts actually are. We are given no reason why they are involved, stay involved or disappear.
But... when you see 'the event' scene it is touching and the sound quality is good. The film should be marketed as "Knight Rider' and "The A Team" do loss avoidance.
This movie is trying to have a big emotional hit at the end but, because you never emotionally get involved with the characters it simply fails.