Tag Archives: Film Review

My Hero Academia: You’re Next Review

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It’s time for the next movie in the My Hero series. As the main series edges closer to the end of its run, the movies have to deal with the stronger incarnations of each hero. Will they be able to bring in more quirk fighters to handle the strongest fighters in the verse? Well they do bring in some strong fighters but you do have to suspend a little more disbelief than the last times that these guy can actually hold their own. It’s a great movie with lots of action as you’d expect though.

The movie starts with the heroes taking down some more villains as usual but then they bump into a girl who is being held hostage by a guy who is acting like he’s the new All Might. He calls himself Dark Might and wants to be a new symbol of peace…using fear. His villain organization intends to dominate this world so Deku has to stop them and save the girl. The rest of the heroes are ready to help along with the addition of the mysterious Giulio but is this guy really an ally they can depend on or is he just another criminal to mop up?

Since the power levels are a fairly big thing here lets get into them first. The villains all have rather intense quirks that seem to have no real drawback. You could argue that they basically break the balance of the verse. All Might’s successor, Stars and Stripes, All for One, and One for All are basically the 3 strongest quirks in the verse. Nothing is really on their level as the latter two were built over whole generations while Stars and Stripes is just super busted for no reason. Shigaraki’s decay quirk is also super good but he does have to grab you. The powers these guys have just don’t seem to have any limitations.

For example one girl can look at you and send you into a dream world where you are completely helpless. She could then stab or shoot you and it would be all over. Even Deku with all the other spirits residing within him was unable to break out so it was up to Giulio to do his thing. The idea that his robotic parts can activate on their own and do something was pretty handy but you can see how this power is fairly broken. She would be able to dominate most fighters with ease in any setting.

Then you have the guy who can effectively stop time. He makes a wide area around him slow down to the point of being negligible. Deku had to really go at full power to even stand a chance and the guy being shocked was the only reason it started to work. Seems like it doesn’t drain much stamina with how long the guy can keep this up and of course he can move at normal speeds so he can easily murder you while the time slow is active.

We also have a teleporter who can teleport instantaneously everywhere that he can see. It’s also fairly busted but normal in the sense that every verse has some kind of a teleporter running around. His partner with the telekinesis was probably the most normal one. There is a guy who sets up an RPG land but I was a little unclear on if his power was summoning/reality warping or if that was incidental because the monsters kept getting generated even once he was gone. The sheer infinite numbers of them was intense though.

There is also a guy who can erase quirks like Eraser but it’s a bit different. He shuts off powers over a wide range and then keeps them on if you are next to him. Great in team competitions especially with how wide the range is. It’s impressively deep so it would be really hard for this guy to lose so long as his partners are at least halfway decent. If they let up at all then he is a sitting duck though so it’s good that he’s part of a team.

So these guys are all very powerful with their hax abilities but what about Dark Might? Well, he uses energy coins of sorts which he can use to form energy objects. He can make punches, barriers, etc. It’s a very versatile weapon but he does have to be throwing them around. He has no super strength or speed of his own. The film never quite convinces you why Deku can’t just speedblitz the life out of this guy and end things in a moment. I would say he feels like a downgrade compared to the villains from the previous films.

I was also surprised we didn’t get more of a battle of ideologies with him and Deku. It quickly becomes apparent that this won’t be a thing that happens when Dark Might quickly turned into a generic villain who just wants to conquer the world though. I was surprised they didn’t go for some kind of a justice parallel. At least make Dark Might think that he is the hero of justice before Deku exposes his flaws or something. Instead he’s basically just pure evil the whole time. So I like the concept of the character but thought the execution was off.

Regardless the fight scenes were excellent though. It’s always great to see the big 3 teaming up and in general Deku always provides the best fight scenes with his speed. The fire and ice effects were also solid from his helpers and you can tell that the movie got a really solid budget. They were not holding anything back here which is as it should be. The soundtrack is solid as always too so you definitely had no worries on the technical aspects.

The side characters all get some moments here including the pro heroes. It’s always nice to see them show up and use their signature attacks even just for the acknowledgement that they are around. Always better to have a cameo than to just not appear. Now should they have done a little better in stopping the ship? Probably, but at the same time I do think Deku has long since surpassed all of the pros here so if he was having a hard time then we can buy it a bit more for these guys.

Giulio is the main OC for this film and he’s not bad. I think he gives up a little too quickly though in terms of jumping right to trying to murder the girl. He definitely needed to think of other options. Why not call in the pro heroes? In some cases that’s not always easy but this seemed like one without any real downsides. Surely they would be able to help out a little bit. The guy has a solid character arc and I like his gruff personality but it was still hard to look past the murder attempts. It’s kind of a big deal when you think about it. The heroine here is okay but doesn’t really get much to do. She’s being mind controlled for 99% of the movie and every time she snaps out of it she is kidnapped and mind controlled again. Quite the cycle when you think about it. So not really her fault, but she didn’t have a chance to shine.

When you pop in a movie like this you’re mainly looking forward to the big fight scenes and the film definitely delivers. While there is some down time between fights, it never goes on for too long or anything like that. So you can really sit back and enjoy the fireworks. Power levels are things you contemplate during the movie but they don’t end up hurting a film. I’m just glad that we got the action and that the villains had fairly inventive quirks. You could make a case that they would wash the League of Villains if they fought but it would be interesting to see how all of the hax go up against each other.

Overall, My Hero Academia churns out a lot of consistently great movies and this one is definitely no exception. The action really doesn’t let up and you get to enjoy seeing Deku and friend fight off against the most powerful villains out there. I’ll definitely be eager to see what film comes out next. Hopefully some kind of a crossover with the Vigilantes cast because that would have a ton of potential. If it takes place completely after the main series it would be a good way to expand the world development. In the meantime, definitely check this one out.

Overall 8/10

Bicycle Thieves Review

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It’s time for a film that was fairly short but also a good deal of fun. It’s what I would call a very subdued film but one that still gets the plot across. At the end of the day, a bike is stolen and while for most of the characters this isn’t a big deal, it’s definitely huge to the main character. You can feel the drama and ultimately the film shows how he gets more and more desperate to the point of his undoing.

The movie starts by introducing us to Antonio who is having a hard time providing for his wife and kid because there are no jobs available. You have the ultra rich and then most of the people in town who are super poor. There isn’t really much of a balance to be found here at all. Well, he finally gets a job but it is contingent on getting a bike. Antonio sells the last of his earthly possessions in order to get a bike but then it is promptly stolen one day while he is on the job. Can he get the bike back or is it curtains for him?

Right away Antonio sees how he won’t have backup on this mission. The cops basically give up immediately as they say it just won’t be possible to track down the bike. By this point it has likely been disassembled or is just out of their reach. Still, if Antonio can find the bike, they will keep the serial number on file so that he can make a claim to it. It’s a huge city though and everyone has a bike. There are hundreds on the streets and in the markets so this is really like finding a needle in a haystack. It will not be easy to complete this mission.

Finding the individual thief might be easier but even then how do you get the proof that he is guilty? A lot of the crooks all stick up for themselves too so he will really be in enemy territory here. Due to the nature of the job (Putting up posters) it will also be tough to constantly be guarding the bike even if Antonio gets it back. It may just get stolen again. Faced with all of this, Antonio also starts considering going down the dark path and just getting a bike of his own.

It’s a film about being pushed into a tough spot and seeing how you will react. Some will go off the deep end and just sink to the same level while others will push through. It’s easy to determine what to do from the couch but of course in that situation it could be a whole lot different. Either way the film is written well and has quick pacing. The movie is really over in the blink of an eye.

I can use this one as a good example of how quality writing can get you far. Objectively speaking it’s not like this film has a huge story or anything like that. It’s a very small and direct one. What really sets it apart is that the film establishes the situation well so you can sympathize with Antonio right away. It’s not like he’s an amazing character or anything but he’s just a guy trying to get through the day. He’s persistent and uses every connection available. There are just limits to what one person can do, especially on such a timer. Additionally it seems like the crime rates were rather high here which makes it all the more unlikely that he would find the bike because it’s just not a great neighborhood to be in.

There is also a character who is supposed to be all knowing and at first he writes her off as a scam but begins to think better of it later on. It’s one of those things where he just got really desperate but his first hunch was correct. If anything he just ends up wasting money along the way like with that scam or buying a bunch of food in a burst of frustration. The problem only gets worse the more that he tries to pursue it. It’s why theft is such a stressful crime. Odds are that when someone takes something from you, you’re never going to find it again.

It’s also a reminder of how tight money can be at times. When you’re going through a slump and have to cut back on meals and food, you remember how much worse it could really be. These people were really just trying to survive and doing so without the knowledge of a steady job to back you up is really something. I’ll also give Antonio’s kid some props for doing his best to help out. He was a good sport as they kept running around everywhere. He did make some mistakes and at times could be a bit slow on the ball but for his age he did better than most would.

Antonio’s wife seemed more the panicky type and wasting money on a seer seemed like a really bad idea considering how they were doing financially. It’s like if you’re down to your final $5 but you still want to go to the bar and get a quick drink. It’s just not a good idea at all and will only make the situation that much worse. I suppose she really thought that the lady had all the answers and could help but yeah it was not a good idea.

Overall, You definitely couldn’t call this a happy film but it also isn’t downright depressing or anything. I would say it’s a sad film and one that ends right before things are about to get even sadder for the characters. It was a good look for the city but definitely in an annoying kind of way. It’s a satisfying watch and while I don’t think there will be much in the way of replay value here, I would definitely recommend checking it out. I can see why people enjoy watching this film.

Overall 7/10

The Man From Utah Review

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It’s time for a film where John Wayne plays a character named…John? Yeah you already know this is going to be a good one. It’s a very old film since it’s from the 30s but it still does have a full soundtrack and everything so that was nice. The film does feel its age but it still holds up as a solid experience. It is incredibly short though so things have to move quickly but in a way that may be a good thing. I think the novelty could have worn off if this was too long.

The film starts off with John singing and having a good ole time as he dashes through the wild west. This is clearly a man on a mission but then he bumps into a bunch of bank robbers. He holds his own against them but they run off and John nearly gets framed for being one of them. Fortunately, John gets away but the Marshall catches up to him and enlists the guy’s help. See there is going to be a big contest in a few days and these crooks have been cheating to win a bunch of them. If John enters, they will try taking him down as well and then the Marshall will have caught them in the act. John agrees to help.

Now I do have to admit that the whole thing does make the previous heroes look sloppy since they didn’t notice the villains fiddling with the equipment all the time. These guys don’t exactly seem like top professionals or anything like that after all. They’re also not the smartest crooks in the bunch as they desert the girl member of the group right before the heist. Seems like an easy way to get yourself double crossed right? They should have brought her along or made up some lie on why she would be joining them later on. Just straight up ditching her is absolutely the worst decision you could make there. It makes them look real bad there.

Granted they still put up a fight at the end and overwhelm the bank worker. It would have been nice if they could have been stopped a bit sooner but at the end of the day the heroes still took care of business. John could have been one of the ultimate sheriffs but instead he decided to go for the romantic life. This won’t surprise you but the romance here is very rushed. When a film is only around an hour or so that is very likely though.

The actual competition is okay but all of them involve animals which is not a pastime I can really support. Having to tie up bulls or stay on horses that don’t want you there just feels mean spirited. If the animal is not having fun then I’m not either. I can appreciate that it is difficult to pull off these challenges and yet I feel like it just should not be a thing. I would have had more fun with it being able lassoing different objects or something like that.

This is the main chunk of the film though as it builds up to the villains getting ready to cheat. The Marshall was a fun character for his limited screentime though. You actually feel bad for him and the town when John says that he just wants to settle down now. He was the best shooter that they had and so it was crazy to lose a mega asset like that. No sirrrrrrr, but I imagine off screen he would probably get back into the action at some point. The Wild West has a way of dealing you back into the fold.

Interestingly the film seemed to have a hard time having music on during any dialogue scenes. So when the characters are running with the horses it can get eerily quiet and that’s how you know they’re about to start talking. Then you have some chase scenes where some fun music plays so you know there won’t be dialogue for a while. I’m guessing there is probably some kind of really old technical reason for why this is the case. Maybe you could not mix the different audio tracks together at once or something like that. It makes for a pretty interesting gimmick though.

Again it comes down to that novelty factor. It was fun while watching this movie but I probably would not want it to be a regular thing. The shooting and everything was fun enough though. The film had good action and a fun story. It almost goes without saying that the writing and the script were good as well. These old films rarely ever missed on that angle. I would say the movie did as much as it could within the runtime.

Overall, The Man From Utah is sort of like an abridged wild west film. It goes by really quickly and its got all of the usual elements you would expect to see from a Wild West but doesn’t take too long with them. It basically has to jump from story beat to story beat with impressive speed. As a result it is easy to keep your attention though and I did enjoy John as the main character. Most of the others don’t get a whole lot of screentime though. If you’re looking for a retro film then this one is as good as any to check out. Sometimes you just want to watch a peaceful film like this where there is a little danger but you know you’re on your way to a happy ending.

Overall 7/10

The Secret of NIMH Review

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It’s time for a pretty well known animated film. It actually took me a little while to check this one out but I’ve finally done it. Ultimately it’s a good movie, but I didn’t find it to be as much of an all star as I usually hear. I dunno it felt a bit uneventful might be the best way to put it. It didn’t make any wrong decisions or have any big issues. It just wasn’t quite as engaging as some of the other animated movies that I’ve seen recently. I suppose that’s just how it goes sometimes though and the film is fairly short as it’s under an hour and a half so it never drags on. I do think they could have made this into a franchise if they wanted to and maybe that would have improved this one’s stocks retroactively. Not like it’s a competition though, as long as it’s a good movie that’s what counts.

The film starts off with a mouse named Brisby finding out that her son has pneumonia. It’s a pretty serious case of it too. This is bad timing because the mice need to vacate their homes since it’s plowing season. The pesky humans are going to be destroying everything as always but it’s not really safe to transport the kid right now. Fortunately she runs into a nice bird named Jeremy who may be a bit of a klutz but he means well. He’ll take her to see the wise Great Owl and then to meet the Rats who may be able to help with their high tech. Will they help her though?

I can say right now that it’s really lucky for Brisby that her late husband was such an important man. In pretty much every encounter, the other person is dismissive until they find out the connection. The Great Owl? “You’re all doomed”…”Oh you were Jonathan’s wife? Sure we can find a solution, go ask the rats”. She goes to the rats. “Get lost mouse!” “Oh you’re Jonathan’s wife? Sure we’ll go in and save the day”. It really shows how much clout Jonathan got as a proud warrior and a fine man. He managed to help protect his family even past death.

I also give a lot of credit to Brisby of course for going on this dangerous quest. Most of these animals are all several times bigger and stronger than her. They could eat her in an instant but she will go through any trial in order to save her kid. Brisby takes a pretty positive outlook on life and definitely sees the glass as half full. She’s also a quick thinker and will usually have an idea when in a pinch. Her quick reflexes definitely came in clutch when a rat monster randomly tried to murder her when she first entered the forest looking for Nicodemus. Did I mention how mean every character is? There is really a culture of just looking out for yourself here.

Meanwhile Jeremy is just plain likable. He comes in clutch once in a while but also gets himself into trouble constantly. Nearly chokes on different pieces of fabric twice. Without his flying ability Brisby wouldn’t have even been in position to save the day so we have to give good credit there. His romance scene at the end is super cheesy but I guess the film really wanted to give him a super happy ending. He adds a lot of the humor to the film so his presence was definitely appreciated.

The Great Owl didn’t live up to his hype to be honest so not much to say about that guy. Yeah he gave some direction but considering how much hype he got at first, I was just expecting more. At least we finally got a nice character in Justin. The guy has a good attitude about him and likes making jokes. He is stuck with some poor company though. Jenner is one of those guys. A classic power hungry villain but I was glad to see him because this ensured some action would be coming out way. The guy didn’t disappoint. Sometimes it’s nice to have what I’d call a basic villain here.

He wants power and when he sees an opening he takes it. It’s an effective piece of motivation. Interestingly, this also isn’t one of those “Animals can talk and do science just because” kind of films. We actually get a rather detailed backstory similar to TMNT about how they were mutated and this started the whole rat society. It’s pretty interesting and it’s also rare for humans to actually be getting a big role like this. Their presence is felt the whole time even in the meanwhile scenes are they are preparing to destroy the area.

The animation is unsurprisingly really good. The characters are very expressive the whole time and the movements go by really quickly. It’s this kind of hand drawn animation that I always miss as the years go by. It was really able to do so much here and the film holds up incredibly well. If you showed me a film with an alternate style I doubt it would be able to say the same, at least not to this degree. We even get some action scenes and energy effects thanks to the electricity. The music is more of a non factor but they can’t all be standouts there I suppose. Nothing immersion breaking or anything like that, it’s just that none of the tracks will stay in your head.

Overall, The Secret of NIMH is a fun movie. It has some danger throughout and the adventure is a good one. I think going into it without any knowledge of its big reputation will probably help you out a bit. Regardless it is well crafted. It may not have the same level of energy as some of the other big titles but being enjoyable is the most important part here. Thanks in part to the short length and of course the quality writing, there is a lot of replay value to be had here. There’s no reason to be skipping out on this one so just give it a whirl and see what you think.

Overall 6/10

The Outfit (2022) Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for a film about a villainous organization making the rounds. It works pretty well as a low key suspense kind of film. Things pick up near the end but a good chunk of it is really about trying to keep quiet and seeing how long the characters can run a bluff. Naturally this isn’t a very easy thing to really pull off especially under duress.

The film starts by introducing us to Leonard. He’s the best at what he does and while most people call him a tailor, he is actually a cutter. Leonard goes to great pains to explain the difference but people always underestimate him. Ah well, his skills are the real deal and everybody goes to his shop but the one catch is that he has to allow the local mob to use the venue as well. His shop is almost like a front in that sense which isn’t his favorite thing in the world but at least he can tune it out. Well, one day two of the high ranking mob members stumble inside after a vicious battle with another gang, Richie and Francis. Richie was badly injured and there is a mysterious suitcase carrying something. Leonard is warned not to mess with it or he’ll lose his life but the whole city is after it. What should he do?

The entire movie takes place inside of Leonard’s shop as different people go in and out. It definitely makes for a pretty interesting setup here. The film has an old school feel to it as a result as you think of the old Hitchcock films that would use one location like this. As the viewer you are out of the loop at first but gradually you begin to see more and more of what’s going on. The film keeps on hinting at things as well to let you craft your own theories before they are revealed.

The movie is very confident in its story to the point where you don’t really have any red herrings here. You’re likely going to know the first pair of twists but then after that it’s much harder to have predicted the last one. It’s all a very logical line of story beats and they are written well. The film will have you engaged with what is going on the whole time without a doubt. It’s very easy to get engrossed in it all.

For the most part this is what I’d call a cerebral thriller so there isn’t a lot of violence but I would say there are two fairly violent deaths. Each one definitely drags on a little longer than necessary as these people die relatively slow deaths. Beyond that, it’s really all about the mental stress which is definitely intense enough in its own right. It’s part of why the film is fun, it’s just a nice angle to approach things from.

As for the characters, Leonard is a nice guy who is trying to get his secretary Mable back on the right track. She’s been after the bad boys for a while now and seems to put too much importance on material wealth. Leonard knows that this will get her into trouble but the problem is that it’s not really easy to fix that. At the end of the day she is just an employee after all, not family or anything like that. People often learn their lessons the hard way. Leonard doesn’t always make the correct calls as the movie goes on but his experience and intuition go a long way. While it’s fair to say that he definitely got lucky in some instances, he handled things as well as he could.

As for Mable, I can’t say that I was a fan of hers. Bad romantic decisions aside, she came off as way too arrogant and overconfident considering her situation. At one point she basically just starts talking tough and being insulted when she was nearly about to be tortured and still in a super dangerous position. You’d think that would make you at least a little more quiet for the time being as you wait for the situation to be a bit better. It seemed to me that she did not have a whole lot of street smarts.

Then we have Richie who is a bit easy to manipulate. The guy thinks he is a real big shot and such hubris is often blinding. The guy was completely out of his depth here and someone who spent a little too much time trying to be intimidating. He could have used all that time posturing to train instead.

Meanwhile Francis is another guy who thinks he is a real trickster and that comes back to bite him a bit here. To an extent all of the characters are trying to manipulate the situation though so it all comes down to who can do that the best. In times like that you need a mix of skill and experience on your side or you’re through. I did appreciate the leader of the gang though, he was sharp like when he noticed an object that really changed things. The boss of the rival gang also seemed smart and resourceful even if we did not get to see nearly as much of her since she didn’t appear until the end.

Overall, The Outfit is a pretty solid film. It’s definitely one of those films that makes you want to try and predict every twist and the fact that it doesn’t cheat with unknowable information definitely makes it that much more satisfying. If you’re up for a film like this then I can solidly recommend this one. The plot continues to shift and change as the movie goes on and the pacing remains solid all throughout the adventure. You could probably even make a sequel with how the film ends although some may say that could end up redundant anyway.

Overall 6/10

The Outfit Review

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Whenever you have a gunman going up against some kind of a criminal syndicate you figure that they have to be absolutely doomed. There is just no way to outwit these kind of fighters right? You’re basically fighting off a whole army and yet that’s exactly what happens here. The Outfit got so used to winning that they are rather overconfident by this point. Definitely a dangerous spot to be in.

The movie starts out with the gang murdering Earl’s brother. Earl isn’t happy when he finds out about this after being released from prison. They try finishing him off as well but Earl was too fast and turns the tables. Now he wants revenge and so he’s going to start attacking “The Outfit” and stealing their money until they agree to his ransom demands. It’s an ambitious plan but he has a good friend willing to help him out. The only wild card here is his girlfriend. He wants her in the mix but she could end up being a liability. Will Earl’s stubbornness really get him into trouble?

Now this is at its core a film about villains fighting other villains. There aren’t really any heroes in the story, after all Earl was doing fairly heavy time in prison for his crime. So you have to decide if you’re rooting for Earl and his revenge or if you think the syndicate should win. Additionally you could just root for them all to be defeated and arrested by the cops but of course that is a bit of a longshot.

The movie also does make sure to show that Earl isn’t a particularly nice guy. His relationship with Bett is super toxic the whole time. He gets physical with her rather quickly and so again you are reassured that he is a total villain at heart. He is not some super nice guy or anything like that. The villains are all corrupt as well so it’s basically a wash. To an extent you don’t really mind whichever side gets it.

When a car tune-up goes wrong thanks to some false allegations from a scorned lady, we do unfortunately get some animal violence as a dog is murdered. That was definitely the low point of the film. The movie definitely did not need that scene and finding a way to avoid it would have helped the film greatly. There was enough tension and loss in the film without having to go that far. The whole plot there was really a bit out of nowhere and you could have just skipped the scene as a whole.

The film is at its best when it’s just about Earl and Cody taking out villains at every base that they stop at. It does make the Outfit look rather weak though with how they don’t beef up security or do much of anything. The leader himself can’t even be bothered until it all finally comes close to home. Still, you’d think there would be some communication going out and alerting everyone of what’s going on though. That would have made sense and then the main two would find it harder and harder to break into the bases. Instead the difficulty never really goes up as the Outfit doesn’t adapt at all.

Earl even laughs about how easy it is at the end of the film. He’s not wrong either since the whole thing was super easy. This is the kind of film that I’m surprised didn’t have a more somber or ironic ending like the two betraying each other or not. I guess ultimately they just made it through the situation and would be ready for a sequel. This time they’ll probably want to avoid adding any more characters because Bett definitely made all the rookie mistakes you could imagine. It’s always annoying to see characters just breaking the safety rules because they got upset or impatient. Not a very good business move.

Aside from the toxic romance parts, Earl works decently well as the main character. It’s just a big thing to try and put to the side. Not having any romance plot would have definitely been a good thing for the film because it’s not like it really served any kind of purpose here. Cody was a good friend and definitely came through a whole lot of times. If Earl had been on his own then he would never have been able to get as far as he did. For all of his skills, one man alone would not beat an organization while just having one more makes this a whole new ballgame.

As it is there is still a considerable amount of plot armor here. At one point the villains trap them inside a fairly small room with agents posted everywhere and they manage to shoot their way out of there. Even the main villain comments on how crazy this is. I’d be upset too since the organization had the element of surprise and the numbers advantage. When you still find a way to lose with all of that on your side, well there is no real coming back from that. It means that your organization is seriously lacking in skill and it goes back to how complacent they’ve become. They rely on their reputation over skill at this point and it really came back to bite them.

Overall, I would have appreciated a tougher end for the main characters. At the end of the day they were still full on villains after all. Not even the sympathetic kind but the full blown villains kind with punching out secretaries and being quick to fight. I was not expecting the ending at all though so that definitely took me for a spin. The movie made some critical errors at key moments so without that this would have fared better. If you really want to check out a big Noir title then you should watch this one but the genre is already stuffed with plenty of good films. So you could do better with one of those.

Overall 4/10

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) Review

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The original Pelham film was definitely a solid one and I had pretty good hopes for the remake as well. The story has a strong foundation after all so I don’t see any reason why the remake would be any different. You’ll be pretty engaged the whole time with what’s going on and while the original would still take the win, this one can definitely hold its own. The film has to succeed in spite of the technical aspects that threaten to hold it back though.

The film starts with Ryder and a bunch of other terrorists running into a train and taking it over. These guys are professionals and trap it in the middle of a tunnel. It will be difficult for anybody to get in there and do much of anything now. Their demands are simple, they want 10 million dollars and they want it in 1 hour. The MTA employee who gets the call is Garber and so you can say that he’s really drawn the short straw here. He’s been dealing with a lot himself as he was demoted after being accused of taking a bribe. Garber declares that he is innocent but the investigation is still ongoing. If anybody dies during this event, it won’t exactly help his case.

There is a lot of tension the whole time since the majority of the film is really about the conversation happening over the phone. Garber is trying to prevent anyone from dying but of course he ultimately doesn’t have much control over that. He is dealing with somebody who is absolutely crazy and so you can never tell exactly how such an encounter will go. There is a professional hostage guy here to help out but even for him this is ultimately a bunch of guesses based on prior experience. The same tactics don’t always work.

Over the course of the film the villain begins to feel a connection with Garber as two men who were betrayed by the system although he never actually gets through to Garber to see it that way. Garber won’t let himself be pulled into the lies and the only time I would say he really faltered was when he allowed Ryder to dictate the terms and make him confess to a crime. I was originally thinking Garber would just fake it in order to appease the guy but I guess in the end he just wasn’t very innocent here. That part was too bad since it would have been nice if he actually did have everything together and didn’t make such a big mistake. Everyone is entitled to make mistakes of course but it would have been a good way for Garber to break away from the narrative that he was similar to Ryder in any way.

Regardless since it’s under duress I assume the confession couldn’t be used for much. Garber definitely takes a lot of real chances during the negotiations and of course it is a lot easier to backseat drive than to be in the situation. Ultimately I think you can never go anywhere with terrorists and you have to try going out fighting. Take out the gun and at least nail one or two of them. Inside of the train, one guy ultimately can’t think of a plan and just tells the villains to shoot him. They oblige and it was nice that he took the bullet for another passenger but if you’re going to die anyway, I say you should at least make a play for the gun.

Your odds are slim but at least they’re not 0 like when you give up. The instant you give up is when it is all actually over. You have to prolong that period for as long as you can. I would also bring up the numbers advantage but realistically you can’t count on any of the passengers. Odds are that they will fold or back out when the going gets tough. So if you make a move, it’s with the understanding that you really could die there. Not an easy thing to have to contend with.

As for the villain himself, Ryder was definitely real unhinged. The guy was smart enough to have a big plan and everything but it was definitely clear that he wasn’t afraid to die either. He was taking a big swing and absolutely did not want to live through any outcome other than victory. So he really made sure that winning or dying were his only two options. Most of his speeches ultimately come down to the crazed ramblings of your average villain but they’re still entertaining enough. The film did a good job of showing just how unhinged the terrorists can be.

The Mayor also has a fun role here. He’s definitely not the nicest guy but he has quite a bit of backbone in this version and can back up his tough talk. The guy has a lot of unhappy constituents but he does try to help in the end. Additionally I appreciated that he had Garber’s back in the end. It seems like otherwise everyone was going to railroad him even after helping out during the adventure which would have been annoying considering just how many risks he took by this point. It would have been such a bad look for everyone.

I will say that part of the ending was a bit contrived though. The film really wanted to finish off on a personal note but it relies on plot armor with the cops not making any kind of move. Realistically I would have expected either Garber or both him and the villain to have been shot. It’s rare to see the cops just standing around while actual gunfire goes out. I get the overall message but they could have implemented it better.

The only particularly weak part of the film is the soundtrack and directing though. The opening song is so bad that you’re just rolling your eyes the whole time. Then for the directing, there is way too much slow mo to the point where you think your TV is starting to lag. Then you have the zoom ins when people talk as if this is a comedy show. The film is doing a whole lot but none of it really services the film. I would have removed all the freeze frames, all the slow mo, and definitely had less camera shaking during the event. These things just felt like elaborate distractions and they did not pay off.

Overall, This was a pretty fun movie. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time and the writing was really solid. In the ending I would have liked Garber to have gone home with a whole gallon of milk but you can’t have everything. It takes a very different approach from the original film in different ways and that does help to keep things fresh. It means that you have a good reason to watch both versions of the film since they won’t be ultra similar to each other. As long as they can keep it fresh, I’ll welcome more versions of the story.

Overall 7/10

Princess Arete Review

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Princess Arete is definitely a unique title. It’s sort of like what would happen if you had an adventure film where the main heroine herself was actually captured for almost all of it. It’s definitely a way to stand out but at the same time I found the film to be a little uneventful at times as a result of this. Dare I say it approached being boring at times? I would say it’s a film that just focuses too much on set up for an adventure that never happens and you don’t have any loud characters to run in and shake things up. This could have used a Shonen lead type of character.

The movie first introduces us to Princess Arete whose life has been completely restrained by her father the king. He keeps her inside a tower and doesn’t let her leave the castle grounds. Instead she just has to wait as many suitors keep on visiting her over and over again. She has no interest in any of them and these guys all do seem pretty desperate for power. It might just be the animation style but she also just looks like a total kid next to all of these guys. It’s only natural that she won’t be interested. Well, unfortunately a wizard named Boax shows up and uses his magic to hypnotize Arete and the King so that he can marry her. He then takes her and locks her up in another tower so that she live up to the prophecy. Can she snap the mind control and get out of there?

It’s a bit of a long summary but I wasn’t really sure exactly where I should stop. In a way you could say this is where the main story begins but at the same time this is after a decent amount of time in the film has elapsed. You can also see why the whole thing is a bit annoying because Arete isn’t really getting to do much here. We do see that she is really interested in the outside world and so that’s nice but she wasn’t able to fight for her freedom there anyway. In a world of magic you’d think the King would have some defensive measures but the world seems to mostly be normal so maybe I can give him a slight pass.

I didn’t think the main villain’s plan made a whole lot of sense though. So the prophecy states that Arete will somehow undo Boax’s complete immortality so he locks her up to prevent that. At the same time we see that he is really lonely and is hoping to find another wizard. Maybe he wouldn’t be so lonely if he wasn’t immortal? In a way that’s what really makes it worse and of course he is also evil by hoarding the water supply. If he had friends then they could help him find more magicians.

Basically it doesn’t seem like Boax really thought anything through. He’s not a particularly interesting villain and the whole time you will be shaking your head at the guy. Meanwhile for Arete, I can’t say I was very impressed with her either. Yeah she made one attempt to escape the tower but I would have liked to have seen her be way more proactive. Honestly when the first guy broke in through the window, she should have knocked him out or tricked him and then used his escape method. Getting mind controlled isn’t totally her fault I suppose but it was annoying to see her basically be a zombie for a while there. It’s only in the climax where she gets to really help out.

There isn’t really much of a supporting cast to back her up either. Yeah you have the King from the beginning but considering that he is pushing for arranged marriages, he’s not the best guy. You have Ample who helps out with a lot of the exposition and letting Arete know the main facts. Not a bad character but not a very interesting one either. Nothing wrong with the writing either, there just weren’t any standout characters and even the designs were rather bland.

The animation’s okay. The colors are fairly washed out so the whole product ends up looking rather dated but the movement is good. The backgrounds aren’t bad and of course it’s just always nice to see things that are hand drawn. Meanwhile the soundtrack is more forgettable but on the whole the technicals aren’t bad. The whole thing just doesn’t pop out. It feels like the kind of film you my see a character watching in another movie. I was so ready for things to happen that for a minute there I was actually hoping Arete would go on the long quest to find the ruby that Boax asked for.

For a second there, the film was actually teasing you with the idea of a true adventure and I was all for it. This is what I’ve been ready for! Instead she turned back to accomplish her true mission and yeah that was the right call but it wasn’t the most entertaining one. I could criticize Boax further on why he would even suggest she go on such a mission when the hypnosis could break at any moment but perhaps nobody had ever broken it before so he didn’t see any potential risks in that.

Overall, Princess Arete feels like a film that is really missing a middle act. It could have used another 30 minutes where we see Arete escaping at some point and having a full adventure before being recaptured. I think that would have gone a long way to really making her a fun heroine and also livening up the film a bit. There just isn’t a whole lot of fun times for the film here and it feels too much like an ancient fantasy tale without the adventure. If you want to check out a more interesting anime title, you should watch Bleach instead. All of those films go hard!

Overall 5/10

Cahill U.S. Marshal Review

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It’s time for a classic western but in this one we do have some annoying kids who do their best to hold everything back. They make all the worst decisions constantly and can’t fight or anything. They get old real quick during the movie and so you wish they had a smaller role. The film itself is still good enough but all the best scenes are when the kids are finally not on screen for it.

The movie starts with Cahill taking down some more criminals. He is known as the best Marshal around and everybody knows to fear him. His skills with the gun are unmatched by any other fighter and when he is on the case, all others better retreat. Unfortunately when he returns home, there is a big prison break and a few people are killed. He asks his son Danny to help track them down but what he doesn’t know is that Danny was in on it. The kid is a total traitor and his silence is causing some huge problems. Will Cahill be able to figure out what’s going on before it is too late?

There are a lot of problems here with Danny. For starters, teaming up with a gang of villains to rob a bank and then not telling on them even after someone dies is crazy. The best time to tell would have been near the beginning when they were in prison and Cahill had his gun. The whole movie should have been over in a few minutes at that rate but of course the kids weren’t smart enough for that. I give Danny most of the blame though because he was actively helping out the villains and also because he’s older. He should have been a much better role model for Billy instead of just leading him down the wrong path the whole time.

He wasn’t even a nice guy outside of the whole prison angle. He was needlessly rude to the Indian lady and didn’t seem to like them in general. The guy has no manners and so you just can’t root for them. Meanwhile Billy is young but he should still know better than to go around working with crooks. He should have ratted them all out to Cahill at the first opportunity that he got. At a certain point you have to be willing to make the heroic call on your own even if it means that you are going against your seniors.

As for the main villain Abe, he does a lot of posturing but is only brave when the kids are around. In a straight fight Cahill would have had him defeated almost immediately. In a lot of ways this villain is extremely unimpressive as a result and only hangs in there because of the kids. Without them in the picture then this film would have been extremely short. He really has fun smirking and laughing but yeah the guy is very petty.

I liked Cahill a lot though and he really had to deal with too much drama here. The guy is working a very honest job taking down criminals and risking his life on a daily basis. It would have been nice if the kids could have at least acknowledged that a little bit instead of hitting the panic button and causing a scene right away. I don’t think that would have been asking too much right? I also give him credit for eventually putting the pieces together and coming up with a plan. It was a very risky plan that kept the kids in danger but they did get themselves into that situation so most of that is on them.

Cahill’s right hand man Lightfoot was a good character. I would say this is the only part of the film that gets mean spirited because the way he went out was rather over the top. He meets a violent end and the guy has been minding his own business until Cahill recruited him. It would have been nice if he could have had a bit of a happier ending. If he had to go out, maybe after a long fight scene where he took a few of them with him. It just felt like the death wasn’t really needed for the story.

It’s not like this is a particularly dark or dreary western either. I think that’s part of why it feels a bit out of nowhere. Yes there are a lot of threats but that’s really all they are. You have the sense of danger without the film going all hardcore about it. Lightfoot’s death is really the only part that fits that bill. Once again, it’s something to blame the kids for because he would not have been in that spot otherwise. The fact that Danny came close to letting some innocent people die for the crime is also crazy.

Now it’s true that the group weren’t innocent in general as they were all committing crimes and getting into trouble but they were innocent of this particular crime which is what counts. Yeah Danny ultimately gets ready to do the right thing but without Cahill there, Danny would have died before he could have really done anything about it. He definitely didn’t plan things out particularly well.

Overall, Cahill U.S. Marshal is a good film but one that is held back from the kids. There is such a stark contrast between his scenes and those of the kids. Whenever the kids are on screen you end up getting really annoyed, however when the Marshal is on screen then you’re going to get a fairly intense scene showing just how skilled he is. It’s like two different films at some points. So if you really like westerns then I imagine you will enjoy this one too but you will be able to tell that it is a level under that of your average westerns. Those blow this one away and also have a lot more action.

Overall 6/10

Winter’s Bone Review

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This review’s of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for a film about the horrors of living in a rough neighborhood where you can’t trust anybody. There is a lot of trouble going on everywhere and so it makes for a tense adventure. One that is without many pleasant scenes to be honest so as a whole the movie has a hard time trying to cross the boundary into being good. The mystery is interesting but to an extent you start thinking the resolution doesn’t really matter and the heroine just needs to find a way out of there.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Ree. She’s a teenager who has been given the daunting task of looking after her whole family after her father vanished. Her mother is super sick and can barely think anymore while her two siblings are too young to look out for themselves. They live really far out in the middle of nowhere so it’s not like there are any institutions or agencies that can help them. Now it turns out her father put the house as collateral before he ran off with a bunch of debts and a criminal record. If she doesn’t find him and make the guy go to court within a few days, her family will be homeless and that will be game over. Can she find him though?

The main reason why finding him will be tricky is because everyone around here are involved with drug dealing or know the people who are in it and don’t want to be a snitch. Talking around these parts is basically a death sentence after all and yet Ree needs to find her answers. The deeper she gets, the more danger she puts herself in and even gets beaten up. They may all have a lot of family around these parts but these people may as well be strangers. The business comes first before family and of course that puts Ree in a really bad position.

Her uncle is really the only character who defends her. Most of the others are willing to murder her when she digs into what’s happening. Yes she gets some help by the very end but it does feel a bit hollow since earlier they were going to let her die. They say that tough times show you a person’s true self and Ree definitely got to see the true feelings of many of her family members. She will know that they definitely can’t be counted on. It would be one thing if they were all just staying quiet about her father but when they jump into threats and violence then that’s crazy.

Additionally, if they wanted to get her off the trail then they should have helped her out. Maybe find a way to get her another place to live, bribe the courts, etc. They could have found some incentives which would make her want to drop the case, instead all they did was ensure that she absolutely had to keep on searching. She really did not have any choice in the matter. While the ending may be happy to an extent, you can’t help but feel like things will still be bad for a very long time. She certainly created a lot of enemies and rocked the boat during this adventure. That generally does not turn out very well.

As a character Ree is good though. She is risking her life the whole time for a task that shouldn’t even be hers. Ultimately she stepped in to fill the shoes of her parents who were both not able to handle the job. Additionally she managed to stay away from drugs and all of the bad habits that everyone else in the film had. So she gets a lot of credit there.

The only other character who I would give credit is Teardrop, the uncle who helped her out. He’s also risking his life by supporting her in any way because the rest of the community won’t like that. It takes a lot of bravery and guts to go against the masses and yet he does this on more than one occasion. He’s the only one who really went to bat for her so that does deserve credit. The rest of the town are all just super unlikable.

Ultimately that’s also why the film just isn’t very good. It’s super dreary the whole time and without many likable characters, it makes the adventure a bit of a slog. It’s just nonstop intimidation and corrupt characters running around. There aren’t a lot of colorful backdrops out there in the wilderness and it’s not like this is a huge conspiracy plot either. It’s a fairly local styled mystery and you can connect the dots on what happened to her father early on. The film was really lacking a hook that would really make you want to keep watching. Without that, well this one will just end up fading from your memory. I’d only recommend checking it out if you really want to watch a tragic kind of film. There are some people who have no choice but to live in an area like that and so you see just how tough that is.

Overall, Winter’s Bone is not the best film. In fact I wouldn’t really even call it a good one. The whole circumstance for the main characters definitely sucks and they need to find a way to sell the house and get out of there. Things will only get worse before they get better after all. Of course it’s easier said than done to leave any area and that’s why the whole situation is tough. It may be a dramatic film but it’s not one that is all that fun so I’d definitely say to give it a skip and watch something else.

Overall 3/10