NoWo's Reviews
The curse of the try-hard sequel
Desperately tries to recapture the first installment's enthusiasm, but turns the cultural archetypes into a gimmick.
Can't resist a jab a "men keeping superior women down", and a US president on the right wing as portrayed by the left, ie: quite close to actual left-wing dictators, really.
Also, Pedro Pascal. Aside from his personal convictions (I use the word in the loosest sense), this man (again, loosest sense) keeps being cast for confident, manly characters, whereas his whole demeanour reeks of a need for approval. Very offputting.
Funny thing, Egerton has voiced a gorilla playing Elton John, has played with Elton John in this movie (not sure they have actually met or needed to during shooting, though), and moved on to play Elton John in the biopic.
At this point, he might want to try on oversized glasses.
Created: 07-19-2024
Over-the-top, irreverencious Bond
Classical Bond formula, updated with modern visuals, and all the dials turned up to 11: more action, more gadgets, more British flair.
Firth and Strong are, as usual, brilliantly solid actors, and Egerton manages to not be overshadowed by his elders, which in itself is quite the feat.
Shallow but greatly enjoyable.
Created: 07-19-2024
Somehow charming
Cheap creature feature with a lot more appeal than it should.
It has Australia outback land sharks, Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward (Remo Williams!).
One could argue the Gummer spouses were meant as caricatures of Right-wing survivalist, but they come off as so terminally bad-arse that they return (Burt at least) in each and every (not so necessary) sequel.
Created: 07-18-2024
The usual Nolan
Nolan movie, so, out-of-order narration, gorgeous cinematography, impeccable acting.
No spoilers, but this movie follows scrupulously the outline a a magic trick as exposed in the opening sequence, ie: the Pledge, the Turn and finally the Prestige, all the while using common magic ploys, mostly misdirection. Because magic has to appear mundane before it turns extraordinary. The Pledge. The Turn.
And as in any good trick, the method is obvious, if one doesn't look at the flourishes. But where would the fun in that be?
Are the final twists creative or unexpectable? No. Because magic loses its magic once the trick is known. The ending would have rocked my socks as a kid in an '80s novel. Not anymore.
Is it a brilliant movie? Yes. The Turn is fantastically crafted.
And it has David Bowie.
Created: 07-14-2024
Better than Stallone!
Stallone's Dredd was a confused and confusing mess.
This one is a streamlined action flick that still manages to do the characters justice.
The main actors inhabit their respective characters quite well to my taste, even though I still think Urban comes off a little too much as a nice guy to really play a tough guy. Still quite a good Dredd.
Most surprisingly of all, considering the subject matter, the movie avoids any form of current political commentary, which is a good thing.
Created: 07-13-2024
Failed its saving throw
Atrocious. At least, not woke.
Instead, it tries far too hard to be modern, speak to a young urban audience, and thus loses any epic scale it might have aimed for, considering.
Also, the director probably failed to save against paralysis, and most actors against spells. Feeblemind, presumably.
Ah well, at least there's still the visuals. Except nope, horrendous.
Feed this one the a gelatinous cube.
Created: 07-13-2024
Entertaining, but lacks pacing
Gorier (more gory?) than the previous installments.
This movie tackles the (even) more serious and grim part of Hellboy's story, and proves adequate but tepid. It especially lacks any real buildup. Coming a good decade after Hellboy II, it has to go through summary character establishment all over again, which wastes runtime while leaving its heroes shallow.
Sign of the times: Alice, an Irish redhead, is suddenly mixed-race, and gets her girlboss moment in the post-climax scene. Nothing against the actress herself, she manages a decent enough London accent for a Texas girl, but she's an obvious quota cast.
Nothing too bad, but, if it doesn't change anything, why change it then?
Created: 07-13-2024
Same as #1: pretty and shallow
Same opinion as for the first movie: visually ambitious, lacks the depth of the original comics, but still entertaining, and Perlman is a miss, sadly in the titular role.
Created: 07-13-2024
Visually interesting, but not quite up to the comics
The movie nails Mignola's visuals rather accurately, although Del Toro's influence is unmistakably there.
The actors do a good job with their respective characters.
All this, except for Hellboy. Which can be construed as an issue in a movie named Hellboy.
In my opinion, Perlman misses the character by a country mile. His HB comes off as arrogant, big-mouthed and immature. Which is to say, Perlman probably shines through the makeup. Said makeup being vaguely adequate only.
All in all, a rather fun action romp, but lacking the substance of the comics.
Created: 07-13-2024
Style over substance, again
Solid cast, solid cinematography, solid choreography.
Add to the long list of things that don't work like that: Paris hasn't looked like that since, well, barely within living memory.
Fun though. And Donnie Yen. And Scott Adkins.
Created: 07-07-2024
