First Impressions Review Diary 3-May-2014

   Well, it's been nearly three months since my last blog post. I'm doing a training course with SOLAS (Ireland's leading employment agency) at the moment, which hasn't left me much time to watch movies – especially not the daily double bills I used to do. I have plenty of time to write reviews on what I do see, since what I'm taking is a computer course and I fly through what few tasks we're given, leaving me an almost criminal amount of free time in each session. :) But writing also requires motivation to do so, and I no longer feel that motivation; it's just becoming a chore.
   Anyway, here's a month's worth of "first impressions" comments. :)

   Let's start with everything I've seen in the cinema in the past month. Now that I live in town, I have much easier access to a cinema than I used to, and there seems to be at least one new movie that piques my interest every week. 

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

   With its exaggerated sets and deadpan performances, this is unmistakably a Wes Anderson movie. I haven't yet seen his earlier, more familiar works (I've only seen Fantastic Mr Fox and Moonrise Kingdom, both of which I thought were okay at best), but if this movie is anything to go by, I'd say I'm in safe hands! :) It's basically a mystery story about a hotel concierge being falsely accused of murder and setting out to clear his name. And, as a straightforward mystery, it works really well; I was genuinely invested. Wes Anderson's trademark humorous direction may have enhanced that considerably: the actors are so straight-faced and so serious that it makes the cartoonish world around them seem all the more hilarious – particularly the overly speedy ski chase. :) The only thing I wasn't overly fond of was how it's told in flashback, and then in a flashback within a flashback. But the rest was a real treat: both a dryly humorous comedy and an effective mystery story all in one.
   My rating: 80%.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

   I get the feeling this is going to be this year's Catching Fire, where everyone but me seems to think it's a superior sequel.
   Captain America: The First Avenger was my favourite of the pre-Avengers 1 movies, mostly because of how well it developed the main character. And that's my main problem with this sequel: there's not an inkling of the character's ideals and integrity that I grew to love in the first place. Instead, he just comes across as a generic run-of-the-mill protagonist in a story of political corruption – a subject, by the way, that really doesn't interest me. It just doesn't feel like Captain America anymore.
   That and it simply failed to deliver on the one thing I most wanted to see: Captain America trying to adapt to the modern world. He just seems to fit in way too easily.
   Now, what did I like? Well, the twist involving Nick Fury certainly took me aback. I like how Cap's expertise comes in handy in the army base scene. Falcon was awesome! :) And the reveal of who the Winter Soldier is leads to a fantastic dilemma on Cap's part for the climax – even if, to quote one of Linkara's running gags, it just raises too many questions. It's a well written movie, which depresses me all the more that it just never piqued my interest.
   So, to sum up, while I didn't dislike this movie, it's easily my least favourite of the Marvel Studios canon to date.
   My rating: 65%.

Noah (2014)

   Hands up who doesn't know the story! :) When you're doing a tale so engrained in our culture, you've really got to bring something special if you're going to stand out from the crowd. And thankfully, this film does. :) But to explain the genius of it, I might have to give some minor spoilers.
   What holds it all together is Noah himself. I still think Russell Crowe is miscast, but I just adore the way the character's written. He's more of an antihero in this version, who believes that God has tasked him with making sure humanity doesn't survive, so that the Earth will be pure again.
   Oh, and they never actually call Him God in this version, instead referring to Him as "the Creator". That's the other thing I really love about this movie: it doesn't attach itself strictly to Christianity. Instead, it seems to agree with me that the core of all religions in general is morality.
   There's also a great bit of symbolism involving a snakeskin.
   It's a movie that acknowledges both the good and the bad at the roots of human nature, putting both the two in constant battle, and ultimately reaffirmed my faith in humanity.
   My rating: 75%.

Calvary (2014)

   An unblemished priest receives a death threat in the confessional, and is given until Sunday week to set his affairs in order. Honestly, I don't have too much to say about this one. It's from the writer/director of The Guard, but it's actually far more serious than I would have thought – there aren't nearly as many laughs as I was expecting – so it really depends on how invested you get in this man's situation. And for me, maybe it was the main character's indifference to just about everything, but I didn't particularly care. The other characters were boring, and the whole narrative was a little too disjointed for me, just showing how the priest interacts with his community one day at a time. You could probably talk for hours about the scathing critique of corruption within the church and the government, but none of that interests me. Being a Sligo resident myself, I had far more fun recognising the various locations on which the film was shot. :) The ending certainly has a powerful impact, but overall this movie did very little for me. It's not bad by any means, but it's not very engaging either.
   My rating: 60%.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

   I wasn't a big fan of the first Amazing Spider-Man, but this one finally lived up to its name! :D
   All the problems I had with its predecessor are remedied here. It still takes itself seriously, but not too seriously. Despite the title, it's still a Peter Parker movie first and foremost, but this time, whenever he does spring into action as Spider-Man, it doesn't seem out of place.
   Speaking of which, there are hardly any action scenes, but the story that takes up the majority of the film is so compelling that I didn't mind that at all; I was completely invested and very much impressed. The climactic battle is a culmination of everyone's storylines at once, making it feel so much more epic and so much more rewarding.
   The story focuses not only on the hardships of Peter, but Harry Osborn as well: he's determined to save his own life, to the point of violent obsession. Also, he doesn't actually become the Green Goblin until the end, but when he finally does, he looks great! :)
   Gwen Stacey continues to be a brilliant character. Not only do she and Peter make a really cute couple, but a fantastic duo as well. She's just as smart as he is, and comes up with an idea that proves invaluable in the final fight with Electro.
   I loved this movie. I'd say it's, hands down, my favourite movie of the year so far.
   My rating: 85%.

Rio 2 (2014)

   The original Rio was a surprisingly effective family film, but this sequel is a different story. For one thing, it's simply one of those half-hearted, sloppy sequels that does nothing to justify its existence. But it also has way too much going on: half a dozen wrestling plotlines that seem like they're there just to pad the movie out. We have Blu trying to fit in with Jewel's family, Nigel seeking revenge, a talent show audition subplot that goes absolutely nowhere, a turf war, and a completely unnecessary second villain in the poachers. Plus, one of the great things about the first Rio was that there were very few song and dance sequences, but this one is just one step away from a full-blown musical. On top of all that, it throws in that tired old in-your-face "save the rainforest" message that people complained about with Avatar – complete with the corny "this is our land" motivational speech; that moment was where I lost all faith in this movie! In conclusion, I went in expecting an unnecessary sequel, but this actually turned out to be a little worse than that: unfunny, hackneyed and overly cluttered.
   My rating: 40%.

Transcendence (2014)

   Dr Will Caster's wife Evelyn transfers his mind to a supercomputer in order to save his life, creating a sentient, omnipresent machine. But as the AI's thirst for knowledge grows, it becomes increasingly clear that it can't be stopped.
   I was really looking forward to this one, because it's the directorial debut of cinematographer Wally Pfister, who constantly works with Christopher Nolan. And… I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but Transcendence is a disappointment.
   A lot of my initial complaints are actually negated in hindsight, but some character actions still come across as just plain idiotic. For example, the construction of Will's facility is hardly inconspicuous.
   But my main issue with the movie is that the neo-Luddites are portrayed as the villains at first, but then readily unite with our heroes with no tension whatsoever. I know they're uniting against a common enemy, but it just seemed to me that something was missing. Speaking of which, I never in a million years thought I'd agree with Luddites, but they were absolutely right: it was plainly obvious that this AI had to be stopped! The moment where he basically possesses someone who's connected to him is frankly horrifying!
   Also, what the hell are those particles that float up from the ground? It begs an explanation!
   Overall, this is a movie that had great potential to be a smart, compelling sci-fi thriller, but suffers from pretentious philosophy and incomplete ideas.
   My rating: 50%.

   Also, in preparation for X-Men: Days of Future Past, I finally watched the X-Men trilogy (after running through the 90s animated series a second time to refresh my memory). I saw X-Men: First Class in the cinema, and revisited that in preparation for the new movie as well, but here's my first-time take on the trilogy it preceded.

X-Men (2000)

   While it does have its share of witty character moments, overall I found this movie a little too slow and unfulfilling. It has about as much content and stakes as a TV episode, and feels about as long as well; nothing particularly grand ever happens. Still, it does have its highlights, like the accident with Rogue in Wolverine's bedroom, and especially the teamwork in the climax. But on the whole, it's not really anything special. Now, X-Men 2, on the other hand… we'll get to that awesomeness in a second! :) I'd actually recommend watching the two back-to-back, because that's exactly what this one feels like: a warm-up before the feature presentation.
   My rating: 65%.

X2: X-Men United (2003)

   To put it simply, this movie delivers in spades everything the first one lacked. The script is far tighter, the stakes are much higher, and the characters really come into their own. The plot centres around a plot to exterminate all mutants, and you actually find yourself really impressed by how close it comes to succeeding. There are a couple of welcome cameos in Kitty Pryde and especially Colossus. My favourite moments include Pyro's character arc and the scene where Mystique exploits Wolverine's feelings for Jean Grey, and the final climax is just incredible. Everything in this film works, and in my opinion it blows the original out of the water.
   My rating: 80%.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

   This one's a mixed bag – both in terms of quality and as a jumble of storylines. For a start, it was great to see the Beast embodied perfectly – though it's never explained how he became the Beast in between film two and this one. As for the Phoenix… at least the character's reinvention still fits in with what we've seen in the previous movies. A lot of people complain that nothing more is revealed about Wolverine's past, but I always felt the second movie revealed all he needed to know. But the movie's main detractor, besides the truly awful CGI, is that, just like the first movie, the final climax doesn't feel nearly grand enough, especially compared to the second movie. To sum it up, it's definitely the weakest of the series, but not as bad as people make it out to be.
   My rating: 60%.

   And finally, a couple of PS3 games that I've been playing to pass the time when I go home on the weekends.

Assassin's Creed (PS3)

   I could never really get into the story of this game until maybe the final climax; I was far more concerned with the gameplay – which follows a pretty standard format that you can get used to very quickly. Every time you go to a city, it's the same story: you have to complete two or three other missions, then you can proceed to the assassination target. Lather, rinse, repeat. Personally speaking, I generally avoided any pickpocketing missions or running around collecting flags.
   One thing I can say: the graphics and art design are amazing. The cities are absolutely stunning to admire from a perch.
   The one thing that constantly drove me up the wall was getting hounded by beggars left and right! I got so annoyed that I was sorely tempted to assassinate them every time one hassled me!
   The big issue that I found completely ridiculous, though, can best be summed up by slightly tweaking a comment from the Angry Video Game Nerd's Simon's Quest video: why do you have to die when you fall in the water? That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen! This guy can go all over, breezing through assassination targets left and right, taking on fifteen soldiers at once… but he can't even fucking swim?!
   To sum it up, I enjoyed this game. A little repetitive, but it's still a fun formula – and I'm definitely looking forward to playing the sequels. :)
   My rating: 75%.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3)

   I never played any of the other Elder Scrolls games, but Skyrim seems to have transcended the series and become perceived as a title unto itself.
   At first, while I liked it okay, I just found myself thinking, "What was all the fuss about?" I generally don't like open world games, because having a whole world of limitless possibilities to explore is just overwhelming to me; I prefer to have just one goal and stick to it.
   But the moment you meet Paarthurnax was where the game finally grabbed me; that's when I thought, "This is getting awesome!" :) And the excitement and wonder just kept right on building relentlessly from there.
   One of my favourite parts of the game was the College of Winterhold: I found that storyline to be every bit as compelling as the main quest.
   My least favourite aspect of the game is definitely the combat: I was constantly wishing for some kind of targeting system. But on the other hand, I am simply blown away by the sheer scope and detail of the world that was created in Skyrim. You could probably spend months on end trying to explore every inch of the land, and I still don't think you'd find everything there is to see!
   Oh, and don't expect an ending, because it doesn't have one. :)
   Overall, it took a while for this game to win me over, but once it did, it seized me firmly in its teeth and never let go.
   My rating: 85%.