__Hello.🙂 I hope you all had a happy and safe holiday season. The new year is just around the corner, and as usual, I'll be posting the list of my favourite movies of the year on New Year's Eve. But before that, it's time for one last "first impressions" post covering all the movies I've seen since my last one a month and a half ago. If this is your first time reading my blog, note that my reviews are very short because they're just copied and pasted from my Twitter feed, because I see so many movies in rapid succession that I find it impossible to write full reviews for all of them (and I have mad respect for those who can).
__This set starts off with a bunch of Robert Rodriguez movies, mainly the bad ones. You see, a while ago, I added all the movies from my favourite directors to my IMDb watchlist, and I wanted to get the bad Robert Rodriguez movies out of the way and off the list as soon as possible. I mean, I didn't like the implication that I was just as eager to see The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl as, say, The Departed or Good Will Hunting! Anyway, after that, I watched a couple of Rodriguez's earliest, reputedly good movies to compensate. Next came a few sequels just for the sake of completing their respective series. Then there were several more movies from 2020, and a couple of Christmas movies that I saw for the first time this year.
__One of the aforementioned completed film series is The Pink Panther. I saw the first three movies a long time ago, then got sidetracked and just never got around to films four and five. Because, to me at least, it doesn't make much sense to only review the latter two, I think it's only appropriate to go over my thoughts on the first three movies before we get started, especially since I watched them all again to refresh my memory. (As I said in my Film Series I've Seen post, I haven't seen any of the three sequels following Revenge of the Pink Panther, nor am I in any rush to do so.)
The Pink Panther (1963)
While Clouseau's clumsiness always gets a big laugh, his reactions lessen it somewhat. The real focus is the scramble for the Pink Panther diamond itself, which involves several colourful characters and culminates in a great ending.
My rating: 65%.
A Shot in the Dark (1964)
The final scene best sums up its parody of detective stories, but Clouseau's tendency to blame everyone else for his mistakes makes him very unlikeable. His funniest scenes are when he's knocked off his perch, like the nudist colony.
My rating: 70%.
The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
It doesn't really work from a storytelling standpoint, but this is my personal favourite of the series because it's the most consistently funny, especially the continually torturous effect that Clouseau has on Dreyfus.
My rating: 80%.
__And now let's get started on the actual first impressions.🙂
Spy Kids (2001)
They try to establish a character arc for the younger brother Juni (even though Carmen is clearly more competent), but I never saw any evidence of it, perhaps mainly because I couldn't see past the bad acting and awful CGI all over the place.
My rating: 35%.
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
The acting and CGI are just as dreadful as before, but the story is much more interesting, especially the revelation of how the island works. It's not good by any means, but nowhere near as bad as the first movie.
My rating: 45%.
Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003)
The entirely virtual world seems self-aware, like they were relishing the lame CGI, but sadly it looks no different than the previous movies. The gimmicky 3D is irritating, and the story feels like they were just improvising it.
My rating: 25%.
Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (2011)
The visual effects are better, but what kills it (aside from the absurd premise) is the relentless juvenile humour, even more so than the other movies. Plus, Jessica Alba's character has to be the worst parent ever!
My rating: 20%.
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (2005)
The terrible acting and CGI that defined the Spy Kids movies are back full force, and the constant glorifying of dreaming is groan-worthy. Some things, like stories invented by kids, don't make for good movies.
My rating: 20%.
Shorts (2009)
I usually like these nonlinear anthology films, but the reason why this one's told out of order is weak, as are most of the stories themselves. Worst of all is the giant sentient bogey. That's not funny, just grossly, depressingly juvenile.
My rating: 35%.
El Mariachi (1993)
Robert Rodriguez's debut film is pretty impressive for a zero-budget movie. Its amateur status shows in the camerawork, which is mostly off-centre extreme close-ups, but the story they were determined to tell builds up quite effectively.
My rating: 65%.
Desperado (1995)
This is the Robert Rodriguez that I'd been waiting for!😀 The action scenes are exquisitely shot, endlessly thrilling and even humorous at times. It's a tremendously fun action movie, and as a sequel, it's far better than the original.
My rating: 85%.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
It fails both as a prequel and simply as a movie. It contradicts the X-Men trilogy in several ways, the writing is trite and melodramatic, and the CGI is pretty lame throughout, but it reaches its nadir near the end.
My rating: 40%.
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
Despite Rachel Weisz's excellent performance as a traumatised civilian, the overall plot isn't all that compelling, and the climax feels more like the end of the second act, because it involves a villain introduced only minutes before.
My rating: 60%.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
The first two Mummy movies at least had a frivolous sense of fun, as immature as it was, but this one is just straight-up boring. It's still plagued by woeful CGI, and it even manages to make a car chase dull.
My rating: 35%.
Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
Just like Ocean's Twelve, it all falls apart after the basic goal is established, because the planning stage is barely glanced over, making the rest of the movie intangible. So somehow, this sequel's even more boring than the last one.
My rating: 30%.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
While returning elements like Cato's attacks and Dreyfus's ever-escalating insanity are as funny as ever, there's a subplot involving a romance that comes straight out of nowhere. My favourite scene is the dentist gag.
My rating: 65%.
Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
Herbert Lom is as funny as ever, but all continuity with the last movie seems to have been forgotten, and the series is definitely running out of steam now. At one point, there's an astonishingly bad blue-screen effect.
My rating: 55%.
On the Rocks (2020)
A young mother thinks her husband is having an affair, and what keeps the story interesting is the ambiguity in what she observes; it looks bad, but you can't be sure. Plus, I never thought I'd be praising a Marlon Wayans performance!🙂
My rating: 65%.
Possessor (2020)
I tend not to like slow, pensive movies, but this one is nowhere near as vague as others I've seen, it covers all the interesting bases with the idea of invading people's bodies, and never shies away from the dark nature of the premise.
My rating: 70%.
The New Mutants (2020)
It's marketed as a superhero horror film, but you might as well forget about the horror aspect. Still, I like the characters and how the story develops as Dani's true potential is revealed, but the CGI in the climax is distractingly bad.
My rating: 60%.
Love and Monsters (2020)
This apocalypse story has its own charm that allows it to stand out from the crowd and keep you interested in its world. The lessons that Joel learns on his journey are fascinating, and the CGI, for the most part, is pretty good.
My rating: 75%.
Happiest Season (2020)
Kristen Stewart gives a terrific performance, but Mackenzie Davis… not so much. The central dilemma comes across (to me at least) as earnest and respectful, but I can't help but feel that the ending is a tremendous waste of potential.
My rating: 60%.
The Witches (2020)
It starts out strong, cleverly incorporating passages from the book and even capturing its description of depression after a loss, but the second half is just awful, devolving into a ceaseless barrage of bad acting and subpar CGI.
My rating: 40%.
Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula (2020)
Every moment feels recycled from other zombie apocalypse movies. More than anything, it reminds me of Neil Marshall's Doomsday: a nation quarantined, the heroes captured by the residents, and a climactic car chase.
My rating: 55%.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
What keeps it interesting is the publicity surrounding the trial and the consequences riding on it, all while dealing with a clearly incompetent and bigoted judge. Not my favourite work by Aaron Sorkin, but still a good one.
My rating: 75%.
Mank (2020)
Technically, it's a marvel; everything about it is designed to resemble a movie from the time period, from the theatrical acting to the grainy audio. But, try as I might to listen to what was being said, most of the dialogue meant nothing to me.
My rating: 55%.
Uncle Frank (2020)
It's mostly a little too light-hearted in its performance, but it reveals itself to be a hard-hitting look at the damaging effects of homophobia, especially from family. Frank lets peer pressure get to him, and the result is devastating.
My rating: 70%.
Fatman (2020)
Though it does get a few chuckles, overall it takes itself way too seriously, which diminishes both the humour and the excitement. The premise is too absurd to support an action thriller; it could only work if the movie were much more irreverent.
My rating: 55%.
Over the Moon (2020)
It's a showcase of everything cynical and thoughtless in making children's movies, including applying painfully modern traits to its fantastical elements, and it tries to combine fantasy with fact in an awkward balance that never pays off.
My rating: 30%.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)
Despite much of the dialogue going over my head, the mounting tension between the characters keeps the movie engaging. Viola Davis is excellent as always, as is Chadwick Boseman (RIP) as the ambitious and hedonistic horn player.
My rating: 65%.
Elf (2003)
Not a fan, I'm afraid. I didn't find Buddy very funny or remotely charming, which consequently drags the whole movie down. I did like the special effects, though; there's a humble charm to their fakeness, almost like they're toys themselves.
My rating: 50%.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
A sequel that just lazily copies the original formula with some shaky attempts to enhance it. The traps in the climax should be fatal several times over, and the TV ruse scene might be the dumbest thing I've ever seen.
My rating: 45%.
Soul (2020)
Its message about the meaning of life is powerful in theory, but proved a little too abstract to resonate with me. Several elements that seemed derivative of other Pixar movies didn't help. Not one of my favourites from Pixar, but still good.
My rating: 75%.
Wolfwalkers (2020)
Despite a few faults in the dialogue, the film's emotional impact more than makes up for it. Both the joy and sadness throughout the second half are equally intense, and the effort in the hand-drawn animation really shows at certain points.
My rating: 85%.
__So, that's it. See you tomorrow for my "favourite movies of the year" list.
No comments:
Post a Comment