The Backend
What a gem: «Thor: Ragnarok» turns out to be a colorful piece of unexpected light-hearted delightfulness oozing with forgettable stupidity and fun, shining in all the colors of a disco-dripping CGI-rainbow with some delicious Goldblum on top.
Not too bad, quite good actually. In no way, shape or form as iconic as the original, but one has to admire how «Blade Runner 2049» tries to recreate the character and look and feel of its predecessor and how it does a helluva job in doing so (the cinematography and production design are just wonderful).
The pacing gets a little slow in the second half but I might just prefer it this way in contrast to the restless editing and convoluted storytelling we get too much of these days in this genre.
Just another very gorgeous looking, very soulless version of how Luc Besson thinks movies are made. I more and more wonder how he managed to create «Léon» where he still seemed to care about characters and storytelling (I think, at least; haven’t watched it in ages).
Wow, I almost lost my wallet there at the theater! But I wouldn’t have lost the money: The latest cinematic iteration of Spider-Man is well worth its admission price.
It’s got heart, it has humour, it’s got a great cast. And as unbelievable as is sounds, this co-production between Marvel Studios and Sony (who still hold the rights to the movie character, technically, I think) has something the «purer» MCU films had yet to deliver on: A great villain! Michael Keaton is perfect in the role (winged superpersons obviously just seem to be his thing) and his persona «The Vulture» equally satisfies as antagonist as well as a driving storyelement.
Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is great, too; but no surprise there. And the suits (as in «the VFX») are fun to explore but interestingly enough not as overwhelming and important as let’s say the «Avengers» movies.
So no, I don’t regret to have worn my Spidey T-Shirt to work today. And yes, in the end, I found my wallet under the seat.
Um,… Miss Woman? I wonder if you’d marry me?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[x] I see you more as a friend
The movie’s not bad, either. All thanks to Gal Gadot. I think I’d watch her watching paint dry.
Wow! Even after all those years Ridley Scott still knows how to disappoint me. He undoubtably created some of the greatest films ever made, but I’m sad to state that for years now, his movies feel more like Scott-free than «SCOTT FREE» productions*.
*) His production company
What a great sci-fi fantasy action comedy! I laughed my ass off and if you’re an eighties kid, you probably will, too.
In the end there was not a dry eye in the house (and that wasn’t because of the 3D glasses).
I knew I was quite excited about this most recent adaptation of «Ghost in the Shell». But until today, I didn’t really know why that was.
When I first watched the anime from 1995 I did it because I was still blown away by «Akira» and just wanted more of this kind of movies. By that time, «Ghost in the Shell» already had gotten the label of a cult classic. But I remember that after seeing it, I was a little bit disappointed (but it’s still one of the very few VHS tapes I didn’t get rid of). I never completely understood the plot and I’ve been wanting to rewatch it again, but never took the time to actually do it, maybe because I just wasn’t too impressed by its visuals – compared to «Akira», that was.
Well, the current adaptation surely doesn’t have that problem: Thanks to its presentation I’d go as far as to state that «Ghost in the Shell» is not only a good remake, but even superior to the original. I even like what they did to the plot that was streamlined (as far as I can tell, because this time around, I understood what was going on).
Even before the anime’s original soundtrack finally echoed over the end credits, the last iconic shots of the Major (Scarlett «will you marry me» Johansson) had almost moved me to tears because visually, this adaptation of «Ghost in the Shell» works great by going back to the «original» imagery and reviving it with current CGI work and beautiful production design, making it shiny, while keeping it very stylish, cool – even cold – staying very close to the original’s look and feel.
Though characters and plot are solid, they’re not too original or spectacular. But I think that has always been the problem with «Ghost in the Shell». The very intriguing premise never really leads anywhere, because it doesn’t leave much left to explore, being too fundamental for its own good. But nonetheless the deep questions about humanity, technology and consciousness are powerful enough to hold the visual spectacle together as a whole.
Sometimes, combined with Scarlett Johansson, who really wears her role like a suit – a very tight suit – that’s enough for me (and I really dig her cyborg-walk).
Man, full CGI movies have come a long way since «Final Fantasy – The Spirits Within»! Just discovered this gem on Netflix. It’s probably not really that good a movie per se but its stunning CGI-work and over-the-top action are just too damned impressive not to be blown away by it.
Give me more…!
Logan’s fun: A movie as solid as adamantium yet tender and bloody like a delicious steak.