20 Nov 2009

DISAPPOINTMENTS 2009

Setting a precedent, I’m going to first speak about some that is not a movie, several though.

Knowing that the race toward the Oscar Ceremony is about to start, is time to comment those all movies made along this year. However, I’ve chosen those won’t be fighting with bare fist for any award (probably some will do it for Razzies instead)

The disappointments of the year.


Films with huge budgets and great starlets within that either didn’t reach the level expected or just were a simple crap.

There are cases in which, and despite the quality of the cast, screenplay and director (i.e. Public Enemies); the result in the box was simply devastating from the looking glass of the production company.

Cause quality doesn’t always go alongside success. Is not the first time, and won’t be the last, a movie applauded by the critics is panned by the public. And vice versa.

Start Trek, a lousy movie that made me waste 3 hours of my priceless time, has been one of the blockbuster of the year so far (always awaiting for result 2012 and Avatar would harvest) all around the world although being such a crap…

Having said that, here I display what I do consider disappointments, failures or just simply mistakes during this year 2009 that is coming to and end. Enjoy it, if ye can…



- Dragon Ball Evolution

The adventures of Goku and his crew searching for the Dragon Balls was one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

After waiting years for this moment, countless fans of Toriyama’s anime comics felt as pissed as I did. A movie without plot basically focus on the box (off you go with your fucking outcome), plenty of inaccurate references from the comic and with a master Muten Roshi (no disrespect toward Chow Yun Fat) closer to a copycat of a drunkard Pat Morita rather than the character itself.

They threatened us with an entire saga. After the outcome harvested with this first attempt, I’m not pretty sure if another raid will be made.

- Final Destination 3D

After the success of the first part in box and reviews 10 years ago (with Jessica Alba and the “disappeared” Devon Sawa), this year the third part was released. Unfortunately.

Cause the topic was already hackneyed with Final Destination 2.

- Year One

Jack Black made it again!!

Probably one of the most overrated comedians nowadays. Somehow he manages to mess up every movie he takes part lately. King Kong, Tropic Thunder, Be Kind Rewind… a never end list with outrageous failures within.

- Land of the lost

Speaking of witch… Alongside with the above mentioned Jack Black, here it come Will Ferrell; other of those lucky bastards that somehow are able to make people believe they are funny. Not only that, he gets paid for that!!

Land of the Lost, Bewitched, Boat trip, Semi Pro… Certainly US is a country plenty of opportunities. Otherwise which is the explanation one of the less profitable blocks within the film industry according to a survey carried out by Forbes is still getting screenplays in his hands… No further comments.

- G.I. Joe: the raise of Cobra

Another personal disappointment.

A whole childhood playing with these action toys. And as usual, the film remake of the well known animated series ended up becoming a closer approach to a mix between Matrix, Street Fighter (Denis Quaid was the old-fashion version of Mr. Jean Claud Van Dame) and Transformers plenty of X effect just completely pointless for the plot.

Thank god, Sienna Miller is among the cast making the wait till the end of the movie not just a crocked torment.

- Gamer

Movie which argument spins around a former Special Forces member unfairly in prison that ends up being part of a futuristic war game where blood and death are more than realistic, real indeed.

However, Mark Neveldine (with other “success” movies like Cranck I and II) spoils what at first glace seemed an interesting idea.

Another proof that does confirm my affirmation that the bigger the special effects on a movie, the worse it will be.

- Public Enemies

In spite of being claimed during its marketing campaign as the predecessor of the new age of cop-and-robbers, and a stunning cast plenty of acknowledge names such Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Stephen Dorff or Stephen Graham, Michael Mann’s film didn’t get good reviews.

Neither the public bailed him out. The only way in which a new slip-up within the box office receipts would be avoided has to be DVD sales.

- Bruno

Another attempt from the creator of the hilarious Ali-G and the controversial (that doesn’t mean brilliant) Borat to create a debate within the current US society.

On this film, Sacha Baron Cohen falls into an excessive usage of “explicit” sex footage and the same index of jokes already shown in his former films in order to criticise some the world’s already aware long time age, US narrow-minded society.

Nothing new that is becoming with every movie more and more gone off.

I do prefer by far Sacha’s prior philosophy, just focus on the fact of having a craic.

- Surrogates

More futuristic rubbish located on a future run by surrogates.

Just the fact of seeing Bruce Willis with that wig (as well as happens with Nicolas Cage although his isn’t a wig…) makes the viewer be more worried about in which footage of the movie that rat is gonna came out of his head.

18 Nov 2009

2012

Director: Roland Emmerich

Cast: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Chewetel Ejiofor

Year: 2009

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

Rating:

Cinema-Reader – 6.3
IMDB – 6.6
FilmAffinity – 5.5


Cinema-Reader Synopsis:

The end of the world as known before is closer than humankind had though, doom caused by a huge change within the deep down of the planet and foreseen by ancient civilizations with a fixed date, 21/12/2012.

Geologist Adrian Helsmley (Chewetel Ejiofor) discovered it.
However arrives late for the future of the humanity, which will be shaken by terrifying earthquakes, huge tsunamis and what the final destination of the mankind seems.

In order to skive this, some people have raised funds necessaries to build up what will held the last hope for few.

Cinema-Reader Review:

Blockbuster of the year so far, Roland Emmerich brings his new apocalyptical view of the end of the world after formers successful movies under the same topic as “Independence Day” or “The day after tomorrow”.

Stunning special effects that recreate what the end of the world and human being would look like.
This alongside a cast made of well-known faces (Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson) make sure a booming success on the box all around the world.

Having said that, let’s speak about the script and plot.
A predictable story already seen in many other movies that jumped over this topic (“The day after tomorrow, “Dante’s Peak”, “Volcano”) in which a group of survivors, children included among them (of course...), struggles to keep them alive in what seems a sure death but surprisingly they always avoid by centimeters (followed by a bad-joke)... everything really American. Only thing missed was an US flag spread whilst happening all the events.

John Cusack leads this group and the cast. Despite I do consider this won’t be his best performance ever (“High Fidelity” would be deemed as his best role, without leaving behind the bureau officer in “Con-Air”), fits well into the role of this nowadays hero. Thanks god no more slips such as “Serendipity”. Keep my fingers crossed.

Summarizing, it’s a really good entertainment though based on one of the most accomplished X-effect in a movie lately. It won’t remain remembered as a must-seen movie. However is very advisable if you have spare time on a raining Sunday afternoon.

16 Nov 2009

The Fourth Kind

Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi

Cast: Mila Jovovich, Will Patton, Elias Koteas

Year: 2009

Genre: Thriller, Sci-Fi

Rating:

Cinema-Reader – 6.1
IMDB – 6.8
FilmAffinity – 5.6


Cinema-Reader Synopsis:

Dr Abigail Tyler(Mila Jovovic) is a psychologist working in Noma, a small town located within the middle of Alaska. Her routine of dealing with others problems as psychologist is mixed with her own suffering after the loss of her husband one year before upon unsolved circumstances.

Nothing unusual until one day she will find herself handling a disturbing happening. Some of her patients are suffering sleep trouble. Same dream, same figure (a white owl) she has been dreaming during the last nights.
Is then when she is determined to find out what is disturbing her patients, and consequently herself, through hypnosis sessions.

However, these sessions will turn into terrifying encounters where will be implicit an encounter with something that doesn’t belong to the earth.

Cinema-Reader Review:

Sci-Fi thriller shot under the umbrella of a false documentary, using footages claimed as real records during hypnosis sessions carried on by the “real” Dr. Abigail Tyler.
Universal Studios used what is known as “Guerrilla Marketing” to create an atmosphere of actual events surrounding the film. This fact makes the movie a bit disturbing and even different at the beginning, to finally end up falling in same mistakes of films within the same genre over and over.

At the beginning is a nice approach to something that really involves the viewer to the plot, that cause hesitation among the public whether or not the events described are real; to then mess all achieved up using clichés already seen countless time before.

Nice ideal awfully fulfilled.