romouele Reviews

Looper (2012)

Dull and pedantic sleeping pill.

[4/10 · 30 September 2012]

The premise of the movie sounds great murder isn't possible in the future so they have to have people do it in the past, great idea, with several problems, firstly why transport a person through time and not a slip of paper with their name, you could then erase them from the time line and thus prevent the need to try and kill them, no bother of disposing of a body from the future, no problem with someone finding the motive because It doesn't exists yet. Even if you accept that there could be consequences you couldn't foresee why not kill the people and send them back for disposal. The plot of this movie just isn't as good as it seemed on paper, once you look beneath the surface it looks a little weak. You have the standard problem of time travel, the very act changes the future so that it isn't needed, by going back in time you change events so you never go back in time, and hey presto movie paradox.

Apart from this the movie just seems dull, it starts to heat up, with some great and clever scenes but then it dies just as quickly and leaves the audience unengaged, an little over an hour into it and people are looking at their watches wondering how much more they need to watch, I think a little of this has been from the marketing, it's being shown to be more action orientated than it is, more complex than it is and just more than it is. Some of the touches in the movie are good, the solar cells used to power just about everything is a nice touch and a nod to the coming fuel crisis, but these little touches cannot cover up the gaping holes in the movie, I wanted this movie to be good because it had everything it needed, unfortunately it didn't come out as it could have.

The Expendables 2 (2012)

Does exactly what it is meant to do

[7/10 · 30 September 2012]

First things first, anyone expecting a great movie full of thrilling plot, complicated characters and witty intelligent conversation should NOT watch this movie, it's an action movie with some comedy to help break up the flying dead bodies, and it does this well.

The movie is an out and out action flick, the kind guys like to watch when we're young and secretly still enjoy occasionally when we get older, and it's brilliant at it, some of the lines are shoe horned in and obvious, but they're still entertaining, if you want to watch a great action movie this year this is a great choice, full of nostalgia for those in their late 30's it a fun watch just don't be expecting anything too serious.

Prometheus (I) (2012)

A pleasure to watch, so please do.

[8/10 · 2 June 2012]

Prometheus is a film I've waited over two decades to watch, since my first viewing of Alien I've been waiting for Ridley Scott to return to this universe, and I must say I was not disappointed.

Visually the movie is astounding, the cinematography, direction and VFX are all superb and the scenes blend through the movie very well, from one beautiful set to another. My only complaint was the lighting, I had hoped for Scott to use the lighting to increase the suspense and fear of the movie, but as it was shot in 3D which requires brighter lighting on set that shadows didn't have the impact I had hoped, but that is nothing new for 3D movies, of which I have yet to be impressed.

As to the story itself, it's well told, the child questing for knowledge is the essential basics of many movies, there are some scientific flaws with the reasoning, but I wouldn't expect any movie to stick with perfect science, otherwise it would be very boring, on the whole the story is a great example of what can still be done.

The acting is for the most brilliant, Rapace is excellent as the scientist of faith, a conflict between the rational and the irrational. Elba is good as the uncouth experienced captain, I just wish he had a little more screen time to develop; Theron is fantastic as the detached leader/observer always set apart from the other characters. Fassbender is superb as the synthetic, I hadn't been as impressed by him as many others and was unsure of the choice to cast him, but I must say the casting director did a fantastic job with Fassbender. The supporting cast also all give good performances.

There will be many going into this movie expecting an action flick, which they definitely aren't going to get, what they will find is what I would call the sci-fi thriller to be watched, while it isn't perfect, it is damn close. I just hope it doesn't take another 30 years before Scott returns to the alien universe.

Avatar (2009)

Not great, but not terrible.

[6/10 · 18 January 2010]

Just finished watching this movie today and found it quite average amongst movies being released today.

Firstly the visual effects, yes they're fantastic, the motion is fluid and believable, the scene is rendered beautifully and the whole movie blends perfectly, visually this movie is stunning. I don't think I have seen a movie where the effects were this good. Unfortunately this is where the movie peaks; the story is both predictable and pedantic, only the primary character is given any growth and even then it's extremely marginal and predictable. The supporting characters are simply not given enough screen time, too much of the film is devoted to the visual effects, which while stunning are not compensating for the story.

The movie is worth a view, even if only for visual effects, but as a whole the movie is decidedly average, I would not recommend it as a great movie, unfortunately is seems like so many recent releases Avatar included are simply an orgy of special effects with very little plot.