hugomelo600 Reviews

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016)

A huge missed opportunity

[5/10 · 3 October 2016]

Unlike a lot of the misogynist GB fans out there, I actually welcomed the idea of the gender swap. Although ideally there should be a GB team of different genders, the fmale Ghopstbusters angle was a good idea to keep things new and interesting if handled properly. i was however concerned when I heard that Paul Feig (of Bridsmaids and Spy fame) was wrting the screenplay, as I found neither of his movies particularly funny. Still, I hoped for the best. Sadly, the movie was a meandering catalogue of rehased ideas and failed attempts at humor. Aside from a few wxceptions most of the jokes fell very flat. The jokes were so flat and uninventive that they seemed to have been made up in the spot, mid-filming, as if they weren't written at all but lazily improvised. The actors were funny but the lines they were delivering just weren't tickle-inducing. Another mistake I feel they made was to ognore the previous existence of other team of ghostbusters and have cameos from the original GB cast playing other people. The movie should have worked, if only to shut down the ridiculous misogynist outcries of indignation, but sadly the movie ended up by being mediocre in all counts - the story was a meandering mess, the jokes were poor and flat and the special effects underwelming. A real missed opportunity.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

A disappointing mess

[5/10 · 30 March 2016]

Contrary to most people I actually enjoyed Man of Steel. While I objected to certain option the filmmakers took, I found it to be a thorughly enjoyable super hero movie. My positive reaction to "Man of Steel" gave me some hope for this oddly titled semi-sequel, despite the involvement of the likes of David S.Goyer and Zack Snyder. Sadly I found the movie to be a sprawiling, poorly scripted and paced mess that took itself too seriously - it's dudes in capes, not Nietzsche. The attempts at philosofy and depth were laughable, but nonetheless approached by the Director as if the script was intelligently written, which certainly was not. The action (of which there was very little until the dumb mess at the end) was poorly constructed, excessively CGI'd and very unexciting. A movie featuring such iconic characters of popular America culture should have been carefully and efficiently planned out. Such a massive gathering of iconic DC comics characters could have been, if handled right (as it has been before in comic books and animated movies and TV series),been something truly special. Instead we have this mess of a movie that does not deliver in any counts. Such a wasted opportunity. I regret deeply having awarded the people involved in this mess with the price of a theater ticket - they'll actually think they have done a good job and make a equally awful semi-sequel.I haven't been this disappointed with a movie in a long time.

Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014 Video)

Great character design wasted on a movie with below average writing

[4/10 · 19 August 2014]

Batman: Assault on Arkham is easily one of the worst DC Animated movies I'v seen. Despite boasting terrific character design and great animation the movie is awfully written. Seemingly aiming at a mature audience via sexual innuendos and situations as well as gory violence (none of which I have any problem with) the movie's dialog is awful and feels as if written by a sixteen year old. The writer clearly does not understand the characters from the Batman universe, as Scarecrow and Joker both seem possessed with great physical prowess and strength; also Batman appears to have zero regard for human life in this movie, as he not only severely endangers a woman held hostage by Zasz by instead of sneaking up on him making sudden gestures that may have caused him to slit the woman's throat but he also watches peacefully as the Arkham "invaders" kill a significant number of Arkham Guards just so that he doesn't blow his cover when infiltrated in Team x Force or whatever the group of criminals is called. As if those problems weren't enougth to begin with, the soundtrack is made out of very poor techno music that feels contrived and forced at all times. If your new to DC animation and looking for a good Batman animated movie watch "The Mask of The Phantasm", "Under The Red Hood", Batman: Year One, "The Dark Knight Returns", "Batman: Gotham Knight" and Batman Beyond: The Return of The Joker" instead - all of these are great well written Batman animation movies that stay true to their character's personal traits.

Prometheus (I) (2012)

A Misunderstood Future Classic.

[8/10 · 17 February 2014]

Prometheus is an intelligent, amazing, visually arresting and thrilling film. A science fiction masterpiece who I believe will suffer the same fate as Blade Runner - heralded as a brilliant film in the future despite being dished by many presently. The story is amazing, the characters are interesting, the suspense and revelations are build perfectly. The movie is very influenced by Lovecraft, in particular his story "At The Mountains Of Madness" and it is clear that that is intended considering the massive wink towards the end when a "Cthullu like" alien makes an appearance. The film has been very criticized and from my perspective, unfairly so; to be quite frank a lot of the critiques were very inaccurate and many times it was clear that a lot of people just didn't understand much of the plot. Much is said about supposed plot holes, but it all comes down to one thing: many didn't understand the movie because many did not figure out the reason the engineers created men. Once that reason is figured out (and there are many clues in the film that enable us to conclude as to what that reason is) the movie makes absolute sense. Many accused the characters of acting in a random fashion. That is completely false. There is a reason for the character's actions and many feel there are not because they expect characters to be likable and nice. Think outside the box, please, and understand that the humanoid does not follow any morals, he aims only to follow it's creator's directives and achieve knowledge regardless of the price; some of the characters are not bad or good, just something in between like most human beings. Overall, a brilliant film both visually and plot wise. I hope the negativity doesn't keep the studios from doing the much needed and from my end, desired, sequel.

Louie (2010–2015)

A brave and highly original comedy series

[9/10 · 13 February 2014]

I've always been a fan of stand-up comedy. When done right it can soar beyond the confines of comedy and become an observation and bitting critique on society. Louis C.K.'s stand up does just that. It is not only hilarious but rubs salt into many of society's wounds in a refreshing and brutally frank fashion as it also unconftroubly exposes the fears and hidden desires of many everyday man - from single to married with kids to divorced and back around. Based on the strength of Louis C.K's brilliant stand-up, I expected a great deal from his comedy show. What I got was nothing at all what I expected and the show is all the better for it. I feared that it would perhaps be in the vein of "Curb Your Enthusiasm - which is a brilliant show - but who wants to see the same show again starring a different character? Well, Louie is nothing like any other show I have ever seen, it's a beast of it's own. And beast is a good way to define it. It's brutally honest, uncompromising, crass and very funny, but it is also tender, realistic and poignant. The show's first season was really great, but Season Two elevates the show to an all new level. It becomes more focused, more tightly wound and it's themes are darker than ever. And despite all that, it is still unspeakably funny and bravely experimental, It«'s hability to navigate through the ridiculous and the sublime is awing. Then why four stars and not five? Because despite it's bravery, the show sometimes steers from problematics that were gracefully presented trough the course of one full episode but that get dropped without any explanation or continuity. For example, there is an episode where he buys a house way out of his price range so that his kids have space to play and be generally happier. But that is never brought up again throughout the rest of the series and it was an issue ripe for exploration and further development. In another episode, one of his sisters dump his niece on him and he has to take care of her. Towards the end of the episdoe he is given a piece of information that suggests that he will have to take care of her for a much longer period of time but on the next episode she's gone. These continuity issues where also found in Season One. For example, the actress that plays a woman on a date with Louie during which he is hummiliated and bullyed by a young man is the same actress who plays is mother in another episode of the same season. I know that Louie does it on purpose, as he stated at one point that he did not care for continuity, that he was more concerned with whatever message or laugh a specific episode aimed for, but it does feel like a cop-out sometimes. Continuity issues and occasional cop-outs aside, the show is still an amazing piece of work.

Out of the Furnace (2013)

Much better than the critics would have you believe.

[8/10 · 11 February 2014]

Macho Bravado directed with class, beauty and with amazing performances. Also serves as a potent metaphor for how America spits out those who give their lives for their Nation when it has no more use for them.It also stresses that being an honest hardworking man in America does not warrant happiness. Reminded me of the also misunderstood "Killing Me Softly" in the sense that beneath what at the surface appears to be a convencional crime story runs a powerful critical metaphor about broken dreams and America. For some reason most movie critics appeared to nurture a significant dislike for this amazing piece of cinema but I urge those of you who appreciate slow-burning violent dramas to give the movie a try. It's greatness lies in much more than the great cast it boasts (all of who deliver perfect performances).

Clear History (2013 TV Movie)

Pretty, Pretty Disappointing.

[6/10 · 9 December 2013]

I am a huge fan of both "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm". His HBO show was one of the series that I made a point of watching every week. When I read about "Clear History" I was super excited. Fisrstly, because the screeplay was written bu David, Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer, all of which worked on Seinfeld at one point. Secondly becasuse it was directed by Greg Motolla, who has made "Superbad", "Paul" and most episodes of the first three seasons of "Arrested Development". Thirdly because of the impressive cast that LD was able to gather. It seemed nothing could go wrong. But somehow the movie fails. The script is not very funny, extremely predictable, meandering and a bit all over the place; the direction is uninspired and devoid of any comedic timming. Those claimming it is an extended "CYE" episode are very wrong in my opinion because whereas "Curb" is absolutely hilarious and guffaw inducing this movie is very much devoid of big laughs. Sure, it rises the very occasional chuckle but overall very tame and uninspired. If you need to watch a better feature film with LD, check out "Whatever Works" directed by Woody Allen. Not in any way original by Woody's standards but good for someone who appreciates Allen's work.

Tideland (2005)

A hard to digest but brilliant tour De force

[8/10 · 22 May 2013]

This movie moved, repulsed and disturbed me. As I watched I found myself cringe, recoil in horror, dread for Jeliza Roses's fate and saddened by all the pain, misery and confusion that that child was exposed to, with no one to care for her but egotistical adults and deranged madmen. In an emotional level I responded tremendously to the movie and although a good deal of these responses were less than agreeable, the fact that this film produced such stimuli in my person proves that it has heart to spare- a mean, bashing, horrific,depressing and sad heart it may be but a heart nonetheless. I can only suggest this film to brave movie buffs who are willing to subject themselves to the one of the most bizarre, terrifying and moving experiences of their life. My congratulations to Gilliam for directing yet another brave and stimulating film... even if it may very well become yet another obstacle in Gilliam's already endangered film career.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

A very enjoyable journey back to Middle Earth, even if somewhat smaller in scope.

[8/10 · 27 December 2012]

Peter Jackson's new journey into Middle Earth is an extremely entertaining and well constructed movie. It is not, of course, up to the impossible high standard that The Lord Of The Rings set for Jackson, but it is, on all accounts, a very good fantasy and adventure movie. The movie got critizised for it's deliberate leisured pace. Although I agree that some of the movie's scenes are not essencial and could very well be truncated without disrupting the narrative, the fact remains that these scenes, although not essencial to the plot, are not boring or uninteresting. The movie has considerable length but it never gets tiresome. Of course the novelty is somewhat gone to the point where at certain moments you can predict what course of action certain characters will take to advert tragedy .But despite that, the movie never gets boring and will certainly keep most viewers riveted throughout the movie due to it's well placed humor, beautiful imagery, visual effects, fleshed-out world and cameos of Middle Earth inhabitants that have been introduced to us in "The Lord Of The Rings". The movie, if approached on it's own terms and not subjected to comparison to it's counterpart, stands scrutiny with great ease. Or it should, but apparently the critics failed to evaluate it fairly, considering the average tomatometer rating. How this movie gets an average of 65 per cent and the childish, cartoonish, terribly scripted Sklyfall is over 90 per cent is beyond my grasp.

Skyfall (2012)

Silly, Overblown, Dumb and Boring.

[5/10 · 7 December 2012]

Silly, Overblown, Dumb and Boring. That's how I would describe this movie in four words. I can't understand how this movie got such positive reviews. The direction was OK and some of the performances great (mostly Bardem's). However the backbone of a movie his it's screenplay and that's were the movie falls completely apart. The screenplay was a mess: the characters dialogues and banter were trite and clichéd, the plot was overblown and idiotic and the character's decisions and actions made little to no sense. The only positive points of the movie were Bardem and Fienes, who gave terrific performances (altough the latter didn't have much to do throughout the movie anyway) and most of all Roger Deakins, whose photography was gorgeous as always. Everything else in the movie was fair to mediocre.

SPOILERS:

Craig's Bond in this movie achieves a all new level of stupidity that kept me wondering on on earth this guy is still alive. Every decision he made was dumb beyond belief. Who would shoot against an airborne war helicopter with an automatic from a window of a old manor? Why didn't he shoot the villain when he was on his way to kill M and still allowed him to press the radio that caused a subway to be rammed against him? Those are just two of the many idiotic decisions that Bond made during the film, not to mention the biggest one of all: taking M to a secluded old manor without any manpower and virtually no weapons. That makes perfect sense! Also, in the end he fails his mission, breaching protocol while doing so and Mallory still reinstates him.

The Ruins (2008)

Engaging and surprising even if you have read the book.

[6/10 · 29 October 2012]

I have read the book and found it to be a fun read. It made squirm more than a lot of horror movies I've watched, kept me riveted throughout. I was very addicted to it, could hardly put it down. Nothing lifechanging or deep, but extremely entertaining. Something unchallenging and unpretentious to read inbetween your Dostoevskys and Nabokovs. When i read it I was already aware that there was a movie adaptation of it, so I decided to read the book before watching the movie, as I generally do (unless the movie's story strikes me as either too ludicrous to bother a read or written by awful writers like Chuck Palahniuk or Bret Easton Ellis, in which case I skip the book). The movie of course does not cover all of the situations that arrive in the book; everything is simplified and compressed or left out. Despite that, the movie does a good job of adapting the story, veering aptly from certain ludicrous situations that are described in the book. What pleased me the most in watching it, however was the fact that the characters and horrors that they experience are somewhat different form the book. What certain characters endure in the movie is not the same as the book down to the very ending of the film being completely different from the on the book. Which meant that, despite having read the novel, I still couldn't be quite certain which destiny each character would meet, therefore making a somewhat fresher experience and increasing the suspense significantly. I'm sure the screenwriter (who is also the author of the novel) did that to offer a fresher movieviewing experience to someone who had read the book and di so without veering form the plot outlines of the book. As for the direction, it was made with tact and seriousness, something not quite easy considering the source material. Overall a fun movie.

The Awakening (I) (2011)

Gorgeous cinematography, muddled plot.

[5/10 · 7 May 2012]

I love old-fashioned ghost stories, both in literature and in moving picture. It's a harder genre than people give credit to, especially because it's age. Since it has been done to death, almost every possibility and approach seems to have been covered. However, there are movies that have taken the this tired formula and made splendid films - The Orphanage is a good example of a ghost story done right. The Awakening started off right. The acting was good, the mood was efficiently set and the cinematography gorgeous to look at. I was many times at absolute awe at the beautiful images and camera shots that the movie boosted. However, the central thing in a movie is it's plot, and that's where things get shaky. The plot wasn't that great to begin with and as it progressed became less interesting, managing nonetheless to sustain my interest throughout until the end, which was by far the film's greatest weakness. The ending "twist" came too late and was done with too much haste, which hurt it's already shaky believability. I think the ending despite being far-fetched could still work if done more competently and with more preparation. It's still an enjoyable movie, but the beautiful and eerie imagery would be much better served by a better plot. All in all, a solid 5 for the film, 10 for the cinematography. This cinematographer deserves to be well known, assuming he isn't already.

Justified (2010–2015)

Third run of Justified takes the show for a plunge in quality

[8/10 · 27 April 2012]

I love this show. The first season caught me off guard and was easily my favorite show on TV. Rayland Givens was one of the best characters in TV of all time, the villains were great, the show matched grimness and comedy with panache and was amazing throughout. Then Season 2 came along and took the show to a whole new level of quality. It was perfect in every sense: tense, unpredictable and riveting plotting, excellent acting, great new characters and developed greatly. So when the third season was announced I was pouncing, eagerly anticipating it. The season premiere was great and so were the 2nd and third episode. But from then on it went downhill and it didn't stop, even the last episode was pretty disappointing. I could't understand how such a great show could have taken such an awful turn. It was still watchable,mind you, but if compared to the first two seasons, it failed miserably short. I hope they bring something worthy f the great quality that made me an avid fan of the show in the first place. I would give the show a solid nine out of ten, but because of season 3 i can only really give it a shaky 8