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seanrforeman
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High-Rise (2015)
Poorly executed and painful to watch
The trailers tried very hard to make this look like something other than it is. Carefully cut dialog and scenes to try to tell a story that in actuality didn't exist.
Maybe the book is better because it could pace itself, but the decline of the tower happens so quickly and irrationally it is impossible to wrap your head around it. They should have shown some restraint and not revealed the decline in the beginning and then travel backwards to explain it.
The music is at odds with the scenes. Trying one moment to be light in a serious sequence and then serious in a ridiculous scene (kids going to the pool).
The boy didn't even provide an alternate viewpoint. His perspective was strangely warped and adult.
I think there may have been potential in this movie, but as it stands, it was garbage and should be avoided.
Heroes Reborn (2015)
We need a reboot reboot
Lets face it, this reboot is awful. An x-men ripoff done poorly. The digital realm just doesn't even make any sense.
The first season of Heroes was great because of the pacing and realism. Yes, these were people with super powers, but they felt like real people dealing with these problems. The end of the first season fell a little flat. I expected a lot more in the climactic sequence with Sylar, but at least I enjoyed the ride.
At this point with the reboot, I have a hard time sitting through another boring and ridiculous episode.
We don't need an earth level crisis. we need a story of people with super powers working against others with similar powers. And to not be afraid of sticking with characters, even when they become over powered.
Transcendence (2014)
A Plot with Potential Falls Short
Transcendence starts off well with consciousness transported into a machine. There was potential there. It goes a few steps into what a potentially ethical machine might do but then the story starts to fall apart. It doesn't seem to know where to go from there. It should have taken a page out of the Foundation series character R. Daneel Olivaw. Instead it devolves into uninteresting & unrealistic side-plots.
The central theme is the question "Is the machine consciousness ethical or subversive?". It is the question you ask yourself throughout the movie but climax doesn't really resolve that idea in any meaningful way.
The opposition's position is not well established and side characters have no depth.
It could have been great but in the end, it was just OK.
The Night Shift (2014)
Just Horrible
This is a 5 year old's conception of how a hospital runs.
A business guy in the face of the doctors telling them what to do. The main character brings in a heart surgeon he thinks is best to do the job regardless of who works at the hospital. A frat boy set up in the back of the hospital with boxing, a basketball hoop and a small inflatable pool.
If I had a medical issue I'd want to go anywhere but this mad house.
Every character in this show is annoying. If this lasts half a season I'd be surprised.
Gilligan's Island is more believable than this junk.
Dune (1984)
Decent translation of a masterpiece
Dune is one of those movies that you both love and hate.
Many people, including myself, feel the novel is a masterpiece. Any attempt to squeeze this complex story into two hours is going to have its faults. The movie does a decent job of compressing the story. It focuses on the main character and gives time to many of the subplots. It does a superior job of showing both the inquisitive and cunning nature of Paul. The miniseries makes Paul look like a whiny Luke Skywalker.
I am especially impressed with several of the scenes that seem to be almost word for word from the book, including the inner dialog.
Unfortunately, its Lynch grotesqueness distracts from the plot. I first saw this movie before reading the book and the disgusting Harkonnen scenes really made me think the book must suck. It was only later I was to discover this was the invention of Lynch.
Another fault is that both the miniseries and the movie paint the Harkonnens as a stupid arch enemies. Nothing could be further from the truth. The intelligence and scheming of the Baron is what makes this novel brilliant. (In future movie attempts, I'd prefer a skinny smart Baron to a Fat Oaf.)
Overall, this is a good adaptation. I love the by-the-book scenes and hate the Lynch bits. If you ignore the Lynch parts, it is quite enjoyable.