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Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
There has been an awakening
Let's face it. There was no way JJ could have made a new Star Wars film that people wouldn't over hype and end up being disappointed about because it wasn't exactly how they imagined it. No matter what, fans would have been angry. But let me tell you that some of the reviews I have read on IMDb are incredibly unfair, untrue, and just downright disrespectful to an incredible movie.
This wasn't just a great Star Wars film. It was a great film, and will hopefully be seen as an ideal for other films to follow. Dare I say it, this movie was almost perfect. On par with movies like Citizen Kane and Shashank for sure. Not as good as Empire or A New Hope, but significantly better than Return and embarrassingly better than the prequels. Here's why:
1. The new characters were written beautifully. Rey is the best protagonist in film history. (I have a million reasons why if anyone wants to debate). Kylo Ren must be one of the best villains in movie history. It's hard to compete with Heath's Joker and Emperor Palpatine, but I do think he is a better villain than Darth Vader. (Again, don't kill me, I'm happy to back this up). Finn, Po, and BB8 also exceeded my expectations. Ma Kanata was fine, I didn't have any problems with her. The silver stormtrooper lady was the only character I didn't really like, just because she didn't seem that important to me. Maybe she'll come into play more in the future installments though. The best part about the characters in this film is that they can't be summed up in a handful of words. Their personalities are complex, they feel like real, actual, living, breathing people who are out there somewhere in a galaxy far far away.
2. JJ did a fantastic job incorporating old characters. None of them seemed squeezed in, they were all actually important to the story (other than C3P0, but when has he ever been important?). It's hard to get my point across without spoiling, so I'll leave it at that.
3. The acting was freaking amazing. I've actually seen some reviews saying the acting was bad, even worse than the prequels. I'm sorry, but if you honestly think that, you need to watch the sand speech again. Even comparing the acting in TFA to the sand speech is unspeakable. TFA's acting was phenomenal. The returning actors reprised their roles with passion and zest, breathing new life into characters I never thought I'd get to see again. Han Solo, Chewbacca, Leia, they're back! Meanwhile, the new actors were insanely good. I couldn't have been more impressed, particularly with Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren, and Po. I found myself forgetting that these four were acting, because they felt real. Honestly some of the best acting I've ever seen, and I have seen A LOT of movies.
4. Let's talk about the plot. THIS PART WILL HAVE SOME SPOILERS BECAUSE I DON'T SEE ANY WAY AROUND IT. TURN BACK NOW. A lot of people have been complaining that the plot was just taken from A New Hope and Empire, and it's hard to deny that there are a lot of similarities. However, upon closer examination, these similarities really make sense. Kylo Ren is obsessed with Darth Vader. He wants to "finish what he started" and make him proud, right? So of course he would build a new death star! He's trying to complete Vader's legacy, which includes leading the Empire to take of the galaxy with the help of a weapon of mass destruction. This isn't lazy writing, it's actually very, very good writing. This tells us a lot about Kylo's personality. The more I think about Kylo Ren the more I realize how unstable and complex he really is, and how many layers this character has. I'm so excited to find out where the whole Vader fanboy thing will go, because I can see it becoming a major element in his ultimate fate, and that of our protagonists. Other points of the plot that fans have addressed as being ripped off are the cantina scene/the smuggler bar place (this is just stupid, can Star Wars never feature any taverns/bars/cantinas/etc. just because of one scene in the first film?) and Han's death/Rey's rescue being too similar to Obi-Wan's death/Leia's rescue. Well, the rescue isn't really similar at all. Rey isn't even rescued, she escapes on her own in a beautifully written plot twist that shows us just how strong she is with the force and makes us like her even more. What were fans expecting, for the good guys to just not try to rescue her? To just sit back and watch? Of course they had to go rescue her, so at least JJ made gave it a very different outcome. And there's the scene between Han and Kylo in which Kylo slays Han while the others watch. Yes. It is a lot like Obi-Wan's death with Vader. It's called an homage. Look it up. And not only is it an homage, it's a very good homage. As a matter of fact, it's one of the best handled homages I can recall.
5. The film had great themes, it demonstrated a great use of practical effects, and had some very intelligent writing. Fantastic in almost any way one could think of. English teachers and critics will all love it. Fans should love it, and if they don't, the only one to blame is themselves.
TO CONCLUDE: If you don't like the film, fine, but know that you're only ruining it for yourself. It's an amazing movie, like it or not, and you're missing out by choosing to hate it just because there was no way it could have lived up to the hype. I mean, it is literally the most anticipated movie of all time. OF ALL TIME. Of course people will be disappointed.
La Bamba (1987)
Not a bad biopic of Ritchie
Parts of this movie were done very well. They did a great job with the characters especially, and making them feel real and relatable. They built some real, solid, drama in this film, and some scenes were done terrifically. The main downfall is the script. The foreshadowing was handled horribly. It isn't subtle at all, it's just in-your-face, and doesn't really work to the effect it was hoping for...not to mention there's way too much. Another big problem with the movie is I feel like it was almost too focused on Ritchie's death. The very first scene opens with a plane exploding, if that tells you anything. It isn't very historically accurate, and certainly romanticizes the story a lot, too. At certain times the dialogue was really good and emotional, but at other times it was horribly cheesy. For what it is, the film put in a solid effort, and it is certainly an enjoyable film. 7/10
Assassin's Creed (2007)
Adequate
Let's start with the good... - The game is smooth and looks very good - The Parkour is very good - The combat is great - The story is great - It was very innovative at the time
Now the bad... - Incredibly repetitive - Ridiculously frustrating at times - Often boring
Not a great game, but it's playable. The main reason for playing would be the story. I'm just getting into the series, and I wanted to start from the very beginning, which is basically the only reason anyone would ever have to play it.
Compared to some of the other additions in the franchise, this game is horrible. But compared to E.T. The Video Game, this game is The Shawshank Redemption. It's all about perspective.
The Walking Dead: Still (2014)
My favorite episode + one of the very best of the series
First things first: I was shocked at seeing that this episode got the lowest rating out of any in the show. Most of the reviews complained about how the episode was "boring" or about who they find Beth "annoying." This doesn't make it a bad episode. Those are the sort of people who watch the show just for zombie-killing and action, and have no idea what good filmmaking or story- telling looks like.
First off, I hated Beth before this episode, but now she's my favorite character. Furthermore, this episode wasn't boring at all. Sure it didn't have very much action, but action isn't what makes something good. If action made for good film, Michael Bay would rule the world, and everyone would hate Stanley Kubrick.
This episode was a masterpiece. There was so much character development, so much rich dialogue, and just overall a lot to like about it. Definitely my favorite episode.
P.S. One review complained that they directly ripped off Lost, which I was also a big fan of. The thing is, that drinking game was an excellent plot device; Lost proved that. Not to mention it's a real drinking game, and it's not exactly a major plot point. Based on these things, why should't The Walking Dead use the scene? Not to mention I lost all respect for Lost after the Finale and am offended that anyone would ever defend it.
Big Hero 6 (2014)
Big Hero Sucks
First things first: this isn't a terrible movie. It's just bad. Just your average, everyday, fairly common, bad movie. If you don't agree with me, I'd be happy to tell you why...
The characters in this film are a stereotypical, cookie-cutter, sitcom cast (You've got your Shaggy, your Lara Croft, your white girl, and of course the manly-looking one who acts like a baby), the writing is garbage, the jokes aren't funny, the dialog is clichéd FOR DAYS, the plot devices are overused, the plot twists all seem forced, the soundtrack is forgettable, the cinematography is minimal at best, the visual design seems a little too similar to The Incredibles, the addition of the superhero team in the movie is completely unnecessary and doesn't help the film at all, not to mention all the superheroes seem like Ben 10 ripoffs, and finally, all the story arcs and major plot points seem to be directly stolen from films like "The Iron Giant," and "Brother Bear."
Big Hero 6 is a bad movie. That is a statement that can be backed up with factual evidence. It definitely isn't a horrible movie, but it certainly isn't any good. So then why does everyone worship it like it's the arc of the covenant? The answer is simple: Baymax.
Baymax is Big Hero 6's money machine. He's their Olaf. His role in the film is trick people into thinking the movie is good so they'll recommend it to their friends. And I'll admit it, he won over my heart. He won over everyone's heart. You can't deny it, Baymax is a lovable, cute, hilarious character. The thing is, one character doesn't make a film good, and with his character aside, the film sucks Baymax's big squishy toes. The movie hides behind Baymax, and when people walk out of the theater thinking about how much they enjoyed the film...they're really just thinking about how much they enjoyed Baymax. Disney can be an evil genius when it wants to, and apparently in this case their master plan worked, because everybody seems to love the film.
I leave you with this final question: if Baymax wasn't in the film, would you still like it? Most people probably would say no. Those who say yes would either be lying, stupid, mentally impaired, or under seven years old.
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
Once underrated, now very much overrated
It seems to be "mainstream" to say that any film from before the 30's is a great film, when in fact, that's not true at all. There were - believe it or not - some terrible films. Dare I say it, Nosferatu is one of them.
The movie lacks a protagonist, is terribly paced, and we are never really properly introduced to any characters. We think "Ok, this guy doesn't believe in vampires," and "Ok, this guy is scary," but none of them ever feel like real people, because none of them act like real people.
If it wasn't for the groundbreaking effects and bone-chilling cinematography, make-up, and acting on Max Schreck's part, there really wouldn't be anything to like about this film. Nonetheless, it certainly is creepy, so for a horror flick, I suppose it succeeds. As a decent film, it does not.
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
One of the worst films ever made.
Honestly one of the most terrible films I've ever seen. Probably due to the fact that nothing really happens. The plot can be summed up in a couple of sentences:
1. A group of people travel to the black lagoon to find an undiscovered aquatic humanoid animal 2. They find the undiscovered aquatic humanoid animal 3. The creature attacks them 4. They fight back and win 5. They leave
Extremely simple plot. This could have easily been a short film, but it is stuffed to the brim with pointless filler scenes to make it a feature. The characters are all just your cliché, average cast of action heroes that you'll see in every movie. 90% of the film is just pointless underwater footage of people scuba diving and the creature watching them. The scenes go no where and last several minutes. They also seem to be quite common.
Finally towards the end, the creature eventually attacks and we get a little bit of dull, cheesy action that only lasts a minute or so. Then, in the last 5 minutes, they try to squeeze in the most underwhelming, dissatisfying climax in the history of mankind. Creature steals girl. Man goes after girl. Man shoots creature. Man rescues girl. Bam! Movie's over, credits roll.
This might be the worst paced movie I have ever seen...and I've seen Birdemic: Shock and Terror.