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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Digital cinema blandness
I watched Rings Of Power with an open mind, and tried to find some enjoyment in it.
Unfortunately this show is one of the very worst I've ever watched. The one compliment that it gets even from people who don't like the story is "at least it looks great". But even that is not true, it has a profoundly digital look; a hyper sharp image completely free of noise or grain, with a dynamic range so high there is no contrast. No black blacks or white whites. It doesn't look like cinema, it looks like video.
The show is mostly exposition with static cameras pointed at talking faces, pathetically aping the style of Tolkien's world class dialogue. There isn't a memorable quote in the entire season. There is no heart, humor or "magic" in this show, and I think this may have been due to a fear of repeating the mistakes of the Hobbit trilogy, which was a bit too comedic and silly, so they over corrected and removed all the fun of Tolkien in Rings Of Power. The Hobbit films are more forgivable in hindsight when compared to these bland shots of stoic featureless characters boring the audience to death.
It's also worth mentioning that the fans flipped out that PJ and team stretched the 95,000 or so word long Hobbit book into 8 hours of film, but seem fine seeing the 45,000 word appendices stretched to 50 hours of TV.
It goes without saying that the LOTR movies are possibly the best three films ever made. Some say ROP is only disappointing because it has an impossible standard to live up to. That is not the case, even if this was just a generic fantasy show without the LOTR brand name it would be horrid.
With the paper thin source material expanded by a committee of hacks, I would call it fan fiction, except I suspect the creators aren't even fans. It's just insipid corporate drivel with a LOTR label slapped on.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Pretty cool footage of jets, that's about it.
I haven't seen the original since I was 5 years old in 1991, so I may have missed out on some of the nostalgia and plot that connects to the original.
That said, this movie was quite boring for all but the final act. Some of the aviation footage was spectacular. All of the characters were flat and the practice missions and conflict between Maverick and his students and superiors was boring as hell. The love story was also a snooze.
I have enjoyed Joseph Kosinski's other films and he did a decent job for the most part, you could tell he directed this.
I felt ripped off paying for a ticket after being tricked by all the hype and rave reviews.
Mune : Le Gardien de la Lune (2014)
Amazing Find
I watch a lot of movies, and most of them are fairly forgettable. So I was surprised to find that this obscure film was so fantastic. When I saw it on the shelf I thought it would be one of those horrible cut rate movies from some off brand studio. How wrong I was. This movie is of a different flavor and style than what you would see from the Hollywood giants, and that is a good thing. It has the most unique take on cgi animation I've ever seen. Rather than having the bland digital perfection of the style you see coming from Pixar, Blue Sky, Dreamworks, Illumination, Warner Brothers, Sony Animation, etc... this film has a more painterly look. The world building is so magical and memorable. The character designs are great! The only downside is that you can tell the dialogue has lost something in translation and the voice performances are as average as they come, and some are miscast. Other than that this has found it's place on my top ten list of animated films. Highly reccomendend!
The Time Guardian (1987)
Fantastic
I have seen Star Wars, I have seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, I have seen The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The Things... But I can not safely say that I had seen a movie until I saw the Australian epic, Time Guardian. I can truly vouch for this movie, it was simply phenomenal. I had heard it recommended by dignitaries, ambassadors, presidents, kings, dukes, squires, magistrates, C.E.O.s and of course associates and cronies, but was skeptical until I finally sat down and was swept away by the electric brilliance of this mind boggling, golden film. With an all star cast including Carrie Fisher and some blonde Aussy chick and Peter Merrill, it leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. You will dump your pants. The actors from this film, "Aren't just plumbers that you can bribe to fix your bathroom overnight, they kill to live!!!" and if you don't like this movie, you can't run a DVD player, and, "you probably can't even run a hot bath!" Watch this or your life is a failure!
Envy (2004)
I didn't know that people hated this.
This movie was hilarious. When I saw it in the theaters with my friends (who are very skeptical of movies, usually we just make fun of them instead of watching) we were the only ones laughing. That's probably because everyone who wanted to laugh had to be cool and not. Anyhow, the concept of the J man is the funniest ever. Christopher Walken makes this movie. Yes, Ben Stiller is not funny, but he never is. I hate him. Jack Black, who is usually great, is only mediocre, but still makes this worth watching. I have spent a lot of time on IMDb and usually I am not surprised by the ratings given. However, when I saw this, I was a bit shocked at the 4.3. It should be at least a 6.3. Come on, there has to be some people who love this. I recommend it especially if you are a Black or Walken fan, like me.