Seven_Thunders Reviews

The Mist (2007)

Top quality horror, lazily-written ending.

[6/10 · 6 July 2008]

Stephen King has a way of bringing out the worst in fictional people, and The Mist is the epitome of fallen nature. The moment the mist hits Bridgton, Maine, fear envelopes the town. Locked in a grocery store after a bloody attack by an unseen monster, the people of this small town begin to descend into confusion and eventually madness under the fear-mongering preaching of the insane Mrs. Carmody. Soon, many horrible creatures terrorize the townsfolk in some very gruesome scenes. This is not a slasher flick, nor is it a Hitchcock thriller. But it hits on a visceral level, doing its best to illustrate the effects of a flood of monsters on the fragile sanity of its victims.

The acting is so-so, sometimes not carrying the weight of the character's emotion. The story itself is on the clunky side, but that becomes surprisingly inconsequential as the minutes fly by. It's a fascinating idea: A government project goes awry and opens a doorway to another dimension, spilling its creatures into our own. The people form two factions. The Carmody cult (not called that in the film or the novella), and the sane. The resulting chaos is nothing short of jaw-dropping.

SPOILER TERRITORY! SPOILER TERRITORY! SPOILER TERRITORY! Now I must throw down my ten cents of opinion on the ending. It sucked. Why? Because not only did it dissolve the motivations of the characters, who were driving into the mist in hopes of surviving to see the end of it, but it was thrown in simply for shock value. I expected much more out of Frank Darabont and Stephen King. It goes into the top five worst endings I've ever seen.

David Drayton and the other four survivors sit in the SUV that has finally run out of gas. They all sit wondering what to do. Then Drayton comes up with a brilliant idea: SHOOT THEM ALL. Including his six year old son. Wow, what a great idea. They run into one monster on their road trip to freedom, go on their merry and all of the sudden it's okay to murder.

One minute after the horrible deed, the military comes barging through the mist as it clears, carrying truckloads of survivors and soldiers armed to the teeth. They have everything in hand, and Drayton is left with his screams of insanity. Is that the ending King wrote in the original? No. And yet, somehow, he approved of this one. I thought that it was the Weinstein's idea, who are notorious for cutting movies down to smash cuts and mindless action. But alas, it wasn't so. I am a Stephen King fan, but not of this idea. This was lazy writing.

END SPOILER.

In short, despite the awful shock-value ending, the movie was alright. Not great. Doesn't live up to previous Frank Darabont adaptations from King's work, but it is something you won't forget.

The Wizard (1986–1987)

The Best Family Show of the 80's

[9/10 · 27 June 2008]

I never forgot the opening theme to 1986's "The Wizard", and to this day when I play it back in my head it hearkens me back to that simple time with an indomitable sense of imagination and flight of fantasy intact. The Wizard of the show was Simon McKay (portrayed to perfection by the great David Rappaport), a little person with a vast array of engineering skills which he puts to use as a toymaker. Rappaport's portrayal of Simon McKay was that of a refined British intellectual with a wise compassion, and the fun-loving spirit of a child. Though under the protection of FBI agent Alex Jagger and in the care of Tillie the housekeeper, he often runs afoul of nefarious business men and scheming opportunists exploiting the weak. Upon seeing the first episode at the age of six, I immediately wanted a friend like Simon McKay. There was no way to avoid his endearing persona, and what kid could resist the plethora of high-tech toys and heavenly stash of sweets he kept behind a secret wall in his basement workshop? I was sad to see this show canceled. It bounced around from time slot to time slot, and I never knew what night it was going to be on. 20th Century Fox didn't seem to like to show, and did everything it could to knock it off the schedule.

Cloverfield (2008)

Succeeds beyond the hype

[8/10 · 21 January 2008]

What a trip. The movie that was the hype-fest of 2007 has finally hit screens, and after the first viewing it left me wanting to see it again. For those of you who aren't quite sure what this movie is trying to do, it is a monster attack from the POV of the man on the street. 'Cloverfield' is the military codename for the event in the area formerly known as Central Park. It follows a group of young people as they are caught in the middle of this disaster, all caught on a camcorder. It feels like you are there. This is not a movie with your traditional plot, nor is it trying to be artful or dodgy. If the movie had a plot, it would have been ruined. Thus, being done as it is, it's immersive (if you don't mind the shakiness at times), intense and, dare I say, realistic.

Though it starts off a bit on the slow side, it gets in your face from the moment the city shakes from its arrival. People die in brutal ways, and their emotion is so real and guttural at times that you wish you could take a nuke to that beast to end their suffering.

The direction of this movie is done incredibly well for the chaotic scenario that it is. It doesn't feel directed at all, with the possible exception of the character "Hud", who is the guy with the camera. Though almost all of his interactions are behind the lens, he still has a great amount of character. His personality comes through even with the movement of the camera. He is comic relief, but you love him all the more for it.

You may be wondering how much of the monster you actually see. Well, I'm not going to spoil anything. But you won't be disappointed in this regard. Go see the film, who cares what people are saying about it, and make your own judgment. Cloverfield is the best monster attack movie ever. It leaves you wanting more.

Great job, Drew Goddard and Matt Reeves. Here's to hoping we see more out of you two.

Transformers (2007)

Give Me My Time Back

[4/10 · 9 July 2007]

*SPOILER WARNING

I walked into Transformers with drastically lowered expectations. With such low expectations I could almost enjoy Fantastic Four. Sadly, Transformers fell below the bar considerably. I understand that story takes a back seat in a film of this nature, but did they have to drag it behind the chariot over a street laden with potholes and speed bumps? Overly long scenes that attempted humor were nothing more than filler for Michael Bay's inept storytelling ability. Every authority figure was treated as a complete moron, the only plot device Bay knows.

There was also a useless scene featuring an obscured view of George Bush asking for some Hostess Ding-Dongs, used as a bridge to show us the covert ops boombox robot hack Air Force 1 computer systems from the storage area. What? Huh? Yeah, I didn't get it either.

'Transformers' has a lot of bark, but no bite. The action scenes were heavily edited so as not to let us really sink our teeth into them. I wanted to see Bublebee trash Barricade. I wanted to see Prime get in some shots at Megatron instead of getting his trasmission handed to him. I don't care if Sam's parents are overbearing. Nothing in the movie adds to anyone's character arc. The only cool things about this movie are: The Bumblebee/Barricade chase (which wasn't even CGI), and the...wait, I can't think of anything else that was cool. Bay teases us cruelly with dramatic tension, then lets it fall flat by skipping what could have been the best part of the scene and giving us the results instead. He forgets that 'Transformers' is about gigantic robots in knock-down drag-out fights for the fate of humanity and themselves. The battle seemed only for the fate of the editing room under the crushing weight of the ego-maniacal director.

The Prime-Megatron fight started out to be the most awesome moment ever. "One shall stand, one shall fall." says Optimus in a classic moment, as we cut to Sam running around and his girlfriend towing Bumblebee before cutting back to see Optimus defeated and Sam killing Megatron. What? Huh? Yeah, didn't think it could get worse, did ya? *END SPOILERS* The special effects were abused horribly. I was cheated. This movie doesn't deserve the high rating it is getting. Probably due to Dreamworks shilling the vote system. I wouldn't be surprised. Hopefully people pick their brains out of the trash can once they've seen the movie and give it the 4 or less it really deserves. This movie does nothing more than to prove that Spielberg's Hollywood no longer cares. ADHD directors like Michael Bay should be blackballed. Hollywood should just die and let the knowledgeable independent filmmakers to rule, so that maybe yet again we can have movies of substance instead of bankrolls.

Skip this monstrosity of a film. And pray that a new director can be hired if they make a sequel. Heck, I'd even settle for Brett Ratner.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

A sad end for what could have been a lucky three...

[4/10 · 27 May 2006]

X3 is not unlike Star Wars: Episode III. Both have huge budgets. Both have huge budgets that were entirely dedicated to visual splendor. Don't get me wrong - the action scenes were really cool. They didn't skimp on those, and I was really impressed by how faithfully they treated Hank 'Beast' McCoy. Kudos to Ratner and team in that respect. But what we have here is an extremely rushed production intended to beat the Superman Returns juggernaut (pardon the pun), partly out of desperation and partly out of retaliation against Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2) for leaving.

***MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD***

The film starts off with an arbitrary flashback showing us a young Professor X and Magneto (still played by Stewart and McKellan) approaching Jean Grey and her parents about Jean's mutant ability, which her parents refer to as an illness. Xavier and Lensherr speak with Jean alone and we get an idea of how powerful her ability really is and the potential for evil. Xavier offers to help her control the power she has.

Flash forward about ten years, where we see a young Warren Worthington III (aka Angel) in a bathroom using a sharp object to cut something on his back. His billionaire father approaches the bathroom and demands he open the door. Warren frantically begins putting away all the cutting tools he was using. Upon hearing all the clanking, Warren's father breaks open the door and sees what is happening. Warren begins to cry. We see in the mirror the jagged shafts of feathers growing from his shoulder blades, to his father's utter dismay.

Flash forward to present day, where the cure for mutancy has been discovered by none other than the elder Warrington using his son as the catalyst. We then flash forward to the present.

And that's all the story you get. From there on out, it's nothing but a patchwork of events that tried too hard to fit two movies into one. Jean Grey, having been killed in X2, is back as Dark Phoenix. Her death in the previous film undid a series of psychic blocks Xavier put in her mind to control the evil persona. Her story is not developed in any way, nor his her strange energy absorbing power, and becomes a mere plot attraction. Though fans of the comic will understand it perfectly -having read the Phoenix Saga- the rest of the audience won't. She serves no intrinsic function in the story other than to up the stakes of battle and even that doesn't go the distance.

Then there is the part about the cure. Magneto's band of villainous mutants prepare to unleash their power on the human race and the island where the cure was developed. A lot of typical ethics issues come up, and the mutants are uncharacteristically split over this issue. Like they're going to just give up their identity after fighting so hard for their genetic rights.

The fans of the X-Men characters deserved something much greater than this. We are introduced to the 'Danger Room', where the X-Men practice their battle skills against a laughably arbitrary Sentinel appearance. The general movie-going audience won't get it, and it's function isn't even touched upon.

There were certain touches that Ratner put in that are something the audience isn't even supposed to think about while they watch, but he makes them painfully weak attempts and bringing certain story elements in a 'full circle' kind of way.

There is very little payoff in this movie. A love triangle hinted at in the trailers between Iceman, Rogue, and Kitty was nothing short of contrived, and nothing emotionally fulfilling came of it. Nothing ever comes of it, and loose ends are poorly sown for a fourth installment. Many mutant characters were wasted during this film. Colossus is cool to look at, but that's all. He doesn't really do a whole lot and any strength he exhibits (as is the case with Juggernaut as well) is extremely toned down from the comics. The greatest tragedy of this movie is the absence of the extremely popular Nightcrawler. He wasn't liked by Studio heads, and for no good reason was cut.

The Fox Studio heads forgot that most people like a good story nowadays. No matter, for this movie is merely a giant commercial for ancillary rights to be exercised (i.e. movie tie-in products). Two characters die that didn't need to, and on top of that their deaths are not even given any justice or meaning. The disappearance of the first one isn't even questioned until much later, even after people discovered what happened. I could go on and on about this, but I'll rest here.

What you will pay for here is some good action scenes, some funny one-liners, and a whole lot of brain-rot storytelling. Please don't get me wrong. I am glad that people have enjoyed this film. I really am. It had some cool moments. But to say it is good, or even great, is ONLY a matter of personal preference and not a matter of this film's quality. Skip it. 4/10.

Batman Begins (2005)

A Fresh Start and the Best Ever

[9/10 · 27 September 2005]

The creative powerhouse team of Director Christopher Nolan and Screenwriter David S. Goyer bears some wonderful fruit with their achievement on the franchise restart, Batman Begins. We have been given back one of our seminal icons of American culture, pulled from the miry pit of self-parody and chiseled into a rock-solid story that lets us see the transformation of Bruce Wayne into his true identity.

The movie doesn't waste time getting started. After a short and well-crafted title sequence that does away with Burton's drawn-out opening credits, the story brings in early the people and places familiar to the Batman mythos with Nolan's instinctive sense of foreshadowing. Everything that is intriguingly set up gets wonderfully paid off, always contributing to the furthering of the story with zero fluff.

The filmmakers pull back the curtains of Bruce's past, the defining moments of his life and the hardcore acquisition of his skills with a seamless and naturalized transition into the Dark Knight, making it seem as though it were truly possible for such an endeavor.

The role is perfectly filled with Bale in the lead, going no further than he needs to put the scene over. He is supported by an expertly cast Michael Caine as the loyal Alfred Pennyworth, who proves to be an invaluable conscience to Bruce in his "formative" years. No better actor could have filled a supporting role as Gary Oldman does as Sgt. Jim Gordon looking, acting, and sounding like we'd expect Jim Gordon to in the comics. The villains have to be seen to be believed.

The musical score is superb, never imposing on the film by blending completely into the atmosphere of the film and taking. Costume design is also top-notch.

From start to finish, it is a pleasure to finally see and hear Batman's story told in full, and I look forward to seeing the next installment. 9/10.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Entertaining, but different than I expected.

[9/10 · 18 October 2002]

After reading The Fellowship of the Ring back in my high school days, I remember making somewhat of a mistake in watching the Ralph Bakshi animated version first. It was this that formed my vision of what Middle Earth should look like. I was impressed by its ambience, and taken in by its presentation of the characters. The novel had such great and epic scope. Then I excitedly went to see The Fellowship of the Rings in live action form. The movie I've been waiting for for years. But I have some good news and some bad news.

First, the bad news. Upon seeing the movie back in December of 2001, I left the theatre disappointed. As I watched the movie, I felt that it had been strangely "Americanized" (despite that it was made by a New Zealander in New Zealand). A full British cast would have done so much more justice to the performance and flow of the story, as it originate from the mind of a British writer. Ian McKellan is fantastic as Gandal. No one could have been cast better. And Ian Holm is great as Bilbo Baggins, among a few others. I was, however, disappointed in the Balrog, as it looked way cool in Bakshi's film but less beastly and corporeal in the live action film. Also lost is a significant sense of discovery that all fantasy stories like this require. Fortunately, there remains only a few other things to negate about this film, and they are insignificant.

Which leads us to the good news. The scenery in this movie was spectactular. No other movie captures such a breathtaking view of landscape than this one. Although the characters are not as fleshed out as they could be, the directing of this movie, as well as its special effects, are outstanding. It is not as dark as what I envisioned in the Tolkien novels, but it nonetheless creates a movie that screams "Fantasy Adventure!" This is the epitome of what a fantasy film should be. The battles are quite intense, albeit a tad gruesome at times. The sets they used are unparalleled. The literally built a real Hobbiton from the ground up. The Prancing Pony Inn is done extremely well, as is Moria. Its Biblical themes that bubble up from the author's Christian faith create an excellent sub-conscious plot engine, although it was never meant to be a "Christian" story.

This movie is just about everything it could have been. It had to grow on me after a while, but when it did I was all over it. It's the non-stop adventure we've been looking for, whose sweeping high adventure may never be equalled again. And to think we still have two more movies to go. ;) 7/10.