nerdingsince1996 Reviews

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)

a touching movie, must watch

[10/10 · 20 November 2014]

guys, I am a fan of the hunger games trilogy, I love catching fire and Jennifer Lawrence. I am so sad that this movie is not critically accepted as much as catching fire and even hunger games (at least this is from what I had observe. I don't understand it though, because this one is at least on the same level as catching fire for me. well, maybe it doesn't have as many actions scenes as its predecessors (although hunger games action scenes are doubtful really) but it is more emotionally touching and the action scenes, brief as they are, are very well handled. the dramatic scenes are also great, especially the few scenes where people of the district start to fight against the peacekeepers while sacrificing their own lives. it is so touching. God, it feels like I can't say enough 'touching' in here. and my favorite scene is one of them, the dam scene! :-) maybe the pacing is a little on the slow side but it's the consequence of making a film from a considerably weak and quiet short source material intro two separate movies so that the producers can gain more profit. I didn't complaint though, I can live with watching Jlaw's brooding face for a few minutes. Honestly, from one movie to the next Katniss's face is getting more and more easy to look at, probably the lack of make up.

Jennifer Lawrence, as always, succeeds to deliver a powerful yet touching performance. good job, Jlaw. and that last scene she has with peeta is very heartbreaking. I mean, just see her eyes! Peeta's transformation is very sad too. their reunion is handled very well. Julian Moore's character, president coin is too likable to me. she's not in the book and remembering her fate, that is a downside for me.

overall it's a touching movie, must watch

The Maze Runner (2014)

Didn't worth the money, but it did has surprises.

[6/10 · 11 October 2014]

I had read the book a few months ago and I didn't like it. It was not about the story-well mainly though I did have problems with it-but the writing style and the main characters portrayal. However, it did not change the fact that this was one of my few anticipated movie this year, mostly because I wanted to know how it would be brought to the big screen. So called me biased, I thought the movie did not change my opinion of The Maze Runner. I gave it 6 out of ten, an average at best, but it did has a few surprises.

Surprisingly, the directing style, the scores, the visual effect, and the editing were blended together nicely. I have a very low expectations for YA adaptations now, but this one was handled quite well. Good job, filmmakers.

Despite that, I did have complains. I thought all the characters are miscast, and their acting did not change my mind. I did like O'Bryan as Thomas, and I actually hate book-Thomas, but his acting was average at best.

The made minor change on the story, some which actually worked. The pace was not rushed or significantly slow. I did get bored, but I blamed it on the story. The girl (Teresa) role in this movie was clearly minimized, I was sure it's because of the time limit. But, this was a wrong move. Teresa was the one making the movie more thrilling. It sparked my curiosity. I had all kings of predictions. Who is this girl? What's her connection? They were making her seemed important. But, they blew the candle. And if that's not enough, her portrayal is all wrong. She's useless, more of a cameo really, an eye candy. Who want to watch all boys movie now, hmmm? I know she will make more appearances on the next movie. But, we're not talking about the sequel, are we? All in all, this one is not worth my money. If this movie had not been in my anticipated list, I would have waited until it was available on rent.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

one hell of a movie

[9/10 · 11 July 2014]

honestly, i don't know where to start. but, i guess i'll start with what i love the most about this movie which is the visual effect. they makes apes so interesting, i can watch a half an hour close up of those apes, with all variation of emotions. so many details. beside the apes, other scenes which need a visual effect also done beautifully. other aspects like cinematography and directing style also come close. Mark Revees definitely knew what he's doing. the epic scenes were very well handled. it was emotional and well... epic. and most importantly, we are all saved from the lame, dumb, overly done humors. thank god.

there were none that i dislike about it. but, somewhere around 45 minutes in, i got rather bored. they were just arguing. this is a very important part of the story, so they should have make it more exciting. but, there were still exciting parts slipped in though... one thing i hate is the cliché 'you were rained with bullets and survive without a scratch' kind of thing. come on, people, what are the odds? anyway, you should watch this...worth the money... awesome smart movie... if you like DOFP... this one is in the same level...

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

cool movie with too many boring moments

[4/10 · 25 June 2014]

this movie has top class cinematography and visual effect. add epic scores, explosions, robot fights and a director who can mix it well to the equation and you get one cool movie. however, for me, when compared to its predecessors this one fall short.

with 2.5 hour long, this movie feel dragged in some part. the plot follow a linear path but the pacing is-i don't know the right word for it- too fluctuated. it can change from one boring scene to epic scene so abruptly. it makes you excited one moment then bored minutes later. there's just less visually amazing robot fights and to many unnecessary dialogs, overdone, silly, failed humor, annoying clichés and character decisions. editing flaws, i guess. i said this movie fall short to its predecessors because of this lack of visually amazing robot action scenes and more humans combats. after seeing DOTM this one really lack exciting action moments.

i don't know if not casting any of the cast of the previous movies is a great move because there's just too many new characters here, both humans and robot wise, and they didn't handle it very well. for me, i just too attached to the previous cast. i miss everyone. i didn't feel any connection to any of the new characters. there's just not enough background story and good performances. literary, the acting is so bad (i meant no offense) and the chemistry is nonexistence.

there are plot holes here and there, but no major stuff, you can ignore it. no character development. a few cliché turns. they often mix dialogs with loud sound effects, soundtrack and action sequence making me hard to understand anything-especially since i am not native English speaker. however, there's this one scene that shocked me, they choose a surprising take on funny sidekick guy. not enough character development to affect me that much but still..... shocked.

anyway, they have implanted the concept of Optimus Prime becoming bitter and losing faith in humanity... a good concept if only they dig deeper to this potential sub plot. but no, they just hovering on the subject one or two times then resolve it so abruptly.

bottom line, like i said, it's a cool movie with to many boring moments. 3.5/5.

The Shining (1980)

it should be good, but i just don't understand

[7/10 · 7 June 2014]

i know that this movie is a classic horror. many sites put this as one of the scariest movie ever made. add that with jack nicholson and stanley kubrick reputation. i thought, this movie will be great. so, as a teenager born in the middle 90's without any film background, i watched it with such a curiosity and hope. i am excited at first, but then i always do in the beginning.

the cinematography looks fantastic, especially when it was made in the 80's. jack nicholson acting is outstanding. a shout out to Gardy and Llyod (i hope it was the right names)actors , they scared me in a different ways than any other supernatural being in horror movies. and don't get me started with the soundtrack. it was more scary than the movie. i mean the soundtrack is literary the heart of it really, sometimes i found it was overuse and unnecessary though.

beside the soundtrack, i found some other things that bothers me. first is the editing, maybe it's just a matter of preference, or generation, but how they cut off one scene to the other is off, the fading effect and the timing just not right, it really bothers me. second is, how it have scenes that should be cut off completely from the movie since i don't see how it has any significance in either plot story or cinematography like that scene where danny ride his tricycle,yeah, you could give the excuse that it showed part of the hotel, but honestly, that was unnecessary. three, there's some two cut off scene that for me better be made into one, like the first encounter between jack and his new boss. four, shelley duvall acting performance, i don't have to explain, just watch the movie. five, it's more of a psychological thriller than horror, yes, it has some supernatural aspects but it only holds like 1/3 of the story, less then 1/3 of the scenes in the whole movie. it's more focused on how Jack could change into the killer. so, it's not that scary for me who always associate horror with scary looking ghosts. maybe i should just give it more time to seep in though.

the pacing is a little bit on a slow side, but it didn't feel like it. maybe because the whole story needs to be done a little bit slower. i don't mind though except that first tricycle scene.

bottom line, it fall short to what i had expected. but, i have goosebumps now.... just by looking at jack nicholson face

Vampire Academy (2014)

it's 2.5/5 kind of bad for me

[5/10 · 3 June 2014]

I watched it a few months/weeks ago. but, I just had to say it. this movie is not as bad as it seems, not so good either though. I never read the books, so i can't tell about comparisons. there are some parts that excite you, especially of you're a young adult, but the rest is boring dramas and stupid fighting scene with bad choreography. of course this movie is not the kind that I expect to be well acted, well directed with good pacing and storyline. so I have a very low expectation. and in more ways than not it is. it was bad acted, has bad cinematography, slow story pacing, and definitely not good directed. but, like i said, there some exciting part. the part that you just want to know a little bit more at the beginning, definitely disappointed in the middle, but then surprised that the ending isn't as bad as you think it would be.

the best part is the black haired girl and the character played by the girl from modern family. they're probably the best assets in this movie. two characters who at least decently acted. i got it. they're funny and bad ass, and one girl could actually made me pity her. the romance is a big no, it disgust me and one big negative aspect of this movie. it's just to much, overly done. i would love the black haired girl, but she just became annoying and ooc half of the movie because of the romance. i know it's in the book, it's the main plot, it's a ya adult thing, so love story is an obligation but i just wish there's no romance at all. between them there's just no physical chemistry, no emotional chemistry, no good story background, nothing. the black haired girl at least has more physical chemistry with her blonde friend's boyfriend and not her Russian lover, who looked like he could be thirty. the blonde girl just is so annoying with that stupid accent,honey you could act a lot better than that, so are the two boys (even hot bodies can't save them).

bottom line, it's bad, but it's 2,5/5 kind of bad for me.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Best of all xmen movies

[9/10 · 21 May 2014]

simply said it was well directed and well acted with good pacing,great cgi effects and epic soundtrack. what more can you expect from a superhero movie? X-Men might be my favorite superhero movie (except wolverine spin off), and DOFP might be the best of them. It's an all star movie with a good director (everything not related to professionalism is irrelevant), in paper it's guaranteed to be at least a decent movie,and boy, they didn't disappoint me at all, really surpassed my expectation.

I am absorbed, nothing else matter except the scenes in front of me.It already had my attention since the overview of the future narrated by professor X. The story has a good pacing,not to slow but not to fast. I didn't notice any plot holes, and there's nothing in the script that annoyed me. Bryan Singer could handle the dramatic and epic scenes very well. the dramatic scenes makes me teared up a little,the epic scenes put me on the edge of my seat. And he sew the humor seamlessly, it was appropriate and subtle,just what I like.

They said that DOFP lack of any definitive villains, but any movie doesn't need definitive villains to be good. X-Men movies is always about fighting the enemy inside every humans and mutants, it's always about self struggle, defeating the darkness inside of you.

4/5 (cause nothing's perfect)

Womb (2010)

only potentials

[2/10 · 18 May 2014]

the plus side of this movie is its concept. i think, the idea is original and intriguing, touching topics that to some people might find disturbing. The script has potential, but lack realization. the filmmakers didn't do the script justice. i will list the aspects that bothers me. one, acting performance, Eva Green is a good actress, but in this movie there are a lot of close up scenes that hard to pull and sometimes she could do it, sometimes she couldn't. Mark Smith didn't do a very good job portraying his character. the chemistry felt off for me, of course, it's all about preferences, but in a complicated romance movie like this it's crucial. two, the pace, it was so slow, to slow, the are a lot of unnecessary pause, there is a ten seconds shot of a dog, the character's walking in the beach, which was shot from afar (uninteresting, i would be better to have it close up), one person walking away(it take to long), unnecessary paused of one dialog to another(when it should be answered immediately), a lot of emotionless close up scenes (which i think take to long again). three, the sound, there aren't any scores, which was fine if it would feel natural, BUT jumping from one silent scene to loud waves, just no. and without score, it would depends on the actors to deliver emotional or dramatic scenes, and the they failed. so, all in all, it was a very boring movie, it's a good thing i can fast forward it.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

kudos to cool and color full action sequence, tributes to gwen stacy

[6/10 · 7 May 2014]

i was already a few minutes late when I entered the theater, the screen was showing a fight between Richard Parker and the pilot. I don't know what I have missed,but I am assuming it was Peter and Harry's history, because otherwise I have to complain a lot about the lack of their background story. when it was done, I remembered Shakespeare's quote,"better love and lost than never at all" (I don't know if it's in exact words), i think it was one of the things this movie is trying to say to, through Gwen's death and all her speech about hopes and dreams and even when you fail what better lives to live. the thing about this movie is it would be awesome if you fast forward into the last hour, when it was all special effect, dramatic soundtracks, action, and the most emotional part of this movie of course, you know which part. i was bored in the beginning, the plot holes, the clichés, the failed humor, UGH IMAGINE MY HORROR. i feel they overdo the humor slipped into action style, if I was the villain, spiderman would be dead just 30 minutes into the movie, it didn't make any sense at all especially for the rational peter parker. here, they were also trying to dive into the emotional part of peter parker, i think they want to somehow recreate the cliché selfless hero complex, 'if you love the girl, let her go for her own safety', which was also done in the spiderman trilogy but here, it failed miserably. halfway into the movie, peter suddenly so open with his love for gwen, he even wanted to follow gwen to england and 'webbed' an I LOVE YOU in the bridge, but they didn't connect that points very well, his emotion and what make him changed his mind, are all lost in the action, i didn't get it, they blame it on how peter felt everyone in his life lied to him, he needs gwen to share the burden, but how come the selfless boy we see in the beginning change so fast i didn't even see the change in less than one hour of the movie which at least 30 minutes of semi-action sequence! all the clichés and predictable twists. they too focused on the action part, the dramas weren't handled well and I feel it was to much and some of them are unnecessary.