helmutty
Joined Nov 2006
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Doug Liman and Tom Cruise paired up together again for a fast-paced and colorful biography on Barry Seal. American Made may not have the blockbuster action but it holds up on its own firmly with the help of a great direction by Doug. Tom Cruise is definitely the main highlight of the film and he is what made it so entertaining.
The story: The pace is brisk; it takes the audience on a crazy ride from the start and never slows down. Though it never felt boring, sometimes I felt that it could have slowed down for some development. After the film ended, it seems that Doug and Tom had a clear mind on just keeping the audience as entertained as they can be. It cuts to the chase and never dwells on anything such as emotions. It moves quickly from event to event. Advantage is that I was not bored at all. Disadvantage is that it felt like a 2 hours montage on Barry Seal's life. There is no real tension or character's development. The realism is helped by the smart decision of filming like a documentary. Be warned: Action genre fans may be disappointed that is no big action. It is strangely classified as action.
Acting wise: Tom Cruise looks like he had lots of fun filming. It is just entertaining watching him immersed himself in the crazy and fast-paced world of Barry Seal. The rest of the cast are decent but not impressive.
Music wise: Christophe Beck created a decent mood of the different years. Since Doug wanted the film to feel realistic, it is not jam-packed with music. There are many moments where sounds and ambiance take the front seat.
Overall: It is not impressive but it is a solid entry to Doug Liman's and Tom Cruise's filmography. I went in with low expectation and had no idea about the outrageous stuff Barry Seal did. And not only was I entertained, I was immersed into the world of Barry.
The story: The pace is brisk; it takes the audience on a crazy ride from the start and never slows down. Though it never felt boring, sometimes I felt that it could have slowed down for some development. After the film ended, it seems that Doug and Tom had a clear mind on just keeping the audience as entertained as they can be. It cuts to the chase and never dwells on anything such as emotions. It moves quickly from event to event. Advantage is that I was not bored at all. Disadvantage is that it felt like a 2 hours montage on Barry Seal's life. There is no real tension or character's development. The realism is helped by the smart decision of filming like a documentary. Be warned: Action genre fans may be disappointed that is no big action. It is strangely classified as action.
Acting wise: Tom Cruise looks like he had lots of fun filming. It is just entertaining watching him immersed himself in the crazy and fast-paced world of Barry Seal. The rest of the cast are decent but not impressive.
Music wise: Christophe Beck created a decent mood of the different years. Since Doug wanted the film to feel realistic, it is not jam-packed with music. There are many moments where sounds and ambiance take the front seat.
Overall: It is not impressive but it is a solid entry to Doug Liman's and Tom Cruise's filmography. I went in with low expectation and had no idea about the outrageous stuff Barry Seal did. And not only was I entertained, I was immersed into the world of Barry.
To be honest, I have not watched the first movie which is a spin off to the popular The Conjuring franchise. But hearing that Annabelle: Creation is a prequel, I guess I do not actually need to know what happened in the negatively received Annabelle (2014). Before watching the prequel, I did not have much expectations. I have seen David F. Sandberg's horror debut, Lights Out, and I found it to a decent horror movie. However, after seeing Mike Flanagan's disappointing take on Ouija, another horror movie franchise, my hope for good horror directors taking helm on horror franchises dimmed a little. So is Annabelle: Creation any good? Aside from conjuring an effective atmosphere and tension, it is generic and lacks of character's development and originality.
The story: It goes pretty straight-forward. A group of orphaned children stays in Dollmaker Samuel Mullins' house and discover a powerful and terrible force living in the same house. Most of the screen time show extended experiences with the evil entity and there are not many dialogues. Things proceed in a straight-forward way. The movie builds an urging tension before unleashing hell on its characters in the climax. The characters are molded to do a certain action that will motivate a horror scene. I admit that David can competently directs an effective horror scene and the movie is all about that. The dialogues during the day time act just as a breather before throwing the audience back into another terror-filled night. The jump scares are clichés and unnecessary. Acting by the young and older cast is alright. The score by Benjamin Wallfisch helps to enhance the mood.
Overall: It is decently shot horror movie but there are many flaws. After this movie, I hope David will go back to directing horror movies that are not based on anything. David has a good sense of holding tension but he needs a better script. Annabelle: Creation may be a crowd-pleasing horror movie but it lacks the originality to stand out from the huge pool of horror movies. It does its job in entertaining you but it is not enough to become memorable.
The story: It goes pretty straight-forward. A group of orphaned children stays in Dollmaker Samuel Mullins' house and discover a powerful and terrible force living in the same house. Most of the screen time show extended experiences with the evil entity and there are not many dialogues. Things proceed in a straight-forward way. The movie builds an urging tension before unleashing hell on its characters in the climax. The characters are molded to do a certain action that will motivate a horror scene. I admit that David can competently directs an effective horror scene and the movie is all about that. The dialogues during the day time act just as a breather before throwing the audience back into another terror-filled night. The jump scares are clichés and unnecessary. Acting by the young and older cast is alright. The score by Benjamin Wallfisch helps to enhance the mood.
Overall: It is decently shot horror movie but there are many flaws. After this movie, I hope David will go back to directing horror movies that are not based on anything. David has a good sense of holding tension but he needs a better script. Annabelle: Creation may be a crowd-pleasing horror movie but it lacks the originality to stand out from the huge pool of horror movies. It does its job in entertaining you but it is not enough to become memorable.
As a Death Note fan, I was excited when a new film is green-lighted. It is only later when it is revealed as a sequel to Death Note: The last name. Though doubtful, I was still looking forward to see how the saga of Kira could be continued. Crafted as an original story, the first trailer looked intriguing. So how does the final product fare? Death Note: Light up the new world is a decent installment to the popular franchise, paying homage to the franchise. Although it is a sequel, it could easily be a stand-alone film with all the new characters. It may not match the standard of the first two films directed by Shusuke Kaneko but it is a step up from Hideo Nakata's L: Change the world.
The story: Set 10 years after Death Note: The last name, Shinsuke Sato (Director of Gantz) goes straight into the thrills as he opens with a killing rampage in Tokyo. He keeps the pace brisk without slowing down for character's development. The viewers will be thrust into the middle of the cat-and-mouse chase. I think it will be helpful to watch Death Note: New Generation, a mini-series that is the prequel to this. The new characters are interesting enough but nothing beats Light and L. The third act falls to Shinsuke's familiar territory. A thrilling chase followed by an action-packed climax with revelations. Some twists may be a little surprised but if you know Death Note, it wouldn't come off as a big surprise. Shinsuke directs with enough thrills to keep the film afloat. Acting is alright. The characters are fighting for their own screen time. None of the characters stand out. Even Ryuk, the iconic shinigami, has limited screen time. Music is throughout and adds to the thrills.
Overall: It may not hold a candle next to first two films in term of smartness and thrills but it is decent enough to warrant a watch. It is definitely not boring and the CGI has improved a lot. The CGI of the three shinigamis feel more realistic and organic. Is it worthy of being in the Death Note franchise? I would say a 'Yes'. It ends with a common cliffhanger and I wouldn't seeing Death Note taking a new direction. But it will have to wait until this film is deemed as successful. Meanwhile, let's see if the Hollywood remake in 2017 is worthy of its title.
The story: Set 10 years after Death Note: The last name, Shinsuke Sato (Director of Gantz) goes straight into the thrills as he opens with a killing rampage in Tokyo. He keeps the pace brisk without slowing down for character's development. The viewers will be thrust into the middle of the cat-and-mouse chase. I think it will be helpful to watch Death Note: New Generation, a mini-series that is the prequel to this. The new characters are interesting enough but nothing beats Light and L. The third act falls to Shinsuke's familiar territory. A thrilling chase followed by an action-packed climax with revelations. Some twists may be a little surprised but if you know Death Note, it wouldn't come off as a big surprise. Shinsuke directs with enough thrills to keep the film afloat. Acting is alright. The characters are fighting for their own screen time. None of the characters stand out. Even Ryuk, the iconic shinigami, has limited screen time. Music is throughout and adds to the thrills.
Overall: It may not hold a candle next to first two films in term of smartness and thrills but it is decent enough to warrant a watch. It is definitely not boring and the CGI has improved a lot. The CGI of the three shinigamis feel more realistic and organic. Is it worthy of being in the Death Note franchise? I would say a 'Yes'. It ends with a common cliffhanger and I wouldn't seeing Death Note taking a new direction. But it will have to wait until this film is deemed as successful. Meanwhile, let's see if the Hollywood remake in 2017 is worthy of its title.