fca182
Joined Aug 2011
Welcome to the new profile
We're still working on updating some profile features. To see the badges, ratings breakdowns, and polls for this profile, please go to the previous version.
Reviews6
fca182's rating
Oh, Hollywood. You saw the zombie apocalypse coming didn't you? Not a literal apocalypse of course, just 16 dozen different zombie books, graphic novels, games and TV shows taking over the world like the plague, and you just had to have your piece of the pie, didn't you?
World War Z is based on the 2006 novel by Max Brooks. The novel garnered some quite positive reviews, praised for its international and political scope. It also caught the eye of producer and star Brad Pitt, who after a long struggle with studios, directors, producers and other Hollywood zombies, managed to put together a half decent movie with director Marc Forster.
Half decent? Well, WWZ certainly isn't a bad movie. You've got the long-time Oscar-deserving Pitt playing Gerry Lane, a likable, good-looking family man who retired as a UN investigator to spend more time around his wife and daughters. This is all about to change obviously, because after the now seemingly mandatory news-footage-montage introduction, Gerry is called back by the UN in exchange for his family's safety on their big boat.
It sounds good enough, but the problem is that WWZ's political/international context is nowhere to be found so we're left pretty much to 28 Days Later with blockbuster pretentiousness. Sure, Gerry travels around the world and makes a few long distance phone calls, but there's never anything remotely compelling enough to warrant his travels and whenever the plot does manage to come close to something it quickly sets it aside in the interest of keeping this summer blockbuster light, family friendly and internationally marketable.
After Quantum of Solace there was much uncertainty about Forster's ability to direct action and after WWZ, guess what? There still is. Granted, it's never boring, but when the other elements that should've made the film aren't there it should be more than "never boring". Paramount's marketing certainly didn't help; if you've seen the trailers then you've seen the whole plot and LITERALLY every single action set piece, in chronological order too. You know when you see a trailer and think "they put all the good parts in"? Well, this time they put the whole movie in. The more hardcore genre fans might also want to look elsewhere if they're seeking gory zombie kills; there isn't much of that either as its PG-13 rating might suggest.
Brad Pitt is really the film's only strength. Much like Tom Cruise, Brad's got enough talent to singlehandedly pull you through a not-so-great movie without you hating him for it. And at almost age 50 you can't really blame him for wanting to star in his own big blockbuster franchise for the first time in his career when he could've played any superhero he wanted years ago. "Franchise" of course, if permitted by the audience, because this is one movie that desperately wants to have sequels.
World War Z is based on the 2006 novel by Max Brooks. The novel garnered some quite positive reviews, praised for its international and political scope. It also caught the eye of producer and star Brad Pitt, who after a long struggle with studios, directors, producers and other Hollywood zombies, managed to put together a half decent movie with director Marc Forster.
Half decent? Well, WWZ certainly isn't a bad movie. You've got the long-time Oscar-deserving Pitt playing Gerry Lane, a likable, good-looking family man who retired as a UN investigator to spend more time around his wife and daughters. This is all about to change obviously, because after the now seemingly mandatory news-footage-montage introduction, Gerry is called back by the UN in exchange for his family's safety on their big boat.
It sounds good enough, but the problem is that WWZ's political/international context is nowhere to be found so we're left pretty much to 28 Days Later with blockbuster pretentiousness. Sure, Gerry travels around the world and makes a few long distance phone calls, but there's never anything remotely compelling enough to warrant his travels and whenever the plot does manage to come close to something it quickly sets it aside in the interest of keeping this summer blockbuster light, family friendly and internationally marketable.
After Quantum of Solace there was much uncertainty about Forster's ability to direct action and after WWZ, guess what? There still is. Granted, it's never boring, but when the other elements that should've made the film aren't there it should be more than "never boring". Paramount's marketing certainly didn't help; if you've seen the trailers then you've seen the whole plot and LITERALLY every single action set piece, in chronological order too. You know when you see a trailer and think "they put all the good parts in"? Well, this time they put the whole movie in. The more hardcore genre fans might also want to look elsewhere if they're seeking gory zombie kills; there isn't much of that either as its PG-13 rating might suggest.
Brad Pitt is really the film's only strength. Much like Tom Cruise, Brad's got enough talent to singlehandedly pull you through a not-so-great movie without you hating him for it. And at almost age 50 you can't really blame him for wanting to star in his own big blockbuster franchise for the first time in his career when he could've played any superhero he wanted years ago. "Franchise" of course, if permitted by the audience, because this is one movie that desperately wants to have sequels.
The big day is here folks. DC's adaptation of their arguably 2nd most popular character has finally landed and rest assured; they've nailed it this time around.
Man of Steel begins with a dying planet Krypton and a three-way struggle between Jor-El (Russell Crowe), General Zod (Michael Shannon) and the Kryptonian government on how to act to their impending apocalypse. The action packed introduction ends with Zor-El sending his newborn son on a one-way trip to Earth with the hope of him becoming the best of both the kryptonians and humans. The disagreeing Zod vows to find him just before being imprisoned for treason and the story is set in motion.
Director Zack Snyder -an authority on comic-book adaptations- knows exactly where Superman's previous forays into film have succeeded and where not. As a fan he knows the franchise's most notable absence is action and he addresses it by giving us an absolutely relentless (but never mind-numbing) thrill ride. The action never fails to excite because for every punch, bang and explosion there is an emotion attached, be it from the villains, the people of Earth, or the Man of Steel himself.
Henry Cavill reinvents an iconic character without recurring to Brandon Routh's almost excellent mimicry of Reeves classic portrayal. He's not a boy scout, instead a conflicted individual who was raised to hide his powers until he was ready and confident to release them unto an unprepared world. Lois Lane (Amy Adams) rather than being an annoyance or a damsel in distress is absolutely brilliant as strong pillar of support for Clark to finally realize his full potential. Michael Shannon is an outright perfect villain, his devotion to his cause is admirable and his means to attain them are terrifying. He's as equally electrifying acting against both Cavill and Crowe. The rest of the supporting cast is equally brilliant in their smaller roles with a special mention to Kevin Costner who in a few minutes of screen time embodies the father Clark never had in any previous film, and also Christopher Meloni who could have quite easily fallen into the military coronel stereotype and instead manages to craft a real person out of the role.
We've come to know Synder as one of the strongest visual directors working today, but instead of staying within his comfort zone of long shots and stylized slow-motion he completely reinvents himself with a fast-paced, vertigo-inducing film that only slows down for his beautiful shots of Clark's flashback-narrated origin or his epic landscape shots. But Synder's most noteworthy achievement in Man of Steel is crafting a world where Superman's extraterrestrial character really manages to create a sense of awe in Earth's people, something that was lacking in other superpowered-hero attempts. If Nolan's Batman trilogy succeeded in showing us how a world would react to vigilantism, Synder's Man of Steel epic shows us how it would react to alien life.
The movie is a big step forwards for DC; not only have they managed to successfully reintroduce one their most popular characters with what will certainly be a box-office hit and one of the most talked about movies of the year, but they've also managed to find their comfort zone in a style forged by Nolan and unexplored by Marvel. Realism (not to be confused with darkness) seems to be the path DC has laid with The Dark Knight trilogy and Man of Steel, and the one they should follow with future adaptations if they ever intend to journey all the way into a Justice League adaptation.
Man of Steel begins with a dying planet Krypton and a three-way struggle between Jor-El (Russell Crowe), General Zod (Michael Shannon) and the Kryptonian government on how to act to their impending apocalypse. The action packed introduction ends with Zor-El sending his newborn son on a one-way trip to Earth with the hope of him becoming the best of both the kryptonians and humans. The disagreeing Zod vows to find him just before being imprisoned for treason and the story is set in motion.
Director Zack Snyder -an authority on comic-book adaptations- knows exactly where Superman's previous forays into film have succeeded and where not. As a fan he knows the franchise's most notable absence is action and he addresses it by giving us an absolutely relentless (but never mind-numbing) thrill ride. The action never fails to excite because for every punch, bang and explosion there is an emotion attached, be it from the villains, the people of Earth, or the Man of Steel himself.
Henry Cavill reinvents an iconic character without recurring to Brandon Routh's almost excellent mimicry of Reeves classic portrayal. He's not a boy scout, instead a conflicted individual who was raised to hide his powers until he was ready and confident to release them unto an unprepared world. Lois Lane (Amy Adams) rather than being an annoyance or a damsel in distress is absolutely brilliant as strong pillar of support for Clark to finally realize his full potential. Michael Shannon is an outright perfect villain, his devotion to his cause is admirable and his means to attain them are terrifying. He's as equally electrifying acting against both Cavill and Crowe. The rest of the supporting cast is equally brilliant in their smaller roles with a special mention to Kevin Costner who in a few minutes of screen time embodies the father Clark never had in any previous film, and also Christopher Meloni who could have quite easily fallen into the military coronel stereotype and instead manages to craft a real person out of the role.
We've come to know Synder as one of the strongest visual directors working today, but instead of staying within his comfort zone of long shots and stylized slow-motion he completely reinvents himself with a fast-paced, vertigo-inducing film that only slows down for his beautiful shots of Clark's flashback-narrated origin or his epic landscape shots. But Synder's most noteworthy achievement in Man of Steel is crafting a world where Superman's extraterrestrial character really manages to create a sense of awe in Earth's people, something that was lacking in other superpowered-hero attempts. If Nolan's Batman trilogy succeeded in showing us how a world would react to vigilantism, Synder's Man of Steel epic shows us how it would react to alien life.
The movie is a big step forwards for DC; not only have they managed to successfully reintroduce one their most popular characters with what will certainly be a box-office hit and one of the most talked about movies of the year, but they've also managed to find their comfort zone in a style forged by Nolan and unexplored by Marvel. Realism (not to be confused with darkness) seems to be the path DC has laid with The Dark Knight trilogy and Man of Steel, and the one they should follow with future adaptations if they ever intend to journey all the way into a Justice League adaptation.
