hammy012
Joined May 2012
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Reviews6
hammy012's rating
When I finished watching this movie... I was left speechless. Usually, I would probably dislike mindless action films... the only notable exceptions being Transformers and Ninja Assassin, both guilty pleasures in their own right.
The Raid came off as the most insane movie I've ever seen. Gareth Evans really had the guts to pull it off: giving us a clichéd protagonist with a mediocre motivation and a weak, nonsensical plot, and instead, throws at us 99 solid minutes of mindless skull-bashing action and brain-numbing violence, inviting us to step into one adrenaline-maxed out scenario after another, the intensity of the fights escalating as the movie progresses, making all of the Hong Kong action films I grew up watching seem like child's play.
The film does have its rare calm moments in between brawls, but they are all too short to make an impression. When it does cool down... you're biting your nails, wondering what vicious and imaginative way would the director execute another fight scene or kill more people off. And when it arrives, the sequences would leave any viewer attempting to catch their breath... but the film just leaves no room for that.
Mindless action aside, the cinematography and editing were awesome, not what was I expecting from a movie that cost 1.1 million dollars to make, contributing to the intensity of the film. The gritty and dark photography cranks up the tension to the max, making it one of the best films that would get your heart racing by the second minute, a wondrous experience for action fanatics.
Forget the solid acting, the unbelievable situations of the film (Where the hell in Jakarta can you find a flat populated entirely by ridiculously psychotic or mentally sick criminals who knows how to put up a good fight whenever confronted?), the terrible and recycled writing. Leave your brain at the doorstep and watch it, immense yourself. I highly recommend this to any action fan.
The Raid came off as the most insane movie I've ever seen. Gareth Evans really had the guts to pull it off: giving us a clichéd protagonist with a mediocre motivation and a weak, nonsensical plot, and instead, throws at us 99 solid minutes of mindless skull-bashing action and brain-numbing violence, inviting us to step into one adrenaline-maxed out scenario after another, the intensity of the fights escalating as the movie progresses, making all of the Hong Kong action films I grew up watching seem like child's play.
The film does have its rare calm moments in between brawls, but they are all too short to make an impression. When it does cool down... you're biting your nails, wondering what vicious and imaginative way would the director execute another fight scene or kill more people off. And when it arrives, the sequences would leave any viewer attempting to catch their breath... but the film just leaves no room for that.
Mindless action aside, the cinematography and editing were awesome, not what was I expecting from a movie that cost 1.1 million dollars to make, contributing to the intensity of the film. The gritty and dark photography cranks up the tension to the max, making it one of the best films that would get your heart racing by the second minute, a wondrous experience for action fanatics.
Forget the solid acting, the unbelievable situations of the film (Where the hell in Jakarta can you find a flat populated entirely by ridiculously psychotic or mentally sick criminals who knows how to put up a good fight whenever confronted?), the terrible and recycled writing. Leave your brain at the doorstep and watch it, immense yourself. I highly recommend this to any action fan.
This is arguably the most heart-warming, beautiful and nostalgic movie that Studio Ghibli has ever made. For me, my favorite Studio Ghibli has always been Spirited Away, however, I somehow could relate more to Only Yesterday. It takes the memories, discard what we consider important and conjures up an odd and sometimes humorous assortment of events that shows how much they matter and affect the female protagonist after so many years.
Only Yesterday is unique in the sense of coming-of-age films that it does not offer us a heavily dramatized coming-of-age film, presenting us with a bland, plain-Jane main character, Taeko. Taeko's love and longing for the countryside takes her on a trip down memory lane, however, it is often the smallest, plainest things that matter to her the most. And director Isao Takahata does it so well, by presenting an assortment of scenes, painted in a lighter shade to evoke the mood of a time gone by, such as a girl's first crush, or her family's lack of knowledge on how to eat a pineapple, that anyone will fondly remember as Taeko does. I sure will.
It is profoundly affecting, emotional, light-hearted but never meaningless, and arguably among the best yet most underrated of Ghibli's films.
Only Yesterday is unique in the sense of coming-of-age films that it does not offer us a heavily dramatized coming-of-age film, presenting us with a bland, plain-Jane main character, Taeko. Taeko's love and longing for the countryside takes her on a trip down memory lane, however, it is often the smallest, plainest things that matter to her the most. And director Isao Takahata does it so well, by presenting an assortment of scenes, painted in a lighter shade to evoke the mood of a time gone by, such as a girl's first crush, or her family's lack of knowledge on how to eat a pineapple, that anyone will fondly remember as Taeko does. I sure will.
It is profoundly affecting, emotional, light-hearted but never meaningless, and arguably among the best yet most underrated of Ghibli's films.
I have a confession to make. I have never seen a Bond film until now.
Okay, forget it. I enjoyed this movie somewhat... but there was something missing. All the action scenes, from the opening chase sequence in Turkey, up till the final battle in the Scottish wilderness were pretty decent, nonetheless. As the modern Bond films have shown, Craig's Bond is a tougher, more realistic Bond, with his own depth and frailties that shine through even with the mock-tough lines he says throughout the movie.
However, Skyfall was quite a letdown. Sure, the buildup was decent and everything, but when the villain shows up, it just falls apart. As for the plot, there wasn't much of a plot there. The film could've been character driven, but it just wasn't enough to make me feel for any of them, they had a lot of potential. Silva, Bond and M weren't as deep as the synopsis of the film here described. I was actually expecting Bond to show more of his own morality and insecurities instead of sticking to protecting M for the rest of the movie, even going as far as to betray MI6 could be good, M's past and whatever wrong or bad choices she made to have Silva on her tail, and send Bond into doubting her, and Silva to be more complex, his motivations for killing M explained further. A few plot twists could've been good too.
About halfway into the movie, I was actually wondering, "What the hell are the supporting characters there for anyway?" Moneypenny and Mallory were just a waste of space... they were just there to fill in the rest of the scenery. They could've been further developed, especially Mallory.
However, the film's production values were all great, never an issue. The wide, sweeping landscape of the Scottish hills to the fight in a office building in Shanghai with glowing neon signs in the background... well, they were all beautifully shot. The editing was decent, the action scenes are great... however, what made me speechless were the opening credits. They were beautifully done, all evoking the apocalypse inside Bond's world... with such emotion and the haunting song sung by Adele just makes me all hyped up for the film... but it just wasn't that impressive.
All in all, Skyfall is a pretty entertaining watch. 7/10
Okay, forget it. I enjoyed this movie somewhat... but there was something missing. All the action scenes, from the opening chase sequence in Turkey, up till the final battle in the Scottish wilderness were pretty decent, nonetheless. As the modern Bond films have shown, Craig's Bond is a tougher, more realistic Bond, with his own depth and frailties that shine through even with the mock-tough lines he says throughout the movie.
However, Skyfall was quite a letdown. Sure, the buildup was decent and everything, but when the villain shows up, it just falls apart. As for the plot, there wasn't much of a plot there. The film could've been character driven, but it just wasn't enough to make me feel for any of them, they had a lot of potential. Silva, Bond and M weren't as deep as the synopsis of the film here described. I was actually expecting Bond to show more of his own morality and insecurities instead of sticking to protecting M for the rest of the movie, even going as far as to betray MI6 could be good, M's past and whatever wrong or bad choices she made to have Silva on her tail, and send Bond into doubting her, and Silva to be more complex, his motivations for killing M explained further. A few plot twists could've been good too.
About halfway into the movie, I was actually wondering, "What the hell are the supporting characters there for anyway?" Moneypenny and Mallory were just a waste of space... they were just there to fill in the rest of the scenery. They could've been further developed, especially Mallory.
However, the film's production values were all great, never an issue. The wide, sweeping landscape of the Scottish hills to the fight in a office building in Shanghai with glowing neon signs in the background... well, they were all beautifully shot. The editing was decent, the action scenes are great... however, what made me speechless were the opening credits. They were beautifully done, all evoking the apocalypse inside Bond's world... with such emotion and the haunting song sung by Adele just makes me all hyped up for the film... but it just wasn't that impressive.
All in all, Skyfall is a pretty entertaining watch. 7/10