Buttered Popcorn: Buzzmans Movie Review Thread Part II

[Buzzman]

*Old Thread

Movie Reviews

At Any Price (2013)
Attack, The (2013)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Conjuring, The (2013)
Despicable Me (2010)
Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Don Jon (2013)
Drinking Buddies (2013)
Elysium (2013)
Enemy (2014)
Fruitvale Station (2013)
Gravity (2013)
Heat, The (2013)
Hunt, The (2013)
Lone Survivor (2013)
Neighbors (2014)
Noah (2014)
Only God Forgives (2013)
Pacific Rim (2013)
Prince Avalanche (2013)
Prisoners (2013)
Raid 2, The (2014)
To Do List, The (2013)
White House Down (2013)
Wolverine, The (2013)
The World's End (2013)
You're Next (2013)

[Buzzman]

After having the one review thread for a long time, I kind of fell off the wagon last year around May. It was a combination of things ranging from just shit movies I didn't feel like reviewing, not having as much time as I wanted, and once I fell behind, it looked kind of daunting to try and catch up. Before long, the list of movies I had to review became well over 25 and it caused me to basically stop. Now that I have the time again with a change in work, I am going to start it up again. When I was looking into my reviews and the old thread, I felt it was better to just kind of start over. I'll still have a link to the other thread in the OP, but I am going to start over with a clean slate from here. It may be for the better as well because I was looking through some of my early reviews and they were dogshit. I stumbled upon this when I re-watched a film and went back to see what I said about it. I actually was laughing at how poor it was. That's where the clean slate comes in because as I re-watch things, I want to re-review them more proper. It'd be kind of confusing to have two links and posts in the same thread. So for the 3 people that actually read them, I am going to be back, and hopefully a bit better than before.

[Palooza]

chickita china the chinese chicken.

I'm glad this is picking back up because lord knows VSN will never see another review from me. Blame Leftwich.

[Buzzman]

Pacific Rim (2013)



They say Pacific Rim was the savior of the summer blockbuster. It was the big summer event and was an entirely original project. It was the ultimate homage to classic monster movies. It had breathtaking visuals that would make you feel like a kid again. Too bad things don’t always go according to plan because Pacific Rim falls short of those lofty goals, failing miserably in the process. Had this movie been directed in the exact same manner but with the name Michael Bay on it, the critical bashing would have been imminent. With Guillermo Del Toro’s name though, we seem to be more lenient. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for its fresh rating on rotten tomatoes.

Out of the gates, the vibes feel wrong. The monsters arrival on earth through a portal of sorts and the development of the Jaegers to combat them is so quickly explained in a montage (that’s far more interesting than the rest of the film), you never get a chance to take things in. After this montage come the clichés you’ve seen a thousand times over in other better films. It’s depressing to see Del Toro have such a paper thin plot full of empty characters and just expect the visuals to be enough. Don’t get me wrong, the visuals are good but they were a bit much at times. Every battle takes place in the dead of night during a storm. It makes the battle seem so muddled that you cannot tell whose hitting what. It’s a mess. To make matters worse, every battle begins with punches and uppercuts that don’t do any damage but when they’ve had enough, they pull out their rockets and swords that tear the monsters apart. It is stupid that these weapons aren’t automatically used at the start, but I guess you have to entertain the mindless audience somehow. With the giant battles being lackluster, the films appeal becomes useless and left with nothing but failure. Each character is such a walking cliché played to a tee. I could go into a bit more but there is no reason to, no one ever comes close to representing anything of interest. The films one lone bright side ends up flipping itself in the wrong direction. I thought they were going to end it with some balls, but instead choose the franchise route and set it up nicely if a sequel were to gets made. So much for the originality factor being a positive.

If you watch a decent amount of television, you’ll recognize almost every actor in the film. They are all from something currently on or just ended. The reason I mention this is because that’s where they belong; on TV; not starring in some summer blockbuster. They've all proven to be solid actors in their more defined roles, so I hope the pay was worth it. Each character is so poorly developed, not even one was given an opportunity to turn in compelling work. They might have gotten away with it if the epic battles were truly epic, but they weren't and I can’t get over the awful performance by Rinko Kikuchi, who plays Mako. What’s supposed to be an emotional heart of the film character is just an awkward fidgety pile of crap. They even mess up Idris Elba (How is that possible?). He’s a stereotypical brute, nothing more, maybe even less. And don’t even get me started on casting Charlie Day playing himself as the scientist who’s supposed to save the world. I don’t know if he was playing for laughs there, but it just went wrong.

Everything went wrong with this movie. It was supposed to be fun and exciting to see these giant robots beating the crap out of big ole monsters, but it was so lifeless and dull. It never strayed away from the standard save the world path it set it up to be. This movie sucks and makes my head hurt thinking about everything that’s wrong with it. I could go on much longer but I’ll just stop here and leave it be. I’ve already said too much.

Overall Score: 3/10

[Fappin Raptor]

Pacific Rimjob was terrible.

[Houston]

While you're at it, get back on your anticipated movies games. I hate having to find obscure trailers on my own.

[Buzzman]

At Any Price (2013)



At Any Price is about the American Dream…………..for farmers. Surprisingly, it’s not as exciting as it sounds. It has the material there to dissect the farming industry and where it stands in today’s economy, but never tries to dig. I would love to tell you that farming has changed from independency into these industrialized factory lines, but I can’t. The film does such a poor job of telling me anything about this industry; I can never understand the exact point of this film. Is the American Dream about escaping this life and becoming something more? Is it leaving your legacy in the hands of your kin? Is it not disappointing your loved ones? In a better film, all of these questions would be asked but it’s got a narrow minded outset that never feels open for debate.

The film opens up to a montage of the older son having a successful high school career that leads to a football scholarship and eventually, off the family farm. This five minute montage is the best development this film accomplishes. Everyone else feels like hollowed out forms of what they’re trying to play that comes from a poorly written script that seems content at standing still. There is a minor racecar subplot that seems like it’ll take center stage and move the film along, but it’s so quickly dropped, the film feels like it takes giant step backward in progression. After this, things get extremely messy. Murder, blackmail, and adultery somehow find their way into this story, and they simply don’t feel needed nor belong. They had opportunities to add drama, but passed them up and threw everything together at the end. Then the credits roll without a proper wrap-up and you might get the feeling that you wasted your time.

As terrible as I felt about the movie as a whole, Dennis Quaid is strong here. It’s not his fault the film around him sucks. His fake face he wears around his clients and his family is effective and it’s a nice treat to see him bring it down when he’s all alone and by himeslf. This man wants so much and he’ll do whatever it takes to achieve his dreams; hence the film’s title. Zac Efron tries to play this James Dean knockoff and he just can’t pull it off that well. His spiral out of control feels empty and never quite develops into what he wanted. A potential bright spot for future films could be Maika Monroe, who plays the girlfriend of Zac Efron and leaves you with a memorable impact despite never given much to do.

Beforehand, I read that director Ramin Bahrani was a potential director of the decade during the 2000s despite never seeing any of his material, but I don’t see anything here to justify that statement. It’s a mess of a script with a poor choice in direction. It doesn’t flow well, seems in reverse too often, and couldn’t make it to the finish line. Avoid this film….wait for it…………..At Any Price.

Overall Score: 3/10

[Buzzman]

While you're at it, get back on your anticipated movies games. I hate having to find obscure trailers on my own.

While I wouldn't have problems finding list of movies I anticipate, I wouldn't know which trailers are good because I stopped watching them. Which seems to help because all my favorite movies this year, I was mainly blind going into them. I'm sure I could come up with something though.

[Buzzman]

The To Do List (2013)



This film caught me off guard in the best way possible. I wasn’t expecting much out of this except a mildly funny comedy about a girl running through a list of sexual acts she wanted to do before her first year of college. Instead I got a hilarious non-apologetic tale weaved through a wave of funny characters that hit on nearly every joke. The key for a good comedy is to have as little downtime as possible, but the great ones maintain the laughs but also bring in memorable characters into a serviceable storyline. The To Do List falls under the category of the greatness that I never knew it could achieve.

The first thing I have to say about this movie is that it does follow a surprisingly good and fun storyline. It plays out as a normal romantic comedy where the nerd sets a goal to sleep with the most popular person in high school, but it twists that story up and makes fun of it. Every time some expected cliché felt incoming, they flipped the situation around and got a laugh out of it. What’s so great about all of these gags is that they aren’t played as shock humor. It’s smart, well-written jokes should hold up with repeated viewings. While it’s a bit raunchy, and the premise seems like it would lend itself to throw tasteless nudity to sustain entertainment, it has a lot of heart that comes with films where the lead is trying to find themselves in life. It was such a joy to see a comedy work with its plot to create comedy and heart rather than forcing it to move into spots to try and create comedy out of thin air.

The cast in this movie seems filled with a bunch of familiar faces that should bring smiles to big TV fans. Aubrey Plaza really shows off that she can handle being a leading lady in a comedy. Most of the awkwardness she’s known for is shed and what’s revealed is a legitimately funny woman. She does a bunch of bizarre things, and does it with a big smile on her face. It’s great. The other big standout was Bill Hadar. That shouldn’t surprise many but he’s just about perfect in that wise deadbeat who teaches you a lesson character by spoofing it and making it look all too easy. Johnny Simmons and Scott Porter play the cliché opposite males in Plaza’s life, but the films ability to play with expected outcomes makes these characters funnier than they really are. Then you throw in Agent Caulson, Rachel Bilson, Donald Glover, Maeby Funke, McLovin, and Andy Samberg in smaller roles, and the cast is just dynamite. They all click together and keep the film flowing in a way that feels like it never halts.

This film is one of few surprises so far this year, in a good sense. I was curious to see the film because of Aubrey Plaza but I never imagined I would love it as much as I did. It does comedy the way I love it being done. After seeing The Heat, I had such a bad taste in my mouth and this wiped that from my memory. When it does come out on July 26, I’d skip The Wolverine and give this one your time if you can only see one. It’s certainly going to be worth it, plus it’s got a great soundtrack. You couldn’t ask for much more.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

[Buzzman]

The Hunt (2013)



*This film is made in Danish with English subtitles

The Hunt is a simple film but is handled with such delicately and care, its ideas grow strong, leaving a lasting impact upon you well after you’ve watched it. There have been plenty of films that deal with child molesters and their victims, but it’s the viewpoint this film takes that sinks the hooks in. I loved that the film established right away that our lead, Lucas (Mikkelsen), is a good man and that is not guilty of the acts he’s been accused of. A lot of the times a film will play with the ambiguity of the act and have a flashy reveal at the end, and that can work; The Hunt wants to be great though, so it decides to be different.

After a very well made opening shot that establishes all the main players involved, the film jumps right into the situation without holding back. Watching these adults question the little girl about it frustrates you as they pressure her into saying things, treat her differently and ultimately make her feel special because they think something terrible happened to her. So of course she goes along with it, she’s a scared little girl, and doesn’t know any better. It’s such a one sided story that it kind of scares you because how could you not believe her? As adults, it’s their responsibility to protect this child, and why would they doubt that this is nothing but truth. It’s a situation that is tragic but a rare case where no one is at real fault.

Even so, that doesn’t mean we don’t so desperately feel for Lucas. What’s happened to him is a life-altering event that is out of his control. It’s a very scary feeling. He handles it as calmly as he can, and his pride and honor is what prevents him from falling apart and moving away. The community he lives in is small and he cannot go anywhere without turning heads. Watching as he takes hit after hit is a struggle and in the films strongest moment, you seem him fall….hard. It’s such a great moment because the supposed victim happens to be his best friend’s daughter and they can speak of lifetimes through each other without ever having to say a word. Without giving away too much more, the film’s final sequence is definitely one of the best of the year and leaves an impact so deep in your head, and you know this terrible circumstance will never leave Lucas alone.

As Lucas, Mads Mikkelson turns in the best work I’ve seen from him. It’s strange because I just binge watched Hannibal and the two characters couldn’t be more polar opposites. Here he plays such a controlled man and really punches you when the character is finally set free to show his inner emotions. Easily the best performance I’ve seen all year. Less known Danish actors such as Thomas Bo Larsen and Annika Wedderkopp, playing Lucas best friend Theo and his daughter Klara, are impressively fleshed out into characters as strong as its lead Lucas. The community has a whole really helps shine creating many characters with real human emotions.

The Hunt is a slow paced film that ultimately plays out as a thriller. It’s not your typical one because the thrills all come from its dialogue, but how wonderful it is. Each interaction seems handled with such care and importance, not a single conversation feels meaningless. It’s a very haunting film that sticks. It’s one of the best I’ve seen this year, and would be shocked if it doesn't find its way into my top five at year’s end. This is one of the few films this year that I say you must see, so get to it.

Overall Score: 9/10

[Atlas]

I've been a sucker for Mads Mikkelson since I saw him in King Arthur. My favorite role for him was Citron in "Flame and Citron", but I love almost every one of his movies, b/c he is one of the few actors I truly enjoy. Give Flame and Citron (or Flammen & Citronen for the Danish) a watch if you haven't already.

[Buzzman]

Yea I've really enjoyed him everytime I have seen him, but I don't see him as often as I'd like. I thought he was awesome in Casino Royale and Valhalla Rising and the only good thing in Clash of the Titans, but after watching 13 episodes of Hannibal and then seeing The Hunt, he's cemented himself for me. It's really impressive that he took over the character of Hannibal Lector in the TV Show and made me completely forget about Anthony Hopkins. He made the character as his own in a very creepy calculated fashion.

[Palooza]

Review "Only God Forgives" plz. Shockingly, I'm most curious as to your opinion.

[Bomberooski]

Review "Only God Forgives" plz. Shockingly, I'm most curious as to your opinion.

I second this request.

[Pitty]

I've been a sucker for Mads Mikkelson since I saw him in King Arthur. My favorite role for him was Citron in "Flame and Citron", but I love almost every one of his movies, b/c he is one of the few actors I truly enjoy. Give Flame and Citron (or Flammen & Citronen for the Danish) a watch if you haven't already.

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