Review for Logan [2017] is here. For one, not the kind of movie you’d pay attention to for the plot, but there is one to hang the story and impressive string of action beats around. It’s not that it would be difficult to have a good story with solid action. After all, lead star Iko Uwais has had that with his preivious movies from Merantau in 2009 to The Raid 2: Berandal in 2014 under the direction of Gareth Evans. For Headshot, Uwais has his own team established for the action and fight stunts, much like Jackie Chan and Tony Jaa have done before in their respective countries. Here, Uwais is an amnesiac found on a beach with a head wound. The doctor treating him, Ailin (Chelsea Islan), falls for the comatose mystery man over the two months caring for him, and names him Ishmael (she’s reading a rather thin version of Moby Dick at the time). Once he wakes, trouble comes calling as his past catches up. Under the direction of Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto (who also wrote the story), the camera work can be a bit jarring, trying to infuse the fights and gunplay with a kind of supposed kinetic energy resulting in lots of image shuddering. While there are some impressive camera moves and pans, at least they know when to let the camera settle for some of the fight sequences, because a good handful are meticulously choreographed for maximum impact. There are enough variations and derivativeness to make each fight sequence unique and different, with location playing an important factor. Uwais is in his element and getting far more comfortable with his acting. Some familiar faces return (Zack Lee, Julie Estelle, Very Tri Yulisman… all from Berandal), particularly for the fights, and yet, they still manage to mix things up enough so nothing feels like it was carried over from before. Taken as an action film, this is up there with some of the better ones, with The Raid 2: Berandal being the high bar where these Indonesian action flicks are concerned. If you’re a fan of these action films, then this is one to check out. Stars Iko Uwais, Chelsea Islan, Julie Estelle, Sunny Pang, Very Tri Yulisman, Epy Kusnandar Directed by Kimo Stamboel, Timo Tjahjanto Rating: ***1/2 / 5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here.
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I think it’s fair to say I’ve seen a lot of crap movies over the decades, so I know what I like, what I don’t like and what I can tolerate. I do have a fondness for silly B- (or down to Z-)grade sci-fi flicks and certain creature features. So, yes, I enjoy the Sharknado franchise, I think the Mega-Shark series is silly fun and can even tolerate the ongoing antics of the Sharktopus, although his tussle with the WhaleWolf was a bit much. So, a Russian director decides to get into the superhero fray by making a Russian superhero movie. The problem being his movie going international in a world where The Avengers and friends are dominating the cinematic landscape. It also doesn’t mean he isn’t entitled to a decent try. Firstly, the effects are nothing to shout about, but they are decent enough to pass muster in comparison to a string of silly SyFy movie of the week type adventures. The nature of the heroes are derivative enough even if they can be compared to certain US counterparts (invisible woman, anyone?), and while their powers aren’t entirely unique, the presentation works well enough for the story. As for the characters themselves, there are moments where you can sympathise with their plight, the experiment that get hem their powers also elongated their lives, so one scene where Let (Sebastian Sisak) relates his personal experience of watching his daughter being born and living a full life up to her death is a little touching. The major problem is the dubbing. Removing the Russian (save for one small scene involving prayer) for an English dub give the movie the vocal subtlety of a damp cloth. It feels like anime in the 80s where the dubbing is trying to get through the lines in order to synch with the mouth flaps. There is practically no emotion, no urgency, no tension and nothing sounds right. Director SarikAndreasyan manages to pull things together with an earnestness and can-do attitude, managing some cool ideas and visuals, but ultimately not nearly enough to go toe-to-toe with the big boys. That being said, it’s a decent first attempt and should they make another with hopefully a slightly better budget, it would be interesting to see what they can pull of next. They get the extra 1/2 point for effort. Stars Anton Pampushnyy, Sanzhar Madiyev, Sebastian Sisak, Alina Lanina, Valeriya Shkirando, Stanislav Shirin Directed by Sarik Andreasyan Rating **1/2 /5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here. Finally got around to this one. Really should have caught it in the cinemas. As far as science fiction stories go, I could see this working really well on paper, be it as a short story or a highly sought-after script on the Black List (a list of top quality, highly rated unproduced scripts). As a movie, it really has to rely on the star power of the leads, in this case award winning successful franchise star Jennifer Lawrence and hot up-and-comer Chris Pratt. Aside from Michael Sheen as a robotic android bartender, the movie is carried by the chemistry of these two leads. To be fair, they make an appealing on-screen couple. Set on an interstellar ship, Avalon, making a 120-year voyage to a new planet for colonisation, Jim Preston (Pratt) is woken from hibernation 90-years too early. Unaware of the cause of the malfunction that woke him up, Jim has to make do with being the only person awake on the massive ship that is almost reminiscent of the Axiom in Wall-E (2008). After a year of solitude that almost drives him to suicide, Jim wakes up Aurora (Lawrence) mainly for the company and a little out of infatuation. The movie carries on with their romance p, hitting the customary plot points one would expect until that initial malfunction rears its head and we have our action beats. The movie takes its time to let us get to know our characters, and it helps that we have Lawrence and Pratt in the lead roles. What also helps is the overall design for the movie. The exterior of the Avalon is different from most ships seen before, and there is some thought in the overall design of its helical shape. The interiors are all so something to behold be it the openness of the Grand Promenade, or the symmetrical lines in the Observation Deck; there is an inherent beauty to the overall look for the film. Director Morten Tyldum seems to rely heavily on his stars, but he also manages to convey the loneliness and desperation Jim goes through while highlighting the onset of danger constantly approaching in the background. Still, a lot of things are set up and often telegraphed in advance, save for the nature of the ultimate danger in the final act. The predictability of the 'romance' defuses any tension keeping us along for the ride. Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen and Lawrence Fishburne Directed by Morten Tyldum Rating ***/5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here. |
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