fimorales

It might be prudent never to judge a book by its cover, but often enough, the author would give you a good idea what you're about to invest your time in. Bryan Cranston and James Franco doing a comedy together was enough to give me the necessary shove to press "Play" on this one.

I like comedies but finding a good one lately has been a challenge. Been disappointed many times with trailers that seem promising only to find out that those scenes are the best the entire movie has to offer. There have also recently been a bunch of comedies relying on the director's or the leads' reputation to carry the film to box office and critical success only to crash and burn upon release. This one is a rare exception. Congratulations to the team for getting it just right! James' Laird was a delicate balance. Annoying yet sweet, sometimes offensive but without being repulsive. Bryan's Ned fits the stereotype yet has been restrained enough to remain relatable. Even the cameo from Gene and Paul, though expected, came out fresh.

If you're looking for a fun movie, give this one a try. Be forewarned though of the liberal use of profanities.

If you are a fan of action sci-fi movies and are not too concerned with a tight story-line and clear character development, it would be alright for you to see this one.

The action sequences are exciting though not necessarily fresh, the special effects are at par with other similar big-budget movies, but unless you have watched all the other installments of the franchise, this one would just seem like a 1-hour TV episode stretched into a full cinematic feature. Especially with the current high quality of TV shows similar to this one, the filmmakers were probably having a hard time trying to make their movie worthy of asking the viewers to go to a theater rather than just to grab their TV remotes.

I loved the first one but I guess I was just curious how the story would end (it does say "The Final Chapter", right?). Iaian Glen as Dr. Isaacs just doesn't come across as villainous enough. Its like he's naughty but not bad. An acceptable ending that sort of left me thinking "...at least Mila would be remembered by many for her 'Alice' ".

The freshest, best quality ingredients will guarantee a great salad but not necessarily a great ratatouille. That is the simplest way I can attempt to explain my mixed feelings about this movie after I finished watching the entire closing credits. Yes, I sat through the closing credits despite my nagging urge to answer the call of nature because I refrained from getting up in the middle of the movie, worried that I might miss "the scene" that I have been hoping will come up to convince me that this was going to be a great movie.

Based on an exciting game and with a stellar award-winning cast all of whom I admire, this was one movie I made sure to watch alone so as not to have anyone distract me from the anticipated pleasure of watching it. The performances did not disappoint (the casting was spot-on, the chemistry between the characters was superb), the dialogue made cliché lines sound fresh, the locations in Malta and Spain were breath-taking, the CGI and special effects were flawless, the fight scenes were choreographed very well, the production design and cinematography made me feel I was cold in the laboratory or warm while running on the rooftops… even the song accompanying the closing credits was just right! Despite all these positive things, I didn't actually end up inching towards the edge of my seat. Nor did I feel any urge to clench my fist and subconsciously wish harm to any of the antagonists. Or to root for the protagonist. For someone who cries watching animated films, I was wondering what was missing. A dash of salt or freshly ground pepper, maybe? If you're interested enough in the movie to be reading my thoughts about it, I would suggest that you go ahead and watch it. I dare say that it is actually a good movie. Maybe even a great movie. But this is, at least for me, a case wherein the sum is not more than--or even equal to--the value of its parts.

FUN FACT: This is the second movie I know where Brendan Gleeson and Michael Fassbender played father and son. That other movie, simple as it was, was one of the best "salads" I have recently had.