matrixus-1

Wow... it appears that my opinion stands in stark contrast to the majority opinion. This was not the Guillermo del Toro I remember from Hellboy nor Pan's Labyrinth. This movie was shot (or rendered) like a prototypical 80'ish style action movie. Very bright neon colors, over the top acting/script and a subtitle hilarity. This is not bad per se. It can actually be very well indeed and if 'Pacific Rim' would've been grouped in the "Comedy" genre, I would've given this a much higher score. My friend and I were laughing throughout the movie, but not due to intentional puns or jokes, but at the ridiculousness and blatant plot holes.

These are some of the questions I would ask someone responsible:

-Why do Jaegers feel the need to do the "hit the fist" gesture with their machines and wrestle and/or have a fist fight with the aliens, when they have sophisticated weaponry?

-If Jaegers are connected with a neural link and can see into each others mind, why do they even need to talk during "alignment".

-Why do Jaegers prefer to have a fist fight with an alien instead of using any sort of weapon?

-How can a Jaeger be so out of touch with the machine their piloting that they forget a weapon they have (the sword), which coincidentally slices through alien meat much faster than anything else?

-How are 6 helicopters able to lift these colossal mechs for transportation, when these mechs can use a supertanker as a weapon?

-How was the headquarter able to communicate with the Jaeger pilot through (!) a wormhole / into another dimension, but seem helpless at first when locating the rescue pod back on earth (very end).

... The list goes on and on and on. It felt very incoherent and not thought through. It also felt very cheesy, with wooden acting by the leads.

If you, like me, are unable to just disregard blatant plot holes, inconsistencies and the likes, do yourself a favor and skip this one.

Summary (Nutshell)

"The Soloist" sets out to be the quest of an LA Times journalist Steve Lopez searching for interesting story. Not content with choosing from the plethora of mundane topics, he starts looking for the everyday person, worth writing about. He discovers a homeless man, playing his two-string violin under a statue of Beethoven, in the middle of Los Angeles. This brief encounter quickly develops into a more intricate relationship. Lopez finds himself sympathetic to help the homeless Mr. Ayers. Suffering from schizophrenic delusions, Ayers can only express himself through one of his many instruments, preferably the Cello. Lopez embarks on a mission to reintegrate Ayers into society, by facilitating his love for classical music; this proofs more difficult than he thought.

Comment:

As a fellow musician, I've found myself very compassionate with Ayers' love for Beethoven. When you close your eyes, the music floods your mind, dozens of instruments play at the same time, but instead of suffering from sensory overload, you form a unit with the symphony, resonating with every note, feeling the composer's love, anger and passion. By playing the piece, we are able to reconstruct and reunite with an indescribable beauty, so simple in nature, yet which will never fade, even when the meaning of words left us long ago. Ayers' offers a glimpse into a highly talented musician, who is confined by his social status and medical condition, but yet someone who is able to enchant his listeners when he plays.

Robert Downey Jr.'s and Jamie Foxx's performance was absolutely stellar. Jamie Foxx is an unbelievable actor, his performance in Ray was already phenomenal, but I believe he has outdone himself as Ayers. He seems to be able to understand the musical mind and can portray the forces that drive/restrict it. I highly recommend watching this music.

Our endless struggle for self-fulfillment is a struggle, we have to fight for ourselves. 8/10