MasterFantastic की समीक्षाएं

While the title is somewhat unflattering, it's my perception of what Paris Hilton was and perhaps still is. Admittedly, it's a little hard for me to take anything Paris Hilton says at face value--at first.

However, perceptions change. This was a revealing documentary, revealing in the sense that she suffered trauma and abuse as a young girl and then teenager, that she put on a public false front to conceal the hurt, that she surrounded herself with yes-people who catered to her every whim, and that part comes through quite well in this film.

At the same time, though, what we see in her public face is that which we remember. And what we remember more than anything else is an image of a vapid, spoiled, not-too-bright socialite who comes from old money, who doesn't have to worry about where her next dollar is coming from, who flaunts her success to everyone willing to listen to her, and who makes it appear that she doesn't care what anyone else thinks because she's rich, rich, rich!

Still, she likes animals, so that's one point in her favor.

Yet...after watching this documentary, in spite of some of the revelations of her friends, her entourage, her relatives, and her own observations, I never really caught who the real Paris Hilton was and is. She's always come across as the living embodiment of spoiled WASPy privilege, and revelations in this documentary aside, she's not done much to alter my perceptions of her. I don't wish her ill; I wish that on no one.

But I have a feeling that this youtube flick is simply another way for her to reinvent her public persona, to gain more followers to someone who should have grown up years ago, and to show another side of her personality without ever revealing who she truly is.

So says George Sanders, the evil king of the Philistines, during the climax scene. But before we get there, there's the reenactment of how Samson came to be. In typical C. B. DeMille fashion, this film offers spectacular special effects (for its time), a solid musical score, decent acting, and a climax scene that literally brings down the house.

We all know the story of Samson, and while some 'facts' are played around with, Samson and Delilah still stands as one of the best biblical movies ever made, the story of a flawed hero who wanted to serve his people--the ancient Hebrews--and yet marry a Philistine woman (nicely played by a very young and sweet Angela Lansbury). That their marriage went unfulfilled leads to Samson changing from wastrel and playboy to an avenging hero. It's a story of faith lost and faith found, and rarely has a spectacle managed to entertain as well as uplift in its own way.

The acting is surprisingly good. Victor Mature always had sort of a dopey look about him and he used to make fun of his career, but here, he's quite restrained and offers a solid portrait of a flawed, doomed hero. Hedy (not Hedley) Lamarr is beautiful, slight Austrian accent and all. Granted, she was never that great an actress (although she was superb in The Strange Woman) but here, all she had to do was look at the camera and everyone forgave her. And she and Victor Mature had a surprisingly good chemistry onscreen.

George Sanders as the king was excellent as always, Henry Wilcoxen as his faithful subordinate, and was that George Reeves (TV's Superman) in a cameo as a soldier? Yes, I believe it was.

The fight against the thousand Philistines was well staged. Granted, somewhat hokey, but with good special effects, a thrilling musical score, slow motion (not often used in American cinema at that time) it has yet to be topped.

Of course, the final act is a showstopper and it stands alone. There have been other remakes, but none stands against this version of the Philistine temple being destroyed. Sanders raising his cup of wine before he's crushed and uttering "Delilah" sums up the entire proceedings, a statement of a woman who betrayed both sides, yet found faith and love in her final moments. This is a flick worth seeing over and over. It's that much fun.

Origin stories are always tricky. Too much exposition, too much reliance on old themes and old storylines, they become dull. Too little, they're empty. This effort is somewhere in between. While it isn't terrible, it isn't that great, either.

What we have here is another reboot of how Superman came to be and a riff on how Parasite came to be but not unbe. The story is familiar and with a "love conquers all" message at the end--not needed, IMO, because of how treacly it was--it brought down the movie to a level of barely passable.

Pluses. The voices are good, particularly Zachary Quinto as Lex Luthor. I'm used to Clancy Brown, but Quinto's riff on it wasn't bad, and the evilness of Luthor in the final showdown was solid. Darren Criss as Superman/Clark Kent was fine, and Alexandra Daddario as Lois Lane was good. I'm sort of spoiled by Brad Garrett's interpretation of Lobo, but Ryan Hurst does well enough, showing the meanness...but not all the humor. Ike Amadi as Martian Manhunter does well enough in his role, investing his character with gravity and pathos.

Music. Good, but not great. Direction also good but not great. The story could have moved a bit faster. It was a by-the-numbers direction job, but not terrible by any means.

Minuses. The animation could have been a lot better. It reminded me of The Brave and the Bold style, with somewhat less of a black outline around the characters.

Parasite reminded me more of Godzilla: Resurgence (which was pretty awesome, IMO) but his character really didn't move me one way or the other. He's supposed to garner the audience's sympathy for his condition; he left lukewarm. Couldn't hate him, but definitely didn't like him. Every superhero needs a villain, and Lobo was more compelling in his own way.

But the biggest drawback was the overall familiarity of the story and the unwillingness to move in a different direction. I'm a huge DC fan, so I always look forward to what they come up with, but this is a far cry from being their best or even being near their best. It's worth a watch, but not a buy.

Poorly spelled title aside, this has to be Roger Corman's best film in terms of direction, acting, and story, right up there with The Intruder, a film about an evil bigot (superbly played by William Shatner) that was made the year before X.

X benefits from an excellent performance by Ray Milland as a doctor who tests the limits of science in a quest to see beyond human limits--and pays for it. Harold J. Stone, Diana Van der Vlis offer excellent support, and Don Rickles, the Merchant of Venom himself, plays a straight role as a ruthless carny exploiter and he's terrific in his role.

While the special effects are poor by today's standards--and were probably considered so-so then--Corman wisely eschews focusing on them, preferring to concentrate on Milland's performance as a doctor who pushes the envelope at every opportunity.

The ending was a shocker then, and it's still a shocker now. Very much worth seeing--no pun intended.

Okay, silly headline out of the way, this could have been great, but instead, it turned into the usual America-good-Russia-bad oversimplification that's been going on and off for the last few decades. Promising start, but it was quickly undermined by poor dialogue, so-so animation--and it felt and looked rushed, cramming the source material into 84 minutes or so--and characters you couldn't really care about.

I get the twist on the usual DC characters--Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman--in this universe, but they weren't the least bit likeable. The voice acting was good, but if they'd had lines that mattered, it would have been more enjoyable.

Bottom line: read the graphic novel, or see the motion comic on other social sites. That's infinitely better than this version. DC usually puts out tremendous animated movies. Justice League: Dark, Gods and Monsters, Wonder Woman, and others are far superior examples of animation. This one isn't. It isn't a total disaster, but it could have been something great.

In Mothra v. Godzilla, if you want a knockdown, drag-out fight, this is where you go. Godzilla emerges from the ground--and he was buried under ice in his previous film, but whatever--to ravage the Earth and try to destroy Mothra's egg. Never mind that Mothra wasn't much of a mother. After all, she practically abandoned the egg and it was washed away in a storm.

But that doesn't matter, as she comes back to rescue her offspring with a vengeance, and if there's one thing you never do, you never mess with a mother. And Mothra will do anything to protect her babies! With this installment in the franchise, the trick photography--models, wire action, actor in a very well made Godzilla suit--all come together in a seamless whole. They're not just monsters; they show real personality, something very difficult to do in this genre, but here, it works and works well.

The secondary story, that of a greedy developer ruining the environment, is also quite well fleshed out, and it lends an air of seriousness to the entire movie, something sadly lacking in later installments. The acting is decent enough, although I found the English version's dialogue somewhat simplistic. (If you can, watch the Japanese version with subtitles; it plays better, in my opinion).

The music by Akira Ikufube is well used here, and the twin 'fairies' played by Yumi and Emi Ito, singers and actresses who were twins in real life, lend a cuteness and sweetness to the drama. If you're a Godzilla fan, don't miss this one.

When I was a kid growing up and got into weight training, Weider's name was everywhere, and it still is. The film does a good job of painting Weider's formative years, but once it gets into the actual nitty-gritty of showing how the IFBB grew, the inaccuracies grow by leaps and bounds. As an example, the IFBB was founded in 1946, not 1951. Arnold, when he came to the US, barely spoke English, and even then, his accent was incredibly thick. (It still is, but he speaks English far better now).

My biggest quibble is with the acting and the script...both aren't great. Julianne Hough is pretty and does okay as Betty Brosmer (Weider), but as for the others...Tyler Hoechlin tries hard, but he fails to get that rather nasal intonation the real Joe Weider had. Kevin Durand is a decent actor, but here, he's just a foamin'-at-the-mouth rabid anti-Semite, and his character shows zero depth. Same for the rest of the cast, although I give Calum von Moger (Arnold S) credit for trying.

The inaccuracies--as mentioned before as well as by other commenters--continue with a lot of the movie glossing over the real way Weider and his brother worked. It was a cutthroat business, but the film fails to show how Weider managed to screw over other bodybuilders when it came to contracts and paying residuals for photo shoots. It does nothing to address the problem of steroids or the various legal scandals Weider went through. In short, it's a one-sided, rose-colored love song to the vast and, IMO, very flawed Weider empire.

I've always been a fan of Gojira/Godzilla, and I was pleasantly surprised at this film. It has a lot going for it, mainly a new concept on the "what-if" scenario, and for the most part, Shin Gojira/Godzilla: Resurgence, succeeds.

First, the pluses, of which there were many. The cinematography was good, the special effects were much better than in the previous versions, and the overall new look of Godzilla from tail to full-blown reincarnation of the famous monster was well done.

Additional pluses for the snappy dialogue--the scene where the scientists are included and told what to do is really funny as well as attention-getting--and, overall, the film does a wonderful job of satirizing Japanese bureaucracy and the total incompetency displayed by the politicians. If you're not familiar with Japanese culture, then this will be a revelation. (Although with bureacracies worldwide, incompetency sort of comes with the position).

Yes, it's been done before, but here...excellent. Odd to see purple laser rays coming not only from Gojira's mouth--and its lower jaw splitting apart--but also from its back and tail, but that's the newest version, and once again, to this viewer, it's a welcome change.

Fair warning: if you're expecting to see knockdown, drag-out fights between giant kaiju, you're going to be disappoint, son. While there are some dynamic action sequences, the film examines the often boneheaded responses of the government more than it focuses on action, although there is enough of that.

If there's one weak point, then it's the acting of the nominal star, Satomi Ishihara. The other actors/actresses are just fine in their roles, but as for Ms. Ishihara, while she's pretty enough, her English is horribly stilted and her intonation is poor.

She's supposed to have lived in the US for a time, but listening to her try to speak English was painful, and overall, her character is annoying. However, that's the only drawback of this latest take on the giant, ravaging lizard. If you're into new takes on old greats, then this film is highly recommended.

Growing up as a child, I always saw the name of Bob Kane as the creator of Batman. I never imagined someone else was working with him or had contributed to the concept of creating Batman. I'd seen interviews with Bob Kane, and it always seemed that the Kane wanted to talk about himself and never said much about Bill Finger or Jerry Robinson, although they certainly contributed.

The key word here is contributed. From other documentaries, it comes across as though Kane had the main idea, and that Finger and Robinson helped out. But how much? It's a toss of the dice, but if you're to believe this documentary by Nobleman--who did the research--and Argott, who filmed it--then Finger had a greater hand in the creation of Batman than anyone else realized, as did Robinson.

When I watched Batman & Bill, it came across to me as a well-balanced, insightful, and rather sad look at how the comic book industry was run, and also the characters in that industry who would do each other out of the credit in order to get a larger paycheck. That was Bob Kane. I'm not disputing that Kane was the one who originally came up with the idea. His idea, his risk, yes.

But Finger, apparently, suggested the major changes in the costume, the cowl (Kane originally had a domino mask and the costume was red), and the gadgets that Batman used, many of the rogues gallery, all of which Kane seemed--seemed--only too happy to take on as his own creative ideas. It is sad that Finger was--and there is no other word for it--cheated, IMO, out of what should have been half his legacy.

This documentary sheds new light on the legend of Batman, its creators, and the men who created him and brought him to life. Highly recommended.

Here we go again with yet another retelling of the famous Biblical tale. The acting was beyond amateurish in most spots, the special effects--if that's what they were purportedly called--were weak, especially the lion killing scene--and the direction was choppy and altogether terrible.

There is a reason why some classic movies shouldn't be remade. This is one of them. Granted, the 1949 version with Victor Mature also had a so-so lion killing scene, but the other special effects were quite impressive for that age, and George Sanders as the king was impressive. In contrast, Billy Zane seemed to be doing the king's role only for the paycheck.

Meh.

Don't waste your time on this celluloid travesty. Instead, find the DeMille version and have fun. This modern version doesn't even deserve one star, but I couldn't go any lower than that.

I'll be honest. I was hoping for something that was cohesive, something that rocked the house like Wonder Woman...and it didn't happen. However, all is not lost. While the film had flaws--big ones--it was enjoyable enough for me to give it this reasonably high rating.

First, the bad news. The film is disjointed, as badly cut up as BvS's theatrical feature was. You can blame this on the writers or the studio executives or both; it doesn't matter. What matters is that the film looked like patchwork. I haven't seen the extended version--assuming that rumor is true--but it might be an improvement...might.

Point two is the lack of individual character buildup. I think most people know the origin stories of Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg, but here, they're reduced to a few lines of exposition to explain how they got that way. While Marvel did the smart thing, that being giving their superheroes their own origin flicks and then bringing all the heroes together, DC seems hellbent on just tossing in their heroes all at once. Bad strategy, IMO, and while it won't kill the franchise, it will limit them unless they change their thinking.

Now, to the good parts. The acting is excellent. Affleck is Batman and does a very credible Bruce Wayne, Jason Momoa reminds me of Randy "Macho Man" Savage--"ooooh, yeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"--and Ezra Miller as Flash is appropriately geeky/goofy.

All Gal Gadot has to do is to smile, but she gets her part. She KNOWS what being Wonder Woman is all about. At turns tough and sweet, she IS Wonder Woman. Ray Fisher as Cyborg is quietly effective, and really, there are no slackers, acting-wise or relating-wise. They play off each other perfectly.

Ciaran Hinds as the voice of Steppenwolf is also good. His character has always been sort of two-dimensional, but Hinds does well with it.

The action sequences are dynamic, and the music (by Danny Elfman) is effectively retro, with riffs from the Flash TV series and also the Batman movies of the late '80's and early '90's. All of these good points were enough for me to give the film a rating of seven. I know the DC faithful were/are disappointed. I was, too, but the fun factor was there for me, as well as the thrill of seeing the superheroes of my youth team up. I can only hope JL 2 will be worth it. Time will tell.

Short films are not usually my thing, but this turned out to be an exception and a pleasant surprise. The dialogue between the two principle actors has a cadence and rhythm all its own. Additionally, the direction and cinematography are what I'd expect someone with a fair amount of years under their belt doing this to exhibit.

Not so. Everyone is an unknown, at least to this reviewer. It doesn't matter. This is an immaculately conceived production, worthy of garnering great views and reviews. 10/10 and every point was well deserved!

It wasn't that often way back when that Hollywood would make fun of its own conventions, but the granddaddy of all the Kong flicks does it up right. Forget about the old-time dialog and broad acting; focus on the action once Kong makes his appearance and scares the ever-living hell out of you. It was reported that moviegoers ran from the theater, screaming in panic. Sounds ridiculous, over the top hype...maybe, but who cares? This film is fun.

We all know the plot. Promotor extraordinaire goes to forbidden island, brings along the love interest, meets the monster, and it's Beauty and the Beast all over again. Fay Wray, the queen of the screamers, is pretty and talented, Robert Armstrong is all bluster as the promoter, and Bruce Cabot, more famous for his 'circuses' with his pal Errol Flynn later on, provides solid support. But it's Kong's show all the way.

The direction is simple and straightforward and builds maximum suspense, especially during the escape scene of Wray and Cabot as well as the fights between Kong and the various monsters. Yes, the effects are somewhat cheesy compared to the CGI of today, but back then, stop-motion animation was state of the art.

And yes, there is the old racist depiction of blacks/natives in the movie, but that's how it was then--unfortunately. Overall, though, this film, complete with poignant music at the death of the big ape, remains a classic and has so far superseded any attempt to do it better.

A very solid effort from the writers and animators at DC. The origin of GL, Hal Jordan, is solidly told, if a little quickly and predictably. We have the dying alien, Abin Suhr, giving his ring to someone worthy, ace pilot Hal, a decent guy doing a hard job and trying to have fun with it.

And fun he has! Hal takes to the ring like a duckling takes to water, and soon he is flying high with the other Green Lanterns, getting into trouble on alien worlds, and saving the day.

The pluses of the movie are many. The animation is smooth, and green never looked so good. The voices are excellent. Christopher Meloni excels as Hal, and Victor Garber is suavely evil as Sinestro. All the other voice roles are handled well; in fact, there are no slackers in the bunch.

The music is also excellent, providing drama when necessary, being playful and light at others. As always, the alien worlds were depicted imaginatively. Watching this movie might have been somewhat predictable, but it was a fun ride all the way.

Its only drawback was that Hal took to his power ring too quickly. No practice, no failures in forming constructs...nada. A little exposition might have made the screenplay work better, but all the same, it was enjoyable, and the ending fight between Hal and Sinestro was superbly staged. A worthy addition to any fan's animated collection.

Although Batman was largely absent during the course of the movie, it was a wise idea to let the new blood take over, at least for a while. Following Son of Batman--which I didn't care for--and Batman vs Robin, this latest installment of the 'family saga' involves the disappearance of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Damien Wayne (Batman's son) fill in and try to solve the mystery of the Bat's vanishing act, and two new additions also make their appearance, Batwoman (well voiced by Yvonne Strahovski) and Lucius Fox's son, Luke. There's also a very nice cameo appearance at the end by Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) and her outfit is pretty decent. In fact, all of the outfits are solidly drawn and Batwing's armor--shades of Ironman and War Machine--is pretty cool as well.

Capably written and voiced well by the entire cast, the plot of the movie has Batman disappearing at the hands of a villain known as the Heretic. A number of other baddies make their appearance--the Mad Hatter chief among them--and the leader of the gang turns out to be none other than Talia Al-Ghul, daughter of the late (maybe, always hoping for a retcon job) R'as Al-Ghul. It seems they're into mind control, and without giving too much of the plot away, they're out to get their piece of the world and need Batman in order to achieve their goal.

While fans may be disappointed at not having Batman keep the lion's share of screen time, it actually works better having the replacements try to find their way in a Bat-less world. Nightwing has the hardest job of all, keeping the disparate elements together, and to Jay Oliva's (director) credit, he manages to make it all work.

The pluses of the movie are many. Although I miss Kevin Conroy voicing Bats, Jason O'Mara does a solid job. Yvonne Strahovski is excellent as Batwoman, and Sean Maher as Nightwing lends a nice touch to the proceedings. There were no drawbacks in the voice casting from my point of view...fine work all around, and Robin Atkins-Downs as the Mad Hatter is appropriately creepy.

The music was good, the direction by Oliva kept things hopping, and the animation, much like in Batman: Gotham Night, was solid. Maybe not the best ever, but not weak by any means. The only drawback was a certain coldness to it all, a lack of depth in the emotions of the characters. Other than that, this is a movie any Batman fan would be proud to have.

The only reason I gave this entry to the DC animated universe a five is because it's Batman. That's it. What we have here is a futuristic Gotham with the ol' good guys against the ol' bad guys scenario. The basic plot has the Penguin recruiting many of the animal super-villains--Cheetah, Silverback, Killer Croc, among others--to help pull off a heist of, ahem, cosmic proportions. Naturally, the good guys have to stop them and you can guess the rest.

First, the good points. Decent music, fast moving, some good fight sequences.

And now, the bad. The animation looks like it's been scaled down significantly. I'm not expecting Pixar. I am expecting something decent. This wasn't. Batman's suit (light blue) hearkens back to the late 1960's take and it doesn't suit (no pun intended) this day and age. His gold get-through-the-force-field suit reminded me of some lousy Japanese anime...double ungood.

As for the script, again, while War and Peace ain't on the menu, this makes Jack and Jill Go Up the Hill read like a masterpiece. Cheesy, poor humor, poorer lines...the one good thing was the voice cast that did what they could with their parts. I miss Kevin Conroy doing the voice of Batman. He had the bearing. His replacement sounds like a slightly younger version of him, but with no depth.

The actress doing Cheetah sounds like a whiny child, and I got zero sense of menace behind any of the baddies. Not their fault, really; 'twas the script that done 'em in.

Finally, all the old stereotypes of animals being what they are were trotted out, and quite frankly, that kind of thinking should have gone out fifty years ago.

I heard this direct-to-DVD effort was to sell toys. My only question is: How many? Nothing wrong with selling goods to the kiddies, but this video is an insult to any comic book/cartoon fan.

...take a green alien girl--like, where have we seen that before?--a homicidal tree, a smart-aleck raccoon, a pro wrestler who looks like he lifts mountains before breakfast, and a cheeky hero cut in the same insouciant mold as a funnier Indy Jones? You get Guardians of the Galaxy, that's what, and Hollywood is far better for it. The story concerns a mysterious orb that holds the secret of life and death, five characters who all have their own goals in mind as they set out to retrieve it, a truly nasty villain (excellently played by Lee Pace)who wants to use it to destroy worlds, and a gang of thugs (led by an equally superbly limned Michael Rooker) who want the orb for their own purposes. The lead five have to band together in order to stop the villain and the chase is on. Needless to say, there are laughs and tears and lots of physicality, and it all works.

Major pluses are the acting. Chris Pratt as 'Starlord' (Peter Quill) captures the devil-may-care attitude of an old-time adventurer, Zoe Saldana is fine as Gamora, an enhanced alien who betrays her master in order to help save the universe, Dave Bautista as Drax--and he sounds a lot like Wes Studi (from Mystery Men) in some scenes--who takes everything literally, and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel as Rocket the Raccoon and Groot the walking tree, respectively. Lee Pace is appropriately rotten to the core, and although he's buried under a ton of makeup, the look of horror on his face as he's consumed by the orb's energy is perfect. Karen Gillam as the robotic Nebula is fine, and Benicio del Toro turns in a patented, eccentric and slightly creepy turn as The Collector.

The direction by James Gunn is solid, cutting away to show the action far and near when necessary, and the script (by Gunn and Nicole Perlman) has loads of endlessly quotable lines to recommend it.

The music is also perfect, not just the 1970's songs used, but also the theme music. Brilliantly employed at the climax, the lovely moment when the lights slow down for a fraction of a second as Peter controls the power and turns it on his adversary sent a shiver up my spine.

Now, there are a couple of deus ex machina moments given out at the end, but really, that's carping. What this movie is, is really a throwback to the old Errol Flynn swashbuckling movies from the late '30's and early '40's with modern sensibilities and a nifty set of CGI effects. Well worth watching time and again, and yes, I'm up for the sequel.

If you were a young, fatherless boy in the not-so-innocent but still portrayed as the innocent 1950's, and if you found a robot with amnesia that had powers way beyond anything you'd ever dreamed of, then this is the movie for you.

With a simple yet prescient message of tolerance for all, The Iron Giant stands metal heads and shoulders above many other animated features as it concentrates on character development as opposed to showing off CGI pyrotechnics.

The voice work is excellent, particularly Vin Diesel who manages to inject his character as the Giant with great emotion in only a few simple words. Jennifer Aniston as Annie, Harry Connick, Jr., and Eli Marienthal all portray their parts as people as opposed to just actors reading lines.

The animation is fine, although I've seen better, but it captures the period well enough. There are a couple of plot holes--mainly about the Giant managing to keep hidden so well when he is a, well, giant--but the movie is so gripping and the music moving (and a little maudlin at times) that you just can't help getting caught up in it.

Highly recommended.