Spaghetti Kitchen (Y3) - Countdown Time!!

[Ezen Baklattan]

I've made two decisions:

 

First, I will review every film from Y3, but unless a film is requested, it will only receive a letter grade from me. The letter grades for all un-requested films will be revealed after my Top 25 list.

 

Secondly....

 

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I will review The Odyssey: Counsel of the Dead tomorrow.

 

Sorry @Rorschach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rorschach]

1 minute ago, Isle of Pasta said:

I've made two decisions:

 

First, I will review every film from Y3, but unless a film is requested, it will only receive a letter grade from me. The letter grades for all un-requested films will be revealed after my Top 25 list.

 

Secondly....

 

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I will review The Odyssey: Counsel of the Dead tomorrow.

 

Sorry @Rorschach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cookie]

4 hours ago, 4815162342 said:

Forget about Tyler, I want to know if Kyler comes back

Kyler and his blowjobs so amazing you forget how to count

[Ezen Baklattan]

The Odyssey: Counsel of the Dead

 

While I liked The Spoils of War, one of my bigger issues with it was the awkward way it tries to fit in both the Trojan War and the the start of Odysseus' journey into one film, but I otherwise found it to be a pretty enjoyable experience. Now that this movie can focus solely on our hero's journey, it should be able to have a much smoother flow and rhythm. And it does - for the most part at least.

 

The film does a good job of spacing out its setpieces in Odysseus' journey, and each one is filmed in a pretty exciting manner. I was hoping for a tad more from the Land of the Dead, but otherwise the scenes were all quite well done. The film, however, loses a bit of momentum as we shift back to Ithaca. The story of the suitors trying to pursue Penelope is fairly interesting, but it's kind of stagnant for much of the time and makes the flow between Odysseus' perilous journey and the story of Penelope a bit more awkward in the film's pacing. However, it almost becomes worth it as we enjoy an absolutely incredible climax that shifts between Telemachus and Odysseus in a brilliant and intense way. I was on the edge of my seat reading the finale, despite having a general sense for the story of The Odyssey. The ending feels a bit overlong, but you get serious points for casting Janelle Monae as Calypso, @Rorschach.

 

Two minor problems I had it with were admittedly quite small and maybe in my own opinion. The dialogue felt a bit awkwardly modernized in some places (maybe mainly in the profanity and humor - I get that Grecians probably swore a bit but it sometimes was a bit distracting), and the film is effectively dark to the point where it almost feels slightly held back by its PG-13 rating. There's a great deal of brutality in the film's story, and while the film shows effective and clever restraint at times, an R rating may have given a bit more freedom. This is just a little nitpick, as what we had seen was still well done.

 

Ultimately, I can definitely say I liked it more than the first, and I can't wait to read the third part.

 

 

A- (Was between this and a B+ but man that final fight took it over the edge)

[Ezen Baklattan]

Oh and Redeeming Love

 

....like I need to say more.

 

 

F

 

[Rorschach]

@Isle of Pasta Wow, thanks for the great review man! I took a lot of the criticisms from the first film to heart and tried to improve upon them. Thank you so much!

 

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I'm debating an R-rating for the third film but I'll have to think about for a little while. Probably should've made the whole trilogy R-rated but oh well. 

 

First time trying out the dialogue thing. Definitely needs an improvement, I can't fault you for finding that a bit iffy. Gonna try and make the third film much sooner than I have been the previous two films so I can get someone to pre-read it before I finalize it. 

 

Out of curiosity, are there any performances I should push for at the Oscars? Just trying to get a feel from everyone here if there was a performance that stuck out to them as particularly great. Would greatly appreciate it. 

[Ezen Baklattan]

2 minutes ago, Rorschach said:

@Isle of Pasta Wow, thanks for the great review man! I took a lot of the criticisms from the first film to heart and tried to improve upon them. Thank you so much!

 

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I'm debating an R-rating for the third film but I'll have to think about for a little while. Probably should've made the whole trilogy R-rated but oh well. 

 

First time trying out the dialogue thing. Definitely needs an improvement, I can't fault you for finding that a bit iffy. Gonna try and make the third film much sooner than I have been the previous two films so I can get someone to pre-read it before I finalize it. 

 

Out of curiosity, are there any performances I should push for at the Oscars? Just trying to get a feel from everyone here if there was a performance that stuck out to them as particularly great. Would greatly appreciate it. 

I'd probably push for Assante (he's probably going to be on my ballot unless the category is really, REALLY uber strong) and probably Jackman again. I could maybe see Montgomery but Assante is likely your best bet.

[Rorschach]

1 minute ago, Isle of Pasta said:

I'd probably push for Assante (he's probably going to be on my ballot unless the category is really, REALLY uber strong) and probably Jackman again. I could maybe see Montgomery but Assante is likely your best bet.

Awesome! I was hoping you'd say him. Montgomery too. 

[Ezen Baklattan]

In the list of things I didn't expect to see today....a horror movie in CAYOM with a happy ending.

[Ezen Baklattan]

Don't panic, @Hiccup23, but I'm in a mood to knock out Q3. Earth Defense Force drops within the hour.

 

God willing, @Xillix, I may throw up a Cataclysmic review tomorrow.

[Xillix]

16 minutes ago, Isle of Pasta said:

In the list of things I didn't expect to see today....a horror movie in CAYOM with a happy ending.

Exorcism of Who the Hell Ever?

[Ezen Baklattan]

Earth Defense Force

 

The missile instead impacts Trump Tower and the massive silver skyscraper falls to the ground causing massive devastation.

 

Well shit, @Hiccup23, I literally can't give it a bad review with the above line.

 

That said, it's predictable as hell, and the story is mainly irrelevant and loaded with cliches (down to the black guy dying) but as a whole it's a fairly fun time with corny, cheesy action and some fun character banter. I know these should probably be more filling reviews, but honestly, I can't think of much else to say here. It's a decent time but not particularly memorable. And if you want to do a drinking game for this movie, don't take a shot every time they pander to China. You'll die with 30 minutes left.

 

 

B-

[Ezen Baklattan]

@YourMother the Edgelord While I'm on March I may just take out Lilo and Stitch.

[YM!]

Just now, Isle of Pasta said:

@YourMother the Edgelord While I'm on March I may just take out Lilo and Stitch.

Be my guest.

[Ezen Baklattan]

Lilo and Stitch

 

I noticed that @YourMother the Edgelord fixed a few good parts from my suggestions, including the revised (and pretty funny) interrogation scene and some improved flows in the editing. However, I think it suffers from the same problem as Beauty and the Beast (2017) in that while it's well made, it doesn't really give any new or interesting aspects to the live action version, and it doesn't quite have the visual wonder that allows live-action to give it an exciting new vision.

 

I did like the plot with Jumba's backstory explained a bit, and it does work pretty well especially with the ending, but it was hard to think of other additions to the film that worked exceptionally well. I did like the animated film a lot. (And I mean, a LOT. It's probably one of my favorite Disney films) And the joy of the animated film is there. But I think it's missing an extra bit of oompth to really set it apart.

 

 

B- (Huh, lots of minuses this week)

 

As a bit of personal feedback, if it helps in these adaptation, here was my strategy for Prince of Egypt. While working with the animated film, I tried to fix what I saw were issues with the original text and expand of the themes, emotions, and plots that these characters go through. Looking at these movies and thinking about what you would change if you made them can help you a lot with this.

[Ezen Baklattan]

It's judgement time, @cookie.

 

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The Scavenger Wars

 

First, let me say that despite the film's length, it's a pretty smooth read. The story itself is relatively easy to follow, and a lot of it just comes from dialogue boxes. I definitely think some of the descriptive parts could be a bit more concise, but it's not nearly as bad as one might fear.

 

Now on to the movie itself...

 

It's pretty clear why Spark and Voltron are such successful franchises in the game, making the space saga a truly inspiring genre within CAYOM. Both sagas have a great deal of excitement, wonder, humor, and heart that carries them along to great heights. It's pretty evident that The Scavenger Wars wishes to stand among these great films, but how much does it succeed?

 

 

First, let's get something big out of the way. The world building here is absolutely extensive and truly brilliant. Visually it's a truly exciting and unique masterpiece that excels even Spark/Voltron. The worlds created are so unique and invigorating, while the concepts within these worlds are pretty interesting too, especially in the Pallasyne serum. A lot of what we see in the story is admittedly things that we have scene in other sci-fi movies (in both the real world and CAYOM) but for the most part, even as it delves into familiar territory, they to a good job of keeping this world fresh and invigorating.

 

Now, a story is only as compelling as its main characters, and unfortunately, I didn't have quite as strong a connection with Joel and Kira as I did the Voltron crew. While both Henney and Scott give good performances, their relationship as siblings sometimes doesn't feel quite as emotionally impactful as it should, partly because much of the relationship is built between Joel and Tamara. She's probably my favorite character in the piece, and will likely be the favorite for many characters on here. Wright does a great job of portraying her hopeful, resilient, and strong-willed character, as she rallies her own species and supports Joel and Kira on the quest to end a brutal war. In terms of the supporting characters, I think that the film suffers a bit too much in splitting screentime across a lot of people on the human fleet (I was hoping for a bit more MEW action than what we got), but Isaacs suceeds in playing a pretty menacing villain whose quest for annihilation (which has somewhat muddled motivations, but given the Pallasyne it's somewhat justified), if sometimes giving in to being a bit over-the-top, albeit in a fun way. I was mentally comparing him to Michael Shannon in the Shape of Water.

 

I don't want to be too annoying and point this out, but especially with the Duffer brothers directing, I did see a lot in common with Spark Rising. The two are clearly different movies, but there are definitely similar dynamics explored, especially in the aliens painted as the "enemy" are shown in a more sympathetic light as the true villain comes from the hero's side, even an overpowered main hero and a crazy, erratic sidekick. These aren't necessarily quips, but I did find it a bit funny. But it does segway to a problem I had in the final act in how it kind of tries to juggle a bit more than it can do easily, managing a lot of different characters to the point where some get a bit marginalized. I also wish we got a bit more build up to the king's death - it kind of comes as more synthetic than it should, honestly.

 

But aside from the above....it's a pretty damn fine space saga that fits right in with Spark and Voltron. On top of the world building, it's an absolutely exhilirating and heartfelt (even in the more forced moments) adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat, never bored in spite of its long run time. Admittedly, I didn't think it needed to be 162 minutes, but there is definitely a lot of good stuff to enjoy here. 

 

 

A-

 

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But sorry Oddysey 2 was better.

 

 

 

 

 

[cookie]

Balancing the love story and the sibling story was tricky, I will admit.

 

That's part of why the movie ends like it does because the possible sequel would be a strictly Joel/Kira story.

[Ezen Baklattan]

FWIW (If we're being pedantic)

 

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Rise of Lotor > Scavenger Wars > Voltron 1

 

[cookie]

CGI Shuri getting high praise tho

 

[cookie]

3 minutes ago, Isle of Pasta said:

FWIW (If we're being pedantic)

 

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Rise of Lotor > Scavenger Wars > Voltron 1

 

When you did your review you said Lotor wasn't as good as Defenders 

 

This newfound appreciation for Lotor pleases me tho 

Edited April 25, 2018 by cookie