Rorschach Reviews Y4: Now with 100% More Hot Takes

[Rorschach]

Jason Isaacs watching this film: ...hey wait a minute!!!

[4815162342]

1 minute ago, Rorschach said:

Jason Isaacs watching this film: ...hey wait a minute!!!

 

Yeah I fully cop to that, though the source material I started with already was going down that path so 

 

 

[Rorschach]

[Rorschach]

Pillars of Eternity: The Hollow Vale

 

 

While there are a few things that hold this film back from being great, namely how it crams a lot of story into a short amount of time and the somewhat slow-burn of a start where I was getting used to the world of Eora and its inhabitants, the film has so many positives that balance it out. 

 

The cast of characters are all really likeable. As I hinted, Sarana (played by Ana de Armas) is probably my new favorite crush in CAYOM. J.K. Simmons as a wizard is pretty damn entertaining, managing to get quite a few chuckles out of me in some scenes. Colin Farrell and Boy Holbrook work well as the villains, the former channeling some of the same plot points of another big baddie who won an Oscar last year but he manages to deviate just enough to make himself stand out. The few big set pieces included were amazing to see on the big screen and the world of Eora, once you start to get settled into it, is pretty damn cool.

 

So yeah, I'm looking forward to what the second film brings next holiday season.

 

8/10

 

[Rorschach]

 

The Rest of May

 

Frindle 

 

What the writing process for this movie was probably like:

 

 

5/10

 

Murky

 

 

2/10

 

American Dragon: Darkness Rising

 

Trixie and Spud at the end of the movie like:

 

 

7/10

 

Cabana Boys

 

 

1/10

[Xillix]

Remarkably consistent scores for AmDrag 2 so far!

[Rorschach]

June

 

Brave

 

I guess I've already seen the original movie now.

 

5.5/10

 

Darkness Dwells Deep

 

 

3/10

 

High School Musical 4: Reunion

 

The lack of new original songs kills my enjoyment

 

5/10

 

Paradise Lost

 

What audience was this even made for?

 

4/10

[Rorschach]

And now for the Top 10 Films of the Year thus far...

 

10.

Spoiler

Earthsong Volume 1: Haven's Guard @Xillix

 

9.

Spoiler

Broadway Selects: SpongeBob Squarepants @Blankments

 

8.

Spoiler

Pokemon: Rise of the Rockets @4815162342

 

7.

Spoiler

American Dragon: Darkness Rising @Xillix

 

6.

Spoiler

Reality Shift @Blankments

 

5.

Spoiler

Blue and Gold @YourMother the Edgelord

 

4.

Spoiler

Mass Effect @4815162342

 

3.

Spoiler

A Month at Belmont Lane @Spagheditary

 

2.

Spoiler

Pillars of Eternity: The Hollow Vale @4815162342

 

1.

Spoiler

Can You Imagine @YourMother the Edgelord

 

[YM!]

7 hours ago, Rorschach said:

And now for the Top 10 Films of the Year thus far...

 

10.

 

9.

 

8.

 

7.

 

6.

 

5.

  Reveal hidden contents

Blue and Gold @YourMother the Edgelord

 

4.

 

3.

 

2.

 

1.

  Hide contents

Can You Imagine @YourMother the Edgelord

 

 

[Rorschach]

Alright so this is the current lineup I have for requested movies:

 

The Amityville Nightmare Part II

Amulet II: The Last Council

Kingdom of the Sun 

Sir Thymes Time

Spark: Beyond the Sky

Fortnight

 

I'll be doing Fortnight first since I did a pre-read for Numbers (also its still somewhat fresh in my mind) so that'll be the first film I review. Are there any last minute requests anyone wants to make that hasn't requested anything yet?

[YM!]

4 minutes ago, Rorschach said:

Alright so this is the current lineup I have for requested movies:

 

The Amityville Nightmare Part II

Amulet II: The Last Council

Kingdom of the Sun 

Sir Thymes Time

Spark: Beyond the Sky

Fortnight

 

I'll be doing Fortnight first since I did a pre-read for Numbers (also its still somewhat fresh in my mind) so that'll be the first film I review. Are there any last minute requests anyone wants to make that hasn't requested anything yet?

So is the order bottom up?

[Rorschach]

3 minutes ago, YourMother the Edgelord said:

So is the order bottom up?

No, its just the order it was requested. I'm just planning to do Fortnight first since I've already read it. Everything will go top to bottom afterward.

[Rorschach]

Fortnight

 

One of the biggest problems I sometimes have with war films is that most of the ensemble cast of characters end being entirely forgettable by the end of the film. Thankfully, this film manages to have a ton of memorable main/side characters throughout its runtime so it has a pretty good advantage compared to most other films in its genre.

 

While most war films tend to go all out on the action, Fortnight sets itself apart, portraying itself as more of a drama than a war film. Yes, there are a few action set pieces and they are extremely thrilling but that's not necessarily the point of it. The film, first and foremost, decides to focus on the struggle of both the American and British forces, showing a lot of the struggle both had to go through during the two week ordeal the film presents us with. Specifically, we get the sense that the Americans are the group struggling the most, nearly on the brink of defeat and their dream of an independent country on thin ice (figuratively and in one case, literally). The film does well in showing us how the Americans work together to overcome this nightmarish ordeal. 

 

In terms of the ensemble cast, all the actors do a great job as their characters. Jason Clarke is uplifting as George Washington, portraying America's future first president as someone who was the physical embodiment of the morale that the colonists had during the ordeal while also giving him a very humanizing portrayal. I really appreciated that aspect about his character a lot, showing that even one of America's most celebrated historical figures -and often glorified beyond realism- was fearful of how things were going to turn out, but still keeping that hopeful spirit alive in his men. On the other side of the fight, we get two great performances from Damian Lewis and Thomas Kretschmann both of whom act as great forces of opposition, though their roles as the film's antagonists vary. Lewis portrays a more relatable and even sympathetic character who takes his anger of not being able to go home and see his sick wife out on the colonists. Kretschmann, on the other hand, portrays a more vicious character, embracing a bit more of a villain role than Lewis., though it works well for the narrative of the film. On a minor note, Alden Ehrenreich and Tom Holland also gave fairly memorable performances, the latter making great use of his short screen time as the young, enthusiastic Alexander Hamilton.

 

Though there are a few areas where the film drags a little, there is a purpose to it. Instead of mostly focusing on the fighting, Spielberg does a terrific job framing the struggle that the Colonists not only faced but also what the British forces had to do as well. It is crazy to think that a two week time period managed to shift the direction of the Revolutionary war but after witnessing a live-action portrayal of the events, I have nothing but the upmost respect for the men who gave their service during that time. I certainly can't imagine how I would've held up during a time period like that and I certainly can't imagine what life not living in the United States would be like had the events of the film gone to the favor of the other side. It makes me thankful for the life that I have today and I wouldn't want it any other way.

 

9/10

[4815162342]

51 minutes ago, Rorschach said:

Fortnight

 

9/10

 

Thanks for the review. Here's something I learned about Lewis' character that knowing kinda gives a little extra weight to his role

 

Spoiler

He doesn't get to go back to Britain until the end of 1778. His wife dies a couple months later. So he ends up barely making it home in time.

 

[Rorschach]

So my gam plan is to read/review Amityville and Amulet tonight. Then tomorrow, I'll be diving into Kingdom of the Sun, Sir Thymes Time, Spark 3, and By The Balls.

[Rorschach]

It's nice to see Armand Assante getting some work outside of The Odyssey trilogy.

[YM!]

22 hours ago, Rorschach said:

Frindle 

 

What the writing process for this movie was probably like:

 

 

 

5/10

 

This is what I thought off when you posted the gif.

[Rorschach]

The Amityville Nightmare Part 2

 

 

Compared to the first film which tried to cram a whole bunch of plot into an under 2 hour runtime, this felt like a breath of fresh air. However, unlike the first film, I found this film to be somewhat lackluster in its execution.

 

While the first film did feel like the fast forward button was on full force, I felt that it did a much better job of creating genuine scares and a creepy atmosphere, something I felt this film lacked a lot of. A lot of the scenes here feel somewhat overdone, with a lot of emphasis on gore this time around then building up effective scares. I don't really know how to say it, it just got a little unbelievable for me, especially towards the climax of the film. It's a shame because a lot of the scary scenes are setup rather well

Spoiler

my favorite in particular being the scene where Silvio is possessed by the demon and kills the three people

but most of them end up just sputtering out by going one step too far.

 

Still, the actors here all give really good performances, enough to make me like the film a lot more than I should and the pacing here, like I said, is  improved greatly from the first film. Overall, I found this to be a big step down from the first film. Some of the mistakes are fixed but in doing so, it trades out its creepy factor.

 

5.5/10

[Rorschach]

Now it's time for me to dive into the animated equivalent of Lawrence of Arabia.

[Rorschach]

Hugh Jackman has had a very busy year, hasn't he?