Electric Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 No typo... the stories were written in 1931 but he's reading them 70 years later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) No typo... the stories were written in 1931 but he's reading them 70 years later.Ah ok, I misread it as reading the stories in 1931. Makes sense now, sorry.On a totally unrelated note I noticed I'm giving out a lot of 8s, will make compiling a top 25 list harder if every film from #10-#25 are all scored at 8. Edited November 12, 2012 by riczhang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blankments Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 8/10 (I adjusted the score down because I realised that there were 2 Howard movies in a year and generally when that happens I feel that the quality of both movies aren't at their full highest potential)This really really frustrates me, since I dibbed Ron Howard way back before the Advanced Schedule... What was the original score? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 This really really frustrates me, since I dibbed Ron Howard way back before the Advanced Schedule... What was the original score?8.5/10. Sorry about that. I just thought that making 2 movies a year would impact the quality of both of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blankments Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Understandable. I don't believe any other director working could fit with the strange story, so I'm happy I used Howard. Thanks for the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 Understandable. I don't believe any other director working could fit with the strange story, so I'm happy I used Howard. Thanks for the review. I do see your point. If it was a foreign language film I could see Wong Kar-Wai doing it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4815162342 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 The Shark Mutiny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 Creator, your reviews might be skipped over for now because your films are generally quite long and I'm not feeling focused enough to read them right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Creator Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 If you want a shorter one, Past Tense is like 2,000 words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 The Red Pyramid: As someone who’s read the books (And I actually did for this very purpose ) I’d like to say that the movie is too by the book for my tastes. I will admit that there are many book loyalists out there who’ll like the fact that this movie stuck with the book’s every plot turn, but I am not one of them. I even didn’t like Deathly Hallows Part 1 that much because I felt by sticking to the book it was too drawn out, bloated, and boring. The Red Pyramid is no different. While, I personally don’t like these sort of movies too much anyways to begin with, I am sure that The Red Pyramid will be a good choice for children to go to because it’s got some decent acting, a kid-oriented story line, and it falls right in line with other movies that’ve done with kids in the past. The visuals are as expected great, but that’s practically a given since it was partially shot in IMAX and costs $150 million to make. Some of the casting also is quite inspired and great. For example, Jean Dujardin was a pretty damn good Desjardin. The makers could’ve easily cast an English speaking actor, but they stuck with Desjardin’s French roots and Dujardin himself also brought in a bit of the OSS 117 charm that made his character both funny and villainous at the same time. And now we arrive at the ending which I thought despite having read the book wasn’t explained clearly. The part with Apophis is especially convoluted and leaves even adults wondering what just happened. I do give it props for sticking with the books events as that is a particularly hard part of the plot to make clear and not taking the easy way out and changing the entire plot like Percy Jackson did (Though that reference was unnecessary). 6.5/10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 If you want a shorter one, Past Tense is like 2,000 words.I will read that. I'll do the other two next weekend probably. I've read some of Dawn of Oblivion already and it's really good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezen Baklattan Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I'm still unopposed, here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 I'm still unopposed, here. I'm getting to the good stuff still... ^_^ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I think I need to write Throne of Fire instead of getting the plot off Wikipedia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 I think I need to write Throne of Fire instead of getting the plot off Wikipedia that's probably a good idea. Wikipedia plots don't generally tend to do well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 Past Tense: I’m not quite sure what I think of this movie. Where the movie shines is in its execution. It takes a so, so piece of work and story and turns into an impactful human story. It’s overly simple, yet still beautiful. In the same vein as Lost in Translation, Sophia Coppola doesn’t fail to deliver the goods. However, with that being said because the source material is only so good there’s really only so much one can do to make it better. Alex and Scarlett makes for a mismatched on screen couple at first but by the end you do fall in love with them completely. Peter and Anna also make for a pretty good couple. Their lived in feeling is particularly strong and natural. It really feels like they’ve lived in their marriage for the 40 years that the story says they have. But, despite all that something feels missing. Have they had an argument or something at somepoint before the movie begins? The marriage feels like it’s missing just a tiny screw to make it completely work, which is where they fall short of what is in my opinion probably the greatest elderly couple portrayal ever, Emmanuelle Riva and Jean Louis-Trintignant in Amour. However, that is a towering achievement of gargantuan proportions and Peter and Anna while not there yet make for a great on screen couple regardless. I think other than the execution; the movie is a risky take on a run of the mill romantic drama. Normally you’d probably have the couple have trouble in paradise and then an old sage man comes in to save the day. It’d be told in their perspective, but this time it’s told through the old man’s perspective which is a new and refreshing take on things. One suggestion for a movie watching marathon would be to watch this movie along with Hope Springs (Dir. David Frankel), Scenes of a Marriage (Dir. Ingmar Bergman), and Amour (Dir. Michael Haneke) all in one go, and in that order (Past Tense, Hope Springs, Scenes, and finally Amour). I think that these four movies would complement each other well and make for a pretty insightful experience when put together. 8/10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 And that's it for now. I won't have time to do another one before I need to go, so the next ones will come whenever. I hope to have all of them finished by next weekend if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Unbalanced 2: Let it be known that I am not a horror movie fan. Never have, never will be. Even looking past the bias there are quite a few problems with the movie. If you want to go to the theatres to see a movie that scares you, then this is the one. It’s wonderfully done in that aspect because it does really scare you. However, for me that isn’t enough to qualify it as a good movie. The story of the movie is definitely a huge problem. The stories don’t seem to be connected in any way, shape, or form and that makes it really disorientating as we switch from one story to the next. I think that perhaps each individual story should’ve been made into deeper stories and done as individual movies. I do realise that the titled of the movie is “Unbalanced” so perhaps my concern is invalid. 4/10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiccup Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 ^ at least you said it is scary...that is all that matters. Yeah the stories are meant to disorientate and confuse the viewer. Some people get really scared of movies that are just weird and confusing plus scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riczhang Posted November 16, 2012 Author Share Posted November 16, 2012 The Shark Mutiny: It’s good to know that big budget films dare to go the R-rated route. Too many these days hold back because they’re afraid to ostracise potential audience members by an R-rating. The Shark Mutiny doesn’t disappoint just like its predecessor U.S.S. Seawolf. Continuing the story shortly after where the previous film left off, it is still just as engaging and entertaining as the previous films. The story itself is action packed where it is needed and less so where it is not. I do have a bit of a problem with the ending because I understand why the ending was made the way it is. However, I think that perhaps ending with Dan and Rick walking out of the courthouse would be a better and more down to earth ending. Technically the film is impressive, the cinematography is excellent and we probably have to thank director Sam Mendes for the wise choices in direction. I also think that the atmosphere that was set for the film was particularly effective and fitting for the story that it tried to tell. 9.5/10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
