#redeemingfactor

[theredeemingfactor]

Captain Marvel

So ... Captain Marvel (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154664/?ref_=nv_sr_1) coming in with an IMDB rating of 7,1 and a Redeemer Rating of 7,4. To begin with I have to say that I have done something new with my last two reviews, something that I have never done before. I have reviewed out of order from viewing. But, because I treated myself to a movie theatre double header .. I wanted to get my review in right away. Captain Marvel was number two in the double header, and it certainly did not disappoint. Now it had a lot of things going for it, best of which was having it set in the 90′s. Captain Marvel is probably one of the characters in the MCU that I knew the least about before watching it and that added a level of enjoyment to it as well. Before I move on I want to mention two things. One, while I will try to be completely spoiler free in this review .. no promises. On that note, this movie is worth watching .. knowing that you can decide to go see it now and read later, or just read and take your chances that I don't write anything that might possibly ruin the movie for you. All right, not ruin the movie, but perhaps spoil some events.  

The plot. This movie is basically the origin story for Captain Marvel. Born Carol Danvers on earth .. we find out, via the subplot of the movie, how she get her powers and became the person she is and will be in the MCU movies to come. The main plot of the movie, at least in my opinion, is Vers, noble warrior Hero of the Cree, helping to hunt down and contain the threat of the Skrull as they expand their domain in the galaxy. The mission takes Vers to earth where she begins to learn more about herself. 

The movie. I feel like this may become a rather short review since there are a lot of cool things going on in this movie that just can't get mentioned here. What can we discuss. My favorite thing this movie does is taking place in the 90′s But I think it also missed a golden opportunity there. They decided to make some hammer, seriously HAMMER, a few references. Blockbuster, Radio Shack and the Grunge look. Now sure, they could have left these things in the movie the way they were .. but there really needed to be some more hidden/ easter-egg-style references. Those are the things that a movie goer like me loves, catching a detail in the background that does not even have to have anything to do with the actual story or plot. Missed opportunity to be sure. The casting in the movie. Solid. Actually really solid. While Brie Larson may not have been an obvious choice coming in, she was really good .. even with a slightly goofy running style in one part of the movie. Jackson, even with what I assume is de-aging animation, embodies Nick Fury. Jude Law, I’m a fan .. and he is really good in this. The story/script was really good. Not that I was not expecting that from the MCU, as they have a track record of doing good work. But there are a couple pretty telegraphed punch lines throughout the movie. And just disappoints as I feel like a movie of this caliber should be better than that. Special effects, also solid. Action sequences, really good. Brie Larson and her stunt crew really impressed on me in this movie. In Black Panther, there were a lot of action sequences with female characters .. and they came out looking pale in comparison to the ones with the male characters. And for me that always weakens the character in my eyes. Captain Marvel was solid throughout for me. Properly strong character. This movie was just solid all throughout, good pacing, nice scenes and entertaining from beginning to end. 

The demeaning factor. I think that underusing the 90′s setting was the most disappointing thing for me. Being a teenager of the 90′s it is one of the decades that I associate most with. For me, this movie would have been even better with some 90′s detailing around the edges. 

The final word. This is just another notch on the MCU’s bedpost. Another rung on the MCU’s ladder. Another feather in the MCU’s cap. You get the idea. The MCU is a success machine and this movie makes my top 5, and I just can't wait to see how she will be used in Endgame. If you are a fan of the MCU, watch this movie. If you want to see a movie with a strong female protagonist, watch this movie. A movie I could arguably rank above Wonder Woman. So yeah, I think this movie is certainly worth watching. Enjoy. 

[theredeemingfactor]

Alien: Covenant

So ... Alien: Covenant (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2316204/?ref_=nv_sr_1) coming in with an IMDB rating of 6,5 and a Redeemer rating of 3,3. Well, if Alien Prometheus sort of looked over at Alien and Aliens and let out a semi silent fart .. then Alien: Covenant took a ginormous shit all over both of them. Look, I know that Aliens 3 was not fantastic and the Alien: Resurrection was even worse. I also know that people got super excited when news of an Alien prequel was released. Those same people were of course also disappointed and upset with the results. Well, most of them were. It was not what we were expecting. Prometheus left most of simply confused. Then Ridley Scott said that he would make a sequel to the prequel. And we all got excited all over again. Surely he would have learned from Prometheus and not make the same mistakes all over again. Surely he would give us all what we wanted. The addition to the Alien universe that we all deserve. What did we get. Whatever semi solid piece of crap this was, that is what we got. This movie really is on par with Resurrection with being the worst in the franchise. 

The plot. The spaceship Covenant is hauling a bunch of colonists to a remote planet. Stuff happens to the ship, people die, the crew has to adapt and alter their plans and stumble upon the planet where the engineers (from Prometheus) come from. There are Aliens, religiously devout crew members and some decent actions scenes. 

The movie. Remember when the Star Wars prequels introduced midichlorians, and how mad you got at George Lucas. In Prometheus, Ridley Scott took a midichlorian sized dump on all of us when he introduced the Engineers. And in Covenant, he reduces everything he tried to set up in Prometheus to dirt. Much like Prometheus, this could possibly be considered a good movie .. if it was a stand alone movie with absolutely no affiliation to the Alien franchise. But alas that is not the case and for the reason alone this movie sucks. But it also sucks for other reasons. Me personally, I never really saw the need for the  Xenomorphs to be engineered, but I can sort of see the charm in that story arc. But then Prometheus went and decided that the same people who created the predecessors to the xenomorphs, also killed the dinosaurs and had a hand in, somehow, creating or constructing humanity. Cause that makes sense. Sure, it is sci-fi, doesn't always have to make sense. But following this story would make Donald Trump seem cohesive and coherent. Tack on the fact that Covenant really has nothing to do with Prometheus, but rather stumbles into being a sequel more than anything else. And as a result of stumbling and deus ex machine:ing through this movie we end up finding out that an android/synthetic organism/robot has going bat shit crazy and has through years of experimenting bred the xenomorphs into the shape we first met them in. And now you might be thinking, how can this movie get any worse? well, let me tell you. It also breaks a cardinal rule, a cardinal rule that most prequels always break .. technological devancement. That’s right, devancement. This movie is supposed to take place before the first Alien movie, and yet the technology they have is far far better. The synthetic organisms and a millions years more advanced. In Aliens, Bishop even refers to the model used in Alien and says that that model always was a bit twitchy. In Prometheus and Covenant you have the David models, who seem amazing. The weaponry, the space crafts .. everything .. way more advanced in the prequels. As if all this was not bad enough. There is a kicker. In Covenant we get face huggers. AWESOME. In Alien the gestation period is days, and the newborn alien pops out through the chest. In Covenant the gestation period is variable .. never longer that an hour .. and sometimes simply minutes. That seems endlessly more effective for a species, so why would the Xenomorphs devolve. It makes no sense I tell you. But surely the Xenomorphs in this movie would look awesome. I mean, how could they not. With the level of CGI available today. Well, let me tell you something .. they looked terrible. Some kind of CGI nightmare. Man, I really did not care for this movie. 

The redeeming factor. Not that it in any way redeemed the entire movie .. that would be impossible. But the face huggers were the only thing from the originals that was not shat upon by these two new movies. The eggs were create, and they looked the way they should. Don't reflect on how David created the eggs. I mean in the original movies the queen lays the eggs, but we don't need that here. But that was not part of the redeeming factor. The face huggers alone were that. 

Man, this movie was just all kinds of bad. It felt insulting, confusing and disappointing to watch. After Prometheus got the poor reviews it did it should just have been erased out of the franchise universe. I would have loved to have seen a good prequel. Instead we got a steaming pile of crap set upon a smaller hardened pile of crap. The smaller hardened pile of crap is Prometheus. If you like Alien and Aliens and don't want them to be ruined more than they were by Prometheus .. then don't watch this movie. Hell, you should just not watch this movie for any reason. It was really bad. 

[theredeemingfactor]

Florence Foster Jenkins

So ... Florence Foster Jenkins (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4136084/?ref_=nv_sr_2) coming in with an IMDB rating of 6,9 and a Redeemer Rating of 7,4. Based on a true story. Those are words that immediately put a movie into a separate grading category, at least for me. Cause then I immediately have to weigh in how cool the true story is. Then I also have to take into account how much of the movie is reality and if the changes made in the movie were valid ones. Sometimes directors will needlessly embellish an already fantastic story, and that will of course make me be more critical of that movie. Sometimes the actual story is so boring that I can't understand why a movie would ever be made. This movie, according to my, all be it brief, research, is one that walks the line really well. There is not too much added here, the story is a super intriguing one and the performances are really nice. 

The plot. Well this is going to be really short. In the very early parts of the twentieth century lived a lady with an abundance of money, a love of music and singing  .. but unfortunately she has a simply terrible singing voice. But her closest friends keep her suspended in a bubble, and in this bubble she believes that she has one of the greatest voices in the world. The movie focuses on the period in her life that leads to the bubble bursting. 

The movie. Well, Meryl Streep is simply amazing. By far one of the greatest actresses that we have and she brings another fantastic performance to the screen in this movie. But that was to be expected. I expect Streep to be amazing in whatever she does. What I did not expect was for Hugh Grant to play against type to much. Our classically bumbling super rom-com man usually has only one way to play every role he does. And he got famous for doing it. But the fact of the matter is that when he plays against type you can see some of the real quality that exists within Hugh Grant. He brings a great character to the screen who is driven to make this woman happy by doing some seriously morally questionable things. And on that note, lets move on from discussing the cast and moving on to the actual movie. This story is just amazing. On the surface it is a fascinating biopic about a really intriguing person. But that is not all that the movie does for us. Whether it does it on purpose or not, it really raises some good points about whether what Jenkins’s friends are doing for her is actually nice. Would it have been ok if the bubbly never burst? Is it ok cause they are trying to keep her happy? I mean, when the bubble does burst you can really see Jenkins’s world crumble. And that is heartbreaking. Those scenes are fantastically played. At the same time the movie also brings these emotions to the screen. Just fascinating. I am impressed by the story, the cast and the depth of layers that this movie has. 

The demeaning factor. I think the parts of the story that were not centered in reality, including a character who plays a rather pivotal part in a pivotal scene. I don’t want to give to much away here, so I will leave it at that. 

This was an amazing movie. Great performances by the main cast. Fantastically shot. Interesting story. Sure there are parts that drag a bit slowly. Sure there are some embellishments and changes to reality. But this story is super interesting and brought to screen with an amazing sensibility. I highly recommend this movie for watching. 

[theredeemingfactor]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

So ... Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3896198/?ref_=nv_sr_1) coming in with an IMDB rating of 7,8 and a Redeemer Rating of 6,7. Guardians 1 was simply put, fantastic. Therefore, this movie had a lot to live up to. And it didn’t live up to all of it. Still a good movie, but nowhere near as good as the first one. There are just a few too many gigantic plotholes for this movie to be really. good. Too bad. 

The plot. The Guardians, now known all over the Universe, carry out jobs on demand .. for payment of course. But every job is a new obstacle for them to overcome. Where they have to learn to work together and keep their “family” together. But a dispute threatens to divide this new family, all the while the truth behind Peter Quills parentage begins to unravel. 

The movie. There is a just a huge sampling of little things all throughout the movie that make no sense. The killing of the giant octopus creature in the beginning, does not make any sense. When Rocket Raccoon admits to stealing the batteries right in front of the people he stole them from. Yondu and his arrow. I mean, just watch Everything Wrong With or How it Should Have Ended .. and you’ll see just how dumb parts of this movie are. The entire final fight, while entertaining, is just ridiculous. Now, all this being said. This is still a good movie. It is a natural progression from the first one. It develops some of the characters, and some more than others .. some not at all. And I guess that is perhaps my biggest let down with this movie. The first movie did a lot for the entire main cast, while this one did less. Except for Peter. He gets the crap developed out of himself. But enough nitpicking here. Taken as a whole this is a good movie. Could be better though .. a lot better in fact. I just would have liked to have seen a more solid script. Especially in regards to the comedy of this movie. There were some funny moments, but there were more scenes that intended to be funny and just weren't. And there was a lot of that going around in this movie. 

The demeaning factor. Baby Groot. It is baby Anekin Skywalker all over again. Just too many scenes of cute baby misunderstandings. They have no place in this movie. 

The final word. Guardians 2 is a good movie and is worth watching. If you are like me, knee deep in the Marvel Universe, then this is a must see. For the rest of you .. make sure you see the first Guardians movie, and then enjoy this one. 

[theredeemingfactor]

Power Rangers

So ... Power Rangers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3717490/?ref_=nv_sr_2) coming in with an IMDB rating of 6,1 and a Redeemer Rating of 5,6. From odd japanese tv-show .. to even odder mish mash of said japanese show but with added american scenes .. to several strange movies with ever changing groups of Rangers and ever stranger things to morph into or from or to .. to this. My what a very long road this movie has travelled before getting maid. But it does feel like all that had to happen for this movie to come about. There is of course one other thing that had to happen. About two or so years ago this little tasty video surfaced on the web, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1PqUAvWFDU . It definitely set the ball running for making this movie. It was a proof of concept video, much in the same spirit as the even more famous “leaked” Deadpool video. Now while this movie is in no way as good as Deadpool, it certainly was far better then I ever thought it would be. 

The plot. This is really only for any of that were not born in the later part of the seventies. Now even though I was not perhaps a super fan of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers .. I certainly know about it and had a crush on the Pink Power Ranger. #Amy Jo Johnson. But as some of you who actually read my posts may not be of my generation, here goes. 5 high school teenagers discover mystical rocks that imbue them with amazing powers. Now they have to work together to face a great evil that threatens to take over the entire world. Or end life on earth, or enslave all humans .. or whatever it it she plans to do. Regardless. 

The movie. I recognize that actually making this movie took some balls, and to whomever green lit this movie I have to say well done. If you have been keeping up to date on some of my more recent reviews you will be very aware of the fact that I hate reboots and/or remakes. And sure, I do hold that against this movie. That being said, I have to say that I was a bit of fan of this particular remake. In the same way that I was a fan of the first Transformers movie .. until I saw it. So of course I was a bit nervous watching this movie. I mean this was a super campy tv show in the nineties that was aimed younger kids. Would it all be possible to go so far from the source material and make a seriously gritty version aimed at a marginally older audience. All the while not making the mistakes that were made in the making of The Fantastic Four. And hey, maybe it is thanks to the abysmal failures of Transformers (I know this movie has sequels and makes shit tonnes of money, but it sucks .. it sucks out loud and every sequels sucked more than the movie before it) and The Fantastic Four that this movie comes of looking pretty good. Cause it is pretty good. Sure, the cast was selected more for their looks than overall acting ability. And sure, the plot is exceptionally generic. And sure once more, this movie kind of tries to tight walk a line between gritty reboot all while still appealing to the same age demographic as the original show .. and failed at it. Sometimes it is gritty and sometimes a just far too childish. But if you put these things aside and you have a rather successful movie. Or at least a movie that was not as bad as it certainly could have been. I just wish they would have gone full Deadpool with this movie as well. The people who grew up watching the show are now all grown up, at least according to our passports, so why not cater to us. I don't think that this movie was ever going to make kids today Power Ranger fans. This movie was made for the people who grew up watching it, and it just should have been written for us. 

The redeeming factor. Honestly, I enjoyed the evolution of their powers. And how it took actually opening up to one another and getting to know each other in order to unlock the final level of their powers. It was well done. 

You know, this movie is nothing that I really would like to see again. Nor is it something that I would like to see getting a sequel or god forbid a franchise. That being said, I would like to say that for people who grew up watching the television show, you find some kind of strange joy in watching this movie It was not bad, far .. FAR .. from great, but still watchable. Something to put on and do a sort of MST 3K thing with some friends. For most of you I would just say don't bother watching this movie .. but like I said, those of you who grew up with the show .. give it a look .

[theredeemingfactor]

Ghost in the Shell - animated 1995

So ... Ghost in the Shell - animated 1995 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113568/?ref_=nv_sr_2) coming in with an IMDB rating of 8,0 and a Redeemer rating of 8,5. Some of the greatest stories brought to the screen come from Japan, and they are animated. Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away and Akira to name  a few others. All of these are great stories that could just not have been done any other way then as an animated movie. And, in spite of being an animated movie, the target audience was all adult. There are themes and scenes all throughout that are not at all child friendly. 

The plot. Fairly simple really. A cyborg policewoman is on the hunt of a cyber-terrorist know as the puppet master. She is a member of an elite task force that operate independently of the main police force. We are in a future japan where a large portion of society have gotten various forms of bionic implants. Any body part you can think of can be replaced, and not only replaced but also enhanced. 

The movie. You certainly need a bit of patience to watch this movie. There are some seriously long sequences that have no dialogue. I think it would have been a bit better, or at least more enjoyable, if I spoke and read Japanese. There is so much to the background of this movie that is completely lost on me. And in most future movies like this there always so much fun checking out how the director views society in the future. What companies have survived, what kind of stores are out there and how are people living. I think the director brings a fantastically realistically gritty look on what the future would look like as technology advances. The rampant availability of enhancements to the human body is done so well. And there is also a certain “steam-punk-esque” feeling to these enhancements. Every implant is not done perfectly. You can get black market implants and other things like that. Lovely, and certainly .. as I have said .. realistic. Looking at the movie as a story, it is also very gripping. A fantastic story with layers, great character and amazingly entertaining sequences. And it is filmed in a way that forces the watcher of the movie to be “not an idiot”. Plot points are not hammered home, certain parts of the movie are done intentionally vague and open ended and allows the audience to make up their own mind about what the movie means. The best kind.

The demeaning factor. I wish I could say that it is the fact that I don't speak Japanese, and because of the fact that the version I saw did not translate every street sign I found myself missing out certain parts of the movie. But that does not work, and so I can not choose that. What I am going to choose is something that I don't actually completely believe in myself. I am going to say that, for the general movie going audience, this movie is a bit to confusing and leaves a lot for the audience to figure out on their own. And that type of movie i snot everyones cup of tea. This type of movie requires a very alert watcher .. something that I like, but am aware does not work for everyone. 

This movie is fantastic. It is deep and movie with fantastic depth. There are characters and plot points that actually have nothing to do with the major plot of the story. And movies that take the time to introduce things that do nothing else but at layers to supporting characters are movies that I like. If you are a fan of anime and manga, then this is a must see movie. If you are not, then this can still be an interesting movie. 

[theredeemingfactor]

Horrible Bosses 2

So ... Horrible Bosses 2 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2170439/?ref_=nv_sr_1) coming in with an IMDB rating of 6,4 and a Redeemer Rating of 6,6. It is always a bit scary when you hear that a sequel to comedy movies are going to be made. That is probably why I have been a bit hesitant in regards to watching this one. Plus my disappointing experience with Hot Tub Time Machine 2 also gave me pause. But perhaps this positive experience will lead to me actually seeing Hangover 2. The thing is .. movies like this one, only get a sequel if they are successful. There is never a plan for one when the first movie is made. So when the first movie turns out well, then the people who make the second don’t want to stray from the formula that made the first one good. For me, this almost always leads to beating that formal to death. Very rarely is there enough of a change to make the movie seem good, while still holding on to what made the first one good. This movie just tippy tippy toes along the line with that. What a ramble that was. The plot, real fast. Our three amigos have decided that they will be their own bosses, and come up with a shower related product that they hope will make them rich. They are screwed over by an investor and must then resort to criminal activities again to save their lives and bank accounts. 

From the mainer cast of the first movie we have lost Donald Sutherland and Colin Farrell. That is a loss, for sure. But when you replace them with Christopher Waltz and Chris Pine .. well then you are not too badly off. Waltz is great, and will in my opinion easily reach a similarly high status as Sutherland. Pine may not be as good of an actor as Farrell, but in this role he did every bit as good as Farrell did in the first. Spacey is back again, proving that he can still deliver comedy. Fantastic actor that man. Aniston reprises her role as the sex-addicted dentist. I still find it hilarious seeing Rachel from Friends being so overly sexual. Granted, this new character type seems to be a bit of a go to for Aniston recently, but she does it really well in this movie and so I can not really complain. Jamie Foxx is fine. I am not sure comedy is really his thing. I know he started there, with stand up and In Living Color .. but in the movies he is not that funny. Our three amigos all return from the first movie. Their chemistry is still every bit as good, and they are really what make these movies funny. 

The plot. Well, it is a bit like watching Home Alone 2. You look at the movie and you just think to yourself, REALLY again? But then you have to remind yourself that it is a movie, and realism sometimes has absolutely no place in movies. People make decisions that normal people never would make, and that leads to situations that are utterly ludicrous. But it is these scenes that make us laugh, and so we don’t always reflect on the reality in the scenes. I will say that the characters are a bit dumber, and not all the jokes have the same punch that they had in the first movie. But I was still laughing, and that is all that I ask for with a comedy. 

The demeaning factor of the movie. The opening sequence, when the trio is on a morning talk show to show off their product. Making it look like one of them i jerking off the other, while that is totally not what is happening .. well, LAME. Thankfully the jokes later on are of a higher caliber.

If you like the first one, watch this one. If you have not seen the first one you should see it first, and then decide if you want to see this one as well. I thought it was funny, but not as good as the first.