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Post by davep on Nov 1, 2006 8:22:00 GMT -5
Review - Saw III Score: 8/10 OK! First of all, let's say this before I start reviewing this movie; I love sick stuff~ That's it Now, about Saw III... First thing you think is "What kind of beginning is this? They don't keep any tortures for the end?" Well... don't worry, they do. But this third one start a bit too rough and even if it don't look like it at the beginning, it is the sickest of 'em. It is still kind of psychological like the two others and this time, even I have to say I've been a bit disgusted in a part of it... Jigsaw surpassed himself another time for the final test and what a surprise it is to know who is tested! You think you know who's tested but... that's pretty complicated to explain and I don't want to spam y'all so I won't explain it~~ For those who liked the psychological side of the first two Saw, I'd say it is a must see... or for those who are excited by blood and guts... your choice Either way, you'll understand in a better way the two others after this one. It explain the whole story in kind of drama/horror short flashbacks. Sad the end leave no way for a sequel tho~ But all good things must comes to an end so... enjoy what we got here!
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Post by Bobby on Aug 26, 2007 20:00:51 GMT -5
Review: Transformers Score: 8.5/10**Warning: Minor spoilers and a very lengthy report ahead so if you only want to read the review scroll down to the bold part!**Prelude:Let me start off by saying a little something about my typical movie habits. I have followed the making of quite a few films in the past years. From Spider-Man to Batman Begins to Superman Returns to many others. All thanks to the great addiction that is the SuperHeroHype.com forums. Oddly enough for a guy that likes to be surprised i always hang out in the spoiler section of the respective film's i follow. Not that i want to ruin the film's experience but due to the enormous amount of news/set pictures/spy pictures/leaks that get posted there. Even more than on the main page of the website. For me it's not about knowing what happens in the movie before the theater audience but it's actually about the build up to the film's release. Tracking the momentum of the film as the release date gets closer and the hype grows, like a kid awaiting to open his presents on Christmas morning. Sadly enough this does have it's downs also. As i hype up these films by showering myself with all the media content and leaked scripts, you get expectations, usually in my case always extreme ones. I doesn't help that producers and filmmakers play the game as well and say encouraging things and set the bar high by declaring various confident statements. Up to this point i haven't had the pleasure of seeing a movie match up to what is promised so often by them and to my own hype. Transformers 2007 was a movie i had really big expectations for and one much like the films before it, i followed since the start of production. Having seen Beast Wars as my first introduction to these characters i was already much hyped. Hearing the announcement by Steven Spielberg in such an excited way got me right away. Also the factor that Michael Bay was the one directing, set the bar high for the film. Having enjoyed all of Bay's past work specially his action movies such as The Island, Bad Boys 1 & 2, this was definitely going to be a fun ride. Then of course came all the talk about the designs, trying to imagine what they might look like in such a film. Once the leak came about, i got very excited, the bar was raised yet again. For some of the designs i had mixed feelings (Decepticons) but i could still see where they were taking this. A very edgy, intense and "raw" direction, separating it as much as possible from the old cartoon/toys. This movie wanted to be standing on it's own two feet and taken very serious as it was set for the summer blockbuster season among the big guys. I won't get into every detail of production and it's impacts so i'll just cut to the last month prior to it's release. It was early June 2007, summer barely upon our doorsteps yet you could feel the enormous heat generated by the setting of new Box-Office records almost weekly. One hit after the other, although not necessarily critically acclaimed, made it's way to the big screen. A succession of threequels mostly this summer, just when the studios were making claims about degrading revenue every year due to piracy. As always, i was around the forum, stuffing myself with every piece of news on merchandising, toys, pictures, tv spots and so on. Two weeks prior to the film's release, that's when it hit me. I had an epiphany, it was real clear that i had seen way too much. This close to release why should i do the same mistakes i've done in the past and read up everything that hits me? Two weeks was enough to forget about what i had read and seen in the media released so far. So for once in all the years following films on the "hype", i decided to give it a rest and step back for some time and totally get my mind of the film. I haven't mentioned this prior, but unlike those other movies, this was the first time i did not read the leaked script. With summer here i decided to go buy some sporting gear and take my free time outside at the park and sometimes just relaxing in the sun. One week prior, in my newfound independence from the internet i was having much fun and had forgotten or brushed off most of what i'd seen from the film. I went to buy my advance tickets at the downtown movie theater, the very best place to see a movie in the town. I was a happy camper and on top of that summer was fun for me again! Review starts here: This last part will be a fast montage so i'll try to be brief. Cue premiere night, me and my girlfriend jumped onto the bus and took the subway all the way to downtown Montreal. Since i spent most of my money the week prior i couldn't buy myself a Transformers branded t-shirt to show my excitement. Of course being the artist i am (no pun intended ) i had made one of with a split logo, one half good (Autobots), one half bad (Decepticon). Waiting in line to enter the room playing the film, we are among the best and biggest crowd i have seen for any movie here (i used to work there)! All branding various Transformers related t-shirts and seemingly very excited to be there as well as i was. Few minutes of waiting then we're finally in the room, crowd is electrifying and the screen wasn't even playing anything yet.
Needless to say, as the first scenes started, everyone was hooked! Whispers here and there, awe, excitement, satisfaction and pure enjoyment were a few of the many emotions in there that night. While i was watching the first scene, i couldn't help but be overwhelmed by all that was happening on screen, due to Bay's very fast montage and cuts. I was trying to grasp what was going on so hard. This feeling seemed very similar to me as it was the first feeling i got with all those other movies. I was starting to get worried while still trying to sink myself into the movie. As soon as the second scene started and the humor kicked in, i loosened up and became one with the rest of the theater. From there on, the movie got better and more entertaining with every following scene.
Finally i was experiencing something i hadn't in a long time, a real and pure cinematic experience like they don't make anymore off these days. Shia as Sam was great as i expected him to be, a very fun character to watch and he carried the movie from the humans point of view very well! Megan Fox as expected was very good eye candy and adorable to watch alongside Sam. The rest of the cast was also quite surprising and standouts to me where Anthony Anderson, John Turturro, Josh Duhamel. Bernie Mac was also hilarious in his cameo. The Autobots were the real stars of this movie and with such flawless CGI (provided by ILM) i was craving for more! The Decepticons on the other side very exactly as could be expected, very evil and straight to the point, having no real scenes showing their relations and characters as an ensemble. I wish more of them would have had speaking scenes and moments where they are grouped together and plotting their way to the Allspark. Most of them just pop up without introduction, do what they have to and leave or in some cases get sent packing.
As i saw the first scene with Barricade, i was in awe, i had no more doubts at all about the quality of their representations. When he started speaking everyone including myself broke out into a huge round of applause followed by cheers as the car chase took on. Just as soon, we get our second transformation, that was a second homerun. The emotion and mobility the bots displayed was simply amazing and jaw dropping. The score was a real joy and added so much to the film, specially during the Autobots arrival scene! That scene alone was worth the price of admission. Add to that the scene with the bots at Sam's house which had the theater in stitches. A great movie it was, until the Sector 7 part started.
I found the first scenes with the division very enjoyable but as soon as Bumblebee got captured and the setting changed to the Hoover Dam i think it lost it's prime. From there on Frenzy just got very irritating and he seemed like a scene filler as did most of the explanations surrounding the cube and the Dam. As soon as the montage of the Decepticons grouping started, i got excited again, but i still felt like the movie changed in tone yet again. The scenes that followed, such as the sadly short fight between Prime and Bonecrusher really seemed like fillers. Once they got to the Mission City i started having a very different feel on the film, i was almost certain it turned into a war movie. It was so packed with action and mayhem that it was getting a little hard to remain tuned in and not twitch around in the seat. At that point, the movie was already at or close to the two hour mark. People in the theater also seemed a little exhausted by all that was happening. The true disappointment to me was the constant cutting away from the fights just as soon as it got started (the robots that is). It really would have made it much better to watch, had they not cut away after such a good build up to the confrontations. It was still spectacular and had many great moments, more ups than downs by far.
The ending really helped put a final coat of shine on the film, specially after the last two parts. Needless to say, the movie got a standing ovation at the end as the credits started rolling and the crowd was clearly satisfied. Add to that that this was my first time being really in a total one-eighty from the past movie experiences. So much that i've seen the movie six times. The girlfriend has seen it three times and she was one who didn't care one bit for the movie prior to our first viewing. Each time she still enjoyed it. I'd also like to add that the movie has three extra scenes during the credits, so don't miss that! I'll end this review on the following note; Autobots, transforms and roll out!Transformers with added scenes coming to IMAX - September 21st 2007!www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=6220
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