November 2018!!

November only brings two films to review the first being Overlord

RunTime:110 Minutes

Post Credit:None


Plot-"The story of two American soldiers behind enemy lines on D Day"


Starring-Wyatt Russell, Jovan Adepo and Mathilde Ollivier




My Thoughts

This film came onto my radar a little late in the game, but when it comes to films its better late than never. Originally this film was meant to be in the cloverfield (and as a huge fan of the cloverfield fans i was extremely hyped) universe but that was quickly changed. After seeing the trailer I decided to give the film a chance and I can say the film was okay, not great not bad either. The acting in this film was pretty good b y the main cast (the standout was Jovan Adepo  in the lead role of Boyce), but the rest of the main cast all did really good jobs and i was impressed overall. Some of the camera work especially in the beginning of this film (there is an airplane scene at the beginning where the soldiers had to jump out of the plane is a prime example) was really good and showed some angles I rarely see in film. which was a nice surprise. The beginning of this film in particular felt like a war film and there was a certain grittiness to it which I liked, there was a lot of chaos going on around the soldiers once they landed. Once the film started to pick up pace and go along through the story for me this is when it started to lose some steam, there where some plot holes that never got an explanation for why they happened and it bothered me. The overall plot of the film wasnt great either, I initially expected a zopmbie film set against the backdrop of WW2 and that was not the case at all. the film felt like a band of brothers war film with monsters thrown in, which was not what i expected and was a letdown overall for me. not saying it was the wrong choice but this film was a good example of how trailers can be misleading. The gore in this film was very good though, I enjoyed  it very much, if a film like this is going to be rated R make it R for a reason and the filmmakers really took advantage of that aspect of the film. It was a nice sight to see as gore fan.Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 82% saying " Part revisionist war drama, part zombie thriller, and part all-out genre gorefest, Overlord offers A-level fun for B-movie fans of multiple persuasions". I agree that the film did feel like a mashup of different generes at different parts but it was not a zomvie thirller in any way for me, which was a shame. Overall this film as I mentioned earlier was okay and worth seeing for anyone who wants to see a well acted gory, zombie-ish film.

Rating


Well acted, not really a zombie film though, but it was gory 7.0/10!!!


The Second film for the month of November is one I am really looking forward to Creed II.

Runtime:130 Minutes


Post Credit-None

 Plot-"Under the tutelage of Rocky Balboa, newly crowned light heavyweight champion Adonis Creed faces off against Viktor Drago, the son of Ivan Drago".

Starring-Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren


My Thoughts


I was a big fan of Creed and eagerly awaited a sequel to that film. I can say this film was very good and a welcome addition to the series. The acting in this film was very good overall, the main cast did a good job and i could not point out a weak performance among the cast. The plot for this film will be very familiar to anyone who has seen the the rocky movies, the plot centers around Drago's son challenging Adonis Creed and all the lives this effects while leading up to the fight. The lot flowed together pretty well and kept the film entertaining during the over two hour run time.  I will say there were a few plot holes that for me could have easily been explained during the film. One thing i really liked about this film was that it did not just focus on Adonis Creed and his family. Rocky V had a lasting effect on everyone involved and it was nice to see how things played out for the main characters after that film., The boxing scenes in this film were overall well done, there was an aggression to them that made them very enthralling in particular the hard shots when the camera would slow down and the viewer could really see the impact of the shots. When comparing this film to the first creed, I cant say this film was better, but I would say its very good on its own, both films were very good and some of the best I have seen for their respective years and that is a compliment in itself. I will say there were some verty predictable moments in this movie that the viewer will see coming, but when you see enough movies it becomes part of the movie experience. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending but I will say it wraps up the series pretty good if they decide to not do a Creed III. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 82% saying "Creed II's adherence to franchise formula adds up to a sequel with few true surprises, but its time-tested generational themes still pack a solid punch". I agree that the film does follow a specific pattern that has been sued in many Boxing movies before, but honestly for a boxing invite there is only so much different you can do. Overall this was a very good movie and one of the best I have seen this year, I highly recommend for anyone who was a fan of the rocky films or the first Creed or to someone who jsut wants to see a good film.



Rating

Very good film, well acted, solid pplot and impressive boxing scenes. one of the best I have seen this year 8.3/10!

October 2018!!

The Spookiest Month brings two films to review the first being Venom.

Runtime:112 Minutes

Post Credit-Two (One mid credit and one after credits run)

Plot-"When Eddie Brock acquires the powers of a symbiote, he will have to release his alter-ego "Venom" to save his life".

Starring-Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams and Woody Harrelson

My Thoughts

I will say that going into this movie my expectations were not that high. i am a fan of Tom Hardy and I do like venom as a marvel character. After seeing the film I can say that it was okay, not great or terrible but okay. The plot of this film for me was pretty weak, not in the sense that it was hard to follow but in the sense that there was not much too it. Venom isn't a huge character and doesn't have the background of Wolverine or Spiderman so  I understand there isn't as much material to work with. The acting was just okay, other than Tom Hardy (who did a good job as Eddie Brock except for the few times his English accent slipped out) the rest of the cast did passable Jobs, but he was clearly the standout in this film, not shocking he is a very good actor and you expect him to deliver and he did overall. The special effects for me were a big letdown, I understand practical effects for the Venom suit was probably not possible or financially doable but the end result was very cheesy looking, for me and any film with a budget over $100 Million should at the very least have decent special effects and that was not the case overall for with this film. I will say this film was action packed and very fun which at the heart of any Comic book character film should be (in my opinion), the film was overall enjoyable and worth watching. One other aspect I really liked was the interplay between Eddie Brock and Venom, there were some funny moments in there and they played off each other well which was a plus, if a sequel does happen (which is likely considering how well its doing at the box office) I look forward to the relationship between the two developing and leading to a deeper connection. Rotten Tomatoes  gave the film a surprising 31% saying "enom's first standalone movie turns out to be like the comics character in all the wrong ways - chaotic, noisy, and in desperate need of a stronger attachment to Spider-Man". While I agree that having spiderman in some capacity in future films would help for a stronger overall film, I wouldn't say the film was that bad. I enjoyed the film overall and while the ployt was weak and the special effects overall were a letdown, the film was enjoyable and as a venom fan I am enjoyed his big debut and woudl recommend for any Marvel character fans.

Rating

Enjoyable, fun and Tom Hardy overall did a great job. 7.0/10!!

The second and last film to review is Halloween.

Runtime:105 Minutes

Post Credit-Voice track after credits roll

 Plot-"Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago".

Starring-Jamie Lee Curtis,  Judy Greer and Nick Castle

 My Thoughts

I am a big fan of the Halloween films (except the terrible mid 90's ones with his niece). When this film was announced I have been eagerly awaiting this film and I can say it was overall worth the wait. for me this film is one of the best in the series and I highly recommend it to fans of slasher films or the Halloween series. The acting for me was overall good Jamie Lee Curtis was the standout and did a great job bringing the iconic role of Laurie Strode back for the new generation oi viewers. the rest of the cast was solid but I will say that Andi Matichak was a little annoying (in a bad way) with some her characters actions in the film. The plot of this film was pretty straight forward this film ignored all of the films \all that happened after the original Halloween in 1978 and went ahead 40 years (which I actually think was a good idea as it would be hard to keep track of all the films in between and still have this film make sense) where we find Laurie strode waiting fore the day that Micheal escapes and comes for her, overall the plot flowed together well and was fast paced and did a good job keeping the viewer entertained, there was a few well placed jokes sprinkled in the movie which were a nice change of pace.There were a few moments here and there that i felt were not needed in the overall scope of the film and there were some cliche horror film sequences that always seem to pop up which are funny to me as more often than not then not anyone who has watched enough horror films can see them coming,  but overall it was a good job by the screen writers. the kills in this film were exceptional, with this film being rated R there were no limitations on what they could show and the director took full advantage, this film had some of the better gore moments in recent memory for me and i thoroughly enjoyed it. Rotten Tomaotes gave this film a 80% saying " Halloween largely wipes the slate clean after decades of disappointing sequels, ignoring increasingly elaborate mythology in favor of basic - yet still effective - ingredients". I agree this film felt very old school slasher and it was great, i loved it, this film did not try to be something it was not and that is the best thing I can say about it. I recommend this film as i mentioned earlier to anyone who enjoys a good slasher film or is a fan of the Halloween series.




Rating
Very good film, I really enjoyed it, one of the best films I have seen this year. 8.5/10!!!