MovieRankingReviews

  It is so rare to see a big movie studio, make an original sci-fi movie with a pretty high budget. With a budget of 80 million dollars, the CGI and visuals look way better than a lot of franchise movies with 200-300 million budgets. The cinematography is stunning, the use of practical effects and sets is awesome, and the world itself is amazingly designed. The biggest problem this movie has is the whole core of it, the story and characters. The story is about another man protecting the child plot but not done as well. It’s predictable while also having a lot of questionable or dumb elements. The human characters are all one-dimensional, including the main character. They don’t build up the developing relationship between the main character and the kid which makes it difficult to emotionally invest in their struggles. Unfortunately, we have a studio finally taking a risk but not landing. My only hope is that this does not deter them from trying again.

  This is an odd movie that is not for everyone. The story is very plain, especially for the director, David Fincher, who has done very great story-driven movies. The plot is incredibly straightforward, with no twists or turns. It has uninteresting characters including the non-named main character who we only know anything from his constant monologues throughout. He just monologues about the meticulous nature of work and the same mantra he says to himself to be an assassin. He rarely ever interacts or speaks with any other characters making for a bland character. However, this meticulous nature is how the movie is made as well. You see it in the sleek camera work, gorgeous visuals, hypnotic soundtrack, terrific performance, well-crafted sound design, and mesmerizing violence. It is an oddly interesting film that is worth a watch.

  I feel like I am one of the few people who enjoy Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot adaptation, despite the flaws. A Haunting in Venice is the 3rd entry and it has none of the flaws of the previous 2. The cast is much smaller, allowing for more focus on the characters and allowing the audience to remember their names. It is also shorter with a runtime of 100 minutes compared to the roughly 2 hours of previous movies. This results in a way better-paced and tighter movie. The one unique aspect of this story is how it blends horror into a detective story. Hercule is dealing with a case involving the supernatural and this results in some weird things he sees and hears. The film has some great jump scares that work well. This is no doubt that this is the best in the trilogy with a unique premise and an engaging case that will keep your eyes peeled.

  Makoto Shinkai is one of my favourite animation directors of this generation. The Garden of Words, Your Name and Weather with You were all stellar movies. Of course, I was massively looking forward to Suzume! Does this live up to his previous movies or is this finally a dude in his resume? Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. The animation is still as gorgeous as ever. There are still many beautiful shots that are just jaw-dropping. You can clearly see the amount of detail in drawing and animating many of the scenes. The cinematography is just breathtaking and the otherworldly scenes are just incredibly mesmerizing. Radwimps returns again to collaborate with Makoto on the music score. Radwimps made a terrific upbeat, yet moving soundtrack for the previous 2 movies. In Suzume, he made a more sombre and otherworldly song that is very fitting for the themes explored in this film. It’s different but I still love it. On that note, I enjoyed the themes explored su...

  Five Nights at Freddy’s is a great concept. A person is provided a job as a security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and things become weirder each night. That sounds like a great horror movie. It’s a shame this isn’t remotely it. The movie is an actual slog fest that is more focused on adapting the lore, rather than being a competent horror movie. The games are notable for their jump scares and this movie only had 2 which is mind-boggling. I dislike horror movies that are reliant on jump scares but this movie would have actually benefitted if it had more because it was so boring. This movie not being scary at all, is my biggest disappointment. The plot is stupid, the characters are uninteresting, and a lot of the scenes are incredibly goofy (that fort-building scene sticks in my mind). Still, the animatronics look terrific and the set design feels like it was pulled right from the games. It is also filled with easter eggs that fans will love. The sound design is a...

  Gran Turismo is the next PlayStation IP to be adapted to the big screen. Their first attempt with Uncharted wasn’t good but The Last of Us TV series was great. I was already interested in the idea of this movie but was further interested because of the director, Neill Blomkamp. He has not made anything as good as his first movie, District 9. Has Neill managed to return to form or is this another forgettable entry from him? Firstly, David Harbour is terrific in this movie as Jack Salter. He plays the old tough mentor to the main character and he plays it so well. David just delivers those powerful speeches with such weariness and charm. Orlando Bloom is also great in this film as the marketing executive at Nissan. Orlando gives a charismatic yet slight sliminess to his performance that is so fitting for a person in marketing. Djimon Hounsou is wonderful in the role of the Dad. He is playing a Dad who is disappointed in his son for just playing video games. A characte...

  SAW is one of those franchises that I feel like it should have ended long ago. SAW III had the iconic villain die but nope the franchise continued. SAW 3D was titled the final chapter but nope the franchise continued. Somehow, this franchise managed to get to its 10th entry but is there any worth to it or is this just another pointless cash grab? Firstly, I love how this entry does something different. For the first time in the series, John Kramer himself is the main protagonist. Previous entries would usually have a protagonist who is trying to survive his traps. We get a lot more insight into his moral code and we get to see a more human side to him. One thing this film does well is make us fully in support of Jigsaw. Sometimes Jigsaw will make certain people be involved in his games but it is very questionable whether they deserve it. This is not the case in SAW X as the antagonists are just vile human beings who prey on sick individuals. Additionally, having thi...