MovieWarfare

  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...