First things first, if you think you’re going into this seeing a John Cena movie, you will be sorely disappointed. This movie is similar to 127 Hours, Cast Away, I Am Legend, or All Is Lost in that it revolves almost entirely around a single character. However, some significant differences exist between this one and those just stated. There are no flashback scenes. This movie is done almost entirely in real time. And it occurs in a single location, though 127 Hours, for the most part, does as well. The Wall is similar, though, in that each of the mentioned movies experiences extreme periods of hopelessness during a part of or a majority of the movie. The Wall isn’t nearly as good as these other movies, but it was unique enough to hold your interest. Whereas 127 Hours was based on a true story, where All Is Lost is easily believable, and where I Am Legend is more of a science fiction movie for which we must suspend our belief, The Wall falls somewhere in between. I loved that it was just 81 minutes long. It didn’t need to be any longer, so why drag something out when it doesn’t have to be? And the first 20 minutes were completely engrossing. I knew little about the movie but not enough to know where it was going. But then it took a turn for the weird that took the believability aspect out of it and turned it into a game of cat and mouse that, while entertaining, was not something I’d expect out of my war movies.
Category Archives: Action
Logan (2017)
James Mangold’s (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) Logan is about to set the standard for the next wave of superhero movies: the death of a significant character. In an age of film (particularly superhero ones) where we’ve seen sequels, prequels, and reboots, we have yet to see the story’s beginning, middle, and definite conclusion. We’ve seen plenty of superhero movies that COULD be a conclusion story, but we’ve all learned that we think the end isn’t the end unless we see that character killed off. And even then, we don’t know. When there is the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars to be made, who are we to believe that the end is the end? Often, the end is determined by a crappy movie in a series that doesn’t resonate with audiences or critics. Sometimes, that movie can be a concluding story, but often it is not. But (spoiler, but not really) based on what happens at the end of the film, I don’t expect to see him back. I probably will in another fashion, but that can be an argument for a different day. Until then, I’ll continue to sing the praises of Logan. At the time of this review, I have it as one of the top five Marvel movies ever.
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Hot take. Hacksaw Ridge > Saving Private Ryan.
That was my claim after my theater viewing of Mel Gibson’s (Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ) newest film. I’ve since slept on this, but I should have watched it again. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take away from Gibson’s movie. Hacksaw Ridge was based on a true story, whereas Saving Private Ryan was not. For me, when all else is equal, it nods to the more factual-based one. Saving Private Ryan was a fantastic movie. The Invasion of Normandy Omaha Beach to open the movie was one of the most captivating and memorable action sequences in film history. When I claimed that Hacksaw Ridge was a better movie, I almost inserted the caveat that “outside of the opening 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge is a better movie.” But that seemed like a copout. I couldn’t spoil it with some condition that limited my case.
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
If you make a big-budget disaster movie, it might as well be based on a true story. I’m over the huge blockbuster disaster movies like The Day After Tomorrow, Poseidon, Independence Day, The Core, Volcano, Into the Storm, Armageddon (which I really like), San Andreas (which I also kind of liked), Dante’s Peak…the list goes on and on. The point of these movies, and so many others, is to make a big buck. Forget about the plausibility; most of these movies are utterly ridiculous. The hero(es) always overcomes the most extreme circumstances and, often, ends up saving the world. Now, while the 2010 disaster caused the worst offshore oil spill in United States history and made British Petroleum (BP) the most villainous company on the face of the planet at the time, the story of Deepwater Horizon does take some liberties along the way. While the unfortunate events on that night of April 10th certainly did happen, the events on that rig felt very much like James Cameron’s Titanic after the ship hit the iceberg.
The Magnificent Seven (2016)
I’m starting to think Hollywood is either entirely out of original ideas or knows they are guaranteed a minimum of a hundred million dollars at the box office if it remakes a movie and has a starting cast of Hollywood A-listers. There is no reason why The Magnificent Seven needed a remake. I have not seen the first one, but I imagine it was probably a pretty good movie when it was made…56 years ago. Not many great Westerns have been produced in this century; while they were good, most have been remakes (3:10 to Yuma, True Grit). There have been others. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and The Homesman come to mind. Still, there are few in the genre. I wouldn’t necessarily call The Magnificent Seven a poor movie. I definitely would call it an unneeded one. Unless you love westerns, there’s no need to see this movie. The Magnificent Seven is a movie you don’t need to see on the big screen.