July '14 Movies Digest

One down, one up...

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Acting: 2.5/5
Story: 1.5/5
Perception: 1.5/5
Rating: 1.5/5

What a mess!!! Besides the usual Transformers glitches, this one adds pure insignificance of the human and robot characters, whose names aren't even stated. It seems that all of it was either badly written or that it suffered an editing massacre, chunks that might have brought some continuity being chopped out, even though it would have lead up to an unnecessary three hours Transformers movie. Stanley Tucci's performance and even Wahlberg's are oases in this cinematographic desert but they are simply irrelevant. And neither they and nor the 10 minutes of cool action scenes couldn't have saved this movie.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Acting: 4.5/5
Story: 4.5/5
Perception: 4.5/5
Rating: 4.5/5

Technology has made tremendous progress and it is what takes this movie from good to very good. First of all, the plot is carefully built with unexpected twists and turns. Then there's the brilliant work from the two main motion-capture actors, the master Andy Serkis and the guy playing Koba. And afterwards the CGI adds a stunning layer to the experience. Surely, some dramatic moments may seem long in their quest to add tension, but that's has a low impact.

June '14 Movie Digest

Still trying to make the schedule...

Edge of Tomorrow

Acting: 4/5
Story: 5/5
Perception: 4.5/5
Rating: 4.5/5

This movie shows a fresh take on sci-fi, with a very interesting concept which uses almost all the potential that it holds. I'm thinking that the idea crystallized around the frustration of playing video games that didn't enable progress saving, and it all came out very nicely. The viewer experiences the same feeling: frustration, (false) hope, despair etc. as the main character; partly from the reliable acting and mostly from the directing and editing. The detail that was missing in my opinion is a proper ending, but all the rest and the excellent visuals with an innovative alien design covers up most of this shallow aspect.

(Contextual questions: Even thought they're living the same day over and over, the biology doesn't change; so the characters are getting older and older, right? and also What defines a new day? 0:01 am GMT?)

Godzilla

Acting: 3/5
Story: 4/5
Perception: 4/5
Rating: 3.5/5

A new take on the story of the giant lizard meant to wash away the '90s sad blockbuster and its Chernobyl worms. And it succeeds at the task pretty well. First of all it takes a different angle then Pacific Rim, focusing less on the beast and more on the human factor, on the way the rest of the world is affected by its enormous appearance. This means that we don't get all the visual details and the action packed flick, but more of a suspense build-up until near the end, where the sweet stuff happens. Unfortunately the main characters are a bit too stiff, so the direct implication is mostly transmitted through the camera work. But it was worth the detour.

Epic

Wits: 3/5
Story: 3/5
Perception: 3.5/5
Rating: 3/5

The premise is far from being original; it's actually very similar to Luc Besson's Arthur and the Invisibles trilogy. But the pace of this adventure makes it catchy. The somewhat animation go-to comedic characters fill the required bill to make it funny as well. And the visual work suffices to result in a good family movie all together.