Movie Review: Captain Marvel (2019)

Missed this in the cinema, so catching up now. Also, apologies that I haven’t written any posts in over a week, just haven’t been feeling up to it due to the hot weather. But here we go.

Ladies and gentlemen… “Captain Marvel”.

The story follows Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), a former fighter pilot who gets caught in an intergalactic war between two alien races. So now we have another Marvel origin movie. And I think that’s the one issue I have with it, it’s another Marvel origin. Not saying I disliked it, au contraire, I enjoyed it quite a bit. But it does still follow a lot of those familiar beats we recognize, and rarely does much to stand out. It does have a few enjoyable turns, and the overall narrative is still a fun, superhero adventure with a good message. So yeah, it’s pretty good.

The characters in this are fun, flawed, and interesting. Brie Larson plays Carol Danvers, a cocky, snide woman who has to go through a journey to become a hero. And I enjoy her arc, which weirdly enough reminds me of Ratchet’s arc in “Ratchet & Clank” (the original game, not the movie), starting out as a little bit of a cocky jerk, but goes through a good personal arc thanks to the events of the movie, and it makes her quite the enjoyable character. And Larson is really good in the role. We also get supporting work from people like Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Lashana Lynch, Djimon Hounsou, and more, all doing really well in their respective roles.

The score for the movie was composed by Pinar Toprak, and I think she did a good job with it. Admittedly it does play it a bit safe sometimes with some of the orchestral action pieces, but then there are also tracks that play around with synthesizers to great an interesting, space-ish sound that kinda reminds me of “Mass Effect” (why am I making so many video game comparisons today?). And overall it works for the movie. Then there are some licensed tracks used throughout certain scenes, and some work better than others. There’s one in particular, which is a song I love, but was caught off guard by. So overall the music here is good.

Of course based on the popular Marvel Comics character, “Captain Marvel” was directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, and I think they did a really good job with it. They really brought a unique sort of energy to it, which made for some fun and interesting stuff during the action scenes. And I think it goes without saying at this point that the visual effects are fucking great.

This movie has been pretty well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 78% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 64/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7,0/10.

“Captain Marvel” isn’t one of the MCU’s best movies, but it’s still one hell of an entertaining movie. It has a good plot, good characters, great performances, good music, and great directing/action/effects. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Captain Marvel” is an 8,78/10. So while not perfect, it’s still worth buying.

My review of “Captain Marvel” is now completed.

SHAZA- wait, that’s the wrong one.

Quentin Rankantino

Howdy, motherfuckers. Today we’re doing something a little bit differently. Instead of reviewing something, we’re ranking stuff. And by we, I mean me. With the impending release of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, I have been rewatching all of Quentin Tarantino’s movies. So now that I got that task done, I have decided to rank them, from least favorite, to my top pick. So get your buckets of blood and Samuel L. Jacksons ready as we rank the movies of Quentin Tarantino, in a special post we call… Quentin Rankantino!

Number 9: Death Proof.

Coming in at the bottom is Tarantino’s grindhouse homage, “Death Proof” (fittingly used within the “Grindhouse” double feature). It’s not awful per se, but it’s Tarantula’s weakest movie by a mile. The pacing is wonky, and I don’t exactly find any of the characters particularly interesting. What gives it some points are the action scenes, which are a hard-hitting bit of fun. Also, Kurt fucking Russell… I don’t have much to say there, I just like Kurt Russell.

Number 8: Jackie Brown.

For our number 8 slot we make a huge god damn leap from “not that good” to “that’s really good”. In Toronto’s third movie, based on “Rum Punch” by Elmore Leonard, a stewardess (Pam Grier) gets drawn into a complex crime plot by the ATF. It can feel a bit cluttered at times, affecting the pacing a bit, which is why it finds itself so low on the list. But with that said, thanks to the stellar cast and one hell of a funky soundtrack it still stands out as a damn solid movie in this director’s filmography.

Number 7: Kill Bill Volume 1

Now, I know that Turntable considers “Kill Bill” one movie, but they were released as two, so I rank them as two. Now, I find the story and characterization a bit weak in this one… but it’s still a damn good movie, filled with stylish, batshit insane action and some fun performances.

Number 6: Kill Bill Volume 2

While I’d put both “Assassinate William” movies on the same level in terms of various technicalities, I still do prefer the second one, due to its slower, more character-driven journey. Yes, we do still get some crazy, well handled action, but it’s not quite as much as in the first movie… and that’s okay.

Number 5: The Hateful Eight

Tabernacle’s second western is quite the interesting tale of assholes trying to not kill each other… which is technically how one could describe all his movies to some extent. Hmm. Either way, this 2015 western-drama-thriller may be very slow, but it’s quite the electrifying experience, thanks in large part to the absolutely mesmerizing performances from its core cast. Plus, having a score from maestro Ennio Morricone certainly doesn’t hurt.

Number 4: Pulp Fiction

Oh how many watches am I gonna get shoved up my ass for this placement? That’s right, the fourth place winner is Tacheometer’s sophomore outing, “Pulp Fiction”. Often considered one of the greatest movies ever made (and I can see why), it tells the tale of many assholes and their overlapping stories. And it’s that story that brings it down a bit for me (*”Ironside” siren blares*). It’s fun to watch, but the jumping back and forth, especially between so many stories can make it feel a little, well, jumpy at times, which can every so lightly fuck with the pacing a times. But with the help from an amazing cast, great music, and the ever so fiery dialogue, it manages to still hold up quite well.

Number 3: Django Unchained

A mostly straightforward revenge tale, Tartarology’s “Django Unchained” still manages to entertain across its nearly three hour runtime thanks to a colorful cast, an amazing soundtrack, and some of the most blood-soaked shootouts I have ever fucking seen. It’s a bit of slavery drama mixed with a popcorn bloodbath. What’s not to love?

Number 2: Reservoir Dogs

At the number two slot is where we find Tatterdemalion’s cinematic debut, “Reservoir Dogs”, a heist movie that isn’t really a heist movie. Showing the before and after of a botched diamond robbery, the movie jumps back and forth as we get to know the various characters as they deal with this entire situation. It’s fun, it’s suspenseful, and it’s one of the most impressive debuts I have ever seen.

NUMBER 1: Inglourious Basterds

And we’re finally at the number 1 slot. Numero uno. Top of the pops. My favorite of Tangoreceptor’s movies. “Inglourious Basterds” is a clever piece of historical fiction, showing the stories of various people trying to kill nazis. From a group of Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers, to the British government, to a young woman seeking revenge… everyone is out for nazi blood, and it is one hell of a good time. Dramatic, funny, suspenseful, exciting, it’s everything one could want in a movie from this director. There’s a ton of great stuff within this movie that I don’t have the time (or current willingness) to write about, but all of it comes together wonderfully to make my favorite movie from this director.

So what do you think? What’s your favorite movie from Quantum Turnbuckle? Please tell me, I’d love to hear from y’all.
Have a good one.

Movie Review: About a Boy (2002)

Having kids. Not everyone’s cup of tea. There, I said it. So many think everyone should have kids and that there’s something wrong with you if you don’t. But that’s such a narrow view of stuff. Be open to other people’s life choices. And those who don’t wanna have kids, don’t look down at those who have kids. Let’s all be friends.

Ladies and gentlemen… “About a Boy”.

Will (Hugh Grant) is an immature, cynical bachelor that has chosen single mothers as his new dating targets, and he’s willing to put up any lie to get inside their pants. This however backfires when a 12-year old boy (Nicholas Hoult) starts seeing through his lie, and becomes a central part of Will’s life. And maybe these two will learn some stuff from each other. So now we have our rom-rom/coming-of-age story. And it honestly subverted a lot of expectations I had. With these two genres, one expects a lot of tropes, and we do get a few of them here, which end up being some of the weaker elements of the story. But with that said, there’s still enough nuance and subversion here to make it an intriguing and surprisingly engaging take on these two familiar genres, while still giving you some of the heartwarming bits you’d expect.

The characters in this are flawed, layered, colorful, and overall quite interesting. Hugh Grant plays Will, the cynical man-child at the center of this story. Never one to commit himself to a single person for long, he drifts around various women like a lying asshole. He isn’t the typical charming, Hugh Grant rom-com character, and it makes him quite an intriguing and refreshing character to watch as he evolves. And Grant is great in the role. Next we have a young Nicholas Hoult as Marcus, the little kid that Will begrudgingly “befriends”. He’s a bit weird, but he’s also clever, charming, and quite an endearing kid. And Hoult is really good in the role. We also get supporting work from people like Toni Collette, Natalia Tena, Rachel Weisz, Victoria Smurfit, and more, all doing well in their respective roles.

The score was composed by the musician known as Badly Drawn Boy, and it was good. They’re basically indie pop songs, which I’d assume is the genre that Badly Drawn Boy might be associated with usually. There are even a few instrumentals that could fit that description used throughout. And this music works alright within the story. The tunes themselves are pretty good, it’s just that when used within a movie context, it creates a bit of a bland vibe. So overall… pretty good.

Based on a novel by Nick Hornby, this movie was directed by Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, and I think they did a good job with it. There’s certainly a warmth their direction brings that makes it feel nice to watch (if that makes any sense). What really surprised me though was the shot composition. So many romantic comedies out there have what I like to call a “start the camera” look, in which it just looks like they started the camera, with no real thought of giving the movie an interesting style or any fun camerawork. But here, there’s plenty of both, this is a really well shot movie. And since it’s a comedy, we should talk about the humor… it’s funny. Some light slapstick, some surprisingly dark jokes, some clever digs at things. I laughed throughout.

This movie has been well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 93% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 75/100. Roger Ebert gave it 3,5/4 stars. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7,1/10. The movie was nominated for 1 Oscar in the category of Best Adapted Screenplay.

While it still dips into cliches at times, “About a Boy” still subverts enough to impress. It has a good plot, good characters, great performances, good music, great directing, and funny comedy. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “About a Boy” is an 8,97/10. So while a little flawed, it’s still definitely worth buying.

My review of “About a Boy” is now completed.

Hughbert Grantchester is a lot better when he gets to do these slightly more offbeat characters.

Movie Review: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

It is here. The movie that made me revisit the Raimi trilogy. It’s finally here. And it’s time to talk about it.

Ladies and gentlemen… “Spider-Man: Far From Home”.

As Peter Parker (Tom Holland) gears up to go on a European vacation with his classmates, he’s contacted by some familiar faces to help take care of some strong new enemies that have revealed themselves. But to be able to stop them, Peter has to team up with a mysterious guy named Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal). So now we have our Spidey-sequel. It’s part teen rom-com and part superhero story, and I feel like the two are blended quite well, which makes for a really enjoyable and breezy plot, which is kind of what we needed after the heavy shit in “Avengers: Endgame”. With how it jumps around Europe a lot it can feel a little jumpy, but I don’t think it ever ruined it in any way. There are some fun twists and turns in the plot that add a fair bit of nuance to the generally light and breezy proceedings (breezeedings?).

The characters are layered, flawed, colorful, fun, and overall interesting. Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and in this movie he has to deal with the awkwardness of being a high school kid with a crush, while also having to step up as a hero in a world affected by the events of the last two “Avengers” films. He gets a fair bit of development here, making him even more interesting than he already was. And Holland is once again fantastic in the role. Next we have Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck/Mysterio. He’s a charismatic, interesting, and mysterious man who gets a fair bit of interesting motivation throughout. And Gyllenhaal is great in the role (can’t go wrong with a bit of Gyllenhaal, you know). We also get supporting work from people like Zendaya, Samuel L. Motherfu- I mean Jackson, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, Angourie Rice, Tony Revolori, J.B. Smoove, and more, all doing very well in their respective roles.

The score for the movie was composed by Michael Giacchino, and it was really good. Sweeping, intimate, epic, emotional, it’s what one would look for in a “Spider-Man” score. It’s not the most original score out there, but it’s certainly enjoyable, and it works quite well within the movie itself. There are also a whole bunch of licensed tracks used throughout, and they all work quite well in their respective scenes.

As with “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, “Far From Home” was directed by Jon Watts. And I think he did a really good job with it. He certainly has a good sense of motion and energy in his directing, something shown in “Homecoming”, and explored further here. This lends to a lot of fun action scenes. Most of them are these, big, brash superhero things that one expects, but there’s also one or two that do some clever little things that I didn’t fully expect. There’s also a lot of comedy in this movie (which shouldn’t be much of a surprise if you’ve followed this movie universe for a while). And it’s funny, I laughed and chuckled.

This movie just came out, but has already been well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 93% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 69/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 8,2/10. Keep in mind, all these scores are at the time of writing, and will most likely change as time goes by and I’m too lazy to constantly edit this.

While I prefer its predecessor, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is still a damn fine Spidey-movie, and another great entry within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It has a really good plot, really good characters, great performances, really good music, great directing/action, and funny humor. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is a 9,50/10. So while it’s just on the edge, it’s still deserving of the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is now completed.

This has two of my favorite scenes of the year, and both for VERY different reasons.

Movie Review: Spider-Man 3 (2007)

And so we come to the end of this review series on the Raimi-directed “Spider-Man” movies. It’s been fun revisiting this franchise. So let’s talk about the final part!

Ladies and gents… “Spider-Man 3”.

Peter (Tobey Maguire) seems to finally have his life under control. But that soon takes a dark turn when a mysterious space goop enters his life and changes his for the worse. All the while a super-powered petty criminal (Thomas Haden Church) roams the city after having escaped from prison. ALL THE WHILE Peter finds himself in some love triangle drama with Mary-Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard). ALL THE WHILE his- fuck this. Just… fuck it. There are elements in the plot that are good. But overall, it’s a god damn mess. It has more threads than a spider web, and they are all (for the most part) paper thin. Like I said, there are some nice parts here too, some finely handled dramatic/emotionally charged bits. But they all find themselves tangled up in this scatterbrained web.

The characters here are mixed. Some are nuanced and interesting, and some are Topher Grace as Eddie Brock. The returning core cast of Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco are all great in their roles, and do wonders with the material they’re given (which sometimes isn’t great). Rosemary Harris as Aunt May is still the warm, comforting presence she’s always been. J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson is still an absolute blast to watch. As for new blood, there’s Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman. He’s given a surprising amount of development, and gives a really solid performance. And then we have the aforementioned Topher Grace as Eddie Brock. Look, Grace is not a bad actor, and he actually does a good job playing an absolute slimeball here… but he feels miscast for the character of Eddie Brock. And the stuff they do with the character here… just, no. Overall, decent cast.

Unlike the first two movies, the score in this one wasn’t composed by Danny Elfman. Instead, musical duties were handed over to Christopher Young, who I think did a great job. He incorporates Elfman’s iconic theme wonderfully, while still bringing his own flair to a lot of the other tracks. There are some emotionally charged pieces here that really work well within the movie.

As we’ve pointed out already, “Spider-Man 3” was, like its predecessors directed by Sam Raimi, who I think mostly did a great job here. I say mostly, because compared to the other two, there’s a lot more leaning on CGI for various things in this one. Which also makes some bits look a bit wonky, especially a chase scene early on in the movie. There is cool stuff to it, but overall the green screen effect looks kinda unfinished. And there are a few CGI humans in this movie, and they were a bit distracting. But with all that said, whenever it doesn’t use shit effects, it looks good. The action scenes in this are generally great, with one fight scene some ways into the movie being one of my favorite parts of it.

This movie has gotten some mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 63% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 59/100. Roger Ebert gave it 2/4 stars. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6,2/10.

So while “Spider-Man 3” is a bit of a let-down compared to the first two, it’s still an enjoyable superhero movie. It has a messy plot with good moments, mostly good characters, really good performances, great music, and good directing/action with only a few wonky effects. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Spider-Man 3” is a 6,95/10. So while flawed, it’s still worth a rental.

My review of “Spider-Man 3” is now completed.

Bit a downer to end this series on. C’est la vie, je suppose.