Searz's review thread

[quote=Searz]This is mainly gonna be media of different forms. Mainly movies and games. I am gonna try to gather up a few reviews before posting them so as not to spam. I will keep things short and have a simple rating system. Please add your own reviews to the mix as long as you use the same format and rating system. The rating system consists of: Avoid Maybe Recommended Highly recommended It's simple, self-explanatory and far more useful than a number. [spoiler=Shortlist of review ratings:][b]Highly recommended[/b]: District 9 Edge of Tomorrow Jack Reacher Ex Machina [b]Recommended[/b]: Elysium I, Robot [b]Maybe:[/b] Chappie Oblivion The Book Thief A.I. Her [b]Avoid:[/b] [/spoiler][/quote]

[quote=Searz]Here I will be gathering all reviews I post in the thread, so finding them is easier. [spoiler=Chappie]It's a story about the emergence of artificial intelligence. The core of the story is great. The problem is that it is let down time and time again by all the parts around the core. Questionable motivations, but most importantly bad logic. I have no problem overlooking the technical inaccuracies involved (which I won't mention to avoid spoiling, but let's just say that this [b]definitely[/b] doesn't adhere to the realities of technology), but when characters do things truly out of character I really can't look away. Visuals are great, as per usual in Blomkamp movies. The fighting scenes are good and visceral. The movie could have been so much more, and I'm truly disappointed that it wasn't. That said, it's still a pretty decent movie. It's probably worth watching.[/spoiler] [spoiler=Elysium]We see Matt Damon living a life about as shitty as they can get. Lots of cool world-building and good acting, but even that can't save a bad ending. The ending seemed really shoe-horned in. It's like they had to tick the box of "Heroic end". The visuals are fantastic and the action scenes are good in general, although there is some "RAWR IM A MONSTER AND I'M JUST GONNA THROW YOU AROUND INSTEAD OF SNAPPING YOUR NECK" involved. All in all a pretty good movie. Recommended.[/spoiler] [spoiler=District 9]Without question the best of Blomkamp's movies. It takes a very interesting mockumentary approach, which it deviates from after about half the movie for a more traditional style of filming. Most of the logic in this movie is impeccable, which along with fantastic character motivations helps sets up an incredibly believable world. A dirty, gritty slum where aliens live after they get stranded on earth. It brings up some really interesting topics, like racism, empathy and change. Along with some pretty fucking fantastic action scenes, which again, follow good, sound logic. This is a truly fantastic movie. One of my favorites. One of the modern Sci-Fi classics. Highly recommended.[/spoiler] [spoiler=Edge of Tomorrow]I can't say I've been a big fan of Cruise, but he does stellar work in this movie. As does pretty much every other actor that graces the screen with their presence. Characters are not only well acted, but interesting and have great motivations. There's a surprising amount of humor spliced in for a movie set in a world of impending doom. The visuals are gorgeous. There are some great visual effects and very impressive fighting scenes. This is made even better by a very clever story and fantastic use of plot twists. The only plot point I have minor issues with is the final assault, but it's minor enough for me to overlook, and I can be pretty picky. The ending was fantastic. I love that it ended in a place that while showing a proper end to the story, it also left the continuation open. It left the viewer thinking about what could happen next, but without the need for a follow-up to complete the story. All around amazing movie. Highly recommended.[/spoiler] [spoiler=Jack Reacher]Former military badass looks into the murder of 5 people. The detective work makes sense. No magical image enhancements or other silly stuff. The action scenes are brilliantly laid out. Each encounter follows a logical path and while a complete badass, the main character isn't invincible and needs to use tactics. The fights are also incredibly well coordinated and very kinetic. I have a sweet-spot for kinetic fights. Such fights are rare. Most movies barely have the fighters touching each other with each hit. Aside from the intentionally misleading intro the story is pretty solid too. Great movie. Highly recommended.[/spoiler] [spoiler=Oblivion]A visual feast. All around gorgeous visuals in this one. Very impressive. What isn't impressive however is the story. It's predictable and has more plot holes than a swiss cheese. One of which bugged me to no end, because it would have avoided the sacrifice at the end. This is only made worse by the fact that this very thing was done earlier in the movie, but closing in on the end this suddenly isn't possible. It's like they contrived a way to shove in dramatic story elements for no solid reason other than adding drama. As you might have gleaned by now, the ending is just stupid. Real fucking stupid. Watch it if you want to see a visually stunning movie. Just don't think too hard while watching.[/spoiler] [spoiler=The Book Thief]The movie drags on, being overly slow. Lots of tiny kind of pointless stuff or stuff that just takes more time than it needs to. But more importantly, it also ROYALLY fucks up the ending. The ending was literally like 3 different endings all bundled together. If it had just ended at the first one (the air-strike) then it would have been an amazing ending, but no, it kept going and had two more fucking endings >.> This is a perfect lesson in how NOT to end a movie. In this one they showed far too much and just left me wanting it to end. It does have a fair share of good qualities too, but I honestly wouldn't recommend the movie.[/spoiler] [spoiler=A.I.]It's a cute Pinocchio story of a boy wanting to become real. Very heartwarming and cute. It's absolutely full of pseudo-science however. Lots of just pure bullshit going on. It's clear that Spielberg (writer & director) has very little knowledge of technology. Just because a robot with feelings and conscience is invented doesn't mean that it will share the traits and flaws of a real human being. That would require a more exact replica of the human body and brain. And apparently batteries don't exist in the future, cuz this little robot boy can keep chugging for millennia without running out of juice... Which is obviously just silly. I can handle some butchering of science, but when so many integral plot points rely on it I really can't ignore it. The story in general is pretty bullshit. And oh my god the Dr.Know part.. It's clear that this was done before the smartphone/search-engine revolution. It might be worth watching for the heartwarming cuteness, but I honestly wouldn't recommend the movie.[/spoiler] [spoiler=I, Robot]The artificial intelligence part kind of takes a back-seat in this one, unlike the other two movies. This is an action flick. A smart-ish one, but still an action flick. You know, the kind with big explosions, guns and muscles. With the lack of focus on the AI, I can't complain as much about technological inaccuracies, but even so this movie is far more realistic than A.I. is. There really isn't much to complain about in this one other than the obvious things like "internet" only being integrated into the latest robot models and the world being a bit more futuristic than would be possible in just 20 years. There isn't much that stands out as stellar either, but a loveable quirky main character, a solid plot and some pretty cool action scenes all make this a pretty solid movie. I'd recommend it. Also, you get to see Shia Lebouf being a dorky little hooligan, that's pretty funny.[/spoiler] [spoiler=Ex Machina]The reclusive genius behind "Google" develops an AI in his remote bunker and wants to evaluate it. In many ways the movie has a lot in common with the common horror movie premise. A few characters, alone in a remote location with a mysterious entity. And it is pretty scary, but that is not a result of gratuitous gore, jump-scares or magic mumbo-jumbo. No, this is quite different. What makes this movie scary is that it plays it so close to reality. [b]This shit could happen[/b]. I want you to keep that in mind while watching. There are of course some technical inaccuracies, but they are very minor and things I have no problem overlooking. The movie is remarkably accurate when it comes to technology. This paired with a fantastic plot, great acting, interesting cinematography and an amazing ending makes this movie quite remarkable. I highly recommend giving it a watch.[/spoiler] [spoiler=Her]It's a story about a man falling in love with his computer. A story about man+computer+hand. A story as old as time. Only, now the computer has consciousnesses, cuz the director wants to be pretentious and ask some poorly phrased questions. Let me just start out by praising the cinematography. The movie looks absolutely beautiful from start to finish. Brilliant use of colors and movement. Acting is also praise-worthy. What isn't praise-worthy is the plot. The movie has absolutely zero regard for how the technology behind AI actually would work. But this is fiction, so I have some tolerance for technical inaccuracies. But that's far from the only problem with the plot. If we were to replace the AI component of this romantic drama with a human (and all relevant plot points something that would happen to a human) we would have a pretty standard romantic drama. The plot is the same old crap that has been done time and time again, just with a new coat of paint this time around. And not to mention the numerous plot holes.. The only part of the plot that stands out is the ending. It sets up several possibilities and then ends at just the right moment, leaving you wondering about what happens. I really liked the ending, but it can't make up for the rest of the plot being pretty brain-dead. It might be worth watching if you want to see something visually impressive, as long as you can bear the lackluster plot.[/spoiler][/quote]

[quote=Searz]Sooo, for my first set of reviews I thought I'd take a trio of Neill Blomkamp(director) movies. Blomkamp means Flowerfight by the way :D They can be found in the comment above.[/quote]

[quote=The_Nameless_Bard]I want to see a review of [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bay_(film)]The Bay[/url] (it's hilariously bad imo). The whole reference to mutated tongue-eating louses makes it particularly funny[/quote]

[quote=Searz][quote=The_Nameless_Bard]I want to see a review of [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bay_(film)]The Bay[/url] (it's hilariously bad imo).[/quote] Nah, I don't intentionally go for bad horror movies. I will be reviewing a good horror-ish movie soon though.[/quote]

[quote=Lugignaf]All horror movies are bad though. It's just common knowledge.[/quote]

[quote=Ninja Trigger]you should review "The Last Airbender" but with the [url=http://www.rifftrax.com/the-last-airbender]RiffTrax Audio commentary.[/url] It makes the movie somewhat more bearable/enjoyable if you happen to a MST3K fan. EDIT Also I thought about this movie when I saw that you reviewed Chappie, since the same actor also played Zuko and this movie almost ended his carer on the spot.[/quote]

[quote=Searz][quote=Lugignaf]All horror movies are bad though. It's just common knowledge.[/quote] Nope. I've seen 3 good horror movies that I can remember right at this moment, might be more. They are very rare however. Most horror movies are just gore fests with a retarded plot and characters. One of the 3 isn't really classified as horror though, I think. But it definitely scared me, especially since it plays so close to reality. I'd classify it as psychological horror. [quote=Ninja Trigger]you should review "The Last Airbender" but with the [url=http://www.rifftrax.com/the-last-airbender]RiffTrax Audio commentary.[/url] It makes the movie somewhat more bearable/enjoyable if you happen to a MST3K fan.[/quote] No thanks. But I'll probably do the Airbender movie some time when I'm bored. [quote]Also I thought about this movie when I saw that you reviewed Chappie, since the same actor also played Zuko and this movie almost ended his carer on the spot.[/quote] Nah, he played in Slumdog Millionaire, that alone skyrocketed him into fame.[/quote]

[quote=BigBoxGamer][quote=Lugignaf]All horror movies are bad though. It's just common knowledge.[/quote] Evil Dead 2013 says, "hello." [embed=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZK3WYOEd_s][/quote]

[quote=Ninja Trigger][quote=Searz] Nah, he played in Slumdog Millionaire, that alone skyrocketed him into fame.[/quote] Right but he did Slumdog Millionaire before last Aribender, and he hasn't really done a whole lot since then, well at least until Chappie.[/quote]