Movies: The Great Magician

Movies: The Great Magician

INTRODUCTION

Here is another movie that was not very highly advertised but i took the risk and saw it this evening. This movie genre is pretty strange, and i attribute it to the fact that there was too little advertisement and no trailers that i saw before hand. For people who are wondering however, i guess i would say this movie could be considered a comedy, action kind of show. However action in this show is relatively mild, no blood and no particular special fighting CGI if you ask me. People will probably be more thrilled by the plotline in this movie as compared to the action. But that is if you are prepared to be somewhat confused... in fact if u are a person who just want to be enjoy this show, you have two paths, either you completely don't think and just enjoy the comedic value, or you keep your mind active throughout the show and you will enjoy the jumpy confusing plot when it all gets put together in the end.

Without further ado here is the review

Plotline


The story plot line is not really obvious from the beginning as it in fact begins with a not as main character. Then it introduces the next character who is really confusing as to whether he is the protagonist or antagonist. Finally it introduces the 3rd character who is the great magician who is clearly the good guy. After that the show starts to under go many twists and turns and cut in and outs which results in the show being rather difficult to follow at times.

As far as the plot however, it is highly comedic in nature with many unlikely things happening. Fortuntely although this show tries very well not to be serious, at the very least it keeps entertaining and doesnt do anything that seems particularly incoherent unlike some other chinese shows that borders on the impossible and really unrealistic.

There is a small amount of minor action scenes during the entire show, but this does not seem to be the main highlight of this show.


Character


There are quite a few important characters in this show and for the most part, they all are important in the main storyline and bringing it along. What this show does well, or at least the actor does well is that in the things that the character says, it really leaves a lot of space for ambiguity which is why i said that if we need alot of brain power should we want to understand the flow of the story.

Even if we use the entertainment approach (read brainless approach) we will also derive much fun from the way the characters face various scenarios which gives quite a bit of fun to the show.


Cinematography


With regards to cinematography, due to the presence of a lot perspectives from various characters in the show, this show would be bordering around many relevant perspectives but also getting slightly too hard for the lay person to follow.

Besides that, the show does have ok angle shots and average CGI effects. Overall the story telling style is fine, but can be improved.


Music


Strangely, for this show, the music actually did play a very important role in making the entire show more comedic as compared to action packed. This can be seen in their choice of a funny cutsie song during all fight scenes as compared to action music. As far as this show goes, their choice added more entertainment value to the show.


Spectacle


As far as entertainment value goes, this show does achieve this pretty well by treating itself not as seriously and by putting many joke points throughout the show. Some portions do seem to show that they are trying a bit too hard but overall everyone should be able to get some giggles from the show if you set out to enjoy it.

Storyline however is a bit harder to follow and hence depends on which approach you want to take.

Overall


Plot                         : 3.0 (Could have been better or more fun i.e. more magic or magicians)
Character               : 3.5 (Plenty of important characters and they do not feel too neglected)
Cinematography    : 3.0 (Confusing at times but still followable)
Music                     : 4.0 (Good music that adds value to the show)
Spectacle               : 4.0 (Does well for the genre of some brainless entertainment)


Overall                   : 3.5 (Overall, if you want to enjoy this show, you can. First you must understand chinese, then you must either be willing to think the show through to appreciate how the plot twists around, or you can be totally brainless and just enjoy the laughing points without a care about how outlandish the story might be. Would recommend this for time passing but is probably not a show that anyone must see.)


As usual please give comments :D

Movies: The Darkest Hour

Movies: The Darkest Hour

INTRODUCTION

I am pretty sure frequent movie viewers would have came across this movie poster sometime during their visits to the theater. But this movie is hardly advertised and talked about, and it kind of just appeared, unlike another coming movie the Hunger Games which somehow has been advertised for about 6 plus months before it is going to be released. The closest movie that I would think falls into the same genre or type as this movie would be Cloverfield, or perhaps even War of the Worlds.

Just as how zombie movie lovers spawn their own genre specific fans, there is also a smaller group of lovers with a similar interest in aliens invading earth and the end of the world type of movies.

I would say that Cloverfield actually did this genre very well, all the way down to the shaky cam to immerse the person into the feel of the movie and hence much of the review would be comparative to what Cloverfield brought.

Storyline


As far as storyline goes, this genre of movie has to start out by easing us into what we can call a normal day of normal happenings. This show does it in a pretty alright manner, but starting it out in a bar sometimes would not be as appealing to the general audience as not everyone would be able to associate with bars or pubs well enough.

As for the rest of the show, the setting and storyline is pretty plausible overall and for some people, the fact that the show is set in Russia adds a slight bit of entertainment to the show. Unfortunately i doubt many people actually will appreciate it unless you spend much time in the internet surfing memes and stuff like that.

What this show does uniquely however is that it makes the villains invisible. Then the show makes use of this fact to add a bit of creepiness and thrill to the show which i feel is a pretty good twist as compared to the usual stealthy aliens that are merely just good at hiding.


Character

As far as character goes, the show was given a disadvantage in that it was a really short show. As a result, the show didn't really have any character building or introduction and i guess as a result there is quite little empathy for the characters as they are also kind of far off from the layperson.

An advantage about this however is that the characters can easily be killed off and there is no real feeling of loss and hence no anger or disappointment that a particular character had too little screen time. But this is quite common in movies with no great stars.

As a whole however, from the brief time we have to size up the characters, i guess we could conclude that they are rather believable, from the coward to the calm even in a storm kind of character.


Cinematography


To be honest, I personally feel that the camera angles used in Cloverfield would suit this genre best but that being said, this movie does have a few diverse locations that prevent the movie from getting too boring.

Also, the show transitions from "trying to find out what is going on", to "find out what to do", to "go to the evacuation point" and finally even going on sort of an offensive. This prevents the show from getting too monotonous and did help improve its enjoyability.


This show also has numerous predator vision moments which adds quite a bit to the fun factor of the show.


Music


Music on the whole is pretty ok, nothing hindering or really majorly enhancing the show.


Spectacle


As far as the genre of sci-fi, thriller, invasion movie goes, this show actually can immerse you slightly into the happenings but only if you really try hard enough. Its not like Cloverfield that forces you into the perspective to add more entertainment value. The situation however is entirely plausible from a sci-fi perspective which lends authenticity to the show.

Overall


Storyline              : 3.5 (Slightly unique, but could really be more immersive)
Character            : 3.0 (A bit too forgettable with too little chance to empathize with them)
Cinematography : 3.5 (I would say its pretty ok, and the predator vision helps alot)
Music                   : 3.0 (Average score for an average music score... punny)
Spectacle             : 3.5 (Pretty ok, if it was more immersive and convincing it could be more enjoyable)


Overall                 : 3.3 (What this score basically means is that this would be a show that fans of the genre who are able to immerse themselves naturally into the field of the show will be able to enjoy. But this one will require some proactiveness on the part of the viewer. If you are merely someone who just wants to see action, you will probably not be able to enjoy this show. Neither is there much character building in this show either. So I won't recommend this show if you are not a fan of the genre cause it will be harder to appreciate the show if you do not know what the show is really trying to present.)


Final note is that from the views of my friends, they didn't really enjoy the show at all. Its probably cause they are not so into this genre but this really is the fact about the matter, that you cannot enjoy it unless you really like the genre.

As usual comments are welcome :D