Movies: Dr Strange

Movies: Dr Strange

Introduction
Yet another Marvel movie released from the vast story bank from the minds of Marvel. This time however, its not a sequel, but the introduction of a new character not yet seen in the previous movie. Dr Strange! Yes! Not Mr, not Miss, not Master, not Prof, but Dr. Most of the time, the doctors you hear about in the movies tend to be evil, like Dr Doom or Dr Frankenstein. But finally, you have a literal medical doctor and not the scientist (or mad scientist) kind of doctor in a movie. This plays importantly into the background introduction portion of the movie and what happened to the main character before introducing us into the world of multiverses and magic.

If you seen the trailers, you will have notice that this movie bears a bit of similarity to inception which was considered a pretty good movie. So how did Marvel perform for their version of inception? Lets break it down and find out...

Doesn't look very doctorly...

Storyline 4/5

Storyline was pretty strong in this movie. The movie took its time of introducing us to the main star alongside his background and character. Of course, as Marvel stories always go similar to other marvel origin stories, something happens and main character wants to do something about it. So somehow or other this character gets his power and faces his first big opponent and of course wins. (this is not a spoiler.. its expected okay!)

Nonetheless, the pace of the movie is fantastic and interspersed with not TOO much talking at one go. Therefore, it doesn't end up lulling u to sleep at any point of them and the things that are happening are distinct and interesting enough to not feel boring. There are also drops of good humor over the movie that makes the whole experience a enjoyable and good paced affair. There are many things that are introduced to the audience and it requires some listening and understanding, but does not become too confusing.

All in all, storyline is nothing ground breaking, but all it in all, it is told very well.

Characters 4.5/5

Character development of the main star, is fantastic. Other characters have a pretty good fleshed out background and do act in accordance to their personality. All the characters have their own believable principles and that adds a lot to helping the audience understand and reason out why things happen in this movie. The audience will be able to feel and understand better, why things are happening for the main characters (villain included) and this does add to the immersiveness of the movie.

Cinematography 4.5/5

This is clearly the draw of the movie. Not only does this movie provide exciting action scenes, there are epic airborne shots to show the hugeness of some of the characters in the marvel universe (no spoilers so you have to see it to find out) and also alot of world bending. Quite a lot of movies make the mistake of having too much action but lack of light or good focus on what is going on. This movie doesn't have that. Everything is positioned nicely and it is easy to follow what is going on.

The only little grouse i have that explains the .5 gap is that... it had a very good potential to go all out exciting action movie similar to avengers with a large scale battle but overall, there was big monster fight with tiny human kind of scenes, but no epic many on many fight scenes.

Music 4.5/5

Music and effects is quite strong in this movie and is a definitely an enhancement to the over all feel of the movie. Somewhat inceptionish also....which is a good thing.

Spectacle 5/5

There are already so many marvel movies and so many DC movies that are more or less playing around in the super powered action genre. To make your movie stand out and not be a cliched hero meets enemy and this and that happens till the heroes win, is not something easy to do. Of course if you took the comedic perception such as deadpool, you will have an easier time to stand out.

Dr Strange manages to do this also. It will still be an origin story, but the pace of the storyline and the style and direction of the movie is where it still manages to stand out. It uses the multiverse and worlds bending onto each other, mirror worlds to show that Marvel's magic scene can still be different enough from the current offerings and what we are used to. Hence, with the good paced story introducing us to the magical world and its practices, as well as the different fighting style and methods applied by people in this magical world, this movie is still able to stand out and shine.

Overall

Storyline: 4 (good paced storyline, but of course in the end it is a super hero origin and meeting his first villain story, just told slightly differently)
Character: 4.5 (character development for the main and important characters are strong, with good amount of time for most of them.)
Cinematography: 4.5 (Good fight scenes, good epic shots, good graphics and strong CGI)
Music: 4.5 (good music that enhances the movie experience)
Spectacle: 5 (as a movie set in the marvel universe, it is still told in a very good and distinct way and fights and cinematics are done very well)

Overall: 4.5 (a very clear score that states that if you are a marvel fan, you will not regret seeing this movie. If you are an action fan, you will still like this movie. The only person who does not like this movie will be a person who does not like action and the marvel franchise. Go ahead and see this movie, weekday or weeknights, it will be worth it. Also, apparently the movie was specifically made to fit the IMAX 3D screen. Hence, if you dun mind the extra cost, go ahead and watch it. For me the normal screen is still enjoyable enough)

Movies: Independence Day Resurgence

Movies: Independence Day Resurgence

They are back again. The aliens that attacked us in 1996 are back to try again. This would be 20 years both in real life and according to the movie time line. So the movie has evolved from this

1996 Independence Day

to this

2016 Independence Day

Do you see any difference? Is there any difference for this movie from the one in 1996 to now? Read on and find out more. And No. This has completely nothing to do with Brexit. That's a difference kind of independence day.

Storyline 2/5

Let me explain the low score. Basically, the whole storyline and direction of this movie is almost similar to the previous movie in 1996. Yes the cast are changed, but everything that happens in the movie is very very similar to the proceedings of the previous movie with more or less just a different face.

Many things that happen in this movie does not make any logical sense in the first place either. I won't give spoilers in the movie but basically we could just say the main alien villain in this movie makes the stupidest decisions among the many other choices of things that they could do for world domination.

As expected (i don't think this will be a spoiler), the humans will win in the end but its not because of human ingenuity or innovation. It's just purely because the alien boss, for reasons unknown, does the stupidest thing that leads to their loss.

You will just feel that this is a movie rehash especially if you seen the previous one but even if you didn't, you will also feel that in the logical line of things, the storyline is forced and does not really entertain.

There are also a lot of time wasting redundant scenes of random other people that honestly, even if removed, will have little effect on the movie overall. At least 2 bunch of scenes that probably overall took up 20 minutes of screen time that could very well be used elsewhere.

Flow of the movie was also very unimpressive and uninteresting and really, given the boringness of some of the characters, honestly you could fall asleep. On the bright side, since the characters are not really adding any value to the movie, you could wake up and still follow the movie and not feel that you missed out anything because honestly, you didn't.

Character 2/5

Character development is horrible. Honestly, you will go through the entire movie, nearly hating everyone for how shallow they all are. There are so many characters that they want to utilise, both main and side characters, but all of the side characters have so little screen time and significance. 

The main characters are the typical "I hate you you hate me" at the beginning and then things happen and "I am now best buds with you" with the event that brings about this big change of heart being the most cliche thing you see in most movies.

All character relationships are not convincing and you will generally not bother or feel for the very forgettable characters in this movie.

Cinematography 3/5

This is probably the only thing that is going on for the movie. Destruction is epic and once the action gets on the way it is quite nice to see. But, it is nothing that would put this movie above the rest of the other movies that have been shown in the last few months. Add to that the overall lack of action scenes in general and it is that bit less entertaining.

It is supposed to be a very large spaceship, but this space ship is hardly utilised in any manner that would further boost the entertainment value of the movie which is a total waste. It is a war against the entire world, but no one else really participates.

Music 3/5

Music is fine, I will give that to them. There is a bit of nostalgia as some of the score is identical to the first one. But overall, it did not harm the experience but did not really add too much value to the movie either.

Spectacle 2/5

I would say especially for those who have seen the first movie, this movie will score very low both for storyline and action categories. Nothing it did this movie is really new, there is little development and you could very well go on to the third instalment (if they wanted) and this movie can just be totally ignored. Even if you have not seen this movie (since its 20 years ago), at most this movie can only be given a 3 instead as the storyline really lacks the coherence to draw u into the movie, the characters are forgettable and more or less expendable.

Overall

Storyline: 2 (Not a realistic or engaging storyline, follows the previous much too closely)

Character: 2 (Characters are hardly interesting and very forgettable)

Cinematography: 3 (When there is action, it is nonetheless quite nice to see. Pity the action scenes are too little in the first place)

Music: 3 (It's there, didnt hinder the entertainment value and added some value)

Spectacle: 2 (Didn't fare well for the storyline segment, action was fine, but in a period where every other movie has fantastic and more action scenes, this movie did not manage to stand out)

Overall: 2.4 (Quite an accurate description of the movie. In the end, it is really a forgettable movie, especially if you seen the first one cause its more or less identical. You can honestly just skip this movie and go on and wait to see if they make a third one. If you still want to see it though, just be prepared for the very ordinary story line and also be prepared to accept some not so logical parts of the movie. There are a lot of filler scenes in this movie that did not really add anything of interest to the movie.)

Movies: Batman v Superman

Movies: Batman v Superman

We have seen batman, we have seen superman, but never had we seen these two on the big screen at the same time. and what's more, this time they dont seem to be friends!

In this first DC reply to Marvel's avengers series, we finally get to see more then one major superhero in a single movie and similar to the next big marvel movie coming out very soon, these two guys are gonna have a moment sizing and beating each other up!

Note that unlike the more recent marvel movies, actors for superman and batman tend to very QUITE wildly.  You can actually see all the other batman movies and still get a different vibe from them because they are all really quite different. This is the same case for superman and I personnally never actually seen this superman (I believe he did act in another previous superman movie)

Nonetheless, this movie is dark, both in terms of lighting and in the storyline itself. DC movies seem to be trying to protray itself in a entirely different light from the Marvel movies and there is little comedy to be found here. So how did this movie perform when you break it down? Lets take a deeper look.

Which side are you on?

Storyline 4/5

The storyline is strong and it makes quite a fair bit of sense on how these two end up fighting in the first place. There are some slow moments during the movie as they try to expand on the universe but the moments are not too excessive before it gets back into something interesting.

Like i said previously, this movie is entirely dark and there is also quite a bit of thinking required. Especially for people who have not read the comics, you will either end up quite confused throughout the movie because they will throw a lot of confusing DC universe plot items at you or end up realising how big the DC universe is and that may pique your interest and make you go learn more about the universe from the net. That means that if you want to enjoy the storyline, you are gonna need to read up a bit to prepare yourself OR be prepared to keep a very open mind to try to interpret what is happening on screen the moment you see it.

That being said, if you just want to follow along the line of the main story and are not too concerned about what those flashbacks and videos mean, then the storyline is still sufficient to entertain you and will keep you interested in what is happening as there are enough immediate plots that are happening during the movie and it can keep things engaging enough. In fact, in this movie there are at least 3 intertwined main storylines so it is difficult to get bored of what is happening.

Character 3.5/5

You have 2 very important characters and 1 quite important character to develop in a movie lasting 151 minutes. Honestly, the character development for why these two guys are fighting is done reasonably well, but this movie only touches very slightly on the backgrounds of these two guys. That means that if you do not even see any of their movies before this, you will not be able to appreciate why batman or superman does things in this manner or that and may find it hard to believe why these characters end up reacting to the happenings in the storyline in a certain way.

There are not really any other major good guys with much relevance in this movie and the villain is quite well portrayed to be cranky. Overall the characters fit their roles but there is just a bit of difficulty of being fully immersed when you do not know the background of the two main characters

Cinematography 4/5

Cinematography is fantastic for this movie. The shots convey the vast size of the characters and buildings and there are a lot of good perspective shots that add immersion to the movie. The fights are done very impactfully and you can practically feel the pain when your chosen hero gets hit.

The story is told in a very artistic manner and the movie makes uses of flashbacks and videos to expand on the universe which keeps the movie interesting, There is just one small problem with it being too dark (literally) due to the lighting, rain and night conditions.

Music 4.5/5

Music in this game is very very spectacular. The score greatly adds to the feel of the movie and the action scenes are made that much more exciting.

Spectacle 4.5/5

This movie does very well in the action and storyline category and it has one of the best fighting scenes for a super hero movie (its not kungfu though). With the main 3 storylines telling you what happens with respect to Superman, batman and the only woman DC heroine for now, you will not get bored of what is happening and everything flows relatively well. Action is really quite fantastic once you get past the dark tone of the movie. All 3 heroes use their most well known specialities and weapons during the movie which is quite entertaining as you see the difference in their fight style. Pitting the two biggest heroes in the DC universe against each other adds a lot of entertainment value to this and is a very much welcome from the do-only-good previous batman/super man movies.

Overall
Storyline: 4 (There is 3 frontline storyline as well as the overarching DC universe storyline protrayed here. Good flow, but at times slightly confusing without background)
Character: 3.5 (Movie seems to expect the audience to have fair amount of background knowledge already, does have further character development in this movie but harder to immerse if background not already known)
Cinematography: 4 (This is probably the main thrust and attraction factor of the movie. A lot of effort is put into the fight scenes and it is done well and impactfully... if only it wasn't so dark till you cannot see maybe about 5-10% of what happened if you did not focus enough)
Music: 4.5 (Very strong musical score. Adds tremendously to the movie immersion)
Spectacle: 4.5 (Storyline is good, action scenes are great except just for slight gripes here and there. But the very fact that you fit 2 most well known movies together, and put them together to beat each other out, its definitely a draw for the fans, and for the non-fans, the action scenes even for a long movie will be strong enough to keep you entertained.)

Overall: 4.1 (Fair enough score, its definitely not a PERFECT movie, but the things that it sets out to do, it does well above average. Very smart way to draw in the crowds and at least get them the very first step into the DC movie, showing them the difference between them and Marvel. For more enjoyment in the movie however, you may want to just do a quick search about the DC universe so that some of the flash backs and scenes in the movie makes more sense. Don't wiki the movie itself though or you may get spoilt. Even after the movie, you can also go read up more and it will show you how big the DC universe is and hopefully attract you back for the next few DC movies on the pipeline)

So how did you find the movie? Did you manage to guess who was to win the fight? Do you agree with the ratings? Do let me know and see ya at the next movie (most likely going to be another movie where superheroes are pitted against superheroes)

Movies: The 5th Wave

Movies: The 5th Wave

Introduction

Don't fret don't fret, if you think you missed the 1st to 4th wave! This movie starts clearly at the 5th wave! In fact, the movie will go on and tell you all about the first, second, third and fourth wave and what is the state the world is currently.

In a market where there are tons of alien movies, end of world movies and zombie movies, is this movie able to stand out from the rest? Well, one plus point is that this movie combines the alien and end of world segment but of course no zombies in this movie.... yet.

Here's the poster!

Its pretty accurate that this movie focuses on these two

So how did this movie perform if we break it up? Let's take a look and see

Storyline 4/5

This movie has a lot of things going for them. It is a new fresh story and a fresh world, which means it is easier to keep the audience intrigued as it fleshes out the current world. It also can spend a bit of time telling about how did the world end up the way it did which will entertain fans of end of the world type of movies.

It also did a good job in having two different main story lines which means that the minds of the audience are kept absorbed by two things that are happening together to tell the entire story. The story flow overall is pretty good and entertaining as it introduces people and the world and there are not too many slow moments that will cause the audience to be bored.

That being said, the storyline also has a bit of a twist towards the end of the movie that makes it that more entertaining with that little bit of surprise and keeps everything quite exciting till the end.

Character 3.5/5

Character development is pretty alright as many of the people are new and need a bit of time to be introduced for the audience to feel any kind of attachment. Time is not on the side of this movie however due to the amount of storyline it has to go through and although you would see the story of about 4 or 5 characters fleshed out pretty well, the rest would be just another person in the group kind of person.

Cinematography 4/5

Cinematography is pretty good in this movie with epic shots of disasters and when it gets to the action part, you would see that quite  a bit of effort is put into the action scenes. The movie however is a storyline focused movie and not so much an action type of movie so there is still a lot of improvement potential.

Nonetheless, it uses the best cinematography form most of the time but does not capitalize and use it more to further immerse the audience.

Music 3/5

Did not really notice the music in this movie as nothing really stood out and no music was used distinctly to push some kind of emotion or feeling to the audience. At least nothing that I noted.

Spectacle 4/5

There are a lot of end of world movies. There are also alot of alien movies. This movie uses aliens to showcase their version of the end of the world which makes the story that bit more distinct and quite entertaining to the fresh audience. It does not excel in action or cinematography and although it does put in effort in the storyline it does not stand uniquely at the top amongst the other movies out there. But put all together, this movie does provide something slightly more different and it translate to a bit of a more enjoyable experience.

First movies of trilogy tend to always do well as it has a great unique source material but as we go into the second and third movie (that may or may not happen), we will see if this movie is able to keep up the interest and the immersion.


Overall

Storyline: 4 (Fresh story line, two interlinked focal point that keeps things interesting)
Character: 3.5 (Main characters have a fair bit of screen time and development but the rest are all pretty forgettable)
Cinematography: 4 (Good choices of shots to bring about epicness and action but really could have more opportunity)
Music: 3 (Music is ordinary, a bit too ordinary and did not feel its particular impact)
Spectacle: 4 (Unique joining of two main type of stories but it did not really pull far out from the offerings you would have seen before)

Overall: 3.7 (Overall, its a good attempt to draw in two types of movies which is the end of world and alien typed movies, and it is done with good shots and a good storytelling method. However the main aim of the movie which is to story tell, uses story line that is not TOO far off what has been shown on the big screen. Did have that bit of a twist in the storyline to keep things fun and entertaining and indeed it is good while it lasted. With a long movie time this is worth the time if you do have time to spare. Not a must see at this point of time and you could wait for the next movie to come out first if there ever will be, but you won't really regret seeing this movie too)

Movies: Avengers 2 - Age of Ultron

Movies: Avengers 2 - Age of Ultron

It's here again. The yearly installment of the marvel franchise and this time it's the everything all together super hero mash up of almost every other marvel franchise together. There is still room to really mash up other heroes like the x-men and spiderman but this is not the movie. Yet this movie easily has about 10 prominent superheroes of which many have appeared in their own split off movies and for fans of any of these individual side movies, there is no reason why you will not want to catch this one.

Storyline 3.5/5

The storyline in this movie is pretty fine, keeps the movie going and has a pretty good pace of slow and quick moments.

It actually has some specific focus on some characters particularly those who will not be getting a standalone movie in the near future. I will leave you to guess who these few characters  are but overall the story is fine with some overall development and flows well enough.

There is also the injection of quite a few comedic scenes making use of the uniqueness of many of the character backgrounds and personality which is a important touch. After all, even for us mere mortals, there are moments where we have our own humor too so this makes the movie feel more real and entertaining.

Don't expect a storyline that is unique or  fresh as it merely follows the usual marvel style. You will see the gathering of heroes, them having some internal conflicts, then they team up and with all their powers combined they do a lot of killing and destroying.

Character 4.5/5

This is pretty much the whole draw of the movie in that they add a few more new superheroes or villains and introduce their powers and show how they interact and do things in this alternate world they live on. But with the inclusion of so many characters many of whom are from the previous marvel movies making some cameos, there is more then enough heroes to satisfy you as long as you are interested in this kind of thing but you may get lost in trying to recognize who are some of the people and what they are doing there.

All heroes do have their back stories and like I said above, this movie does put some emphasis on a few characters that won't have their own movie in the future so there is a fair bit of character development here and there. But for those who have not seen the previous movies, you will have no clue who 30 percent of the heroes are especially in the meet up scene of the movie and this does hinder some form of enjoyment as what they say might not make sense to you unless you follow more the franchise closely enough.

I also like the idea that the movie is fleshing out the more normal, more human-like heroes in this movie as compared to those who already have an excess of screen time. Also it is sweet that the movie gives each character their chance during battle scenes so you can be awed by their abilities and see how it is used to its potential.

Cinematography 4/5

As per usual action marvel movie this one has plenty of action shots and loads of slow motion scenes where you can slowly enjoy what each character does during battle and see what powers they have.

You get to see a lot of good special effects and even some first person views that gives you quite good entertainment and immersion value.

Also has its fair share of epic shots from the sky and fast movement shots all around the place.

It never gets too messy during the Battle scenes as the director is conscious to not make too many things happen at the same time and this allows the audience to follow the movie much better

Music 3.5/5

Music in this movie is fine and adds alot to the atmosphere and over all immersion feel. It is not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination but it really does it job well enough. Anyway marvel movies are not musicals. They are action movies.

Spectacle 4/5

If you want a movie where you can see tons of action, special power,  see your favorite marvel super hero besides the characters from the x-men etc. This is your go to movie. The pacing is good enough and the battles are always exciting although a bit one sided most of the time.  I personally feel that this detracts a bit as you will feel that your heroic characters are never going to lose at any point and thus the end results of every battle are more or less expected.

Although there is some twist at the end of the movie, overall, this is a great action movie with a good storyline to boot. Definitely something the fans will enjoy tremendously cause they give the fans what they really want.

Overall

Storyline: 3.5 (Good flowing story with good pacing, but from the bird's eye view, still a cliche, safe generic storyline)

Character: 4.5 (You get tons and tons of heroes in this movie including many cameos)

Cinematography: 4 (Good shots all around, makes the action scenes much more exciting)

Music: 3.5 (Fine music for an action flick, nothing too spectacular though)

Spectacle: 4 (This is the action movie that marvel fans must see, and it does well in the action genre with good slow mo shots, epic shots etc. Storyline is also pretty flowing)

Overall: 3.9 (Overall, this is a show that will appeal to many people as a pure action show with tons of special effects and power. It does get a bit heavy at a point of time when it seems like everyone and their grandma seems to be having super powers. It does help to see the previous movies before catching this and for action genres, it is more fun to see it on the big screen. With future similar and related movies linked together, if you feel that you will see those movies someday, then you might as well just go ahead and spend 2 hours having fun with the Avengers.)

Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy

Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy

Another movie by marvel...

Wait what??

Who are all these people?!?! A green woman?? A kratos from "God of War"?? A Trent lost from Lord of the rings and WHAT!! A raccoon/squirrel/mouse/hamster???

Where is my Iron man, Captain America and ever so sexy black widow?!?!

Welcome to Guardians Of the Galaxy! The so called "Avengers of the Universe" as opposed to Avengers of Earth which are what we are familiar with being Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, the archer guy who doesn't have a show of his own and so on.

This is Marvel's first introduction into something rather different in the Marvel universe, no longer technology as in iron man, no longer gods as in Thor but rather, more like a star war styled movie.

In fact, this movie follows quite closely to those usual science fiction movie. So does the introduction of all these new people add much value to the show? Is it as good as the Avengers or X-men all of which are from Marvel? Read on to find out more.

Storyline 3/5 

The movie starts out pretty alright, starting off at earth to give the background story of the "captain america" of the galaxy guardians which is Star-Lord who is the leader in this gang. Then it moves on and gets them into prison and things happen and big bad guy with big bad dreams comes out and wants to destroy some stuff!

This is the common storyline for many many many science fiction show. Unfortunately, when put in its entirety because the Galaxy Guardian characters are not all like the heroes in our other Marvel universes, this movie is pretty close to an alternate version of Starwars.

The storyline is not horrible, but its just not entirely impressive. It's not boring as in that there are various different things that happens throughout the movie but all the things that happen has happened in many other movies before.

Some other things that happened during the movie also are right there at the unbelievable which takes away from the reality or immersion of the movie because you cannot really believe that such things will happen.

Character 4/5

The characters in the movie are in general pretty different from each other, not because of they have different skills (which they don't really have) but because of their different looks from each other. All the main characters have a different skin color. Just take a look at the poster. Human skin, red skin, green skin, furry and tree bark.

With reference to the abilities, there are a few special abilities mainly the tree and this other blue guy who is not one of the guardians, but an interesting character nonetheless. The producers did try to differentiate the characters from each other somewhat, but the human, red skin and green skin persons all in all are pretty similar unlike what you expect from avengers or x-men.

Cinematography 3.5/5

There are good action scenes as well as epic scenes of space and sky which is pretty good and for those characters with special abilities, they get their bit of screen time. However, you will realise that there are even more opportunities to show off more effects and to make things more fun especially for the main bad guy but the movie does not take its full potential to go one step further.

It does a good job as a scifi show, but did not exploit its Marvel aspect to make it more of a super human or super powered movie.

Music 4/5

This movie uses a lot of music as part of the story plot and not just to enhance its action scenes. Some of the music lyrics fit the situation of the movie and as such gave the show some entertainment value. Realism value on the other hand, took a bit of a hit due to its unorthodox use of music.

Spectacle 3.5/5

All in all, the movie did a above average job in terms of action and character diverseness as in the Marvel universe. Its not the top of the class for either though. Storyline wise was fine at least keeping most of the audience entertained all the way to the end. Those looking for a truly unique storyline however might not be able to see it.

Overall

Storyline: 3 (A bit too unrealistic for my liking. Its entertaining, but not entirely refreshing)
Character: 4 (Many diverse characters, but really could have highlighted or made them even more distinct)
Cinematography: 3.5 (Good exciting shots, but it seems more of just a scifi show as compared to a MARVEL sci fi show)
Music: 4 (Interesting use of music and fitting to the movie adding some value to it)
Spectacle: 3.5 (Above average in action and character uniqueness but far from being the top of its class)

Overall: 3.6 (All in all a good entertaining show from the Marvel world but if you don't put the Marvel License to it, it is nothing more then just another science fiction show. Marvel movies can do more then that. Storyline holds it back a bit being too ordinary but that is probably how the books got it written. Will be interesting to those who has never seen super heroes in space but those who seen other space movies like Star wars especially, won't be too impressed with the story especially since they seem to prefer to take the entertaining/fun storyline as compared to a realistic storyline. You won't regret seeing this movie as it is still entertaining as long as you are not expecting a totally unique storyline and just want to see the good effects.)

There is an after credits scene so stay tune all the way to the end.. as usual it signals a POSSIBLE new movie/character that may appear in the next movie. This new character is a really really unique one... more unique then a raccoon.. that's what I can say

Movies: Transformer 4 Age of Extinction

Movies: Transformer 4 Age of Extinction

Was able to catch this blockbuster movie on the 2nd day of release and boy it was packed all the way to the first row!

It's those kind of movie like x men or spiderman that has had many previous movies before and is probably a must see just because you have seen the previous movies. For some people it's a must see because we played with the toys when we were young. Also a safe type of movie being in the action genre that allows it to appeal to the large population.

Ah dinosaurs, the caveman form of transport

Did it live up to the hype though? Read on to find out more.

Storyline 3/5

The movie, if you checked is a whopping 160 minutes long give or take a few minutes. That's more then 2 hours that you are going to spend in the theater. So is the storyline able to remain enthralling?

In all honesty, the story does stay fresh as in many new things are added to the story as time goes by. However there is very little obvious linkages to why this thing that happened previously led to the things that is happening in the current section of the movie. To put it shortly, you can try paying alot of attention to the movie and what the characters are saying but you will still find yourself confused ever so often at why things ended up this way.

The storyline is also strange in that there are many instances where something has happened such as more bots joining the fight, but then you realize that Hey they could really have done this earlier instead. Alot of things that happen are quite unbelievable or unrealistic and you feel that the writers made things this way just so that you could have a longer story. There was also a lot of unnecessary actions that were taken by the humans that in every angle of analysis is totally silly and dumb.

One clear cut example if you see the movie is, if your bots can fly, why do you still bother driving around from one place to another? And what happened to the bomb? Confused!

Character 3.5/5

Additional 0.5 points purely because there was the other bunch of transformers that was added to the movie that at least significantly heightened the entertainment value.

They introduced new main human characters to this movie as well as new bots and did try to give them some distinct personalities which was good. But overall they did not have enough screen time despite the 2 hour plus movie time to truly make an impact. It's really just a matter of creating a unique sequence for them but it was a wasted opportunity there.

Some familiar bad guys did come back with friends but bad guy friends especially didn't have any extra emphasis on scenes to make them special enough. You will realize during the movie that some characters just disappear and you don't notice till they reappear after awhile.

All in all, a lot of potential wasted type of movie.

Cinematography 3.5/5

As in typical action movies it had above average Cinematography with plenty of slow mo shots and plenty of explosions. But similar to the character section there is really alot more unused opportunity to really make the movie stand out and I would say that the action scenes were not long enough and can really be made more epic.

Music 3.5/5

Music was good in keeping the atmosphere up and the feeling of all the explosions. Nothing particularly unique in the way the music was used though.

Spectacle 3/5

Sadly, when looking from a summative view, this movie tried to tell too much story at the risk of action sequences, and yet storyline was too broad to be able to keep it coherent and flowing well enough. Hence its like a action movie with not enough action and with a rather confusing or unconvincing story.

They should have tried to tell less and shift the focus to better action scenes and focus more on what the other newly introduced bots could do. Too many new characters but too little time to make them endearing to the audience.

Overall

Storyline: 3 (At times it was hard to follow. At times it did not make sense either. Still, at least it can be considered interesting)
Character: 3.5 (So many new bots.. too little time to emphasize on them... and at times you forget about many of the bots)
Cinematography: 3.5 (Good action sequences, not particularly exceptional though)
Music: 3.5 (Music was there lending to impact and atmosphere)
Spectacle: 3 (Did not manage to intrigue or excel in both storyline nor action sequence when it clearly has a lot of potential to do so.)

Overall:  3.3 (If you are an action flick lover with not too over analyzing personality on storyline and details, this will be a fine movie for you given its exceptional playtime. If you like good and coherent storylines and your friends ask you to see this movie, keep reminding yourself... "I like bots and explosions and boomboom pewpew!". If you plan on missing this movie, don't worry about it cause it is probably a good home movie type. Just manage your expectations and remind yourself its a fair movie given its length of time.

Disagree with this review? Thought the story was fine? Comment here and I can tell you more stuff that is just strange and unnessary!

Movies: Edge Of Tomorrow

Movies: Edge Of Tomorrow

Movies concerning time and going both into the future and the past have been popping up in both the big and small screens for a while. Some TV series includes Heroes with its time travelling hero, and the present series Continuum with the female lead being thrown back in time against her will. On the large screen we have the very recent X-men - Heroes of Future Past and perhaps the more significant time travelling movie that is similar to Edge of Tomorrow would be Groundhog Day which was a comedy with the same time travelling component.

A friend of mine told me that this movie is like a how a first person shooter works. Which is you go attempt the game map, die, respawn and try again. And in many cases, this is the what the movie is about. So for those who haven't caught the trailer or seen the poster, here it is!

The two heroes of the movie!

So how did this movie perform? Read more the find out here!

Storyline 4/5

The way the story is told in this movie is actually pretty creative. Of course the underlying principle is in the end, the good guys will win, but what happens during the entire process is kept interesting my the numerous twists and focus points in each of the attempts that the main character makes. It even shows what happens if the main character stops trying and tries to run which is a pretty good representation of what we would possibly have tried out should this have happened to us.

The source of this time restarting ability is also spelt out in the movie and hence tries to be a bit more science fiction then fantasy and it also highlights why this ability is present in the first place which gives a very complete picture of the movie.

Overall, everything is pretty believable until the very end. The ending is pretty strange and didn't really feel continuous from the whole movie, seeming more like a method to just end on a happy note. If you see the movie you will know what I am saying.

Overall, the story is believable, compelling and interesting. However, being strong on storyline, you will probably need to use a bit more brain power during the movie to understand why some things happen and if you miss it you will lose a bit of appreciation of the concept of the movie such as why at a point of time in the movie, he cannot die and respawn anymore. So keep your ears sharp during the movie!!


Character 4/5

Character development in this movie is done in a very interesting way because of the ability to repeat things again and again and hence reveal stuff about the characters over time. Of course the main character clearly grows throughout the movie from a non fighter to a soldier that looks like he has some cheat code because he knows where the enemies are before they come out! Its just like how some people play their shooting games in the arcade for the 50th time! Same as those who play those music taptap games also! All a mater of practice and alot of money and free time.

Nonetheless, the characters that are on the posters are of course fleshed out pretty well and believable, but there are some other supporting characters that are clearly just there for support value and nothing else so they are pretty basic in back story. In fact, there was one asian character who suddenly appeared in one of the more important scenes in the movie and I didnt even realise he was there in the first place and how he ended up in the heli. See the movie and tell me if you know which asian guy i am talking about!

Nonetheless, this is no X-men with long extended back stories but just a one off movie that only has the time to at best focus on the two mai characters!


Cinematography 4/5

Cinematography was good! When it was action scenes it is very well shot, and there are alot of good shots and timings during the movie to add extra entertainment and even comedic value to the movie. It was very creatively done and you will enjoy the way the movie was shot.

Still, the movie is not focus on epic battles between man and machine so don't get that wrong or expect that though. Its more of small group action movie.


Music 3/5

Music was not impressive and I am probably just guessing that it was there, but as far as the experience go, I didn't really notice any additional value from the music itself.


Spectacle 4/5

Realistically speaking this movie is a bit more on story line then action to be honest. There is no particular strong actions scenes that emphasized how the humans were fighting with the aliens. Its more or less meet monster, live or die, and try again next time. Very clear cut with little extended fighting scenes.

Story line was also slightly more emphasized on to keep the story together and tell the audeince at which stage this guy is currently. Of course when you see the current timeline, the audience is kept unaware whether this is the first time the guy is in this scenario or is it the 100th time. This keeps the audience intrigued. Might have been talking a tad bit too much towards the middle of the movie but overall it did a above average job especially to keep the many aspects of this sci fi movie coherent!


Overall

Storyline: 4 (Good storyline, kept interesting by the way the director chose the timelines)
Character: 4 (Main focus was on the two characters and all supporting characters are nothing more then just supporting, could have been any other person)
Cinematography: 4 (Good shots but it was not a epic fighting movie as opposed to small group fighting movie)
Music: 3 (It probably was there, but didn't have too much effect on the movie)
Spectacle: 4 (Overall, a story line focused movie with good action elements, not the best in its arena but is definitely an above average job)

Overall: 3.8 (This score indicates that its a movie that you can see without regrets especially if you are a fan of the action and storyline genre. However, hard core action lovers or hard core storyline critics will not be totally appeased but it is really catering to the main bulk of audiences. Told in a very entertaining ways with a good mix of comedic aspects and action sequences. A good way to spend 2 hours of your time if you don't have anything significant to keep yourself entertained or busy)

Saw the movie? Missed out important components and didnt understand why certain things happened or was done? You can ask here if you are still confused and I still remember.