video review : Contact

video review : Contact

Like observing deep space via satellite, waiting for some sign of intelligent life, this movie is boring for a long time. About a third of its two-and-a-half hours goes by before the catch of the plot finally beams in and things start to get interesting.

Based on a Carl Sagan sci-fi novel, Contact propels itself with a wonderous concept, brilliant visual effects and mind-bending philosophical undertones, but the story, bogged down by extraneous love themes, doesn’t reach good fast enough.

my rating : 3 of 5

1997

video review : The Gentlemen

video review : The Gentlemen

I’m guessing the Gentlemen title is made in jest as these characters are anything but. The main one is a violent drug lord named Mickey. The plot has to do with his efforts to get out of the business.

Except it’s a lot more complicated than that. Confusing would be a better word. The snappy dialogue and quick-cut editing demand your undivided attention in order not to get lost in the steak sauce.

my rating : 3 of 5

2020

video review : Interstellar

video review : Interstellar

Interstellar would be better as just a space adventure. Christopher Nolan instead makes the mistake Steven Spielberg made with AI by encompassing the ambiguous theme of “love”. The protagonists intake on journeys to other worlds, but I’m stranded in schmaltz city as Nolan tries to make me care about the relationships between characters.

In a sense, the gist of the plot depends on it. If emotional attachment doesn’t pull you in; it didn’t me; there’s not much else to do the trick. The movie is daring and provocative in its declaration that the Apollo moon landings were faked and some of the action scenes are entertaining, but it’s bloated and pretentious in most other regards.

my rating : 3 of 5

2014

video review : The Wolf Of Wall Street

video review : The Wolf Of Wall Street

Jordan Belfort lived the good life. His supply of money, drugs and pussy seemed endless until he got busted for stock fraud. His rise and fall is depicted here via Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie is zippy; an abundance of soft porn scenes help; but it never builds into a cohesive story.

Tighter editing might’ve done the job; the Lemmon car and Monaco boat rides are particularly excessive; but I’m doubtful. The Wolf Of Wall Street, while stimulating in its debauchery, plays with the incoherence and fleeting suspense of a movie that’s based on a true story.

my rating : 3 of 5

2013