Men go to war over a cut-up whore. That’s the gist of a plot that’s about as silly as it sounds, especially at the end when a previously decrepit character suddenly becomes invincible.
Clint Eastwood plays an assassin recruited by a Kid to help him kill the cowboy who cut-up the aforementioned whore, but the story lacks in the way of tension and often goes astray.
my rating : 3 of 5
1992
1989
The title is a fancy way to say that Batman is back. Did the world need another Batman movie? No. But Wayne Enterprises; a multi-billion-dollar company owned by Bruce Wayne himself; is going bankrupt and popular superhero movies; this is the third in what is now a Christopher Nolan trilogy; make an insane amount of money. Two Face is dead and The Joker, a character who should’ve been mentioned if not given a cameo appearance, is in prison. Enter Bane, a strong vicious beast of a man with a gas mask stuck to his face. He wears it for a reason, but it muffles his voice sometimes to the point of being unintelligible.
Not that these characters, including Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, ever have anything poignant to say. Christopher Nolan is a lot better at directing fight scenes than composing dialogue. So the fast-cut plot, riddled with minor holes and unnecessary twists; Gotham City facing its demise in the form of a nuclear bomb is the gist; gets saved by its exciting and often violent action scenes. Most, if not all, of that action coincides with epic Hans Zimmer orchestral music, yes; and the new flying bat-toy is kind of cool; but this Dark Knight, while entertaining, is a sequel that doesn’t quite match the level of its predecessor.
my rating : 4 of 5
2012
The premise is captivating. A huge comet is headed toward Earth and will hit in less than a year, which means most, if not all, people will die. It’s a extinction-level event; an “Ele”, as some unimaginative government official dubs it. But such a thing is hard to take in. Earth hasn’t had one since the dinosaurs, after all. So an MSNBC news reporter named Jenny Lerner carries on with her job, looking as lethargic as ever, as the end of the world grows near.
A decision she makes near that end is stupid, but it’s the boy who discovered the comet while looking thru a telescope in astronomy class who’s the ultimate idiot. His impeding doom is a secondary concern for him. He cares more about the classmate he’s fallen in love with. Time wasted on such trivial silliness instead of more hardcore realism; The President addressing the nation are the best parts; cushions the blow with a layer of schmaltz.
my rating : 3 of 5
1998