Rodent's Reviews

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"Hey Look it's Masterman"
Great review of Lawless Rodent. Another prime example of why Tom Hardy is one of the best actors around at the moment.



I've been gradually becoming a fan of his since seeing Bronson... I saw him in Star Trek Nemesis and he made an impression but Bronson was just a masterpiece of acting.

Then his take as Bane cemented it for me really.

But seeing Warrior and now Lawless, he's certainly in my Top 3 next to Sam Rockwell and Christopher Reeve.


I was thinking just today, how he's never had many leading roles apart from Bronson... and could do with a decent turn...

But then I remembered he's in Mad Max Fury Road... out in 2015. Looking forward to that. Wasn't to start with...

But now imagine the psychopathic Max but with Hardy in the role... should be good...



Nice reviews of Lawless and Prisoners. I'm not too keen on Prisoners - It had a dramatic start and ending, everything in between I found a little slow-paced and boring at times, 3 and a half stars from me.



"Hey Look it's Masterman"
I've been gradually becoming a fan of his since seeing Bronson... I saw him in Star Trek Nemesis and he made an impression but Bronson was just a masterpiece of acting.

Then his take as Bane cemented it for me really.

But seeing Warrior and now Lawless, he's certainly in my Top 3 next to Sam Rockwell and Christopher Reeve.


I was thinking just today, how he's never had many leading roles apart from Bronson... and could do with a decent turn...

But then I remembered he's in Mad Max Fury Road... out in 2015. Looking forward to that. Wasn't to start with...

But now imagine the psychopathic Max but with Hardy in the role... should be good...

I very first noticed him in Rock N Rolla, but Bronson nailed it for me aswell.



Well, new look to the site... and new stamps for me too...


May as well do a top film to start it all off...


Review #211, Movie #282
Coraline




Year Of Release

2009

Director

Henry Selick

Producer

Henry Selick, Claire Jennings

Writer

Henry Selick, Neil Gaiman

Cast

Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, John Hodgman, Ian McShane and Keith David

Notes

Directed by the man behind The Nightmare Before Christmas (yes, Selick directed Nightmare, not Burton), Coraline came about when Selick met Coraline writer Neil Gaiman, just as Gaiman was finishing the book.

It transpired that Gaiman was a fan of Selick’s work on Nightmare, so the two collaborated, albeit with a few changes in the script to make the film longer than the 47 minutes they were originally looking at… and we the audience were treated to this brilliant animated film which went on to being nominated for 21 Awardsincluded in the American Film Institute, the Chicago Film Critics Association, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, The People’s Choice and the Annie Awards amongst others… eventually winning 10 altogether.

It was also Honoured with special achievement award for Martin Meunier and Brian McLean for their Rapid Prototyping advances.


---


Coraline, an 11 year old girl, has just moved with her parents into a new apartment that was created by segregating an old Mansion. Her neighbours are a little eccentric and Coraline at first has trouble adapting, mainly through boredom.

When she finds a small doorway in the wall that is bricked off, Coraline is a little disappointed that it doesn’t go anywhere… she was hoping for something exciting, interesting, maybe an adventure… but one night, the door opens, and the brick wall behind it is gone…

---

Quite simply… magical.

On first viewing, I was expecting a Tim Burton clone… the look of the film, animation style especially, and I was expecting another The Nightmare Before Christmas.
What I found though was one of the most engaging animated feature films I’ve seen in a long time.

Brilliantly written in the story stakes, Coraline blends what is essentially a fantasy with genuinely creepy (and even scary) visuals and sequences and makes the whole thing exciting at the same time.

Some of the highly charged scenes had me on the edge of my seat, similar in a way to when The Pale Man chases Ophelia in Pan’s Labyrinth.

There’s also the simple yet wonderfully written characters throughout that bring an air of pizazz to the proceedings.
Coraline getting wound up when people get her name wrong, Mr Bobinski the eccentric Russian who talks of “speaking Mice”, Miss April Spink and Miss Miriam Forcible as Coraline’s (also) eccentric neighbours who own several stuffed Dogs.
It’s very original.


The film also combines many subtle levels of brilliance. The music, general soundtrack, visual styles from one scene to the next that change with the tone of the world that Coraline happens to be in at the time (real world or the “other” world), and voiceover work.
It’s very atmospheric when it needs to be.

Talking of voiceover…

We have Dakota Fanning as out titular Coraline… top notch… you can really feel the intuitive nature of the character through Fanning’s voicework and the more exciting scenes are carried well by her voice alone.

Backing up Fanning are Robert Bailey as Wyborn, Coraline’s only real friend… comedy duo Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French as Miss April Spink and Miss Miriam Forcible respectively, Ian McShane as Mr Bobinski, Keith David as The Cat (great character) and teri Hatcher and John Hodgman as Coraline’s “two sets” of parents…

All give massive character to the, erm, characters and bring the wonderfully animated characters to genuine life.


The action and effects (as such), is fantasy based… but we’re treated to some wonderfully realised set pieces and visuals that add massive charisma (for want of a better word) to the more highly charged and exciting scenes.
The use of light and colour is also a huge factor and very subtle changes between the real world and “other” world are utilised perfectly.

It’s when the people in the other world start showing their real side that the film really comes into its own and makes a massive impression. Even some scenes made me feel a little disturbed at times on first viewing.


---

All in all, one of the best animated films I’ve seen. For me, personally, in terms of animated features, it’s up there with Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo, WALL-E and The Incredibles.

Atmospheric, great voiceover and music, edge of the seat when it gets going, laugh-out-loud funny, engaging and even scary at times.

Simply a wonderful film on all fronts.

My Rating: 99%





I don't remember asking you a ******* thing!
Review #207, Movie #277 and #278
Kick-Ass Duo
Kick-Ass
Year Of Release
2010
Director
Matthew Vaughan
Producer
Adam Bohling, Tarquin Pack, Brad Pitt, David Reid
Writer
Mark Millar, John Romita Jr, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughan
Cast
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Morris Chestnut

---


New York teenager Dave is a regular kid. He hangs out with friends, loves his comic books and wonders why nobody has ever actually donned a suit and done it for real.
Until the day he buys himself what resembles a wetsuit and some batons off the internet and heads out into the city.

After some teething problems and an incident that leaves him with damaged nerve-endings meaning his pain threshold is higher than most other people… Dave finds himself drawn back onto the streets and ends up defending a man who is being beaten by a gang of thugs.

Dave then labels himself as “Kick-Ass” to a by passer with a cell-phone who recorded the whole thing…

… and Kick-Ass becomes an immediate internet sensation.

But his new found fame draws the attention of a pretty disturbing Father-Daughter team who have been planning their own little superhero adventure with their own motives… and together, the three head out into the city and make enemies with a rather dangerous Crime-Lord.

---

Absolutely brilliant.
Based on the comic of the same name, Kick-Ass gives all the thrills and spills of a genuine comic book movie and manages to throw in some real world blood and guts, bad language and some border-ultraviolent action crossed with some more fantastical action too.

For a start, there are some genuine laughs to be had throughout the running time. It’s all reality based too and keeps within a situational humour most of the time.

The second thing that makes an impact is the huge connection the audience gets to the characters. They’re all extremely well fleshed out and well written.
The other thing is the likeability, or un-likeability, of the characters… the overall writing is spot on and makes for some memorable roles and even the bad guys have you laughing from time to time.


What really makes the biggest mark though, for me, is the screenplay and scripting. The sequence of events is pretty polished and believable and draws the audience into the story.
Some of the dialogue is also really funny, especially when Hit Girl appears.

One thing missing though, is that the film never really has any defining moment. No moment of realisation as such. It tends to rely more on plot devices that push the screenplay along… but one thing, the exposition is spot on which makes all the smaller moments work well.


The acting is also bang on.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the perfect choice for Kick-Ass. His naďve and out-of-his-depth persona works wonderfully for the weedy geek in a suit. As the story progresses though and Kick-Ass comes out of his shell, ATJ really nails the role and actually seems to grow with the plot.

Mark Strong also makes an impression as head baddie Frank D’Amico. He’s pretty close to the role he played in Robin Hood just with a bit extra comedy thrown in, but the dry bad guy role works brilliantly.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the nerdy and slightly unhinged Chris D’Amico (aka; Red Mist), Frank’s son, also makes a decent show. He’s more of a backup role to start that ends up play a huge part in getting Kick-Ass into trouble and simply wants to be like his crime lord Father.

Standout roles though… Nicolas Cage and Chloë Grace Moretz as Father-Daughter team Big Daddy and Hit Girl.
Cage’s take on the slightly nerdy yet incredibly tough ex-Cop with a motive is most definitely my favourite role of Cage’s. He also portrays a sense of disturbing psychopathy too.
Moretz though, of the two, makes the biggest impression. What we’re talking here is a 5ft tall, 7 stone powerhouse who swears like a builder, smashes heads together like a seasoned wrestler and spins around the bad guys like Yoda in the Prequel Trilogy. Her more sombre and quieter scenes, and especially the occasional emotional scenes, are held brilliantly by Moretz.

Backup comes from Morris Chestnut, Clark Duke, Evan Peters, Michael Rispoli, Lyndsy Fonesca and Yancy Butler.

Now, the action and effects.
Fast, brutal, bloody, occasionally funny and definitely what the film revels in when they get going.
The choreography is top drawer too. Along with the fantastical side of the action toward the end of the film, there’s a pretty realistic build up during the running time. It basically starts out in reality before going more into the comic book style.

The soundtrack throughout backs up every scene, whether action or more quieter settings, perfectly too.


---
All in all, Kick-Ass almost redefines the Comic Book Movie Genre with its sheer content and style. In a similar way to maybe Dredd that was released two years later. Kick-Ass is much more colourful in looks though and will appeal to a wider audience.
Tons of fun with a decent build-up style script and lashings of highly stylised and exciting ultraviolence.
A damned good Superhero movie.
My rating: 92%
Oh boy, yet another positive Rodent review I have to disagree with. I couldn't get into Kick-Ass at all. It just felt disorganized to me with its tone, and I didn't really care for the characters. But hey, what can you do. Haven't seen the second film because honestly, why would I watch a sequel to a movie I didn't like? XD



"Hey Look it's Masterman"
I loved Kick Ass, haven't seen the second yet.
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--I Find Your Lack Of Faith Disturbing.



I don't remember asking you a ******* thing!
I haven't seen it, but 0% is a little overboard.
I think it's justified. Uwe Boll has a particular talent for sucking the life out of every video game adaptation he makes. Bloodrayne? Horrible. House of the Dead? Atrocious. Far Cry? Laughable. Alone in the Dark? Probably the worst one of the bunch, in my opinion.



A system of cells interlinked
OK mister...where is this Predator review I heard about....
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“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



I do have a Predator review though... Page 2 of this thread...


I might use Masterman's avatar for a while... see how that goes...