Rodent's Reviews

Synopsis:
April O’Neil, a young but downtrodden reporter for Channel 6 News hopes one day of finding that big story that will make her a star in the world of TV News.
The city has been under attack from The Foot Clan for a while now, and April is hot on their heels, especially after the recent theft of genetic material.

While scoping out the local docks she witnesses The Foot carrying out another theft, and a shadowy figure appears and fights them off… and a while later, after trying to hunt down this vigilante, she comes across 4 giant Turtles…

Review:
Hmmmm…. hmmmmm………

This film… is…

Ok…

Chalk and Cheese.

There are some huge faults with this movie. One being it plays out so incredibly quickly.
There’s no big realisation. No mystery or anything really intriguing.

It’s a case of skipping backstory with a handful of dialogue. We see the Turtles’ backstory, albeit rewritten, and that’s it.
There’s nothing that really makes the Turtles’ actions, or The Foot’s actions, make any sense.
They just sort of… are.
“This is these guys, these are those guys, this is what they are… now on with the fist fights and wisecracks.”

It’s pretty hollow in terms of story and emotion. Especially compared with the original film, and for that matter the original 1989 cartoons too.

Nothing that gives the viewer an emotional thrill either. The first TMNT movie from 1990, had piles of spiritual content, the mystery of Ninjutsu and the emotional content that came from the history of the Turtles’ and Splinter’s beginnings.
There was a family thing going on. A family feud almost too between Splinter and Shredder.
This film has none of that apart from Splinter occasionally saying “you’re Brothers” now and then.
It’s pretty weak in terms of connection.

It’s like a midge of the original graphic novel, the 1989 cartoon, the 1990 film and its sequels and then some added extras from the later cartoons thrown in for good measure.

The backstory of the Turtles and Splinter being rewritten was something I had reservations about too, but to be honest, it does work. Sadly though it’s the way it unfolds on screen with the bad screenplay that lets it down.

It feels, well, lost, for a TMNT story.


-


But, apart from the faults behind the writing… this film is an absolute blast to watch.

It has some brilliant fight scenes, has all of the characters down to a T (pun intended) and is incredibly funny at times too.
It’s everything a TMNT movie should be in terms of a few brainless battles and wisecracks and I couldn’t help really getting behind the Turtles while they’re knocking Foot Soldiers around like ragdolls.
Along with being funny though, it’s a fun movie to sit through.


-


The acting though is top drawer too.

Alan Ritchson as Raphael
Pete Ploszek as Leonardo (voiced by Johnny Knoxville)
Jeremy Howard as Donatello
Noel Fisher as Michelangelo

These 4 guys (5 if you include Knoxville as Leo’s voice) nail these roles. They have the right characteristics and carry the humour extremely well, even during the more exciting scenes.
I loved these guys in these roles, even more-so than in any other incarnation.
Noel Fisher in particular as Mikey, I can see becoming a firm fan-favourite… he’s perfect.

Danny Woodburn as Splinter (voiced by Tony Shalhoub)
There’s not a great deal to say about Woodburn/Shalhoub as Splinter. He’s more a supporting character but is nicely used when the going gets tough. I’m glad we get to see Splinter kick some ass though like he does in the cartoons compared to the immoveable puppet we had in 1990.

We have though an underused, and also underdeveloped villain, in William Fichtner as Eric Sacks. After the finale, we don’t see what happens to him or the outcome of his villainy.
The Shredder aka: Oroku Saki, played by Tohoru Masamune is also a bit hit and miss. He’s simply just muscle used to knock the Turtles around and he’s mostly CGI too. It’s good that the filmmakers used the Super-Shredder thing, being that the new Turtle design would have kicked the original Shredder easily, but we needed more Oroku Saki and less man-in-supersuit throwing kicks and punches. He makes a good fighting baddie, just not a great baddie.

Megan Fox as O’Neil is also pretty apt. Fox is a bit dodgy at best in all her other roles tbh, but as the nosey reporter, who borders annoying on occasion, is perfectly played by Fox.

Backup comes from Will Arnett (wanted to see more of him) and Minae Noji as Karai. Noji should also have been given more scope, especially as a second-in-command to Shredder.
Whoopi Goldberg also makes a show in a rewritten role as the head of Channel 6 News, who treats April O’Neil like she’s gone mad.


-


The action and effects though really make this film a Turtle Film.
Top effects in the CG stakes and some awesome set pieces combined with some brilliant choreography make this one stand out from the crowd of Turtle incarnations.

It’s exciting to watch and constantly impresses when it shows the occasional nod to the previous Turtle cartoons and films.

There are a number of highly charged scenes and one-liners throughout that had my heart going and hit all the right buttons for a Turtle fan.

__________________

And look who just died.

Didn't know he was in this. Knew Whoopi was.

Oh, he voices Leonardo.

With all these trivia things you include, you really should beat JayDee for Best Reviewer.

I need to see this Turtles movie. I think I'd probably like it to some degree.

I reckon you would tbh. It's not as good as the original 1990 film but it's a good film for fans.

It's unbelievably fast. I just watched it. I thought the movie was really good for the first hour, but at that point, it just bombed. It also felt too CGI and too jittery. They never slowed down and took a breath. Once they start fighting and heading towards the big showdown, it's just action, action, action, action.......

It’s pretty hollow in terms of story and emotion. Especially compared with the original film, and for that matter the original 1989 cartoons too.

Yes. This wasn't better than the 1990 movie.

Nothing that gives the viewer an emotional thrill either. The first TMNT movie from 1990, had piles of spiritual content, the mystery of Ninjutsu and the emotional content that came from the history of the Turtles’ and Splinter’s beginnings.

Yes.

But, apart from the faults behind the writing… this film is an absolute blast to watch.

I had hoped it would be and in the beginning, it seemed like it would, but I thought it'd be a lot better. I wouldn't really call it a "blast."

It has some brilliant fight scenes, has all of the characters down to a T (pun intended) and is incredibly funny at times too.

It is funny at times, but not constantly. Not a lot.

My favorite part was probably the second (and unfortunately, last) scene with Whoopi Goldberg , where April's telling her about the turtles.

The fight scenes were annoying. They reminded me of the cheesy fight scenes from the 1990's Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, especially when Shredder was fighting.

The acting though is top drawer too.

The only thing I liked was hearing Johnny Knoxville as the voice of Leonardo. Besides that and Whoopi Goldberg, the acting wasn't anything special. Megan Fox was decent but underdeveloped and I hated her stupid male sidekick/love interest.

The turtles never felt like real people to me. I just thought they were all CGI creations. It was not as good as the people from the 1990 movie.

These 4 guys (5 if you include Knoxville as Leo’s voice) nail these roles. They have the right characteristics and carry the humour extremely well, even during the more exciting scenes.

They just seemed like voices playing over the film to me. I wasn't really impressed much.

I also thought the Splinter rat was incredibly weird and annoying. I prefer the puppet from the 1990 movie.

We have though an underused, and also underdeveloped villain, in William Fichtner as Eric Sacks. After the finale, we don’t see what happens to him or the outcome of his villainy.

Saw that villain coming. All I can say about him is he was a lot better than Shredder.

Backup comes from Will Arnett (wanted to see more of him)

I wanted to see so much less of him.

and Minae Noji as Karai. Noji should also have been given more scope, especially as a second-in-command to Shredder.

She was interesting, but all she did was stare at things and look evil.

Whoopi Goldberg also makes a show in a rewritten role as the head of Channel 6 News, who treats April O’Neil like she’s gone mad.

She was great casting for that part, but totally underused. If they do a sequel, I hope they bring her back.

… but is it culturally relevant anymore? I think this film may have arrived 10 years too late.

Nah. I think it was great timing.

Synopsis:
In 2006, NASA decides to try to communicate directly with a planet called “Planet G” they have discovered outside our solar system.
In the meantime though, Alex Hopper is living with his brother Stone Hopper. Stone is a Navy man and highly disciplined, Alex however, isn’t, and is constantly screwing up his life.
After an incident sees Alex get arrested, and this time putting Stone’s life as a Navy man in jeopardy, Stone goes off the rails…

… and enlists Alex into the Navy to teach him some humility and dignity.

Only the worst is about to happen in the year 2012, when Planet G sends back a response to the 2006 message that NASA sent.

Review:
Ha!

You know what?
This movie isn’t actually half bad.

Ok, the script is hokey at times and the plot is totally ridiculous… it’s still a thrill ride to sit through and is actually quite exciting in places too.

The bad points… well, most border that magical line of so bad it’s good.
There are tons of clichéd scenes of people running in slow-motion while the world explodes behind them and some pretty dire dialogue mixed in to some of the better scenes, very Michael Bay-ish. There’s also a chunk of questionable actions on behalf of the Navy/Military guys too.

Put those thoughts aside though and watch the movie as a whole and it’s a proper lads’ movie filled with some funny one-liners, some half-decent exposition and some awesome effects and action.


The major thing with this film is the reality it captures in the look and feel of the tones. Realistic action and explosions (with the occasional hit of artistic license of course dealing with Aliens and stuff) and the little touches of reality when it comes to paying tributes to Military personnel and Navy ships of old and new.


-


The acting too is pretty apt as well to be honest. The whole cast seems to know what kind of film they’re making and nobody seems to be trying too hard or trying too little.

Taylor Kitsch, who I’m not really familiar with, plays Alex, our slacker Hero who has to dig deep when the sh*t hits the fan. He plays it pretty cool too. You can see there’s an element of intelligence behind him and he holds the action together well.
Alexander Skarsgård plays Stone. Skarsgård isn’t seen a great amount to be honest, which is a shame. It does however add more authenticity to his character and to the actions of Taylor Kitsch’s Alex.

Rihanna is a huge surprise though. Singer turned actress? Almost. She’s not seen a massive amount so it was more of a gimmick having her billed near the top of the list. When seen though she plays it really quite well.

Brooklyn Decker and Gregory D Gadson play a kind of double-act and side story when the Aliens arrive on land. Decker (love interest for Kitsch’s Alex) is gladly kept to the background though as she’s pretty dull at best.
Gadson though, in one of those nods to real life, plays a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who was retired due to being a double amputee. His character has to go through moments of realisation with his condition so he can, ahem, stand up to the Alien threat. It’s a lovely touch to add to what could have been just a brainless actioner and you can really see Gadson’s dedication to the role.

Backup comes from Tadanobu Asano, Jesse Plemons (wanted to see more of him) and Liam Neeson.


-


The action and effects though are really what it’s all about.
There are some brilliantly choreographed set pieces and hits of action.
The Aliens and Alien tech is also not expanded on greatly, which I think is where this movie works so well.
The filmmakers gladly kept at least some air of mystery about these invaders and it makes to whole thing gel more as an action piece.
The CGI though is tip top.

Also, seeing a superbly rendered Battleship open fire with everything it has, cannons, machine-guns, missiles etc, at another ship, is awesome to watch.

And all backed up by some kick-ass AC-DC music

I love Battleship. I watched it again last night and it's awesome. Really don't get the negative rep it has.

__________________

It is a ton of fun when in the right mindset. I watched it at my friend's house the other day when it was on telly.

It's actually coming up in my top 100 . I know it's stupid, but it's so damn fun.

After seeing you praise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Battleship, I think maybe you should call your doctor and schedule a MRI. Clearly something in that noggin of yours isn't working properly.

I've mostly blocked Battleship from my memory, but I remember it feeling like Transformers on Water: big, dumb, loud, full of clichés and stereotypes, an over reliance on CGI, horrible dialogue, etc. Even though I thought it was terrible, though, I don't fault anybody for liking it. I like my fair share of big, dumb action movies . . . just not these CGI-fests that resemble video games more than films.

As for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it's hard for me imagine anyone over the age of eight actually enjoying it, especially anyone who grew up with the original movies and animated series. I found the movie excruciatingly painful. It was like watching someone chew up my childhood, then slowly ***** it out for the next hour and forty minutes. I know Michael Bay wasn't the director, but the movie has his ugly smear all over it. The characters were all obnoxious and the casting choices seemed like middle fingers to the audience. (Megan Fox? Whoopi Goldberg? Will Arnett? Johnny Knoxville? I'm surprised Pauly Shore didn't show up as Casey Jones at some point.) The Turtles themselves looked hideous and like caricatures of their former selves. ("Donatello is the smart one, so let's put glasses on him! Raphael acts like a thug, so let's give him a do-rag!") I'm happy for you that you were able to put a clothespin over your nose and somehow enjoy the film despite the nauseating stench, but I couldn't disagree more with your review.

__________________

__________________
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

Synopsis:
Peter Quill, who at the age of about 10, was abducted by Aliens on the day of his Mother’s death, has been living the past 26 years in space with a group of mercenaries and thieves called the Ravagers.
Quill has been basically working as an intergalactic garbage man and scavenger, who finds/steals and sells anything he can.

When Quill comes into the possession of a mystical Orb, he will be taken on an even bigger adventure.

The Orb you see, is a rather sought after item… and there are some pretty nasty beings looking for it. In particular, there are two despotic warlords called Thanos and Ronan.

Along the way, Quill will become entangled with the most rag tag bunch of cretins, murderers, warriors and, well, weirdoes, that you can imagine.

Review:
I didn’t really like GotG on first watch. Well… ok, I liked it, but didn’t think it was worth the hype. Sedai on here has said the same.
However, my curiosity was sparked and a couple more goes at it has seen me loving this movie.

It starts out pretty sombre with Quill seeing his Mother die.
Then there’s a leap in time and we’re thrown into the world of adult Quill. And what an introduction we’re given, and what a world it is too.
This film is one of the funniest and well pieced together adaptions of a comic book I’ve seen.

There’s an air of untold, hinted history and mysterious backstory going on too. Some of Quill’s history as well and a few future surprises in store that are hinted at.
It’s not the sort of sloppy, bog-standard writing usually found where there are slaps in the face with explanatory dialogue. This film keeps things held back and allows the script, plot and screenplay to unfold over a period of time.

The other thing is that if you’re not in on the comics, like myself, the movie is still so well put together that you can watch it and know exactly what’s going on. Even among the twists and turns that take place.

It’s great to see a film that does this these days, especially a comic book film.

The humour is also bang on. There’s a mix of slapstick and choreography that add fun to the scenes and some of the dialogue, especially between our titular Heroes during some of the action, that had me laughing out loud.
Pedantic, cutting, witty, insulting humour that is recognisable within modern standards of comedy.

There are also a handful of scenes that are touching too. A couple of them serve as exposition in the story as well, which is another good piece of writing.

The bad points, in terms of the comic to film transition… I’ve never, ever read the books, so I guess my liking of the movie is down to not really being an original fan boy. I have however seen a few comments from the comics’s’s fans about how they didn’t like certain changes.
The filmmakers have changed a few of the characters from what I’ve read up on. Including the way some of them physically look. Drax for instance was originally green-skinned in the comics, but in the film, he’s like a reddish rusty colour so he doesn’t look like Hulk.
That sort of thing.

-

The acting is also top notch.
Chris Pratt as Quill starts the film as he means to go on. Funny, charismatic, holds the action well and has some great one-liners that he delivers with such a deadpan and also original style, makes him a Hero love really love. Pratt has proven he’s a worthy leading man with this role.

Zoe Saldana plays Gamora, our “Warrior” Guardian. She’s kind of a dual role in this and she’s very, very slinky and sexy. There’s also some scenes of peril for her, particularly when they end up in jail and Saldana holds it all together really well.

Dave Bautista as Drax is second only to Pratt. Bautista, is exceptional. He started out as a Wrestler and Mixed Martial Artist in real life. But wow… his charisma and chemistry with everyone around him is second to none. He pretty much steals any scene he’s in too. By far one of the best turns I’ve seen from a guy who isn’t really an actor. He’s also immensely funny at times and even has an air of emotion about him as well whenever he talks about his (Drax’s) wife and daughter.

Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon is also on form. Cutting with his humour and dialogue and seems to be the genuine brains of the group. Cooper’s voice is also unrecognisable at times. He doesn’t sound like Cooper.

Vin Diesel plays motion capture and voice for Groot. Groot seems to be the most memorable of the characters yet I can’t help but notice it’s really the animators and the editing that made him so good. All Vin has done really is move about a bit and say “I am Groot”. He’s still a ton of fun though and by far the ugliest, yet cutest character in the group.
The post credits scene for Groot though is really funny though.

Lee Pace adds some villainy for the proceedings, and he’s like a mixed villain really. He’s pretty darned threatening when he wants to be and then suddenly throws in a funny performance, almost like an inept villain at times too. Pace is brilliant.

Michael Rooker (in another of those rewritten roles), Djimon Hounsou, John C Reilly (brilliantly underplayed), Glenn Close and Benicio Del Toro (fantastically evil) add some back up as various supporting characters.

-

The action, choreography and effects really tie this film together.
Highly charged action on more than several occasions and the choreography, mixed with the slapstick elements and funny dialogue make GotG stand out from other comic incarnations.

The CGI is also tip top.
There’s a highly stylised look the the film that crosses comic-looking with some cartoony elements and other hits of realistic looking effects. The whole effects side of things are rendered exceptionally well.

Add to that a banging 70s and 80s soundtrack with a Heroic original score, this film is top trumps within its genre.

Rodent, I want you to watch and review Nightcrawler.

I'll se what I can do. See if I can get a hold of a copy.

Glad to see you enjoyed it more Rodent. I've just reviewed it myself and I loved every minute of it.

I saw your review


You posted it while I was writing mine

this movie nice review Mouse

Thank you Nebs! Glad to see you're back

Just catching up with some of your reviews Rodent. I've got to admit to becoming vaguely intrigued by watching Battleship. Had never, ever given any consideration to watching it but just recently I've noticed a few people on here declaring a real fondness for it which has made me sort of interested. Only very slightly though

Then there's the Turtles film. I repped it just because of the effort you took but oh boy I couldn't disagree with you more! I thought it was incredibly poor. I thought the action was an incoherent mess, the script was awful in parts and the dialogue was laughable. The tone was all over the place, particularly when it came to the humour. You had a mixture of really infantile stuff which made it seem like it was for young kids (fart jokes) followed up by some sexual innuendo and overtones which made it seem very inappropriate for you kids. I thought Michelangelo came across as very sleezy in his advances towards April, especially when he talked about his shell hardening.

So just as a general film I thought it was poor, but as a Turtles film it was even worse. As many people know I love the Turtles and so much of it just seemed wrong. For a start the way they looked. The film turned the Turtles into these big lumbering monsters, completely robbing them of any charm. And they were so busy with all the additional bits and bobs added to their costumes. Even worse though was Splinter who looked like a slimy turd with a Fu Manchu moustache. And I thought a number of the voices were off as well. Johnny Knoxville I thought was a horrible choice for Leonardo. He could have worked for Michelangelo perhaps but not the noble, serious Leo. And such a recognisable voice I found just quite jarring. And I didn't think Splinter's voice had anywhere near enough age and wisdom

Oh yeah and I forgot to mention Megan Fox as April O'Neill. I know it's been said many a time before but oh my god that girl cannot act! Aside from the first Transformers film I hadn't seen her anything so didn't realise just how bad she was. No matter what emotion she was meant to be expressing her voices and facial expressions just never changed.

Anyway sorry for hijacking your thread Rodent. I was only planning on saying that it was terrible but got carried away

__________________

Synopsis:
Sarah, an imaginative 15 year old girl is in a bit of a pickle. Her Father and Stepmother have had a baby boy, Toby. And seemingly, all they want to do is go out and socialise, leaving Sarah in charge of her Stepbrother.

And all Toby ever does is cry, causing Sarah even more grief.

One night, while left alone with Toby yet again, Sarah recites to him the story of The Labyrinth, which is a book she has been reading, in an attempt to vengefully tease and scare the crying Toby… and she wishes the Goblins would come and take Toby away forever and end her grief.

But as she turns out the light in Toby’s bedroom, Toby’s cries immediately stop.

Review:

Oh boy. I saw this movie way back when I was a kid and had never forgotten about it, but couldn’t remember a large enough amount of it to warrant buying the DVD.
Gladly, it was on TV the other day while I was round at a friend’s house and I got the chance to see this slice of 80s fantasy cheese and hammy antagonists again.

And what a huge chunk of fun it is.

There’s a lavish world filled with monsters and creatures of all shapes and designs and Henson and his geniuses have pulled out all the stops to make a rich and fulfilling fantasy movie, packed with humour and peril and a pretty good, albeit simplistic, plotline to back it up.

Now, there are many similarities with this film as with Henson’s other fantasy The Dark Crystal (1982).
The exposition in Labyrinth is lacking somewhat and the legend behind the world they’ve created is amateur at best. There’s no real meaning to it.
It’s simply a world, ruled by a Goblin King. And that’s it. Much like TDC, it’s a case of ”here’s this world, let’s just get on with it” and no genuine explanation behind it all and it gives an air of “why?” about it all.
What I’m on about, is other fantasy films and stories like LOTR, or even Star Wars, which have an organic and believable (albeit imaginary) history to them. Labyrinth, like The Dark Crystal before it, has none of that.

However, the film does have a solid background that comes from Henson and his team.
The puppetry and special effects in this film are by far some of the finest I’ve ever seen.
The kind of level they’re on is that of Audrey II in Little Shop Of Horrors (1986), which coincidentally was connected to Danny John-Jules and Frank Oz as well.
The film as a whole is brilliantly pieced together through the puppets, muppets, animatronics and occasional use of CGI, camera tricks and some awesome costumes. One of which, called “The Junk Lady”, reminded me a of a technique recently seen in the Star Wars Episode VII “JJ Abrams thank you video” on YouTube.
It’s really more about showcasing their brilliant techniques and their mastery of the craft with a plotline of sorts behind it to give some credibility to what they’re doing.

Some of the action is also top notch, especially how they were dealing with puppets and animatronics. It’s pretty darned exciting at times too as the audience-character connection makes the hits of peril more, well, perilous than it could have been.
-
The acting is pretty good too.
David Bowie stars as our head antagonist Jareth, the Goblin King. Bowie is seemingly having a ton of fun with the role, surrounded by muppets, puppets and little people in costumes. However, when he’s given a freer reign with the scenes, Bowie really shines. He’s engaging, fun, camp and full of charisma. His delivery of some of the more scripted lines are a little amateur though.
He also sports some wonderfully tight trousers throughout that leave little to the imagination

A young Jennifer Connelly plays Sarah. And for such a young actress to take the lead of the film, Connelly makes a proper job of it. She lifts the slightly weaker dialogue and direction from Jim Henson to new heights and tbh, Connelly makes this movie tie together with her natural ability to make the unbelievable believeable.

Back up comes from too-many-to-count mime artists and puppetry masters.
But let’s just say, Frank Oz, Kevin Clash, Jim Henson and his Son Brian are heading the creatures on show.

Frieeennnd

Been a couple years since seeing this and i've always enjoyed it since first seeing it when it came out.

Good review!