Hard disagree on Serkis.

The rest you mention I had issues with too. Riddler couldn't clean Ledger's boots. I felt he was far more effective as a villain before the final act - he lost a lot after that.

The next thing you mentioned I can understand. I don't really relate to it as a theme but it was an inoffensive enough plot point that it didn't even register in my radar.

And absolutely 100% the last point - totally unneeded. You can tell some scenes were cut due to run time. I'd have cut it entirely and instead had a scene with the incumbent mayor that was hinted at instead - it would make the final act feel a bit better imo.

I still loved the movie though. My biggest issue is the third act in general, but given my bias towards liking fiction is Characters > Dialogue > Aesthetic > Story, it just didn't affect my overall affection for the movie in the end.

 

I though that The Batman was great until the third act.

The detective stuff was great. A proper mystery noir storyline, and they really nailed giving it a "noir" tone that felt like something from the 1930s despite it being set in the modern era.

Selena Kyla was well done and balanced well against Batman.

The problem I had was the jarring shift in stakes in the final act.

Spoiler

For most of the story, the stakes are individual. Murders of individual people. Bruce's own family past. Organised crime and interference in a mayoral election. All very human, grounded stakes.

But then in the final act, out of nowhere we're dealing with an entire city under threat of a massive flood. It's a very sudden shift in stakes and changes the story from being that detective style story to something closer to a Marvel "big action sequence to save the world" final act. And there's basically nothing that can be done about it, meaning Batman's role in the end of the story is mostly to just observe the inevitable and to save one or two people out of the tens of thousands under threat.

So yeah, I don't think the film managed to stick the landing. But overall it was still very good.

 

Spoiler

I think what they were going for in the third act was putting down an 'enemy' Batman couldn't just punch or outthink into submission - the effects his fear-mongering had on the masses, and a 'natural' disaster that terrified the civvies (ergo that being a beacon of hope cringeyness).

It didn't work for me either. But I'm unsure if it's because I'm tired of those kinds of familiar tropes popping up in fiction or not.

 

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is 100% on RT.

While it's 15 reviews at this moment and probably will go down, it suggest that the films actually delivers on what it promises to do.

 

Looking forward to this move.....brings back PS3 memories.

 

The new Thor movie will surely be on top of many people's lists. Ragnarok was a really nice and funny film as far as MCU is concerned.

 

That's the problem with actors who are in blockbusters early on in their careers, too many people have problems looking past their initial impressions of the actors when they do more serious films later on.

 

I have no idea why I'm looking forward to this so much.

 

Sony missed the chance to troll the internet and get some free press with either Sonic with small eyes again, or double down on the eyes and make them twice as big.

 

That sounds like cheating on your wife, somehow convincing her to forgive you. She does. and then on your next anniversary you bring her the other woman's underwear or something.

It just sounds asinine

 

Sega, not Sony.

 

I watched Branagh‘s Death on the Nile today, and what can I say… much like Murder on the Orient Express, I enjoyed it tremendously. The script strays a little from the novel, condensing characters and finding an interesting purpose for the character of Bouc, who returns from the first film.

The film is gorgeously shot, although occasionally let down by obvious CGI environments. The set design strikes the same curious, yet familiar tone that Murder managed to extract out of its near century-old source material, with the occasional gem thrown in. Branagh himself delivers another nuanced, yet sublimely amusing take on Poirot. He‘s a delight to watch, and develops the Poirot of this universe considerably further in this entry than he did in the first.

Much like in the first film, one of the main strengths of Death on the Nile lies in its ensemble. Most of them deliver competent performances, so I‘ll just go over some things I noticed whicle watching. Armie Hammer… I didn‘t particularly enjoy his performance, he came off as a little flat most of the time. Gal Gadot was good in the first half of the film, although a little cold in the second half. (Spoiler.) Her American accent still needs some work, though. Two others I really enjoyed were Russell Brand and Emma Mackey. Brand had little screen time, but I enjoyed his tortured ex-lover performance whenever he was there. Mackay was everything I wanted Jacqueline de Bellefort to be going in.

All in all, a solid 8/10 film for me, although I am aware that YMMV based on your familiarity with the novels and how you think Branagh‘s take fits into that / how much you want them to resemble one another.

 

I was disappointed by the reveal.

But otherwise it was fun.

 

I enjoyed it as well, but I don't think it had the same panache that MotOE had, and the ensemble wasn't as strong. I would actually put it below the David Suchet version of Death on the Nile. But that's a high bar, as it's just a fantastic piece of television.

 

For me, murder on the nile was a disappointment. Obvious cgi (very wrong lighting at times), weaker cast, and it was a drag.

Spoiler

oh no, Bouc.

honestly, the last thing Poirot needed is to be yet another fucking detective tortured by some kind of a deep soul trauma.

 

So, this happened.



Radcliffe as Al is the casting I didn't know I needed.

 

It's magical.

 

Saw this last night, and it's probably my film of the year so far. Absolutely wonderful.

 

13 years later - and my excitement is instantly reignited,

 

Is it really?

The first one had very pretty visuals and a lot of hype with nothing special story-wise. Entertaining at the time, but not much more than a shrug today.

This trailer has also very pretty visuals and 'family'... but I really don't expect a surprising or exciting story to go along with it.