Tomb Raider – 2018

Score: 5/10

My God this score still seems to be too much. I mean seriously, I have never been more annoyed after watching a movie then I am after seeing Tomb Raider. The actors are great, the lead especially, the story is interesting, the twist work. But everything, and I mean everything is ruined, simply ruined by the last hour of total darkness you have to suffer through in order to reach the end. I mean seriously, I complain about this all the time, but this one just went over the line. I get that you have to set the action in a tomb considering that it’s a movie about exploring tombs, but fucking put some light in there. I don’t care if it doesn’t feel natural, I just want to be able to see what is happening in your action scenes movie.

The story is interesting, it’s a nice change of pace from the originals. They focus much more on the backstories of the characters, Lara is developed very nice, the actress is amazing. I have to stress this, it’s one of the best casting choices I have ever seen. She does a great job and I can honestly say I want this series to continue now, just because of her. Everything works in the story, you have meaning, you have a believable villain, you feel like you are playing the games again, which is always nice in a video game adaptation.

The characters are great. Lara Croft is back and she looks better than ever. You get backstory, you get emotion and you actually get motivations that you can believe and relate to. It might get overboard at times with the emotion, but overall, this is one of the best casted movies of 2018 and I have to praise Alicia Vikander, Maisy De Freitas, Emily Carey, Dominic West, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Kristin Scott Thomas, Derek Jacobi, Nick Frost, Jaime Winstone, Hannah John-Kamen and Antonio Aakeel for their performances.

The darkness, oh my God, the darkness ruined this movie. I would have easily gave it an 8 or even a 9 if the last hour would have been brighter. But you can’t see anything, starting with that ship scene that might have been great if only I could have realized what was going on. I know what they wanted to achieve but it just doesn’t happen and you will truly be pissed after a great first hour that you have to waste your time while watching silhouettes running around in pitch black dark doing stuff…

Overall, the movie had some nice moments, especially in the first part. The bike scene kept me glued to my seat and the way Lara smiled while riding was amazing. It has beautiful moments and it comes together well. You really start to get invested into her story and you care about what happens to her, which is much more than I ever felt towards the previous installations. It’s not that I don’t like Angelina Jolie, but I don’t know why, Alicia Vikander seems to be perfect for this role, she truly encompasses everything that I think Lara Croft should be.

In conclusion, Tomb Raider was a huge disappointment for me because you basically have an entire movie ruined by lighting. Yes, it is a bit too long and there are some pointless scenes that could have been eliminated, but I was willing to look past all that because of all the great elements. Unfortunately, the director didn’t want me to be able to actually see his movie so I can’t recommend it to anyone. Let’s hope they made enough money in order to have a sequel and let’s hope that a different director and cinematographer take charge on that. I mean come on, Lara just got the guns, come on, give us more… And better… And more…

Maze Runner: The Death Cure – 2018

Score: 2/10

My God this movie is boring. Horribly long at 142 minutes and boring to the point I had to actually see it in two days just to be able to go through it with my sanity still intact. Maze Runner: The Death Cure is the disappointing ending to a franchise that never managed to pick up the steam that it wanted to pick up. For me, it was bad from start to finish and although I had hoped that maybe, just maybe this last chapter would somehow redeem it, I was left wondering again how they could serve us such a crappy and illogical story, especially given that the source material is actually very nice and engaging.

The story is bland, convoluted and it doesn’t stand on its own at all. What do I mean by this? Well, if you haven’t seen the previous two movies it is almost impossible to understand anything from this one. I have seen them and even I was lost at certain points. You might say that this is normal because it’s a franchise and what not. But no, this is stupid, because this puts off people. If you want to see this movie as a standalone and you know you will understand nothing if you don’t watch the other 2 120+ minutes bore fests that preceded it, you will give up very fast. The big franchises do exactly the opposite, as you can actually see movies from LOTR, Star Wars, Marvel and many other similar series on their own and you will still enjoy them.

The characters are bland, boring, their motivations are stupid, they don’t resonate. You will not care about them, and that in turn will lead to you not caring about the story, which for a movie that supposedly ends a franchise is very bad. I could not care less about who lived and who died and none of the characters related to me in any way. Which is a shame, considering that Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen, Walton Goggins, Ki Hong Lee and Jacob Lofland do try a lot to offer you emotions and make you invested.

The effects were a huge let down for me. I expected something epic and in turn all we got here were action scenes in dark places and a small scale altogether. Considering the fate of the entire world is at stake, the scene should have definitely been bigger. I mean for fucks sake, the last Resident Evil was better in that regard and that tells you a lot. Maybe it was because of the small budget or maybe they just wanted to end this series and be done with it, but this was the overall feeling I got, that nobody cared enough in order to try harder. Such a shame!

The clichés and story problems in this movie are too many to count, and they manage to affect the overall feel. You can’t be invested in a universe in which nothing happens as it should and you will be left scratching your head about many of the decisions that the main characters make. In fact, the whole idea on which this trilogy is based was done so poorly that you can’t stop and wonder how in the normal world, the conflict would have been resolved ages ago and without so much drama.

In conclusion, Maze Runner: The Death Cure is one of the most bland science fiction action films I have ever seen. It is far too long, the special effects are nothing to speak about, the action scenes are full of clichés, it has problems with the story, the lighting. Everything seems just off about this movie and you don’t even get a satisfying ending in order to justify sitting through it. I mean honestly, if I want to see Littlefinger doing Littlefinger stuff I can just watch Game of Thrones and be done with it. And seriously, when will zombie movies stop? I am tired of zombie movies and zombie video games and zombie anything… I am all zombied out so please Hollywood, enough with the zombies already…

The Hateful Eight – 2015

Score: 8/10

I can’t say I am a big fan of Quentin Tarantino. I have never been and I most certainly have a lot of problems with many of his movies. So I have to say that I went into this a little bit biased. But The Hateful Eight managed to change my mind and I ended up loving it. It is harder to see than most films, but if you manage to get to the end and think about it afterwards, you will discover that the experience was totally worth it. I would see it again and that alone says a lot about the inner quality of it.

The story is a little bit convoluted, but you can expect that already from a Tarantino movie. Nevertheless, it is interesting, it has twists and it manages to keep you alert. This is a great movie for someone who likes to talk and most importantly for someone who likes to discover people through the small things they say and the idiosyncrasies they display. The dialogue is carefully constructed and there are almost no continuity errors here. A great story, and a unique one at that, which is not easy to do!

The characters are amazing, beautifully created and highly relatable. You really feel you are in the Old West and you can’t help but root for not one, but almost all of them. It is amazing to see such a talented cast at work, and the names here will leave you speechless. It is one of the most impressive casts I have ever seen, and I have to commend performances from Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, James Parks, Dana Gourrier and Zoë Bell.

The overall style of the movie is typical Tarantino. A small and almost impossible to identify silver line and a lot of hidden symbols that you have to understand in order to enjoy the experience fully. And here is my problem with this movie. Because of his style, Tarantino manages to make his films feel longer than they actually are. It is the same case here, because on a first viewing, I was almost pushed to the limit. You could argue that is because the 168 minutes running time, but I really think it’s the way everything is shot, with a lot of pauses and a lot of “art”. Too much art can hurt a movie and destroy your immersion, and I really hope Tarantino will stop doing this in the future.

The music, oh my God the music. It is by far the best thing about this movie, and although I was expecting something like this from a legendary composer like Ennio Morricone, I have to admit that he actually managed to surpass every single expectation I had. He is a true legend of cinema and any movie in the world would be enhanced by his atypical and powerful scores. It is a joy from start to finish, and especially in the open credits, the cross scene will leave you breathless… Simply breathless…

In conclusion, The Hateful Eight is definitely a movie worth watching. It tries to be a classic western and it manages to be totally different from whatever you have seen before. It moves slowly but at the same time the action makes you jump from your seat in more instances than one. Overall, I would say that it is a unique experience, completed to perfection by the atmosphere that Tarantino creates, by the amazing musical score from Ennio Morricone and by the spectacular performances of a stellar cast. Oh, and the constant swearing and racism is simply adorable. Now who doesn’t love listening to over 200 hundred swear words in one single movie? 😀