Passengers (2016)

Genre

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

Director

Morten Tyldum

Country

USA

Cast

Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Andy Garcia, Aurora Perrineau

Storyline

A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers are awakened 90 years early.

Opinion

As much as I'd like to say I was disappointed with "Passengers", I'm afraid I can't say that. I wanted to see it because of Jennifer Lawrence but I didn't have great expectations. Sure Morten Tyldum also directed "The Imitation Game", which I loved, but I never fully bought into this film. And I was right because "Passenger" is a forgettable and not so exciting sci-fi romantic film with gorgeous visuals.

If a solid story is one of the things you usually care about, this film won't do for you. While the films opens in a quite promising way as it sees Chris Pratt's character surrendering to loneliness and spending his time with a robotic bartender - which kinda reminded me of "The Shining" -, and it's also very interesting, Jennifer Lawrence's character soon makes are entrance, and the engaging story turns into a predictable, corny love story with some pretty ridiculous things happening - like Pratt planting a tree in the middle of the ship.

The characters aren't that brilliant either. It's unbelievable how little development these characters got considering there basically were three people and almost two hours to work with. Jim Preston could and should have been explored more. We barely get to know him. It's not like Lawrence's Aurora got a better treatment though. The worst was easily Lawrence Fishburne's Gus Mancuso. The introduction of this character made me believe the story would get better, but of course that didn't happen because the character didn't add anything to the film. He wasn't even necessary to the storyline.

The science-fiction part is arguably the worst. I don't know if the filmmakers realise it, but setting a film on a spaceship in the future isn't enough to make a sci-fi film. Other than that, "Passengers" has nothing to do with science. It's just the average American romance.

And what a waste of cast! With such a weak screenplay, there isn't much to do, and the leads prove that. While Jennifer Lawrence gives a decent (not good) performance, Chris Pratt does a mediocre job. However, there's a supporting actor that stands out, Michael Sheen who gives a pretty good performance as the robotic bartender.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Genre

Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Director

Steven Spielberg

Country

USA

Cast

Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, Wayne Knight, Samuel L. Jackson, Cameron Thro, Miguel Sandoval, Jerry Molen, B. D. Wong, Richard Kiley, Greg Burson

Storyline

During a preview tour, a group of scientists and two kids must fight for their survival as the theme park suffers a major power breakdown that allows its cloned dinosaurs to roam freely over the island.

Opinion

After watching "Westworld" for the first time - also based on a Michael Crichton's novel -, I couldn't not rewatch "Jurassic Park", an exciting and incredible milestone in cinematic history as well as the best film about dinosaurs ever made.

Just like in "Westerworld", the story of this film isn't perfect. And it isn't that good either. Rewatching it I indeed realised there are a lot of plot holes, and that some turns are quite clichéd, but in spite of those flaws, the story is still compelling and fascinating, and the perfect pacing makes for a wonderful experience.

The characters aren't that deep either - some of them are tremendously one-dimensional - but, maybe it's because I grew up watching this film, or maybe because of the cast, it's impossible not to bond with them, and you'll definitely not want certain (bad) things to happen to certain people, like the two paleontologists and the two kids. And you'll also develop negative feeling towards some other characters. At least that's what I experience every single time.

The CGI is the reason why I consider this the best dinosaur movie. The special effects were so beautifully done that not only they still hold up today but they are even better than some films today. Also the dinosaurs look so realistic and menacing. I really don't care about the scientific inaccuracies.

The cast is amazing. Sam Neil, Laura Dern and Richard Attenborough all nail their respective characters, but stealing the show are Ariana Richards who is just the coolest - I loved her when I was a kid, I still love her - and Jeff Goldblum in the role of arrogant Dr. Ian Malcolm. He simply was the perfect cast for that role.

2016 in Review

We already are one week in 2017. I've already watched more than 10 films, and already read a whole book. Not a tiny one, but an almost 500 pages long book. Still, I haven't had the time to write my Best and/or Worst Movies of 2016 post, which apparently is something everyone has been posting in the past days and weeks. But here I am, finally.

The Lego Movie (2014)

Genre

Adventure | Animation | Comedy

Directors

Phil Lord | Christopher Miller

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders, Jadon Sand, Anthony Daniels, Dilly Dee Williams

Storyline

Ordinary construction worker Emmet (Chris Pratt) sees his life turned upside down when he is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant, Lord Business (Will Ferrell).

Opinion

Like I mentioned in a Thursday Movie Picks post a while back I had no intention to watch this film when it came out. Not to mention spending money on it. I thought it'd be just a stupid kids flick. But I let my brother convince me into going and I was utterly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Even now, after I don't know how many watches, I still find "The Lego Movie" an incredibly entertaining and fun film.

The story is quite light and kinda basic but the great thing is that the writers acknowledged that and used it to their advantage. They indeed decided not to take the story too seriously, mocking the prophecy and throwing in some clichés in a playful way, and it resulted into a very funny, interesting film with a surprising ending.

Something that will definitely win you over are the characters. From Emmet, a very likable, but ordinary guy who is said to the be one, to Bad Cop/Good Cop, they all are funny and each one of them has personality and some development. Especially Batman who is basically a parody of the Dark Knight.

What makes the characters even better is the cast. It really is impressive - I mean, there's Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, and more - and they portray the characters in a very memorable way. Also they really add to the film's comedy which is made both of goofy and clever gags.

The animation also deserves a mention because it's fantastic. It looks like a stop-motion film with a tremendous amount of detail. It is so well done, at times it's hard to believe every single thing is made of Legos.

Oh, and there's also a very catchy song that says it all, everything is awesome!