Jason Statham. © 2021. United Artists Releasing, MGM and Miramax. Directed by Guy Ritchie. Watched it on Digital
Quick Review: Finally got to watch Wrath of Man and it was pretty entertaining. The heist scenes and robbery were well done. A lot of bloody action and Jason Statham is himself again but very good. The side characters were interesting and I liked how the film switches the story from the point of view of the criminals. We get to see the past heist and the first heist leading up to this finale. It’s a clever way to explain every POV in different characters. The writing could’ve given more time to the villain so we can see his misunderstanding of the situation. That was a major weak part of the film. Some of the side characters weren’t that interesting or were there for body counts. But overall, I had a good time and the heist sequence was well executed. It still has the guy Ritchie flavor and I can’t wait for his next film. Vizeit Score: “B” Film Genres Class Film Copyright © 2022. Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr.
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Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer. © 1995. Warner Bros Pictures, Regency Enterprises, and Forward Pass. Directed by Michael Mann. Watched it on Pluto TV
Quick Review: Man oh man. That was a slick and fantastic action film. A lot of character development with satisfying action sequences. Beautiful sound design work and amazing handheld sequences. The blue color palette is perfect for this film. Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are the huge highlights of the film. They did a fantastic job creating different worlds but similar traits. Val Kilmer did a great job as well and we get to see his side of the story. A lot of family and relationship problems lead to divorce, conflicts, and death. It’s an all-stakes game and the bank heist sequence was just perfect. I see where Rockstar took inspiration. It’s an amazing film from start to finish and this is Michael Mann’s best film in his career. Also, the best heist film in cinematic history. Now Streaming for free on Pluto TV. Vizeit Score: “A” Film Genres Class Film Copyright © 2022. Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr. Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Eiza González. © 2022. Universal Pictures, BayFilms, New Republic, and Project X Entertainment. Directed by Michael Bay. Vroom Vroom!!! Bay is back with 10X the explosions and a 2-hour car chase sequence that actually makes sense?! Hold Up! Ambulance is one of those action films that is dedicated to the action genre and it doesn't hold up the violence. Even Nolan would be surprised looking at this film. I was surprised watching the film and it looks like it passed my expectations. Or maybe more? Let's dive in!
The film follows two adoptive siblings turned bank robbers who hijack an ambulance and take two first responders hostage. But one cop is in the ambulance and they have to save his life while chasing for freedom with the money. When going into a Michael Bay movie, you expect a lot of explosions, car chases, car crashes, swearing, guns, and dogs. Yes, dogs. Well, it has everything on the Bay list. But I'm pretty surprised that the dumb Michael bay scenes aren't present a lot in this film. The playboy women and the advertisement weren't shown in the film. The unnecessary blue lighting shots weren't that frequent in the film. A lot of Michael bay dumb scenes and shots were cut down to give this story and film more life and more grounded. It's also Bay's most serious film since 13 Hours. There are a lot of scenes given to the three characters and we can connect to the conflicted relationship between Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Plus, we get a deeper connection with Will and Cam (Eiza Gonzalez). These relationships connect to one another to communicate the problems and solutions to stay alive throughout this car chase. While the story is straight-up simple and goes into action, the characters were better written for a Michael Bay film. Yes, there's a police sub-plot but that sub-plot didn't take the entire film. Some storylines were finished and others were incomplete with a certain death scene that didn't have a resolution or end explanation. But the characters were improved along the way. Danny's complicated friendship with FBI agent Anson was pretty interesting and it kept the tension along the way and showed Danny being a complete jackass. Besides the story and characters, the action was top-notch. We get this quick gunfight inside the bank and after that, it's a full-on car chase. A lot of stakes in every scene and tension throughout and while you still have your typical fast cut, there are shots that do capture all the action. Every explosion and every bullet. There are a bunch of drone shots in the film and some of the shots look very impressive. The cinematography is a step up from his last film and the sound design is all over the place but for good use. There are some unique shots and angles used for certain sequences to make every scene stand out and it does that well. The final sequence was probably my favorite part of the film. There was high tension and I was nervous watching the scene unfold. I actually folded my body and felt tension with the scene. It's a great scene and it was satisfying to see the film concluded. I can tell you that this scene may be Bay's best scene ever. No Michael bay film is a masterpiece because Bay only focuses on the action rather than the characters. He wants every shot to be shaky and there was a shit ton of it. You still have your typical Bay useless scenes. There was one random shot of a fat guy running down the street while the Cam and her friend are talking about their backstory and we see a fucking guy running for no reason. I was dying of laughter and I'm like "What the fuck even is this"?! It's so stupid. It added nothing to the story. Maybe while they filmed that scene, that's some random ass dude just running away from the real cops. It's a funny out-of-context scene. Some of the subplots didn't conclude or storylines didn't conclude like the police chief storyline or the FBI storyline. The FBI storyline concluded but it didn't feel conclusive. There's some cheesy dialogue, dumb decisions, dumb moments, and weird-ass scenes for no reason. But remember, you are watching a Michael Bay film so expect that shit. Anyways I had such a good time with this film. The characters are improved from his last film and maybe his best characters since Pain & Gain and there was real tension and stakes in the film. This is Michael Bay's best film since 13 Hours and overall, this film was pretty great. It's loads of action, fun, and tension. I had so much fun at the theaters and hopefully, he delivers it in his next film. Now Playing in theaters and on Peacock (NBCUniversal Streaming Service) Vizeit Score: "B+" Copyright © 2022. Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr. Michelle Yeoh. © 2022. A24, AGBO, and Ley Line Entertainment. Directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. WINNER - BEST MOTION PICTURE FILM (2ND ANNUAL VIZEIT FILM AWARDS) When I saw the first trailer, I was pretty interested and all in. But when I saw that it's the highest-rated film on Letterboxd, I knew this film was going to be a banger. After watching it, I can confirm this is one of the best original films I've seen in a long time. A beautiful multiverse film full of action, drama, heart, and unexpected turns. The Daniels prove themselves that they are truly one of the best duo-directors in contemporary cinema. Let's jump into the multiverse and get straight into this review!
The plot follows a Chinese-American woman (Yeoh) being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, who discovers that she must connect with versions of herself from different parallel universes to prevent the destruction of them all by a powerful being. First of all, the action was very great. The choreography of these action sequences were very smooth and entertaining. No fast cuts during the scene and there are a lot of shots that show the entire fight with barely any close-ups. It's pure fun. Ke Huy Quan steals every scene, especially during action sequences. His energy in the film keeps it alive and he gets to do many crazy things in the film. But it's not just him who brought the energy, everyone in the film including Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu. The family in the film is just fantastic. The film is basically two stories, one with the mother and father relationship and the second half is the mother and daughter relationship. Now that's pretty amazing. It's very well balanced and the first story does carry on in the end with a satisfying conclusion for both stories. They kept the story very well hidden for the marketing and the film really is just about a broken family in America and trying to adapt to new things in society and the directors did a great job understanding it into a weird indie action film. The family story is really the heart of it. The multiverse thing only supports it as a way to reconnect the family once again and to prevent the divorce and the loss of a character. Can't say who due to spoilers but it's pretty refreshing to see it on screen. Yeoh did a fantastic job as the mother in the film and her choreography was fantastic. She brought a lot of emotion to the film and comedic elements as well. There is a lot of great comedy in the film with smart jokes and funny f-bombs. Hsu did an amazing job with her character as the daughter and her performance was just amazing. Seeing her playing different versions of her character was pretty outstanding and with her character being the center focus in the second half, it was great. A lot of emotional moments in the film with her character being with her mother. The climactic scene was just perfection and the most emotional scene in the entire film. It made me think of my family and what audiences can do to reconnect with family members and forgive them. The supporting cast did fantastic in the film. The action actors did a great job in their stunts and comedic moments. The comedy was very funny and dark. There are some ongoing jokes which made me laugh and a lot of film references. Especially with Ratatouille. The cinematography is outstanding and there are a lot of great wide shots in the film. I loved the different changing aspect ratios in the film for different universes or dramatic tones. I wish this film got a wide release in IMAX. The production design is very great for a low-budget action film and the visual effects were outstanding. A lot of practical effects that outshines the visual effects on the screen which was pretty surprising. From make-up to production design to costume and to editing was fantastic. For a low-budget action film, this blew me away. I won't forget about the directing as well. The directing from the Daniels was amazing. They handled their vision of the film in a low-budget film and they pulled it off. There is a lot of care put into this film and the craft behind it is incredible. Watching behind-the-scenes videos of the film shows that these filmmakers can handle any budget and push it to the limits. The originality of this film is just outstanding and makes every scene important to the story. There was no single scene that didn't make any sense. The directors know what they are doing and they brought their vision in a fantastical way. They also wrote the screenplay which makes their vision more bright and easier. But hold onto your brakes. While this film is fantastic, personally, I wouldn't call this a masterpiece but it's a near-masterpiece. There are some jokes that didn't land for me personally. The film felt a little bit long in certain scenes. I tried to click onto the characters right away but it didn't work until the IRS scene. It took a while to get with the characters to see their issues but after that, I fell in love with it. It's a near-masterpiece with a fantastic original story, amazing action sequences, beautiful cinematography, outstanding characters, and a clear beautiful vision from the directors. Every single department did a great job and understood the assignment in creating this film. It's one of the best A24 films I've seen and it's a film that will be talked about in the film community for a long time. I will pray that The Academy sees this film and consider this film some nominations. This film should not be missed on the big screen. Please check it out! Invite your friends and you will definitely cry in the end. Now Playing Only in Theaters. Vizeit Score: "A" Copyright © 2022. Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr. Ben Schwartz and Idris Elba. © 2022. Paramount Pictures, Original Film, SEGA, and Blur Studio. Directed by Jeff Fowler. Do you know da wae? Sonic and his human friend are back with brand new characters like Knuckles and Tails. Also, the big return of Jim Carrey as Doctor Robotnik as well as his side guy, Agent Stone. Everyone is back and its bigger and more fun then it's last entry. I can definitely say this is peak video game cinema. The blue furry vs the red furry in an all out battle.
The film follows Sonic (voiced by Schwartz) and Tails (voiced by O'Shaughnessey), who team up to find the Master Emerald before Dr. Robotnik (Carrey) and Knuckles (voiced by Elba). The strongest element in this film was focusing on Sonic throughout the film. More on the Sonic characters like Tails and Dr. Robotnik and less on the humans. He gets more screentime in the film and he still has that charm in his character. Tails is a great addition to the story and Knuckles is just so funny and fun. His "fish out of water" story is so funny and Idris Elba voicing him is perfect. He brings more energy into the film. Doctor Robotnik is still funny and more entertaining in this film. Jim Carrey delivers another funny performance and this may be his last film if he retires. The Sonic lore is expanding more in this film with more backstory within flashback sequences like Knuckles story and the chaos emeralds. Plus the master emerald being introduced to expand the Sonic world. The film has some great visuals, especially the final battle which was so much fun and unexpected. A lot of great visuals effects under a 100 million dollar budget film and the score was pretty good. This film was more bigger and since they have set up these characters, they can go into full video game territory route. They respected the source material and the director did a great job to give respectful fan service and bringing in newer fans into what really is the Sonic franchise. I had a good time with this film and the post-credit scene made me more excited into the third film and completing a trilogy. Can't wait to see the future of Sonic and for this film being a sequel, it's a great video game sequel. Sonic 2 still suffers the same problems from the first film. The jokes were 50/50. Some were funny while some were made for kids or didn't made me laugh. There was some cringe dialogue as well. But the major criticism with this film was the wedding scene. That should've been cut out or shorten down and get to with the main characters. The human characters did good but that scene didn't add to the story. But it was nice to see G.U.N. introduced and they should've introduced there and end the scene but they kept it going. But the positive thing is that James Marsden and Tika Sumpter were really good and better placed in this film and helped a lot in the final battle. The rest of the human cast were decent but didn't add to the story that much. The lodge scene should've been rewritten instead of a dance off or replaced with a different scene to get more emotional with Sonic and Tails. But the dance off was watchable but cringe. Besides those problems, it didn't stop the film being that great and fun. I had lots of fun with Sonic 2 and I can say that this is the best video game film of all time. Sorry Pokémon fans. But Pokémon has better cinematography and visual effects but Sonic 2 delivers a great video game story with great Sonic characters and bringing the lore into live-action. Plus, Sonic has a sequel while Pokémon is still working on their sequel if Nintendo allows them. Now Playing Only in Theaters. Vizeit Score: "B" Copyright © 2022. Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr. |
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