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jonasdecker
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Finding Nemo (2003)
One of my favorite animated movies
I remember well how I watched this movie in the cinema as a kid. I really fell in love with the characters and their environment back then. Over the years I rewatched it and at the end I always thought it's an amazing movie. Now I watched it again and I can say I'll still give it a 10/10. There could be minor improvements but on the other hand, no movie is perfect if you just look hard enough. The thing is, it's perfect to me. The animation is absolutely stunning to this day. The characters are fun and interesting. The story is something I can rewatch anytime. I love this movie and warmly recommend it to anyone.
Merlin (1998)
I liked this version
Merlin did not exactly have a big budget for this kind of story/genre. And I was not sure if it would stand the test of time. But I would say for the most part it definitely does! I enjoyed the music, costumes and most of the acting. The story was interesting even if there are many other variations of it. It manages to stand on its own. I do have a few negatives...in the story I feel like sometimes they wanted to say too much at once and too many characters were around. Some of the creatures and effects did not hold up too well, although they are not terrible either. Just sometimes it felt as if it did not fit in with the rest. BUT it really nailed some other effects like transformations, spells and fights. The music also kinda sticked with me after watching it. It is so fitting, calming and inspiring. Okay so Merlin is not perfect, but its a very nice watch anyway. If you like fantasy worlds, this definitely manages to immerse you and tells a good story with some cool effects that still hold up. I give this one a 7 out of 10.
Ed Wood (1994)
Special but definitely worth a watch
Let me say one thing first: It's one of those movies, that I might not rewatch a lot but I'm glad I've seen it. Especially great is the direction by Tim Burton and the acting all around. The black and white visuals might not be for everyone, I for myself think the movie looks great and that black and white fits it perfectly. The story does have a few oddities and lengths but for the most part it's unique and interesting and sometimes even quite inspirational and hopeful. I like how it balanced out the more heavy themes without ever making them lose significance.
That being said, it's not the perfect 10/10 movie for me personally but I can see it being that for others. I had a good time watching it though. I'll rate it 8/10.
The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
A sequel that should've been better
The first movie wasn't perfect, however it had many good aspects about it. It was adventurous, funny, had good chemistry between it's leads and good acting overall and had great visual qualities too. It had some flaws in the story, but it broke up just as much stereotypes than it displayed and it had some surprises. So overall just a whole lot of fun.
The jewel of the Nile however disappointed me. It didn't have to be a bigger adventure or completely change things up but I hoped for a movie which is fun to watch and especially makes good use of it's great cast, just like the first one. And sure, some nice new locations and feeling of adventure too. I watched it years ago and rewatched it today and what shall I say... My opinions on the movie did not get better even though I really wanted to give this another try. There's no problems in the visuals or audio. The camerawork, locations, costumes, special effects, editing, music and sound effects were all great. The problem lies in the story and how it uses it's characters. The romance between the leads really suffers. It takes almost till the ending of the movie until they even say anything nice to each other. It takes so long that in the end you can't believe in their romance anymore. And that's sad because it was so well established in the first movie. They constantly shout or look sad or upset at each other. Also the villain feels uninspired and DeVito barely gets anything to do in this movie. And I wanna mention that the actors aren't to blame at all here. They play their parts great. I see the fault in the dialogue and story for the most part. The last 25 minutes or so are a slight improvement and yes the cast is still fun to watch. However it still isn't enough for me to recommend this one. But maybe you'll like it more than I did. It wasn't a complete failure as you can see but I feel like they could've just done so much better than this. I feel the heart is missing in this movie (even if there's a few scenes that gave me hope) and I didn't feel with the characters and that's one of the most important aspects of a movie focused on romance and adventure... I give it a 5/10.
Chariots of Fire (1981)
It was okay.
Still I give it a 6 and not a 5, because it does have some things going for it. The wonderful and unique soundtrack by Vangelis for example. And then there is also good acting and great cinematography. There's always something nice for the eyes to see or the ears to hear. However the characters seem to be missing something and feel bland. The story sounds good and inspiring in theory and it isn't bad, it's just that it was simply too stretched out and predictable. I found myself watching the remaining time a lot and asking myself just when the story will make some interesting points or manages to make me invested... sadly it didn't. With all the good reviews and awards this movie received, I just hoped for some more. I'll still say go watch it, as maybe I'm an exception here. It's still worth a look.
The Natural (1984)
Also nice for non baseball fans
I'd say see this one especially for Robert Redford. He's a very likeable character, being calm and thinks well about his decisions. He can be cool but also show an emotional side. He's just there for playing the game and being admired. Certainly "The natural" could have improved on the story a bit. There's a few loose ends, pacing issues and some characters are not really feeling complete. However the acting is great overall. Good can also be said about the nice cinematography and honestly wonderful score.
Apart from a few scenes this felt like a pretty relaxing movie to watch and I can warmly recommend it.
The Big Chill (1983)
Great start, but goes nowhere.
The story started sooo well and it seemed promising. Right away the movie managed to make me feel emotional for the characters. Even tho it's happening in the very beginning and we didn't spent much time with them yet. This is mostly thanks to the editing and cinematography. It was not only style, it also neatly and effectively introduced the characters to us. Also the acting is top notch. Sadly after this great start, after around 30 minutes the movie slowly but surely looses itself in topics I felt I've seen countless times before. It kind of felt generic to me and I asked myself how that's possible with such a terrific cast. It wasn't completely uninteresting, but there was just too much meaningless talking that didn't go anywhere. There wasn't much tension or change of emotions, it felt the same throughout and I felt the characters didn't grow either. And maybe going nowhere was also kind of the point of the movie. I also felt I wasn't the target audience for this one. But what I can say is that it felt awfully long and much said was unnecessary. It just didn't strike any emotion for me by the end and that shouldn't be the case in a movie mostly meant to make you think, reflect, feel... 5,5/10.