My Humble Opinion

Dark Knight Rises

Battleship review

The only thing Battleship has going for it is the fact that Taylor Kitsch finally cuts his hair and the aliens that you see are very cool (although my love for facial hair is tainted by whatever it is that is growing on their faces). Otherwise, there is nothing original about this movie. It’s the love child of Transformers and Pearl Harbour (or some other ‘epic’ war movie.) The script is appalling (no, really) and the acting is nothing worth boasting about. The storyline in itself is extremely shallow and all of the ‘exciting’ scenes lose their flare because each scene feels identical to the last one. There is little or no character development, and that which there is serves only to be extremely cheesy. As expected, Rihanna is a better singer than actress (although that in itself is debatable amongst some people); Taylor Kitsch is the driver of yet another vehicle that is a little lack-lustre with regards to plot and purpose (yes, I am also referring to John Carter, which was ultimately ‘fun’ but not worth the 200-million dollar budget either); Liam Neeson and Alexander Skarsgard have so little screen time I’m not even sure why they agreed to appear in the film; and the sub-plot of the legless ex-marine overcoming his self-doubt and woes as a result of fending off an alien invasion was what pushed the film over the edge (I mean, if you’re excluding the rest of the film).

Honestly, I can handle long, outrageous, loud movies which have been filmed with the sole purpose of providing the audience with some ‘fun’; and you know I’m never really that harsh when it comes to reviewing movies – every movie has something going for it and at the end of the day you, as a viewer, have to make up your own mind, so I like to suggest whether you should or shouldn’t see it, rather than telling you to do so! But there is an exception to every rule, and Battleship is the exception to the ‘any action movie can be totally awesome with the right cast and special effects’ rule. I really wish it wasn’t the case – considering Neeson and Kitsch, as well as the awesome effects provided by Hasbro, but unfortunately I can’t say I’m happy I spent R34.00 on this movie and I definitely cannot say I’m happy that they wasted $200,000,000 filming it!

My Humble Opinion? Don’t waste your money – rent this in a few months if you absolutely have to see it, or watch Transformers instead (same fun, more depth). What do you think? Am I being ridiculously unfair or am I not being harsh enough? Fly by on twitter (@Dani_Geyer) and let me know what you think!

danigeyer

Earth 2 and some issue #8 mini-reviews

Oh. My. Gosh.

This series seems like a breath of fresh air! One of the new New 52 titles, Earth 2 is amazing! Its introduction takes place at the same time as JLA #1-#5 but with a much different outcome. The artwork is some of my favourite so far and the characters are very well portrayed – some of them don’t appear for more than a few pages and yet are still given a lot of depth! I am so excited to see where this is going and I am thrilled that this has been picked up over some of the less popular titles! After reading AVX in such quick succession, I needed something to remind me why I’m a DC girl and HOT DAMN! I could not have picked up a better comic at the time! Otherwise I’ve found all the issue #8s to be a lot of fun. I enjoyed the twist on the Silver Banshee in Supergirl and I loved the way Superman unfolds. JLA was a tonne of fun in light of Earth 2, and I was very excited to see a Night of the Owls tie-in (however brief it may have been), as well as the Green Arrow making an appearance. Wonder Woman got crazy and I’d have to say issue #8 is one of my favourites so far – also, Diana looked freaking hot with those guns! And the whole ‘expect the expected’ twist really works at the end (I didn’t think it was a shock, but it was so nicely introduced that I didn’t find anything wrong with it). All the Batman titles are very exciting at the moment, building up for the Night of the Owls event this month! Batgirl was awesome, too, and it took a very dark turn, bringing James Jr. back into the frame! I also loved the flashbacks of Barbara being shot by the Joker – Barbara’s flaws are so nicely exploited in this series (with regards to her guilt and confusion at being able to walk again, as well as her tendencies to be an over-thinker). So, Marvel or DC? Who cares?! Everything on the shelf seems to be working really well at the moment, and I can’t think of a title I was unimpressed by. Am I being too nice? Maybe showing a little too much love? Let me know (@Dani_Geyer on twitter), I’d love to hear your Humble Opinion!

danigeyer