Reoccur and recur are verbs that share a common root word. While they are very close in meaning, they are not the same. Something that is recurring happens over and over again, possibly at regular intervals. In contrast, something that is reoccurring is simply happening again but not always repeatedly.
The beginning in this one was just MASTERFUL. The comedy. The wedding event. The boss in frame at the stand, as if to cue you in that he'll be around for this one too... and then it gets wild pretty damn fast.
The villains are good, but the desperation momentarily lacking sometimes. You don't feel the urgency of the chase. They have too many good guys on their team. They're not alone to face the menace - as they used to be in the old days. As with the Fast & Furious franchise it seems the family just keeps growing, and in a way that's great, but in a way it loses a part of the... charm? No that's not it. A part of the focus maybe. It's just not them against the world entirely anymore. And he has a son now too! Who woulda knew.
I also feel they maybe overdid it a bit with the drone shots and FPS view.
It's a trend these days, and in a way it's great, but it's also not always the most cinematic. Sometimes it's messy in a bad way. Sometimes they just don't capture the mastery of a scene the same - it's more like they flex. More like they just do it because they can, and to show the viewer they can, not because it necessarily because it always looks the best.
Slow down sometimes, and let us enjoy the action in full.
As with the last one they have a massive showdown though, and a good chase, and the acts are great, and Martin Lawrence is in his A Game when it comes to the comedy! Compared to the last... I think I liked this one better. It's similar but it's special. Similarly ruthless, yet also all the more honed, and on point with the bickering. And of course since Will did his slap thing at the Oscars... it feels like they really can't pull the punches with this. They really have to push it - and redeem Will a bit while they do. Thus maybe the panic attacks. The elements of humanity. Of weakness; of relatability and accrue.
But it's good! I tried to watch the movie without looking too much from the outside in. Just immersing. At the movies. The bestest big screen version. And it really did deliver there... even if we had a couple teens beside us who talked a bit too much through certain scenes.
Dope movie. Great effort. Action sequences for the books, it's both atmospheric and flashy as ever, though it does all go the way you expect it to after all... that ain't always a bad thing.
I won't ever look at Will the same after the scandal, but his friendship with Martin does seem genuine, and I hope I can still keep enjoying his movies. Because this one really was dope.
rated 4.5/5: almost awesome
To save Paris from a bloodbath, a grieving scientist is forced to face her tragic past when a giant shark appears in the Seine.
A statue of liberty in Paris! Didn't expect to see that here. Though there was a lot that I didn't expect to see here. A surprisingly realistic shark intro for one. I've become accustomed to sub-par Jaw-style spin-off's, it it seems, but this one really did something new with it. They took it further, as most do, but in a different way. And along the way it goes from a 4.5 to a 4 to a 5 all the way... it's special eh?
The special effects are especially well-made. For but a few shark-related shots that just don't compute with me - even if they are realistic. Shots that follow the shark, as it swims erratically, at a crazy pace. It may be the way it moves for real but it just doesn't look real the way it's captured, in the way the camera manages to follow it's movements as well.
They capture the chaos though, the panic, and the total lack of competence as far as politicians go. It's always like that in French movies it seems, with the incompetence. It's like it's publicly acceptable over there - maybe even called for - to ridicule your leaders. Not that I mind. Their incompetence may be somewhat exaggerated by their arrogant demeanor, but it's true. I'm glad they do.
What I like most about this though is not the show of incompetence, or chaos, or carnage, but the water. The plastic island. The underwater footage of scraps and debris. Skulls and timestamps in the catacombs of Paris... the water-related scenes are beautiful, and though it may seem almost like a tourist promo at times I don't think I've ever experienced Paris like this in a movie before. From above and below both, it's impressive.
And it's real. It packs a message. It may be a little far-fetched with the sharks specifically, but with little else. The naivete of the young ocean loving activists too... they mirror the politicians in a way. In their incompetence and lack of sensibilities, pure though their intentions may be.
This was a great movie. A whole new take on the watery graves and grave dangers the waterscapes maybe raise... Under Paris.
rated 4.5/5: almost awesome
A couple travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
That's what the IMDB page says! Under 'Fun Facts' you can also read about how Swedish audiences during the premiere of this movie actually laughed, rather than get scared. And it makes sense. Because brutal and bizarre though it may be we recognize some of these absurdities in our own traditions. It's Sweden, after all! It's midsommar! Even though it's apparently filmed in a completely different country - which was a bit of a disappointment. Though it makes sense when you compare the building style to our own... the clothing doesn't really match either, and I wonder what happened to all those other guys on the hills initially, it seemed there were other visitors there too, where did they go?
The movie's got Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor anyway! I recognize Will Poulter too - though didn't know the name. And it's pretty cool to see an American director somehow involved with Swedish midsummer celebrations like this! Be it the premise for a scary movie or no. I thought it was a Swedish movie actually. One that tried to branch out internationally maybe, but one directed by a Swede. I mean just look at that title!
I wonder how Ari got involved. Maybe he visited a celebration himself? Maybe he read about that cult that died laughing and dancing, high on a similar drug of liberation? Maybe he has Swedish roots...?
It's a good movie. It's atmospheric. It's all the more eerie when it's recognizable, but also not as scary as I'd have expect it to be as it moves on... I think a part of that is how the characters just don't come across threatening, even when they're clearly capable of a kill.
Ättestupan was maybe the most disturbing part - read up if you wish, and I wonder if that was a real thing back in the day, or a thing of legend. Some old people probably did throw themselves off cliffs as to escape their pains and qualms of old age, but hopefully not like this...
Solid movie. It has a pretty crazy sex scene too - which you can find on questionable adult sites if you don't want to actually see this full film.
But I was a little disappointed at the end... not only because it doesn't finish in a typical Hollywood way, but because it was initially so much heavier. The weight seems to lift along the way. Which is intriguing, since it's like they give a glimpse of how one would actually be convinced to a join a cult as such. Just be a part of one big family. But a disappointment also in that initially it was all done so well. It was truly brooding, and the interplay of emotions and interactions was *chefs kiss*. Surprisingly authentic.
As it moves on I feel they lose a large part of that weight, and tension, and psychological cues and twists. It's bright and nice and eerily quiet sometimes but... simple too.
rated 4/5: fo shizzle
The minions are becoming the highlight in these now. Though Dru's new neighbor ain't bad either. Nor the villain. Nor the old woman in the evil villa - headmaster of the reunion school that somewhat reminds me of the Hotel Transylvania one...
I love the details. The one-glass sunglass, the custom intro song to match the ride, Lucky's shit lesson, the regular milk thing, the Fantastic Four minions, the dance moves, the Terminator shopping gig... I love that stuff. And it seems like they managed a good balance between bad and good too what with characters and plot and all. A little mischievousness, but never straight up evil. It's all about life after all. About relations; the way they make us feel...
And yes, everybody does want, to rule the world.
Usually I'm a bit anti how all these animated sequels seem to expand the family as they go, and become more about babysitting than anything else, as if you can't cater to a family audience without the cast also actually being a family (which is not the way it always used to be! I think? Go look up some animated classics) but... I really don't mind it here.
This was a good one. Even though it's a sequel, they keep it fresh. Hope there'll be a five one two.
rated 4.5/5: almost awesome
Kevin Hart's getting some strange roles these days! It seems unfitting for him to be a hero like this, considering his height, and the roles he usually plays... though fortunately it's not the main one. He's but a sidekick - initially but a flickering figment of a man in the intro, and then we move on to the real thing. With Cate Blanchett! Who's unexpected for a movie of this caliber (I thought it'd be a B one) but also just perfect.
Jamie Lee Curtis is there too, making me think she's Ellen DeGeneres. And Florian Munteanu the man I initially thought might be Nathan Jones. Ariana Greenblatt's great, Bobby Lee's an unexpected self-defecating cameo (they do nail some of the humor btw) but Gina Gershon has gotta be my favorite of all. Oh my. Jennifer Lawrence is there too, if but for a small role, playing the mother of the actual motherly bad ass main character mother fucker.
I gotta play the game with this same name though.
The movie looks very much like the game does, from what little I've seen of it, but I'm not sure the visual form works as well in a movie. It's messy. It's fake. It's a bit like Mad Max but not as cinematic for the most part, with a video-game like setting to an extent it feels artificial.
But... I do I like it. I get into it. Even if it's all too bright and poppy and never really as down and dirty and desperate as it deserves. Even with the psychos.
But it's fiery, it's feisty and fun and makes me want to play the game.
She goes out with a bang, too.
Premature celebration?
Nah, just in time.
rated 4/5: fo shizzle