Into The Storm, English Hollywood Film Movie Review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: * * *

Into The Storm, English Hollywood Film Movie Review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: *  *  *

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#TheHundredFootJourney(English) Rating: * * * ½ 
#Guardians of the galaxy(English) Rating: * * *


#IntoTheStorm(English) Rating: * * * Mesmerisingly activated FX fuelled disaster encounter of the ‘#Twister’ kind- unfortunately the effect is not mind-blowing mainly because the story and performances look far too out of the eye of the storm to make it compelling! # WarnerBros #RichardArmitage #ArlenEscarpeta #MaxDeacon #NathanKress #JeremySumpter #KyleDavis #JonReep #ScottLawrence #SarahWayneCallies #MattWalsh #AlyciaDebnamCarey #StevenQuale

English Film Review

Johnson Thomas 

Too many storms in this tea-cup

Film: Into the Storm

Cast: Richard Armitage, Arlen Escarpeta,Max Deacon, Sarah Wayne Callies, Nathan Kress, Jeremy Sumpter, Kyle Davies

Director: Steven Quale

Rating: * * *

 In an attempt to go much further than ‘Twister’ Stephen Quale designs an unprecedented disaster, supposedly a freak of nature- several tornadoes combing to form the mile long mother of all tornadoes and it’s quite a thrilling experience mainly because of the meticulously rendered CGI.

In the span of a single day, the town of Silverton is ravaged by an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes. The entire town is at the mercy of the erratic and deadly cyclones. The storm chasers run towards the vortex, risking their own mortality for that once-in-a-lifetime shot. Told through the eyes and lenses of professional storm chasers, thrill-seeking amateurs, and courageous townspeople, "Into the Storm" ratchets up the ante by throwing you directly into the eye of the storm. Yeah. There’s a scene where one of the professional storm-chasers goes up right into the eye… You cannot get any closer than that!

Director Steven Quale’s found-footage Monsterstorm extravaganza is explosive in terms of sound outage(Dolby Atmos) and visual glory but the one ingredient that makes a movie memorable whatever it’s genre, is missing. The human element. The people in the movie are little more than background dancers dancing around the tune of the Director’s freak storm jugglery. 

For most of this movie the chief  characters appear busy , dysfunctional and self-absorbed. You never get to know them intimately or feel for their plight. Almost every character in the movie is pointing and shooting all the time: the Titus crew; the Silverton student body and amateur Jokers Donk (Kyle Davis) and Reevis (Jon Reep). Silverton School Principal Gary’s(Armitage) eldest  son, Donnie (Max Deacon), even skips out on the graduation festivities to help his unrequited sweetheart, Kaitlyn (Alycia Debnam-Carey), reshoot parts of an activist documentary at an abandoned paper mill and of course, their camera keeps rolling even after the whole place caves in, trapping them under the rubble. It’s not a very believable scenario. Doesn’t seem like anyone is scared of the storm.  The acting is also just a little too laid back to suggest impending doom. Everyone in focus seems to be looking on the entire sequence of events(played out in by the numbers efficiency) as an adventure trip.  

 So the engagement is limited to the VFX ( by around 7 VFX companies) which acts as the film’s only worthy calling card!

Johnsont307@gmail.com

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, English Hollywood Film Movie Review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: * * * 1/2

English Film review

Johnson Thomas

Emphatic masterly Adventure

Film: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug(3D)

Cast: Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Martin freeman, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett

Director: Peter Jackson

Rating: *  *  * ½

 "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"  is a definite improvement on the first installment of Peter Jackson’s three-part adaptation of  J R R Tolkien’s creation.  There’s plenty of peril, action, thrilling heart-in-the-mouth styled escapes with great courage beyond size on display. And it’s more fulfilling too. 

Thorin Oakenshield( Richard armitage) and his mighyu band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins(Martin Freeman) and wize old wizard Gandalf( Ian McKellen) embark on a crusade to reclaim Erebor from the vicious fire-breathing dragon Smaug(Benedict Cumberbatch) in this sweeping fantasy adventure  picking up from where the events of The Hobbit: An Unexpected journey left off.

Peter Jackson continues to be at the helm of things  from the Lord of the Rings series to the Hobbit adventures, giving direction and visual meaning to Tolkien’s memorable characters and plot.  The adapted screenplay is by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo Del Toro, who make this part in the series a joyride full of the unexpected and the stunning. The 300 page book has been transformed into a nine hour adaptation with expansive drama that mines ‘The Lord of the Rings’ for strong interest- bringing in Legolas(Orlando Bloom) and inventing a female Elve  and ace archer named Tauriel(Evangeline Lily) whom Legolas fancies.

This film is entirely devoted to the dangerous expedition of 13 dwarves recruited by Gandalf with the aim of reinstating Thorin Oakenshield as monarch of the underground kingdom of Erebor-  which was lost in the devastating battle that was the opening sequence of the first film. The vicious and evil dragon, Smaug, the biggest creature in this fictional universe,  is the biggest threat and subduing him is not easy.

The drama is high energy and completely captivating but the length of the runtime does tend to be energy sapping after it crosses the two hour and thirty minute mark. There is speed and economy in the telling but the expansive nature of the tale and the numerous characters in it’s fold does tend to get confusing. The action is also quite well orchestrated. The ending is a true cliffhanger, the resolution to which audiences will look forward to in the final installment.

The CGI and FX are superlative like in all Jackson’s films to the extent that even Andrew Lesnie’s carefully rendered camerawork looks like a product of machine work. The 3D is also highly effective here. There’s an unmistakable pleasure in being transported back to Jackson’s version of Middle-earth, enlivened by  the lush strains of Howard Shore’s score and elaborated in masterly fashion by production designer Dan Hennah and his team,. The  seamless integration of Weta’s topnotch visual effects is also quite strikingly effective.The 48 frames per second imagery adopted in the first segment has been toned down here for emphatic realization. But for the staggering runtime, this film is a super joyride!

Johnsont307@gmail.com