Interestingly, polar opposite genres and styles of film, but not too dissimilar in terms of some themes...
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
(Posted on 16th September, 2018)
A hilarious film, with remarkable intelligence below its seemingly "offensive-for-the-sake-of-it" exterior.
[WARNING: SPOILERS]
Although I haven't seen much of the original show myself, South Park:
Bigger, Longer & Uncut was still insanely enjoyable. It has a lot
of crude humour, but also it's surprisingly intelligent - commenting on
everything from violence, foul language, censorship, the American
military and a lot more.
In addition, despite the large number of references to previous episodes of the original show (which I have not seen much of yet; consider this my first real introduction to South Park), the movie was still funny regardless.
My first criticism is that the computer generated effects, like when Kenny goes to Hell, are a bit dated. But then again, what can you expect from a film made in 1999? Besides it still looks somewhat OK.
But secondly, and more importantly, the romance subplot between Stan and Wendy isn't as interesting or funny as the rest of the movie, takes up a small but noticeable amount of runtime and is resolved rather anti-climatically with Wendy abruptly ditching her then-boyfriend Gregory for no apparent reason (even if it is kinda funny in its abruptness).
Apart from that, though, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is still well-written, clever and most importantly of all, funny.
8/10 (Maybe a 9, but doesn't quite reach it due to aforementioned criticisms)
In addition, despite the large number of references to previous episodes of the original show (which I have not seen much of yet; consider this my first real introduction to South Park), the movie was still funny regardless.
My first criticism is that the computer generated effects, like when Kenny goes to Hell, are a bit dated. But then again, what can you expect from a film made in 1999? Besides it still looks somewhat OK.
But secondly, and more importantly, the romance subplot between Stan and Wendy isn't as interesting or funny as the rest of the movie, takes up a small but noticeable amount of runtime and is resolved rather anti-climatically with Wendy abruptly ditching her then-boyfriend Gregory for no apparent reason (even if it is kinda funny in its abruptness).
Apart from that, though, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is still well-written, clever and most importantly of all, funny.
8/10 (Maybe a 9, but doesn't quite reach it due to aforementioned criticisms)
Eye In The Sky (2015)
(Posted On 16th September, 2018)
A tense and complex multi-threaded thriller, that deftly engages with the trials and tribulations of military engagement.
[WARNING: SPOILERS]
Eye In The Sky, in a nutshell, is a honed-to-near-perfection example
of how to tell a deeply intricate story with multiple players and
narratives without losing or confusing those who are watching (even with
all its military acronyms and terms). The film really stresses to its
audience through careful camera-work, writing and dialogue how difficult
the sorts of situations shown are.
The editing is also very well done, and weaves the narrative together almost effortlessly, cutting between various viewpoints and characters in a way that demonstrates how world-spanning and desperately important this military operation is; again, all while keeping the audience focused on the tense action at hand. In addition, this is assisted largely by the actors (all of whom perform extremely well); particularly Aaron Paul, who is able to showcase his talents as the U.S. pilot being pushed to his moral limits.
The main criticisms of this film are the pacing feeling uneven at times, the repetition of some shots and some of the CGI and other visual effects being noticeably distracting - as well as a few plot inconsistencies e.g. If allowing the terrorists to perform a suicide bomber attack means the "good guys" (the not-terrorists) win the so-called "propaganda war", wouldn't the missile strike allow the terrorists to win this so-called war, considering the possible civilian casualties of the local population and the death of the little girl, Alia - making locals and others perhaps feeling sympathetic towards the terrorists' cause?
8/10 (Not quite 9/10 due to aforementioned issues)
The editing is also very well done, and weaves the narrative together almost effortlessly, cutting between various viewpoints and characters in a way that demonstrates how world-spanning and desperately important this military operation is; again, all while keeping the audience focused on the tense action at hand. In addition, this is assisted largely by the actors (all of whom perform extremely well); particularly Aaron Paul, who is able to showcase his talents as the U.S. pilot being pushed to his moral limits.
The main criticisms of this film are the pacing feeling uneven at times, the repetition of some shots and some of the CGI and other visual effects being noticeably distracting - as well as a few plot inconsistencies e.g. If allowing the terrorists to perform a suicide bomber attack means the "good guys" (the not-terrorists) win the so-called "propaganda war", wouldn't the missile strike allow the terrorists to win this so-called war, considering the possible civilian casualties of the local population and the death of the little girl, Alia - making locals and others perhaps feeling sympathetic towards the terrorists' cause?
8/10 (Not quite 9/10 due to aforementioned issues)
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