#3 - Total Recall

As I mentioned on a few ocasions I am not a friend of remakes, but in this case I wanted to give it a shot, as the story is fantastic and I assume with today's CGI the result would be quiet stunning. 

Let's start with the good parts as usual: Colin Farell is back and in my opinion he is better than ever. He walks the line between character development and action scenes and does so flawless. One only wished he would have gotten a little more to work in the character development department, but the script wouldn't offer more. But Colin Farell is much better as Doug Quaid than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Kate Beckinsale is convincing in the action scenes as well. 

The general looks of the movie is much darker than in the original and reminded me a lot of "Blade Runner". Considering both movies are based on stories by Philip K. Dick this is acceptable as it also fits the story. 

Unfortunately the movie has also some significant weaknesses. While Jessica Biel might be a good actress in this movie her character remains flat and simply looks bored. Also the chemistry between her and Colin Farell is almost none existent, which is not an error of the actors but of the people who cast them as lovers. 

*spoilers*

As for the story: A lot of alterations were made from the original movie and the original short story. Unfortunately most of them were not for the good. "The fall" is the most significant plot hole, which is frustrating as it wasn't in any way neccessary to the story and just added a cool location for the action scenes. 

For my taste it would have been preferable if the movies actions scenes would have been a little less promitent to make room for some addditional character scenes (or they should have just added another 20 minutes to the movie). 

While the movie's "looks" was great it was partly inconsistent with the story e.g. We learn that living space is getting tight yet we see ridiculously large hallways. 

Kate Beckinsale's character "Lori" unfortunately never receives any real character, for she is only portraited as "the villain" not being allowed any shades in her personality she reminds me more of a Terminator than a human being. 

All in all I felt well entertained watching this movie but thought is was a pity that its full potential was not explored. 

Point 6/10

#2 - Magic Mike

First of all I would like to state that I was talked into watching this movie by my niece. This means I didn't expect anything at all from this movie but spending a fun afternoon with my niece. Although when I realised that this had been directed by Steven Sonderbergh I thought I might be in for nice popcorn movie. 

Let's start with the good things. Channing Tatum did a good job playing the lead. His performance is credible and one wished he could have gotten a little more to work with. He got to prove he is a good dancer once more and his routines were the only ones  that weren't boring and looked cool (Because it takes more to a sexy male dance than just move the hips). He was also convincing protraying his character's journey. One can also tell he has worked as a stripper, as he is the only one that is convincing. 

Unfortunately this is where the good parts of the movie end. Most of the dialog was not only flat but just plain stupid. While the story made an atempt to show the decadence of the life style they lead it failed entirely to show any consequences. Two characters take a drug overdose and basically they just sleep it off and that is it. Nobody ever gets pregnant or a veneral disease from sleeping around recklessly. 

I was surprised at Matthew McConauughey's poor performance, which I assume was due to the bad script since he is usually a decent actor. But his character always reminds me of a cartoon. Alex Pettyfer just looked bored throughout the movie. The rest of the strippers remain flat clichés and one couldn't even remember their characters' names. 

In Germany the film was considered suitable for children of 12 years and older (I think in the US it would be PG-13), which in my opinion was totally wrong. The movie has a clear adult theme and since it is protrayed quiet onesided it can be "dangerous" for young kids and teenagers. 

All in all it is a pity, that no more effort was put into the script because the general idea had potential. If the remaining stripper characters weren't going to be doing much acting anyhow, why not bring in real dancers to create some spectarular dance routines (with the expection of Channing Tatum who does some great dancing!). The movie might have worked as comedy with this dialog and the characters but not as a drama.

Points 3/10

#1 - The Dark Knight Rises

#1 - The Dark Knight Rises

Sometimes when you are waiting for months to see a movie, your expectations are unreasonably high. With "The Dark Knight Rises" this was certainly the case, considering its amazing predecessor "The Dark Knight". The more upsetting it is, when the movie disappoints you. 

Let's start with the good parts of the movie. The main cast was absolutely fabulous and really lived up to the expectations. Christian Bale was charismatic as usual and especially convincing in the moments, where we see his character struggle. Anne Hathaway was (at least to me) a surprising choice for "Catwoman" but did a great job. She managed the character's balance between villain and ally believably. Gary Oldman, Sir Michael Caine and Liam Neeson proved once more, why there are among the greatest actors, although one would have wanted more screentime for Liam Neeson and Sir Michael Caine. 

Unfortunately Tom Hardy as the villain Bane couldn't match the rest of the cast. Maybe it was because of the mask his character wears (Which to me seemed like a "Bikini-Version" of the Darth Vader costume) and the voice (which I assume was tweaked electronically) but his acting wasn't convincing at all. In large parts of the movie his character seemed almost ridiculous and in no wy scary or dangerous. Especially if one remembers the amazing villains in "The Dark Knight". 

The action scences are solid at best, but lack creativity. There are too few Batman scences to actually consider this a Batman movie and the once there are lack the dynamics of the first two movies. I haven't stopped it, but it felt like Catwoman got more screentime in costume than Batman. 

*spoilers*

As for the story I was disappointed completely. Not because there was something missing I expected to see, but the other way around. The movie in my point of view tried too much and failed. Large parts reminded me of "Iron Man 2", where we also see our hero struggling until he gets his mojo back. 

Then we have the mourning of the lost love, the nuclear threat, the good guy struggling, the young guy reminding the hero of what he fights for, the love triangle, apparant defeat etc. There were enough story elements for three movies and therefore there wasn't enough time to work them out properly and the story barely scratched the surface. 

There are also large points that are not explained and therefore seem illogic. Maybe the Nolans didn't consider these points important e.g. how does Bruce Wayne get back from a prison in the middle of what seems the Russian Federation, with no money or passport, to Gotham City within a few days? As a writer I get the impression they just didn't want to think of an explanation. Most people might not be bothered by these things but a lot of people are and to me it makes a different between bad and good writing. 

The preparation of Blake as a potential future Batman came too early and too obvious, but the character was built up nicely and definetely could make a worthy successor. 

When Alfred walks out on Bruce Wayne the viewer gets the impression Mr. Caine walked out of the movie, as we only see him back in the end and only very briefly. 

The idea with the pit was a nice touch but again we lack sufficient explanation to really get into it and instead of diving into the scences we are stuck, asking ourselves the questions the movie doesn't answer: Where is the pit? How does Bane control a prison he was an inmate of? etc. 

To sum it up: The movie is in many aspects solid, but at best an average movie. Sometimes less is more and in this case, less story elements worked out better would have done wonders to the movie. The cast did mainly a great job, that saved the movie for me. 

5/10 Points