One of the most recognizable Spider-Man villains of all time, how does Venom fare in his first full length feature? Well...it's something. Here's my quick review of Venom (2018).
When it was announced that Venom would appear in Spider-Man 3, it instantly became one of the most anticipated moments of the franchise. As many people will tell you, including myself, Topher Grace's portrayal of the classic villain was, for lack of a better term, bad. Along with many other factors (Peter Parker's emo phase comes to mind...), this essentially ended Sam Raimi's Spider-Man run with Sony. Were we ever going to see Venom come to the big screen again? The answer is yes, so here we are with 2018's Venom, directed by Ruben Fleischer, responsible for one of my favorite movies of all time (that would be the fantastic Zombieland), and Tom Hardy as the titular anti-hero. So the question is: is it any good? And I can answer that very succinctly for you. No this movie is not good. Tom Hardy is admittedly pretty good as Eddie Brock/Venom, but everyone else sucks, including a wildly out of place Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed, who's FANTASTIC in Nightcrawler (if you haven't seen it you need to), is just awful as the villain. The writing is super sloppy and cringeworthy, the special effects are laughably bad and looks extremely outdated, the pacing is all over the place, there are sequences that go on FOREVER, and the story is impressive in just how BAD it is. That Eminem end credits song is probably one of the worst songs I've ever heard. Ludwig Goransson, who created one of the best musical scores of all time with Black Panther, turns in an uncharacteristically forgettable musical score. All in all, the movie itself just feels painfully outdated, obtaining an atmospheric look from a mid-2000's movie rather than a 2018 movie. So again the answer to that question is no, Venom is not a good movie. Oh but don't worry, this movie was a box office hit so of course there's going to be a sequel. Of course there is... Rating: 2/10
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You've seen the memes. Y'all know what it is. Here's my quick review of Bird Box.
This movie is better than I was expecting. I was expecting a movie with a goofy half-assed premise and no thrill and what I got was a surprisingly suspenseful flick with great performances from Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich, Sarah Polley (who unfortunately isn't in it for long) and Trevante Rhodes (if you haven't seen Moonlight, I HIGHLY recommend you see this because he's in it and he's fantastic). In fact, I would go as far to say that Trevante Rhodes steals the show and proves that he is truly a star in the making. That's not to say that Sandra Bullock doesn't put in a compelling performance as the badass Malorie because she absolutely does. Is this a perfect movie? No, the script is uneven, some of the writing is just plain bad, some parts move really slow, and parts of this movie reminds me more of a glorified (and better) version of The Happening (which I guess is actually a compliment?). But as far as a memorable movie goes, it lingered with me long after I had seen it, which I think is a true measure of its memorability. There are plenty of scares and suspense and, while it may not be seen as a classic so to speak, it's an unforgettable modern-day horror flick that's better than the average 21st century horror movie. PSA: Please don't do the "Bird Box" challenge. It's dangerous and foolish and might get you killed. End of PSA. Rating: 7.2/10 |
AuthorBuster Bigelow: 30 year old lover of movies, cinema, and music. Whether you agree or disagree with my reviews, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments! Archives
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