Hand drawn and painted animated imagery was matched to live action
of real characters in this defining moment for visual effects.
In
place of real characters, we get placeholder archetypes and a heaping helping of noise and clatter to go along with seeing many shots of towns being ripped asunder by giant tornadoes.
The main story line is very basic and, although there are some good moments for certain characters (Gugu Mbatha - Raw completely owns the scene where she breaks down), it doesn't allow for a whole
lot of real character development.
Perhaps, because it was unwilling to risk becoming camp, this Flowers can't achieve the necessary passion, either — Corinne's viciousness is lost in the shuffle, and volatile Cathy and confused Christopher remain
sketches of real characters, whose love never becomes the lifelong connection that takes them by surprise and desperately rushes them toward freedom.
Sure, Shakespeare's plays were often times full of titillation and seemingly inane romances, but they nevertheless retained the quality of art at the
behest of real character, commanded to the audience through real, identifiable problems of death, power, and scandal.
This is what turns The China Syndrome into a simplistic thriller instead of a complex and challenging
study of real characters.
While there were some top titles (Peace Walker, FFXIII, and Dead Rising 2, for example) and some significant announcements (Sony's motion controller details), the show floor just seemed oddly, well,
devoid of real character.
Based as it is on historical record (the
photos of the real characters that run under the closing credits make that point)-- and with the tendency to American Hustle's disclaimer («some of this stuff actually happened»)-- The Monuments Men doesn't quite go as far as it could have in the way of entertainment, but neither does it quite reach the loftiness of its goal of importance, either.
I recognized that I had seen warning
signs of his real character and our incompatibility, and that my instincts had been telling me to back off for some time.
That the utopian unity of the musical ultimately fails to unite the characters in this regard points to the inadequacy of Hollywood myths in regard to the
lives of real characters.
More importantly, he consistently grounds Michael Nilon and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett's overly familiar script in a sense of authentic realism that allows the action theatrics to come from a
place of real character - driven emotion that helps make these sequences all the more effective.
While I suppose the grind is something to be expected in a farming game, the
lack of real character development kinda hits
Obviously, I like anyone — especially in this barren industry, bereft as it is
of real characters — who can cause a bigger ruckus than I can.