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BigDWS
Reviews
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
The even-numbered streak has been broken...
Unlike some of the other commenters here, I did not really enjoy this movie. In my opinion, the even-numbered streak of successful Star Trek movies has been broken with this one...
*** Warning: Possible spoilers ahead ***
First, parts of the story related to specific characters were either odd or silly. Finding another android resembling Data? A little far-fetched, especially since no explanation is given as to how the Remans acquired him. All of the scenes with "B4" seemed a little out of place in the rest of the story and the only point of including him seems to be to leave an opening for some version of Data to return in a future movie. Speaking of Data, when did he and Picard hatch that little plot to rescue Picard from Shinzan's ship? That came out of the blue...
Then there's the wedding scene at the beginning. Picard is acting completely different than one would expect. He also acts rather oddly driving the argo on the desert planet -- not the Picard I'm used to. His scenes with Shinzan were alright, but that's about it.
I noticed that Worf, Dr. Crusher, and Geordi had minor roles. It would have been nice to see them more involved in the action. Although in the scenes he was in, Worf didn't seem very adept at his tactical position, in my opinion. I was happy to see that Wesley was relegated to a brief cameo -- any bigger part and the movie would have totally bombed :-)
Besides the characters, aspects of the plot needed some work. For example, the scene where the Enterprise rams into Shinzan's ship. Why the heck didn't Shinzan put his ship in reverse to avoid the collision? His ship obviously still had that capacity, because he did so afterwards. Also, seeing as how his ship endured significant damage, it's a miracle that the thaleron array (or whatever it was called) wasn't the least bit damaged during the battle. And a note on the thaleron ray: it was very obvious that the ray on Shinzan's ship was computer-generated -- I could have created the same image in Photoshop. It could have used some better and more realistic rendering.
Miscellaneous points: Since when does the Enterprise conduct long-range scans for positrons? If Riker and the Viceroy were fighting in Jeffries tubes (or some related internal part of the ship), why haven't we seen that kind of design (e.g., type of walls, layout) before? It's not like it was a brand-new ship or anything. How was Shinzan able to rise to power so quickly to overthrow the Romulans?
So I can't say that I was thrilled while watching this movie. Perhaps my expectations were too high and I'm too critical of some minor details. But I definitely think they could have come up with a better polished story, especially if they're going to kill off one of the main characters. Oh well... 5/10.
Strange Horizons (1992)
Don't even bother...
Don't even bother watching this movie. It is a complete and utter waste of time. Here are my comments:
The plot: There isn't one, or at least I couldn't figure it out. Over half of the movie consists of a drunk guy babbling to the camera about... who knows. Apparently, this guy's "spaceship" crashes on a planet. Some people in another "spaceship" are doing something and at one point go and look for him. Meanwhile, the guy is on the planet doing nothing. A woman who is supposed to be an "alien" (but looks exactly like a human) suddenly shows up. An "alien", according to the movie, is a descendant of humans who uses a drug called horizon. For some reason, whenever she takes the drug, she starts doing tai chi. After a while it seemed like everyone in the movie was on horizon.
The acting: I've seen pre-school children do better. It was kind of funny watching the Admiral talk; the only thing missing was the set of cue cards he must have been reading.
The scenery: Probably filmed in an abandoned warehouse. The spaceship and computers were just sad -- the computer keyboard looked like a piece of cardboard with marbles glued on it.
The nudity: Often, with a bad sci-fi movie, the only reason you would watch it is for the nudity. Well, this movie even fails in that category. You see a whole five seconds of it, which is five seconds too much once you see what the woman looks like.
Summary: This movie seemed like an extremely bad episode of Red Dwarf, except Red Dwarf can actually be funny at times. At one point in the movie, the so-called Admiral asks someone, "Doesn't the music of the universe ever tire your brain?" I don't know about the universe, but the only way to watch this movie is to let your brain fall asleep.
Rating: 1 / 10
Cruel Intentions (1999)
A waste of time and money.
A few friends and I went to see "Cruel Intentions" when it first came out in the theatres. I had absolutely no idea what it was about, nor what to expect. Let's just say I left the theatre in a disappointed mood. The movie is shrouded with poor acting, a stupid plot, and nothing but cheap sex thrills for teenagers to swallow up. I myself am a teenager and found the movie to not only be disgusting, but a waste of time and money. I'm glad I'll never have to see this movie ever again.
Titanic (1997)
Not exactly a great movie...
Unlike the majority of the population, I did not see "Titanic" in a theatre. My sisters (who love Leonardo DiCaprio) bought the video and I saw it at home. I must say that I was disappointed. With all of the hype and accolades, I expected a masterpiece from director James Cameron. Instead, I watched a boring drama with poor acting. First of all, in my opinion, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet cannot act. Perhaps with different lead actors I would have liked the film, but with those two actors playing Jack and Rose the movie began to sink -- like the Titanic. Secondly, perhaps it was just my eyes, but everything seemed brand new on the set. I realize that the Titanic was a new ship, but even at the beginning of the movie, the place where Jack was playing cards, his clothes, etc. all seemed impeccably clean. That feature didn't really make the movie bad at all, but was a detail that stood out for me. Then, of course, there is the length of the movie itself -- about 3 hours. After the first hour I could (and almost did) fall asleep, wake up an hour later and not have missed anything. The movie drags on forever...in the end, I was left wondering how the movie could be so popular. I honestly didn't find it emotionally-moving at all. It's not a bad movie, but not exactly a great movie either. I'm glad I didn't spend money to see it in the theatre.
Damnation Alley (1977)
A waste of time
One night, when I had nothing better to do, I decided to watch "Damnation Alley". Let's just say that I should have found something else to do. Anything would have been better than sitting through this horrible film. The acting is bad - Jan-Michael Vincent and George Peppard simply cannot act. The storyline is decent, but the movie makes it extremely boring. I wasn't impressed by the hour-long ride in the land-rover/tank, regardless of its all-terrain capabilities. As for special effects, the sky images were interesting but didn't really do too much for the movie. If you ever have a chance to see "Damnation Alley" -- don't.
Predator (1987)
A great suspense-action thriller!
Predator is one of the best Arnold Schwarzeneggar films I have ever seen. The man vs. alien plot is well-written, keeping the viewer in suspense the whole time as to whether or not Arnold will kill or be killed. The jungle setting serves the plot well and provides the added mystique and fear to capture the viewer's attention. This movie is a must-see!
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
An excellent post-Vietnam war movie
Although many people will disagree with me, I enjoy watching this movie. While the acting may not be top-notch, the plot and setting give the impression that you are actually a member of a POW camp and must struggle along with Colonel Braddock (Chuck Norris) to escape. Following Braddock's plight as a prisoner, the death of his comrades, and his final showdown with Colonel Yin (Soon Tek Oh), the movie nicely builds up to its climax and leaves the viewer with a sense of finality that many movies tend to lack in their endings. This prequel is definitely the best in the MIA trilogy and I recommend it for viewing.