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henrytj
Reviews
The Killer Inside Me (2010)
Do all Texan women like to be spanked?
Well, here's what I learned from this movie.
Apparently all attractive Texan women loved to be spanked. The slow, yet sweet talking, gents tend to kill them despite professing their undying love. It also seems that the women have such a good sense of smell that they can detect the scent of another woman on their man. Conversely, Texas law enforcement can't seem to smell gasoline and other flammable liquids even when it's been pour all around them. The movie's cinematography was well done, but it had the tired old classic movie morality code that anyone kinky must be villain or victim.
I guess it does succeed as a "character study" on some level. But it too heavily relies on stereotypes where men are corrupt with wallets full of cash, and abusive, and those women around them "ask for it" literally. For me the movie was a let down. It tired to be "gritty" (I guess is the term) but it didn't seem realistic at all to me, unless Texas really was the most unpleasant place in the US to live.
Sucker Punch (2011)
Great eye candy, but lacking story
The visuals and fight scenes are of the best quality of eye candy. The CGI is fantastic. But sadly the title says it all. On a story level it comes across as just that, the writer/director sucker punching the audience. The story made a faint attempt to hint at some kind of philosophy, without actually providing any. The warrior women seemed to be instantly endowed with fantastical fighting abilities without have to attain them. Those parts of the movie is all sugar but with no real taste. The rest of the movie is all like meat gone rancid. Just filming a movie, despite high production values, with such extremes does not necessarily a good story make.
I liked Watchmen a great deal and re-watch it often. I just hope that this director is not getting intoxicated on his success and developing contempt for his audience.
This Darkness: The Vampire Virus (2003)
Could have been better
An interesting concept vampirism having something to do with a virus.(but done several times by now) Overall the movie is too long and drags a bit. The editing could have been tighter. I am sorry to hear about the problem with the credits. Maybe the movie was rushed to market. The lighting was too dark in places. But the worst technical problem is the audio. The level was good enough to hear the dialog, but many of the interiors have a echo sound to them, which is very distracting. Either they were not careful in the recording, or the sound mixing could have been better. Also too much background noise got through. The should have gotten someone to do sound effects for the martial arts scenes. The tinny clank of swords hitting together was not the sound of an epic battle. Especially in the combat scenes the editing needed to be tighter.
Also the acting was a bit flat. I am sorry, but when I see that the same person writes and stars in a movie, in my experience it is a red flag.
But it was a good effort so I gave it a 4.
The Dead Live (2006)
Sound is worst part of this movie
This movie should be used as a demonstration to media students as to why you should NOT use the mic built into the camera to record sound. In many scenes you cannot hear the dialog.
There is a lengthy outdoor conversation scene where you can hear a near roar of crickets in some shots, and none in others. So the lesson there is to record some "room tone" background sound to use to solve exactly this kind of problem. Of course so much cricket sound was recorded probably because they used the camera mic rather than a boom.
So this is an example where a movie is made basically unwatchable because of such poor sound quality.
Also, don't use you friends as actors just because they are your friends.
Kill the Scream Queen (2004)
Could easily be better
Could easily have been better. In fact maybe so much so that if the filmmaker hadn't tried even as hard as he did, it might have actually been better.
On a good note. The lighting was reasonably okay. But pretty much everything else was lacking. Wobbly camera work. (Yeah, yeah, I know, that's supposed to be the style now.) Poorly recorded audio. And editing that looked like someone watched too many Ulli Lommel movies (which are some of the worst edited movies.) To sum it up, the movie seemed to be a rationalization for the director/writer/main-character to get some young women naked, put them in fake bondage, and grope them, while saying "menacing" things.
Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)
Good movie
I missed this movie when it was at the theaters and it has been on my "to see" list since. I recently rented it and it was better than I thought it would be. I don't understand some of the negative comments here. I guess that Some people just live to put things down. Anyway, this movie has become one of my favorites. The effects were good, and integrated well, the casting and acting was solid. The twists and turns were well thought out. The 1950's vintage toy look of the game is superb. Being a science fiction fan, the space adventure theme appealed more to me than Jumanji.
If you are a special features junkie, like me, then the DVD has plenty of good extras. The making-of features discuss safety on the set which I thing is a great lesson for starting filmmakers.
The Magnetic Monster (1953)
Hard-Science SF Gem
This is one of those odd movies that in one was is low quality, but in concept it is a rare gem. This is not one of the many "guy in a rubber suit" monster movies. In fact, you never really see the monster. Unless you are a fan of hard-science science fiction you may not like, or even understand what this movie is about.
The movie certainly has a low budget quality, including portions with a voice-over narration. Also, given the time it was made (1950s), stock footage and special effects were very limited. If made today, special effects could make the monster more appreciated by a general audience and not just us science nerds.
But, here's the idea, just what if some experiment gave rise to some new form of life based on magnetic fields which got more powerful in a geometric growth, life cycle kind of way. Say it doubles in strength once a day. In only ten days it will be a thousand times more powerful than it was the first day. Another ten days it will be a thousand-thousand, or a million times more powerful. In a month it will be a billion times more powerful than it started out. Unlimited geometric growth is scary and that is partly what this movie tries to get across to the audience. The scientists in the movie are in a race against time to try to find it, transport it, and stop it before it is unstoppable.
Again, maybe not a movie for most people, but a gem for those who appreciate the scientific concept of this story.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008)
Okay, but....
First, I admit I've seen only the first hour of this show. I was prepared to completely hate it. It turns out that it wasn't so bad. The mother character is okay. Not as tough as the Sarah in the movies. Not as smart either.
About Summer Glau, well, what can one say, an intelligent athletic babe acrobatically kicking butt is always a joy to watch. But why did she start acting so mechanical once her true nature was revealed? Did her 'emotion chip' get damaged or something? Anyway I'll blame that on the writers.
The effects are pretty good for a television show. A TV show does not have the effects budget of a Hollywood movie. The TV evil terminators do seem a little dumber and less effective than the ones in movies.
But here is what I don't like, and strongly so. I also found this as the main flaw of the third Terminator movie. And that is the John Conner character. In the T2 movie John was an aggressive, strong character, if not just a little screwed up. But he recovered from surprise quickly and took reasonably intelligent and decisive action when needed. But the John in this new series, like the T3 movie, is a wimp by comparison. In the one scene in the series opener where he is chased into a parking lot by the evil terminator, he shows no tactical thinking. He stupidly glances over the top of a car and gives his position away. Then he cowers down like a frightened bunny until he is cornered and has to be saved by the others. Wait! Wasn't he supposed to be being trained from birth for this kind of thing? He shows not the slightest hint of inner strength. This character is not the resourceful, hardened, military genius of the first two movies.
All in all, it was fun to watch. There were some reasonably well thought out twists, but unless the writers quickly fix the male damsel-in-distress John character, then I don't see the series lasting. Maybe the writers intend to show him developing, but starting him out as so completely useless is a mistake.