akovac Reviews

I Am Number Four (2011)

Scifi Teen Drama with strong an unusually strong dose of surreptitious advertising

[6/10 · 12 December 2012]

The movie "I am Number Four" goes through the motions of so many all-too common clichés seen in a huge number of popular previous teen dramas. It's still fun to watch, thanks to suspense slowly building up and culminating in some pretty well done action sequences in the final parts of the movie.

What struck me most, however, was how huge chunks of the movie appeared to be a pretty blatant form of surreptitious or covert advertising, namely for photography and, in particular, for digital photography equipment. Having this as a hobby or passion is made to appear as not just a very desirable and worthwhile pursuit in itself but also something that can make a person happy and somehow special. It is shown as an easy way for even shy people to make contact with new people that may otherwise be difficult to approach and that will always give something to talk about even if one doesn't have much to say otherwise. In fact, it will make one appear so interesting and "mysterious" that having this interest is a way to attract ones dream partner... even more so if one invested to get this very special camera by "Canon" that Sarah likes so much because "it's got all those light leaks that make photos come out so interesting". To show him what she means by this, Sarah can lead "John" to her bedside very naturally, in order to show him a photo she's shot with this camera. Shy girl getting the special guy to her bedside is (subliminally, at least) as close to having sex as it gets in this movie that's otherwise too clean for any actual physicality of that sort.

Advertisement, even of the regular type, often tries to bypass conscious recognition of the message it tries to implant. The subconscious is addressed directly because it not only understands what's implied but also doesn't critically reflect it but simply believes even the most unrealistic and banal types of suggestion. In that sense, covert advertisement and product placement may work even better that the regular type, provided the target audience doesn't notice the attempt at being manipulated like this. This element of the movie can, probably, easily be missed (or dismissed), but I'd like to encourage anyone who intends to watch this movie (or watch it again) to pay attention to this aspect. You'll probably be surprised at how obvious - and pervasive - it actually is.

Superman Returns (2006)

It was the Superman of my teenage days, but ...

[4/10 · 23 July 2006]

Before seeing this, I was pretty expectant and excited, after some great comic superheroes films of recent times. But the movie just reminded me of why I'm not enthusiastic about this particular representative of the genre. The movie was surprisingly close to the 60s or 70s Superman comic book series, and while that may be a considered a bonus by some who actually liked it, I personally found it pretty unexciting (I probably had an overdose of those ingredients already at young age). Black and white characterisations and moral philosophy, a very "clean" society, "Superman to the Rescue" against outlandish threads by arch villains. None of the characters or situations struck me as something that has a resemblance to what one might actually encounter in real life. A Superman in a world that might be ours, the contrast between the actual and the fantastical and the uncertainty about how the two might meet, that would have the potential to create a tension that makes for interesting viewing. But an unlikely Superman in an equally unlikely cliché world does not.

Effectwise also, I was a bit disappointed. For example the repeated earth trembling in different scenes, even where totally inappropriate, like when Superman crashed back to earth in a spaceship (*before* the crash), got very predictable and looked like someone had run out of ideas to create suspense in more interesting ways. Likewise the repeated interception, by a flying Superman, of giant, heavy falling objects on their way to crush innocent people on the ground, an archetypal situation in this particular type of comic, occurred too often and was milked too much. The scenes were not done in an exciting way like Spiderman stopping a running train in Spiderman II, for example, and, for the outcome being so predictable, were too repetitive and took too much time.

The movie stayed close to the world of the strip I know from my teenage days and, as I said, I guess that could be seen as something positive insofar as it managed to convey the feel of the strip. But from a certain age onwards it just wasn't my cup of tea anymore (probably after discovering Spiderman and other Marvels).

A side remark, I felt Parker Posey, who played Kitty Kowalski, looked really similar to the Lois of the comic. She looked so much more like Lois than Kate Bosworth, that I found it disconcerting at times to see the two of them in the same scene.

The Quest (1996)

The Chinese fighter was eye candy

[4/10 · 26 June 2004]

The plot: empty, if not silly. The arch of the story was really not going anywhere.

Character depth: nonexistent.

The fight scenes: The one - and only - thing I really liked was the Chinese fighter. Wonderful movements. Made all the others look really cumbersome. Without the camera work, all of it, except mentioned Chinese fighter, would have been just embarrassing. But there is worse, I guess.

There was some effort put into the costumes and the attempt to keep up the semblance of a story. But it was just too shallow and empty beneath to redeem this movie.

Good, though, if you have other things to do and just want something to run in the background. You can just look at the movie from time to time and are certain not to miss anything of importance.

Prey (1998)

Horrible science, unrealistic plot, no depth, but entertaining ... why?

[4/10 · 19 August 2003]

I have no idea why I continued to watch this. The scientific basis of this show is pseudo-science of the worst kind, distorting the theories of evolution, the way the story and the characters develop is completely unrealistic and unbelievable, the character development unconvincing, the acting shallow, the dialogs silly and the fight scenes ridiculous ... I could go on and on, just about nothing seems to make sense here and the intelligence of the viewer is continuously insulted. But still I wanted to know how the story would develop, and in spite of all these shortcomings I watched up to episode eight. I guess this is because the whole thing starts like a mystery, there is just so little known about the new species, who and what they are and what they want and how it all fits together, so one just wants to fill these gaps. However, each consecutive discovery just seems to make things more silly and unbelievable. But I don't want to go over the top in my criticism, there's worse on TV, so one might give it a try. The show has a way entertaining and keeping one guessing in spite of all the shortcomings. But better not to expect anything of any value or validity in this. 5 out of 10

Der Fahnder (1984–2005)

Series with personality

[9/10 · 2 February 2003]

I've seen quite a few of those on German TV in the eighties and it was one my all time favouite series. The characters are depicted very lovingly and I never got tired watching it. Thinking back in time, this is one really few series I remember very fondly, no uniform cookie cutter stuff but with an endearing personality of its own. Bring it on again any time - I'd be happy to watch!