radiotesla2001 Reviews

Justice League (2017)

Go See This Movie! You will not be sorry.

[10/10 · 26 November 2017]

If you are locked into viewing the world through the jaundiced eyes of the 'professional' reviewers, and pass on this movie, you are seriously missing out on a treat.

Although not quite a perfect movie, this collaboration between Snyder and Whedon ends up totally restoring the proper attitude, tone, and heroic posture of all of the DC super heroes present in this movie. Yes, I know, Wonder Woman was perfectly fine after her 'stand alone' venture, and she is equally excellent here, although she certainly does not stand as far above everyone else in this film; she remains Wonderful.

Some have complained about the 'obvious' switches between Snyder's ultra serious tones, and the perceived injected humor of Whedon. I say that the lighter touches are just right, and any contrast with the more darker elements, are absolutely no more jarring than the juggling between danger and planned humor that show up in every entry of the Marvel universe. Those that see them as a forced marriage in Justice League, are looking at it through prejudiced glasses. They want to see discord, so they find it. However they managed to put this film together, considering that two major but markedly different-styled directors were involved, they succeeded well beyond what the doomsayers that had already made up their minds claim.

Some scenes in this movie even remind me of Richard Donner's vision of America from his first Superman movie, and even though those moments are small, they are beautifully significant and welcome.

The climatic battle scene is not overly long and drawn out, and plays very well.

As I said above, it is not quite perfect, but I gave it a 10 here, because it is that close.

Do not listen to the naysayers, it is much better than Marvel's Avengers: Age Of Ultron, because although it has to mesh many pieces together, Justice League does not suffer the excess of attempting to jam ten pounds of stuffing into a 5 pound bag as Ultron attempted, but failed to do.

I will most readily be seeing this movie in the theaters again, before it's run is through.

Machete (2010)

Racism in the Extreme

[1/10 · 27 April 2014]

I am so glad to see that so many have been able to articulate the absolute, unqualified and unsubstantiated, hate towards the majority of White America that oozes out of this 'film'. Straw Man arguments have more validity than this tripe.

I was hoping to see an outrageous Grindhouse style flick, instead I get a reprehensible load of propaganda that blares that ALL conservative white men want to kill, rape, and exploit Mexicans.

I have to seriously reconsider EVER watching anything again that is produced or acted in by anyone who participated in this ugliness.

I have one question for Rodriquez? Do you lock your door at night? If the answer is yes, then you should personally apologize to the entire United States of America, and promise NEVER to show yourself in public again, and NEVER participate in another motion picture.

I would have given this 0 stars if I could.

Wanted (2008)

One of the dumbest movies of all time.

[30 December 2012]

I have to write 10 lines:

1: Controlling and curving a fired bullet's trajectory - Dumb 2: The Loom of Fate - Even Dumber 3: Ever believing this nerd could be a tough guy - Impossible 4: Morgan Freeman wasting his talent in this joke - Priceless 5: Angelina what's her naming catching a bullet in the head that does a near perfect 360 through about 8 other people's heads first without 'deflecting' - Lost In Space obeys physics better

There. I think that's 10. Awful, stupid, moronic in the extreme, tripe. Consume at your own risk.

P.S. Did I mention the Loom of Fate? So bad, its good, and goes around to bad again.

The Outer Limits: O.B.I.T. (1963) Season 1, Episode 7

O.B.I.T. Is Happening Today

[10/10 · 29 December 2012]

One of the best hours of Science Fiction ever produced. The Outer Band Individuated Teletracer can spy on anyone, anywhere, and as the product of an alien race, it is introduced into our society as a weapon to totally demoralize us through our own relentless curiosity to discover the secrets of everyone we know.

Decades ahead of its time, it has sagely predicted the situation we find ourselves in today. We obsessively dig for every secret. There is NO potential politician or world leader that can escape without every single scrap of his or her history being blasted in front of every living person on the planet. The episode's prediction that we will tear ourselves apart through this obsession is evident today.

Some have said that this is evidenced by the United State's Patriot Act, but the damage we are doing to our society does not start or end there. We willingly plaster our entire lives on Facebook and other 'Social Networking' sites. Employers regularly scour these sites to discover whether or not we are stable and reliable enough for employment. Teenagers terrorize other teenagers with the knowledge gained therein. How many marriages have been destroyed by the information gleaned on the internet? Television reporters no longer report events. They pry for the dirtiest details available, and then serve them up for the entertainment of the masses, and the destruction of the subjects involved. 'Reality' shows are another vehicle that accomplishes this voyeuristic addiction, and electronic cameras capture all transgressions.

O.B.I.T. predicts ALL of this, and asks the question, can a society possibly survive that lays bare every single secret? You should also read a short story written by Issac Asimov, titled 'The Dead Past' which deals with the same subject, and arrives at basically the same ending.

This is great stuff, and we would do well to ponder the questions of where all of this 'openess' is leading us.

The Box (I) (2009)

Much Better Movie than most of these reviews indicate!

[8/10 · 12 November 2010]

First of all, I understand the frustration that many of the reviewers express. This is NOT a simple movie, it doesn't have a ton of action scenes to while away the time with, and it does take a pretty large suspension of disbelief in order to 'go with it'.

Another problem with this movie is that it is an intricate 'Morals' movie, being presented to a generation almost completely lacking in both patience AND morals. I should add that most of the negative reviewers probably lack the brain power to digest the real concepts presented here, as well.

But if you do go with it, and if you have an inquisitive mind that likes to analyze the dark consequences of people's actions coupled with the question as to whether mankind is worthy or not to survive, this movie is definitely for you.

It is not easy, but don't buy the argument that is does not make sense, or otherwise fails to hang together. For a combination Sci Fi/Horror film, it makes much more sense than most of the blood pablum that the neighborhood cell phone zombies like.

The ending with Frank Langella standing outside of another house is nothing but chilling. You know what it means, there is no ambiguity, and the film makers have effectively captured that 'Twilight Zone' sense of impending doom.

I saw this in the theaters, and just caught it again on cable, and I liked it even more the second time around.

If you think that 'you are' really is spelled ur, stay away. Otherwise, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what is in 'The Box'.

Eagle Eye (2008)

Plot Credit?

[5/10 · 12 July 2009]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but it seems to me that this plot is a reworking of a 1968 novel by Martin Caidin titled 'The God Machine'. I wonder if he received any screen credit for the idea?

Spoiler: In the book, the computer manipulated people through a type of hypnosis, and this movie used a more in-your-face coercive method in order to control the characters, but if you read the novel, you will see that the idea is basically the same: Mad Computer Program attempts to take over the world to save us from ourselves.

The movie was fair, no better, and not entirely original, either. I really wonder if Caidin has a case for plagiarism?

Star Trek (2009)

The Worst, Stupidest, Star Trek of All Time

[1/10 · 10 May 2009]

Sirs: I so much wanted to like, no, love this movie.

Instead, without giving away too many spoilers (there are a few here), it was simply awful. What Paramount delivered was an ADHD addled mess; one that completely destroys the source material from which it came. I understand that for the uninitiated, they (Abram's and company) can do what they like; and they have done so, I believe, for the sole purpose to be able to 'dumbly go where no worse hack writers have gone before' and henceforth dish out more tripe in the name of Star Trek while absolutely violating over 40 years of franchise history. You can laugh at that, and tell me to get a life, but if you are going to put the name of 'Star Trek' on a film, you need to do damn well better, and stay light years truer, than this crap. 'Superman Returns' certainly accomplished that.

I never thought I'd say this, but the Sci-Fi channel's ill advised 'Battlestar Galactica' was far more honest to its source material than Abram's 'Star Trek'. What he did was to truly steal a known identity, and then produce a bird cage liner that has almost nothing in common with that identity past the title, and the names of the characters.

Unfortunately, this 56 year old Trekker was all too easily able to follow the entire non-plot and action. The dialog overlap was 100% techno-babble predictable. A Power-Ranger's bred child could follow this simplistic 'must fight bad man' drivel.

The story was lame, and I believe that Orci and Kurtzman's claims to be fans of the show are outright lies; meant only as a weak attempt to deflect the flood of criticism they so richly deserve. They followed the beaten down, grossly overused, time travel path that Brannon Braga used to eventually kill the TV franchise.

Romulans??? In THIS time line so readily recognized by the Federation? A Chekov that was even sillier sounding than the original? And if one were to 'allow' the events of this misbegotten movie to be accepted, it would quite literally wipe out ALL of the subsequent 'known' Star Trek events, with the exception of the Enterprise series.

RED matter??? Oh my God, I can see them sitting around a table saying, "Well, we can't use anti-matter, they'd never believe that one, and maybe even Dark Matter would be laughed at today, if we tried to use it as we intend... I'VE GOT IT! We'll call it RED MATTER! No one's EVER used that one! So we can carry a big blob of it around, extract a drop with a HYPODERMIC NEEDLE, and STILL use it to cause a Singularity and a subsequent Black Hole! Yeah, THAT'S plausible, without us ever having to explain anything! Brilliant!" I suspect that the only Star Trek these geniuses ever watched was the much maligned 'Alternative Factor' episode. This 'plot device' (this was so bad, even Clarke's Third Law can not provide cover for it) is totally unbelievable, even when compared to a warp driven star ship. This is the kind of science fiction that a sixth grader writes. Come to think of it, I am probably insulting the intelligence of sixth graders everywhere. Watch for Blue Matter to follow in the next installment.

Speaking of which, this is not an 'alternative timeline' to free them from Canon, this is just an excuse to be able to avoid any accountability to 40 plus years of established 'Star Trek'. This is lazy, sloppy, and weak writing all rolled into one colossal middle finger brazenly extended to Star Trek fandom.

The ONLY thing worthy about this movie was the exterior of the Enterprise itself. It was truly beautiful; and the only piece here that stayed loyal to the original.

The rest is absolute zero worthless.

Sincerely, Dennis Carlson

Oh yeah, addendum: The biggest, worst, possibly most overlooked hole in this entirely stupid movie is the fact that if Nero DID somehow find himself back in time, after the destruction of his wife and home world, why didn't he simply use the opportunity to WARN the Romulan Empire, and the Federation, of what was going to happen, instead of going Postal? This is why Time Travel episodes suck, (Read same fault with Generations). Period. If I could have given this movie a Zero, I would have.

Last Add On, Promise:

1: For all of you who told us few naysayers to 'Get A Life', congratulations on your originality.

2: Yes, we know its just Fiction, and that our DVD's of the movies and series have not disappeared, but at least SOME of us yearn for at least a LITTLE continuity; something which this movie nearly completely destroys. This movie pulls a 'Dallas' 'It Was All A Dream' scam, and sorry, but some of us just don't buy it. Cheap, bad, writing. I'm pretty sure I'd laugh my butt off at the howls of protest from you JJ lovers, if the next movie restored the Star Trek time line as it should be, and rendered THIS travesty to the scrap heap where it belongs. You would scream at the repudiation of ONE movie, how do you think many of us feel about the refutation of nearly 40 YEARS of events, no matter how fictional?

3: And finally, to all of you who say that such extreme measures HAD to be done to revive the franchise, you are completely ignoring the fact that after the mediocre disappointment of 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture', that all it took to revive the franchise then, was to bring in a REAL Writer and Director, Nicholas Meyer, who crafted a superior movie WITHOUT (yes, I know about Chekov-Khan) trashing basic Trek 'history'.

Watchmen (2009)

Heavily Sexed Up, Disguised, Rework Of Old Outer Limits TV Episode

[4/10 · 8 March 2009]

First, Spoiler Alert! Secondly, I have never read the graphic novel that, from my understanding, is the basis for this movie. This story, as filmed, is a heavily disguised redo of the Original Outer Limits episode 'Architects Of Fear'. I don't doubt that there are other commentators that have already mentioned this. I just have not had time to read all of the comments to date.

Anyways, the film makers (And I would have to assume the graphic novel authors as well) have justified the redo by somewhat reversing the ending, whereby in the movie, the plot of the 'Architects of Fear', (One person in the film) succeeds in scaring the population of the Earth into Peace and Disarmament. This is contrary to the 'message' delivered at the end of the OL episode, if I remember at all correctly, that if there is to be true peace on Earth, that mankind much achieve it on his own. He can not be frightened into it by real or imagined threats from outside (Read alien, or superhuman).

The brief scene at the end of the movie, where the lead in for The Outer Limits was seen on a characters TV set confirmed to me the real origins of this film.

I admit that it took me a pretty long time to realize what I was seeing in the movie (basically a redo); but once I understood that, it pretty much turned me off of the film for the following reasons:

1: I agree with the ending of the television show; that if we ARE to survive, it will have to be by our own choosing and development as a race, and not the result of fear of an outside, more powerful, agency. A perfect example of this is the United State's response after 9/11. We were all in 'kumbaya' mode for all of about 6 months, Dems and Repubs working together, but it didn't take very long for us to forget about the threat, which is still out there, and go back to bickering amongst ourselves. True peace for all of the human race will have to be achieved from within. Personally, while understanding the difficulties we face, I am more optimistic that the human race WILL succeed in avoiding destroying itself.

2: As I said above, the ending of the movie 'somewhat reverses' the outcome of the original Outer Limits episode. I felt that the last minute of the movie DID leave open a door for mankind's reversion of attitude; which meant that the deaths of millions of people would have been for nothing. Yuck.

3: Too much extreme violence, just for the sake of shocking the audience. All right already, we get it; you can spill blood and break bones in slow mo.

4: The fact that it is a weak revision of something that has clearly already been done.

If you haven't seen the Outer Limits episode this story is based on, then it's not too bad a film. If you have seen the original, this is just a flashy, expensive, waste of time and money.

Vertical Limit (2000)

One of the Worst Movies Of All Time

[1/10 · 15 July 2006]

This has to be one of the worst, over-emoted, cheese filled films of all time. This thing has got more schmaltz in it than ALL of the Chick Flicks girlfriends past/present have ever dragged me through.

Poor Ed Viesturs looked embarrassed to death as he somehow agreed to malign his own personal character in this turkey of a film. His only saving grace is that there can not be too many people that actually remember his 'performance'.

Maybe people actually gasp like this above 26,000 feet, but you can't watch it for minutes on end. I was actually rooting for Robin Tunney's character to die, so sick was I of seeing that wide-eyed, wide-mouthed look of panic on her face.

Fortunately for myself, I only had this on as background noise while I performed real work at home. I can not imagine the horror of being trapped in a theater while this was playing.

And the situations. There were more unbelievable, Rube Goldberg type accidents, or death caused through stupidity, than even the dumbest of schlock horror films.

If you're fit enough, and want to try it, by all means train and go mountain climbing. Don't let this joke of a film scare you away.

If you like to laugh at unintentionally hysterical over-acting, this film is for you.

If you like action films, and want to be genuinely entertained, do yourself a favor and don't allow a quantum particle of reflected light generated by this junk to reach your eyes.

Acting: The Worst - Overemotional, Not A shred of control exhibited by either the actors, and by extension, the director.

Plot: On Paper, Marginally Believable - As Depicted On Screen, Grade F- Silly.

Action Scenes: Judging by the characters lack of luck in this movie, I doubt that they could get out of bed without winding up in the hospital, let alone actually making it to the mountain.

Overall: 0/10 - Feed it to the shredder.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

You Must Suffer From ADD In Order To Think This Mess Is Good

[1/10 · 1 July 2006]

*** Spoilers *** Although I do not read the comics any more, it was obvious to me that the producers of this movie attempted to jam months, if not years, of plot/character development into a single 90 minute incomprehensible jumble.

Jean Grey went from a total heroine in X-Men 2, to an unexplainable disaster, with only a 2 minute techno-babble spout by Professor X to lamely attempt to justify this change. I'll bet dollars to dough-nuts that the comics took months, if not longer, to effect this change. And I'll also bet that there was a h*ll of a lot more of a battle for her soul than was portrayed here. In this movie, they actually outdid ID4 for the dubious record of 'The briefest time spent on true emotion in a major motion picture'.

In ID4 it consisted of two lines:

"Mommy sleeping?" "Mommy's sleeping."

In X-Men 3 it was something like:

"Professor, Save me!" Just before she killed him. How deep. How thorough. How riveting. No Cliff Notes Required, None Needed.

If you think that this passes for good movie making, then I suspect that you have never read a real novel in your life. A good movie should develop like a good novel, with real plot development, with believable reasoning behind a character's actions. Not just an impossible personality reversal for the soul purpose to set up another special effects sequence/battle, and nothing else.

This movie was pure garbage. What did we get in the end? Cyclops, dead. They made him out to be a total loser. Professor X, Dead. There goes the most fully developed, strongest character of the entire series. Jean Grey, Dead, in the arms of Wolverine, and why Oh why didn't Wolverine's powers revive her as they did Rogue in X-Men? Can you say, 'Continuity Error'??????

And what did we get in the End End? Why, the realization that Magneto's powers are coming back. In other words, The Cure is not The Cure, and the conflict between Humans and Mutants will certainly go on, only with a good chunk of the most enjoyable characters gone. So nothing but meaningless death happened. What a waste of time.

The concepts so ineptly presented here should have been brought out skillfully over the course of 2 more 2 hour movies, not this 10 pounds of excrement in a 5 pound bag.

Turbulence (1997)

Do Not Watch This Movie

[1/10 · 1 February 2006]

This has got to be one of the 5 worst movies ever unleashed upon the world. It is stupid beyond belief. Thankfully, my TV is on for 'noise only' while I work from home, because no one should spend a single second of their life on this mess if they have anything. even remotely worth doing.

I have to print at least ten lines. There is nothing else that needs to be said about this movie that I have not already said.

I have to print at least ten lines. There is nothing else that needs to be said about this movie that I have not already said.

I have to print at least ten lines. There is nothing else that needs to be said about this movie that I have not already said.

Wolfen (1981)

A badly misunderstood, Nearly Great Movie

[9/10 · 17 July 2005]

I understand why some people do not like this movie, but I think that it tackles its fantasy subject WITHOUT going over the edge into silly unbelievability. Finney and Hines are great, James Horner music is always welcome, and they pull off an extremely difficult movie about as well as possible. I defy any of the critics of this movie to do much better with the subject. Yeah, you can complain about the Olmos' character's portrayal of the American Indian, and nit pick about other things, but this movie stayed true to its premise, it did NOT lose its way, and it wraps it up in a consistent, coherent manner. I am a capitalist at heart, but even I had to side with the Wolfen, at least a little bit, and to cheer Finney's character's solution. This was pure détente, baby.

Fireball XL5 (1962–1963)

Star Trek Precursor

[30 May 2004]

Loved this show as a kid. It definitely shaped my interest in Sci Fi. Also, the theme songs still strike a chord with me, no matter how dated they are! They are simply great in their tone and straight-forward sincerity.

Also, as a Star Trek fan, I can not help but wonder if Roddenberry had not been influenced by the XL5 design. After all, the saucer section of the original Enterprise was detachable, just as XL5's nose, even though they never showed it in the original series. Mention was made of it once, when Kirk told Scotty to 'Break out of there with the main section, if you have to', or something along those lines, when the machine Val was pulling the Enterprise down from orbit.

XL5 FOREVER!