Change Your Image
alopias1961
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
The Outpost (2019)
A war movie about a very historic and honorable battle....
...that I wish had been better portrayed. Of course I wasn't there, I just hope this is not accurately represented.
Starting with the horrible strategy to build a camp in a shooting gallery. The "greatest military in the world" with decades of experience somehow thought this was a good idea? I remember when this happened and could not believe that they put our brave military through this.
Then, concerning the production, many things leaped out at me as being unrealistic. One soldier pleasuring himself to a photo of the wife of one of his superiors? Did this happen? And if not, who the heck wrote it into the script?
The warnings by their Afghan attache that went unheeded? If this is Hollywood trying to make this a meatier film, it just comes off as more American military incompetence.
The script. The camp gets hammered by Taliban in a high tension firefight and ten minute later they are calmly strumming folk songs. Not preparing for the next onslaught "just in case".
The age old standard in American film making of one American can kill 20 enemies in seconds while 100 enemies can only kill a half dozen Americans in a half hour even though they are at a position advantage. (Schwarzenegger? Stallone?)
The acting. Nobody should be lining up for any Oscars. Although it was watchable, there were no really great acting performances that bubbled to the surface. Near the end with the soldier talking with the psychologist there was a glimmer of actual acting prowess, but the unlikely questioning by the doctor just torpedoed the whole scene.
The reviewers. "Finally a movie that is accurate". I hope not. "Give the whole cast Oscars". Maybe whoever was in charge of the sound, that was very good (Music, sound effects etc). "Possibly the best war movie I have ever seen". Watch more movies. I mean Saving Private Ryan? Gallipoli? Full Metal Jacket? Jeez there are DOZENS of better war films. Not necessarily dozens of depictions of true events, but this is a review of the quality of actual film making.
I will have the military crowd non film buff folks railing against this review but the best I can say is that I was able to watch it from beginning to end without giving up half way through.
Rich Man, Poor Man (1976)
Stands the test of time
I first watched this when it first came out 45 years ago. I thought about it often and how it impacted me over the years. In 2020 I decided to see if it was available for rent so my wife of 13 years could see it.
Well, it was as captivating now as it was then. We both recognized the "soap opera" vibe (because it WAS a TV mini series which required the soap opera workings of tempting you to watch the next chapter while reminding you of the last chapter. These were a week apart so they had to have those reminders.).
The story is a very believable tale of two brothers whose path in life takes on different, unexpected trajectories. Viewing it till the end really makes you understand the rich man/poor man concept may not be what you expected.
The acting in general was very good for a mini series but Nick Nolte, Peter Strauss, Susan Blakely, Bill Bixby and others really made this story believable. OK, I'll just say it: Nick Nolte and Susan Blakely knocked it right out of the park.
If you have the time for several chapters of semi dated but compelling story line and very good acting, this series is very worth it.
The Matrix (1999)
Predictable overrated garbage
Try to sit through this formula film. Aside from the special effects, which I guess were a big deal in their day, you will be subjected to the same old tired Hollywood formula of the protagonist being invincible and dodging every bullet, while the bad guys die by the dozen. The fight scenes are so bad. Example: One guy does the punching while the other guy just stands there absorbing the hits, Then they switch and the OTHER guy does the punching while the original guy just takes it. The martial arts scenes are so bad...I mean....don't rip off Bruce Lee from decades before and then produce WORSE kung fu fight scenes than he did. Supposedly set in the future but conventional weapons, aircraft, architecture etc seem to be the only things available. And then there is the appearance of unexplained weird creatures that just seem to be there to fill in the blanks of a weak story. Hey! It still has a great rating and got a bunch of awards! It must be me.
Bright (2017)
Read the reviews, still was disappointed.
I wanted to like this. The reviews promised I would. I like Will Smith. I like Scifi. I like action movies. What could go wrong?
Well....story line, effects, acting.
Very unbelievable plot using very tired themes. No originality. Will Smith playing Will Smith instead of Daryl Ward.
Sorry for the harsh review but I found myself being distracted by my surroundings because there were no compelling elements in the movie.
Extraction (2020)
If you like bang bang shoot shoot
Stamped from the same mold as so many other action movies; The protagonist seems to be bulletproof against dozens and dozens of trained swat team type fully armed enemies. He also has a seemingly endless cache of any kind of weapon you can imagine while traveling through a foreign country. If you like bang bang shoot shoot, this movie delivers.
Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018)
You wouldn't be watching this if you hadn't seen the first ones.
The whole franchise is defined by unbelievable plots, so so effects, bad acting and mindless entertainment. Nobody is lining up for Oscars and nobody ever claimed they were. Sooooo....for a 'Tremors' movie, this one was pretty good. The effects have gotten better. The girls have gotten prettier (sorry, that sucks but whatever). Hey, these movies last an hour and a half and are perfect sandwiched between more serious movies if you are on a binge. Sit back and relax or rent Citizen Kane.
Red Dawn (1984)
Really bad American filmaking
Even considering the era this film was produced, the plot, acting and effects are abominable. There is not a single believable moment in this train wreck. Two stars out of pity.