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marshy65
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La Brea (2021)
Good cheesy fun
So I binge watched the whole series when it was launched in the UK yesterday. I was expecting not to like it but I was very pleasantly surprised.
The series is a kind of The Lost World/Lost/The 100 combo. The plot is both character and situation driven with plenty of tense moments. No the acting isn't Oscar worthy but it's not bad and let's face it, the show isn't aiming to be Shakespeare and trust me I've seen far worse!
Minus points - certain situations that stretch credulity, the special effects (while not as bad as SyFy channel effects) still look cheap at times and, while still being watchable, the story loses some steam in the last 3 episodes.
There are enough loose threads left make a second series although I have my doubts this would be as good but Ill still watch it if one does come to be.
And those of you comparing this to SyFy channel movies, shame on you! How can anything be as bad as Martian Land and any of the Sharknado movies!
Scream (2022)
Average at best
I had high hopes for this movie after seeing the trailer and, for me at least, it got off to a promising start but after about 40 minutes it lost all of it's originality.
The original Scream was a simple yet well scripted horror. From Scream 2 the series tried to be a cross between a genuine teenage slasher horror and a send up of the genre and it doesn't work as both. From the 40 minute mark onwards Scream 5 attempted this combination again in the worst way of all the 3 preceding movies. Be a horror or a horror send up, don't try to be both. If you want to see how a real send up of this genre is done watch Scary Movie.
The movie does have it's good points. The attack/ fight back scenes are well carried out and the kills are spectacularly bloody in this movie. The way the original characters were brought back was well done. There is also a particularly good scene with a character wandering around their house doing everyday things which cranks up tension as you expect Ghostface to jump out at any second.
Personally I hope the series ends here or is at least rebooted as what it's meant to be .... a good old fashioned teenage slasher movie.
The Last Templar (2009)
Great novel, shame about the TV adaptation
I came across this on YouTube by accident and as I'd enjoyed the novel I gave it a look. The result, three hours of my life I'll never get back!
The budget was obviously low and the acting is incredibly bad. It comes off as a kind of action comedy and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the intention. There is zero chemistry between the two main characters. Not sure if it's because they overact so incredibly or if they're overacting to try to create it (and failing miserably). This also contributes to it coming over as an action comedy.
What on earth are actors like Victor Garber, Mira Sorvino and Omar Sharif doing in this? Were they really so badly in need of work? Or maybe they believed it would be better than it ended up being.
The novel was a page turning action conspiracy thriller with great characters. This TV adaptation is a travesty. Raymond Khoury must be uttering plausible denials about why he sold the movie rights.
No Time to Die (2021)
Disappointing
Great action sequences, good looking actors and great chemistry between James Bond and Madeleine Swann, those are the high points. A disappointing, hard to follow plot, bad acting and a very under developed villains' role let it all down.
My personal high point - Ana De Arnas kicking ass, doing martial arts moves and handling numerous guns in a long black dress and high heels. A shame she didn't have more of a role.
Prooi (2016)
Terrible!
Perhaps it didn't help that I could only watch this movie in dubbed English, dubbed voices rarely work in foreign movies, subtitles are better.
The movie is billed as a horror comedy by Amazon and that's it's biggest failure. The comedy aspect doesn't work, it needs to be a pure horror/creature feature. The better parts of the movie were definitely the serious parts where the authorities were hunting the lion.
The acting was .......bad! Perhaps it would be better if I heard it in dutch, the dubbed english voices certainly didn't work. There is absolutely no chemistry between the male and female lead. Authority figures are all depicted as buffoons. Perhaps the one actor who did do a good job was the guy who played the lead cop (Rienus Krul i think his name is) who carries off the role of a cop out of his depth hunting lions instead of criminals.
But the biggest acting faux pas is Mark Frost as Jack, the expert hunter. Being English myself, his portrayal of his English "aristocratic" hunter is deeply offensive to me. I can laugh at the English people but his parody is just offensive the English nation. Parodies and send ups of different nationalities have been done before, very well and very funnily (such as Allo, Allo, which parodies French, English, Germans and Italians). I can understand even better now how black people feel about Black Lives Matter.
There are some good features to this movie. The CGI lion was very well done and the chase on the moped works well. The scene on the tram was ok, but could have been done better.
If I find the movuie in dutch I'm prepared to watch it and see if I change my opinion but I will still hold onto my ioinion that the comedy aspect doesn't work.
Red Dot (2021)
Decent Thriller
A pretty decent movie which makes the most of a very simple plot. A young couple go on a hiking trip in the Swedish mountains in winter and end up being chased through the wilderness by an unknown killer or killers. They have to fight to survive in the freezing conditions in just the clothes they stand up in and evade their pursuers.
The tension is kept ramped up as the two main characters suffer injuries, battle physical obstacles and exhaustion and try to escape from their tormentors . These pursuers are only seen first of all as the red dots of a snipers rifle and the sound of snowmobiles in the dark and then as shadowy figures in a snowstorm.
Who are they? Well we can guess who it isn't....too obvious. We can guess who is involved.....again obvious. This is where the movie loses some points. But then there is the final plot twist which is well executed and reveals not only the who but the why and earns the movie back some points.
The movie is pretty well acted overall, although there are some places where it seems like they are just reciting their lines as memorised from the script. Probably the best performance is the barman when he greets David and Nadja and the main villain (not revealing who this is) when they reveal themselves.
The movie is pretty violent and there is a lot of bloodshed. The redness of the blood is emphasised against the whiteness of the snowy conditions. People don't just bleed, blood splatters and spurts and drips in great drops. Although this movie is listed by IMDb as horror it leans more towards thriller, albeit a violent one.
The filming and cinematography are well executed with amazing shots of breathtaking surroundings and great flight sequences through frozen forests.
All in all, worth watching.
Wszyscy moi przyjaciele nie zyja (2020)
Sick, vulgar, bloody and hilarious!
I watched this on Netflix, at first thinking it was a horror movie before realising it was a black comedy, emphasis on black! The story is set around a New Year's Eve party which results in various sexual encounters, the consequences of which to violence and bloody murder. It could be a Hollywood comedy blockbuster set in suburban America but, in my opinion, the nouveau rich Polish setting works much better for it. The result is a much darker version of American Pie and maybe a morality tale about people having to face up to the consequences of their actions and also a humerous look at interpersonal relationships, both romantic and platonic. A word of warning though.....this movie is for people with a certain sense of humour, don't watch it if you're easily offended. Personally I laughed all the way through it.
Tian · Huo (2019)
Blockbuster!
Just watched this movie on DVD and have to say I was impressed despite the formulaic storyline ...... "dormant" volcano, estranged father and daughter central characters with a background of personal tragedy, scientist who no one believes, arrogant businessman, luxury resort built at bottom of volcano, "dormant" volcano erupts resulting in mayhem, destruction, endangered tourists and local villagers, spectacular special effects and highly improbable narrow escapes which defy the laws of physics and nature.
The movie nods strongly towards Dante's Peak and the old 1970s disaster movie When Time Ran Out. It's not Shakespeare or a classic but it's not pretending to be. It's escapism and entertainment. At only 90 minutes long the action starts pretty early on at 34 minutes and continues at a relentless pace. The first 34 minutes establish who's who, relationships between characters and also contain a very unique marriage proposal. I have seen reviews slating the special effects but I disagree strongly ..... the special effects are amazing, on par with a Hollywood blockbuster as does the filming and cinematography. There is also a rousing musical score, the main theme and opening credits rank among some of the best movie openings ever in my humble opinion. The three female main characters all provide great eye candy too.
The Chinese have made some great movies and TV shows over the years. This is no exception and had it been made in Hollywood may have been promoted as a blockbuster release.
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Well we liked it!
OK, so the movie is not without it's faults. what movie is? My partner and I saw this on it's opening weekend and we enjoyed it and we're old enough to remember the original Star Wars movies.
The plot is really quite simple. The Resistance is trying to escape the First Order and keeps encountering obstacles at every turn, from without and within,as it attempts to outrun the enemy fleet. Finn and new girl Rose are trying to to disable the tracking device on the enemy flagship which requires them to locate a master criminal on a distant planet. Rey is trying to recruit a disillusioned Luke Skywalker back to the Resistance and discover her place in the grand scheme of things and discovers a connection with Kylo Ren via the force.
The special effects and stunts are amazing as usual with a mix of space battles, ground battles, gunfights and physical fights. There is a sense of tension as the Resistance keeps being thwarted in it's escape and at the struggle between Poe and Holdo as to what is the best solution. This is kept running right up to the end of the movie. There is an attempt to make the connection between Rey and Kylo Ren ierotic as each attempts to turn the other to their side. A new character, Rose, is introduced into the story and her backstory and place established well.
BB-8 provides some comic relief as does Chewbacca's relationship with the little birds on Luke's island.
Now for the faults. Who is Snoke? Where did he come from and how did come to be leader of the First Order? He doesn't really serve a purpose. Leia survives being blasted into space without a mark on her and her hair and dress are immaculate lol. The relationship between Luke and Kylo Ren, in my opinion, needs fleshing out more. The "erotic" connection between Rey and Kylo Ren was a good idea but doesn't come off due to the lack of chemistry between to the two actors. Rey's escape from the flagship needs to be shown and not just explained with one line, There is a distinct lack of one liners due to an attempt to create a darker atmosphere but this doesn't come off.
Die hard fans, remember we have moved on forty years in real time and thirty years in the story. It's going to be different. There is plenty to enjoy in this move in my opinion. And if you want to see a disgrace to the Star Wars saga you can always The Phantom Menace.
World War Z (2013)
Well we enjoyed it
I saw this movie yesterday with my partner and we both enjoyed it. We took this film for what it is: essentially an action film with rabid, infected victims.....but for the sake of the review we'll call them zombies. The whole movie nods towards a 28 Days Later style of infection than towards zombies.
The formula for this movie is very easy to follow. Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane,a devoted family man who just happens to be a former UN troubleshooter who is coerced into racing around the world trying to find a cure for a zombie pandemic that is sweeping the globe. The leverage for this is that if he doesn't help, his family removed from the safety of the US navy ship on which they are taking refuge.
The strength of this film is the fast and furious nature of the plot and the action scenes involving the hordes of zombies overrunning major cities, a military base in Korea and, just when you think Gerry Lane and his Israeli female soldier companion are safe, an airliner in flight. Finally there is the final section of the movie where Gerry and companions have to fight their way through a research facility filled with zombies to get to the potential cure.
The scene itself is set pretty quickly with Gerry Lane and his family having a normal breakfast time while the TV plays news of a rabies epidemic and martial law being declared somewhere in the far east before the zombie epidemic and all hell breaks loose while they are stuck in rush hour traffic. First of all we see the family struggling to survive as a unit, then after they reach the safety of the US Navy fleet at sea, we see Gerry being sent off around the world in order to ensure his family stays safe. After the aforementioned airliner crashes and UN lose contact with him, his family are removed from the ship to a refugee camp and we are then left to wonder if they are safe for the remainder of the film.
Conversely, the fast nature of the plot also works against the movie. At times the plot seems very rushed to get from action sequence to the next and at times the camera-work is so fast it makes it difficult to follow the action. Supporting characters could also be developed more (the movie is essentially a Brad Pitt vehicle and all about his character) in particular Gerry's wife Karin, the UN official Thierry, the Israeli soldier Segen and the chief WHO doctor at the welsh research facility (who doesn't even have a name!).
There are also some very clear holes in the plot. Why build only a single protecting wall around Jerusalem when there were so many zombies outside and how were the uninfected refugees actually getting in through all these zombies? What happened to the Israeli government official following the Jerusalem outbreak (given that he seemingly has such an important, if brief, role in the movie)? How were the zombies allowed to get over the wall given there were so many armed helicopters flying over it? How did a grenade thrown on board an airliner do so little damage to the plane?
My advice would be go to see this film expecting an action flick rather than a stock zombie film. It's 2 hours of popcorn munching fun and escapism. It's certainly not an Oscar winner and not pretending to be. Oh, and i've never read the book so I can't compare it to that.
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Well I thought it was good
I have just watched the film on DVD and what a shame I didn't see it at the cinema....the special effects would have been awesome viewed on a large screen and heard through their sound system.
So the performances weren't Oscar material. They're not meant to be and anyone expecting that seriously needs to reviews their expectations of what they look for in this kind of film. It's good, honest escapism style entertainment and doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is. There's been a lot of criticism of Christian Bale as John Connor-personally I thought he was pretty good and carried of the role of a resistance leader pretty well. Sam Worthington was probably the best performance as Marcus although we probably all saw the revelation that he was a terminator coming a mile off. I would have liked to have seen more of Kate Connor seeing as she was so important in Terminator 3 and Moon Bloodgood's role could have been developed more. As it was felt these ladies were just there to inject a bit of female presence into the film.
The action scenes and visual effects were brilliant edge of the seat stuff and there were some nice touches during the film such as "come with me if you want to live" said by Kyle Reese to Marcus;"I'll be back" said by John to Kate Connor; Marcus as the terminator who didn't want to be a terminator (his distress at finding out was brilliantly portrayed); and of course the Arnie lookalike terminator towards the end of the film.
To sum up i'd say "does exactly what it says on the tin"......ie entertain!
Poseidon (2006)
Not brilliant but OK
Having just seen Poseidon at the cinema this evening I would like to say OK,it's not a brilliant film but it's nowhere near as bad as some earlier reviewers would have us believe. Bear in mind that it is presented as an action film and we don't go and see those expecting Oscar winning performances.
Having said that,it is clear that Wolfgang Petersen wants to get straight into the action and as a result the film feels rushed disjointed for the first half. After that we can concentrate on the escape story and the main characters.I will agree with others that character development has been sacrificed for the sake of special effects and action which is a shame.For example,the gambler and the single mum had a real chemistry in the few lines they shared early on which could have been built up. Richard Dreyfus's character and the stowaway girl had a rapport between them that could also have been made more of. Even just 10 minutes extra pre-capsize running time could have added so much more to this.
But anyway,for me,the team of actors really comes together when they are struggling to escape the ventilation shaft which is filling with water and after that it is easier to care about their fate.
The film is,of a course,a special effects showcase and the team have done well with these.We get a shipwide view of the capsize although I would also have liked to see more of the main characters. And in their escape through the ship they face fire,water,dead ends,drops, dismemberment by giant propeller blades and even when they find a life raft they are threatened by the ship keeling over on them.Petersen has kept his team of survivors only just ahead of the rising water all through their escape which keeps the viewer on the edge of his seat and the relatively short running time is justified in this sense.
So yeah-worth going to see but not a patch on the original! Remember-go watch it as ab action movie and you won't be as likely to be disappointed. The are far worse ways to pass 1 hour 40 minutes.
Troy (2004)
Great spectacle,shame about the acting
Perhaps I am at fault for expecting too much from Troy given the apparent budget,scale of the production and the quality of many of the actors involved.But I found that as with many movies before it the best bits are in the trailer and the film itself does not live up to what has been promised.
Where Troy succeeds and what makes it good is that it is visually stunning.A massive fleet of CGI ships sails across the Aegean and thousands of Greek soldiers disembark on the beach at Troy.Huge armies of extras and CGI's face each other and do battle in brilliantly worked out battle scenes. The camera sweeps across the cityscape of ancient Troy making it look spectacular and one feels sadness that this going to be destroyed by the end of the film.
The sets too are impressive,particularly the walls of Troy and the palace and temple square give a sense of the splendour of the Trojan civilisation.Also impressive was the costume design with thought going into the design and detail of both the ordinary citizens and the military outfits.
Where Troy fails is with it's plot and character development.The basic storyline is there but is rushed along in order to set the scene for the next action piece and as a result the film becomes disjointed.Adding to this disjointedness is the inclusion of too many subplots.As a result very little screen time and is given to each and the plots are never given the time to develop.The only one which really develops is the romance between Achilles and Briseis.It would have been good to see more time given to the Helen/Paris/Menelaus love triangle(after all this was the root cause of the Trojan war)and the political subterfuge of Agamemnon to give the plot more intrigue which would in turn have given the dissension between Achilles and Agamemnon a greater depth.
Liberties have also been taken with the Illiad itself.For instance the 10 year siege has been wittled down into a matter of weeks,Menelaus and Agamemnon were not killed during the war while Paris was and Achilles was killed by Paris before the destruction of Troy.Achilles death before the end of the war,Paris's death and Helen and Menelaus being reunited would have added greatly to the films depth.
Certain scenes also smack of being borrowed.For instance,Achilles soldiers being slaughtered by Trojan archers when they land on the beach rings a bell with the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan and the subsequent shield grouping is borrowed from Gladiator.The duel between Paris and Menelaus is reminiscent of David and Goliath in the Bible.
Like the plot characters serve only to move the film along to the next action sequence.Characters are given very little to do except look anguished and utter lines about love,duty,honour and respect for the gods.This is particularly true for the women.The only female character who is given any real depth is Briseis as she moves from disdain for Achilles to love for him and being torn between that love and her loyalty to Troy.
There are also too many main characters.LOTR managed to pull this off.Troy does not.There is no feeling of connection between many of the characters and in particular the relationship between Helen and Paris lacks chemistry.
There are moments where the actors are allowed to do their stuff.For instance when Peter O'Toole as Priam asks Achilles for the body of Hector(this is also one of two scenes where Brad Pitt acts well) and when he looks out from the palace balcony at the destruction of Troy,sadness etched in his face.
Overall ,Troy is worth seeing just because of the sheer spectacle of it all but don't expect too much otherwise.Overall rating 5/10.