imseeg Reviews

Blood for Dust (2023)

Bleak and dark tale of violence and innocence...

[8/10 · 20 April 2024]

Beware, this movie starts out quite slow and uneventful, but it ends in a complete bloodbath of violence. And actor Stephen Dorff (the reason I chose to watch this movie) has only got a tiny supporting role of about 3 minutes, but nevermind that, because ALL the other actors involved delivered rock solid performances! I was really impressed!

Beware (a second time) that this is NOT a glorious, funny gangster movie, this is as bleak, true to life and depressing as it gets! But it definitely is one of the better crime dramas I have seen the last couple of months. Memories of The Coen Brothers come to mind...and that is about the highest compliment I can give!

The good: this movie has got a dark cloud of doom hanging over it, envisioned by the bleak photography and underscored with dark and twisted music. From the start till the very last breath, this movie oozes slowburning despair, hidden evil and violent chaos, but somehow this movie is about innocence as well...somehow this movie succeeds in letting evil turn into something good and wholesome...

The story: a desperate salesman, in financial dire straits, who cant support his family and his sick son, takes on a job with the mob. He "only" has to drive a bag of drugs towards a delivery point and collect the money for it. All things spiral out of control in a vicseral vicious and violent way I havent seen come along in a while.

Wow, terrific direction, solid acting performances, vicious storyline, what a great movie! I dont dare reommend this sort of hardhitting movie to my friends or family, but only to those who can stumach a slowburning ACTOR's movie, which is as bleak, violent, depressing and dark as it can get...

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

Supposedly a horror movie? Really?

[3/10 · 20 April 2024]

This story sounded interesting and it made me curious enough to wanna see this movie. How disappointed I was...

The bad: supposedly a horror movie, which it is definitely NOT. It has ZERO suspense or thrill and I mean really absolute zero. What is it then? It's a really incredibly tedious portrait of a seventies talk show that isnt doing well in the ratings. And that's it.

Endless talking heads sitting in this talkshow talking to each other, with NO point at all. And the actors ALL fail to impress me. The leading actor is completely void of any charisma.

What was the point of this movie? I got beyond bored, beyond sleepy, beyond annoyed by this total lack of spark and punch.

Problemista (2023)

"Problemista" has got some problems...

[5/10 · 20 April 2024]

Problem nr 1: it aint really funny. It wants to be quirky and weird and really tries hard to deliver the jokes, but they just dont land, they just dont make me laugh. Not even an smirk.

Problem nr 2: the chaotic and disjointed storyline just left me behind feeling disappointed and confused.

Problem nr 3: the actors. I am a HUGE fan of Tilda Swinton and because of this I had been waiting for months for this movie to be released. And I must admit that her performance just did not impress me. Not bad for sure, but a bit over the top.

The leading actor however was really mediocre (at best), which was quite annoying because the entire story evolved around him and him alone.

Not recommended, not even for the Tilda Swinton fans, of which I am one.

Executive Decision (1996)

Die Hard in an airplane! Suspenseful. Fun. Action packed. Nice!

[7/10 · 18 April 2024]

Kurt Russell fighting terrorists on a plane! Yippikayee! Heavily leaning on the succesful Die Hard format, which was a HUGE worldwide boxoffice hit a few years earlier. Lots of similarities with Die Hard, which isnt a bad thing at all...

The good: all a grown up boy needs in an action packed blockbuster: a vicious bad guy, a great hero (Kurt Russell), lots of slowburning suspense, a few good jokes and tons of action!

Any bad? Well, I feared the worst, because many (MANY) cheesy airplane disaster movies have been made, but besides a few dated special effects and a few corny plot turnes this is still one heck of an enjoyable airplane terrorist flick. Solid 7 stars! Recommended for the fans of this genre!

U.S. Marshals (1998)

Nothing extraordinary, but it pushes the right buttons!

[7/10 · 18 April 2024]

The sequel to the (better) first movie (The Fugitive), but this one will certainly do as well...

The good: you want action? You got action. This is simply a well made action packed movie which wont surprise you, but it has enough heroism, double crossing, shootouts and chases to entertain me for the full 2 hours.

More good: we have got the always solid Tommy Jones, who does an excellent job as the head honcho in charge of capturing a fugutive, played by Wesley Snipes.

Any bad? This sequel has got quite a few scenes that lack in credibility. Several plot turns are quite cringeworthy because they dont ring true at all. But these are only minor gripes I had, which didnt prevent me from thoroughly enjoying this action flick!

Angel Heart (1987)

I remembered something was fishy with this movie and now I know what it is...

[4/10 · 15 April 2024]

The good: a terrific bunch of actors, with Alan Parker directing. I was all in for this movie. BUT I remembered (having seen it decades ago) that something was wrong with this movie and after half an hour I noticed what the problem was...

The bad: the story is gibbledigook nonsensical. Now there are a lot of stories that dont make sense, but still do thrill or mesmirize, but none of that...

It supposedly is a DEEP and MYSTERIOUS story about the devil, but it ended up flexing my laughing muscles, because it all looked SO SILLY while it was definitely meant to be taken very seriously.

All these terrific actors and the wonderful director Alan Parker as well, all have made several terrific movie classics before and after this movie, but Angel Heart was definitely a flop at the boxoffice and for good reasons...

Renegade (2004)

Terrific actors, wonderful direction, but somehow it didnt become one.

[14 April 2024]

Difficult to rate this movie (therefore I didnt), because this movie has a lot going for it, but it somehow just didnt excite. And I know the main reason why!

The bad: I am a big fan of the French actor Vincent Cassel, who is a huge legendary star in his homecountry. I have only one BIG problem with Vincent Cassel and that is his terrible French accent when he tries to speak English. He tries to masquerade his French accent with a thick fake American accent but it doesnt work (for me it doesnt).

Everytime I hear Vincent Cassel speak English I cringe a bit. And they even gave him as few as possible lines to speak, but it nonetheless ruined this entire movie for me.

Not any good then? Hold on, this movie looks the part, with eyedroppingly gorgeous photography and a beautiful soundscore. The other actors are really great and worth watching. The direction is out of wack. Such a pity it just didnt become one solid movie.

Give it a try if you are into SURREAL Westerns, because this movie is so much more than another straight forward Western, because it has got lots of Indian mystique and lucid dreams that dont make much sense but are quite mesmirising and intrigueing...

Surreal Western which has got some flaws, but also some goodies, probably best suited for the arthouse movie fan of surreal stories.

Damaged (2024)

I am a big fan of both Samuel L Jackson AND Vincent Cassel, but this movie flopped.

[4/10 · 13 April 2024]

I had to see this movie, because it featured two of my favorite actors, Samuel L Jackson and Vincent Cassel, but what disappointment it all turned out to be...

The bad: this movie was cheaply made and it shows! Everything from photography to sound and supporting actors looks and is mediocre. The only good thing going for it are these 2 stellar actors, but even they cant elevate a cheaply made product into something worht watching.

More bad: there is NO real supsense or thrill. And that is the whole point of this sort of movie. It should have been exciting, but it turned into quite a sleeping pill. And what's with Vincent Cassel trying to talk English? Kinda cringeworthy...

The Crimson Rivers (2000)

Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel deliver!

[8/10 · 13 April 2024]

The good: what joy to watch these two legendary great French actors work together as a couple of detectives! Great chemistry! They both are THE reason I started watching this movie and it was all I hoped for.

The story starts out slow, but steadily increases in suspense AND thrill. I have seen it several times now and it is still a rock solid crime movie, with some witty moments and a few horrific ones.

Any bad? The final is a bit silly and over the top, which didnt really suit the spirit of this movie, but it can be forgiven.

The story: 2 (out of control) detectives have to solve a serial killer mystery that seems to be of the supernatural kind at first or are they being deceived? Duh!

Light (II) (2024)

Cheap and inferior copycat.

[1/10 · 10 April 2024]

Deep sigh. Believe me I really didnt want to review this movie, but it was SUCH a disappointment that I had to WARN others who might make the mistake to actually pay for this cheap and inferior copycat.

The bad: bring a search light, because this movie is SO incredibly sparsly lit (no pun intended) that you dont see much at all during the ENTIRE movie. Using dark lighting techniques is an effective way of covering up that there is no money available for good looking sets. But they went to the extreme with these dark looking sets. Terribly annoying to watch!

The really bad: let's forget about the fact that one cant see anyhting, let's judge what we CAN see in the dark and that is these actors trying to perform in HELMETS all the time. Oh man, does this look silly.

Please avoid. You have been warned. This is nothing more than a cheap and inferior copycat of other much better scifi movies.

Civil War (2024)

They cant make such a lame story thrilling, no matter how hard they tried...

[4/10 · 10 April 2024]

Beware: dont be fooled by the trailer, because this is NOT a thrilling action movie, because the action scenes are quite lame and not thrilling at all. What is it then? It's a (artsy fartsy looking) moralistic story about the press (Kirsten Dunst) being "the white knight on a horse", defending democracy, in a time when the Amercian president (big hint at Tr*mp) refuses to leave the White House.

The bad: what's really laughable (and I mean REALLY laughable) is that we get to see FOTO journalists, who are directly in the line of fire ALL the time, BUT they never get hit! Neverrr! What miracle! Only at the very end, (for "dramatic" effect), 2 of these FOTO journalists AND the president get shot and that's the end of this entire lame movie as well.

The story in it's entirety is quite tedious actually. And repetitive. We get to see Kirsten Dunst as a FOTO journalist travelling by car with some other FOTO journalists from New York to Washington DC (about 800 miles). They travel. They travel some more. They shoot many (MANY) pictures with their FOTOcameras of soldiers fighting (mediocre CGI effects). And then they travel some more...NO real thrill. NO suspense. NO real drama. NO surprises. It just toddles along...

Not any good then? It's not a B-movie. They put money into this! It's photographed as if it were a slick commercial, with lovely fuzzy lighting techniques of nature and humans caring about each other, with serene, soothing music in the background. We get to see FOTO journalists CARE about America. We get to see democracy being defended and WIN in the end. And we get to see an evil president being shot. Justice prevails! If you are into that, be my guest and have a go at watching it!

The Three Musketeers - Part II: Milady (2023)

This sequel (in this trilogy) was the lesser one, but still worth a watch

[7/10 · 6 April 2024]

I love a good knights movie and I was really pleased with the first part of this trilogy, (which I saw a year ago), however this sequel was a bit underwhelming compared to the first part.

The bad: many new characters were introduced in this second part and these new characters took away much of the screentime from the 3 musketeers. Besides that disappointing fact, the build up of the story was less tightknit and less riveting and fun compared to the first part. I blame the writer...

Beware: better watch the first part closely before watching this sequel, because I had some troubles remembering who was who and what had happened beforehand.

The good: it's still worth a watch though, because of the great actors, the great photography and the passionate story, however disjointed in some moments.

Just a solid knights movie, recommended for the fans of this genre.

Knox Goes Away (2023)

Solid performance by Michael Keaton, but this story just would not catch fire...

[5/10 · 6 April 2024]

I am big fan of Michael Keaton and he was THE reason I wanted to check this movie out. His performance was rock solid! In an understated, subtle way Michael Keaton made his character (suffering from fast deteriorating dementia) come across as sympathetic and true to life, BUT...

The bad: this story simply would not catch fire. It would not become thrilling or suspenseful or really mesmirising. The opposite was kinda true actually, because at moments this was quite a tedious watch.

More bad: the supporting actors arent terrible, but they surely arent great either. And that matters, because there is no real chemistry between Michael Keaton and the other actors.

Beware: this is NOT a thrilling crime / gangster drama. It is a well made portrait though of a hired gun with dementia that never really catches fire though. There I said it for a third time!

The Patriot (2000)

It isnt meant to be funny, but it is...

[4/10 · 31 March 2024]

The bad: Mel Gibson trying to act seriously did provoke my laughing muscles. It definitely is not meant to be a comedy, but Mel Gibson's performance just is NOT the right choice for this story.

After having so many big blockbuster comedy hits in the nineties, Mel Gibson wanted to be taken seriously. BAD idea Mel! The guy is good at mischievous funny characters, or stereotype macho characters, but he aint no good at serious dramatic acting. I cant help it, but I had to chuckle many times when he tried to act seriously any ways.

Dont get me wrong I am a big Mel Gibson fan. I love his comedies and his action packed thrillers as well. I really do. But every actor has it's good sides and bad sides and acting seriously is just not what Mel Gibson was gifted with....

We Were Soldiers (2002)

Disappointing...

[4/10 · 31 March 2024]

What can I say? This movie was quite a disappointment. I expected to see thrilling warfare, I expected to see subtle drama, I expected to see a fascinating story. But NONE of that...

The bad: some movies work, some movies fail. What went wrong when making this movie. I blame the direction and the writing. I mean come on, when making a war movie, at least get the action scenes thrilling, but none of that. They looked quite lame. This isnt a war movie first, this is more of a chick flick, with way too many soft "drama" scenes of wives sobbing about their husbands. That's no basis for an entire movie. But they tried anyway. And failed!

Signs (2002)

Great start, disappointing ending. The terrific acting performances make it worth while a watch.

[6/10 · 31 March 2024]

Director Shyamalan is known for his suspenseful, mysterious and spooky plots. But he is ALSO known for letting these plots implode by disappointing plot turns later on in the movie that completely erases the whole feeling of mystery that he had build up so carefully.

This movie is no different. I have seen it several times. And EVERY time I am disappointed when the truth about "the mystery" is revealed towards the end.

The good: what's still worth while to watch is the start of the movie, when one cant yet explain or understand why certain things are happening.

More good: the acting performances are really solid. How couldnt they be, with such great actors like Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix!

Mixed bag. Promising, suspenseful start. Disappointing ending. If you can live with that, go ahead and give it a try!

The Beaver (2011)

There was an excellent movie burried in here...

[5/10 · 31 March 2024]

Somehow this interesting storyline did not come to fruition. All the ingredients were there, but it turned out to be a bit underwhelming...

The bad: I blame director Jodie Foster, who is an excellent actress, but who has only made mediocre directing achievements during her career. One can see that there is a much better movie burried in here somewhere, but director Jodie Foster did not succeed in bringing it out.

The good: the acting is solid though, how couldnt it have been, with 2 of these great actors starring in it. The storyline and the dialogues are good as well. So this is definitely not a flop or a silly misfire. BUT... it kept nagging me that were was no TRUE drama.

Mediocre directing attempt by Jodie Foster. Not terrible, but lacking...

The Singing Detective (2003)

How did it all go wrong...

[4/10 · 31 March 2024]

The original television series were fabulous, intrigueing, masterfully written AND performed. But this cheap copycat got it all wrong...

The bad: supposedly a comedy (while the original was NOT), but I did not laugh once. What's a comedy without any laughs I ask you!?

More bad: they over did it. They tried FARCE and it flew right back in their face. Making a good farce is very difficult, just being silly just doesnt cut it.

The actors are great and it is quite fun (for a LITTLE while) to see them act out these silly characters. Especially Mel Gibson's transformation into a baldheaded doctor is quite amusing for a LITTLE while. But one cant make a movie just by showing some silly characters.

To be avoided if one can. This is one heck of a MISFIRE. Good intentions for sure, BAD result!

Hustlers (2019)

NOT funny. NOT thrilling. NOT original.

[5/10 · 31 March 2024]

This was suppose to be a great movie, but I didnt laugh once, I didnt get surprised once, this movie was not terrible, but quite tedious to watch.

The good: we have got Jennifer Lopez, a great actress, who does deliver a solid performance. The other actresses are okay-ish, but nothing out of the ordinary. It's not their fault this movie kinda never took off...

The premise of this story was quite nice all right: let's steal money from rich bankers by drugging them at a titty bar. But they stole the money, they got caught and that was the end of this story. NO surprises. NO thrill. NOT original in any way.

45 minutes into the movie (finally) we get to see the start of this money stealing scheme. The first 45 minutes we only get to see lots of titty bar scenes with women dancing for money AND complaining that they dont earn enough. Nothing but that. Quite tedious.

But even WHEN after 45 minutes the drugging of these bankers started, it was still not riveting to watch.

Quite a bore of a movie.

Asphalt City (2023)

Claustrophic, hypnotizing, bleak and impressive portrait.

[8/10 · 30 March 2024]

I didnt expect much from this movie, since Sean Penn has been starring in several flops lately, but he has only got a smaller, supporting role now and fortunately he does act rather well this time around. The real leading role is reserved for Tye Sheridan though, who does an impressive job.

The good: from the get go we as viewers get overwhelmed with an orchestrated BARRAGE of disorienting and distorted sounds and visuals, masterfully depicting the intensely STRESSful life of an ambulance crew (Tye Sheridan and Sean Penn), who have to BATTLE the big city's jungle, working under incredibly strenuous conditions, in some of which they even have to FIGHT their way out of a building trying to save a patient's life.

Fireblazes, overdosed pregnant mothers covered in blood, children in shock who are refused help because their parents religion wont allow them to intervene. One after the other emergency situation gets washed over us viewers, nonstop, in a blistering videoclip styled pace.

What's good about this movie, (it's feverish, hypnotizing nonstop visual and sonic barrage of misery), that visual barrage is also it's weakest part, because this movie got a bit out of balance during the middle part, because there are too FEW breathers, in which the characters and not the visuals and sounds are on the foreground. This movie needed more character interaction half way through.

The start of this movie is ONE CONTINUOUS RUSH of witnessing LIFE and DEATH moments. And I got a bit overwhelmed by it, up to a point I wanted a breeze, a pause from all the mayhem. I got that pause, only to get hammered by a final that was even more hardhiting and emotional, but fortunately in a more balanced and satisfying way in which the CHARACTERS were central to the story. These final 30 minutes are really what made me award it with 8 stars!

NOT a cheery movie (pun intended). It has got a rewarding, even uplifting final though, but with a very DARK edge to it. Probably best (only?) suited for those die hard arthouse movie fans out there who can stumach (and appreciate) a bleak, hardhitting, depressing portrayal of big city's darkest side.

Fatman (2020)

Didnt expect it to be such a fun watch! Terrific Santa performance by Mel Gibson!

[7/10 · 27 March 2024]

Somehow I missed out on this picture when it was released. I feared the worst since Gibson has been starring in lots of flops lately, but this Santa movie is defnitely something else!

The good: it's not a laugh out loud comedy, not at all, it's more of bleak, dark satire on Santa. Several of such movies have been made and this is a rather welcome addition to this dark genre of bashing in children's dreams of Santa.

More good: Mel Gibson as a grumpy, run down Santa drowning in debt and having to make his elfs work for the army for petes sake to earn some extra cash. Gibson nails it! There is an excellent bad guy as well.

It's definitely NOT a young children's movie, but teenagers and adults, who are into this bashing Santa genre might have a good time.

Any bad? It's a bit slow at times. It could have been more over the top. But I liked it anyway, quite a lot actually!

Dangerous (III) (2021)

The son of Clint Eastwood starring alongside Mel Gibson! But what disaster it turned into...

[3/10 · 27 March 2024]

The good: we have got a witty role by Mel Gibson, as a wine sipping, pill popping psychiatrist who treats a violent mental patient (Scott Eastwood), who goes on a killing spree when he is attacked by gangsters.

Scott Eastwood does have a lot of similarities to his famous father. He has got some of the exact same looks, same way of body language (none) and he is a cool dude. He even co produced this movie, but what disaster it turned into.

The bad: NO thrill. NO suspense. The opposite is true. The few action scenes are quite terrible (almost laughably terrible). What's left? Nothing. Too bad for Scott Eastwood of whom I dont think badly as an actor, but the choices of starring in this movie was a dreadful one!

Hot Seat (2022)

Hilariously terrible!

[4/10 · 27 March 2024]

It's a B-movie. Treat it as such and one can have a laugh about how incredibly terrible this movie is. If one however tries to take this movie seriously then a huge headache is guaranteed.

The good: we have got Mel Gibson for petes sake! BUT unfortunately only in a starring role and that role isnt overwhelmingly good, but not terrible either. It's simply that the story is SO incredibly stupid that one cant anything seriously about it.

More "good": we have got the brother of Matt Dillon starring. And if you kwow goofball actor Matt Dillon, then imagine someone even sillier as the leading actor!

I managed to watch it through the end (skipping many parts), because I was curious HOW terrible this movie actually was. And 4 stars pretty much covers it!

Sleeping Dogs (2024)

Russell Crowe his performance is solid, but this ridiculous story ruined the entire movie

[5/10 · 24 March 2024]

The bad: a retired cop with Alzheimer who cant remember his own name NOW OUT OF THE BLUE is going to solve an old murder case! Get outa here! Whose gonna buy into such a ridiculous story. If you buy it, then enjoy the show...

The good; the acting aint bad at all, although there are quite a few mediocre supporting actors, but the leading actors all do perform well and Russell Crowe is still firing on all cylinders.

But in the end I must admit this movie was completely out of balance, because the basic story did not make sense. There was also a real lack of thrill or supsense. Definitely not recommended, although it aint a terrible movie either...

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

A word of warning for those with high expectations...

[4/10 · 24 March 2024]

I am a big fan of the original Ghostbusters and a lesser fan of some of the Ghostbuster sequels, but this is one sequel too many! This latest (and hopefully last) sequel has lost much of it's former glory AND fun...

The bad: humor is quite personal, I only can share my exeperience and I didnt laugh once. Not even a smirk or a smile! (And I laughed my head off with the original, just saying...)

More bad: yes, we do get to see a bit of the old Ghostbusters crew, but the original Ghostbusters crew are more in a supporting role now and Bill Murray's role was so small that I wondered why he even joined this sequel in the first place.

What we do get to see a lot of are a bunch of unknown young actors who cannot replace the excuberance and wit of Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd in their younger years.

BEWARE all you original Ghostbuster fans, this movie will be disappointing if your expectations are high. I would never dare recommend it to any of the fans of the original. You have been warned!!!

To all the other youngsters out there who have never seen the original Ghostbusters, my first advice would be to NOT watch this latest sequel, but instead watch the brilliant and hilariously funny original Ghostbusters from 1984!