Luxxi Reviews

Horns (2013)

Meh

[5/10 · 5 October 2014]

OK, I've read the book and liked it. Not the greatest book I've ever read but good enough. So I guess my expectations were colored by the book.

And at first it was OK. Movie followed the book story. Not letter by letter, obviously, but close enough so that base was there. I understand some thing translate badly to the screen, some scenes don't help (flashbacks mostly) etc. Then around the middle it just goes off the rails and starts spinning its own tale.

And it's not just these deviations, it's that story starts going downhill once it does. Entire plot feels rushed, ending is bad and there is "point" in the end as there should be.

Overall you may like the movie on itself but if you've read the book that's not likely.

Screwed (2013)

So much wasted potential

[3/10 · 18 December 2013]

This movie could have been good. Not great but good enough so you feel you didn't waste time watching it. The plot is just silly enough to be good. People doing things do them so that they could be funny. Interactions could be funny. And some supporting characters are funny as they are. And while movie attempts to be different and not go for traditional happy ending it fails.

But it isn't. Bad acting and bad editing ruin everything. while movie has that distinct low budget-y feel that really isn't that bad. And even so some things work, like Nuclear family and weird black guy.

But overall it's wasted effort and you shouldn't waste your time with it.

Avatar (2009)

Good but not that great

[7/10 · 17 January 2010]

I agree, the effects are amazing and will certainly set new benchmark, same as "Terminator 2" and "The Matrix" did. The gray human ships/settlement vs colorful Pandora world is another nice touch, contrasting old, sick, technology obsessed world with new, pure one where all creatures live in harmony.

However once you look past that the story becomes somewhat illogical. the first thing I noticed is that this is "Dances with the Wolves" with a happy ending. Outsider sent to native lands, becoming one with them and taking their side in the end.

Next thing is that the ending isn't logical. sure, Na'vi won the battle, but looking objectively this is just a rerun of Zulu wars. Warriors are able to achieve one victory by combining their man(and women)power against small, isolated outpost and winning with weight of numbers, good tactics against superior weaponry. But as history shows, outsiders may suffer a setback and occasional defeat they can simply bring in reinforcements from their homeland, adapt to the environment and win with superior weaponry. Win couple of such battles, create a serious dent in natives man(and women)power and they simply cease to be big threat and become a nuisance, easily dealt with.

as Pandora is seen as critical place for Earth's economy such place will not be abandoned just because one battle was lost. so after Na'vi win humans simply return some time later, armed to the teeth and nuke Pandora then strip mine it. Hell, with genetic engineering as advanced humans could simply develop virus that would kill Na'vi but be harmless to humans, release it, wait for them to die then continue mining uninterrupted.

Overall I enjoyed the movie (despite irritating experience of wearing 3D glasses over my regular glasses) and am not sorry to see it. but I wouldn't consider it a great movie. Unfortunately people focus on the effects not the story. While the story undertones are clear (need to protect the environment, anti-militaristic message and so on) the plot soon falls into cliché. How many movies exist where a person from outside group is sent to native lands then adopts their ways and takes their side against his former group, either winning or loosing? "The Last Samurai" comes to mind as well.

Worth watching but if you want to see something more than just stunning special effects then nothing to be that excited about

My Sassy Girl (2008)

A pleasant surprise

[8/10 · 8 December 2008]

I'm not a huge fan of romantic comedies. I don't go around looking for them but if I stumble upon one I watch it. I got this one to pass away my night shift and didn't expect much except something mildly entertaining to pass away the time.

But it was a nice surprise and got more than I bargained for. It's not a great movie but it's OK to watch. I has several good laughs and when movie progresses you start to wonder what her deal is and why she act the way she does. It's good thing movie doesn't end up with cliché "love conquers all" but end is interesting and makes sense. Sure the twist is not something you'd expect from M. Night Shyamalan but is well done and when you think about it, rewinding it to scenes and story makes perfect sense.

Worth watching even if you are not a fan of genre.

Dance of the Dead (2008)

entertaining

[8/10 · 2 November 2008]

I didn't expect much from this movie and in the end I was pleasantly surprised. Granted it's not a great movie, something you'd expect from Romero, but it's fun. It's not gory, which is OK for me, but there are some very funny scenes and lines.

And even though it was obviously shot on small budget it doesn't get that cheap vibe but looks rather nice. Also the actors give good (again, not great) performance and not wooden you too often see in low-budget flicks with new faces.

If you get the chance to see it do so but keep your expectations realistic.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Disappointing

[4/10 · 1 November 2008]

I've never been a huge fan of IJ movies. Sure they were fun and if I saw one on TV I watched it again. So my expectations for this one weren't that great but I still somewhat feel let down.

Movie starts great. Bad guys who are really bad guys and you don't know their agenda, our hero in peril, friends that may or may not be friends and so on. And it stays that way about halfway through the movie.

It's downhill from there. Scenes that are supposed to be funny come out as idiotic, scenes that are supposed to keep you on the edge of your seat with expectations make you go "yeah, right" and so on.

And don't get me started on the ending where mystery of the skull is revealed. I got the feeling director was aiming for something like "Last crusade" only with better effects and CGI but what came out is overdone, idiotic ending. Less spectacular would be much better. While the explanation of skull origin and power is interesting but how it all ties in the end is badly done.

I'll give it 4/10 for first part and the fact that Ford can act. If you are hard-core IJ fan you may like it. If you are not wait for some TV to show it and don't waste your money on cinema ticket or DVD rental.

Stay Alive (2006)

Dear God, what a crappy movie

[1/10 · 1 October 2008]

Bad, bad movie. When I saw the synopsis I was expecting something like Ring only with video game instead of tape. Nothing of the sorts happened. I'll admit idea is interesting and could be turned into a good movie but this is not it.

First of all choosing real life person, countess Bathory, is stupid move that adds absolutely nothing to the story. Anybody even vaguely familiar with her story would begin to wonder why and how did this Hungarian noblewoman end up in this movie. Choosing a generic vengeful spirit would be much, much better.

Then there is whole you-die-in-real-life-as-you-die-in-the-game concept. As I said before interesting, Ring-like story. But instead of developing it into good story line it sort of just flows along with no explanation given why did this game became such as it is, why it was created and so on. Waste of good idea.

And finally this movie doesn't even have gory of funny parts that can if not save at least make crappy horror movies watchable. Death scenes are too quick and acting is too wooden to be funny.

Avoid if possible.

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

Dear Lord, what a bad movie

[4 June 2008]

When I saw the title I thought it was going to focus on Mary rather then more famous (infamous?) Anne but no. Then I thought, hey, maybe it will focus on relations between sisters but that is only partially true. Instead the movie starts with two sisters living together, then how they try to win king's attention then on Anne's story.

And all that crammed into 2 hours so expect things to start happening really fast, specially after Anne wins king's affection. In the end Mary takes a back seat and Anne is the focus so not really "the other" Boleyn girl.

I can understand that studios are trying to cash in on interest in Tudors (be it Elizabeth or The Tudors series) but this one is just first two seasons of said series condensed into 2 hours.

this movie had potential but was wasted on script that failed to focus on less-known parts of this story and instead after somewhat interesting start fell into retelling the known parts of this saga.

avoid if possible

Simon Says (2006)

bad, bad movie

[2/10 · 23 April 2008]

When I saw all these positive comments and talk about different movie I was expecting something similar to what Scream did for slasher genre or something like it. Boy was I disappointed.

Granted movie does have and interesting and unconventional opening but then it falls for every horror cliché around. Location, obviously. Middle of nowhere, woods. Characters are your typical group of teenagers. We don't know why they choose to camp there, we don't know who they are or practically anything about it. And you have your typical tight girl, your "friendly" girl, stoner/funny guy and so on. And of course the typical "I know there is something weird going on around here but instead of turning around and running away I'll keep poking around so I'll find bodies and body parts." While first such case is somewhat understandable the second one is beyond dumb.

Then we have death scenes. Not that gory but between dumb and impossible. When you think about them a bit you realize this is just not possible.

The ending is interesting, I'll give them that but one good moment simply can't fix overall bad impression this movie makes.

Avoid if possible

Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak (2006)

What a waste

[2/10 · 14 November 2007]

What a waste this movie is. It has good idea, showing Iraq war from Turkish perspective, focusing on overlooked minorities (Turkomen) and so on. But several minutes into the movie it becomes obvious that this is good idea gone bad.

I can overlook wrong military details (e.g. helmets, uniforms, weapons....) but this guys are supposed to be some super-duper special forces guys yet several times they get into situations by stupidity. If you are hiding somewhere have an escape route prepared in advance, choosing lousy sniping positions, waiting on a train in such way only blind person can miss you etc etc. If you are going to make a war movie hire some good advisers. cost will be more then repaid in quality in hence tickets. Not to mention that you get your typical Rambo fight with couple of good guys armed with pistols taking on a lot of bad guys with automatic rifles and winning easily.

Then there is a question about this American guy. Who is he supposed to be, Bush? Some actions (I won't say which ones as to not give the story away) can only be made by someone very high.

Instead of criticizing US policy in intelligent way it shows US troops as cowboys, their leaders as greedy criminals and some guys walk around in civilian clothes yet seem to be part of military. If they are supposed to be some sort of special forces this movie shows this in crappy way.

This movie had so much potential but was reduced to garbage.

Turistas (2006)

Waste of time

[2/10 · 2 March 2007]

this movie is bad. Granted, it's an interesting idea. Similar to Hostel but not the same. However the transition from an idea to movie stinks big time. At first the story doesn't progress anywhere. People are partying, talking, drinking etc etc. Basically doing everything that gets you killed in such movies. Then things start to go bad for them. You know it, they sense it but the story still doesn't go anywhere. It just drags on and on. Granted, there is some nice scenery but that's not what this movie should be about. Then, about 1 hour (or 2/3s) into the movie things start to go interesting. But after initial shock (for characters, you should see it coming) the story again stalls and doesn't go anywhere. There are some moments that are supposed to be tense and keep you on the edge of your seat (you know, the stereotypical scene in horror movies where characters are making an escape and there are bad guys around and you are kept in suspense whether they will make it or not). But they are not. Then you have the stereotypical escape but even this one drags on as well until it's done

This movie had so much potential but all was wasted by bad script and direction. If you liked Hostel you'll probably like this one as well. If you hated it (like I did) you'll hate this one as well.

Wild Things (1998)

Think you know what's happening? Wait for the next twist.

[14 January 2001]

Great movie. When Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon) is accused that he raped Kelly (Denise Richards) and Suzie (Neve Campbell) the twists begin. I must admit that first twist (about quarter through the movie) was predictable as it's same as in some other movie (I can't tell you which one or I'll spoil it for you). But this was just first of many. So when you think that you know the whole picture be sure there's another twist just minutes away. So about half through the movie I just gave up trying to figure what's happening and just watched the movie. All for main characters are well played and some great acting (Campbell, Richards, Dillon and Bacon) is supported by humorous Bill Murray. Oh and very important advice: when end credits start to roll don't go yet, then all will make sense.

Crimson Tide (1995)

Some mistakes, but does good Hunt for Red October imitation

[10 October 1999]

Has anybody asked himself, why SEND SSBM to sea? Why not use one already in the Pacific? And why use submarine? Missiles fired from land are more accurate and there is less chance of communication breakdown. In Sum of All Fears (by Tom Clancy) when US decide to use nuclear weapons they decide for land launched missiles. And why go so close? Missiles could be fired from south Pacific and still hit the target. If they wanted to make this movie psychological they shouldn't promote it as war movie.