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Greenland (2020)
Go, Asteroid! Go!
A 51 year old John Garrity (300's Gerald Butler) has a young wife with supermodel good looks (Morena Baccarin) and a 7 year old son with the diabetes. A thin portrait of his life in the 'burbs in Florida is sketched out. His character is inarticulate, slow-witted, strained in a vague and unelucidated manner. He is also highly irritable.
When Garrity receives a mysterious message from US Homeland security for EMERGENCY EVACUATION he does what anyone else would do - he finishes buying his booze and Wonder brand bread and goes home to watch television. Soon, the reason for the EMERGENCY EVACUATION is made clear. A huge asteroid is slowly breaking up and crashing to Earth in devastating waves.
What is the first thing Garrity does upon learning this critical bit of information? He runs straight out of his home to glare up at the sky. I am not kidding. Glaring. Like that was going to sort out interstellar debris in a clutch way for him. Instead of mighty Lord Xerxes Mr. Garrity is hit by a powerful shockwave. This should killed or injured him by sending broken glass and miscellaneous debris throughout his lumpy body.
Nope, he's fine.
By the time the family Garrity finally reaches the safety of a military base in Greenland they've survived by dumb luck and bad writing. After the "planet killer" that was reportedly "larger than the one that killed the dinosaurs" hits - the base is fine. By way of brief and anonymous voice overs and a montage of the immediate aftermath of the asteroid strike we, the humble viewers, are treated with the reassuring knowledge that Earth and it's Andreas (see The Walking Dead) will be able wander cluelessly enough to live another day.
Funny thing. When the asteroid that "killed the dinosaurs", the Chicxulub asteroid, struck - it sent up a cloud of fire and ash that blanketed and incinerated the Earth for years. As these in fine folks in Greenland peer meekly out of their bunker there are birds chirping and flying around. A masterstroke of total ignorance to sum up the lack of intelligence that was the chief hallmark of this disaster of a disaster film.
The real hero of this film was the asteroid. I am sorry it left any of these characters alive. I was really rooting for it.
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
See it for yourself. Decide for yourself.
Compelling and well cast. Takes important steps building what the original Star Wars film captured that resonated so deeply: a less than ideal community that loves and cares for one another being brutalized, murdered and extorted by vile fascist goons masquerading as legitimate authority.
Anthony Hopkins (Thor, Silence Of The Lambs) narrates and voices an incredibly naturally animated robot. Sofia Boutella plays the lead, Kora, as a young woman who is haunted by the dark shadows of her past. Her refuge within a small village on the planet of Veldt is carefully laid out with emotional depth by Snyder. She finds a small amount of peace among a village of farmers. Suddenly, this peace is crushed by the arrival of the vicious Admiral Noble played by Ed Skein (Dead Pool) and his merry band of rapists and sadists.
This incursion quickly sets in motion a sharp transition in Kora from an angry outsider to the sole hope for her desperate and leaderless village.
In the majority of instances the new Star Wars films lacked depth or intelligent dialogue Rebel Moon does not. When Kora described the wars conducted out of lust for battle when describing the cold blooded murder of hundreds of thousands, including her own family, I immediately thought of Rey (Daisy Ridley) being just a silly idea with no depth at all. Even a monster dispatched by Bae Moon (Kingdom) speaks with a bitter but genuine sense of pain and suffering that made Kylo Ren's teenage temper tantrums that much hollow.
See it for yourself. Decide for yourself.
Skull Island (2023)
Art Dept. Is Incredible
Writers turned in a really bad episode one. All of the characters act in a contrived and counter-intuitive way. Example: Danger appears in a painfully slow roll that allows ample time to either flee or prepare for a heck of a fight. Standard Skull Island character reaction: stand frozen as a statue in a icy Helsinki winter staring blankly until the character dies ugly or, more rarely, is narrowly saved by coincidence or by the one character in the whole show that is capable of action.
The art department is another story. The backgrounds and especially the work of the artists that animate the creatures and human facial animations are really incredible. This talent is obviously well above average. It's great to see people invest so much of their time and energy into producing animated work at this level of sophistication.
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Worst Big Budget Sci-Fi Ever Made
Preposterously bad writing. Wooden Eric Balfour-esque performances. All of the main characters seem perpetually lost and wandering through each scene. The casting was not bad but the writing and direction hamstrung the actors.
Riddick is some sort of extra dull superhuman at convenient points in the picture. Part of what makes good sci-fi is realism in the dialogue and performances. The Thing, Alien and Pitch Black had a strong sense of realism in it's characters. Chronicles has none. It failed at having realistic characters in a fantasy world. The heart or the emotional center of any good story matters. Doesn't matter how many space ships you have without that emotional center.
Some redemption would come almost 10 years later in 2013's "Riddick" where Vin Diesel took on a more classic Stallone Rambo approach. But seriously, this movie will give you an incurable eye disease.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: The Great Wave (2022)
Powerful, Sharp and Crisp.
No small amount of writing and acting talent converges here in episode four. A ghostly Adar slinks sorrowfully from the tunnels and darkness. Halbarad delivers Galadriel from her own brash haughtiness with a few wise words. Durin and Elrond forge a new oath. The King Under The Mountain finds his decree unexpectantly and respectfully obeyed by his fiery son. The horrifying prophecy that haunts the island of Numenor is revealed.
The Rings of Power series cast and writers have not had an easy task. In this episode, they are beginning to take this new series beyond the shadow of the very successful films that have proceeded it and make it an outstanding achievement of their own.
Halo (2022)
John-117 vs Evil Alien Empire
After watching the first three episodes I describe the show to friends as: "Star Wars w/out rules". Humans kill aliens. Aliens kill humans. Humans kill humans, brutally and repeatedly. It's lethal chaos everywhere.
Then, there are the Spartans: technologically augmented and enhanced human combat machines. Of the few that survive the enhancement, training and initial deployments John-117 is the best of the best.
Pablo Schreiber plays John-117 as a version of the Master Chief that is a not a mindless killing machine. Natasha Elhorn (Ronin) is brilliant as Dr. Halsey. Her character reminded me very much of Johnathon Price (Brazil) as the High Sparrow from Game of Thrones. Halsey's own professional cause justifies any amount of sacrifice. In this case, that cause is the survival of hundreds of human planets in a war against an alien empire of religious nutters.
I love the casting, writing, strong direction and action in this series. Unfortunately, I have to mention how awful Cortana turned out. What started as an fascinating duel role for Elhorn with an emphasis on the ethical questions involved in science suddenly became a bad CG model that made me shudder. If you remember the wooden CG Princess Leah from Rogue One then you will quickly get the idea. The Mandalorian's Luke Skywalker worked very well so why couldn't this?
Don't get the wrong idea - this show is great. It has a strong sense of purpose and heart. The questions it raises as it questions militarism, bureacracy are extremely thought provoking.
Midway (2019)
Glittering Nincompoopery
One star for Quaid and Harrelson's grit alone. One star for the eye popping dogfights and CG team. Yet, this film is so hollow, so lacking in genuine feeling and so poorly written - it unintentionally belittles the very events that it attempts to portray.
Filled with ham-handed direction and stilted performances that make dry scarecrows presiding over barren fields look lifelike and believable. There are Youtube presentations with a greater comprehension of the material than anyone (minus Quaid and Harrelson) appearing on screen.
Stay away from this one. It's that bad.
Child 44 (2015)
Under-rated, dark and disturbing
Vicious real life killer Andrei Chikatilo killed at least 50 women and children from 1978 to 1990. So horrible were his crimes that the Russian government unwittingly allowed him to kill for years by claiming these vile murders were accidents and silencing the parents of the murder victims.
In this dark and disturbing dramatization Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace race surreptitiously through the USSR's grim landscape while being hunted down by elements of the Russian military.
This movie is completely under-rated and has an unmistakable substance.
Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019)
Excellent
Really shocking conclusion. Great scenes with Jon Snow and Tyrion. Dany snapped at King's Landing but was critical during the Long Night.
CG Drogon taking down the Iron Throne and the return of Small Council were brilliant.
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Page Turners They Were Not
When Yoda bonked an angry and destructive Luke on the head, laughed and told him that he missed him (while watching the last ancient Jedi texts burn) - I almost peed. I mean, the humor in this one worked so well for me.
The overly serious nature of the prequels are what killed them.
Please, do not get hyper-focused on mistakes and questionable choices (yes, like flying Leia and an unkillable Phasma). Instead, look at our own collective need to take this show so seriously. Never connecting to stories on a deeper emotional level happens by foolishly taking ourselves and our space films too seroiusly.
Dope (2017)
Doesn't Flinch An Inch.
The amount of guts from this crew and team to show dozens of layers of heavy drug issues in America is incredible. From distributors to street dealers and addicts to local and federal law enforcement - this series doesn't flinch an inch.
S1E4 on Chicago's endless crack problem was one of the first times that I can remember seeing mainstream reporting acknowledging how deadly and clausterphobic that the city really is.
Area 51 (2015)
Take It From A Horror Movie Type
Director Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity) demonstrates that low key acting and high-tension situations combined with the right amount of digital effects can rock "found footage" horror films. Writer Christopher Denham fleshes out the mysteries of Area 51 with a disturbingly realistic tone.
All three mains Jelena Nik, Reid Warner and Darrin Bragg commit fully to their roles as unlikely explorers thrown into a maze of military secrets, alien artifacts and very real, very ticked-off extraterrestrials.
The third act was so good and so hard hitting that I had to remind myself it was "only a movie" several times.
American War Generals (2014)
This Is Not A Documentary
For a program that bills itself as "50 years of the US at war" the show is not history. This is a look at the mentality of generals in Viet Nam, The First Gulf War and Iraq minus critical details and turning points in each conflict.
The show leaps through Viet Nam with only the broadest of strokes. This segment features General Colin Powell, a captain in Viet Nam at the time, yet conspicuously fails to mention nationwide protests, Agent Orange, POWs or the My Lai Massacre. All of these factors significantly impacted the war in Viet Nam yet are not even mentioned.
To make things worse, Capt. Powell in 1968, reported of the My Lai Massacre that the "soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent" perpetuating the myth that the war was winnable for another 6 years and covering up the slaughter of civilian women and children by the hundred.
When the first Gulf War is loosely explored there is no mention of SCUD missiles, Saddam's pre-existing relationship with the US or Gulf War syndrome to follow. In fact, the destruction of the Iraqi Army of 100,000 men (slaughtering 35,000 to less than 2000 total Coalition casualties) is categorized as an unqualified victory with no harmful after-effects.
In telling the story of the Iraq invasion in March of 2003, the reason for the invasion is completely omitted - namely WMDs. Colin Powell (a salesman of the traveling train theory of WMDs himself) and others tell the stories of winning and holding cities like Mosul and Kirkuk in upbeat tones. The problem there is that these cities soon fell back into the hands of the local insurgents in a matter of days after US forces left.
The only valid point that this sanitized war "history" is that Iraq and Viet Nam are nearly identical as quagmires. This is only mentioned in terms of "I hope this ain't Viet Nam" by the interviewees.
Truly, this is an insult to veterans of all three conflicts for presenting a backwards, spotty and deliberately misleading account of US forces roles in each one of these undeclared wars.
The Cleveland Show (2009)
Bizarro Quahog.This Is Still On The Air?
Many reviews here state what I am simply repeating: this show has none of the same charm or charisma of Family Guy. It's not funny or entertaining to watch the "slow" character from Family Guy go to Bizarro Quahog where nothing is entertaining and everything just kinda sucks.
David Lynch made some cameos as Gus the Bartender in the early part of the series but even those appearances were made awkward and unfunny by the rest of the cast and lack of good writing and direction.
Also, I have noticed a great deal of strangely positive "reviews" of The Cleveland Show here at IMDb written by folks with accounts that seem dedicated to just that purpose. In fact, many of these "reviewers" have only written one ten-star review of The Cleveland Show and nothing else - ever.
Please join with me in watching much better animated programing including Family Guy, Super Jail, UCI, Aqua Teen, Space Ghost and Avengers EMH. All of which deserve a audience much more than The Cleveland Show.
The Rise and Fall of the Legendary Anglobilly Feverson (2002)
Pushing The Limits of Art and Storytelling at 30 fps
Danish animator and artist Rosto uses story-telling elements from his graphic novels such as Stream-of-Consciousness and Broken Narrative to shape his unusual settings.
This effect is even more powerful on film with the addition of multiple animation techniques: oil, stop-motion, motion graphics and amazing CG/3d models.
This film has enjoyed a period of great critical success winning acclaim in the Taos Film Fest, Revelation Perth, and the Hong Kong International Film Fest.
High School Confidential! (1958)
"With Me Baby, It's All Business"
Gear up for a swanky romp through the seedy underbelly of campy exploitation in this classic nugget featuring the World's Oldest Troubled Teens.
A fiery Jerry Lee Lewis opens the movie rolling through the bucolic 1950's streets belting out the title song in opening credits.
The chase and race scenes in this movie are actually really excellent for a B movie. This almost makes for the ham handed "twists" (that were probably mid-shoot re-writes) of Tony secretly being Mike Wilson "Undercover Man".
It appears to me that the writers wanted to squeak by the Hays Code after they created a unforgiving anti-hero in Tony. This wounded anti-hero role, before the High School Caesar is revealed as an FBI MAN, would be picked up on by generations of actors including Brando and James Dean minus the G-Man or redeeming values angle.
Mamie is awesome as usual. She plays a perky and moody sexpot on the prowl competing for Tony/Mike's attention with his teacher, the straight laced Jan Sterling. Be sure to dig the way out hipster/beatnik action in the jazz nightclub featuring Mr. Big and catch a young Michael Landon wandering through scene after scene visibly wondering exactly what he's doing in the film at all.
If you like this flick, you'll really dig Highschool Ceasar!
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
Moore/Norrington, A League of their own. Remember Howard the Duck?
It's the brilliant script from Alan Moore (Swamp Thing comic fame) and careful direction of Stephen Norrington (Blade) that set this one apart from the regular comic book character cash-in: a la Hulk, Punisher - a hit or miss phenomena that started with McFarlene's live action Spawn.
Not all the performances are stunning but it's definitely an unusual and fast paced film. Connery's best moments in it are on the deck of Nemo's surfaced sub and in tracking the rooftop hopping Hyde.
In an oddly Trainspotting-esque interlude I expected Connery or Sickboy to chime in with "Do you have the beasht inyer shights?". This film based on the fathers of modern sci-fi and horror and brought to life in a way that movies like Van Helsing and The Mummy 3 only failed at doing.