imdb-4150 Reviews

Ender's Game (2013)

Beautiful, true to the novel, well acted

[8/10 · 1 November 2013]

This move retains much from the novel, in particular the sense of desperation that drives the participants, and in that desperation, desperate decisions, and living with the consequences.

Readers of the novel will have no trouble matching the characters and situations they know. Those new to the story will have no problem filling in several gaps that are not well covered, but they may be left with a few questions.

The move is beautiful, stark, and rich. The space scenes are easy to accept as seamless. Many difficult shots look effortless.

The acting, particularly Asa Butterfield as Ender, was affecting. Harrison Ford appears to take stone-faced to a new level initially, but as the movie reveals more the subtle grace of his performance becomes apparent.

Stingray Sam (2009)

Good Fun!

[7/10 · 21 November 2009]

This film plays with American culture. It is filled with singing cowboys, an old-time Hollywood serial framework, sci-fi adventures, glam rock, and throws in some social commentary.

It would be for naught however, if the film did not have an interesting story and characters with whom one could empathize.

The music was also interesting, enjoyable, and fun. The Billy Nayer Show provides the music. Wikipedia describes the band as "of questionable genre." I have to agree but it is in a very good way.

It is an odd film, with some odd characters and odd music. And that is quite wonderful.

District 9 (2009)

Intense

[8/10 · 31 August 2009]

This is an intense documentary style drama with comic touches, not standard sci-fi.

It does have many violent action sequences.

I enjoyed it very much.

The documentary style draws you in. You watch in bemusement as the incompetent bureaucrat perpetrates governmental nonsense against the alien refugees. This is how things like the FEMA response to Katrina started. Your feet itch.

Then it happens. Everything falls apart. Violence ensues.

The documentary style is mixed in with gritty narrative as we are treated to the whole sordid mess.

The whole thing was believable. I didn't have to suspend disbelief to encounter the aliens. It was very natural.

Uniqueness raises this film to an 8.

(BTW: The film does bash Nigerians. Is it deserved?)

The Man from Earth (2007)

Trying hard, failing much

[5/10 · 31 July 2009]

I really wanted to like this movie. I love talky, existential movies. I loved Contact. I liked The Examined Life and My Dinner with Andre, I like independent, low budget films.

This movie did not live up to expectations.

The characters were plastic and flimsy. The actors were very competent, but there was no space for them to weave something real. The reactions of the characters to the main character and to each other did not ring true.

The logic, philosophy, science, and theology employed was childish.

I got so dizzy from rolling my eyes it took my three attempts before I could get through it.

The acting really brings it up to a five, but yeesh, I wish they were given something other than cheese to work with.

Children of Men (2006)

Nowhere near "Bladerunner!"

[6/10 · 5 February 2007]

I especially enjoyed Michael Caine's and Julianne Moore's performances.

I also enjoyed the overall political and philosophical aspect of the movie. Seeing the words "Homeland Security" over an internment camp for immigrants was especially chilling.

The script itself couldn't decide if it was an action movie or a film with higher aspirations. It has often been compared to "Bladerunner." As a matter of fact, that's what got me in to see the movie.

This film is nowhere near the movie "Bladerunner" is. The main problem appeared to be the script. It couldn't decide where to focus and how to progress.

The first thing that struck me was the "Deus ex Machina" evident in several of the action scenes where events appeared to conveniently rescue the characters from certain doom.

The second thing that struck me was that Clive Owen's character didn't progress through the movie. You didn't get a feel for him at the beginning, and you didn't quite understand why he was doing all the things he was doing from his perspective. There is some back-story given, but it is weak.

The chemistry between Clive Owen and Julianne Moore was very good. I could have watched a whole movie with just those two.

The development of the other characters is also weak for the most part. There are the "evil guys," the coworkers, the "evil guys you thought were your friends", etc.

Besides the Michael Caine character, the only other one I really got a feel for was Marichka; a damn fine performance.

Overall, a "meh" and not what I was expecting.

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Great Visuals, Great performances, Excellent Script!

[10/10 · 3 September 2006]

I am a big Dick fan. (Philip K. Dick you perverts.) This movie blew me away.

The script was awesome. This was the best adaptation of a novel I can recall. The choice of story elements was great. It was very faithful to the novel.

The only weakness of the movie was in the script, and that was because it stuck so closely to the novel that the last section lagged. Both the novel and the movie slammed into a wall of Jello at that point. I would have liked it better if the script had varied from the novel at this point and came to the climax sooner.

I can not come up with enough superlatives for the performances. Damn! Robert Downey Jr, Winona Ryder, Rory Cochrane (Speedle from CSI Miami), and Woody Harrelson were all just brilliant. Even Keanu Reeves was good! Cochrane and the phantom aphids was particularly stunning.

The visuals were unique and fitted and moved the story along. It was like a whole new aspect of cinema. It was beautiful and expressive.

This is not at all a movie for kids.

Anyone else must see it! See it now! Damn you!

Æon Flux (2005)

Intelligent, eye-catching, but Hollywood

[7/10 · 13 August 2006]

This movie takes Peter Chung's ground-breaking Aeon Flux and made it into a viable Hollywood production. There-in lies is greatest strength and weakness.

Chung's work in the series was always edgy and somewhat disturbing. The storytelling was jarring. The images were stylized.

The film takes the series as as a background, simplifies it, and cleans it up. A little of the violence remains, but it is nowhere near the presence it was in the series.

It adds very a sweet romance to the core. Many women who found the series too disturbing will enjoy this film.

The visuals, though not as stylized or edgy as Chung's, are still very good. The story-telling is very good as well.

I enjoyed it very much, and so will you!

Deep Sea (2006)

Great Experience

[8/10 · 14 April 2006]

This was a great movie experience. A major part of this was the 3D effect.

My children were frequently reaching out in front of them. To be honest I wanted to do so as well.

The visuals would be great even if they were not in 3d.

There was a lot of good information on the biology of the ocean.

Most of the film consisted of one creature eating another. My four year old seemed to be OK with it though.

Cool!

A nit: At times there was bleed-through on the polarized 3d glasses. I don't know if that was due to the glasses or a general side-effect.

Underworld: Evolution (2006)

Heavy on Action

[6/10 · 24 January 2006]

This was an enjoyable movie and worth the price of admission. I enjoy "girl kicks ass" movies.

It has a lot of action and gore, but is not a horror or suspense film. I would not take anyone under twelve to it.

If you are thinking of seeing this movie I strongly recommend seeing the original Underworld. Otherwise, you will be a bit lost.

In comparison to the original, this movie is short of character development and emotional connection. Not that there was much in the original.

I liked the craftsmanship on this movie. The movie was well-paced. It didn't have incessant tiresome action scene after action scene, but neither did it get bogged down.

The CG was good except that the helicopter didn't look real when it was flying. Yes, the werewolves and vampires looked real. The helicopter didn't.

Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag (2004)

Very entertaining and informative

[7/10 · 10 January 2006]

I took my kids, 4M,6M,and 9F to this.

They all enjoyed it as I did. Lots of things get blown up. Cool! I did have to explain that there was no one in those vehicles.

There are invigorating flight sequences and the narrator explains things as he goes along. The visuals lift it from a 5 to a 7.

There are continuity issues as another commenter has noted, making it difficult to follow for anyone with any orientation. This is often a problem with films. It is necessary to let go of those issues to enjoy the film.

It was difficult to keep track of the story. A more direct story line would be appreciated.

Well worth it!

Catwoman (2004)

Not too bad!

[5/10 · 26 November 2005]

Sometimes I think those who give bad reviews do so to enjoy the sound of their own pronouncement.

We aren't talking "Plan 9 From Outer Space" here folks. We aren't even talking "The Hulk." It was a good decent movie.

There are actually many things to enjoy about this movie.

First of all great enjoyment may be had by watching Halle Berry. No stunt double could affect the walks she took on. Hey! Walking is acting! OK, the rest of the acting she did was great too.

Sharon Stone really brought it for this movie as well. There are some people who can bring it to the screen and she is one of them.

Great enjoyment is had in watching Catwoman kick butt. Great enjoyment is also had in watching Catwoman and Sharon's character square off.

Personally I enjoy a movie in which a character, particularly a female character, learns to be come strong.

The plot was logical and you could follow it.

(BTW: Benjamin Bratt was great as well, though his part was pretty limited.)

The critics do have some ground to stand on, however. It did not make the grade for a great movie for several reasons.

The main character changes greatly through the movie but these changes are not explored or explained so they seem very disconnected. The rest of the characters were rather hollow and clichéd. You might expect this from the film's comic book origin but movie goers have come to expect more.

The CGI Catwoman was very obviously CGI and was rather intrusive. The animation was jerky, did not maintain constancy of form and contained movements not natural to the universe or character.

I am puzzled as to why the producers felt it necessary to change the name and origin of the character. No doubt this annoyed fans of the Batman universe.

There were some other things that limited the movie, but not enough to take it down completely.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie.

March of the Penguins (2005)

A very nice National Geographic Special

[5/10 · 21 August 2005]

This was a very nice National Geographic Special, but it was not a big-screen movie.

The film image quality was often poor. Sometimes this was used to good effect, but mostly it simply distracted from the film.

The end of the film showed film of the film's. As I had watched penguins huddle in the middle of a prolific blizzard, I thought of the camera men and others present in the same storm getting the footage. During the portions of film that were grainy and splotchy to negative effect, I thought of how hard it was to get this film and that it must have been originally intended for television, where this level of quality would not have been an issue.

That said, the images presented were up to the high levels of the magazine and television efforts of National Geographic. The images were often breath-taking, touching, humorous, contemplative.

I was led to believe by certain reviews that there were characters that emerged from the film. This is not true. There was some very nice narration by Morgan Freeman, but no characters, no relationships between characters, nor was there even a specific penguin or penguin family followed.

The film was a little different from most of the National Geographic-type documentaries, in that it often focused on the hardships, dangers, and death. The inclusion of these topics did not weigh down the film, but added depth to it.

Other than that, I could have sworn I saw it in PBS 20 years ago.

I took my three children to it. The following comments were whispered to me during the movie: "Dad, when does the good part start?" "What's so great about Emperor penguins?" (Perhaps he was confused by the appellation.) My three year old son requested to go to the bathroom so often, I eventually had to say, "No more!" So overall, it was a mixed bag. Some very nice images were presented, but they were often muddled by technicalities. Some very effective documentary work was evident, but not a character driven story, which would have kept my three-year-old in place.

Sideways (2004)

Unlikeable primary characters took the film down

[6/10 · 25 July 2005]

The film itself is good but the two sociopaths it has for main characters made it hard for me to actually like the film.

On the positive side, the depiction of depression was accurate. And....Hmmm. Well, two of the characters were intelligent and thoughtful. That's rare and that aspect was enjoyable.

Some of the sociopathic antics made for a laugh or two.

The film was well paced and decently written.

The depiction of the pursuit of a thoughtful romantic relationship was enjoyable, especially as it was contrasted with an entirely thoughtless but passionate romantic relationship.

As I say, a good film, but all throughout I thought the two of them should be in jail or a mental institution.

It made me nauseated to think that perhaps society was coming to celebrate such narcissistic ethics.

Fantastic Four (I) (2005)

Great Move: As good as or better than Spiderman

[8/10 · 20 July 2005]

The characters made the movie for me.

I was anticipating that they would be campy, played for laughs, and rather one dimensional as they played off of each other.

Instead I was treated to divine performances and characterizations.

The writing was effective in bringing their humanity to the screen.

There are limitations. In spite of a good performance, the writing had Van Doom rather perfunctorily transformed from megalomaniac businessman to purveyor of doom and destruction.

And of course available screen time limited what they were able to do with the characters. But what they were able to to do in the short period of time transcended the constraints.

The special effects, costumes, make up and other technical aspects were all top-notch and quite enjoyable.

The pacing and story was just perfect. Nothing dragged, and the action sequences didn't go on forever.

For younger children, it was not too scary. If they can watch the evil guys from Power Rangers without getting skittish, they should be able to enjoy this.

Babylon 5 (1993–1998)

Sub-par Clichéd and hackneyed redeemed by arch and fx

[26 February 2005]

Clichéd writing with wooden acting.

I cringed each time I watched it.

Silly proclamations by characters, action driven by the plot, not by characters or other logic.

It is just full of what makes TV bad.

The arc was good as were the special effects. Those were enough to keep me watching for a season or so. But later on, it seemed not to get better.

Sci-fi is meant to be challenging and different. This was neither.

Watch Farscape instead.