bravo11 Reviews

Interceptor (2022)

Total waste of time

[1/10 · 4 June 2022]

The story is preposterous, the acting atrocious. The dialog is so wooden. I can't believe any "star" would want their name associated with this piece of ****, not even for a paycheck.

Case in point: ICBM's have a boost phase, then coast to the target, the engine doesn't keep burning for the duration of the flight. And who jumps into the ocean FULLY clothed with their BOOTS on? And the sub - if the conning tower is next to the platform, where does the front of the sub fit? This would be a PERFECT target for Mystery Science Theater.

The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang (2019)

Jackie got old

[2/10 · 5 August 2020]

Hopefully, Jackie did this for the money, because, for me, a big disappointment. There was a glimmer of his former self in the club fight scene, using chairs to defend himself, but otherwise he just looked old (yes, his character was old, but where were the moves?) 2 years since "The Foreigner" and "Kung Fu Yoga"... Please, Jackie, say it ain't so...

Storyline OK, liked Handsie, hated Pixie... some attractive females...

Shadow (2018)

Stylish but slow

[5/10 · 13 May 2019]

Very stylish, the cinematography is great, the story many layers deep. But slow, one battle scene, everything else in the palace. More art house than action.

Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018)

Pretentious and confusing

[1/10 · 26 April 2019]

I'm not Chinese, but I've watched a lot of Chinese movies over decades, usually 1 a week (large Chinese contingent here). This is one of the worst I've ever seen. Maybe because I'm not Chinese, I couldn't pick up on all the nuances, but I have been to Guizhou. Confusing movie as it jumped back and forth in time with no clear references as to time, and it was confusing to differentiate the male characters (yes, all Asians don't look alike, but...) With a good movie, I can lose myself in the movie; with this one, my mind drifted, as did the movie. As another reviewer stated, TWO scenes of someone eating an apple, core and all, when they are sad. The version I saw was strictly 2D, but I doubt a 3D part would have helped. I do like art house movies, but not this one. Only redeeming aspect is I saw it at a matinee so a reduced price ticket.

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016–2017)

Agree with lewisworrall-50685 - SO bad

[1/10 · 17 March 2016]

Good for an (unintentional) comedy:

What? They can't take a commercial flight but bring their own plane (my tax dollars at work?) Maybe a precursor to the Marvel: Agents of Shield plane...

But they have to bring their own vehicles? Very INCONVENIENT in Thailand where it's right hand drive (they drive on the left side of the street, so steering wheel is on the right hand side). The left hand drive American car they brought VERY DANGEROUS when you want to pass on a two-lane road. (Note that the police cars shown are left hand drive, but the one "stock" shot of country road traffic shows vehicles driving on the left as they really do). Even if the US Embassy didn't have an available vehicle (they would), Thailand does have car rental companies, with SUV's even...

Thais don't smile? It's the "Land of Smiles"... It's a matter of Karma, Khun Jai Dee (good heart), so even if they are not pleased with you, they do smile as not doing so reflects badly on THEM.

Agree any local police might not take too seriously a short disappearance of 2 adults, especially young ones. But once a murder verified... any country dependent on foreign tourism takes any serious crime on those tourists VERY seriously (bad publicity). After all, in the actual case referenced at the beginning (murder of 2 backpackers), the "incompetent/disinterested" Thai police found the suspects rather quickly (whether they actually did the crime subject to some debate, but like I said, not quickly finding "them": bad publicity). And letting a foreign (FBI) team take the lead... If nothing else, big loss of face, and Asians do care about face... No country will let foreigners run around with guns drawn, screaming in English (OK, war zone combatants excepted...)

A big white guy ("ironing board" from above review) chasing a local through a crowded market? No locals would step in to a)protect one of their own?, and b)no crowd would gather with again, locals jumping in to "unheadlock" one of their own? LOL comedy.

I'd think the "critical brand" would be shown to the police sooner rather than later, rather than e-mailing it back to the FBI for identification. After all, locals much more familiar with local "brands" (pun intended).

Why do so many shows, after a good guy knocks down the bad guy, the good guy runs away rather than a)finishing the job - hit him 1, 2, 100 more times, b)or at least take a weapon... Oh, wait, there is 45 minutes to fill, and the "team" must make the rescue...

Finally, if I'd had a bamboo spike stuck through my calf, in a jungle, in mud, I'd be heading for a hospital (Bumrungrad or Bangkok Nursing EXCELLENT hospitals) for several days stay rather than jumping on a plane for home.

And, sorry to say, unless you're the family of a US senator or Representative, or some industrial bigwig with a lot of "juice", the American government is NOT coming to save you (OK, maybe if you're in a war zone). But otherwise... Note: an American citizen cannot even walk into the US Consulate in Bangkok without an appointment...

This show an insult even to a half-wit, and certainly to the Thais. No doubt, it'll be downhill from here... But at least there is Alana De La Garza to watch (very easy on the eyes), but such a long fall from "Law and Order". To make the comedy team complete, they should bring in Lieutenant Horatio Caine (and his sunglasses) from CSI: Miami. "Big H", they need you... duty calls...

Primeval: New World (2012–2013)

50/50

[2/10 · 27 December 2012]

The BEST thing about Primeval: New World is that it shows how brilliant the ORIGINAL Primeval series is. The original is like your favorite childhood desert, so tasty and flavorful. Now, as an adult, you find that while someone has resurrected the brand, it's now just bland and nothing special.

In New World, the main character is Evan Cross, the team LEADER, unlike the original where Conner, the sidekick, is the protagonist. Except for the "pocket change" appearance of Conner in the 1st episode, the surviving original cast are nowhere to be seen, nor are any story lines carried forward. New World is "leader centric" - everything revolves around Evan, so no risk of anything happening to him... Yawn.

The series does pick up (trudging through 8 episodes), and episode 8 does have a nice twist, unlike the original where a number of episodes had "nice" twists. Here, most episodes are "cookie cutter": man-eating creature {fill in the blank name} comes through, causes havoc, and must be returned to its own time. Yawn.

What you don't see is the humor of the original: James Lester is SORELY missed. The Conner/Abby relationship interest is replaced by a triangle (or should that be quadrangle if you don't exclude the dead), but the situations merely serve as pauses between the man-eating dino's (as in CGI is expensive, and we need to have 45 minutes in an episode, so...). Yawn.

Again, where the original had an arc, a sense of direction carried through multiple seasons, a PLAN (I imagine the creators had a notebook with a design of where they wanted to be at the end of each season, for a number of seasons, with directions of how to get there), New World's playbook seems to be "Let's make Season ONE, and we'll worry about subsequent seasons IF we're renewed. It seems that a shorter season (original) IS better than a longer season (New World).

So maybe it'll pick up after the Christmas break. It is worth slogging through the season so far just in case. Consider it an "ironing" program - you know, something that you can watch while you iron, distracting, but not something you have to, nor want to, devote full attention to. (Maybe that's their market: an audience wrapped up in texting, checking e-mail, needing noise as background).

Love in Space (2011)

Surprise

[8/10 · 15 September 2011]

3.5 stories (Mom gets 0.5) - 1 in China, 1 in Australia, and 1 in outer space, all involving her 3 unmarried daughters, all looking for love.

Given I don't speak Mandarin, I appreciated the well done sub-titles, and I enjoyed the interplay of the occasional English thrown in. Not a lot of suspense as to the outcome (though one story did seem headed for a "traditional" (read unhappy) ending...)

SPOILER: I've seen a number of Chinese movies, but this is the first I can remember that has a HAPPY ending (or make that endingS). END SPOILER

Yes, it's predictable, yes it's a lot of fluff, but still, enjoyable. You'll forget it 20 minutes after the movie ends, but while running, a fun ride. Besides, who could resist a movie that has an actress named Angelababy...