Ryno_II Reviews

Blade Runner (1982)

I think it's very overrated.

[5/10 · 15 June 2005]

The movie is heavy on images and special effects, and Ridley Scott really knows how to create a Sci-Fi universe, but there ins't much of a story or substance. Therefore, one similar type of movie I'd like to compare this to is The Crow.

The Crow, which I thought was a pretty good movie, also is heavy on visuals and action and nothing else. However, The Crow was all wall to wall with action scenarios. It's filmmakers knew they were making a film without much story and just an idea. Where as the filmmakers of Blade Runner gave this movie a lot of meaningless dialogue and other little things which should have been plot points but weren't really.

There are two solutions the writers could have done. One is two rethink the entire movie and come up with a lot more plot and fill in the long empty gaps that the movie already has in between the action scenes. The next is if they couldn't think of much plot for there idea, just give the story a lot more continuous action or something stylish happening, like in The Crow. That's what kept The Crow going, and in that audiences don't look for anything else.

Die Hard (1988)

A very overrated action film.

[4/10 · 15 February 2005]

This movie is on this sites top 250 but I can't figure out why so many people like it. The problem simply is that John McClane makes one stupid decision after another.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The scene where Tony is looking for John and is obviously going to kill him with that submachine of his is the best example.

John sneaks up behind Tony and presses his semi-auto against his head, then pistol whips and then fight him with his bare hands, instead of forcing him to relinquish the gun first. Tony then tries to shoot John. Any averagely smart cop would have shot Tony.

Another example is the scene where John was trying to signal the cop, Al by breaking the window with the chair. A gunman comes into the room, but John is ready for him. With his pistol raised he tells the gunman to put his gun down. John has no back up or assistance to take restrain the guy so attempting to force the guy to surrender wouldn't be wise. Another gunman enters the room just after that, and because John chose not to shoot the first one who entered, that makes things a lot more challenging.

And the third is, in the scene where John meets Hans, face to face for the first time. Hans is unarmed, and John has a gun pointed at him. They both hear the elevator arrive at the floor they're on, which of course means more henchmen are coming. For some reason John doesn't shoot Hans as the elevator doors begin to open. He shoots at the henchmen just as they are coming out out of elevator and runs. The mistake there was leaving Hans alive. I know the filmmakers wouldn't want the hero killing of the main villain early, but couldn't the writers come up with a scenario in which the hero couldn't kill the villain early? Couldn't they write a script that makes sense of the characters?

The lieutenant who kept arguing with Al, never followed logic either. There was no reason why he would have any doubt that there are terrorist in the building. If he is that dumb then why is he that high promoted?

Wicked Minds (2003 TV Movie)

Terrible thriller with huge plot holes!

[4 June 2004]

Don't watch this movie. There are plot holes that cause most of the story not to make sense. There are so many questions left unanswered in the end, but twists in the story takes are so incomprehensible that I don't see how they could possibly be answered.

******MAJOR SPOILER***********

Holden Price tells the police that there was a homeless man who can verify where Holden was at the time of the murder. Holden is lying and is guilty of the murder but there was a homeless whom he did speak to right after the murder in the place where he claimed he was, which is true. The police are unable to find that homeless man. Later, we find out that Holden new the man and he was part of the murder scheme all along. The only reason for the man being part of the scheme was if he were to testify to Holden's whereabouts. But he didn't. The police couldn't find him! If this plot was to make sense. Holden knew the man by coincidence, but we never know because it's not revealed. What usefulness is he to the scheme then? It doesn't make sense! The writers must have inebriated or just plain dumb.

I give this excuse of a movie 0.5/4

Unbreakable (2000)

Possibly the best thriller I've seen!

[10/10 · 4 May 2004]

This is a story that is emotional, dramatic and somewhat mind blowing. It's rare where the viewer would feel inside the minds of the characters as much as in this movie. M. Night Shyamylan proves to be a very worthy writer once again after his huge success with "The Sixth Sense". However I found Unbreakable to be much more entertaining. It's not as far fetched as the "The Sixth Sense" and all the sides of the story seem to fit more and make more sense. "The Sixth Sense" was a large moneymaker but I can't quite figure why Unbreakable didn't do near as well. Perhaps nobody wanted a very similar type of such an unusual movie with the same actor.

I recently just saw a director's cut of "Unbreakable" but I wouldn't recommend it. There are scenes in it that add to the story but they also make it far fetched and too coincidental. I'm glad these scenes were deleted, otherwise it would've been to over the top.

The Rock (1996)

One of the best actions films ever!!!

[10/10 · 12 April 2004]

-MEDIOCRE SPOILERS-

The Rock is a true classic because it is so well written for a modern action movie. The characters, the plot and the battles are all at the best they could be. I did have a small problem with the ending. The film's writers made up a 'truth' to a real-life historical conspiracy but the truth is never fully revealed in the movie. The hero(Sean Connery) and the villain(Ed Harris) are told about very deeply. The story reveals tragic events of there pasts that made them into very interesting characters. The story itself is a lot better than the average "kill the terrorists, save the hostages" scenario. The movie has a lot of surprising turns, such as the villain turning good and saving innocent people from being killed by his own men, and then his own men kill him because of that.

The action sequences are fairly well planed and executed such as one of the most exciting car chases I've ever seen ripping through San Francisco, followed by an explosive assault on Alcatraz island. The majority of audiences will probably agree that this was the best action movie of 1996. I rate this movie ****/****.

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

The best of the trilogy.

[25 March 2004]

WARNING! POSSIBLE MINOR SPOILERS!



I've read reviews from critics and heard comments from friends about this Matrix film being the least pleasing of the three. After thinking it over it became my personal favorite. It does not have as much of a thinking plot as the other two besides the ending, however, I thought that it was the most emotional and dramatic story of the three and simply the most exciting. I prefer an emotional story over a thinking one. This one kept my mind going the whole time. I felt that the other two kind've dragged in few scenes. In this one the fight sequences between the humans and the agents were more realistic. The previous film's fights were far fetched and pretty fake looking. The special effects of zion and the sentinels were most undoubtedly the best! After thinking it over, I give the two prequels both 8/10, and I give Revolutions 9/10. I have high standards when it comes to movies and I found this masterpiece to be incredibly satisfying.

True Lies (1994)

The best well-made action comedy!! A true classic of it's kind!

[8/10 · 4 July 2003]

This would have to be my all-time favorite film. Few movies have even come to close to top it to my liking. It stars Arnie (who is one action star unlike most who can actually put on an excellent performance when it comes to various roles) as a government operative trying to hard to keeping his profession a secret from his wife(Jamie Lee Curtis). His secret agent sidekick(Tom Arnold) is the talented comedy relief. These characters and their situations create goofy and witty hilarity that is rarely well done in other movies, and that's what makes this one very entertaining besides the incredibly exciting action sequences. Most of the action is the high octane type, which I find to be a lot more satisfying then movies filled with just 'shoot-outs' or martial arts madness for action. I believe that the protests people made claiming that the film was prejudice to Arab and Muslim groups and the fact that the movie was prohibited in many Arab style nations was a little unreasonable. If this movie was given a chance in those foreign areas it probably would have been more successful. I was both blown away and laughing my socks off when I first saw this. The genre has never been more well written and the directing was not bad for James Cameron's style.

Unbreakable (2000)

An excellent and twistful story

[10/10 · 22 April 2003]

A movie about Redemption and Justice. Bruce Willis is the soul survivor of a deadly train wreck and Samuel L. Jackson plays the lifelong ill man who mentors him into becoming a super hero, believing in his theory of what fate has in store for him. I loved this movie. There is nothing I would change about it. The writer M. Night Shamylan wrote it completly to my taste. I believed that it could have been more exciting in little action and suspense that it had, but otherwise I felt that this is the perfect movie.

Zoolander (2001)

A hilariously funny movie

[7/10 · 22 April 2003]

This is one of the funniest comedies I've seen. A true spoof of the male modeling industry and how models behave humorously in the world around them. Ben Stiller was funny-weird but not funny-ha hah as the clothing and catalog model zoolander. The real reason I loved this movie was for Will Farrel's hilarious performance as the villain. I only remember laughing this hard seeing this as I did on "My Cousin Vinny". Half of the friends and relatives I know who saw this liked it. Zoolander is a well written spoof on modeling and fashion.

Red Heat (1988)

Well done for a cop-buddy action film

[7/10 · 22 April 2003]

This movie was excellent for it's kind. Two good guys were thrown together in a dangerous situation of good vs. evil. The film's title Red Heat refers to a war between cops and druglord's in the former USSR and also Chicago. Arnold of course played the tough guy character and Jim plays the comedy relief. My favorite movie of it's kind besides Bad Boys. I highly recommend it if you're a fan of this type of film.

Red Heat (1988)

An excellent making of the cop-buddy genre.

[7/10 · 22 April 2003]

Out of all the cop-buddy genres I've seen I felt that this movie was the best besides Bad Boys. This movie had Arnold as the tough guy and Jim as the comedy relief. An entertaining chemistry well perfected. I recommend this movie highly if you're into the action-comedy buddy movies.