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Reviews
Moonfall (2022)
Forget science and logic and just enjoy.
Look, there are uncountable flaws, sure, but if you can can manage to overlook them this can be a fun movie. The action is non-stop, the visuals are mostly good (but anything alien is terrible) and the characters are mostly dam good. John Bradley as KC is great (maybe the best part of the movie).
So take something to dull you senses and enjoy the ride. Later, go back, watch it again and make a game of finding the endless faults. Have fun twice!
Westworld (2016)
Three season average
I loved season one and liked season 2. Season 3 basically sucked. My overall rating takes all three into account as I'd rate season one a ten.
This review is for season three only.
Though Amazon shows a November 17 release date I already bought it on eBay. Decided to buy DVD and and get Blu Ray or 4K later after price drops. Won't be wasting that money now.
Setting is no longer in Westworld (except a few short flash backs) so right off I miss the Old West. Now very futuristic. There are some cool vehicles - enough to raise one star to two for the season.
Characters changed... especially those with altered personalities or someone inhabiting an entirely different body (Dolores is in more than a couple). Nothing keeps anybody dead. You don't know which storyline to support. Will anything matter in the long run or is everything subject to a reboot. There simply isn't a real point to anything any more... PLUS!!!, they set up another whole starting point for next season as if nothing was actually accomplished in season 3.
The Big Ugly (2020)
Possibly because my expectations were so low...
Possibly because my expectations were so low I liked it more than it deserved, but I don't think so. I like the actors, the story sounded good and the price was right, so I bought for my collection. Happily, I liked it a lot. Why? Well, to begin with, it portrayed several somewhat complex relationships; Neelyn and Fiona, Neelyn and Harris, Harris and Preston, Preston and Milt, Junior and pretty much everyone. Point is, there were many varied and unique character connections. The characters themselves were well fleshed out, most with a back story.
The amount and degree of action was appropriate and entertaining. Killing may have been a bit overdone (a bunch of people killed a bunch of people).
I feel that the production elements like photography, settings, fight choreography, directing, etc. were all above average.
Unlike some other reviewers, I thought the acting was top notch.
Bottom line, give it a chance... you may like it.
The Hunt (2020)
A lot more to it than expected.
You often see a review start with "I don't see how the film get rated so high... or so low". Never thought I would write that but I gotta say, I don't see how this film got rated so low!
Action/thriller/black comedy with more intelligence than any of this ilk. The basic story has been done dozens of times; a group of humans are hunted by other humans. This time, you slowly get to understand what motivates the hunters and that maybe some of the victims kinda deserved it. Also throws in some George Orwell's Animal Farm.
Bunch of blood and gore but largely cartoony. Also several surprises and a few 'didn't see that comings'. Rabbit near the end a cool touch.
I enjoyed it throughout and highly recommend it.
The Predator (2018)
Myfavorite Predator.
Don't understand the harsh negatives. The characters are well done and fleshed-out. The action is top notch and fairly original. Special effects are as good as they come Finally, I like the writing. Solid story with dialog that offers humor and drama.
There is a new advanced predator, more back story, new predator vs. predator storyline and a bit of a cliffhanger at the end.
Oh yeah - predator puppies - very cool!
Lethal Weapon (2016)
Was great until Riggs killed off.
I really enjoyed the Riggs/Murtah chemistry. With that gone, the show just doesn't work.
Lethal Weapon (2016)
Was great until Riggs killed off.
I really enjoyed the Riggs/Murtah chemistry. With that gone, the show just doesn't work.
Dexter: Remember the Monsters? (2013)
Come on...
No spoilers so not really giving a "why" to my thoughts.
I personally thought ending was a cop-out by being weak. This final episode jumped all over the place, suggesting an end then quickly changing circumstances. Direction changed so many times I got whiplash. Person A gets caught - escapes - gets caught - gets killed. Person B is killed - no, they're OK - no, they're dead. Person C is dead - no alive. Person D is going to get caught - no, avoided capture - going to get caught again - escapes again - caught - escapes (really - check it out). It's like one of those spinning wheels at the carnival - where will it stop? When time runs out, call it over.
Nuts!
Jumeogi unda (2005)
Best film about boxers ever
I love Korean movies and have been a fight fan most of my life, so maybe I'm an easy mark here. Nevertheless, I believe this film is an outstanding study of two very opposite boxers. One a washed-up 43 year old Olympic Silver Medalist who gets beaten up for money on the streets, the other a teenage thug who ends up in juvenile detention after a mugging. The two stories don't cross until the final bout.
In the process, both evolve from being unpleasant jerks, who disrespect their families, to being... average. Characters, fighting, story-lines, etc. are very realistic. Thought you won't fall in love with either boxer, you'll probably wish both could win the big fight.
Movie may seem a bit slow and slightly long at 135 minutes but I think it's worth it so I recommend it highly, especially to fans of boxing and Korean film.
Attack the Block (2011)
Best of it's niche ever!
I thoroughly enjoyed this film start to finish. Easily the best low budget sci-fi horror comedy film I've ever watched.
As absurd as it looks on the surface, it quickly takes on a sense of believability as the very solid characters are introduced. They are three dimensional and evolve in the course of the film.
The neighborhood seems real, gritty and violent. The bad guys who become heroic are actually bad, not misunderstood.
The creatures are oddly believable, well designed and reasonably motivated. They are animals behaving like animals and able to die like animals, not super human aliens or zombies. Terry Notary (choreographer, movement coach: creature movement, etc.), who has been involved with many big budget movies, injects and extra degree of reality to these shark mouth, wolfy gorilla looking predators. Love the teeth.
The film is nicely spiced with a little social commentary, satire, stoner comedy, neighborhood dynamics and lots of fun.
For those who care, there is some gore but more often implied, as with splashes of blood from off camera.
While you may not love it like I did, you have to at least enjoy it.
Torchwood (2006)
A favorite gone bad.
From November 1963 until recently I have loved all things WHO (the first Doctor Who hit TV the day after JFK was killed). I've enjoyed all the spin-offs, including, and maybe especially, Torchwood (letters of Doctor Who rearranged, as most people realize). Then along comes 2011 and the move to Starz and the U.S. and the whole show goes flat. All the cool stuff is gone; alien jail; alien artifacts (idea stolen by Warehouse 13), Captain Jack's immortality, occasional Dr. Who crossovers, assorted creatures, etc. Each episode was a complete story with a few ongoing tie-ins. Now it's just another soap opera, and an especially bad one at that. We've had Lost, Heros, V, The Event and others. These things just go on and on, sometimes for years, and just fizzle, or just get left in mid-story. Torchwood: Miracle Day has a weak story, a castrated hero and nowhere to go. I hope it goes back to the BBC as soon as possible.
Le roi de coeur (1966)
Best Anti-war movie ever.
There have been many excellent anti-war movies but, to me, this one stands far out in front, largely for what it doesn't show, such as the horrors of war. Rather, King of Hearts points a finger at the insanity of war and gives us a laugh or two at the same time.
A soldier more familiar with birds than explosives is sent into a village to search for a time bomb. He fines the regular residents gone and the village populated by escaped inmates of an insane asylum (though he doesn't realize this at once).
So who is really crazy, the inmates inside the walls or the soldiers on the outside.
That film credits list Alan Bates well below top billing though he is obviously the main character.
Watch it and enjoy.