halils6959 Reviews

Obliterated (2023)

Surprisingly Bad

[3/10 · 11 February 2024]

Shelley Hennig is not a good actress but combined with one of the worst scripts in recent history, she really stands out.. botoks all over her face, no jests whatsoever.. does any ever pay attention in auditions nowadays.. or maybe studios are more desperate than ever.. Well, "at least" the cast is diverse enough.

Woman boss, check (cannot act but still).

Hispanic and black team member, check.

Older, experienced partially seen additional team members, check.

Try to copy the team based oldies action series, fail (unfortunately).

This series opens up a brand new page in mindlessness and irrationality. I applaud anyone who could finish it up cause I am bored to my very core and I only finished episode 4.. Simply put, bad.. very bad..

Spiderhead (2022)

A mediocre experience at best

[6/10 · 27 June 2022]

Not a bad idea, there is a solid material back there somewhere. Story -on paper- should have looked good for the producers, and for the actors as well. It has some moments, "worth watching" dilemmas and has potential to act. However, first mistake was the unrealistic environment which cannot take you in. And secondly, unfortunately Chris cannot act as a "mad scientist".. Either he did this between jobs and did not give his best, or he does not have that many layers as an actor. At some point while filming, people should have realized it is not going well; but while millions at stake, what's another below mediocre acting.. Moreover, while film presents some good arguments, it certainly does not explore them further. There is a "stuck" vibe and "let's get this over with" atmosphere in the whole production.

Eternals (2021)

Lucky heroes stopping the "Destruction of Earth"

[7/10 · 14 January 2022]

So, a little ball sent to the core of the earth only to grow up to be a planet size "prime" in line with the growth of the population of the earth. Now, looking at the population growth rate historically, that prime should have grown by 8 times in the last 200 years. Sorry but that prime did not have to break out from the core to destroy the earth.. A particular matter growing by 8 times in 200 years and reaching to mass where it is maybe half of Earth's total mass in the core of Earth would have destroyed the life as we know it way before.. Let's say somehow by a miracle it did not, and let's say more interestingly no one was aware of this growth in earth's mass somehow.. Prime's breaking from the earth, reaching out by one hand through the Indian Ocean again should have destroyed the life as we know it independent of our group of heroes turning it to well marble apparently. Other than this huge issue, it was a fun movie to watch to be honest..

Ant-Man (2015)

it's about how you tell the story

[8/10 · 8 November 2015]

Yeap, this was a good movie for me. Some people wrote things like "omg ant-man's fighting style is incredibly good", or "shrinking is cool bro" and so forth. But seriously why many critics, viewers and me think that this is probably the best marvel adaptation so far.. it's because the way to tell a story -and sometimes independent of what the story is- may turn a dull film into a great one. Real humor and an above average acting as well as choosing the "right" actors can combine into a high quality result. In the core of it lies the script. But directing plays a huge part also. I strongly wish there were more of this kind of adaptations.

American Sniper (2014)

Ameriganda!

[4/10 · 14 June 2015]

Well, don't wanna write a long review.

Acting was good, esp Bradley Cooper reached a new high, he's been an above average actor anyways. Directing is nice; there was a wind of 90s from time to time and Eastwood managed to put this nostalgia into different parts of the film efficiently. Action scenes were delicately designed, angles were nice and flow was what it had to be. So in technical terms, it was clean and successful film.

However, to be honest, film was all in all a propaganda unfortunately. Little words like "savages" here and there, portraying the people of Iraq, referring to disasters and legitimizing the killings and little words of being proud of the high number of kills. I am not trying to be a great humanist or sth like that, war is war, I get that. But, the film was highly subjective, and maybe in some sense that's OK; but, you gotta see that making a film like this is very much the same thing as putting up nationalist propaganda posters like US did in Cold War. It's conservative, it's subjective and it's just a good example of good old brain washing. Unfortunately, it is what it is..

The Water Diviner (2014)

To the genius "read some history" fans

[6/10 · 17 March 2015]

Well, why did I give 6 stars? Cause it was a good film, the flow of the movie was somehow forced, different pieces of the movie could not constitute a whole in my opinion, and it was due to the need to tell as much as possible in a limited amount time. But still acting, the story, scripts were above average. Now, lets talk about haters "read some history" propaganda. I am not gonna say Turks were the complete victims, genocide claims are totally empty and so forth. All of these arguments have some valid points from academic point of view.

Ottoman Empire had harbored many nations; although the word "nation" and what it represents are very newly formed concepts in history (depends on the nationalism movement in 18th history). Moreover, just read and accept this, nationalism is a sociologically constructed human made concept, it has absolutely no biological foundation. And OK, Ottoman Empire had its faults and different practices during its time history, but seriously consider Europe between 1400-1800, just to say "the world is a sphere" was enough to spend you life in jail. So, saying something like "for like years we were crushed and forced into sudden and unexpected practices" does not justify brutish approach and it certainly does not mean Turk cannot be victims after.

OK you know International Institute of Social History; it is an archive on social history and an independent scientific Institute founded in 1935. Read "Turkey. A Modern History" by Erik-Jan Zürcher if you somehow manage to spare your precious time, he was the head of the institute for 15 years. It is one of the most objective approaches you can find for Turkish history. There, apart from everything else (including Genocide claims of Armenians), you would see that the events in gallipoli war was not really that different from what you see in the film. So, instead of ranting on saying things like "I am oh so so angry, cannot write, so angry, cannot see, crap this is, ohh very angry, Greeks and Armenians are the victims always, Turks are always the oppressors always, ohh angry", get out of your high school history books and make real research for once in your incredibly valuable life.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)

Sad but True

[5/10 · 9 March 2015]

Well, I have to admit I read the book(s), and to be honest, they were a good way to past time while traveling from city to city, airport to airport (that's my job actually); and OK, they were not the best books in history but very few rarely can be anyways. So, I was wondering how they would turn the story into a mess (was sure it was going to be as always), and they really did it with great precision and skill..

The film doesn't even cover half the book, half the story and the story is not even the same. Valentine drank demon blood from the cup when he was 17, was doing ceremonial demon rituals and so on. What a great twist for the readers of the book. And what about the "caricatured" Blackcwell..! The flow of the movie is crippled and looks like a crazy person's inconsistent and erratic camp fire story. They really did not want to shoot the second one for sure, and I can't help but think that this is intentional.

Just a quick example. Well you know Avatar the movie (not the cartoon but the blue alien story). You may like it or not, but for most of the people, the flight "learning" part and the scenes in the air were exhilarating to be honest. And there were similar ones here in this book which could turn in to fine scenes if they were worked on thoroughly. But instead of that, what did the producers do? They cut them, acted like nothing happened with the bikes and completely removed them from the plot. And believe me, this is just a small tiny example. It is sad but true unfortunately.

Lockout (2012)

All we need is some "action"

[4/10 · 27 July 2012]

Cheesy lines, tough-cool-don't care type of main character, a "main" girl, lots of guns, explosions, blood and so forth.. I mean, what's the story? Girl can't get a long with the "guy" at first. Yeah, they blow up some doors and some people. Ohh, slowly they kinda start to get along. Well, they've been through a lot together you know. And our main "don't care much-use sarcasm" kinda guy starts to open up a bit. Well, what you know, apparently our girl starts to "like" the guy. And of course, bodies keep piling up, walls and doors keep blowing up. Pretty much what you expect before you watch the film.

Obviously, this is not the kind of movie you expect it to be amazing and spectacular and all that. I guess all it aims is to be an above average standard action film. And after all, it kinda achieves that.

But why on earth this space prison has this amount of guns and defense systems for an outer assault. For god's sake, who would send 10000000 spaceships to attack a space prison with a logical purpose?! But I guess people love "action for action's sake"..

Tower Heist (2011)

"Clever" solutions

[5/10 · 27 February 2012]

Producers of this movie should take the audience more seriously. Why? Because, there are times where movie directly insults the intelligence or the perception of the audience.

Yes, film is an average movie, with some kind of funny lines and moments. Acting is not particularly noteworthy; the "life lessons" like "through friendship and belief, with determination, you can achieve anything and everyone gets what they really deserve in the end, karma and all that stuff.." is quite cliché.

However, what disturbs me the most is that, there are many physically impossible unrealistic moments and events; and moreover, for instance, after a 30 minutes of effort which only led to a situation where the car stuck above the elevator, how the hell they carried the car to the roof pool in like 5-10 min. That's just absurd. I mean, if one of them had lifted the car and thrown it to another roof of another building, that would have been the same.

They spent months and millions of dollars on these movies; I really do not understand how these events are still in the movies and even are presented as "clever" solutions. Do they really think like "waow, that's just brilliant, let's put the car in the roof pool, genius, we will just cut the part about how they carry the car to the pool; but, I mean that's OK, people will accept it as it is.."

The Ides of March (2011)

If for not anything, watch it for Ryan !

[8/10 · 7 January 2012]

Well, it was a good film, a good production.

The story has some ups and downs with somewhat expected turns of events. The editing was solid and timing of the events - in spite of being easily foreseeable - was certainly in line with the flow. The Script was above average; there were a few forced metaphors though. But, all in all, it was well structured production with a fluent flow of events and it achieves what it wants to convey in an orderly fashion.

However, real achievement within this movie, is how the acting of Ryan Gosling outshines through all the other great actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti and even George Clooney. Even though Ryan Gosling is certainly accepted as a great actor now, it is clear that he is destined for much more than what he has already achieved.

Incir Reçeli (2011)

Should have been a musical

[2/10 · 17 December 2011]

Well, before I start criticizing, I should say that I am sick of seeing films which take place in Turkish villages, inner parts of Turkey etc; therefore, I believe that these "contemporary" films should be supported. However, this film, "incir receli", is simply just not good. It is sexist, unrealistic (fantastic even), way too theatrical with below average acting. It is hard not to be angry really; what now, film says the man had the right to be furious with the girl if the "dying" man was her "former" boyfriend! Also, the "fake" drunk acting was abysmal; lines were "cheesy". Only consolation is that this film would turn in to an average film if it was a musical.

The Hangover Part II (2011)

If you like the 1st, 2nd will be fun too

[7/10 · 19 November 2011]

Well, OK, as everyone (mostly haters) says, yes, this film was very similar to the 1st movie in terms of the progression of the events, the story, ending, so on and so forth. And, I guess, some people love the "originality" so much that any film without something really "new" in itself is purely unbearable to watch; which means that these haters will not be able to tolerate almost 99% of the films since you can almost always follow a script, directing and even acting to another film in the history.

Hangover II was smooth, funny (not as funny as the first one though), with an above average acting and directing. So, if you like the 1st one, you will like the second one unless you are programmed to hate it even before you watch it.

The Man from Earth (2007)

For the general audience

[9/10 · 31 August 2011]

Well, I am not going to write a long, detailed criticism of the acting, directing or screenplay.

What is significant about this movie is that it addresses to a wide audience and it basically achieves what it wants to tell in an orderly fashion. Considering the "hated" reviews, it is acceptable that it may be too harsh since it mostly criticize the concepts which many people take granted for and believe in. And yes, since it is not a "paper" or a "thesis" on social sciences, it may not project the absolute "historical" facts. But, the gist is always there and the transfer to the audience is well managed . And the film is really courageous considering that the audience may be anyone. I believe we are in need of more productions similar to this one.

Dan in Real Life (I) (2007)

hate the haters

[8/10 · 7 August 2010]

OK, first of all, I really liked "Dan In Real life" as it can be observed from my vote. Why did I like it? Well, the flow of the movie was really smooth in terms of the process that an ordinary beginning slowly turns into a rather fun and well-played development part.

However, I have to make a few comments about what the haters of this movie wrote.

It is really strange that cliché of happy endings created a cliché of sad endings. Now either your movie is a standard ordinary "happy ending" movie that has "oh my god" no originality; or you can finish it with big sad bad ending where you would just achieved uniqueness and originality. To be more specific, haters of this movie basically say that they hate the happy ending. I guess they would be more happy if Dan died in an accident and all his kids went blind, deaf or something. Can't a director want a happy ending without being afraid that people would think it is cheesy now?!

Anyway, movie was mostly fun, entertaining and well played, especially by Steve Carell. Just watch it without any prejudice and you will like it hopefully.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

Waste of time

[2/10 · 4 April 2010]

Well, visual effects, the monsters, the views are nice and all; but the real problem about this movie is actually directing and editing. Film does not flow as it is supposed to, the connection between scenes are absurd and the lines are are so lame, short and boring. In some of the scenes, you cannot even understand what is really happening, how many beasts there are and who is fighting with whom. And please what about the romance? Boy and girl meet; and after 2 days they fall in a great great love... And they only talked for, what 10 minutes. In conclusion, story, script, directing are below average. It s not worth watching for only visual effects.

BloodRayne (2005)

Really bad

[3/10 · 19 January 2007]

Although I was prepared for a bad movie before I watch "Bloodrayne", I still have to say that I was not ready for such a disaster. OK, Kristianna Lockken was really hot but certainly not an actress and she is not believable in any scene. The only consolation was the attempt of Michelle Rodiguez.

I know a little bit about the game, I did not spend a lot of time on it though. However, in the movie, story seems to be half, or it is so scrappy that it is impossible to put it together. Violence and the fighting is unnatural and sometimes looks ridiculous. Moreover, there is no real scenario to criticize, which makes the story and the explanations more confusing.

And sex scene... I guess, producers and the director got together and decided that the only way that people would watch "Bloodrayne" is that sexy Kristianna would have sex. Although the sex scene was somehow fun to watch, they are so wrong that it would make the movie "watchable":)

I only can say that if you wonder how sloppy and bad a movie can be, this is your movie.