filmbuff-36
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Calificación de filmbuff-36
The no-budget film genre is truly a testament to behold. Mostly a spawning ground for pretentious film school dropout and no talent hacks whose "films" are poorly conceived ripoffs of other production, it is not without its redeeming qualities.
Take for instance this offering. Minor, passable entertainment, "Call to Fly" is inoffensive and funny, moving at a leisurely pace and filled with some decently filmed skating sequences.
The story is threadbare but serves its purpose. Todd Falcon, respected skateboard jockey and all around nice guy plans to retire from the circuit and concentrate on running the Insanity skate park with his friend Deane. His plans get convoluted when he starts to develop a crush on Jade Sanford (Rebecca Torrellas), who has just inherited a rival skating park. Their blossoming relationship is threatened, however, by the interference of an evil oil tycoon (since J.R. on "Dallas," has any oil tycoon been good?) who owns the land Jade's park leases and wants to demolish it. I don't recall what he intended to use the land for, probably for a baby-killing factory, a Starbucks or something else equally dreadful. Oh, and he wants Jade for himself, too.
Jade's father ran a skateboarding club for underprivileged kids, and she feels guilty, among other things, that it will be shut down following the closure of her park. The rest of the film involves hosting a skateboarding event for fund-raising, musical acts, and budding love between the main characters (No, not Todd and the oil tycoon! Todd and Jade!) "Call to Fly" is a fairly crude film, mostly shot in a series of quick takes that constantly jump between characters. For this, the reactions between the characters don't always flow well. The story is frequently interrupted with skateboarding montages and at times the romance seems a little forced.
However, the movie isn't bad. It's mostly an innocent romp, the actors all seem to be having fun, and Falcon is a good enough director to know how long a scene should be, which puts him light years ahead of most directors at this level. Todd and Rebecca make a cute couple, not surprising given that they're a real life couple, too. The skateboarding tricks are pretty interesting to watch, and despite following the cliché "Let's save the *fill in the blank* from the evil industrialist" motif, the movie does manage a few nice surprises.
At one point in the film, the characters are attacked en masse by a hoard of the oil tycoon's henchmen. A long fight breaks out, which manages to entertain quite well. Obviously, it pales in comparison with, say, the bathroom rumble in "The Warriors," but for a low-budget comedy, it almost seems like an homage to the old live-action Adam West "Batman" series, only missing the "Bam!" and "Ooof!" onomatopoeias.
Really, for a movie aimed at kids, it's all in good fun. If you're interested in seeing an example of a creative micro-budget offering, this is a fine example. It would be interesting to see what director/star Falcon could do with a much higher budget.
Six out of ten stars. It was entertaining, which is what any film should be.
Take for instance this offering. Minor, passable entertainment, "Call to Fly" is inoffensive and funny, moving at a leisurely pace and filled with some decently filmed skating sequences.
The story is threadbare but serves its purpose. Todd Falcon, respected skateboard jockey and all around nice guy plans to retire from the circuit and concentrate on running the Insanity skate park with his friend Deane. His plans get convoluted when he starts to develop a crush on Jade Sanford (Rebecca Torrellas), who has just inherited a rival skating park. Their blossoming relationship is threatened, however, by the interference of an evil oil tycoon (since J.R. on "Dallas," has any oil tycoon been good?) who owns the land Jade's park leases and wants to demolish it. I don't recall what he intended to use the land for, probably for a baby-killing factory, a Starbucks or something else equally dreadful. Oh, and he wants Jade for himself, too.
Jade's father ran a skateboarding club for underprivileged kids, and she feels guilty, among other things, that it will be shut down following the closure of her park. The rest of the film involves hosting a skateboarding event for fund-raising, musical acts, and budding love between the main characters (No, not Todd and the oil tycoon! Todd and Jade!) "Call to Fly" is a fairly crude film, mostly shot in a series of quick takes that constantly jump between characters. For this, the reactions between the characters don't always flow well. The story is frequently interrupted with skateboarding montages and at times the romance seems a little forced.
However, the movie isn't bad. It's mostly an innocent romp, the actors all seem to be having fun, and Falcon is a good enough director to know how long a scene should be, which puts him light years ahead of most directors at this level. Todd and Rebecca make a cute couple, not surprising given that they're a real life couple, too. The skateboarding tricks are pretty interesting to watch, and despite following the cliché "Let's save the *fill in the blank* from the evil industrialist" motif, the movie does manage a few nice surprises.
At one point in the film, the characters are attacked en masse by a hoard of the oil tycoon's henchmen. A long fight breaks out, which manages to entertain quite well. Obviously, it pales in comparison with, say, the bathroom rumble in "The Warriors," but for a low-budget comedy, it almost seems like an homage to the old live-action Adam West "Batman" series, only missing the "Bam!" and "Ooof!" onomatopoeias.
Really, for a movie aimed at kids, it's all in good fun. If you're interested in seeing an example of a creative micro-budget offering, this is a fine example. It would be interesting to see what director/star Falcon could do with a much higher budget.
Six out of ten stars. It was entertaining, which is what any film should be.
Movies made for fanboys are often a disappointing enterprise, but such is not always the case. Every now and then, a studio manages to get something right, especially when the premise is so intriguing it would be nearly impossible for it to fail.
Nearly. "Alien vs. Predator" is a testament to the durability of both film series, not quite the best realization of the idea, but still a very entertaining movie. Where it lacks the suspense of the earlier films, it makes up for in a sheer pleasure of witnessing a long awaited grudge match.
The Weyland Company has recently discovered an ancient pyramid located 2000 feet below the surface of Antarctica. Company CEO Charles Weyland(Lance Henriksen) has gathered together a team of explorers and adventurers to excavate down to the pyramid and explore the site. They include Alexa Woods (Sonaa Lathan), an expert on the Antarctic environment, Sebastian de Rosa (Raoul Bova), an archaeologist who specializes in civilizations with pyramids, and Greame Miller (Ewan Bremner), a photographer who comes along to document the event.
However, upon arriving at the site they discover that a hole has already been dug, as if it was in anticipation of their arrival. Once they enter the ancient structure, they quickly realize that it is actually a hunting ground. Two rival extraterrestrial species, one the warrior breed Predators and the other, the both insect-like and reptilian Alien xenomorphs, are at war with each other. The explorers quickly deduce they've been led into a trap, and must find a way out the pyramid while simultaneously dodging attacks from both killer species.
"Alien vs. Predator" is the type of film made specifically for the fans and people of morbid curiosity. Like 2003's "Freddy vs. Jason," the movie will divide up the viewers between their preferred monsters. I myself am an Alien man, but am open-minded enough to cheer on the Predators as well.
Unfortunately, there isn't much here that we haven't seen before, and furthermore, the movie lacks the kinetic edge that the original films in both series possessed. This is an action movie, but a dark and disturbing one at that. Still, the story moving this whole enterprise is basically just a gimmick, not a plot.
The movie also makes some nods to a few other sci-fi horror movies. The Antarctic location is obviously an homage to "The Thing," and the pyramid, a death trap whose rooms are constantly moving around, is most likely a nod to "Cube."
As Woods, Lathan is smart, resourceful and tough but still vulnerable. She's obviously meant to be the Ripley character, though she unfortunately lacks Sigourney Weaver's human edge. Lathan is up to the challenge, and it's neat to see her in this sort of environment after doing dramas like "Love and Basketball."
Henriksen is fun in the role of the billionaire adventurer who wants his immortality. As the only real established actor amongst this cast, he adds a level of professionalism that would otherwise be missing. His role is also an inside joke for fans for the Alien series.
The other actors are competent, but not special. Most of them are just fodder for the monsters, but Bova manages to make an impression as the Italian archaeologist looking for a missing link between the different pyramid civilizations, only to find that he's sorry to discover just what it is.
Director Paul Anderson has a long history of making films such as these, including his own "Alien" homage "Event Horizon." He is proficient with creating atmosphere and he keeps things moving along nicely, especially in the second half when the actions starts to kick in, but he lacks fellow "Alien" series helmer Ridley Scott's ability to build unnerving suspense, or James Cameron's all-out knock down actions scenes. From the "Predator" camp, he's also deficient in John McTiernan's gung-ho machismo.
"Alien vs. Predator" is not intelligent entertainment. In fact, it's unlikely it will have much of an audience outside the real die hards of each series. It's been 14 years since the last time Predators have been on screen, and seven for Aliens. Still, various different mediums have kept both series alive, and Aliens and Predators have battled before in both novels and comic books for the last decade or so.
It's a fun movie to watch, and there are some unsettling moments. Also, there's one creature in the film that manages to come off sympathetic, or at least as sympathetic as either of these creatures can be. It's a nice, unexpected twist in an otherwise mundane plot.
You'll either like "Alien vs. Predator" or you won't. There's not really much middle ground here. Plus, some of the hard-core fans may be turned off by the PG-13 rating, thinking it will be a watered down version. Rest assured though, there's still plenty of blood and gore, but mostly alien blood at that.
While it is fun, the movie may also be a disappointment to those expecting some epic battle between the species. What we have here is an isolated pit fight, not an all out war like the ads seem to suggest. The fights are intense but usually one-on-one, and can be over pretty quickly at times. Still, for those of you who are curious, "Alien vs. Predator" is certainly worth hunting down.
Six out of ten stars. A very fun movie to watch with great atmosphere, but it's not an all-out war between species and the human characters are just fodder to get between the different monsters.
Nearly. "Alien vs. Predator" is a testament to the durability of both film series, not quite the best realization of the idea, but still a very entertaining movie. Where it lacks the suspense of the earlier films, it makes up for in a sheer pleasure of witnessing a long awaited grudge match.
The Weyland Company has recently discovered an ancient pyramid located 2000 feet below the surface of Antarctica. Company CEO Charles Weyland(Lance Henriksen) has gathered together a team of explorers and adventurers to excavate down to the pyramid and explore the site. They include Alexa Woods (Sonaa Lathan), an expert on the Antarctic environment, Sebastian de Rosa (Raoul Bova), an archaeologist who specializes in civilizations with pyramids, and Greame Miller (Ewan Bremner), a photographer who comes along to document the event.
However, upon arriving at the site they discover that a hole has already been dug, as if it was in anticipation of their arrival. Once they enter the ancient structure, they quickly realize that it is actually a hunting ground. Two rival extraterrestrial species, one the warrior breed Predators and the other, the both insect-like and reptilian Alien xenomorphs, are at war with each other. The explorers quickly deduce they've been led into a trap, and must find a way out the pyramid while simultaneously dodging attacks from both killer species.
"Alien vs. Predator" is the type of film made specifically for the fans and people of morbid curiosity. Like 2003's "Freddy vs. Jason," the movie will divide up the viewers between their preferred monsters. I myself am an Alien man, but am open-minded enough to cheer on the Predators as well.
Unfortunately, there isn't much here that we haven't seen before, and furthermore, the movie lacks the kinetic edge that the original films in both series possessed. This is an action movie, but a dark and disturbing one at that. Still, the story moving this whole enterprise is basically just a gimmick, not a plot.
The movie also makes some nods to a few other sci-fi horror movies. The Antarctic location is obviously an homage to "The Thing," and the pyramid, a death trap whose rooms are constantly moving around, is most likely a nod to "Cube."
As Woods, Lathan is smart, resourceful and tough but still vulnerable. She's obviously meant to be the Ripley character, though she unfortunately lacks Sigourney Weaver's human edge. Lathan is up to the challenge, and it's neat to see her in this sort of environment after doing dramas like "Love and Basketball."
Henriksen is fun in the role of the billionaire adventurer who wants his immortality. As the only real established actor amongst this cast, he adds a level of professionalism that would otherwise be missing. His role is also an inside joke for fans for the Alien series.
The other actors are competent, but not special. Most of them are just fodder for the monsters, but Bova manages to make an impression as the Italian archaeologist looking for a missing link between the different pyramid civilizations, only to find that he's sorry to discover just what it is.
Director Paul Anderson has a long history of making films such as these, including his own "Alien" homage "Event Horizon." He is proficient with creating atmosphere and he keeps things moving along nicely, especially in the second half when the actions starts to kick in, but he lacks fellow "Alien" series helmer Ridley Scott's ability to build unnerving suspense, or James Cameron's all-out knock down actions scenes. From the "Predator" camp, he's also deficient in John McTiernan's gung-ho machismo.
"Alien vs. Predator" is not intelligent entertainment. In fact, it's unlikely it will have much of an audience outside the real die hards of each series. It's been 14 years since the last time Predators have been on screen, and seven for Aliens. Still, various different mediums have kept both series alive, and Aliens and Predators have battled before in both novels and comic books for the last decade or so.
It's a fun movie to watch, and there are some unsettling moments. Also, there's one creature in the film that manages to come off sympathetic, or at least as sympathetic as either of these creatures can be. It's a nice, unexpected twist in an otherwise mundane plot.
You'll either like "Alien vs. Predator" or you won't. There's not really much middle ground here. Plus, some of the hard-core fans may be turned off by the PG-13 rating, thinking it will be a watered down version. Rest assured though, there's still plenty of blood and gore, but mostly alien blood at that.
While it is fun, the movie may also be a disappointment to those expecting some epic battle between the species. What we have here is an isolated pit fight, not an all out war like the ads seem to suggest. The fights are intense but usually one-on-one, and can be over pretty quickly at times. Still, for those of you who are curious, "Alien vs. Predator" is certainly worth hunting down.
Six out of ten stars. A very fun movie to watch with great atmosphere, but it's not an all-out war between species and the human characters are just fodder to get between the different monsters.