26 reviews
- davidfurlotte
- Dec 2, 2011
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- DesertDogMedia
- Jul 1, 2014
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I couldn't finish watching it, it was that bad. Obvious foreign movie. Couldn't tell whether the actors were actually speaking English or whether it was dubbed as it sounded stereo typically dubbed. A lot of these reviews state it was good viewing but sadly not for myself and I love action, thriller and horror who also writes reviews on such films.
- jasondwight-45527
- Jun 4, 2020
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This movie fails at the most basic level of telling a story that makes any kind of sense.
The premise (the good guys start off in an air-soft game, but it becomes a real 'war') sounds like it might be vaguely interesting (if you haven't already seen the much better film Severance). But the air-soft element is completely forgotten as soon as the baddies show up - the characters who are supposed to be good at the game behave just as idiotically as the rest.
It's not even that they make the understandable mistakes panicking civilians might make in a deadly situation - they just do whatever random, stupid things they need to progress the 'story' to the next plot point. One character is happy to kill an injured enemy in cold blood, but then hesitates when confronted by an armed enemy coming for her two minutes later. One character who's armed with a real gun nonsensically *puts it down and forgets about it* just to let a particularly nasty and sadistic scene happen without her preventing it.
The cinematographer's main trick is to have the focus wander between foreground and background - which looks classy the first time, but loses its appeal when it happens in every other shot.
Not at all good.
The premise (the good guys start off in an air-soft game, but it becomes a real 'war') sounds like it might be vaguely interesting (if you haven't already seen the much better film Severance). But the air-soft element is completely forgotten as soon as the baddies show up - the characters who are supposed to be good at the game behave just as idiotically as the rest.
It's not even that they make the understandable mistakes panicking civilians might make in a deadly situation - they just do whatever random, stupid things they need to progress the 'story' to the next plot point. One character is happy to kill an injured enemy in cold blood, but then hesitates when confronted by an armed enemy coming for her two minutes later. One character who's armed with a real gun nonsensically *puts it down and forgets about it* just to let a particularly nasty and sadistic scene happen without her preventing it.
The cinematographer's main trick is to have the focus wander between foreground and background - which looks classy the first time, but loses its appeal when it happens in every other shot.
Not at all good.
Seven friends travel to the countryside to play airsoft simulating a war in the woods. They stumble with three paranoid and sadistic ex-soldiers and they are killed one by one.
"War Games: At the End of the Day" is another stupid collection of clichés, with a imbecile group of hysterical and idiotic teenagers that does exactly the opposite that should have been done: cry when should be quiet; shoot when should wait; return when should flee. Further, the bullets in the pistol end unexpectedly in a moment of advantage for the dumb group or the shooter misses the target. There are several other movies with the same storyline ("group of friends travel to the woods to play paintball, or to fish, or to camp or whatever, and stumbles with a group of sadistic men.
The music score is something dreadful and the long conclusion is absolutely predictable. Last but not the least, I should have watched the soccer game live on television instead of wasting my time seeing this crap. My vote is one (awful).
Title (Brazil): "Jogos de Guerra" ("War Games")
"War Games: At the End of the Day" is another stupid collection of clichés, with a imbecile group of hysterical and idiotic teenagers that does exactly the opposite that should have been done: cry when should be quiet; shoot when should wait; return when should flee. Further, the bullets in the pistol end unexpectedly in a moment of advantage for the dumb group or the shooter misses the target. There are several other movies with the same storyline ("group of friends travel to the woods to play paintball, or to fish, or to camp or whatever, and stumbles with a group of sadistic men.
The music score is something dreadful and the long conclusion is absolutely predictable. Last but not the least, I should have watched the soccer game live on television instead of wasting my time seeing this crap. My vote is one (awful).
Title (Brazil): "Jogos de Guerra" ("War Games")
- claudio_carvalho
- Feb 26, 2013
- Permalink
This is really bad I don't know if anyone esle spotted this but lot of people in the film sound the same even the women
- darrencooper-12413
- Jun 1, 2020
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We had a bit of a movie marathon at home this weekend, catching up on various horrors that slipped under our radar in the past year or so. I must be honest, I went into War games with no real expectations as this is hardly ground breaking in it's ideas, but I was really very surprised to find the film to be as good as it is. After a kind of a naff set up and introduction, the film really gets going and never lets up until the final image. The chase/hunt is relentless and it's quite a tense watch. It's got some quite clever visuals where the camera kind of drifts in and out of focus, and because it's shot hand held it really puts you into the movie. This is also helped because none of the cast are particularly well known, at least not to me, so everyone was expendable and it was clever how the film sets up certain characters as the lead only to bump them off unexpectedly. You never really know beyond the main girl who's gonna stick around til the end. To their credit the actors are all very good and should go on to be better known. I think that the film could have benefited from spending more time on the soldiers background because their motives are never really clear, but then again, that also makes it kind of scary too. Not the best film we saw over the weekend, but pretty bloody good all the same.
- andrestownsend
- May 20, 2012
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- haselnussmonster-forum
- May 28, 2013
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I remember I saw this film when it came out back in the days when you could rent a movie and I loved it , then many years later I found it on bluray and now Im a proud owner of this pearl, its a great story, and both acting and production are ok , not sparkling, but they have done the best they can with the money they have, and I want to say I am sensetive with this , not a fan of B movies , but this work
Of course the Netflix generation didnt like this movie, not surpriced , But I think perhaps this movie target group could be for little older than 18 and the ones who seen little bit more than movie only Friday evning.
Of course the Netflix generation didnt like this movie, not surpriced , But I think perhaps this movie target group could be for little older than 18 and the ones who seen little bit more than movie only Friday evning.
- bjornrhein
- Dec 7, 2023
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- CrackaJohn
- Feb 10, 2012
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Cosimo Alema has crafted a really gritty and dark thriller which pits it's excellent young cast against some pretty nasty euro villains and watches in delight as they fight to survive. The idea of city kids being hunted in the wilderness by crazed locals is nothing new and has been done better in Deliverance and Southern Comfort but the old saying rings true, if it ain't broke.... The film really benefits from it's stylish burnt out visuals, no doubt thanks to Alema's background as a music video director. It gives the film a strong identity and makes the most of the awesome back drop in which the film is set. The hunting ground itself is a awash with lakes, waterfalls and forests which all lend to some great set pieces. The cast all do a good job to flesh out their limited characters, and give us a reason to root for them, whilst the bad guys all look typically gruff and nasty. Low on scares the film does throw in one or two good shocks and whilst never lingering too long on the kills as the cast are inevitably whittled down, it does create a very tense and believable atmosphere. A scene involving the two sisters Lara (Stephanie Chapman Baker) and Monica (Valene Kane) is heartbreaking and truly memorable. Sam Cohan does well as the groups de facto leader Alex who may or may not know more than he is letting on, and Neil Linpow is definitely one to watch as the reluctant hero Riko. A really good example of what I'd call Friday night fluff. An enjoyable watch that wont set the world on fire, but will keep you entertained throughout.
- DaveCooper
- Oct 29, 2011
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- satriabingung
- Jun 18, 2020
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I'm sure this is a good film but I lost the will to live watching it. I really struggled to follow the dialogue as there was just too much background noise over the top of the dialogue. Did no one actually listed to this in post production.
- mosley-11762
- Jun 5, 2020
- Permalink
Great concept but poor delivery. Actors must have been selected on their low pay rate rather than ability as there isn't a believable moment in the film. Action is slow and poorly executed. Audio is terrible. I guess it'll appeal to some. Personally it's one of the worst I've seen this year. I don't usually rate a film on whether it's got a big budget or not because I enjoy low budget movies aswell but this one is like its been made by kids. The camera work is shoddy at best, not sure what the director was going for. Give this one a miss. It isn't horror. It isn't action it isn't thriller or drama it's just a mess. One can't help but wonder how this made it into production.
- twanster-97655
- Jun 5, 2020
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- courtneeysawyeer
- Jul 31, 2020
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I created an account just to warn people not to waste their time on this. The stupidity of the characters was frustrating and made it really hard to watch. I'm sorry but it's really bad.
War Games has clearly 'borrowed' it's central themes and story from several films that have gone before it. Despite this it's hard not to like it, because it has been executed so well here once more. The loose hand-held camera work and the gritty low key performances from it's cast make the film dark and believable. It shows that by casting good actors and setting your story in an unfamiliar place, there is still a lot of fun to be had in the cat n mouse genre. The film has been scored really well, and it uses the music well throughout, with some it's most effective moments set to it's thumping soundtrack. The film ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, and although I enjoyed the film I don't think it warrants a sequel and I hope that Alema moves on to a new projects and doesn't try to franchise this.
- LutherRobinson
- Nov 13, 2011
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- gurumaggie
- Nov 12, 2020
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OK first things first, this film is bad, like a film students first movie bad. It has that awkward disjointed type of acting where the lines don't so much seem to be in response to what the other person said, so much as canned exclamations that don't really fit.
The plot doesn't make much sense, and also has a weird vibe like it's trying to portray veterans as some kinda of sadist psychopaths which feels a little insulting. There also seems to be a complete disconnect from logical behaviour, with the cast regularly doing the exact opposite of what you would expect someone to do in a similar situation, the landmine scene?
Top this off with the bad guy having the weirdest mumbling accented voice that is legitimately so hard to understand I almost put on captions, a musical score that seems to be picked randomly from someone CD collection which feels completely out of place everytime it chimes in and a cast you honestly barely know and couldn't care less about.
The plot doesn't make much sense, and also has a weird vibe like it's trying to portray veterans as some kinda of sadist psychopaths which feels a little insulting. There also seems to be a complete disconnect from logical behaviour, with the cast regularly doing the exact opposite of what you would expect someone to do in a similar situation, the landmine scene?
Top this off with the bad guy having the weirdest mumbling accented voice that is legitimately so hard to understand I almost put on captions, a musical score that seems to be picked randomly from someone CD collection which feels completely out of place everytime it chimes in and a cast you honestly barely know and couldn't care less about.
- JasperMoneyshot
- Nov 17, 2020
- Permalink
I thought that War Games was one of those really nice surprises. Its one of those films that you end up catching by chance that turns out to be a nasty, cool little movie. Its about some kids who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time and get messed with by the wrong people. It's kind of similar to pretty much every movie like that, that you have ever seen, except what I thought was cool is that the film creates this really cool atmosphere, and really shows the beauty of the nature of the wilderness that the kids have gone to. Its kinda strange that this nasty stuff is happening in such a beautiful setting. Most of the characters are pretty generic, cardboard cutouts, but the actors do a good job with them, and keep you interested in their fates. I think on the whole, War Games works best when it catches you unaware, one of those films that lets you drift into it, and suddenly it's got you, and I love finding films like this.
The plot centers around two estranged sisters, Lara and Monica, who along with some friends go out to the countryside to play airsoft. They stumble across the hideout of three ex soldiers who have been using the area as their own hunting ground. The soldiers then decide to pick them off, one at a time. So I got this flick on mail order mainly because it's about some guys playing airsoft, which is a real hobby of mine and because Im a big fan of the stalker slasher genre. I was hoping to see some cool battle scenes and these kids pitting their skills against some hardened soldiers and some good old fashioned slashing. The airsoft scene at the start is pretty cool, and the director did a great job catching the frenetic pace of the game. It was good to see that the actors that were meant to have been really good at the game were well versed in the proper techniques and gave their characters a sense of authenticity. The film is more than just a slasher though. In fact I was surprised to find that it was a bit smarter than that, and two of the deaths apart, it isn't actually very gory at all. What it is very good at though is creating a level of tension and unease early on and wracking it up as the film continues. The mood of the film is very haunting, which is achieved through the stunning visuals and the beautiful soundtrack. It's very clever how as the film uses the soft, delicate music is in such stark contrast to the violence on screen. The hand-held style in which the film is shot pulls you into the story and makes it feel very believable. This is obviously also helped by some very strong performances from the largely unknown cast. Stephanie Chapman Baker and Neil Linpow are especially good as the two main characters and it's their slow burning romance set against the horrors around them that gives the film some real heart. The soldiers all look the part, and do a fantastic job with their limited dialogue. It is in fact Michael Lutz who gives the stand out performance as Uncle, the leader of the three. His face is so worn and tells us everything in a look. I am a little disappointed that the back stories of the soldiers were not explored, as I think that it would have added an extra dimension to the film had we known more about who these guys were and how they had become so bitter and twisted. That is one of the main problems with the film. The script is at times a bit clunky, and the story doesn't really take us in any new directions, in fact it's pretty generic. It would have been nice to see some twists and turns. There is one shock early on when the first character is killed, but after that it just seems to follow a well beaten path up to it's conclusion. That said, it does this well, and keeps you entertained and pretty taut throughout. I think that Cosimo Alema on the back of this will go on to make better films, but this is a really solid debut.
- joshcamile
- Oct 3, 2011
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I thought this was actually a pretty good movie. It's got good action sequences and some cool death scenes. Most of the characters kind of deserve it too, so some of the kills are really satisfying. Like the one that runs off to the mine field.
I thought the actors were all pretty decent, but the script didn't really give them the most to work with I don't think. It's all quite simple stuff. Kids go where they shouldn't. Bad stuff happens. Thing is, if you like these types of horror/survival films like I do, then this is a pretty good one. If you don't, then I guess it's not so good. There's a few good jumpy bits and a really nice little move at the end to make it a bit open ended too. Worth your time if you're looking for something dumb and fun.
Dumb kids stumble across bad dudes, much violence and death ensues. Pretty much covers the plot. It's not going to win any awards for originality, but it's got some cool set pieces and some satisfying death scenes. Most of the characters are pretty paper thin, but the actors are all committed and sell the story well.
The main bad guy is hard to understand, but he's got a great face, and he's double mean.
Beset watched on a few beers I think. Wont be for everyone, but I love these wacky survival flicks personally. Take your brain out and go with it.
- AntHardwick
- Jun 6, 2020
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I've run out of things to watch on Netflix since Coronavirus lockdown, so gave this one a go and thought it was pretty decent. It's violent and fast which are two things I like in movies. After a quick set up where some guys planting landmines in a field and killing animals for sport, we see a bunch of youngsters arrive in their hunting grounds. You can guess where it goes from there.
Some of the deaths are brutal but I wouldn't class it as a gory film. Acting is all fine. The whole film looks real nice and the music is kind of trippy too. It's worth a look.
- DanDaMan1997
- Jun 6, 2020
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