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Tomb Raider (2018)
What a way to ruin a franchise
Ok, I realize the actors that have made this series work on the big screen are getting older but at least they had a flare and audience behind them. On top of that the movies stayed closer to the actual story. I dont know what makes modern day film creators think that they diverge or reverse roles in a movie and think it is ok. You have just killed your market.
This one has hints of the old but it makes no sense. Lara could do what she did because she had training. This lara has no real training. We are to believe that her interest in this is spiked by her Father's predicament that is told in this movie. That's not how the story develops. Also, the actress, as much as she shows potential, she is not Lara Croft, yet. But is it worth it to the actress if they are going to deviate from the story as they are doing? I hope so. Here career is in their hands. I wanted to ditch the movie at the half way mark. I suffered through to the end in the hope that there may be some redeeming quality, but I know I will not watch this movie again.
Borderlands (2024)
I do not know how anyone could not like this movie.
Granted, it is not 100% like the game, but it took enough flare from it to build upon it and create a good story. Heck, how much could a movie survive just as a shoot-em-up movie?
I do agree there were some things that could have been improved with casting. Cait Blanchett would not be my first pick, and her character was a bit too strong in the butch category, but it did fit her role. I wish they had used Kevin Hart's abilities and influence a bit more, but he also fit. The end was a good ending, and the movie was very enjoyable. I could see this happening in the Borderland Universe, so I feel the negative reviews are a bit harsh. With all the other movies that have a surreal universe that is actually bad, this is far better than them. This also improves upon those that were a success over the years.
Sadly, due to the reviews, we may not see a sequel, and that is a shame. This is a great movie.
The Twilight Zone: Shades of Guilt (2002)
The propaganda is strong in this one.
If anyone came running up to my car and tried to force the driver's door open, I'd drive off, too. We are made to believe that the main character drove off and refused to help a man in obvious distress and in need of help when the opening scene suggests anything but that. Once he drives off he can see in hie mirror that the man was being pursued by a group of mem. This too is understandable because there are too many men for him to stop and help. He'd be beat up too.
The whole premise is off due to the opening scene. They made it a black-white thing over something that did not support the story. This story is more of an example of propaganda than it is against prejudice. The writer should go back to writing school.
Logan's Run (1976)
A good movie that has not aged well.
How did Logan jump from 1056 unaccounted runners to no one being renewed? The jump in logic is illogical. If you can over look this scene the movie is ok, but for me it has been a snag since it came out and more so today. I used to think this was a great movie. It was one of the few of the time that showed good quality sci fi movie. The outside also complimented the Planet of the Apes at the time. It was one of the first few movies that made a jump from the b grade sci fi movies that were out at the time.
I suppose with all the great movies out since then, it has diminished Logan's Run. I hope it does not slip into obscurity due to this. It was part of the landmark movies that came out back then. It was before Star Wars and Star Trek so it was a great transition movie from the old to the new.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Violations (1992)
A place that STNG never should have gone
The management of Star Trek refused and upset a whole convention in NYC when they gave no real answer to why they would not do a part two to Conspiracy, and yet they produced a far more disturbing episode with Violations. I had met Marina Sirtis with friends a few times at NYC conventions and thought she was fantastic. Most of the cast across the franchise are very friendly and share time with the fans. So, when this episode came out it wasn't easy to separate the character from the person. A fictional episode of an alien invasion would be far easier to view than this episode. Why they would even go here is beyond me. Star Trek NG felt they should address some very deep social issues before putting out great Science Fiction which shows in this episode. This is one of the lemons of the long lasting series.
Gentlemen Broncos (2009)
Um....
I don't know if I should laugh, cry, feel empathy or cover my head with a pillow and stuff my ears with corn cobbs, or write my own science fiction story. I have to mention Jennifer Coolidge first. She plays this part so well. I think I like her more in this part than most of her others. In one way, her character fits this movie, and in another way, she stands out above all others while supporting Michael Angarano. That is a sign of a great actress. Haveing a great presence for herself while supporting others.
The movie revolves around Michael Angarano while telling the story of a main character, Sam Rockwell, in his book that was hijacked by a famous writer, played by Jemaine Clement, on the down swing. The book that Michael's character writes saves his career with the theft of the book. The movie is not a good movie. I can see why it might be popular with the college audience though.
This movie has several concurrent themes going on, those i mentioned above and the story of Halley Feiffer, Mike White, and Héctor Jiménez storyline that kinda of mimics Jemaine Clement's theft of the book. Although, they supposedly buy the rights to the book they bastardize it almost as bad as Jemaine Clement. So, our hero is getting it from both sides. All through these different scenes we get snippets of Sam Rockwell's character in different aspects that we are supposed to put together. The scenes are more of an absurd inuendo of thoughts and scenes rather than any reall plot.
The only one that stands by him is his mother, Jennifer. That really makes her part crucial. Due to Jennifer and Michael's parts, I wish the movie was a better movie. They could not keep this movie from sinking the first hour of the movie.
If you survived past the first hour, they tie it all togehter nicely, which is suprising with the awful lines most of the characters have. The ending does make the movie. But can you survive till then?
One last thing I have to mention is the perceptioin and fear a new writer has is addressed in this movie. How will your wrting be accepted and will get get stolen? As ludicris as it is addressed it does draw on that plot line very well. So, the concept is a great concept. It was the execution that did not play out well. At least, the end surprisingly pulls it all together and makes the long wait acceptable. I am going to give it a 7 even if it just misses it. I think a 6 would be too low.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
What should have been a great movie
This movie takes a new step in how Godzilla is represented. Unfortunately, it did not know if it was a Godzilla, horror, or drama movie. The entire movie is dark, literally dark, you need to brighten the background to see it. The direction movies have taken by making everything dark is past its time. It only works in a few movies and of course, the best is the Alien movies. There are few out of that genre that are successful at it. Even though the coldness of space has plenty of light, the moviemakers do not understand this. Also, who works in any kind of dark control room or office? No one!
I could not get behind the characters even with the decent start to draw empathy from the audience. Charles Dance shows up as the villian. Who would have guessed? He can be one of the best villains, but in this movie comes across as if he is sleepwalking. Maybe he is too conditioned to the rolls now.
These writers obviously do not understand what Godzilla is nor how to portray him. The trend to have a touch of horror in these movies I think is a good idea, but I think they are taking it into an area that is outside of what Godzilla is. Godzilla is not a "Horror" flick. It is a Godzilla flic. The main character is Godzilla. The itnereations between the main characters and Godzilla is what sets this movie apart from all other movies in this roll, Horror, or any other genre. Godzilla standa apart from all other typse of movies. Kudos for the Japanese for coming up with this concept.
Sijipeuseu: The Myth: Episode #1.4 (2021)
Now that we have a decent amount of the plot
This is beginning to make sense. The question is whether you could wait out the first 4 episodes dishing out so little. It is now beginning to fall into place and are beginning to feel more for the characters.
There are some scenes that are not quite Matrix or Bourne, yet appear to mimic them in a manner. Whether or not that was on purpose I am not sure due to it not working out. But they did not kill the movie so I only took 1 star away from it.
What makes the movie work is the interaction between the 2 main characters. It is growing to the point where you care for them so you want it to work. If you do not feel this way by now, you may not like the series. Continuing to see how it goes.
Sijipeuseu: The Myth: Episode #1.5 (2021)
Now that we have a decent amount of the plot
We are further along into the story preparing for the next step. The villain's are preparing and so is our Heroes. Who will prevail. Well, we will not find out in this episode. We will have to wait. At least, the wait here is not like the first three episodes of the series where we had a difficult time knowing where we were and who everyone was. We have learned more about the characters in the play.
So far, I am not displeased with how it has progressed. I was worried this was all going to be a red herring. Thankfully, it is not.
The development of the two main characters is not as extensive as it was earlier, so this adds a little bit of a mystique to the show. That actually adds to the storyline.
Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)
Dragon Warrior, who?
It may not fit the theme of the prior movies but it continues the adventure to allow for future movies. It is the future movies I worry about due to. It seems to be following the Disney flops popular today. Then, of course, you have Jack Black, who has chosen to alienate half of his fans, so I am surprised this is as good as it is. Awkwafina was a good choice for this after Jumanji but I do not see this as a good choice for the future. I chose not to let the two above items influence my rating for this picture.
I enjoyed the storyline. I think it brought in more realism with the fact that Po was not recognized outside of his territory. He may be a legend to us and his town, but when you get to far away from his land, no one has heard of him. I do think they could have had a better storyline and protrayal of the characters, but this story worked very well for the plot. It is also a very good set up for #5. The real question is, will it follow through with the direction it is pointing? I do not think it will be as successful as the first 4.
Too bad they waited so long to get this one out. I would have liked to have seen more of the standard characters before switching or adding knew ones.
Loups-Garous (2024)
Jumanji, Zathura, and Werewolf card game all in one?
What an odd little movie that is full of propaganda and feminism. I was first disappointed with Jean Reno having such an insignificant part while being dubbed by someone else. They should have used his own voice. But his part did improve to an enjoyable character. Franck Dubosc and Suzanne Clement's part were a bit hard to accept. If you want to get rid of a feminist send them back in time was the conclusion of that pair.
Despite the force feeding of propaganda it does have some good moments. There were even 2 or 3 touching moments. It could have been so much better had they stayed aligned with the plot.
Cunk on Earth: Faith/Off (2022)
Cunk Attempting to Break the Experts.
Laura Ashe has me laughing. There are a number of people that have a look when they answer. They try to hold it together but Laura is clearly stunned by some of these questions and she has to struggle to answer. She then defaults, or appears to default, to a short answer to stop herself from laughing. I hope Jesus has the sense of humor, because some of this episode pushes the limits. This episode like the first makes false assumptions, wrong conclusions, and absurd Outcomes. But it does beg the question, as polished as we have made history, do we have it correct? Could Cunk be on to something? Could she be more correct than wrong? Or is it all a journey down the rabbit hole?
My Dinner with Andre (1981)
A monumental example of creative deception.
This is a movie describing someone who does not know himself and is looking outside for the definition of him. As interesting as it would have been to me when I was younger, I could tell by my personal experiences that this would not be for me. As was confused, questioning, distracted, and told I didn't know who I was to a point where I almost believed it; deep down, I knew who I was. My question was, why was there that disconnect between me and someone like Andre? I would see strong points in them that they did not see in themselves. Over the years I would see most of these people become lost in discovery only to find themselves by denying those discovering moments. But those moments would change them, and mostly not for the best.
A Catholic sees a demon in the middle of Christmas Mass who comforts him. This says it all.
If you take the spectrum of sane to insanity and now separate it by less intelligent, normal, and genius, someone in the normal range might find it difficult if the genius is sane. Insanity genius has a flamboyant, colorful, wonderful way of expressing insanity. Now, take a sane individual who is tricked or is purposely trying to deceive you. Andre mentions comfort can be dangerous tranquility. This is a similar argument to what they said years ago. You can't stop progress. Underneath that drive was the notion nothing established is good, and that we have to keep improving, destroying old, and building new to go forward. You must keep an open mind to new ideas. All paths to deception.
The talk of the Demon in the church offering him comfort clearly shows the state of Andre's mind, and we are to overlook or understand it. In high school and college, they insist that you read all these classics. All these classics are dystopian, depressing, suicidal, or some other awful conflict we must discuss in class and come to some kind of a census on. No, we don't. We need to read good, wholesome stories about how people made a good life and became successful despite the shortcomings in their lives. We don't need to know the person was brought to ruin and just barely survived, but he did survive. How does someone turn their life around and succeed?
You get a fuller picture of the deception being taught in schools with these so-called classics when you look up who the author is. Now, some do have a practical purpose, like The Lottery making a statement about WWII, but most were the delusions of people who had personality disorders. This is what has been taught in literary avenues from 40 years ago till now.
This character did not know who he was and brought in absurd examples of trying to find himself. Thus, he learned that social customs were bad because he could not adapt to real life. There is a reason why this movie is not known by the general public. It's awful and introduces deception as a viable path to enlightenment.
Midway (1976)
A great representation of what that battle was like.
Today's generation should take a lesson from this movie. We were the underdog and we came back to win the war. Not only did we win the war we won 2 wars in 1. The pacific war and the European war, Japan and Germany. The movies of that time do not flaunt our success. We show respect to those who fought on the opposite side. We were not privileged, boastful, or any of the elitist labels used for America today. We have never been elitissts. We have rolled up our sleeves and did what was needed. We did that in every war. Why did we have and hopefully still have a great fighting force. Because we learned from our losses. We are a mixture of people all under the banner of America. We have different insights, lessons, and ways of seeing the world that no other country has and yet, today we should be ashamed of it. No, it is our strength.
Just a note: we won the Revolutionary War due to new guerilla tactics. Where did we get that from? We learned that from the American Indians. We learned a tactic they used against us and made it better. But we are the bad guys. When you learn history and learn what not only we did, but every country that has survived over time, you will see how much they had to overcome rather than what they oppressed.
When you recognize your strengths, weaknesses, and luck, you have the humility to be something great. We had that. Today, we do not have the strength the men who fought in WWII had. Learn, listen, and see what America really stands for.
The Hill (2023)
Dennis Quaid is making the best films later in life.
I personally do not like seeing him so old in the movies. As well as he did in the movies when he was younger he should have had better parts. Thankfully, he has stuck around and we are seeing his best.
Although the movie does not portray the Christian religion in the best light, I have seen religious families struggle with the various directions members want to go in. This is more common than the even-going family.
I had to look this movie up to see how it ran in real life. I was very pleasantly surprised that it held so close to the real experience of the Hill family. This is how "based on a true story" should be written. I was also very happy to find out that Ricky Hill had a major part in making the movie. Unlike other movies that buy the rights and then take artistic license, they stayed true to the story as best they could.
One thing I discovered was not in the movie but in the comments. There is such hatred for religion it taints the viewer's opinion of the movie. It does not matter how inspiring a movie is, as long as religious beliefs are involved, it is graded on whether or not the movie shows too much religion. That's very sad. You would think that a movie such as this would be respected for showing a family that follows a religion and a belief and how they struggle to understand it and show it to each other. That was completely missed.
Doppelgänger (1969)
A great European move at the time.
It was a great movie for the time. Some aspects of the movie are odd now and then, like the use of Thunderbird's-type buildings and vehicles. Everyone knew it was out of place for the movie, but in the long run, it actually fits the movie, considering the special effects of the time in other movies have not held up over the years. The movie should be considered along the lines of Colossus or Demon Seed, and possibly the 1968 Planet of the Apes. Although the Planet of the Apes had better integration of futuristic scenes. It mimics the actual flare of the Apollo missions of the time. In terms of a historical sense, the movie is not bad. It is better than the James Bond movie that was around that time.
The plot pushes your limits of imagination with the Doppelganger explanation and does not hold up through the ages. A more intelligent audience might not accept the plot as we did back then. But if you want to see the imagination of the time, this is one movie, along with Colossus, that is a must-see. Despite its limitations, this is a well-made space travel movie for the time.
Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
What an awful little film that was well done... ?
Well, current Disney productions are not about children's films or putting out good, clean movies anymore, that is for sure. But this one was surprisingly less of a change than they've done in years. I do question why they would put such a film out there. PL Travis, by all accounts, was not a great person to be writing about or showing on the wide screen.
I have mixed feelings about the portrayal of PL Travis. By all accounts, she was not a nice person. There are some points that bring very vivid memories of the older generation back in the sixties. Her firm hard stance was right on with some of the older generation of the time. They were like hitting a brick wall and had no problem introducing you to the hard realities of life. They were difficult to talk to and came across as mean spirited, so the movie gives a good portrayal of those kind of people at that time. (There were others that were a bit more softer and compassionate to children.)
I had to look her up and the relationship she had with Disney. The impression I got was the typical Anti American sentiment that some Britsh people have towards Americans. She felt forced to allow Disney to make the movie due to her financial struggles. That says it all right there. On top of that she had her own problems that the movie plays upon in its own way.
I am left wondering why Disney would make a movie that depicts PL Travis in such a bad light. At times, they soften her, but like her generation, they do not sugarcoat reality. They show that she was a troubled person who made things difficult for Disney. So why? Why would they put a movie out there that basically puts her in a bad light?
I can only imagine with the awful turn Disney has taken with their movies and turned away from Disney's vision this is just another step to distance themselves from what Disney stood for. Well, we shall see how Disney fares in the coming years with their course prospects for the future.
A Sound of Thunder (2005)
A Clearly Biased Review...
When I first saw this movie, I would not have given it such a high rating, but since then, many others have followed that are not as great. I did not buy into the time waves back then. Since then, gravity waves that affect time, albeit for a fraction of a second, have been proven to occur. We just do not know it. We do not feel it, see it, so we are unaware of it. At least, this gives time waves a little bit of reality to it vs some time travel movies that stretch concepts even further than this movie.
This time I found myself glued to the movie despite my not liking the time waves all those years ago. Now, it added to the suspense of the movie. It was well written, almost to the sixth sense level, and pulled off the plot theory very well. I feel this was a very underrated movie. It was ahead of its time for people to understand it. The later version, made the concept a bit more pallatable even if it did not do the story justice.
Uglies (2024)
The propaganda is strong with this one.
I gave it a 5, although the propaganda deserved a 1 because it worked. If this were 40 years ago, maybe it would have been considered fiction and get a 9. Since our political environment parallels this concept, it is too close to home. I was surprised at how many people missed the point of this movie and criticized it for not having a realistic view of life. That was not the point, it is a political statement about control and obliterating the opposition.
Today, we see both sides saying that. One is saying it for control to gain control, while the other is calling out the actual warning of what is going on. This movie even touches on that point with the controlled side, not knowing they are the ones controlled and following blindly. Conceptually, the movie deserves higher.
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Its a good alternative to Classic Trek
As much as I do not like the new timeline that breaks all the Cannon laws and the storyline already set up, it is a pretty good movie otherwise. I have to laugh because this movie is unique and a copycat as well. It brings a newness to Science Fiction, which is always one of ST's trademarks. But why did they have to have the Narn attack the Enterprise using Magog ships and destroy yet again another Enterprise? Will any Enterprise survive a movie nowadays? I think not. The Enterprise being destroyed or the crew traveling in time has become a staple of the franchise. Thankfully, they have a pretty good concept with time travel, except for the reboots ignoring everything that was set up with the Time Police.
RED 2 (2013)
It was a mistake not to make Red 3
Well, until I saw the ratings on IMDB. I am surprised that it had such low ratings. I thought this a was a great movie along with Red. It had mysery, intrigue, almost a cat fight, a Harry Potter professor, what more could you ask for? I enjoyed this movie very much and liked how everyone worked well together. I do think killing Joe Matheson in Red 1 was a mistake, since we lost his return here.
I think the twist in presenting the scenes in the movie added to the flavor of the movie. It too a spy movie just one step further in character development than other movies. I wonder if Bruce's condition had shown up at this time to his coworkers. Maybe that had a role in no Red 3. But he did make other movies after that. This storyline will be missed.
That Darn Cat! (1965)
A good movie that starts off slow.
It is fairly typical for movies back then to start off slow and then build and this is one of those movies. I had wondered why I did not know this movie. I thought I would have remembered this movie with Hayley in it. This movie had many stars that were not my favorite at the time. The only scenes I remembered were the ones with William Demarest. That is because of My Three Sons. I am a bit surprised by that because Iris Adrien played more than a few less-than-pleasing roles, which made me cringe every time I saw her in a movie.
Movies today are action-packed from the start. They do not develop a plot line or character background. So, for modern-day audiences, this can be more than boring, which explains the bad reviews. I began to think that they may have been right until it started to build to the middle of the movie. Once the movie hit the mid-way mark, that was when it started to get good, but it was mid-sixties humor, which does not hold up well over time. That is sad, because we have lost a lot of our innocence.
My 8 stars may be biased because I understand the time it was made.
The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
I could not give it 4 stars...
The moment they mention that one of the names they are known by is Angels. Later, they mention that free will is an illusion. Mankind had free will and nearly destroyed themselves. They taught us how to reason and be more logical in our thought processes. They took their time to teach us how not to abuse our intellect and emotions. When they thought we were ready, they gave us our free will again, only to watch us have the world wars, the Cuban crises, etc. So, they took it away and we live by their decisions, not ours. That is a summary of the movie.
If you do not believe in God then this might be an explanation of what we are like. But if you believe in God, this is a very anti God movie. It states God is not out for the worlds best interest nor allows you real free will. He is controlling us. That premise ruined the movie.
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Almost a modern day Death Wish.
This movie was offensive to the memory of Beverly Hills Cops. I really tried to like it. There are a number of great stars in this movie. Kevin Bacon makes for a great bad guy. He keeps getting better as time goes on too. It was great to sess some of the old characters/actors back in ths movie. I was hoping Serge would show up again, but like most of of the scenes it was a disappointment. The acting was great, but what can you do with such awful lines. All the actors tried their best to make it work but the scenes were caustic. It was like Death Wsih took over the movie.
It also was very racist against whites. Granted, it was still funny but it took a tone that was very low brow. They chose not to cater to the mass audience or the audience that they nurtured with the earlier movies. It would have been nice to have continued the movies with a more nonracist theme that would sustain the franchise. Instead we received Hollywood's propaganda.
Ender's Game (2013)
Each time I see this movie I like it less
I don't think this movie knows if it is for adults or kids. When I first saw it, I mistook it for a Harrison Ford movie. The anticipation of that kind of movie is what kept me watching it. When I realized it was not I continued to watch it to try to understand the movie. The movie has a very dark tone to it. I assume it is trying to make a statement that is clearly said at the end. It is how you win that matters. This ties in all that happens before this point and the last few minutes of the movie. It would have been a decent blend but you have to buy into that they would give Ender a ship to use to relocate the young queen.
One point is missed. If they went to such an extreme, they certainly would not let a young queen go with the threat that it might amass a large number of descendants that might attack Earth.
This movie is difficult to score. I would not say it is a bad movie, but the negatives don't make it a great movie. Then, when you add in that it is not really a kids' movie or an adult movie, what is left?