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Reviews
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Definitely a salvation.....sorry had to say it
terminator has seen its fair share of crap, actually the entire third film is an ungodly abomination but even then it has a certain appeal. Salvation pulls the franchise back from the brink with high pace action, some well rounded characters and some good special effects.
The plot does a good job of advancing the story here, sky-net are taking people from their homes and the resistance have found a way to fight the machines. And whilst these are good devices to move the story along neither one is fully explained, for instance, the reason people are being kidnapped is never fully explained and the ultimate weapon against the machines doesn't really find its feet and gets discarded half way through. There was so much more room for a war drama with the kidnapping being pivotal to the story and the action could have seen street and guerrilla warfare but ultimately the story is poor at best.
In counter respect though action scenes are well choreographed and with enough explosions gun play and machine warfare to keep the average view happy, but even then the subject matter begs to be more about conflict and fear and less about bang-bangs explosion but hey the inevitable sequel will probably build on this aspect.
Bale and Worthington show the talent they're known for as the male leads and Bryce Dallas Howard gives a good show for the girls which is one of the films high points, there is a real sense of drama and it never over steps its self into the terrible over acting found in Salvations predecessor.
Special effects are top shelf in most areas. There are some flimsy textures in areas but the machines are very believable and to be honest they bring back some of the fear lost in the third movie's femme fatale terminator.
Despite all the mean things that i said earlier i liked this film a lot sure the story and action weren't completely to my liking they did a good job of keeping me entertained as did the characters and the terminators themselves, but i cant escape the felling that this film could have been so much more than the sum of its parts, there was so much room here for a proper war film it had the cast to pull it off and the effects team to boot, but i suppose the agenda of the studio was to make as much money of this cash cow as possible so they opted for the explosions and action over substance and plot. All in all this is a good film, my only criticism, is that it should have been great.
Signs (2002)
all signs point to a good film....sorry bout the pun
Signs has a definite Hitchcock degree of scope. Characters are well rounded, tension and suspicion are kept to a peak until just the right moment, there is a story within a story and it plays into the hands of the actors. Its a definite watch at night, in the darkest room, blast the volume...not so much horror film but thriller, with horror elements.
Signs follows the story of the Hess family. A single father widowed tragically when his wife is killed in a car accident and former priest. He lives with his two kids Bo and Morgan and his younger brother Meryl. the family awake one morning to find a large crop circle in the cornfield of the farm they live on. The young boy Morgan jumps to the conclusion that aliens are the cause, he's a bit of a truth is out there kid, but his ideas are discounted by the family who believe it was the local hooligans playing an elaborate prank but soon these signs start to appear in countries all over the world.
the film takes a dramatic tone only really jesting at the idea of this alien invasion theory but tense edge of seat scenes throughout keep the idea fresh and believable. Its a fifties drive through movie in theory but its simple idea leads it to modern sophistication with serious story telling and some tight acting from the leads Gibson and Phoenix. All elements kept this viewer enticed and lead along. its a hard film to walk away from especially mid way through were a terrifying revelationshows up from out of the blue in the form of a news reel showing afamily party ruined by a mysterious creature, which will require a bit of time to come down from.
in all honesty its an entertaining film, filled with top shelf acting and suspenseful directorial skill from M.Night. Its a good watch only let down by the odd pacing seen between the first and second halves buy still it really doesn't matter because it really is entertaining in the long run. Yours sincerely C.F
Max Payne (2008)
Sweet beats
I'm a fan of the max Payne games. My god how could you not be, i mean it was dark,brooding,atmospheric. It made harks back to the john woo action films such as hard boiled and implemented the bullet time stop motion gun play of the matrix.
The film. Well. ITS AWESOME. Its got guns, extreme stunts, a good cast. oh and Olga freaking kurylenko. I mean hot isn't even half the word. Mark Wahlberg is usually the hard ass cop anyway so he was the obvious choice and while he plays more the hard faced actioner rather than the foreboding logical character that is max in the games his performance as that persona fits the dark edgy mood that is brought in straight from the games.
the only criticism is that the implementation of the Angels must have seemed like a good idea at the time seems somehow out of place and the reason that they are present is so outlandishly stupid it seems out of place but whilst the idea is wrongfully placed it at least adds a great incentive for the mystery to remain being studied and keeps the viewers intrigued.
In short its a good proper action film big on brawn but surprisingly its got brains too. mind you the balance is a bit off but still it makes good viewing. It would have got a seven but it gets an eight for manliness.
Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
sweet
buy it now(its so Good i mean oh my god) RE fans will have already bought it so they'll join me in the awesomeness but for you non RE people watch it.
Its good for a night in movie and you'll definitely want to watch it again. Set piece's are at an all time high for this franchise. An airport, a plane, an office block a collapsing building its quite well stitched together and on that note the action is actually quite good lots of blood which is to be expected from a franchise that built on its level of violence and gore.
but sadly most of these comments are let down slightly by the TERRIBLE voice acting which harks back at the days of "the master of unlocking" and "Barry...where's Barry" if your a fan of the games you'll no what I'm getting at. And in this generation of staggering visual effects and life like CG characters seem to be running a a play station 2 engine but they still get the job done and the story is quite well done if slightly predictable to a fan of the series. but I'm just nit picking the simple fact is that these animated characters are more true to the franchise than those "hollywood" movies. there is a real sense of commitment that the team behind this wanted to make a movie fans could be proud of as opposed to selling out their ideas for big bucks.
Its 12.99 in HMV people and its worth it even if its just for the resident evil 5 sneak peeks and excellent DVD extras.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
some film!
Dawn of the dead is an arty film hidden under the guise of a zombie apocalypse. the film hangs around the zombie apocalypse that Romero previously introduced in his previous film "night of the living dead". Dawn of the dead takes place supposedly the beginning of the day or "dawn" of the day after the "night". A group of people decide to flee the major city that they are currently residing in. Two of these people work for a local news station were the incident is being covered on TV. the two aspire to steal the traffic copter and pick up there friend a local swat team officer who is engaged in an operation of clearing out inhaditated buildings were people are keeping the reanimated corpses of there relatives and friends in their homes. A member of his swat team agrees to run and flee the losing battle that is transpiring against law enforcement and the zombies in the streets.
the group flee the close quarters of the city and make a break for the Canadian wilderness armed with only a few rifles and few supplies. over the course of the journey it appears that the more rural areas with there open quarters are fighting a winning battle as the army set up for raids in the major cities. the group finally take refugee in a mall were they find that they can kill off those zombies in the mall and from there on in is a secure location for them to live and wait for this to blow over.
From the point they enter the mall the film takes on many different conflicting topics such as abortion, materialism, moral dilemmas involving the infected also by radio and TV transmissions it shows the scientific community is in taters as more arcane methods are brought to the table about the dilemma and reason goes out of the window.
the movies protagonists all surcome to the materialist lure of the various expensive lavish things that are present in the mall. eventually boredom and cabin fever set in and they begin to question decisions and tempers begin to runs high.
I promised IMDb that i wouldn't but in many spoilers so i wont mention the ball tightening brilliant half hour of the movie so ill end with these next couple of lines. dawn of the dead is frayed around the edges but its still a great example of substance and action joining in spectacular fashion add another star if u like head explosions.
S.W.A.T. (2003)
Definitely a perfect gift for Christmas or any gift in fact
s.w.a.t is a film that is quite high concept in its execution. It never sacrifices action for story. Its a film that follows a simple premise and wait for it..........is more enjoyable for it.
this film doesn't pretend to be anything that its not. It isn't directed by Ewe Boll or whoever he his. Its an action film to the core. high powered action scenes that are quite realistically put together in terms of tactics. For example, in the opening scene it shows s.w.a.t engaging a gang of bank robbers. s.w.a.t distract the enemies by eliminating there escape route whilst they enter from the roof and scatter themselves around the build, tap the phones, cut off cameras and send in a hard line phone to speak with there besieged enemies. Its balls tightening exciting and very edgy. And this edge doesn't cease throughout the rest of the films action sequences.
the story is a high concept one to. A french mobster is arrested and sentenced to jail time. News cameras follow the story and on air he announces a 100 million dollar reward for those who free him. And naturally everyone from here to Guantanamo bay is out to rescue him. Its retarded simple but as a device to move the story it does the job quite well.
Acting is not really a requirement of an action film such as this but excellent turns from Jacksons hard ass mentor and Farrells skilled student has a sense of chemistry about it.
In conclusion, s.w.a.t is a mar mite film. Some will love its high paced action and high production values but others will find it to simple for there highly sprung college educated minds to care. but its a perfect night in action film best watched in its newly released blue ray format for the added sound levels and better view of those amazing shoot outs.
Add another star if you have a blue ray player.
Taken (2008)
premium cinema
This film draws heavily on a blend of the brawn of Bonds latest outing but the intelligent execution of the Bourne movies but neither out-way the other.
the plot is very one sided but the acting and excellent pacing make it a story that is very intensive and enjoyable. Not to mention that the characters are very connective with the viewer all filled with a certain charm.
its a great action flick as well. as above skillful choreography and excellent believable action is quite balanced with the unbelievable driving sequence with the off roaders.
all in all an epic night out film and one i would definitely buy for the Christmas build up truly enjoyable viewing
Gears of War (2006)
awesome is not the word!
This is a game that is beyond good, even beyond great, even beyond awesome.
this awesome is derived from the unbelievably addictive online play that is worth the 14.99 price tag. this game is a must by simply because of the graphic brilliance in multi-player crisp controls AND THE LASHINGS OF GORE the game scores points for the story mode but just a few. it isn't really all that good and the story is the same as many other games but it is still fun.
get this game for the single player and be entertained, play the multi-player and be astonished
Halo 3 (2007)
halo 3 mmmmmmmmmmm........
..... is a let down for a game so hyped and looked forward to i expected something little more up beat and brilliant but what i got was something that was diabolically disappointing. and u want to know why well were do i begin 1. gameplay, the game feels old its the same old tired tried and tested formula and after playing it a while it gets so damn monotonous hat it gets dull having already beat it i just cant be bothered to play it again to get those damn skulls 2. graphics, th graphics have come virtually no distance what so ever they have barely changed since the second one sure they're crisper but they don't stand a chance against the test of time and other titles that were previously released before halo three such as gears of war which is its biggest rival looks better and plays better and finally 3. the storyline , is crap. i mean in the time chief has been gone the covenant have found a device that can trigger all the halos and they can only defeat them with the chief who can miraculously turn the seriously losing batte around and conceive victory i mean is that not the most unimaginative thing u have eve heard. bungie just said lets bring back the chief and throw him straight into this storm and another thing the story is really short. halo 2 had a longer more imaginative enjoyable story mode but this game has only a few levels that are relatively short these are all important facts for a game but another important aspect is the online play and i have to say it is the saving grace with new modes and a build your own map system it is enjoyable. the ability to record online battles shows us how we die in games and lets us see r best moments again and again so if you want an online experience that ticks all the boxes makes new ones and ticks them then go a head but if u r looking for a thrilling game that u can enjoy for ages get out and get the orange box, gears of war, rainbow six Vegas and the list gos on thank you for reading and good night
Family Guy (1999)
a brief plot over veiw
Family guy is an adult comedy cartoon that has been canceled more times than i remember because of its overt nature. it follows the lives of the griffin family the worlds most disfunctitonal family. there is peter the over weight father who is a complete idiot, Lois the caring wife, meg their daughter , Chris their overweight son, stewie a talking baby who seeks world domination and the death of his mother, and their alcoholic dog Brian.the show has had its ups and downs in terms of comedy with the jokes becoming slightly more lackluster as the show has entered the 4th 5 th and 6th series which pale in the first comparison to the first 3 series. the show is comedy gold and isn't afraid to poke fun at anything or anyone. i hope you have enjoyed the brief plot description. heres me saying goodnight and gigity goo
Doom (2005)
A gamers review
Doom is the film adaption of one of the best video game series of all time. The video game series are some of my favorites games but my personal favorites is Doom 3 for the Xbox. it is more like the movie than the other games. in this game you are an rrts ( rapid response tactical squad ) member and the only surviver of your team who was sent in to a secret facility to investigate the strange goings on. the game had some of the most gruesome scary monsters ever to appear on any game system and the monsters appearing from every were ( through vents,bursting through walls ) makes it a very scary game. the film in a way was disappointing. i thought that it was going to be a copy of Doom 3 with intense horror edge of your seat thrills and beyond reckoning violence. well the film had violence but it just didn't live up to its gaming charm. the cast was well draw up though. i mean they aren't Oscar worthy performances but they do look good holding those over-sized guns. the monsters are the films saving grace. they are basically derived-from the games and are huge and grotesque and their strength and speed do make them very domineering. but to be honest the first person aspect donned during the film are astoundingly identical to the first person shooter genre that the games are renowned for. it conclusion some good references to the games moderate action and big monsters make this film a must have for the followers of the game and for people seeking an evening filled with a decent sci fi action thriller