TKDLion8 Reviews

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

I had my doubts, but it was surprisingly great!

[9/10 · 15 December 2012]

I kept up with all of the news and production videos leading up to this movie. I had my doubts about how this movie would turn out. Peter Jackson did change the time-line a little and a few of the events were altered also. But all in all, the movie was very enjoyable for me.

Many people put a lot of stock in visuals. But visuals by themselves don't make a movie good, at least not in my book. Having said that, the visuals were awesome; they're even better than the ones in LOTR. Erebor looks AMAZING! Now for what I didn't like. The White Council scene. Many people have protested it's inclusion in this movie. I didn't mind the idea of having the scene, but I didn't like the execution. I know that Saruman is technically the head of the order of wizards but what kind of hierarchy do they really have? Gandalf seems like a school child getting a reprimand. I also wasn't impressed by the score. It feels like it was recycled from LOTR. While I liked the LOTR score a lot, I would have liked a more different score for the Hobbit. Another thing I didn't like was that Bilbo seems to do almost everything. Instead of Gandalf mimicking the Troll voices, Bilbo stalls them instead. And Bilbo actually saves Thorin in a fight with Azog. It just doesn't gel with the Bilbo I know from the book.

The best things in the movie are Erebor, Orcrist, Bag End, and the Misty Mountains song. Elrond's armor was also pretty cool.

Several people have complained about the pacing, but I thought that it was just right. Then again I do have a longer attention span than most people.

Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010)

Enjoyable

[22 November 2012]

Decent movie, nothing special really, but if you like this type of movie then you should enjoy it.

The movie was front heavy. They spent a lot of time setting up the characters with voice overs. I guess the filmmakers hadn't heard that movies are supposed to show not tell. The tone of the first part is like a goofy comedy and then it changes up on you. I think that they meant to do that, but it's a little weird.

The acting is fine. The dialogue is weak in parts.

Basically it's Red Dawn in Australia. Except that instead of communism you have some unidentified army. They were definitely Asian, probably Chinese. Why not just say so? Politically Correct BS if you ask me.

The Raid: Redemption (2011)

For those who love martial arts action

[8/10 · 22 November 2012]

It took a little while before it got good. About 25 minutes in I was thinking "I don't care about any of these characters and I am bored." But I stuck it out and I am glad that I did. After the first half an hour it got really good.

The fight scenes are gritty and good. There was only a few spots where I thought that something was unrealistic.

All of the scenes regarding the storyline were the weakest scenes in the movie. The plot itself was a little weak, but it doesn't really matter in this case because there is a lot of kick ass action to make up for it.

The fight choreography was good and the ending was satisfying. I don't need to say much more than that really.

Real Steel (2011)

This one goes to the scorecards

[7/10 · 22 November 2012]

It wasn't a KO but I would say that this movie is still a winner.The storyline and acting are decent. The premise was definitely original.

Why does every movie have to have a romantic interest? The romantic subplot added nothing to the story and actually messed up the pacing of the movie. Some interesting stuff happens and then boom, you are stuck watching another dull scene between Hugh Jackman and Evangeline Lilly. The movie is too busy as Jackman tries to get along with his son AND win the girl AND win the robo-boxing championship all in one movie.

Still the movie is entertaining. There are some exciting moments and a few laughs as well.

So if you like boxing, robots, slightly annoying children, and boring romance, then this movie is perfect for you. If you don't like any of these things then steer clear of this movie.

Green Lantern (2011)

It's not as bad as they say it is

[7/10 · 22 November 2012]

I thought that it was decent. I think that people's expectations were too high, and maybe the reason I liked it was that I expected it to really suck and it didn't.

Having said that, there were some poor choices made. The movie could definitely have been cut better. The prologue for instance; it isn't necessary.

And why did they make the one guy get all deformed and ugly from the yellow energy? That whole side story felt a little out of place to me. I didn't know or care enough about that character for his story to interest me.

Ryan Reynolds did a fine job as the Green Lantern. It's actually one of his better performances I'd say. Blake Lively was alright. A little bland perhaps but it doesn't take away from the movie in my opinion. Mark Strong did a good job, as always. Tim Robbins gave a rather boring performance. I honestly don't know if he phoned this one in or if he just can't act anymore. Not that he was ever a great actor.

Anyway, as long as don't expect it to blow your mind, you should enjoy this movie.

America: Freedom to Fascism (2006)

Take the red pill and see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

[10/10 · 5 November 2012]

Do you think that you know how America works? You don't.

This is not the country of Washington, Jefferson, or Lincoln, not anymore. It's like the tree of liberty has eaten away by insects. Silent but deadly are these parasites who have killed our way of life.

Watch this documentary if you want to be a human being living in freedom instead of a slave which is what we have all unwittingly become.

It's not about the 1% versus the 99%. This is a distraction invented by the media to divert you from the real problem. It's not about your race or religion either.

Watch this documentary, I beg you. It will open your eyes if you let it.

For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada (2012)

Check it out, it's worth spending 145 minutes on.

[9/10 · 26 October 2012]

A compelling true story, an excellent cast, & high quality sets and costumes Perhaps if you are not religious then this movie will not move you the way it did me. This movie was very inspiring to me. People stand firm in their faith no matter the cost. I am a little surprised that I had never heard of these events prior to watching this movie. I was raised Roman Catholic in a predominantly Hispanic community. Considering that these events happened less than one hundred years ago and in the country right below us you would think that this would have been mentioned in the same lesson as the one on the martyrs in the time of pagan Rome.

The film score may sound a little familiar to some of you. That is because it is basically the same score used in the movie The Mask of Zorro (1998).

The film is rated R, and there are some disturbing scenes of violence, but I think that PG13 would have been a more appropriate rating.

It's a long movie, but the pacing is good.

Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010)

This really could be the worst movie ever made.

[1/10 · 26 October 2012]

Shock and Terror? You better believe it. You will be shocked and terrified by how bad this movie is. I have seen a lot of bad movies but I can't think of a single one that comes close to being as bad as Birdemic: Shock and Terror.

The writer/director is totally inept and made the following mistakes: Included many long boring scenes of the characters driving very slowly, writing dialogue that is both boring and strange at the same time, and casting a space alien to play the main character.

The "actor" who plays the hero of the piece, Rod, is devoid of personality, flubs lines, can't enunciate, and can't even walk like a normal human.

Now for the story. For the first 45 minutes or so the movie seems to be a really lame advertisement for solar panels (or solapans as the main characters says it). The first half seems like a romantic comedy minus the comedy. There is no sign of the Birdemic until almost an hour into the movie. From then on the movie shifts gears and becomes a propaganda piece. It appears that global warming has not only caused the birdemic, but also deforestation via bark beetles. We learn this from a weirdo standing on a bridge and an even weirder guy who wears a bad wig and lives in a tree house. This is where the terror comes in.

I give this tripe the lowest rating I can, 1 star out of 10. Either watch the rifftrax version or skip it entirely.

Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011)

Atlas Shrugged at the Low Rating. 5.5 stars? Really?

[8/10 · 21 October 2012]

I enjoyed the movie.

I disagree with their choice of setting the movie in the present day, instead of when the book was set. It felt a little unrealistic during the introduction.

Some of the scenes were a little rushed. The dialogue was average to good. The casting and acting were both spot on.

The sets look great. The wardrobe did a good job of hearkening back to the period when the book was written.

The adaptation is a good one. It's a shame we have to wait so long between installments. The book is better of course. You always lose something when you translate a book for the screen.

2016: Obama's America (2012)

See it before you vote

[9/10 · 3 September 2012]

When I see that 42% of reviewers give it a 10 star rating, and 36% give it a 1 star rating, that tells me something.

This is an important film. I encourage everyone who is planning to vote for Obama to see this right away. What have you got to lose? A few dollars for the ticket or 87 minutes or you time, that's all.

If you don't see this film before the election you may regret it for the rest of your life.

Many people have said that the movie is based on lies but that is completely untrue. 2016 Obama's America is mostly based on Obama's own book Dreams from My Father.

The only reason I didn't give this a 10/10 is that it jumps around a little and the segments could have been ordered better I think.

Jaws (1975)

It's like God created the Devil, and gave him...jaws

[10/10 · 25 August 2012]

This is one of my favorite movies. My dad and I used to watch this every time before going deep sea fishing.

The score is excellent. And not just the main theme, the part that everybody recognizes, but all of it.

The writing is really great. It is very realistic dialogue and contains lots of humor.

There are some stunning visuals in here. Certain scenes still send shivers down my spine.

I have heard people say that the shark looks fake, but it doesn't look fake to me even now.

There are some very good performances in this movie. This is one of Richard Dreyfuss' best in my opinion. Robert Shaw has the great USS Indianapolis monologue. Roy Scheider is believable in the role of Chief of Police and you can identify with him. The actor who plays the mayor also turned in an admirable performance.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Dark Knight Rises as the best Batman movie thus far

[9/10 · 23 July 2012]

The movie did totally exceed my expectations. There is a lot of hype surrounding this movie and because of that I didn't expect that TDKR would be as good as it is.

I want to give this a perfect score but I can't. Certain parts dragged and others they rushed. There are a few scenes that could (or should) have been left on the cutting room floor. At one point I thought to myself that the movie must have been going for two hours or so but I was wrong. I was only an hour into it. The movie does pick up steam as goes though.

Christian Bale is an actor who I have always been a fan of however I was a little disappointed in his portrayal of Batman in the first two movies. In this movie he really did sink into the role. And his Bat-voice is not so over the top as it used to be. I always preferred Michael Keaton as Batman before I saw this movie. After seeing TDKR though I like Bale's performance just as much as Keaton's.

Bane's voice wasn't hard for me to understand (though I think there was one line I couldn't follow). Is Hardy's performance better than Heath Ledger's? I would say that they are equal. But the character of Bane was much more compelling than The Joker in my opinion.

Anne Hathaway's Catwoman was great as well.

Bravo Christopher Nolan and team.

Phantoms (1998)

Complete tripe; the book isn't bad though.

[3/10 · 11 July 2012]

It's like the movie was written by a simpleton and directed by someone with ADD.

The dialogue is awful, there is no chemistry between the actors, and before any one scene has enough time to develop another scene has already started.

It's like they took the basic story and a few scenes from the book and threw the rest away. In fact they only did two things right that I can think of. The first was to eliminate the Fletcher Kale subplot. The second was to make the Author be a journalist in America. Because of this he need a lot less introduction than he had in the book.

Today I read the book and then I watched this movie right after. If the book had been nearly as bad as the movie I wouldn't have bothered finishing it. The book grabs you from the first chapter and while it takes you a while to learn what is happening you are not at all confused. This movie on the other hand was just a bunch of crap without much exposition. I really don't care about the characters at all either. The attempts at giving depth to the characters are laughable.

I know it is a cliché but the book really is much better than the movie. I would rate the book at 7 or 8 out of 10 but this movie I only give a 3 out of 10.

The Artist (I) (2011)

Very satisfying and emotional viewing experience

[10/10 · 3 July 2012]

I am not a silent movie fan but this movie was great! The Artist was done really well and because of that I didn't mind the fact that it was silent.

The lead actor really did look like an old Hollywood star with his hair and mustache. He reminded me a lot of Gene Kelly, not only how he looked but in his mannerisms as well. In fact all of the cast was great and looked the part.

I liked the selective use of sound in the movie. This isn't really anything groundbreaking but it did work well.

The dog was a nice touch. Not only did it help to lighten the mood in certain parts but also gave the actor something to play off of.

I was drawn in to the story and it was emotionally very powerful. I don't give a lot of movies 10 out of 10 but this one deserves it.

It isn't perfect however. There were a few scenes that didn't quite work such as the last scene with the wife before she left him the letter.

Anyway very few & minor flaws but very satisfying in the end.

The Company (2007)

Get lost in the wilderness of mirrors

[10/10 · 25 May 2012]

This is a brilliantly executed and really satisfying miniseries. They did a great job casting this series; every actor and actress gives a performance truthful to the character they are playing. The look of each time period was captured quite well. The locations and sets look really good.

I bought this after watching the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy miniseries (which is vastly superior to the recent movie) and was hungry for more fiction about intelligence agencies. If you like spy stuff along the line of John le Carre then you will like this miniseries.

If you like cold war history then you will like this miniseries. This miniseries takes you through pretty much the entire cold war. It was really enjoyable to watch a program about the things that had just been covered in my latest history class.

It is a bit biased perhaps but don't let that bother you. After all, it is told from the perspective of CIA agents.

I am very satisfied with my purchase and I am sure that I will watch this series again in the future.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

It will have you in stitches

[10/10 · 1 May 2012]

If you don't think that this movie is absolutely hilarious, then you don't know great comedy.

Leslie Nielsen is one of the funniest actors of all time in my book. He is at his comedic best in this movie. His delivery of the most ridiculous lines with a completely straight face really sells the comedy.

Leslie Nielsen plays Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad a special division of the police force. He bumbles his way through investigations in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Peter Sellers' Inspector Dreyfus.

This movie is actually a continuation of the show Police Squad! They kept much of the same cast but made it a little more mainstream. Give this movie a watch and then if you liked that, find a copy of Police Squad! and watch that too.

Game of Thrones (2011–2019)

50% Lord of the Rings, 50% Spartacus Blood and Sand, & 100% awesome

[10/10 · 1 May 2012]

Finally someone has done it. At last there is a book to screen adaptation that is satisfying for those who have read the book. I actually find some of the characters more engaging than I did when I read the novels. Robb is a good example of this.

Do you like fantasy with: sword-fighting, dragons, magic, politics, good acting, & good writing? If you said yes then watch this as soon as possible. Of course I should mention that this series is not for children. If you have read the books you know what I am talking about.

The production design is great it is great to see places like The Wall realized on screen. Quarth is quite nice as well.

I am quite pleased with the direwolves as well. I was a little worried about how they were going to turn out but they look amazing in the second season.

Marrying the Mafia (2002)

Better than I expected; Not as good as it could have been

[8/10 · 1 May 2012]

This movie was better than I expected. The premise is not entirely original but it didn't feel old as I got into the movie.

They made a couple of interesting decisions about how to end the movie which I will not talk about too much in case you are reading this and haven't seen the movie yet. I'll just say that the ending is left open ended. That works really well for some movies but it kind of bothered me in this case. I was too worried about what the outcome would be to be really satisfied by the ending.

There was a really bad decision made by the distributors to make the gangsters talk with a New York Mafia style speech pattern. I got really tired of this and switched it to Korean with English subtitles. Sadly even the subtitles are written this way. It wasn't as annoying as the audio though.

The first two thirds of the movie was great but the last third was only okay.

Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Cool Hand, Cool Movie

[8/10 · 24 April 2012]

Booze and parking meters don't mix apparently. At least it didn't work out too well for Luke played by Paul Newman.

I got really attached to the character of Luke as the movie progressed. It felt like a real person. Even though he made a mistake which landed him in prison, he is not a bad guy. His shenanigans don't hurt anybody but constantly make things worse for himself. That doesn't stop him though.

They made an excellent decision to have the character of the guard who doesn't speak. One of the characters called him the man with no eyes due to him always wearing mirrored sunglasses.

This is a good movie to watch on a warm summer day while drinking a cold beer. Even though it may be a hot, miserable day at least you are sitting back watching a movie and not working in the sun on the side of a road.

Last Man Standing (1996)

Very Watchable

[9/10 · 24 April 2012]

You will enjoy this shoot'em up film. I wouldn't say that this is a cinema masterpiece but it is still pretty good.

If the plot seems familiar to you it is because this is a remake of a Akira Kurosawa movie. Sergio Leone did a version of this story as well.

Bruce Willis stars and other actors include Christopher Walken and Bruce Dern. A couple of performances are a little over the top while a couple of other performances are a little understated. The result is slightly uneven but that doesn't really matter because the dialogue is generally kept short.

I am not really a fan of voice over but here it didn't bother me too much. My biggest problem with this movie is the number of times Bruce Willis fires his guns (twin 1911s) without reloading. In one scene he actually changes magazines with fairly realistic regularity but in others he fires like 30-40 rounds without reloading.

So if you like guns, booze, broads, and tough guy characters then this movie is for you.

Batman (1989)

I like and admire this movie very much. It is highly under-appreciated.

[9/10 · 17 April 2012]

To start off with let me say that this Batmobile is a beautiful car. I love that design and would definitely drive that every day if I owned it.

The theme music by Danny Elfman is PERFECT for a Batman movie. It is moody and powerful.

Michael Gough was extremely convincing as a Butler. Jack Palance as a mobster? Absolutely! I was disappointed in Kim Basinger though. Her performance was very flat. Billy Dee Williams also gave a rather lackluster performance.

Jack Nicholson's Joker is excellent. He really seems to have fun playing this character. This Joker is not especially original but in my opinion that is a good thing. When I watch a movie about comic book characters I expect the characters to be faithful representations and not radically changed.

Michael Keaton is not an obvious choice to play Batman. However, I think that he pulled it off brilliantly. When he is in the Batsuit he emanates a kind of calm intensity. His portrayal of Bruch Wayne had a subtlety that is rare in this type of movie.

This movie is good for another reason as well. The battle between Batman and the Joker is a very personal one. Not just because of the back-story but also the way their relationship develops throughout the movie.

This is the best comic book-to-film movie that I am aware of.

Seven Samurai (1954)

Only one flaw

[10/10 · 14 April 2012]

Really the only fault that I can find in this movie is that a couple of the seven were totally forgettable characters. I honestly didn't remember them from one scene to the next. This isn't something I would think about in a factual drama such as a film about the 47 ronin but this is fiction and there were only seven. This didn't decrease my enjoyment of the movie though.

Toshiro Mifune was really funny in this movie. It was great fun to see him carrying that odachi. I don't recognize any of the other actors but the head samurai also had a good screen presence.

If you like samurai movies and don't mind a long run time then this movie is for you.

The Best of Times (1986)

I watch it every year

[9/10 · 14 April 2012]

This is one of my dad's all time favorite comedies. As a child when I watched it for the first time I didn't think it was anything special. I found the 80's clothes and things to be a bit off-putting. But as I watched it a second and third time I got a few more of the jokes each time and now I think that it is absolutely hilarious. I crack up every time I watch it even though I watch it every year.

I can relate to Robin Williams character because I (like most people) have made mistakes that haunted me for years. I can also relate to Kurt Russell's character because I have also had the experience of not wanting to risk tarnishing my reputation for being good at something.

War of the Arrows (2011)

Even better than I expected

[9/10 · 14 April 2012]

I bought this movie without having seen it. I have only seen a few other Korean movies but there was one that I really liked called Sword in the Moon. Since both were period movies and War of the Arrows looked interesting I decided that I would give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this movie was.

It started with a powerful scene and then seemed a little boring but only for five or ten minutes. After the movie really got going it kept building momentum right up until the climax. Some parts seem a little unrealistic but overall I was emotionally invested in this movie and enjoyed it quite a bit.

We Were Soldiers (2002)

One of my top ten war movies

[14 April 2012]

This really is an excellent war movie. The battle scenes are great and you feel like you really know some of the characters. The actors are well cast especially Sam Elliot as Sgt. Major Plumley. It is respectful regarding Vietnamese soldiers as well. There are people that will not approve of a Vietnam war movie unless is is packed with anti-war dogma but unless you are one of those you should enjoy this very strong and emotional movie.

One song that plays during the movie is called Sgt. Mackenzie. It is very good but you may not understand some of the lyrics because the singer has a Scottish accent.