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laws1791
Reviews
Lone Survivor (2013)
Love the Book, HATE the movie
Everything in the movie was somewhat in sync with the book...then as the scene fades to darkness and Luttrell is rescued, my jaw just dropped as to the final events of the movie. Please, please, please read the book and get the facts straight from Luttrell, not Hollywood. There was no violent ending to Luttrell's rescue as it was depicted in the final scenes of the movie.
Much respect to the true heroes who died during Operation Redwing, but I do not have any respect for Hollywood and their poor portrayal of a great story of survivalism and heroism. Again, please, please, please read the book. "Based on a True Story" movies are not always great examples of what actually happened.
Splinterheads (2009)
surprisingly good
Only found out about this movie while surfing through netflix looking for something random to watch. The title caught my eye, but the synopsis of the movie seemed like it had been something that had been done before, thousands of times, but I figured I'd use the 15 minute rule and just turn it off if I didn't like it.
Well, I watched the whole thing and enjoyed it. Yes, it is predictable. Yes, the character development is nothing out of the ordinary - you basically get all of your stereotypes portrayed. Yes, the storyline moves along very quickly to where you find yourself with the last 13 minutes of the movie and wonder how they can wrap things up so quickly, but it all works.
It is like a lot of other movies out there, but it has a different vibe to it. It wasn't laugh-out- loud-pee-your-pants hilarious, but it was funny! It wasn't sappy or soft-core porn to grab attention.
Catfish: The TV Show (2012)
scripted reality, what we have come to accept
The initial film was mildly entertaining, and the TV series takes the ridiculousness to a new level. Like the film, it has some truth to it and the characters add much to the entertainment level, not necessarily the idea of people manipulating and duping others over the internet. We've know that for years!
I will admit that I do not like any form of reality TV simply because it is scripted and not genuine, and that goes for this TV series. To use an example of real-life, unscripted "documentary-style" TV entertainment, I would use Cops as an example. You have real individuals who are quite the character, real-time footage (nothing re- enacted), but you only get snippets of the life of the individuals involved in the show.
If you like this style of fake, reality TV, then it will nonetheless entertain you and allow you to converse with others as if the scenarios on the show did indeed happen. But if you enjoy the fictional, scripted comedy as with other shows, this show may insult your intelligence, which in this case, you would not be watching these shows to begin with.
Catfish (2010)
plausible real-life scenario, but scripted and ultimately fake
No spoiler in this as I am only commenting on how the movie was procured, not picking out pieces of the movie to examine under the microscope as it is so obvious that no examination is required.
I found the documentary-style movie to be kind of annoying. I can see where it provides the entertainment value for others since some of the scenes create a feeling of awkwardness or suspense for the viewer as the actions of the filmmakers make you nervous!
Whether the filmmakers admit to it or not, it is a work of fiction using a reality TV show style to capture "raw" moments, which are mere re- enactments, conveniently filmed making it seem like the filmmakers got extremely LUCKY when they decided to begin shooting the footage.
I applaud the filmmakers for putting together a mildly entertaining, slightly unique film that scored them a reality TV series with MTV. This is not a cult film, however, that will be viewed as a classic contribution to film, but it is worth the watch if you are bored.
Prometheus (2012)
Terrible...Boring Topic, but I can see where those who love this stuff will love this movie
The trailer was kind of annoying for one, but the movie was just awful. For one, unlike most people it seems, I can't take it seriously. When I hear "thought-provoking" and "plausible" it's as annoying as I thought the trailer was.
And two, as far as entertainment is concerned, I can be entertained by some seriously bad films, but I wish time machines were real so I could go back and not see this! However, I will admit that I am not really a "sci-fi" kind of guy. Although not for me, if you love this kind of stuff you will appreciate the fact that the "aliens" are not that outrageous looking green creature that is totally bizarre, but rather more human-like in an attempt to show, I guess, that "we" share a genetic lineage...again, not my "cup-o-tea."
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
Went in basically already disliking the movie...
...and then I was surprised. My wife had tried to explain it to me, so I thought it was some Burton/Depp movie, and I was thinking "Here we go again with Johnny Depp..."
Then as the movie progressed, and I noticed no Depp, so I let my guard down a bit, which would have been brought down regardless since the movie was very entertaining because of the storyline, time period, and the special effects/choreographed scenes. I hate over-the-top car chase scenes and slow-mo fight scenes (and, yes, vampires, too), but add that to a cool story line with a late 19th-century setting and Abraham Lincoln, and I had a good time that I did not expect!
If you take your movies seriously, I would stay home, as you might feel intellectually cheated out of your hard-earned money. I thought it was intelligent, but I am the guy that hates 3D movies, over-the-top special effects, slow-mo fight scenes, vampires, zombies, and story lines done over-and-over-and-over again - all for recycling, but not of movie plots! And maybe this movie did have a recycled storyline...I have no clue!
For me, without knowing what the movie was about other than the title, I was thoroughly surprised and had a good time. Laughed a lot, although it's not an outright comedy, but I do like history, and as I will say for the third time, I liked the story!
If you are on the middle-of-the-fence, wait until it comes to the "cheap seats" or DVD.