MRBIOS Reviews

Hoodwinked! (2005)

Boring

[5/10 · 13 February 2007]

My wife liked it but I felt that a lot of it was boring and the move dragged on a lot.

The animation is good but not a good enough to keep me interested.

The frog tires to be too analytical.

Many of the cartoon techniques flash backs etc have been over used and have lost their punch - except for younger audiences that have not seen them.

The progression of events is also uneven. The movie is like a collection of other peoples ideas.

There is action but then too much time is spent dissecting every action. The movie is dull, I can't say much else.

Children of Men (2006)

Not very good, had potential but never delivers

[1/10 · 10 February 2007]

A neighbor suggested it. It did not sound very good. I looked on IMDb and saw the ratings were very high. But walkingn out of the theater I was disappointed and so were the other two people that I went to the movies with.

It keeps you entertained and in suspense but never delivers the "human project" also when the bad guys show up at ever turn it strains credibility. Ther is too much meaningless shooting and it is almost dream like especially towards the end.

One get-away takes too long - it had me saying go or stay. A bad guy announces "I got a clean shot" why would he not have take it? Save your money and more importantly your time and common sense.

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Horrible, shoot 'Em up plot less junk

[1/10 · 30 October 2006]

I like Mi 1 and I thought Mi 2 was OK, but mi 3 is over the top (bottom).

I watched this on a plane trip to Kauai and boy was I wow'ed at how stupid the whole thing was. I was more amazed that it got a 6.8 / 10! Did Tom pay reviewers? Did they toss out votes that were low like mine? The special effects were the worst part. So overdone as to kill all sense of reality. It is about as believable as if I ran from San Diego to Hollywood on I-5 against traffic and no one hit me. Yeah right.

The fight scenes were stupid long camera rolling scenes. The virus glass thing never breaks after falling off a building and rolling through a busy street? How can IMDb's members' radar be so bent? In a world of confusion, you can always trust Mrbios

'Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price' - Behind the Scenes (2005 Video)

A look at the toll walmart takes on communities, workers, the environment

[9/10 · 9 July 2006]

Low budget filming but well done. The interviews of former workers is very authentic. Film documents in an easy to watch format the various ways the management of walmart has its hands out to squeeze money and play communities off against each other.

For example, walmart may actually build a store without ever intending to use it in order to get another border town / city to give them a better tax break etc build in their town. On my final visit to walmart I asked an associate what she thought of the film but I already guessed the answer. She bitterly said "I don't know what you are talking about". She was obviously lying. Even if she hadn't heard of the movie and management never discussed what "associates" were supposed to say if the topic came up would she at least ask me what I was talking about? The film / documentary avoids going into excessive details that can make documentaries boring. Or over listing / referencing sources of information. If I want to check the accuracy I can do that myself.

Film is comical at times showing company DVD's of workers saying how bad unions are and how sorry they were for joining them. Also, funny in a negative way to here a former manager talk about the anti-union packages available by the company: "If I see two workers talking and they walk away as I approach, they are probably conspiring to form a union.... and they both gotta go (fired)". The better packages cost as much as $1 million dollars and involve surveillance of employees in their homes and taping phone lines. Another one is a black women that wanted to become an assistant manager. She says she finally sat down with their manager and said she met all the requirements and said "is it because I'm a women or black?" Here manager replied: "now two out of two ain't bad".

Finally, the working conditions overseas and undercover cameras. Workers live at the factory in filthy conditions and work 7 days a week for something like 12 + hrs a day. The company deducts "rent" from their paychecks! Movie ends on a positive note by listing all the towns that successfully blocked walmart's from coming to their neighborhood. If you even consider yourself a Christian or just want to learn more I highly recommend this movie!

Tokyo Cowboy (1994)

Different, it was recommended with Shall we Dance.

[8/10 · 16 August 2005]

Different, fun and like life itself doesn't have an exact Hollywood outcome.

The main characters learns and teaches others. One of my favorite scenes is about the reason for taking off shoes before going into the house - it's basically so you leave the world and it's chaos outside your sanctuary and not to avoid getting dirt that can be vacuumed up later.

Also, when you put two different cultures together you learn a lot about each. The good and the bad. There is some basic dishonesty in our own culture and also many humorous sayings that arn't to be taking literally.

I also recommend renting Shall We Dance.

Signs (2002)

Senseless, pointless, long boring, no character development, no redemption.

[2/10 · 16 August 2005]

I saw this movie in Spanish with English subtitles at an orphanage in Tijuana this past Sunday. It was pure standard formula. The kids laughed at some of the scenes that were supposed to be scary while I jumped (maybe a cultural or age thing or both - lol).

The weird shapes on the DVD cover and Gibson make it seem more interesting that it really was.

I looked it up on here and was shocked to see it was made in 2002. It looked so budget (partly due to the old projection TV) that I would have guessed it was made in the late 80's or early 90's.

No redemption, no higher moral ground gained, Not plot twister. Endless time wasting footage. It try's to play on your fear to keep you going and count on you being a couch potato. It's main goal was to make money not entertain you. Gibson must have been like a 10000 gorilla getting a see-saw with the rest of the cast and crew and blasting over the moon... A thousand dollars for Mel, $1 for everyone and everything else.

I'm Catholic like Gibson; the little bits of religion tossed in were a joke. The ending was very formula predictable, I even guessed close to what the solution was without watching (I asked someone how it finally ended). Skip-it with confidence.