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knightcrawler-1
Reviews
Man Down (2015)
Sold as an action movie!!!
If your going to make a war drama or a statement about PTSD then you should sell the movie that way. Instead we are tricked into an action film and/or post apocalyptic film. The film style is really messy and annoying, constant time jumps. The acting is OK, I'm not a fan of Shia LaBeouf, he's always so glum. The rest of cast is solid though.
Hollywood cannot make a decent war movie without it being so d*mn sappy...but this film is even worse. You should definitely skip it.
Camping (2018)
Annoying is NOT funny!!!
Doesn't come close to the wit and charm of the Original. Hollywood always butchers British humor and they just make annoying really really ANNOYING.
I like Jennifer Garner and David Tennant, they could have been great together but the script and premise just don't work. The rest of the cast is politically correct diversity check-boxes. Also the entire series is loaded with drinking and drugs...I thought that had gone out of style?
To HBO & Hollywood, try to be Funny and stop being so ANNOYING.
The Rebound (2009)
Insulting in Every Way
A rich woman catches her husband cheating and decides to leave their big safe house in the suburbs and move to the city. I guess kicking him out and filing for divorce never dawned on her? So she drags her two kids to the city and moves into super small apartment, before that there are the usually horrible jokes about homeless people. They are not funny and also exploitative.
She gets setup on a blind date so she needs a baby sitter for her two precious kids, so why not hire the first person you meet in NY city? The blind date turns out to be Bo duke...yee haw. Of course Bo is a good looking man so they need to make him a dirty disgusting person who would poop in the street and not wash his hands and then try to touch her face and mouth. Christ why even hire Bo duke if you are going to just make him so gross. It wasn't funny and made me wonder why Bo duke would agree to it. He must be desperate for the money.
So her blind date fizzles and she goes home to Aram Finklestein the babysitter who is 25 but looks 12 and likes to read Harry Potter books. Aram Finklestein is a name that would just drive the ladies crazy with lust in New York city. To make matters worse, he's really boring, and there is no chemistry between him and Catherine Zeta Jones....but this a Hollywood movie so they have to have some kind of relationship and then breakup.
He travels the world for five years, it's never explained how he can afford this, I assume his father is rich and pays for it. So bumming around the world for five years is suppose to make him more adult. Instead of working and paying the bills like everyone else. He also adopts a young child because you know those international adoptions are so easy and a single man adopting a child wouldn't raise any red flags. Sigh.
I felt bad for Catherine Zeta-Jones, she's the only one in the film that actually acts. The rest of the cast are basically cardboard. If you are going to make a Rom-Com, make sure it's has some romance and some actual comedy. The movie would gross out most women so it's not a date movie and it's not a family film either. I'm not sure who this movie was intended for, it's insulting in every way.
Bone Dry (2007)
The Mojave desert is the star
I think I liked the desert the best in this film. It must have been an easy shoot to go out into an open desert and just shoot what you want. I'm sure the heat and bugs got to the cast and crew but at least no streets had to be closed.
The movie itself is OK. During the first hour it leaves guessing as why this guy has been kidnapped and is being pushed to his limits. The setup is rather sparse. No real indications as who these characters are but most films are mysteries, we need time to get to know the characters.
The hippie character seemed to be the most interesting. I imagine the Mojave desert to be filled with people like him. I didn't really like how that played out though, it seemed uninspired and predictable.
The two main characters remain somewhat bland. Only most of the way through the film do we get any indication that the kidnapped guy may not be an innocent victim. He becomes rather good at fighting suddenly and is able to defeat two thugs. This brings up questions. Wouldn't he be to tired and dehydrated to fight and if he had these skills why didn't he use them in the first place?
We have to wait until the end to find the reasons behind the whole thing. I found the ending to be decent albeit slightly gimmicky. It's worth a look.
App (2013)
Pretty good thriller
The concept of the film is silly but the director pulls it off, creating a sense of tension and danger. It seems all too easy to say that the main character should just throw her phone away, WiFi/4G is everywhere and our personal data is being mined daily. Camera's pop up overnight. Society is becoming more and more reliant on technology even if it isn't wise.
OK so the villain in the movie is a little far fetched at this point in time but in 50 years who knows.
Other thoughts: The production value was pretty good which helped me enjoy the movie. I prefer films in 2.35/1 ratio and with a good sound mix. I hardly believe it was made for what it's estimated to cost.
Ashes (2010)
Remarkable for the budget
I really hate zombie movies but this movie is about the precursors to an outbreak. For the low budget it was made well enough. The writing was pretty good, it could have explained the aids drug the doctor was creating better and what his agreement with the hospital admin and government was, but I could overlook that part. I just took it as a super serum that might cure aids and the hospital and gov had some say into it as they usually do.
The silly part was that he was still making rounds instead being a full time researcher or that nurses and others were telling him to go home and get some sleep. He was treating patients when he probably would have been worrying full time on the new infection and trying to find a solution.
The budget did not allow a walking dead type ending so you need to use your imagination.
Dark Tower (1987)
It's pretty good for the 80's and not laden with CGI.
It is a pretty good ghost story for the 80's, it's not filled up with bad CGI either. The dialog could have been better, some scene's make you cringe a little because they feel awkward. Michael Moriarty is not a great actor. He always seems like he's has difficulty communicating. The phone scene in the beginning of the film is painful. Bad Directing maybe? Jenny Agutter looks lovely and her performance is fine most of the time. The quality of the film seems low budget at times and acceptable at others. I watched it on TV late at night so it was edited. I'd like to see the unedited version.
The ending is fun and also predictable. It does bring up questions about whether there is justice in the afterlife.