Change Your Image
adam-39453
Reviews
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
FINALLY!!
After years of action packed nonsense, that is Paul W. S. Anderson's so called "Resident Evil" movies, we finally get a film that takes the best horror elements from the games along with actually characters from the games. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, blends elements from the first two games into one thrill ride of a film. The horror is finally seen through the eyes of Johannes Roberts who stays true to his word in making his RE film an actual horror film. Yes, it has cheesy dialogue, so did the games. Yes the CGI is noticeable at time but with his limited budget he delivers. The studio needs to green light a sequel so that we can see what else is in store for the fabled Redfields.
Oh and yes we get the Jill Sandwich line.
Without Remorse (2021)
John Clark Has Arrived!
I recently got to see this early via special screening and while it deviates from the book of the same name significantly, it still captures to core of Tom Clancy's universe of characters. The action and story is paced well and the acting is one point. Michael B. Jordan plays John Kelly/Clark very well and I cannot wait to see him as Rainbow Six. Let's hope we get to see him interacting with John Krasinski's Jack Ryan in the series.
Justice League (2017)
Did DC finally get it right when it comes to Mash Ups?
Did DC finally get it right when it comes to Mash Ups?
Ever since George Millers Justice League: Mortal movie was cancelled back in 2008, DC fans across the globe have been wondering when we would get our chance to see the League come together on the big screen. We got the trinity with last year's Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice but that movie didn't go over so well with fans. Now that could have been because WB had too much pull when it came to editing the movie or that could be because the movie just didn't feel right. I will leave my personal opinion aside and just chalk it up to editing a poor scripted story.
Over the summer we given some hope when Wonder Woman hit the big screen. The story was damn near perfect and made even better with the right director behind the helm, that begin Patty Jenkins. After watching Wonder Woman and seeing how well it did that left me with hope that Justice League would be great. It is no secret that the film had numerous reshoots led by Avengers Director Joss Whedon, and he was rumored to be brought in to oversee post production after Zack Snyder left the project to cope with an untimely death of his daughter, thoughts and prayers are still with the Snyders.
When it was announced that Whedon would be doing reshoots of the film, the rumors started to fly that the film was beginning to take a dark turn down a road so familiar of BvS:DoJ, but after watching the film tonight, I am in Germany, I can see that the original rumored "dark tone" of Justice League was given a more heartfelt tone.
Aside from the obvious CGI on Henry Cavill to remove a contract mandated mustache for his upcoming role in the next Mission Impossible film, the work on Ray Fisher as Cyborg and the rubbery looks of some of Jason Momoas Aquaman scenes, the film isn't as bad as we'd be led to believe. It is actually a good film, not great, a little cheesy at times, but a good film.
Is there room for improvement? Absolutely! No film is perfect, not even the golden children of Marvel. Justice League is what we can expect it to be, a super hero mash up. The acting is great, the characters have good chemistry, the actors work well together and it flows unlike previous entries in the DCEU. Will I be upset if they don't make a sequel? Yes as there are some unanswered questions and after watching that after the credits scene, I have a ton of questions. So, I give this film a solid 7/10. There is always room for improvement.
Check Point (2017)
Review of Check Point
After months and months of waiting the day finally came to watch Check Point. Written and Directed by B-Movie, Director and Actor Thomas J. Churchill, Check Point is based in the fictional town of Port City, North Carolina. The film stars B-Movie actors and actresses from all likes and they come together to "stop" a terrorist attack from happening on US soil. The summary of the film is that a former Marine, who is down on his luck, oversees some be-headings of local towns people in a local workshop, when he informs the town Sheriff, played by the always great William Forsythe, he is mocked and not believed. He tells his "best friend", played by Bill Goldberg, but he dismisses his claims because Johnson is known to have mental health problems.
The story and relationship between those two characters doesn't make sense at all and I will dive into that further on in the review. It isn't until another local, a teacher, played by Mindy Robinson, finds herself in the back of the local restaurant, where she sees the trough that the be-headings took place and begins to see that something is off. At that point, she is confronted by the woman who owns the shop, played by Michelle Lee, and a fight ensues.
There are twists and turns but overall the film needs a lot of work. Now, having watched this film I noticed many inconsistencies;
1) If the main character, Johnson, was best friends with Goldberg's character, why the hell is he living under a rock, literally, on the beach?
2) Why are there marines working at NSA headquarters?
3) How did one of those marines end up captured and beheaded?
4) Who gave Churchill the money to make this horrible movie? 5) How did the beheaded marine get his head back and end up at the end of the movie with Kane Hodder?
There are so many problems with this movie that it was comical. I thought this may have been a parody type of movie where they were making fun of cheesy action flick, but nope I was wrong. They were dead serious about this film. This is the type of film I would expect 1st year film students to make or even high school AV Club. I do not expect this from seasoned filmmakers. After watching this film I researched a few of Churchill's other flicks, man this dude loves to put himself in his own films. I can see now why Check Point is so bad, the director. Thomas Churchill's directing, acting and writing is as bad if not worse the legendary horrible filmmaker Tommy Wiseau. Casting: The casting for this film is wrong in so many areas. You have type cast actresses like Mindy Robinson and Krista Grotte in it. All they have ever been in is films where they get to wear revealing clothing (I will get back to this) and low-grade horror/comedies. The film also stars legendary actor Kane Hodder, notably known for his portrayal as Jason Voorhees in several Friday the 13th films. His role is limited and I will let you watch to see why. Wardrobe: The wardrobe in the film is comical and impractical, no woman, let alone soldier, ever would wear what Mindy Robinson wore in this film to fight off attackers. Stupid wardrobe choice. The Sheriff looks like he just came from knocking on doors to talk about Christ. Poor Michelle Lee had to do a horrible Asian accent for some reason that never gets explained. Overall this film is bad. Just plain bad. Nothing special about it but if you like watching poorly edited, sub-par acting, adobe after effects added, non-exciting movies than this film is for you. Otherwise, avoid at all possible costs. I am giving this film 2/10 stars because William Forsythe was good but other than that nothing.
The Emerging Past Director's Cut (2017)
Same Cast, Same Director, Same Bad Movie
Written and Directed by Thomas Churchill, The Emerging Past is the same thing you would expect from watching his other movies. After watching several of Churchill's movies I have come to realize that he only works with a handful of people. It seems as if Churchill only casts his friends in his movie, which can be the reason why his movies are not up to par with other indie horror flicks out there today, but that isn't the only reason here. Churchill's approach to directing horror movies is obviously the gore factor, he tends to overdo it when it comes to gore, less is more my friend. His writing style is bland and has no emotion in it what so ever, could be the actors fault also. If the budget of his films went towards quality actors and not so much on gore and less than standard effects, then maybe his films would serve to be better than they are.
I am not here to bash Thomas Churchill or his films. I actually have a high respect for the man. I am just trying to give my opinion, one that could help him progress his career. As a person Churchill is wonderful, I have met the man, but as a filmmaker he is lacking in a few areas, those being, screen writing, casting and directing.
These areas can be fixed however, 1: Stop putting your friends in your movies, you do not owe them anything. This is your career and your money, make it worth your while to cast quality actors and actresses. 2: You do not need to go over the top with gore and effects. What I and most people love about horror movies is the suspense and thrill of them, too much gore takes away from the scare factor and thrill of it all. 3: You do not need to put yourself in your own movies. Either direct or act. There are very few actors who can pull off both of these and make it work, Clint Eastwood, Ben Affleck and Kevin Smith are 3 that come to mind that know when and where to do this. 4: Smooth out your writing, stop trying to make everyone love each character. Connect the dots with side characters.
Churchill knows how to direct and write but it seems he cannot do both for the same project. Try directing someone else's screenplay or have someone else direct your screenplay. Give it a whirl. Again, there are very few people who can write and direct their own work.
This film, in my opinion, was not good. The over the top gore and dialog did it in for me. Nothing was believable and downright laughable at times. I was hoping for a better film than the previous Check Point that was recently released. I am giving it 3/10 because I like Thomas Churchill as a person, but the changes I mentioned need to be made or else he will soon be thrown into the genre of the likes of Uwe Boll.