The acting and scenery was generally good. After that I have nothing good to say about this movie. It took every PC trope it could find and made the movie about those tropes while carefully not making fun of the tropes, which drained every ounce of potential humor from the movie. Political indoctrination films are generally more entertaining than this movie. A bit less predictable too. I can watch movies I've seen 3 or 4 times and be less surprised than I was by this movie which was a pile of cliches wrapped in worn out tropes, covered with a sauce of self righteousness. Walking stereotypes competed with an absolute bland formula. It's like a 1950s Disney flick had a baby with a Hallmark movie. I only gave it a 3 because I did lough out loud once.
Reviews
83 Reviews
The Ganzfeld Haunting
(2014)
Story had potential, acting is good, the rest sucks.
9 May 2024
Waste of time in spite of a promising premise. Waste of good acting as well. All of the actors gave solid performances in spite of what a script so lame and tired I'm amazed they bother to print it. The movie could have been better done if ad libbed the entire shooting process. It devolved into Friday the 13th without the gore. Sure there were a couple rivers of blood abstract knife scenes. Not that would freak anybody out after the billion slasher flicks. The entire movie revolves around a tiny plot twist and then does nothing with the twist. The ending is amazingly a let down given how bad the rest of the movie was. The cinematography, music, sound, everything but the movie is first rate. So it's not like a bunch of high school kids got together to shoot this, but the script and directing sure makes it feel like a bunch of high school kids got together to make a movie.
Absolute run and irreverence
9 May 2024
I laughed all through the movie. Would d have rated it higher if the base premise wasn't a knock off of a. Raimi movie. Still it was much better done than Raimi's. Cage is back to acting with this script. No sleep walking through this one, it's his best movie in years. The key supporting roles are great as well. The action stunts work and don't seem like they were tossed in there just to have an explosion or car chase. Still there's that Hollywood taint that keeps the movie from being the classic it could have been. Things get a little too formula at parts in particular, meaning you know what is going to happen and why and when explained in the movie it's redundant as every other Hollywood movie in the last 20 years did the same hook and tricks. Still the premise and original ideas make it through the Hollywood taint allowing this to be a very funny movie.
Most comedies feel obligated to halt the laughs and create drama or tragedy or something. Not this movie, it actually creates tension without slowing down one bit. While not the funniest movie I've ever seen, this one is one of the funniest in the last decade. I especially love that Nickolas Cage was willing to play an exaggerated self for laughs. It shows humility and makes him quite human. Something few Hollywood stars would dare. I don't think we appreciate Cage as much as we should. Future generations will look back on his career and forget the mistakes and see his audacity and work ethic and appreciate it. This will be one of the movies that cement his legacy. It will be really tough for an actor to top Cage's self portrayal in this movie. Sure Raimi and Hasselhoff did something similar before, but not like this. Any actor portraying themself after this will be held up to Cage's performance in this movie and it'd be really tough to live up to what Cage wrought here.
Most comedies feel obligated to halt the laughs and create drama or tragedy or something. Not this movie, it actually creates tension without slowing down one bit. While not the funniest movie I've ever seen, this one is one of the funniest in the last decade. I especially love that Nickolas Cage was willing to play an exaggerated self for laughs. It shows humility and makes him quite human. Something few Hollywood stars would dare. I don't think we appreciate Cage as much as we should. Future generations will look back on his career and forget the mistakes and see his audacity and work ethic and appreciate it. This will be one of the movies that cement his legacy. It will be really tough for an actor to top Cage's self portrayal in this movie. Sure Raimi and Hasselhoff did something similar before, but not like this. Any actor portraying themself after this will be held up to Cage's performance in this movie and it'd be really tough to live up to what Cage wrought here.
Tula: The Revolt
(2013)
Could have been a great story
22 April 2024
Man seeking freedom. How do you screw a story like that up? This one managed to do so. It starts with all Whites are bad except one crazy woman, then goes downhill from there. The depiction of a slave worked to death makes about as much sense as a horse being starved to death or car intentionally driven with no oil in the pan. A plantation owner relied on their slaves and would not callously destroy his workforce. The reaction to his death was the real sad part. It was pure Hollywood oh woe is me one minute and 2 minutes later who was that guy? The combat scenes were beyond absurd. Some of the worst fighting scenes I've seen in my life. The dialog didn't even give lip service to the historical period. The zero historical accuracy of the revolt sadly is normal for Hollywood. Tula was neither reluctant or peaceful in his revolt. His revolt was joined by other slave leaders from other plantations. This could have been an interesting story. First if they'd depicted actual living conditions of slaves on the island at the time. Next if they'd even loosely followed the actual events. At the least they could have taken a few minutes to write combat scenes that didn't look like bored re-creationists A little effort on developing characters would have helped. At the end of the movie you wind up not really liking anybody. Everyone is so shallow and the effort of the writer to develop empathy for the revolting slaves just didn't survive the directing. It was like a high school remake of Braveheart set on a small island.
The Mandela Effect
(2019)
Great idea, just never really gets there.
8 March 2024
The movie premise is awesome. The basic plot set up starts off well. The problem is the movie leads you to the rabbit hole, dances around it, paints it, then walks away. You never really get down in the rabbit hole. This could have been a Matrix level movie that made you question reality at it's core.
The acting at times is excellent, at other times at least good. The camera work and sound track are all solid. So you have no idea you are watching an indie film, it rolls off as good as any Hollywood blockbuster. Hell the acting beats most Hollywood garbage put out nowadays.
It's just a big let down when you get to the heart of the movie and it never really goes anywhere. Just a few short scenes that never quite come together for a coherent idea, but also do not really shake you up.
The acting at times is excellent, at other times at least good. The camera work and sound track are all solid. So you have no idea you are watching an indie film, it rolls off as good as any Hollywood blockbuster. Hell the acting beats most Hollywood garbage put out nowadays.
It's just a big let down when you get to the heart of the movie and it never really goes anywhere. Just a few short scenes that never quite come together for a coherent idea, but also do not really shake you up.
Journey's End
(I) (2017)
If the plot wasn't stolen it'd been a much better movie
8 March 2024
This is essentially Aces high but instead of pilots it is soldiers in the trenches. The theft of the plot wasn't even subtle. I wouldn't be surprised if whole lines of dialog were not lifted from Ace's high and transplanted into this movie.
Other than the extreme plagiarism, it's not a bad movie. Not a great movie either. There is an attempt to capture the trauma of serving in such a hellish environment but I feel it falls far short and devolves into randomness at times. The characters never really develop or resolve and the action element is weak and rife with historical inaccuracies in military tactics, technology, social customs/beliefs and psychology.
The plot theft might be more forgivable if the movie had bested Aces high, but it didn't. The opposite, it came out as a pale imitation.
Other than the extreme plagiarism, it's not a bad movie. Not a great movie either. There is an attempt to capture the trauma of serving in such a hellish environment but I feel it falls far short and devolves into randomness at times. The characters never really develop or resolve and the action element is weak and rife with historical inaccuracies in military tactics, technology, social customs/beliefs and psychology.
The plot theft might be more forgivable if the movie had bested Aces high, but it didn't. The opposite, it came out as a pale imitation.
Hall
(2020)
Turns into an interesting movie in spite of it's flaws.
1 March 2024
This is a fairly good movie overall. Way too many stereotypes and lack of understanding of science to be a great movie. However the director and actors manage to pull off a movie that gets you hooked in spite of these obstacles. The depiction of the zero popper (people who believe the world is over populated and want to commit mass genocide for the "good" of humanity) was excellent. The suspense manages to build pretty rapidly and the actors make it believable in spite of some serious scientific errors. The work of the crew was top notch. This movie doesn't have a B flick feel to it at all. A script rewrite with more realistic characters, less stereotypes and less drama and this could be a very good movie.
Blacklight
(2022)
Cliche garbage
10 January 2024
While a plot with the FBI doing bad things is entirely plausible. After all the FBI was run by Hoover for decades and did the Mob's dirty work all too often. Hoover being in the pocket of he Mafia pretty much from day one. Hoover and his taste for young boys also meant the FBI was not going to do anything against whole classes of sexual predators. Instead it tied itself to the DNC and did a lot of dirty work for politicians as well. The FBI specializes in entrapping innocent citizens, spending millions each year to entice people into committing crimes they would have never thought about before the FBI targeted them. That's business as usual with the FBI. That is when it's not killing unarmed mothers holding babies with a sniper rifle.
What is utterly improbable is the whole plot. First off the FBI serves the DNC and targets the GOP. There's no way an organization full of Democrats would go after a Left winger on the orders of a Right winger. The political preaching at the start of the movie was an instant turn off. The stereotypes used even more so. The action was so poorly done as to be almost but not quite comical. The idea of a senior FBI fixer is alone absurd and that a fixer would be ignorant of the dirty stuff the FBI does absurd. The dirty stuff is exactly what FBI fixers do. So an honest fixer is about as probable as the moon being made of cheese.
Liam Nelsen is a good actor but this was a movie he slept walked through and the supporting cast was as thrilled as he was with the movie. I couldn't get past about 30 minutes in this movie without having to turn it off for being so cheesy, cardboard, unbelievable, and stereotypes heaped upon tropes piled on tired overworked plot ideas littered with out of place political propaganda. This was just plain a bad movie all around.
What is utterly improbable is the whole plot. First off the FBI serves the DNC and targets the GOP. There's no way an organization full of Democrats would go after a Left winger on the orders of a Right winger. The political preaching at the start of the movie was an instant turn off. The stereotypes used even more so. The action was so poorly done as to be almost but not quite comical. The idea of a senior FBI fixer is alone absurd and that a fixer would be ignorant of the dirty stuff the FBI does absurd. The dirty stuff is exactly what FBI fixers do. So an honest fixer is about as probable as the moon being made of cheese.
Liam Nelsen is a good actor but this was a movie he slept walked through and the supporting cast was as thrilled as he was with the movie. I couldn't get past about 30 minutes in this movie without having to turn it off for being so cheesy, cardboard, unbelievable, and stereotypes heaped upon tropes piled on tired overworked plot ideas littered with out of place political propaganda. This was just plain a bad movie all around.
Blue Ruin
(2013)
Slow burner that keeps building. Fresh and original.
26 December 2023
It starts slow, the main character barely speaking the first 20 minutes of the movie but it still tells a compelling story none the less. Then it takes you on a wild ride. The action is extremely well done. The reality is very very few people are any good at killing people and killing people is a not an easy thing either psychologically or mechanically. Once the course is set, there is no turning back and that is again true to life. One cannot start down a dark road like this without reaching the end one way or another. The characters are believable, the dialog could have been a little better, but this is a gritty, realistic depiction of how life can twist the world in some really strange ways and the fallout of every action we take. I wish Hollywood took more time to make movies like this rather than the same movie over and over again just in a different setting with a slightly different cast as is normal Hollywood fare.
The Rising Hawk
(2019)
Could have been a really good movie
26 December 2023
The concept is great. The story though rolls along very predictably and the characters are too 1 dimensional. The fight scenes really badly choreographed. More of something you'd expect in a 1950s movie while still managing to be over the top in spite of how sluggish and unrealistic they were. The worst of both worlds really. There were some good acting performances, but a lot of good actors got very poor lines and or scenes to work with. I watched the movie the whole way through, and at times enjoyed parts of the movie, but the effort was far too much a pale imitation when a real story awaited telling. It's not a horrible movie, just not one that does justice to what it could have been.
Hell Baby
(2013)
Surprisingly funny.
30 November 2023
Fits in with Airplane, Naked Gun and scary movie genre. Lots of puns, goofy jokes and running gags but much funnier than most movies in this genre. There are also a lot of references to 70s horror movies that younger viewers might not catch.
It's not all slapstick humor which is one of the reasons I liked this movie. There are also subtle gags and plays at work. A bit of the twisted psychology tossed in to mess with your reality. It will probably become a cult classic in the stoner crowd. Back in my drug days this movie would have had me rolling on the floor the way it flows and is constructed.
The movie also slaps around a lot of stereotypes which will offend the easily offended as nothing is sacred. Another reason to like this movie as it's not part of the terrified Hollywood brigade afraid to offend.
It's not all slapstick humor which is one of the reasons I liked this movie. There are also subtle gags and plays at work. A bit of the twisted psychology tossed in to mess with your reality. It will probably become a cult classic in the stoner crowd. Back in my drug days this movie would have had me rolling on the floor the way it flows and is constructed.
The movie also slaps around a lot of stereotypes which will offend the easily offended as nothing is sacred. Another reason to like this movie as it's not part of the terrified Hollywood brigade afraid to offend.
The Lost City
(2005)
Disapointing
30 November 2023
I was hoping to get a glimpse into Cuba as the revolution happened. Sadly the movie barely touches this and really downplays the atrocities and blood thirst of Castro and the revolutionaries he led. Batista was a tyrant, few would argue with that. Castro was genocidal.
Bill Murray was just out of place in this movie. He was classic Bill Murray but his role just conflicted with the mood of the movie and made it seem disjointed. The whole movie works toward a somber desperate mood and in comes Bill Murray quipping something funny but totally out of place.
The movie failed to really depict how life was in pre or during the revolution. The love story just went on and on and seemed a little slimy due to the way it unfolded and shallow the way it ran.
Far from the worst movie I've ever watched but I do regret wasting my time on this movie. It keeps just enough mood and tempo to keep you from turning it off, but then it ends delivering almost no action, no insights, no history, no passion, not even a good peek into Cuban culture.
Bill Murray was just out of place in this movie. He was classic Bill Murray but his role just conflicted with the mood of the movie and made it seem disjointed. The whole movie works toward a somber desperate mood and in comes Bill Murray quipping something funny but totally out of place.
The movie failed to really depict how life was in pre or during the revolution. The love story just went on and on and seemed a little slimy due to the way it unfolded and shallow the way it ran.
Far from the worst movie I've ever watched but I do regret wasting my time on this movie. It keeps just enough mood and tempo to keep you from turning it off, but then it ends delivering almost no action, no insights, no history, no passion, not even a good peek into Cuban culture.
Airplane Mode
(II) (2019)
Cute knock off of airplane
30 November 2023
Lots of running jokes and it's kinda of funny in a way to see a spoof of a spoof (Airplane being a spoof of the 70s disaster movies and this movie spoofs airplane.).
There are some original jokes & puns as well as modernized airplane jokes & puns. So it's a way to waste some time, have a few laughs. Just don't expect it to be original or one of the funniest movies you ever watched. It is what it is. A spoof on a spoof and can get a bit raunchy and crude at times.
It is definitely not something for small kids. Then again neither was Airplane which was in it's day a bit raunchy and crude as well.
There are some original jokes & puns as well as modernized airplane jokes & puns. So it's a way to waste some time, have a few laughs. Just don't expect it to be original or one of the funniest movies you ever watched. It is what it is. A spoof on a spoof and can get a bit raunchy and crude at times.
It is definitely not something for small kids. Then again neither was Airplane which was in it's day a bit raunchy and crude as well.
The Death of Stalin
(2017)
Hilarous but really dark.
16 November 2023
It's difficult to comprehend the complexities of a power battle between people specifically groomed not to be a threat. Stalin was a paranoid's paranoid. As such any competency was punished by death, exile or worse. So now he dies and the 10 stooges suddenly find themselves in control of a nation.
I'm sure some of the characters have been exaggerated for effect, and there's going to be lots of inaccuracies. Everything was shrouded in secrecy and far too many people who would have had first hand knowledge died carrying that knowledge to the grave with them.
It is a fun way to learn about a critical time in world history. The death of Stalin changed the nature of the cold war and set about the path to the world we know now. Had the succession turned out differently, the world could have turned out very differently.
It is also a fascinating look at living in a world where fear ruled every moment of one's life. The nearer to the source of power one was in the USSR the greater the risks. One small mistake at that level and outside you went.
So I suspect the movie is far more accurate than most would think given the circumstances that these people had to survive in and the power structure that had been built.
It is a very dark romp that has you laughing from the start to end. It might also make you think a little bit about what happens when too much power is collected in the hands of too few.
I'm sure some of the characters have been exaggerated for effect, and there's going to be lots of inaccuracies. Everything was shrouded in secrecy and far too many people who would have had first hand knowledge died carrying that knowledge to the grave with them.
It is a fun way to learn about a critical time in world history. The death of Stalin changed the nature of the cold war and set about the path to the world we know now. Had the succession turned out differently, the world could have turned out very differently.
It is also a fascinating look at living in a world where fear ruled every moment of one's life. The nearer to the source of power one was in the USSR the greater the risks. One small mistake at that level and outside you went.
So I suspect the movie is far more accurate than most would think given the circumstances that these people had to survive in and the power structure that had been built.
It is a very dark romp that has you laughing from the start to end. It might also make you think a little bit about what happens when too much power is collected in the hands of too few.
Fear Clinic
(2014)
Good low budget flik
16 November 2023
The plot is actually really good. The acting for what is obviously a really low budget film was very good, including Englund as one of the stars.
The film however relies on too many cliches to really build the kind of suspense it should have and the really low budget special effects hurt the film tremendously. A better director, special effects and camera work and this could have easily been a cult classic or box office hit.
The film tries to spook you right away, but fails and then attempts to build characters that are just getting red shirted before long. That time wasted there could have been used for creating suspense and instead of repeated flashbacks to the incident, tidbits could have been doled out before rolling the whole sequence.
The plot forks and entwines, and the director manged the forking of the plot and likely left out important things the writer tried to convey in the process.
Still well worth watching even if it fails to live up to what it could have been.
The film however relies on too many cliches to really build the kind of suspense it should have and the really low budget special effects hurt the film tremendously. A better director, special effects and camera work and this could have easily been a cult classic or box office hit.
The film tries to spook you right away, but fails and then attempts to build characters that are just getting red shirted before long. That time wasted there could have been used for creating suspense and instead of repeated flashbacks to the incident, tidbits could have been doled out before rolling the whole sequence.
The plot forks and entwines, and the director manged the forking of the plot and likely left out important things the writer tried to convey in the process.
Still well worth watching even if it fails to live up to what it could have been.
Dragon Blade
(2015)
Way too preachy
4 November 2023
I love seeing Jackie Chan in action. Great cast in general, acting was rock solid all the way but the constant lectures about peace got annoying. Perhaps this is Chan's way of pushing back against war between the US and China, a very noble thing to do and dangerous thing to do as China would have no qualms harming even someone as famous as Jackie Chan. Hopefully such a war can be averted without seeing either side have to lose it's economic or diplomatic influence. If Democracy took hold in China, the potential for China is limitless. Or it could flop the way Russia did and abandon democracy the way Russia did. I take exception with the idea that there was a silk road protection crew. The Silk road spanned a huge expanse, running through many countries and was highly unlikely to be known by that term during it's heyday. The representation of Roman legions was very poorly done. Both in tactics and weapons. The idea of cooperation between West and East was a great idea, though Roman legions as far east as China is not realistic.
The action is actually a bit downplayed by Jackie Chan standards. You still get some of Jackie Chan's ingenious and wicked stunts and fight scenes. A little bit of the comedy he is known for. I just don't like being preached at in a movie even if I agree with the sentiment. There's better ways to demonstrate a view than repeated monologues that just slap you out of suspension of disbelief and make you feel like your sitting in a pew. I couldn't finish the movie because of one too many such monologues.
The action is actually a bit downplayed by Jackie Chan standards. You still get some of Jackie Chan's ingenious and wicked stunts and fight scenes. A little bit of the comedy he is known for. I just don't like being preached at in a movie even if I agree with the sentiment. There's better ways to demonstrate a view than repeated monologues that just slap you out of suspension of disbelief and make you feel like your sitting in a pew. I couldn't finish the movie because of one too many such monologues.
Howl
(I) (2015)
Story is good, characters are paper mache
27 September 2023
Given how overdone the werewolf genre is done, this actually has a pretty good story once you get past all the cliche people. If the writers had something approaching real characters this would have been a good movie, not great, but a good thrill ride. It is worth watching however even if you have to choke down the cliches the entire story to get through it. The werewolf design is really good. Acting is decent. No great performances, nothing horrible either. Some movies have a few good actors as the lead character and everyone else around them look like they got rejected from a high school play. This one had no actors so bad you get distracted by their acting.
So if you want a decent movie to kill some time, this is a pretty good bet. It'll never make your top 100 list, but there are a lot worse choices. The movie also has some Rocky Horror picture show potential as the characters are so cliche that you could do a damnit Janet kind of response to their absolutely predictable cliche actions/lines.
So if you want a decent movie to kill some time, this is a pretty good bet. It'll never make your top 100 list, but there are a lot worse choices. The movie also has some Rocky Horror picture show potential as the characters are so cliche that you could do a damnit Janet kind of response to their absolutely predictable cliche actions/lines.
A Bad Idea Gone Wrong
(2017)
A good funny movie.
24 July 2023
This is a great idea for a movie and especially in the beginning it rolls along really well. The running gags are one of the best parts of the movie. It's the times between where they take themselves a bit too serious that slow it down. That and it's difficult to really fully get into a movie where the criminals leave so much evidence that they might as well sign their names on a guest register. They really miss an opportunity to install yet more humor in having the criminals try to clean up the evidence with the same incompetence they left it with. All in all a good movie, just not a great movie. Unlike so many modern comedies the humor isn't just slapstick and the laughs are scattered all through the movie. Most modern comedies you can watch 2 minutes of the movie and get 99% of the laughs and those 2 minutes are usually about 30 to 40 minutes into the movie. This one has laughs from start to finish.
Sound of Freedom
(2023)
It will warm your heart and break it at the same time.
9 July 2023
There have been many reviews that probably do a better job of describing this movie already, but I wanted to do one that touches on aspects that others do not just to give potential viewers a fuller understanding of the movie.
The movie takes a sensitive and painful subject and handles it very well. It does not sensationalize the topic like most Hollywood epics would. Nor does it create cardboard villains which again is all too common in movies. It portrays the hero of the movie with amazing humbleness and that again is refreshing in a movie. The movie really is about the children, but without exploiting them.
It is absolutely entertaining and aside from a 30 second monologe is not preachy. My only knock on the movie is that 30 second rambling of statistics that take you out of the movie. Then it grabs you and takes you on a tale of the triumph of the human spirit through a sea of absolute misery.
The movie has it's lighter moments. So it's not like it's a wall to wall tear jerker. The acting is top notch. The soundtrack was excellent. First class work on all aspects of the movie. This is better than anything Hollywood is likely to put out this year. Best movie I've seen in a while actually.
The movie takes a sensitive and painful subject and handles it very well. It does not sensationalize the topic like most Hollywood epics would. Nor does it create cardboard villains which again is all too common in movies. It portrays the hero of the movie with amazing humbleness and that again is refreshing in a movie. The movie really is about the children, but without exploiting them.
It is absolutely entertaining and aside from a 30 second monologe is not preachy. My only knock on the movie is that 30 second rambling of statistics that take you out of the movie. Then it grabs you and takes you on a tale of the triumph of the human spirit through a sea of absolute misery.
The movie has it's lighter moments. So it's not like it's a wall to wall tear jerker. The acting is top notch. The soundtrack was excellent. First class work on all aspects of the movie. This is better than anything Hollywood is likely to put out this year. Best movie I've seen in a while actually.
Before the Fire
(2020)
Slow burner but builds perfectly.
23 June 2023
This is a slow burning movie that builds as it goes along. The first 30 mins are standard end of the world kind of stuff. From there it turns as much into a horror movie as post apocalyptic. I think that change in genre is what has produced the low reviews.
There are no zombies, no hoards of radioactive chemically altered super powered people eating monsters. The real monsters are all too often next door, and that is what this movie portrays and does a pretty good job of it.
The acting works but isn't stellar, especially with the supporting cast. The sound track is the biggest liability. It never really grabs you and drags you into the mood of the film. A better soundtrack and I'd wager this movie would go up 2 or 3 stars easy for most people.
Go with the movie, don't expect the post apocalyptic them to last, instead enjoy it as the horror movie it is. Just one set in a post apocalyptic world. Not one of the all time greats but has a lot of good moments and actually builds decent suspense in spite of the plain wrappings on it.
There are no zombies, no hoards of radioactive chemically altered super powered people eating monsters. The real monsters are all too often next door, and that is what this movie portrays and does a pretty good job of it.
The acting works but isn't stellar, especially with the supporting cast. The sound track is the biggest liability. It never really grabs you and drags you into the mood of the film. A better soundtrack and I'd wager this movie would go up 2 or 3 stars easy for most people.
Go with the movie, don't expect the post apocalyptic them to last, instead enjoy it as the horror movie it is. Just one set in a post apocalyptic world. Not one of the all time greats but has a lot of good moments and actually builds decent suspense in spite of the plain wrappings on it.
AmeriGeddon
(2016)
Valid concerns that are depicted so badly as to sound paranoid
5 June 2023
There are a lot of valid concerns depicted by the movie, and a few really interesting and well acted characters. This however is destroyed by the preaching style of the movie. I hate being preached at even if I agree with what they are preaching. Some of the actors were quite good, some really bad. The story line just meanders. The action is generally really bad. The helicopter fight in particular.
Great idea, I can't remember two small helicopters engaged in battle before. The way it was done however was laughably bad. One chopper which is clearly civilian and lacking missile pods is firing point blank at the other and missing. The way the good guys dispose of it equally laughable. They took what could have been memorable and destroyed it. The script probably called for a military chopper and the budget got the best they could.
The A-Team style gun fights were some of the worst I've seen on film. You really do have to go to the A-Team to find worse.
The premise of an EMP attack however is not only real, but probable in the next five years. UN troops on US soil again an eventuality. The DNC has made multiple efforts to import UN troops. The two most recent being the Mexican border and to "curb" violence in Chicago.
The idea of Russia and China working together isn't even a stretch. They already are. That SOME US politicians would join in is also almost certain. It is easy to imagine globalists like the DNC, RINOs in the GOP and Libertarians who buy the Ron/Ryan Paul line to side with the enemy. Anybody who supports open borders is actively abetting an armed invasion of the US. There are at least 3 million Illegals here in the US and likely at least 250,000 legal US immigrants who'd happily take up arms against the US if invaded. We are actively importing soldiers to kill Americans with the open borders policy. That constitutes one of the largest armed forces in the world. All already inside our borders. Easily armed and organized. Most of them already belonging to anti-American groups like Muslim terrorist organizations, drug cartels, ANTIFA/BLM, reconquistador groups, race supremacist groups like the Black Panthers and Neo Nazis, organized crime groups from Russia, Haiti, Venezuela, etc, It wouldn't take much to rally, arm and deploy these groups against American targets. Look at the arming process that took place in Oregon. Now think what would happen if a agent provocateur dressed as a cop gunned down a couple innocents? There would have been a blood bath. Now think of such an event after EMP knocked out communications and hampered travel. I strongly feel that the ANTIFA & BLM movements were used as a test run by Russian and Chinese intelligence services to practice deploying Americans against America, complete with kneeling during the national anthem, burning American flags, anti-American propaganda. It wouldn't take much to turn these people into soldiers fighting for an invasion force. It didn't take much for the DNC, and foreign intelligence services to infiltrate and subvert the leadership of these groups either. Notice how when it became inconvenient for the DNC the ANTIF and BLM protests almost completely vanished? Once they'd served the DNC's purposes the groups were tucked away in the back pocket of the DNC. Soon as the DNC needs it's storm troopers again they'll be rolled back out. Thing is the DNC is heavily infiltrated by Chinese intelligence. We've seen multiple instances of Chinese agents embedded deeply with powerful DNC politicians. Russians to a lessor extent with both parties. Iran has it's hooks in a few DNC politicians as does Saudi Arabia with some of both DNC and GOP politicians. The Bush crowd of RINOs in particular are essentially owned by the Saudis. This isn't just corruption in the open. It's foreign manipulation of our government.
So no the premise of wide spread help by Americans for foreign powers is not a hair brained idea. Sadly the way it was presented by the movie made it seem that way.
Some of the ideas were ludicrous. Sadly the idea of a Democrat president signing off on UN control over the US isn't. Obama openly pushed a treaty that would have if enforced allowed UN troops into the US to confiscate civilian arms. The 2nd amendment would have been pretty much wiped out by the small arms treaty that Democrats overwhelmingly voted to approve. The US in obvious violation of the treaty would have then been at least theoretically subject to UN troops coming in and enforcing that treaty. Realistically it wouldn't happen without being invited in to do so and when you consider the efforts by Democrats to get UN troops on US soil at the Mexican border and in Chicago at that same time period, that's not a big stretch or paranoid.
What is paranoid is the idea that US servicemen would go along with such an action. The bulk of which signed up for patriotic reasons and who would oppose any such efforts by any force necessary.
Without either local supplies or control of Mexico, no invasion would have a chance. Not even if a million UN troops were already on our shores. China and Russia would understand that. UN troops from most Western European nations, some South/Latin American nations, Japan, Australia, India, etc would be unlikely to participate in any such bloodbath and would likely turn on the UN and fight with Americans against the UN.
The idea that all of the world's leaders are united in some backroom deal for "the new world order" is improbable. Too many conflicting interests for such an arrangement to be made and if made to last.
In the end, government agencies are made of people. No matter who far out the leadership gets, there are limits to what those people will do. Even the Nazis had widespread resistance. Even the Soviets and Mao's China had people buck the system. Refuse to carry out orders. Putin found out the hard way that even soldiers will balk at genocide against their own people.
Great idea, I can't remember two small helicopters engaged in battle before. The way it was done however was laughably bad. One chopper which is clearly civilian and lacking missile pods is firing point blank at the other and missing. The way the good guys dispose of it equally laughable. They took what could have been memorable and destroyed it. The script probably called for a military chopper and the budget got the best they could.
The A-Team style gun fights were some of the worst I've seen on film. You really do have to go to the A-Team to find worse.
The premise of an EMP attack however is not only real, but probable in the next five years. UN troops on US soil again an eventuality. The DNC has made multiple efforts to import UN troops. The two most recent being the Mexican border and to "curb" violence in Chicago.
The idea of Russia and China working together isn't even a stretch. They already are. That SOME US politicians would join in is also almost certain. It is easy to imagine globalists like the DNC, RINOs in the GOP and Libertarians who buy the Ron/Ryan Paul line to side with the enemy. Anybody who supports open borders is actively abetting an armed invasion of the US. There are at least 3 million Illegals here in the US and likely at least 250,000 legal US immigrants who'd happily take up arms against the US if invaded. We are actively importing soldiers to kill Americans with the open borders policy. That constitutes one of the largest armed forces in the world. All already inside our borders. Easily armed and organized. Most of them already belonging to anti-American groups like Muslim terrorist organizations, drug cartels, ANTIFA/BLM, reconquistador groups, race supremacist groups like the Black Panthers and Neo Nazis, organized crime groups from Russia, Haiti, Venezuela, etc, It wouldn't take much to rally, arm and deploy these groups against American targets. Look at the arming process that took place in Oregon. Now think what would happen if a agent provocateur dressed as a cop gunned down a couple innocents? There would have been a blood bath. Now think of such an event after EMP knocked out communications and hampered travel. I strongly feel that the ANTIFA & BLM movements were used as a test run by Russian and Chinese intelligence services to practice deploying Americans against America, complete with kneeling during the national anthem, burning American flags, anti-American propaganda. It wouldn't take much to turn these people into soldiers fighting for an invasion force. It didn't take much for the DNC, and foreign intelligence services to infiltrate and subvert the leadership of these groups either. Notice how when it became inconvenient for the DNC the ANTIF and BLM protests almost completely vanished? Once they'd served the DNC's purposes the groups were tucked away in the back pocket of the DNC. Soon as the DNC needs it's storm troopers again they'll be rolled back out. Thing is the DNC is heavily infiltrated by Chinese intelligence. We've seen multiple instances of Chinese agents embedded deeply with powerful DNC politicians. Russians to a lessor extent with both parties. Iran has it's hooks in a few DNC politicians as does Saudi Arabia with some of both DNC and GOP politicians. The Bush crowd of RINOs in particular are essentially owned by the Saudis. This isn't just corruption in the open. It's foreign manipulation of our government.
So no the premise of wide spread help by Americans for foreign powers is not a hair brained idea. Sadly the way it was presented by the movie made it seem that way.
Some of the ideas were ludicrous. Sadly the idea of a Democrat president signing off on UN control over the US isn't. Obama openly pushed a treaty that would have if enforced allowed UN troops into the US to confiscate civilian arms. The 2nd amendment would have been pretty much wiped out by the small arms treaty that Democrats overwhelmingly voted to approve. The US in obvious violation of the treaty would have then been at least theoretically subject to UN troops coming in and enforcing that treaty. Realistically it wouldn't happen without being invited in to do so and when you consider the efforts by Democrats to get UN troops on US soil at the Mexican border and in Chicago at that same time period, that's not a big stretch or paranoid.
What is paranoid is the idea that US servicemen would go along with such an action. The bulk of which signed up for patriotic reasons and who would oppose any such efforts by any force necessary.
Without either local supplies or control of Mexico, no invasion would have a chance. Not even if a million UN troops were already on our shores. China and Russia would understand that. UN troops from most Western European nations, some South/Latin American nations, Japan, Australia, India, etc would be unlikely to participate in any such bloodbath and would likely turn on the UN and fight with Americans against the UN.
The idea that all of the world's leaders are united in some backroom deal for "the new world order" is improbable. Too many conflicting interests for such an arrangement to be made and if made to last.
In the end, government agencies are made of people. No matter who far out the leadership gets, there are limits to what those people will do. Even the Nazis had widespread resistance. Even the Soviets and Mao's China had people buck the system. Refuse to carry out orders. Putin found out the hard way that even soldiers will balk at genocide against their own people.
Travelers
(2016–2018)
Interesting premise, subpar presentation
27 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The premise is pretty interesting. Then it gets wrecked right out of the gate. It does not take long to discover that the Travelers are working for a machine. They are literally mindless cogs for the machine. Expendable, used without mercy and carrying out their missions with utter and complete blind faith. The travelers demonstrate religious zeal in their efforts.
The story does at least give a nod to concepts like free will and a rebellious group that resents the abuse of the travelers. Sadly they are painted as terrorists for daring think a human could do what a machine could do.
The positive is that the characters are decently developed even if a bit comic book superhuman most of the time but when the plot needs a weakness all of a sudden they are just weak enough to provide the plot loop. The acting is OK, the action scenes are weak. Almost A-Team bad with everyone firing full auto and people making impossible shots with handguns well out of handgun range while the stormtrooper like bad guys with scoped rifles can't hit the broadside of a barn.
Some of the characters are extremely well played and endearing. Patrick Gilmore's David Mailer in particular. While Officer Conniker played by. Alex Brinson is well acted, the character is so plastic and annoying that you get annoyed the second he appears on screen. Reilly. Doleman does an excellent job of playing Phillip and really brings the character to life. The lead character however just doesn't really go anywhere. He's deadpan but not stoic. He is so robotic that Data in Star Trek new generation seems more human. His character is poorly written and poorly acted and it detracts from the story. Nesta Cooper does a good job with a character that starts out interesting but then gets so over the top and comic book 2 dimensional that you just start rooting for her to get removed from the series. Her character is full on A-Team bad. Nesta does her best to overcome the writing/directing but nothing could save her character from the writers & director.
In the end I found it just interesting enough to keep watching through most of the series, but not enough to finish the series. It became very repetitive and started getting increasingly political and out there. The characters sink into people you do not even like as the series goes on.
The story does at least give a nod to concepts like free will and a rebellious group that resents the abuse of the travelers. Sadly they are painted as terrorists for daring think a human could do what a machine could do.
The positive is that the characters are decently developed even if a bit comic book superhuman most of the time but when the plot needs a weakness all of a sudden they are just weak enough to provide the plot loop. The acting is OK, the action scenes are weak. Almost A-Team bad with everyone firing full auto and people making impossible shots with handguns well out of handgun range while the stormtrooper like bad guys with scoped rifles can't hit the broadside of a barn.
Some of the characters are extremely well played and endearing. Patrick Gilmore's David Mailer in particular. While Officer Conniker played by. Alex Brinson is well acted, the character is so plastic and annoying that you get annoyed the second he appears on screen. Reilly. Doleman does an excellent job of playing Phillip and really brings the character to life. The lead character however just doesn't really go anywhere. He's deadpan but not stoic. He is so robotic that Data in Star Trek new generation seems more human. His character is poorly written and poorly acted and it detracts from the story. Nesta Cooper does a good job with a character that starts out interesting but then gets so over the top and comic book 2 dimensional that you just start rooting for her to get removed from the series. Her character is full on A-Team bad. Nesta does her best to overcome the writing/directing but nothing could save her character from the writers & director.
In the end I found it just interesting enough to keep watching through most of the series, but not enough to finish the series. It became very repetitive and started getting increasingly political and out there. The characters sink into people you do not even like as the series goes on.
The Giver
(2014)
The human spirit triumphs
7 April 2023
The basic movie is a dystopian world where emotions are banned. A Communist system of everyone in forced equality, jobs, housing, etc assigned to you for life. Except for one person. They keep the memories of the past. Jonas has been selected to train to be the next memory keeper.
You won't see car crashes and huge explosions and shoot outs down town. Just a tale of the human spirit and it's need to be human. Bridges is at his best as the Giver. The rest of the cast get by. Other than less than awesome acting by the supporting cast, the movie shines in every way. It does a good job of capturing the yearning and the mythical quest to be human.
The plot has a lot of influences from Logan's Run, but runs deeper and focuses more on the ideas and concepts than Logan's run, less on the action and romance. If you liked Logan's run you will probably like this movie.
I wish Hollywood made more movies like this and less than Empty action the 23rd sequel. Of a mindless movie to start with.
I have not read the book. Though I intend too after seeing the movie. Movies struggle to capture books like this, and I suspect the book is much better than the movie. As to how true it is, I cannot say.
You won't see car crashes and huge explosions and shoot outs down town. Just a tale of the human spirit and it's need to be human. Bridges is at his best as the Giver. The rest of the cast get by. Other than less than awesome acting by the supporting cast, the movie shines in every way. It does a good job of capturing the yearning and the mythical quest to be human.
The plot has a lot of influences from Logan's Run, but runs deeper and focuses more on the ideas and concepts than Logan's run, less on the action and romance. If you liked Logan's run you will probably like this movie.
I wish Hollywood made more movies like this and less than Empty action the 23rd sequel. Of a mindless movie to start with.
I have not read the book. Though I intend too after seeing the movie. Movies struggle to capture books like this, and I suspect the book is much better than the movie. As to how true it is, I cannot say.
The Titan
(2018)
An interesting look on the future of genetics
6 April 2023
The plot is that the Earth is failing, our only hope is to colonize a moon on Saturn. That requires genetic modifications to the colonists. So a crew of volunteers undertake the highly risky effort to modify themselves in order to survive out there.
The basic climate change garbage is distracting. Even climate change advocates probably find it poorly done. Once you are past that the plot gets much better. The genetic changes begin to take their toll on the volunteers. Some die and others wash out. Jenkins and one other soldier on through the transformations.
The transformations have unpredictable results and the core of the movie is spent in how a tight knit family deals with the changes and challenges. This is where the story is most interesting and they should have left it at that. If they had they would have probably avoided most of the bad reviews.
Sadly there's the cliche plot twist that really hurts the plot. You see it coming, you hope they don't do this in yet another movie but they do. When they do, it steals so much from the movie which could have been a truly exceptional movie. So time is wasted with unnecessary gunk that could have been spent on something like life beyond the experiment, the actual mission and the possibles. Time that could have been invested in the humanity of the situation.
I gave the movie a 7 for that half of the movie not busy pushing cliches and failing to live up to the possibility. It's well worth turning your mind over what is coming. The Chinese and probably others have already begun experimenting in this direction. So much could have been explored about the moral, social and psychological elements of this instead of wasted on Hollywood cliches. At least they didn't turn it into a monster movie. Then I'd given it a 3 or 4 at best. At times it looked like they would and I think that really turned off so many who watched the movie.
My advice is go do stuff or skip the first 30 minutes of the movie, then settle in for an interesting hour, then endure the rest as the good parts are woven in with the stupid and no way to avoid it, but well worth watching and thinking about the questions raised by this movie. They are real questions that will need to be answered in the next 10 years.
The basic climate change garbage is distracting. Even climate change advocates probably find it poorly done. Once you are past that the plot gets much better. The genetic changes begin to take their toll on the volunteers. Some die and others wash out. Jenkins and one other soldier on through the transformations.
The transformations have unpredictable results and the core of the movie is spent in how a tight knit family deals with the changes and challenges. This is where the story is most interesting and they should have left it at that. If they had they would have probably avoided most of the bad reviews.
Sadly there's the cliche plot twist that really hurts the plot. You see it coming, you hope they don't do this in yet another movie but they do. When they do, it steals so much from the movie which could have been a truly exceptional movie. So time is wasted with unnecessary gunk that could have been spent on something like life beyond the experiment, the actual mission and the possibles. Time that could have been invested in the humanity of the situation.
I gave the movie a 7 for that half of the movie not busy pushing cliches and failing to live up to the possibility. It's well worth turning your mind over what is coming. The Chinese and probably others have already begun experimenting in this direction. So much could have been explored about the moral, social and psychological elements of this instead of wasted on Hollywood cliches. At least they didn't turn it into a monster movie. Then I'd given it a 3 or 4 at best. At times it looked like they would and I think that really turned off so many who watched the movie.
My advice is go do stuff or skip the first 30 minutes of the movie, then settle in for an interesting hour, then endure the rest as the good parts are woven in with the stupid and no way to avoid it, but well worth watching and thinking about the questions raised by this movie. They are real questions that will need to be answered in the next 10 years.
Bad Grandmas
(2017)
Dark humor about grandmas
6 April 2023
The plot is interesting enough though there is really no suspense involved or action to speak of. A pack of grannies figure life in prison is not that long at all and embark on setting things right for a friend. In doing so they set off a chain of events that put them in constant peril.
If's a comedy so there are plenty of goofs and gaffes and obviously the world is never so easily put in neat boxes. The point is to laugh at the absurdity of the situation and life in general. Unlike many dark comedies made lately, you actually root for the good guys in this movie.
There are parts that will give you are really big belly laugh, unfortunately too much time is spent on side plots and wastes of time or this could have been one of those gems that accidentally fall out of Hollywood from time to time. It's funny but too much is just biz as usual in movie making to be epically funny.
Well worth wasting an hour and a half if you have nothing pressing to do or better to watch. You will laugh and be entertained. That's the best most movies can ever say.
If's a comedy so there are plenty of goofs and gaffes and obviously the world is never so easily put in neat boxes. The point is to laugh at the absurdity of the situation and life in general. Unlike many dark comedies made lately, you actually root for the good guys in this movie.
There are parts that will give you are really big belly laugh, unfortunately too much time is spent on side plots and wastes of time or this could have been one of those gems that accidentally fall out of Hollywood from time to time. It's funny but too much is just biz as usual in movie making to be epically funny.
Well worth wasting an hour and a half if you have nothing pressing to do or better to watch. You will laugh and be entertained. That's the best most movies can ever say.
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