shadowtramp Reviews

Barbie (I) (2023)

More of a marketing flick

[5/10 · 22 July 2023]

The brilliant marketing is what led us tonight to pay for the tickets. The brilliance ends there.

Performance of the lead actors is very good - as good as you may expect given the very poor story and weak directing. And that's it. The humour is forced. The satire is replaced by lectures conveyed by characters. All the "bad" characters are absolutely flat, lacking any depth. Even dancing is very poorly choreographed. Whatever you may expect from the trailers is missing in the movie.

The photography is good though. So the average is 5/10 It is another plainly bad movie that is trying to hide behind agenda.

Ready Player One (2018)

Not sure, who is the target auditory

[4/10 · 2 April 2018]

The main problem is the absence of anything substantial in this movie I want and can remember. Ask me what was it about two hours past the final titles, and I'm already having troubles remembering. This movie may go well for some teenagers, with its school level romance. But it refers, and practically adores, so many things from past, so that it will hard to imagine teenager who cares about all those references. There are few good moments in this movie. Hence the 4/10. But overall impression is very depressing.

Arrival (II) (2016)

Had excellent aftertaste

[9/10 · 14 November 2016]

This movie has few shortcomings: it has some inconsistencies in story line and some actors do not live up to the exceptional performance of the leading actress. And this is it.

The rest will keep your attention during and well after the show. It is a rare gem of though provoking art, that is telling the story exceptionally, accompanies the story with beautiful and non intrusive visuals.

And, finally, this science fiction concentrates on humans, and not on extra terrestrial gizmos. It concentrates on painting the picture of humans. And excels in it.

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Almost as good as the original

[9/10 · 31 January 2016]

The story has more then single level. And while all planes are simple by themselves, they give a nice aftertaste. Which is rare for kid movie.

The dynamic is awesome. I kept silly grin almost all the time through the movie.

Overall very nice experience. Few things left to wish for, that you will find hard to point exactly at.

You may read in some reviews that story is way too simple. Well, as I said - each plane by itself is simple and may be a little too schematic. But follow them all and you will see a bigger picture.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Do not recommend

[5/10 · 3 August 2015]

My problems are mainly three.

1. This movie is like good old pron with the story: "main characters" do some talks and pull some faces just to walk to another room and do their "job" there. In MI5 main characters mostly do the same. All the clever talks and all the clever plot is just a mean to link action scenes.

2. You may say, that it was always the same with MI series. Well, almost. This time actors do not play at all, except for Pegg. Simon Pegg is the only main actor who performs and does his job great. Cruise just pull one of the two faces. One being of knowing smile, the other - of great worry. And both suck.

3. One could probably enjoy MI5 as much, as, say, F&F series. But the action scenes aren't great either. If you have seen trailer, you've seen the best one. The problem with the action scenes is that all of them end stupid.

I will not do nitpicking about plausibility of stunts. But this time MI came close to being comics screen adaptation. And that's bad. Not here, not there.

Don't waste your time and money.

Terminator Genisys (2015)

It's bad because it is laughable

[5/10 · 6 July 2015]

The picture is OK. There is nothing we haven't seen in the past few years.

The cast is mixed. Governator is awesome. And the explanation of the aging body is quite sound. Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor is a weak choice. But Jason Clarke as John Connor and Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese are simply bad.

Still it could be good. Not a star shine, like the first two parts were, but it could have been just fine. The script ruins whatever chance the movie had. It is that basic corner stones the whole plot relies upon are laughingly implausible.

So there is no good story, mediocre action from most of the main actors, so-so action and dumb final scenes.

My vote of 5/10 goes to Schwarzenegger. The rest of movie drags him down.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Not much madness

[7/10 · 18 May 2015]

Unfortunately the main part of Mad Max is absent. There is no main male character. There is no Mad Max in this picture. And the necessary component is really missing.

I remember Mel Gibson eyes speaking of his character madness. I remember quite a few quotes from the original series. I will forget the most of the Fury Road very soon.

The rest of the characters is denied good development either. Original series was about characters. The scripts were about characters.

That said, I must explain why I gave this part such a high vote (7). The action part of the movie is really great. In a perversive way it is like Monster Track madness feat Cirque Du Soleil. Sometimes script gets in the way of this exemplary road action. But don't worry. It doesn't take much time.

The Expendables 3 (2014)

Very few good moments with the rest being boring

[4/10 · 15 August 2014]

This movie is composed of two parts, intertwined with each other. One is cheaply looking action sequences. The other is just boring interplay.

As was already written, Banderas and Gibson are stealing their scenes. Arnie is fun to look at. The rest is really boring. All these legendary actors, appearing in this flick, had far better titles in their careers. Better spend your time on watching one of those. Young additions didn't delivered anything. Possibly for the lack of chance to deliver.

I hope this is the end of series. Please, make a statement - don't pay a dime for this movie. This is becoming a too low quality to drag on.

The Host (2013)

Laughable. In the worst way possible.

[1/10 · 31 March 2013]

The movie is a complete failure. It is an example how you can make movie that will fail in every single aspect. I will not discuss the illogical and weak script. Will not tell you about awful take on characters. I will not tell you about flat and dumb photography. I will tell you about the reaction of a teen girl, who is supposedly was in target audience of this movie. In the last few minutes there was a moment. It should have been a Moment. But the reaction of the said girl was the shout: "We had a spare corpse!" And most of the audience in the cinema laughed. Yes, the movie is that bad. That if forces you to laugh and react completely unnaturally. Because it is so big a failure, that the only reaction left for you is to laugh.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

CGI kills it

[5/10 · 22 December 2012]

This movie lasts 169 minutes. About half of this time is wasted for some annoying computer generated 3D images. 10 or 20 minutes more are left for stunning views of mountains. Which I actually liked a lot. And the rest is beautiful.

The first thing one should understand this movie is not a rendition of the book ¨Hobbit¨. It is a kind of prequel to Lord of the Rings trilogy made by Peter Jackson that is loosely based on the book.

And this prequel is just great. All the key moments are made to the greatest standards. My only rant is about tree-hanging scene which suffer from the same ailment as the rest of the movie - it is made to last way too long.

And this brings me back to my vote. I vote 5 since only half of this movie worth watching. And it is better by far to watch it home where you can skip this irrelevant CGI.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)

The best trash I've seen in years.

[7/10 · 7 October 2012]

This one is a very good trash movie. And I'm serious.

It has story, a good one if you come to think about it seriously. It even has nice twist in the end. But it also has so many obviously stupid things that we heartily laughed about. It is just impossible to take it seriously.

It has very good combat scenes. Enough of blood and gore for my liking. But every single thing contradicts laws of nature so bluntly that it is just impossible to take it seriously.

The struggle between characters portrayed by Van Damme and Adkins is well shown. And you can even sympathize both to great extent. But every single bit of lighting and makeup will turn it to comics. And already sitting with a silly grin at your face you just can not take it seriously.

This is very good trash movie! And I really mean it! If you like to watch one do go for this. I haven't seen like this for several years now.

Looper (2012)

It is well worth seeing

[8/10 · 30 September 2012]

Actually this movie is rather good. It could have higher marks and more exciting reviews. But it doesn't.

It is not "12 monkeys", or "Die Hard". It will not start new genre. And most probably you will not buy it to add to home collection.

For one time movie this one has all it needs: it has it's fun moments, and really sad ones. Willis and Gordon-Levitt do perform quite well. And supporting cast is great.

What I mostly disliked were other two key characters. That you will not see in trailers. And I really didn't like the final.

But you may disagree after watching. So I emphasize it once more: this movie is well worth seeing.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

The scenery is definitely good

[5/10 · 13 September 2012]

The scenery is very good and believable. And that's it.

Leading 'good' characters portrayed so weakly that do ruin the fairy tale. And I don't blame Kristen Stewart for this as many reviewers did already. Direction is very weak. Key moments that involve some miracles are absolutely out of sync with the tale. I don't want to put any spoilers here. But those key moments bring the question "what just happened here?".

On the other hand costumes, CGI and 'bad' character acting are quite good. Sound stage is compelling.

Special thanks to Charlize Theron for her evil queen. But even with her very good acting there are some holes with her part of the story. Flashbacks, that explain her motives and story are shown close to the end when they can not change impression already.

Heat (1995)

Enthralling

[10/10 · 15 August 2005]

It is amazing how this masterpiece enthrall me more and more with the passing of time! Ihis one is among those rare movies you may watch once every year or so. And each time you will fill more like knowing characters personally. I even caught myself thinking once that I changed my attitude toward Neil. That I fill he is more villain and bad then I thought at first. I feel more for Vincent with the time. It is astonishing how romance evaporates from the characters of bandits with each scene. And there are not many movies I saw that had such strong and appealing characters in them. If you are looking for the title to add to your collection, one you may want to watch again, give this one a try.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Just emotions - if someone need more comments

[9/10 · 29 October 2002]

First of all: this film is one of the "must see".

It's not just a collection of perfect moments. It's not just a work of good teammates. It's a single moment from the start till the begining when you live along with the characters of the film.

And the last but not the least: it very hard to make film after strong book. Different seasons is worth reading and definitely very impressive. When I watched the start I honestly doubted that it will impress me that strong.

Minority Report (2002)

The first class compilation

[8/10 · 17 September 2002]

Yes. It is a compilation of many Sci-Fi films and books. Yes. It's a first class one. Hard earned B mark. Thorough made industrial film. I may say that on the road to home we discussed this cine. I compared it to Matrix, Solaris (after Lem's outstanding writing filmed by Tarkovskii) and couple more. In my opinion Minority Report looses to all primary ones. But tell me: how many films made today are worth of such comparison? I definitely won't go second time. But i definitely recommend to see it once. It would be better to see it in good cinema.

Femme Fatale (2002)

Too boring to watch - definitive spoiler follows

[1/10 · 12 August 2002]

1. I have to admit that there are two episodes couple of minutes each that revoke my hope to see a good cine. But they both are located in the first third of the film and the rest is dumb and boring self repeat. 2. When doing a 'Happy-End-All-In-Chocolate' final scene one must supply suitable event's flow before. There is no. 3. Cine on two third filled with a B-class scenes is a B-class movie. 4. Its even more painful to see that all three (Rebecca, Antonio and Brian) are capable of good performance...