brusimm Reviews

A Perfect Getaway (2009)

If you think you know who dun it, think again! Well done!

[8/10 · 22 December 2010]

It's hard to say anything about "The Perfect Getaway" without giving away the great way that director/writer David Twohy brings this classic tale of "screaming, running for your life" movie to the screen.

Some may call the first hour a bit slow but it's really the perfect build to the final act. Dialog and plot developments keep the viewer's mind fully guessing as to who might start killing whoever! And if you've never seen this movie, and never looked up any spoiler outlines, I'm guessing your guess will be wrong. Until the reveal, I couldn't decide who it was that's going to snap, even when I thought it was becoming obvious.

Timothy Olyphant is awesome in this role, as is the rest of the primary cast, with Chris Hemsworth being the angry hitchhiker and Steve Zahn & Milla Jovovich playing the part of the honeymooners.

I give Twohy 2 thumbs up for making this movie fresh, engaging and confusing.

Temple Grandin (2010 TV Movie)

Temple Grandin Starts slow but before the movie's end, has captured your heart !

[9/10 · 21 December 2010]

I've been told about Temple Grandin by one of my writers, who almost a year ago said go see it... boy did I wait too long.

A movie about Temple Grandin, a woman with Autism, shows us her struggle with life as an autistic individual, but more to the point, her struggle with people who don't understand either her condition or her gender.

Through the time of the movie we experience a lot of what she goes through while her brilliance shines through ever so slowly until the movie's end, when she's asked to... well, no spoilers so you'll see.

There are moments of frustration and moments of triumph and Claire Danes really delivers and makes you feel them all.

Get past the slow start of the movie and your possible discomfort in the beginning and try not to cry more than once during this movie. (No... I didn't... just sayin'!) It's a fantastic movie.

Life Unexpected (2010–2011)

Life UneXpected is unexpectedly good and heart warming

[13 December 2009]

Life UneXpected from The CW is about a 15-year-old girl trying to get herself emancipated to get away from the foster care system.

Lux, played by Brittany Robertson (Swingtown) has been put through the ringer with with the foster care system and needs to get away. She needs to become emancipated.

Her biological dad, Nate "Baze" Bazile is played by Kristoffer Polaha (ad Men, Valentine, North Shore) and her mom, Cate Cassidy is played by Shiri Appleby (ER, Six Degrees, Roswell).

Through one turn or another Lux is put in the temporary custody of her biological parents (Don't worry, you'll see why).

~ Life UneXpected is written by Liz Tigelaar (Brothers & Sisters, What About Brian) and directed by Gary Fleder (Life on Mars, October Road).

These two have teamed up to bring quite the heart warming tale of a wayward like teen who rediscovers her biological parents. Neither live with each other and this tale of two different people, three counting Lux, hits nerves in a good way with this journey they are embarking on.

The plot pulls you in from the start and keeps you hooked. It has great interaction between characters. Nothing feels forced, everything flows.

The caveat: You need to like shows like this to appreciate it. That being said, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Sand Serpents (2009 TV Movie)

Dune meets Tremors - I didn't suffer while watching, but I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it.

[5/10 · 12 July 2009]

Sand Serpents. No one died in this Syfy Original Movie until the 6 minute mark. Impressive.

A small combat unit overseas that ends up dealing with giant underground worms or snakes.

You're probably thinking what I'm thinking. Dune meets Tremors. Sure, because it's basically just that.

The difference is that the writing is much better than the usual Saturday Night Original fare on Syfy and if you have nothing better to do, it passed the time rather well.

There are some obvious holes in the skit as they skipped some scenes where special effects could have been used, but we know what happened. Who really needs to see a giant snake blow up anyway? My guess, they were saving money.

When the worms feed on Taliban, they kind of reminded me of giant Slinky's with teeth.

Overall, 1-10, I'd say a 5, maybe a 6 if you were drinking.

The writing was better than most of their Saturday Night Original movies, the effects weren't bad but there were holes in some of the cinematography. Who ever edited the final product may have been the one that created some of the disjointed scenes.

The ending for me got lame as I feel there was a much smarter resolution at hand aside from the one that took place. Then again, if he was stupid enough to have taken his course of action aside, then I guess this scene, that was reminiscent of Reign Of Fire, is fine.

You'll know what I mean when / if you see it.

Wyvern (2009 TV Movie)

Wyvern: It fulfilled some expectations I have of the Sci-Fi Channel, and yet it managed to surprise me in a good way.

[6/10 · 1 February 2009]

WYVERN on the Sci-Fi Channel, by Bruce Simmons from Cinema Static:

Saturday night Sci-Fi movies tend to have quick deaths in the beginning, cheesy over the board acting, miserable stories and sad effects. But it is Saturday night and camp can be fun.

WYVERN did meet some expectations and yet I was also surprised by it.

Wyvern delivered the first death within 2 minutes of the movie opening.

It actually had a story that developed decent progression, fair background and typical developments that kept the plot in a decent progression.

Yet Nick Chinlund delivers a decent role as Jake, as he delivers validity to the cast. You might remember him from "The Chronicles of Riddick" as Toombs, the ill-fated bounty hunter.

Then there's Erin Karpluk, (Claire) Barry Corbin (Haas) and Don S. Davis of Stargate fame, as the doofy brained Colonel.

Don Davis (RIP) shows the depth of his talent. He isn't the main character, but one of a few secondary roles. No, it's not a mind boggling, soul wrenching role he delivers. Instead, he delivers a seemingly half-brained doof of a character. One we would actually expect from a Saturday night Sci-Fi movie. He delivers superbly in that fashion and I mean it. After watching him for many years on Stargate, this was a great variation of character. I found him fun to watch, knowing he was striving for this affect. I wish a heart attack didn't take him from us last July,('08) but it is what it is.

On top of all this, Sci-Fi is not known for delivering fantastic effects but the dragon was pretty decent.

In all, maybe it's because I've come to expect less then nothing from these movies that this one seemed so much better than most.

It was a fun 2 hours for TV for me for once. Thanks Sci-Fi for the surprise. Really! I didn't want to give this flick a 5. It was much better than that and I feel my "6" is a very strong "6".

How does it all end after the Wyvern goes nuts eating everyone? Well, that would be a spoiler that I won't give away. It's not a bad resolution. That's all I'll say!

Babylon A.D. (2008)

We need a reason to want to root for the story, don't we?

[4/10 · 10 January 2009]

I like Vin Diesel. I liked him in Pitch Black, in "Riddick", "A Man Apart" and even in "The Pacifier".

If you need your Vin Diesel fix, this will sort of do, but it doesn't quite cut it.

The movie does not give you any reason to root for Toorop, worry about Aurora or care what happens.

From what I've read, the editing killed a lot of the movie. I guess that may be right. Whatever development details were in there before the cuts might have helped us want to become involved in the story.

I feel like I wasted my $$ on this flick, but I probably wouldn't mind seeing it on TV. Free TV.

Dog Soldiers (2002)

A Phenom of Special Affects, This Has Some Of The Best Werewolf Affects I've Seen.

[9/10 · 29 November 2008]

"They're really good people except for once a month." Dog Soldiers was released in the UK in 2002 and never made it to a theater release in the United States. I don't know why, but we all missed out due to that decision in this short lived, one-time franchise. (I say franchise because I can hope, can't I?) This is one of the best low budget monster movies I've ever seen and it furthers it's own genre. It's superbly written to showcase the desperate battle of the characters as they fight to survive as long as possible.

The monsters are portrayed in a mix of shadows, outlines, steaming bodies at the edge of the light. In what I think is the perfect presentation, after being teased for a while, we get to see them full on in the light and these beasts are awesome for all their simplicity. (No CGI!) It's a great ride. It's on Sci-Fi every few weeks and it's worth the replay view.

Boogeyman (2005)

Boogeyman Is Surprisingly Better Than I Expected

[8/10 · 29 November 2008]

Boogeyman was a surprise for me.

Written by Eric Kripke (Supernatural), directed by Sam Raimi - the film comes together with a fairly decent flow of story elements and suspense.

Sometimes expected, sometimes out of nowhere, the shocks and jolts are well delivered. My coronary was kept at a constant state of gasp throughout.

Maybe it's because I was expecting absolutely nothing but the twists and subterfuge worked well on me.

-Bruce