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Southern Today (21 KP) rated Pathfinder (2007) in Movies
Dec 26, 2017
This movie, staring Bones from the new Star Trek movies, follows a viking boy who was left behind in America and raised by natives 600 years before Columbus. 15 years later, and the vikings are back to try and settle America. And who else to fight them but another viking who has made these people his family?
Okay, I enjoyed this film but
A) it was very gorey
B) while the time line is linear because the environment is constantly changing it gets a little hard to follow
C)I see why this film, to my knowledge, wasn’t very popular when it came out in 2007. The pacing isn’t great for the average TV goer.
I am also unsure about how they portrayed vikings in this movie. Would they bring horses with them? Would they go to this extent when trying to settle a place by killing everyone and not taking any slaves?
The plot line was interesting if a bit slow, and if you enjoy fight scenes this could be a good movie for you.
Okay, I enjoyed this film but
A) it was very gorey
B) while the time line is linear because the environment is constantly changing it gets a little hard to follow
C)I see why this film, to my knowledge, wasn’t very popular when it came out in 2007. The pacing isn’t great for the average TV goer.
I am also unsure about how they portrayed vikings in this movie. Would they bring horses with them? Would they go to this extent when trying to settle a place by killing everyone and not taking any slaves?
The plot line was interesting if a bit slow, and if you enjoy fight scenes this could be a good movie for you.
JT (287 KP) rated The Last Days On Mars (2013) in Movies
Mar 23, 2020
Not original (1 more)
Character clichés
Another B-movie straight to DVD
Another B-movie, straight to DVD space horror that had the chance to be truly terrifying but ended up falling flat on its arse. A group of astronauts are winding up their last few days on the red planet as they wait for the next team to arrive.
When one of them makes a scientific discovery in the form of a new strain of bacteria they head out to claim it for themselves putting the entire crew in danger. There is nothing unique here that hasn’t already been tried before if this was to succeed at all then the execution had to be better.
Visually it ticks all the right boxes with set design and location being winning points. It’s the lack of originality that is the most frustrating. The cast is not given any credible dialogue and it’s as dry and barren as the planet that they are standing on.
Step back and look at it for what it is and you’ve got zombies in space. The acting is run of the mill and no one, in particular, stands out as personality cliches run thick. If the crew of the Nostromo had a reserve team this lot would fit the bill perfectly.
When one of them makes a scientific discovery in the form of a new strain of bacteria they head out to claim it for themselves putting the entire crew in danger. There is nothing unique here that hasn’t already been tried before if this was to succeed at all then the execution had to be better.
Visually it ticks all the right boxes with set design and location being winning points. It’s the lack of originality that is the most frustrating. The cast is not given any credible dialogue and it’s as dry and barren as the planet that they are standing on.
Step back and look at it for what it is and you’ve got zombies in space. The acting is run of the mill and no one, in particular, stands out as personality cliches run thick. If the crew of the Nostromo had a reserve team this lot would fit the bill perfectly.
Ryan Hill (152 KP) rated Kong: Skull Island (2017) in Movies
Jun 26, 2019
"is that a monkey?"
There are very few things that I respect more than a movie that is unafraid to embrace its own stupidity. Kong: Skull Island has thinly written characters, extreme tonal dissonance, bad dialogue, and a complete and utter disregard for the talents of Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson, but it’s absolutely glorious in its brazen spectacle. Its thin characters and tonal dissonance don’t matter as much because it thoroughly commits to its premise, and it seems like the movie is one ridiculous–but hilarious–visual gag after another. The bad dialogue is all part of the fun. It’s not trying to be something it’s not, and that’s something I appreciate in any movie, especially a nostalgia-laced B-movie blockbuster about a giant ape.
Some might draw connections to the time era explored or the interplay between man and nature, but the movie succeeds at its main goal: entertain the hell out of the audience. Actors like Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson are (pretty) pieces of cardboard in this, but seasoned vets like Samuel L. Jackson and John C. Reilly thoroughly understand what it is they’re being asked to do. They both ham it up big time, with Vogt-Roberts’s visual flourishes adding to their performances in beautiful ways throughout. They both give pitch perfect performances that are 100% appropriate for their roles, and Reilly in particular becomes the heart and soul of the story. As an actor, the best response to a movie like this is to embrace the ridiculous, and Jackson and Reilly certainly do.
However, the ridiculous can sometimes move aside to reveal a visually stunning movie with a large heart. The production design is gorgeous, and the classic shot–a character whose back is turned to us, staring up in awe and fear at Kong–is breathtaking. The movie itself has that type of reaction to its own character, to its own force of nature, looking up in wonder and childish glee as Kong destroys another piece of its surroundings. This is big, bold, and confident filmmaking, precisely because the movie understands what it’s not.
Some might draw connections to the time era explored or the interplay between man and nature, but the movie succeeds at its main goal: entertain the hell out of the audience. Actors like Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson are (pretty) pieces of cardboard in this, but seasoned vets like Samuel L. Jackson and John C. Reilly thoroughly understand what it is they’re being asked to do. They both ham it up big time, with Vogt-Roberts’s visual flourishes adding to their performances in beautiful ways throughout. They both give pitch perfect performances that are 100% appropriate for their roles, and Reilly in particular becomes the heart and soul of the story. As an actor, the best response to a movie like this is to embrace the ridiculous, and Jackson and Reilly certainly do.
However, the ridiculous can sometimes move aside to reveal a visually stunning movie with a large heart. The production design is gorgeous, and the classic shot–a character whose back is turned to us, staring up in awe and fear at Kong–is breathtaking. The movie itself has that type of reaction to its own character, to its own force of nature, looking up in wonder and childish glee as Kong destroys another piece of its surroundings. This is big, bold, and confident filmmaking, precisely because the movie understands what it’s not.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Devil Girl from Mars (1955) in Movies
Mar 30, 2019 (Updated Mar 30, 2019)
Notorious cheapo British SF film objectively deserves about a 2 or 3, but it's worth at least an 8 for connoisseurs of duff B-movies, so I've split the difference. Title character Nyah (Laffan) swishes about in a shower curtain, occasionally hypnotising men she wants to take home to Mars, and devastating the countryside with her pet robot (which looks like a fridge with legs). Everyone else tries to get on with some very soapy subplots.
Absolutely a horrendous collision between a homespun UK programme filler and a spangly American flying saucer B-movie, but the weirdest thing about this very odd film is that there are individual bits of it that are actually pretty good: just not the acting, script, or sci-fi props. Shameless in its economy and genuinely very funny (just not intentionally), the result is sort of like an episode of The Twilight Zone performed as amateur theatre. Awful, but a fun kind of awful.
Absolutely a horrendous collision between a homespun UK programme filler and a spangly American flying saucer B-movie, but the weirdest thing about this very odd film is that there are individual bits of it that are actually pretty good: just not the acting, script, or sci-fi props. Shameless in its economy and genuinely very funny (just not intentionally), the result is sort of like an episode of The Twilight Zone performed as amateur theatre. Awful, but a fun kind of awful.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Slither (2006) in Movies
Jan 9, 2018
Cheesy gruesome goodness (1 more)
Practical effects
Before writer/director James Gunn made us familiar with Star Lord and Rocket, he wrote and directed this fantastic creepy gory thriller starring Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks and Michael Rooker.
The film starts out with a similar first act to The Blob, then quickly goes its own way. Slowly, little, juicy caterpillar creatures make their way through the small town and infect the inhabitants while the main creature infects another group of townspeople.
You have to like B movie quality cheese and gore to enjoy this movie, but I thought it was a lot of fun. The actors definitely do not take it too seriously, but you find yourself squirming in your seat once all hell has broken loose.
I return to the film often when I need to lighten my mood.
The film starts out with a similar first act to The Blob, then quickly goes its own way. Slowly, little, juicy caterpillar creatures make their way through the small town and infect the inhabitants while the main creature infects another group of townspeople.
You have to like B movie quality cheese and gore to enjoy this movie, but I thought it was a lot of fun. The actors definitely do not take it too seriously, but you find yourself squirming in your seat once all hell has broken loose.
I return to the film often when I need to lighten my mood.
David McK (3425 KP) rated Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) in Movies
Mar 24, 2019 (Updated Jan 18, 2020)
With the original 1996 film being, essentially, a B movie writ large (and one of those guilty pleasures), this one had quite a bit to live up to.
This is set 20 years after that original (and was also released 20 years after it), with Earth having survived the first alien attack and now having combined alien tech with our own. With most of the original cast returning - bar Will Smith, whose cost (I expect) wa too much - this moves the focus onto the younger generation, who have grown up in the shadow of that original invasion.
It also ends in an absolute set-up for a sequel (or series): to date, no sign of that happening as that is pretty much the epitome of a 'meh' movie.
This is set 20 years after that original (and was also released 20 years after it), with Earth having survived the first alien attack and now having combined alien tech with our own. With most of the original cast returning - bar Will Smith, whose cost (I expect) wa too much - this moves the focus onto the younger generation, who have grown up in the shadow of that original invasion.
It also ends in an absolute set-up for a sequel (or series): to date, no sign of that happening as that is pretty much the epitome of a 'meh' movie.
Rickey A. Mossow Jr. (689 KP) rated Hell Fest (2018) in Movies
May 21, 2019
A really good stalker/slasher film, which is rare these days...
Another case of no expectations creating amazing results. Went into this one expecting another B movie with the same old tropes that would be decent, but nothing memorable. So happy to say I was very pleasantly surprised. The movie takes all the normal tropes and scares of the usual stalker/slasher flick but put twists and turns throughout. The mix of the stalker and the horror fest worked so beautifully. From start to finish, you were kept on the tense edge with much-welcomed surprises. You expected one thing and got another. Haven't seen a slasher flick this smart in a while. The ending is the perfect bow on the gift of this film. Would highly recommend to any horror fans, even with the waste of a Tony Todd performance.
Magnus Hirschfeld: The Origins of the Gay Liberation Movement
Book
Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935) was one of the first great pioneers of the gay liberation movement....