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Leigh J (71 KP) rated A Serbian Film (2010) in Movies
Nov 8, 2019
Be Prepared to Cry...
Contains spoilers, click to show
Milos is a successful Porn Star who is now retired with a small Family of a Wife and little Boy. As with any Family, they have everyday expenses that are soon racking up and eating into what little savings they have left. In need of cash, Milos meets up with an old friend and Co-Worker, who tells him about a new Director in the Industry who wants to work with Milos. Milos of course seizes this opportunity, and goes to meet with the Director in question, Vukmir.
Vukmir, it turns out, is eccentric to say the least, and offers Milos an amount that would set his Family up financially for the rest of their lives... on the condition that Milos comes, has sex with whomever (or whatever) and then leaves. Milos signs, thinking "how bad can it be?!"... yeah, BAD idea. His first job with Vukmir turns out to be in an abandoned Orphanage, recieving Oral Sex from a Woman, whilst he is forced to watch a young girl eating a Lolly on multiple screens. Distressed and wierded out by his first job, Milos confronts Vukmir about what type of Movies he's actually doing... to which Vukmir shows him an abhorrent "Movie" that leaves Milos understandably sick to his stomach, and extremely distressed that he has entered into work with this type of person. Milos decides to try and leave the business again, disgusted by what he's seen, but Vukmir hasn't finished with Milos, or his Family, yet. And what he has in mind for Milos to do next is going to possibly destroy Milos and his Family forever...
I'd just like to make a point before I go on that A Serbian Film is a Drama, and is not intended to be a Horror at all. It's regularly dumped into the Horror genre, and there are definitely some scenes us Horror fans can appreciate, but I believe this Movie really is a Drama and should be watched as such. I personally liked Milos and his little Family, and felt incredibly saddened that this was happening to them. The end made me ugly cry, it's an extremely tragic Movie.
Ignore all the hype around ASF, and just watch it for the tense, shocking, heartbreaking Drama that is truly is. The scenes that are horrible are put across as such, and are put across to be the vile and cruel situations that they are (there's a lot of hype around these scenes... normally from people who've never even seen the Movie) and the plot speaks volumes about the politics in Serbia, how the poor are treated and what lengths people will go to to provide for themselves and/or their families. You've been warned, but give it a watch. It's the Drama to end all Dramas.
Vukmir, it turns out, is eccentric to say the least, and offers Milos an amount that would set his Family up financially for the rest of their lives... on the condition that Milos comes, has sex with whomever (or whatever) and then leaves. Milos signs, thinking "how bad can it be?!"... yeah, BAD idea. His first job with Vukmir turns out to be in an abandoned Orphanage, recieving Oral Sex from a Woman, whilst he is forced to watch a young girl eating a Lolly on multiple screens. Distressed and wierded out by his first job, Milos confronts Vukmir about what type of Movies he's actually doing... to which Vukmir shows him an abhorrent "Movie" that leaves Milos understandably sick to his stomach, and extremely distressed that he has entered into work with this type of person. Milos decides to try and leave the business again, disgusted by what he's seen, but Vukmir hasn't finished with Milos, or his Family, yet. And what he has in mind for Milos to do next is going to possibly destroy Milos and his Family forever...
I'd just like to make a point before I go on that A Serbian Film is a Drama, and is not intended to be a Horror at all. It's regularly dumped into the Horror genre, and there are definitely some scenes us Horror fans can appreciate, but I believe this Movie really is a Drama and should be watched as such. I personally liked Milos and his little Family, and felt incredibly saddened that this was happening to them. The end made me ugly cry, it's an extremely tragic Movie.
Ignore all the hype around ASF, and just watch it for the tense, shocking, heartbreaking Drama that is truly is. The scenes that are horrible are put across as such, and are put across to be the vile and cruel situations that they are (there's a lot of hype around these scenes... normally from people who've never even seen the Movie) and the plot speaks volumes about the politics in Serbia, how the poor are treated and what lengths people will go to to provide for themselves and/or their families. You've been warned, but give it a watch. It's the Drama to end all Dramas.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Drive Angry (2011) in Movies
Mar 13, 2020
What Happens When a Movie Meets Zero Effort
Ok, let’s not waste time with this: Drive Angry is easily one of the worst movies I’ve ever watched in my life. To be more specific, third worst behind the awful 1994 version of Fantastic Four (look that doozy up when you have a chance) and Battlefield Earth where we got to see John Travolta sporting dreads. Yes, folks, Drive Angry is bad in every single way imaginable. It is a movie you will long to forget. As far as the plot is concerned, there is a lot I tried to blot out about this movie but I’m pretty sure it’s about a man who has returned from Hell in a car he stole from the set of Fast and the Furious to prevent the sacrifice of his granddaughter by an evil cult. You say what now?
Acting: 5
I feel like these actors knew after the first week of filming that this was going to be a shit-show so they all mailed it in. Nicholas Cage, star of said shit-show, delivers his lines with the excitement of someone getting a flu shot. I won’t linger on this point, but let’s just say I’ve seen the cast of a Hallmark movie do better than these lame-duck performances.
Beginning: 1
Much like the middle and the end, the beginning is an awful disaster. It sports one of the worst setups I think I have ever seen for a movie. After ten minutes, I knew I was in for a world of pain.
Characters: 2
Cinematography/Visuals: 8
Honestly, the visuals could be a lot worse. There were some decent moments particularly when things slowed down that were bordering on looking pretty cool. While a lot of action sequences were pretty cheesy it was nice to see they at least put in a smidgeon of effort with the special effects.
Conflict: 5
Entertainment Value: 2
Memorability: 0
After the movie was over, I instantly started thinking, “Is there a time machine that I can use to get part of my life back?” There is absolutely no value in this movie, nothing to remember with the exception of the absolutely horrid filmmaking. I am still appalled this project made it through completion.
Pace: 0
Plot: 0
Story? We don’t need no stinking story! Oh, how I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during this pitch meeting. It seriously made my head hurt. They try and give you a story then throw it all out the window with repeated implausible occurrences that beat you into submission.
Resolution: 1
Overall: 24
In light of the Black Mamba Kobe Bryant’s passing, the number 24 should represent greatness. Not with my scoring of Drive Angry. Unless, of course, I’m referring to the greatness of sucking. If that’s the case, then yes, this movie is indeed great. Great and terrible.
Acting: 5
I feel like these actors knew after the first week of filming that this was going to be a shit-show so they all mailed it in. Nicholas Cage, star of said shit-show, delivers his lines with the excitement of someone getting a flu shot. I won’t linger on this point, but let’s just say I’ve seen the cast of a Hallmark movie do better than these lame-duck performances.
Beginning: 1
Much like the middle and the end, the beginning is an awful disaster. It sports one of the worst setups I think I have ever seen for a movie. After ten minutes, I knew I was in for a world of pain.
Characters: 2
Cinematography/Visuals: 8
Honestly, the visuals could be a lot worse. There were some decent moments particularly when things slowed down that were bordering on looking pretty cool. While a lot of action sequences were pretty cheesy it was nice to see they at least put in a smidgeon of effort with the special effects.
Conflict: 5
Entertainment Value: 2
Memorability: 0
After the movie was over, I instantly started thinking, “Is there a time machine that I can use to get part of my life back?” There is absolutely no value in this movie, nothing to remember with the exception of the absolutely horrid filmmaking. I am still appalled this project made it through completion.
Pace: 0
Plot: 0
Story? We don’t need no stinking story! Oh, how I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during this pitch meeting. It seriously made my head hurt. They try and give you a story then throw it all out the window with repeated implausible occurrences that beat you into submission.
Resolution: 1
Overall: 24
In light of the Black Mamba Kobe Bryant’s passing, the number 24 should represent greatness. Not with my scoring of Drive Angry. Unless, of course, I’m referring to the greatness of sucking. If that’s the case, then yes, this movie is indeed great. Great and terrible.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Bumblebee (2018) in Movies
Jan 23, 2019 (Updated Jan 23, 2019)
Chock-full of tropes (1 more)
Pretty lazy in most aspects
Bit of a Buzzkill
When this movie dropped late last year, I never paid any attention to it. Everything in the Transformers series has been awful since the first movie and although I knew that Michael Bay wasn't directing this one, I was still more than happy to skip it. However, after it opened to rave reviews, it peaked my interest a bit. I was hearing all sorts of good things, with this movie even being compared to the likes of ET and The Goonies. Well last night we went to the cinema planning to see Glass, but had missed the previous showing and didn't want to wait around for hours until the next one so we decided to check out Bumblebee to see if it could live up to the hype surrounding it.
TL;DR - It didn't...
I think that I did go into this movie with fairly lofty expectations, but that was due to what I had heard from other people through word-of-mouth. In fact, I don't think I heard one bad review for this thing, so I really was expecting something great. Unfortunately, what you get is a mediocre Hollywood shlock-fest with some pretty impressive CGI, but a painfully formulaic story with a lazy script and actors phoning in their performances.
Let's start with the main positive of the movie; the CGI. The animators really did do an incredible job here and there are some truly awesome action sequences that were really impressive to witness, (it's just unfortunate that we had already seen most of these sequences prior to seeing the movie in the trailers.) The robots also felt much more grimy, weighty and realistic in this film as opposed to the more slick and polished feel that they all had in Bay's Transformers movies, which helped to make it more convincing that the robots were actually present in the room with the actors rather than being added in later in post production.
The other bright spot in the movie was John Cena. Sure, he has played the stereotypical army jarhead plenty of times before, but he is still charismatic and engaging whenever he is onscreen. His career is definitely benefitting from taking roles like this where he is able to be taken less seriously rather than trying to be a super serious action star in forgettable movies like The Marine.
Unfortunately that is about it for the positives, everything else is extremely lazy and generic. The direction is serviceable, the cinematography is nothing special and the score goes through the motions it has to in order to meet the tone of each scene. The script is full of extremely cheesy lines which is delivered half heartedly by the cast who it feels like are pretty much sleepwalking through this thing for the most part. Some characters are fairly irritating such as Memo and Ron, but nothing anywhere near as egregious as Mudflap and Skids from the previous Transformers movies.
And that last statement pretty much sums up my opinion on this movie. Sure, it isn't anywhere near as annoying, obnoxious, or cringe-inducing as the movies that Michael Bay previously gave us in the main Transformers series, but it is still really cheesy and lazy and isn't anything special at all.
I think that this movie serves as a lesson for managing your expectations when going to see a film. Due to the fact that the previous Transformers movies are SO bad and so poorly regarded, most people went into this one with little to no expectation that it would be any good. When it actually turned out to be surprisingly half decent, people were so shocked that they began telling everyone else how fantastic this thing was, when it actually isn't fantastic in any way, it's just less garbage than what we were getting before with these movies. Then, because of all of these brilliant reviews, I have went in expecting something substantial and meaningful and came away sorely disappointed because it turned out to be unremarkable and mediocre.
Overall, I probably would have got more out of this movie if I was told beforehand to just switch off my brain and expect a cheesy popcorn flick. Instead I went in expecting this generation's E.T because of the overblown reviews and was let down pretty hard. It's not the worst film of last year and it is better than anything else in the Transformers series since the first movie, but it's still not anything special. There are a few highs throughout the movie, but in general it's pretty unremarkable and I don't seeing it standing the test of time in the same way that the movies that it's being compared to have done.
TL;DR - It didn't...
I think that I did go into this movie with fairly lofty expectations, but that was due to what I had heard from other people through word-of-mouth. In fact, I don't think I heard one bad review for this thing, so I really was expecting something great. Unfortunately, what you get is a mediocre Hollywood shlock-fest with some pretty impressive CGI, but a painfully formulaic story with a lazy script and actors phoning in their performances.
Let's start with the main positive of the movie; the CGI. The animators really did do an incredible job here and there are some truly awesome action sequences that were really impressive to witness, (it's just unfortunate that we had already seen most of these sequences prior to seeing the movie in the trailers.) The robots also felt much more grimy, weighty and realistic in this film as opposed to the more slick and polished feel that they all had in Bay's Transformers movies, which helped to make it more convincing that the robots were actually present in the room with the actors rather than being added in later in post production.
The other bright spot in the movie was John Cena. Sure, he has played the stereotypical army jarhead plenty of times before, but he is still charismatic and engaging whenever he is onscreen. His career is definitely benefitting from taking roles like this where he is able to be taken less seriously rather than trying to be a super serious action star in forgettable movies like The Marine.
Unfortunately that is about it for the positives, everything else is extremely lazy and generic. The direction is serviceable, the cinematography is nothing special and the score goes through the motions it has to in order to meet the tone of each scene. The script is full of extremely cheesy lines which is delivered half heartedly by the cast who it feels like are pretty much sleepwalking through this thing for the most part. Some characters are fairly irritating such as Memo and Ron, but nothing anywhere near as egregious as Mudflap and Skids from the previous Transformers movies.
And that last statement pretty much sums up my opinion on this movie. Sure, it isn't anywhere near as annoying, obnoxious, or cringe-inducing as the movies that Michael Bay previously gave us in the main Transformers series, but it is still really cheesy and lazy and isn't anything special at all.
I think that this movie serves as a lesson for managing your expectations when going to see a film. Due to the fact that the previous Transformers movies are SO bad and so poorly regarded, most people went into this one with little to no expectation that it would be any good. When it actually turned out to be surprisingly half decent, people were so shocked that they began telling everyone else how fantastic this thing was, when it actually isn't fantastic in any way, it's just less garbage than what we were getting before with these movies. Then, because of all of these brilliant reviews, I have went in expecting something substantial and meaningful and came away sorely disappointed because it turned out to be unremarkable and mediocre.
Overall, I probably would have got more out of this movie if I was told beforehand to just switch off my brain and expect a cheesy popcorn flick. Instead I went in expecting this generation's E.T because of the overblown reviews and was let down pretty hard. It's not the worst film of last year and it is better than anything else in the Transformers series since the first movie, but it's still not anything special. There are a few highs throughout the movie, but in general it's pretty unremarkable and I don't seeing it standing the test of time in the same way that the movies that it's being compared to have done.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Kurt, Nick and Dale are back, and with them comes all the rest in Horrible Bosses 2. This time around, we see our would-be criminals (Jason Sudekis, Jason Bateman and Charlie Dale, respectively) as their own bosses.
Horrible Bosses 2 opens on the trio as a guest on a cheesy day-time talk show. They are there to show off their new invention, the Shower Buddy. This spot gets them some notice from the head of a big time, SkyMall-esque, corporation who wants to place a large order. But when the deal goes south, our boys have to figure out a way to save their own skin, and get back at the corporation.
The greatest thing about this sequel? It was not just a rehashing of the first movie. Yes, there are a lot of the elements there, but the plot was different enough that it could have been a movie of its own and not a prequel. Of course, there were some great call backs to the first movie during the film and the closing credits. But there were new things introduced, and not just the same old re-hashing.
Sudekis, Bateman and Day have such a great chemistry together, too. They played very well off each other, and had near perfect timing through the whole movie. Add to this the returning cast from the first film (Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx), and introduce Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz to the mix, and it only increases the fun. Our newcomers blew me away too, because I am not used to seeing them in roles such as this.
There is not a lot bad that I can say about this movie. Great performances by main and supporting cast, a well-rounded plot, with the exception of one part of the wrap-up in the end (I won’t spoil it for you), and a very complimentary soundtrack makes this one of the best comedies I have seen in a while. Thumbs up to these guys! I’m hoping they might be able to find the same magic for a third film!
4.5 Stars out of 5
Horrible Bosses 2 opens on the trio as a guest on a cheesy day-time talk show. They are there to show off their new invention, the Shower Buddy. This spot gets them some notice from the head of a big time, SkyMall-esque, corporation who wants to place a large order. But when the deal goes south, our boys have to figure out a way to save their own skin, and get back at the corporation.
The greatest thing about this sequel? It was not just a rehashing of the first movie. Yes, there are a lot of the elements there, but the plot was different enough that it could have been a movie of its own and not a prequel. Of course, there were some great call backs to the first movie during the film and the closing credits. But there were new things introduced, and not just the same old re-hashing.
Sudekis, Bateman and Day have such a great chemistry together, too. They played very well off each other, and had near perfect timing through the whole movie. Add to this the returning cast from the first film (Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx), and introduce Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz to the mix, and it only increases the fun. Our newcomers blew me away too, because I am not used to seeing them in roles such as this.
There is not a lot bad that I can say about this movie. Great performances by main and supporting cast, a well-rounded plot, with the exception of one part of the wrap-up in the end (I won’t spoil it for you), and a very complimentary soundtrack makes this one of the best comedies I have seen in a while. Thumbs up to these guys! I’m hoping they might be able to find the same magic for a third film!
4.5 Stars out of 5
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Overlord (2018) in Movies
Jul 3, 2020 (Updated Oct 29, 2020)
Over The Top Action Horror Gorefest - 8/10
Overlord is a action/horror movie directed by Julius Avery, and written by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith. Produced by J. J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber through Bad Robot Productions, it's R rating, action, and gore carry it past where so many PG-13 horror movies fall short. I really enjoyed this movie despite the familiarity of feeling like a movie version of Call of Duty's Nazi Zombies.
The night before D-day a squad of paratroopers are tasked with destroying a German radio tower in an occupied French village. Before they can reach their target their plane is shot down and they are left with a ragtag group of survivors: Private First Class Ed Boyce (Jovan Adepo), and Corporal Ford (Wyatt Russell) among others. Also starring John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker, Jacob Anderson, and Dominic Applewhite. While traveling they find a French woman, Chloe (Matthilde Ollivier) who leads them to her home in the village where she lives with her little brother. Boyce is ordered to look for survivors at a rendezvous point and while avoiding detection, has no choice but to infiltrate the base to hide from soldiers. While using the base as a means of escape and avoid capture he learns the Nazis are submitting p.o.w.s and villagers to horrendous experiments involving a mysterious liquid.
While no character came off as exclusively entertaining to me, I felt the film did well in conveying the difficulty of a diverse group being forced to work with each other for their survival. I also felt the casting was successful, although the lead didn't fall into the usual "soldier" archetype, the others did, but rounded off the group in a good way. The casts' chemistry was good, their roles were believable plus the special effects and gore were awesome. Like I said 8/10, almost a 9, but I felt it suspended disbelief too much at the end and was a little "too" over the top.
The night before D-day a squad of paratroopers are tasked with destroying a German radio tower in an occupied French village. Before they can reach their target their plane is shot down and they are left with a ragtag group of survivors: Private First Class Ed Boyce (Jovan Adepo), and Corporal Ford (Wyatt Russell) among others. Also starring John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker, Jacob Anderson, and Dominic Applewhite. While traveling they find a French woman, Chloe (Matthilde Ollivier) who leads them to her home in the village where she lives with her little brother. Boyce is ordered to look for survivors at a rendezvous point and while avoiding detection, has no choice but to infiltrate the base to hide from soldiers. While using the base as a means of escape and avoid capture he learns the Nazis are submitting p.o.w.s and villagers to horrendous experiments involving a mysterious liquid.
While no character came off as exclusively entertaining to me, I felt the film did well in conveying the difficulty of a diverse group being forced to work with each other for their survival. I also felt the casting was successful, although the lead didn't fall into the usual "soldier" archetype, the others did, but rounded off the group in a good way. The casts' chemistry was good, their roles were believable plus the special effects and gore were awesome. Like I said 8/10, almost a 9, but I felt it suspended disbelief too much at the end and was a little "too" over the top.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985) in Movies
Nov 6, 2020
One of my favourite parts is the bit where the creepy dude looks straight into the camera and say "Schnitzeeeel".
Honestly not sure if Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (Stirba, Werewolf Bitch in some corners of the world) is a 5 star film, or a 1 star film.
I always have time for Christopher Lee, and here is no different, and Sybil Danning is a bonafide B-Movie icon, but everyone else is hamming it up to the max (not necessarily in a good way), spouting the terrible screenplay and making silly growling noises constantly.
The werewolf costumes look terrible (a bit of googling told me that the production was sent monkey suits by mistake, and they just had to roll with it) and the movie constantly attempts to force it's theme tune down your throat - I lost count of how many times it plays throughout the runtime, but it starts off well enough, but by the end of the film it's grating as fuck.
It's certainly a far cry from the genuinely good first movie but for all it's faults, I actually really enjoyed it.
The last review I wrote on here was for Species IV, where I commented on how it was so awful, and had no charm to it at all, which was in stark contrast to a lot of bad horror movies, especially a bunch from the 80s. Howling II is one of those movies.
It rarely gets boring, it's has some decent practical gore effects, and the terrible script is often so ludicrous, it ends up being unintentional comedy gold.
Not to mention that it's has the most unnecessarily gratuitous end credits roll I've ever seen - in fact, if you can't be bothered to watch the whole thing, just find the end credits and you'll get the vibe of this whole glorious mess of a film.
So yeah, is it a 1 star movie or 5 star movie? I still don't know but I know I low key love it, so 2 and a half stars with a love heart seems fair. I'd definitely recommend giving it a watch though, just to experience the sheer cheesy absurdity.
Honestly not sure if Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (Stirba, Werewolf Bitch in some corners of the world) is a 5 star film, or a 1 star film.
I always have time for Christopher Lee, and here is no different, and Sybil Danning is a bonafide B-Movie icon, but everyone else is hamming it up to the max (not necessarily in a good way), spouting the terrible screenplay and making silly growling noises constantly.
The werewolf costumes look terrible (a bit of googling told me that the production was sent monkey suits by mistake, and they just had to roll with it) and the movie constantly attempts to force it's theme tune down your throat - I lost count of how many times it plays throughout the runtime, but it starts off well enough, but by the end of the film it's grating as fuck.
It's certainly a far cry from the genuinely good first movie but for all it's faults, I actually really enjoyed it.
The last review I wrote on here was for Species IV, where I commented on how it was so awful, and had no charm to it at all, which was in stark contrast to a lot of bad horror movies, especially a bunch from the 80s. Howling II is one of those movies.
It rarely gets boring, it's has some decent practical gore effects, and the terrible script is often so ludicrous, it ends up being unintentional comedy gold.
Not to mention that it's has the most unnecessarily gratuitous end credits roll I've ever seen - in fact, if you can't be bothered to watch the whole thing, just find the end credits and you'll get the vibe of this whole glorious mess of a film.
So yeah, is it a 1 star movie or 5 star movie? I still don't know but I know I low key love it, so 2 and a half stars with a love heart seems fair. I'd definitely recommend giving it a watch though, just to experience the sheer cheesy absurdity.
Kelly Knows (95 KP) rated Big Top Pee-wee (1988) in Movies
Jun 30, 2019
The People VS Pee-wee
Big Top Pee-wee is that rare movie that some will find irresistible and charming, while others will see it as utterly irritating. I revel in the glory that is the truth. It is both. Pee-wee started from the bottom of the playhouse, had a big adventure and wound up facing the real world in this movie. Pee-wee's world has always been goofy, surreal, and over the top. That is the draw of it, in my humble opinion. Unfortunately, this doesn't translate well when you slap our bow-tie bedecked hero in the midst of regular folk. Even the cast seems to be in a perpetual state of almost breaking character either due to intentional awkwardness in the writing, or some mix of inability to handle Pee-wee outside of his playhouse. I lean toward the latter. Looking back on the memory of this movie with a warm nostalgic lens, I was a bit taken aback on more recent viewing. Paul Reubens is in fine form as always, and all the jokes landed with a familiarity that had me cracking up at the same time I was wincing. It is a very humorous movie if you watch it with the kids, and turn your brain off. Even watching it on a "so bad it's good" mindset can be a good decision here. Nothing too crazy for the parents to watch out for. There is a love triangle storyline that felt like a betrayal of the innocence of the original themes but this movie does feel like an attempt to have Pee-wee grow up a bit, so agree to disagree on that one. The historical fact is that Pee-wee will always be an outstanding character brought to life by a talented actor. Big Top Pee-wee might not be one of the finest movies ever made, but if you have it locked in your memory banks under a soft sepia tone light. Keep it there.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Pixels (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
The new Sony film ‘Pixels’, was written by Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler and Timothy Dowling. It stars Adam Sandler (Sam Brenner), Peter Dinklage (Eddie ‘The Fire Blaster’), Kevin James (President Will Cooper), Jane Krakowski (the First Lady), and Josh Gad (Ludlow Lamonsoff).
The movie opens with scenes straight out of the 1980’s and shows Sam, Eddie, Will and Ludlow all gathering at the arcade video world championships. The championships are being recorded to send in a time capsule to outer space, hoping to find alien life forms. The competition comes down to Sam and Eddie (who has nick named himself ‘The Fire Blaster’) and Eddie defeats Sam. Sam is crushed.
Fast forward about 30 years and Sam is working as an installation technician, and somehow Will has become the POTUS. Ludlow and Eddie are no where to be seen.
An attack occurs, Ludlow mysteriously appears in Sams van, and Ludlow reveals that the attack was perpetrated not only by aliens, but by 80’s style pixelated arcade aliens, who apparently intercepted our space bound time capsule, interpreted it as a declaration of war (????) and sent back pixelated arcade aliens to destroy us (?!?).
The two childhood friends go to the president with the information, who at first, under the pressure of his advisors, brushes them off.
After another attack occurs, President Will over rides his advisers and enlists Sam and Ludlows help, and also reaches out to The Fire Blaster (currently in prison, and demanding a list of concessions in exchange for his help and expertise.)
The movie didn’t have any dragging points for me, and I did laugh out loud at some portions. My son who is nearly 7 REALLY enjoyed it, and if it had had slightly less obvious (and what felt like marginally unnecessary) curse words I would have liked it better for his age range. There were children even younger than my son in the theatre though, and I found myself cringing at some of the language, and noticed my son looking at me to see if I noticed him noticing that there were ‘bad words’. Since it IS rated PG-13, there’s not a whole lot to be said about it, but it could have been just as good a movie, and therefore enjoyable by a bigger age range, without the cursing.
When I asked him later whether he liked the movie he said he ‘liked it a lot, but it had some bad words’.
Pixels was pretty action packed, and although I found it to be an odd premise for a movie, I did enjoy it. I don’t feel that they made as good a use of the 3D format as they could have. The soundtrack was good. I liked the characters, even though i couldn’t quite make the jump as to ‘why or how’ Will became president, and I had the hardest time dealing with Eddies accent. It just ‘felt off’, most likely because I’ve been watching him most recently on Game of Thrones.
I think kids will enjoy it for the action and parents will like it well enough for the nostalgia factor.
Overall I would give this movie 2.5 out of 5 stars.
The movie opens with scenes straight out of the 1980’s and shows Sam, Eddie, Will and Ludlow all gathering at the arcade video world championships. The championships are being recorded to send in a time capsule to outer space, hoping to find alien life forms. The competition comes down to Sam and Eddie (who has nick named himself ‘The Fire Blaster’) and Eddie defeats Sam. Sam is crushed.
Fast forward about 30 years and Sam is working as an installation technician, and somehow Will has become the POTUS. Ludlow and Eddie are no where to be seen.
An attack occurs, Ludlow mysteriously appears in Sams van, and Ludlow reveals that the attack was perpetrated not only by aliens, but by 80’s style pixelated arcade aliens, who apparently intercepted our space bound time capsule, interpreted it as a declaration of war (????) and sent back pixelated arcade aliens to destroy us (?!?).
The two childhood friends go to the president with the information, who at first, under the pressure of his advisors, brushes them off.
After another attack occurs, President Will over rides his advisers and enlists Sam and Ludlows help, and also reaches out to The Fire Blaster (currently in prison, and demanding a list of concessions in exchange for his help and expertise.)
The movie didn’t have any dragging points for me, and I did laugh out loud at some portions. My son who is nearly 7 REALLY enjoyed it, and if it had had slightly less obvious (and what felt like marginally unnecessary) curse words I would have liked it better for his age range. There were children even younger than my son in the theatre though, and I found myself cringing at some of the language, and noticed my son looking at me to see if I noticed him noticing that there were ‘bad words’. Since it IS rated PG-13, there’s not a whole lot to be said about it, but it could have been just as good a movie, and therefore enjoyable by a bigger age range, without the cursing.
When I asked him later whether he liked the movie he said he ‘liked it a lot, but it had some bad words’.
Pixels was pretty action packed, and although I found it to be an odd premise for a movie, I did enjoy it. I don’t feel that they made as good a use of the 3D format as they could have. The soundtrack was good. I liked the characters, even though i couldn’t quite make the jump as to ‘why or how’ Will became president, and I had the hardest time dealing with Eddies accent. It just ‘felt off’, most likely because I’ve been watching him most recently on Game of Thrones.
I think kids will enjoy it for the action and parents will like it well enough for the nostalgia factor.
Overall I would give this movie 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated The Avengers (2012) in Movies
Mar 9, 2019 (Updated Jun 20, 2019)
A Blast
I remember the trepidation of going to see Marvel’s The Avengers. Could they really pull a team-up like this off? Could the whole really be a sum of some awesome parts? I wasn’t sure. That trepidation turned into utter lack of interest. X-Men: The Last Stand left a bad taste in my mouth, but the Avengers crew was regaining my interest in the superhero world movie by movie. Good thing I gave the movie a chance because I ended up having the time of my life.
In Marvel’s The Avengers, Earth’s mightiest heroes take on the evil Loki who is hell-bent on world domination.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
The gang’s all here and what a gang. I appreciate that each of these superheroes are battling their own inner demons which affects how their characters interact with the other heroes. it’s what makes them a good team. They come to understand each other’s dysfunctions and deal with it. This is the first movie where you start to see the team use their strengths in tandem and work together as a team. Their initial lack of chemistry is hilarious to watch as they are forced into a unit.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 10
Genre: 10
Bringing all these characters on the big screen at once was a monumental accomplishment. It was a risk that paid off. A damn good movie was made here and deserves a ton of credit for setting a standard in the way superhero movies should be done.
Memorability: 10
Pace: 10
Plot: 10
The story weaves together the backstories of the other characters in seamless fashion. While there aren’t many twists and turns to throw you off or keep you guessing, I would also argue that twists weren’t necessary for a film like this. Tell the story you need to tell and if we can see some awesome superpowered battles along the way, great! Job well done here.
Resolution: 10
Solid ending capped off with some fun end-credit scenes that pave the way for films to come. The entire movie is meant to entertain and I was happy that they finished strong. It’s a capper that leaves you wanting to see these guys team up again.
Overall: 100
Seven years later and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still going as strong as ever. I’m going to see Captain Marvel tomorrow, a film that wouldn’t even be possible without the success of The Avengers and other lesser-known properties like Guardians of the Galaxy. Seven years later and this movie still never ceases to excite me and make me laugh at the same time.
In Marvel’s The Avengers, Earth’s mightiest heroes take on the evil Loki who is hell-bent on world domination.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
The gang’s all here and what a gang. I appreciate that each of these superheroes are battling their own inner demons which affects how their characters interact with the other heroes. it’s what makes them a good team. They come to understand each other’s dysfunctions and deal with it. This is the first movie where you start to see the team use their strengths in tandem and work together as a team. Their initial lack of chemistry is hilarious to watch as they are forced into a unit.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 10
Genre: 10
Bringing all these characters on the big screen at once was a monumental accomplishment. It was a risk that paid off. A damn good movie was made here and deserves a ton of credit for setting a standard in the way superhero movies should be done.
Memorability: 10
Pace: 10
Plot: 10
The story weaves together the backstories of the other characters in seamless fashion. While there aren’t many twists and turns to throw you off or keep you guessing, I would also argue that twists weren’t necessary for a film like this. Tell the story you need to tell and if we can see some awesome superpowered battles along the way, great! Job well done here.
Resolution: 10
Solid ending capped off with some fun end-credit scenes that pave the way for films to come. The entire movie is meant to entertain and I was happy that they finished strong. It’s a capper that leaves you wanting to see these guys team up again.
Overall: 100
Seven years later and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still going as strong as ever. I’m going to see Captain Marvel tomorrow, a film that wouldn’t even be possible without the success of The Avengers and other lesser-known properties like Guardians of the Galaxy. Seven years later and this movie still never ceases to excite me and make me laugh at the same time.
Justin Taylor (59 KP) rated Avengers: Infinity War (2018) in Movies
Oct 29, 2018
How the characters react to each other and the different characters that directors Joe and Anthony Russo put side by side (3 more)
Thanks actually does something other than sit in that chair! (Sorry couldn't resist putting that joke in) all joking aside he is practically the star of the film and Josh brolin does a great job in it
The Twist ending which I will not spoil here is freaking brilliant and when I saw it I nearly cried and I assume those who have watched the movie agree with me.
Lots of Easter eggs to the source material...if u remember reading the infinity gauntlet or the infinity storyarch both of which are what this movie is inspired by you'll love the references
Infinity war is the embodiment of what marvel is!
Ok this movie is the greatest marvel movie ever in my opinion and there's reasons why...number one, ten years of story building lead to it. I remember when I was 8 years old and watching iron Man and the incredible hulk on either DVD or on the TV and I never thought that it would lead to something like this, keep in mind this was something that at the time iron Man came out that was never done before and that's pretty darn impressive especially if they keep impressing me with every movie that came out (yes I even liked iron Man 3 and Thor: the dark world).
Now as for reason number 2 almost all of the storylines from every corner of the MCU is tied together here and if u have been watching for the past 8 years u would be invested the same way I was and then they did something I thought took guts.
Which leads me to reason 3, one of if not the best Twist ending since the empire strikes back in my opinion, one that I won't spoil here but warning bring tissues. also like all marvel movies stay til the very end of the credits and I mean not mid credits but waaaay after.
Overall the finest marvel film I have ever seen at Least until avengers 4 comes out next year.
Now I bet y'all are probably wondering what negative thing can I say well...that's kinda hard for a movie this good but if I had to say something it would be I wish some of the side characters got a little more screen time but other than that nothing to major
Now as for reason number 2 almost all of the storylines from every corner of the MCU is tied together here and if u have been watching for the past 8 years u would be invested the same way I was and then they did something I thought took guts.
Which leads me to reason 3, one of if not the best Twist ending since the empire strikes back in my opinion, one that I won't spoil here but warning bring tissues. also like all marvel movies stay til the very end of the credits and I mean not mid credits but waaaay after.
Overall the finest marvel film I have ever seen at Least until avengers 4 comes out next year.
Now I bet y'all are probably wondering what negative thing can I say well...that's kinda hard for a movie this good but if I had to say something it would be I wish some of the side characters got a little more screen time but other than that nothing to major