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Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated The Enemy Within in TV
Jul 7, 2020
Captivating Premise, But Failure On Delivery
The Enemy Within is a drama tv series created by Ken Woodruff with executive producers Mark Pellington and Vernon Sanders. It was produced by 82nd West and Universal Television and distributed by NBC Universal Television Distribution. The series stars Jennifer Carpenter, Morris Chestnut, Raza Jaffrey, and Kelli Garner.
In 2015, when Russian terrorist Mikhail Vassily Tal threatens her daughter, Erica Shepard, CIA Deputy Director of Operations, is forced to reveal the names of four agents. Erica is arrested by FBI Agent Will Keaton when the agents are killed, sentenced to 15 life sentences and labeled one of America's most notorious traitors. Agent Keaton is ordered to bring Shepherd out of confinement to help with stopping and capturing Tal and his network of spies when Tal strikes again three years later.
This show was very captivating with it's pilot episode and it's premise, however it seemed very much ordinary despite the good acting and performances from pretty good actors. I kept waiting for it to get better but it never really did. I think other similar shows are probably better or worth the time instead of this one. Maybe Blindspot or Blacklist or even FBI. It's a shame too because it was starting to grow on me when towards the end of the season the characters were really coming into their own in their quest to get the bad guy. Also it got cancelled after first season. I give it a (5/10).
In 2015, when Russian terrorist Mikhail Vassily Tal threatens her daughter, Erica Shepard, CIA Deputy Director of Operations, is forced to reveal the names of four agents. Erica is arrested by FBI Agent Will Keaton when the agents are killed, sentenced to 15 life sentences and labeled one of America's most notorious traitors. Agent Keaton is ordered to bring Shepherd out of confinement to help with stopping and capturing Tal and his network of spies when Tal strikes again three years later.
This show was very captivating with it's pilot episode and it's premise, however it seemed very much ordinary despite the good acting and performances from pretty good actors. I kept waiting for it to get better but it never really did. I think other similar shows are probably better or worth the time instead of this one. Maybe Blindspot or Blacklist or even FBI. It's a shame too because it was starting to grow on me when towards the end of the season the characters were really coming into their own in their quest to get the bad guy. Also it got cancelled after first season. I give it a (5/10).
Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated The Cave (2005) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
Ever since the classic days of horror, one constant in film has been the time honored formula of a group of people trapped, and being stalked by sinister forces bent on their destruction.
Through countless monster films of the 40’s, 50’s, and 70’s this pattern has been a constant, ranging from Dracula to It: the Terror from Beyond Space which served as the inspiration for the genre classic “Alien”.
The breakout success of “Alien” vaulted the so called creature features from the status of matinee standard to mainstream release, which has seen varied success over the years on the big screen, but has been a fixture of cable and the home video market.
It is said that to all things there is a season, and this summer was no exception as the latest film in the genre, The Cave has surfaced at theaters after much delay due to constantly changing release dates.
The film tells of a group of explores headed by Jack (Cole Hauser), who venture to Romania to explore what is believed to be the largest underwater cave ever discovered.
In no time the team has established a base camp and ventures into the depths and finds themselves in a massive underwater cavern approximately two miles in after they had begun to explore.
A freak incident occurs trapping the group inside the unexplored cavern, which forces them to seek a new way out, as their supplies will run out in twelve days. This matter combined with the depth of their location makes a rescue difficult process, so despite reservations the team ventures even deeper into the unexplored cave.
Along the way, signs of human remains are found, which sets the group further on edge. A chance encounter with a cave dwelling creature leaves Jack injured and causes the team to look at his brother Tyler (Eddie Cibrian), to take charge, as there are those that start to believe Jack is no longer fit to lead the team. As the film unfolds a series of accidents and encounters with the bizarre creatures leaves the team diminished and in disarray, and in a bizarre twist, Jack has begun to deteriorate leaving people to wonder just how extensive the damage from his attack is.
What surprised me is that with an interesting premise and good supporting actors such as Morris Chestnut, and Piper Perabo just how dull and unsympathetic the characters were. We are told very little about them leaving their characters so paper thin, even by action film standards that it is very hard to have any sympathy for them, and care about their outcome.
What is an even bigger surprise is that the film for the most part is utterly devoid of any thrills, chills, or tension as it plods along failing to gain any modicum of suspense.
The so called finale was so by the numbers that it was in no way worth having to sit through 90+ minutes of uninspired acting, average effects, and groan inducing dialogue (“They can fly to”) that generated laughs during what is supposed to be a moment of intensity.
The creatures have some potential but we see so precious little of them, and based on certain elements of the plot, there is a lot more that needed to be said that was not.
The ending does leave the door open for a sequel but as this film is likely to be on my “Worst of the Year” list, lets hope they decide to delay this a few years which is what they should have continued to do with this bomb.
Through countless monster films of the 40’s, 50’s, and 70’s this pattern has been a constant, ranging from Dracula to It: the Terror from Beyond Space which served as the inspiration for the genre classic “Alien”.
The breakout success of “Alien” vaulted the so called creature features from the status of matinee standard to mainstream release, which has seen varied success over the years on the big screen, but has been a fixture of cable and the home video market.
It is said that to all things there is a season, and this summer was no exception as the latest film in the genre, The Cave has surfaced at theaters after much delay due to constantly changing release dates.
The film tells of a group of explores headed by Jack (Cole Hauser), who venture to Romania to explore what is believed to be the largest underwater cave ever discovered.
In no time the team has established a base camp and ventures into the depths and finds themselves in a massive underwater cavern approximately two miles in after they had begun to explore.
A freak incident occurs trapping the group inside the unexplored cavern, which forces them to seek a new way out, as their supplies will run out in twelve days. This matter combined with the depth of their location makes a rescue difficult process, so despite reservations the team ventures even deeper into the unexplored cave.
Along the way, signs of human remains are found, which sets the group further on edge. A chance encounter with a cave dwelling creature leaves Jack injured and causes the team to look at his brother Tyler (Eddie Cibrian), to take charge, as there are those that start to believe Jack is no longer fit to lead the team. As the film unfolds a series of accidents and encounters with the bizarre creatures leaves the team diminished and in disarray, and in a bizarre twist, Jack has begun to deteriorate leaving people to wonder just how extensive the damage from his attack is.
What surprised me is that with an interesting premise and good supporting actors such as Morris Chestnut, and Piper Perabo just how dull and unsympathetic the characters were. We are told very little about them leaving their characters so paper thin, even by action film standards that it is very hard to have any sympathy for them, and care about their outcome.
What is an even bigger surprise is that the film for the most part is utterly devoid of any thrills, chills, or tension as it plods along failing to gain any modicum of suspense.
The so called finale was so by the numbers that it was in no way worth having to sit through 90+ minutes of uninspired acting, average effects, and groan inducing dialogue (“They can fly to”) that generated laughs during what is supposed to be a moment of intensity.
The creatures have some potential but we see so precious little of them, and based on certain elements of the plot, there is a lot more that needed to be said that was not.
The ending does leave the door open for a sequel but as this film is likely to be on my “Worst of the Year” list, lets hope they decide to delay this a few years which is what they should have continued to do with this bomb.
Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated Kick-Ass 2 (2013) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
After answering the call and brutally taking down a crime boss, self-proclaimed superhero and a high school student Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), has settled into a mundane life. The thrill of taking on bad guys has been replaced with hanging out with his friends, going to class, and pondering his future. His former cohort Mindy/ Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz), however has not abandoned her vigilante ways as she still haunted by the death of her father in the previous film. This is the backdrop against which the new film “Kick-Ass 2” takes place and it delivers a funnier and well-paced film that is a worthy but less ultraviolent offering than its predecessor.
Dave eventually convinces Mindy to help train him as he’s itching to get back out on the streets. In a hysterical opening run, things go very well at the start but soon turned bad for Kick Ass which forces Mindy to come to his aid brutally dispatching a group of thugs. This catches the attention of Mindy’s Guardian (Morris Chestnut), who after serving as her father’s partner for several years, insist that Mindy have a normal upbringing and this includes giving up her vigilante persona and embracing life as a high school student.
Mindy agrees to do this and soon finds herself firmly in the sites of the ultra-chic clique in high school. The group of girls decides that it’s time to take Mindy under their wings and make her one of the in crowd which often causes Mindy to question her identity. At the same time, Dave seeks out a group of like-minded heroes under the leadership of Col. Stars & Stripes(Jim Carrey), who himself is a former enforcer for crime syndicate who found religion and now seeks to make up for his past misdeeds.
Their early efforts are highly successful and soon catch the attention of Chris D’Amico, (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who is still haunted by the death of his father at the hands of Kick Ass. When fate steps in and suddenly puts them in control of the family fortune and resources, Chris reinvents himself as a super villain and proceeds to use his family wealth and influence to put together a team of heavy hitters as he attempts to bring mayhem and chaos to the city with the ultimate goal of destroying Dave and his group of heroes.
Toward that end, the awkwardly but inevitably moves forward and brings his plan of revenge forward which causes Dave and his l friends to realize the consequences of their actions and to question their duty as well as place in the world.
What follows is a solidly entertaining action fast complete with some surprisingly good humor as well as touching and effective moments between the two leads. Donald Faison does some fantastic supporting work and although I would’ve loved to have seen more of his character Jim Carrey deals the scenes whenever he is in them yet manages to stay remarkably in character to the point that one reviewer at the end of the film expressed to me that he could not believe that was the maniacal actor playing such an off character part.
Johnson and Moertz are the backbone of the series and naturally depend upon a strong villain which Mintz-Plasse is more than able to provide. The expanded roster of heroes and villains certainly propels the series forward and it was interesting for me to see that although the film has exceptional amounts of violence it was actually considerably toned down from what I had been expecting after the events of the last film. It was my understanding that the studio wish the film to be more mainstream and while not wanting to harm the message and tone of the film to rein in the violence in order to up the character development and storytelling.
Director Jeff Wadlow has done a great job following up Matthew Vaughn who is stayed on this time to produce the film. The crowd was laughing and sharing and enthralled throughout and I found myself absolutely captivated by the film and enjoying every minute of it. For me, this was without a doubt the most satisfying and enjoyable of the summer offerings this year and I am seriously looking forward and hoping to a third outing in the series.
http://sknr.net/2013/08/16/kick-ass-2/
Dave eventually convinces Mindy to help train him as he’s itching to get back out on the streets. In a hysterical opening run, things go very well at the start but soon turned bad for Kick Ass which forces Mindy to come to his aid brutally dispatching a group of thugs. This catches the attention of Mindy’s Guardian (Morris Chestnut), who after serving as her father’s partner for several years, insist that Mindy have a normal upbringing and this includes giving up her vigilante persona and embracing life as a high school student.
Mindy agrees to do this and soon finds herself firmly in the sites of the ultra-chic clique in high school. The group of girls decides that it’s time to take Mindy under their wings and make her one of the in crowd which often causes Mindy to question her identity. At the same time, Dave seeks out a group of like-minded heroes under the leadership of Col. Stars & Stripes(Jim Carrey), who himself is a former enforcer for crime syndicate who found religion and now seeks to make up for his past misdeeds.
Their early efforts are highly successful and soon catch the attention of Chris D’Amico, (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who is still haunted by the death of his father at the hands of Kick Ass. When fate steps in and suddenly puts them in control of the family fortune and resources, Chris reinvents himself as a super villain and proceeds to use his family wealth and influence to put together a team of heavy hitters as he attempts to bring mayhem and chaos to the city with the ultimate goal of destroying Dave and his group of heroes.
Toward that end, the awkwardly but inevitably moves forward and brings his plan of revenge forward which causes Dave and his l friends to realize the consequences of their actions and to question their duty as well as place in the world.
What follows is a solidly entertaining action fast complete with some surprisingly good humor as well as touching and effective moments between the two leads. Donald Faison does some fantastic supporting work and although I would’ve loved to have seen more of his character Jim Carrey deals the scenes whenever he is in them yet manages to stay remarkably in character to the point that one reviewer at the end of the film expressed to me that he could not believe that was the maniacal actor playing such an off character part.
Johnson and Moertz are the backbone of the series and naturally depend upon a strong villain which Mintz-Plasse is more than able to provide. The expanded roster of heroes and villains certainly propels the series forward and it was interesting for me to see that although the film has exceptional amounts of violence it was actually considerably toned down from what I had been expecting after the events of the last film. It was my understanding that the studio wish the film to be more mainstream and while not wanting to harm the message and tone of the film to rein in the violence in order to up the character development and storytelling.
Director Jeff Wadlow has done a great job following up Matthew Vaughn who is stayed on this time to produce the film. The crowd was laughing and sharing and enthralled throughout and I found myself absolutely captivated by the film and enjoying every minute of it. For me, this was without a doubt the most satisfying and enjoyable of the summer offerings this year and I am seriously looking forward and hoping to a third outing in the series.
http://sknr.net/2013/08/16/kick-ass-2/