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Darren (1599 KP) rated Eternal Code (2019) in Movies

Sep 13, 2019

Characters – Corey is a homeless suicidal war veteran, he keeps to himself and when he gets given money, he spends the money on helping the fellow homeless, being friendly with lonely older men in the park and helping somebody in danger. He will get a chance to use his skills once again to help a teenage girl who is being hunted down by criminals, his skills will help make him deadly to anyone who crosses his path. Oliver is the leader of the project, he wants to continue using it for his own good, which means he will go to the extremes to make sure it gets done. Charlie is one of the criminals that has taken the family members, she along with her team are solely in this for the money. Mark is the husband of Bridget, he tries to advice, even though he will only support her decision. Bridget is the woman that has invented a revolutionary idea, which she doesn’t want used for the wrong thing, her pulling the plug has set about the events including her kidnapping.

Performances – This is a movie that does try to use the biggest names to sale the movie, Scout Taylor-Compton being the biggest name in the film, even though she is mostly just a criminal thug, she doesn’t give us a bad performance, just she isn’t really a main character. Damien Chinappi would be one of the leads in the film as the he does bring us a performance that does fit the action side of the film, where we do feel sympathy for his character. Richard Tyson will always make for a great villain and this is no different. When we look at the rest of the cast, we see solid performances across the board.

Story – The story here follows the events of a kidnapping which takes a turn, when a war veteran looks to help the helpless, while a corrupt businessman looks to complete a project which will change everything as we know it in the world. When it comes to the idea of the kidnapping side of the story, we do get a nice spin on how everything unfolds, making it truly unpredictable with what will happen next. While that is a good thing, it can mean we do meet a couple of too many characters, which doesn’t let other get flushed out enough. We are left with seeing just how dealing with inventions will see people looking for greed, while seeing a war veteran getting another shot to prove himself in combat is nice to see.

Action – The action is restricted, but it does show how the conflicts are meant to be edgy and more in the shadows which is better to watch for the tone.

Settings – The film is set in and around one city which shows how the minds in it would operate, we see how the project would be secretly locked away from the world and see how the criminals will act in the shadows of abandoned locations.

Scene of the Movie – Corey military trained scenes.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does feel like we have a few too many characters at time.

Final Thoughts – This is an action thriller that does have a lot of direction you wouldn’t normally see, it does keep us guessing despite having a couple of characters we don’t need to have.

Overall: Action film that goes down different paves.

Kudos

Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Jurassic World (2015) in Movies

Sep 23, 2019

Jurassic World (2015)

2015 | Adventure, Sci-Fi

7.6

(103 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Take the Movie, Leave the Villain

It’s been some time since the catastrophe at the original Jurassic Park. Despite all of that, the powers that be have decided to monetize the dinosaurs and move forward with a plan to open the amusement park Jurassic World. Spoiler Alert: Chaos ensues. I was so excited when I learned the Jurassic Park franchise was being revitalized. I think that excitement may have turned into a bit of bias my first go round with Jurassic World as the second trip was a little more bumpy.

Acting: 10
A lot of times I will watch a movie and say, “This movie wouldn’t have been the same without X”. Chris Pratt was hands-down that actor. He plays Owen Grady, raptor trainer and overall badass. He offers some hilarity to a situation so crazy you kind of have to laugh at it. Speaking of comedic performances, Jake Johnson and Lauren Lapkus had me all the way cracking up. Their chemistry throughout was perfect.

Beginning: 3
This is the first point where this movie failed me a bit. This series has been known for its strong beginnings up to this point. It was almost as if the scriptwriters expected us to be entertained off of the series name alone. Wish there had been a little more “try” here.

Characters: 8
While I appreciated Owen’s character, there were a couple that just didn’t do it for me. Vic Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio) is the villain of the film. You know the type, someone that’s basically just there to be a roadblock. He was over-the-top aggressive and made the movie a bit of a nuisance at times.

Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Always a shining spot in this franchise. The park is captured magically from its rollercoasters to its extravagant hotel, the kind of place you would want to visit. I particularly love when they feed a shark on a stick to a titanic water dino who splashes just about everyone in the audience when he returns to the water. The final fight between the T-Rex and the “new breed” is fun to watch unfold.

Conflict: 8

Entertainment Value: 9

Memorability: 6

Pace: 7
The pace is somewhat slower than what I’m accustomed to with these movies. There is a lot of talking and walking around and you can’t help but wonder when the action is going to kick in again. Even when shit finally does hit the fan, there were a few moments of exposition I wish they would have done without.

Plot: 5
I can’t, for the life of me, begin to understand just why the hell anyone would think creating a park was a good idea. Then you had the military wanting to weaponize dinosaurs and some creature they made in a lab? Pick a lane, please! It’s a wonder I still managed to have a good time despite the craziness of the story.

Resolution: 8

Overall: 74
Jurassic World isn’t bad by any means. I do feel that it had great potential to do more and ultimately mean more. It’s merely satisfied with being a summer blockbuster which is fine. Just don’t expect it to go down as an all-time great.

Kudos

Darren (1599 KP) rated Thirteen Days (2000) in Movies

Aug 26, 2019

Thirteen Days (2000)

2000 | Drama, History, Thriller

6.3

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Verdict: History Lesson

Story: Thirteen Days starts like a normal day in the Kennedy administration, his assistant Kenny O’Donnell (Costner) joins the President John F Kennedy (Greenwood), his brother Robert F Kennedy (Culp) and advisers from every side for an emergency meeting.
The meeting is called to discuss the appearance of nuclear warheads in Cuba, believing Russia are moving to a closer position which could destroy large parts of America in minutes. What follows in Kenny trying to help JFK make the smartest decision, despite how many different people are advising with multiply options, all leading to one of the most intense stand offs in military history.

Thoughts on Thirteen Days

Characters – Kenny O’Donnell is the assistant advisor to the President, he gives him advice which would see him make decisions which would support the image of the President and the country instead of agree with the fast track answers which would see America go to war, he is the man that people turn to if they are not prepared to challenge the President’s decisions. President John F Kennedy is the man in the middle of the situation, the man that needs to make the final decision after taking on all the advice from his experts, he wants to remain in control of the situation to the best of his ability. Robert F Kennedy is one of the men advising his brother, he knows how John thinks and knows how the help him make the right decisions to remain calm and in control. We do have plenty of different advisors who are trying to offer a plan to what could make this stand off end quicker.
Performances – Kevin Costner is always entertaining to watch in a political movie, this is no different as he plays the pivot to everything going on. Bruce Greenwood as the President is great to watch through the film, with the whole cast looking like they would have been the people they are playing.
Story – The story here follows the events around the Cuba Mission Crisis, from the point of view of the Americans. This does break down to be a political thriller that does keep us on edge as we see all the potential ideas that were thrown out which could have seen the world in a different place if different outcomes had been used, while this is a 2 hour story, we only focus on the different ideas, which is interesting to see. Each person could have their own agenda which could show the mindset of the public during the events. We could have more intense moments, but it just doesn’t really do that much more, which doesn’t display just how dangerous the event could have been.
History – This is a big historical moment and it does show how the people in power were put on panic station when the events started to unfold.
Settings – The film uses the political settings for the most part, which does show us just how the people stayed together through the events of the crisis.

Scene of the Movie – Putting the Admiral in his place.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could have had more intense sequences.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting look at one of the biggest stand offs in modern history, we do see how it could have gone very differently and how everything unfolded.

Overall: Interesting look at history.