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paul_haakonsen
I am a big fan of Asian cinema in particular, and I am quite fond of especially South Korean and Hong Kong movies.
My favorite genre is, and always have been, horror, with a preference to anything with zombies in it.
I believe that every movie should be given the chance of being seen - a belief that has lead me to watch many a questionable movies.
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Alien Convergence (2017)
Another mockbuster from The Asylum...
2017, the year that we got "Alien: Covenant", and voilà, of course The Asylum brings us "Alien Convergence".
Why watch it, you might ask? Well, every now and again then The Asylum actually spews out a fair enough movie, and "Alien Convergence" might be one such movie. How would I know without giving it a fair chance?
When I sat down to watch "Alien Convergence" here in 2024, I had actually never seen the movie before. I did know about its existence, though, I just never had the opportunity to watch it. And thus, as I had the chance here in 2024, of course I did, even though it was a mockbuster from The Asylum.
The storyline, as written by Marc Gottlieb, was actually pretty straightforward. In all honesty, then the storyline was actually entertaining enough, especially if you enjoy campy sci-fi movies with alien invaders. However, I have to say that there was a lot of time throughout the course of the 87 minutes that the movie ran for that felt like pointless and irrelevant filler.
I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list in this movie. And that is actually something that I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie, believe it or not. And while "Alien Convergence" certainly wasn't a masterpiece of a movie, the acting performances were actually fair.
The special effects in "Alien Convergence" were exactly that; special. The CGI animation and renderings looked like something that was discarded from a computer game back in 1990s for being too questionable. And yet, The Asylum opted to give it thumbs up for a 2017 movie. I must applaud whomever approved the CGI effects in the movie.
"Alien Convergence" is a movie for hardcore fans of the mockbusters that only The Asylum can muster. So if you find some sense of perverse entertainment in those, then you will definitely enjoy director Rob Pallatina's 2017 movie.
My rating of "Alien Convergence" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (2024)
Quite good...
For some odd reason, then the mini-series "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" somehow had eluded my attention. Maybe it was because of the mediocre "Bad Batch" series that I didn't really actively keep a check on the animated "Star Wars" releases.
Regardless, I stumbled upon "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" and opted to watch it. Of course I did, since I am a big fan of "Star Wars".
And color me impressed. Creator Dave Filoni managed to create something very entertaining here. And the episodes did good jobs in bringing in various things from other "Star Wars" series and movies and tied it in nicely. There were a lot of nice details to pick up on, especially if you are a diehard "Star Wars" fan. So thumbs up on that accomplishment.
The storylines in the episodes were good, and while I did enjoy the story arch in episodes one through three, I have to say that I was blown away by the story arch in episodes four to six.
The animation and art style in "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" is good. Lots of attention to detail in all the scenes. The characters are nicely fleshed out, as are the worlds around them.
The voice acting in the series is good, and they definitely had some good talents. It was nice to have the voices of Diana Lee Inosant, Lars Mikkelsen and Katee Sackhoff return to reprise characters from other shows. But the overall voice acting ensemble was good.
If you enjoy "Star Wars", then "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" is definitely well worth sitting down and watching.
My rating of "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" lands on a seven out of ten stars.
Sous la Seine (2024)
Adequately entertaining shark movie...
Right, well when I saw that trailer for this 2024 Netflix movie titled "Sous la Seine" (aka "Under Paris"), I must admit that I was really looking forward to watching it, as there is just something entertaining about shark movies.
And now that I have watched it, I will say that it was an entertaining movie, no doubt about that. But at the same time, it just didn't fully live up to my expectations. There simply were a tad too many things throughout the narrative that just didn't make any sense.
Sure, "Sous la Seine" is a watchable and entertaining movie if you enjoy shark movies, and I do that, of course I do.
The storyline in the movie was pretty straightforward and very easy to get submerged into. However, it wasn't exactly Shakespearian theater that unfolded on the screen. Not that I was expecting that, but it would have been nice with a storyline that had a bit more meat on it, so to speak. Writers Yannick Dahan, Maud Heywang, Xavier Gens, Yaël Langmann and Olivier Torres put together a fair enough storyline, provided you enjoy popcorn movies where you just lean back, munch of the snacks and doesn't have to use your brain while watching.
Something that I did really like about "Sous la Seine" was the fact that the audience are thrown into the feeding frenzy very early on in the movie. I liked that about the movie, because director Xavier Gens wasn't squandering a lot of time to establish characters or setting the stage. You just dive right on into the bloody waters.
I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. The acting performances were good, and that definitely counted for something.
Visually then "Sous la Seine" was good. The effects were nice, and the CGI animated sharks looked realistic.
Without spoiling anything here, I have to say that I personally found the ending of the movie to be rushed and sort of amateurishly written. Sure, it paves the way for a sequel, but it was just a laughable way to the end the movie in my opinion.
Was I entertained throughout the course of the 101 minutes that "Sous la Seine" ran for? Sure. Will I return to watch it again? No. It is certainly a good shark movie, but it just doesn't have the bite required to become a genre classic.
If you enjoy shark movies, then you should by all means sit down and watch the movie.
My rating of director Xavier Gens's 2024 movie "Sous la Seine" lands on a six out of ten stars.
Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn (2024)
Entertaining...
I have to say that Jo Koy definitely is one of my favorite comedians, and of course I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch the 2024 comedy special "Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn".
Once again Jo Koy delivered a good, entertaining and funny show. He still has a great on-stage charisma and delivers his material with precious and good punch lines. He sets up the jokes nicely and delivers.
Something that I didn't really enjoy about "Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn" was the ranting he delivered towards the end of the show to the 12 year old boy in the audience. Sure, it was funny, but I think audience members watching this could easily be offended by this part.
"Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn" is a show well-worth sitting down to watch, regardless of if you have never seen a Jo Koy show before or if you are a returning fan.
My rating of "Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn" lands on a six out of ten stars.
Trancers 6 (2002)
Truly terrible...
Just when you thought that the "Trancers" franchise couldn't go lower, after the abysmal fourth and fifth movies, then there was "Trancers 6". Yup, this movie was bad, phenomenally bad.
I have to admit that I was expecting it to be a step up from the previous two horrible movies in the franchise. Why? Well, because of the movie's synopsis. I genuinely believed that writers Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo and C. Courtney Joyner would bring the franchise back on track with this 2002 movie.
But that is not what they did. Instead they spawned an abysmal movie that was brought to life by director Jay Woelfel.
The storyline in "Trancers 6" was pretty straightforward. I will say that much, sure. But it wasn't good and it just fell short of entertaining me.
And it didn't help that the acting performances were atrocious. Especially leading actress Zette Sullivan, whom was just fumbling through the movie. And it was so difficult to take her serious in the movie, given the dialogue that she had to deliver.
Visually "Trancers 6" wasn't a good movie either. So it didn't even have that working in favor of it.
My rating of "Trancers 6" lands on a three out of ten stars.
Trancers 5: Sudden Deth (1994)
Well, if you liked part 4...
Seeing that "Trancers 5: Sudden Deth" is a direct continuation of "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" and thus carrying on in the medieval setting, I have to say that the movie wasn't off to a great start for me. I preferred the three first movies more than the fourth, so this fifth movie is most likely not going to impress me.
And that is odd, because I do enjoy medieval fantasy more than sci-fi, usually. But the medieval fantasy setting just didn't do it for me in the fourth movie.
Well, I will say that the storyline in this fifth movie was better than the previous movie. And I suppose that because Charles Band returned to the writing tasks. Writers Charles Band, Danny Bilson, Peter David and Paul De Meo put together a fair enough script. But I have to admit that the fantasy setting for the "Trancers" movie just still didn't win me over.
The acting performances in the movie were fair. And something that spoke well in favor of the movie was the fact that cast members from the previous movie returned to reprise their characters in this fifth movie, so that gave something in sense of continuity.
Visually then "Trancers 5: Sudden Deth" was okay. The effects were fair.
Watchable for what it was, but "Trancers 5: Sudden Deth" was hardly an outstanding movie in the franchise. They sort of derailed the franchise after the third movie.
My rating of director David Nutter's 1994 movie "Trancers 5: Sudden Deth" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Trancers 4: Jack of Swords (1994)
Not quite as good as the previous movies...
I have to admit that I don't understand why writers Danny Bilson, Peter David and Paul De Meo opted to take the franchise in this direction. Thrusting Jack Deth back into a medieval world just made very little sense. As much as I do enjoy medieval fantasy, then it just felt like an odd direction to take the franchise, especially since the previous movies were more of sci-fi intoned.
Tim Thomerson returns to reprise the role of Jack Deth, and he is joined by Stephen Macht once again, although briefly. Aside from these two returning actors, then "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" didn't have any familiar faces on the cast list for me, aside from Lochlyn Munro. The acting performances in the movie were fair, though.
The franchise is starting to have a bigger budget, and it is showing on the screen. And that definitely is a good thing. But bigger budget and better production doesn't necessarily mean better movie, especially if the storyline and script is weak.
Watchable for what it was, but I have to admit that I found "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" to be a weak addition to the franchise, especially in comparison to the three previous movies, despite of the budget increase and better production.
My rating of director David Nutter's 1994 movie "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Trancers III (1992)
A bit darker this time...
I sat down to watch the 1992 movie "Trancers III" from director C. Courtney Joyner, as part of sitting through all the movies here in 2024 and finally getting around to watching them for the first time.
Writers Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo and C. Courtney Joyner put together a fair enough script. It was definitely a step in a darker tone here, in comparison to parts one and two. I liked that progression to the franchise, and they brought the sci-fie elements back into the movie, that were in part one, but was absent from part two. That was also a step back in the right direction.
It was a shame that Charles Band wasn't involved in the movie, as he had been in parts one and two.
There are a couple of returning talents from the previous two movies, and that was Tim Thomerson, Telma Hopkins and Helen Hunt. "Trancers III" does bring the likes of Andrew Robinson and Stephen Macht to the franchise. Again, as in the previous two movies, the acting performances were fair.
It was a blast to hear Andrew Robinson deliver his phrase "come to daddy" every bit as creepy as he did in the 1987 movie "Hellraiser". A minor thing in the movie, for sure, but it was just a stroke of brilliance.
If you enjoyed the previous two "Trancers" movies, then you will also enjoy "Trancers III".
My rating of director C. Courtney Joyner's 1992 movie "Trancers III" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Trancers II (1991)
As enjoyable as the first movie...
Writers Jack Canson and Charles Band did a fair job in continuing the storyline from the 1984 first movie "Trancers". I have to say that I was definitely as entertained in this 1991 sequel titled "Trancers II" as I was in the first movie. So thumbs up to the writers for that accomplishment.
It was nice to see returning actors and actresses from the first movie return to reprise their characters for this 1991 sequel, such as Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, Telma Hopkins and Art LaFleur. And the sequel brought in some familiar faces with the likes of Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Richard Lynch. For me, it was a blast to see Combs and Crampton in the movie, I have to admit that.
Visually then "Trancers II" was okay. It wasn't a movie that used as many special effects as in the previous movie, oddly enough. But it still worked out fair enough.
An okay movie, for sure, though I doubt that I will ever return to watch it a second time however.
My rating of director Charles Band's 1991 sequel "Trancers II" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Trancers (1984)
A fair enough movie...
I was familiar with the "Trancers" movie series, but I actually never had gotten around to watching any of them. But that was about to be rectified here in 2024. I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the movies, and thus I opted to do so.
For some reason, I never took the time to sitting down and watching the movie, as they somehow seemed to be low budget movies, and I have never really been keen on Tim Thomerson as an actor.
The storyline in the 1984 movie "Trancers" is pretty straightforward. It was entertaining for what it was, sure, but I hadn't been missing out on a cinematic masterpiece here. Writers Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo put together a fair enough script, one that was watchable and entertaining enough, though somewhat generic and predictable.
The acting performances in "Trancers" was good, and Tim Thomerson was actually carrying the movie nicely enough with his performance. I was surprised to see Helen Hunt in a movie such as this. The movie also has Art LaFleur and Richard Herd on the cast list, so there were a couple of familiar faces.
Visually then the movie was actually fair. The special effects worked out well enough.
I will say that "Trancers" is not of the usual questionable movies that you would expect from Full Moon Pictures. So that counted for something.
My rating of "Trancers", from director Charles Band, lands on a five out of ten stars.
The Beast of Bray Road (2005)
Watchable, but...
Suffice it to say that I had actually never heard about this 2005 horror movie titled "The Beast of Bray Road" prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. And given my love and admiration of the horror genre, and with it being a movie that I hadn't already seen or heard about, of course I opted to sit down and give the movie a fair chance.
First of all, I have to say that I wasn't particularly impressed with the movie's cover, as it just screamed low budget rubbish to High Heavens. I mean, look at the creature on the cover, it looks like it was purchased off of Wish.
Right, well with this being a movie from The Asylum, then I have to say that it wasn't actually among some of the worst of their movies. In fact, "The Beast of Bray Road" was a watchable and fair enough movie. Was it a great werewolf movie? No, hardly so. But it was adequately entertaining.
I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, though it should be said, in all fairness, that the acting performances were fair.
The creature design in "The Beast of Bray Road", well the werewolf design, was pretty shabby. The creature looked nothing like a traditional werewolf. I suppose there are pros and cons to that. Personally, I didn't realy like it. And I was hunched over laughing when I saw that it was a backpack that were camouflaged as the furred hunch on the werewolf's back, to give it that hunched over gait. It looked okay up to the point at the end of the movie were you see it up close and see that it is a mere backpack.
While I did manage to sit through the entire movie, I was only adequately entertained. Watchable for what it was, sure, but "The Beast of Bray Road" is hardly a movie that I will watch a second time.
My rating of writer and director Leigh Scott's 2005 movie "The Beast of Bray Road" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge (2024)
Better than part one...
While I have indeed watched the 2022 movie "Single Black Female", and not particularly liking it, I wasn't particularly in much of any rush to sit down and watch the 2024 sequel titled "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge". However, given my love of movies, and the off chance that this movie might be worthwhile watching, then of course I opted to sit down and give it a fair chance.
Writers Sa'Rah Jones and Tessa Evelyn Scott return to write the script for the sequel, just as director returned to the director's role for the sequel. And that counts for something, I guess, if nothing else, then at least for a sense of continuity and familiarity with the previously established characters and preceding storyline.
The storyline in "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge" is adequate. I was somewhat entertained by the narrative, though there were some massive plot holes throughout the course of the movie. But hey, it proved to be entertaining enough for what it turned out to be. Sure, I wasn't expecting an evening of Shakespearian theater when I sat down to watch "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge".
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, nor do I actually remember whether or not the leading actresses were returning to reprise their characters from the first movie. Yeah, told you that the 2022 movie didn't really impress me much and thus left no lasting impression. The acting performances in "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge" were fair.
Was "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge" a good crime thriller? No, not particularly. It was watchable, sure, and tolerable for what it was, but it certainly isn't a movie that I would recommend you to rush out and get to watch. Nor is it a movie that will ever grace my screen a second time.
My rating of "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Toxic Apocalypse (2016)
Every bit as amateurish as you would think...
When I sat down here in 2024 to watch the 2016 movie "Toxic Apocalypse", I have to admit that I harbored zero expectations to the movie. The movie was just oozing with a low budget feel, yet I still opted to sit down and watch it, as it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, nor actually heard about.
Initially I was lured into watching "Toxic Apocalypse" given it's cover. I believed that I would be in for a zombie movie. But it turns out that writer and director Marc Hamill delivered quite something else. Good or bad else? Bad. I wasn't the least bit impressed with what I sat through.
The storyline in the movie was rubbish. Sure, it made somewhat sense, but it wasn't an entertaining script or storyline. And the pacing of the narrative was sluggish and just didn't have enough interesting contents or thrilling contents to it to make it entertaining to sit through. And truth be told, I tossed the towel in the ring 48 minutes into the 87 minute runtime. By then I was just bored senseless.
The acting performances in the movie were a mixed bag of nuts. Some of the performances were fair enough, while others were wooden and cringeworthy to witness. Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. Now, that is usually something I enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie, but I just wasn't won over while watching "Toxic Apocalypse".
Visually then this movie wasn't great. There wasn't a lot of special effects in the movie. And whatever effects were there, were pretty low key and crude.
I am not returning to attempt to finish watching Marc Hamill's 2016 movie. Not is it a movie that I would recommend you to waste your time on.
My rating of "Toxic Apocalypse" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.
Antibirth (2016)
Bizarre and entertaining...
When I stumbled upon the 2016 movie "Antibirth", which was by sheer random chance here in 2024, I was intrigued by the cover. I had never actually heard about the movie from writer and director Danny Perez, so I didn't know what I was in for, when I opted to sit down and watch the movie.
Writer and director Danny Perez put together a very, very bizarre and unique script and storyline. The narrative was pretty spaced out, and it wasn't really making all that much of any sense. But there was still something oddly entertaining about the narrative. It was the strangeness of it all that appealed to me. "Antibirth" is a very different and unique movie experience.
There were a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Meg Tilly, Natasha Lyonne and Chloë Sevigny. It was an interesting cast ensemble, I will say that much, and the acting performances were good.
Visually then "Antibirth" was quite interesting. There were so many twisted, bizarre, weird and downright disturbing things going on throughout the course of the movie. And truth be told, it just added to the bizarreness that is "Antibirth". And I will say that the visuals alone make it well-worth sitting down and watching writer and director Danny Perez's 2016 movie.
I was genuinely entertained throughout the course of the movie, though it was definitely one of the more bizarre movie experiences I have sat through in a long time.
My rating of "Antibirth" lands on a six out of ten stars.
Paradox Effect (2023)
A dull action thriller...
I had not heard about this 2023 action thriller titled "Paradox Effect" from director Scott Weintrob prior to sitting down here in 2024 to watch it. But I figured that I would give it a go, since the cover looked interesting enough, and the movie had Harvey Keitel on the cast list.
Samuel Bartlett, Ferdinando Dell'Omo and Andrea Iervolino wrote a script and storyline that started out okay, but then fell into a slump about halfway through and never recovered. The movie trotted on in a monotonous pacing without really going anywhere. And it felt like I was sitting through a long sequence of filler to make the movie run for 87 minutes. There wasn't much story progression to the narrative in general, and that made sitting through "Paradox Effect" rather tedious and boring actually.
And you don't really care much about the characters in the movie either, as the character gallery is flaccid and one-dimensional.
While Harvey Keitel is on the movie's cover, he is but a name to lure in the audience, as he is not in the movie all that much. I am not particularly much a fan of Olga Kurylenko, but she actually carried the movie well enough, make it a bit more bearable to sit through the monotonous narrative.
I found "Paradox Effect" to be a disappointing movie, and it is definitely not a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time. There are far better action thrillers out there, but if you enjoy the genre perhaps give director Scott Weintrob's 2024 movie a chance.
Sitting through the 87 minutes was a bit of a test, as there wasn't all that much story progression, and without much of anything overly interesting happening, it just wasn't anything to write home about.
My rating of "Paradox Effect" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.
Cinderella's Revenge (2024)
Sort of watchable...
Well, if you enjoy the original "Cinderella" tale from Charles Perrault, then chances are that you might also enjoy this reinterpretation from writer Tom Jolliffe, provided you have a thing for homicidal maniac versions of peaceful characters.
I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the 2024 movie "Cinderella's Revenge", and opted to do so since it was a movie that I hadn't even heard about. And given it supposedly being a horror movie, of course I had to check it out. I have to admit, though, that I harbored zero expectations to it, given it's title.
Needless to say that this 2024 take on the story certainly is a lot more dark and sinister than the original story.
Of the entire cast ensemble in the movie, I was only familiar with Natasha Henstridge, and she had but a support role in the movie. It should be noted, however, that the acting performances in the movie were fair enough.
The effects in the movie were adequate. You're not in for anything grand, but the effects do work as intended. There are some nice enough scenes with mayhem and blood to please us gorehounds.
Watchable for what it was, director Andy Edwards's wasn't exactly an outstanding or memorable horror experience. I have to admit that turning the Cinderella character into a homicidal slasher just was a bit of an odd thing. So in a way, I suppose that this was a revenge movie, basically.
My rating of "Cinderella's Revenge" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Cerebrum (2022)
Slightly odd, but worth checking out...
I had never heard about writer and director Sebastien Blanc's 2022 horror movie "Cerebrum" prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. And given my fascination with the horror genre, of course I had to sit down and watch this movie. I was under the impression that "Cerebrum" was a horror movie, but it is more of a thriller laced with drama elements.
Now, I virtually had no idea what I was in for, as I sat down to watch the movie. And thus, writer and director Sebastien Blanc virtually had every opportunity to entertain and bedazzle me with this 2022 movie. It was an interesting enough script and storyline, and the usage of flashbacks as a way of feeding bits and pieces to the audience as to what had happened prior in the movie was a nice way of constructing the narrative.
"Cerebrum" has a small cast ensemble, and I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress. The acting performances in the movie were good, I will say that much, especially the one by Steve Oram. I have to admit that I do enjoy it when I sit down to watch a movie with all unfamiliar talents and faces on the screen.
I do believe that "Cerebrum" is a movie that is somewhat of an acquired taste, because this wasn't your average type of horror movie. So it is a movie that will cater to a certain specific target audience. And as such, then I would say that you definitely should check out the movie, because it might just be something for you.
While "Cerebrum" definitely has an interesting concept script and storyline, it is hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing. I didn't find that the storyline and script had enough layers to it to support more than a single viewing.
The movie's cover, at least the variant with the woman screaming hardly do the movie any justice.
My rating of "Cerebrum" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Red Sparrow (2018)
Fairly good...
I had the 2018 movie "Red Sparrow" laying around for quite some time before I actually got around to watching it. I just never really got around to it, as I can't claim to be a particularly big fan of Jennifer Lawrence.
But I finally got around to it here in 2024. And I will say that writers Justin Haythe and Jason Matthews actually put together a fair enough script. Turns out that I hadn't been missing out on an outstanding action thriller here, but it was a decent enough movie for what it turned out to be.
Something I didn't understand in the movie was why they didn't opt for people to actually speak Russian. That whole feigned foreign accent just doesn't fly in this day and age. Sure, I can understand that the majority of the actors and actresses probably doesn't know a speck of Russian, but come on, it would have been a much more believable movie if they were speaking Russian.
I was surprised to see the likes of Charlotte Rampling, Ciarán Hinds and Jeremy Irons showing up in the movie. Not that it was a bad thing, because they were definitely good additions to the cast ensemble. I have to say that leadig actress Jennifer Lawrence actually pulled off this movie well enough, and she carried it quite well. So I was surprised with that.
There were some surprising scenes in the movie that I never would have imagined that Jennifer Lawrence would actually do. But here it was and she actually did it gracefully. And that certainly counts for something to raise my impression of her as an actress.
While "Red Sparrow" certainly was a watchable and entertaining movie, it is hardly a movie that I will sit down to watch a second time, simply because the narrative doesn't have enough contents to it to support more than a single viewing.
My rating of director Francis Lawrence's 2018 movie "Red Sparrow" lands on a six out of ten stars.
Binary Samurai (2023)
Not a great movie...
Needless to say that I had never even heard about the 2023 sci-fi movie "Binary Samurai" prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. And with it being a movie that I had never heard about, much less actually watched, of course I opted to sit down and watch it.
Sure, I have to admit that I harbored zero expectations to the movie, given the title and the premise of the synopsis. But still, I opted to watch what writers Sean-Michael Argo and Aaron Kondziela had to offer. And the staggering 3.0 rating on IMDb, while I sat down to watch the movie, didn't exatly raise any hopes for the movie either.
And here I was thinking Samurai were Japanese people. Well, not in "Binary Samurai" they aren't...
Of course I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. Usually I am actually fond of watching movies with unfamiliar talents and faces on the screen, but I have to say that movies that are starring the same guy who wrote and directed the movie, well that just leaves a rancid taste in my mouth.
"Binary Samurai" is a low budget movie, no doubt about it. But writer and director Sean-Michael Argo seemed to have put quite some effort into the movie, attempting to make it look like more than just your average low budget homemade sci-fi action. But it didn't necessarily make it a good movie though, but points awarded for trying.
I found this movie to be a struggle to sit through, and it is not a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend you to waste your time, money or effort on.
My rating of "Binary Samurai" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.
Bite Marks (2011)
Didn't pack much of a bite...
When I sat down to watch the 2011 movie "Bite Marks", I was under the impression that it was a horror comedy.
Sure, I had never heard about the movie, prior to sitting down and watching it, so writer and director Mark Bessenger essentially had every chance to entertain and impress me with this movie. However, that was not the case.
I found the storyline and narrative to be too mundane. The movie was devoid of comedy, and the horror elements throughout the course of the 84 minutes that the movie ran for were light. So I have to say that "Bite Marks" didn't pack much of any bite, pardon the pun.
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but I would say that the acting performances were actually fair enough.
Visually, then "Bite Marks" was okay. It wasn't a movie that made use of an abundance of special effects though.
Ultiamtely a movie that failed to impress me, and definitely not a movie that I will return to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend for fans of the horror comedy genre.
My rating of "Bite Marks" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.
Frankenstein Reborn (2005)
Ugh, this was brutal...
Granted, I didn't really harbor much of any expectations to a movie titled "Frankenstein Reborn", as it just oozed of low budget. But still, as it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to give the movie a fair chance.
But I am sure that most of us agree that the Mary Shelley "Frankenstein" story has been used beyond the threshold of what is acceptable in movies already. And with the rather dull and laughable adaptation that writer and director Leigh Scott managed to do, it felt like a mockery of Shelley's classic tale.
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. Though I will say that the acting performances weren't all that bad.
The audio in the movie was all over the place. In some of the scenes you had to struggle to hear what was being said, because the audio was so insanely low. And in other scenes it was just amped up. That was very amateurish and dragged the movie down a notch.
Visually then "Frankenstein Reborn" was okay. It certainly managed to keep the movie somewhat afloat.
I wasn't impressed with this movie, much less overly entertained. There are far, far better adaptations of the classic "Frankenstein" story out there.
My rating of "Frankenstein Reborn" lands on a three out of ten stars.
The Chill Factor (1993)
The Bore Factor...
Sure, I had never heard about this 1993 horror movie titled "The Chill Factor". But given my love of the horror genre, of course I opted to sit down and watch the movie, as I stumbled upon it by random chance here in 2024.
Without knowing what I was in for, since I had never heard about the movie, then writer Julian Weaver and director Christopher Webster had every chance to entertain and impress me with this 1993 movie.
Sadly, that didn't happen. The storyline in "The Chill Factor", as written by Julian Weaver, was sluggish and felt as if there wasn't really a red thread throughout the course of the 86 minutes that the movie ran for. So director Christopher Webster really didn't have a snowballs chance in Hell, because he had nothing to work with.
I wasn't familar with the cast in the movie. And that is something that spoke well in favor of the movie. And the acting performances were actually fair, despite the fact that the storyline and narrative utterly failed to entertain me.
Visually, then you're not in for anything grand here. "The Chill Factor" is not a movie that made use of an abundance of special effects. Not that it would have made much of any different I guess, because of the pointless narrative.
If you enjoy horror movies, then you're not in for anything grand here, should you opt to sit down and watch "The Chill Factor".
My rating of this 1993 movie lands on a two out of ten stars.
Supercroc (2007)
Terrible, just terrible...
Granted, I wasn't really harboring much of any grand expectations to this 2007 movie titled "Supercroc". I mean, the title alone was enough to make shrug. And then those three dreaded words appeared on the screen as the movie started; The Asylum presents...
Yup, "Supercroc" is a movie from The Asylum, but thankfully not a mockbuster. But that doesn't make it a good movie. Far from it, in fact.
Writers Steve Bevilacqua and David Michael Latt put together a bland and generic script. I am sure that you could watch the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes and still be up to speed with what happened throughout the course of the prolonged 85 minutes that the movie ran for.
I even dozed off not even halfway through the ordeal. Indeed, the movie was that sluggish and boring.
The acting performances in the movie were rather wooden. In fact, you could say that the acting were every bit as realistic and convincing as the CGI animated crocodile itself. I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. And that is usually something I really enjoy when I watch a movie. But the acting performances in "Supercroc" were just horrible, especially the one from leading actress Cynthia Rose Hall.
Visually, then "Supercroc" is worth watching for a laugh or two. The CGI animated crocodile looks insanely poor. There was nothing that looked realistic about it, and that just took away from the overall enjoyment of a creature feature such as this was supposed to be.
Do yourself a favor and don't waste 85 minutes on watching "Supercroc". Some of us suffered through this movie, so you don't have to. You're very welcome.
My rating of director Scott Harper's 2007 movie "Supercroc" lands on a one out of ten stars.
The Rage (1997)
Adequately entertaining...
As I happened to stumble upon this 1997 action thriller here in 2024, I opted to sit down and watch it, since it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, nor actually ever heard about.
I didn't know what I was in for here, so writers Sidney J. Furie and Greg Mellott had every opportunity to impress and entertain me with their movie. It was an okay enough script, but definitely had its flaws and shortcomings. I love how police officers and FBI just randomly shoot their weapons at vehicles without regards for bystanders and such.
A large portion of the movie was spent showing police officers and FBI agents on foot standing and shooting at driving vehicles or running and shooting at driving vehicles.
The dialogue in the movie was pretty terrible. It was poorly written, the actors and actresses didn't really have much to work with.
There are some familiar faces on the cast list in this movie, with the likes of Gary Busey, Lorenzo Lamas, Roy Scheider, David Carradine and Jeff Doucette. The acting performances were fair enough, though you're not in for an evening of Shakespearian theater here. I wasn't familiar with female leading actress Kristen Cloke, but talk about delivering a wooden performance of a staggering slaughter of dialogue.
Not a great movie, nor a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time. There are far better action thrillers readily available.
My rating of director Sidney J. Furie's 1997 movie "The Rage" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Room 0 (2024)
Struggling to find the entertainment value...
The 2024 mystery thriller from writer and director Richard Kodai was a movie that I hadn't heard about when I sat down to watch it. So all I knew about it was was the information I got from the synopsis. I will say, though, that the synopsis sounded interesting enough to make me have an interest.
But the end result of the movie was not all that interesting. I found the narrative to be rather bland and devoid of anything overly interesting or thrilling. And I have to admit that the movie got repetitive rather quickly. Sure, that was the point of the time loop narrative, but since it was devoid of overly interesting things happening and a rather slow pacing, then sitting through "Room 0" was somewhat of a struggle.
The movie has a very small cast list, with the majority being voice actors only. The acting performances in the movie were fair, but the actors and actresses didn't really have all that much to work with. I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress in the movie, and that is actually something that I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie.
I have to say that "Room 0" fell short of entertaining me, and this is definitely not a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I will recommend for fans of mystery thrillers to sit down and watch. This movie is no "Groundhog Day" movie, far from it actually.
My rating of writer and director Richard Kodai's 2024 movie lands on a generous two out of ten stars.