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Reviews
Tom yum goong (2005)
It is one of those movies that makes PBS suddenly seem interesting
I actually sat through the entire steaming mass of it, primarily because I do enjoy seeing a variety of martial arts styles. If you have seen real Thai fighters, the combat in this flick will seem very slow. the sound affects are ultra economical, repeating the same impression of breaking bones nearly every time Jee (or whatever his name is) makes physical contact with his opponent. The film is kind of strange, giving the viewer the sensation that even the Aussie locals are dubbed to English. Crime lords only seem to use guns when the mood strikes them, and I often found myself wondering if the producers and writers had ever watched a film before they made this one.
This movie is a steaming pile, and like Arachnia it exists for the purpose of being made fun of. I can't help but wish I could have watched it back in my pothead days, because I think that a greener outlook could potentially bring some life to it.
AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (2007)
There were two really good parts
The first good part was the coming attractions because it looks like some really good movies are coming out. After that, if you can sit through all of the garbage in between... the next really good part is when the end credits come up and you can go smoke or whatever you have been wasting 90 minutes of your life waiting to do.
In truth, my wife and I decided that our $1.50/person at the dollar theater wasn't a total waste because it gave us something to complain about on the way home.
There truly is no comparison for this movie. It is non-stop violence for the sake of violence.
But by the time you read this, you already know all that because you have probably read the other reviews. I am actually writing to correct someone's list of plot holes.
Someone was kind enough to point out everything that they deemed to be a breach of common sense on part of predator (quite a long list) and site them as plot holes. I found this strange and for this reason I was inclined to add my voice.
For there to be plot holes, there has to be a plot. Here is the plot. AHHH... aliens are here. AHHH a predator is here. AHH everyone is dying... AHHH everyone is dead.
That having been said... not much space for holes. A plot hole (in my book) would be places where information conveyed contradicts previous information... or where there is insufficient information to understand what is happening. As this movie contained no information at all, there was no entry point for confusion.
In my view... it would be nice if the predator had survived the nuclear blast at the end... and began targeting the people in the credits.
Aa! Megamisama! The Movie (2000)
I can't believe that such a movie took so long to reach my sight
**** REGARDING SPOILER WARNING... THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CONSIDER ANY DETAIL BEYOND THE SYNOPSES TO BE A SPOILER... THIS DOES NOT REVEAL PLOT LINES THOUGH **** My wife and I started out with a couple of random episodes on the anime channel, and eventually acquired both seasons (didn't like the OAVs though, so we didn't get them). This movie was the next step. Before we got it, we checked here and saw that even people who hadn't seen the series really liked it.
The characters were more human then any anime I have seen before, at least to the extent of their experiences, emotions, responses, etc. being in place with the film. This is a nice change, as my only real hesitation with anime is that the characters are often as exaggerated in personality as they are in pen.
The music was beautiful, and when the goddesses sing, it is very much the impression that one might have of an ethereal being.
The artwork is fantastic, rivaling the Final Fantasy movies (although each has its own distinctions).
Over all, I believe this may be the first movie I have rated as a 10. As a movie buff, I have to say this made my top 10 favorites, among other reasons because the story and the characters were both well above par.
Boa (2001)
Perhaps I am easier to please...
This movie met all of my expectations. While it is certainly not something that I would have gone to a movie theater to see, I believe that it offers an enjoyable use of a couple hours.
Since pretty much everyone before me has been ragging on it, I suppose I should say my piece.
1. Dean Cain, while not in the Brad Pitt/Morgan Freeman category of actors, does offer a pretty solid character in most of his roles and this (in my view) is no exception. I think that his mannerisms were pretty natural considering he may as well have been sharing a row-boat with badger for how safe he was.
2. A lot of people felt that the snake was poorly done, and perhaps they had higher definition on their TVs (which wouldn't surprise me). The scenes with this snake are very short and not very frequent. As far as problems, I would say that the biggest one is that somehow the scenes made the snake look smaller then it was suppose to be (comparing them against the size of the hole it made in a wall). The snake looked to me to be about three or four feet wide, and the hole in the wall was at least six feet in diameter (probebly more like eight).
Sub Note: The movie indicates that this snake makes a tunnel through ice that is roughly wide enough for two grown men to walk through side by side, and is about 30 paces long. My imagination cannot accept that as a possibility (even a drill would take a very long time to force through that much ice), and that did kind of weaken the plot for me.
3. Pretty much all of these characters are undeveloped. I am guessing that this became apparent to the director at some point, because there are poorly timed arguments between the two co-stars which were (in my view) an unsuccessful attempt at giving them substance beyond the monster experience.
When I am going to watch a movie about a giant snake, I am basically more concerned with his eating habits then the character development. I suppose this is a large part of the reason that I enjoyed this movie, and a large part of the reason that it achieved a 7/10 from me.
Children of Men (2006)
I am very glad I did not pay to see this movie!
To its credit, Children of Men offers an unparalleled amount of chaos from the first minute to the very end. The explosions and violence is bound to keep you on your toes as a pseudo guerrilla force battles the British government for power, providing a barrage of cross-fire in which this story is set.
Admittedly, while I found this setting both impulsive and entertaining, my view of the story over all is that the violence provided a form of subterfuge, behind which a paper thin plot with underdeveloped characters offer up a semi-complete story with very little substance. My feeling was that the summary provided by "On Demand" constituted most of the story, with each point separated by various large and enjoyable action packed scenes.
I gave this a six, which in my view was generous. If I was rating the substance with respect to plot line, it would have been a 2 or 3, although I do think the idea to be very intriguing.