Change Your Image
djangozelf
Reviews
Horns (2013)
A great mixed genre film
I liked this movie from the get go and when I got that original "off" feeling and than I was totally hooked on this film.
Just because they had the nerve,the guts.the balls to make a movie straight forward and not to be beating around the bush.
This movie bares all and does not hold back,it is not perfect or even life changing but it's intelligent enough to take you seriously as a viewer and give you a mix of thriller,horror,drama and even humor.
Dialog and scenes are some times explicit but dosed in such a way that it never get's over the top or annoying.
Daniel Radcliffe was excellent in this role and also the supporting rolls where more than sufficient and convincing in the characters they played.
Towards the end you get some more plot development and I actually liked it because it was some what a surprise for me and that don't happen so much to me.
Here are some movie references the movie reminded me of:Hellboy,Stand by me and in a minor sense even Groundhog day .
Movie has quite a lot of subject matter and therefor there will be some plot holes but because it is more in the details it did not bother me much when I watched the movie.
And honestly 1 or 2 points are simply for the "rebel" approach. Keep up the good work!
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
Party like it's NOT 1999.
This movie is set partially in1991 and later on in 1999 but somehow,apart from some non meaning references, I never got the feeling this was the nineties.
New York,where the story takes place,has never felt so empty as in this movie, almost like it was another U.S.A.city.
The story is some what stupid especially the way they present the characters who are very one dimensional and placed in situations that never happened in any decade.
The whole kidnapping idea is possible because the "drug lords" are easy targets who don't have security and seem to have not much interest for their family or loved ones.
Liam don't seem to have a problem with these shady individuals and takes on the case because drug lords girl get's cut up in a very sadistic way even after the ransom was payed.
The movie makes a lot of side stories from that point on but never follows thru on any of'm leaving you with a lot of loose ends.
I red some where the book difference a lot from the script and I think the script writer and the director wasted this story by trying to make it politically correct.
The whole 12 steps from A.A.mixed with the climax of the movie was useless and totally out of place and context with the scenes that are being showed.
I really felt when non-stop came out it would be Liam's nose dive but compared to this execution that one was brilliant.
Better luck next time Mr.Neeson, You still have an excellent track record. This is just one nail.....
The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
The purge... out to steal your purse.
This is a movie made to rob you of your money. Watched this "sequel" thinking they could fix what was wrong with the first one but instead they have made it worst.
There is no real sense in this movie and just like the first ,nothing gets explained. What feel I got about it is that they needed a gimmick to show you as much useless and senseless violence as they could wrapped in a cheap excuse to do so. It looks to me they wanted to make a criminals wet dream in which it also failed cause it was violence by Hollywood rules so no sex or anything linked to that.
The "crime" here is numbed down to sadistic murder and therefor it takes the stupid way out in something that had some what of potential to be more than what it is now,a terrible story made in to a dumb movie.
All the characters are so poorly written it would not have mattered who played 'm they would fail anyway even if named Depp or Di Caprio.
But...it is a good example of movie-making in 2014,childish and for people who never saw any of the classic revenge flicks.
This is a bubblegum film which is nice when the idea is growing but a massive disappointment when it"pops".
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)
Sink city!
This is lame,it only has half of the input than the original. All the elements are there but there is no time or depth put in to it for it to actually work.
Sort of a t.v. movie version of Sin city where everything is numbed down considerably.
Only answer as why this is done seems to be that only teens today spend money on the 'big screen' and there for we end up with some fairytale violence a la Manga with out the culture to back this up making it look some what silly in an American, Christian society.
Sad is that this is the second movie they to this with because 300 had a similar formula with,big surprise,also Eva Green in it.
Must be a real boost to her career to be in the 2 shittiest movie of all the movies made in 2014.
This movie feels like your wife is cheating on you with a thief,acting like a clown,distracting you by waving one hand and with the other taking your money out your pocket.
There should have been at least one element better and it could have saved a lot of the movie,unfortunately they bury their own franchise.
Proved again:money kills creativity. So sad.
Tulpa - Perdizioni mortali (2012)
Italian erotic thriller with American morals
One of the first scene of the movie really ruined it for me, because here you see the basic rules of the movie by avoiding nudity and after that hitting you in the head with useless violence.
It just did not make sense to me and as the movie progressed it was a repeating this formula over and over. The nudity I did see was more personal and even that felt a little awkward with weird close ups and out of focus shots.
Because of the subject matter and the way to walk around it the whole thing became kind of silly.
I usually like Italian actresses but these seem to be chosen to look like Hollywood bimbos where double d is mandatory.
Did not watch it until the end cause if you've seen more than half of the movie and it don't convince you the whole thing is tainted.
I always liked Italian cult for not being so uptight but this one is to uptight even for American standards.
Could have been a cult classic.
The November Man (2014)
Worst Pierce Brosnan movie ever.
The former James Bond really blunders with this one. He had a look on him like he was lost an walked on the set by accident.
He is the only star but does not shine and the rest of the cast is way,way beneath his level.
Also getting sick everybody wanting to make a movie in some eastern European place or Russia with no subtitles and everyone talking Arnie English, with no disrespect to Schwarzenegger because I always liked his movies.
I did not even finish it, because to me it was already to far gone for it to get any better.
Movie felt cheap and seem to lack common sense and all the actors where out of tune.
I also find it some what strange that he dismissed the Bond movies rather quick but keeps making movies similar to 'm,so now I spy a bad rip off.
Sorry to say this, but you really can do better.
The Expendables 3 (2014)
Would have been a lousy first,but as a third...
It is really not so bad!
Stallone knows what an audience wants and knowing how fast this movie came after the second I still think it's a legit part.
Why he used a part of the movie on a kinder garden mission is beyond anyone but I think this has a lot to do with production companies dictating what should be in this movie,and Stallone agreed because he wanted a fast release on this movie.
The movie really fails in that department but still has enough for it going to be enjoyable and why not a slower part in the film if the rest is like a roller coaster.
From all three it's the lesser movie but i've seen a lot of part three's that where way worse and usually it is the third that messes up a trilogy.
It is sort of explainable to because usually the surprises are gone and the main goal of the movie is to wrap things up which makes the ending more predictable leaving you with 2 options ...win or loose,live or die,good or bad.
Gladly this never had that trilogy feel to it and some more parts will come and basically it could keep on going and going until we end up with a digital Sly, LOL.
To me there where enough new elements to root for more of this franchise but for the next one drop the kiddies and give it some more Jet Li fuel.
Let him 'F' around with Statham and Lundgren
and you'll have one hell of a movie.
So let's go for....four.
Devil's Tower (2014)
Mewes on sale.
This is a sad excuse of a film.
Nothing really happened in the movie.
Z-horror flick.
Girl looked nice. Mewes looks out of place. 'Fishermen' and 'silent but deadly' where masterpieces compared to this 'homemovie'.
It was made in England and it looks like the bleakest place they could find.
Camera work was non existent and FX straight out some halloween party store.
Was some what sad because I usually root for Jason Mewes films either with Kevin Smith or with out.
Looking at the budget of this movie I think Jason Mewes got cheap. Leaped from 10+ to below zero.
I will be very cautious with the next one.
Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)
B-Bad but than good
I was sort of expecting this going in and it's easy to sum up everything that's wrong
about this movie but because it shows a lot of heart it's really fun to watch.
Obvious flaws are the effects because all most all of them are in the impossible range and besides that often with a fake feel about them but adequate enough to take you thru this particular film.
It easily tops the first and the pacing took me by surprise cause the 90 minutes just seem to fly by,like the sharks in the movie.
Actors who I didn't like in other productions I liked in this one and only Kari Wuhrer felt like she didn't belong in the movie.
Some cameos here also and it was nice to see them act again be it in some what obvious rolls,airplane rip off in the beginning sets the precise tone for the rest of the movie.
This is fun roller coaster action flick which will make you smile as long as you don't take it seriously.
And you really can't when the shark hunters name is Fin.
Savages (2012)
Could have been a classic if edited right.
This movie had a lot of good things but it seems to me it was over utilized.
Oliver seems to want ,that every one had enough screen time to make they're mark but not with the material to do so.
Instead, a lot of scenes feel double and situations just drag on and on so you get the urge to press the fast forward button,which I did several times.
To top that the main girl does a voice over so everything you see is something she all ready talked about.
It is this repeating of things that really takes the pace out of this film and some what difficult to swallow.
The whole triangle affair is explainable for the plot but still feels way of to look at and is used badly as a conversation topic.
At least 40 minutes could have been cut, if they kept it around 100 minutes it would have been great and even a classic, with some small adjustments.
The double ending really tipped the scale towards mediocre movie.
So sad, N 2 bad.
The Calling (2014)
Good acting in a bad movie.
I started out liking this with actors playing different roles than usual and the first few murders where all interesting enough to keep your attention.
The 'wrong' feeling came when the church got involved and presented us with some BS about long lost scrolls.
In that scene I even still liked the part played by Sutherland but after that everything goes down hill.
The movie has no real plot development and just folds out before your eyes and delivers the worst anti-climax ever.
The whole religious bit should be taking out of it because it's saying Christianity is going Muslim and as long as some one believes, he can kill who ever he want's .
And even worse at the last scene of the movie, the movie is saying the killer was right.
I think this was written by a very frustrated writer, a Christian willing to kill 12, in order to save one?
A very strange moral out of a make believe testament.
Real sad for Susan Sarandon and Topher Grace as there performance is the best thing of the movie.
But still not sufficient to save it.
Was some what amazed Sarandon backed this,don't strike me as the type.
House of Last Things (2013)
Low,lower,lowest 2
I got suckered in to it again.
Red some where this was a horror but IMDb says it's a thriller.
It is more accurate but for me it was a thriller that didn't thrill.
The effects where laughable and no way up to date to todays standards.
It is like 'the possession of Michael King' a whole lot of silliness,no real content and payed people saying it's something good.
I'm getting quite good at spotting these films so in the future I will be writing less of 'm simply because I don't wanna waste my time on them.
Besides it is also difficult to write 10 lines on a movie where nothing really happens.
It's not worthy to write a lot about it. having said that....
The Possession of Michael King (2014)
Low,lower,lowest.
This is a terrible film.
Writing this review to save you time and money on this hyped up not horror movie.
It is 90 minutes of following one guy that can't act in a non scary movie.
Rating is a big fat lie, if you ever seen only one other movie it will be better than this one.
This is a 1 star is 2 much film.
Your better of watching paint dry.
It is almost a civil duty to make this plummet.
Hoping I can avoid movies like this in the future.
Watch a lot of movies and these are seem to be made by the same company.
From dozens of movies only one was acceptable.
Pretty please, skip this one!
Jim Jefferies: BARE (2014)
Jim Jefferies for president.
I really like Jim as a person,he has a lot of common sense and he has a real insight that makes you think:hey I never really looked at it that way.
I am also an atheist like Jim and also Ricky Gervais and that makes a large portion of the material difficult to swallow for anyone who believes in some sort of religion.
I have seen a few of his shows now and admit that the material gets a little more predictable but it still makes me laugh and that's what it's all about.
He's painfully honest about himself and everything around 'm and it reminds me of Richard Pryor who also spewed his life out on the stage and it almost looks like a funny form of self therapy.
Just like the late Robin Williams Jim suffers from depression and it amazes me that people who see humor in everything can not use that to get thru every day.
I'm a happy S.O.B. and I want that for Jim to so he can make the world a better place thru humor and good all fashioned common sense.
Don't 'F'this up,little Australian man.LOL.
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Transformers,gone in 60 sec.,to the ice age.
First of,the movie is to long and is also very different compared to the other three transformers films. this sort of works to a certain extend but is also very double because your missing a lot of the good stuff of the other three movies.
Because of it's mature approach it takes away some of the light humor that really made the transformers when they where still in cartoon form,that is why you liked 'm ,they where robots but came across as humans and in some cases even as kids like the character 'bumblebee'.
This seems to me like a Chinese version of the transformers and I think as inspiration they took the later series of the cartoon where they change Megatron to Galvatron and all of the transformers get a new look.
Every thing is made harsher and the whole attitude is much ruder and harder which does not compute because in the core it is a cartoon for children and they strayed away to far with this one.
Besides that I also missed the transforming,this was done much better in the other three installments and the handmade 'bots' transformation ,seems to me, made to lower the costs it just looked cheap and stolen from 'lawnmower man'.
The action shifts more to the people in this movie and that was the some what impressive part of the film but it still feels like it does not fit in the movie.
As a whole it has to much ups and downs and they crammed in way to much information in it for anyone to know what's going on and even more important to care about.
Sequel is almost certain, but if so,try the simpson approach and make something for kids and their parents,believe me,it can be done.
I also missed big battle scenes between autobots and the decepticons and the climax in china started out a little bad ,looking like a video game, but than saved it by the awesome scene of all metal things rising and falling again in a Chinese innercity.
Some scenes like this make up for flaws the movie has but because of the almost three hours as a whole it just don't cut it. I also got the feeling I was watching something made by marvel but I can not really explain where that comes from,guess it has something to do with the storyline?
The dinosaurs should have been left out because that feels very childlike and is to much of a contrast with the rest of the movie and it really does not add to the battle they are put in,more as a gimmick to make optimus look cool,but it made him look like a he-man toy.
Part 2:2 hours top,2 stories top and for 2 groups, for the kids and their parents. Oh yeah,almost forgot,don't change optimus prime in to optimus crime . Transformers roll out...
The Rover (2014)
Rainman vs. The Roadwarrior.
I really liked this movie,I thought it was smart cause it starts out being about nothing,but because of the trip that has to be made,it turns in to something.
We find ourselves in desolate Australia complete with flies and dust clouds that gives you that genuine good,bad and ugly vibe which has lawless land written all over it.
Guy Pearce plays the loner wandering this land and reacts even stranger to situations than all the strange characters that inhabit this 'in ten years from now' future.
So when he's just taking a break his car get's stolen and used as a getaway car by 4 guys that just before committed a crime and while you don't know why it seems a very big deal to Guy's character as he starts to pursuit these criminals.
But,here it comes,the movie is not about that story it really begins when he finds the wounded brother of one of the criminals who stole his car and this brother is a bit of a simpleton.
So the real story is about how these 2 connect and unknowingly change each other as they both get new insides and therefor create a little hope in an extremely grim future.
Revelation comes in the middle of the film where Guy explains what happened to his wife and what kind of impact that had on him. This part of the movie is essential cause it explains Guy's behavior in the movie and also what he does in the end because with out that detail it might seem silly.
I compared this also to Rainman but therefor have to point out the brother did not have a disease but was kept very small minded by his family or at least his brother. That is also the reason the brother respected Guy more because he did not put him down and treated him in the same way he treated every one.
A nice 'of' film with beautiful sceneries,great actors and excellent camera work and Guy puts Hollywood to shame by making his best movie ever... on his home turf.
Pay attention to this one, Hollyweeders,look N learn.
Cold in July (2014)
Slow burning thriller turns in to useless sensation piece.
If i voted this film half way thru it would have gotten a point close to 8 but after seeing the whole flick it is between 6 and 7 and thats mostly for the character that Don Johnson plays unfortunately in the badder half of the film.
When I finished it and started to think I concluded that nothing really fits in this movie,all the actions of the persons in this movie are stupid and seem to be created for some kind of sensational shock effect which does not work because the criminal father that shoots his own son simply never had a relationship with him so why is it on him to kill 'm.
And the people who actually did try to kill 'm he lets them walk and seems to forget about them so you end up with the message that you can kill something you think is bad but you can not kill a cop even it they are trying to kill you?
Was the writer of this book a racist because I really would like to see how he would defend this story to any African American suffering from the exact same problem daily.
All the moral in this film seems twisted and is enhanced by mixing up these two stories and ending them both in a very anti-climax kind of way.
The smart thing about the movie,but not for us,is that they suck you in long enough for you to wanna see the end of the movie and than destroys it.
What I to this day do not grasp is that some one spends time and money on this story that seems to be more a promotion tour for political correctness.
This positive discrimination only creates black and white worlds where everything is based on face value and not what's beneath the surface,fun in a popcorn film but not in a serious thriller.But that is the way of movie making in 2014 and I am really rooting that this will change in 2015 so that I can watch movies again instead of half baked experiments or projects.
Cold in July, below zero in September. Had to give it 3, rating for this is to high now.
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla vs. Houdini
I was about to see this thinking it would be a modern version of the classics but instead I got a smoke and mirror version that reminded me of the 'gremlins' formula of way back where the building up of the suspense was a major strength of the movie because in the end u get the thrill ride as the movie shifts gear in the middle of the film.
Sadly that never happens with this movie that seems to focus more on drama which just does not work and every time you think the action will start the scene stops and goes back to.... smoke N mirrors.
Even the enemies of Zilla,the cloverfield rip offs,are put there to make sure you see absolutely nothing by creating some kind of electrical pulse they use to defend there self which was also done better in 'the matrix' because here it is used as a gimmick.
The whole idea of the movie was ridiculous and I can not understand how this obvious flop ever made it's way to the theaters, according to me it is just that bad.
The one before this one released around 2000 was actually a masterpiece if you compare it to this Z-film and if I ever loose my memory I hope this movie is the first to go.
Do not waste your money on this,the movie all ready did this for you.
Oh yeah,and the extra scenes that where created for you to root for the hero where some what sickening and made my stomach turn ,yugh!
Hocus Pocus ,Godzilla gone in to thin air.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
A bit bored with comic book logic.
I can understand fans wanting it to stay loyal to the comic book but there u got the luxury of spreading it out over more episodes and the plots will work better with the cliffhangers used in comic books so that you buy the next one.
Also these where written years ago and mostly for kids who now watch movies they can relate to like 'Hunger games' and 'Divergent' which I did not like because they make everything either black or white with no real nuances.
A lot of characters where week in this film and the constant struggle between Xavier and Magneto became to much of a drag in this movie.
The way they explained the time travel principal was close to ridiculous and it all seemed like a sort of doubling up the first x-men movie.
Also the fact that it dismisses a lot of the other movies marvel made makes you really wonder if anyone at marvel is actually paying attention to all these franchises.
And hey...if they do not care than why should I?
I stopped before with other franchises like"twilight" and"The Hobbit"because they where way to predictable and after watching part 2 of both of these I could have written the final installment myself and x-men D.O.F.P. is not much better.
I am hoping for more of the avengers type movies and the second captain America cause I think there more character driven than this sad imitation of other marvel movies who are all better than this.
At the end of the third installment of the original X-men movie I feared that at some point it would create an overkill and Ironman 3 confirmed that and now so does this one.
So....marvel make less and make it better so it stays interesting for everybody and worthwhile to care for and keep watching everything you marvel us with.
Stay Marvelous!
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
To the edge,but not over it.
This is another great Tom Cruise sci-fi action movie and exactly what i expected from the trailers of this movie,the movie has a good pace and it is so full of action you do not think about the many questions the 'groundhog day' situation brings.
Because everything that has to do with time travel immediately creates a time paradox and that is a strange situation where even the right is wrong and vice versa.
It difference from groundhog day cause that had to do with faith and here it is because of the blood from a certain type of alien that makes Tom die and repeat the same day over and over.
The rules about all this is well enough when your watching the film but after I watched it more questions arose but in a good way because it is good that a movie makes you think and I also came to the conclusion that if more was explained the movie would be to long and lost its pace.
Cruise is an actor who seems to know what he wants and what the audience wants and expects and there for he is one of the great actors of our time.
This movie was shot in Cruise Control and that makes it....awesome.
Whirlpool (1970)
Model gets forced into a love triangle.
This long lost gem from 1970 is especially interesting because of the contrast it delivers between English stiff upper lip and a depravity all wrapped up in the characters of this movie.
It also has been an inspiration i think for later films like "Last house on the left" and in lesser extend even "Evil Dead" with the isolation of a cabin in the woods.
Performance of the actors is often "of"and seems to be building up to some more psychological play and the dialog feels some what strange cause it switches to much between intelligent and plain stupid ,also is the intent of the aunt and nephew to obvious and with some thought and nuances it could have had some good plot development and it would have been a better movie.
The "victim" in this movie is a model that gets doped up and sort of forced, all though it is sometimes hard to tell if she is being raped or actually excepts her position and does this all out of free will and at some points that's a little bit hard to swallow.
The ending was a bit of a drag when she realized that the nephew photographed the rape and she seemed really upset about this like she did not even notice it.
Stil,it was a movie ahead of his time and overall there is right in this"wrong"so you will still think about it later on and decide it's really a shame that this was lost for such a long time.
This is a great example of a 70's cult classic and not to be missed by anyone who likes cult flicks.
A whirlpool of fun.
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Brilliant storytelling, Pulp fiction mixed with fantasy.
I waited a long time to watch this movie because the promotion for it did not reflect the great movie that it is
Everyone played there multiple rolls outstanding although some where just better done then others,I liked Tom Hanks as an English bloke and less as the doctor because his teeth looked fake, At times it even took a while before I recognized one of 'm and at that point it's just fun to figure out who's who.
From beginning to end everything is multiple,multiple stories and actors playing multiple rolls,they switch a lot between these stories but it never bordered me and it was actually natural how they when'd from one storyline to the next.
I have much respect for all the actors playing the rolls and even discovered some new talent because this is an excellent platform to show the public what your made off .
I'll surely recommend this movie to any one and it is for everyone no matter what genre you like, this has it all.
This was my first review on IMDb,more...coming soon.