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Quicksand (2019)
No likeable characters in the whole show
There is no one you feel sympathy for in this show because everyone is stupid and/or evil. The weepy protagonist girl on trial is mind-bogglingly stupid to have a junkie piece of filth boyfriend - no matter how rich he is. The antagonist rich boy druggie is obviously weak, shallow and evil. The girl's parents are stupid to allow their daughter total freedom to hang out with a known loser, and the rich boyfriend's father is a violent, abusive monster. Even the refugee wannabe boyfriend ends up a liar who seeks to extract revenge for getting dumped. The girl's lawyer is quite a good actor and the only leading character with any redeeming qualities. Really not an enjoyable movie for me because I despised everyone and generally don't like movies about super-rich people.
Horror Hotel: The Movie (2016)
Under-appreciated gem
This movie is criminally under-rated on the IMDB scale. It's camp and goofy and really good entertainment. No, it's not a horror movie - it's comedy - and should not be down-voted by people who expected a horror movie. I would expect this nutty movie to become a sort of cult classic in time. I love the first segment with the stranded alien girls. Stephanie Stevens is just perfect in the role of a beautiful space-case, alien valley girl. James Thomas as the conniving mechanic Al Sharko is great too. Please give it a chance if you enjoy goofy, campy sci-fi and beautiful space girls. I'm guessing anyone who likes Rocky Horror Picture Show will enjoy this too.
Devil in Ohio (2022)
I sat through it so you don't have to
I knew The Devil In Ohio was bad after about the first 15 minutes, but I'm kind of a fan of devil cult movies so I stuck with it the whole way through. As others have so eloquently noted, there are no cliches left behind in this family drama deceptively stylized as some kind of horror movie. The characters make unbelievable, irrational decisions, like spending hundreds of thousands renovating a mansion without a written contract, for starters. Then, there's a detective "spying" on people from 50 feet away and not being concealed at all. Fortunately, none of the surveilees turned their head slightly to the right to see this detective with his big honkin' binoculars in plain sight. Whatever.
There is no payoff. Not a supernatural movie and not recommended unless you just need some background noise.
Epidemiya (2019)
Outstanding thriller with cliffhanger ending
Interesting characters and good acting. No annoying characters - everyone seems real. A couple lucky coincidences in the story but nothing too crazy. Don't watch if you don't like cliffhanger endings. Although the ending reveals the cause of the disaster, in my opinion, there is more needed to finish the story. Probably meant for more episodes but good as a standalone. Either way, great acting, interesting story and pretty addictive.
American Beauty (1999)
Perfectly captures the dystopia of the USA at the turn of the millenia
Greed and hate has destroyed the fabric of society in the USA and this film depicts a broken family that could be millions of families in suburban USA. I often think acting doesn't take much skill but movies like American Beauty help me appreciate truly fine acting. The film shows how one man finds redemption by breaking out of the cage his life had become. Despite a tragedy, the film ends on a positive note with the narration of the central character. One of my top 5 favorite movies. Congratulations to everyone who took part in the making of this movie.
2012 (2009)
Such wasted potential!
The film makers obviously had the resources to make a superlative sci-fi disaster flick, but they wasted their efforts with ridiculous, unbelievable narrow escape sequences and imbecilic attempted humor. If you're making an end-of-the-world movie, maybe just forget the comedy and stick with believable special effects and building your characters a little bit. They really threw everything in this mess which wasted what could have been an epic disaster flick. The whole family dynamics thing was just too cliche, with the disaffected son who learns to love his real dad again and the wife who comes back to the poor writer dad, even though step-dad is a good guy himself. The special effects were nice but the comic book narrow escapes ruined the suspension of disbelief. Really a difficult movie to watch for sci-fi fans.
Dersu Uzala (1975)
One of the finest movies I have ever seen
A Russian military squad, commanded by a Captain, explores the wilderness of Siberia on a mapping expedition. They encounter a man, Dersu Uzala, who is as much a part of the forest as the trees and the rivers and the elk and the tigers. At first amused by the man, the soldiers gain a deep respect for Dersu as he demonstrates a profound understanding of the forest, nature and survival. The Captain and Dersu form a close and lasting friendship.
Movies like this are rare in their simplicity and greatness. There is the adventure story of exploring the wilderness, which is realistic and entertaining. But the greatness of the movie is how it conveys the bond that forms between the Captain and Dersu. It is always so nice to come across a gem like Dersu Azala.
Bloodsucker's Planet (2019)
Bizarre and entertaining!
I've always been a huge science fiction fan and I just stumbled across this little flick from last year. No idea what to expect. Maybe just another boring space slasher? But Bloodsucker's Planet is really entertaining. Seems to be a tribute to shlocky sci-fi films from the 1960s. Definitely much better than your typical low budget fare. There is a lot of creativity that went into this little gem. Some of the special effects are pretty cool. I liked the characters. Very light-hearted and trippy production. It's fun!
Martyrs (2015)
Why does anyone attempt a remake like this?
When all they want to do is rip out the soul of the original? It's obviously just to steal the concept and make a quick buck. Did the filmmakers believe toning down the violence and rage would make it more palatable for a wider audience? Probably. It's the only reason I can conceive for making such a terrible "horror" movie. The initial revenge murder scene is just bland. They use a shotgun that sounds like a cap gun. Even as a standalone, existing in a vacuum without the original, this is a bad movie. Boring and gutless. Please please please if anyone is still reading these reviews --- watch the French version and skip this one.
Singularity (2017)
Pretty bad ---- I'm amazed at the high rating.
Sort of sci-fi channel, TV-movie quality where it looks like they made the movie in a hurry, with a low budget and no attention to detail. It's supposed to be 100 years after the destruction of civilization, and everyone, including a band of woods-dwelling ruffians, have perfectly coiffed hair and beards. How does a grizzled mountain man trim his beard so perfectly without electricity? I'm surprised to see the high rating of 7.1, but that seems to be the norm on this site anymore. Like another reviewer posted, this one is for kids.
300 (2006)
Ridiculous propaganda
A brave, oddly blue-eyed group of Spartans screech about "freedom" and serve as a model for humanity as a seemingly alien race of ugly, deformed, evil mutant Persians tries to conquer them. This movie, made during the US-Iraq war that began in 2003, is nothing but propaganda to inspire hatred for people from the Middle East. The Spartans certainly excelled at warfare and were brave warriors, but the rear-guard force of 300 was part of a much larger Greek army, numbering as many as 8,000 -- something the movie entirely leaves out. Second, the Spartans were war-like primarily to control the massive numbers of slaves held in their homeland, who outnumbered Spartan citizens 10 to 1. Hearing the brave, blue-eyed (LOL) Spartans screeching about "freedom" really made me laugh. The invading Persians are depicted as nothing more than cowardly, ugly monsters. As a former military officer, I admire the bravery of the Greeks at Thermopylae, but this type of propaganda, styled as "cinema," makes me sick. My previous review, making these points, was deleted by IMDb. I wonder why.
Arrival (2016)
Tries to make a big emotional impact but fails --- highly overrated
The last 15 minutes of this film is weepy violin music, during which I suppose we are to be crying over the deep philosophical meaning "and stuff" of this film. Yeegads, the movie is a confusing mess and the message just doesn't get across. The movie is full of tired clichés: the misunderstood aliens who want to help mankind, the aggressive stupid military (anxious to fight a species with interstellar travel capability),the lower ranking GI who is allowed access to the most important scientific and diplomatic site in world history, etc. I love sci-fi but Arrival is a huge disappointment. Better than the utter stupidity of movies like Independence Day, but that ain't sayin' much!
They Look Like People (2015)
THIS is how you create suspense on a low budget!
Excellent low budget, independent movie. They Look Like People is a shining example of how a filmmaker can produce an interesting, quality movie with actual suspense. The characters in the movie were interesting and the acting very good. The topic is mental illness. We are given the perspective from inside the head of a mentally ill person, who hears voices telling him to do things to protect himself from alien entities, who appear to be human. There are no flashy special effects, no high speed action scenes, just typical situations that a mentally ill person and his friends might find themselves in. Realistic suspense is created by the potential actions of the ill person toward his unwitting friends. These days, it's hard to find a movie that keeps me awake but They Look Like People kept me awake and entertained me. Really good psychological drama. Did I mention how wonderful Margaret Ying Drake is in this movie? She is truly special.
A Perfect Day (2015)
I honestly had to turn it off it was so boring and annoying
What you've got here is a movie about a team of relief workers, which includes two supermodels, driving SUVs around a former Balkan conflict zone, trying to get a corpse out of a well, but stifled by incompetent and stubborn bumbling military officials. Got about 80 percent through the movie and it was just annoying me more than anything else. The soundtrack is totally inappropriate, with rock jams and guitar riffs that just seem completely wrong for this film. It's really pretty boring and it seems the movie doesn't know what it wants to be - a dark comedy, a straight comedy or a straight drama. Tim Robbins loopy character is annoying but does get a couple laughs. The point seems to be to make U.N. military authorities in a tense conflict zone appear petty and bureaucratic. I've been a military member working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like the one portrayed in this film and we did absolutely everything in our power to provide the NGO assistance and security. With the A- list actors and a healthy budget, this film had potential, but it's a wasted effort. Considering I couldn't make it all the way through, I was generous in giving it a "3" and that's because I enjoyed looking at Melanie Thierry.
The Revenant (2015)
Very overrated
The scenes in this movie are well-done with spectacular scenery and wonderful visual effects. But the story is very far-fetched, with the protagonist surviving: a grizzly bear mauling; smothering by another mountain man; multiple gunfights and Indian attacks; a ride through the rapids of the Missouri River cloaked in heavy hides; and a fall off of a 300-foot cliff! The Native American element is derivative and done much better in movies such as the far superior Black Robe. Character development is weak. The costumes and settings really look authentic but the story is implausible. For example, after the plunge into a raging river, in winter, our hero is washed ashore at a calm eddy, draped in soaking wet hides. The next scene shows him sleeping next to a fire, all of his hide-clothing now dried out. We're supposed to believe that he retained all of his fire starting equipment through the dunk in the rapids and somehow got a fire going, next to a river with everything soaking wet. That's when I decided this was not a great movie. More nonsense, including the fall off the cliff, was yet to come. Good watch for the action scenes but not in the same league as Black Robe.
O ehthros mou (2013)
Great movie with great acting
I haven't seen many Greek movies but I've been impressed with a couple of recent movies from the cradle of civilization, including The Enemy Within. This is an action movie as well as a family drama. A fairly well-to-do family in modern Athens is victimized by a gang of criminals and the father's response to the crime is the great dilemma of the movie. The acting is very good and the musical score is exceptional and fitting for the film. The movie is a morality play like the dramas of the ancient Greeks. I enjoy foreign films because it's like traveling on the cheap, and this film gives us a look at downtown Athens, as well as some beautiful country in the Greek mountains. Good movie and rightfully received some awards.
Blood Punch (2014)
Very original and entertainining horror
I like straight up horror movies and generally don't go for horror/comedy mixes like this one. But Blood Punch keeps the comedy kind of low key - much moreso than the popular Evil Dead. I just watched Blood Punch last night and enjoyed it very much. I usually put something on Amazon Prime to go to sleep -- but this movie kept me up too late!
The actors are good and I thought Ari Boyland was very good as the psychopathic Russell. He reminds me of a young Kurt Russell. Olivia Tennet is also very good as the brash and seductive leading lady.
The story is crazy and makes you wonder how they think these things up. But the movie is done well in a way that is both entertaining and suspenseful. I really found myself wondering how our protagonists were going to get out of their very unusual situation.
I won't go into particulars but the twisted plot requires a great deal of bloodshed. So much that it might be too much. I don't mind gory horror but the repetitive brains-getting-blown-out is the only facet of this movie that irritated me at all. Otherwise a great effort. Congratulations to the filmmakers.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Mesmerizing - like the gaze of a vampire
I am a horror fan since the days of black and white creature features. I have always loved a good, offbeat vampire movie such as the original Let The Right One In. I rate A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night just below that movie -- but still an outstanding horror movie -- in a genre in which excellence is so rare.
The actors are great. You hate the pimp / drug dealer; you like the young man; you sympathize with and simultaneously hate the pathetic, old, drug-addicted pervert. The vampire - you love her. She is an exotic beauty underneath a black cloak. I'm guessing the director chose this actress for her eyes -- beautiful and hypnotic.
The setting - Bad Town - is the type of bleak, lawless industrial town where a vampire could prey for a long time before moving on.
I would have enjoyed this movie in color, but black and white is fitting for its dark atmosphere. Highly recommended.
The Sacrament (2013)
Movie starts off great but lack of thought apparent in second half
The beginning to middle portion of the movie is well-acted and believable. A news team travels to a foreign, tropical country to locate a girl and find out about a religious cult. Once they arrive at the remote community, they get a foreshadow of trouble when armed guards harass them at the gate. The encounter with aggressive, AK-47 wielding guards is soon forgotten after the girl meets them, greets them and shows them around the camp, where everybody seems happy. More indication of trouble when a young girl slips them a "help us" note. Finally, the masks slip off and the leader of the cult is shown to be a murderous kook. Two of the news team are attacked as they attempt to reach a helicopter. This is where it gets stupid: 1. One character, after escaping armed lunatics, wanders back into the lunatic camp, looking for his friend, seemingly unconcerned about the armed lunatics wandering around. 2. After witnessing the murder of two people, a character leaves his hiding place to take a peek out the door to shoot a video clip of the rifle-wielding lunatic. 3. As they prepare to escape the lunatic camp, which has armed lunatics wandering around murdering people, two characters make lots of noise, shouting "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" - seemingly oblivious to the murdering lunatics wandering around.
Stupid, unbelievable behavior by people in dangerous situations. How many potentially good movies has it ruined?
Still a solid "6" thanks to some good acting by the news team members and the cult leader.
Jacob (2011)
Deserves a much better rating
I would actually rate Jacob at a "7" but I added an extra star because I feel the current rating below five is far too low. I just watched the movie on Netflix and, as it ended, I said, "Finally - a good movie!" I thought the acting was fine, especially the guy who plays the sheriff. Some of the other "redneck" characters pull it off very well, also. This is obviously a low-budget film, but I feel they did very well with what they had to work with. I do not like idiotic "slasher" movies like the Friday the 13th series, and I do not consider Jacob a slasher flick. The title character goes on a killing spree toward the end of the movie, and a flashback recalls his father's rampage in a local bar, but the violence and light gore is not the movie's main appeal. The mystery about a supernatural force can remain a mystery - not everything needs explained. The father obviously dabbled in the black arts and that's really all we need to know. Some supernatural force is apparently present in the old house and with Jacob and Sissy. The real story is the reason for Jacob's killing spree. I recommend this movie to horror fans, like me, who do not enjoy mindless slashers flicks.
The Haunting of Hell House (1999)
I enjoyed this ghost movie quite a bit!
Michael York is good as the mysterious professor and Andrew Bowen gives a nice performance in the lead. In the end, you are left wondering if the ghosts were real or simply manifestations of extremely guilty, troubled minds. There is artistic justice in the film - as a handsome college student dies alone in a jail cell, after leaving his girlfriend to die alone in a seedy guesthouse, following a botched abortion. Aideen O'Donnell is incredibly beautiful as the girlfriend and the ghost - why have we not seen more from this actress? Not a slasher or shocker, just a slow-burning drama about guilt and how it haunts us. I enjoyed this movie and recommend it to those who enjoy psychological dramas.
Dogman (2012)
I liked this movie - - until the non-ending
I enjoyed all of this movie but expected some kind of resolution, which never transpired. The story is about a weird creature being sighted in a rural area of Michigan. Part of the story is about a guy named Hank Purvis installing a night vision game camera in an area he hunts. You would expect footage from this camera to become part of the story, but it never happens. We never see anything recorded by the game camera. In fact, the only time we see the creature is inside five minutes from the end of the movie, reflected in a car window. We never find out what happens to the young man who was bitten. This is simply a story without an ending and it is absurd to think anyone was thinking "sequel." Worth a look, especially for Stacie Hadgikosti as the sheriff's deputy -- wow! Slap the cuffs on, officer!
The Day (2011)
Not bad - I liked it - Some new ideas
In the beginning of this movie, you are not given any information on what happened to the world, but it becomes clear that humans have survived - some as cannibalistic, predatory tribes and some as non-cannibals who apparently want everybody just to get along.
The protagonists find themselves in an abandoned farmhouse, which is a trap - a cool plot idea - but this incredibly annoying bell rings for so long after the trap is sprung that I almost fast-forwarded the movie. The entire movie is set in the farmhouse, where a group of friends defend the house from a cannibal attack.
There is a lot of wasted potential here. The attack and defense of the house is very unrealistic. The friends are armed with rifles, but attackers are allowed to stand in the open - as if safe - just 100 yards away. It seems nobody gets shot until they are next to the house - and first by a defender who has departed the cover and concealment of the house! These folks need to go back to tactics school.
Incredibly gorgeous actresses make this movie better - but I did not like the dark and dreary filmography. Overall, definitely worth a look for horror fans.
The Woman in Black (2012)
Terrific and frightening ghost story
Horror is my favorite genre and I've muddled through many more stinkers than not. The Woman In Black gave me more chills than any movie since The Exorcist. I watched it late at night by myself and I was hugging my dogs for security. Combat vet here. Very spooky and the scares are done right. The setting on the little island adds to the atmosphere of fear and loneliness.
I wish that we were able to see a flashback of the the antagonist during her mortal life. If I recall correctly, we only hear her voice when the lawyer is reading her letters.
The main character does remain abnormally nonplussed at times and the ending is somewhat saccharin, but I can forgive these perceived faults for an otherwise scary and thoroughly enjoyable flick.
Monsters (2010)
Outstanding sci-fi
I enjoy movies that involve a journey and there is a very strange journey in this movie. A man and a woman travel through northern Mexico, an area inhabited by huge alien creatures and turned into a combat zone by the U.S. military.
The movie is very well done and involves an interesting human story, as well as the bizarre science fiction. The travelers encounter interesting people during their journey and grow closer along the way. This movie held my interest throughout, and I admit - I have a pretty short attention span. The special effects are well done.
This movie is infinitely better than a multi-million dollar crap-fest like Independence Day or the new War of the Worlds. Highly recommended for sci-fi fans.