Reviews
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
What is that smell ?
Oh my god it's this film, it's made out of sh** !
That was my first thought. Also it was boring. And i am not talking boring in the sense that the boring scenes where filled in with re-filling the coffee mug, or going to the kitchen to pick up a snack, no.. I fast forwarded... And i never ever fast forward movies..
Just before watching this movie, i watched Green Lantern, and Thor. Thor is great, Green Lantern is just fine as well, but this really sucks. You get the worse acting ever, the plot (if there even is any plot) revolves around the bad-guy a former SS Nazi Officer that has been trying to inject himself with some bozo-snot and gets a red skull and some superpowers. It is just so bad and cheasy that i really don't know what to say..
I am actually speechless...
Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
Brilliant niche movie :)
Just watched this movie yesterday evening, and i was positively surprised.
Cowboys & Aliens can best be descriped as a Independence Day type movie, set in the Wild West.
It is a niche movie that test the limits of the Alien movie genre, and it works. I for one was beginning to get tired of Alien Invasion movies that all look alike. This opens up a brand new way to go with this type of movie.
The only thing that really is annoying about this movie is the title and the first 15-20 minutes of the movie. With the title giving you the basic plot of the movie you find yourself watching a western and just waiting for some aliens to pop up. Also you are as a viewer dropped directly into the whole Cowboys vs Aliens thing. I think this movie could have been so much better if they had given it a "shock" effect, like From Dusk til Dawn. If it had had a better title that didn't give away the plot, and the first 20 minutes would have been a great and good western movie, introducing the aliens after some time would really have had people up from their seats :)
Apart from that, it lived up to my every expectation, even though the plot is easily figured out by the audience so you will often find yourself just sitting and waiting for that thing to unfold on the screen. The action in the movie is just spot on, both the sci-fi action but also the old style Western action part is really great.
Daniel Craig puts on a OK performance, he tries his best to talk hillbillie American, but it fails a bit from time to time. I would have chosen another actor for his part, maybe Ryan Reynolds?
Harrison Ford plays his part great, he has a dark side to him that is not the usual Harrison Ford'ish role, this really works.
This movie really aim at the male part of the audience, and it does not disappoint.
If they where to make a spin off called Knights and Aliens, i would definitely watch this movie too :)
Manta, Manta (1991)
Great fun when you're 30+
This is one of my all time favorites. Growing up with the Opel Manta as the car to have, I've even owned a few my self. One of my buddies actually bought "Berti's " manta from the film.
Anyway. The movie is extremely goofy, and Germans don't always know how to put in funny elements into a film. That taken aside the movie is still goofie. But think back. 1991! What kind of close did you where back then, and what colour was your hair ? And then there is the whole Manta Manta thing.. Thats why the movie is worth to watch. It actually has some car chases that are quite good, and the guy doing the stunts eventually came to do some of the car stunts on The Fast and the Furious.
The scene where Berti's Manta drives under a lorry was replicated some 10 years later in TFATF..
For me this movie is a walk back memory lane. The movie might be a eye roller if you're under the age of 25, or over the age of 45 but the ones that remember the late 80's and early 90's will definitely get a good laugh or two :o)
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
This one could get "cult" status.
This movie could get into the same club as "dune".. The "pitch black" movie wasn't all that great. Taking up the "alien" theme once more and creating a movie where people mostly run and scream.. Well its been seen before.
So when i watched Cronicles of Riddick it wasn't with the biggest hopes sat for this film. But i was gravely mistaken.
The plot, the story everything is perfect. Especially as the writers hasn't used any parts of any other sci-fi / space adventure movies like "warp speed" or stuff like that. This one has its own completely closed universe, and what a universe that is.
Okay, maybe some of the story like the "messiah" part could have been in a different way, but still its a great film to watch.
The plot is very good, and everything is explained to you. Some things like the technology is not explained but you get the idea as you go along, which makes the movie even better. Cronicles of Riddick could be the next "dune" and the reason for me comparing these two are that Dune also does not use elements seen before. Everything is brand new, as in Cronicles of Riddick. This is why the movie primarily is so great to watch.
Riddick. Well Riddick is a one man army, and a bit on the psychopathic side. He got some skills, but still he reveals feelings in this movie. The story of Riddick could be put into a lot of good movies and sequels especially if one where to make a pre-story movie that would take place before "Pitch Dark".
This one is one to watch!!
Resident Evil (2002)
Good idea, but just not made good enough
Yeah, well when you think about it, making a movie from a video game that primarily is a shoot-the-baddie's game there will be some big holes in the storyline and the plot. This is actually a movie that i had left twice before finally finishing it.
When thats said i think the storyline and the plot is great, seen from the perspective that there wasn't enough of this from the game to make a movie with. But seen in the present of other movies in this genre or other movies that has been made from videogames, this one really sucks. Even if you are a huge fan of the games, this movie will ultimately make you suffer.
The effects: The effects are on some occasions wildly and hugely overestimated. In some scenes a 45' can blast a hole in a building big enough to drive a lorry into the building, and in other scenes the exact same 45' can be used several times on a Zombie character and almost leave no marks.. In some scenes you see costumes that could be taken from "lord of the rings" and in other scenes they almost fall off the stuntmen wearing them!! Especially in one scene where some of a chase is in slowmotion you can see that everything on that actor/stuntman that are a part of his / her outfit is moving and shaking.
If you like the genre of movies made from videogames and you want to see this one, i wont disencourage you. You'll find out for yourself. If you want to see some other movies made from videogames "DOOM" is much much better, even though that one isn't great either.
The Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya's Drift Bible: A Complete Guide to Drifting (2003)
Good and sensible
Drift Bible contains all the essentials on how drifting works. Its a good beginners movie that will teach you how to drift. All the basics are there and there are even some things for the skilled drifters to study. Especially the high speed drift which is where things REALLY can go wrong if you don't know exactly what you're doing. Through the movie things are explained in details making it a very useful tool for those wanting to drift. All though i did miss more info on how to create a good drifting car.
I give this movie a 7 as i think it could have been a heck of a lot better but still the initiative to make this movie is something that deserves respect. A absolute must see for anyone with the slightest interest of drifting.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
The best of the 3
In FNF Tokyo Drift we get to follow the young kid Sean (Lucas Black) who always seem to get into trouble. A typical new-age teenager who think that the entire world centers on him. Crashing his car in a illegal street race he soon discovers it does not. The choice? Go live with your father in Japan or go to jail in the U.S. Sean reluctivly choose the first option and soon discovers how it is to be a foreigner in a new country nothing like what he is used to. But the troublesome kid inside him takes over and soon he is tangled up in illegal street racing, guys that don't like him for being a gaijin (foreigner), he gets to cross the local Yakuza boss' nephew and to make everything straight again, he needs to learn how to drift..
FNF Tokyo Drift is by far the best of the 3. Where the first one gets a lot of respect for doing a movie on the subject of illegal street racing, the second in the series was a major drop. Bad acting, bad plot, bad computer generated visual effects and the list can continue. No-one expected very much from the third movie. No really known actors no block buster names. Maybe that is the reason for this being the best movie of the 3. Or maybe it is just the awesome drifting stunts being performed that will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat throughout the movie.
The most interesting thing is that this movie has a buildup just like a old Kung-Fu movie. The unknown hero enters a city, gets in a brawl and crosses the local bad guy. His goons beat him up and through him out to die. The young hero finds a monk that show him the mysterious drifting dragon kick (or some other crappy trick) and our hero returns and beat the crap out of the bad guy. Its fun to see how this simple form of tale-telling still works very good on film.
FNF Tokyo Drift with a brand new cast does the work, and you are most certainly entertained.