Change Your Image
Mister-GTA
Nothing is worse than clicking on a review, only to see a plot summary. A film review should emphasize the positive and negative attributes of a film - there are separate sections for summary and plot outlines. I know some top pro film critics usually give a summary, and some of those don't even rate their viewing experience, and I question why they are a "critic". You won't get that with me - I'm all about the entertainment value and viewing experience.
What I aim to critique are the key factors that make a film: directing, writing, cinematography, editing, casting, S/VFX, length/pace, sound/score, entertainment value, etc.
I also take into account the production budget and experience of the filmmakers. You cannot equally compare a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster production with A-list actors to a low-budget indie production with B-list actors. I have much respect for new/up and coming filmmakers, and I rate them fair based on what they have to work with. You may see a B low budget film that you may not like get an 8/10, and a big A-film Hollywood blockbuster get a 6/10, only because the A film had everything it needed to be great, and the B film worked with very little (experience, budget, etc.) yet was impressive - all factors considered.
Thus it will be very rare any movie will get a 1 (unless it's riddled with fake reviews from cast, crew and friends) or a 10 (unless it is perfection in every category above) from me, but instead will range between that scale - also taking into account the filmmakers experience, budget, etc. As a rule, anything I rate either a 7 or 8, I liked enough that I will watch it again and still highly recommend. The lower numbers will be more of a critique for the filmmaker in areas they need to improve, as well as details for the potential audience to evaluate if that film is still worth seeing (e.g. loud constant annoying score - maybe you don't mind that) and will satisfy their expectations.
Additionally, those who give a film a 1/10 annoy me. Every film should have some good qualities, and it's a "scale" between 1-10, not 1 "or" 10. I've seen some reviewers give a 1 because the film isn't out yet so they think it's a fake review; Films do have early screenings at film festivals, early releases at various countries or distributors, and "award consideration" pre-releases to certain viewers and critics.
But what burns me the most, is when filmmakers spam and shill their IMDb account with ridiculous comments and clearly fake 9 & 10/10's. IMDb is a transparent opinion-based forum that relies on honest reviews from its members. Spamming a movie with many fake high reviews only tells me that the filmmakers don't even have faith in their own production, and thus have to lie to their potential audience into watching their movie. That's just pathetic, and an embarrassment to the industry and the real filmmakers out there trying their best and being honest.
The best way to see if a review is fake, click on the username; if one or a few reviews (usually the same date/s), a new account, or an account with many IMDb film criteria entries (plot, photos, summaries, film specs, etc.), that's usually a filmmaker or crew upvoting their own film - although I have myself entered/contributed missing relevant details/plot summaries etc. that I found elsewhere (Wiki, RT, etc) and I'm not a filmmaker. So, do every IMDb member a favor and report that fake review, and if that film has many 10/10, down-vote them all (and report) and up-vote the real honest reviews. It may not stop the filmmaker and his crew from posting more fake reviews, but at least all the up and down votes from members like you may help them from not wasting their time to see a flagrantly upvoted film.
Also if you see many shill fake high reviews, chances are your honest low review will get reported and deleted by all the new fake accounts. Simply keep reposting and reporting/downvoting the phony reviews. And do what I and most of the users who notice their honest review got deleted... repost and lower your rating to a 1/10. If you see lots of those along with many high reviews, it's just the honest members being angry and lowering their score in hopes of offsetting the falsely high ratings that IMDb overlooked as spam.
And if you're that filmmaker, cast/crew creating the fake upvotes, you are doing more harm than good for your own film; Members will give you the 1 for every 10/10 you post, when they may have given you a 6 or 7, as I would and have.
Finally, none of my reviews will ever by biased or paid for. Every rating and review will be based on my personal opinion using factors that professional critics use (and in considering everything I've said above) - instead of a film summary, and my exact rating and review can also be found on Rotten Tomatoes, and many other entertainment review outlets.
Reviews
Gunner (2024)
A fifth grade drama class can do way better.
Reposting because this clown filmmaker Dimitri Logothetis uses all his bogus 10/10 review accounts to report ALL the honest low reviews and they got deleted! Luckily he has no control over the overly generous current 3.2/10 average rating lol. How pathetic is this filmmaker trying to trick viewers into seeing this trash.
So to all you honest reviewers, keep checking back to make sure your review is still up, and keep down-voting his laughably bogus high reviews.
Original review:
If you can think of the worst film you've ever seen, this one is much more worse that that. Literally, a fifth grade drama class with 1980's A/V/FX equipment can do way better than this nonsense.
How can producer, writer and director Dimitri Logothetis with over 40 combined filmmaking credits to his name, come up with such constant nonsense - it's mind boggling. You're supposed to get better with each film, not worse. There is absolutely zero redeeming qualities in this mess, and I feel bad for Hemsworth and Freeman having their names attached to this amateur-hour production. My 10 year old can create better special effects with the free apps on his phone.
What's even more insulting, are all the clearly bogus high reviews Logothetis' paid for trying to trick people into watching this trash. It's speaks volumes when even he doesn't have faith in his own film to resort to such blatant tactics. He should've taken that money he paid and put it towards going film school.
It's a generous 1/10, all going to Hemsworth and Freeman out of pity... I just hope the pay they got was worth it.
Strange Darling (2023)
I'm not sure what all the movie critics are raving about
I'm not sure what all the movie critics are raving about, but this movie was barely OK. It was overly stylized and lacked any real substance. Adding six chapters played out in random non-linear parts just convoluted a very simplistic and basic plot. I may have enjoyed it a little more if it played out in real time, although I feel that the screenplay would really stand out then how basic it really was. The back and forth timelines maybe added a little more mystery, but nothing extraordinary to the core plot and message. To me this was a fancier basic B movie I'd have a hard time giving it anything higher than a 5/10, but with all the bogus/paid 10/10's - that are also reporting all the honest low reviews for deletion, it only gets a very generous 2/10 from me. I mean it's pretty sad when even the filmmakers don't have faith in their own production to resort to such blatant tactics trying to trick viewers into watching this nonsense.
Stream (2024)
Amateur hour boredom
This mess was a laugh out loud amateur hour nonsense. All casting and performances where horrible and lacked proper cast direction. All these bogus 10/10 high reviews are clearly paid for. It says a lot when even the filmmakers don't have faith in their own production to resort to such blatant tactics trying to fool viewers into watching this mess. I'm giving this a very generous 1/10, all going towards the shill high reviews, as they were way more entertaining than this mess of a film. This mess was a laugh out loud amateur hour nonsense. All casting and performances where horrible and lacked proper cast direction. All these bogus 10/10 high reviews are clearly paid for. It says a lot when even the filmmakers don't have faith in their own production to resort to such blatant tactics trying to fool viewers into watching this mess. I'm giving this a very generous 1/10, all going towards the shill high reviews, as they were way more entertaining than this mess of a film. This mess was a laugh out loud amateur hour nonsense. All casting and performances where horrible and lacked proper cast direction. All these bogus 10/10 high reviews are clearly paid for. It says a lot when even the filmmakers don't have faith in their own production to resort to such blatant tactics trying to fool viewers into watching this mess. I'm giving this a very generous 1/10, all going towards the shill high reviews, as they were way more entertaining than this mess of a film.
Take Cover (2024)
Almost, but not quite.
I've always been a fan of Adkins and felt he deserved lead roles in action movies instead of always being supporting cast, and in this movie, he finally got that. But as usual, he's always in these B movies and usually with newb filmmakers, as is the case here. He did however carry the film, along with the rest of the cast that did their best with the terrible material they had to work with.
This movie is stuntman turned newb director Nick McKinless' first full length feature film, and I have to say, he did not disappoint - especially considering the terrible screenplay he had to work with. He directed this movie and his cast very well to the point he seemed like a seasoned director. Camera shots, action scenes and choreography were impressive, and he should be proud of his achievements. I feel McKinless has found his calling as a director.
However, where this movie failed miserably is in newb writer Joshua Todd James' terrible screenplay, that had the most pointless and cringeworthy dialogue I've ever heard. It's as if it was written by a bunch of high school drama class teenagers - riddled with annoying cuss words and frat-house back and forth bromance "my d*ick is bigger than yours" type dialogue. Then in between that, it was constant blah blah blahhh cringe dialogue that was mostly filler and did nothing to progress the narrative. This movie was literally the most boring and pointless sniper action movie I've seen.
From the entire middle act and on where they were hiding behind the sofas, was just nonsense conversation riddled with cliches, tedious exposition, shallow characterization and pointless dialogue. Even with the very short 80 min runtime (not counting all the opening and closing credits), the entire movie felt like it dragged on for over 2 hours. There just wasn't enough substance in this screenplay to be a full length movie, and would've been much more enjoyable as a short film. Never mind that the little substance there was, was riddled with plot holes and cliched parts taken from every other "one last job" movie out there.
Nevertheless, Adkins shined in this one, and it's too bad he spent most of his screen time blabbing nonsense instead of showcasing his action and fighting skills more than the barely five minutes he was given. It's a generous 5/10 from me.
The Killer's Game (2024)
Cheesy, but the expensive kind, not the cheap processed cheese type.
Went into this not expecting much due to the pro critics on RT slamming this movie, but wow was it fun. Sure, the story was nothing to write home about, and has been done many times before, but that didn't take away from the entertainment and comedic value. It had lots of actual laugh out loud moments, and tons of various and unique fight/action scenes that were very well choreographed and had enough gore to make them entertaining. I was also very impressed with the creative directing and editing in the first act with the fluid interchanging scenes blending from one to the next effortlessly. All casting and performances were great, and the various well-know actors all came together surprisingly well. Bautista and Boutella were stellar and convincing with great chemistry. The 104 min runtime flew buy with the perfect pacing and constant progression of the plot. There was no filler and once the action started, you're glued to the screen the entire runtime. I'd even go as far to say it's probably one of the most fun brainless entertaining action comedy films I've seen in a while. Even more impressive is that this was stuntman turned newb director J. J. Perry's only second directorial credit, and he did not disappoint. It's a solid and well deserved 8/10 from me, and a definite "grab the popcorn, turn your brain off and enjoy" type of movie.
America's Got Talent (2006)
From Great to Cringe
This used to be one of my favorite competition shows and I never missed an episode. But over the last few years, the production and directing has gone down hill fast ever since they started to aim the cameras at the audience during a performance. Every season has gotten worse, now even adding the audience member's idiotic expressions and comments.
This season was the absolute worst, and the the last time I will watch this show. For starters, how lame and pointless is it to expect the viewers to vote on the acts when only half of the performance is shown between the cringeworthy camera shots of the audience and their nonsense reactions and comments that seem phony and forced, and the judges doing the same old nonsense - like, dear Heidi, please go buy some spectacles or binoculars already. It's infuriating to keep missing the best part of an act over these amateur-hour producers thinking viewers want - or even care to see the audience! You may as well change the name from AGT to AGA - America's Got Audience!
What's even more funny and pathetic is how B. S. these viewer votes have been lately, especially during the finals. As if some old janitor dude singing cover songs was the best act this season - and deserves the 1m AND his own show in Las Vegas over all the other acts?! It's bad enough he even made it to the semi-finals, let alone win it all, but it goes to show you how pathetic and false this show has become. Anyone talentless with a pitiful story has a better chance of winning this show over much more unique, dangerous, elaborate and skilled acts.
I can't wait to see what Simon does after he'll be paying for this seasons winner's empty Vegas show seats.
Life After Fighting (2024)
Probably the worst action movie you will ever see
This is probably the worst action movie you will ever see. It's like a fifth grade drama class wrote, directed, acted and choreographed this mess. The bogus high reviews were more entertaining. It says a lot when even the filmmaker doesn't have faith in his own production to resort to such blatant tactics trying to fool viewers into watching this mess. I'm giving this a very generous 1/10 (as I can't go lower), all going towards the shill high reviews, as they were way more entertaining than this mess of an action movie.
This is probably the worst action movie you will ever see. It's like a fifth grade drama class wrote, directed, acted and choreographed this mess. The bogus high reviews were more entertaining. It says a lot when even the filmmaker doesn't have faith in his own production to resort to such blatant tactics trying to fool viewers into watching this mess. I'm giving this a very generous 1/10 (as I can't go lower), all going towards the shill high reviews, as they were way more entertaining than this mess of an action movie.
Hounds of War (2024)
Two Frank Grillo movies in 2 days.
First let me say that I'm a fan of Grillo - he always holds his own and never needs cast direction, thus why even newb/terrible directors seek him out as he makes them look good. However, that also means he'll keep doing B movies, and I feel he deserves better than that, as he's been in a few of my top B films.
Yesterday I saw him in Long Gone Heroes and I was really disappointed in that movie. It was very slow and the long 2 hour runtime dragged on and felt much longer in a cliched storyline that was rather dull and boring. I rated that movie a generous 4/10.
Today I saw Hounds of War, and I enjoyed it much more. Sure it's not a perfect film, and there certainly were many plot and technical issues, bad editing, and the directing had some flaws, BUT the storyline kept me engaged (and sort of unique and not riddled with the typical cliches), and had excellent pacing and non stop action and suspense. The 95 min runtime flew by almost too fast. Even the action scenes (although not perfect) were much better than yesterday's movie. Plus the set/location shoots were beautiful, and I've never seen Malta as beautifully as it was shown in this movie. So from an eye-candy perspective, this movie was amazing, not to mention the beautiful and lovely Rhona Mitra was very easy on the eyes. Plus the soundtrack theme song at the end (Vladtoseeu - Nosence, you're welcome) was amazing, and I've already added it to my playlist.
So this movie had lot's going for it, and undeserving of all the current 1-3/10's from the wannabe critics. Go see Long Gone Heroes, that once certainly deserves those low scores. This is a very well done B movie and deserving of the 7/10 from me.
Long Gone Heroes (2024)
What was the point?
What was the point of this movie? It's something that's been done hundreds of times and all much better. The directing and editing were terrible, and it took two writers to come up with every predictable cliche and a lackluster story that made the dragged poorly paced two hour runtime feel much longer. Most of the action scenes were poorly filmed and choreographed.
The casting was great, although some actors needed better cast direction, and Frank Grillo as usual carried this movie. He's an underrated actor who deserves bigger and better roles. And although casting Andy Garcia may be a draw to see this movie, his max 5 min screen time didn't add any value to the movie, and it felt like he just called his lines in. It's a generous 4/10 all going to Grillo and the decent cinematography and location sets.
Midas (2024)
This was laughably bad
Seems all the bogus / paid high reviews keep reporting all the honest low ones for deletion. It speaks volumes when the filmmakers don't even have faith in their own production to resort to such blatant tactics trying to trick viewers into watching this nonsense. Writer / director TJ Noel-Sullivan should maybe take the money he's paying for these bogus reviews and put it towards film school. So I suggest y'all keep checking back to make sure yours isn't gone and downvote all the bogus high ones.
Original post:
This was laughably bad. A fifth grade drama class could write, produce, direct and act better than this time wasting production. Think of the worst "made for TV" movie you've seen, and this is much worse.
The lead actor was unbelievable and annoying. Then you have an ending that felt like everyone just gave up. It had had no value at all. It was as if the writers got stumped and just quickly wrapped it up with an ending that made no sense. It ends with the main character learning nothing from the experience and goes on through his life as a shady character, constantly trying to convince his friends to risk it all for him.
There were many other details and plot holes that just didn't make sense. It's just sloppy writing and directing, and I'm baffled how they even got the funding to make this nonsense.
Blink Twice (2024)
I'm sorry. I'm sorry...
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!... etc. This was bad.
For starters, the normally comfortable 102 runtime - even with the decent pacing, felt much longer due to the lack of any interesting or engaging plot. Literally the first 80 or so minutes of the movie could've just been played out within 10-15 mins, and felt like some kids YouTube video of his (boring) Spring Break antics. Then there's the massive plot holes with unbelievable and unrealistic actions by most of the characters. I also noticed some terrible editing mostly in the action (if you can even call it that) where scenes/camera angles felt chopped and taped together poorly.
The last 10-15 minutes are the only real interesting and suspenseful parts, but that's also where most of the unrealistic plot hole-riddled things happen. The only redeeming qualities were the great performances by the all-star cast and decent cinematography and sets/locations. I also felt Naomi Ackie was a poor casting choice (not to take away anything from her great performance), as her being matched up with Channing Tatum's character wasn't believable and any chemistry between them felt forced.
And although it's clear this movie's theme was attempting to portray relevant subject matter pertaining to the Weinstein/Epstein's abuse of power, it felt rather weak and more like a toned-down Disney version until towards the end of the movie. Nevertheless, it's still an impressive co-writer/directorial debut for Zoe Kravitz, so an extra star for that to up my score to a generous 6/10.
Wynonna Earp: Vengeance (2024)
A fifth grade drama class can do way better.
If you can think of the worst film you've ever seen, this one is much more worse that that. Literally, a fifth grade drama class can do better. This mess was a laugh out loud amateur hour nonsense. All casting and performances where horrible and lacked proper cast direction.
The bogus high reviews were more entertaining. It speaks volumes when the filmmakers don't even have faith in their own production to resort to such blatant tactics trying to trick viewers into watching this nonsense.
I'm giving this a very generous 1/10 (as I can't go lower), all going towards the shill high reviews, as they were way more entertaining than this mess of a film.
Rebel Ridge (2024)
It's so obvious
It's so obvious bots are writing some of these bogus high reviews. Two accounts talk about a "Virgil van Dijk", (a Dutch professional footballer) that has absolutely nothing to do with this nonsense movie.
This movie was a terrible and lame version of every other revenge action movie - minus the action. Laughably, there is actually a zero body count, so I guess you can say this is a Disney version of a revenge movie. Don't get me wrong, this movie had many opportunities to be great, but the terrible writing and directing is what ruined it.
Even the final action scene felt like a bad SNL parody skit with smoke grenades going off and everyone is clueless as they get picked off one by one with underwhelming and laughably bad martial arts.
It's a very generous 3/10, all going towards the hilarious bogus reviews that were more entertaining than this nonsense.
Trap (2024)
Wow this was amateur-hour bad.
Even Josh Hartnett's great performance couldn't save this mess. I guess a "film by M. Night Shyamalan" means it's going to be a stinker these days. Instead of getting better as a writer and director, Shyamalan's movie Trap is something you'd expect to see as a failed high school drama class project.
The boring story was overly predictable, sappy and infantile with hardly any mystery or suspense in its dragged out and terribly paced 105 min runtime - that felt much longer, especially when you felt half the movie was watching a teeny-bopper concert.
There were more plot holes and inconsistencies in this atrocious storytelling, than there were music lyrics, and it was riddled with unrealistic, absurd and illogical actions. The directing overall as well as cast direction was just as terrible and really amateurish, and Shyamalan's daughter Saleka should stick to singing rather than acting.
Don't fall into the same trap I did by watching Trap. It's a very generous 3/10, all going to Harnett, Ariel Donoghue and Alison Pill, who did their best with the lousy material and direction they had to work with.
Knox Goes Away (2023)
Very underrated
Wow, this was surprisingly amazing and very underrated. Michael Keaton nailed the directing and especially the Oscar worthy performance. I really can't stand slow paced movies of which this was, however, there was something constantly happening - mostly unexpected, and the plot kept constantly progressing and adding even more tension and suspense. There were also lots of unexpected funny moments that complimented the suspense.
Even the almost two hour runtime flew by. There wasn't even one minute wasted, and zero plot holes (not sure what the critics are talking about) with the exception of the black mechanic smoking the cigar, and I think the same guy smoking a cigar wearing a baseball cap - not sure what the relevance was with him.
Nevertheless, an extremely well done movie in a genre that has been overdone. And the added bonus was seeing the iconic Al Pacino who nailed his character and elevated the entire film each time he was on screen. This man still has rizz and shined as usual. A well deserved 8/10 and I'll be watching this again (and hopefully figuring out if there was any relevance of cigar guy)
The Firing Squad (2024)
The World Record for the most bogus reviews goes to: The Firing Squad
All you reli gious fibbers should be ashamed of yourselves. I find it amusing the amount of bogus 10/10 reviews from all these new users/single review accounts these Christ ian films get, I mean seriously, isn't lying a sin? Now they're even posting high praise write-ups with low ratings which is even more hilarious as it brings down the overall score to where it actually should be.
This film was a joke from start to finish with terrible writing, directing and cast performances. Trying to trick people with such blatant bogus reviews into seeing a film this bad is pathetic and you all should be ashamed of yourselves.
It's a generous 1/10 from me. And I suggest all you honest low reviewers keep checking back they didn't report you for deletion. It speaks volumes when the filmmakers don't have faith in their own production to resort to such pathetic tactics.