This blog covers Movies, TV, and other Geeky things...... Movie Reviews (over 3,400 movies rated so far) Countdowns of my top movies by year.... and much more.
Harrison Ford in a Sci-fi movie......I'm in... Of course this movie which is based on a classic Sci-fi book called Ender's Game is more about the kids than Harrison. Think of it as Harry Potter meets Starship Troopers (with a little more Troopers) . The story follows a brilliant young boy named Ender as he makes his way through battle school. Earth was attacked by an alien species called the Formics awhile back and has been preparing to battle them if they return. Although the movie features young children and has a laser tag in space feel to the training sequences, it somehow at the same time feels more adult. I liked the concepts and the story of this film and if I find the time would like to read the book version. It was one of the better sci-fi movies of the year and a lot better than Obilivion (which came out earlier in the year). The movie had a very satisifying ending as well.
I recently set up my Roku so that I could watch the final Season of Clone Wars on Netflix (which I marathoned in one weekend).
After which I checked through to see what else was available for streaming.I stumbled across this Starship Troopers animated R rated movie called Starship Troopers Invasion.Yes you heard that right Animated and R Rated.I loved the original Starship Troopers film inall of its bloody cheesy glory. I also enjoyed the old Roughnecks animated series which was early to the CGI animated game.So I was all in for this animated movie, which had to be better than the direct to DVD sequels to Starship Troopers that didn’t do the original film justice.At the beginning of the film I felt like I was watching a really good video game….that happened to have animated nudity……Once I got into the films plot I quickly forgot about the animation and just got into the story.If you liked the original Starship Troopers I would definitely recommend this film. I know many people that love franchises won’t watch animated versions (people that think animation is for kids)Well those people couldn’t be more wrong.Shows like Tron Uprising, The Clone Wars and this Starship Troopers animated movie prove that animation can be a great way to continue telling great stories in this amazing cinematic universes at a much lower cost.The was action packed with a good solid story that put me right back into the Starship Troopers universe.I would love to see another animated Starship Troopers movie or a big budget sequel.
A Minority Report: (I wish I was watching that movie instead of this one)....What I mean is an opinion from the minority.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was a major disappointment for me.
Catching Fire meandered across the screen like a slug slowly making its way to a different section of the garden (Turbo the snail it wasn’t) . My first attempt at viewing it I fell asleep about 15 minutes into the film. When I watched the rest of the movie the next day it didn’t hold my attention much better.The movie took forever to get to the actual Hunger Games (which felt completely forced to me).The whole concept of another games pitting the previous victors against each other made no logical sense if the government was concerned about Katniss becoming a figure to rally a rebellion around. If the President really wanted to get things under control he would have killed Katniss off and pulled a Running Man showing her basking on some tropical island like the previous winners….(Running Man fans will get this reference).Instead they continue to give her a platform where she can become this figure of rebellion
The movie unfolds in predictable fashion with a less than exciting Games once we actually get to them.The cheesiness of the other previous winners made me immediately think once again of the Running Man -(about halfway through the movie I wished I had been watching a remake off that movie instead )The games themselves despite a few good moments once they first begin quickly get bogged down. There is a lot more sitting around in the forest and running away from acid rain rather than quality action scenes.I’ve just seen and read a lot better sci-fi than The Hunger Games and I’m just not really impressed with the series after 2 films.
Bored
I was literally checking e-mail and thinking about finishing up some yard work in the backyard as I waited for the movie to end.I’m well aware that I’m in the minorityconcerning this movie (since it killed at the box office)but that doesn’t change how I feel about it.I had just finished watching an episode of Agents of Shield a half an hour before I had started with Catching Fire and I would rather watch another episode of that show (or any other action TV show) than sit through another Hunger Games movie.The end itself was okay , if you hadn’t already figured out that is where the movie was going, which I had very early in the movie. I would have to say that this ranks up there with Mission Impossible 2 as far as big budget disappointments for me.
A meteor crashes through a Russian space station and brings with it a secret government experiment into the subways of New York city. About 40 minutes into this giant spider movie I was having a Jeff Goldblum moment and was about to ask "You are actually going to have giant mutant spiders in your giant mutant spider movie? ". The movie gets off to a slow and misguided start as the entire first half of the movie is wasted on a secret government military experiment storyline that is later dropped. Yes the government is responsible for the giant attacking spiders and the main characters spend most of the movie trying to escape from the government. The movie was definitely heading to dudsville even when some big spiders began to show up and there is a cheesy battle between Patrick Muldoon and a spider using a forklift. Then the stupid scientist that wants to predictable protect the spiders gets killed be them -just like in every movie like this. The story of the movie never really gets any better as they spend the last half of the movie looking for their daughter in a quarantined zone, but a giant mutated spider does finally show up to wreck havoc on the city. The giant spider is actually pretty cool and basically single handedly redeemed this movie from being a 4 out of 10 into being a 6 out of 10 as it brought back memories of Ray Harryhausen as it menaced the city causing more damage then the villians in Superman 2. The Giant spider walked around battling machine gun fire and screaming like Godzilla. If only the Giant Spider had been in more of the movie to hide its lackluster plot. What is up with Patrick Muldoon and giant bugs? This is his third time around running away from giant bugs. First in the classic Starship Troopers --in which he doesn't fair so well and then in Ice Spiders (where he battles them at a ski resort). Apparently he has never seen a giant bug script he didn't like.
Attack of the Sabre Tooth has to be one of the the worst in the Jurassic Park Rip off genre. The story features a greedy owner of a island zoo and hotel called "Primal Park" that will feature some Genetically cloned Sabre Tooth Tigers. Well as you can guess he invites some investors to check out the place before it opens and everything goes wrong. The bad CGI tigers are on the loose and start killing off some college kids that sneak into the unopened zoo section on a frat scavenger hunt. The plot has the typical "Jaws Scenario" moment where the owner is warned to shut down the resort while the tigers are on the loose, but instead because of money keeps it open anyway. The CGI tigers look unfinished --but this is a low budget film from 2005 so I'll give it a pass. It also using the "When in doubt of how scary your monsters are always resort to Predator vision" concept of trying to create tension. The plot however is just all over the place and really boring. Bad dialogue and unnecessary and out of place scenes are abundant. For example --the dangerous tigers are already on the loose and killing people at the beginning of the film and then the college kids break into the zoo and cut the power. It is almost like the film makers forgot that the tigers were already on the loose and felt the need to create a 2nd reason that they were on the loose?? After being warned by his lackluster security which features a horny (Stacy Haiduk from Seaquest hat seduces one of the employees for no apparent reason in the middle of the crisis) the greedy owner takes his investors on a tour of the zoo area ----and none of them get killed??? It is almost like they tried to piece together parts of the movie in editing and it just didn't work.
Watch the Trailer and skip this cheesy low budget Jurassic Park rip off.
Instead check out Age of the Dinosaurs 2013 a much more exciting cheesy Jurassic Park rip-off
This a great entry in the Lost Footage horror genre. It follows a group of students that are documenting a series of mysterious bear killings --but instead stumble across a hunter that is hunting more than just bears. This guy is out looking for Trolls. The film was done in a very effective fashion much like Cloverfield ---yet letting us actually see the Trolls themselves. I've seen numerous Lost Footage films such as the overrated Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity and this is a much more enjoyable film than those. It was a well executed film. If the subject matter hadn't been so crazy unbelievable it could have actually been believed. The documentary style of this film felt really authentic. The film is out of Norway and is subtitled as a result, yet this didn't hamper my enjoyment for the film. The story was interesting enough that I almost completely forgot that it has subtitles by the end of the film.
I watched Thor: The Dark World over the weekend.I don’t know what it is about the individual Thor's solo movies , but for some reason I just never get fully involved in them.Maybe Thor just works better as part of an ensemble and isn't meant to be the lead in his own movies?I really can’t put my finger on it.Thor: The Dark World has some great action sequences and some thrilling visuals so I should be more engaged in the film. The movie was good, it just wasn't as good as the Avengers. Iron Man was capable of keeping the same level as the Avengers and I just felt that despite its special effects Thor dropped off from that level a little.
Disneyland vs Magic Mountain analogy?
The best way I can explain it is like the difference between a trip to Disneyland vs Magic Mountain.When you go to Disneyland you leave that experience with memories.You fondly remember your trip and all the little moments of magic that happen there.Disneyland just has something special about it that is hard to explain.When you go to Magic Mountain you have a great time while you are there riding thrilling roller coasters all day long.I mean who wouldn’t enjoy riding one of the world’s tallest wooden roller coasters, but when you leave and the immediate experience is over it seems to be missing something.You don’t remember it the same way you remember that trip to Disneyland.I feel that way after watching Thor.It was a fun roller coaster while I was on it,but it didn’t leave a lasting impression.
Maybe it just suffers in comparison
A day later I watched a marathon of the final 13 episodes of the Clone Wars and was far more invested.I couldn’t wait to watch the next episode and I was excited thinking about all the answers the TV show was answering. Getting many of the questions in the Star Wars universe answered in 6 hours of entertainment .I was still thinking about it the next day….where as Thor on the other head was drifting out of my thoughts.I was surprised by this???I mean Natalie Portman is in Thor and she is one of my favorite actresses (Star Wars connection).Why did Thor fade so quickly from my thoughts when it seemed enjoyable at the time of viewing?Maybe I’m just not that big of a fan of Thor as a lead character.
That being said
If you liked the first Thor –you will probably like this one (especially Loki's role in it). I'm liking the way the Marvel universe is forming as an interesting universe . I'm actually interested in seeing more of these Marvel comic book movies as well as watching Agents of Shield each week on TV. The Avengers was excellent and with Whedon still at the helm I can't wait for the next Avengers. I'm sure I'll have to check out the next movie in the series leading into Avengers 2 as well which is the Captain America: The Winter Solider.
