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Terminator Genisys (2015)
Striking opening sequence, and some good ideas, but goes downhill
The opening sequence tells the tale of WW3 in a very striking manner: the kid on the plane watching missile contrails, the man in the park looking worried at something in the horizon.
That struck me so well, I've remembered it for years, but unfortunately couldn't remember what it was fun.
This is not a terrible terminator movie, and not the worst of the lot. But it's not great and has several weaknesses.
But the positives first:
* The Sarah/Pops dynamic is inspired
* Matt Smith cameo
* Skynet as a virus (from T3) is well developed and updates the story in an insidious way: it's a social platform that's not only accepted, it's eagerly anticipated.
Negatives:
* A glaring problem is the portrayal of Kyle Reese. I don't know if it's the writing, directing or acting, but this Reese doesn't feel like he grew up in the gutters after WW3 without any semblance of a childhood, and from a future of bitter survival. His and Sarah's bickering feel like a rom-com with a mild sci-fi twist.
* John casting: I'm not a huge fan for the physicality, I suppose that's from the earlier portrayals.
* Exposition: way off the charts in the opening act.
* Right off the chart bridge sequence: that whole thing feels like Final Destination. Terminator has spectacular scenes, but they're tightly focused on 2 or 3 characters, not a literal bus full.
* Overly complicated plot, which is basically the studio endlessly trying to milk a one story cow.
The Expanse: Delta-V (2018)
Lengthy excursions into irrelevant characters
I certainly have to commend The Expanse for creating a show aimed at intelligent viewers. I want to recommend the show for that alone, but it also does it while making an incredibly rich world.
But... while there are ways that that notion tends to slip in this episode a bit with regard to one over powered character, I think the bigger problem is the lengthy distractions into irrelevant backstory and minor characters.
This kid that flies through the ring? Of course somebody will. Who cares about why, that he's a speed racer, etc? To the story from everyone's point of view, this could have been cut to starting five seconds before the kid went through the thing.
This is very similar to the even worse dull flashbacks 100+ years earlier of the invention of the Epstein drive. Who cares if a Martian invented the high speed drive of this show? Mars also has nukes... do we need a flashback to the Manhattan Project? Mars doesn't have a monopoly on this drive.
Intelligent is one thing, lengthy excursions into minutiae isn't the same thing.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
Felt rather real
As a movie in its own terms, these characters felt very real. I lived in Los Angeles for several years and it feels strikingly convincing.
As part of the "Paranormal Activity" universe, I can't say much. I only saw the first one before this and thematically it's obviously similar.
One thing that made sense in the first movie that makes zero sense here is the "found footage" angle. The first movie built that on very solid grounds... here, the great bulk makes very little sense.
There's very little reason in universe for all this filming in this installment. But it doesn't bother me THAT much because it's just a weird coming conceit of this era movie making.
Anyway, the characters come across as very convincing, and that's the most important thing. The story is very good as well. This movie could easily stand on its own* as a solid psychological horror film.
Using the "Simon Says" game as sort of an inadvertent ouija board is quite clever. And the the online response to the kids posting videos of their crazy experiences also tends to lend a credibility into their descent into an increasingly insane world. I've personally been accused of faking a rather mundane video.
The movie does rely on quite a lot of jump scares, but they are played very well.
* The only oddity being the "found footage" angle which I think could easily be excised from this altogether.
Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker (1989)
Not bad at all for a TV movie
I know the story is simplified, but of course it had to be to make a 95 minute movie.
I'm no expert on the case, but it looks like they got the gist right, and more than that. It was just boiled down.
The East LA takedown of Richard Ramirez was very very close to accurate. To my understanding, Ramirez actually ran across the freeway. Here, he takes a bus. That's an understandable compromise for a TV budget.
The lead actors (A Martinez and the late Richard Jordan) never quite made A list, but that has a lot to do with luck. Their performances are great.
The actual focus on the lives of the detectives, well that's soap, but not terribly soapy.
Overall, a necessarily simplified, but basically an accurate depiction of this history.
From a purely movie/directing standpoint, the takedown of the Stalker was gripping and well done.
Star Trek: Picard: Imposters (2023)
Another stunning episode
This season continues as nearly unbelievably fantastic. The general feeling I've been getting this season is the feeling I (like most people) had watching the first season of Cobra Kai: "This is great, how did they pull it off?"
It continues the season arc story, while also being a great episode in its own right.
RO LAREN! I was floored when she walked into the ship. And it's not a cheap cameo, it's a solid part with some powerhouse scenes. Ro and Picard's scenes transform into a quite unexpected sequel to a late TNG episode "Preemptive Strike".
Sure, I have quibbles, particularly that I don't like to see characters brought back just to die. It usually seems cheap, but this really didn't feel that way since her appearance was completely unexpected.
Another quibble... why didn't Ro contact Picard in the last 30 years.
Still, those are very minor and worth it for the story.
I'm happy to see there weren't any F bombs and the like. That appeared out of place and discordant in the first episodes.
Bleh, my review sounds almost fake, but it's not.
Star Trek: Picard: Seventeen Seconds (2023)
Worf feels like Worf again!
I loved Deep Space 9, but as a TNG fan, I never liked where the character went in DS9. I actually grew to despise DS9 Worf. All the worst and most angsty attributes with almost none of the fun. I actually grew to love Martok on that show.
THIS Worf feels like TNG Worf again. He's not perfect and certainly has his issues, but he's not at all above cracking jokes.
And while I don't want to see a lot of gore added into Trek, it's nice to see that Worf's bat'leth does exactly what you would expect that sword to do.
Regarding Beverly and Picard... I think it's a bit out of character (and even hypocritical) the reasons Beverly didn't tell Picard about Jack....
But McFadden and Stewart act the heck out of it so it works. I don't expect the script to have some perfect depiction of these characters decades later.
The Education of Fredrick Fitzell (2020)
Excellent update to Slaughterhouse Five/Jacob's Ladder
If you like this and haven't seen Slaughterhouse Five, I highly recommend it. Similar sci-fi theme, with a similarly "unstuck in time" protagonist.
There's also echoes of the original Jacob's Ladder (highly recommended).
I found this movie difficult to watch, entirely because most of the time I'm on my phone while watching stuff. Generally, you don't have to pay that close attention, but in this one you do.
In our era where 99% of movies are comic book adaptions, it's nice to see something different.
I could see this movie generating outrage in an earlier time because its stance towards a rather hard core drug is ambiguous at best. But what really works is we are right along with Fred in the confusion about whether he is experiencing these extraordinary things, or is just really high.
The acting is fantastic. Dylan O'Brien in particular convincingly carries a very abstract role.
There's also a charming mini "It Follows" reunion.
Disturbia (2007)
Great Rear Window variant except the ending
This is an almost inspired remake of Rear Window. The acting is top notch, and LaBeouf certainly nails his character. All the acting is excellent.
I'm not entirely sure the lengthy prologue was really needed. It does serve to show LaBeouf's character Kale isn't a thoughtless brute. And, frankly, it does show he wasn't entirely unjustified punching his Spanish teacher who dared mention his father as a manipulative tactic. I would have decked that mother too.
Anyway, this is obviously an updated version of Rear Window. It really does a pretty good job, except the ending. It's one of those cases where what came before was so good... you're disappointed by an ending that just seems so generic. Could the killer behave so foolishly?
MAYBE, but it doesn't seem likely. Rear Window had an "action" sequence at the end, but it was 2 minutes tops. This kind is material works because it's psychological, not physical.
Ithaca (2015)
Unfocused mess that's still predictable and manipulative
This is a rather odd movie. You really want to like it because of some likable performances and characters, particularly the lead and his almost creepily precocious 4 year old brother.
But the movie can't decide what it's about. You expect it to be about the main character Homer, but it takes repeated and lengthy side excursions into other characters lives. The run time just doesn't support these excursions.
Homer has a unique coming of age story, a subtly brutal one. He takes a job as a telegram boy, unaware that he'll be soon delivering endless reports of dead soldiers to families. That's a strong arc, but it's only vaguely there.
It's painfully obvious where this is heading, his brother dying.
And what's with the names? Ithaca, Homer, Ulysses? That comes across as incredibly pretentious.
I know that's from the book, but it's an old book and that aspect doesn't age well.
As predictable as the movie is, it actually surprised me how much it worked the death of the brother. This was literally eye rolling to me. The movie just didn't earn this ending.
Metástasis (2014)
weird that this exists, but the differing actor interpretations make it compelling
I don't speak Spanish but can recognize quite a few words, phrases, meanings etc.
But I'm super familiar with Breaking Bad, so it was very easy for me to follow along with Metastasis.
At first my reaction was why did they make this grossly inferior version. It does still puzzle me why this was made considering just how well Breaking Bad was made.
Definitely the overall production is grossly inferior to BB and basically feels like a daytime soap version. But it doesn't feel like a lazy production.
What makes this surprisingly enjoyable is the different interpretations the actors take from the original. One of the more notable is "Jose Rosas"-- Jesse Pinkman.
It's quite weird this exists considering how well the original was done, and usually.
The Beatles: Get Back (2021)
It makes Let It Be seem like a fraud
Let It Be director Lindsay-Hogg repeatedly expressed that the tv show/movie needed a story. That's certainly true for a movie, but unfortunately framing the Let It Be movie as a dark depressing experience of the band falling apart is astonishingly off the mark.
The band isn't falling apart here, they are working through their issues. And they're having a great deal of fun. There are SEEDS planted here of the demise, most particularly the unfortunate hiring of the fraudulent and scheming Allen Klein. It's particularly cringey to see John bragging about how Klein charmed him while Glyn Johns repeatedly tries to warn John that Klein is a manipulative phony. But he was very young...
I was born in 1969, so it's incredibly startling to see just how young these guys actually were. Of course, I KNEW that they were only in their late 20s, but in all the released stuff they seemed older. Seeing John prance around and Paul swinging from the scaffolding really makes real.
The reason Billy Preston was brought in by George is quite different than history suggested. History said that the sessions were so bitter that only bringing in the outsider (but a friend of the Beatles) lightened the mood.
The reality is that bringing in Preston DID improve the mood, but mainly because their compositions were too complex to stick with the idea of no dubbing. They simply needed someone on keyboards, and that did relieve tensions because it solved a recurring problem. It's also true they were delighted to have Preston's talent and personality, I'm just pointing out how Let It Be distorted things.
Other notes-- it's startling how alive this footage is. You could almost believe this was shot yesterday.
Yoko's role in the breakup... I do wonder if her role in these sessions was diminished a bit in the edit here. HOWEVER, even if that were done, the sheer amount of footage here shows she couldn't have been much of a problem.
It's true John and Yoko were using heroin at this time, and this goes completely unreported. But again, that stuff is known, what's great here is seeing the mood wasn't bad at all and these guys creating fantastic songs out of the air like wizards.
The Length: I'll admit, I initially thought it seemed ridiculously long considering nothing much happens. But this isn't a movie, it's basically just footage with a bit of a narrative. We won't be getting much more like this, and honestly, I would like to have all the unedited footage as an extra.
Disney: Why in the world did Disney buy this? Obviously Disney is kid's stuff, and this is the first "mature" content (comprising incredibly mild swears and 50 year old smokes) on the network. One would think Disney has an incredibly strong brand yet they seem to want to turn themselves into another Walmart that sells everything.
Flight of the Navigator (1986)
Almost recaptured the disappointment of Explorers
I'm being snarky because the structure here is strikingly reminiscent of 1985's Explorers. That said, this movie didn't recapture either the lows or highs of Explorers, so overall, it's a better experience.
Explorers notoriously had two Amblin level first acts followed by a soul crushingly disappointing third act such that even the characters on screen agreed. At least the film was self aware.
This movie also has a striking theme/genre split, though this one's split was close to dead center.
I do find the "alien"/explanation here disappointing, though not to Explorers level by any means even though the causes are similar. As a kid, I would sure as heck be disappointed by "goofy" aliens showing up.
Still overall not bad.
Fast Getaway (1991)
Mediocre Haim vehicle, but he looks great
The most notable thing with this movie might just be how strikingly handsome Corey Haim is here. The cover art doesn't do him justice at all.
Haim got pigeonholed into these often weird slapstick heavy movies. He does handle slapstick well so no problem there.
As long as you know you're getting a Haim slapstick movie, it's not bad.
But there are script and production problems here. The bridge across the canyon sequence (with Haim in a dress) is such a bizarre set piece, it feels like a hallucination. Beyond that, the gag where the two leads are falling goes on and on and on. It starts to feel like Bill and Ted or the like and quite out of place.
The final action sequence also somehow isn't as funny as it's trying to be. Perhaps because it feels like Haim's character really is in peril.
Beneath the Darkness (2011)
Surprisingly sophisticated, but Quaid is in a different movie
It's not a fantastic movie, but is actually surprisingly engaging. It has a much more sophisticated story than I expected considering its focus on these high school kids.
I mean, it's not the most complex story, but I was expecting a straight up slasher flick. In my opinion, the casting of the kids was bungled because they are all too good looking and kind of equivalent, creating that slasher expectation of disposable teen red shirts.
Back on the plus side, the young actors do a reasonable job. Not Oscar level, but I never felt they were phoning it in.
The biggest problem here is actually Quaid. It's not his abilities, it's just he's playing in a completely different movie than everybody else. He's pretty much playing it as a spoof or comedy.
Around the Fire (1998)
Sawa really is a great actor
This movie is hard to find, I had to watch in low res on YouTube.
Devon Sawa really is a charismatic talented actor. I've seen him in some other things including The Boys Club, and surely his most notable movie Final Destination. Sure, Final Destination is a horror film, but like many horror franchises, the first entry is the best. Sawa gives a powerful and even touching effort there.
Whatever the faults of this movie, they don't lie with the young Sawa.
Ok, I'm not here to just harp on this actor when he was a kid, but I can't help but think he could have been Jesse Pinkman had Breaking Bad come out ten years earlier.
Sawa seems to be unheralded considering his talent, but at least he does seem to be still working a lot.
Cocoon: The Return (1988)
Sad awful movie
As another reviewer pointed out, this movie retreat feels exactly like the moment in the first movie where all the life energy was sucked out of the life pool.
At least that moment was entirely accidental, the result of these oldsters innocently playing, completely unaware they were doing any harm at all.
That is not the case with this film. You get it, of course we are here to enjoy the movies, but the studios are in business, making movies to make money.
And that's fine of course, but the original movie was an emotional powerhouse. Going back to the same characters and actors, considering the theme of these movies, is just incredibly cheap and disheartening.
In a sequel, sure, you usually want to see the same characters again. Not here. The first movie had a bittersweet happy ending that needed to be honored. Here, it's all but tossed aside just to drag these same people through the same heartache.
This, of all sequels, really needed a new cast. Sure, one or two from the first, but not a depressing retread of the original.
Lost in Space: The Promised Planet (1968)
Burned into my brain from over 40 years ago
Like another reviewer noted, those kids dancing on that table to that psychedelic song while wearing those bizarre leotards is remarkably memorable, especially since Penny joined in! And Penny's dancing style is also quite memorable.
I don't know what they were intending here, but much of this episode is every bit as trippy as the psychedelic 60s culture they were mocking.
The episode manages to create a bizarre feeling of cognitive dissonance. The look is every bit as wacky as the show became in its latter run, and Smith is likewise wacky, but the there's a hard edge here like early season 1. Will in particular seems to be his tough as nails season 1 version, albeit a couple years older.
It's pretty much the feeling you get if you watch the whole series in order, then loop back to season 1. It's startling how much the tone shifted from serious sci-fi to near fantasy.
Like Star Trek's "The Way To Eden", this episode is a rather cringey take on 60s psychedelic culture that neither understood.
On the Lot (2007)
Curious utter disaster
It's a bit strange that this show was made considering the most fundamental problem with the premise should have been quite obvious to anyone with more than an afternoon in the film production business:
Film production is an extraordinarily slow boring process to many/most of those on the set. Watching a set dressed or reset can literally mean watching paint dry. There might easily be just a few minutes of actual takes in an entire day.
Sure, the DIRECTOR is generally very busy and very rarely never bored.
Post production can be even far more boring. Watching someone editing film is essentially watching someone using a computer. I've actually done both directing and editing at an amateur level (even entering this contest) and while I love editing and can spend countless hours trimming single frames and making subtle cuts, it's not something you want to watch. I spent well over five hundred hours editing the 30 minute film I submitted to the show.
The show apparently figured this out quickly and turned it into another reality squabble fest. That was so trite by the time this was made that it actually made it even exponentially more boring.
The show also had incredibly sophomoric production issues, even extending to poor audio mixing with the host in stage, a VERY well known science by this point.
I suppose with the incredible success of shows like American Idol, it seemed worth the risk of trying this, because you never really know when some strange premise becomes an astonishing success, and reality shows like this are quite inexpensive to create.
Patriot Games (1992)
The plot is too ridiculous
I barely was aware of The Troubles when I saw this in the theater back in 1992, but it was obvious at the time this IRA member wouldn't have a fraction of the resources to launch his attacks in the US.
How does he motivate his compatriots to undertake such actions so far from Ireland?
The Martian Chronicles: The Expeditions (1980)
By far the best of the three episodes
I can't say it's great, but it's pretty good. The acting is wooden across the board, making me think that's what the producers wanted.
The acting is effective here though. The faux "brother" goes from chummy to terrifying very well.
I liked best the second half, when they were in the ruins of the city. That looked so cool and creepy and mysterious. I think they could have spent a lot more time there.
Surprisingly lousy fx for when this was made. Basically contemporary Doctor Who level, but surely this had a far higher budget?
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Encounter at Farpoint (1987)
Riker watches Encounter at Farpoint on TV
Clunky first episode. The Q story was bolted on to make it movie length. Good thing ultimately because the Farpoint plot is quite weak.
There is a positively surreal scene where Riker is watching this very episode on TV.
Battlestar Galactica: Saga of a Star World (1978)
Great show- Fox sued why, now?
It's pretty strange Fox thought they had any claim of this show stealing from Star Wars. Star Wars didn't invent space opera and other than good guys and bad guys, it's hard to see much similarity. Maybe the Cylons looked a bit too much like Storm Troopers? I don't know, especially considering Star Wars is itself a pastiche of older material. The story isn't remotely close.
Though, I'm sure the huge success of SW is what got this pilot green lit with a handsome $8 million budget.
Anyway, this is a great pilot. Still holds up fairly well. The spaceship battles and such are pretty dated, but the interiors of the Colonial ships are still pretty believable.
Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
Great predecessor to War Games and Terminator, though not as fun
It's a very good movie, with that splendid attempt at super-realism of the late 60s into 1975 or so. It's in the same vein as The Andromeda Strain and even 2001. While these films are, of course, still rather fanciful, they attempt to paint their world in believable settings.
I miss this style likely because I grew up with it, and it lasted on TV until the end of the decade with things like The Six Million Dollar Man and even The Incredible Hulk.
This film is almost comical in how straight laced it is, kind of like watching NASA or IBM engineers at work. And this film makes a pretty good effort to depict actual computer scientists at work.
The downside to this approach is that it's just less fun than later movies like Terminator and War Games.
Though this particular film also feels almost Bond-ish at times, starting with the extremely vast computer, then later, the White House Situation room and the like.
Troll (1986)
How they don't own Rowling et al I'll never understand
Rowling's Harry Potter franchise is far better but clearly she pulled from this, intentionally or not. And somebody at the publishing house clearly didn't do their job. The name certainly should have been caught and changed. Rowling herself has said the name was wasn't important.
This is better than widely believed. The simple plot of the relentless apartment complex takeover works pretty well. Though, some of the troll takeover scenes go on way too long. The singing scene seems to go on forever.
This has definite cult appeal from the largely well known cast. It's hilarious to see June Lockhart in one of her foul speaking roles. Sonny Bono is Sonny. For those of us old enough, the little girl is the same actress that saved the world in V. Pretaynama!
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)
Doesn't really work especially with the ending
I understand why they wanted to do this but it's so badly flawed that it's really only for completists.
Perhaps the tone is better without the seemingly discordant slapstick moments Lester put in the battle in NY. Perhaps. I do recall the first time I saw this, long ago even as a kid, that those slapstick moments seemed out of place. It's silly stuff, like someone talking on a phone booth that's knocked over, people in a KFC completely unaware of the mass battle occurring just outside. Some of that is lame. However, the first film did have a lot of quirky humor too. And considering one of the three villains is ash idiot, it's obvious some kind of goofy humor was intended.
But having the same turn back time ending as the original film is just ridiculous.
I get that Donner got screwed by the Salkinds and had a legitimate beef with the Lester cut, but that doesn't mean this was worth doing. And it seems like they excised needed Lester material out of spite or whatever inappropriate motivation considering the film does need to make sense.
There are great examples of director's cuts that improve films years later. Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the best example I know, where 20 years later a new cut was released that greatly improved the film. However, this was because in the original, they ran out of time and the theatrical cut simply wasn't compete. For the DC, they were able to fix certain effects, give it a proper sound mix and tighten the editing. (The theatrical release was notoriously edited so down to the wire that the film print taken to the premiere was still wet.)
But while Star Trek had production problems, it primarily had to do with an fx house being unable to deliver. Having two different directors with very different styles is quite a different issue.
And the end of the day, there IS NO Donner Superman II. It was never fully filmed and by doing things like using screen tests for footage, they're basically duct taping this thing together.
Again, fine for completists and the like, but if you want a solid coherent movie, the Lester cut is the one.