I was very disappointed when I saw Fan4 - Rise of the Silver Surfer. It did not meet the same standard as the first Fan4 film. The silver surfer was very well done, but the rest of the film and the main actors just didn't seem to be trying or really wanting to be in the film.
[Reply]

What dissapointed me most about FF-ROTSS was how short it was. Galactus the devourer of worlds comes allong as a pile of gas and SS comes along and flies ointo it and then the earth is safe all done in about 1 min. The other thing that pissed me off about it was that Ben Grimm was the least orange person in the FF.
[Reply]

The last movie I seen? The one with Heath as the Joker.
[Reply]

30 Days of Night

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Ben Foster

Plot: This is the story of an isolated Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for a month each year when the sun sinks below the horizon. As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. Only the small town's husband-and-wife Sheriff team stand between the survivors and certain destruction.

Decent vampire movie with a good setting. I'm no huge fan of vampire movies, but this one was Ok, not the traditional vampire movie. 6.5/10
[Reply]

Just got back from the European Premiere of Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising.

All I can say is that if you are a gamer (CRPG, RPG or LARP), then this movie is for you.

The acting is certainly not Oscar-worthy, but in the whole element of the movie it adds to the charm. The humour is everywhere, along with some very nice touches (the tribute to Gary Gygax is especially well done, if you can spot it). The cast are very down to earth in their appearance, befitting the fact that they are ordinary people enjoying an ordinary hobby.

The quality of the movie's sound and vision are adequate, but, again, it all just adds to the atmosphere that helps to define this movie as being the Dungeons and Dragons movie, written and performed by gamers for gamers.

Not afraid to use terminology specific to one system, they still manage to allow product placement to be a part of the movie, but in a very understandable and utterly fair manner. It also touches on some of the perceived prejudices that some gamers can have about other gamers and deals with that quite well.

All in all the movie is very much driven by an well-thought-out equal balance of character, plot and entertainment (the Bard is amazingly good value-for-money).

In the end it does make scoring this movie quite hard, so I have given it 2 scores.

Score (for non-RP'ers): 7/10 (A few moments could go way over your head, but the main sections of the movie just work so hard and achieve so much more.)

Score (for RP'ers): 10/10 (Everything fits together, in the perfect quantities, and with the perfect charm and sentiment)
[Reply]

The Kingdom

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner
Seen at: Home, DVD

Not bad.

[The film is fictional, but inspired by bombings at the Riyadh compound on May 12, 2003 and the Khobar housing complex on June 26, 1996 in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The story follows a team of FBI agents who investigate the bombing of a foreign-workers facility in Saudi Arabia.] [Wikipedia quote]

Typical Hollywood action, with plenty of explosions and gunfights to satisfy even the most hardcore action-fanatic. The best performance comes not from the American cast, but from Ashraf Barhom, an Israeli Arab actor who plays the role of Col. Faris Al-Ghazi, a dutiful Saudi army officer bent on bringing the cowardly terrorists to justice.

Worth a watch.

Score: 6.8 out of 10
[Reply]

Wanted

Starring: Morgan Freeman, James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie
Seen at: Cinema

Quite a cool movie. Semi-original story, good performances, good humour and above all, non-relenting, over-the-top action. Could easily have been a Jerry Bruckheimer / Michael Bay flick.

"A young man finds out his long lost father is an assassin. And when his father is murdered, the son is recruited into his father's old organization and trained by a man named Sloan to follow in his dad's footsteps." (IMDB quote)


Score: 7.7 out of 10
[Reply]

We Own the Night

Genre: Drama/Thriller
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes

Plot: Brooklyn, 1988. Crime is rife, especially drugs and drug violence. A Russian thug is building his heroin trade, while everyone laughs at the cops. Brothers have chosen different paths: Joe has followed his father Bert into New York's Finest; he's a rising star. Bobby, who uses his mother's maiden name, manages a club. Bobby too is on the rise: he has a new girlfriend and a green-light to develop a Manhattan club. Joe and Bert ask him to help with intelligence gathering; he declines. Then, Joe raids Bobby's club to arrest the Russian. From there, things spiral out of control: the Russian puts out a hit on Joe, personal losses mount, and Bobby's loyalties face the test.

Good film, worth a watch. Just watched it on TV. 7.5/10
[Reply]

I saw We Own the Night recently on TV too. Was a good film.
[Reply]

Death Race

Starring: Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane

This is, to be honest, not the most though-provoking of movies. But what can you expect from a movie that is a combination of Carmageddon, Twisted Metal, Full Auto et al.

Lots of action, guns, explosions, foul language, amusing lines, amusing moments and extremely OTT sequences. At an hour and 40 minutes, it's an enjoyable, popcorn movie for the boys. Not that girls will not enjoy it, but it certainly does cater more for the men.

A lot of people have moaned that it is not as good as the original, but I say, who cares. It's not trying to be a remake, or even a re-imagining. It is, to all intents and purposes, a sequel to the 1975 cult classic.

I reckon most people who have played games like the ones listed above will get a lot of kicks from this movie. And I sense that if it does well, you may very well see some of the Carmageddon games making a re-appearance on one of the virtual consoles.

Overall 7.5/10. (Lots of fun, but no brain strainer...)
[Reply]