Tron Legacy reviewed in 25 words or less: A real treat for Tron fans; lots of action and a CGI feast for the eyes.

FULL REVIEW of Tron Legacy

If you’re thinking of watching Tron Legacy for its character development, plot twists or unique story line – forget about it. But if you want to see some incredible CGI, lots of video game-esque action and some incredible creativity – then Tron Legacy is the movie you need to go see.

Tron Legacy was Directed by Joseph Kosinski and stars Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain, Beau Garrett and Michael Sheen. Tron Legacy runs 127 minutes (2 hours and 7 minutes) and is rated PG.

Tron Legacy is the long-awaited sequel to the blockbuster 1982 hit, Tron. It’s not very often we see a movie sequel produced 28 years after the original title was released, but Tron Legacy does just that, and does it quite successfully.

If you’re a fan of the original Tron, like yours truly, then you’ll quickly recognize the two main stars brought back for the sequel: Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner. The offspring of the original’s Mr. Dillinger, Edward Dillinger, is played by one of my favorites: Cillian Murphy. Boxleitner and Murphy have extremely limited roles in Tron Legacy, but they’re well cast for what they do.

The Tron Legacy story is pretty simple. Flynn’s son, Kevin Flynn, ends up inside the cyberworld – with his dad, who has been trapped there for 20 years (human time). In the world of Tron Legacy, cyberworld time passes at a completely different rate than human time does. A few minutes in cyberworld equals a few hours in the human or ‘real’ world. The father and son duo must save the cyberworld – and the human world – and they must do it in the games.

The creativity, action and CGI in the games are what drives this movie – and what I expect to see when I go to a science fiction movie. I really don’t care who loves who, or which character is most adorable, or about the emotional struggles of any character – I want to see new and exciting gizmos, gadgets, aliens and action! And Tron Legacy delivers all.

With a couple of exceptions, which is why I rated Tron Legacy a 9 instead of a 10, Tron Legacy moves at a quick, attention-holding pace.

In closing, I can’t wait until I can get Tron Legacy on DVD. This is a movie I need to watch several times – and use reverse and slow forward to catch every bit of creativity and action. Some of the scenes, while utterly compelling, move at a speed too great for these old eyes to follow accurately and fully.

Bottom line: go see Tron Legacy – everybody else is or will be soon. It’s money and time well spent.

See the complete movie rating system here.

Australia reviewed in 25 words or less: Part action adventure, part folklore, part western, part historical drama, part war movie, part love story and all well done. A real treat.

FULL REVIEW of Australia

Australia, literally, won me over. I don’t usually go for epic dramas, and so I had skipped watching this movie when it first came out. My wife convinced me one Friday to rent it and watch it with her. I am so glad that she did. I was very taken with this movie, which can hardly be classified as an epic drama – as I had been led to believe it was.

Australia takes place in northern Australia just before, and partially during, World War II. It’s an utterly new take on an old western plot: evil cattle baron wants to take over widower’s ranch – along comes a hero – and all the while young Aborigine, Nullah (Brandon Walters), narrates and wins the hearts and respect of all.

Australia stars Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Mark Rathbone, David Wenham, Bryan Brown and Brandon Walters as Nullah. Australia was directed by Baz Luhrmann. I apologize for not recalling the exact running time, but it is at least two hours. I was so absorbed in the movie I forgot to make a note!

By this time in the review, you are likely wondering why I didn’t rate Australia as a 10, instead of a 9. I think that the time spent on showing us Nicole Kidman’s character back in England was a bit over done. I can see that the writer and director were trying to ensure that we got the full ‘flavor’ of her character, which she played with Oscar quality, but I think it could have been cut a bit shorter.

Australia has spectacular scenery, and the kind of camera work needed to make it stand out and grab attention. The soundtrack in Australia was also excellent: very complementary to the movie, but not distracting.

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman were superb as the leads in Australia. They created characters for us to love and respect, and their chemistry was undeniable as sidekicks, and ultimately lovers. The supporting cast was also excellent and delivered perfect performances for their characters.

The scene-stealer in Australia was the young unknown, Brandon Walters, who played Nullah. If this is the only movie this person is ever in, he will be able to say he was once a star. He was perfectly cast for this role as a young Aborigine in a highly prejudiced pre-war Australia.

I’m not going to bother with writing a synopsis of Australia. There’s just no way to do this movie’s many faces justice in a synopsis short of several thousand words. It’s a fantastic story with spot-on dialog and memorable performances.

One of the elements of Australia that you will really enjoy is the narration of events by young Nullah. I simply cannot recall any movie where the narration so noticeably enhances the overall experience of the movie. And whoever directed Brandon Walters (likely Baz Luhrmann) did an amazing job of getting the perfect tones, intonations, dialect and timing from this young man – who had never been in any movies before.

I highly recommend Australia to both male and female audiences. Guys, if you’re looking for a perfect chick-flick that will keep you interested and glued to the screen – Australia is definitely your answer!

See the complete movie rating system here.

Unthinkable reviewed in 25 words or less: A well written, well acted and well directed thriller with a timely, heavily debated, complex issue at its root.

FULL REVIEW of Unthinkable

I’m not much of a fan when it comes to the thriller genre. I think it’s because so many of the filming techniques call for dark sets and long intervals to build suspense and tension. But that is not at all the case in Unthinkable.

Warning and small spoiler: Unthinkable centers around the torture of a prisoner who says that he has placed four nuclear bombs in four cities – all of which will go off in less than 48 hours. The torture scenes are quite graphic and extreme. Mind you, the scenes are not of the typical gore or gratuitous violence variety, but rather necessary elements to the story and underlying concept of this movie.

While Unthinkable is absolutely a great movie, it also presents the viewer with the inescapable sides of the current arguments about torturing prisoners. When is it okay? How much torture is okay? If we torture a prisoner, do we not lower ourselves to their level? And so forth…

All of the actors in Unthinkable did a fine job, but two of them truly stand out. Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Sheen were outstanding – and I’ll have to say that between those two, Michael Sheen wins the best actor award on my list. Jackson plays the interrogator and Sheen plays the prisoner.

One of the things I really liked about Unthinkable is its unpredictability. About 20 minutes into the movie you come to realize that whatever you think is about to happen – is not. Likewise, when you think nothing is about to happen, all hell breaks loose. Take all your refreshments into the theatre with you – you won’t want to leave this movie once it starts!

Unthinkable stars Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Sheen, Brandon Routh and Carrie-Anne Moss. Unthinkable was directed by Gregor Jordan.

I’d like to take a moment and again commend Michael Sheen on another stellar performance. This is one great character actor – to be sure! You may well know him, but not recognize the name. He is Lucian in the underworld franchise and David Frost in Frost/Nixon – to name only two of his credits. He is also the prim and proper English boyfriend of Liz Lemmon in TV’s 30 Rock. As one can quickly see, he is a true chameleon while playing his roles. His performance in Unthinkable will surely get him a nomination this year. This guy plays a tortured prisoner so very well that it’s hard to describe it. I mean really, what could a script do for this guy who must only show agony – over and over – and try to keep the audience in empathy. Well, he does it – and does it perfectly. The guy is absolutely amazing in this movie. I really hope to see a lot more of Michael Sheen over the coming years. He is a gifted, and obviously committed, actor. If you’d like a glimpse of his range, watch Unthinkable and then watch him in 30 Rock.

Go and see Unthinkable if you can. But be ready to leave the theater with questions about your views on torture – no matter what your views were when you entered the theater.

See the complete movie rating system here.

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever reviewed in 25 words or less: Great cast. Lots of okay action. Shallow plot. Poor dialog. No great character(s).

FULL REVIEW of Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever stars Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu, Gregg Henry, Ray Park and Talisa Soto. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever was directed by Wych Kaosayananda.

I must confess that I had difficulty deciding whether to rate Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever as a 5 or a 6. I finally decided on a 6 because this is an action movie, and it does have lots of action. The action scenes are not really very creative, but they’re well shot and varied.

There really haven’t been many creative action scenes shot since the 90′s. In fact, barring the inclusion of science fiction characters and devices, it’s getting almost impossible for action writers, directors and choreographers to present movie goers with anything new and exciting. This only makes sense. The more that is done, the less there is to be done. It’s the same as plots. There aren’t many plots that have not been done – many, many times in one way or another.

In Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, two ex-uberagents have been wronged – though only one of them knows it at the start of the movie – and they are pitted against one another by the evil man in power. Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu play the agents, respectively, and the evil man in charge is the easy-to-hate Gregg Henry. The two ex-agents spend the beginning of the movie fighting each other, but towards the end they join forces to fight their common enemy.

One thing that is noticeably missing from Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, is a character we can love or relate to or cheer for. I am a fan of both Banderas and Liu, so I would have been pretty easy to sell, and I was not. So those less inclined to like those actors don’t have a prayer of finding a hero in Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. I primarily blame poorly written dialog for this, but costumes and direction also played their role.

One other serious problem with Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is that Banderas doesn’t really fit any molds as an action hero type – at least not in this movie. I am not really sure why he was cast against successful action femme Lucy Liu. Banderas is a Latin heartthrob type, but in this movie he’s stripped of all the things that make the ladies swoon. He’s a mess. Liu, on the other hand, is a high fashion action babe with stylish outfits and every-hair-in-place scenes. More than once during the movie, Carrie Moss in Matrix comes to mind.

I will likely never watch Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever again. You may or may not like it. If you’re an action genre buff, and you run out of reasonable alternatives, this one might just be your salvation for a Friday night.

See the complete movie rating system here.

Mega Piranha reviewed in 25 words or less: An astonishingly bad movie.

FULL REVIEW of Mega Piranha

Mega Piranha is a made-for-TV movie. It is billed in the horror and science fiction genres. Mega Piranha stars Paul Logan, Tiffany, Barry Williams and David Labiosa. Mega Piranha was directed by Eric Forsberg.

Mega Piranha is truly a horrific movie. I can find nothing even remotely nice to say about it. The script, the effects, the continuity, the acting, the worn out storyline, the camera work and the editing were all atrocious.

In Mega Piranha, some scientists in the Amazon are working on making genetic modifications to fish. The goal of the scientists is to make fish grow bigger, faster. The point of their goal is to feed more people with fish. Naturally, they use genetic manipulation in their attempts to achieve their goal. Well, the local piranha somehow become effected by what the scientists are doing, thus causing them not only to grow at an exponential rate, but also to become inordinately aggressive – and also able to leap great distances out of the water: both vertically and horizontally. In Mega Piranha, you’re not safe in a helicopter or an inland motel room. Or a nuclear submarine or Navy cruiser, either.

Mega Piranha starts with a scene on a small boat on the Amazon. On the boat are some topless girls and an American diplomat, as well as an Argentine diplomat. Their boat is attacked and sunk by the altered piranha, and all the boat’s occupants are eaten – save for an arm and a leg or two, which for some reason the monster fish don’t consume. Since an American diplomat is involved, a high ranking American official sends in the go-to-guy to find out what happened. For the next few minutes of the movie I was in sort of a blue funk, and missed some details. I couldn’t get one thought out of my head: what were these high ranking government officials from two countries doing on a small tributary of the Amazon River in such a small boat with no security? I finally concluded that they had gone there so that nobody would see them with the overweight, topless women.

As per usual, I perused the internet for reviews of Mega Piranha before writing my own. And as expected, I found some (very few) reviews that were extremely favorable. These reviews must surely be written by ‘friends’ of this terrible movie.

Mega Piranha, unlike some really bad movies, isn’t even worth watching to laugh at the acting and effects. In Mega Piranha, these things go beyond funny – all the way to sad and appalling.

See the complete movie rating system here.

Dark Angel reviewed in 25 words or less: Great, new sci-fi storyline with ingenious weaponry. Good action scenes and a decent cast doing a good job.

FULL REVIEW of Dark Angel

NOTE: If you’re not a sci-fi or action movie buff, then consider the rating for this movie to be a 4 instead of a 7.

I have to give big kudos to the author of Dark Angel. What an ingenious plot. An alien comes to Earth, steals heroine from drug dealers – lots of heroine – forcefully injects hapless victims with a huge dose and then stabs them in the skull and retrieves the natural endorphins created by their bodies. He intends to then return to his home planet and sell the endorphins, which are considered to be the ultimate drug there – wherever there is.

Dark Angel stars Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley, Matthias Hues and Jay Bilas. Dark Angel was directed by Craig R. Baxley.

The cast of Dark Angel was well chosen and well directed. Dolph plays a weird blend of sophisticated, renegade, tough guy, understanding Houston cop. Dark Angel was made when Dolph was in his prime physically, so the actions scenes work – unlike his latest movie action attempts.

Brian Benben is excellent as an irritating by-the-book FBI agent who is teamed up with Dolph – much to Dolph’s chagrin. But as you’d expect, Dolph eventually wins him over to his ‘lone wolf’ ways.

The lead alien, the bad one, is deftly portrayed by the huge and physically intimidating Matthias Hues. Hues has no lines in Dark Angel except “I come in peace,” but he does well with nasty expressions, being violent and all the action scenes.

Jay Bilas, who is better known for things other than acting, plays the good alien. He’s an alien cop sent to stop the evil, drug dealer alien. He doesn’t say much, and isn’t in the movie much, but he has that ‘just right’ look for this part.

Science fictions fans are always looking for new aliens, new planets and new alien gadgets. Dark Angel provides an ingenious gadget in the form of a weapon. I won’t tell you anymore than that – I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you.

If you’re a sci-fi fan, this is definitely a movie you need to see. I actually added it to my DVD collection, but not until it went on sale. If sci-fi is not your genre, don’t bother with this one.

See the complete movie rating system here.

Escape from Darwin reviewed in 25 words or less: This is an atrocious movie. If you know someone who is thinking about seeing it, have an intervention!

FULL REVIEW of Escape from Darwin

This is an utterly horrible movie. It is also a movie that gets high praise on a popular movie website. That website accepts viewers’ reviews and posts them. Surely, that review was written by one of the actors – and I use the term loosely.

Escape from Darwin stars Keith Anton, Emerson Brooks, Cecilie Bull, Allen Carrasco, and Ian Dunn. Escape from Darwin was directed by Istvan Criste.

From start to finish, Escape from Darwin is an amazingly bad movie. It’s difficult to even sit here and write a review. It seems I’m lending credibility to it. Besides, all I can think to say about any part of Escape from Darwin is: it stunk – but I can use different adjectives to do so.

I knew Escape from Darwin was going to be really bad about 5 minutes into the movie. That was just after the first dialog between two characters. The dialog was absurd and the performances would shame a third grade school play.

Just when I thought that Escape from Darwin couldn’t get any worse – the first fight scene was forced upon me. I do not know the words to describe how bad it was. It set a new low standard in my mind for movie fight scenes.

I would like to say that the scenery in Escape from Darwin was nice. But I can’t go there either. Whoever filmed this movie, and called for the shots used, needs to understand that while bright sunlight largely eliminates the need for supplemental lighting, it also washes out color and eliminates the subtle shadows that give scenery its depth. Perhaps some time spent viewing Ansel Adams’ works, the master of light and shadow in still photography, would help.

I watched almost this entire movie at 2x or 3x speed. That way the actors sound like chipmunks, but the torture of Escape from Darwin is shorter lived.

If you read this review of Escape from Darwin, and decide to rent Escape from Darwin and watch it anyway, I am confident that you’ll become a fan of my movie reviews. So, to any of you who ignore my review of Escape from Darwin and watch it, thanks in advance for visiting my movie review blog frequently in the future! And rest assured, you’ll always get the straight scoop from my movie reviews.

See the complete movie rating system here.

Days of Night reviewed in 25 words or less: Another vampire flick – not much new here except the town where it takes place has a night that’s 30 days long.

FULL REVIEW of Days of Night

30 Days of Night is a vampire movie – and to be honest, I’m not a big fan of the genre. Mind you, I’ve seen them all – starting with the old Bela Lugosi movies all the way through the Twilight saga and everything in-between. I admit that, in my early childhood, Lugosi’s 1931 Dracula did cause me to suffer some sleepless nights.

30 Days of Night stars Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster, Mark Boone Junior and Mark Rendall. Despite the fact that I personally enjoy Josh Hartnett, I admit this is hardly a stellar cast. 30 Days of Night was directed by David Slade.

30 Days of Night takes place in Barrow, Alaska – the northernmost city in the United States. Every year, the town experiences a final sundown that leads to a night lasting – you guessed it – for 30 days. Vampires send their minion, very deftly played by Ben Foster, into Barrow to shut down communications and eliminate all means of travel out of the city – including dog sleds by killing all the sled dogs in town. Then the vampires arrive and feast on the trapped inhabitants.

The idea of giving the vampires the edge by having 30 Days of Night take place in a city which has 30 days of darkness is pretty clever – though it does come with some pitfalls. For example, how do 152 people (many of whom are old or children) reasonably fend off a band of hungry, bloodthirsty vampires for a full 30 days.

Here are some other problems I had with 30 Days of Night: Why did Hartnett’s character have to have asthma? It wasn’t used as a plot device anywhere in the movie. • If these vampires consume human blood for sustenance, why did they leave so very much of it splattered all over the place? If I ate like that, I’d starve – and cleanups would take hours. • It’s clearly shown in the end of the movie that these vampires have very heightened senses of smell. So how did the small group of survivors manage to successfully hide for so many days in an attic (which one review mistakenly calls a cellar)? This was, after all, a very small town. • Since there was still power in the utilidoor (sp?), and Hartnett discovered that his grandmother’s grow lights would kill the vampires, why didn’t he grab one of them before exiting her house?

30 Days of Night was well filmed and edited and the actors did okay with what they had to work with. If you’re a fan of the vampire movie genre, you’ll no doubt want to add this one to your list of viewed vampire flicks. Otherwise, this may well not be the movie for you.

See the complete movie rating system here.

Ink reviewed in 25 words or less: Ink made 107 minutes feel like 107 days.

FULL REVIEW of Ink

Like most movie buffs, I was in a mood for something new and different. I went to a popular movie website and started perusing. That’s when I came across Ink. It had a ranking of 6.8 stars out of 10. The review, among other outrageous claims, said it was better than Pan’s Labyrinth. So I rented it. It was new and different alright. But not at all in a good way. When Ink FINALLY ended, I felt like I’d been released from a long prison sentence – I wanted to call people and tell them I was finally free, and celebrate my freedom.

Ink stars Christopher Soren Kelly, Quinn Hunchar, Jessica Duffy, Jennifer Batter, Jeremy Make, Eme Ikwuakor and Shelby Malone. Ink was directed (and written) by Jamin Winans. If none of these names sounds familiar, don’t worry – you’re not alone.

I think the premise of this movie is about a battle between evil dream creatures and good dream creatures. These would be the creatures that determine whether you have a good dram or a nightmare. Okay, that’s clever enough. And so ends all of my positive comments about Ink.

Ink really has nothing at all working for it, and I genuinely can’t understand its rating or the review I read. Of course, there’s always the possibility that the review was written by one of the actors, but I hate to be so cynical.

The camera work and lighting in Ink is horrible. Handheld camera work does have its place in movie making, but let’s draw a line somewhere. Some audience members may suffer from seas sickness. And quite honestly, while I am a fan of the proper use of a montage, this movie often seemed to be nothing but a l-o-n-g montage – accent on ‘long.’

I can’t really say if the unknown actors did a good job, because I’m not sure what they were supposed to be conveying. I absolutely could not relate to any character, nor could I grasp most of what was going on most of the time – some of which clearly made no sense at all. The background story of the lead’s primary, current business venture, for example, made no sense to me. I don’t think the writer of Ink actually understands business.

Some of the elements used in Ink just detracted further from any possible redeeming quality the movie may actually have. Why, for example, does the Pathfinder (good dream creature) have electrical tape on his eyes? Can’t dream creatures do better for their blind people? And at the end of the film, an apparently important element prop was an old bathtub. How am I supposed to pay attention to anything when my mind reels with “what is an old bathtub doing as an altar of sorts?”

Of course I could be wrong about Ink. There’s always that possibility. It might be such a deep movie that I’m unable to grasp its subtle undertones, profound philosophical implications and groundbreaking film and lighting techniques. But I don’t think so.

And on a personal, closing note: the review I read of Ink on that popular movie website (which I frequent) is precisely why I started writing movie reviews.

See the complete movie rating system here.

The Losers, 2010 reviewed in 25 words or less: Superb beginning, some great action scenes, occasionally excellent dialog. Some poorly executed effects, some very slow, predictable parts, lack of chemistry between Saldana and Morgan.

FULL REVIEW of The Losers

While I enjoyed The Losers, I can’t tell you it is worth the hefty price of one of today’s movie tickets. If you’re a fan of the action genre, you’ll be served up some well done scenes, but there is a lack of originality in both the choreography of the fight scenes and the gun battles.

The Losers stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Óscar Jaenada, Jason Patric and Holt McCallany. The Losers was directed by Sylvain White.

Whenever I watch a movie anymore, the possibility of a review is ever present in the back of my mind. So I have this inner monologue making notes to relate and comments about elements of the movie du jour. During the first few minutes of The Losers, I could see a rating of 9 coming. Needless to say, that rating was lowered as the movie progressed, but the first few minutes were superb – on more than one level.

Not only do the first few minutes of The Losers treat viewers to a very well done action sequence – it gives us the reasons this small band of highly trained, patriotic soldiers must turn rogue – become “The Losers”. I thought this was an exceptionally well done few minutes of movie making. We all become eminently clear that these guys are good guys to the end – even when their own lives and commitment to duty must be placed at risk.

While Chris Evans (of Fantastic Four fame) is not the star of this movie, in my mind he stole the show from the headliners. His quick, irreverent wit and loose style of acting were perfect for this role. Much of the allure of The Losers is the dialog between the men in the group. The dialog is, almost invariably, extremely well executed and acted. There are no ‘forced’ moments of dialog. Viewers get the impression that this group of soldiers is, and has been for quite some time, very close.

Actress Zoe Saldana, still fresh in the minds of Avatar fans, definitely establishes herself as a female action lead in The Losers. In Avatar, she clearly had action scenes, but in the guise of a Navi. In The Losers, we get to see her spin-kicking, leaping, knife fighting and more – in the flesh, so to speak.

If you wait, and rent the DVD for The Losers when it becomes available, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. If you plunk down $10-15 for a movie ticket, I can’t guarantee that you will feel it was money well spent.