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Post by GL on Nov 19, 2014 11:41:47 GMT -5
Taken 2-Kidnapped with his wife and daughter while visiting Istanbul, a former CIA agent heads back into action against the kidnappers who are seeking retribution for his previous actions against their relatives. Frankly, this turned out to be a lot more enjoyable than the first one and was pretty decent in it's own right. The biggest thing to this is the increased amount of action present which is a far cry from what the original did, as here we get two thrilling car chases including a particularly thrilling one through the city streets against a squadron of police officers and the evil henchmen, several full-scale brawls that are pretty exciting and a couple more shootouts that are quite exciting as well. There's also the far more pronounced feature included here about being able to utilize his skill-set to greater impact which seems to be a more conscious effort this time around than otherwise stated previously as there's a lot more taken of his being able to get out of the situations than were otherwise shown in the original. Still, there's a few things here that don't really get all that impressive, chief among which is the fact that the reasoning for the whole film is entirely wasted with the father seeking revenge for his own son's criminal doings. Repeated claims are shot down throughout here about how justifiable what he is doing actually becomes, yet nothing is ever made of it and it seems to be a way simply to make a sequel as there's not a lot of thought into that part of the story. Likewise, for all the good this does in enhancing the action quotient it's still plainly obvious that Neeson is a graduate of the Steven Seagal School of Martial Arts' Masters Program as he does nothing more impressive than wave his arms around and have the bad guys punch into his arms or get thrown around, that is when when have a chance to notice this. The shots are framed and edited so that it's nearly impossible to tell what actually happened in the scene as the blurry motion and high-speed editing account for in here. Otherwise, this is a better effort than part one.
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Post by GL on Dec 1, 2014 12:51:59 GMT -5
Battleship-When a series of Naval war games uncovers a vast alien conspiracy, an aging US battleship is pressed into service to try to thwart the mysterious and deadly alien forces from destroying the world. Overall, this one is very specific about what it's good parts and bad parts are since this is decidedly one-minded all the way through. The film when it concentrates on the high-octane battles at sea and air provide this with some utterly thrilling and utterly exciting action scenes where the relentless blasts, frantic machine-gun battles and highly-impressive technological battles that occur throughout here become just an unmitigated blast that produces plenty of explosion-packed spectacle, high-energy contests and a recklessness in the final half that becomes all the more fun watching all the destruction and carnage unfold. The finale in Hawaii is almost enough to help this overcome the rest of the film, which is just one big floating pile of cliche after cliche that really makes this seem a lot stupider than it really should. The manner of introducing the namesake-game here is utterly gimmicky and doesn't really need to be, but all that does is highlight the rest of the flaws in the story here. From the hackneyed love story, the putrid attempts at displaying heroism in the face of futile odds and the last-ditch attempt with even more obsolete technology that saves the day when the better, more advanced tactics failed are just some of the more mind-numbing scenarios set up here to try to get this going and it never really manages to overcome those odds. Tack on ridiculous CGI, an utterly moronic reasoning for attacking Earth and baseless science and it really does more harm than good, enough though there's some good stuff here and there.
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Post by GL on Dec 4, 2014 11:36:20 GMT -5
Act of Valor-After a Navy SEAL operation to recover a kidnapped CIA agent, the discovery of a massive terrorist plot to attack the US forces the group into action like they've never been before and requires all their skills to stop it and survive. Quite honestly, this one here might be the single hardest and most uncomfortable film to ever review as I've seen as there's so much behind the gimmick of the film being used throughout here that it becomes nearly impossible to treat otherwise. The fact of this being a film about active duty soldiers being caught up in real situations and not filmed like a traditional movie gives this a far greater sense of realism than possible during the action scenes so that there's something to be said for the sequences of the group in combat. That makes for some good times here, while the effects of its' gimmick does spring up throughout here. The fact is, this is pretty much dependent upon it's gimmick which is the real-life SEALs so most of what goes on here feels more like a documentary than an actual movie and that shows up when they're not engaging in their training and tactics. Not only are the scenes at home supposedly to ground them and give this an emotional undercurrent just plain dreadful to watch and really just so unnecessary here, but all it does is highlight just how cliched the rest of the story is by simply devolving into yet another terrorist-clan-on-the-loose effort that serves as the plot for dozens upon dozens of these kinds of films by simply making them unwatchable and forcing the only enjoyment to come from the action scenes based around that familiar plotline. As this one really tends to put all it's emphasis on the singular gimmick of this being active-duty soldiers yet does nothing really out-of-the-ordinary with them and basically turning this into a gimmick film, it's overall pretty tough to get a handle on this one.
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Post by GL on Dec 8, 2014 12:03:23 GMT -5
Safe-Indebted to a vicious Russian mobster, a cage fighter becomes embroiled in their search for a young woman also wanted by the Chinese Triads for the codes to a secret container stored within her memory and tries to use his skills to protect her. Frankly, this turned out to be quite an enjoyable effort that was a lot better than initially expecting due to the rather impressive amount of action within this one. Most of this is centered on the escapes in the second half where she's in his custody and must outwit pursuers from all three sides to the triangle that want to kill her which results in numerous hand-to-hand fights, shootouts and a pretty decent if not exactly original car chase through New York. While none of these are particularly original or creative beyond being thrown together nicely, there's more of a cumulative effect of all these placed together into that section of the film to make this based more on pace than originality to generate the excitement about it. All of these elements work in the films' favor to help overcome the few areas where it doesn't really stack up, mostly in the storyline and plot which are quite haphazard and sloppy. The use of all three different forces out to get her seems quite original and exciting, but it really makes for a convoluted story that never lets anything get developed and tends to zip on by with little about it that really makes any sense. As well, there's way too much done on his own backstory that just seemed like they tried to throw everything possible into making him entirely sympathetic and likeable but is overkill to the point of being ludicrous and confusing trying to take it all in. Having it kept to one or two of the different backstory's would've made for a more streamlined and enjoyable feature since all this pontificating in the early goings makes this seem to last quite a while before getting to the action. Still, it's good enough to be a lot of fun.
Skyfall-After coming back into action, Bond is forced to protect M from a threat from her past far greater than any force he's tangled with before and must rely on his skill set to continue his job on her side. Surprisingly, this one wasn't all that exciting and didn't really do all that much. There's really only three action scenes in the whole film as the opening chase through the city streets ending with a fistfight on the moving train, the subway chase and finally the encounter with the henchmen in the countryside so each of these three scenes is about all that works here because they actually showcase something happening. Each one is packed with action from car chases, foot chases, hand-to-hand fighting, plenty of explosions and spectacle especially in the latter two which are punctuated by key scenes from the car crashing through the ceiling and nearly taking him out while the second one is built around getting the helicopter to crash into the house and blow it to pieces. Beyond these three scenes, though, the rest of the film is pretty tough to take as it just seems to meander on endlessly with boring, talky sequences that don't matter much as they all seem to focus on whether Bond's hiatus has hurt his skills or not and this really doesn't do anything remotely interesting to the film. This is padded out by the continuous sequences of them doing nothing but talking over the threat he poses but never once saying anything about it while they just stand around and let him take the upper hand in everything which makes this quite hard to take seriously with him continually getting the better of them all the time because all they do is talk. As well, the threat isn't all that great since he's treated like a joke throughout this which causes this one to slip considerably along with the lame story and nonexistent action scenes.
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Post by GL on Dec 15, 2014 12:13:02 GMT -5
Safe House-After a group of mercenaries appear during a vicious interrogation, a rookie agent and his dangerous quarry are forced on the run together to try to figure out who blew their cover and wants them both dead. This was a pretty decent effort overall that has some good parts working for it. The majority of this one is based around the central angle of who ordered the hit and why they're supposed to be dead yet this is so weak and cliched that there's nothing even remotely interesting about it. This has happened so often it's expected that someone in the organization is the traitor which this one does so little to hide that it's possible to determine who is responsible the first time you see them which really hurts the overall suspense of the notion. Likewise, there's a lot of rather banal crime-drama notions within this one which really brings the running time up considerably with this one featuring more than enough times of him simply wandering around looking for the guy that it just seems to get old after a while as this is filled with useless tangents such as the phone calls back to base and the event at the soccer stadium which are just pointless other than furthering a plot-line that didn't need to be. The few action scenes we do get, from the opening assault on the safe house and the following car-chase through the downtown area being the highlight but also being able to feature such scenes as the shoot-out in the squalor houses and the finale ambush in the countryside to make up for some of these situations and problems, which are quite fun and enjoyable yet there's just not enough to help overcome the other areas.
Shoot 'Em Up-After finding a baby abandoned in a warehouse, a lone fighter and the prostitute in his care must keep it alive from the hordes of gunmen aiming to kill the infant and anyone who stands in their way. Frankly, this was an absolute blast of an effort with a whole lot to like here. The simplified storyline (perhaps even too simple at times) manages to cause this one to flow along quite easily while allowing this one to be literally packed with action-packed shootouts. There's a slew of fantastic action scenes here to really help this one get really overcome with fantastic sequences including the opening assault in the warehouse, a frenetic apartment complex encounter and the chase through the playground in public which is highly entertaining and comes complete with a frenetic amount of action to really make this one feel enjoyable. As well, with the generous amount of shootouts comes a rather exciting amount of chases and fighting as well, from a thrilling car chase to see who can get to the accidentally-dislodged infant left in the road to a slew of hand-to-hand fighting that matches the excitement and intensity of the gunplay which is highly entertaining and really makes for a great time here. With enough jokes to move the story along and a nice bit of sexuality thrown in, this one has a lot to like as there's only one real flaw here in the motivation behind it all. The cause for the action onslaught isn't that creative and doesn't really mean anything here beyond being creative enough to be different but not so much that it really sticks out in here as being logical or realistic. It's not enough to hurt this one but it does come up.
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Post by GL on Jan 22, 2015 13:19:26 GMT -5
Red 2-After being implicated in a missing nuclear weapon charge, a team of retired CIA agents reassembles to prevent the weapons sale on the black market and must stop a slew of various international agents also searching for the missing weapon. Frankly this one turned out to be quite a bit lower than the original which was a lot of fun and really should've had a lot going for it. The fact that this one simply feels like a retread of the original simply to get the cast back together one more time and have them basically humiliate everyone else around them doesn't really strike as all that impressive or enjoyable to watch as we've seen this all before and doesn't strike as being all that original, tending to make the action scenes a lot more low-key and not as thrilling as they should be. There's a lot of scenes, from the sneak-attack on the Kremlin to the later scenes of them together in the hotel awaiting orders and finally the double-cross at the embassy where it all seems like it should've been a lot more frantic and energetic yet they come off as quite dull and relaxed while the first one decides to abandon all that for a large dose of comedy instead which is where it really falters padding out the time unnecessarily. This one really could've been trimmed a tad and still been quite enjoyable with the quantity of action present rather than the quality since that's where this one really becomes quite fun. From the shootout in the library and the resulting chase following the escape, a blazing gun-battle in an apartment complex and the rather frenetic finale all managing to work fine as solid action scenes, this one does become quite a bit more entertaining with these sequences rather than the overall duration here as they're not all that long anyway, and every now and then a joke here works to it's advantage. Still, this one isn't all that bad but it just suffers from comparison against the first.
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Post by GL on Jan 23, 2015 12:04:07 GMT -5
A Good Day to Die Hard-Forced into taking a vacation in Moscow, Officer McClane and his son get involved in the plot by a former Soviet whistle-blower looking to take down a former associate who's now in the Russian bureaucracy. Frankly this is one of the most impressive and enjoyable entries in the franchise as there's a slew of exciting, thrilling parts to this one. As is usual for the series, this one features such a high amount of quality action scenes that it's virtually impossible not to find exciting in here, from the kidnapping rescue at the courthouse to the ambush on the safe-house which features a blazing shootout alongside some nice stunts in escaping as well as the incredibly fun encounter in the restaurant that again manages to mix stunts with action and shootouts into a rousing, high-energy affair that works magnificently here. Of course, this is without taking into account the film's two biggest and best action scenes, a car chase through downtown Moscow following the initial courthouse escape that ranks up with some of the best overall action scenes in the franchise by virtue of the absolutely hilarious mid-sequence break of him taking a phone call in the middle of driving an armored car over the congested traffic gathered in addition to all the usual dodging and weaving that goes into one of these and the finale which is the usually over-the-top explosion-happy, bullet-riddled extravaganza that finishes these types of films with all the villains getting blown up or shot in fantastic stunt scenes that resorts a little too heavily on CGI but still comes off rather well. This all makes for a breakneck pace and rather impressive sense of style here with this never really getting to boring with all the action and appropriate levels of humor throughout here as long as you don't try to think about the plot that much. It's pretty clever but does come off as overblown in terms of how to get there, taking a long time to get all it's tangents out in the open and really spell out it's true intention. Still, that's about the only thing really wrong with this one.
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Post by GL on Jan 26, 2015 12:43:18 GMT -5
The Darkest Hour-Arriving in Moscow for business, a group of Americans find the city is one of many around the world targeted by a race of vicious aliens and must try to find a way to escape the city before they're killed. This was a rather decent and somewhat entertaining alien invasion effort that actually manages to get some decent elements one. One of the better ones is the fact that this one really gets some pretty enjoyable scenes of carnage throughout here with this one's main ploy showing the alien attack's devastation on the city which requires some rather intriguing scenes here from the walk-through devastated Moscow the day after leaving quite a telling mark. Likewise, the action it brings in the film is top-notch with some exciting and thrilling sequences including the first encounter inside the crowded nightclub, a later chase through the deserted streets where it chases them through a town-square and through several different stores trying to catch them and a later scene inside an apartment makes for a series of fun and exciting scenes, as well as the finale throughout here. There's a few problems here, as the fact that the rationale for the alien invasion is given so late that it's nearly an afterthought to try to have something along those lines in the film when this was a rare time when it really wasn't needed at all so that it really manages to get some mileage out of not knowing since it's more about survival than examination so there's a pretty big and unneeded explanation scene thrown in at the very end that seems quite out-of-place. Likewise, the CGI for the aliens looks pretty hit-or-miss: it's fine in their gaseous state since it's really supposed to be hard-to-see which allows to come off really well along with the resulting explosion into ashes upon their deaths yet when we get a good look at them the obvious orangey fireball and robotic skeleton is quite distractingly fake which sorta ruins the scene. Beyond these issues, this one wasn't that bad.
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Post by GL on Jan 27, 2015 11:29:01 GMT -5
Riddick-Left for dead on a Sun-scorched, barren wasteland, Riddick tricks a group of mercenaries after him to land and force them into helping him battle the creatures roaming the surface in order to be able to leave the area alive. Overall this one was quite enjoyable if somewhat problematic. The biggest thing going for this one is the fact that there's quite a bit of frenetic action throughout this that really manages to make this one quite interesting, starting from the opening trials against the creatures there from the scorpion-tailed beings to the wild dogs and all the other creatures found on the surface which really sets this one up nicely. The dealings with the mercenary's are just as much fun with the cat-and-mouse hunting games coming along nicely although they do slow the action down somewhat since he never really gets to be utilized all that well with him basically just being as stealthy as he can without trying to draw suspicion onto himself so there's not as much of that once they come into the mix. Still, the final battle of the group trying to get off the rock alive and are forced into a series of gun-battles against the creatures makes for quite an enjoyable time with this one really getting the fun out and letting loose with a rather intriguing abandon that makes for a fun time here. The fact that the pace slows down for the plot does seem to cause this one some problems, though there's a few others here that do stick out including the nature of the films' action. It all seems geared to let him win out every time out so there's absolutely no suspense at all generated from any of the encounters because he's going to survive, and even at the finale when it would've been quite appropriate to kill him off there's a ridiculously shoehorned rescue scene that really doesn't belong here and just makes this all the more egregious in letting him win. The CGI doesn't do it much favors either in just sticking out like a really terrible sore thumb as well with just about all the creatures here being quite obvious about their creation due to the blurry lines and constant size-changes throughout their scenes which just underscore how obvious it all is. Otherwise, there's not a whole lot really wrong here.
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Post by GL on Jan 29, 2015 12:16:15 GMT -5
Elysium-Inflicted with a deadly disease, a man joins up with a group of freedom fighters on a savage, desolate Earth that are attempting to infiltrate a luxurious space station for the rich and make an equal society for all. This one wasn't all that bad and really had some decent parts to make this one quite worthwhile. That, though, is all found at the second half here since the beginning to this is barely all that interesting with it's maddening ploy of being a dystopian universe type of film which is not all that appealing on my end. Setting up the fact that the future time-period and all the different rules and regulations that go into the makings of this is just not enough for me to get into this and the fact that this seriously drains the action into barely any form is present here beyond a few short confrontations with the robots to restore the necessary order at play here. This makes the first half pretty challenging and not all that interesting, while the second half is decidedly better as this is where all the shoot-outs, chases and fighting occurs as they try to overtake the floating ship and start their planning. Graced with plenty of encounters, from the desert hijacking and the race to get away before back-up arrives to the numerous shoot-outs on the ship itself which starts with plenty of fun group encounters and whittles down to the individual fight at the finale, there's a lot to like in this section as it really works up quite fun situations that do seem familiar but overall work nicely here. The final fighter here is pretty weak and basically a joke anyway so there's a lot of work needed to make him a believable villain but there's more than enough positives to make this work otherwise.
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Post by GL on Feb 2, 2015 12:51:58 GMT -5
G.I. Joe: Retaliation-After being set-up to appear as traitors and left for dead, the surviving members of a G.I. Joe team strike back against the evil COBRA organization attempting to blackmail the world into nuclear warfare. Overall this one wasn't all that bad and did come off rather well at times when it really wanted to. The opening attack on the missile silo and then resulting trap where they get taken out is a lot of fun with plenty of explosive action set-pieces that really get the movie started off on a right note by displaying exactly the kind of bullet-riddled, explosion-happy stunt-filled sequence that should be utilized in an occasion like this which is what makes it so much fun. Likewise, the entire final half is similarly packed with exciting moments from the tense confrontation in the war room to the attempt to seize control of the situation and all the different shootouts and confrontations needed to get things under control, this all became quite an exciting time with these slew of scenes featuring a lot to enjoy and makes for a rousing time overall. As well, the reason for the imposter featured in the first one is nicely paid off here with a rational reason for including such a lame storyline from the first one while at the same time using it to further a straightforward plot that allows for some rather fun times keeping it on track. Still, there's a few problems with this one mainly in the fact that the film doesn't really let itself do a whole lot from the time of the interception and the final assault, taken up with endless blathering from the villains, a search from the heroes for a safe base-of-operations and one of the lamest action scenes in the film which is the ninja attack on the mountain fortress, done with such obvious CGI and wire-works that it really takes you out of the movie because the rest of the action was a lot more grounded and realistic so the sight of people flying hundreds of feet through the air, attacking each other with swords while spelunking down a mountain side thousands of feet up strikes as being obviously fake by comparison. That all together combines to halt the mid-section of the film down considerably, but not enough to hold this from being entertaining.
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Post by GL on Feb 3, 2015 11:28:16 GMT -5
Escape Plan-Hired to test the structure of a high-tech prison, a professional con artist realizes the entire ploy was a ruse to place him in an escape-proof prison and enlists a fellow inmate to help him exact his revenge against those who put him there. Frankly, this one turned out to be a little disappointing that keeps this one down from what it really could've been. After supposedly trumpeting the fact of getting these two stars together and what they're capable of, having them stand around plotting the escape for 80% of the movie doesn't make this interesting in the slightest considering their past pedigrees so this type of acting-heavy approach is extremely disconcerting. Not only is that the complete opposite of what you want to bill these current stars for since they're past performances hardly ever featured such an approach but it also really hampers the flow of the film by making the pace so sluggish and downbeat. Restricting this to prototypical prison-film type of action doesn't really allow this the chance to really let loose with the type of action that keeps the interest level up throughout the endless scenes of boredom by not featuring much of anything happening, even amongst the prison population featured with them. Thankfully, this does get better with the actual escape being quite fun and really letting the action out with a slew of fine chases, brawls and shootouts throughout the facility which makes up for some of the other flaws mentioned elsewhere, and the finale itself is a great deal of fun with the massive shootout needed to finally set themselves free. Again, it's not good enough but yet the film is certainly watchable so it does seem enjoyable if slightly disappointing.
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Post by GL on Feb 4, 2015 12:01:03 GMT -5
The Last Stand-Finding himself caught in the middle, a sheriff of a sleepy border town finds his undermaned, underarmed deputies caught in the middle when a vicious drug-cartel owner decides on using his town to cross into Mexico. This was an unbelievably enjoyable and entertaining effort that really has a lot to like about it. The best part to this is the fact that there's such a simplistic story here that it really provides the film with a large amount of quality action scenes throughout here with a non-stop pace that befits such action, rendering this one filled with spectacular scenes because of that. From the original escape from custody, a spectacular plan that really makes the federal agents look like buffoons, which seemingly continues throughout the film anyway, that comes off as rather ingenious aside from the logical nightmare of how it would play off realistically and starts this off in grand fashion. The rather fun road sequences that show his approach to the town, filled with gags about fighting off the various roadblocks and traps set up to halt him make for a great time, as well as the various investigations that form the set-up of his arrival in the town which is filled with more action sequences around that make for a grand set-up to the final battle in the town which is one of the better shootouts in recent years. Battling through the deserted town with outmatched weapons, the ingenuity makes for some really fun times and lots of fighting makes for a great time in setting this up for a great one-on-one battle that ends this one on a fine note. The right dose of comedy serves this one great as well, just so long that the realistic nature of this isn't questioned as it really tends to fall into a trap of making the federal agents look like incompetent morons simply to get to the final battle at the end when other factors easily could've gotten to the same result without that bothering it. Still, this one was quite fun and really worthwhile overall.
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Post by GL on Feb 5, 2015 11:41:04 GMT -5
The Purge-Thought to be safely locked away in their homes, a man and his family find themselves under attack by a gang of criminals seeking them during a legally sanctioned night of depravity, murder and mayhem and forces them to fight back. Mistakenly saw this as a horror film but it's more of a suspense/thriller and a really lame one at that since hardly anything actually happens here until the final ten minutes. Most of this is spent with the family trying to prepare for the actual event and actually watching around the other actions of the night. That it then becomes a frustratingly interminable sequence of events about the family searching throughout the house for the wanted individual makes for a long, boring series of scenes that do nothing but showcase how large and dark the house is without any sense of pacing or tension as it just winds through it's paces until the inevitable conclusion with the house attack. This does make for some fun times with the different brawling and gunfights that take place throughout the living room and kitchen where they come under attack by the criminal gang. All of this is rendered moot, though, under two of the most laughably inept motives behind the film which is the sheer stupidity of the central premise that it rests on and the ineptness of it's execution. The fact that society would devolve so greatly as to await a yearly-appointed time of day when criminal activity would be legally rendered and expunged from their conscious makes no sense at all for it wouldn't be needed in the matter it shows off here for citizens would be wary of further repercussions on that night and would eventually render the need for the particular night moot on the second or third year of it's inception. That this features such a group of whacked-out individuals as these guys shown here who are clearly in it for the legalized murder rewards and have very little that shows them to be normal citizens on every other night of the year completely takes away the scare factor of them who just turn into mindless yackos without much thought. Seemingly this is a commentary on the violence in everyday society but whatever the cause it fails mightily under the inept execution because they never are seen to do anything other than chase the one individual. Rather than partaking in this night of glorious excess, they stand around lamely prancing away on the front-yard because of an ultimatum issued that ruins their credibility when they should've just barged in and taken over the way the plot really should've dictated they do. That might've generated a scary tale here but instead it turns into a lame thriller for an hour with about ten minutes of actual horror and that's not a worthwhile balance.
Hanuman and the 6 Ultra Brothers vs. The Monster Army-After being bestowed with the powers of the mighty God Hanuman, the creature joins forces with the six Ultraman brothers to fight a group of towering monsters unleashing during an experimental cloud-seeding project gone wrong. One of the most infamous and delirious efforts in the entire costumed-superhero genre, this Thai/Japanese effort is worth every effort possible just to see exactly what was crammed into this one. Not just content to featuring the Japanese sense of aura surrounding the titular superheroes and penchant for spellbinding special effects, the overwhelming influx of Thai folklore and mysticism is a lot more predominant here as this is more about the sense of melding the God’s being and his backstory than it is about the giant monsters as the first hour is spent there. With all sorts of references to the Thai folk stories including his birth, journey around the country and finally into the heavens themselves to deal with his fellow Gods, this half of the film is pretty tedious with the prototypical bad Thai comedy not relieving matters and not really getting this filled with the spectacular action needed in these stories, despite the spectacular special effects showing the gigantic creature pursuing the treasure-seekers who killed his human body as the miniature effects are top-notch and mesh so seamlessly with the live-action stuff in the same location several seconds before. Still, once this gets to the action itself this is about as good as it gets for a non-Godzilla feature in terms of miniature quality here with the initial guise of a rocket-launch malfunction setting off scores of explosions and fires abound (this scene’s subtitles say the rockets only fly 60 meters, but I’m inclined to believe there’s 60 rockets for the procedure as it sure looks close to that many go off here in one humongous minute-plus chain of bursting model pieces and shrapnel flying everywhere) that leads to the release of the monsters underneath and sets off the final battle with the seven heroes fighting off the five giant monsters. Granted, none of these should be as much fun as it is since the monsters are so hopelessly outmatched the undesired sense of empathy eventually surrounds the creatures once the Ultras arrive as Hanuman takes the first crack at them solo, resulting in some impressive visuals here with the tag-teaming monsters delivering some incredibly fun times though once the Ultras show up the tide turns around into sympathy for them, especially with the cruelty used against them that is far darker in tone and spirit than anything done in the aforementioned series with the heroes. Likewise, their powers are all wrong and none of the continuity established for them is right, as instead of only being able to battle for three minutes at a time they all stay as themselves the entire time without any power-ups or mention of having to transform again to stay that size so that is completely ignored in the hope of just getting a lot of things packed with action. In that, it succeeds rather well for it is incredibly exciting and action-packed when it requires it, but the contextual history and significance is missing. Now, if only you can put aside all your knowledge of the production backstory and the bad fortune that resulting from its release, this is a can’t miss effort all around.
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Post by GL on Feb 9, 2015 13:07:24 GMT -5
Got a mini-marathon of White House invasion epics, White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen. Both are awesome in their own respective ways: Olympus is more realistic and has the better take-over plan to actually have control of the building, has a better pace and a generally more interesting reason why the villains are there, but gets bogged down too much in useless bantering between the Army personnel waiting around trying to make plans and the hokey sentimentality of trying to atone for his past mistakes is too cliched to mean anything. In contrast, WHD is a lot more commercially viable with the comic relief and general set-ups really making this one out to be more of a movie experience rather than a full-on realistic movie. Likewise, while the action in OHF seems to be better overall, the set-ups in WHD are in general more individually enjoyable and exciting, particularly the car chase with the miniguns and the gun-fight in the hallway that serves as the introduction to the take-over plot. However, because of the attempt of this one to feel more like a true movie than a real-world scenario there's some minor falts in the story which starts with their take-over attempt. It's pretty ludicrous and doesn't make much sense much like a lot of the film anyway so there's not a whole lot to really gleam from this. Finally, the need for the comic relief in such a situation does seem highly illogical and mostly thrown in merely to highlight the fact that it is more of a film than a real-world scenario. I can't really say which one was better since they both offered up a lot to like and were a lot of fun in their own ways.
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