cyberbat Reviews

Spriggan (1998)

not as good as I was expecting

[7/10 · 2 January 2003]

I saw this on my dvd. The people were too quiet and the sound effects too loud so I was continually fiddling with the remote.

The animation is ok, but not worth gushing over.

Story was not really all that interesting to me, I wasn't expecting a war epic like gasaraki.

But a solid bit of work none the less. 7 out of 10.

music was good.

The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire (2000 Video)

Brilliant!

[8/10 · 8 September 2001]

As a long time lbt fan (14 years now) I know I am slightly biased but none the less I think this movie is great!

Now even though I am a fan, I'm not blind. I know why many people may dislike the rest of the sequels. They may seem rather corny and irritating. But this movie is different.

One of the things that sets this apart from the other sequels is that the dialogue is not a childish as the others. And there are a few funny quotes thrown in as well.

such as "I dislike violence' 'then why did you hit me?"

It seems as if the creaters of this series are finally realising that just because it is a children's series does not mean all the things have to be utterly childish. There are a few scenes in this movie where references are made to later films. This is a good thing.

Another good point is that there are 2 mysteries in the movie. The first is why Petrie's uncle Tyranno is hated by the others and the other is why is up with the strange rainbow faces.

Even though I know what would happen, it was still interesting.

Focusing of kidnapping instead of natural disasters (which they are running out of ) this sets it's self apart from the others.

a solid 8/10

and kids (regardless of age) will love it :) even those who are as old as me (I'm 20)

The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock (1998 Video)

The songs are great

[7/10 · 8 September 2001]

Even though for an adult the story may seem a little silly this is still a great film. Children will adore it.

This movie has some brilliant songs. I dare anyone who listens to it not to start tapping their feet while listening to 'bad luck'.

The animation is ok (for a television flick) and is of the same standard as the rest of the sequels.

Dina and daina (who is apparently a boy) are very cute, if irritating to an adult audience .

I however think they are adorable.

Cera gets a bigger role in this movie (in babysitting the twins) and that is nice to see as she is a great female character. We don't see many strong female roles in movies and this is one where it is much appreciated.

Kids will like it and older fans will smile at it.

It also teaches children the importance of resposablity.

The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island (1997 Video)

sad memories

[9/10 · 8 September 2001]

One of the reasons I love this film is the song 'always there' where littlefoot sings a verse about his mother. That has NEVER happened before or since this movie was made and it brought a tear to my eye.

The other songs are fun, the art brightly coloured and it's action packed...What more could a fan want?

Well better voices for one. Chomper and littlefoot both sound like they have a cold. ahh well I can't be too picky.

Kids and long time fans will love it.

oh and chomper comes back too.

Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998)

Absolute rubbish!!!

[3/10 · 22 July 2000]

there was only one good thing in this movie....Mew2's eyes. and that is about it.

Now for me to say this about an animated film then you know it must be bad.

ok, animation aside (it is tv quality animation) the ending was awful. The fight scene should have gone on longer with Mew2 vs mew fighting properly instead of being in "balls" all the time.

And can you really like a movie which has such a mediocre ending??

I won't spoil it for you (although that's really hard to do).

Luckily for me I saw this on a video I brought my little brother...I pity ANYONE who had to waste money on going to see this in the cinema.

But I dare say all the 0-6 year old pokemon fans will love it. Hey if you can like such a crap show then the crap movie will equal it.

Pitch Black (2000)

Killer shovels from outer space!!

[25 May 2000]

How to make the aliens for this movie.

1. add one alien from (the movie aliens) 2 add a garden shovel 3 a few litres of blue paint (for blood)

and voila YOU GET THE ALIENS FOR THIS MOVIE

And my weren't they good!

I liked this movie I found it entertaining. However I thought the blue and yellow `tint' they put on it made the movie look like it was a cheaply made (which it wasn't).

It was slow to start but impoved...however. It would have been better if we had a great chase scene with them getting attacked on all side. Sadly this didn't happen and most of the time our evil hammer-headed killer shovels were hidden in the darkness.

Great movie however I didn't like the way they delt with one of the characters.You will know what I mean when you see the ending, and I'm not going to spoilt it for you :)

and I loved the aliens....even if they did looks like killer shovels from hell ..

8/10

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

The best movie disney has ever made!!

[10/10 · 19 April 2000]

And it is very true!!!

It has everything-

brilliant detiled animation of high quality

good voice acting

rememberable songs

great dialogue (I know every part off by heart)

and a good storyline

Disney has never made any movie up to the quality of this

Aladin and The Lion king came close but lacked the beauty, grace and FEELING this had.

This is truly a film for all ages.

I am 19 and I still love it....

10/10

Galaxy Quest (1999)

If you have low expections you will like this.

[17 April 2000]

I saw this movie yesterday and having read poor reviews of it I did not have any great expectations for it.

Well I was pleasently suprised.

This is a very entertaining movie....BUT and it's a big but it should not be seen as JUST a comedy. The advertisement for it proclaimed it was a comedy.

but if you are expecting a laugh a miniute then you will be dissapointed. It IS funny but only in some parts.

I would therefore regard this movie as a si-fi adventure that had star trek satire in it. Even if you removed the comedy it would still be a good movie (not great mind you but watchable)

I was expecting far more satire in it thoughm, I mean the jokes could be limitless.

The acting was good and the special effects were of a high standard. Alot better than the latest star trek movie.

I give 2 thumbs up for the makeup department. The bad guys had extreamly good quality and IMAGINITIVE costumes. Thereticaly this could have been made into a serious movie (just make them real heros instead of actors) and it would still work. I give this an 8/ 10 you will be entertained

The Iron Giant (1999)

If it weren't for the animation I would give it a 10!!

[9/10 · 17 April 2000]

Which is basically it. When you compare this type of animation with (dare I even mention it) Disney you feel quite let down. The people are unrealistic but this can be tolerated because they are stylised, which is fine if you like that sort of thing. Some of the backgrounds ARE beautiful especially the sea and snow, it is also nice to see how the weather and seasons slowly change throughout the film.

The main problem (as I see it) is that some objects, especially the cars and quite noticeably the tractor looks 2 dimensional. This is the first time I have ever noticed this on ANY movie. I suppose it is because the quality of animation does not match the background.

The actual robot is computer animated but because he is put into a movie with low quality animation you simply don't notice it, instead the robot looks like he was drawn with great care by a skilled animator (with normal animation) and then placed in TV quality animation.

But I am afraid I am just being picky the quality of animation is unlike don Bluth or Disney but it is effective. After 10 or 20 minutes you forget about the animation and fall in love with the story.

This is one movie where the STORYLINE TOOK PLACE OVER THE EFFECTS AND ANIMATION. Which is a nice change especially since the horrible trash Disney produced last year with Tazan. This is what made it such a pleasure to watch.

It is a touching film in which I dare anyone to view and not feel compassion for the giant robot with a big heart. The animators did a noticeably good job at making a ridged iron face show warmth and love .

(WARNING THE NEXT FEW LINE MAY CONTIAN MINOR SPIOLERS DEPENDING ON YOUR OWN POINT OF VIEW)

The part when he prodded the dead dear and when he thought the boy was dead was quite frankly a masterpiece of effort. It is this sort of atmosphere that so many modern animated films lack. The LAND BEFORE TIME showed this depth of sadness and it can be seen with this film as well. To really enjoy a happy ending you must first feel sadness and pain. This is how I feel anyway a sad part in a film is essential for getting it's audience to care about it's characters.

I gave this movie 9 out of 10, because I really do think the quality of animation (not the style the quality) could have been improved.

But the best comment I can make on this movie is this- I asked my little 7 year old brother whether he liked the movie or not and he said `I WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN' . He had never said that about any movie he has seen. So I can think of no higher praise for such a brilliant movie.

Scream 3 (2000)

Utterly predictable nonscream movie

[6/10 · 25 March 2000]

This movie is very predictable, I kept predicting what would happen all through the movie and 90% of the time I was right!

The first one was marginally scary...the second the same....but this movie lets the down the whole trilogy.

I was expecting more suspence, gore and scares, but instead I was given a slow movie with little suprises.

Yes admitadly a few people in the audience and screamed but I certaily didn't.

However it is still enjoyable entertainment and is funny in parts.

My pet peive was that they had to pick such a loathsome person/character for the woman who played an actor impersonating the journlist woman (Dewy's girlfriend).

MINOR SPOILER ALERT (depending on your own oppinions)

I was not impressed with finding out who the killer was in the end..it should have been someone else. I thought from the start it was her mother and I was actually disapointed at finding out it wasn't her...pity and it would have been even better if they killed off all of the 3 main characters as well.



I give this 6/10 stars <..>

American Beauty (1999)

I laughed for all the wrong reasons!!

[9/10 · 10 March 2000]

I saw this movie last week and having heard nothing about it (except that it was disgusting) I was not overly hyped.

All the way through the movie I kept wondering where I had heard the main male characters voice...it was not until later I was told he was Kevin Spacely, the guy who did the voice of hopper in A BUGS LIFE.

There are 3 main groups of people who comment on this movie. The first (like me) thought it was funny..but not worth the hype. The second hated it saying it was perverted and sick...I was told that half the people left the cinema while seeing this movie. And the third absolutly loved it and overhyped it, so ruining everyone elses perseptons of it.

Yes it is a good movie but it is not worth the overall 9/10 rating.

It was spoilt by the beginning where we are told the main character will die (I don't see this as a spoiler because it is the first thing you hear when you see it) which in my opinion ruins the ending. I think the ending would have been more shocking if it was not anticipated.

The blonde teenager was overly sterotyped...I absolutly HATE the "sterotyped teenspeak" and the plastic bag thing was boring..BUT served a brilliant symbolic purpose. I laughed for all the wrong reasons in this film, I see it as a black comedy, and thankfully there were no really gratuatis sex scenes in it, however it is cringe-worthy through out the film as we see (among other things) the fathers disgusting fantasies about his daughters friend.

All in all a good way to spend your afternoon, but I would only give it an 8/10. I am the type of person to rate movies based mainly on how entertaining it was. However, just because *I* rated it that does not mean the whole board should give it such a high rating. I know is sounds silly, but when you compare other films of a much greater calibre which are given lower rating it seems such a shame. Overall the board should have given it a 7 or an 8.

<..>

Walking with Dinosaurs (1999)

Absolutly Marvolous

[10/10 · 11 January 2000]

and quite frankly that just sums it up.

It is a small computer animated series that is filmed just like an animal documentory....

The animation is almost flawless (I thought the long necked swimming dinosaurs eyes looked fake).

However some of the model shots didn't look quite that realistic...

and I thought that Jurrassic park made a better T Rex..

If this is the type of thing we see on a normal British TV series then I cannot wait to see what they can accomplish in the movies..

I give this 10/10 stars...

(and the "making of" video was also great.....the dinosaur on the skate board was halarious)

<..>

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

absolute CRAP!!

[1/10 · 31 December 1999]

and thats putting it midly..

I'm sorry but it was, is and always will be boring, and a waste of time (and money) to see.

And the reason is thus...

it dwells far too much on them getting lost to get you interested in it. The ending was alright...but only because I was thankful that IT WAS ENDING. DON'T GET HYPED UP TO SEE THIS MOIVE, see it if there is aboslutly NOTHING ELSE to see.

this is the only movie I have ever given such a harsh rating of 1/10 to.

and the acting wasn't up to scratch either!!!!

The Lion King (1994)

a rip off of the LAND BEFORE TIME

[9/10 · 5 December 1999]

warning (a few of my comments may contain spoilers, not that it will make any difference to your viewing pleasure) Now even though I think this movie is entertaining, it is not however better than BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Disneys best by far)and it has a very unoriginal story line and is a rip off of the LAND BEFORE TIME (see my comment on it). And here is why....

1) simba's father died just like littlefoot's mother died

2) the circle of life thing....Don Bluth thought of that first and it became a central part of THE LAND BEFORE TIME. Disney did not 'invent' it.

3) the orphaned child gets revenge by killing their tormentor. Scar vs the T Rex. Coincidence???

also has any one ever seen KIMB THE WHITE LION (created by the makers of ASTERO BOY) the lion kink is also copied from this lovey japanese cartoon series.

Well I just couldn't help pointing it out.

The songs are great and the animation is lovely. But I think the movie could be improved by

a) eliminating timone and pumba (or just getting rid of timone)

b) use african voices for the movie. I mean this IS Africa for god's sake. Why oh why do we have to listen to horrible american accents when we could be happy with the wonderful african ones. Despite what Disney may lead our poor children to think, our world is full of wonderful diverse accents and unfortunately only the american ones are used.

All in all I give this movie a 9/10 as it is entertaining despite its unoriginal story line.

Scar was my favourite and it is a pity he did not get a bigger part.

ps look at his paws and you will see that sometimes the pads on his front paws join in some scenes and in others he has separate pads for each toe. There's one mistake that disney forgot to fix.

The Land Before Time (1988)

The most beautiful dinosaur movie ever to appear on the big screen

[10/10 · 29 October 1999]

I saw this movie when I was 8 (I am now 18) and I loved it. It is one of the few movies I see which have great sentimental value to me and unlike most other children's movies can be watched on two different levels. When the children see it they will watch a movie about how 5 baby dinosaurs find their way to the great valley, while older people will view it as a movie based around how an abandoned orphaned child copes with the loss of his mother. The symbolism is great for example the dark rainy scene, but I have always cried when I see it.

For once A GIRL is seen as the the 'strong' character, Cera the triCERAtops (why does she only have one horn?) is headstrong and prevents female sterotyping. I think most people who can see movies with an open mind (hey it IS a kids movie so don't expect it to appeal to adults) will love this movie. Incedently my favourite character was Littlefoot, his birth was absolutly wonderful and unlike the other characters he actually looks like he has grown.

Unfortunaly due to space I cannot go into detail about the brilliant design of the backgrounds, characters and music but if on a rainy day you have nothing to see go and see this. The LAND BEFORE TIME was made by Don Bluth.

Unfortunaly none of the other follow on moives BASED on the 5 characters was ever is good as this one they are just too childish.

I love this movie 10 stars....