jmcclendon-2 Reviews

The Grey (2011)

This review contains SPOILERS!!!

[5/10 · 31 January 2012]

I almost NEVER write reviews, but I'm making an exception for "The Grey".

I'm giving this movie a 5 out of 10. It could have been a 10, but two serious flaws made it sink like a rock.

1) I have never met anyone who actually PREFERS a movie in which ALL principal characters die.

2) Using a film to attack people who believe in the existence of God is a stupid idea and alienates a large percentage of your audience.

VERY RARELY is there a film in which leaving you totally in the dark about the ending is acceptable. 99.9% of those are expecting sequels. The notable exception being "The Thing" from 1982.

When I saw the trailer for "The Grey" I got all excited and couldn't wait to see Liam Neeson fight that big wolf. Guess what? I'm still waiting to see it, though I left the theater half an hour ago. You DO NOT see it. WHY? Because the MOVIE ENDS as Liam charges the wolf. Yes, I'm serious.

Please, please, please save yourself the 2 hours and $10. Let me help you out. All characters... the ones you like and the ones you hate, all die. And you don't even get to see the final confrontation between the main protagonist and the arch-villain.

This film could SO EASILY have gone down in my FAVORITES list, forever, and just took a nose dive.

Skyline (2010)

Despite what the critics told me to think, I enjoyed this film

[7/10 · 1 April 2011]

Because of the bad reviews, I purposely avoided this film for a while. Then, my Dad, whose taste are similar to mine, told me the film was actually entertaining... so, I just now got thru watching the DVD. Contrary to other reviewers comments, this is NOT SyFy channel material. The plot centers around a small group of people and the story unfolds from their perspective. The story is unique in its telling and the special effects add-to rather than subtract from the story telling. The ending was VERY unique and extremely cool. It leaves the door open for an even more unique sequel, which I hope is filming as I write this. After watching the film, I immediately Googled to find information about a sequel. My taste are somewhat sophisticated... I hate shallow, abstract and stupid sci-fi and I cannot stomach most of the crap that passes as fare on the SyFy channel, these days. THIS was not that. This was unique story-telling and superior use of a modest budget. Can't wait to see part 2!