Better than I expected.
Good script. Good visuals. Solid performances. Decent direction.
Good script. Good visuals. Solid performances. Decent direction.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Standoff
(I) (2016)
Wonderful filmmaking
16 January 2016
Suspenseful, emotional thriller with amazing direction and performances. Cool looking too. Loved it!
The music was great also. Both the background music and the song at the end.
Short and sweet too. I find most movies too long and slow, but this was tight as a drum. It kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat the whole time.
The three main actors were very strong. Laurence Fishburne like you've never seen him. Thomas Jane and the girl bring a tear to your eye.
I found the whole thing very moving and heartfelt, which surprised me for what I expected to be just a suspense thriller. But it was so much more.
The music was great also. Both the background music and the song at the end.
Short and sweet too. I find most movies too long and slow, but this was tight as a drum. It kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat the whole time.
The three main actors were very strong. Laurence Fishburne like you've never seen him. Thomas Jane and the girl bring a tear to your eye.
I found the whole thing very moving and heartfelt, which surprised me for what I expected to be just a suspense thriller. But it was so much more.
Edge
(2015 TV Movie)
Borderline Unwatchable
6 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
It made HELL ON WHEELS look like UNFORGIVEN. It was free and I fast-forwarded through half of it, but it was still a deeply depressing experience as a western fan. To say this wasn't up to Shane Black's usual quality standards would be the understatement of the year. It was like a terrible NAKED GUN-style comedy spoof of a western they would have made in the 80s... But if it didn't realize it was a comedy.
So, uh.... What exactly were they going for here?
It wasn't even remotely close to being gritty enough to work as a real-world western (obviously!). It was goofy and silly, but not clever or funny, so it didn't work as a spoof of the genre. The OTT action wasn't cool or OTT ENOUGH to work on an insane-fun John Woo level. And it didn't seem to realize how deeply terrible it was, so it failed to even capitalize on working on a "so intentionally bad it's fun" level.
So... A super-goofy-and-silly, yet oddly straight-faced-and-unfunny OTT western action show with sub-par action, terrible acting, and amateur cinematography? WHO WAS THIS MADE FOR?!! Certainly not any variety of western fan.
Plus, a Shane Black movie without a single line of good dialogue? I thought I'd never see the day....
What a wasted opportunity.
So, uh.... What exactly were they going for here?
It wasn't even remotely close to being gritty enough to work as a real-world western (obviously!). It was goofy and silly, but not clever or funny, so it didn't work as a spoof of the genre. The OTT action wasn't cool or OTT ENOUGH to work on an insane-fun John Woo level. And it didn't seem to realize how deeply terrible it was, so it failed to even capitalize on working on a "so intentionally bad it's fun" level.
So... A super-goofy-and-silly, yet oddly straight-faced-and-unfunny OTT western action show with sub-par action, terrible acting, and amateur cinematography? WHO WAS THIS MADE FOR?!! Certainly not any variety of western fan.
Plus, a Shane Black movie without a single line of good dialogue? I thought I'd never see the day....
What a wasted opportunity.
Source Code
(2011)
Doesn't just insult your intelligence, it violently assaults it
13 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This movie doesn't just have plot holes, the whole thing IS one giant, gaping plot hole. There are too many nonsensical story elements to list, but here are the two biggest ones:
1 – What IS the source code exactly?
They say it creates alternate realities based on 8 minutes of a dead guy's memory. How can you create an entire fully-interactive alternate reality based on somebody's MEMORY? (Which is by definition something fixed that can't be changed or interacted with.) The whole idea just profoundly doesn't make sense on a fundamental level.
In fact, how do you create an alternate reality AT ALL? (Regardless of whether it's somehow based on a dead guy's memory or not.) They just toss that ability off casually, like it's no big deal: "Oh yeah, we can create alternate realities now. Neat, huh? We're not going to explain it or even remotely get into the logic behind it "
Creating alternate realities and being able to recover the last 8 minutes of a corpse's memory are two concepts that have absolutely NOTHING inherently in common. It's just a sloppy juxtaposition of random junk sci-fi ideas.
2 – Why do both Stevens and his commanders think the person detonating the bomb is ON THE TRAIN WHEN IT BLOWS UP?!
Stevens spends almost all his time looking for the culprit on the train, primarily during the longer period after the last stop is made before the explosion hits, which makes absolutely no sense. Obviously the person responsible can't have blown himself up if they're so sure he's about to strike again later in the day.
If he had even basic deductive reasoning skills, Stevens would have always gotten off the train when it stopped and suspected only the people who got off with him. (And on a bigger level, no solid reason is ever given for why his commanders are so incredibly sure the suspect was even on the train ANYWHERE CLOSE to that 8 minute window he keeps visiting to begin with )
So in short: Not only does this movie make no sense, it doesn't even seem like it's TRYING to make sense. It just feels like the filmmakers are giving you the finger and yelling "eat it, you morons!" for the entire running time.
1 – What IS the source code exactly?
They say it creates alternate realities based on 8 minutes of a dead guy's memory. How can you create an entire fully-interactive alternate reality based on somebody's MEMORY? (Which is by definition something fixed that can't be changed or interacted with.) The whole idea just profoundly doesn't make sense on a fundamental level.
In fact, how do you create an alternate reality AT ALL? (Regardless of whether it's somehow based on a dead guy's memory or not.) They just toss that ability off casually, like it's no big deal: "Oh yeah, we can create alternate realities now. Neat, huh? We're not going to explain it or even remotely get into the logic behind it "
Creating alternate realities and being able to recover the last 8 minutes of a corpse's memory are two concepts that have absolutely NOTHING inherently in common. It's just a sloppy juxtaposition of random junk sci-fi ideas.
2 – Why do both Stevens and his commanders think the person detonating the bomb is ON THE TRAIN WHEN IT BLOWS UP?!
Stevens spends almost all his time looking for the culprit on the train, primarily during the longer period after the last stop is made before the explosion hits, which makes absolutely no sense. Obviously the person responsible can't have blown himself up if they're so sure he's about to strike again later in the day.
If he had even basic deductive reasoning skills, Stevens would have always gotten off the train when it stopped and suspected only the people who got off with him. (And on a bigger level, no solid reason is ever given for why his commanders are so incredibly sure the suspect was even on the train ANYWHERE CLOSE to that 8 minute window he keeps visiting to begin with )
So in short: Not only does this movie make no sense, it doesn't even seem like it's TRYING to make sense. It just feels like the filmmakers are giving you the finger and yelling "eat it, you morons!" for the entire running time.
Tell Your Friends