I don't understand the low rating here. Is it because the two lead actors are female? I thought the acting was spot on by both leads (Danielle C. Ryan and Diora Baird) and the supporting cast as well, especially Joseph Reitman and Paul Haapaniemi. The dialogue was better than expected, certainly superior to anything written by M. Night Shyamalan. Yeah, the plot didn't make a whole lot of sense (why the need to speed to Las Vegas?) and some of the music was annoying but other than that, it was a solid flick. Also, the title of the movie could have been better, Night Train sounds like a horror movie that takes place on Amtrak.
Reviews
13 Reviews
Vertical Limit
(2000)
Great action flick, ignore the haters!
20 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Vertical Limit is a classic action movie that has been on my favorite top ten list for the past 23 years. It's not a movie for real climbers so anyone who says it's unrealistic shouldn't be taken seriously. It's Hollywood, nuff said. The cast is spectacular and the cameo by Viesturs is a nice touch for us climber wannabes. I've watched every climbing movie and while Vertical Limit may not be a documentary, it's highly enjoyable in a Cliffhanger sort of way. If you want realism, go see Free Solo. If you want drama, watch Into Thin Air. But for seat-of-your pants action and thrills, Vertical Limit is a must see.
Wifelike
(2022)
Humans is better but still not a total loss
19 August 2023
Wifelike is more of a crime story than sci-fi. Unfortunately, it's not a great crime or sci-fi movie. I though Elena Kampouris was great, she does a great robot. Doesn't say much that all the other actors were even more stiff and wooden than Elena. Wifelike adds nothing new to the android-as-servants genre but I like the fact that this wasn't a CGI-heavy flick like I, Robot. I thought Kampouris was a very believable robot and she pulled off the role well. Yes, it was a bit more stereotypically robotic than Gemma Chan in Humans or Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina but that's obviously how the role was written. A solid five out of ten.
Don't Look Up
(2021)
Really wanted to like it but...
3 August 2023
I'm a big fan of McKay and his party work. But "Don't Look Up" didn't do anything for me. I get the satire and I'm definitely no MAGA but there simply wasn't anyone in this movie that I cared about. Over-the-top acting didn't help nor did the fake teeth, which I still don't get. I actually thought the acting chops of Dicaprio, Blanchett, Streep, Lawrence, Hill, Rylence, etc. Were wasted in this movie. And I found myself fast forwarding through the concert scene as it dragged on and it didn't add anything to the movie. Seems McKay only added Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi to the cast just because he could, but they weren't necessary for the story.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
(2023)
I really wanted to like this movie...
17 March 2023
Just saw this in Seoul, on the third day of opening and there were only four other people in the theater for a late Friday afternoon showing (got off work early).
Wow, where to even being? Soooo many scenes simply didn't make sense to me and I'd list them all except I don't want to ruin it for those who are planning to see this. And I'm usually not the type to nitpick a movie but there was some seriously sloppy writing in this sequel. Very amateurish plot and very predictable. Even the cameo at the end by another DC superhero left me thinking "meh".
I get that this is a comedy but making the adult Billy Batson even dumber than the teen Billy Batson makes no sense to me, especially for a god with the "wisdom of Solomon". Unfortunately, even Dame Helen Mirren couldn't save this movie but I did enjoy watching Rachel Zegler, I think she has a long successful career ahead of her.
Still worth seeing if you're a superhero fan but I think Black Adam was slightly better, and that's not saying much.
Wow, where to even being? Soooo many scenes simply didn't make sense to me and I'd list them all except I don't want to ruin it for those who are planning to see this. And I'm usually not the type to nitpick a movie but there was some seriously sloppy writing in this sequel. Very amateurish plot and very predictable. Even the cameo at the end by another DC superhero left me thinking "meh".
I get that this is a comedy but making the adult Billy Batson even dumber than the teen Billy Batson makes no sense to me, especially for a god with the "wisdom of Solomon". Unfortunately, even Dame Helen Mirren couldn't save this movie but I did enjoy watching Rachel Zegler, I think she has a long successful career ahead of her.
Still worth seeing if you're a superhero fan but I think Black Adam was slightly better, and that's not saying much.
Thor: Love and Thunder
(2022)
Has its ups and downs
10 July 2022
I am a Taika fan but cognizant that sometimes his humor falls flat or feels cringy. There are more than a few flat and cringy moments in this movie. Thor: Love and Thunder would have worked better if there had been fewer forced jokes and more serious moments. The opening battle scene was chuckle-worthy but the phoned-in delivery by the crew of GOTG was a hint at what was to come. Don't get me wrong, I thought the acting by the main actors were fine. But they didn't seem completely sold on the script or the dialogue and didn't have the heart or nerve to tell Waititi. So it's off to work they go, delivering their lines the best they could, hoping that the audience would go along for the ride after 2+ years of Netflix at home. The 3 or 4 times that I actually laughed were honest laughs but the majority of the time, I was wishing that Taika would dispense with the attempt at humor and just get on with the story.
Godzilla vs. Kong
(2021)
Kind of a mess but wasn't expecting more
27 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Mindless entertainment that will be less enjoyable if you try to make sense of it all. For example, how are two academics able to convince the US government to let them take Kong to Antarctica with a military escort? Why is a child allowed to travel to the center of the Earth in an untested vehicle? Why are people still hanging out in skyscrapers when two gigantic monsters are toppling buildings all over Hong Kong? If you don't think, you might just enjoy this movie. Still, wait for it on streaming.
Bloodshot
(2020)
Surprisingly entertaining
23 May 2020
This starts off as a B flick but picks up I the second act. Definitely better than its 5.7 rating on IMDB. You just have to be patient.
Unlike 90 percent of the movies in this genre, the dialogue is smart and the plot holes are kept to a minimum. You can just feel that the people behind Bloodshot knew this movie's audience well. The marketing of this movie, however, was weak. Guy, Eiza, Lamorne and Sam were very believable and well cast. Vin, not so much.
Unlike 90 percent of the movies in this genre, the dialogue is smart and the plot holes are kept to a minimum. You can just feel that the people behind Bloodshot knew this movie's audience well. The marketing of this movie, however, was weak. Guy, Eiza, Lamorne and Sam were very believable and well cast. Vin, not so much.
That's it for me
15 May 2020
Season 3 was a grind. And the pretentious finale certainly didn't help. I think that'll be it for me. Would have preferred to have stuck around until the conclusion of the series but the writers made that an impossible task.
Do I have to rewatch season 2?
4 May 2019
C'mon TMITHC producers, the last episode of season 2 was back in 2017. The least you could have done to ease fans back in was to make season 3 episode 1 easy to follow. Better yet, don't make us wait nearly 2 years between seasons!
Reminds me of Happy Days...
15 March 2019
... and how horrible it became toward the end of its run. I've seen every episode of MF and this episode was absolutely cringe-worthy. The only reason I kept watching was so I could continue to say that I watched every episode.
Glad to see MF hasn't lost it
21 April 2018
Transformers
(2007)
Typical Michael Bay
28 June 2007
Gotta hand it to Michael Bay, he really knows how to deliver in typical "Bay" fashion. Left the screening here in Bangkok a half hour ago and I feel exactly the same way I did after watching The Island, The Rock, Armageddon and Pearl Harbor for the first time -- fulfilled but empty. Bad Boys actually had good character development compared to his later big budget flicks.
Anthony Anderson was totally useless here, still wondering why Bay brought him on. Voight started off well but then began to remind me of his Manchurian Candidate character, and soon after that seemed to slip into his Bill Biscane ala Baby Geniuses 2 shtick. Maybe it was just me, Voight's character became irrelevant halfway through this two-hour plus CGI fest. I was actually surprised by Megan Fox, she did a very passable job while LaBeouf was good as usual, nothing great here though. And the usually brilliant John Turturro was a bad choice to play the deadpan secret agent, it was hard to take him seriously in this role. The character was obviously a caricature but Turturro played it up too much, methinks.
If you like Bay, you won't be disappointed. Over the top action, good looking girls, unbelievable CGI, even a younger Michael Biehn, played by Josh Duhamel. I know the original series well and I didn't care so much that Bumblebee wasn't a Bug, but the GM product placements were too obvious and overdone. And finally let me say that the storyline left much to be desired. How many times do we have to sit through the long-lost-whatchamacallit- has-been-located- whoever-finds-it-first- rules-the-world plot??? Puh-leeze. It was like another Jon Voight masterpiece, National Treasure, except even less believable.
Overall thought, a must see for CGI, robot and Bay fans alike.
Anthony Anderson was totally useless here, still wondering why Bay brought him on. Voight started off well but then began to remind me of his Manchurian Candidate character, and soon after that seemed to slip into his Bill Biscane ala Baby Geniuses 2 shtick. Maybe it was just me, Voight's character became irrelevant halfway through this two-hour plus CGI fest. I was actually surprised by Megan Fox, she did a very passable job while LaBeouf was good as usual, nothing great here though. And the usually brilliant John Turturro was a bad choice to play the deadpan secret agent, it was hard to take him seriously in this role. The character was obviously a caricature but Turturro played it up too much, methinks.
If you like Bay, you won't be disappointed. Over the top action, good looking girls, unbelievable CGI, even a younger Michael Biehn, played by Josh Duhamel. I know the original series well and I didn't care so much that Bumblebee wasn't a Bug, but the GM product placements were too obvious and overdone. And finally let me say that the storyline left much to be desired. How many times do we have to sit through the long-lost-whatchamacallit- has-been-located- whoever-finds-it-first- rules-the-world plot??? Puh-leeze. It was like another Jon Voight masterpiece, National Treasure, except even less believable.
Overall thought, a must see for CGI, robot and Bay fans alike.
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