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mrharrybond
Reviews
Deep Blue Sea 3 (2020)
The better nightmare of the Deep Blue Sea...
Firstly, I want to discuss DBS2 and my theory to what could of possibly happened here. DBS2 was a movie that was never asked for and we got it. The production company behind DBS2 was indeed SyFy (with Warner) which explains the mess it was. SyFy has a long history of making a mess of once monster blockbuster movies (Lake Placid, Anaconda etc.). I'm not sure what the intentions were around SyFy taking over DBS from Warner, however the possibly that they could make a cheap movie that had a fan base and not do very much and make money is what comes to mind.
Researching the production background of DBS 3, SyFy had no involvement with this movie and it clearly shows in the finished product. However, my theory is that DBS2 made a lot of money ($1,656,55) in DVD sales) and had the hype for Warner to want to the take back the rights or Warner were genuinely disappointed with the results of DBS2 and did not want them to continue making a bad name for DBS (with high number sales). This reflects on all the recent SyFy movies DVD sales, where majority of their movies struggle to hit 100k in sales which is the possible factor to Warner taking the rights back for DBS3 and making a better movie.
Now to the movie itself, I'm not going to sit here and tell you this is the best movie this year and it was amazing, but there was a HUGE improvement in every department and 100x better then DBS2. The movie was actually entertaining and the story floated away from the previous movie setting and introduced to a more realistic setting. The acting was better, however in parts were badly presented (however, I went into this movie knowing it was no Meg with leading name actors staring)
The CGI could be considered awful, and yes it was for current technology, but again they're not going to throw a £30m+ budget into a movie that was never going to make it near and reviewers and viewers need to consider this when watching. Some scenes that were really a HUGE improvement were the likes of a boat sinking, death scenes and the explosions (DBS2 would never), however the Shark CGI is the one issue that ruins aspects of the movie... you get a good scene with a badly CGI shark, my suggestion would of been to create a animated real shark (this would of been cheaper then CGI) for scenes from behind or for example a scene where a shark had been captured and held would of suited better with a realistic image (again, this takes time and a on-going amount of money) - This would of definitely helped with the end scene where the main character (Emma) is being attacked underwater inside a structure/machine and you see various shots of the shark from above and the tail waving around.
The story was interesting, I liked the aspect that they moved away from the research facility, however it still linked (as those sharks have escaped and a science team had came to capture them) - the plot centres around a environmental team vs science team which equals to a battle for cruelty and research. (Which and who is right?!) and it links the previous movies although as much as we want to forget DBS2, how the movie was set up previously we had to have some background aspect of the previous movie for the franchise to continue.
However, if you go into movie not watching DBS2, you can just imagine the same scenario from the first movie (with small elements not from the first movie, however they explain them in this for the viewer to understand and they are easy to pick up) and this is the conclusion of the movie.
Overall, DBS3 is actually a really fun entertaining movie and doesn't deserve some of the harsh reviews it is getting from viewers. Do not go into this movie expecting a Meg styled movie with a huge budget with amazing scenes and stars leading. It's definitely one of those movies you watch when there is nothing else to watch, however if you were browsing through the TV and you saw it on you would probably watch again to be entertained and to get rid of boredom. I am giving this movie 6/10 based on the fact that certain scenes were badly paced and acted and they could of used real elements for the sharks (as this is a shark movie and not a action movie) and if Warner were taking over the project because of how negative DBS2 was perceived, I would like to think they would of thought about this more... which makes me believe that this movie was made to make more money... this is from Warner, a company worth $5.12 billion (they have the contacts and partnerships to make a cheap movie look better).
Reality Z (2020)
Dead Set meets Dead Ending
I knew this had been coming out for a few months and I was very excited, I had a rewatch of the recent Dead Set movie to compare and it was as enjoyable as the last.
Before, individuals who are unaware, Big Brother is extremely popular in BR and hits 37 million viewers, so this makes sense to remake this in the setting it was done.
As many other reviewers have pointed out, the first 5 episodes is a scene by scene of Dead Set and has little differences for example; instead of the boyfriend hunting down his assistant girlfriend like Dead Set, the creator of the house and her son leave to go and live in the house (because she knows how to work the house and what it has to stay out the apocalypse as she had designed it)
I liked this take instead of the boyfriend finding his cheating girlfriend as it was a fresh intake that makes sense and I think if this was a real zombie apocalypse you would probably think it's a good place to stay out, however when I started watching I noticed that there were 10 episodes so the time it was episode 3 I noticed that most of the incidents that had happened in Dead Set had happened in Reality Z so I knew that I cliff hanging was coming...
However, this is one element I would of liked to of seen changed, as the time it was episode 5 and "Dead Set" was officially over, you're kinda lost and confused and have to GET to know the new characters and start over. Imagine the first 5 episodes as Dead Set as season 1 and Dead Set season 2 as the 2nd half. I felt they could of embedded the main girl in the cast from the first 5 episodes to the whole main plot to help viewers root for someone throughout as most of the likeable cast members are killed off or are no present in the story.
For example; the mother is killed by Episode 6/7 and she isn't very present in the first 5 episodes, so the character development is messy and you're never sure who to support, this may be likeable to some viewers, however as people who are used to the original and how likeable the main character is to then be die and that's the end of Dead Set saw a conclusion of that character in Reality Z, which is why I felt the role of the main girl (from the 2nd half) could of been taken over by the main female lead from the first 5 episodes and you would of had a character development and understanding.
You can definitely see the change of Reality Z after episode 5, the story development is weaker and could of been changed to them beginning a new community shelter, for example; using a time of how long they have been in the house to understand and help viewers see why the two ladies fall in love, if they had a pop up staying "Time in House; 7 weeks" or even similar to Big Brother "Day 88" and this helps viewers with the imagination of 6 months of what we didn't see, like the ladies falling in love, the two mains falling in love, a rise in population to the house. However, I understand this would of made no sense with the food shortage, however this could of been an element of the story they added.
Things begin to get weird after Episode 5, threesomes, party's, lies, loads of survivors, this was a interesting aspect as they used the Big Brother game to apply to the power of what would happen possibly in a real apocalypse and this made sense while being in the Big Brother House. (A house that has power and force)
Overall, the season was great fun, the zombie designs and movement were much better in this then Dead Set, the ending did lack and made no sense to conclude the season and some interior shots didn't make sense to what was actually happening in the outside of the house. The editing wasn't very good in places. I am not going to comment on the actor, due to me watching the dubbed version, I am sure the actors were great in the show, however some of the dubbed voices were awful.
Watch this if you have always wanted an fun zombie season to watch recently and a season 2 to Dead Set!
Black Summer (2019)
Black Summer / Yah
I will add spoilers to this review, however I'll add stars for those who have not watched the series to skip.
Black Summer is described as "set in the same universe as Z-nation, but has a more serious tone" and the serious tone I can agree with, however this has no connection with Z-nation and is really different indeed. The series might as well of been a stand along own series, production are obviously looking for the fan base of Z Nation to draw to this due to the 'link' of them.
I am seeing a lot of reviews and comments about how 'dumb' some of the characters are at not shooting zombies in the head etc, this is actually the blame of production as I am sure in the Z Nation universe it is explained that they're in a universe where Zombies were not a thing before, so they have no idea how to kill them because they were non-existed before the outbreak began and production maybe should of added this into the plot.
I feel this would of been suited better as possibly a 3/4 part movie, similar to U.K. Zombie Flick, Dead Set.
***
The issue with some of the chapter scene blocks is it spoiled what was coming, for example we knew what was happening before it even started with the 'Crawl, element. Yes not all of the blocks did this, however some of them did.
The introduction to some of the characters were pointless, including Brenda; I could sense what they were doing in the start episode and this was to get a sense of rooting for particular characters and then boom they're gone, however this normally works when characters have been introduced and not killed in the 2nd/3rd episodes.
It would of been more interesting to have Brenda's husband join the group at a later stage, not having a idea she was killed earlier in the season.
***
I gave the season a 6 star rating due to the fact that if you're coming into this season not knowing about Z Nation, you're not going to understand certain links (for example) the zombies being non existent before, hence why nobody knows what to do and this looking dumb.
Some of the scenes could of been more intense, one thing us zombie fans love about running zombies/infected is the hordes of them and not knowing who is going to live or get away from them (this would of been really fun in the start episode and could of worked) example; when the civilians are at the gate and the army won't let them in, this would of been better if a horde of running zombies were after them. You rarely see more than two zombies in a scene.
The acting was good, however there were elements of the show that were plain out cringy; example the dancing in the warehouse, I know you're not watching that, but it is really hard to miss and this leads into the next part...
***
However, this is another element that needs to be looked at in terms of production before watching, this is made by The Asylum Group (behind the rip off movies; Snakes on a Train, Death RaceRS, Titanic 2, Sharknado) the whole point of their production company is to rip off big budget movies and TV Shows.
Black Summer doesn't do this massively and it's clear Netflix had no input on the budget of this season, this is shown in the fact that Netflix have just put Army Of The Dead into production with a reported 90m budget, so they were obviously very interested in making a zombie movie/show, which means likely Black Summer was made prior to being a "Netflix Exclusive" and was made on the budget it was given then and that is shown in terms of some of the CGI, however I will say this about Black Summer and The Asylum Group and that is this didn't feel like an Asylum production and that is honestly a good thing.
What to expect when watching Black Summer?
1. This is no FTWD to TWD and this has no huge links to Z Nation; so you don't really need to watch that to watch this; but you need to know the basic stuff from Z Nation, however production should of made this more obvious and clear.
2. This is not made by Netflix, therefore the budget, acting and directing style is not up there with some of the Netflix Originals.
3. Expect boring episodes and quickly drilled in scenes to quickly be moved onto a new scene to then go back to that moment later; watch and this will make sense.
4. Go in with a open mind, remember this is a completely different universe of zombies then the usual zombie world, therefore "dumb things" will be done.
Halloween (2018)
Halloween Reborn!
I went to see Halloween tonight at the latest showing. The cinema was hardly packed and this is actually great for Horror Movies as you don't have others screaming for the fun or making loads of noise, the whole cinema was silent which was great for HALLOWEEN.
Halloween is a direct sequel to the original Halloween which made the pre-judgement of the movie very wary as I wasn't sure what to expect as I really enjoyed H20.
Halloween 2018 began very slowly (as I felt) it seemed as it dragged on for a bit and didn't seem too much of a horror and more of a drama (which isn't all bad) however it kind of took a chunk of time up linking in storylines that were pointless, for example the lead teen girl's boyfriends relationship was actually a pointless involvement with the story line as nothing comes out of it.
The death scenes were great and it was good to see a big movie feature with gory death scenes, the camera angles were some of my favourite, you didn't know what to expect within each scene and I was always waiting for a jump scare, I'm not sure if it was intentionally, however some scenes featured items on the side of the scene which you were never sure if this was Micheal or a item ready to jump out.
This movie is definitely not a disappointment to the series and died hard fans will appreciate the movie more then past movies like H20, Micheal began becoming more of a supernatural element within other movies instead of a human serial killer, this movie has made Micheal be more realistic again and gives great character build between the main character however it would of been great to see more character build around the teenagers and the mother.
The Boy (2016)
This is really not as good as what it has been made out to be!!!!
I went into the movie, thinking it was going to be about a doll, something similar to Chucky or Annabelle but it's nothing like them. A lot of people are saying this is original, but it's not The Pact and Housebound are very similar to this. (Ending wise) A lot of the movie didn't make sense.. This is where a spoiler happens. She is given a doll to look after and he starts making you think it's a paranormal. Which it kinda makes you think, oh s**t there actually is a ghost in the doll.. But somethings don't really make sense. I'm now going to reveal the ending.. The boy isn't actually living in the doll but instead living in the house (so the doll actually had nothing to do with it) and he's a real life Adult. There's a scene where she wants to see the doll eat, to reach for his food. But he doesn't, she goes to the bin and the doll has moved, in that time frame no human can come out of a wall, pick up a doll and place it somewhere else, specially without making noise. The weird part is the ending, her ex boyfriend arrives the terrible one, at this point she thinks the ghost is still in the doll and this is the part of the film where you think they're going to tag team and kill the boyfriend together, she asks the doll to help her get rid of her ex boyfriend who is staying in the house and wants her to leave by tomorrow. So he does what she wishes. She asked for the help?! Anyway he paints blood on the wall saying "Get Out" then the scary ex boyfriend smashes the doll. Right now.. He is mad. This is where some of you may not of seen it coming, but the guy she thought was living in the doll comes out the wall.. Now obviously I would be scared as f**k. But one she asked for his help to get rid of him, two. Surely she should of been happy he get rid of her terrible ex boyfriend for her, He didn't want to kill any of them. He wanted to kill the ex for smashing the doll. I'm not saying they wouldn't be in shock and I just feel they should of explained more to him, what's happened. He was in a fire, his body was never found so what does that mean? There's a possibility he isn't dead. Certain things just don't link, like his parents killing themselves and so they give the nanny to him. But didn't his parents know before they went off to kill themselves, that she was meant to of been there for only a few months, so if none of that happened. When her months were up, did they just assumed she would stay.. If they really cared about there 'Boy' so much, why didn't they stay for a few nights before they went off and made sure she knew what she was doing.. I know I know it's just a movie. But sometimes these movie writers don't ever think? Oh that won't be ridiculous. It would of been more fun if the Doll was actually paranormal and the Nanny and Doll teamed up to try and kill the boyfriend. If you watched it.. The scenes before that were so strange. They build a relationship, but I don't understand, he nicked her clothes and necklace and he does something to prove he's 'paranormal' and she's best friends with him. Find out where that dress is.. Find out where your necklace is, like she is freaked out at first that he's paranormal then he gives her shoes back and she's happy with him and hugging him all around the house. If I knew a ghost was living in a doll, I wouldn't be okay with it. I wouldn't think it was a miracle. I would think this has never happened before and still be s**t scared and report it and get help.
Don't waste your money to see this in cinema. This will be on Netflix soon.
Bad Johnson (2014)
Could of been better!
Okay, not the world's most greatest movie about (SPOILERS) a Penis becoming A human, exactly what other movies are like that? None. It bugs me that the idea was wasted on something like this movie. The movie had no actual funny moments apart from one moment that made me giggle. The movie is obviously aimed at young teens/adults but some of it just reminded me off a Kids program, which is shocking as it contains a lot of sex. I mean the movie seemed rushed towards the 2nd half. He went on to have met this women for the third time and he's in love already. I mean the movie was totally rubbish, but it's not a buy worth movie!