Change Your Image
Fredrik-Hamper
Reviews
Noah (2014)
Great story, visuals and ideas. Non-biblical.
I remember seeing the ad for this on IMDb and letting out a loud sigh. I thought they'd made a Hollywood move and taken a story that has been done to death. I was going to skip it but I'd read an article explaining how annoyed it made Christians and that it was based on Gnostic teachings. I just watched it and I thought it was awesome! the story, scenery, atmosphere and possibly music (I don't remember any of it but I don't remember disliking it).
I don't really know the Biblical story that well. I've heard it many times but apart from certain points, I'm unsure what happens while they're out at sea or what happens once arrive. I liked how Noah came across as a crazed nutter towards the end. This is a realistic portrayal of anyone who is carrying out any grandiose/divine plan.
Some of the other actors/actresses seemed out of place, mainly Emma Watson and Jennifer Connelly. I find their reactions to situations... I don't know, generic or predictable? hollow is another word that comes to mind. However, I find them attractive, so they're nice to look at.
The fallen angels reminded me of Return to Oz for some reason. Specifically in their rock-monster forms.
If you are a Christian that sticks to the Bible, you'll probably find most of this offensive or just plain wrong. Regardless, you might have your faith strengthened by this movie, as Noah is very human and stuffs up many times... he even delves into alcoholism for a bit.
Prometheus (2012)
A great movie if you enjoyed the original Alien mythology
I've seen movies before at the cinema and enjoyed them but what I really enjoyed was just seeing a movie at the cinema (I rarely go at all). It wasn't until I saw the movie on DVD or TV that I realized it was a bit of a dull movie...
Now, I didn't get that at all from this movie but after seeing it at the cinema and enjoying it, then finding out how much people hated it, I figured the same thing had happened. So I watched the movie the other day on DVD and I still enjoyed it. I think it's a great movie.
The only thing that stood out when I watched the movie the first time around was Charlize Theron. She's not a bad actress but she seemed out of place for some reason and I just figured they wanted a Hollywood-type in the movie or something. On my second watch, it didn't stand out as much...
I found the movie immersive and wanted to know more. I'm happy there's a prequel or sequel on the way.
Another reason I enjoyed it - the last 3 Alien movies were awful. It was good to see an Alien movie with a familiar atmosphere.
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Genuinely good horror
I've always enjoyed slasher movies but I've never found them scary. I like the build up and finding out who the killer is. There usually isn't much more to them than that. This movie is like that but at times the deaths are visually horrific. One scene specifically is now burnt into my memories. I didn't expect this when I sat down to watch it. I had a similar experience from watching the Exorcist.
The teenagers in this behave like real teenagers. Everything is great in this movie. It will definitely stay with you if you like visual horror - and I don't mean gore so much, I mean scenes/atmosphere that are just bizarre.
Triangle (2009)
Interesting story
I have no problem with the story - all great. The more I think about it, the more everything seems to slot in place.
This is what ruined the movie for me: When the movie started and I got hint of Melissa George's American accent, I was fine with it. Then I saw her in an Australian looking house/street etc. "She's an American living in Australia", I thought. Then she met up with her friends at the yacht - everything looked and sounded like Australia. I heard her friends speak - American accents. So I got that this was set in America. The lifesaver reads "Miami" on the boat. Also, there's a school marching band in the park at the end (with cheerleaders holding the American flag).
I can go on about this for a bit. I'm not being patriotic, I just found it overly distracting. It definitely wasn't made with an Australian audience in mind because all of this stuff just stands out like crazy.
Godzilla (2014)
Long and boring
I'm not quick to label something as boring but this movie was. It was long, dull and just plain boring. I remember the 1998 movie well and it was amazing compared to this. Something it had that this movie didn't was emotion. This movie lacked any emotion. I cared for the monsters though but this is due to the nostalgia I have with the Godzilla franchise.
I feel offended when I see the same cookie-cut characters in movies. Why? They react to events and people in ways that are overly predictable. In a straight out monster movie you can get away with this but this movie was barely a monster movie - it focused on the characters for over three-quarters of the movie.
Another thing - everything was so serious. It seems to be a trend in recent movies to have everything take place in darkness.. or a stagnant gray atmosphere.
The 1998 movie was better. Actually, the director of the current Godzilla, made a better movie a few years back called, "Monsters".
Parenthood (2010)
Who behaves like this?
How does a family last so long like this without therapy? everyone is insecure.
Problems could be dealt with a lot quicker than they are. Everyone is passive aggressive and the problems that everyone deals with seem outdated. I mean in the way they're portrayed. Do the majority of people in America act this way? I know this is a TV show but it seems to be extremely popular with people in the way that it imitates reality, at least from the other reviews I've read.
I do enjoy whatever this sort of TV is called (drama?) but I feel stupid for sitting through an episode. It takes everyone forever to sort through simple things, especially given the fact that they come across problems with each other pretty frequently.
Parents are predictable in this show and lack individuality.
I actually got into this show for a bit because I was interested in the storyline to do with Max (the boy with Asperger syndrome).
Want to see some real drama? watch Freaks and Geeks. Although it's partly comedy, the parents act very sincere in it and the teenagers feel like actual teenagers.
World War Z (2013)
This isn't a zombie movie.
Why did they send him? why was he the expert? if communication was so good between locations, why didn't they just email or radio-call these places instead of physically landing and getting the main character to talk to people?
This isn't a zombie movie at all. You believe there is some threat to the main character in a zombie movie. When a guy goes to several locations and escapes an orc-like zombie mob again and again, it's as if he's invincible. Superman vs the Zombies. Why doesn't that concept work for 2 hours?
This film had very little tension or horror. You can make anything jump-scare you.
"Yay! pancakes for breakfast!" - that sums up the relationships/character-building in this movie.
Elysium (2013)
Good for the first half
It's odd but half of the cast felt out of place in this movie. I started warming to Matt Damon after a while but he just doesn't look the part and his acting is too polished. The mob boss had a similar vibe.
Sharlto Copley was great. I hated him. What a good villain.
The filming locations are great. It's an unfamiliar wasteland similar to District 9.
It sort of gets dull as soon as they get up to Elysium. Elysium seems dull compared to earth. When they finally get up there.. *shrugs* I'm a little sick of seeing long fight scenes in movies nowadays. After the grenade blew the villains head off, he should have stayed dead.
Diary of the Dead (2007)
Disappointing..
The weirdest part of this whole production is that very little is done to make it seem authentic. Everything is just too precise - I can't think of how else to describe it. It never felt like I was watching amateur footage. There was no sense of error.
Things that make it less authentic: Everyone can use a gun and hit a zombie in the head (first try).
The emotional responses from everyone are predictable or nonchalant to a lot of what's happening. The amount of death, blood and chaos - how is it that nobody is hysterical or unable to speak?
The Professor. His first line may as well have been, "I am an English person!".
The DIY horror movie (that the students were filming in the beginning) is so outdated and lame (a killer mummy). This sort of thing might still appear on a high-school drama series but it reveals how out of touch the writer is.
Well-framed death/gore. For example, the Amish guy plunging a scythe through the front of his own head to kill the zombie behind him (while facing the camera) only to turn and show the zombie behind him dying and falling to the ground. A more obvious example is the reporter in the beginning being bitten and the camera being knocked to conveniently frame her zombie-damage.
It wasn't until the barn that I noticed there was a musical score. Subliminally, I think this is why early on it just felt like a regular movie.
The dialogue (given the format) was horrible. People aren't this well-spoken in reality. I don't remember anything specific but the witty replies from the girlfriend (of the cameraman) just didn't work.
The narration in which the girlfriend explained the importance of the footage and her personal take on it all, just seemed stupid. From the moment they meet she's in complete opposition to what he's doing - he obviously dies later on.
I didn't finish watching the movie. I honestly hate to say this but I became bored and didn't care what happened to anyone.
Riri Shushu no subete (2001)
Beautiful and ugly
At first I found the back and forth messages/typing completely distracting but I became used to it after a while and it blended into the movie.
The scenery and overall atmosphere is beautiful. Another reviewer pointed out that this movie would have been better with a linear narrative and I agree with that. I wanted to know more about the main character and wanted everything to stop for a moment.
The ugliness of human nature - there's a lot in this movie. The overall movie left a bad taste behind. One character I wanted to see something good happen to was Kuno (the piano player). Horrible incidents started to pile up as the movie went on and it wasn't very realistic or maybe I personally have a hard time seeing the world in that light.
This was a powerful movie and the only reason I'm giving it a lower score is because of the morbid atmosphere it left behind with me.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)
A dragged out episode of Power Rangers
First off, I have to say that I enjoyed the Power Rangers TV show as a kid. I missed this movie when it came out at cinemas and the preview stuck in my mind for years. It looked like a fun, silly movie. Power Rangers has always been heavy with cheese. It's a very cheesy franchise.
It starts out with the team skydiving, followed by roller-blading. I haven't seen Power Rangers in a while but I'd forgotten they're adrenaline junkies. I found this funny and enjoyed it.
Shortly after, a new villain, much more evil and powerful than the previous evil guy is unearthed by idiot earth-folk - Ivan Ooze. Ooze has the power of slime at his disposal (reminded me of Ghostbusters). Good stuff! (At no point does he appear more threatening than the previous guy, Lord Zed). Ooze effortlessly breaks into Zordon's lair (the Power Ranger's headquarters) and destroys all of the equipment + Zordon. Power Rangers have never really been about plot so nothing strange going on here.
This is where it becomes a blur. With this new evil bad guy, comes new evil henchmen - slime-monster men. The power rangers fight them in an underground car-park. Compared to a monster-fight from the TV show the fights are really pathetic, I think because they're so dragged out. A funny bit worth mentioning - its dark in this car-park and Tommy suggests they need light. The Yellow ranger gets right on it by summoning her power-light (it actually had a cool name) and the top of her helmet lights up like a child's torch, which does bugger all to the darkness. I expected a blinding high-beam.
Their powers fade soon after. Confused and unable to contact Zordon, they make their way to headquarters seeing Ooze's dirty work. Zordon is dying but they learn from Alpha (Zordon's robot assistant) that on a far away planet/dimension, lies a great power, specifically for them.
They go there. They're attacked by Ooze's crow-monsters which overpower them, although they don't look threatening at all compared to some of the other things the Power Rangers have fought (Roman soldier pig and mantis-thing). An Amazonian woman steps in (native to this land) and gets rid of them, learns of the dying Zordon, Ivan Ooze and gives the rangers some new power-animals.
The Power Rangers head towards a 'power-monolith' shortly after (the home of the great power, specifically for them) and are attacked by a dino-skeleton, only to run to a temple (the power-monolith?) and get attacked by more things. I turned it off here because I really couldn't sit through anymore. I wanted to.. just so I could see the robot battle at the end.
The Power Rangers move around like a pack of dogs. Individuality (besides their colours) or character development are not something you'll see.
As a TV show, it's perfect : Peace - bad guy - fight bad guy - bad guy increases in size - kill bad guy - peace again + cheesy life lesson (eg. remember not to punch yourself in the face). Drag this out over an hour and a half with more visual nonsense and it just gets boring.
20 minutes is more than a full dose of Power Rangers. Watch an episode of the show :D