Change Your Image
rffp
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Hanna (2011)
Good Actors Wasted in Mindless Action Videoclip
I really like Cate Blanchett, she is beautiful and her acting skills are terrific. Even Eric Bana is a good actor, although his talent is wasted in a handful of mediocre movies. And you know that their careers are are sliding down when they wind up in this idiotic movie.
Any movie ought to have a purpose, I could say it is none but then I think the purpose was to indulge someone's (the writers?) fantasy of a frail teenage girl suddenly becoming a killing machine, all of this shown in a mindless action video clip. It is just pointless, ludicrous and simply boring. It reminded me of a very bad episode of any of JJ Abram's series.
I don't know if saw too many action movies in my life, that some clichés are becoming extremely annoying to me. The first one is the evil CIA cliché, in which the same agency that could not avert the 9/11 attacks has created with genetic engineering, way before the genome mapping was completed, a perfect soldier.
Then there is Blanchett's character, the evil and cold agent that is supposed to be the villain. Well, seeing that Hanna has a borderline, psychotic and anti-social personality, one can wonder who is actually the villain.
One that made me laugh is the scene in which a girl that never used the internet is able to easily retrieve clippings from newspapers before the time the internet was widely accessible and that the search engine can precisely give her the link she is looking for.
The end of the movie spared us of any implausible twists, but after the foreseeable conclusion, one is left to think: "Is this all?".
The Event (2010)
What a Mess!
One word summarizes The Event: Unbelievable. First, because the plot has no credibility whatsoever, the myriad plot holes increases with every episode. Second, how on Earth, did anyone come up with this and actually get it aired? The first episode was awfully confusing to the point that it became boring. The many flashforwards, flashbacks and other artifices accomplished only a headache.
Then came the airplane subplot, where the writers made a monumental mess. How did the passengers/crew become infected? It seemed to be after the crash, since our protagonist did not become sick as he outran (!) the approaching helicopters. And we never understood if these helicopters belonged to the conspirators, the aliens or the government? And what was that atrocious cover up story of the plane crash? It disappeared in the Brazilian forest? Well, planes have crashed in the Amazon forest and actually have been found after days, specially one that would be probably be monitored by the Manaus radar in Brazil. How the US government would handle the Brazilian authorities to cover up their story? On a flight from the USA to Brazil, expect the majority of the passengers to be Brazilian and not Americans. So this would immediately draw the attention of Brazilian press and government! And then we find out that a Brazilian separatist movement was responsible for poisoning the passengers/crew! Do we have such movement here? I don't think so. But, since the USA is governed by a native Cuban from a Democrat / Republican alliance, I came to the belief that The Event takes place in a parallel Earth where all these bizarre things exist.
The plane plot is just one of the problems with this show. The authors do not have a hint of where they are going. They are more interested in creating far-fetched subplots with a lot of mindless action, paranoid conspiracy theories involving evil assassins and shadow players than rather making these minor stories glue together into a major credible story.
For instance, Jason Ritter's character manages to rescue his girlfriend and then decides to drive aimlessly through the USA. What is his main strategy? With what resources is he going to accomplish anything? It is completely ludicrous.
If The Event actually outlast a show like Jericho, it shall be one of the greatest injustices of TV shows.
The Fourth Kind (2009)
Abduction Logic
First, I have no trouble in knowing that this film is a hoax, it was entertaining and gave me goosebumps and a couple of good frights. Second, the people of Nome had trouble with the movies? Well, learn from Roswell how to capitalize on UFO sightings lore!
I will give a brief analysis on the scientific contents of the movie. There was a problem with the methodology of the abductions, which seemed to me a bit illogical. In the abductions related by Dr. Tyler and Tommy, the aliens use a "primitive" approach since they physically remove the abducted from their homes by grabbing and carrying them outside. Now, when Ashley was abducted, from what I understood, she was beamed out of the house. Why the change in methodology? Even for a nonfiction, an explanation should be offered. As for contact evidence, the audio is registered but no other evidence is present? For certain, there would be traces of the aliens in the homes and nearby environment, the vegetation and soil would be affected, but these were neglected in the movie. Again, why?
CSI: Miami (2002)
A True TV Phenomenum
Throughout the decade there have been a plenty of great shows (IMHO) that deserved to continue, but were canceled due to low audiences. Now this turkey still lingers on TV and worse it looks still strong.
Make no mistake, CSI Miami is bad. But their creators have made an achievement in producing such an idiotic show that it actually becomes entertaining. The problem with CSI Miami starts way high with David Caruso's character: the farcial Horatio Caine. I regarded Caruso as a good actor before the show, so I think it is on purpose the way he portray his characters with that stupid twitch with the sunglasses, the infamous punchlines and his quasi-vigilante attitudes. I don't think anyone can take Horatio seriously, so I do think he was created to be actually funny.
The remainder of the cast is stereotyped. Rodriguez and Togo have still decent characters, but the female ensemble is beyond belief. Actually Emily Procter acknowledges the fact that her character is not a realistic one. The fact that her hair many times sweeps the floor of a crime scene is actually amusing. Eve La Rue has the sole purpose of being on the show for drawing male audience, because not only she is a mediocre actress but her character is an insult to every intelligent woman.
The crimes are entertaining indeed. But the way that they are solved is preposterous. The timing for the lab analysis to be done are unbelievable, but it is not even as bad as their interrogation techniques. Horatio in the real world would be hated by every DA trying to convict the criminals for his forced confessions that any public defender would have little trouble to overthrow them. What is really funny is that they solve elaborate crimes in actually one day, so the leading characters can go home in the Miami sunset.
CSI Miami is an incredible show for having so many flaws but actually being a successful show. It must be watched for at least knowing how dumb TV shows can be.
Numb3rs (2005)
Facts About Mathematical Modeling
After watching a dozen episodes, I decided to give up on this show since it depicts in an unrealistic manner what is mathematical modeling. In the episodes that Charlie would predict the future behavior of individuals using mathematical models, I thought that my profession was being joked about. I am not a mathematician, instead a chemical engineer, but I do work a lot with mathematical models. So I will try to explain to the layman why what is shown is close to "make-believe" of fairy tales.
First, choosing the right model to predict a situation is a demanding task. Charlie Eppes is shown as a genius, but even him would have to spend considerable time researching for a suitable model, specifically for trying to guess what someone will do or where he will be in the near future. Individuals are erratic and haphazard, there is no modeling for them. Isaac Asimov even wrote about that in the 1950's. Even if there were a model for specific kind of individual, it would be a probabilistic (stoichastic) one, meaning it has good chance of making a wrong prediction.
Second, supposing the right model for someone or a situation is found, the model parameters have to be known. These parameters are the constants of the equations, such as the gravity acceleration (9.8 m/s2), and often are not easy to determine. Again, Charlie Eppes would have to be someone beyond genius to know the right parameters for the model he chooses. And after the model and the parameters are chosen, they would have to be tested. Oddly, they are not, and by miracle, they fit exactly the situation that is being predicted.
Third, a very important aspect of modeling is almost always neglected, not only by Numbers, but also by sci-fi movies: the computational effort required for solving these models. Try to make Excel solve a complex model with many equations and variables and one will find doing a Herculean job. Even if Charlie Eppes has the right software to solve his models, he might be stuck with hardware that will be dreadfully slow. And even with the right software/hardware combination, the model solution might well take days to be reached. He solves them immediately! I could use his computer in my research work, I would be very glad.
As a drama, it is far from being the best show. The characters are somewhat stereotyped, but not even remotely funny as those in Big Bang Theory are. The crimes are dull and the way Charlie Eppes solves them sometimes make the FBI look pretty incompetent.
For some layman, the show might work. For others, the way things are handled makes it difficult to swallow!
Watchmen (2009)
The Sum of Good Parts May Not Add to a Good Film
I didn't read the comic book, but I had a good expectation on the Watchmen, and it disappointed me. The movie does have good moments, but the problem is they don't add up to a good movie. The movie spends a lot of time focusing on some aspects of the story, but some are just not developed at all. It is interesting to see a superhero movie that pictures them not as paladins of justice but as normal men and women with "shades of grey" and psychological problems, but they should do that for the right characters. Roscharch is a very interesting character, well played, but in the end he is not the main character and there is a lot of focus on him when the movie villain is treated very shallowly. Spectre II is presented as a troubled women by her mother's past but not well played by Malin Akerman. The Nite Owl seemed just like a weak guy with no will and completely submissive to Spectre's whims. Dr.Manhattan and the Comedian are reasonably well developed characters. The movie tries to show how the Watchmen interacts with the general population, but it seems a bit loose in the end.
*** SPOILER ***
For a story that supposedly wants to explore in depth the geopolitical conflict between two superpowers in a (not so) parallel universe, the writers could actually have studied history better. In World War II, the USA and the USSR did become allies to defeat a megalomaniac genocidal leader, but even before the war could end, these two nations were already on the path of conflict. For the "world's most intelligent man" to overlook this "detail" and believe that history would not repeat itself, well I just don't buy it. Whatever "pluses" the story had for me as a non-conventional superhero one, that big "minus" just blew them.
Eleventh Hour: Eternal (2009)
Pseudo-Scientific Crap
Since the beginning of the show, I had issues with Eleventh Hour, but since I am a stubborn man, I keep watching as it sinks into nonsense.
Does Hollywood want to make a show about a scientist? OK, it is fine, but at least hire someone that has not apparently dropped out of elementary biology and chemistry classes in high school.
OK, the dead guy grew a second heart, it is freaking bizarre! That is the poetic licence of the episode. But could someone tell how blood passes through that extra heart??? Along with that heart, new veins and arteries grew too? And miraculously those new veins and arteries were connected to the previous ones? Does a med student cost that much to tell the basics to the screenwriters? My wife works in the financial department and is not a scientist. But she pointed out another terrible mistake made by the show. This girl who underwent chemotherapy has all her hair intact? How come?! Now, that is a real scientific mystery for Jacob Hoob to investigate! And if it starts bad, it generally ends worse. Rachel Young has the incumbency of protecting Jacob Hood, as she likes to point out "He is an important asset to the FBI". Then why would she play chicken with this runaway villain? Did she forget her priorities? Or was it "cool" enough to produce a scene where two girls play chicken.
This is not the first time I saw scientific mistakes in Eleventh Hour, but in this episode they were below par. It is an omen that the show is sinking.
CSI: Miami: Rio (2006)
Horatio's Brain is Cooked!
I used to be a regular watcher of CSI Miami, despite the fact that I labeled as a non-serious "fake" police series. After seeing that episode, I had no doubt it is gained the "trash" status. Well, Horatio decides to go rogue and chase his nemesis Riaz (isn't that a Spanish name and not a Portuguese one?) in Rio de Janeiro.
First, although our justice department is a complete wreck, we do not import criminals to set them loose here. They have fled to Brazil on their own to escape prison on our former loose extradition laws, but we don't get them from outside our borders so they can create havoc here. In specific a blue-collar criminal that was in an American prison! And I seriously doubt the US justice department would allow that extradition.
Second, haven't they shot the episode in Rio actually? Haven't they noticed that it is an extremely hot city? Horatio Caine's brain would be cooked after 1 hour walking in the city streets under the harsh Rio sun wearing that dark colored suit. Well, that would explain his death wish when he decided to go up the hill and enter the "favela". That was laughable. A little "favela" boy that spoke perfect English? They barely speak good Portuguese! Third, Horatio look as "gringo" as one can, he would have been mugged and assaulted (not necessarily in this order) the moment he stepped out of the airport. So how he could approach the "favela" remains a big mystery! This episode marked the turning point in the series, in which the following episodes were as bad as they could be!
House M.D.: Daddy's Boy (2005)
Based on a true event
This episode was probably based on the accident that happened in Goiânia (central Brazil) in 1987. An owner of a junk yard bought a lead capsule on that year and opened it revealing a brilliant powder that he believed would be either his fortune or a supernatural element. To his and his family's doom, the powder was actually Cesium-137 that was recklessly abandoned by the Radiotherapy Institute of Goiânia. Some of his familiars smeared the powder on the skin, while his 6-years-old niece ingested the powder. Well, the symptoms were similar to Carnell's one, but the very sad end result was that 4 people perished due to exposure to Cesium-137, including the niece.