Reviews

A vastly overrated movie bringing home the Oscar over the superior - but also overrated - 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Shawshank Redemption'.

Overall good production quality, some nifty technical gimmicks considering '94 movie standards, performances of Hanks, Sinise and co. are all pros, but far outweighed by the cons such as inane one-liners ("box of chocolates") that reek of maximum cringe and minimum braincells.

I can't hate the good-hearted simpleton... He does accomplish what is beyond his grasp, become a war hero, a millionare by blind luck and some suspension of movie disbelief, he does stand up for his beloved Jenny when everyone else treats her like dirt, however she could care less and treats him like dirt in return. Actually, just about everyone except his mom and Bubba treats him like dirt for the majority of the 2 + hours of running time. I get it, most of society don't care much for the mentally impaired.

My main gripe with 'Forrest Gump' is that it makes an unintended (or is it?) mockery of the mentally impaired with its' happy-go-lucky comformist message described very well in certain articles regarding this movie. In doing so, I respectfully disagree with Downey Jr.s' infamous meme regarding 'I am Sam' vs. 'Forrest Gump'...

Sheriff Teasle's initial judgment and reaction is to move him on, and rightfully so.

For whatever reason, no matter how 'wronged' you feel, if an officer of the law orders you out of town, you move on. Being an unemployed bum, needing a bite to eat, having been kicked out of numerous previous towns are Rambo's problems, not the Sheriff's... It doesn't give Rambo any right to neglect a direct order to vanish from Hope.

What Rambo does in return makes the arrest and not stating his Miranda Rights a moot point. In most states during the time period Rambo would be classified as a vagrant, he's got no business there and is asked before the ride if he's visiting someone around town to which he replies "no". He's given the reason during the ride why he's not welcome and a fair warning. The arrest for vagrancy is technically correct and Teasle is not bound by law to state his Miranda Rights by default in this context.

Being treated like dirt by deputy Galt doesn't excuse Rambo's actions. Quite frankly, I understood very well why Galt immediately disliked Rambo. He didn't realize Rambo refused to give his name 'cos of PTSD flashbacks, he understands this as aggression further escalated by Rambo. I'd be tempted to shoot Rambo as well, after being assaulted...

Rambo does not discern hostile deputy Galt from deputy Mitch either, who is courteous and friendly towards him, he sees everyone as "the enemy" at this stage.

Judging by how PTSD'd Rambo snaps and goes on a killing spree - although nobody except Galt is killed, the Sheriff and the rest of the deputies are wounded - proves once again Teasle's initial dislike of him is 100 percent correct. Rambo going back to town in a hi-jacked truck to 'get even' is no longer self-preservation, blowing up the ammo store is beyond reasonable, it's not like he checks if the owner isn't sleeping upstairs in the same building.

He then proceeds going ballistic with the M-60. The audience might assume Rambo knows not to mow down anyone innocent in the crossfire, there is nothing to suggest he does and he chooses to wreak havoc in town rather than be on his way, in Rambo's warped perception "the enemy" needs to be taken down, he needs to "win". Once again, his choice...

...and this ticking time-bomb becomes celebrated as some sort of hero ? Really ?

I understand that Morell's novel made Rambo less sympathetic than what we see on-screen. Props to Stallone for making a psychopathic criminal more likable.

I said Rambo is a criminal for a reason. This guy is oblivious about whether his actions cause collateral casualties or not. Not someone who you'd want as your neighbor and far from someone to look up to, 'anti-establishment' or not.

The character redeems himself somewhat in subsequent movies, but realistically Rambo would've either got sentenced to death or been locked up in an institution for the criminally insane indefinetely.

Hence, my 2.0 rating for an otherwise fair action movie.

*Edit no. 3* I've noticed that reviews (including mine) giving 'First Blood' low ratings are downvoted on here. There are additional reasons I never thought of this as anywhere near "masterpiece" as some reviews claim... I never found the action sequences or the movie as a whole to be particularly well made in terms of production quality, rather so-so... A modest $15 mil budget and standards of the time taken into account. I've also noticed people slating Richard Crenna as a miscast while I found him alongside Brian Dennehy to be the best parts of the movie.

...with that in mind, well accomplished.

If you're in the camp who detest style over substance, who detest surrealism over realism, then this is not for you. Hence, why we see the 1.0 ratings. To deduce some negative reviews stem from fundamentalist Christianity is also not too much of a stretch...

...KKK identify as Christians. Hitler arguably identified as a Christian. The Jeremiah Sands character fits the mold of (Waco-massacre) David Koresh, who identified as a Christian and a new 'Messiah'. The movie does no disservice to Christianity and is rather a reminder of Dark Ages and the checkered past of religious faith.

In a picture of this sort, visceral and brutal violence tells the story better than some PG-rating would allow, so I feel the movie is better off for it.

Cage gets some well-earned justice and does it well in his signature OTT style, descending further to the inner circles of Hell... Linus Roach did an excellent job, I feel. I wish his character hadn't broke near the end - then reverted back to form... Rather I'd just have the "kneel before me, mother*****" etc. dialogue, then gets cracked. Can't fault Linus, but rather the screenwriters/director for that.

An otherwise fair 5-6 rating from me, but Cage and Roach do bring this up a few notches.

One-star "reviews" trying to pass as cool/edgy won't change my mind.

"Plot" looks like it was written on one napkin while under the influence.

The poorly edited fragments chopped, cut, copied and pasted together to look like a semblance of a "race" are 'nickling-and-diming' budget MTV meets poor man's 'NFS' rip-off in a nutshell. And even that might be too generous...

The protagonist prepares for a final "street race" by going go-karting under "Red's" supervision... Right.... Ehhm...

Ah, but they manage to drum up an Impreza vs. Skyline for the bells and whistles... Two alright cars in an another just as poorly-as-previous edited farce of a "race". So that's that.

Other ridiculous movies like, say, 'Redline' (the one with Angus MacFadyen and Eddie Griffin) of this genre at least managed for the most part to get the racing scenes done in an entertaining way... 'Street Racer' is just trite at best.

I'll end this with another reviewer's observation : Protagonist shows up in an "M-swapped" BMW. Bad guy shows up in a Honda S2000. Bad guy says : "I don't race ricers"... Priceless.

That sums up the car know-how of the makers and producers of this beyond steaming pile... Also written on one napkin during a hangover.

..The viewers are left to 'fill in' the glaring holes and loose ends by their own, most notably why and how the Police and FBI's ineptitude is beyond repair..

A few unlikely reasons could be:

* The following media circus influenced high ranking officials to consider this a 'case closed'

* Rosamund Pike's character's rich parents influenced high ranking officials to consider this a 'case closed'

Both of the above combined with that 'Gone Girl' (the movie, not the character) maybe deliberately makes a parody of the majority of investigators - except 'Rhonda Boney' who knows the "victim" is a liar - high profile media coverage and the juidicial system.

A political comment about farcical media 'for the masses' and corruption. Dark satire of sorts. If you will.

Previous 1/10 reviews I found good were the ones pointing to the numerous plot errors, I'll just add to a few previous points: * She bought that cheap car for her disappearance with cash to avoid a transaction trail, you'd assume she'd further already have fake IDs/licences/car registered in a phony name, etc. in order to avoid being traced - further assuming her fake alias(es) would check out when scrutinized * The monitor camera for the sex/murder scene could be either turned off or there was no camera for that angle/bedroom * You might assume she could have deleted any camera recordings that disprove kidnapping and abuse - if she had access * The Neil Patrick Harris character wouldn't have an alibi for the duration of the "kidnapping" and 'Amy' wouldn't be recognized by anyone when they were seen together, even that guy who remarked she looked familiar and none of the neighbours noticed her leaving the house alone during the "kidnapping" (most unlikely)

(Might give this a rewatch in case some details are wrong, in that case an edit will follow)

Movie suspension of disbelief fanfare and then some. She'd be caught and convicted, hands down. But hey, Ben Affleck's character ended up with those sweet deals in the end, pointed out by his top priced lawyer.

So it's all good?

Implausible plot especially towards the end qualify for a 1/10 on its own. But seen as dark comedy disguised as thriller.. Overall 6/10, nice production. Affleck, Pike and supporting cast did alright.

So.

Movie reviews slating the court-room proceedings portrayed are missing the broadside of a barn with a shotgun, they were supposed to be like that for a reason - you also witness a scene indicating Don Johnson's 'Devil's Advocate' character 'Kirkpatrick' being buddies with the judge - suggesting the trial was corrupt.

Technically, Cage's 'Drumoor' as a vigilante was ambiguously sloppy - he doesn't wear gloves and drops one of his guns on purpose during one execution - can be explained away by assuming he'd clean up after, he 'suicides' the final rapist assuming the rapist is ambidextrous - you see the perp holding a cell-phone with his left but writing with his right, then 'suiciding' with his left.

Rape is a controversial subject. You have - in a lack of a better word - abominations - like these four guys portrayed committing such horrific atrocities walking away... On the flip side of the coin you have false charges and wrongful convictions... In real life.

Props to the three ladies who I felt did a good job - Deborah Karah Unger looks different since last I saw her on screen. Needless to say, I was moved.

Don Johnson's 'Marlboro Man' reference is blatant, driving off into the sunset after somehow acknowledging 'Drumoor' did the right thing.

He did. 7/10.

So, our main "protagonist" is thrown inside a prison nobody would ever want to visit.

This review contains spoilers...!

It doesn't take long before the tougher prisoners - 'Mureren' in particular - target him, put him in place, force him to jump through their hoops and accept whatever crap they throw his way... Rune being alone and having no chance to defend himself, doesn't have much choice.

Following a failed drug-smuggling deal, Rune is screwed because he now owes money he can't cough up. 'Mureren' has it in for him - he did stab a friend of 'Mureren' on the outside... So it's time Rune is put out of his misery.

Were we really supposed to care about this guy? I found no reason to root for Rune... He's hardly any better than them, just weaker. Sure, the guy who wastes him is a typical thug - a scumbag member of a gang of scumbags who all belong in there, so I'd give some credit to the actors portraying these low-lifes.

Since the movie could be a somewhat realistic portrayal of life in places like this, props go where they are due.

But it's just bleak. And like Rune - of little redeeming qualities.

First off, I'm not one to write a review of any movie.

I've watched a few. Enough to know what's what and who's who in the biz, but I'm no film critic.

Main reason I wrote this review is to correct a misunderstanding perceived by a review of the "Creepers" cut VS "Phenomena" :

*SPOILERS*

The chimpanzee is NOT the killer in the "Creepers" cut. I watched the "Creepers" cut myself because I was intrigued by that reviewer's remarks. Either the reviewer remembered wrongly or watched an unknown "Creepers" alternate ending... If there would exist one. I then confirmed by IMDb's FAQ link that no such version (making Tanga/Inga the villain) exists.

I enjoyed Goblin's and Simonetti's score including odd 'Iron Maiden' and 'Motorhead' song choices that a lot of the negative reviewers thought were misplaced - even though those two bands are not really my cup of tea. The overall moody autumn/fall feel coupled with a picturesque Swiss horizon sets a great atmosphere.

Supporting cast was fair. Donald Pleasence's eccentric character made an important contribution. Daria Nicolodi as a seriously deranged character was fun to watch.

The movie is marred by some cheap and embarrassing special effects, trashy gore and low production quality typically associated with the horror/slasher genre.

There is a reason why Dario Argento had only nice things to say about Jennifer.

There is a reason why Jennifer wants to forget she once starred in this.

I'd otherwise rate this one around 4.5-5/10. But Jennifer Connelly's Ms. Corvino lights up the screen with her angelic presence and unusual powers.

If not for Jennifer, there would be no Phenomena.