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chrisgiant
Reviews
Doctor Who: A Good Man Goes to War (2011)
Better than I thought, but this is still bugging me!!!
I've not been enjoying Doctor Who as much since Matt Smith arrived. That's not because I dislike his portrayal of the timelord, because I do. It's mainly because I find the most of the episodes from his series so far have been void of any real plot explanation or reasoning.
The main problem I had with A Good Man Goes To War was the Doctor building his army. Who the hell are these random aliens, why them and how did they come to owe the Doc a good turn? Some sort of flashbacks would have been nice, especially into how a member of a long-lost cast of Silurians ended up living out a lesbian relationship in the 1900's. The whole of series 5 & series 6 (so far) has been riddled with similar little unanswered questions. Things that could have been explained in earlier episodes with reasonable (in show) logic.
Another example would be at the end of Series 5. Multiple alien species appear when the Doctor is sealed in the Pandorica, yet there is no explanation of how they have come together at Stonehendge in Roman England. It can be explained for some, for example the Daleks have time travel tech and so do some generations of Cybermen. However what about the Jadoon (a space-bound POLICE force), the Silurians (a new cast only just encountered earlier that series), then there's the odd Weavel scattered about the crowd (a planet-less/techno void/refugee race) and what about the Autons/Nestine. How did they all get there? It's never explained, so why include them if not just to create an unnecessary fanboy parade of villains.
I sort of figured out the twist when we discovered Amy was pregnant, but I did find it very interesting to watch it unfold. Steven Moffet is a fantastic writer and allows the series expansive story to reveal itself at a well timed pace. However recently he seems to be pushing the popularity of alien inclusion to the fore-front and overlooking a lack of character and episodic plot development.
Doctor Who (2005)
Stop this quick!!!!
Well we're on episode 4 of series 6 and so far it's the same old waste of time. A very interesting episode idea written by Neil Gaiman, yet still clogged up by the rubbish that has littered the series since R.T.D. left. Rushed episodes have resulted in little to no explanation of key plot points and a transparency of character reasoning.
It's also now very clear that the show is starting to stray into Sarah Jane territory. Catering less for a family audience and pandering more to children. I was always under the impression that Sarah Jane was for the kids, Doctor Who for the family and Torchwood for adults (guess I was wrong).
When Matt Smith first arrived he bought something very refreshing and interesting to the character, but recently poor character writing is destroying the time lord's image. I'm getting extremely bored of hearing the Doctor warn every evil entity off with statements like "This planet is protected" and "Run" every damn week!! It's becoming silly when earlier series showcased such fantastic episodes as The Empty Child & Blink.
Let's check out The Empty Child from Series 1:
A battlefield ambulance from the future crashes in war-torn London and releases un-programmed nano-genes. They find the remains of a small boy killed in an explosion and wearing a gas mask. Upon reanimating the battered body into a battle ready super-soldier the nano-genes unknowingly attach the gas-mask to his face (being unaware of how a human should look). They then continue on to repair every human they meet to fit their vision of what a human should be. In the end the Doctor presents the Nono-genes with the child's mother. They realise their mistake after scanning her DNA and return everyone to their true form.
Science fiction with a well thought out plot and an interesting conclusion. Then compare this to the tripe that Doctor Who is fast becoming.
The now series producer Steven Moffat wrote The Empty Child and has written most of the shining lights in every series so far. He should clearly be writing more rather than giving the go ahead to the infantile stuff of late
Beetlejuice (1988)
Burton at his best!
When Tim Burton chooses a film to direct, you know he'll put his own controversial twist on it! He's a very dark and eccentric person, so his persona rubs off on his films. Burton does best with films that contain very dark undertones, in this case death and the afterlife! Indeed he seems to excel at these themes for example The nightmare before Christmas and Corpse bride! Almost all his big directorial hits have revolved around macabre and Gothic styling!
Beetlejuice is one of the best examples of this and sees newlywed couple Barbara & Adam Maitland involved in a car accident (see what I mean)! They return home, soon after and realise that they were killed and are now ghosts doomed for eternity to haunt their New England home! All is well for a while as they live out their afterlives in peace, until the Deety family move in. A troubled family to say the least! The father is a down to Earth kind of guy, the step-mother an eccentric modern artist and the daughter a goth with a death wish! So in order to expel these newcomers from their house the Maitland's hire a freelance bio-exorcist (Polterguiest) by the name of Beetlejuice. Although it soon appears that Beetlejuice has his own devilish agenda!
Tim Burton's classic comedy/horror is dark and extremely funny stuff, with every character expertly cast especially Keaton in the title role!
Patient J (Joker) (2005)
An interesting take on the Clown Prince of Crime's agenda!
Incarcerated at Arkham, the Joker is visited by a psychiatrist who has been refused access by the hospital's board, but has managed to bribe his way in. While asking the clown prince of crime an array of questions, we travel back via flashbacks to the first time Joker fought Batman as the Red hood, the murder of Robin (Death in the family) and Batman nearly killing him in angry retaliation. There's also some interesting dialogue about why Batman never seems to finish Joker off! Batman's costume changes from scene to scene as well, from the 1940's original (With the lower angled ears), to the costume similar to that pictured in the Return of the dark knight graphic novel and worn by Clark Bartram in Batman: Dead end. Finally, there's a great twist in the tale too, and it involves the psychotic Harley Quinn making an appearance!
The acting is not the best, but the joker is played rather well (With some great lines included), Harley Quinn is spot on (She's hot!) and the set pieces are some of the best I've seen in a fan made film! It has the right Gothic feel that the Burton films and begins have with the insanity of the joker from the animated series.
A great take on why the Joker does what he does. BECAUSE HE'S A NUTTER!!!!!!
Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)
What were they thinking?
The name inspires so much more than this film offers. I mean what the hell were they thinking even calling this film Day of the dead 2. Thank the high heavens that Romero didn't endorse this piece of wannabe trash!
The story goes: Back in 1968 a Russian/Soviet plane is shot down and crashes near a military facility in Pittsburge USA. The pilot survives and is immediately taken into custody. Upon further inspection of the planes cargo (an experimental chemical), the interrogators coax the pilot into revealing that it's a virus actually produced in the US for release over Russian soil. Discovering this they leave the pilot alone with his contraband for a brief period of time (Big mistake)!!! As he is soon placed into guarded quarantine after being seen to open one of the small vials. Whilst there an extreme metamorphosis accrues, his body dies and he has a sudden craving for human flesh. Before you know it the whole base is awash with the walking dead and then (As usual) the troops arrive to dispatch all involved. All except for a worker at the base hospital who steals a vial of the deadly agent, hides it inside a thermos flask and drops it in some long grass (after becoming a zombie and being shot). Cut to present day and the base now being used as a mental institution, which is soon turned into hell on earth when three patients discover the flask.
Now heres the rub, the acting is possibly the worst I've seen in a very long time (even the zombies) and the story is just terrible. The only redeeming feature (I use the term loosely) is the make-up effects, but I'm afraid even that can't save this awful addition to a great horror genre!
Other zombie fans be warned this film has nothing to do with the Romero movies. THANK GOD IN MY OPINION!
Guyver: Dark Hero (1994)
A nice taste of not to camp sci-fi!
As low budget sci-fi movies go this is quite a interesting flick, with some excellent fight scenes. As for the creature effects, the Guyver/Zoanoid costumes are excellent and overall go to make the movie one of my personal sci-fi favourites.
Ever since becoming the Guyver Sean Baker has been troubled by nightmares of alien ships and monstrous creatures. Worried that the suit that aided him in destroying the Cronos Corporation is now corrupting his sense of right and wrong. Although still using his abilities to fight crime he is struggling to fight against the impulse to kill that surges through his veins every time he calls upon the armour. He soon also finds himself being strangely drawn to an archaeological dig in Utah. But why do the digs benefactors seem so familiar and what of the increased reports of bear attacks in the local area?
Despite the quite bad acting, Guyver: Dark hero is good fun, is a vast improvement on it's predecessor (Mutronics) and is much more in line with the great story depicted in the manga comics/cartoons!
Predator (1987)
Action sci-fi classic.
What makes this different from other Sci-fi movies in this genre is the alien. The creature make-up is excellent and the action sequences are a pleasure to watch. This film is scary, exciting, and possibly one of the best action sci-fi films ever made, along with others including aliens and independence day.
The acting is tight and the predator sleek, foreboding and original in appearance. Which all make this a solid piece of cinema and not just a predictable sci-fi romp with a rubber alien. If you enjoy this then check out Predator 2 (Just as good), Alien vs. predator (Predator make-up not as good, but still solid) and aliens (What a movie).
Aliens (1986)
Does anybody care about the story and not just the action!
This movie is 100% sci-fi gold. So why do all these so called movie fans bother watching these films, when all their interested in is the action scenes. Remember cinematic entertainment is a form of art and like all art it depends on the viewers tastes. If you like non-stop action films, go watch Jackie Chan, Steven Seagal or Van Damme and don't complain about movies with back-story explanation or slightly more dialogue than you would like. For some people this is important to the feel of the movie and part of it's charm.
Anyway back to the film in question. Ripley is revived from her cryo-chamber to discover that she is being held responsible for the destruction of the Nostromo and the death of it's crew (Alien), despite all tales of the creature with acid for blood. Soon though THE COMPANY lose contact with an out-post of Terra-formers situated on the planet where the trouble all started (LB426). The Xeno-morphs (Aliens) are suspected and Ripley (Being the only surviving person to have encountered the creatures), is recruited as adviser on a mission she knows is doomed. This film is an excellent sequel to a great movie and the second in a highly memorable series of films.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Scary, Creepy, Funny, Excellent!
Great zombie effects and an excellent setting, make this a must see movie for any zombie fan. As for everyone else, you'll either love it or hate it, but I recommend you experience it at least once.
Zombies are taking over the world and humans are becoming an endangered species. Two s.w.a.t. team members and a couple of TV station employees, hold up in a shopping mall, while the undead gather outside and lets just say things go a little awry.
Executed brilliantly by Romero and helped along by Tom Savini's cool make-up effects. You can tell that the director is passionate about his work and enjoys commenting on political and social matters in his own unique way.
A message to all newcomers to this genre, don't forget to check out it's remake and companions in the series. The're all just as good, and are essential viewing for any zombie fan.
Titan A.E. (2000)
One of the best sci-fi animation ever made. Totally underrated by all!
This film (To be blunt) is one of the greatest animated sci-fi films ever made. The story is a blast, as are the characters and the visuals are stunning. Unfortunately the movie was highly underrated by critics (But what do they know). Any science fiction fan with half a brain can see this is an intriguing story, and one that the cast is totally committed to. Indeed the actors put on such a excellent performance that you can believe in their plight and really feel for them. Overall this movie is easily able to hold it's own against masterpieces such as Starchaser: The legend of Orin, Fire & ice and other films in the animated sci-fi/fantasy genre.
The Thing (1982)
Look no hands!!!!!!
A film with a simple plot, a simple setting and it's still one of the scariest movies ever made. It has an atmosphere unlike any other horror movie. The build up of tension is perfect, the creature concept is excellent and the practical alien effects are well designed.
However it's the cast that make this movie the classic it has become. They show so many examples of how the average person may react in such an extraordinary situation.
John Carpenter certainly knows how to create a roller-coaster ride of tension Halloween, The Fog, Assault on precinct 13, The Thing, Escape from New York. All wonderful movies and an extreme pleasure to watch and own.
Ghostbusters (1984)
One of the best comedy movies ever made and it had the best toy line of the 80's too!
Wow! What an excellent idea for a movie, three out of work scientists decide to set up a paranormal investigation, infiltration and elimination business. So many different and original plot ideas now spring to mind. Which is why the film received the honour of being made into a live action animated series. Not just any animated series, but one of the best and most enjoyable of the 80's.
An ancient and powerful evil (Gozer) has laid dormant for many thousands of years and is now ready to re-enter the world through a mystic gateway situated atop a New York apartment building. The only people stupid enough and brave enough to stop this entity are the ghost-busters! Each armed with a proton pack and a clean pair of shorts they do battle with spooky librarians, giant marshmallows and floating bogie's in a classic film that never will become outdated.
Tremors (1990)
Worms have never been this cool (or this size).
This is probably my most favourite film in my whole collection, if not all time. Not only is it extremely funny it's exciting, intriguing and even a little scary at times. The concept is great, the setting totally inspired and the characters spot-on.
Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward are a totally convincing pair of bumbling handymen, wanting to leave the sad little town of Perfection and make their fortune in the big city. The problem is that just as they pluck up the courage to go, giant worms (Graboids) move in to claim their stake and their place on the food chain. This is a must see film for all monster movie fans and cult movie buffs (like myself). If you liked this then check out it's two sequels and prequel their also pretty good.