Reviews

This movie is based on a really good heartwarming true story, and I love that.

But movies aren't real life: those are the documentaries.

The big missing here is a decent climax.

Radio got:

+ Bullied, but is at the beginning of the movie and we don't know him yet and there is no big trauma.

+ Arrested, but is released after 1 minute without repercussions.

+ Sent to girls locker room, but without hard consequences.

+ The mother died, but brother (never seen btw) come to live with him.

+ Wanted out of school (by Frank the banker and others), but coach Jones quit from coaching and that solved all problems...

Nice try, but big miss here.

Nord Italian here.

The beginning is good with the introduction of the freaks and the movie throws us in the drama of the war.

CONS: The problems start with the evil dude: he can see in the future when he is on drugs and he draws it. Like an Heroes' Isaac Mendez, but dull. Because some master scenes he has seen never happen...

Two of the many "coincidences":

• Matilde found the right truck with Israel in
• The partigiani were in the right place, in the right moment for the last battle: but how they could have known that the train would stop there?

After too many sad/violent/death scenes there is a joke from one of our characters.

Matilde goes from "don't wanna hurt anyone!" to kill plenty nazis without regret. Also Cencio with the body covered full of bees is not very credible.

The absolutely no-sense story love between Cencio and Matilde.

It's too long

The characters are not so much developed and look kinda plain.

This movie really let me down in multiple ways:

• It's not funny
• There isn't a climax
• Biondo can't act
• The fathers know nothing about the life of their daughters, despite they live all together in the same house.
• The wives seem bipolar: one moment crazy about their husbands and the next one they forgive all to them.
• There are many ideas but not developed / developed really bad (school bathroom, drug dealer, the escort seducing Sergio)
• The "greedy" drug dealer scene is no-sense: they bought a small sachet for 600 euro while there is Sergio that "try" the dope for free (about 4-5 times the quantity of the sachet)
• Why do the police start beating the people at the concert? It's Italy not USA!
• How did they frame Alexia for the robbery?
• Why Valentina broke up with Alexia? Ok the police said she robbed but can't you have a little faith in your fiancee? At least wait for the final verdict...

The film started well with a "Prank ended in Tragedy", and that's all the good.

Cons

• Why killing randomly dudes and not only the kids responsible of the incident? Ok you could hate adolescents but so why kill a prostitute?!
• Some scenes are really looong and boring: raft scene, Todd walking in the ruins, etc...
• He is not a supernatural demoniac force, he is only a poor man just came out from hospital after 5 years of medication: so why he can teleport, be invisible (in the canoe / sleeping bag scene) or don't make noise walking in the forest?
• Last fight with the "flamethrower": if your modus operandi is to kill with a big hedge shears, why change it in the end?
• Sorry but kinda all characters are forgettable
• Alfred campfire story: he told (confession?) what he did to the poor guardian without a shadow of remorse. He is the real evil in this movie.
• That plastic mask...

Kudos to Jason "Costanza" Alexander!

So do a favor to yourself and go watch something else instead.

After I've seen Stallone's Dredd I decided to watch this one and... I think I prefer the first one (that is also full of problems but has more "soul")

+ No Rob Schneider

• Less iconic character: Stallone has more "memorable" quotes
• Costume: I would have preferred a modern restyle of the armour instead of that soulless-swat-like protection.
• Slow Motion abusing
• Why put mutants storyline and don't develop it? ("I can read the mind!" Ok...)
• Ok rookie Anderson couldn't use her powers well with helmet on but, as Dredd said, put it on is better than a bullet in the head.
• Let's talk about this "power": she barely use it to see hidden enemies or predict what they do
• Let's talk about this "power" pt.2: she is capable to instill fear in people, but only in "convenient moments"...
• How could the thug doesn't know about that you can't touch a judge gun?! Isn't that common knowledge?
• Still about guns: why Dredd on low ammo couldn't take one of the hundreds guns of the killed thugs (like Anderson did)?
• Why this mega-city block could only be locked from inside?!

--- IS A DULL COPY OF "THE RAID"

I found this movie entertaining, although it has several flaws.

• You don't know the protagonist until minute 28: in a 90min movie is 1/3 of the total! A lot of time you could have used to develop more Crystal.
• The refugees: why add them? It breaks the pace (although my favourite scene is the false immigrant speaking with Gary).
• Crystal facial expression (this is totally subjective): she has very strange grinning / frown.
• The movie message is kinda shallow, could have been deepen.

Now the pros:

+ Fun + Violence and gore are greatly done + The fight between Crystal and Athena is superb

After I'd read the book I wanted to watch the movie and... I made a big mistake!

The movie takes its own different path from the book and sincerely I cannot understand why. In the book Annie is much more crazy, Paul is a junkie pills addicted and he changes so much from beginning to the end.

Any Pro? No "Return of Misery" chapters.

READ THE FRAKING BOOK!

This movie was unexpectedly good. I loved the settings (the little village with rivalry between two houses) and how the popular beliefs were created by misunderstanding (see the flying magical reindeer and many others). I've found interesting and deeply sad also the background story of mr. Klaus, and Jesper kinda remember me disney's Kuzco (selfish and spoiled) in a positive way.

Towards the end, when the 2 families went to burn toys at Klaus home, the old matriarch said that without toys the kids would be returned to old habit: I wonder if wouldn't it be a powerful message destroy the toys for real and show the kids didn't care because they were changed thank you the "one good thing brings another one" philosophy.

The problem is that John is an immortal god: how can you create tension if you can't kill him?

Not putting him in the same fight situation again and again from start to end. Maybe throw at him some heavy ethical issue (like threaten to kill a bunch of innocent kids or what else).

• Do you need to have tattoos and be a pretty girl in order to get hired in "the accountant office"?

• How many hitmans there are in NewYork? 1 out of 10 "normal" people?

• The bad guys are like the Stormtroopers: useless and bad at aiming but HIPSTERs!

• The deaf girl seems to be an hard fight through all the movie: killed in 15 sec!

• The Rolling scene down the flight of steps!

• Why does nobody fear him anymore?