Lets strike up the band people, another Sci-Fi Channel ho-hum movie. I rated it as a 4 as it wasn't the worst of the movies they've done nor was it their best. It had fair acting from F. Murray Abraham that plays the over the hill mad professor of Anthropology that has discovered an extremely brutal smart anthropoid. He leads a group of students that by appearances think they are going to "Safari Land," on a misguided search into the deep jungle to find the creatures with disastrous results. The premise and the storyline of the movie works for me as well any Horror/Sci-fi/Action flick. The problem is with the direction and acting of the actors that leave so much to be desired. The characters were very shallow and that is the director and writer's job to fill in the, "Why we are so dumb," story that makes sense. Otherwise we wind up with a movie like "Bloodmonkey," with so-called smart students doing the most gullible dumbest things and acting like high school morons with an IQ of 80. If Sci-Fi could figure out a simple premise that all students on digs, research or hunts are not shallow blithering morons, it would go a long way to making their movies a lot better.
Reviews
6 Reviews
Blood Monkey
(2006 Video)
Da Huh Another Sci-Fi Hit Me In The Head PLEASE Movie
27 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Timequest
(2000)
The BEST Alternate History for the Money!
8 March 2007
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is one of the sleepers that I never heard of that just blew me away. I absolutely loved this movie. I am a huge sci-fi, alternate history fan and the fact that I had never heard of this one is unbelievable. The what if scenario and the way it takes the characters from today and brings them into that time-line is so remarkable. It used a lot of thought about how certain actual events influenced particular people to strive for a different place in world events. It shows how a single incident can change a whole time line and how different it could have been. The Kennedy assassination is the one event in American history that has had such a fragmenting effect within this nation. The Vietnam War, LBJ, the space program, Nixon, civil rights, discontent and the huge gap between the parties all can be traced to that era. If your a history fan and love sci-fi, this is a must see. If you like, a great movie that takes you on a great journey then watch this movie. If you hated hi-budget movies like "Time Line" that don't come across, then watch this movie. It will take you on a real adventure and they spent only a fraction of the budget to get you there.
Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York
(2006 TV Movie)
Warning Volcanoes in NYC can be dangerous to your health
25 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This movie isn't as bad as it first seems. This movie has all the elements of a fine disaster movie; inept Government officials, unjustly ridiculed hero, the evil psychologically challenged scientist and the sniveling bureaucrat trying to cover it all up to save his own butt. It goes through the predicted path of catastrophe that gets our hero fired and ridiculed by the people that should be the ones to listen. Amazing that no one actually investigates the deaths by inspecting the death scene. When confronted with an explanation the mayor turns to the sniveling underling who happens to be in league with a complete nut of a scientist intent on bringing Geothermal Energy to New York City, a good cause but a bad concept by doing it in the heart of the city. The science if very fuzzy so don't expect any "A" from a Geology teacher as the vulcanology is about as good in this one as in other volcano movies. The threat of terrorist is also the great concern and the official is a complete clown seeing terrorist under every bed which is completely unreal and stupid. It added nothing to the story at all and only seems added to create the typical hate Bush Hollywood mania. When our hero goes to confront the investigators from the United States Geological Service about lava in the tunnels he was working in, who does he find, non other but his former wife. Actually this is the best parts of the show because Matt (Costas Mandylor) and Susan (Alexandra Paul) actually works well together and has very good chemistry. At least they are of the same age group and not 20 yrs in age difference as has been done recently in Sci-Fi Channel movies. The supporting cast is good and it has one always impeccable gem in Michael Ironside that plays the demented scientist Doctor Levering. Ironside has played so many great roles as the bad guy. This particular role is one of a scientist that has finally gone over the edge after he observes his project literally blow up in his face. The predictable Mayor that when confronted by reality wants to see the geologist that warned of the disaster (A. Paul) and has the sniveling underling arrested. There is a final attempt to stay the disaster by the sandhogs by diverting the lava into the underground tunnels of NYC which saves the city. Of course there are also the predictable losses of hero support lives in the final battle with the lava. Also there is the inevitable fight between our hero and the crazed scientist in the tunnel. Overall even with the predictable ingredients, characters and crummy science I enjoyed the movie. It wasn't a riveting epic by any means, but it wasn't a complete waste of time either.
Combat!
(1962–1967)
Grew up watching COMBAT!
12 February 2006
I was a small kid when the series was on in the sixties and only remember the last season or so, but have seen all the episodes since the Action Channel took it as a regular series during the nineties. I love the action and can mostly forgive the blatant misuse of modern and older U.S. equipment for German equipment. That has always been one of my biggest problems with the sixties war movies and series depicting WW II. Why the German armor was our M46, M47, or M48 tanks and their half-tracks was always ours with a top put on and a machine gun ring in the center. This series had the same fault. Another thing that always amazed me was where the show was filmed. It was of course in the hills near LA and every time I see a show I almost expect to see Opie or Goober from "The Andy Griffith Show" to walk into the scene. It was always obvious they were both filmed at the same back lot location. COMBAT main claim to fame was the way it tried to show some of the personal conflicts that many of the GI's actually went through. I studied military history in college and during a few personal interviews with veterans while writing thesis papers the series would come up. Most WW II combat veterans will state that the war after the breakout from Normandy was a squad war as depicted in the series. Most of the writers, directors, and producers were actual European theater combat veterans, a fact not known to many viewers of the show. Their actual experiences and the tales told to them by others on the line became the basis for the show's story lines. In interviews I've watched on the Action Channel they talked at length about the attempt to keep the realism in each show, but the creative license and need for extra action of course added an extra level of unbelievability. The series is a must for any student of WW II and anyone that needs to understand just some of the anguish a GI went through during the war. Just remember it is a TV show and not real. No one GI went through that many actual engagements and received that many wounds. The show is a just that, a show, entertainment.
One of the best films ever about the Korean War
11 February 2006
After watching this film I was totally astonished with the story line and clarity of the characters in this film. I loved this film from the beginning through the epic battle scenes to the dramatic conclusion. It has the drama of 2 brothers that get caught up in the sweep for soldiers that the South Korean Army needed to help hold until the United Nation forces could mobilize. Snatched right out of the fleeing refugees heading South away from the North Korean advance. It has a lot of I will assume Korean subtitle text (dates) that are confusing but don't take away from the movie. The movie uses historically correct weapons and equipment which is a big relief to a history buff such as me. I will not spoil the movie for others so take a look a see that foreign film makers can make a super quality product that can rival anything we've made in years.
Pursued
(2004)
Somewhat boring while keeping you interested.
11 February 2006
I enjoyed the movie, but with some reservations. I've been a Slater fan for years and liked this role for him. My problem with this is the way the main characters (Gil Bellows) had such difficulty in coming to grips with industrial sabotage. This guy is a computer genius and works in electronics but it took almost half the movie to realize that he was bugged. This even after he was given warnings by a corporate surveillance expert. The way he let his wife and child interact with Slater's character was totally out of this world. Maybe I speak only for myself but if someone harasses me and mine, I'm not cordial and I will not allow my family to associate with them either. That's not anti-social, it's logical to protect their own family. The action was OK if anti-climatic and was very predictable. One area I didn't understand was the first CEO that was introduced and the murder of his wife. He was so worried about being arrested that he didn't seem irritated at Slater over the murder. Is this normal behavior or not? It kinda sets the setting for the whole movie. I did like what he told the lead when he confronted him, "sign with him or kill him." I guess it worked out that way. Overall not a bad movie.
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