Reviews

It's difficult to take the reviews here seriously because you'd think that this film is just an epic horror film or black comedy film when it isn't really much of either.

A 40s something man and wife have a newborn along with a strained relationship. She wears the pants in the family and they argue with a furniture salesman looking to sell them a tasteless coffee table that the husband loves. The table will become the source of a tragedy that will affect their lives and the movie is drawn out to reach the eventual conclusion.

What's disappointing is that there are so many great elements to this film. The acting is top notch even though we really don't like the protagonist's wife (if we call him this.) The subplots are funny in their own right but they could happen without any tragedy to take place and laughing at them is not black comedy. It's not humor in the downfall. It's just there and also goes nowhere, leaving all the potential out there.

At the end I was left just thinking "that's it?" The intensity is just the build up to the inevitable conclusion you know is going to happen once the reveal takes place, relatively early in the movie. Snickering at the comedy in the every day life is not something one needs to be in awe of as in 'bad taste' since it has nothing to do with the tragedy in this film, which there is almost nothing humorous about. A great film with a wasted opportunity.

This is a sitcom-ish type film that best translates to a young, clean audience and older generation gen x and baby boomers who can fully appreciate the very funny references that seem to be iconic in another era. Good clean fun, they type of movies that Disney used to make where parents didn't have to worry about the content being too offensive or outrageous, politically incorrect or containing bad language.

This probably won't get rated well because the general public probably won't appreciate it. That doesn't make it a bad film, just one that will probably appeal to a specific audience and many will absolutely not get.

A nice looking film, decent performances from the actors and a story you've heard before. Cop's life partner is killed and she's driven on a mission to stop a terrorist group. In this instance it's "tree of life" which seeks to stop restoring people's lives back to where they were before, perhaps their memory is restored - and this is never explained.

The problem I had was right from the beginning. A terrorist puts a gun against the back of a man's head and pulls the trigger, instantly splattering the contents of his head inside the bag that was pulled over his head. Exactly how was his life 'restored' when his head was in pieces? None of this is explained at all. There is just a timer device inside everyone's pocket that indicates how much longer you have to be 'restored.' One effort to explain it is in the hospital where a boy is 'restored' and a door is opened showing the boy waking up after a car accident and looking as if nothing has occurred.

Regrettably, this film because it doesn't even try to sell the science of the science fiction at all. It might be a technical triump for the Czech film industry and I do applaud the effort. But this film represents a learning experience.

I really hate giving a film that has nice scenery and Ian McShane a bad review. McShane puts in yet another seasoned performance and sells this empty script as best he can. This should have been within a 30 minute TV show time slot but is needlessly extended almost 2 full hours.

In short, an aging hitman comes to an island and waits for the target to arrive. Dullness ensues and an eventual confrontation. While it ends poetically it wasn't too well thought out. There was one scene which really shouldn't have happened if this film was to be what it tries to sell and it doesn't sell what it purports to sell very well either. Instead, it resorts to absolute minimalism and lets you, the audience, try to fill in the huge blanks and empty spaces it leaves. And for 2 hours, that's a major chore as you wait for signs of something to happen. We got the point that we're on Island time but that doesn't mean the audience needs to eperience it in full.

The real problem - no back story so why should you care about any of the characters. Even the main character reveals precious little about himself and it's nothing more than skin deep. You're not missing much and the actors elevate a lazy script.

Fantastic black comedy and horror all filled in one. This is certainly more original and daring than typical American films. It packs a punch and makes a statement and those who didn't like the film and wrote reviews didn't quite get the twist and the statement it makes. Like many such as swimming with sharks, this film is about high pressure at the office, unfairness, wolves, protecting themselves, and disgraceful behavior. Film begins with the death of a worker's family, but doesn't explain much more than given opening shot. Turmoil and drama then takes place in the office. Following the tragedy, which furthers the tension. I wouldn't say more otherwise it will ruin the movie.

The acting is top rate as are the creative camera shots, particularly one of my favorites takes place with the use of the darkness, not once but twice. Even if you're not a fan of the third act, which I thought was more clever than others did, it's a very entertaining and thrilling ride.

I love Jason Statham. I'll watch his nonsense like Crank, The Transporter (all three), and it's painfully fun to watch his best like Lock Stock and Snatch. But this dumb vehicle he walks through as does the rest of the cast, without even trying. Even the script seems to mock the audience and I'd say a poor man's John Wick 1 but that's a slap in the face to the poor version.

Does this sound familiar? Wealthy magnate has son who is a brat and runs his own lower grade scams. One happens to hit close to Statham, just a quiet beekeeper. Without an effort, J calls up his posse to find out who it is and nobody knows. J decides to walk through the front door, wreak havoc, and let the FBI fumble at who this man of ultimate devastation can be for half the film. That's after he practically broadcast himself.

Move forward and it only gets sillier and lazier. J must take down the entire organization. You could throw the army, navy, air force and marines at J but he'll walk in without a gun and let his super fast hands of steel (ala camera slight of hand) do the talking. Then he'll go John Wick style through all of them, even without a weapon, through dozens of them. Imagine a superhero film.

There is really no point. Something about a beekeper, a hive, a queen bee, none of it really needing to make sense, just to sound diabolical. The problem is this isn't a parody nor meant to be one. It was just lazy junk. The ending might be the funniest of all, being only interested in a sequel. Don't say you weren't warned.

It is an absolutely fantastic cast that is wasted because of a poorly created character that is simply not credible and the movie spirals downward from there. Things happen that don't make much sense but only to move the story forward. There is a good reason this went straight to DVD from what I understand. There isn't any reason why Mickey Rourke's character, a smart, experienced native American Indian whose brothers get caught in a murder for hire, will help a complete out of control idiot played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The movie tries to sell it as some sort of big brother relationship, but it is absolutely not credible at all.

Very high production value and budget for something this bad. You've seen every cliche before and you can guess them well in advance. In short, one of the most powerful mind screwer but he's just gunning for short cash robberies with his Dad as a small time outlaw. Makes no sense, and the script tries to sell our protagonist as a simple fish out of water. The "perceiver" is a dude in 70s glasses who makes a visible effort to have a brooding angry mug on his face, to the point where you wonder whether this really is a parody.

The acting is generally stilted and not very good. Part of it is just the terrible dialog. This may have been an Amazon production, which explains the money behind it and the generic paint by numbers script where it's clear that it's all about putting some 'cool scifi concept' on screen and the characters themselves are props. No background on any of them because the audience doesn't have to care. It's all about unlocking this mystery which is... in Warsaw. Why? Because obviously a production budget goes way further in Eastern Europe.

There is a scene where our hero is caught by a character and an encounter ensuses. Like the rest of this film, it makes little sense. And at that point, about halfway through, I was about ready to call it quits until I remembered I could just jump ahead... So...

On the bright side, going straight to video allows you to quickly skip ahead, if you actually care about what happens.

I'm going to get hundreds of downvotes even though I do love Reeves and he's always cool. The first two were great. But this has become nothing but an action killing porn film. It wasn't even disguised that the plot is completely unnecessary and that every really cool backdrop, stylish villain, mystical dialogue is just filler for the ambiance. Mass murder takes place and bystanders don't even bother to take notice. They are just background dressing for the endless, nonstop choreographed fighting.

Don't get me wrong. The sets are beautiful. The wafer thin characters whom you know nothing about act cool. The dialogue about The Table and each other are mystical in a bad karate film kind of way. I had a hard time knowing whether this was just a parody of those films. And in the end, which is itself another endless fight that is clearly over the top (and our hero seems totally invulnerable like playing a video game in god mode), we have another end which... will there be another sequel?

I really miss the cool, badass with a couple of witty lines we saw from the first two. In this film, the only words I recall Reeves saying were a handful of items about the dead and... "yeah." Sums it up.

There is nothing to like here except for a great cast that goes through the motions of what they all do so well. The script is insulting as you don't for a moment feel any sense of danger. Our uber heroes are always able to easily hack anything, overcome million dollar security effortlessly, so much so that it's something of a parody of itself. It's like a bad version of Mission Impossible III in the hunt for a McGuffin that doesn't seem to be that important, as our stars try to out use their rapier wit (not) to outduel each other. Occasional funny moments but this is a massively lazy stinker with a very high production and A-list cast that look really old.

This is a pulp fest which was an unusual treat, coupled with some bona fide actors in this "you've sort of seen it before and know probably what's going to happen but it's a fun romp" type of film. There are only a handful of very minor 'twists' if you can call them that, but it's just a fun watch, as Adkins plays a nice kid who gets himself involved with his brother's bad bunch just once and ends up in a downward spiral in prison... but has come back to take revenge on those who put him there after uncovering new knowledge about the true nature of his descent.

Adkins is a bona fide martial artist. You know he'll deliver. But it's the witty script and delivery that makes this a treat to watch. It's a mercifully short film which makes it long enough so it doesn't overstay but still long enough to enjoy for a sitting.

With better production, writing and actors around him, Adkins should be better known than he is. And no offense to Tom Cruise or James Bond... Adkins would kick both their ashes.

Perhaps at the time this was considered gruesome because of all the killings. This is a 'stylish' film, which is difficult to describe as something other than realistic and humorous at the same time. The body count fills up yet somehow everyone is still calm, which is pretty hilarious since you'll read others describing this film as terrifying. The synthesizer score is wonderfully late 70s cheesy and the whole production as a mystery is ludicrous. And the possible, no matter how improbably ending, can happen. And it does. Every gimmick is used, the red shoes, the unusual sculpture, and even the classic axes. Shocking is calling this a great film.

What a sad case of politics they were then and still mostly rubbish now. The cast is not only all star but the story, the witty dark humor, and the compelling visuals are mesmerizing. For all the horror in this film, there isn't much of it on the screen as it is in your mind.

At the time, one of the actors I shall not name wasn't listed because it was more important to ensure that the audience didn't guess who would enter this movie to change its direction. I have to confess that, had I known, it would probably have changed so many expectations.

This film was so well crafted. This is not just two cops in opposite directions, a buddy buddy mismatch. No, this is also about probing many questions seen from two perspectives - the more innocent optimist and the more experienced pessimist. The lesser educated, impetuous youth versus the well educated pacifist. And considering where the world is today, it does have much more to say than just an unusual story. It's like it's preaching to us, as opposed to films today which are nothing more than a slogan on a t-shirt - at best.

They don't make them like they used to, and Fincher's projects are usually less frequent and almost always strong, whether or not you like them.

This is a stylish film. It has a very talented cast. The problem is that a con should not feel like a con and have the audience sense it. Madeline says that no one will notice the con when people don't look for it. But when things whizz by too quickly and people seem to be convinced when the audience isn't, the dialogue fails. And it does here. The finale was poor and unconvincing.

"Are you buying this?

No... I'm not buying it. It's quite clear what is going on and even the ending doesn't quite add up completely and goes one step too far. It provides a twist that doesn't add up and the pieces themselves are just too incredible and the dialogue and script doesn't sell them, except perhaps to the story teller.

You're a child playing in the middle of the woods. No one for miles. Suddenly a big hulking man approaches. Do you stay and wait to talk to strangers like you're told not to do? Or do you just go back to the cabin and tell Daddy? Next... if you want to tell someone the story of an issue do you (a) approach them in a friendly manner, or (b) start off friendly but then act like a strage weird dangerous person so you can force a confrontation?

Ridiculous. In typical M. Night style, the dialogue sucks. He's got a concept and everything must fit that concept. Worse, this one doesn't really have a twist. If you're confronted with an endless set of remarkable facts that are far beyond coincidence, what do you do? The obvious. The scariest part of this film is that it got funded and had 2 stars - yet clearly the little girl was the most impressive. Had almost all of the races and gender preferenes included and bigotry. A total yawner.

This is one of Hitchcock's last films and it is absolutely not one of his best. It has some interesting moments that are the work of a master, such as the villain trying to remove evidence from where it was left, and an amusing bit with a chief of police with a wife who fancies herself as a chef but can't cook a whit.

That said, the overacting by our protagonist is baffling. An ungrateful twerp is how the character is written, of the kind that does not seem to pass the credibility test with me. Even the most selfish and ungrateful don't act this way and throughout the script it's not clear why anyone would like or tolerate this miscreant. As others have written, he such a miserable left that you almost wish you would get caught for the murder he didn't commit. And even when horrible things happen to those supposedly dear to him, he acts as if a house plant just fell to the ground and that's about all. I don't know if it's the acting or just terrible writing and directing.

It might be an interesting bit if you're a Hitchcock fan but, even so, don't expect this to be anywhere near the master filmmakers genius. Even includes a weird reverse exit from a home of a bad act that defies any reason, explanation other than serving as being another attempt to create a unique camera shot.

I sit here writing this review in total amazement watching yet another Scott Adkins film and finding it so much better than the pandemic garbage I've seen for 2 years. This isn't Ghandi. It's a bit over the top adventurism which doesn't take itself seriously and provides plenty of laughs and superb martial arts to keep you entertained.

I began to take another look at Adkins films after seeing Avengement and being surprised that it was not only watchable but actually very good. While a number of his films are certainly of the B variety, I am shocked at how funny and polished this film is and that is knows exactly what it is - an escapist fantasy in Malta about a hit man who learns that having people in your life is a whole lot better than none who care nothing about you.

Comic relief and great martial arts skills from the woman in this film are a delight, even though I wasn't quite sure how well the overly tough act would work over the course of the film. Our hitman who makes things look like an accident must protect a total loser who is the exchange in a hostage situation. The laughs keep coming and, even the ending, which is somewhat silly, is still darn funny and within the campy script that knows it's escapist and not the all too serious work that sometimes mars these types of films. Extremely entertainment.

Most of these reviews must be related to those involved with the film, the producers, or a movie studio. I'll give you an honest review.

The cast is well chosen and all do a good job acting. Mel Gibson is actually the weakest link and is just OK. Something about him doesn't register as being the character as convincingly as the past. Duhamel has charm but the shtick runs thin after a while as a con man and parts are exaggerated and unrealistic (rob a bank in 3 minutes, including prep and transit?) It doesn't ruin the film but it takes it down a notch and, unnecessarily. And then there are other scenese where there is just a total casualness in what should be a very tense situation.

The real challenge with this film is that it begins with him in a courtroom for a crime and then starts telling you his 4 year tale. It gets repetitive quickly and didn't need to stretch to 2+ hours. There isn't very much about how so many of these banks were hit, you just have to assume that they were really clueless and they were all done the same. There are also some character changes that don't feel 100% consistent, although it's not terrible.

Better than average. Not very revealing at all about the man himself, which would have been much more interesting than paper thin characters and a story you've seen much before.

This is a very smart, clever film that makes many social statements that are still relevant today. While some of it appears dated (such as the computers look), it doesn't really detract from the watchability of this film and its smarts in exploring many human and societal issues.

Excellent cast. Well acted. Plot moves, sense of tension. Sure there are some plot holes, but they are generally able to be overlooked by the strong performances and excellent storyline that attracts your attention elsewhere just when you might notice them. It benefits from not having the FX budget of the TV series in having to create superior dialogue to keep the viewer engaged. Far better than the rating here suggests.

Had a difficult time figuring out what this was supposed to be. Soft porn film, thriller or possibly both?

Starts off reasonably well until the plot device kicks in - man becomes obsessed with woman he's seen. Certainly didn't pull that part off very well at all. Stupid reasoning for why he's so obsessed and also the execution.

Without spoilers, the reasoning for going to the next step about concern for something bad happening and reasoning why others want to know is out of a bad porn movie. Execution rest of the way - silly, stupid, awkward, almost without effort. Erotic, not really a thriller.

So this film gets 1 star for plot, 3 stars for soft porn. And tht should just about give you all you need to know - as well as the message this film leaves. Everyone really underneath it all just wants to do crazy sexual things given the chance. Alrighty then. Next...

This movie is difficult to understand. If Miike was not directing this would probably fall into the line of gorgeously shot, well acted films that suffer from a truly banal and stupid script. As others have pointed out, the protagonist is a useless girl to the extreme who is so mindless and annoying that you practically don't care what has happened to her family. The great warrior is something of both great warrior at times and others a careless, not so great warrior. And it's as if there are just a host of characters they meet along the way to vengeance which suddenly sprout motives which are completely contradictory to the wafer thin personas they have been given.

It's painful because the film has all the elements of potentially being great but instead opts for silly. There are occasional moments of excellent humor but there aren't enough of them, especially for a 2.5 hour running time where it feels like setup after setup after setup. And at times, there isn't even a natural build from one scene to the next, just characters appearing to be in a situation. It feels like lazy film making or poor editing or someone just thinking that this resembled or was a bit of a caricature of some older films to constitute parody. Whatever the case, it's far too long and without a need for all the bit players. But there should be no question that the film is gorgeous to look at - and if you really like gore, Miike doesn't spare it.

As a whole, it's serviceable, has moments that are pretty funny (I'm guessing many didn't fully appreciate the Apolcalypto gag) and an opening about the game that promises some crazy madcap fun. But it doesn't quite get there and the film feels padded for its relatively shorter running time as the characters learn more about themselves.

I wouldn't call this horr at all. It's almost like Jumanji but for relationships and lots of flashbacks to tell a story. This is more of a comedy than anything else, by far, which is also meant to mock LA and the film and TV / entertainment industry, which it does at times. Amusing but nothing extremely standout.

It was clear to me which actor wrote the script because he has virtually all of the best lines and moments. For the most part, the actors deliver reasonably well to sell this low budget film although I felt Jon Bass as annoying and miscast. Perhaps that was the intention but that, and several moments in the film, the script felt like a script and didn't quite flow. A good example of this was the ending. Cute - but the scene leading up to it felt contrived in many ways for the sake of a setup, which was unnecessary. There are these rough moments throughout, including a disjointed dance scene that didn't have enough connection of the dots to be convincing. Still... there is talent in the room.

Overall I liked it, being a strong average low budget film. It's a decent, watchable single view but not one you'd have to see again for the script or the performances. Unlike most of the pandemic straight to video garbage, this was a good effort and not regrettable.

I have to agree with the other reviewer. The first 20 minutes sets you up for what you expect to be something. But it's pointless. This is like imagery, man. A struggle. A conflict. Is it real or hallucinated. A man's struggle against whom? Himself? Or against something else? Or does anyone actually care? I didn't. And it was totally predictable. And silly. Perhaps the limited dialogue also helps to pad running time and limit the need to actually act because it's just weirdness that doesn't make sense... until... you... put... the... pieces... together... oh... so.... easily.... You've seen it dozens of times before but each time, some writer thinks their story adds something special. This doesn't. Make sure you can fast forward.

I give this film 2 stars for getting enough money or blackmail to compel some name actors into doing this film. I wonder if Britney Spears paid so she could cast her boyfriend, now husband, in this film. As someone else says, he laughingly acts his ass off, showing how much "chops" he has as an actor so he can be the most memorable, useless character of all with just a few minutes screen time. A dull tool.

That about explains this movie about a hacker, which has a story that couldn't even be sold 20 years ago to seniors who know almost nothing about computers and hacking. I couldn't stop laughing when Mel Gibson tries to sell something about a "DOS attack" as if it mmakes much sense in the context of this loser. Kevin Dillon, who has done some decent work, is given the hopeless task of carrying this film along with Gibson, who comes in from time to time to provide the cop shtick and he does what he can to try to sound credible. It works about half the time, the rest he's almost dialed in, brain gain. Shannon Doherty barely shows, barks orders like the police captain she is, perhaps just trying to remain relevant in film while she has unfortunately gone through her own health hell.

In the end, the villain is a laughable, non-stop babbling buffoon. If you're not watching this on a streaming where you can skip parts, you'll be in constant pain as there is little reason to want to stay for the journey since it's completely unconvincing. This is "bad Bruce Willis movie" level bad. Perhaps they needed the money. Owed a favor. I don't know but those must have been some really awful pictures the director and writers must have on the stars in this film.

Starts out with a bit of artistic fluff but once it gets to the heart of the matter it is positively hilarious and yet terrifying all at once. None of these are trick questions or designed to make the subjects have a bad moment. Some supposedly reknowed authorities are simply are embarrassing themselves on such a level that you could be 8 years old and see through the tortured double talk to define men as women, women as men, or avoid it altogether and call anyone who asks questions about it 'transphobic'.

None of these people should ever be in a position of authority again, nor should anyone else who can't answer simple, direct questions. And that they are in positions to impact millions of people collectively is a horror. Not meant to be a comedy, yet it's hilarious to watch the absolute contradiction of their strongest assertions about transgender people.