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paul_haakonsen
I am a big fan of Asian cinema in particular, and I am quite fond of especially South Korean and Hong Kong movies.
My favorite genre is, and always have been, horror, with a preference to anything with zombies in it.
I believe that every movie should be given the chance of being seen - a belief that has lead me to watch many a questionable movies.
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Sorry, Charlie (2023)
Beyond boring...
Another horror movie that I had never heard about prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. And given my fascination with all things horror, of course I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch what writer Luke Genton and director Colton Tran had to offer.
I virtually had no idea what I was in for here as I sat down to watch the movie. So in a sense, writer Luke Genton and director Colton Tran had every opportunity to entertain and bedazzle me.
However, I have to admit that writer Luke Genton utterly failed to conjure up a script that provided me with much of any entertainment. This movie was incredibly sluggishly paced and uneventful. You essentially just sit around watching Charlie, played by Kathleen Kenny, stumbling about her remotely located house being afraid of shadows. And that hardly constituted as proper entertainment in my book. So this movie was quite a struggle to sit through.
The killer in the movie was not scary at all, and I sort of that falls down to the ridiculous mask that he wore.
Despite the fact that the storyline was a borefest of untold caliber, then the acting performances in the movie were fair. Keep in mind, though, that you mostly only get to see Kathleen Kenny on the screen.
Visually, then you're not in for anything grand here, but then again "Sorry, Charlie" was not a horror movie that relied on gory effects to tell its story, or rather lack thereof.
My rating of "Sorry, Charlie" lands on a two out of ten stars.
Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995)
A good sequel...
I've seen the 1995 movie "Darkman II: The Return of Durant" once or twice before, but must admit that I had forgotten about the narrative. And thus, as I had the opportunity to watch it again here in 2024, I did so to refreshen my memory of it.
While the Robert G. Durant character perished in a helicopter crash in the first movie, he miraculously survived and returns to this sequel. A bit of a far stretch in terms of realism, but since it was a fictional movie, it was adequate for entertainment purposes. And it certainly was good to see actor Larry Drake return to reprise the role of Robert G. Durant.
The storyline in the movie is good, fast paced and entertaining. So writers Robert Eisele, Lawrence Hertzog and Steven McKay definitely put together an enjoyable script and storyline.
The movie also has Arnold Vosloo, Lawrence Dane and Kim Delaney on the cast list. It was a shame that Liam Neeson didn't return to reprise the role of Peyton Westlake aka Darkman in this sequel, but actor Arnold Vosloo was quite a good choice for a replacement and he did carry the movie quite well with his acting performance and charisma. The acting performances in "Darkman II: The Return of Durant" are good, no doubt about that.
Visually then there is a good step up from the 1990 original first movie. And the effects definitely helped bring the story to life on the screen in a good way.
I found "Darkman II: The Return of Durant" to be almost as enjoyable as the first movie, and it was a good sequel. So if you enjoyed the first movie, then you will definitely also enjoy this 1995 sequel.
My rating of director Bradford May's 1995 movie "Darkman II: The Return of Durant" lands on a six out of ten stars.
Half Light (2006)
Sluggish and dull...
I have watched the 2006 movie "Half Light" once before back when it was a new movie and probably even watched it on VHS back in the day. But I have entirely forgotten about the movie, aside from the title and that it was starring Demi Moore. And thus I opted to sit down and watch the movie again here in 2024, as I had the opportunity to do so.
And having just sat through the movie, I have to say that writer and director Craig Rosenberg delivered a script that proved rather slow paced, mundane and uneventful to properly entertain me. Sure, there was something aesthetic about the movie, but the narrative just wasn't entertaining enough for my liking. The narrative was simply too slow.
But the script was also too rigid and somewhat predicable, leaving no surprises in store for the audience.
Needless to say that the acting performances in "Half Light" were good, and Demi Moore certainly carried the movie well enough, despite it not being among her best of performances in her career. It was nice to see actor James Cosmo in the movie, just a shame that he wasn't given a bigger role to play, as he could have spruced up the movie as it definitely needed a sprucing.
I didn't recall the movie as being so sluggish and dull. So I doubt I am ever returning to watching it a second time.
My rating of "Half Light" lands on a very generous four out of ten stars, as it is a stylish and atmospheric movie, despite its dull narrative.
2012: Supernova (2009)
Cheesy, predictable and fully unrealistic...
Right, well I stumbled upon this 2009 movie titled "2012: Supernova" by random chance here in 2024, and since it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to give the movie a fair chance. I do enjoy natural catastrophe movies, despite the fact that 90% of such movies are questionable ventures or downright ludicrous. And when I saw those two dreaded words on the screen, The Asylum, I have to say that my expectations for director Anthony Fankhauser's 2009 movie went from slim to none.
The storyline in the movie, as written by Anthony Fankhauser, Jon Macy and John Willis III, was every bit as generic, predictable, unrealistic and laughable as you would assume it to be. Yeah, yet I still managed to endure all 87 minutes that the movie ran for. Why? Well, I was hoping that the movie would pick up its slack and improve along the way. Sadly, it didn't do so.
Sure, the script was riddled with plot holes and unrealistic things. I especially loved the fact that the supernova wave could explode moons and planets, but miraculously the orbital station that the main character was in when attempting to save Earth, was hardly even dented by the blast. That just made zero sense.
Of the entire cast ensemble in the movie, I was only familiar with leading actor Brian Krause. I will say that the acting performances in the movie were fair, despite the fact that the script and storyline was a heap of sour cheese.
Visually, then I will say that "2012: Supernova" was actually not among the worst of movies from The Asylum that I've sat through, nor was it actually among the worst of special effects movies for a natural disaster movie either. So that at least counted for something. Sure, you're not in for stellar CGI effects here, but the effects were fair enough, and worked as intended.
My rating of the 2009 movie "2012: Supernova" lands on a very generous four out of ten stars.
Darkman (1990)
Still a rather good movie...
I've watched the 1990 movie "Darkman" a couple of times over the years, and I have to say that the movie continues to be every bit as entertaining each time. So director Sam Raimi definitely did something right with this movie.
The storyline in the movie is well-written and rather enjoyable, especially since it is a movie that you can watch again and again. So a big thumbs up to writers Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, Chuck Pfarrer, Daniel Goldin and Joshua Goldin for that accomplishment.
Not only is "Darkman" driven by a good storyline, but it most certainly also is driven by a good cast ensemble. With the likes of Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand and Larry Drake carrying the movie. I have to say that Larry Drake really stood out in the movie, because his performance as the villainous Robert G. Durant was phenomenal. And with this being a movie directed by Sam Raimi, you have a cameo appearance by none other than Bruce Campbell himself.
Visually then the movie is good. Sure, some of the effects are showing signs of aging, but they still are passable today. And the special effects, and especially the make-up and prosthetics on Liam Neeson, were quite good.
If you haven't already seen the 1990 movie "Darkman", and you get a chance to do so, you should.
My rating of "Darkman" lands on a seven out of ten stars.
The Wrong Daughter (2018)
Predictable, but watchable...
I have to be honest and say that I figured that this 2018 movie was most likely going to be another generic crime thriller since it was a TV movie. Sure, I had never even heard about it prior to watching it, but I still opted to give the movie a fair chance. Maybe it would be a nice surprise of a movie.
Writers Carlee Malemute and Jesenia Ruiz put together a fair script. Sure, one can argue for it being a bit generic and predictable, but it still proved to be an entertaining enough movie.
I wasn't familiar with a single actress or actor on the cast list. But I will say that the acting performances were actually good, and they had a good cast ensemble put together for the movie.
"The Wrong Daughter" was actually a fairly enough entertaining movie. Sure, you know the outcome of the movie from the very beginning, but it was still an enjoyable movie to watch.
My rating of director Ben Meyerson's 2018 movie "The Wrong Daughter" lands on a five out of ten stars.
The Last Dinosaur (1977)
But it wasn't Denver...
Of course I had never heard about this 1977 movie titled "The Last Dinosaur" before sitting down to watch it here in 2024. Granted, I wasn't really expecting a lot from the movie, given the fact that it was a movie made in 1977 about some dinosaur, so I wasn't really expecting the effects to be stellar. But still, since I had never seen the movie before, of course I opted to give it a fair chance.
The storyline in the movie was adequate. It was an archetypical journey-to-a-forgotten-lands-ruled-by-dinosaurs type of movie, so if you enjoy those plots, then you will most likely also enjoy "The Last Dinosaur".
I was not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. But the acting performances were fair, taking into consideration the type of movie that it was.
The dinosaurs in the movie were pretty terrible to look at, as they were obviously pretty bad rubber suits. And I wonder why they sometimes sounded like Godzilla. It was just hilarious to witness. But I am sure that back in 1977 then the effects were actually fair, though "Star Wars: A New Hope" was also from 1977 and had far superior effects.
If you enjoy exploration adventures with prehistoric dinosaurs, give "The Last Dinosaur" a chance.
I wasn't overly impressed with the movie, but then again I had next to no expectations for it. It was watchable, but hardly a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time.
My rating of directors Alexander Grasshoff and Tsugunobu Kotani's 1977 movie "The Last Dinosaur" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Gymkata (1985)
Watchable, but nothing great...
I had never heard about this movie prior to watching it here in 2024.
The storyline that writers Charles Robert Carner and Dan Tyler Moore conjured up was pretty straightforward, though actually fair and entertaining enough for the cheesy mid-1980s martial arts action that it was. The movie has a heavy focus on fight scenes and puts the storyline in second row. But hey, if you enjoy an abundance of action, then you're in for a treat.
I have to say that the movie just permeated a strange sense of MacGyver, gymnastics and a mixture of mid-1980s martial arts action. So I suppose there was a sense of nostalgia to the movie, if you will.
The only performer on the cast list that I was familiar with was actor Richard Norton. They had a fair cast ensemble put together for the movie, and the performances were good, which definitely spoke well in favor of the movie.
Watchable for what it was, however I didn't find that "Gymkata" was a particularly outstanding movie. So I hadn't been missing out on anything grand here by never having seen it before now in 2024.
My rating of director Robert Clouse's 1985 movie "Gymkata" lands on a four out of ten stars.
8 Found Dead (2022)
Oddly bizarre...
I had never even heard about this 2022 horror movie titled "8 Found Dead" from writer Jonathan Buchanan and director Travis Greene prior to stumbling upon it by random luck here in 2024. And given my love of the horror genre, of course I opted to give this movie a fair chance.
Well, if you enjoy offbeat movies then you're in for a treat here, because writer Jonathan Buchanan definitely put together something that was refreshingly unique. And thus, "8 Found Dead" was not just another run-of-the-mill horror movie crammed with jump scares to get a reaction out of the audience. While the storyline was rather bizarre, I must say that I actually found it to be adequately entertaining.
While the movie wasn't crammed with an abundance of familiar actors and actresses, I will say that the cast ensemble was nicely cast, and they definitely had some good talents to participate in the movie. The only performers I was familiar with were William Gabriel Grier and Jenny Tran.
Visually then, and while the movie wasn't heavily relying on special effects, then the effects were fair and served their purpose well enough.
"8 Found Dead" is worth sitting down and checking out if you want something that deviates from the usual horror tropes.
My rating of director Travis Greene's 2022 movie "8 Found Dead" lands on a five out of ten stars.
The Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018)
They should have stopped a long time ago...
Now, I actually didn't even know that there was a 2018 installment of the "Scorpion King" franchise before stumbling upon the movie by sheer luck here in 2024. And I am a sucker for fantasy movies, so of course I opted to sit down and watch this movie from director Don Michael Paul.
Writers David Alton Hedges and Frank DeJohn put together a script that, while being watchable, simply fell short of capturing the magic of the first movie. They should not have titled it "Scorpion King", because it would have fared better as an independent movie. Sure, "The Scorpion King: Book of Souls" was watchable, but it was a somewhat flaccid viewing experience, if I have to be brutally honest.
Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with actor Peter Mensah. The acting performances were fair, but the movie did suffer from not having a more solid cast ensemble. Zach McGowan was cast as The Scorpion King, but he had some pretty big shoes to fill out after Dwayne Johnson from the first movie.
Visually then the movie was quite okay. The special effects in the movie functioned well and served their purpose nicely enough.
I am sure that diehard fans of the "Scorpion King" franchise might be getting a bigger kick out of watching "The Scorpion King: Book of Souls" than I did. Watchable, sure, but this is hardly a movie that I will return to watch a second time. It was the action throughout the course of the movie that kept the movie afloat for me.
My rating of director Don Michael Paul's 2018 movie "The Scorpion King: Book of Souls" lands on a five out of ten stars.
The Scorpion King (2002)
Great adventure movie...
I opted to return to watch the 2002 adventure movie "The Scorpion King" again here in 2024. Of course this was not my first time to watch it, and most likely not my last time either.
The storyline in the movie is good, because it is an archetypical action adventure type of movie, and it works quite well as writers Stephen Sommers, Jonathan Hales, William Osborne and David Hayter put together a fast paced storyline with an abundance of action. And the fact that the character gallery was nicely chiseled out definitely helped to add to the overall impression of the movie. I have been very adequately entertained every single time I've sat down to watch "The Scorpion King".
This is definitely one of the more outstanding and memorable action movies and characters from Dwayne Johnson, you just have to delete the image of the atrociously rendered CGI version of the character in "The Mummy Returns" movie, it never happened. And I will say that this 2002 movie does the character so much justice and brings the character to life and makes it a likeable and enjoyable character to watch.
The acting performances in the movie are good, and they had a great cast ensemble for the movie. Dwayne Johnson really carries the movie well and brings The Scorpion King character Mathayus to life in an enjoyable way. The movie also have the likes of Steven Brand, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bernard Hill, Grant Heslov, Peter Facinelli, Ralf Moeller, Branscombe Richmond, Roger Rees and the phenomenal Kelly Hu on the cast list.
The action sequences in the movie are good and plenty. I enjoyed that, because it kept the pacing of the movie at a brisk speed.
Visually then "The Scorpion King" is good. The effects are good, and they didn't resort of lousy underfunded CGI effects this time.
If you haven't already seen director Chuck Russell's 2002 movie "The Scorpion King", and you get the chance to do so, you should. It is an enjoyable movie from start to end.
My rating of "The Scorpion King" lands on a seven out of ten stars. It is the type of adventure movie that caters to the boy inside of us that never grows up and enjoys movies with swordplay and adventure.
Continental Split (2024)
Generic disaster movie from The Asylum, complete with questionable CGI effects...
Well, when you put the words disaster movie and The Asylum together in the same sentence, then your first thought isn't going to be 'stellar entertainment'. Yet, I still opted to keep on watching "Continental Split" even after the opening logo displaying The Asylum.
And yeah, "Continental Split" is every bit as generic, laughable and low budget as you would expect it to be. Just like the majority of disaster movies out there actually.
The storyline that writers Gil Luna and Joe Roche put together was textbook material straight out of the How-To-Make-A-Disaster-Movie-For-Dummies handbook. The movie is one cliché after another, and the writers didn't conjure up anything grand or overly thrilling. "Continental Split" is one of those everything that nature has to throw at you happens around a small groups of protagonists, and yet they emerge victorious in the end. And you don't even believe for a second that the main characters were in any danger. So yeah, the writers definitely dropped the ball on this one.
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. And while they had put together a fair cast ensemble, the acting performances were fair, despite the fact that the script and storyline was as generic and predictable as it could get.
Visually then this 2024 movie from director Nick Lyon is an archetypical disaster movie from The Asylum, complete with very questionable CGI effects that looks like they somehow managed to escape the 1990s.
It is rather amazing that a movie like this was birthed in 2024.
I managed to sit through the entire 88 minute runtime, but weren't particularly impressed or entertained. Yeah, some of us suffered through this ordeal so you don't have to; you're very welcome.
My rating of director Nick Lyon's 2024 movie "Continental Split" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.
Charlie Says (2018)
Certainly watchable, but...
Of course I am familiar with the story of Charles Manson and his 'family'. And thus, when I stumbled upon this 2018 movie from director Mary Harron, I opted to sit down and watch it.
The storyline is entertaining, and writers Guinevere Turner and Ed Sanders did a good job at constructing the narrative. But of course you need to have some interest in the brutal slayings done by the Manson family back in 1969. This is not the type of movie that you just sit down and watch to be mindlessly entertained. However, I have to say that director John Gray fared way better with the same story back in 2004 when he directed "Helter Skelter".
The acting performances in "Charlie Says" were good, and they had a good cast ensemble for the various roles in the movie. But again, I can't help but measure "Charlie Says" to "Helter Skelter", and Jeremy Davies just portrayed a way more believable and memorable Charlis Manson than what actor Matt Smith did in this 2018 movie. The only faces one the cast list that I was familiar with were Matt Smith and Annabeth Gish.
"Charlie Says" is certainly worth taking 110 minutes on sitting down to watch if you have an interest in history of the macabre kind.
My rating of director Mary Harron's 2018 movie "Charlie Says" lands on a six out of ten stars.
Woodchipper Massacre (1988)
Ugh, this was brutal, and not in a good way...
I have to be brutally honest and say that I had absolutely zero expectations to this movie as I sat down to watch it here in 2024. I happened to stumble upon the movie by random chance, and given my love of the horror genre, of course I opted to give the movie a chance.
And just as expected, then writers Jon McBride and Glen Skaggs didn't deliver anything grand or even particularly enjoyable. This movie was a massive swing and a miss, and it looked and felt like nothing more than a homemade video project of a highschool student making a movie for class.
Needless to say that I was not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. The acting performances were wooden, rigid and felt rather forced, as if the actors and actresses were just reading the lines straight from cue cards.
The quality of the movie was something that looked like it was taken straight from a home video recording from the 1980s. I suppose it added to the cheesy 1988 atmosphere of the movie.
Truth be told, I couldn't make it through even half of the movie before I gave up on the ordeal. It just simply was a dumpster fire of a movie. And trust me, I am never returning to attempt finish watching this rubbish. If you enjoy horror movies, then don't waste 80 minutes on this stinker. Not even the 1988s cheese could lift up this movie.
My rating of "Woodchipper Massacre" lands on a generous one out of ten stars.
Otrazhenie tmy (2024)
Slow paced and pointless...
Of course I had never even heard about this 2024 Russian horror movie "Otrazhenie Tmy" (aka "Succubus") prior to sitting down to watching it. I happened to come across the movie by random chance, and given my love of all things horror, of course I opted to watch it without knowing what I was in for.
The storyline in the movie was rubbish. There was way too much focus on showing off nudity and sexual scenes. Sure, I get that a succubus is a seductress, but it was just laughable here. It felt like the storyline was written by a randy teenager with way too much hormones in his system. So writers Oleg Kurochkin and Dmitriy Zhigalov failed to conjure up a script and storyline that provided much entertainment for me. It was a slow paced and rather pointless narrative.
Given by extremely limited exposure to Russian cinema, then of course I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. Despite the fact that the storyline was rubbish, then the acting performances were actually fair.
For a horror movie, then "Otrazhenie Tmy" was a swing and a miss, it was unnecessarily sleazed up by the pointless nudity and sex scenes, and it wasn't a particularly scary movie in general.
There were a couple of interesting visual scenes, but it was nowhere enough to make it up for all the shortcomings of the movie.
"Otrazhenie Tmy" came and went without leaving a lasting expression on me, and it is definitely not a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time. Nor is it a horror movie that I would recommend to horror fans.
My rating of director Serik Beyseu's 2024 horror movie lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.
Bigfoot Vs. Zombies (2016)
Another low budget homemade video from Mark Polonia...
Granted, I harbored absolutely no expectations to this movie when I sat down to watch it here in 2024. I mean, a title like "Bigfoot vs. Zombies" just screams low budget movie to high Heaven. Still, I opted to watch it on account of it being a movie that I hadn't already seen.
However, had I known that this was a Mark Polonia movie, I would have given it a wide berth, as I am by no means a fan of the low budget homemade movies he churns out by the dozens.
The storyline in the movie was rather simplistic. But then again, with a title such as "Bigfoot vs. Zombies" would you expect an evening of Shakespearian theater?
Of the entire cast ensemble in the movie, I was only familiar with Jeff Kirkendall. Yeah, unfortunately I've suffered through enough Mark Polonia movies to be familiar with this actor, as he is in every single of Polonia's movies. Some of the acting performances in the movie were actually fair, I will give the movie that much credit.
Visually then you're not in for anything grand. The zombie make-up was essentially just paper mache masks, and it looked atrocious. And it is painfully obvious to see that is it just a paper mache mask. Seriously, what are people thinking when they come up with these ideas? No one involved in the movie stopped and said "uhm, this doesn't look good at all"? There were also zombies where they had just painted the faces and hands grey, which was a nice enough idea, but they failed to cover all visible skin with grey, so there were distinct and noticeably lines where grey would give way to the actor or actresses normal skin tone. And the zombie sounds were terrible as well.
And the bigfoot costume was something straight out of a Halloween costume store. Laughable, just laughable.
My rating of "Bigfoot vs. Zombies" lands on a generous one out of ten stars.
Assassinio al cimitero etrusco (1982)
So very, very slow paced...
When I stumbled upon the 1982 Italian horror mystery movie "Assassinio Al Cimitero Etrusco" (aka "The Scorpion With Two Tails") by random chance here in 2024, I opted to watch it since it was a movie that I hadn't ever heard about, much less actually seen.
Writers Ernesto Gastaldi, Dardano Sacchetti, Mara Maryl and Jacques Leitienne put together a script and storyline that failed to properly entertain me.
The only face on the screen that I was familiar with was actor John Saxon, but he was hardly in the movie at all. The acting performances in the movie were fair, despite the fact that the script was a dumpster fire.
Unfortunately I had the misfortune to sit through an English dubbed version of the movie, which wasn't by choice. I don't enjoy dubbed movies, as I prefer to experience movies in their original language. But I opted to sit through this movie, despite it being dubbed.
I found it quite a struggle to sit through this movie, because it was so insanely slow paced and there wasn't much of anything particularly thrilling or entertaining happening as the movie trotted on and on. Truth be told, I tossed the towel in the ring 63 minutes into the 98 minute runtime, by then I was just bored senseless. And this is not a movie that I will be returning to finish watching, because I just simply didn't care about the characters and found very little entertainment in the storyline.
My rating of director Sergio Martino's 1982 movie "Assassinio Al Cimitero Etrusco" lands on generous a three out of ten stars.
Trampa infernal (1989)
Watchable, but...
Of course I had never heard about the 1989 Mexican horror movie "Trampa Infernal" (aka "Hell's Trap") prior to sitting down and watching it ere in 2024. I stumbled upon the movie by sheer luck, and seeing it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I found the time to sit down and watch it.
Writers Pedro Galindo III and Santiago Galindo, with the former also directing the movie, actually put together a fair enough script and storyline. It was a pretty straightforward story, although it was somewhat generic, but still proved to be a watchable and fairly entertaining movie to watch.
Given my extremely limited exposure to the Mexican cinema, much less late 1980s Mexican cinema, then of course I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. The acting performances in "Trampa Infernal" were fair.
Visually then the movie was actually okay. It wasn't a movie that had an abundance of special effects on the screen in every single scene, but whatever effects were being used proved to be passable and fair, even by today's standards.
"Trampa Infernal" might worth sitting down to watch if you enjoy slasher horror movies, though you're not in for anything grand here.
My rating of director Pedro Galindo III's 1989 movie "Trampa Infernal" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Lady Scorpions (2024)
Generic action movie...
Well, the 2024 crime action movie "Lady Scorpions" was not a movie that I was familiar with. And since it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to give the movie a fair chance.
I am a little bit amazed with the fact that writers Stephen Carolan, Bruce Del Castillo and H. Daniel Gross collectively couldn't manage to churn out a more profound or layered script and storyline. Sure, the movie was watchable and entertaining enough for what it was, but it just wasn't a memorable movie. In fact, "Lady Scorpions" is a movie that you will watch once, then bag and tag it. However, it should be noted that if you enjoy the semi-plotless martial arts movies from the late 1980s and early 1990s, then you might get a bigger kick out of this movie. The movie was light in terms of storyline and narrative, and was carried by the fight scenes and action.
Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with Jeff Fahey and Cynthia Rothrock. The acting performances in the movie were fair, but nothing outstanding or memorable though.
The movie does have a fair amount of action and fighting, and it is essentially that which keeps the movie afloat.
Watchable for what it was, though I doubt that I will ever return to watch "Lady Scorpions" a second time.
My rating of director Bruce Del Castillo, whom also wrote and starred in the movie, movie "Lady Scorpions" lands on bland five out of ten stars.
Robin and the Hoods (2024)
Surprisingly good...
Granted, when I sat down to watch the 2024 family fantasy adventure movie "Robin and the Hoods", I had never heard about it, so I didn't really have much of any expectations. And the fact that it was a family movie wasn't really doing much to bolster my expectations, if I have to be fully honest.
But I will say that writers Stuart Benson and Paul Davidson actually put together an enjoyable script and storyline. It was a nice combination of classic fantasy mixed in with elements of family entertainment. I had somewhat feared that it might have been for a younger audience, but it was actually also enjoyable for an adult audience, especially if you enjoy the fantasy genre.
And the storyline had a nice underlaying message to it, which added to the movie, making it more than just your average family movie.
Director Phil Hawkins actually pulled off the fantasy elements quite nicely in the movie, and I loved the way that the movie portrays the way that the kids see themselves as medieval heroes, and the fact of reality is shown as well. It was a nice blend of genres, and that particular way of showcasing the storyline sat quite well with me. So thumbs up to director Phil Hawkins for that accomplishment.
They had a nice cast ensemble put together for the movie. I was not familiar with anyone in the movie, aside from Gwendoline Christie, whom I was a bit surprised to see showing up on the screen. It should be noted that the acting performances were good, from children and adult actors and actresses alike.
Visually then "Robin and the Hoods" was actually quite a surprise. The effects were good, and they definitely had put a lot of effort into the fantasy aspect of the movie, which was something that I liked a lot and it added a lot to the overall enjoyment of the movie.
"Robin and the Hoods" is a movie that is quite worth taking 100 minutes to sit down and watch with the family. It is a feel-good type of movie.
My rating of director Phil Hawkins's 2024 family fantasy adventure "Robin and the Hoods" lands on a six out of ten stars.
Hell Hole (2024)
Well, at least they tried...
I found the cover for this movie interesting enough to make me stop up and take notice. And with "Hell Hole" being a horror movie that I had neither heard about, much less actually seen before, of course I would sit down and give the movie a fair chance. I am a huge fan of the horror genre after all.
The storyline in "Hell Hole" was pretty straight forward, and it sort of semi-entertaining. However, writers John Adams, Lulu Adams and Toby Poser didn't exactly revolutionize the horror genre with this 2024 movie. If you are a diehard horror fan, then you might get a small kick out of this movie, just keep in mine that you're not in for anything grand. I have to say that the narrative is slow paced and there isn't really a whole lot going on to drive the movie forward, which means parts of the movie are rather sluggish and difficult to sit through.
The only familiar face on the cast list, for me at least, was actor Anders Hove. He was only in the movie for a short time, but it was still a nice thing to have a horror icon such as Anders Hove showing up in a movie such as this. The acting performances in "Hell Hole" were fair.
There was some pretty fun and enjoyable gore in the movie, especially when people were blowing up when the alien parasitic creature would burst out of the host bodies. That was actually quite fun to watch.
When you have a movie that is starring, written and directed by the same two people, you just know it is not going to be a stellar viewing experience.
My rating of directors John Adams and Toby Poser's 2024 movie "Hell Hole" lands on a three out of ten stars, with the gore actually dragging the movie up from an otherwise two out of ten stars rating.
Lean into Love (2023)
Generic romance, but still entertaining enough...
Of course I had not heard about this 2023 romantic TV movie from writer Katie Kerr and director Brittany Underwood prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. And with it being a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to sit down and give the movie a fair chance, despite it being a romantic movie. Yeah, the romance genre is generally not a genre of movies that I watch a lot of.
Well, the storyline was actually every bit as generic and predictable as I was expecting. It was one of those sappy storylines where once you've seen one romantic movie, then you have essentially seen them all. But I am sure that there is an audience out there for these types of sappy-romantic movies. Now, I am not saying that it was a bad storyline or script, but it was rather generic. Truth be told, though, I was actually adequately entertained throughout the course of the movie.
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but I will say that they had some talented actors and actresses on the cast list.
If you enjoy sappy romance movies, then you will definitely also enjoy "Lean Into Love" (aka "Love On Retreat") from director Brittany Underwood.
My rating of the movie lands on a five out of ten stars.
Boat (2024)
Boredom in its purest form...
Of course I had never heard about this 2024 Indian movie titled "Boat" prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. However, I opted to watch it on account of it being a movie that I hadn't already seen, but I virtually didn't know what I was in for here.
Writer and director Chimbudeven delivered a movie that utterly failed to entertain me. I have to say that watching seven people sitting in a boat far out at sea, talking and doing very little else, didn't really count as being entertaining in my book. Needless to say that I was bored senseless with the script that Chimbudeven delivered, and I just couldn't make it through 126 minutes of this ordeal.
I managed to suffer through 35 minutes of the ordeal before I tossed the towel in the ring and gave up. The movie was nothing but dialogue between the seven characters sitting in a boat, and it wasn't even remotely interesting dialogue, much less particularly detailed or interesting characters.
Given my limited exposure to Indian cinema, then I wasn't familiar with the cast of actors and actresses on the cast list. But I can't claim that I was impressed with the performances, because the actors and actresses virtually had nothing to work with.
This movie was a massive swing and a miss of a borefest of a movie. And it is not a movie that I will ever return to and attempt to finish watching. I just simply didn't care one bit about the characters or the storyline.
My rating of "Boat" lands on a one out of ten stars.
Return of the Killer Shrews (2012)
I think we're gonna need a bigger goat...
While I haven't watched the original 1959 "The Killer Shrews" movie, then I was familiar with the movie. I had, however, watched the abysmal 2016 remake of the 1959 movie, and believe me, it was beyond horrible. So I wasn't really harboring the biggest of expectations to director Steve Latshaw's 2012 movie. But since I hadn't already seen it, and with it being a horror comedy, of course I opted to give the movie a fair chance.
I have to say that I am a bit baffled that writers James Best, Steve Latshaw, Pat Moran and Patrick Moran collectively couldn't manage to put together a more enjoyable and entertaining script than what they mustered for this 2012 movie. It was a simplistic script that didn't really offer much of any great things, aside from the God awful CGI effects that were good for a great many laughs.
The acting performances in the movie were actually fair, despite the fact that the script was bad. The only familiar faces on the cast list, for me at least, were John Schneider, James Best and Bruce Davison.
The CGI effects in "Return of the Killer Shrews" is terrible. Hands down, some of the worst CGI animation I've seen in a long, long time. It was so bad that it actually spruced up the movie, because it made me want to see how horrible they would make it. And believe me, the CGI effects were horrible.
"Return of the Killer Shrews" is a terrible movie, no doubt about it. But it is actually so bad that it is fun to sit through. I managed to endure the entire 84 minutes, simply because I wanted to see how bad the next scene was going to be. This is definitely not a movie that will find its way back to my screen a second time.
The movie's cover was the best part about the movie.
My rating of director Steve Latshaw's 2012 movie "Return of the Killer Shrews" lands on a two out of ten stars.
Taken from Rio Bravo (2024)
You might want to avoid this...
Now, the synopsis for the movie actually sounded interesting enough to make me decide to sit down and watch the movie. Usually I am not particularly keen on Western movies, but do watch one every now and again. However, I have to say that I had some expectations to the movie from what the synopsis presented. However, writers Craig Hamann and Alexander Nevsky dropped the ball here, because the movie proved to be a massive swing and a miss.
Granted, I have not watched the 2023 Western "Gunfight at Rio Bravo", so I don't know how much of this 2024 sequel was lost on me as I didn't know what transpired in the first movie.
Of the entire cast ensemble in the movie, I was only familiar with Don Wilson, Matthias Hues and Cynthia Rothrock. The acting performances in the movie were for the most parts fair enough, but then there was Alexander Nevsky.
Right, well Cynthia Rothrock as a woman in 1874 performing martial arts didn't exactly come off as being a particularly realistic or plausible thing. It was just such a poorly mixture of martial arts and Western, and it didn't work. And having Don Wilson, whom is part Japanese, play a native American, well...
Director Joe Cornet didn't deliver an impressive Western experience, and this was a movie that will just as quietly fade into oblivion as it quietly managed to sneak in under the radar. Not even if you are a diehard Western fan then I wouldn't recommend you to sit down and watch "Taken From Rio Bravo".
My rating of this 2024 farce of a Western movie lands on a very, very generous two out of ten stars.