Month: August 2016

Movie Review: WARCRAFT – a lame mashup of the PC game and Lord of the Rings only uses the worst of both worlds.

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Warcraft

I approached Warcraft with a bit of dubiousness, I admit.  The trailers looked silly and derivative, I’ve never played the game, and the history of cinematic adaptations of videogames (those I’ve seen) ranges from ho-hum to absolute garbage.  While doing some research for this review I had a look at just how many of them there have been, and I was stunned by how many there are and the fact I had heard of most, seen some of them.  Must have crept up on me over the years.  Of those I have seen, both Tomb Raiders – while not all that good – are on the higher end of that spectrum, while the best-forgotten travesty of Super Mario Brothers anchors that chain at the deep end.

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Movie Review: INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie Reviews5 Comments

independence-day-resurgence_82FF

Maybe about the worst thing you could say about a movie back in the day – and especially a successful movie – is that the sequel went straight to video.  I always felt that was a slap in the face to the original moviemakers, none of which were generally seen around that kind of production.  It still happens: here’s a brief list!  Sometimes they go straight to Netflix or some other streaming service too.  These are mostly garbage money grabs, cashing in on a popular title after the original creators and cast have moved on.  Rarely will you see such a sequel with any of the main stars.  Independence Day: Resurgence is an odd duck.  While it isn’t a direct-to-blu-ray, it sure as hell feels like it.

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Movie Review: THE VOICES

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thevoicepostersmall

Few movies are so inconsistent in tone that I’m compelled to comment about that one aspect, but such is The Voices, staring Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, Self/Less), Gemma Arterton (Byzantium), and Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air, Pitch Perfect).  I stumbled across this the other week, and was intrigued by the premise, and the fact it seemed like an odd choice for Reynolds, whom I consider a solid lead actor.  The poster itself sets up a quirky, offbeat black comedy, but like many posters that try to sell a different kind of product to the public, this one is grossly misleading.

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Movie Review: POD

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POD-poster

Pod, from prolific indie auteur Mickey Keating (Darling, Carnage Park) is another entry in the Cabin In The Woods subgenre, but while it lacks ambition in terms of story, that’s the perils of low budget moviemaking.  It’s more a testament to Keating’s skill and ambition as a moviemaker that he can get so much work done and with such diverse storylines that you can’t help be swayed to his side.  For me, he’s a middle of the road writer/director, but I have wondered how much growth could happen in his work if he were to be given a budget where he doesn’t have to worry about the small stuff.

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