[tdockweiler]

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire - 10/10

Best Sci-Fi movie i've seen since maybe The Foundation and the Dune remake.
Really excited to see Part 2. Netflix better not be stupid and cancel it!
Loved every minute of it. Visuals were amazing and it's unfortunate we won't get a chance to see this in Imax.
People claiming it's just some Star Wars rip-off is non-sense.
It's far better than any Star Wars movie they've released since Return of the Jedi.
To me, it's actually more similar to The Foundation than Star Wars.
It's definitely no action movie at all. I actually liked it for it's story too somehow.
Some people might actually find it boring. Not me for a second.

PS it's visual style reminded me of some weird mix of 300 and The Foundation. The battle scenes have a lot of slow-mo.
Also, now that I think of it, it may have some similarities to the story line of Final Fantasy 3 (US version).

 

[Lenni]

The Lions of Sicily (2023) (TV Series)
This was interesting, to say the least. Something different from the usual shooting spree and car-chasing scenes (nothing wrong with that). I'd highly recommend watching it in the original language; the dubbed version is not worth it. I had to rely on subs too because Sicilian dialect is hard to understand. IMDB reviews
Rating: 8/10.

 

[dougms3]

Rebel Moon Part 1 6.5/10

I really wanted to like this movie as its kind of a really late to the party adult version film in the Star Wars universe. The problem with this film is the poor acting and storyline. As many of Stars Wars films have been heavily "inspired" by Akira Kurosawa's films, this one borrows heavily from Seven Samurai again. While it doesn't bother me that they do this as many other movies have done the same (Magnificient Seven, Lord of the Rings Two Towers, Django) its just so poorly executed, its disappointing.

Typical Zach Snyder style action scenes, which aren't bad but is getting a bit old at this point due to overuse.

I think Doona Bae was really great in this movie, even though she had such a small role. They should have made her the main character since she's a much higher level actress.

Maybe part two will be alot better.

 

[jsk ksj]

Rebel Moon Part 1 6.5/10

I really wanted to like this movie as its kind of a really late to the party adult version film in the Star Wars universe. The problem with this film is the poor acting and storyline. As many of Stars Wars films have been heavily "inspired" by Akira Kurosawa's films, this one borrows heavily from Seven Samurai again. While it doesn't bother me that they do this as many other movies have done the same (Magnificient Seven, Lord of the Rings Two Towers, Django) its just so poorly executed, its disappointing.

Typical Zach Snyder style action scenes, which aren't bad but is getting a bit old at this point due to overuse.

I think Doona Bae was really great in this movie, even though she had such a small role. They should have made her the main character since she's a much higher level actress.

Maybe part two will be alot better.

I was very disappointed with this. Best described as "amateurish".

Vikings vs nazis in space.

 

[tdockweiler]

I watched Rebel Moon again. Was too tired to finish it, but managed to get about 1 1/2 hours in.
It's actually every bit as good for me on the 2nd viewing, if not better. So many small details I missed.
I like every single minute and it actually feels like a polished movie to me
I find the acting perfectly fine. It's good to me. The only example for me where it could be slightly better were a few lines of dialogue when they arrived at the bar.
Gunnar is just a farmer and totally out of place. I doubt he has any fighting skills at all or can contribute much to the team.

The look of the 1st village reminded me of Skyrim's Whiterun. It's story partly reminded me of Final Fantasy 3 (FFVI in Japan). Remember Terra? Even one of Rebel Moon's characters reminded me of the treasure hunter "Locke". Atticus maybe has some similarities to Kefka.

Some of the shots of cities in Rebel Moon reminded me of those in Final Fantasy 3 too (the industrial areas).
Final Fantasy 3 also has an area called the Veldt, but i'm sure this is pretty common.
It makes me wonder if Zack was ever a fan of FF3 as a kid.
It really is one of the best Final Fantasy games ever if you've never played it. Came out in 1994!

The movie definitely seems to combine ideas from probably dozens of movies. I have no problem with this.
I actually love it's story even if it's been used before.

I'm hoping Netflix releases an extended director's cut, but not likely. I also hope we see more of Jimmy the robot in part 2.

This might just be one of those movies where you either love it or hate it. I absolutely loved it and wish I could own a blu-ray of it some day.
I'd actually pay just to see it in Imax.

I'm no Zack Snyder fan and I'm surprised I liked this as much as I did!

PS the 2nd one is supposed to be more like a war movie from what i've read.

Also, i'm sure all the Dark Souls fans would know who Harmada reminds them of.

 

[tdockweiler]

Home Alone - 9/10

I just watched this for viewing number 100+. I never get tired of it.

Jaws 2 - 5/10

Jaws 3 (aka 3D) - 3/10

Possibly one of the worst movies ever made? At least the acting was mostly OK from it's main stars.
This seems to be one of Dennis Quaid's earlier movies.
A lot of it's scenes can be viewed as comedy really.

Watching the 4th, but I am not expecting much.

 

[Trihexagonal]

​

Battle Beyond the Sun 9/10


"Battle Beyond the Sun is a 1962 science fiction film. It is an English-dubbed and re-edited American version of Nebo Zovyot, a 1959 Soviet science fiction film. Roger Corman acquired the Soviet film for US distribution and hired a young film-school student named Francis Ford Coppola to "Americanize" it.

Like the original Soviet Nebo Zovyot, Battle Beyond the Sun is a tale of a "space race" between two nations competing to become the first to land a spacecraft on the planet Mars; unlike the original, in which the competing nations are the USSR and the US, Battle Beyond the Sun focuses on the fictional future countries of North Hemis and South Hemis."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Beyond_the_Sun

It tries hard to be a serious, scientific movie. You really get the feel of a futuristic utopian society from the filming in what at the time was the Soviet Union.

It's a real Christmas movie with a Triumph of the Will and coming together of opposing sides, in spite of their differences, for the good of Man.

 

[jsk ksj]

​

Battle Beyond the Sun 9/10


"Battle Beyond the Sun is a 1962 science fiction film. It is an English-dubbed and re-edited American version of Nebo Zovyot, a 1959 Soviet science fiction film. Roger Corman acquired the Soviet film for US distribution and hired a young film-school student named Francis Ford Coppola to "Americanize" it.

Like the original Soviet Nebo Zovyot, Battle Beyond the Sun is a tale of a "space race" between two nations competing to become the first to land a spacecraft on the planet Mars; unlike the original, in which the competing nations are the USSR and the US, Battle Beyond the Sun focuses on the fictional future countries of North Hemis and South Hemis."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Beyond_the_Sun

It tries hard to be a serious, scientific movie. You really get the feel of a futuristic utopian society from the filming in what at the time was the Soviet Union.

It's a real Christmas movie with a Triumph of the Will and coming together of opposing sides, in spite of their differences, for the good of Man.

Triumph of the Will, infamous nazi propaganda film is not a christmas movie, in my house.

 

[Whazzzup]

Emancipation Apple TV + 2022



well it hits harder than any slap. Exposes man’s inherent evil and win at all costs or else attitude. Dark, realism, that ends in thanking god for the random nature of survival in cesspool of humanity. Hardly Xmas but 4 out of 5, and I’d puff for anesthetic purposes.

 

[tdockweiler]

Siren: Survive the Island - 5/10

This is a survival reality series on Netflix from South Korea.
It's a really good idea, but so poorly made.
What could have been a fun/entertaining show is made to be as uninteresting as possible (can't quite say boring).
The actual raids very rarely happen and 75% of the show is the players planning them out.
I really have no idea how I managed to finish this. It's 10 episodes of 30 minutes.

Objective of the game:

Contestants are all female and in the profession of Athlete, Police Officer, Soldier, Bodyguard, Fire Fighter and Stunt Person.
They are teamed up by profession and get to pick a base on a small island and have to survive for 7 days. Not really a survival show though.
The goal is to raid other bases and take their flag. The game is kind of like capture the flag in a way, but you have a base where you can hide the flag.
There are raids at random during the day. Each player then gets ready and carries an individual flag on their back.
If they are trying to raid another base the opposing team can remove their flag and that person is eliminated.

There is a general store where they can use the calories they burned as a team to buy survival tools or food.
For example, you can buy an axe to break down the other teams door or use smoke bombs as defense. Maybe buy rope to hide your flag better in a tree.
You can only play defense. Can't try to harm the other players by hitting or kicking them.

I think the worst idea is that you can team up with other groups to give yourself an advantage.

The show is just so poorly made. The raids are so poorly shot that you can barely tell what's going on.
There was just so much footage to capture and most of it is taken by cameras set up around the bases.

It's most bizarre creative choice is that they repeat dialogue and sequences in a loop 3 times in a row at random. It is just so weird.
I'm not sure what purpose this serves.

I think this may be made by the same producers of "Physical: 100" on Netflix and why it's so bad.

The soundtrack is the absolute worst you could ever imagine. It's basically just random annoying weirdness.
If I could give a TV show soundtrack a score, this would get a 0/10.

I have zero problems reading subtitles in movies. This was the rare exception.
You have four people in a scene talking over each other. It's really hard to figure out what's going on and who's speaking.
During the show no character names are shown in English. It's hard for me to pick any team I wanted to win.
It just felt so confusing.


EDIT: Wow, tons of 10/10 reviews of the show on IMDB! Did see a 1/10 and 4/10 rating though.
I think to enjoy this even more you have to be able to understand it without subtitles (not me).
I guess one positive is that there is very little fake drama.

Source:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27664503/reviews

 

[Whazzzup]

Burn notice 2013 disney +



where was I in post y2k world, well missed 7 seasons of burn notice. i was looking for long running series and this snappy mcgyver American bond, well ex bond, on the outs with a burn notice and to find the mole and clear his name. An expert “how to“ series worth the puffs if you missed, course just on season 1 and we will see how 5 seasons bloats the series and how to tie this thing up….4 out of 5 puffs. For now

 

[jsk ksj]

Not a good start to the new year... very poor, given the talent on screen. 3/10

 

[Ryokan]

While it doesn't bother me that they do this as many other movies have done the same (Magnificient Seven, Lord of the Rings Two Towers, Django) its just so poorly executed, its disappointing.

Really enjoyed LOTR's book and movies but the ending with the ghost army really spoilt the story for me especially in the film. I mean they couldn't lose.

 

[tdockweiler]

You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment - 10/10

I watched this all in one sitting last night and it's maybe 4 or 5 episodes I think.
The focus is really not so much on the actual experiment.
The only disappointment was the results. I mean why only did they do the experiment for 8 weeks?
It's like they didn't even require them to track calories, protein or fat.
I suspect that not enough of them followed it as strictly as they should have.
One of them lost a lot of muscle. They said they were worried about eating too many carbs (!).
Yet that along with not enough protein is why they lost so much muscle.
Plus many of them were expected to lose fat AND gain muscle at the same time. Not the best idea for an experiment.

More people should watch this for sure. It's very educational and you can fact check everything. Most of it is proven by science/research.
Game Changers and Forks Over Knives are also great.

I won't preach to you about my opinions on food. I'm just glad I quit bothering with all the fad diets out there. I used to fall for a lot of them.
I just eat what promotes optimal health and prevents disease. I don't do anything until i've checked to see if it's backed up by science/research.
You can actually find people out there who think eating 5lbs of meat a day is healthy and that fruit and vegetables are bad.
The Youtube "health" channels are the worst. They'll promote anything that's dangerous for your health as long as it brings them in a paycheck.

 

[Whazzzup]

The boy who would be king 2019 Disney +



ok bordering on unbelievable, just keep puffin. The evil is a little scary and the path to victory isn’t straight. 3.75 out of 5 for respectable teen movie, plus Picard.