Topic: Never Ending Movie Marathon (short reviews)

[samuelrichardscott]

Scanners 3: The Takeover (1992)

So did Scanners III deserve all the poor reviews it received on release? I'm going to say not quite, as like the second, it introduces some great ideas, even if they are flawed. I really like the idea of two siblings battling it out as a good scanner versus an evil scanner and I also thought having the female be the villain rather than the male was a nice little touch. A couple of good additions to the plot was the continuance of the EPH drugs scheme and that society still doesn't fully know about the Scanners existence as shown by the party scene at the beginning.

The cast is the poorest of the franchise. Although Liliana Komorowska, Valérie Valois and Steve Parrish are just about passable as the lead characters, the supporting cast seems to be made up of people who 'think' they can act and end up overdoing their lines and their expressions, but that isn't the biggest problem here. Scanners III had no less than three writers, moving the film from Thailand to America in a heartbeat, changing the tone from off-kilter humour to horror and, at times, even making a very straightforward plot seem confusing. I have to say though, whoever wrote in the revolving door death should be commended as that was the best scene in the film.

Now to get to what is almost the saving grace of Scanners III. Scanners can now control the minds of many by way of television as we find out when a non-descript sporting event is interrupted by our villain. This opened up the possibilities of how stronger Scanners could take power, but I ended up thinking what would happen when people stop watching television? Are they still under mind control or do they just go about their day as normal? After all, a Scanner can't spend the rest of eternity keeping people glued to the screen. They have to rest some time. So many questions, yet not enough answers, but the strongest idea here.

Flawed, poorly acted and yet forgiveable so. Scanners III is a bad film, but it is watchable, especially for those who enjoyed the previous movies.

2.5/5


My full review:
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2784

[Jimmy]

The cast is the poorest of the franchise. Although Liliana Komorowska, Valérie Valois and Steve Parrish are just about passable as the lead characters

Sorry but you are wrong... Valerie Valois is a great actress (acting in a different language isn't an easy thing to do) and she was at the beginning of her career. Also Daniel Pilon is an accomplished French Canadian actor who had worked for years in many US soap and was never out of work here before he did decide to take less works because of his age (he had never disowned his French Canadian roots contrary to some other getting very small success in France).

But you are right on one point : Steve Parrish is a poor lead actor but he was better than Stephen Lack in the original...

[samuelrichardscott]

Willow (1988)

A great film and the technical aspects of the disc are very good indeed. Possibly the best catalogue title transfer I've seen. I didn't review the film secton, but I did review the technical specs and extras which you can read here:
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2785

[DSig]

Willow was a very fun watch.  Great when it first came out and fun ever since

[Achim]

I watched Willow at the cinema and once or twice since. It's indeed a fun movie, elevated my the epic James Horner score. Even though the review correctly complains about the lack of carrying over some of the older special features, I should place it relatively high on my wish list.

[samuelrichardscott]

I Didn't Come Here to Die (2010)

Unfortunately, I Didn't Come Here to Die is too flawed to gain the word-of-mouth success it had hoped for and that starts with the casting. Made up of complete unknowns who have mainly had very small or uncredited roles, the most experienced actor is Niko Red Star who has primarily been in similar low-budget horrors, and yet the best cast member by far is Madi Goff who plays political student Miranda - but she has the smallest (but best) role. Although the casting is certainly above the standards of many micro-budget horrors I have seen in the past, it still falls short of the bar.

The next main problem is the storyline. Although the film relies on the clever idea of one unfortunate event spiralling into a series of calamitous developments, there is no hard plot for the viewer to follow. It's essentially a bunch of young adults going into the woods and seing who comes out alive at the end of 76 minutes. Saying that, the way the film is structured is good and definately alleviates the immediate need for something a little more solid.

The main things for horror fans though, are atmosphere, tension, and good old fashioned blood and guts. First-time feature-length director Bradley Scott Sullivan manages to build the tension quite quickly and catches the viewer off guard on several occassions. He doesn't hang about in getting things moving quickly and this is a good point for this film as the quicker we get to the action and horror, the quicker we forget about the flaws I previously mentioned. The gore is well done and some of the visual effects are great. There are a couple of stomach-churning moments and although the movie does have many cliches, it leads up to one of the better and most unexpected explosive endings I've seen in horror for some time, making this worthy of any horror fans collection if you can get it cheap, despite the rest of the feature being a mixed bag.


My full review is here:
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=2786
Released 15th April 2013.

[samuelrichardscott]

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

As I come to the end of the boxset I was given, I think this is my favourite of the franchise so far. I think the dialogue was the sharpest yet, especially the added moments of humour and I also liked the fact they didn't feel they had to end the film on a good ending and have opted to really set-up the two-part finale which I think I'll buy once it's cheap. Recommended. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Never Back Down (2008)

This is one of the best MMA movies around in my opinion. It stars Amber Heard and Sean Faris in a film that has an enjoyable storyline, some cracking fight scenes, and likeable characters. It manages to avoid "some" of the general cliches usually attached to this type of movie and thanks to that and a strong cast is certainly worth a look. Recommended. 4/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Watched The Amazing Spider-Man again. My review:
http://www.dvdcollectorsonline.com/index.php/topic,6328.msg159438/topicseen.html#msg159438

This time, viewing was in 3D and I enjoyed this even more the second time round. I'm giving it a bump to a 4.5/5.

[samuelrichardscott]

Avengers Assemble (2012)

Joss Whedon had a lot on his hands here. Whilst the other Marvel movies have to please fans of a single superhero, Avengers Assemble had to please the fans of many, staying true to both the characters and the Avengers group. What can I say? He smashed it. The casting is perfect, the special effects absolutely stunning and the plot a lot of fun and never lacking in pace, despite the long runtime. The 3D was also very good. They didn;t have much in the way of popouts, but depth was excellent, especially in the final battle. Highly recommended and I can't wait for the next wave of Marvel movies. 5/5

[DSig]

And not only did he direct it but he wrote it.  He did have help with the story from Zak Penn (who has some pretty good writing credits to his name) but Joss wrote it.

I think it is the humor, distinct for all the characters, that this film has that really made it.  Each character is so personal/complete.  "Puny God" .. still makes me laugh.  or "Hulk Smash!".  It had to be said.

[samuelrichardscott]

Jackass: The Movie (2002)

The basis for Jackass: The Movie is essentially an extended version of the television show. Ryan Dunn sticks a toy car about his arse, papercuts to the mouth, an air horn at the golf course and hiring a car and entering it into a demolition derby are just some of the delights here. If you hated the TV show, you'll hate this, if you liked the TV show, you'll like the movie. Simple as that. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Holy Rollers: The True Story of the Card Counting Christians (2011)

This documentary looks at one of the best card counting teams operating in America; The Church Team. It shows different members of the team as they go through card school and then shows them card counting in casinos (and very quickly being asked to leave). It takes anywhere from 10-30 minutes before they are 'made' in casinos, but as card counting isn't illegal they get to keep their winnings. As a team, they win roughly $1.5million a year and work an average of 40 hours per month - not a bad little earner. I have to say, I liked the way the documentary also interviewed the casino pit bosses and table managers to give another side to the story. Interesting, but not as in-depth as I would like, I'd still recommend a viewing. 3.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

10,000 BC (2008)

The special effects are very good in 10,000 BC but unfortunately that's the only thing that is. Storyline? Crap. Acting? Crap. Dialogue? Crap. Overall: Crap but the special effects did garner a little enjoyment. Skip it. 1.5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Sex and the City: The Movie (2008)
Sex and the City 2: The Movie (2010)

I decided to buy both films as I had 'adopted' a copy the full TV show and the completist in me hit them up on the low price. The first movie follows up from the show reasonably well, although the flaws do follow over; the second movie however was horrible. Want to know how to get terrorists to speak? Replay the Liza Minelli wedding scene repeatedly until they talk because it won't take long. A generous 2.5/5 for the first movie, a 1/5 for the second.