Change Your Image
Shenzi
Reviews
Commando (1985)
Leave your brain at the door.
First of all, let me say that the plot in this movie is thinner than tissue-paper. John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is paid a visit from an old war buddy who was thought to be dead. He then kidnaps Matrix's daughter, and what follows is the typical, over-used plotline: Matrix must do what they say or they'll kill his daughter, but of course he doesn't, and starts hunting them down.
Terrible plot aside, it's actually pretty good, with plenty of action, lots of explosions and guns, and plenty of killing. If you like mindless violence, then you're sure to love Commando.
However, some parts of it are blatantly unrealistic. One thing I noticed in particular was when Matrix was shooting a bunch of soldiers with a machinegun - the bullet ribbon hanging out of the side clearly had about 20 left, yet he fired at least 100 shots without the ribbon decreasing in size. Or perhaps the way every one of his bullets hit his target, while all the enemy soldiers missed. Not to mention the fact that his grenades managed to kill the enemy soldiers with ease, while one detonating right next to him barely caused a scratch. As a friend of mine commented, he's "part-time commando, part-time magician".
Honestly, there's nothing about the plot that even came close to surprising me, and the ending was predictable. I'm not saying this was a bad movie - I'm just saying that it was extremely mindless and full of plot holes.
For the action fans out there, I'd give it **** out of *****. For those of you who prefer something more intellectual, ** out of *****.
Silent Hill (1999)
Don't play it alone.
Let me get something straight: I don't get scared easily. I've played the first two Resident Evil games without breaking a sweat, I watch Hellraiser and The Exorcist alone at night and think nothing of it.
Then there was Silent Hill... This game isn't just another random bloody horror game like the RE series, it's genuinely disturbing, and let me tell you, it scared me a lot.
It begins with a typical cliche... Harry Mason is driving down a road at night with his daughter, going to visit this little out-of-the-way resort town, Silent Hill. A girl steps in front of his car, he swerves to avoid her, and ends up crashing. From here on, strange things start to happen... Harry wakes up and finds his daughter missing, and stumbling through the mist, he sees her disappearing down a dark alley... I won't say anymore, I'll let you find out what happens.
Not only is this game very dark and scary, it's disturbing at a psychological level. It doesn't use big monsters to frighten you; after playing for only a few minutes, the slightest rustle can make you flee in terror. The plot isn't thrown in your face like other games, you have to think, and you're never really told what's going on - perhaps Harry is in a coma and dreaming all this, or maybe he died and went to Hell. The air of mystery and suspense keeps you hooked until the end, and it'll keep you coming back for more.
And I'll tell you this: After playing Silent Hill, those old WW2 air-raid sirens will never sound the same again...