Change Your Image
griffon652
Reviews
Knightfall (2017)
Great show if you discount historical innaccuracy
First of all, every negative review that's based on historical inaccuracy is correct. This show has absolutely nothing in common with the actual history of the Knights Templar. However, as a history buff and enthusiast I'm a bit perplexed by the outrage. The show and its commercials never tried to portray the show as historically accurate. So in my opinion, the negative reviews based on historical inaccuracy have no merit.
This show follows on the foot of vikings. Its supposed to be a show based on the Knights Templar but that's where the similarities end. What I judge a show by is cohesive plot, characters acting logically to drive the plot, entertainment value and acting. For the most part the show does a great job in all those categories. The only glaring negative point about the show is that the plot is a bit predictable sometimes. Otherwise, its great entertainment. I give the show a solid 8.5/10. The 10 rating from above is to balance out all the unjustified low ratings.
The Dead 2: India (2013)
A gem of a horror film
I rarely buy movies but after borrowing this one from a friend,watching it and realizing what a great movie this was; I felt that I had an obligation to support the makers. Guys this isn't a big budget film. Its made by people with a ridiculously low budget. I couldn't believe how good this movie was given the budget.
The plot, pacing, suspense and visuals were amazing. The only minor complaint I have is the acting. However, given the budget even that was not too bad. In order to keep having independent gems like this coming out they need our support. So if you haven't already bought this movie, go do it now! Trust me it's a quality zombie movie that rivals the big budget productions. You won't be disappointed.
The Fountain (2006)
An ambitious and thought provoking film
This movie is definitely one I would consider to be an "artsy" film. I'm someone who isn't particularly fond of artsy films to put it lightly. In fact, the first time I tried to watch this film I turned it off within the first 15 minutes. A few months later I decided to try to watch it a second time. This time I made a conscious decision to sit and watch through the whole movie.
By the end of this film I was awed and mystified by the powerful message and beauty of this film. The fountain tells a story spanning across time from the past to the present and into the future. The message is deep but the meaning of the movie isn't clear without some effort on the viewer's part to decipher the story. The film's message is also darker and more pessimistic than most people's idea concerning life, death, love and hope. Logically speaking though, the ideas in this film are actually very realistic with most people's experiences across the world. I don't want to give away any of the story so that's all I will say in regards to the content of the movie.
If you're willing to open your mind, want to see a film unlike any other, appreciate an artistic film, are a fan of amazing soundtracks and don't mind a unorthodox message regarding our existence as human beings; this film will amaze you. It is a brilliant film that's been vastly underrated. However, for those looking for a more conventional movie this movie is not for you.
Tom yum goong 2 (2013)
TYG2: An objective and completely NON-BIASED review
One of the main uses of a professional review from a critic is that they are usually non-biased and objective when reviewing a movie. The majority of the time you will see most critics rate a movie around the same range. This is why going by fan reviews can be tricky. This can be seen in reviews for TYG2. There are far too many 1 and 2 star reviews that are unwarranted. Let's start there; this is by no means that horrible a movie. I will write an objective review so you have a good idea of what to expect from the film. My review contains NO REAL SPOILERS so read without fear!
If TYG could be described by one word, it would be "inspiring." TYG2 can never be described by that word. However, it can easily be described as "exciting." Although at the onset the plot seems to be a replica of TYG; about 30 minutes into the movie it get far more complicated. And by complicated I mean that the script writers tried to cram 3 stories into 1. This is both a positive and negative. For the most part the story flows well in terms of logic and scope. However, it fails in pacing, amount of information that it tired to convey and the last 2 minutes of the ending (more on that later). I appreciate what they tried to do with the story, I really do. But they tried to do too much in one movie. If you don't speak Thai fluently or have good English subtitles don't even bother with this movie.
Whereas last time a simple story was fleshed out well over the course of the movie; this time the selling point is an intricate plot that slowly presents self to the audience. Therefore, if you can't understand the dialogue the enjoyment of the movie is already cut in half. I believe that the inability to fully understand the story is one of the main reasons for the low rating of this film. Trust me guys the plot is there (for the most part) but it just flows way too fast. I'm a fast reader and I ALWAYS have subtitles for all movies that I watch. Even with that I had to rewind quite a few times to read all the lines. There was simply too much being said so the subtitle stayed on screen at some points for less then half a second. Furthermore, the best subtitle out there is about 85% complete so that makes the already complicated plot even harder to comprehend. If they added an extra 20 minutes to the movie it would have helped immensely. So would subtitle that is 100% complete.
Also, the story isn't big on detail. For a lot of the parts you just have to assume. For example, the main plan of the villain makes sense but they don't give you enough detail to fully appreciate it. It's like telling someone you climbed Mount Everest who has no idea what the hell Mount Everest is. So while they may understand that it's probably some sort of great accomplishment; they won't have the same appreciation as they would if you had fully explained just how difficult and life threatening it is. Also some parts of the story are touched on so quickly that you may completely miss it. An example is (VERY MINOR SPOILER COMING UP)
the undercover agent that was planted at LC's base operations. This part was touched on so lightly that many viewers will miss it. There are many other plot points throughout the movie that are easily missed. Now let's talk about the visuals.
The visuals are original, crisp, fact paced, exciting, cheesy and bland. Tony Jaa is impressive as usual with his martial arts display. There are many sequences that will make you say wow!! The ways some of the fights play out are unique enough to differentiate from the first film. The visuals are crisp in the senses that they are unique compared to other films that take place in an urban setting. The "fire room" sequence will be a visual feast for your eyes. However, the fast paced part is a double edged sword. Some action sequences that are fast paced like the second half of the bike chase are fun to watch. But a few of the fast paced fights suffer from the classic too much "cut and reshoot" technique. Notice I said few. For the most part the fights flow smoothly. But there are scenes where the editing is very noticeable, distracting and takes away from the enjoyment of the film.
It's obvious that the camera work was done by seasoned professionals. But they were by no means anywhere near what would be considered industry experts. Some of this may be contributed to the forced 3D scenes that were crammed into the film. And yes they are as awful as most people in other reviews have said. There were unnecessary explosions, cheesy close-ups and other unneeded 3D scenes force fed into the film to increase appeal. These scenes accomplished the complete opposite of the director intended; which was to make the movie "cooler." At best they were distracting and at worst they made you completely roll your eyes and say "really
.REALLY????."
My review exceeded the 1,000 limit. For the rest of this review please check the TYG2 forum