Change Your Image
rosti_mitev
Reviews
The Predator (2018)
A disgrace to the franchise.
Truly this is a disgrace to the franchise. Even if I was not a Predator fan, I would still call this movie a garbage, because this is what it was - regardless if it is a Predator movie or not. The fact that it is situated in the Predator universe only makes things worse, because it makes a parody out of a beloved character and franchise. I had low expectations after the trailers, but after watching the movie I was speachless of the idiotic characters, absurd dialogue and nonsensical script. Sorry for the overwhelming hate, I don't usually do this, but this is clearly not only the worst Predator movie (yes, it is worse even than AvP: Requem), but it is a bad sci-fi movie and it is comparable to ridiculous titles such as Sharknado or alike.
Shane Black, how could you?
The X Files: Folie a Deux (1998)
Return of the horror
Season 5 has a lot of "conspiracy" episodes and "spy" plots. I found myself missing the good old episodes involving investigations of strange creatures. I was missing the horror. And here we have this episode - Folie a Deux - a pure horror episode! The story runs very smooth, no rushing and no boring moments. There are some nice chilling shots (with a reference to the good old zombie movies), nice cinematography and well-paced story. The plot (although nothing original) could sustain even a full-length movie, I believe. It is very interesting also how Moulder approaches the case - skeptical at the beginning, hesitant after some clues and finally - near psychotic and put into a hospital due to his absurd statements. To me it was one of the best episodes from Season 5.
I Am Number Four (2011)
The O. C. meets Benji, Zax and the Alien Prince
When you want to make a Sci-Fi, action, thriller movie, ... just make a Sci-Fi, action, thriller movie!
In the past 2-3 years I believe we witnessed something like SCI-FI rebirth with some very good movies like District 9, Pandorum, Watchmen, Sunshine (by Danny Boyle) and even Avatar. However, this one was a total disappointment and I will explain why.
First of all the story was super simple and one-sided. Even Ben 10 on Cartoon Network had deeper story! I am sure the writers take good money but ... an alien boy with superpowers hunted down by rival evil other aliens on Earth? Come on! You can do better than this! Even Avatar with its cliché story is light years ahead. The characters were poorly created - just stereotypes taken straight from other movies (the school football team leader is the bad bully - how original! There's a school nerd too.). And what's with that school teenage love story? If I want to see something like that I could watch an episode from The O.C. There were some cool action scenes, yes, but that was completely overrun by the boring and totally predictable story-telling. I will not comment the acting. It's not worth it. The worst thing is that it seems this movie will have a sequel.
Do you remember the TV show from the 80's Benji, Zax and the Alien Prince? It's basically the same story, even the dog is there, but that was much more entertaining and much more interesting than I Am Number Four..
If you like "real" Sci-Fi and if you like Starship Troopers, Terminator and X-Men, this is not for you!
Death Race (2008)
Mindless, simple and flat ... what more do you want?
Well, this movie is one of the worst of Paul Anderson's. However I enjoyed it! It is not a movie that you would add to your golden collection or would like to watch again but it is entertaining. It has nice armored cars, a lot of gunfire, car stunts and explosions and all of that is accomplished in a very professional manner. Just add Jason Statham and you have a nice time watching this movie. The characters are simple and somewhat hollow, but you don't have to expect any kind of character development in such a pop-corn flick. It is all about car race, and what's more - car race with armored cars, equipped with heavy machine guns and rocket launchers. I have never seen the original with S. Stallone but now I will put it in my must-see list.
Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
Nice but not superb
This was one of the best BATMAN animated full-length movies, but not the ultimate movie I was hoping to be. Why? First the good things that make "Batman: Under the Red Hood" so entertaining: With no doubt in this movie we have so much violence that we couldn't see in all previous Batman animations put together. There are actual kills, blood and torturing scenes. I consider this as a plus. The animation is very smooth, the characters are very well developed, the action scenes are cool. I liked the way Batman was designed. It resembled more the TV series' from 1992 ("Batman: The Animated Series"), then the more recent shows "The Batman" or "Batman: the Brave and the Bold". I miss however the voice of Kevin Conroy - the best Batman voice ever! The Joker had a different look - I think it was a good interpretation, but again - the voice was not a good match. Most of the time the Joker speaks it sounds as a pretty normal speech - speech of a normal person. It lacks the crazy uber and undertones Mark Hamill could create. The plot was kinda inconsistent, We have one pointless appearance of Nightwing, one pointless fight with Ameizo - that seemed to me like filling a gap. The story was predictable and somewhat boring. However in overall the animation was very entertaining and fun to watch. I liked it more than any other full-length Batman animation, but still I would prefer the TV-series from the beginning of the 90's
The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations (2009)
Not bad at all!
Well, the first movie was a hit - no doubt about it - intelligent, profound and engrossing. The second one - I didn't watch it, but considering the overall comments it does not worth it. The third one however - "The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations" is not bad at all! It's nothing you could call "original" or "innovative", but it succeeds quite well in giving an interpretation to the idea of time travel and the consequences of alteration of past events. Tha acting was really a good surprise to me - especially that of Chris Carmack! The plot runs at a logic pace - not giving away too much, nor confusing. Sound, wardrobe, makeup - all the details were observed. All of that makes this movie a good sci-fi triller. Not a masterpiece, but a descent movie. I would recommend it to all who love science fiction!
Solaris (2002)
A love story?
The movie was released just when I read the book "Solaris" by Stanislav Lem (upon which the movie is based) for the 3-rd time. It is one of my favorite books ever. The movie has many differences from the book, however once you read the book, you realize, that it has many interpretations and many sides. I think Soderberg understood the book well. The character's motives and beliefs in the movie are pretty much identical to the ones in the book. It also has the same melancholic and surreal concept. The movie, beside being a sci-fi mystery, thriller is actually a genuine love story. But it is not about the love we hope to meet in another person, but about the love we long to discover within ourselves and then understand it. At least I interpret it that way.
The movie is also a standard on its own for a good cinematography - lighting, make-up, scenes, and of course - very good acting.
Death Note: Desu nôto (2006)
Intelligent and profound...
The story begins when a bored immortal God of Dead (Shimigami) drops his Death note to Earth. The Death note has the power to "kill" anyone, who's name is written in it. The Note is found by a brilliant student Light who quickly discovers the demonic power of the Death note and decides to rid the world of all criminals. The mysterious death of criminals all over the world draws the attention of INTERPOL and a full scale investigation led by a genius investigator L is started. At this point starts the conflict between L and Light which escalates with every next episode.
This anime is very intelligent and intriguing. Every episode is unpredictable and although the story evolves fast, it doesn't exhaust its potential and never gets boring. The intellectual fights between the two protagonists are brilliantly worked out and are actually the main string throughout the anime. Every episode L is a step from exposing Light and every episode Light manages to cover himself and divert the investigation. The characters are consistent, the dialog cunning.
The direction, music and animation are also flawless which completes DEATH NOTE near perfection.
No doubt this is one of the best non-action animes I have ever seen. A deserved 10 from me.
They Live (1988)
They live .... we ....?
An interesting movie, by the well-known director Carpenter. The movie looks like a sci-fi thriller, but it is more of a satira or ironical look at the modern society! Now, in 2004, I realize how much truth holds the movie. The constant subconscious suggestion from TV commercials, billboards, radio stations from the movie ... is happening now! In the real world. The greed ("This is your God"), the vanity, the hypocrisy are taking over the world. The modern societies are becoming a mere mass of mindless zombies, led by the common trends, by stereotypes, by suggested ideals. The movie is more of a warning of what could happen if we loose our humanity!
Sadly, I think that all is as in the movie, only that the evil aliens are actually evil human beings, turned into monsters, by our natural demerits.
Independence Day (1996)
An alien computer system, destroyed by a single virus?!
An alien spaceship armada is about to erase the human race. Our greatest weapons are useless, our fighting machines are like toys, our soldiers are like kids, compared to the alien superior technology and firepower! How shall we defeat them?! Easy! In just few seconds (spoiler!) Goldblum hacks the alien mainframe with a human-made computer virus, and eliminates the alien's defense system, making them vulnerable to air-to-air missiles! Hello! Are we dumb or what? Even now there are incompatible computer systems and software! How could one expect a 20th century earth computer virus to disable the entire alien defense, much more sophisticated, than any other thing we know?! Ridiculous! That's the big minus of this movie! The rest is several minutes of stunning visual effects, that are really good, but nothing more!
Aliens (1986)
Best Sci-Fi ever?
Aliens! My favourite of the tetralogy of the extraterrestrial species! And one of the best both sci-fi and horror movies I have ever seen! James Cameron really did this movie the way a sci-fi horror movie should look like. The action, the thrill, the fights, the shooting - everything is top class, but the essential part of the movie is the atmosphere and the aliens themselves. The claustrophobic environment, the camera and the light effects make the atmosphere extremely tense and frightening. There are no secondary love story-lines, so popular in other sci-fi movies (like in Godzilla, Armageddon, Independance day), that most often spoil the atmosphere and prevent the viewer from concentrating upon the real fear and action. (Who cares that Will Smith's Character has a dream to fly in open space and the alien invasion made it possible for him to do it!) The battle is what's important!
Fire and Ice (1983)
A Scandinavian Story...
When I saw this animation for first time (I was 15 maybe) I was really impressed! It has completely different style compared to the japan animation and i kinda like it more. Tho whole impression of the movie is more sinister and dark...The colors are not that ...colorous. The Characters don't talk much, there are no long and boring conversations of this and that (like in Ghost in the Shell).With its dark pictures, views of strange beasts and sense of magic, it looks like one of those ancient Scandinavian stories, full of violence and horrendous creators, enchanted forests and deep caves, dwelled by dragons, throlls, orks...and one mysterious hero to stop evil...