Category: Movies

I am a huge movies fan. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I don’t get much free time to enjoy watching movies. But when I do, I try to share my thoughts about the movies that I’ve seen. Movie reviews, celebrity news, trailers of upcoming flicks, etc – are all in this category.

The Specialist

Watched “The Specialist” on DVD.

This movie is a disappointment in general. Considering the cast I cannot believe that could come up with this film – Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Rod Steiger, Eric Roberts… This was probably the biggest misuse of high-profile actors in the 20th century.

Other weak areas were a very shallow story, immature character development, and lack of action. Oh, and sense. There was no scenes in anything in this film. I mean, actions are well-known for their unrealistic and illogical setups, but this film is the king of nonsense.

4 out of 10.

Warriors of Heaven and Earth

I just watched a really weird film – “Warriors of Heaven and Earth” (also know as “Tian di ying xiong”). If you have read my recent post about Chinese and Japanese action movies, than you would understand me being surprised about this film. It looks and feels very much like Japanese production, although it is a Chinese film.

It is not purely an action movie though. It is more like the war and history with bits of action. Now, what was so weird about it you would aks me? The film is Chinese and in Chinese language. Luckily there was an English audio track, but the translation was terrible. I could tell it even without knowing Chinese. In order for the audience to keep the grip with their understanding of the world, one of the main characters is a Japanese swordsmen who studied in Chine for most of his life. Film is very slow paced with dramatic pauses all over the place. Good production, style, atmosphere, excellent costumes, and great photography, although scenery shots were a bit at a minimum. There is a little tiny bit of martial arts. All fights are with swords. Most include cavalery. There were lots and lots of dead bodies and plenty of blood, although not as much as in any Japanese film. SPOILER AHEAD. By the end of the film everyone does, both good and bad, but the balance is restored and China will enjoy the Golden Age of prosperity from then on.

So, I wouldn’t be all surprised if this film would come out of Japan. But it is Chinese and I am puzzled. It feels like a mixture of these two cinematographic cultures with bits and pieces of both of them all over the place.

From the viewer’s point of view, the story was very poor and simple for an almost 2 hour film. There was nothing special in acting department. There were some good battle scenes and special effects.

6 out of 10.

The Siege

Watched “The Siege” on DVD. It is an excellent action film about terrorism vandalizing USA in general and New York in particular. It is interesting how the perspective changed since 1998 when the movie was released. Today we no more about terrorism. Today the WTC towers are gone. Today terrorism is still a hot subject. And people are still afraid.

Apart from an interesting subject, this film has an interesting cast – Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, Tony Shalhoub, Annette Bening and few others. Also, what I liked, is that this film does not leave a good and cosy feeling. It has a kind of happy ending where one does not expect anything bad to happen, but so much of it has already happenned that sadness and insecurity are the two greatest feelings left.

8 out of 10.

Chill Factor

Being in a mood for some action, I watched “Chill Factor” on DVD. This is one excellent action with chemichal weapons, evil miliatry general, scientists, and millions of civilins. Well, actually there a bit less of them, but if that tunnel wouldn’t be sealed, few millions of them would be in the movie.

There was plenty of car chases, shooting, some helicopters, a lot of suspense, and some good humor. The scene with a boat sliding down the hill was totally unbelievable. Excellent stunt. There were other great ones as well some nice special effects. On top of that there was some really good acting on the part of both Cuba Gooding Jr. and Skeet Ulrich.

7.4 out of 10.