fikamugg Reviews

The Zone of Interest (2023)

Like a river floating by

[3/10 · 16 February 2024]

But I would prefer watching the river over this movie, easy choice. Quite possible the most boring experience in cinema in a long while. Annoying, irritating and flawed.

We know that Glazer tries to show evil from another angle but it doesn't work. The viewer has no idea about the extent to which Rudolfs family och their friends has been exposed to the suffering of the jews harboring the camp nextdoors.

There is some subtle talk about jews, we see a giant pile of shoes in the end scenes, but the characters indifference to human suffering is left to guess work. Rudolf never mentions the gaschambers to his wife, she mentions ashes in one scene if i remember correctly.

The film is a good example of when being to subtle misses the goal.

Memory (I) (2022)

Another watchable Liam Neeson staple.

[6/10 · 26 December 2023]

We've seen this before, a killer at the end of his career who suddenly develops a conscience and refuses to carry out a job that goes against his newly acquired moral conviction, and we've seen the cat-and-mouse game with the police in more movies than we can count. But perhaps we haven't previously witnessed such a killer who also struggles with mild dementia?

It's a bold choice for a main character, but it works because it's Liam Neeson. As so many times before, he elevates the material he has to work with. The storyline in the film is engaging enough, addressing a perpetually relevant issue - the trafficking of young girls. The film doesn't primarily aim to disgust us with explicit details of the sex trade, and it doesn't want us to dwell too much on the poverty that impulsively drives people to destructive decisions. Instead, the film seeks to shed light on another facet of the problem - the clients with money.

However, the villains are characters we don't learn much about, other than that they are wealthy and well-off, and they are removed from the plot in a somewhat superficial manner. The casting in the film works very well though and compensates for the somewhat shallow and lightweight treatment of the film's serious subject. Especially noteworthy is Guy Pearce as an FBI agent with a heart in the right place - without him, this film would have been lesser. The film has enough merits to be recommended even to those who are not solely fans of Liam Neeson.

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Why the criticism?

[8/10 · 29 December 2022]

Grew upo with the albums and Spiderman was the superhero for me. The trilogy with Tobey Maguire captured the tone of the cartoon perfectly and this is especially true for the third movie which felt even more cartoon like than the first two. The backdrop story of the Sand man and his connection to the murder of uncle Ben was a fortunate idea as was the whole plotline with Goblin. Spiderman as well as all of the villains (except Brock as Venom) did have a change in character from bad to good or good to bad and back to good again which added emotional complexity to the story. The plotline with Venom and the black spider dress was a bit underdeveloped bcz we got no explanation for how and why it appeared but still it served it's purpose well as it was the catalyst for the emotional roller coaster Peter Parker went through as well as serving as Brocks fate. The black dress was a bit like the ring as it enhanced Brocks greedy, jealous and evil nature. And as was the case with the ring, Venom destroyed it's bearer, or host in this case to be more precise.

8/10 and a very fulfilling end to this trilogy. Nice work indeed mr Raimi.

Dragged Across Concrete (2018)

Talented film maker Zahler

[8/10 · 27 January 2021]

Zahler has a keen eye for details and the somewhat absurd and most interestingly he writes dialog that I find very believable. Studio wanted to edit it down to 130 minutes but then it wouldn't have been the same movie at all. Another thing Zahler does so well is to focus on a few strong characters, present the main idea, then bring the story to a logical conclusion, side plots are absent. It's a very focused storytelling with plenty of room for the characters to grow. Gibson and Vaughn were suprinsingly effective choices for the leads. The film do leave a very positive impression on me and I'm looking forward to Zahlers next movie.

The Walking Dead: The Damned (2017) Season 8, Episode 2

Im retiring from this series

[1/10 · 1 November 2017]

All good things must come to an end. This is very true for TWD, well actually it became true already during the 7th season. Admittedly the producers of this series tries very hard to make a comeback from the dreadful 7th but in so doing they hurt the show even more. More shots were fired during this episode than perhaps in all of the other episodes combined. Believe me...it's not interesting.

The viewers have no idea what's going on. Oh they are shooting at saviors, but you have'nt seen those particular saviors before so you really don't care if they die (hence all the bullets wasted for nothing). Also you have no idea where the fighting takes place. Maybe we are supposed to remember from episodes far back but I didn't. The production value has never been the strong point of this show anyway. I challenge anyone to mention a series running for 8th seasons that has had more forgettable places. So...no I have no **ck**g clue were the fighting took place in this episode. There was no build up, no planning, no drama, just 100000000 rounds of ammo fired.

OK I will stop watching this show! I've had enough. I hope Neegan dies, turns and puts Lucille in Gale Ann Hurds sprinkler. That dragon destroyed TWD I'm firmly convinced.

And why is this ridiculous fake king from the kingdom running around in the woods with Carol and a bunch of no-names? Of all the introductions of nonsensical characters in the history of television the fake king...see i don't even remember his name...must be the least believable. With his dreadlocks and pompous language he is slightly above Tara on the "why are they still alive list". One last wish before I go. After Lucille has worked wonders with Gale I hope the kings Tiger rips his stupid head off and then chases Tara. Hey lets make a 1 hour episode of that. Let the fat cow run properly before she becomes dinner. Good day and good bye (...oh what a relief)

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)

Solid as ***k

[7/10 · 15 May 2017]

Those who read the book are disappointed. Its easy to see by reading the comments, but we who didn't read the book mostly liked it. Truth is, its a very solid adventure movie, and more entertaining than the first one in the installment. Fast paced with a lot of nice visual effects work. Even the ending was satisfying, a good cliff hanger when the group gets split up. Must also mention John Paesanos score which adds greatly to most of the scenes. He will win an Oscar some day, no doubt. Looking forward to Death Cure.

Don't Breathe (2016)

A very good movie

[8/10 · 6 May 2017]

This movie together with Train to Busan and Lights Out were the best horror flicks of 2016. In my opinion Don't Breathe takes first in the suspense department. It's a very well thought out movie, smart in it's turns and twists and the audience never gets much rest. In fact it's not often I see horror this well crafted. I also like the ending for obvious reasons. The only negative was that he wasn't allowed to inject the creamy shot... That would have been hilarious!

Train to Busan (2016)

This is a masterpiece

[9/10 · 9 April 2017]

If Hollywood ever decides to remake this title my advice to the audience is clear: DON'T BOTHER! It has been a while since i saw a really good movie. A movie that can compete for the 20 best or so list but Train to Busan not only made me smile it also impressed me on many levels. It's without a doubt the best modern zombie movie since 28 days later. The story and the script are well crafted and the characters are likable just like in 28 days later and The zombies are running, thank god.

7 seasons with the walking dead has not only nearly bored me to death it has also made me realize how important it is that zombies in a zombie flick are really frightening and not some stupid dead meat you can whack half sleeping. The zombies and the effects in Train to Busan have the touch of a major studio production, which in itself of course is not a guarantee for success. Who doesn't remember the miserable effects in I am legend? Also 28 days later did not have a particularly big budget but succeeded anyway, so its not about the money, rather the quality, and the quality in TTB is top notch. The zombie-crowd scenes for instance feels more believable and well made compared with World War Z even though the comparison is not 100% since the zombie crowd-scenes in WWZ were massively crowded.

The only minus comes with the choice of a train as the center piece of the story. On the surface TTB shows similarities with a movie like Flight of the living dead. But the zombies on a plane - zombies on a train duality is just a play with words. The comparison of the two films is unfair. With splendid actors and a far more interesting story TTB has ambitions other than to make you laugh. Despite the unsexy choice of playground TTB is running for 1.57 and you won't even notice. Just another sign of how good this bad-ass Korean zombie film is.

The Walking Dead: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life (2017) Season 7, Episode 16

More or less dead now, and its not even walking.

[1/10 · 3 April 2017]

Well, whatever they think they did or planned on doing, IT DOESN'T WORK. There are so many weak points in this episode. The flashbacks with Abraham, the badly directed fight scenes (oh my god were they amateurish!), The garbage people - no one died despite being unfaithful to the deal, Neegans gang - no high profile gang member died, Ricks gang - no one died! Well Sasha died, but ironically she was put in a coffin before she even died...oh my god what a miserable set of ideas that played out in this episode. The surprise attack from the kingdom crew was ridiculous, how did they even get in with the tiger??? Maybe I should give this episode a 1 out of 10 because I don't find many positive things to say. I wish I could say something nice about the overall production values but they are in fact lousy too. This series is getting cheaper and cheaper, and unfortunately I think they have ran out of ideas. I can't see how they are going to make this wreck run for another 16 episodes.

The Walking Dead: Swear (2016) Season 7, Episode 6

What are they thinking?

[3/10 · 28 November 2016]

So Tara gets a full episode? Really? Why? Lets face the facts, it was a big down turn or idiotically if you want to be more drastic. She has never been and hopefully will never be a big character in this series. If the producers have other things in mind they are brutally betting on the wrong horse. Yes its metaphorically speaking, its not about the way she runs or fits in her pants...

Not only was the shift from the main story with the saviors and Neegan totally illogical, the episode was also flawed with bad acting and writing, and running...and fitting.

If the next episode isn't brilliant i WILL leave this train wreck of a series for good.

Stranded (V) (2013)

Alien offspring but thats not a bad thing.

[5/10 · 8 February 2016]

This is perhaps what you get for 2.000.000 CAD and I appreciate the effort for this budget. There are to many whiners and self proclaimed directors in this forum, well children is probably more correct. Its really ridiculous listening to all these amateur kids put grades on lightning, dialog, acting and editing etc etc. You know nothing about film-making so STFU please. You impress no one with your rants, go play with your toys.

The film is watchable and has some interesting features although nothing is entirely new. The spore theme has also been done before but its an interesting one. Spores actually has a relatively good survival expectancy even in space so its not at all far fetched that humans could come across a life form originating from spores. It must also be stressed that this is not a movie you should see before Alien. Its very important that you see Ridley Scotts classic before you see all the movies which has drawn inspiration from the masterpiece, including this one.

Ex Machina (2014)

A glimpse of the future.

[10/10 · 4 January 2016]

If you loved this movie you're most probably reasonably intelligent. It's not surprising if you have spent some time analyzing existential and philosophical questions, have an interest in AI, maybe taken a couple of courses in philosophy at the university or have a background in reading sci-fi literature or perhaps has done all of the above. The haters simply don't get it and most probably have never even heard of such a basic thing as the Turing test before seeing this film. I wouldn't say a hater necessarily is dumb or unintelligent but it's clear that this film is not for everyone and that it requires something from the viewer.

Me? I loved it, completely brilliant. The dialog reveals that the writer/director Alex Garland actually understands the subject which elevates the film above the standard Hollywood BS. The ending is very good and gives away the last bit of information that Ava has true AI. The choice she makes is from a risk-reward perspective the most intelligent one.

A profoundly well crafted and interesting film. 10 out of 10.

Game of Thrones: Mother's Mercy (2015) Season 5, Episode 10

Someone got to whack blondie!

[4/10 · 16 June 2015]

Sadly this episode was the beginning of the end for GOT. It bore all the characteristic hallmarks.

1.) The grand hubris in a relatively late stage of the show. We saw not one or two cliffhangers but many, instead of trying to bring some of the earlier threads to a closure. To many abrupt changes in the story built on shock values is a presentiment for disappointments to come further down the line. The show-runners has apparently lost contact with the original story and tries to create something else instead. Well it's not going in the right direction!

2.) The deviations from the books have escalated during season five and are now so deep that a motivated question arise: Do the show-runners Mr Benioff and Mr Weiss think that they no longer need Martin? The reason season five has been the weakest lies in the deviations.

3.) All good fantasy universes needs some moral backbone but when Stannis burned his daughter in episode nine (and now probably is dead) and Jonn Snow no longer is, who will fill the vacuum? The little blonde girl with the dragon? Come on...it's to obvious and easy and do we really want to see that? A blonde white girl who unifies all kingdoms and people within them? No, the character the series definitely would have benefited the most from killing in this episode, i.e. Daenerys, she's still fine and well.

There are of course several other objections to make for how things have developed. The Daenerys thread has been in a lame state ever since Kal Drogo got his little flesh wound. Show runners could and should have dropped her long time ago. Instead the weakest part of the show has been expanded upon, over and over, for no apparent reason. And when they finally run out of ideas, what happened? Did they feed her to the dragon? Did they throw her in the sea? Did they let the army of the unsullied gang rape her? NO! They just moved her and her giant mongoloid dragon from the desolate looking landscapes surrounding Meereen to a Scottish looking landscape with green hills (how weird...) and who are there to meet her...surprise, surprise, a bunch of Dothraki lookalikes! We don't know yet if they actually are Dothrakis but it's clear they seemed as out-of-place in the Scottish highlands as a bunch of wookies on a catwalk. Please just kill her, it's all I'm asking.

GOT is not in a good shape right now but lets hope season six can bring back some of the glory. Miracles actually do happen, sometimes.

The Walking Dead: Coda (2014) Season 5, Episode 8

Shape up guys, get back on that horse.

[5/10 · 2 December 2014]

WTF??? The scriptwriters better get back in form until February. Take a month off, in a desolate place. Think about rational behavior, whats in a survivors mind. Beth lost it, was it realistic? Noooooooooooooooooooooo! We all know the zombies can act pretty much like whatever, but the people that drives the storytelling can't. And to add to my worries, the hospital wasn't a particularly interesting place to begin with. Terminus was, but it was wasted almost directly in episode 1 even though half of season 4 was about getting there. Either the Zombies have to evolve to make it interesting or the survivors must find something of a hint to a solution to the problem. Like an Eugenish thing or place which could start a lot of interesting conflicts with other groups that maybe has other goals than to bring the world back to normal. With such a development this series could be worth following until the end. Else, risk is this series will die, turn, and come back to end on a note more rotten than the zombies themselves.

Man of Steel (2013)

The story is the strongest part

[8/10 · 25 August 2014]

The strength is not the effects, although it would be dishonest to call them anything else than top-notch, no it's the story and the script that really stands out in this production. Once and for all David S Goyer proofs that a mighty pen is vital for this kind of super hero, costume, fantasy adventure to attract attention beyond the CGI department. To mention just one actor in the cast is probably not totally fair because the whole ensemble is really OK, but with that said I will claim that it's impossible to deny Michael Shannons brilliance in virtually every role he takes on. In my opinion he's simply one of the best actors around these days and I would urge every fan of cinema to look him up in Iceman, the film he made previous to this one. As Supermans antagonist he succeeds in getting General Zod to become really menacing and unpleasant, and yes he "steels" every scene he's in even those he shares with the man of steel himself. Man of Steel is one of the top productions in this genre, almost on par with Batman Begins which nine years after its release in 2005, in my opinion, still is the best super hero adventure to yet have landed on screen.

Frozen Planet (2011–2012)

Simply astonishing!

[10/10 · 25 January 2013]

To describe all the beautiful footage in this documentary is simply not possible. It's easily the best i have ever seen, even better than BBCs "planet earth" which was unique because of its big budget and extended production time (16M £, 5years). It's probable that production paid off in terms of skill and it certainly comes to show here in BBCs next effort when the mysteries and beauty of our planets frozen worlds is on the agenda.

More than anything else this production is a profound statement on how precious and unique our planet is and how immensely important it is that human impact on fragile ecosystems is kept to a minimum.

Richard Attenbourough is, as we all know by now, the perfect narrator. His deep interest and knowledge in natural history is apparent, adding a pleasant edge to this marvelous achievement.

12 Rounds (2009)

McGyver meets Speed.

[7/10 · 23 January 2013]

I praise this movie! Creative concept and unpredictable until the very end. I was duly entertained. Yes it's a rather shallow film with underdeveloped characters and a very linear storytelling but Renny Harlin gets away with it. Not only on par with the standards for the genre i would say, but he does it in a very convincing way too.

The film flows with a high pace and strong focus on the action which is made he old school way without tiresome CGI:s. The delivery is impeccable. Harlin as always has no hidden ambition to make us redefine ourselves or the world we live in. When people watch cartoons they have no problems taking it for what it is and i think this is also the right frame of mind for this movie.

The problems John Cenas character is forced to solve to save his girl reminded me somewhat of the skills of McGyver and that of course is not a bad thing! I also particularly liked the villain played by Aidan Gillen.

With a 22 million dollar budget i think Renny Harlin made the best possible movie he could have done for that amount of money. I could mention many films with a considerably larger budget being worse in several aspects.

In an entertainment industry burden with CGI and self-appointed reformers of the world, we should all pay our respect to Harlins obvious craftsmanship and old school techniques in putting action on photographic emulsion and his obvious reluctance to be anything else than entertainment. Pop the popcorn and let the action begin!

Chernobyl Diaries (2012)

Highly enjoyable despite the ending.

[6/10 · 23 October 2012]

It's easy to explain all the negative feedback on this movie. The haters still attends high school and lives with mom and dad, probably with a neurological disorder of some kind which leads to severe lack of imagination and fantasy which in turn makes gore and explicit blood shedding the prerequisites for a good horror movie. You are not only emotionally retarded, but most likely mentally as well. With that said i can move on and state the obvious about the film: The concept is brilliant. The suspense factor is high and the location is creepy as hell. There should be nothing left in Pripyat but those things that still are, most likely are wild and untouched by humans, and most probably aren't human...right? And thats all there is to it, some good ingredients for horror. The story has some predicable scenes but also some that are not predictable. Today it's very difficult making a 90 min horror movie without borrowing something that hasn't already been done.

The acting is decent and doesn't take anything away from the film. The ending is flawed and rushed and the obvious weak point. With 10-15 min more running time and more effort in the closure of the film this could have been a truly memorable movie. Still recommendable though.

The Gates (2010)

Marvelous

[10/10 · 18 July 2012]

When i viewed the 13 episodes of the first season, in a span of two days, i had no idea there wouldn't be a second season. I'm totally baffled over this decision by the ABC executives.

As a fan of the occult and vampires some of the basic elements for good entertainment were there, but The Gates were so much more than another show about bloodsuckers, for the same reasons HBO:s Walking Dead is more than a zombie series.

This quality production had a great storytelling and a marvelous cast that blended harmoniously together. Some classical themes from vampire movies were used but many ideas were also fresh and incorporated in the template for a good drama series. Without giving away any plot-info i simply state the obvious fact that the co-existence of vampires, werewolves, witches and humans in a gated community with all of the problems this could and of course would impose, would it be real, was nothing less than a stroke of geniality from the creators Richard Hatem and Grant Scharbo. The development of the plot is skilfully crafted and as some questions are answered during the final episodes new ones are raised and with the final scene in episode thirteen still in front of my eyes it's more than a bizarre feeling that this episode was also the last one.

To single out one actor wouldn't be fair, but with that said, no fan of this series probably won't deny that Frank Grillo was phenomenal as head of police Nick Monahan or that Rhona Mitras cold elegance served as a perfect contrast to Claires blood cravings.

I simply can't understand why this suspenseful show didn't appeal to an American audience. Maybe the world wasn't ready for another show about vampires, after True Blood aired in 2008, but compared to The Gates that show, though humorous, lacks suspense.

It's my firm belief that had the show aired in Europe, or Sweden for that matter, the success had been total. A Shame, and i hope ABC changes their twisted minds because I want more of this.

Crank (2006)

Depressingly bad with a couple of laughs.

[1/10 · 7 May 2012]

Statham has made several movies i enjoy, the mechanic and killer elite for instance, but this one he should simply never have made. It's depressingly bad with a lot of over the top stereotypes and horrible acting. Even movies in the most far out sci-fi category must have some believability to engage the viewer and create good enough fiction for the audience to stay in the movie. Well in this respect Crank fails completely because it's so ridiculously over the top and a majority of the action sequences really doesn't makes any sense. It's not simple to mention any other film that so completely loses touch with reality early on after just a few minutes of watching and then keeps going down the same track for 90 more minutes. It's a miracle I sat trough, but i got a couple of good laughs.

And lets not mention the underdeveloped characters that makes cartoons look like serious literature, no let me just instead state the obvious fact that the writers and producers of this movie have spent far to much time with their X-boxes during their childhoods for their own good. If your requirements for an action movie are limited and you feel satisfied with a couple of shooting scenes and a fair amount of gore, then you'll love this flick but if you're not lobotomized then don't waste 90 minutes of your life on this crap. Honestly, i can't find anything positive to say at all, not a single argument that holds, so it has to be 1 out of 10. Sorry Jason your first letdown.

Reeker (2005)

A nice low budget effort.

[4/10 · 14 April 2012]

This is a low budget movie, very low budget in fact, but as such i definitely have seen much worse. There are elements that works rather well. The score and the actors are the best parts. Also the camera work is quite solid and the make-up department has nothing to be ashamed of with the gore work being one of the films strongest parts.

On the negative side is a thin story that can't fill up the 90 min of running time. The gang of five spend the last 75 minutes of the film at the mysterious gas-station and that is at least 30 minutes to long. As a result the film becomes slow paced, which isn't something that has has to be negative, but the script doesn't compensate by developing the characters. The audience actually doesn't know anything about them when the film is over. In this aspect the film fails completely.

Due to the fairly uninteresting events in front of our eyes with a bunch of strangers running around and shouting each others names randomly, it's no surprise that the suspense factor drops. There are some moments, but to few to keep me fully interested. The stench that the viewer should understand to be something threatening does not work particularly well simply because that out of all things that scares us, 99% is sensed through our eyes.

Nuf said. The ending is clever and answers the questions raised during the movie. I believe the film maker has some talent for this genre and it will be interesting to view his next effort, hopefully with a bigger budget.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Shallow and pretty forgettable.

[6/10 · 11 December 2011]

As pure entertainment this movie is solid as most of Tarantinos movies are. But he has nothing to say or add to the history of WW2. The major idea of the movie, it seems, is to present cool violence in a different context compared to his other movies. Watching this movie you get no idea what so ever of the sufferings and horrors of the war. It's very shallow and forgettable with exception of 2 scenes and Christopher Waltz interpretation of the Nazi officer Hans Landa.

The opening scene of the movie when Landa visit a house in which the house owner is hiding Jews in his basement is already a classic and can easily be lifted out and shown as a separate short. The dialog is brilliant and shows Tarantino at his best. Another memorable scene is the supper in the basement of the inn where the basterds have an appointed meeting with the Nazis. Again Tarantino shines in his abilities to write an outstanding dialog. As a whole the movie rests on Waltz performance and the most brilliant with this film was to cast him.

Jacob's Ladder (I) (1990)

A dark and surrealistic messenger of hope.

[9/10 · 13 September 2011]

Adrian Lynes finest hour and a movie that differs considerably from his other work. Its not a pure horror movie because the plot is not simplistic enough. As a viewer you really don't know what it is that haunts Jacob. No defined threat appears. I guess its fair to place the movie in the space between the horror and thriller genres.

The story deals with the journey between life and death of a Vietnam casualty. As the story progresses you understand that there must have been some government testing of psychotropic drugs involved and Jacob starts to search for other veterans in his old battalion. Frightened and alone he want answers and to share experiences.

As a film-maker building the story round a complex chronological time-frame always comes with a certain risk. Will the audience remain concentrated and keep interest for 90 minutes? The magic is not to overdo it and Mr Lyne uses the chronological jumps masterfully to create a sense of floating uncertainty in the story that blends very well with Jakob's haunted persona, unable to come to rest due to his escalating nightmarish experiences.

Something could and should also be said about the special effects. No CGI in this one, and there are some scenes in the film that benefits hugely from this. In particular the hospital scene when Jacob passes through the corridor to hell lying in a hospital bed. The flesh and the individuals with foreshortened limbs that lines up on him are there for real, creating a horrifying and disturbing impression. The dance-floor scene filmed in stroboscopic light when Jezzie appears to have sex with something that looks like a demon were made using life-size models and shot in real time.

Some think Tim Robbins finest moment was in Shawshank Redemption and maybe it was but i certainly can't think of a better choice to put Jacob Singer alive. Mr Lyne wanted Robbins boyish innocence, and innate joy in existence to play against the darkness of the character's gradual unraveling, and it works tremendously well. Elisabeth Pena as Jezzie is lovely and convincing and Danny Aiello shines, as so often, in his minor part.

The ending is superb and adds greatly to the overall impression. It puts an end to Jacobs misery and gives the answers the viewers have been waiting for. But the film also raises questions, some of which lives long after the after-texts ends. Universal questions about our existence and what happens at the end.

This is one of my all time favorites. Intelligent, philosophical and grand. Bravo Mr Lyne.

Inception (2010)

Not Nolans best effort.

[6/10 · 27 August 2011]

This movie has been praised by many people and it's very motivated to ask why? Good science fiction puts you in a state of mind that makes you think "there's a chance that this actually can happen." That's not the case with this film, and that's why it fails. Even the Terminator movies are more believable than this flick, i mean time travels has been discussed for a very long time and advanced robots exists today, even if there aren't any Terminators to be seen...yet.

Christopher Nolan has made several great movies, i would say all of his movies are great in some aspects. Inception is a very creative effort to say the least. But I seriously wonder if he wasn't stoned when he wrote the script? The good guys are sedated, then connected and then they get inside someones head - a person who is also connected to the same neurological network that connects the good guys. Inside the mind of that person they try to steal ideas or as in this case implant them. Already here Chris should have given it a second thought, but it gets worse...

The good guys carry weapons just in case the person they're trying to steal from or make an implant in, have a defense. Because if he or she has, the defense guys will shoot at you. Paus...well armed guys defending ideas inside someones head? What? The good thing is that if you get hit you won't die, unless you are to deep down...to heavily sedated that is. Oh...but before you can get inside someones head an architect must draw the landscape in which the dream sequence will take place. What??? The film is of course enjoyable, it definitely has its merits. But it's NOT the masterpiece some thousand or so morons have claimed in this forum, it's not even close.

Batman Begins and The Prestige are his best efforts so far with Memento very close.

Crimson Tide (1995)

1.45 hours training in submarine command language.

[7/10 · 15 August 2011]

Denzel and Gene are the perfect choices for the leads. The score is simply amazing and deserves the Oscar. But anyway during the after texts i felt relief. 1.45 h of submarine command language can take its toll and be pretty indigestible.

The only thing that prevents me from putting a solid 8 out of 10 for this effort from Tony Scott are the totally unnecessary racial remarks made by Hackmans character captain Ramsey at the end of the movie. The Lipizzaner dialog could easily have been replaced with something else. It was very irritating and ridiculous simply because if Ramsey had preferences in skin color, he wouldn't have chosen a black man as an X.O. in the first place, right?

The served purpose was of course to help the viewer to take sides in the conflict but the audience had already done that. The audience had already understood that Ramsey associated Hunter with Harvard and military school theory and that he thought of him as a softy. The moment Hunter takes control of the conn, the sympathies lies with him.

Ramsey with his happy trigger-finger and "shoot first ask questions later" attitude was the stereotype perhaps needed to push some moral points about the problems with blind obedience and the ever recurring need of critical thought (especially amongst men in control of nukes). The audience got it, but to make sure the viewers didn't have any sympathies for the old commie-hater he must be throwing some racial epithets too. The choice in making characters over explicitly bad is quite common in Hollywood though, but more often than not the drama itself suffers from this practice. Characters made more shallow and one-dimensional, who wants that except the studio bosses? If they dumb it down and keep it within the stereotypes maybe they think it's easier to go break even, who knows? But in the same way as the US military can be saved from personnel like Ramsey maybe a well educated middle class one day can save the world from risk reducing studio bosses by demanding a dismantling of the stereotypes we all cherished and consumed for too long.