pete8811 Reviews

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

SPOILERS! My review / my BIGGEST problem with the movie / SPOILERS|!!!

[6/10 · 9 January 2016]

First off, I generally enjoyed the experience of watching this movie. Exciting, tip notch visual effects, fast paced, not excessive and over done action (as we often see nowadays) but beautifully staged dogfights, sabre battles, and other action scenes.

The writing was, well, okay...

The planet killer was basically a big death star. Very, very uncreative/ It simply looked and behaved like a great big Death Star.

And the general story, a 'nobody' is made into a hero, family connections, the force, its total deja vu watching this movie. Its the same stuff over and over - but that doesn't make it unenjoyable. AC/DC basically make the same album over and over and I buy them all! My biggest problem, which I saw as simply BAD WRITING and unforgivable....

Here it is (and I'm probably the 10,000th person to say this) Han Solo is murdered by his own son, Rylo Ken. Okay, fine. The killing is witnessed by Han's best friend, Chewbacca. Chewie howls once. The action continues. They all leave the planet killer and go back to the base. When they return, Chewbacca WALKS RIGHT PAST PRINCESS LEIA. The two people closest to Han Solo in the whole galaxy don't embrace, not even a quick hug! But Leia has lots of hugs and tears for a girl she hardly knows! This was, as I said, simply BAD WRITING. Unless, of course, there is some plot point they are touching on, like Han secretly surviving or something. But I think this was just bad writing.

How this was missed by the film makers. How they overlooked how bad it looked and missed the opportunity for a beautiful scene is mind boggling.

On the whole, this movie was good. Not great, but certainly good.

Meteor (1979)

Bad acting, bad writing, bad science, but somehow watchable.

[5/10 · 6 January 2012]

Why is Sean Connery's character to mad early this movie? He swears at his old friend's constantly but why he's so upset is never revealed. In fact, everyone seems needlessly annoyed and cantankerous. Early in the film scientists and military men meet over Scotch to discuss an impending disaster. Over Scotch!? What time of day is it? And what professional want to drink while they are making emergency preparations?

This is one of those films from the 1970s with a number of major screen legends, all with a portrait shot at the bottom of the poster for the movie. Remember those kinds of movies? They were often disaster movies. Towering Inferno, Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, etc. There's a fun retro quality to watching this movie today. I actually kind of wish they made movies like this nowadays.

The Holly and the Ivy (1952)

This is truly a Christmas movie, though not in the sense that many would expect.

[10/10 · 10 December 2010]

I do not give out ten stars lightly. But I feel that this unusual and seldom seen British film is truly worthy of the highest praise - thus as many starts as I am allowed to dole out.

As the previous reviewer said, this is a very realistic movie. In fact, I would say that it's well ahead of its time. Its made in the 1950s but it level of realism is like something that would come decades later.

It reminds me a tiny but of The Lion In Winter - another terribly realistic movie (also set at Christmas) about a family trying to get along.

My wife and I have looked for this movie EVERY Christmas for the past ten years or so on television and been lucky enough to see it only once.

I wish they would show it more often.

Somehow, its unknown. But it should be among the list of great Christmas movies.

Casino Royale (2006)

A truly great 007 film. One of the top 5 of the whole franschise!

[8/10 · 20 November 2006]

I loved this film. I never had a big problem with Daniel Craig being Bond, but never thought he was ideal either. And after seeing Casino Royale my feelings have not changed. But it wasn't so much Craig's job at playing Bond that made this film great - though he WAS good. It was the writing, the directing, and the cinematography. All of this combined, along with a philosophical shift on the part of the producers, made this a very memorable film. The action was intense and real, but never overdone or staged looking. A lot of action films seem to want to film the action sequences with the goal of making the hero look totally cool and Competent. The action here was more about the characters will and emotions. I have only a few minor complaints about this film. I would like to have seen the opening titles for Casino Royale exactly as they have for the last 20 films, with a circle on the screen following Bond as he walks along before suddenly turning to fire. That was not in this movie. I guess I'm just a bit nostalgic about these sort of things. In terms of music, I would like to have heard the original theme a bit more. But overall this is a great Bond film. It ranks as one of the best of the whole franchise. In the future I hope we continue to see the development of Craig as Bond. And I also hope that some of the features of previous films, like gadgetry, humor, and bizarre villains. These were important aspects in the history of Bond and I would like to see them appropriately integrated into this new era. I would also imagine we'll be meeting a new Q and Moneypenny at some point.

Masterpiece (1971– )

Still one of the best shows on television, but needs a host!

[10/10 · 19 November 2006]

I love this show which I have watched on and off since I was a child. As previous reviewers have noted, there have been some 'clunkers' here and there. But there are many great productions as well. The new version of the Forsyte Saga was truly excellent, as were The Lost Prince, and Bleak House. These were series that I simply could not get enough of, and was sad to see end. One problem that I have with Materpiece Theatre these days is the absence of a host. There was something delightful about visiting with the host each week to hear something interesting, insightful, or even trivial about the production which was to follow. Cook and Baker both did a superb job of this. I implore the producers of this show to bring back the job of host. Find someone knowledgeable and credible, and put them back in that leather armchair by the fireplace amid the books and other curiosities.

Superman Returns (2006)

Not a terrible film, but fell far short of expectations... (SPOILER!)

[6/10 · 4 July 2006]

Superman Returns has some great, rousing moments. For the most part it hold you. The music, cinematography, and special effects are all great. But overall the film is a bit dull. Its full of scenes where you could tell the filmmakers wanted it to be mysterious, magical, auspicious, suspenseful, and powerful - but they just were not any. A lot of the film kind of falls flat. Its nowhere near as great as Superman or Superman II. I'd say its just below Superman III but better than Superman IV.

Where did they go wrong? Well, the characters lack depth. They just are not that interesting and you really don't get to know them that well through the course of the film.

And then there's the plot. It's a bit ho-hum too. Luthor finds these crystals and makes a huge city out of them. Then Superman reverses the plan with a totally unclever (albeit courageous) action. Luthor's scheme really didn't figure much in the whole story.

But again, this is not a terrible film. Indeed there are some nice touches. I am glad that Singer did not try to change the characters much from the first four films. Superman needs no 'reimagining'. Instead, Singer stayed true to the original movies. I think its also great that this films was a continuation of the series, rather than a remake. It was also nice to see familiar images such as the Fortress Of Solitude, and to hear Brando's voice as Jor-el.

While it was lackluster in many respects, Superman Returns lays a good foundation for future Superman movies. It has restored the characters and also created many interesting possibilities for the future. What exactlty was Superman doing during those five years away? I think we may find out more about that in future films. Are there any other survivors of Krypton? (I'll bet there are) And what about Superman's son? What will happen to him? (I think this was a bad idea because his son will likely become like the child of Ross and Rachel on Friends, you just won't see much of him and he won't figure in any plot lines) But still, it could present many possibilities.

If you are a big fan of Superman, then you should see this movie. If you're not, you might want to skip it for now and wait for the DVD.