ammonraa Reviews

Road House (2024)

It's watchable if not pointless

[5/10 · 30 March 2024]

Everything that made the original film a cult classic/guilty pleasure is completely missing from this film.

It lacks the dichotomy of a guybseeking peace working professionally in a violent industry.

It lacks the older mentor trope

It lacks the mentoring of the next generation trope

It lacks a likable protagonist (and really, it lacks one single likable character OTHER than the bookstore girl or the one comedic relief antagonist).

AND

You're forced to watch Connor McGregor in perpetual flex with his head sunk down, lats splayed, traps hunched, arms out and cock with fists clenched. I mean the whole damn movie. It's almost impressive that he can keep it locked in for the entire movie. Otherwise he could have been a fairly decent crazy, amoral, unstoppable, DILLIGAF bad guy.

Pretty much everything that made the original fun to watch is completely missing other than a rowdy bar.

The Nevers (2021–2023)

Of course

[10/10 · 11 January 2023]

Finally an interesting and original concept that was well directed, shot and acted, and they in their infinite wisdom, cancel the show after one season.

I've been looking forward to the second season for a year now and it's aggravating to invest time in the show and have them wait until the 11th hour to cancel the damn thing. I cannot for the live of me fathom who and how they make these decisions. The worst part is knowing it will be replaced by yet another run of the mill coming of age or over the hill dramedy is just the icing on the cake.

Of all the garbage on tv that manages to endlessly be renewed, yep looking at you CW, this is extremely disappointing.

For shame HBO. For shame.

The Batman (2022)

Terrible

[3/10 · 11 March 2022]

Long and boring. Batman is poorly cast. Supposedly a detective story but he's a terrible detective and figures nothing out unless it's told to him. Epic disappointment.

Kravitz is good. Batmobile is cool. Cinematography is excellent.

Movie is just poor. It's that simple. Anyone saying otherwise is just too insistent on their prior defense of Pattinson casting to be objective.

Jupiter's Legacy (2021)

Despite all the...

[8/10 · 11 May 2021]

Complaining and negative comments I read previous to watching this, I thoroughly enjoyed this show and the point of shifting morality it's illustrating. I found it fun to watch and while it was predictable for the most part I still enjoyed it very much.

Is it the best show of its kind in recent years? No. But that doesn't mean it's unwatchable.

It solid fare with a good premise and is relevant the the times.

Worth the watch.

Frankenstein (2007 TV Movie)

Solid movie

[6/10 · 8 January 2021]

Interesting take on the story. It feels like this is a screen adaptation of Dean Koontz's Frankenstein books but I can find nothing that corroborates that. There are several drastic similarities.

The Old Guard (2020)

Enjoyed the movie

[8/10 · 11 July 2020]

I really enjoyed the movie but the soundtrack was just off. It's not that i dislike the songs. They just don't fit.

Also... I didn't like the nube. She doesn't fit the role well and her acting is weak. Additionally and maybe most importantly, she just doesn't have the fight mechanics. It's immediately noticeable. Plus, her back story is terribly weak.

Otherwise it's a thoroughly enjoyable film and would make a great series.

Shazam! (2019)

It was entertaining

[8/10 · 9 April 2019]

Like the source material, the movie is fun and campy which perfectly fits with the idea of a teenage boy turning into a 30 year old male super hero. It had a ton of Easter eggs including a Mr Mind appearance at the beginning of the movie.

CPT Marvel historically is more... idealistic and innocent fare than typical DC comics. None of which should come as a surprise. Personally it was rather fun with a lot of laughs.

Weekend Box Office: Weekend Box Office: March 8 to 10 (2019) Season 2, Episode 7

It's a solid movie

[8/10 · 12 March 2019]

While not on a level with Civil War or Winter Soldier it's not nearly as bad as Iron Man 3 or Thor 2.

It is funny and there are some really good moments and Easter eggs in the movie. The only real drawback for me is making a thinly veiled political statement by making the Skrulls misunderstood protagonists rather than the perennial comic book heavies.

That and the lame ass injury Fury sustains.

Otherwise solid despite Larson's entire acting range being almost Jake Lloydian in its absolutely dead delivery.

The Predator (2018)

Rent "Critters 4" instead

[1/10 · 29 September 2018]

The movie is near unwatchable.

Spoilers!!

While some of the others in the franchise haven't been well done they still stuck to the same basic premise and all of the films were at least entertaining.

This hunk of crap is atrocious. A predator comes to earth to give humanity a weapon to save itself (nice plug for the eco warrior environmental agenda here) and the first thing this predator does upon landing is kill the first human it sees and string it up.?????

More ham handed politics in pushing the idea that autistic people are a step up evolutionarily.

Yes. There were funny moments but often it was just poorly timed. A giant predator just landed in the middle of us and decapitated our buddy so let's all stand here and laugh and make yo mama jokes?????

The entire story line makes no sense. Predator wants to save humanity but kills every human it sees, humans know it has something for them (no idea how) but capture and experiment on predator anyway. Predators hunt so they can take genetic material from the strongest specimens but... why do they keep coming back here after that got that????? Now they want to be autistic. One predator is a traitor so another goes after it but the first predator doesn't have all the same skills and abilities as the second?? Someone swallows a predator ball but we never find out why or what it does or after he deuces it out, how it doesn't fall out of his pocket.

It seems to me that someone decided to purposely tank the franchise. I have no idea how this movie was made or how it made it past initial screenings. It's that bad. Nothing about this movie was even remotely true to the Predator concept.

It's absolute trash.

The Outpost (2018–2021)

Absolutely dreadful.

[1/10 · 12 July 2018]

If I could give it zero stars I would. There are no redeeming qualities to this show. At first with the black blood theme, I had wondered if this was supposed to be connected to the 100 but it doesn't seem to be.

All I know is a high school drama is more compelling and better acted. If these actors aren't part of the #metoo movement they should be. I don't see any other reason they could have been hired for anything. I wouldn't even make them cannon fodder/extra in a Michael Bay film.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Loved it.

[9/10 · 8 July 2018]

Everything about this movie was well executed and perfectly timed after the heavy ending to IW.

The relationship between Scott and his daughter is truly epic and much like my own relationships with my girls. (Some idiot actually said those scenes were cheesy ???? Must not have daughters. If he does, I'd question his parenting).

The movie had solid laughs. Good action. And an engaging storyline. It's supposed to be entertaining, it's not meant to be cinematic art. ITS SUPPOSED to be tongue in cheek. He's the superhero that only means well but is cursed to always make the wrong choice.

If you want a more upbeat flick with good laughs and action, then this is the movie for you. Think Lethal Weapon 2.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

It was going to be tough regardless

[7/10 · 29 May 2018]

Where to start? While not anywhere near as good as the original trilogy, nor Rogue One, the movie is still far superior to the other clunkers put out in the last 20 years embarrassingly branded Star Wars films.

Having said that here is the good and the bad:

The good:

Chewbacca. Everything from how he looks, moves and acts was perfect. So perfect in fact that I was surprised to find out it wasn't Mayhew I. The make up, his mannerisms and even his expressions were spot on. How he was introduced and how he and Han met was actually really enjoyable EXCEPT (more on this later).

Lando: another excellent casting. There were times his voice and style were almost exact. He captured the character and stole every scene he appeared in. He made the entire movie worth watching.

The BASIC storyline. Its not that bad. The problems weren't the story as much as it was the details (more on this later as well).

Now the bad:

Han. There was just no way to win this one. He's not Ford. Let's be honest, Ford isn't even Han anymore. While the actor got the swagger and there were some nice subtleties (like the striped pants, the blaster and the gun belt) some things were just over done. The effing dice need to go. The little homages to the originals are nice when they can go unnoticed. To point them out CONSTANTLY ruins their significance and meaning to the true fans that like these insider secrets. The other big issue is he in no way even remotely resembles HF. Additionally, he can't shoot it seems until the last scene and no one that is born of that sort of trauma is really that naive. Lastly. Wookiee?? Come on. Just have him speak English and understand Chewie. It's insulting and stupid. It very nearly ruined a great scene. It was unnecessary.

The story. Why have we never heard of this extremely expensive and sought after energy source before now?? Couldn't it just as easily have been something everyone is familiar with?? Also, why must EVERYTHING that we know about the character of Han happen in one mission?? It's like everything interesting about him happened at the same time and then he just chilled out in a bar somewhere until we found him in Star Wars.

The pirates. Why? They added nothing to the storyline OTHER than to illustrate Han's innate "goodness" and that of course totally ruins the redemption that happens in Star Wars (I refuse to call it a new hope. It's Star Wars. Period.).

Emilia Clark: I love her in GOT but she is worthless as anything else and really cannot act. Her character was pointless as the betrayal was just as significant from Woody Harrison's character. It was just redundant at that point.

Woody Harrison: should have been a smuggler. Could have been Talon Karrde(sp?). In essence, all the interesting characters of that crew were killed off nearly immediately.

Darth Maul. I get that people want to see more of him but he really serves zero purpose. He's not part of the empire. He just doesn't fit in.

Here is the big one. The Falcon. Why are we messing with perfection? Even after it was beat up a bit it still didn't look right. I would have been ok with the shielding being ripped off, everything being shiny and new or some of the other cosmetics but a lifeboat/escape pod? On the nose of the ship? I get that it looks like McQuarrie's original drawings but still, to take something iconic and screw with it... They ruined the concept of being the "fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy" by "cheating" with this new energy source jumpstart. Haven't we seen this very thing in a myriad of other venues?

So while there are some pluses; its enjoyable and entertaining, the comedy is much like the originals AND it's better than 5 of the 6 latest movies, it still leaves A LOT to be desired.