EvilBaldDude Reviews

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

A good Star Wars prequel

[9/10 · 21 April 2017]

That almost sounds like a contradiction in terms, after the last three efforts. For the first time in decades, we have a Star Wars film with a good, solid story that hangs together. It also ties in nicely with Episode IV.

There is a great multinational cast. The acting is good, and the characters are unusually believable and vivid for a Star Wars film.

It is still your classic space opera, with space battles, laser gunfights, and the usual smorgasbord of visuals. However, there are darker, more gritty elements in the story. Some Star Wars devotees might find that a bit of a con, preferring their entertainment more lighthearted. There are others, though, for whom it makes the film more absorbing.

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Almost like real Trek

[7/10 · 18 April 2017]

I liked that Chris Pine's portrayal of Kirk is no longer the annoyingly cocky know-it-all that he was in the previous films. He's become more mature, stiff upper lipped, someone you can imagine really being in command of something. And like the original Captain Kirk, he's learned how to be gracefully cocky.

Unlike the previous two films, the logical, unemotional Mr Spock didn't have an emotional hissy-fit and brain anybody. In short, he was much like the real Spock.

Like the majority of Star Trek films, the plot didn't make a staggering amount of sense. That's a pity. But still it was fun.

I found it really strange that they hired a brilliant dramatic actor like Idris Elba, then completely covered his face with latex, and made him talk with an almost indecipherable accent. But heh, his name's on the credits. That's the important thing, right?

Interstellar (2014)

A good sci fi film is a rarity

[8/10 · 28 October 2015]

However, the key to a making a good sci film, as with any other genre, is a good story. That's where this film hits the mark.

Despite being set in a very grim future, in which the world is in some kind of vaguely explained environmental crisis, love and family are strong themes. If that sounds too schmalzy, now's the time to get off.

As sci fi films go, it is not especially realistic. It is not a documentary, and requires the viewer to suspend disbelief. However, there are no whoosh, or pew pew sounds. In this universe, space is silent, and there's no artificial gravity (unless you count centripetal force). Interstellar has ditched a lot of the tired, clichéd sci fi motifs that date back to the original Star Wars. It does have a wisecracking robot though.

If I have one criticism of the film, it is that it is perhaps a little too long. I give it an extra star for trying something new with the genre though, and being one of the few contemporary sci films not to rip off George Lucas.

Gravity (2013)

Possibly a little over hyped, but a very good film.

[8/10 · 16 April 2014]

Has to be the most realistic screen portrayal of life in zero-g. Ever. But even so, it is not totally realistic, as the director occasionally claims artistic license with the laws of physics.

The story could be accused of lacking depth, but it is a story well executed. By the standards of most science fiction films, it's practically War And Peace. I take the general theme of the film to be about walking through the fire, taking strength from adversity.

Some of the dialogue is corny. But that's not why you watch this film. It is an extremely visual piece, with everything in it (the special effects, the sets, the models, and Sandra Bullock) being extremely beautiful.

As such, do not bother watching it on a phone, or a dodgy TV set. That would be a total waste of time.

Whale Wars (2008– )

Good entertainment and good political statement!

[9/10 · 18 January 2013]

The reason this series is so poorly rated, is that there are a lot of users who strenuously object to the idea of a group like Sea Shepherd being presented as heroes. And indeed, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society are the heroes of this show, while the whalers are the bad guys. There's no getting around it.

But if, like me, this does not bother you in the slightest, then I highly recommend viewing this.

The narrative and the mise-en-scene are brilliantly done. That is to say that the editing and the way events are presented is good story telling.

The photography of the show is also quite superb. There are images of massive ice bergs, huge ships being tossed around in great storms.

And the show is also accurately named. Even though nobody is killed, it is a war. Every season brings a new escalation in the conflict, new weapons, tactics and tricks by both Sea Shepherd and the whalers.

Problems (2012)

Good pythonesque, surreal skit comedy

[8/10 · 14 December 2012]

I don't know why this is getting such a low rating. It's just the right kind of weird for my sense of humour.

The show is basically a series of skits, all focusing on the antics of eccentric, but somehow believable characters in the outer suburbs. Apparently filmed in Melbourne, but it could be the outer burbs of any Australian city really.

Sam Simmons really shines in this. Not wishing to pigeon hole the guy, but I actually think his skit characters are a bit funnier than his stand up. Something he would have in common with John Cleese, is that his face is much funnier in close up.

Great to see Anthony Morgan in there as well. He's a good comedian, and there just isn't enough of him on tele.

I hope they do another season. Again, I enjoyed it. But going by the user ratings, perhaps it's a little too out there for some.

Prometheus (I) (2012)

Disappointing, but most sci fi films are worse

[6/10 · 7 July 2012]

Well worth seeing in the cinema, as it is visually very spectacular. The artwork, by H.R Giger is as eery and macabre as ever.

It is well directed. I found more than one heart stopping moment where I felt I needed a scotch afterwards. Ridley Scott is in fine form.

Unfortunately, however, the story has more than a few plot holes. The characters constantly behave stupidly and illogically, and after a while it's hard to believe in, or feel for, them. Aside from the usual red shirt characters, who are obviously in the film to get killed off early on, pretty much everybody in the film is conspicuously dumb too.

There's plenty of gore, with heads exploding and similar. Some people really go for that stuff, and consider it a major attraction. I myself don't mind it, but only when it serves the story. I find it a bit cheap when the causes of these events don't seem to make a huge amount sense.

One thing worth noting before you see it is that THIS FILM IS NOT A PREQUEL. The planet it is set on is not the same planet that the original Alien film starts on (LV-426). Instead, it takes place on LV-223 which just looks very similar. Confusing, but there it is.

Insidious (I) (2010)

Good traditional horror film

[8/10 · 27 December 2011]

A lot of people get horror DVDs expecting to see blood, and gore and internal organs all around the place.

Insidious isn't like that. It basically just uses more traditional methods like good directing, good editing and good acting to scare the life out of you.

There are elements of it that are reminiscent of the 80s film Poltergeist. But unlike that piece, it won't try to dazzle you with special effects either.

I guess they realise that fear of the unknown is a much more effective motif than anything they can visualise with cgi.

Animal Kingdom (2010)

Disappointing

[4/10 · 23 November 2010]

The story is what I would call pointless and meandering. It aims to be gritty and realistic, but only succeeds in being gritty, because the characters' actions often make no sense.

The characters themselves are shallow cardboard cutouts, with dialog cut and paste from every ABC cop show since Phoenix. It is a tragic waste of a perfectly decent cast.

James Frecheville's character is basically a block of wood, who stands around the entire film with one expression - a combination of anxiety and disbelief. Ben Mendelson tries hard to be the sinister villain of the piece, but unfortunately the plot doesn't really allow him to be all that sinister. Laura Wheelwright has nice legs, that's the only good thing I can say about the cast.

It is technically competent, and the cast is decent. But at the end of the day, it suffers from a problems that plagues Australian films these days - poor storytelling.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Just too long

[5/10 · 13 June 2010]

The story in this film is not too bad. It's not brilliant, it's not even particularly clever, but it's really not too bad.

The visuals in this film are really good. The special effects wizards of the day must have spent weeks building the model for the refitted Enterprise, it is really quite magnificent looking.

Where the film falls down is that there are just too many long, boring special effects sequences. My theory is that they were pretentious attempts to emulate Kubrick's 2001.

Ultimately, there's only about 1 hour 20 mins worth of story in the film. The rest is basically just padding. My advice is to use those bits to wash your dishes, or go to the toilet.

Star Trek (2009)

OK Star Trek film

[6/10 · 17 December 2009]

The good aspects of this film are......

Absolutely stunning visuals. For this reason I am kicking myself for not having seen it in the cinema. If you have invested in a premium home entertainment system, with wide screen, hi-fi stereo and blu-ray disk, you will collect on your investment watching this film.

Excellent actions scenes. There's fist fights, running firefights with phasers, and ship to ship battles.

Also, there's a cute sense of nostalgia. I like the fact that the original Enterprise bridge noises are back.

The bad:

The theme music is lame, and there really is too much of it. Every second scene seems to conclude with an unnecessarily loud blast of orchestral crescendo. I find this annoying. And as directing techniques go, it's about as subtle as holding up a placard saying "this is really dramatic, folks!"

And more importantly, the characters' motivations are somewhat nonsensical. For this reason, I have rated the film only 6, rather than 7. I just found it a little disappointing that JJ Abrams didn't take the opportunity of this "reboot" of Star Trek to give us a slightly more intelligent plot.

The Interview (1998)

A good Australian film

[7/10 · 28 September 2009]

Despite Hollywood being awash with good Aussie actors and directors, generally our industry produces worthless dross.

This film, however, is one of the rare exceptions to that rule.

An "interview" is what police in Australia call an interrogation. This is a movie an excellent psycho drama about the relationship between a policemen and a suspect in one such interview.

The acting is good. And the directing is good. And most importantly, the story is good.

What a pity we haven't seen more from the writer/director team of Craig Monaghan and Gordon Davie.

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Cynical and pretentious

[4/10 · 3 April 2008]

An overly long film with a disjointed story.

On its good points: the film is excellently directed. It has an absorbing pace, somewhat reminiscent of Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West".

The film is also brilliantly acted. Javier Bardem he main villain of the piece is a particularly chilling figure.

Where it fails is in the story. Themes include such issues as: moral duty, fate, evil and old age. These are presented in a variety of disparate threads, and weaved into a bag that doesn't really hold together. The ultimate result is pretentious.

Whether the film makers intended it or not, the overall message is one of nihilism and cynicism. It is neither profound, thought provoking, nor entertaining.

Wet Job (1981 TV Movie)

A poor Callan episode.

[5/10 · 22 March 2008]

There were some great episodes of that classic TV series, Callan. And there was the odd one that was a little disappointing. This follow-up show is one of the latter unfortunately.

Edward Woodward is intense, as usual, in his old role of David Callan. Russel Hunter is brilliant in his return as Lonely (damn that man was a fine actor).

Where it mainly fails is that the story meanders, and never quite develops a consistent plot. It's almost as if the writers didn't care where it was going, because they knew there'd be enough loyal Callan fans out there to ensure good ratings anyway.

Also, production quality was poor, even for those of us who grew up on British TV of that era, and are used to seeing things like stage lights reflecting in people's glasses. The soundtrack and incidental music are almost amusingly bad.

For a Callan fan, it's still worth watching. Just don't expect a classic.

Lord of War (2005)

Violent, sadistic, ironic and utterly hilarious

[9/10 · 21 August 2007]

This is an excellent film for people who enjoy a good story, with a bit of irony and black humour.

The film is a very realistic portrayal of the life of a gun runner, ruthlessly cashing in on social upheaval and political violence. In the name of realism it is unabashedly violent at points.

Nicholas Cage as the gun runner himself, is often affected by the moral conundrums of his stock and trade. The real conflict in the story is how he resolves these anomalies.

At the same time, the film does not glamorize the gun trade at all. At no point does it say that gun runners are actually really decent guys. Instead it simply challenges you to assess it for what it really is, and use it as a metaphor.

Be aware that this is not the sort of film you would typically watch with your family.

Three Kings (1999)

fun, entertaining, kind of perceptive

[7/10 · 14 August 2007]

The premise for the film is kind of unlikely, but rather amusing.

Most of the film is kind of unlikely, in fact, but it doesn't matter because it entertains.

Another good thing is that the characters all seem somehow vivid and recognizable. This is not a film where the heroes wear white, and the bad guys wear black. The film tries to portray everybody, even villains and minor characters, as having real, and sympathetic motivations.

It doesn't patronize us by trying to feed us a simple, tedious morality tale.

The film also tries to strip away cultural and religious differences, and really focuses in on the plight of the Iraqis. It challenges us to try and be perceptive, and understand the mindset of people who live under a completely different paradigm to ourselves. If only the modern media would credit us with that much intelligence.

If I have any complaints about the film, it's that the overall story didn't really grab me. But even so, I can't deny that I had fun watching it.

Blake's 7 (1978–1981)

Excellent political thriller and drama in a sci fi setting

[10/10 · 21 February 2007]

Set in a very distant future, Blake's 7 is a story of a group of criminals, who are lead by a political dissident (Blake) to fight a rebellion against an evil, Orwellian interstellar Federation. It incorporates elements of Star Trek, Robin Hood, and George Orwell's 1984.

The bad: the special effects are appalling, even by 1970s BBC standards. The early beta-max video is harsh looking. Some of the episode plots stretch believability.

Now the good: everything else is absolutely excellent. The artwork, costuming and design is superb. The top notch cast of actors all shine (this is back in the days when the BBC hired actors primarily for their talent, as opposed to their "market appeal"). The dialog is thick with subtle innuendo, irony, drama and the characters seem vivid and real. Some of these characters are fascinating. Most of the stories are reasonably good, and the overall situation of the series is quite absorbing.

If you can get past the bad, and I highly recommend trying, B7 is hours of entertainment for you.

And even the bad has a good side to it. The trademark early BBC special effects are worth watching, as they can provide a chuckle now and then too.

Planet of the Apes (2001)

Fun, cool bit of light entertainment.

[8/10 · 24 January 2006]

Don't expect high drama or Shakespearean quality dialog. There's lots of good action sequences, great special effects, and some nifty science fiction geek concepts (even if the pseudo science is a bit inconsistent).

The story isn't bad, has a couple of interesting twists on the original.

Any movie that features humans + animals tugs the heart strings a little too.

My only problem is that it really calls out for a sequel.

My advice: don't take it too seriously and you might quite enjoy it.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

What I call a real horror film

[8/10 · 26 December 2005]

There are two types of horror films.

One is the type where they try to dazzle you with cheap computer generated effects, disturbing images, lots of gore, and other clichés.

The other is the type where they just have a scary story, well told in a scary way.

The Exorcism Of Emily Rose fits neatly into that second category.

Jennifer Carpenter (such an attractive little biddy!) is excellent at contorting her face and body in a disturbing manner, to make you feel she really is being possessed. Little if any special effects are used, just good acting and a bit of makeup.

On the minus side, I felt the script itself wasn't all that crash hot. The film meanders at points. But I still think it stands out, as an example of the fact that special effects and gore are no substitute for good storytelling and acting.