dhooghesven Reviews

Next Exit (2022)

Balance

[6/10 · 11 December 2022]

I came to mark this movie as viewed, when I read the reviews. Since I use other's reviews here to decide if I'm going to watch something, I feel like the current reviews paint a much to negative view of it.

The 2 lowest scores CLEARLY didn't get the movie since both give examples that are easily explained if you paid attention, but since I'm trying to do this without spoilers, you'll just have to trust me. If your idea of sci-fi is only Star Trek, you are going to have a bad time.

Technically this is sci-fi but only as an flimsy excuse for a road movie. What you get is excellent dialogue and acting with a couple charming character arcs and a healthy dose of dark humor.

It doesn't back away from the very heavy subjects but always does it so the humor and drama balance each other out. So it isn't a comedy but you'll probably won't feel like suicide afterwards either.

I would have given it a solid 7 but the ending was way to cliché and so predictable.

Don't expect a story, a mystery, spooky supernatural stuff or anything like that. This is just a movie about two souls meeting when they are going through a phase at the end of their 20's ( quarter life crisis )

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

The Matrix awakens

[7/10 · 19 December 2021]

All these years I had a feeling the story wasn't over, that universe could yield way more stories, so I was very excited when it was announced. After watching it I have mixed feelings.

The movie is very long and they take their sweet time ( 45 mins ) to introduce us again with the franchise. The good news is that they manage to bring us up to speed in a way that isn't too far fetched or isn't retconned into oblivion. Downside is that the first hour is very slow so don't expect action from start to finish.

From there on out the pace picks up but the monologues of the bad guys reminded me of the one from the Architect in Matrix 2. If you are a fan it's doable but new fans will probably zone out or it will be over their heads ( watch the trilogy before you watch this one ! )

The last 30 min of the movie has lots of moving parts and interaction and I probably will have to watch it a couple more times before it all sinks in. If it is done right like in Inception I don't mind at all but my first impression was not positive. Seriously, it's a mess that's all over the place.

If this was intended as a stand alone film it's a big fail, however this has all the signs of a second trilogy and then I can understand why they introduce so many new concepts and bring back so many old characters this late.

That being said, the movie suffers from the.lack of Weaving and Fishburne. The nods to the original movie is fan service at it's worst, trust the audience to recognize the lines or the scenes without showing old clips to spell it out ! Matrix fans can connect the dots without being spoon fed.

Overall I have the same feeling I had when I first saw Star Wars episode 7. Something familiar, something new, but they've made this movie a couple decades ago already (better) . Nothing revolutionary, nothing iconic except for some really cleaver lines that make fun of their own franchise.

If you are a die hard fan you'll probably rate this better than 3 but if you are new to the franchise I don't think this movie will turn your world upside down like the first one did for us.

Let's hope we'll get 2 more but fingers crossed it's done by both sisters. So much potential but 4 didn't hit the spot.

Eternals (2021)

Excellent start of the next phase

[8/10 · 5 November 2021]

I'm all for equality and all those noble ideas, I just don't like them force fed in my entertainment. However the wokeness in this movie never feels forced and it's even logical once you've seen the movie. So please do not skip on this flick because of that.

What we get is a visually stunning movie with great locations and amazing CGI (like most of the Marvel films). The actors all have proven themselves in various other projects but the dialogue could have been better sometimes. The actors are limited by the writing and it shows.

I didn't find it confusing, it's all explained nicely but you have to connect the dots yourself. Personally I prefer this over being treated like a toddler. Yes you have to process a lot sometimes in a long movie but it's better than half a movie and a two year wait. I actually want to watch it again because of this.

What really got me excited was the original plot, it's not all black or white. The "good" guys have a dark side and the "bad" guys have a motivation you can understand.

This is still a popcorn movie but maybe one of the most grown up Marvel movies this far. We still get the usual humor and action but this is an origin movie that introduces us to the new group in our beloved universe, so don't expect an epic ending but a quality set up for the next phase.

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

Try Hard

[6/10 · 19 July 2021]

Mix "Kill Bill" with "Léon: The Professional" add some "John Wick" but then order it from Wish and you get this. In short a typical Netflix movie where they payed top dollar for the actors but nearly nothing for the script.

Do shots every time you recognize the classic they borrowed stuff from and you and your friends will have a blast.

The Colony (2021)

Meh but a solid Meh !

[6/10 · 9 July 2021]

This is a German/Swiss Sci-fi movie set somewhere between 100 and 150 years in the future. The wealthy elite escaped an earth where disasters and climate change made the planet uninhabitable. However things aren't going as planned on Kepler 209 either so they hope to return after 2 generations.

They've sent a first mission but lost contact so they sent a second mission to try again and to find out what happened with the first mission.

The production level is excellent, this never feels cheap or low budget and it can hold it's own to flicks with double the budget. Acting, score, pace, directing, editing, etc is all at a professional level. Critics who do this for a living can probably give a more nuanced view but never was it so bad that it bothered me or broke the illusion.

This is a dark and at times depressing film with a minimal story that reminded me of The Road (2009) but even a minimal story needs to make sense.

In a Hollywood blockbuster with loads of action and explosions you know you are basically looking at a live action comic book. For those movies I'm way more tolerant for illogical events (for example the dance-off in Guardians of the Galaxy), but this movie aims at the thinking sci-fi fan.

The massive plot holes really start to bother you after a while. Without spoiling anything for you I'll give a few examples just from the premise. They have solved interstellar travel but somehow still use tech from the 1960's to land ? Why did they send astronauts when they could have used drones, robots or even androids for the first recon ? If the planet is radioactive and uninhabitable, why don't they wear suits ? Was it a one way suicide mission or how are they going to get back? The list goes on and on.

For the Spocks among us this will be a huge let down and nothing but wasted potential and the Action Jacksons will find this boring and slow. Good for a one time watch but this could have been so, so much more.

Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (2021)

Are you kidding me ?

[7/10 · 4 July 2021]

After enjoying this sequel I couldn't help myself and started reading the reviews on here. So please allow me to balance out the reviews so far.

The movie starts a little while after the first one ended. We find out what happened to "The Bodyguard" and with some very creative writing the disaster duo are back at it again for a wild ride in southern Europe. And I do mean WILD !

The script in predictable and not very original, but isn't that always the case with spoofs ? Top Secret, Airplane, Hot Shots main story fits on a business card but all became classics. I will let you discover the rest of the story yourself, but please take the negative reviews with a (huge) grain of salt. You don't go to McDonald's for their gourmet cooking.

This movie brings back everything you loved from the first flick, adds some amazing performances from A list actors and then turns it up to eleven. The result is over the top humor and mayhem across Europe. The chemistry between the 3 main characters is undeniable, what probably polarizes a lot of viewers. You'll either cringe start to finish or soak it up and ask for seconds.

Since this is a sequel I truly can't understand some of the reviews, this isn't a 10/10 movie but certainly not a 1/10 either. What the absolute Frack did you expect ?

The people complaining about the language are the worst. Have you ever seen a Samuel L Jackson movie or even a Ryan Reynolds comedy ? Of course you are going to get carpet bombed with "F bombs" and naughty language (oh the horror). That reminds me, kudos to Salma Hayek to being the most vulgar of the three.

In short if you liked the first one, you'll enjoy this one. J. B spoof, with Loony Tunes slapstick and immature comedy minus a star for a sequel. I say bring on "The Hitman's Wife's second cousin once removed Bodyguard".

The Tomorrow War (2021)

Ah yes !!! That's the spot

[8/10 · 2 July 2021]

I am not a critic, I am just a sci-fi fan. Yes, the science in this is questionable and yes we've seen every part of this movie in some form or another in other classics but this flick just works. I still remember where I was when I first saw a Xenomorph, T-800, Predator or the Borg and this is more than likely the start of a new franchise.

If you go into this movie hoping to find a Nolan's Inception or a Wachowski Matrix then you'll be disappointed. If you can however ignore flaws in time travel theories like in the Terminator or the Star Trek movies you'll be thoroughly entertained for 2 hours. It's not like other franchises treat the "wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff" with much more respect.

Lighthearted but a little more serious than Guardians of the Galaxy. Action sequences like Edge of Tomorrow, Battle LA or World War Z. Add to that a high production quality and the best TV actors money can buy and this is the closest thing to a summer Blockbuster we've seen since the pandemic started.

Grab your popcorn and enjoy the ride !

Horizon (I) (2019)

Yikes

[2/10 · 21 March 2021]

Combine Independence Day with an episode of Doctor Who from the 80's but with a cast where the vast majority doesn't even reach the level of community theater. Special effects were probably made with a free filter on a mobile phone and the action scenes are either very bad (gunfights) or rather good (hand to hand) that go on forever. The really awful thing was the writing. The story made NO sense and the dialogue was appalling. To give you an idea where you are getting yourself into : at a certain point they want us to believe that an EMP was activated while you still see the lights on in the background and they step into a working (modern) car. There's more "sci" in an episode of the Teletubbies. If I hadn't been locked up for the last year with this pandemic, I would have gone for a pint instead. I like to remind myself people worked very hard on these projects so I try to find something positive to write but I couldn't find anything. You have been warned.

2067 (2020)

This is just a tribute

[6/10 · 24 October 2020]

Long time ago Seth and Dave were hitchhikin' down a long and lonesome road. All of a sudden, there shined a shiny demon in the middle of the road. And he said: "Pitch me the best indie sci-fi in the world, or I'll eat your soul." They each said. "Okay." And they pitched the first thing that came to their heads, Just so happened to be, The Best Movie in the World, it was The Best little indie movie in the World. It was destiny. Once every 4 hundred years or so, Needless to say, the beast was stunned. Whip-crack went his whoopy tail, And the beast was done. He asked them: "(snort) Be you time travelers?" And we said, "Nay. We are but writers." This is not The Greatest Indie Sci-Fi in the World, no. This is just a tribute. Couldn't remember The Greatest Indie Movie in the World, no, no.

TL;DR Production is excellent and it has all the elements to make it into a classic but somehow they messed it up. Good one time watch but a bit slow and overly dramatic at certain points. If you can ignore major science plot holes this will get you your sci-fi fix for a couple days.

Edge of Extinction (2020)

Don't believe the low ranking

[6/10 · 26 May 2020]

I like sci-fi and checking out indie movies so this post-apocalyptic movie was something I simply had to see for myself. It reminded me of The Day (2011) and The Road (2009) at times, but it wasn't so depressing, although it featured most of the same themes. With a runtime of over 2 hours it managed to keep me interested and if you take into account the budget it was made with, you can't help but be impressed with the result. Compliments for the special effects team, they did a bang up job. The acting was better than community theater but do not expect Academy quality acting either. The weak point of this flick is the writing, our "heroes" make tactical mistakes by the dozens. At a certain point you start to wonder how they managed to survive for so long. I realize if we only saw smart moves in these kind of movies most of them would be over in 20 minutes or less, but there are some real facepalm moments here. Andrew Gilbert (writer/director) true talent is in directing because he managed to show gruesome violence, cannibalism and sexual violence without crossing the line into exploitation or even resort to nudity. I wouldn't mind a sequel to this and I hope Netflix or one of the three future streaming giants will get this team a budget they deserve for their next project. Mind the plot holes, enjoy the ride.

Hunters (2020–2023)

Missed opportunity

[3/10 · 23 February 2020]

With this kind of budget and cast I was expecting something dark and gritty like Munich (2005) but instead we get a failed attempt to mix The Boys (2019) with Inglorious Basterds (2009). The production is high quality although the set creators maybe overdid it a tad with the 70's feeling, the actors delivered with what they had to work with but the writing is all over the place : Cartoony, unrealistic and certainly not funny. In times where everybody gets offended with the smallest of things it seems like the writers had a contest to offend as much people as they could. Considering there were real Nazi hunters and the CIA actually did what they showed in the show they could have delivered a way better script for those actors. Sorry but I can not classify this in any other way than a missed opportunity.

Alien Outbreak (2020)

Low budget attempt

[4/10 · 11 February 2020]

I am in no way connected to this movie, just a fan of scifi that loves finding hidden gems online.

The special effects are good to excellent for this type of movie. The acting of the supporting characters is doable but Sgt Zoe keeps waking you up from the illusion.

I think the actress has a wider range than what she shows but I've seen more emotion from the animated rug in Aladin than her. Maybe it was intentional, being coached to act "in shock" but the writing certainly didn't help. At no point do you believe she is a trained police officer,let alone the highest ranking one in the area. The writer has her throw out police procedure from almost the very beginning and every other decisions she makes is a facepalm moment. Certain story arcs go nowhere or add nothing to the story. The bit with the armed units arriving was extremely bad and I think the last person they meet was only in there to get to a 84 min runtime.

I know a lot of people did their best for this movie so I gave it 4 stars but Neil (writer&director) you have to do better. Give it a go if you really want to watch it but you have been warned, this is for hardcore fans of the genre.

Stargate Origins: Catherine (2018)

I can't believe they got an ok for this script

[3/10 · 26 February 2019]

Despite the bad reviews I still gave it a shot because I love Stargate and Connor Trinneer ( ST Enterprise ) It sure is low budget but that isn't really the issue here. The trouble is that the script is so bad it gets painful to watch. You can see they wanted to make this movie in line with the rest of the franchise but the "humor" is so bad it resembles amateur theater and the story is so full with stuff done far better in other movies. I really can't believe they got permission to put the Stargate name on this. Nothing new, nothing added to the story and this certainly will not be the start of a reboot. I think many fans will be disgusted by this and I highly doubt this flick will introduce a new generation to the franchise.

Occupation (2018)

Is it over yet ?

[2/10 · 20 July 2018]

The first twenty minutes you get a setup with most of the famous actors from down under, so you think this might be good. Then it begins and you see special effects from the 1980's. I don't mind low budget Sci-Fi - there are some real gems out there - but any decent director could use a wide array of tricks to get around that. Alas this was just painful. The actors and the FX team did their best but this movie slides from would be Hollywood, to Doctor Who TV show, to film school project in less than 30 minutes. I tried to enjoy the story but it makes no sense. I highly doubt if the writers have ever read any book about science or warfare. The characters are clichés and you never really care about them. The film's high point scenes are cheesier than "Pearl Harbor" and "The Patriot" combined. Nearly 80% of the movie is shot on one location and again the director fails to compensate for it . The list goes on and on. Easily one of the ten worst movies I've ever seen. Normally I would just rate this and move on, but when I read the reviews here I simply had to act. Only way you can enjoy these 2 hours is with a group of friends and a drinking game.

BrainDead (2016)

Meh

[7/10 · 14 June 2016]

When I first read the description I figured it could be a mix between House of Cards and The Walking Dead or at least The West Wing meets The Strain but after finishing the pilot I must say the "horror" tag is all but missing.

Tony Shalhoub,Danny Pino and Mary Winstead do a great job to get you interested in watching the next episode(s) but the writing is not very original and the dialog barely got a few smirks on my face.

It did however spark my sci-fi interest and I'm willing to give this show a try just because of the writers and the cast. Either the political aspect is just a vehicle to get the sci-fi story told or the sci-fi part is a way to get some political satire in but the jury is still out.

So far I haven't seen any proof of it being biased to any side of the spectrum and I hope they'll keep it that way. If you are interested in some light entertainment, what easily could be called "The Men in Black go to Washington", then this pilot is something you should really check out.

Approaching the Unknown (2016)

Lazy

[1/10 · 6 June 2016]

Mister Rosenberg, who directed and wrote this, somehow got the actor from Kingsman/Grimsby and that actor from Idiocracy in his first movie. I guess this must have cost him about 80% of his budget because the footage from outer space is some kind of lava lamp up close with a space ship added in MS Paint. The vessel (outside and inside) is totally unrealistic and even more silly than Space:1999 that was made 40 years ago.

While I don't need CGI that costs more than the GNP of a small African country to enjoy a movie it does however need a story. It starts out fine but then the lazy writing and total and utter lack of research into space travel gets to you. - No way a space agency is going to send a person to Mars alone. The effect of such solitary confinement is well documented and even considered torture. - A spaceship is never going to stop for supplies. - Missions like that will have redundant systems. - Instant 2 way communication between millions of km

I could go on but this movie has numerous facepalm moments.

Even if you manage to ignore the science you slowly reach the 45 minute mark and then the writer seems to have run of steam. He has painted himself into a corner and suddenly the flick tries to become "artistic". What follows is some attempt to mimic the madness of a long solo flight but does it in such a shallow way the only thing the viewer cares about is the remaining time of the movie.

If you manage to endure this, there is no big finish or revelation that even attempts to wrap up the story. The actors did their best but I can only recommend this to groups who want to comment on the stupid moments for laughs or writers to learn what to avoid.

Sorry mister director, next time you either try to tell a story to the common man and then do some freaking research and add an ending or go full arty-farty and own it.

This reminded me a lot of Love (2011) so maybe the hipsters will pick up on it but I can't give it more than a 5 for the first 30 minutes and the potential it had then.