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Reviews
Vice (2015)
Great idea, but lacks substance
The concept of A.I is interesting due to our fast pace technological advancement in the 21th century. Vice reintroduces the idea of humanoid robots much like Will Smith's 2004 film, IRobot. Vice on the most part lacks story substance, but the idea alone deserves a watch in my opinion. This film has a few smart twists which made the lack of story a less of an issue. But one can also argue that because of the dullness in the storyline, one might perceive the twists as more interesting since the movie has very little to offer.
The two best twists I found are the defense mechanism that Julian made for his robots and then the ending where Julian opens his eyes which leaves a nice trail of mystery for the viewers.
I built the foundations to the rating of 6 on the basis of the A.I concept alone. Apart from the concept, there are many questionable parts in the film. I will attempt to list them below.
1. Evan's character really had no purpose other than to add the whole "sob" aspect to the story. His death was very awkward (watch to see why)
2. Kelly is like Keanu Reeves from the matrix, dodging bullets left and right.
3. Probably the best part yet (sarcasm): Supposed genius Evan leaves with Kelly to their next destination, but LEAVES 1 million clues for the enemy to find! Bulletin board full of details to their destination.
4. So the whole point is to shut down the Vice operations as safely as possible, but they unleash a deadly slaughter by the robots during the reboot process?
5. So what will happen to the human robots after this whole ordeal?
Gang Related: La Luz Verde (2014)
Rushed
Maybe it is just me, but this episode seemed way too rushed. There was too many things happening at once that makes it seem like the show can end in two seasons. I love this sort of TV show and I haven't found anything like Gang Related since Dexter.
This episode was juicy in terms of all the crazy things that happened, but then it leaves no room for creativity for Ryan to keep his identity a secret. One big thing that bothered me in this episode is the fact that Ryan kept all his "secret" items in one place. I mean it was well hidden, but come on! At least throw away or burn most of the family photos OR at least the ones that can tie you directly to the Acosta family. I guess Ryan isn't actually that bright after all. And now, his escapes are getting unrealistic and it seems like the directors are running out of ideas. I am actually disappointed to say the least. Hopefully, the next episode is better.
Top Gear USA (2008)
On the fence
This show is obviously out of the league of their UK predecessors, but this US version holds a well earned spot on the history channel. Yes, Rutledge gets annoying sometimes, but once you watch the show a couple of times, you would get used to it. The one thing that really bothers me is how obvious the producers make the show to be scripted (THAT COULD BE SAID ABOUT EVERY HISTORY CHANNEL SHOW-COUGH*COUGH*-PAWNSTARS). Every episode, the three cast members goes through a series of challenges and the winner gets to "claim their prize" at the end. This sounds great and all, but whenever the prize happens to be a supercar of any kind, Tanner always seems to win. Even if Adam or Rutledge somehow wins, they will come up with a lame excuse to let Tanner drive the car instead. Don't get me wrong, I like Tanner, but the producers of the show must think everyone who can afford a supercar is a professional racecar driver. At least on Top Gear UK they make it obvious that Jeremy is the main man, but at the same time, they let the other two cast members drive supercars occasionally.
Furious 6 (2013)
Disappointment even for the mildest F&F fan
This movie started off really well, however, it was set off course after the action started. I have to warn those that watched the trailers on television, because they spoiled every exciting scene from the movie. I would not consider myself an avid fan, but I have followed the series ever since the first movie and I would be the first one to tell you that this movie is a major disappointment. After Tokyo drift, the director relied heavily on action and random fillers to please the audience while leaving the fans frustrated and confused. And since when did the acronym "F&F" turn from fast and furious to fast and fighting? This series has started it's roots from racing and formed into another predictable action movie.
Now, to the ridiculous part of the review. The last scene with the cargo jet is beyond unrealistic. This scene was around 15 minutes long and I would like to point out that the take-off speed of a vast jet like that is around 150-200 mph (not to mention they had to increase speed in order to take-off due to the added weight). The runway must been around 50 miles long because they were on there for literally 15 minutes traveling at an average speed of 150mph+. And don't even get me started with the whole Gisele dying scene. The director got rid of her faster than all those V-8 powered engines put together!
I pointed out a bit of information what the reviewer "carl-walster" missed. He did an amazing job to point out how really ridiculous the movie really was. I have a great imagination, but this movie was too difficult to comprehend. And how could some of these other reviewers say this was the best of fast and furious? That's blasphemous!
Parker (2013)
It's above average
Jason has always been one of my favorite actors. His role in all his movies were electrifying with action. "Parker" is not all that exciting due to the prolonged script with a lot of useless added scenes but still brings a surprise here and there. This betrayal and payback type of movie has been done multiple times, however, Parker will exceed your expectations. The downfall of this movie ultimately came down to the predictable aspects of the film. Another thing is that I hated the character Jenifer Lopez played. She is an amazing singer in real life, but lacks the ability to take on as large of a role as she did in Parker. Her character could have been dismissed and the movie would have still turned out decent.
Deadliest Warrior: Ming Warrior vs. Musketeer (2010)
WOW! Please watch and read my review
The deadliest warrior has always been an up and down show for me but this episode made me realize why I haven't touched any of the new episodes. This episode was not only racist, but also biased and badly compared. Ming Warriors (14 century) vs. the Musketeer (17th century). Not only are they 300 years apart, the Chinese had much better/reliable weapon for their time. What bothered me most about the episode were the two comparisons that the musketeers had won. The first test was on RANGE but somehow a musket had won. It takes a minute to reload the thing and it isn't even good for 80 yards even with a SUPPORT BEAM!!. The third test was even worse. A flintlock like pistol that misfires 2/3 of the time beats the 3 shot genius of a invention made by the Chinese because they were testing for ARMOR PIERCING?? The musketeers were known to be light and mobile, so how would they be efficient wearing IRON armor? And obviously the Musketeer won in the end because the computer whiz was not very bright.
The ending was brilliant. French guy goes "Why won't you Chinese people go back to where you came from and start building walls. You're good at it aren't you?" REALLY????
Identity Thief (2013)
Predictable!
I am usually too lazy to write a review, but this movie is just plan horrible. I also don't rate movies this low unless it is complete garbage. The first problem I have is the first ten minutes of the movie. Who is stupid enough to provide their social insurance number through the phone and let alone to an obvious scam? Even if you were stupid enough to tell them your social insurance number, the cops in the movie are completely useless! Identity theft is a pretty high profile crime and the cops tell Sandy they cannot do anything about the situation unless the perpetrator is in front of them! I toughened out and continued to watch the movie. The biggest issue I have with the movie is when Sandy finds the scam artist (Diana). Sandy gets furious and tosses a bunch of objects at Diana, but then later in the movie, Sandy starts to befriend her...Everyone is entitled to their opinion, however, I believe I could speak for all those that got their identity stolen. First off, Sandy had to spend his OWN money to fly across the country to deal with his problem without the possibility of involving the cops? If I was sandy, I'd be so stressed out and furious after losing a large sum of money, as well as my job that I'd kill her even though there was a possibility of me going to jail but somehow Sandy finds the heart to forgive her without any consequences. Oh and the added bonus of stupidity was the fact that Diana broke through the back window of a cop car and then gets run over by a car going at least 40 miles a hour then stands up and jogs away for the escape with Sandy. The ending was predictable and boring so there is no need to explain any further.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
Waste of time
The movie is just horrible. But I would just like to point out a couple of things. The first couple of minutes is probably the best part of the whole film. The first thing to notice about the beginning is that I didn't know I was watching "The Matrix" when Idris Elba jumped off his bike and froze time to shoot at the enemy's suv. When you go further into the film, you realize there is a lot of skipped information which made the movie very hard to follow. Many people seemed to already cover this so I will be brief. THE MOTIVE WAS TO GET THE KID. Ghost Rider goes and stares down some randoms for like 2 minutes and forgot what he was looking for. Lets the enemy escape (obviously).
You will notice that the guy behind it all is suppose to be a big all mighty powerful demon but he does nothing throughout the film that shows that; all talk basically. He acted like a big sack of potatoes. He gives power to Ray but the power makes no sense. It seemed like he can't control it (i.e the apple and sandwich scene) but something with a wrapper on it makes it all good? There is just too much things in this movie that made no sense.
The ending has to be the worst of them all. Not many people commented on this (im guessing because they'd had left the theatre before it ended). Cage apparently released the GOOD side to the demon-----question is how? What? He all of the sudden could control the demon? Or am I forgetting that in both Ghost rider films, they made it clear the demon is too powerful to control, ever!!!!