alexanderkominek Reviews

Groupers (2019)

A fun watch!

[10/10 · 20 January 2020]

If I were to rate this movie honestly, I'd give it 7/10. However, I've rated it a 10 to help offset some of the homophobic 1-star reviews from people who obviously didn't watch the movie.

Cinematography and sound are beautiful, the story is solid and gets better with each act. Characters each have a unique voice and point of view. Lots of laugh-out-loud moments from start to finish.

Birds of Prey (2002–2003)

Lots of untapped potential

[5/10 · 30 August 2007]

The pilot episode of Birds of Prey showed lots of potential for the show to become an interesting series. Unfortunately, the show didn't live up to this potential and instead fell into a Smallville-style "freak of the week" formula.

Harley Quinn's plots are simply evil for evil's sake, with no real human motivations behind them. The show's emphasis on "meta-humans" is too similar to other (better-executed) comic book adaptations, and completely unnecessary to furthering the characters' stories.

The casting, however, is very good. It's too bad that the actors had to work with writing that usually takes the easy way out instead of genuinely exploring the characters in a meaningful way.

I'd love to see this show in more capable hands, but as it stands, I can see why it was cancelled so early in its run.

Rubberface (1981 TV Movie)

Big head. Thin skin. Numb skull.

[1/10 · 23 October 2005]

... is what the box for "Rubberface" promised. It looked interesting enough - A picture of Jim Carrey riding a bike with an aviation cap and goggles, and another of him making a ridiculous face. I didn't expect much , however, as the plot synopsis on the back made this film sound similar to the Adam Sandler flop "Overboard". If only this film were that good.

It turns out Jim Carrey is not the protagonist of this film. We don't even meet him until about 15 minutes into the story. Even then, he's not that funny (which is more of a script problem than an acting problem). I wasn't even able to laugh at how bad the film was. I was just angry and wanted my $1.95 back.

This movie reminds me of a project I had to do in junior high school. We had to make a five minute video about an issue that affects teens. It's too bad the creators of "Rubberface" didn't have the same sense of pacing, because this movie runs about 43 minutes too long.

Spiritual Kung Fu (1978)

Somewhat entertaining

[4/10 · 5 September 2005]

I picked this film up on DVD for a couple of bucks at Wal-Mart, so I wasn't really expecting a great film. Spiritual Kung Fu met these expectations. Bad dubbing, bad special effects, and the goofy clown/mime/rag doll/ghosts detracted from the film.

What made the film bearable was the good kung fu and the casting of James Tien as the bad guy. There's also a twist at the end that is only hinted at once during the film, so it comes as quite a surprise.

If you want a great film to make you think, watch something else. If you want a goofy chopsocky Jackie Chan movie to waste a couple of hours, (and have no deep-seated fear of clowns) check Spiritual Kung Fu out.

• Lex

Fist of Fear, Touch of Death (1980)

The box claimed "Bruce Lee ...in the original martial arts classic!"

[1/10 · 19 December 2004]

Unfortunately, this film neither features real martial arts, nor is it a classic. It hardly even features Bruce Lee, except for some old footage that has been re-dubbed to make it look like Lee actually agreed to this film being made. I hope somebody got sued for this one.

This could have been a good documentary about the "1979 Karate Championship" but most of the footage from the karate matches is obviously staged, and has little to do with Chinese martial arts. Some interesting "facts" were revealed by this film however. For instance, prior to watching "Fist of Fear", I had no idea that Lee's great grandfather was the greatest Chinese samurai warrior.

There are a few funny moments in the film (the Bill Louie Kato scene, or when Fred Williamson is introduced for example) but if you have any respect for Bruce Lee or film-making in general, I would highly recommend avoiding this film.

• Lex