thrashertm Reviews

Suicide Squad (2016)

Lame plot, boring action

[4/10 · 8 October 2016]

The plot was very really weak and the action scenes were boring. It was mostly fighting endless hordes of faceless creatures like a low- budget B-movie - think Equilibrium with Christian Bale or Delta Force 2 with Chuck Norris.

It also seemed rather pointless to send the suicide squad in with special forces, when the whole point of their existence is to avoid the need to risk the lives of "good guys".

A far more interesting plot would have involved the SS being sent on a mission that purports to be for the greater good, when in fact it's for some nefarious scheme - perhaps stealing money, destabilizing a govt. or assassinating someone etc. Hell, it would have been interesting to make the movie political and send the SS squad into a war-zone like Ukraine or Yemen.

Instead we got a real snoozer here.

Con Man (2015–2017)

Needs more self deprecation

[7/10 · 1 July 2016]

Not bad, but could be so much more. There's far too much humor around how silly the fans are, where a much more amusing topic would be no one recognizing the actor or him being slighted. Think of Johnny Drama in Entourage or Warwick Davis in his Gervais series. There's comedy gold in the juxtoposition of the fan-worship, fall from glory to the hopelessness of past greatness. Unfortunately I saw far too little of this in the first 3 or so episodes and gave up on it.

Also, the series opens up with some literal bathroom humor. Low brow. Still, this is overall a high-bar effort for a web series and I hope that it improves in season 2.

I, Frankenstein (2014)

Worst movie of the year

[3/10 · 25 January 2014]

The only reason I am giving this three stars is because of Bill Nighy, who is always entertaining to watch. The rest of the movie is utter crap and completely unnecessary. If you have seen the Underworld series, there's nothing new here whatsoever. There is nothing compelling about the characters, and I look forward to a "100 things I learned" thread that takes this crap movie apart. So boring - I was falling asleep throughout. The fighting is contrived and pointless, as is everything else about the plot. Sadly I was with friends that insisted on seeing this travesty, and as I was tagging along I had no choice. To add insult to injury, the movie theater was showing this garbage in 3D IMAX so I paid $17 - UGH! May god have mercy on the souls of the creators of this insanely idiotic movie, and anyone that enjoys it!

Iron Man Three (2013)

Bleh

[5/10 · 11 May 2013]

I think the other reviewers have covered most of the weak points of the film - the lame villain, the weakness of the iron man suits, etc. I agree with all of those points. The film seems to have devolved into something more along the lines of a Michael Bay Transformers schlock with stereotypical inclusion of a love story, cute kid sidekick and worst of all the flag-waiving jingoism of the Team America nonsense. TBH it's the last point that I found the most irritating. It's also absurd to think that in a reality where aliens have attacked and superheroes are running around, the villain's main goal is to gain some power over the US govt. In such a world the govt seems hardly irrelevant IMO.

Battleship (2012)

makes Transformers look like Shakespeare

[5/10 · 19 May 2012]

I'm not a movie snob, but I rated this movie a 5, which I think is appropriate for the average person. For me purposes, I'd give it a one star rating. The movie is so contrived and laughably awful that only a child could find it in any way believable; it's farcical. The other reviewers have picked this movie apart for its silly dialogue and pathetic plot, but I object to the product placement, especially of the US military. I am sick of these flag-waiving falsely patriotic movies that are essentially propaganda films for the US armed services. It's disgusting the way that film makers promote the military, and try to make military service "look cool", with lots of big shiny hardware and blam blam. Battleship joins the Transformers in being a recruiting tool for the gullible.

21 Jump Street (2012)

advanced screening mini review

[8/10 · 17 February 2012]

I saw the advanced screening for this yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. The movie positively revels in the various stereotypes that other movies in the genre take far too seriously. The self deprecating humor was truly excellent, and I couldn't believe it but I was laughing during the pretty much the whole movie. 21 Jump St. definitely has a lot of the same elements that made Superbad a joy, and some of the supporting cast - Chris Parnell, Rob Riggle - were absolutely awesome. I give this movie a 9, and expect it to end up in the 7.5 range after it opens. Lots of swearing and a good gross-out scene. Best comedy I've seen in a while.

Warrior (2011)

predictable mushy mess

[4/10 · 25 December 2011]

I found this movie to be a predictable mushy mess full of clichés and obvious attempts by the director to tug at the heart strings of the viewer. Every combination was thrown at the viewer - father vs. son, son vs. son, family financial trouble, marital tension, etc. etc. It was numbing after a while. Oh, I almost forgot about a good dose of American flag waiving with the US military (reminded me a little of Transformers 3's disgusting false patriotism). The fight scenes weren't particularly compelling or interesting, as the final outcome could be seen a mile away. The actors gave good performances, but that's just not enough to save the movie from its awful script. Stay away.

Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011)

Generally faithful to the book

[8/10 · 16 April 2011]

Atlas Shrugged is my favorite book, so consider the source bias here. I found the movie faithful to the themes of the book, and updated for our modern era. Some of the acting and dialog comes across as a bit wooden and weird, but it's actually in keeping with the extreme heroic style of the novel. Some of the casting is superb - Francisco Danconia, Wesley Mooch and Orin Boyle in particular are well casted. I wasn't quite as thrilled with the depictions of the other major characters, such as Eddie Willers and James Taggert, but all of the actors did a suitable job.

This first part of the story actually covers quite a lot of ground in the overall plot; it probably would have been better to make it 2-3 hours instead of 1:40.

Keys to the VIP (2006–2008)

incredibly entertaining

[8/10 · 19 October 2010]

Don't believe the haters; Keys to the VIP is an extremely entertaining show if you take it for what it is. Yes, many of the contestants are downright neanderthals or buffoons, but if you can appreciate the show Jackass you'll feel right at home. I only grade lower than a 10 because the show could use some more variety. The hosts are hilarious and their chemistry and commentary really makes the show shine. I'd love to see them in action as well. The show would also be improved by moving the setting to outside the bar/club for some of the episodes, and perhaps finding some more unusual games to add to the mix. As someone with little "game" in these types of settings, I find the show fascinating, and have learned some good tips for reading body language etc., which I've benefited from in my "day game".

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

disappointed in this movie, could have been so much more

[5/10 · 17 January 2010]

High production value, but too much emphasis on the fluff and not enough on the substance. Unfortunately Ritchie "Hollywood-ized" or "Ritchie- ized" the movie far too much.

My main complaints are:

1. The fight scenes seemed tacked on, unnecessary, unbelievable, and generally just very un-Holmes-like. They interrupted what otherwise could have been a fascinating movie, and served to break the tension that was otherwise built up between the main characters.

2. I felt that the story would have been more compelling if the villain's motives were a bit more pedestrian or character-driven. You know - like seeking revenge upon some big-wig for a crime committed long ago. As it was, the villain became more of a cartoon than a character with depth.