nightbiker-1 Reviews

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Excellent toss back to original Ghostbusters fans!

[9/10 · 20 November 2021]

Thankfully, this is not a remake/reboot, but a perfectly good addition to the original franchise.

I'd been waiting all year for this one and the result of built-up expectations usually means the movie will miss the mark because a fan will have unreasonable expectations. Fortunately, this movie seems to deliver. My wife (not a big fan of the series) enjoyed it, seemed to enjoy it almost as much as I did.

This movie pays deep homage to the original without ruining any cannon, the connections run deep and it is obvious that great care was taken to keep deep connections to the original story, both intent and feel.

I was really impressed with casting -the young girl was perfectly cast and played her role flawlessly.

If you enjoyed the original movie, this is a must see.

Bilal: A New Breed of Hero (2015)

Disjointed and dry

[2/10 · 31 August 2018]

I always like to say something good about a movie -every movie has at least something positive, after all. The animation was acceptable. This is not a ringing endorsement since computers, software and those skilled at working with them should be able to bring something visually decent to the screen. As a story, it was difficult to follow at times, but if you can stomach the boredom, it is not a bad story. Worth it? Hardly (and I didn't have to pay to see it). It is not the worst film ever brought to screen (never understood those comments) but the goal was supposed to include giving a better, newer perspective on the islamic culture. It fails miserably at this, and in truth it just was not a very good story. Maybe it loses something in the translation (culturally speaking) but while I love animated movies, this one will find no place in my library.

The Martian (2015)

Excellent movie adaptation of a great book

[8/10 · 23 October 2015]

I read this book 3 times, my wife never read it. I was interested in seeing the movie adaptation but a little worried that it would spoil the story (as movie adaptations often do) but quite the contrary, this was actually a very well done adaptation. Both my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it (she would rate it higher -I only gave it an 8 because of certain things I'd hope would be included, were not (no spoilers here.) -Let me say that the book was a bit overly detailed in areas to explain situations, but the movie did an excellent job of getting around it -is very entertaining and didn't have any "dull" spots. The movie is set in "near future" which makes it pretty easy to buy into the science and ideas (a nice change for a sci-fi movie). I will purchase this when it comes available on blu-ray. Matt Damon was perfectly cast as Mark Watney -clearly, he was a fan of the book (just going by the excellent portrayal). Its definitely worth the view. Probably my favorite this year.

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Very enjoyable experience

[10/10 · 28 September 2012]

I gave this a complete 10 because both the wife and I (as well as the other movie-goers -going by their reactions) thoroughly enjoyed it from the beginning to the very end.

Was it predictable? Of course. Its an animation geared towards children (what would you expect?) -but like most of the animation movies of today, there were quite a few 'hidden humor' spots as well which would be completely missed by the younger audience (not unexpected since it is the adults, after all, who are forking over the bread and it doesn't hurt to keep THEM entertained as well). The movie is fairly fast-paced and the animation well done. I'm usually a little apprehensive when I've harbored good expectations from a movie based on clips/previews, but in this case I felt it truly delivered. This one will be added to our library when it (eventually) hits the shelves. Too many people look for a great amount of depth and unpredictability in animation movies -but THAT is a bit unrealistic (no pun intended) -think about it: These things USED to be called CARTOON MOVIES for a reason. They weren't intended to fit that kind of expectation. They ARE intended to be fun -and this movie is just that: FUN.

Brave (2012)

Extremely enjoyable experience!

[8/10 · 8 July 2012]

Being big fans of animation, my wife and I always try to catch animated movies -especially those which are digitally so. Animated movies more so than most, tend to be "hit or miss" and with this one, Pixar has a definite 'HIT'. The story is engaging, the characters (even ancillary ones) are interesting, and there weren't any 'dead' spots where you wished things would just move along to the next scene. It was just plain fun. Most telling (in my view) is this: I cannot recall the last time I saw a movie and didn't see a lot of dimwits texting or playing with their phones. If you like animated movies that actually have a story (not just pretty flashes of color and loud noises) you will like this one.

The Land That Time Forgot (2009 Video)

Ouch!

[3/10 · 2 August 2009]

I really wanted to like this -I've enjoyed this story since I was a child, and was looking forward to a more modern telling of it. Sadly, the acting was so forced, so deplorable, that it was actually painful to sit through this. Perhaps the movie actually improved toward the end -I'll never know. I wasn't able to handle watching this sad excuse for shovelware of a movie. I didn't go into this expecting a special-effects extravaganza. I just expected competent acting. I mean REALLY, when they insist on remaking movies, shouldn't they actually try to improve the performances? Sigh. I couldn't give it anything less than a 3 because the story itself is a timeless classic -the writing didn't fail here, the acting did. Not really worth the time. Thats about all I can really say.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Enjoyable experience. Definitely worth the view

[9/10 · 11 July 2007]

Just a risk of spoilage, but I'll try not to just the same. It is true that (as expected, if you're like me and have read the series (time and again)) they could not put the entire book into the movie (lets be honest, thats just not easy to do unless the story is very basic and simple -and while that was true for the first two books, it certainly got depth and complexity after that. However, unlike previous offerings, this one did manage to hang onto the spirit of, and cover, most of the subplots in the Order Of The Phoenix. I was a little disappointed with how they revealed (and captured the participants) the room of requirement and the DA inside, but it still managed to keep the feel and intent of the story. The subplots that lead up to the main thrust of the movie were very quickly covered (and I'm not sure that those who never read the story will understand what happened anyway -but this has been true over the last couple of movies -the movies are clearly for the fans of the story, not the general public who doesn't bother to read it). This new director did a very good job, and I look forward to adding this movie to my list when it hits the shelves. Lastly, the one true measure of the movie was proved out when the audience sat quietly through the movie, laughing from time to time in the right places, but applauding at the end of the show. The patrons OBVIOUSLY felt that their hard-earned money was well spent. What more could you possibly say than that?

Ratatouille (2007)

Slow start, but a VERY good movie

[8/10 · 16 June 2007]

This movie takes a while to get started -but to that note, there is a LOT of material imparted -its not boring, and what amazed me is that even in a theater full of children, they were obviously engaged in the movie -not the usual restlessness you generally see with a movie like this, and a very young crowd. The animation was (as expected by Pixar) excellent, the detail was the usual fantastic level we've come to expect. We went to the 'sneak preview' showing, and I must say that even though it started slow, the story was very fulfilling and had an emotional ending (which, while this would also be 'as expected' it was pulled off very well). It truly earned its 'G' rating -it wasn't loaded with innuendo like so many of them are these days, and while the dialog had a decided nod toward the adults in the crowd -not dirty, it just wasn't strictly aimed at kids, so you didn't see many adults just nodding off while they waited for the ending. Lastly, its been YEARS since I've attended a movie (and never in an animated one) where the entire theater burst into applause at the end. People sat all the way through the credits (my wife and I always do anyway -especially to catch the often included little 'bits' at the very end -and we're usually the only ones left by that point). Overall a very rewarding experience, and I look forward to adding this title to my DVD collection when it comes out.

Hawmps! (1976)

shame about the transfer -WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILER

[5/10 · 18 March 2007]

I really enjoyed the movie as a kid, and was really looking forward to seeing this again. But why do they not bother to take the time to make decent transfers I'll never know. What a shame to ruin a perfectly good, fun movie. WARNING, POSSIBLE SPOILER!!! As a kid, I was fascinated to learn that they really DID have an experiment (upon which this film is VERY loosely based). They brought in camels with the idea that they would perform better than horses. What ever happened to these animals (once the experiment was concluded) ? Never found that one out. As was mentioned earlier, this film won't ever bee remembered as one of the "greats" of movie-making, but it was made in a time when clean wholesome films were the 'thing'. Something you could feel comfortable taking the whole family to. I was really excited to see it out (finally -after all the shovel-ware they make disks out of) on DVD -until the movie began. I really wish they would make decent transfers.

Happy Gilmore (1996)

My first Sandler film

[10/10 · 10 June 2005]

This movie was my first introduction to Adam Sandler.

Generally speaking, I tend to avoid popular comedies because I rarely find them worth the trouble (or expense). This was a movie that was bundled with another, in the 'previously viewed' bin.

I can't recall the other movie (wasn't worth the time it took to watch it) but this one was hilarious.

I have since purchased the DVD and viewed it enough times to make the wife groan whenever I reach for it. I have yet to show this movie to any friends or family and find one who didn't like it. The movie is basically about golf (as evidenced from the picture on the box) but you don't have to know a thing about the sport to enjoy it (I didn't). I love movies, but its been a while since I enjoyed one so much.