vindalootiger Reviews

Arctic Void (2022)

Not brilliant but ambitious.

[7/10 · 29 January 2024]

The story felt like they had a good idea but did not think it out, (or how to end it at least). I applaud the small cast and crew and the effort that was put into this. The ending is ambiguous but, if that was the intention then ok. Many of us seek movies as escapism, however, not all filmmakers want to churn out happy endings, if you want that watch the Hallmark Channel.

That being said, this movie had fantastic potential that was wasted, it did not need special effects, and it was one of those sci-fi movies that would have been just made worse with a bunch of CG scenes. The ending felt more symbolic from the filmmaker's point of view. I watched it, and I probably will watch it again.

Dinosaur Prison (2023)

Willy Wonka meets Ozzy Osborne and a Flaming Sword

[2/10 · 28 January 2024]

So the plot is some eco-activists break into a suspected animal testing site. This is the last point in the movie the plot makes sense. Eventually, we meet what I can only imagine would have been the love child between Willy Wonka and Ozzy Osborne, Jahn (think John Hammond). Jahn plays a character that doesn't make much sense in the movie. Oh, did I mention the Asian scientist (think BD Wong) and also enter the typical British no-neck tough guy who is "taking over." and the stereotype bad guy. Since Velociraptors, as portrayed in Jurassic Park, didn't actually exist, (No hate mail, please look it up), I think Steven Spielberg should have copyrighted his version of Velociraptors and saved us from all these crap clones... Oh year there is a merc with a sword that is somehow on fire, so yeah there is that. Everyone gets eaten and there and there is the only stereotypical survivor(s). Saved me from boredom one Sunday, and oh God help us all, the ending has a typical sequel hook... Ah, Amazon Prime we love you for the utter crap you provide us with to laugh at. Watch it knowing you will never get those hours of your life back.

72 Dangerous Places to Live (2016)

Much of it is inaccurate

[1/10 · 26 November 2022]

I watched a few episodes of this series, it is terrible on so many levels. It makes Ancient Aliens look credible. The "sensationalist" way of narrating is nauseating and terrible. The narrators pronunciation many names is terrible (listen to him pronounce "Maldives"), it mad me laugh so hard I almost threw up. The narrator should go back to just dong reality TV.

Most of their experts are ignorant and terrible, some are ok, but the majority of them questionable at best with generic titles like journalist or engineer, no qualifications are provided for their experts. After some research a couple of them are actually industrial actors, not even actors.

The science behind Pripyat part is wrong . Another reviewer commented on how the images from the earthquake in Japan were not even in Japan. The part about the Aral Sea didn't even speak of the ruins on Rebirth (Vozrozhdeniya) Island and the toxic remains of Soviet era bioweapons lab. Wind Turbine Syndrome that was funny and total garbage, I am not going into it, look it up online if you really want to.

Basically so much of it is so badly scripted, so poorly researched, that none of it can be even accepted as accurate. It is purely sensationalized pseudo-science.

White Tiger (2012)

Better Fantasy/SciFi Story than expected

[7/10 · 19 November 2022]

Couple of things first, I saw the English dubbed version and I chose not to include any spoilers.

This was a much better movie than I expected, the Russian film industry is really coming along. My wife hates military and war movies but loves fantasy and Sci-Fi, I practically insisted she watch this and she did like it. The story was far less of a typical WW2/Great Patriotic War movie with the sci-fi and fantasy elements taking a far more prominent role. If you are looking for something different then this is a good choice.

Do not expect an ending that is typical of most war movies, this seems to be a much more intellectual look at psychological disorders on the battlefield and PTSD. (For those with serious PTSD, it did not trigger me) The action and drama was pretty good as well.

Death Squad (2019–2020)

Tried to like it

[1/10 · 19 November 2022]

I tried to like this as I do enjoy B horror, this was more like D horror. This was supposed to be an "American" series, however it id painfully odvious it is not. It is funny how other countries see US policy and military function (I am looking at you Uwe Boll).

Avoid this unless you are REALLY drunk or under the influence of other "herbs" or both.

The acting is jilted, the story is superficial, save the time you will not get back if you watch this.

On a side note the spooks name was "Sambuco" that was about the funniest part Save your time, save yourself avoid this series at all cost!

5 more characters...lol.

Tales from the Loop (2020)

Meh ... it is ok if you like retelling of stories

[5/10 · 1 July 2022]

So it is just another one in a long line of scifi that was good when the story was told the first time, but not the 100th retelling of the same story.

None of these are unique, they are copies of, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Ray Bradbury Theater, etc... It is almost like the amazon executives said "oh no were are being killed by other series we need something". Another executive says "hey I have an old VCR at home we should just copy stuff that we don't think anyone will remember".

NONE of the stories are unique I have seen literally everyone before.

There is truly no good TV writing any more...

Fry from Futurama is right...

Fry: You see? TV audiences don't want anything original. They wanna see the same thing they've seen a thousand times before.

Futurama Season 1 Episode 12.

The Mildew from Planet Xonader (2015)

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph that is a lot of green and red paint

[5/10 · 7 August 2020]

Like the other reviewer said the official description says nothing about comedy, but with the title "The Mildew from Planet Xonader" what do you expect. At least it doesn't take itself seriously. Gore, splattering goo, bad lines... Fun to watch, ONCE, but not worth owning.

The Blackout (2019)

If you are looking for a decent sci-fi action movie then do not pass this one up.

[8/10 · 3 August 2020]

I have seen just about every sci-fi movie made, I don't review much but this one really deserves a review. I have seen SO MUCH crap out of every studio on the planet, I was not expecting much. The story, while it *did* have issues and plot holes was interesting, I was enthralled through the whole movie and didn't get the work I needed to done, lol. Effects were excellent, however I could find no information on the budget which is typical of the non Hollywood coming out. Character development was lacking a bit but the movie was long so I guess some had to be cut, to me the characters were much more dimensional then they were portrayed on the screen, they seemed real to me. I do not want to spoil the movie for anyone but, there is a saying my wife and I have: "There are no more new stories under heaven and earth, movie studios keep rewriting the same story". This proved that statement wrong to me at least. If you are looking for a decent sci-fi action movie then do not pass this one up.

(I saw the english dubbed one and the dubbing was quite tolerable)

Shadow Wolves (2019)

Cliche and Uninformed

[2/10 · 12 July 2019]

The movie was a entirely cliche. If I were Native American, Japanese, Mexican, or Arab I would be incredibly insulted at the way all of these groups were portrayed. The movie feels like it was written by an armchair Rambo (look that one up if you never have heard the phrase). There is absolutely nothing redeeming about this movie, it is a myopic look into terrorism, the drug trade, and anti-terrorist operations from someone who has no idea. The history spouting colonel was wrong . . . just so wrong . . . Lets make up history as we go along!

The Rift: Dark Side of the Moon (2016)

Music is so bad, I could not finish watching

[2/10 · 7 March 2018]

The premise of the movie seemed interesting, the acting seemed credible however the movie as a whole just was missing something it is hard to explain. The regular and incidental music was the biggest problem. The music makes this movie terrible, at the beginning you get some Pink Floyd soundalike, so ok for a movie called the "Dark Side of the Moon" we get the joke. The rest of the movie there was this completely unnecessary LOUD music used at all the wrong scenes. The music in a movie is supposed to add suspense, drama, emotion, and help to coalesce the movie together. All of the incidental music was too loud, poorly mixed, and just the wrong kind. The music sounded similar to the royalty free music used in documentaries about 20 years ago, it was complete garbage. The musicians would be better off going back to their regular jobs at McDonalds.

I wanted to like this movie but the music made me turn it off halfway through, glad I didn't pay real money to see this one.

Death Race 2050 (2017 Video)

". . . It's more than just a cracker topping, it's a delicious treatment for clinical depression."

[6/10 · 20 July 2017]

In a world of such terrible movies that take themselves way too seriously, this movie was such a relief. There was no attempt to take themselves seriously which made this movie good. This one is no less cliché or less terrible then the earlier incarnations of this movie that I grew up watching. Do not expect anything resembling good, but expect something fun, especially when you have had a bad week at work. It did feel as if the writer thoroughly studied previous incarnations which did strike a chord of nostalgia for me, the writing, the rhythm and the feel of the movie was very similar to the other versions. Albeit character development was considerably better than I expected, special effects were still out of the 1980's with drones though. The anti-hero was predictable but like-able, the ending just as predictable but fun. If you don't expect much more than a good time and absurdist comedy with dark political undertones then you will not be disappointed. The one-liners were much better in this one than in previous versions. (It deserves a much better rating then it currently has.) I like cats too

The Perfect Weapon (2016)

Voice Coaching by Steven Segal...

[2/10 · 20 July 2017]

Really, really bad action movie, with even worse writing. Plot holes and nonsense throughout the movie. The story touched on a very good point in the beginning about, how regardless of politics, power corrupts told in an Orwellian fashion. The rest of the writing is cliché laden garbage so I have no belief that the writers even know that they had actually touched on a good point in the beginning. On a side note this is the worst "movie" assassin I think has ever been penned to paper, really you are going to go back to your home after escaping? Every actor spoke at the same speed with no emotion, it almost felt like Steven Segal was their voice coach. I struggled hard to find something about this movie that was redeemable but I found myself dreading having to watch the inevitable "boss" battle between the main character and Steven Segal's character at least it was brief. The ending, so painfully obvious from the horrible character development, I sat there waiting for the multiple double crosses. I wish I could send the studio a bill for my time watching this movie. The reviewer that called this movie malware or a virus was very accurate. There were so many executive producers I felt like they had to beg a lot of people for the money just to make this movie.

The Abandoned (2015)

Good and Bad

[6/10 · 19 July 2017]

So I am quite a fan of bad horror and sci-fi movies. I was watching this one afternoon. The start was typical and quite pedestrian for this genre but it got much better towards the end. I would like to note the facility they filmed in is quite beautiful. For a low budget movie with a small cast I think the film makers did a great job, cinematography was lacking in some parts but over all it was good. Expect unanswered questions and some gaping plot holes especially near the end but I believe this was more of a psychological thriller in many parts. Character development was decent as well. There have been much worse movies that that got much better ratings. It is defiantly worth seeing.

Painkillers (2015)

More of a series premiere than a movie

[5/10 · 14 July 2017]

I tried to make this review "spoiler-free" as I felt this was worth watching. Good start, I agree with the other reviewers it felt a lot like a New Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode. Some interesting twists, some I saw coming but a few caught me off guard. I like the casting choices for such a small cast, they worked well together. Military action scenes in Afghanistan, seemed contrived at best. There were so many inconsistencies when it came to props and the behavior of actual soldiers. (The actual blank plugs in the assault rifles that were painted black were funny) I do not believe this movie was ever intended as an action movie. I believe the focus was meant as a psychological thriller with sci-fi and military-industrial conspiracy elements. Some of the action scenes felt like they were added to attract certain audience types. The movie did slow down at parts but it seemed to be for tension, atmosphere building and building background for sequels or a series. Way too many unanswered questions, some conveniently answered in the voice-over at the end. Deus Ex Machina . . . I have to agree with another reviewer as this felt like it was meant to be a 2 episode series premiere for syfy channel or its like. The movie was 1 hour and 45 minutes which is 30 minutes longer than most movies. There was a natural first episode ending about 42 minutes which reinforces the idea that this was a series premiere. It feels like there was added footage to make it a standalone movie and wrap it up with a nice bow Not great, but had it become a series I would have probably watched at least the first season off my DVR eventually. I liked it, not great but I did like it.

Tank 432 (2015)

"I would be better with a platoon of monkeys"

[3/10 · 14 July 2017]

Decent cinematography, confusing tension, and good photography in general for low budget. I liked the story, what little there was of it, despite the issues I have listed below. I found myself muttering "soldier the **** up" over and over through the movie. These were the ABSOLUTELY LOUDEST group of soldiers who were trying to remain incognito I have ever seen. What bugged me was that they could not act like real soldiers, the movie had a very rocky start. The movies military adviser should be fired (or at least demoted). There were so many problems, equipment appearing from field kits they did not have in the previous scene, firing at nothing with limited ammo supply's, and the list goes on. Then they left a soldier behind in favor of some non-combatant they had to carry? It finally seemed like the acting was getting better around the time that their squad leader (still don't know the ranks, but unimportant) chews them all out. He then ends his speech with the line "I would be better with a platoon of monkeys" which sums up the movie in many ways. The ending was pointless and lacked any credible substance or story. A little background in the beginning of the movie as to who they were, why they were there and what was the point of the hostages, would have been helpful in rounding out the story. By the way that is not how you hot wire a jeep...

Zoo (2015–2017)

Passable to Good till Allyssa Diaz joins the cast

[7/10 · 25 June 2017]

I really got into season 1 then season 2 starts and the HORRIBLY written character played by Allyssa Diaz joined the cast. Her character is the type of crap you would expect from a low budget sci-fi film writers. She is suppose to be this elite ranger but in no way acts like and military personnel in the world I have ever met. I have worked with certain elite military personnel and I can assure you someone like her would have been "accidentally" killed by blue fire in the field, much less make it past selection. The writers should be ashamed of themselves, but they probably don't care, just another shallow conglomeration of stereotypes went into making this character. This character turned me off to the show, and I will not be watching. Hopefully it will get cancelled before too long. That character ruined the show for me completely.

Rz-9 (2015)

meh, bad but I have seen worse

[4/10 · 17 June 2015]

While I can not agree that this should be in the theater, it was fine for a B wanna-be action thriller. While the writers show a profound disconnect between current political realities, it has been amusing. If you need a good background move or just need something mind numbing this is good.

What really nauseated me was the religious connections made about the main characters, it seems obvious that parts were intentionally cut not to irritate the current religious right. Sadly this is a rather ignorant way of writing, that being said, conservative extremists survivalist types find this movie great.

Acting started good, 30 minutes in it got way worse. I think what bugs me the most is that no one seems to know how actual military personnel act.

There were soooo many technical holes, writing holes, direction holes, I could not list them all here, artistic direction was very low par too. I strongly suspect that this movie had many parts cut in script revisions and the editing room floor.

Generally the cliché laden dialog, technical writing problems, and absurdest understanding of world politics, killed this movie. The cg effects were OK, foley and muzzle flash syncing was bad, just bad, as one other reviewer put it "1980's quality"

Pressure (II) (2015)

Pleasantly Surprised

[7/10 · 17 June 2015]

This movie was part of my B movie genre one afternoon. I usually am not the thriller type, I typically prefer more action adventure oriented (Deep Star 6, The Abyss etc...) There were elements that reminded me of Das Boot. However I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it. The Good: The acting was surprisingly good, the script writing was good, the effects were good. The Bad: The plot is a little predictable at times, but this is just an adaptation of Lifeboat. Character development could have been a little better, I didn't feel as invested in any of the characters as I felt I should have. Generally I did enjoy it, I probably will not watch is again, but I would recommend it to anyone