lukepic123 Reviews

Star Trek (2009)

The only direction star trek could go

[10/10 · 27 May 2009]

It's more generic than any star trek movie before, it doesn't break new ground in STAR TREK storytelling because the plot isn't quite as deep as others have been. Forgetting the deepness of the plot we get the first chance to see the startrek universe in all it's glory with spectacular effects and lovely sets. The direction style is brilliant, your sucked into the film very early on, in fact the first scene sucks you in and doesn't let you go after. This has never been achieved in any star trek film before now except maybe first contact but again wasn't half as intense as this. You look at where startrek has taken us with all the series and movies, basically JJ Abrams looked at it all and decided to give more of what you wanted which is action and for startrek to be given the full money treatment. He succeeded in making a greatly entertaining and pleasure to watch film. You will find startrek fans who see the original startrek for how it was and aren't open to the slightest of style change, you will probably find the film hard to stomach. This is because the fact is after Nemesis (which i liked btw) there was no where else to go with the TNG crew, and basically all the series have had long runs and what else could be done? I think what this movie has achieved is showing not only a general audience these wonderful original series characters but because of the new cast gives the chance of fans to see new sides of the crew, a prequel was definitely the way to go and with the curse of sci-fi prequels always failing startrek had a difficult job but they did it, this is the best prequel I've ever seen which didn't suck in a way which upsets and ruins franchises. This is because the people who made this film cared, when you watch this film you see care and time that has been put into making it right.

The cast, they were all brilliant. Kirk won't win you over at first, basically he has to grow into becoming Kirk which by the end he does. Spock is fantastic, Quinto brought Spock new levels of character and has made him into an even more interesting character than ever before. McCoy was almost like the original and this is perfect, McCoy was by far capturing the original spirit of the character to the full. The rest were likable and great to watch, well casted. Only thing I'd also say is you have to get used to Chekov's ULTRA thick Russian accent, i kinda laughed a little when i first heard it but once your used to it he's good too.

Going back to the plot, it is rather linier in it's design but the clever thing about it is how it manages to make the film fit in with canon.

In conclusion it's a startrek movie for everyone go and see it, enjoy it and save picking holes for later, Star Trek is back and it's wonderful!

Dreamscape (2009)

Fast paced and well made.

[9/10 · 6 June 2008]

This is a very well made film with fascinating visual effects, top direction and quite a complicated story but you will get it fully once you have watched it a couple of times. Not to give anything away the film starts off really quickly and hooks you into the world of Dreamscape. There's plenty of plot twists to keep the story alive too. The CGI is very well executed and not too over used, this helps keep things believable.

The acting is impressive and the soundtrack is a huge factor of this film that really stands out, it helps keep the film rolling and helps move the action along with the catchy guitar beat. I just read in the trivia that the all the audio had to be dubbed after so hats off to that because that must have been tough doing all of the audio and you can't notice it either! I would give Dreamscape a full ten if it wasn't for one tiny con which was the film being in Black and White, in my opinion I don't think that suits a science fiction aspect of the movie and I would have loved to have seen some of those great visuals in colour. Apart from that this is a very solid production and has a great show of talent which really shows. The ending to thrillers isn't always satisfying and I have to say that this film really ended on the right note (not giving any spoilers). I here of an extended cut too and hope to see that one day.

9/10

Titanic: The Legend Goes On... (2000)

This is animated movies at their worst.

[2/10 · 29 May 2008]

I had some hope for this movie being any good but to be honest it's kind of disturbing how badly made animated films can get. For a start off the historical inaccuracy is really unforgivable, I won't bother to elaborate too much on this aspect because the list is very long. I will point out the biggest history flaw which is the rapping dog, in 1912 rap music didn't exist. The simplistic plot has no appeal to anyone at all and the love story is just like sticking masking tape over something to try and make it stick together. Nothing really fits together properly, the characters are as bland as they are drawn and clearly no thought has been put into the script. The dialogue isn't just corny because I can handle corny but just plainly unbelievable, one line in the movie is when the ship has almost sunk someone on the lifeboat says "don't worry everything is going to be fine", this is almost taking the Mick really. Over a thousand people are dying on a sinking ship and it's freezing, is that a realistic line? The best part of this film is the music just in case your wondering the piano isn't bad at all but beware of the Mexican mice and rapping dog.

Animation, now when watching a cartoon you expect the frame-rate to stay consistent throughout but for Titanic the legend goes with slow frame-rates really antagonises audiences from slowing down frame-rates in random places. The character animations are the most sloppiest I've seen in a long while and also colouring in some scenes makes the continuity bad. I noticed in the credits the many people who worked on animation and final checking, there were about ten "final checkers", did they actually watch the movie through and it get's worse next for editing.

Editing. I have never seen scenes repeated over and over to this extent in a movie before except in some cheap comedy sketch. There were five editors and the best they could have come up with was to repeat the same scenes just to make it up to full length. It's just plain lazy, all those people working on this movie and they have to repeat scenes. It makes the film flow just confusing and at one point it looks as if the ship has almost sunk and then suddenly they switch to another angle and the ship hasn't hardly sunk. Slowing down scenes, repeating scenes all this I think was done to try and get the movie to be full length which the movie still isn't.

Until they added the longest credits ever known in history, these credits basically showed names every two minutes while repeating the whole movie over, it's laughable. This movie is hard for any child, adult or any alike to enjoy this at all. In conclusion if your looking for the worst animated film ever and want a good laugh I recommend it, that's why it got two stars from me. But anyone who wants to watch a truly decent animated film that isn't a real waste, your going to have to look somewhere else. Those seeking a Titanic film which is fine for children to watch I recommend "A Night to Remember".

Plot = 1/10 Animation = 3/10 Voice acting = 2/10 Music = 5/10 Entertainment value = 1/10 (For a laugh 9/10) Overall = 2/10

Rambo (2008)

Horrorific, yet I swear it has a pulse.

[8/10 · 3 April 2008]

Rambo is nothing short of one of the most blood thirsty movies to hit the cinemas in a while. Sly has decided he would not only direct but also write this one, on his behalf he could have given the plot a little more depth.

Apart from the slightly 2D plot there are some great tag lines in this movie and some terrific acting and sly does Rambo perfect as usual. The action is very solid, even though the movie is super blood thirsty with unbearable gore there is a pulse to the film which stops you from tearing away from the screen which really makes this film powerful.

Apparently the actions of the Burmise soldiers and the killing of villagers is a true and actually happening. But this film did seem like they used this "true" story thing and took it as the perfect excuse to be able to plow as much violence as possible in Rambo and get away with it.

I gave this a 7 and even though I though a lot of the content was too much for an action film the film is superbly made and I think Sly did a great job at directing. Every explosion and shot will make your heart miss a beat because every time it's horrific. This is a powerful movie but without the good direction, acting and horrible gore the plot is too shallow. Overall I would only recommend Rambo to a very selected audience who have very strong stomachs and will not be offended by violence.

Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned (2007) Season 4, Episode 0

One of the better Christmas specials.

[8/10 · 7 January 2008]

I was fairly disappointed with the last Christmas special (co-starring the comedian) and I wasn't expecting too much from this either. Well it wasn't too bad at all, this is a great and fresh instalment into the Xmas specials. The story is strong as usual and the idea of the space titanic wasn't too silly as I had first thought, it felt a little like the Poseidon adventure in parts of the episode but this isn't a bad thing. The acting is another plus here, some new interesting characters that the doctor meets and quite a few deaths also which I was surprised by. Overall the latest entry into doctor who is certainly worth a viewing and I just hope that series 4 won't be ruined by the comedian... 8/10

Hitman (I) (2007)

Agent 47, your film is a success do you agree?

[10/10 · 3 December 2007]

Yes... Another video game adaption, this time starring Tim Olyphant (best known for his role in Deadwood) is 47, to my pleasant surprise he pulls off playing the role of the hardened, bar coded assassin pretty darn well. The action is blood thirsty and there are a lot of bone crunching killings, none of the gore is tamed. The story wasn't too bad, the conspiracy is well thought out but what isn't is the dialogue. The only thing that seriously let's this film down is the weak lines that have been given to characters. Especially Dougray Scott's lines. Moving on from that minor down side, there is some dark humour in some scenes which will amuse and topless Russian girls. I enjoyed this film greatly, it's a fun action film and if you haven't played the games and love action films go ahead see this. This is one of the best video game to film adaptations to date.

Firefly (2002–2003)

Loved every minute, and they didn't make no more. *sniff*

[10/10 · 18 October 2007]

Making a good sci-fi show is a challenge, you have to get the right balance of good solid characters, stories, concept and a lot more which you can find out your self by watching this show. What was achieved here was the perfect use of western/ sci-fi put together ever. The characters are complex not just plain simple, stories are well thought out and most episodes are great fun. Acting is superb in this show, I can't think of scene in this series that could have been acted better.

Visual effects looks fantastic, the realism of silence in space is kept here which is a strange different to most other sci-fi shows. No warp drive "whoosh" sounds i'm afraid. With only 15 episodes and a movie to keep watching over and over, I think Mal and the crew need another movie or series which they certainly deserve.

Transformers (2007)

Wow, that was a nice surprise.

[10/10 · 21 July 2007]

With such a high rating on IMDb and the promising advert I just had to go and see this. Expecting it to be a cheap remake of the cartoon I found it a lot different. In a good way!

Reasons why to see this:

• The best visual effects this summer.

• The best humour in an action movie.

• Giant robots! - Fast and fun! Reasons not: - Slightly cheesy.

• Maybe a little to action sequence orientated for some.

As you can see the reasons to see it out way the reasons not, so see this movie. Highly Recommended.

Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)

Fun! But without so much dialogue & younger appeal.

[7/10 · 16 April 2007]

This kind of thing usually works in a Bean movie, with actions expressing what is going on. But, after watching the first film it was odd without the jokes coming from other characters which also helps the movie. Moving away from the first movie, this film is fun and less rude than its predecessor (no sexual jokes or hospital operations performed by Bean) which is a lot better for kids. It's nice to see a different approach to Bean with a kid in the supporting role which actually worked well here (which was very surprising). Every Bean movie has to have Teddy and sadly HE WAS NOT FEATURED which is a shame for the Bean finale and one critical scene which was featured in the advert when Bean fills his coffee up from the broken laptop is funny but never made the final cut in the movie for some reason (proberly because Sony sponsored it and it doesn't make their laptops look robust) stupid advertising. No matter, Mr Bean's Holiday is a great family adventure which will suit children of all ages. Instead of taking the mick out France as done in Johnney English they have given it a promotive look instead. In conclusion I personally enjoyed the first Bean the best but this is still a decent Bean addition but in my view not a finale to Bean, he deserves one more film (with Teddy). All the best to review readers!

Sunshine (2007)

A cross between Event Horizon and a low budget Armaggedon

[6/10 · 16 April 2007]

I was expecting a huge big budget movie, but I had not seen the trailer before seeing the movie. Maybe it would have been a good idea if I had. So, they are on a spaceship and for some reason the sun has decided to go out, I don't remember why it was but oh well, throughout the movie the characters die off by either being burnt alive or stabbed by a scary (blurred out and by the way they blur the monster out the whole time he is on the screen) horrible thing that apparently spent a couple of years with God or something. The CGI is great and the sound is brilliant, this year the movie with the best sound has to be this one. The surround mix is scary and works well with giving you a solid experience in space. The story maybe a bit disappointing, good idea though wanting to re-ignite the sun but with the some strange parts to it, suddenly you find yourself in Event Horizon, although it the idea behind it is very Armaggedon style. For those of you horror lovers and people who like non-scientific science fiction this will work well. Even without the huge budget of Amaggedon, it has earned it's self some respect with sound and CGI effects.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999)

Deep Space Nine.

[10/10 · 16 April 2007]

This is a great sci-fi and really works well in all dimensions, Sisko makes a great lead role in this series Avery was just perfect for the part, no other actor would have worked. The characters fan out pretty well throughout the seasons, they may have got a shaky start but by the end of season 3 things were rolling great. There is some real differences in this series from other trek, is that you see some nice war scenes and this trek has more sexual moments than any other star trek ever. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys sci-fi, action and great stories. Quark is one of the characters that doubles up as the comedian in the program, with some hilarious laugh out loud episodes it just fits in great. There is not much that DS9 doesn't have and with around 170 episodes, not much could not be missed out of the series. DS9 is a nice contrast of sci-fi and drama which blends great.

Lost in Space (1965–1968)

Started off serious ended as a comedy, still fun!

[7/10 · 31 March 2007]

The series was at the beginning a serious and great science fiction by Irwin Allen (Time Tunnel and VTBS). But later in the series to compete with other programs e.g. Batman, it got turned into some kind of comedy. That is fine for some but it was a little disappointing for me when I rented the DVD box-set of it. It actually felt like an entirely different series. For those lovers of old time classics and fun, this is for you. Special effects look pretty dated (1965) what are you going to expect.

In conclusion if you are looking for serious sci-fi that is classic, Star Trek or Time Tunnel (If you like Irwin Allen). This is a nice light hearted bit of fun that will promise to make you smile. Great classic.

Please Teacher! (2002)

I never watched these kind of things before

[10/10 · 14 March 2007]

I don't quite know how but while I was surfing the net I came across a random advert for "Please Teacher" first thoughts it was an episode of Pokemon. Well I decided to watch an episode of it and I was surprised and joyed to find out its not yet another kids cartoon. Its something that I never watched before, a Japanise cartoon with a more adult theme and less repetitive. The series was well spaced out over 12 episodes and an extra one which just gives you a nice little extra.

Anyway focusing on the series, its a story revolving around a teenager who falls in love an alien teacher (believe it or not, hence the name). So after you are introduced to the character etc. it begins to unfold in a various variety of events that challenge their relationship and other around them. I was hooked on this from beginning to end and so by the sounds of it so were many others.

In conclusion, I'm no anime nerd and if you never have watched one of these adult themed cartoons I would recommend this one for sure. A great contrast of characters and fun story line. Well don't just take it from me go and watch it and make your judgement on it.

All the best to review readers. Luke.

Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride (2006) Season 3, Episode 0

Am I Bothered?

[2/10 · 3 March 2007]

I was waiting the whole episode for that line form Catherine Tate. Now casting her as a doctor who assistant was a bit of an error on the director of casting. After watching that series of Catherine Tate show i just could not take her seriously. The Tardis going down the motorway was also a bit daft! I hope the rest of the series will be better than this, story was stupid too. Its been through the good old throw in a bad joke and you get some ratings thing. Another major disappointment was seeing the stupid Santa clause robots, we have seen them once I wanted something new! Oh well, better luck next time doctor. Looking forward to series 3.

Saints and Soldiers (2003)

Brilliant and a new scope for low budget movies.

[10/10 · 8 February 2007]

After watching this movie, and then looking up what budget it had i realized what an extraordinary achievement it was. The director managed to recreate the battle of buldge pretty well. The snow, vechles, uniforms and weapons are all accurate and correct. The story is pretty good aswel, even though the film is short you still have enough time to get to know the characters a bit. The special effects were brilliant and the scenes well timed.

In conclusion this movie may no have had to huge budget of Saving Ryan or the big name cast of Black Hawk Down but its certainly earned its place with the top class WW2 movies. The less detailed gore is in this movie an asset to it, since your not overwhelmed by gore and blood. This gives you a nice chance to focus on the characters and story. Over all 10/10. Recommend it to anyone who loves war and action.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

The Best Sci-fi in my opinion.

[10/10 · 27 January 2007]

Star Trek has been going for 40 years and the most inspiring movie that they ever made is this one. The origin of warp drive, in every episode they say "warp speed" now in first contact we see how it was discovered. The plot of this movie 100% gold, the battle scenes are well coordinated and are good fun. A strong script and featuring Picard's worse enemy The Borg! I've watched this movie over and over again. Every time I think its brilliant, TNG really got there best moments in this film.

Jon Frakes really got it right in this film, unlike "Thunderbirds" stick with trek JF! In conclusion this is (in my opinion) the best sci-fi movie ever. If you are looking for a deep, solid and action sci-fi. First contact is your movie. I have shown this movie to many people who are not trek fans and they enjoyed it a lot. Highly Recommended.

Little Britain: Little Britain Abroad: Part 1 (2006) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

A Good Laugh

[10/10 · 27 January 2007]

Little Britain has certainly put itself in the book of legendary comedies. This last instalment was not actually set in Britain (at all) which is a nice change. They manage to find a lot of humour in foreign things. I was pleased to see that nearly all the characters were featured in this two parter.

At Xmas its nice to see a good comedy, even though LB is kind of getting old now. This approach to it was quite new and fresh, I enjoyed it and so did the rest of my family. If there are going to be anymore made they will need to find another approach to the series to make it new and fresh again, Amazing how us Brits can get in everywhere!

ChuckleVision (1987–2009)

The new Laurel and Hardy that happen to be from the north.

[10/10 · 25 January 2007]

CBBC has shown some rubbish e.g. Tracy Beaker, my kids seem to find entertainment in that depressed program. But then they showed chucklevision, it actually made me laugh! It reminds me so much of the 1920's Laurel and Hardy, the way they play off of each other is just funny. You say this program only suits the younger kids, nonsense this is CBBC at its best. Paul and Barry are TV legends that have kept going through out the years.

Laurel and Hardy maybe gone but least we have the chuckle brothers to keep us entertained in the same classic fashion. In conclusion I hope chucklevison will continue for many years to come. Paul and Barry i solute you!

Star Trek: Hidden Frontier (2000–2007)

Good but it could be great

[10/10 · 19 January 2007]

With the amount of actors they have working on the project they have a wide variety of cast. Nice starship CGI in places BUT their green screen needs some work. Anyone heard of Adobe After Effects 7, they should buy it get their keying better.

Stories are well thought out, plenty of trek elements in this to keep it in the right context. BUT BUT the idea of two guys kissing makes me wind forward the episode. Im not homophobic but i cant help that i don't find men kissing entertaining (dont mind women). Anyway... For a fan series this is good stuff. With minor improvement in their green screen, brush up acting and some guidance ratings this series is stunning. Anyway i recommend this series to who ever enjoyed TNG and DS9.

8 Mile (2002)

Eminem is multi talented.

[7/10 · 10 December 2006]

Not only a successful rapper but he also got a bit of Tom Hanks also, meaning he can act! Wow! I thought this movie would be the worst junk ever, I've seen other rappers films they were terrible. But this is different, or it may also help that Eminem has a good supporting cast. Well the movie itself is a mixture of rap battles, street life and plenty of the F word. Overall the film story revolves around Eminem who plays a rap chap who battles other rap chaps. So its the plot of him doing his rap stuff with his "Homies" in other words his friends. I would recommend this film to all Eminem fans and others who like Rap like Doc Dre etc. Only down side its boring after you have watched once through so don't buy the DVD unless you love Eminem.

Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)

Its yet another adventure for Willy.

[3/10 · 10 December 2006]

Well, here we go again. The blonde dude is getting older and so it Willy time for one more adventure I think. This film wouldn't be so down rated it it maybe had been the second instalment. By now we have seen enough of the same stuff. In Willy 1 it was kind of boring and in 2 it was a little better but nothing too exciting, apart front he exploding boat of oil. So I would suggest watching number 1 (If you like wales) and number 2 (If you really love wales). But if you don't pass on by the whole lot of them. This is the final instalment, if your desperate for Willy watch, if not... Watch Spykids. Not saying thats any better either.

Free Willy (1993)

A Wale of a tale, that just makes you sleep.

[4/10 · 10 December 2006]

They say the critics this movie is the best family film around, i believed them until i saw it. Boring, its fun when he's playing around with his wale buddy but this kind of film has just not been made to its full potential. Most of the film was centred around the emotional struggles of the child and a wale that is just there. Apart from dragging on and being a bit boring. The good side to it is that kids love the bit when wale is suffering, I know it sounds strange and its not very nice but maybe its because the main excitement is happening when something bad is happening to Willy. Kids today, I'm saying thats a good point only because kids enjoyed it. Overall the film itself has a spectacular display of wale effects etc. But before you buy the DVD have in mind that it wont be the amazing best ever family adventure. If your looking for that pass on past this one. Recommended to people who also like animal movies. And kids.

Sonic X (2003–2006)

Average Kids TV Show

[6/10 · 28 November 2006]

I've seen sonic underground, it was awful, those high pitched voice overs and stupid songs made the series Nintendo reject rubbish. So now they brought out another video game on this blue hedgehog, its better and is not quite as stupid as underground. Quite fun, although it could have done with better ideas than sonic blowing up everything in his path. Some fun episodes but after a while it gets repetitive and you start to wonder if you have seen this episode. I recommend it to any sonic fans. For others you might aswel watch something else.

Story: 6.7 Effects: 8.0 Sound: 6.8 Lasting Appeal: 5.0 Overall = 6.5 / 10

Doctor Who: Love & Monsters (2006) Season 2, Episode 10

Lets just call this a different approach to Doctor Who.

[6/10 · 17 July 2006]

Doctor Who episodes always follow from the Doctor or Roses' point of view. This made a different change, but i seem to find that children didn't like it so much. They want to see more Doctor not a different person.

Adults will find this episode a different and nice change to the usual episode. But still nothing like a normal Doctor Who episode. Russal Davis had a good crack at writing this one, he took a chance a writing something slightly different for the series as a kind of test, somehow i don't think there will be any more of these kind of episodes.

6/10

Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks: Part One (1975) Season 12, Episode 11

Darleks at their best

[10/10 · 24 May 2006]

Brilliant story, explains it all from the word go. Tom BAker leads this episode with the best SFX I've seen I'm Tom baker's episodes.

Davros (ugly looking guy) the creator of the Darleks has his first appearance in this. This adventure is brilliant i recommend the DVD 100% to sci-fi lovers. Bit violent for younger kids but apart from that its perfect, the BBC have achieved some great stuff including this I hope they can produce new episodes with Tennant that were as fun as this.

Not many down sides to this, in some ways this beats the most recent Darlek flick with Ecclston. Nothing like a good hide behind the sofa to watch Genisis of the Darleks, EXTERMINATE!!