Sherparsa

Yes, as said in the title, i rarely give a movie 10*s unless it's REALLY good! And especially when it's a simple movie on the surface yet deeply moving in some ways ...

here's a comment someone put under this movie in YouTube Movies channel:

"This movie will break your effing heart, and put it back together in a grand way! It kicks you in the feels for sure-if you don't end up loving it, then ask the Wizard of Oz for a ❤ because you don't have one."

very well said ... couldn't have said it myself any better, could i? That's why i stole and shared it here ... if one has a young daughter or son, a beloved young one who one can't afford to lose in a war or be hurt by anyone or anything, then watch this 'little' movie!

5*s for the atmospheric cinematography and a potentially good story too ...

but the end of the movie not actually showing what was going on on the other side of the fence leaves the viewer not so much in suspense really as rather left in the dark ...

i read in another review that the tags belonged to people from the other side, who were trying to get to this side, which we see in the movie and it's already worse than hell perhaps ... so, in the end, when Freya sees the other side at least and finds out it's not the heaven she thought it is, she runs away back home ...

yes, i got that too, via how Freya's bewildered and scared looks tell the story instead of the movie actually showing us what was going on there ... and the reviewer also mentions those mysterious tags left from the people from the other side while they were trying to escape to this, horrible, side but they were killed by the Riders as we see in one scene ...

ok, fine, but if so, then why were those trying to escape to the -better- side also still on this side, when we see the wind turbines farm still on the other side of the fence? Did the makers of this movie forget something? Or the reviewer is not right?

Yes, i did give it 7*s but it's worth no more than 5*s imo ... (the extra 2*s is for the actual story, which is n barely a masterpiece, but coming from a so-called mostly forgotten now "philosopher", then it certainly does have some value of its own ...

watched this part (plus the other two) by accident mostly while the title, Atlas Shrugged, did sound familiar because after seeing Ayn Rand's name on the titles i remembered having read a thing or two here and there about it while following info about her years ago online ...

can't say the movie is not well made, after all, Ayn Rand was an actress and into cinema herself for a while before 'retiring' to writing and philosophy and stuff, but as some others have also noted, this kind of story is not quite fit to the daily style of cheap tv series even though it's tried not to be cheap really and has succeeded in some parts to do it right ... (the music is "cheap" in some scenes actually ... this kind of music is great for most watered-down sentimental soap opera shows many housewives would probably love to watch ... but not for this kind of story really ...)

the little i know about Ayn Rand, which is visible in this tv mini-series depiction of the story, she was a critique of socialism if i'm not mistaken ... and she did that at the beginning of the height of the Cold War era in the late 1940s ~ early 1950s ... nothing wrong with that ... but the 'version' of socialism she criticizes here (if the screenplay has done its job well enough that is, has it?) has been criticized by many others before and after Ayn Rand just as well ... there's nothing new in it really ...

then comes the defending of crony capitalism vs outdated socialism, which is also one of the 'mistakes' anyone fed up with American-style socialism (or socialism in general) might make, and --again-- if i've known Ayn Rand's views correctly, then she's no exception to the rule herself ...

then there is that old-fashioned not-quite-right nineteenth-century view of 'Technology is the solution to humanity's ALL problems!' that is still prevalent today in the first quarter of the twenty-first century, and sounds like it's going to stay forever, at least for as long as crony capitalism and fascist corporatism plus a failed version of socialism ruled under the wrong version of liberalism governed by MONEY TALKS is going to stay in power ...

long story short, the story is noteworthy, no doubt in that, and the movie itself isn't that bad (if we ignore its flaws) but the fact that all characters change from episode to episode, made me feel badly lost in the process! So, on the last episode, three, i just quit worrying about working out who was who (in case of secondary characters) and sat there (not quite) enjoying the show as pure entertainment only simply because there was not much food for thought left really ... i just wanted to see how it ends ... which i didn't quite like really ... so, if there's going to be more episodes coming later, turning the whole thing into mere superficial action scenes like most scifi garbage we see all the time, i'm sure i wouldn't be watching it ... Ayn Rand is dead, and so is this tv mini-series if it grows to a big series lasting for years ...

Glad you asked the question that's in the title of this mini review ... (although i'm sure you didn't ...) ;-)

if anyone knows anything about the Amiga computers that (actually changed the way personal computers should work, and) ruled the world of small desktop and portable computers of the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, the game this movie is based on was first released for that platform in 1989 ...

there isn't much playability in that game and the graphics, although great in presenting the mood of the story, aren't much in graphical quality either ... but it is a game one loves to play perhaps mostly because of its strange nostalgic feel of typical small American desert towns aura at least ...

the game also has a great opening with music, sound, camera tracking motion and a super duper VO, which, until that time at least, had never been seen anything like it in the computer games world ... (that opening scene's animation and many of the screenshots from the 'hollowed' game are shown in the end titling of this movie ...)

all in all, i did enjoy this movie to some extent for its intentionally stupid story and happenings etc, but wasn't going to give it more than 5 *s anyways ... yet after seeing its end titling and the direct reference to that famous (Amiga) game, i changed my mind ... :-)

And that's when things may or may not work right for either party involved in a romantic relationship ...

yes, the woman here is abusive, compulsive, controlling, obsessive, manipulative and all that perhaps ... she's even quite tall with a towering height for the 'average' woman ... but she also holds the upper hand in being more mature, knowledgeable, creative and all than the little guy who's still playing silly childish games with his chums ... the woman does that too at times, but well, she's also still quite young after all ...

and believe it or not, 'love' does require some sacrifice, doesn't it ... if the young man truly wants this lovely woman, then so be it, now you have to accept her terms ... does she want too much? Fine! Then just leave her in a polite friendly manner without breaking her heart or being cruel (she loves you too, remember?) and go on living your own childish suicidal *Nirvana* lifestyle ... at least, she does accept her own faults and weaknesses just as well, doesn't she? She is willing to work on herself, so why not you too!?

The only question, however, is, why in the first place this 'superior' woman falls for such an 'inferior' kind of man?

If it's just a passing short fling, then why do both of them want to go on doing it with a newborn child on the way too? And why doesn't the man realize that he is the more quiet introvert one when it comes to discussing big and small matters in the couple's life, while the extrovert she is willing to talk about everything and make all things clear among the two?

Personally, after having gone through nearly three decades of living with a woman who has quietly manipulated me all along, (with me allowing, rather even encouraging her to do so!) i'd rather deal with a woman like the one in this move, who doesn't hide behind a huge thick veil of silence playing innocent ...

i'd rather deal with a woman who opens up her mouth and if needed, insults me too, but also talks her heart out and lets me know what's going on ... yes, she is so badly mistaken at times (because she just needs a husband and doesn't care who it's going to be as long as he's there for her?) but again, she does accept her flaws without forgetting that she's not the only flawed person in this relationship ... isn't that what the guy should do too? But even in the end she doesn't quite understand what's going on as he's still into sports (as a 'professional' fan mostly) and bars and that kind of juvenile stuff ... nothing wrong with that of course but that's barely what the woman likes to do and be ...

so, please pay full attention and listen dear young man: if she's not your type, then you're not her type either!

So, either just grow up and accept her with all her weaknesses (yes, she's strong, but she also does suffer from certain missed items!) or again, as said already, simply let go of her, forgive both her and yourself, and go on your own merry way as before! She may feel lost for a while but she's mature and brave enough not to be hurt badly!

Missing title: Blade Runner mixed up with Nikita ...

and a really good mix-up at that too imo!

BR's an undying masterpiece of course and Nikita's original version by Luc Besson's just good for its story as i preferred the two 'cheaper yet more thorough' tv series based on the same story way more than Luc Besson's original ... (yes, i'm kinda weird if you love Besson and hate the two tv series of the same story for the usual 'tv bad / movie good reasons ... i also like BR's producer cut with the VO more than director's cut, which i also like anyways ...) ;-)

i rarely give 10********** to a movie, and this one's actually more like a 7~9 ... but it also feels like a 10, you know, like when the weather t° as shown by the thermometer is one thing, but due to other factors such as humidity, wind and so on, it feels more like another temperature slightly or sometimes a lot below or above the actual one ... that kinda thing ... :-)

well worth the time spent watching it, especially when most Netflix-produced movies and series usually are a bit on the lackluster side of the deal ...

What's wrong with Hollywood?

Yes, this is a Netflix-produced movie, but don't they all follow Hollywood protocols and age-old cliche' after all? And when they do that, why don't they go after good Hollywood movies with less flaws in story and everything?

Yes, the decor and props and high-tech looks of this movie are all ok, but the story of this movie is not justified properly ...

for example, why did the 4th guy, the Black man, stow himself away in the spacecraft? Was there an explanation for that in the movie but i missed it? If he wanted to 'see space up close' then why was he scared at first and wanted to go back to his beloved sister right away after he was discovered hiding there? Who locked him inside that chamber in the first place as it was securely screwed in from the outside not the inside!?

Or, if survival resources were limited there, oxygen more than anything else, wouldn't they all have similar problems after getting to Mars in the end? Or were there a fancy resort with hotels and casinos waiting for them in Mars Vegas welcoming wealthy space tourists like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to go spend their bitcoins there?

Couldn't the crew keep the uninvited guest alive by sedating him in a safe manner so he'd be mostly motionless consuming less air and food etc, kind of like a cryogenic sleep, which one expects an advanced spacecraft like that should already have built in?

And last but not least: the Oriental guy loves jazz music but the Black American guy whose ancestors created jazz music in the 19th century didn't know a thing about that? Really? C'mon! Who writes this kind of script? And why? Am i missing something there too? Was there some kind of coded social commentary or something going on here?

Yes, that's been my question for so long ...

ok, we have big-production A class movies out there that fail too ...

but if low cost quickly made productions mean even more mediocre movies, then what about so many B movies, especially in classic cinema (and i don't just mean in the film noir genre) that have turned out to be masterpieces!? (even at the time they were made and not just after they were 'discovered' decades later ...)

this Encounter movie here (among many others with either the exact same title or with their titles containing the same word) has a really nice emotional story ... maybe a repeat of some other movies stories, fine, but it's well thought ... and using a few nice touches here and there, it's almost well done too ...

and that's the point here: that "almost" thing that is probably the root of this little movie's relative failure ... which comes from two things among others imo:

1. Mediocre acting

2. Extreme sentimentality

and let's add to it somewhat lousy character development as well ... which is done mostly because of applying either unnecessarily cliche' dialogs where inappropriate, and/or loose direction ... or when certain characters keep getting misplaced, which might be on purpose maybe, ok, but why it's still confusing?

So, again, as said already, let's repeat it in reverse order now:

it's not just cheesy B movies that often fail to deliver as the old saying goes, especially when it comes to new Netflix / Amazon Studios / Syfy etc videos because of their low production budgets causing them to end up cheapo, it's also quite often the A movies that also do fail despite the extremely high budget wasted on 'creating' them ... examples: quite a number of Steven Spielberg movies, especially his early works like the Jaws ... or Close Encounter of the Third Kind ... big production, small movies ... but in case of the latter example, the viewer also gets to enjoy some top of the class (almost) SFX at least ... some 'fun' ... as in the really likable movie E. T. or The Jurassic Park among others ...

Been a while i haven't reviewed any movies in IMDb ...

why did i do it then?

'cause this movie, which btw, is not a masterpiece but it's not too bad either from the VP of movie making and direction etc, made me believe even more that well, yes, technology is not man's best friend (and no, dogs aren't either necessarily! Not all the time at least anyways ...)

but when some people aren't street smart enough, then even staying home watching tv or doing everyday house chores could be a dangerous experience for them let alone hitting the road in a state of the art super-smart 'fool'-proof vehicle that is potentially a deathtrap if one doesn't know how to handle it properly!

I mean, dear beautiful sexy young blonde mom who happended to be a professional singer not so long ago until she got pregnant and gave birth to a lovely little boy thus quit singing, please listen: yes, you do admit yourself you're not so good with technology, but that doesn't mean when you hit an obstacle on a dirt road far from civilization, whether it's just a piece of rock or some innocent animal, you should just stay there stuck to the thing you ran over with your car accidentally and then get out of the car lamenting your 'crime' while you have passed on the smart car's remote control to a toddler strapped to a booster seat in the back seat to play with and have fun, capisce!?

You simply back out first, keep the remote to yourself, and then either get out to examine your wrongdoing, or simply drive away at that late hour in the evening and forget about your mistake, because they do happen! And then can happen to everybody, former singer or not!

MPF!

How come i gave a movie i didn't like at first 10 ********** ?

Can't believe it myself either! :D

in fact, i didn't like this movie to the very end scene either because it's so corny and badly made, especially in the mediocre quality Betamax copy i watched, many times during watching i just wondered why don't i skip this bull and switch to another movie?

But in the very end, i just realized all the cheesiness and skunk at work here was actually on purpose! Hence the rise of no stars / one star to ten stars ... ;-)

a question: is there a blood relationship between James Landis and John Landis? There could be you know ... John Landis movies, early ones in particular, do have such a funky quality to them too ...

But only because this movie is so cheezzy it sits on your nerves as well as makes you laugh uncontrollably at times ... :D

Please note: typOs are Ententional! ;-)

... or Jim Jarmusch and Roman Polanski team up (with some help from Stephen King?) to do a remake of the Payton Place perhaps?

yes, X Files is also mostly garbage ... but at least there are a few notably funny or worth watching episodes in it after all ...

does FBI indirectly provide the budget for 'ghostly / UFO / mystery' movies and tv series like this so as to justify that agency's overall failure at solving some crimes? (if so, then how about similar works that involve the CIA and other similar agencies just as well?)

i mean, ok, mystery can be 'fun' and we see such movies and tv series A LOT these days ... but why most of them (namely this one) suck simply because they are a rip-off of similar ones, especially when they are badly failed flicks based on the more famous and tolerably good ones!?

why 90% of the answers to the questions in this series are so easily predictable? is that something the creators wanted on purpose? (i doubt so!) or is it because they just failed at making the unknown remain just as unknown as it was supposed to be in the first place?

some social commentary here is surely good: corruption, both in the political as well as in the social structures, incest, crime lords of all kinds (both domestic as well as foreign) ... but don't we see that in so many other movies too?

references to ancient lore and mystical or spiritual cultures are fine, but using them in such a childish manner isn't ... or is it?

the main reason i watched this series (and watched ALL episodes of ALL seasons btw, hoping maybe the last episode will pay for my wasted time at last, which it didn't!) was because reading reviews on some other works had references to David Lynch's Twin Peaks and it did arouse my curiosity because i have seen other not too bad movies of his too ... but, well, ... now i have nothing to add here but words like "overrated" and "failed attempt" and things like that ... so glad it wasn't more than three seasons causing me waste more time than i did already!

i'm just wondering would i be interested in seeing the sequels and the latest remake? or the Twin Peaks Actually Explained (No, Really) documentary on YouTube, which happens to be more than 4 hours 35 minutes btw! don't think so!

Is this movie too short, or does it feel like that only because i saw the other two tv series based on the same story before this one? probably it's just that: two much longer tv series make even this long (nearly 2 hours) movie seem not so long after all ...

the story is of course intriguing but in my personal view, the series with the goddess Peta Wilson as Nikita, gets more in depth into the story and Nikita's character as well as other characters than even this one, which tries doing the same thing but doesn't succeed as much, possibly due to what just said: the tv series, both, are longer and have more time to explore more stuff ...

i also find the plot as well as the events etc quite flawed in some respects but overall, this is surely a powerful story despite all the odds of course ... and not Luc Besson's best work imo but it sure has some fine moments ...

Okey dokey, first i have to admit i didn't watch this movie under the best of circumstances really, on the free Filmrise Sci-fi channel, where one can find all kinds of movies, from extremely mediocre to uber masterpieces of the industry, at the expense of being interrupted every few minutes to be tortured by mostly badly made and annoying ads that --luckily enough-- aren't played in their full versions at that, much to the relative relief of the viewer of course! ;-)

long story short, reading some of the 7***+ as well as all the -4*** reviews here, i just have to agree with the latter ones!

longer story cut even shorter, please let me finish the blah with the following statement:

"You can be a smarty-pants director, but that won't matter if the movie doesn't work emotionally as well as intellectually." - Todd Haynes

Ok, i'm more than a couple of decades too late doing it but i think i have to do this review:

we don't see action movies or tv series offering some deep emotional and beautiful romance uncontaminated with cheap commercialism everyday ... but this one has done a good job at that ... (even though the makers of this series did fall into that pit quite a number of times with at least one episode almost totally done for wardrobe showoff rather than good story ...)

the story's basis is really fine although its logic is highly erratic in many instances but the humanitarian message is so good and well put one can simply ignore the many shortcomings rampant all over ...

and that Nikita character / Pita Wilson supermodel actress ... WOW! what do we have here: an angel? a goddess? a brave queen-warrior with a heart of gold to die for as a self-sacrificing knight who believes in fighting for her in order to save humanity? or is she just an irresistible both-brain-and-flawless-beauty woman playing difficult roles professionally? i guess a combination of all that and more (for which i can't find proper words) is the better answer ... if it weren't for her exceptional beauty and near-perfect acting i wouldn't have binge-watched the entire 96 episodes almost non-stop as i'm not quite into action movies after all ... simply put, Pita 'Nikita' Wilson is PRICELESS! and that's why this series is well worth a keep in digital format or even DVD ...

Yes, this entire series may (or may not) be an exact replica of an American or European soap, perhaps even copied line by line as well as shot by shot ...

it's also full of script flaws and plot errors here and there ... actings, although mostly great, do also degrade once a while in some cases ... but the whole work is so finely directed and professionally videographed and above all, the well stated social commentary is so deep yet so plainly conveyed that I have nothing to say but for i am highly impressed!

yes, i already knew Lebanon is a secular country with very charming people and I was also well aware that the movie industry of Lebanon is a well established one with a decades-long history before I started watching ... but still, as the movie went on, I found myself more and more attached to the events and stories of each one of the many characters that all happen to be imperfect human beings yet everyone is quite understandable!

a huge kudos to all people involved in creating such a truly nice job indeed!

After reading most of both the positive as well as the negative reviews here, sorry dear all, I just came to the conclusion that at least 90% of the viewers didn't get the story at all!

yes, true there are certain confusing assets and unfinished points in the plot, especially as far as the mainstream theme of a highly sensitive but not quite genuine male artist marrying a sexy, mysterious but cold female scientist is involved ... (and the end leaves the curious viewers nearly totally clueless as well ...)

however, if we dig a little deeper, there are so many other clues clearly and openly scattered all over the place, particularly in the famous *Saturn eating his own son* painting by Goya that I dare say it is the main key figure throughout the entire story ...

add to it the fact that the man is still strongly attracted (and possibly still in love?) with his former GF, also a former art student of his (seems like she still has some crush on him too?) and one of the paintings she has done in the past (and she still keeps displayed in her new home after marrying another man) is, guess what: the same extremely disturbing Goya painting of Saturn devouring his son ...

I can go on saying more about the other (not so hidden at all) hints in this very well made movie but I have given more than enough spoilers already!

so ...

This movie's page in IMDb having been visited by just a few hundred viewers only a few of whom have left reviews (with one being totally OFF imo btw!) and no mention of a box office success or something, i'm wondering if it's been ignored thus underrated somehow? (it's had a number of wins though, so it has received some attention in certain places after all ...)

anyway, i don't quite like movies about sports and rarely do i watch them ... so, at first, i thought this was going to be a really violent perhaps even sadistic movie when i found it in that section of Netflix where movies with a lot of nudity and sex are grouped together ...

but since most of the mentioned movies do contain some good story in them as well (let's call them "soft porn" or rather, 'serious' or 'classy' pron for the lack of a better word) i thought let's give it a try and i'm glad i did as it turned out to be a truly well made fine movie with way more than expected positive material in it ... (so, maybe i should give it 9*** instead of the 7*** i did already!?)

the symbolism and subtle hint in the story to the soft and feminine side of a rough lifestyle is very well portrayed here in fact ...

warning: spoilers ahead!

a tough man, a successful boxer of international fame who's married to a loyal, beautiful and lovely wife with two cute small kids is at the end of his career and can retire gracefully, but he's not going to give up as he's actually not quite a business-minded person to be content running a restaurant or anything along those lines ...

that is why he's still so deeply concerned and totally in love with the good old memories of his young years that his imagination as well as his actions run wild and far when he gets emotionally and sexually involved with a very beautiful and young girl who's willing to become a boxer ...

later, it turns out she's actually pursuing some dream of her own following in the footsteps of a dad, also a successful boxer, she lost at a very young age, whom she can barely even remember since they did not meet each other on a regular basis because he, just like the man she loves and sleeps with now (and has wild rough sex with as well) happened to be a married boxer with two children, who also left his family and successful career for another woman with whom he conceived this now-hopeful boxer daughter ...

so, we're in a loop of recurring and repeating stories now ...

the beautiful sexy girl perhaps doesn't even exist and is only a figment of the hopelessly retiring man's imagination? she is what represents both the man's love of and dedication to his famed profession, as well as his fear of losing it altogether now that he's come of age and has to leave the stage ...

she's both real as well as unreal ... and the man is actually fighting himself, his own troubled mind now, when often times he gets nearly physical with the girl, and she does so as well, since she's nothing but a representation of the man's alter-ego that is actually feminine rather than masculine ... a masculine female at that though ...

all in all, as said already, this is a very finely made movie that i'm really happy i watched ... time well spent when i was so preoccupied with a lot of important undone chores and a highly stressed mind as a retiring man myself ...

So, was this a comedy movie too?

well, if it weren't for the IMDb label of "comedy" as well as the very last --and unexpected-- shot in this movie, i'd never have guessed it was a comedy too! in fact, the horror parts have been executed so cheaply with old style gore and stuff like that i wouldn't say it's a quite horror movie either!

but if you like something slightly better than cheesy porn, this movie and others like it might fit your taste ...

WOW! indeed ...

you can't make a teenage movie and then impress old guys unless you're truly good at what you're doing!

when the movie started, i thought it's just a fun max-5*** 'kids' movie ... but as it moved on it got better and BETTER and in the end i was wondering what did i just watch!? and well, the young characters here aren't teenagers really and they're young adults after all ...

as an overall depressed person, it's really quite a positive experience to hear or read or see a movie with a sad story but feel happy and hopeful in the end while still remembering this was 'just another story' and no more than that ...

very well made, no flaws i could detect at least, and well worth the time spent watching ... it's only a little more than 90 minutes in time length but you feel like you've been watching a much longer movie without feeling bored at all ... and that's another positive criteria i usually 'judge' movies with ...

The story does have some potentials to get deeper into human supernatural powers but fails to deliver it the right way ...

yes, does have some scary moments as well but nothing i'd feel like i'd have missed if not watched this truly weak movie! and the VFX with the zombies in the end ... GOSH! could it be any worse?

the only 'great thing' about this movie is the presence of the eternally rare beauty Meg Tilly! and that's about it all ...

Another good example of the type of story that you either make it good or you fail and ruin it big time! and this is the former case: nice job well done, few flaws here and there forgiven of course! :-)

A nice parody of the mostly stupid Cold War era espionage fables of the 1960s and 1970s with certain other famous non-politically related personae and events of the time ridiculed here and there throughout the movie ... didn't feel like i wasted my time watching it in the end ...

never thought the Swede would make comedy movies like this too as i've been familiar with the great (and somewhat dark) works of Ingmar Bergman more than anyone else from that country ... (he has some comedies too though!) :-)

One of those truly silly cliche' kid stories that you either make it into an enjoyable movie to watch, or you'd just make a real mess of it, which usually many directors and producers do the latter in most cases, but certainly not applicable to this one ... a really good fun movie and quite unusual in some departments for its genre, totally new to me in fact! :-)

Yes, one might say this kind of myth is kinda cheesy, but well, most myth are so after all, aren't they? :-)

so, to me at least, what makes a DIFFERENCE (and a HUGE one at that!) is how the makers of such movies get a little more 'creative' than their competition and turn an otherwise 'childish and simple' tale into something truly entertaining and worth watching, 'wasting' at least 90 minutes of your precious time/life on that ... and this movie is more than 2 hours long but i enjoyed most of it, at least 99% of it that is! (i was already very tired and sleepy when i started this on Roku free movies + ads at around 01:30a last night and was about to fall asleep involuntarily a couple of times near the end but did manage to keep awake trying not to miss a moment ...)

i'll probably watch it again if i do get the time later ... preferably on a larger screen (mine's a 40" old TOSHIBA flat screen placed about 12' from where i was sitting) and i may as well even buy a copy for keeps as it is truly worth it ...

again, forgive the not so realistic mythical storyline plus its somewhat mundane wrappings (as we ought to do in most similar cases anyway!) and just enjoy the VFX and SFX and lovely music in addition to some beautiful characters ... and you'll most probably like it just like i did! :-)