jerry07

I have to say that this serie is very well done. The premise are simple but it is surely not "yet another hospital show". The character of Dr. Shaun Murphy is compelling and the actor is doing a very very good job is representing an autistic spectrum individual walking through life and his job. ,The stories are highly entertaining and emotional (and yes, a few episodes made me cry). Overall, I even feel I am even learning from nearly episode that emotion, love and relation between people is universal (no matter how they are expressed). I wish a season 7 would appear and be kept at that level of quality.

I tried very hard to find a value in this ... But after about 30 mnts, it was clear I was wasting both my time and my faith in this turning to a surprise. Just don't!

If you thought the Matrix "Reloaded" and "Revolutions" were from not as good to bad, think again! This was soooo bad that I fell asleep for a while (had to go back and forced myself to watch what I missed). It starts with a possibly intriguing "theme" and story line (you want to wait and wish for an amazing development) but it never lift off and even goes under. No really! Not only there are no surprises, the scenes, moves and special effects are all rehash of what you have already seen but it goes far beyond to get your bored to death: it is loaded of non-sensical characters appearing for no purpose (a recast of Morpheus and the same old / same old battle scene, the white rabbit he needs to follow ... why?? The oracle, the architect), it goes way down with abismal performance and dialogs that are flat, emotionless and feel forced. On top of that, you add the "Neo! He is back" like moments (with the usual jitter on the chair while plugged to the Matrix) and you have the perfect receipe for "booooorrring!". Even the end (recovering Trinity) is anti-climatic and not providing any surprises. There is nothing good about this addition and by the end, you would wish it would not have been made at all as it surely kills the aura associated to the first Matrix movie (that was admittedly, quite heart-pumping and mind-bending and a genre-starter). We expected so much more after so many years and all fans I am sure will feel a deep sense betrayal.

This addition will not even end in the "so bad that it is 'good' and becomes a cult movie" category. This should have been called "Matrix unsalvageable", period!

I rarely look at comedy shows as they tend to get "old" (same jokes after a few episodes, scripts that feel on a decline) but decided to give this a try. There is not a single episode where I did not laugh and found it of an unusual setting, world playing, witty at times, satirical but also infantile and overall enjoyable. This show is really fantastic and I highly recommend it. Though I preferred the first seasons (with Joel Fry as Stylax later replaced by a character named Jason) I wish there would be more seasons ...

After 24 hours of seeing this movie, it still stays in my mind as beautifully done. The dialog are not dull, the dynamics are complex and morphing as the movie develops yet, many parts seem very realistic. Some scenes seems to be skipping fast forward a bit but overall, this movie is not getting into cliche and has plenty of incredible cinematography with details and emotions. It is a well cast story of self-discovery and how two young boys take the experience they share in a very different way (and not as one would expect). it is a very realistic dynamic, Franky comes through as the more mature & complex character, taking the beating for the sake friendship and for the sake of doing the right thing - as the struggle he faces unfolds, we see him grow in many ways as we dive further into the development of many (initially peripheral) characters on their exploratory path in life.

I have to confess, I liked the first xXx. Action, suspenses, plot not too complex but a guilty entertainment pleasure. So when I bumped into this sequel on Amazon Prime, I decided to watch. OMG! This is bad to the core and there is little to save this disaster: acting is bad, jokes are from terribly bad to embarrassing, plot make little senses, action scenes have no purpose (a tissue of random thoughts to me) and dialog are poor. This sequel is wasting the first installment and will leave a bitter taste to an otherwise good start.

I really enjoyed the initial Jack Reacher movie (from 2012) and thought of it of an action packed exulting movie. In fact, it was near a discovery for me (did very well in the super & anti-hero genre) so, you can imagine the heighten expectation when I saw a second installment was out.

But this new Reacher is anything but exiting. It was blend and highly predictable at best. Scenes succeed each other with sometimes lack of cohesion and depth, the story is horribly simple and cliché and the plot is laced with nonsensical chases and mind flashes (that are supposed to explain what is happening?). How did Jack even figure out what the story was all about near the very end ... while I had figured out 1/3rd through? We would even be tempted to ask ourselves how many military highly ranked people were involved in this plot-line (and why and how the villain characters were really related to each other) ... but by the end of this movie, we do not even care of questioning the perceived incoherence.

Don't get me wrong though - I felt Cruise gave a fine performance overall - the script and orchestration of the movie in its final cut is just terrible.

How to make a series with the keyword criminal and Amish in the same set and add native American tribe on top of that? Well, Banshee does exactly this. Within a relatively simple initial plot, the anti-hero starts a new life in an unexpected set of circumstances in the small town of Banshee where every possible plot happens.

Threaded with his criminal past stories and sometimes being a bit on the simplistic plot level (boy gets the girls all the time) one may feel this is an easy or too common sex&violence genre. Also, while the show is unlikely for everyone, I also felt at first (beyond the sex scenes) that it is bordering a "violence porn" genre (full of gratuitous body part cutting and extreme beating & blood scene), the series also has an artistic approach - did people notice that the ending music is not the same at each episodes? Hopefully, everyone also waited for the "bonus" scene at the very end (I missed a few at first, zapping does this to you but went back).

I was not sure if I would continue to watch as some episodes are more disturbing than anything else, but I kept going ... and found that you start liking the unlikeable characters as he fights for the right thing with extreme prejudice - the people he deeply and visibly cares for, sprinkled with deep emotional swings from reaching balance to internal suffering to revengeful blood-thirst. By season 2, I was convinced this was the most unusual, disturbing as well as emotional series I have seen in a while ... and I am now ready for season 3.

The cast is also superb and Antony Starr (Lucas Hood) makes a believable anti-hero and if you do not watch, you may find yourself deeply connected and emphasizing with his character.

Star crossed review seemed pretty good at first so I gave it a try. This show is not very bright and disappointing. The Aliens are simply Humans with tattoo and the storyline seem to be more about teenage issues in High school than anything else.

The general plot is weak and mostly predictable, at times it feels "off" and not explainable (dead character coming back with no reason comes to mind) and not even a fair example of a show treating minority and integration. There is some dynamic between the characters so, I gave a few stars for that ... The end of season 1 gives little room for a good season 2 so, I would vote to kill this and end people's misery and time wasting.

Honestly, I really felt this had potentials with scene and special effects that could have worked well. Spaceship design that is not novel per-se but surely well done and many dystopian scenes a-la Reddick with a scene I can remember and could have stayed in our mind for a long time (an entrance in the mother ship bordered with impressive statue and epic costume).

The problem is the usual short-comings for the movie genre (and productions that think that throw effects and money, and the audience will respond positively)- it follows the usual recipe: you start with a good idea and a promising story, add great effects ... but use actors who recite their text instead of empathizing with the role, then you add a pinch of scenes making little sense (flying bees because "they know royalty") that makes the audience feel their intelligence is being insulted. You end with no subtleties, a predictable development and overall, one dimensional and under-developed characters for what could have become a space odyssey and franchise. It comes flat of exploiting gold-mines such as the main protector character spliced with wolf DNA or turn the attraction (cliche yet could have worked) story into a pre-teenage girl out of control and over-obvious. who directed this should be removed form business - the actors should have thought twice before working under such a director (Channing Tatum had good roles and so did Mila - what happened??).

I still give 4 because I can remember some of the movie besides the nausea ... but as a conclusion - what a waste of talent and potential!

Note ahead: although I am a huge fan of Marvel comics an consequent (recent years) movies, when I saw the preview, I though this would be a disaster. An enraged raccoon and a tree like creature saying only one thing (his name)? Oh boy! But this movie was not at all what I expected. It was very entertaining, with touching characters all with a unique background and depth delivering all the way. Every one of the character has its issues and to first order, it does not seem like they would be forming the right brew of individuals for a team "saving the galaxy". An assassin, a destroyer, an enhanced raccoon and a humanoid tree end to be loosely led through and unlikely bound of friendship and realization of a commonality by the character of Peter Quill aka Star Lord. The dynamic was great, the acting superb for characters which were difficult to embody in the first place.

The movie is full of humor and avoids getting you bored with cliché. A scene may start and feel like it will go toward a common lecturing between two characters but aborted by a "yeah yeah!" and a gun shot. Seems trivial and simple minded but this is just one example (don't want to provide spoilers) that this film is not following the standard framework for the genre, does not take itself that seriously and as a result, is highly entertaining (actually, you probably would have liked to shoot yourself to stop the boring lecturing, wouldn't you?). Some parts and explanation are a bit under-developed (not sure what made the end possible still) but I did not mind. I was equally surprised by the awesome graphics, visual effects and spectacular fast moving and well executed fight scenes.

From start to end, I was totally taken by this flick as the dynamic and balance between dialogs & actions was well done and extremely well executed. It was captivating, not pretentious or over-serious, full of humor and overall a great fun. Go see it and judged by yourself (I may go and watch it again if in 3D).

Adding a "gay" and "church" element to a basic cultural clash does not make it a 10/10 movie to me, I need to see and learn something new or the topic executed with brio. This movie has neither grand novelty or impeccable execution.

It has its moments though - the portraying of the Mormon church and the intolerant excommunication portion, a very brief scene of an angel waiting at a bus stop smoking is not without humor, the reprogramming part (and yes, it does not work), the 'we do not throw away anything until it is completely dead' in passing statement as the relation between one of the character (Christian) and a patient develops as a background life lesson and in between moments of small emotion as the characters struggle to find a path to meet in the middle ... The movie had the proper elements of cultural clash but the acting was very poor making it a "bore" at times.

The character of Aaron (Sandvoss) is believably naive but the other emotions are not convincing to me. Similarly, Christian (Ramsey) is a believable gay party/playboy character but he also hold his dialogs in a way that does not help feeling empathy with what he goes though (reconsidering his life directions for the love of Aaron). I saw comments praising the original music - I found it distracting myself and not enhancing the story much.

At the end, I gave an average rating for this movie. All is a question of expectations - if you do not expect the greatest acting or outstandingly novel story, you will find it has its moments, is moving at times and treat a struggle which could have been better acted.

The story line in rough terms: Police guy (Marc) unexpectedly falls in love with a fellow (Kay) who follows him into his precinct, setting a trail of events in motion.

This movie is nicely treated and should challenge a few conceptions. First, we are far away from the usual set of stereotypes for a gay theme movie. Do not expect the "feminine gay guy", "in touch with his sensitive side" or the depicting of a conveniently acceptable near-miss female guy here, the two main actors are beautifully masculine and the whole relationship will make many unsettled. This is not a "drug addicted losers" theme either: there are some mild drug involved but not the center theme. And no no no - this was not about the "gay disease spreading and corrupting the straight guy" or "not realistic as taking place in modern times with wide acceptance of gays". Those comments missed the bottom line. This movie is smarter in many ways and is about choices, struggle, duality and actually becoming a man by finally be in control of ones own life and impulses as well as external influences.

The character of Marc has a lot to look for - pretty good looking, strongly built and apparently fit he is well established, has a gorgeous girlfriend and a kid on the way. They are moving and starting their life in a house together, all looks like a classic life. The German traditional life is on the way for a traditional family, with no troubles ... on the surface. But this too classic in fact as on closer look, we realize Marc comes from a family of cop and goes to the police academy following a path probably already set for him by peer expectations and traditions. A good boy from a good family making Mama proud. But we guess him to be a tender and shy individual (from the start, he has secrets and simplicity in his manners toward Bettina and is soft speaking) who has followed the least resistance path in life until now. Even at training, he does not push himself and always falling behind and not able to finish the race - he cannot control his breathing and has no real motives.

With Kay coming and helping, a transformation and relationship develops - here, the movie could have developed the characters better: we wish to know and understand better what has pushed those two together beyond physical attraction but nonetheless, the love is quite believable and carries the sense of troublesomeness. But this is not a story about his parents, his girlfriend or his lover - this story is about Marc and his journey to independence.

The true value of the movie is what comes next. Marc struggles with the duality - he has feelings for Bettina and wants to be there for his (now born) child but his environment is pressuring and tightening. From his homophobic colleagues to his parents. "We did not raise you that way" is a classic yet tense moment discussion with his mother opening the Pandora's box of questioning and self-introspection. We also have a feel this movie is bringing to the forefront a topic beyond a classic gay theme - Marc would have been just fine continuing his relation with Kay and Bettina and raise a family if there were no pressures (perhaps again choosing the least resistance), a very "untraditional" way to live and not so black-and-white (homo / hetero) we are accustom to. Even Kay's declaration of love and his own expectations ("I! I! It is always about you - what about me?") brings things to the brink of the impossible. First his parents then Bettina discovers his affair and all hell breaks lose and in the opened. An attempt to patch and move back in, neither Bettina ("I cannot even be properly jealous") nor Marc can make it work as he soon finds he cannot breath again and struggles between the conflicting feelings and the whole situation. He clearly has not learn to be a man before those challenges.

Some reviews suggested this is about lust and not love but I would urge to think again as even that is treated briefly - I will pass on the relatively blend gay love scenes: again, I doubt that was the point so no real efforts were made here, only trying to convey either some passion or gentle touches. But the real point why this is clearly not about lust, is when Marc tries to understand himself going to a gay bar he has been in with Kay before and attempting a casual hook-up. It clearly does not work for him; it is not what he wants. He find it was truly about Kay and Kay is missing in his life and this whole excitement is gone and cannot be trivially replaced. But he has now apparently lost both Kay and Bettina and it is hard not to feel sympathy for him crying, alone, toward the end.

The ending would be sad if we do not pay attention - the closing scenes is similar to the opening one. He is on the running track again but this time, he is in control of his breathing and ahead of his fellow cops which leaves us hopeful he is ready to make his own decision but most of all, be in control of his life.

I was fascinated by the original Cocoon movie which had a real novel theme and succeeded in making most of us think of the value of old age, the struggles, aspirations and what would happen "if only they could". It was touchy, endearing and with real after thoughts generated out of the theme of aging.

But the return is nothing novel and nothing like the first. It is embarrassing at times. Jack is back with Kitty! Oh ma! We may have excused the innocence of the initial encounter but what is happening in this movie was from clumsy to simply unsophisticated. The pregnancy topic is a mediocre addition, there is an under developed story between the Grandpa and the grandson and overall, nothing really new happening we have not seen in or extrapolated from the first movie. The original cast of "oldies" stays more or less within character and if it was not for hem and actors like Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy, Fried Green Tomatoes, ...) I would have given an even worst grading.

In short, the magic was gone and it would have been best not to make a sequel.

I watched this movie driven by many good reviews depicting the story of complex and difficult relationship, dealing your drugged partner while full of self-uncertainty and an unfulfilled life. Gay themed background or not, sounded worth a detour. This Indie movie (low budget) so I will not grade with an eye out for an outstanding choreography and impeccable script. It has some anachronistic oddities (character not changing style over many years, New York City scenes out of era, interior not changing a bit over the course of many years) but also a few artistic shot that may catch your attention (playing with lights, framing or softness). There is a reasonable balance of both your sensitivity or attention to detail may find either enjoyable or disappointing. Again, an Indie movie - don't be too harsh.

With that in mind, the final product does fairly at treating the topic especially with the character of Erik well developed and believable. But it also has gaps and short comings. The second main character of "Paul" as the closeted gay lawyer with a secret side, fails to develop beyond that. By the end, we know nothing of him and it is not all clear if this was intentional or not. Without this development, it is hard to judge of the depth of the struggle - when the "intervention" scene comes to the forefront, we realize there is a real in-depth problem but have not been driven into it but we cannot relate to the depicting of Paul as a "loving and carrying character". We have to feel this as real through Erik.

The movie has also holes and the side scenes and stories do not add much to the thread but raise more questions. From under-developed characters to shallow in passing add ons, we often miss the point and the value added to the threaded theme. OK, we get the idea that Erik has an unstable love life and fall for phone based dating and hook ups. But take the character of Igor for example. Who is he? Do they have a relation? Does he present a better alternative for Erik? This is so brief that the intent is unclear. And what about Erik's BFF? They often travel together but at no point in time are we sure of the nature of their relation - why the friendship and dependence? The confidence? How instrumental is she to his life's story? We are left in our unanswered thoughts.

The performance of the main actor, Dane Thure Lindhardt (Erik), is one to remember for a movie which is not very deep and at times, treated with flaws, omissions and unexplained or unclear characters. The whole atmosphere succeeds to give you a sense of sadness and disconnect but comes short to an in depth drama.

Whoa! How can a movie be so messed up in its script is out of my range of understanding. The theme and idea starts well and with real potential: virus gets children turn into killer maniacs, there is real promises for suspense with the slide scene, we easily imagine parallel plots with a post-teen character and a child who does not seem affected at first.

But this is really all there is: hopes for a good horror movie. The script is otherwise below poor and the dialog non-existent. At times, you have this strange feeling of dialogs that make no sense just for the sake of filling the time (are those dinner conversation making any sense or just fillers?). This is a real problem as dialog helps building characters and in "The Children", the characters are simply not developed at all. As a consequence, very hard to empathizes with them hence, feel sorry about their death. Isn't this though the quintessence of horror movies? Build characters you either love and hate and slash them throughout (save one)? Beyond this major horror movie flaw, the character's actions also make no sense: succumbing to hysteria on the first kill, follow-up actions by the adults are illogical and unexpected. Did I miss a plot here: adult become dumb and all hysterical? Unfortunately, there is not even any hopes for that and the whole development fall short of any real suspense, empathy, true horror scene moments that make you jump or hold to your chair and no hope for a climax.

Well, I had hopes seeing the rating and if you want to forge your own opinion go ahead but you have been warned.

Cate Blanchett's performance is stunning, embodying the character of a deranged (disillusioned) socialite that fell from grace (yet shallow, over-indulged high end society) to blue-collar status at best. The film is overall entertaining with a mix of flash back of her previous life and her struggle throughout her living with her adopted sister she believes can do better than a beat-up boyfriend and a job at a supermarket. Cannot say the main protagonist did well for herself as what did she really have beyond money and an volatile social stand?

But I also feel this movie is over-rated as it is with no real surprises - often in reviews compared to "A streetcar named desire", perhaps this is why there is no real sense of novelty here. The cast was great beyond Blanchett but still. There is no true reason to give a master like Woody a blank check and a systematic outstanding rating. The way I see it: Take Cate's virtuoso performance away and forget for a second this is a Woody Allen movie! Suddenly, this movie would appear as average and this is reflected in my rating.

The story-line could have been OK although at the end, while we get the extent of the "trap" and the cycle, we do not really understanding why this happening. And it is hard to understand some of the plot's line (so many holes) - why the scary neighbor trash journals? what do they contain? why is he turning into a psycho wanting to kill her if he was such a good guy? And it goes on. The music and suspense could also have been better but badly orchestrated, I would say that every horror / fright scene turn into a cliché.

To top that, boy! The acting is far below poor: the dialog sound like every actor is reciting from a print out during a first time actor selection (here is a screenplay, have 2 minutes to rehearse and let's shoot). The intonations are near emotionless and the dynamic is flat. Too bad, could have been a good one.

The acting is not great and the movie rather predictable (there is not much to go with when one understand the basics and the scenario is very simple). I realize that there are poor dialog and rather shaky ideas underdeveloped (why this girl who recovered from cancer dies within a minute of the race?). How to summarize it? A kind of "survival Island" but with a set of unwilling participants having no clue of the rules (until the rules become obvious). Very graphic and a rather systematic head explosion frenzy all along, not very philosophical.

But I did not dislike this movie as much as others did and it is certainly not the worst time I spent watching a movie (especially SciFi, where the TV genre are poorly made - this is much better than your average TV SciFi). The authors tried to cast a set of unusual characters (pregnant woman, cripple, priest, Muslim, thug, deaf girl and man, etc ... Do people realize that the character of Eddie is actually played by ... a one legged actor named Eddie McGee - I have to say, bravo (I liked his character enough to check his profile). Apart from him, we have his friend we empathize with and also a few others. With better actors and a more developed scenario, this was would have been a fine movie (the idea is not bad).

First, I noted the relatively low rating but the theme of this movie seemed promising and a few preview tended to indicate I would have my share of action and oddities. I was not disappointed. This movie is one of a kind. The premise: the character of "one eye" (Mads Mikkelsen), mute and his companion a boy with who he escaped captivity, finds a band of Christians vikings. Together, they embark into a journey they feel will lead them to the holy land but instead, they end into that strange place (OK, you guess rapidly it is the Americas) where they meet a prophetic fate. This movies for me was epic, got me attentive for the whole time: the music and the scenes, the visionary flash forward, the eerie atmosphere, piercing looks and brutal yet justified violence ("one eye" never starts a fight but always wins), the connection between "one eye" and the child and his near protector role ... director Nicolas Winding Refn has created a master piece in my view - the choreography is such that the movie is made of segment or chapters, intensifying a sense of a religious experience. Some thought this movie was slow but it is the slow development which actually created the breath taking atmosphere and anguish. The main character is truly not of a man - is he really sent from hell? Is he sent to drive the faithless viking who have abandoned their Viking faith to their doom? Or someone sent to make them repent? Is he just someone looking for answers to his existence and who ends to understand what he needs to do to save the one soul he protects all along? Whatever the reason and the interpretations, the story is complex, deep and full of ambiance. Do not expect deep dialogs - expect instead facial expressions, deep stare, maddening situations and the realm of the untold. This plays with the duality of Valhalla and Hell, the self-sacrifice and to some extents the Christian values, the "one- eye" man leading the blinds ... so much myths that you get imprinted and captivated. The atmosphere was so well done, sometimes sprinkled with powerful near archetypal concepts and symbolism, that I felt my heart pounding, I felt fear and losses, I felt the Christian Viking's "hell", I felt the madness but I also felt secured through the child's eyes, I felt "one- eye" revelation and felt a connection through his sacrifice. It was a unique experience which will not leave you untouched.

I am of those who actually saw the original and although I cannot remember the story or the scenes at all, what I remember clearly is that as a kid, I had great anticipation and excitement to see it and a week full of dreams afterward. I can imagine that if I saw it again, I may not be as enchanted. Hard to see both a newer version of it (usually, the remake are bad and disappointing) and see it as an adult. One needs to make special efforts to be be balanced and see it with eyes as close to the one I vaguely remember having "then".

Overall, this version stands by itself as a family movie and in the genre, it will be entertaining and make even more kids dream and have this feel that if they were a cab driver (or anyone else), they would certainly help those aliens too. Most of the movie is predictable for sure: alien good only trying to stay alive and return home, men in black bad and focused on "getting them" - a bit of the "StarMan" generation as theme. Then there is the cabi from LA protects the children (cute eyes a-la-puss to insert here) because "they are only children". OK, saw this too before.

Now, cannot say that I would have imagined Dwayne Johnson in the role of cab driver Jack Bruno but I think at the end, the choice works fine and the acting is aligned with this style of movies. The actors playing the aliens/kids (Anna-Sophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig for Sara and Seth) I think play their role pretty well - scared kids (alien) in need to return home and being chased by all kinds trying to stop them, split in their approach: one is trusting the other one suspicious of humans. The rolling eyes and expression of Anna-Sophia are especially convincing. This certainly recovers from the modest performance of other actors (Sr something ... can't even remember her role in the movie, it was that shallow and irrelevant). Add to this some cheap humor (the UFO nuts at the convention) and you get a movie which is in doubt entertaining for the targeted age, full of action, car chases, explosion and effects and one which, while it may not make the cut for a great movie for adults, will not be boring either for the more mature audience.

... or I am missing something. This movie does not stand by itself as the story is far too "thin". Yes, great effects but anyone can do this with CGI nowadays. And yes, not bad acting although the dialogs are shallow (so, I end up giving a rating including performance and special effects so not as low as it could have been). The characters are not super novel: we have seen plenty of movies with the younger brother wanting to succeed in the academy because of a brother a father or whoever has done great (best cadet, decorated officer, leader who has saved his platoon and so on). Nothing new to the basic premise. Then the story develops and ... the usual I am near quiting, do not fit, cannot follow orders because they make no sens but of course someone sees potentials in the key character (Surprise!!! No, we are not). Finally, we've all seen the tough girl or tough guys pissing their pants when problems comes and the loner rise to be a leader. To top this, the group of cadets surviving the alien attack is simply not believable - they do nothing to explain why they stay alive: nothing inventive, nothing heroic, nothing out of the ordinary except being totally confused, scared and hide most of the time. It makes no sense while the entire planet is wiped of every life. This was of course an academy with well trained officers with much experience - the misfit cadets survive and all other die. Really? Did I note that the first reaction from everyone was to run away instead of fighting back and defend themselves. The full story line is simply unbelievably shallow and nonsensical. Then, MasterChief 117 comes to the rescue and here goes the pursuit and run for survival. Really, the gamer fans should not over-rate this movie. OK, you loved the game and had great anticipation to see what you did dream while playing. And you were not disappointed. But it is one thing that the movie perhaps brings all your dream come true for the genre, being submerged into the Halo 4 game water-boarding effect (gotta give a 10 to this movie after that after you take your breath out of the game back), it is another to give a 10 to a flick with no substance. A movie should stand by itself not only be entertaining or with declared good because of its special effect but for its artistic vision, choreography, novelties in the theme (imagine the first "Matrix" - that was new and not seen before), empathy with the characters, depth of the dialog, surprises and so many other characteristics this did lack. I started with a 1 for trying and added one point for acting (fine at times even if shallow dialogs) and special effect and that is all what it deserves.

I had heard of this movie for a while now (since it came out I guess) and never had the chance to watch it. Finally, I got my hand on a DVD and was stunned: how could I have missed this before? I would classify this movie in the Indie genre (if that applied to movies), as its style is unusual. Essentially, the dialogs may go into long theatrical speech (literally) rather than a fluent every day life dialog. You get annoyed at times (did not expect a Shakespeare play but a movie) as some of the scenes within this style are not working out (imagine Keanu Reeves in a play - nope! doesn't work for me either). But if you can pass beyond this problem, you will find a gem. Indeed, the characters! What a treat. River Phoenix (Mike) performance is simply breathtaking and inspired: you immediately feel the character of "Mike", the abandoned and confused child not only reverting to hustling for money but striving for belonging, acceptance and love going in life with the dream and memory of his mother. His friendship with Scott (Keanu Reeves) will bring them into a journey where emotions and classics are all covered: lightness and energy of youth, rebellion of the privileged, loneliness, burning passions, struggles and survival, loss, desire. On second thought, perhaps it works well as a Shakespearian play (yes, I know it was intended) but not only because the dialogs are like so but due to the in-depth drama of this movie the breadth of emotion it covers. The story line is flooded with the view of Mike (also narcoleptic) and appears at times as a dream. As a result, to me, the whole movie is simply a great piece, poetic, breath taking and emotional: you stay watching through the theater scenes wanting to know what's next, you get hooked to the artistic aspects of the movie (music is often blending and you find yourself noticing that many details have significance) and you feel for the characters at a deep and intense level as if the topics treated are archetypal. For sure, you will remember this movie whether you were thrown off by it, liked it or loved it.

Have to say, loved the first Butterfly Effect movie and decided to watch the second which everyone would agree is a total disaster. This third one worried me but I gave it a try. It ended not to be the best flick ever but has at least has some storyline. In fact, the movie even has a tiny bit of a surprise as the plot deepens and end to be a fine movie. The acting is not bad at all (Sam Reide character is well enacted and Jenna tend to appear as a believable sister character).

So in truth, I may even go to say that if you are looking for a easy to understand SciFi movie genre (making some sense), you will probably be entertained by watching this sequel. Do not expect a follow-up of the first however (theme theme but no real relation).

I have no idea of the budget of this movie comparing to others but I thought it represented a rather solid SciFi flick.

The plot is rather simple: A post-apocalyptic men versus Dragons fight for survival (well, men try to survive at least). I thought the acting was quite convincing - the two protagonist, attempting to protect and lead their people with their own style meet and diverge on the course of action - there are no small talks or useless jokes in this one, just plain and simple action. Even though there are a few gaps in the script (can't understand where the gas supply comes from, the survivors are starving but look quite healthy and plumped to me and a few more details like this) the desolated towns and scenes are believable and really feels right for the genre and one gets into the mind set of the story. The dragons themselves are nicely done, their looks and moves seem on the spot and while the final scene really shows an awesome close-up, it almost seems that the beast are secondary to this movie. It is more about the human characters than anything else and it got my thumb up for that.