matthewchermside

This is a fun popcorn movie for people who know the characters. As a father of two young boys who has spent countless hours watching Justice League animated features, this was a pretty faithful rendering of that world as live action.

It is by no means perfect. The CGI is ropey at times, which was surprising and there is no getting past the mustache unfortunately. However it's not as distracting as some people think and as portrayed by some of the photoshopped versions spread by hate-mongers. The music score, if you can call it that, is very weak indeed and is just a bunch of generic orchestral incidental sounds interspersed with Elfman's Batman theme and a single moment where we hear John William's Superman theme. There actually isn't anywhere near as much action as in previous DC films, which is a shame, as this is one movie where the characters deserved to show off more, especially Flash and Cyborg. The villain is weak and we didn't get any sense of his motivation.

The cast is excellent, chemistry and dialogue between them is charged and fun. Whedon's reworking of the script clearly shows. What action we do get is well choreographed and photographed. The movie starts in darkness and ends in hope, leaving you feeling quite positive about the future of JL and future additions to its ranks. One hopes they can keep the cast together for further stories and that the studio has the sense to give the next instalment to Whedon from the beginning.

The feelings of suspense engendered by the first few minutes didn't last long. The wafer-thin science fiction gives in half-way through to flat performances, lifeless dialog and pseudo-psychological babbling about language and time paradoxes employed by so many other films. None of that could hide the utterly pointless story woven around a 'plot-twist' that felt completely inconsequential as all the characters were one- dimensional. Once it became clear this 'story' had no real goal I couldn't wait for it to limp to its impact-less climax. A waste of time and very disappointing from a director whose previous work I'd enjoyed.

With so many films being big-budget but ultimately derivative and aimless cash-ins, this film is a bare-bones, back-to-basics character examination.

Tom Hardy is incredible in this role, a role which could only have been performed by a few actors. Perhaps Russell Crowe might have done as well but few others would have achieved with this source material.

A road trip, many phone conversations, a journey from dark to light, an examination of a person and his history, his emotions, his situation, his future, his essence really.

This film achieves what few films do these days - you become engaged with a character and want to see how the story pans out. Just one character. A human who makes mistakes but who still, even when he is struggling to stay afloat, has the temerity and personality to be a force for good in a bad situation.

This film makes you form an opinion of the character and through his journey, offers you enough evidence to challenge that opinion. It's well written, incredibly well scripted, well photographed and executed.

It's very bawdy - perhaps for some a little too much so. There are some scenes where this seems to be a little forced, but overall it maintains its equilibrium, but only just. It tries to place the viewer in unruly times, with unruly men and women, each who has an angle, a dream, a demon with which to contend.

The scenery and settings are gorgeous, and both male and female lead characters are unfolding and developing in interesting ways with each episode. It doesn't try to make you take sides - there aren't really 'good guys' and 'bad guys' here. The main protagonist is so driven by his demons that he commits murder even in the first episode. Somehow though, although there's nothing charming about him, you want to know whether he'll stay in his place and whether he'll reach his dream, whether the various machinations of different groups behind his back in the crew will save him or destroy him.

I look forward to seeing where season two will take us and how Flint, Vane, Guthrie and DuFresne will play off each other.

I normally only write a review when moved to do so because I love a film, or hate a film. Unfortunately for this film it was the latter case. This film was tedious, confused, boring and uninteresting. It didn't seem to know whether it wanted you to like or hate the protagonist, whether it was trying to be dramatic, funny and quirky or cool - far too many slow-mo scenes of Denzel Washington strolling around in shades looking cool after a drink and drug binge - and in the end it is none of those things. There's only so much you can watch of some guy drinking himself to death - although he doesn't seem to exhibit any physical problems, which is strange. This is no Leaving Las Vegas.

There doesn't seem to be much point to any of the films characters who are all one-dimensional to say the least. Even John Goodman's appearance couldn't save this one - his character looks and sounds ridiculous and this is the first time that I would say he simply was very unconvincing in a film. Similarly, Denzel Washington seems to spend most of the film playing drunk badly or pulling this strange 'duck face' that he has developed in recent years in the moments that are supposed to be awkward or emotional - it is a poor performance from one of my favourite actors.

Add to all of this some very odd and badly handled references to a more philosophical side of the situation with people constantly referring to 'God', trying to shoe-horn in some fate vs. free-will ramblings into an already messy film, left me very relieved when 'Flight' limped to a predictable conclusion. I would not recommend it, it is a poor, boring mess of a film.

There is no way to avoid a comparison with Raimi's films. Spiderman 1 was an interesting and good if slightly underwhelming film. Spiderman 2 was completely awesome. Spiderman 3 was a total mess, hence the feeling that the character needed a reboot. This film is neither good, nor awesome, nor is it a total mess. And it certainly is not amazing. Andrew Garfield is unconvincing. Emma Stone similarly so. Rhys Ifans was criminally underused.

The script was poor, and important scenes like the invention of the suit and the web-slingers. also the evolution of The Lizard were rushed, and other scenes like the death of Uncle Ben and those about teenage high- school angst were much better handled in Raimi's films. The motivation of the antagonist was also muddled and didn't even come close to the good-guy turned bad of Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, even if the crazed idea of forcing mutated evolution through biological agents was interesting, if not original.

The greatest shame was that there were some interesting ideas that were not properly developed - the link between Connors and Peter Parker's parents and Norman Osborn was only alluded to, when it could have been the spine of the plot that was sorely missing. This really could have been an interesting 'untold story' - but it still remains untold!

The action scenes were underwhelming and there was little chemistry between Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker - nothing like the mystery and fatal attraction between Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire in Raimi's films - in this film the revelation that Peter is Spidey is clumsily sandwiched in between other pointless scenes instead of being the cliffhanger at the end of the film like in Raimi's Spiderman 1.

This is pretty much a pointless remake and missed many opportunities to really reboot the franchise. Poor casting and the wrong director in my opinion. What a shame.

Well acted, well scripted, and directed. Its ending was for me a tad clichéd but easily forgivable as the director and cast had built the tension skilfully from start to end. Beautifully understated performances from both Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, with solid support from the rest of the cast. The dream sequences were chilling without being gratuitous, leaving much to the interpretation of the viewer. This was an interesting character study following an ordinary person trying to make sense of extraordinary circumstances - a person trying to piece together his past and the possible future without totally losing everything he has in the present - his life. The film has a pedestrian pace, but rarely felt slow; this allows you follow this character and unambiguously side with him, irrespective of the possible outcomes of his impending prophecies or probable madness. Very worth watching and the director is a huge prospect for the future.

This film bears more than few similarities to another really bad film "Right at Your Door", which should send some potential viewers running from it. The characters are bland, the "plot twist" at the end was telegraphed from the beginning, none of it makes any sense whatsoever. What a waste of a talented cast this film was. Three incredible actors in Cillian Murphy, Thandie Newton and Jamie Bell are completely wasted in this tripe. As soon as Jamie Bell arrives in the film and starts barricading up the house without so much as any protest from Murphy's and Newton's characters I knew the film was going to be dreadful. The ambition of building tension is failed and the dynamics between the characters is completely screwed up, although Jamie Bell is very menacing, as the pretense is complete balls. Do not waste your time on this film, it is utter drivel.

I enjoyed this film. Defoe was excellent as usual. Very little back-story to his character, which actually made him more mysterious and interesting. Sam Neill is brilliant as always, and the rest of the cast hold up their end of the bargain. The host family are charming characters, especially the child-actors, who are excellent.

The long shots of the wilderness are beautifully executed and draw one into a strangely oppressive and claustrophobic wilderness. This is a film in which one learns to empathize with many of the characters, and the line between good and bad is realistically blurred. This reminded me of 'The Grey' a lot, without requiring incessant philosophical proselytizing from the main characters - they express more through their silences in this film.

It's a subtle film, almost too subtle for its own good - not for those with a short attention span and addiction to car chases and explosions. The brutal actions and consequences at play, especially towards the end, are handled very well, leaving one with both positive and negative feelings for those involved. A well-told story that is recommended.

I have rarely seen such a poor horror film. Everything that 'Insidious' is, this is not. Forget tension. Forget rounded whole human characters. Forget carefully considered plot and deep human emotion. This is nonsensical, clichéd, 'screechy-music playing while the little girl looks into the closet'-type cobblers. I have never been so bored by something that is supposed to be scary. What a tired formula this film is. Lingering shots of dark alleyways, whispered conversations with priests in church, faceless CGI demons. What the heck did Clive Owen see in this film? Perhaps it looked like it had legs before they were cut off in the editing room. Boring. About as scary as a duckling snuggling a poodle. Just forget it, go and watch Insidious instead, that will keep you thinking for a few days about the afterlife - this film will simply keep you wondering how much money and time could be wasted on tripe like this.

I should have listened to my inner voice that told me this director's previous film 'Right At Your Door' was awful and this would be too...and it was. Dreadful. Pointless vapid characters one feels not empathy with, poor CGI extra-terrestrials, stilted clunky clichéd dialog that could have been written by a 7th-grader, utterly aimless storyline with gaping plot-holes and (a)pathetic ending that showed less imagination than my 3 year-old son. I would recommend staying well away from this utterly atrocious rubbish. If you thought 'Skyline' was a poor alien invasion film, this one has actually gone one better. Or is it worse? I don't care, I was just happy to see the credits roll. I do not know how this got made. Avoid at all costs, this has no value at all.

Have to agree with many of the reviewers on this site, the effects are poor by today's CG standard and the original was far more scary and believable 30 years ago. It does try to be an interesting prequel but fails quite miserably - I actually lost interest in the last third of the film and couldn't wait for it to end.

It started promisingly with some interesting characters but it quickly lost its impetus. What little suspense that is built up in the middle of the film is lost quickly as it turns into a CGI-monster stalking people through dark corridors. The ending also made little sense to me (loose ends with Lars still being alive and the female lead admitting to knowing that Edgerton's character wasn't human much earlier in the story?) and it tried to make up for it with a little sequence in the credits to point/nod towards John Carpenter's terrifying sci-fi classic - to which this film is a really pale shadow. I got the impression the scriptwriters/screenwriters just didn't know where to take this story and just hashed the last third together.

Don't waste your time watching it. Watch Carpenter's film instead. Even if you've seen it a hundred times, it's much better than this.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film.

As a young boy I was terrified by the original back in 1985, which I still love. This film takes the original story, makes some very subtle changes, throws in a little shock and gore for the modern audience, and still manages to add in a few chuckles too. Shame that the 'Evil' Ed character is criminally under-used though.

I'm glad that this movie did not try to recreate pivotal scenes like the nightclub seduction scene between Jerry and Amy - that would have been impossible, not least because of the original's creepy Brad Friedel score and the ominous presence of Chris Sarandon - Farrell doesn't really come close to the original Jerry to be honest, but he is menacing in his own way.

Farrell's Jerry is more muscle and menace than suave intelligent malevolence. I liked the cameo for Chris Sarandon, that made me smile a lot.

This film was a good ride, but for a real fix of terror, check out the original film. Even though it has aged a bit, the lighting, smoke effects, brilliant musical score, the real sense of suburban terror in your own backyard, and even the performances are far more affecting than the remake. There is something lost from the original too by taking away the original Charley Brewster's horror film obsession - William Ragsdale was excellent as the paranoid obsessive teenager.

In summary, this is a surprisingly good remake of a really under-rated classic horror film that was truly ahead of its time.

Sorry, but I have to agree with a lot of reviews I read about this film. It starts well and drops dramatically into pointless tedium. I would never recommend this film to anyone. I do not consider it a good example of independent film-making.

The way that Lexi comes and goes freely while the rest of the neighborhood is rounded up defies any logic. I really did not understand the point of the character of the neighbor's handyman. He served no purpose in the film at all, the character and his conversations with Brad contributed absolutely nothing. The character added nothing to the plot whatsoever. The character comes and then leaves, offering an explanation contrary to points he makes earlier in the film for seeking refuge in the first place, making no sense at all.

The only positive is that Mary McCormack and Rory Cochrane really make a lot out of a truly awful script. The series of pointless conversations between the main protagonists loses all of the tension built in the opening 20 minutes but at no point did I think that their performances were poor. Good actors making the most of poor material.

The ending was very clever, even if it was revealed in one mumbled line proffered by a faceless character in a HazMat suit, but by then I had given up caring about any of the characters at all and couldn't wait for the film to end. The ending would have made more sense if we had followed either Lexi or Brad through the whole experience (probably Lexi to be honest) just to have it all juxtaposed at the end. If the scriptwriters had mad Brad a total S.O.B. and Lexi a victim of his selfishness, then the ending may have had more shock value and currency.

There are few films that really keep one guessing about the potential ending all the way through - this one does just that extremely skilfully. It also has an incredible ensemble cast - the only drawback to this is that Liam Neeson and Brian Dennehy are criminally underused and in Neeson's only 10-minute scene he manages to outshine Crowe's entire performance, which was a little disappointing. The same cannot be said for Elizabeth Banks whose portrayal of the jailed wife is full of believable emotional depth.

This film reminded me a little of 'The Assassination of Richard Nixon' in that it tries to show a character study of a man sinking to incredibly desperate lows to reclaim the life he once had. Crowe is never off the screen, which is a huge burden for any actor - to try and carry the whole film - and his performance, while not bad in any sense, does fall short of Sean Penn's highly disturbing portrayal.

The 'cat-and-mouse' aspect of the ending was thrilling but ultimately gave way to a sugary ending. I felt that an 'Arlington Road' or 'Inception' style ending with a bit more ambiguity would have done it more justice.

Definitely worth watching - don't miss it.

It's difficult to put into words just how poor this film is. Seen it all before. High School kid with special powers that he is trying to hide while wooing the girl of his dreams and fighting off bullies - everyone forgotten Spiderman already? Poor script, poor acting, unoriginal storyline, just plain boring nonsense. Might appeal to teenage girls who fall for the main protagonist's goofy smile (which is flashed at every possible opportunity) that passes for acting in this film. Olyphant and Pettyfer are very wooden, the enemies uninspired and uninteresting, 'action' sequences contrived. This film offers nothing that has not been seen before and in my opinion seems to draw a lot from other recent movies. How this nonsense ever got made is astonishing. Avoid it unless you are a teenage girl with a Pettyfer crush.