tankmodeler-605-625710 Reviews

American Warships (2012 Video)

Not at all good, but better than "Battleship"

[3/10 · 1 January 2014]

This is in no way a good movie, but it is at least as good (or bad) as movie "Battleship" (2012)(qv) and, from a business standpoint was obviously made for significantly less money.

May contain spoilers.

The basic plot is similar enough to "Battleship" that even though I will not detail the plot, it really isn't a surprise. The acting is relatively wooden even with a couple of well known actors (Peebles and Weathers) appearing. The special effects are a tad better than the Asylum average and were a pleasant surprise, even thought they still were not good in an absolute sense.

The main positive part of this movie was the writing, primarily the plot. While a lot of the dialogue was quite weak, the actual plot held together a lot better than did the blockbuster this movie was trying to copy. While the ending did have a taste of "deus ex machina" to it, it still made more sense than did the end of "Battleship".

I can imagine that if the script had been edited a bit better and had a few more bucks been available for effects, this movie might have actually moved up into the "not too bad" level.

As it is, it still falls well short of being enjoyable, but the team did manage to do a few things right and that makes it better than expected.

Republic of Doyle (2010–2014)

A fun trip to the Republic

[10/10 · 2 March 2010]

As a native Newfoundlander, my opinions on this show have to be coloured by that rather important fact, but I have tried to divorce my feelings for my home from my review of the program.

As is plainly written on the Republic of Doyle web site, this show is cut from the same mould as The Rockford Files and Magnum PI. It's mostly a comedy with just enough mystery plot to hold the whole thing together. If you are expecting CSI on the East Coast, you will be disappointed. However, if you are looking for interesting characters that are true Newfoundlanders, with all the irreverence, dry wit and lust for life that the term implies, then this show will definitely entertain you.

Shot in and around St. John's, Nfld, on admittedly the largest number of nice weather days I've seen in a row, Republic takes full advantage of the visual variety of both the city and the surroundings. Dramatic shots of steep hills and brightly coloured houses backdropped by the harbour make even unlikely car chases appear really dramatic. I've driven those streets. Car chases on those hilly, narrow and winding streets is a fast way to a trip to the hospital. Still, they look like a lot of fun, and that's the point of it all, so it works a treat.

The strength of the series, though, is the characters and their interactions. For a brand new series, the recurring characters have a sense of solidity and reality that usually takes several seasons to achieve. The humour is appropriate to the place and people. As a Newfoundlander, I "get" the humour; I can only hope that others find it just as amusing. The other thing that reads very true is the dialogue. Having listened to a great many people butcher both the accent and the common terms of speech, it is refreshing to find dialogue that really could be heard on the streets of the city on any given day.

All-in-all, this is an hour of your life that you will be glad you spent in Newfoundland. If you can't get "Republic of Doyle" where you live, check out the CBC web site where you can watch the episodes online.

S.S. Doomtrooper (2006 TV Movie)

Without a doubt, appalling.

[1/10 · 10 December 2009]

Makes Plan 9 look like a quality Hollywood blockbuster. It's hard to imagine that any adult film professional could look at the finished product and actually complete and broadcast it. It has to be professionally embarrassing for everyone involved.

Horrible CGI, inane acting, puerile writing and a toddler's grasp of both history and physics. It's hard to imagine any area of science fiction/horror/war movies that wasn't pillaged in this film.

Am I clear enough on this? Have I reached 10 lines yet? Is it obvious yet that the people who rated the movie a 10 are either on crack or, more likely, trying to artificially skew the ratings?

Seriously, mind numbingly bad in every way.