michaeldartnell Reviews

Altitude (2010)

interesting enough that i didn't change the channel.

[5/10 · 5 November 2012]

i incidentally watched this movie this morning as it was the first channel that came up on my foxtel.

all and all, yes it is a pretty crappy premise that is turning the twilight zone airplane story into a modern day movie for teens.

I also didn't really care much for the main character as he was weird awkward character (or other characters all of which were stereotypes.) But. for some weird reason I still felt the need to watch all of this movie (possibly because I'm mowing the lawn after it)But usually if I'm not liking a movie at least a little bit i change the channel.

Plus the ending had that inclusive time paradox kinda feel.

Initially i was going to give this a 6, but i think a modest 5 is what this movie is worth. (i would give it 5.5 if i could)

Another Earth (2011)

boring

[5/10 · 4 March 2012]

I was intrigued to watch this film as its concept seemed quite interested. To my disappointment this movie's core concept is not another earth, but a sad story about a car accident, the girl who caused it and the father who survived.

This movie could have been a complete movie without the space theme.. it just needed to be titled differently.

This movie is not bad, but didn't meet my expectations in regards to the other earth and was quite slow and boring for myself.

I think my disappointment stems from a deceptive title. If you want to watch a slow/ quiet drama gives this flick a watch. But if you want an abstract look at a parallel universe you will be left disappointed

The Woman in Black (2012)

an enjoyable and scary experience

[6/10 · 29 February 2012]

I really enjoyed this movie. The set up is very atmospheric and dark. The plot creates depth involving the town people and the main character which created interest in the story for myself quite early in the movie. Although horror clichés, the suspense, scare tactics and ominious tones create an eerie atmosphere which left me quite tense throughout the whole movie.

Daniel Radcliffe portrays the character very well and doesn't look un-natural playing a character other then Harry Potter.

*spoiler alert*

The ending for me went from disappointing to very good for me

*re-spoiler alert*

i really liked how after the train hits the main character and his son you see him holding his son as if they had safely been nestled to the side. I honestly thought they had survived for a moment.obviously after you see the platform is empty i realised they had died. The best part of this for me was when they see his deceased wife/childs mother waiting on the tracks for them. I think this differenciates this from a standard twist to almost in some manner a happy ending.

A thoroughly enjoyable movie

The Crow: City of Angels (1996)

enjoyable, but not overly memorable

[4/10 · 28 February 2012]

naturally this movie was not going to live up to the original which is a classic. But, it has its good points. the set up was done well with the murder of the man and son enhanced by good cinematography. I also think the landscape was done well creating a post apocalyptic feel. i think in my eyes the best scene was when the crow retrieves his son from the river and buries him which was enhanced by music from the original crow(best scene id say). the bad points for me was character based, the crow's dialogue and witty remarks i found were not effective. the villains (besides Iggy pop who i think did well) were portrayed weak and not in depth. Main bad point for me was a real weak ending where the crow summons crows to fly through him and destroy the immortal bad guy. thought that was i really poor written ending.

I suppose as this was a sequel they couldn't make the concept as subtle as the first one without completely replicating it. still it was enjoyable to watch again after 14 years. probably wont be watching any time soon again tho.

oh and at least it didn't have Tara Reid