gamergcfan Reviews

Ip Man 3 (2015)

Overall equal to Ip Man 2: Weaker plot but better action scenes.

[11 August 2018]

The first 20 or so minutes are a bit slow, but it picks up with good actions scenes later on.

It doesn't hold a candle to the first Ip Man, but it's about equal to Ip Man 2 overall. Ip Man 2 had a better, more interesting plot than Ip Man 3. On the other hand, Ip Man 3 had better and more exciting action scenes. I'd say they are roughly equal.

The flaw this movie has (that the first two didn't have) is that is can be melodramatic, but the superior action scenes make up for the overall weaker drama and plotline.

Score: 8

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Lacks what made the first movie great

[27 July 2018]

The first movie was great. It was exciting, packed with funny jokes, and very emotionally resonant. The plot was also good without being flaky. However, this seriously falters when compared to the first movie. It lacks the oomph the first movie had due to its dragging pace and lack of good characters to make you feel for what happened. The jokes feel forced here rather than funny. It also lacks the emotional resonance with poor, forced melodrama (and the characters, again). Finally, the plot is uninteresting and doesn't make a lot of sense. As always, good visuals, but there should be no reason for this movie to be rated a 7.7 when it is far inferior from the first movie.

Dunkirk (2017)

Relies on camera shots rather than excitement in war thrillers or a likeable character like in drama. Don't expect another "Black Hawk Down" or "Lone Survivor."

[7 June 2018]

Eh... The camera shots are nice but the plot just slogs along. Even "American Sniper" was better--at least it had more plot progression and it felt as though something was happening--and it had a character I could at least care about.

+ Great camera shots

+ Realistic feel

• Plot is very slow

• Lacking in excitement.

I have seen more boring movies than this, so I will give this a 5.

Hero (2002)

Great start, but dwindles later on

[5 January 2018]

The start is really cool, with very enjoyable action scenes. The emperor's perception of the hero originally could be a red herring...or not? The sense of mystery made it exciting to find out the actual story. But ugh, I was really disappointed in the story later on.

The plot went all over the place and had practically no cohesion with all sorts of stuff not making much sense. All those plot twists were annoying.

The visuals are beautiful, but that's basically the only thing I can compliment. The action scenes were quite cool at first, but later on became rather annoying with all the exaggerated jumping and whatnot.

I would recommend only watching until the first half. The second half is filled with irking plot twists and is overall less exciting. Two-thirds into the movie, I was already losing interest because the plot felt nonexistent just for the sake of tacking a moral message in the end.

TL;DR: It was cool in the first half, but the really poor plot towards the second half marred the movie.

+ Great visuals

+ Enjoyable action scenes in the start

• Really illogical and contrived plot

• Action scenes eventually become annoyingly exaggerated

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017)

It works for me to a certain extent

[21 December 2017]

I have never read the CU books. However, I watched it on my flight from Vancouver to Tokyo.

The plot is quite simple yet engaging. It is fast-paced enough to be entertaining yet consistent enough to never be boring. Even with its heavy reliance on potty humour, the other jokes were still funny enough. It is emotionally resonant enough when it should be, but is never marred by melodrama. The action works too.

It's a jack of all trades for elements that make for a superhero action-comedy-drama. It is worth watching at least once.

13 Reasons Why (2017–2020)

Flawed and dragged on for way too long; could have been better

[8 August 2017]

Please note that I have never read the book. However, I will review this based on what I saw.

I wished that I could've liked this show a lot more. However, I can't- -it's too flawed and overlong.

The idea of a bunch of tapes pertaining to a girl's suicide may be interesting, the characters are generally believable, and the music and production are good.

However, I felt that the part relating to the aftermath was overlong and rather redundant. Why was the listening of the tapes dragged over a long time frame? Couldn't he have listened to them overnight or over 2 days? In addition, a bunch of the "reasons" were just not really good and were added just for the sake of having teen drama; they didn't deserve a whole episode.

Hannah's drama queen character may have been interesting, but some parts felt way overdone.

It should have been shortened; this was much longer than it needed to be--it could've even been a 2-hour movie.

The quality of the episodes is rather inconsistent--I liked episodes 11-13, but found 7 to be the worst--Clay's hallucinations were annoying.

Plus, there should have been more focus on Tony and Jeff--I liked those characters.

It may be enjoyable enough, but it dragged a lot. I probably would've stopped on this show if there were no mystery element, for wanting to know what happened next helped me get through the episodes.

+ Later episodes are more enjoyable

+ I've seen worse

+ Interesting mystery element

+ Good production values

• Feels hokey and overdone in various ways

• Dragged out plot

Score: 6. Okay, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Idiocracy (2006)

It has an interesting idea, but the middle part is a bit dragging

[17 June 2017]

The beginning part is fresh and funny. The later part is more emotionally resonant and dramatic. However, the middle part is a bit boring because the joke is stretched there, and it runs out of ideas.

It is a mix between a satirical comedy and a sociological analysis of what an unintelligent society would be like. It is funny and it effectively analyzes a future dystopic society. What prevents me from giving this higher than a 6? It's not hilarious, and it felt a little boring at times, particularly in the middle. The joke felt overlong, and it ran out of good material especially around the middle.

Fortunately, the movie is only 84 minutes, as it felt at times that the joke was stretched for too long.

+ Funny at times (not hilarious, though)

+ Interesting sociology relating to unintelligence

• Overlong (even at 84 minutes)

• Can get a bit boring

Score: 6

Ip Man (2008)

An absolute masterpiece of a martial arts movie

[3 March 2017]

This is a martial arts movie. So it's just lots of mindless action scenes, right? No! This is way more than the mundane martial arts flick.

There are just so many things about this movie that allows is to transcend as a martial arts movie.

The first and foremost are the martial arts scenes. I've seen other martial arts movies, and those fighting scenes were "cool," but only in the sense that they are fun to watch; however, they are mainly placed only for the sake of having those scenes. But what about these action scenes? They are meaningfully placed into the film. In addition, they are more than "cool"-looking; they are outstanding with the incredible realism and the true "wow" factor that are absent in other martial arts films.

The second thing that transcends is the plot. It is not deficient in plot at all unlike other martial arts movies. Its plot is reasonably good even when pitted against other movies outside of this genre that are expected to have good plots.

The final thing is that the characters are just exceptional for this genre. Rather than a boring hero, we have someone of significant depth that is absent in other martial arts movies.

This movie trumps other martial arts movies in so many ways that it is just amazing. It is a masterpiece of a martial arts movie that delivers due to action, characters, and plot that way exceed expectations.

This is worthy of Academy Awards. It's not those mindless martial arts movies; it's very meaningful, resonant, and fine-crafted.

+ GREAT, GREAT martial arts scenes

+ Thoughtful story

+ Great characters

+ Emotional resonance

Score: 10. This movie is really amazing. I would give it an 11 if I could, as this may be the best movie I have ever seen.

Finding Dory (2016)

Drags in the middle and is as forgettable as the protagonist

[17 February 2017]

It's not easy to make a sequel that matches the original. That being said, "Finding Nemo" was more enjoyable and thrilling.

The character of Dory was surprisingly interesting. The poor memory was developed really well into the movie. Unfortunately, there just wasn't anything that memorable about this character. I found the camouflaging character to be the most memorable.

As for emotions, the movie does become sad and emotionally resonant at times. However, I soon forgot the evocation of emotions.

Even though I never actually got bored of the movie, it dragged a lot in the middle. The excitement and emotions do increase in the later part of the movie, though.

+ Great character development for Dory

+ Camouflaging octopus was funny

+ Emotional at times

• Forgettable

• Drags in the middle

Score: 7. Despite the thrills, it drags at times and is forgettable.

The Lego Movie (2014)

Everything is awesome -- just not the beginning part

[8 February 2017]

The movie was very enjoyable, well-acted, well-written, and visually beautiful. Unfortunately, I can't give this a 10 because the first 20 minutes or so drag a bit.

However, the not-so-good beginning part lasts for only about 20-30 minutes or so, and it gets better later on. The second half really picks up, with lots of emotional resonance and excitement.

Also, I wasn't a fan of Lego toys to begin with in the first place. I never really got into them when I played them as a 5-year-old. Nevertheless, I still managed to enjoy this movie for what it was.

+ Fun

+ Well-voiced

+ Visually beautiful

+ Good script

• Drags in the beginning

Score: 9.

Chocolate (2008)

The movie should be much more popular than what it is

[31 December 2016]

This movie that exceeded my expectations. Not only did it have better action than your average martial arts movie, but it also had a good story with great drama.

It was a mix between exciting and exceptionally-executed action and emotionally resonant yet really sad drama. The action scenes were shot and done well, even with a budget of only about 4M USD. The drama was surprising for a martial arts movie. While not that complicated, it managed to be really sad and interesting in the way that it made you feel for the characters.

When compared to all those other martial arts movies out there, it's hard to believe this didn't become a worldwide sensation.

Don't miss this movie. The action is great. The drama is better than even your average drama movie.

+ Great action

+ Drama is sad and engaging

+ Better story than most martial arts movies

• Unrealistic

• Script could be a little better

Score: 10. Great action and great drama.

Get Smart (2008)

More action than comedy to me

[16 December 2016]

The first 20 minutes were kinda boring. Nothing that much happened, and the comedy was not that funny. It felt like rejects from the more recent "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" movie.

From there, the action, characters, and comedy all became better. If you wanted to stop watching after 20 minutes, read the review further to see if you're interested.

"Get Smart" was an action-comedy that blended action with comedy. There was a fair amount of action and some comedy. Personally, though, I enjoyed the action more than the comedy. The comedy was funny, even though the jokes were not always consistent. On the other hand, the action and thriller reminded me of a much more recent movie, "Survivor" (2015) with Milla Jovovich.

The action was light but still exciting. It was helped by a touch of comedy, such as the scene a man dangling off a plane's banner. (If you watch the movie, you'll know what the joke is.)

If that sounds interesting to you, then I'd not turn it off after 20 minutes. The action was fairly prevalent, with action-comedy style action. The comedy was somewhat there.

+ Fun action

+ Some laughs

• Boring in the first 20 minutes

Score: 8

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

Resident Evil meets teen comedy

[22 November 2016]

This movie is not a subtle parody of zombie movies. It's a teenage comedy that also has decently thrilling action. The humour is lowbrow but still funny enough. The action is a bit silly but still fun to watch. Thankfully, the movie is consistently faced paced, exciting, and never boring. The comedy certainly helped.

I'm unsure to whether to state that this is more action or comedy, but it contains both. Just think of Resident Evil with lowbrow comedy if you want a rough idea.

+ Funny

+ Decent action

Score: 8. Worth watching, but not great.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

This is what a superhero movie SHOULD be

[17 November 2016]

With a flood of superhero movies recently, I thought this would be a mundane but good superhero action movie. It was more than that. It was more exciting, funnier, more emotional, and more dramatic than I had expected. The characters and script were solid. I could watch this again later on, because there was so much to the movie that I liked.

This is what a superhero movie should be. It is not just a movie about the accomplishments of a hero. It makes the heroes respectable, and their actions resonate with the viewer.

+ Exciting action

+ Great dialogue

+ Lots of emotional resonance

+ Great characters

Score: 10.

Drive Hard (2014)

A bit dull but engaging and interesting enough

[2 November 2016]

The idea of a former racecar driver getting captured by a thief who uses him as a getaway driver is interesting, but the movie is not perfect. The acting is poor, the script is mediocre, and the plot is inconsistent. Well, I found the biggest problem to be the fact that it felt rather dull.

The fast-paced plot and thrills keep this movie from ever being boring, even if it feels slightly slow at times. The humour sprinkled in the movie certainly helps, as the jokes are never unfunny. They are not hilarious but somewhat funny. The characters are interesting enough but not memorable.

+ Exciting, fast-paced plot

+ Some laughs

+ Interesting idea

• Poor acting

• Mediocre script and production quality

• Somewhat lifeless

• Plot holes exist

Score: 6. Its pace prevents any boring parts, but it is flawed. Even if the action scenes are rather dull, there is consistent excitement.

The Finest Hours (2016)

Incredible action, but dragged by a boring, schmaltzy, and redundant subplot

[15 October 2016]

The action scenes in this movie have incredible cinematography and incredible thrills. They're just outstanding. However, I can't give this a higher score due to the flaws and the lack of these incredible thrills that made the movie worth watching.

However, the schmaltzy drama in the first 15 minutes or so tries to add emotional resonance but is boring and adds way too little to the film. The emotional resonance fails to kick in until around the second half. It finally becomes emotionally resonant right there.

If the syrupy drama in the beginning were removed and the incredible action scenes were much longer, I could give this a 9 or maybe even a 10. Yes; the action scenes wee incredible, and the film was emotionally resonant around the last 30 minutes.

+ Incredible rescue scenes and thrills

• Boring beginning

• Uninteresting drama around first half

Killers (2010)

Takes about 45 minutes to become enjoyable.

[15 October 2016]

The first 45 minutes is a bit boring, but at least the movie got better after that. There was a lack of humour, enjoyment value, and character development for the drama there to be enjoyable. After the uninteresting part, we get treated to action. It's fast-paced and fun but forgettable. There are some mildly amusing jokes and funny action parts here, but nothing too memorable.

The first 45 minutes are almost a waste of time, but after that, it's action that is enjoyable. When compared to Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Knight & Day, the movie contains less action (the action is slightly less enjoyable and more forgettable) and more drama (which is less interesting when compared to the other movies mentioned).

+ Some interesting action

• Draggy first 45 minutes

• Nothing that funny at all

Afflicted (2013)

Interesting concept, but not that engaging and boring at times

[8 October 2016]

This movie manages to blend action, thrills, and scares reasonably well, but it suffers from the lack of engagement value. I think the problem was that the film quality didn't feel like that of a movie, and that the characters lacked depth. At least "Chronicle" felt like a movie. This felt like a found-footage YouTube video by Smosh-like adults.

What type of movie is this? Well, it's a mix of several genres: action, buddy film, psychological thriller, horror, and mystery. All these blend fairly well, but the drama itself is not that interesting. As I said, the reason the drama is not that good to me is most likely because of the YouTube-quality drama.

+ Blends genres well

+ Interesting concepts

• Boring drama

• YouTube video quality

Score: 5.

It Follows (2014)

It may be original and scary, but the plot drags too much, and it lacks enjoyment

[5 October 2016]

This felt more like an overlong TV episode rather than a movie. I did appreciate the originality of the idea and the ambiance that made it scary. However, I was surprised that the critics gave it 97% on Rotten Tomatoes when it had its own share of flaws from poor character development, an iffy resolution, poor flow, and a dragging plot. It took Nothing was really answered in the movie that well. It might be consistently scary, but it lacked in enjoyment value.

At least the movie is watchable. I know it's not that good, but it's not bad. The fact that the movie felt somewhat scary all the time added to it.

Overall, it had a really neat idea that managed to make it scary. However, it didn't know what do do with that idea, and instead settled for a dragging, flawed plot that didn't entertain that much and flowed poorly.

+ Very original idea (I think this explains the extremely high critic reviews)

+ Believable acting from a relatively unknown cast

+ Good ambiance

+ Consistently scary

• Plot drags a lot and flows poorly

• Lacks enjoyment value

• Plot is unanswered in many parts with a poor resolution

• Lack of character development and good narrative

Score: 6. I've seen worse. If you like original plots, then watch it. Otherwise, you can skip it. It's not that enjoyable and is poorly constructed.

Survivor (I) (2015)

Fun, fast-paced action-thriller movie is unrealistic but still quite enjoyable.

[9 September 2016]

This action-thriller boasts quite enjoyable, albeit unrealistic action and thrills that add a lot to the entertainment value. It manages to be enjoyable without being any longer than it should at around an hour and a half.

The style of the action and thriller reminds me of that of action comedies (only the style, good action comedies generally have only okay to decent action, and Survivor is not comedic). Therefore, this movie could also work (possibly for the better) as an action comedy, but the comedy isn't obligatory in making it good to watch, as the action/thriller is quite fun already.

Imagine Get Smart, but remove the comedy, and then add a few more thrills and action.

+ Fun action-thriller

• Unrealistic

Score: 8

Clueless (1995)

Great script, likable characters, and funny jokes make this a fun movie

[25 August 2016]

This is a feel-good movie that mixes comedy, drama, and romance in the right way with a great script. It may be a bit slow around the middle, but it never feels boring. The first half hour is the best part, and it is really enjoyable.

Overall, this is a nice and pleasant movie to watch. It has been dubbed as a "chick flick" my many, but the movie manages to have humour relatable to teenage males (even in 2016).

+ Funny

+ Great script

+ Great characters

+ Good drama

• A bit slow in the middle

Score: 8

'71 (2014)

Very thrilling, but falls apart in the last 20 minutes

[1 August 2016]

This movie manages to be thrilling throughout as the character tries to survive the Troubles. However, the last 20 minutes or so unnecessarily overcomplicates the plot with contrived twists. Also, a more minor flaw, but the characters could've been developed a bit more.

I appreciate the realism in many of the parts of the movie, such as the inept bomb handler. Handling bombs isn't always easy.

+ Thrilling

+ Realism to it

• Flawed plot in last 20 minutes

• Characters could be a little better

I can't give it the best rating, so I'll give it a 7.

Act of Valor (2012)

The incredible precision of solider movements and actions do not make up for the poor quality and lack of enjoyment value

[1 August 2016]

This movie has good intentions, and the casting of real life Navy SEALs allows for the movie to have very accurate soldier movements and actions. However, this movie has very, very little else to offer.

Casting Navy SEALs wasn't the problem. While I can forgive the bad acting, for these Navy SEALs aren't trained actors, there are many other flaws to the movie. The neglect to what makes movies good was the problem. This would be a good movie if it had better storyline, script, and characters. Most importantly, it should be more enjoyable.

If you're expecting a good action movie, no... It's mediocre. The only reason the action is better is not due to the good quality (the action quality is more like that of a TV show rather than a movie), but that the real life Navy SEALs add to the realism. There is a fair amount of action, but not a ton. Then again, it is only okay, for it didn't feel that engaging or thrilling.

The drama is not good either. The script is really poor, and the characters are really poor. The drama even feels somewhat redundant at times. Most importantly, the overall movie felt more like a TV show rather than an actual movie.

+ Incredibly realistic solider movements

• Iffy, uninteresting plot

• Poor characters

• TV show quality

• Bad script

• Lack of enjoyment and engagement value throughout, including the action scenes

Score: 5 - It's debatable whether I should've watched this or not. The idea of real life Navy Seals playing this is cool, but as a movie, it is meh (due to the flaws).

Tower Heist (2011)

The first 30 minutes starts off poorly when compared to the rest of the movie

[19 June 2016]

The first 30 minutes or so may be sufficient in turning off some viewers. I was glad I didn't stop watching there. After 30 minutes, the film totally picked up. If picking up was enough, within 45 minutes or so, it became much better AGAIN to the point where it was like watching a whole different movie. The shoplifting scene was really funny. If that was funny enough, then get this: it was unfunny when compared to the absolutely hilarious scene that happened a little later (I will not spoil this great joke, but it involves Ben Stiller's character explaining instructions).

The heist was fun, too, with humour mixed in to contribute to the action to make it even better. All I have to say is that the whole movie was a good pick, despite not expecting a lot from it.

+ Extremely hilarious scene around halfway

+ Many other funny jokes

• First 15-30 minutes not that good

Score: 8. It's a borderline 9, though.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Enjoyable for what it is

[9 June 2016]

The movie's nothing that new. While people may complain that this is very much like Episode IV, people can enjoy the movie as homage to this movie, thus reminding them of why they came here in the first place. If people are unhappy that this is way too similar to Episode IV, those who watched that movie ages ago will likely not remember everything, so it's like a modern rewatch of that movie.

Think of it as if you watched Episode IV again, but the legacy remains. Even as a standalone movie, it is good - the action is good, the story is enjoyable, and the overall movie is enjoyable.

+ Good action

+ Homage to older movies

+ Enjoyable

• Some complain this is too much like Episode IV.

Rating: 9 - Enjoyable as a movie.