lightfinger-91687 Reviews

The Marvels (2023)

Bland performances & poor attention to detail

[5/10 · 14 May 2024]

While the best part of the movie is its shortened length, the movie itself suffers from lack of attention to detail. It feels as if the director had no clue how to make a "believable" sci fi fantasy movie.

Battle scenes lack continuity, while one persons attack can render total destruction while the same attack barely knocks someone off their feet. The ladies never really hit each other and their hair is always perfect after a scramble, and not one scratch on their pretty faces???

The relationship aspects of the film felt disingenuous and forced. There is just too many instances of the movie that leave you scratching your head and asking yourself, why did they put that in the movie?

With that said, it wasn't as horrible as I expected, It was just poorly directed which resulted in subpar acting performances.

Werewolf by Night (2022 TV Movie)

Definitely question those 10/10 ratings

[5/10 · 9 October 2022]

I was astounded by the many 10/10 ratings of this show and the overwhelming opinion of how "cool" it was to be shot in black and white and how it was a homage to films of the 30s,40s,50s,60s,70s( apparently reviewers unfamiliar which decade they meant)

Yes, the black and white was a nice spin, similarly used for effect in Sin City so well, and the movie does have a throwback feel to some of the horror genre of the 40s and 50s. Actually the movie feels much like the Abbott and Costello meets Frankenstein movie, with less comedy and more effort to create a creepy foreboding atmosphere.

The movie takes a bit to get going, but not boring in its effort. Unfortunately so much effort was spent on scene work that it feels cheap when the surprise monster appears which is a lackluster costume attempt to the one shown in their own comic title of the 70s. A far cry from the Lon Chaney jr makeup/costume of the 40s

I think the heightened ratings are a culmination of people starved for a successful Marvel attempt after a string of disappointing Marvel entries as of late.

This short film is not a bad effort, but not something to race to purchase at a store or pay to rent. It is however worth watching once every Halloween season.

Elvis (2022)

Ugh, what were they thinking

[5/10 · 5 September 2022]

What a clumsy attempt to update the already done several times of the life of Elvis Presley!

Except this time from the viewpoint of colonel Parker acted by Tom Hanks in an intrepid and annoying rendition that is an eye and ear sore of every minute he is on.

The excess sound track is I'll fitting and tiresome as it's over used to showcase an abundance of Rhythm and blues from artist that had some influence on Elvis.

Additional hip hop sound tracks just detract altogether and are ridiculous to add to the sonic palette of a 50s era biopic. Just another example of how out of touch the director was on their vision of this film.

The portrayal of Elvis by Austin is pretty good, too bad it's wasted in this directorial travesty.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022– )

I fast forwarded

[6/10 · 4 September 2022]

There is some visually good looking scenery, but acting is half hearted especially from the hobbits ...pun intended. It seems to be trying too hard with dialogue and characters for the hobbits.

The dynamic of disappointment from Durin toward Elrond felt genuine and was one of the better scenes. Take out the whiney petulance of Galadriel and the stale portrayals of the hobbits and the rest flows pretty well.

Only two episodes in, but I see the annoying hobbits actors are slated for 8, so that is disappointing. Guess more scenes of them to fast forward through.

Apparently my above paragraphs weren't enough of a review, strange it's usually enough for movie reviews on here, probably some glitch to hide lower rated reviews.

The Ten Commandments (1956)

Quite simply, how does one rate this less than 9

[10/10 · 22 August 2022]

What does this movie need to get above a 7 rating???

Costumes are awesome, screenplay is awesome, acting is outstanding, directing is at a pinnacle and special effects of top quality. Music is great.

Any one who rates this movie below a 9 has a questionable opinion or simply an axe to grind due to subject matter.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

set up film that doesn't really set up

[6/10 · 18 August 2022]

The movie isn't bad, the added horror elements work if your expounding into some of Marvel's horror character arcs, which isn't apparent by the movie if it's happening.

Definitely a Sam Raimi film.

Why Marvel insist on making Wanda so powerful makes little sense to me. She was a second tier character at best for decades.

They insist on undermining Strange in order to make Wanda appear so powerful. The cameos of the Illuminati are laughable and just inane how easily Wanda disposes of them.

Not very illuminating, but not unwatchable.

Eternals (2021)

A train wreck

[4/10 · 18 August 2022]

As a comic fan of the eternals, this movie really really misses the mark. Just ignore source material, go with some retcon nonsense and start with horrible casting( director and casting company should be lambasted for this vomit)

Deviants? Well insert any antagonist with no personality and there you go. The Rocks from the Monolith Monsters were much antagonist and surprising better actors.

Jolie is wasted here and miscast( should have played Sersi) Sersi is totally against her comic character personage.

Most of their power sets are extremely tame, and the story is so convoluted it just seems tedious and going no where until the end.

Some decent comic relief from an eternal tag along and a potential great character development is wasted on the Sprite character that should have maybe been the main story driver of film.

Prey (I) (2022)

There is a lot wrong with the movie, but watchable

[5/10 · 8 August 2022]

Movie starts off ok, but apparently the whole goal was to showcase this lead actress as some form of super woman.

Able to be poly lingual, a king fu master, a special weapons expert, and someone with a chip on there shoulder to prove their worthiness in a caste system that likely would have afforded them no outlets to begin with.

Re writing the script would have worked better to showcase this "strong" woman agenda they were going for.

The predator is a super beast in some scenes and inept in others.

Film is watchable but you spend a bunch of time trying to validate the believability of sequences.

Fright Night (1985)

Still holds up well

[8/10 · 3 April 2022]

A fun horror/comedy. Roddy McDowell is outstanding in this role, and the portrayal by William Ragsdale is well plotted out. Movie was a good enough to spawn a sequel and a remake. Enough said.

Horror of the Blood Monsters (1970)

Shoestring budget and shoestring production

[2/10 · 3 April 2022]

You would be best to skip this movie. This movie has little redeeming quality. It's hard to sit through. The beginning sequence is laughable and comes off as a poor documentary and then switches to a space endeavor.

Laserblast (1978)

Not the best movie, but a surprising cast of known stars

[3/10 · 3 April 2022]

The movie suffers from an abundance of directing and editing errors. It comes off much like a film Made for a film school project, but not totally without merit. Plot devices are poorly executed and character reactions are not plausible. I've seen much worse movies.

It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)

A rubber suit, and great story can make a great movie

[7/10 · 2 December 2021]

This is a stellar movie for it's time, it still is enjoyable to watch even if it's very much dated. Some typical performances by the actresses in the movie but it was nice to see one given the part of the senior medical officer of the rescue ship, and not just relegated to the damsel in distress roles typical of the time

It was films like this that inspired so many to become sci fi writers, film makers, make up and effects artist.

Sin City (2005)

Smart and stylish

[7/10 · 2 December 2021]

A visually stunning movie, and a mesmerizing feel as the characters narrate their stories. The noir genre gets a much needed dose of contemporary improvement

This is a rare gem of art meets technology in a wonderful piece of film.

Schindler's List (1993)

Honestly a good film, but over rated IMO

[7/10 · 2 December 2021]

I was told how great this film was and saw it shortly after it came out and even then thought it was a "C" movie, many ridiculed my assessment so I watched it again and my view hasn't changed.

I think this is one of those films that although well done, gets a substantial bump based on emotion of its subject matter. With that said, it's definitely a film that should be watched every now and again to remind us what happens when we start looking at people as less than human.

Daredevil (2003)

Gets more ridicule than it deserves

[6/10 · 2 December 2021]

This movie is an adequate attempt to bring Daredevil to the big screen. The chemistry of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck is palpable and their schoolyard sparring match is a nice feature of the film.

Plot plays out like a comic book, and in that sense it really feels like your watching a live action comic. Bullseye character is pretty fun on screen too.

Stone Cold (1991)

A better action movie than given credit

[5/10 · 2 December 2021]

Suffering from some bad cliche lines not withstanding, the roles of William Forsythe and Lance Hendrickson make this yarn an enjoyable unashamed violence of gang warfare and debauchery

Brian Bosworth isn't horrible in this either, he could have been but was at least marginal in his portrayal.

Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

Wow, actually worsens the original

[4/10 · 2 December 2021]

Pretentious is not a good word, but does adequately describe this travesty.

The first half hour wasn't bad, after that it is a hodgepodge of nonsensical scene changes, and does Wonder Woman have Flash like speed or not.

I mean she seems to have super speed when she wants to for "film entertainment" but when she could really use it for functionality it altogether vanishes???

This is just one aspect of mis cues in this "remake"

Knives Out (2019)

Could have been

[4/10 · 2 December 2021]

Hard to get past Daniel Craig's performance in the movie, a good cast wasted mostly with small scenes.

I tried to keep this review short and sweet, but apparently I need to drone on much like this movie did..

Dune (2021)

Should change name to Done

[4/10 · 2 December 2021]

Wow, the sand had more character than most of the cast in this film. I am baffled this movie has scored so high in rating, which makes me suspect if there is not some manipulation of this by movie executives and studio payoffs.

Marginal performances from Mamoa, and Isaacs and decent portrayal by Brolin, the rest of the cast was amateur which I fault to horrible screenplay and directing.

It's as if the director and writers assumes the viewer has read the book(s) and watched the original movie, because they leave out a whole lot that would make their film watchable. The sound track and costumes are extremely inane also.