horton-2 Reviews

Outlast (2023– )

Completely scripted garbage for the drama fans

[1/10 · 3 April 2023]

The characters are for the most part very stereotyped and casted poorly and the acting is pretty horrible. The dead giveaway that this is 100% scripted however was when the 2 people are taken away and send a letter back. The remaining members on the team read the letter but they're both exactly the same letter. Pause the footage. The production is so cheap they just reused the same prop?

The 1st letter was obviously not written by the character that supposedly left the show. It's like the writers of the show wrote the letter but wrote it in their own style instead of the style of the character.

People constantly make poor decisions, decisions which prolong the storylines, and it repeats itself. It's like watching The Walking Dead except at least you get to see zombies on that show.

Save your time and watch Alone instead.

All Superheroes Must Die (2011)

Horribly inconsistent and dumb

[1/10 · 31 January 2013]

I like campy low budget movies so I thought I'd give this a try. However at one scene a lady has a weapon but charges an enemy and throws said weapon aside while doing so. WTF? Any idiot knows to use the weapon and if you're a superhero, and most probably a veteran of some encounters, you would know to take advantage of it. I had to stop it because I hate when any movie makes characters stupid in order to force the story along.

Also, how come someone has super strength one second then doesn't the next? Oh yeah, to force the story along.

The only good thing about this movie is Harry from Dexter as the bad guy.

Apollo 18 (2011)

Some good but the majority is just bad

[3/10 · 4 December 2011]

The acting is actually pretty good they did a great job with the sequences they had. My gripe was the problem most Hollywood movies have, stupidity. When characters do something stupid over and over when it's obvious if they didn't do it they wouldn't get in trouble in the first place and thus no conflict in the story.

The other big problem is it's supposed to feel like stock footage but they add so many sound effects and even background music with the sound effect feel that it's incredibly distracting and quite annoying. Why all the bass effects all the time?

The thing I really want to know most though is they can send men to the moon but they can't send them with flashlights? Really?

Diary of the Dead (2007)

Yet another "what wouldn't you do in this situation" movie

[3/10 · 20 May 2008]

Some people are falling for the method in how they represented the story but to me it seemed like they couldn't decide if that's the way they wanted to tell it or not. The premise is that it's a video that one of the characters edited together from all the footage they got. However, half of it is edited as if a pro edited the film yet they retain all the little blips of the camera cutting off - they really blip all right. If they stuck to one format they would've done all right.

Now for the characters it's the usual do the dumbest thing you could think of at the moment most of the time. How many times do characters need to hear to shoot them in the head to learn it? How many rounds of ammo do they use on a 5 on one zombie situation when any kind of the blow to the head would do? Wait, instead of a blow to the head how about an even more difficult task of a defibrillator to the head just to show special effects? Nothing matches up either. They learn that someone is bitten and they take a good 30 minutes to go into the house? Also, how preachy is this thing? They're zombies yet throughout the entire movie they go on about how they're killing people and how bad they feel. This and that. How many times did someone say they didn't want the gun because "it's too easy"? Then a freaking bow and arrow? Come on.

This movie had potential but just went plain stupid. The only reason to watch this is for the 5 minutes or so with the Amish guy.

Spirit of the Marathon (2007)

A look at the 2005 Chicago Marathon

[10/10 · 27 January 2008]

For some odd reason it was decided to show this movie throughout the country only once on January 24th at 7:30pm. Because of this every theater in Chicago was sold out of tickets weeks before the event. I wound up driving to the suburbs to see it. Fortunately for those that missed it they will have an encore presentation on February 21st.

If you are a runner or have set a goal to one day run a marathon you will love this movie without a doubt. If you also happen to live in Chicago you will love it even more. Oddly enough this movie is released in 2008 but follow people preparing for the 2005 marathon.

The strength of this film was that they not only followed the elite runners they followed people from all speeds. One of the people they followed was Deena Kastor, the current US women's record holder for the marathon (and I believe 5K, 8K, 15K, and the half last I heard), one of the best American hopefuls for the Olympics this year. They also followed runners that were attempting to qualify for Boston as well as a few first timers and over 5 hour runners. The only other documentary about marathons I've seen was the Nova version which followed all first timers so it was nice seeing a broader range of views and struggles.

I have only ran one marathon so far and after that I became more intent on improving my time than ever before with Chicago being my next one. With an attitude like that it was inevitable I was going to like this film but Jon Dunham did a fantastic job piecing together some very unique footage that helps you appreciate the scale of such an event even more.

It gets my heart pumping just thinking about the next marathon.

Vacancy (2007)

One of the worst movies I've seen in a long time

[1/10 · 19 August 2007]

I don't think I've ever seen so many stupid things in one movie than in this one. One of my biggest pet peeves is when main characters do obviously stupid things repeatedly throughout.

This is one of those Hollywood fabrictions that involve the main characters doing stupid things over and over again in order to keep the story going. If in fact if they didn't do those stupid things they actually would have made it safely away from the motel without incident. However, that's not a movie so thus stupidity reigns.

Some stranger is banging on the door in the middle of the night? Hey, let's not use the peep hole and then undo the chain lock before opening it nice and wide and looking around.

One of the only two thoughts of arming themselves in this movie was in breaking a mirror by punching it, thus cutting his fist up, and going to fetch a gun that's displayed on a plaque. How many people keep loaded pistols up on a plaque? He was standing RIGHT below the said plaque earlier in the movie as well. He also had a towel rack bar in his hand that he used to break the window with but then tossed aside. Nyah, it's better to leave the room with nothing than a large metal rod. Hey, they have a nice shower rod that they could use! Wait, let's hang it back up in the shower. What the hell was with that? I can go on and on. Avoid this movie at all costs unless you want to feel like a genius.

Volcano High (2001)

It just did not deliver on some of the hype I've been hearing

[4/10 · 16 December 2006]

At 121min this movie may only seem a little longer than the average film but it felt like 3hours. Not much of anything happens throughout. In fact those fantastic fight scenes some people spoke of just did not ever present themselves. The plot was completely predictable and their explanation of his powers were completely weak.

I gave it a 4 though instead of anything lower because I'll admit there were some humorous scenes in the beginning. However, after those scenes it's all down hill. The acting from most was fairly good but the material they had to work with made their hard work in vain. The film produced a certain surreal atmosphere that played well to the story but they just relied on this and CGI way too much.

My Dead Girlfriend (2006)

Funniest movie I've seen in a long time

[10/10 · 19 November 2006]

If you're extremely picky about how a film looks, you should know this is an independent movie with a low budget so it's pretty grainy throughout. However, that's just something they couldn't help due to their limitations, unlike Hollywood yet they still produce mostly crap.

Now the movie itself though is a hoot 'n holler. The main characters acted by Brett Kelly and Caitlin DeLaney were a surprise to say the least. I started the movie not expecting much except some gore but those two plus an incredibly snappy script made for a very enjoyable movie. I would even say this is more of a comedy than a horror movie since there really isn't that much blood or gore and when they do show some it's a little thing. The rest of the film is mostly just jokes after another though.

If you're up for some goofiness check this movie out. You'll enjoy it. And by the way there's something after the credits.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Tears... it brought tears to my eye

[10/10 · 27 August 2001]

I was laughing so hard through so many of the scenes I had tears coming out of my eyes!! And the last 10 minutes??? Classic stuff. Watch this before people give away too many of the jokes. Then again, even if you knew what was coming it was still so funny you won't believe it.

How did Kevin Smith ever think of some of this stuff??

Destination Moon (1950)

Considering the first man in space was in 1961...

[8/10 · 12 January 2001]

Sure the plot was very straightforward and it was inevitable that the problems that came up would come up but overall, I really liked the film. When you consider that nobody had even put a satellite in orbit yet and everything they attempt to show of what space is like is based entirely on what they thought they knew, it's amazing how accurate they were.

The acting at first seemed bland and I wanted to slap that stupid Brooklyn guy around but as someone stated, the movie needed someone the scientists had to explain everything to. I guess if they wanted the audience to understand any of it they had to do it this way. At that year I highly doubt most people knew what space was like at all. We just take it completely for granted now.

Fifty-one years from its release and here I am watching it in DVD format. It amazes me sometimes. I gave it an 8.

Pay It Forward (2000)

Fantastic movie!

[10/10 · 4 November 2000]

If you've gotten down to my comment, you've probably already seen the movie so I'll speak openly. If you haven't seen it, GO SEE IT!!! As someone else said, I'd gladly pay twice the value to see this movie again. SPOILER ALERT I heard two things about this movie. One person told me it was good. Another told me his mother didn't like the ending. Well, it was a damn good movie and the ending was damn good as well. To those of you complaining about how it should have ended, how would you have ended it? Any other way would have led to merely non-climactic, rather dull end. Consider this, Trevor's goal was to have the "pay it forward" idea spread exponentially. With his death, millions of people would be making an attempt to continue his idea. That pulls up so much posibility, that at movie's end, you have to sit back and just think about it all. If he merely lived on, it's doubtful he would have made as much an impact.

As for the acting, if Kevin Spacey and Osment don't get nominated for Oscars, I'd be rather irked. Then again, the Academy sometimes really have no idea what they're doing anyway. American Beauty should not have won. Spacey should not have won. However, in this movie, Spacey deserves it wholeheartedly. I've always been a big fan of his.

And as for that LittleRock person's comments about the movie where he raved about the book, it's just a damn good thing Trevor died before meeting Clinton. One look at Bill would have killed all hope for humanity he had in his heart.

Now that you've seen the movie, go spread some good as well. And by the way, do good for good's sake, not just so you're a little less likely to go to hell.

Cube (1997)

Great concept, bad actors

[8/10 · 4 November 2000]

I just kind of stumbled onto this movie so I had absolutely no idea what it was about. Didn't even see any shots of the movie itself, nor the cover art.

Going in, I'd have to say the premise is one of the best I've heard so far. All these people, all so very different, situated in one small area with one common potentially lethal dilemma. It's fantastic. They never revealed how they got there or who put them there but that's part of what makes it good. About 30 minutes into the movie, it dawned on me that this is basically something like a Tales From the Darkside or a Twilight Zone that got made into a movie. Both those shows were primarily made of great stories woven around a small number of characters and cheap sets. This is what the movie basically was. If you liked those shows, you'll enjoy this movie.

The only drawback I saw were the acting. Some of the primary characters, the cop for one, absolutely sucked. It was nice how he tried to appear the nice leader at first and changed, but overall that guy is not a very good actor. The autistic guy was horrible as well. Must all autistic people be good at math or have good memory? Well, in Hollywood they all do it seems. Worth's character was very well acted though. I liked him a lot and hope to see more in the future.

I'll admit though that one bad showing doesn't mean they'll always be bad. Just look at Hillary Swank from The New Karate Kid and then compare that to Boys Don't Cry.

Overall I gave it a 8. Worthy of a rental for sure.

A Little Princess (1995)

Story, acting, cinematography, music... all absolutely superb

[10/10 · 26 April 2000]

Ignore that post by oleander-3. His opinion is obviously WAY too biased to count at all. Compared to the Shirley Temple version though this is MUCH MUCH better. The greatest thing about this movie is how beautiful it is in general. All the scenery, music, settings and camera work blend together into one incredibly memorable film. I even bought the soundtrack! If you want to see a movie that'll make you feel good inside, watch this! And if you have kids, watch this! By the way, if you don't cry at the end, you're simply not human.