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Reviews
El Gringo (2012)
El Gringo? Really?
The plot is not bad itself for a B action movie. Give me a break - I do not know where this movie was filmed, nor do I care. The only thing I care about is this was not filmed in Mexico. So why call it El Gringo? Russian made cars, buses, etc. The vegetation was not native to Mexico. The architecture was also not native to Mexico. I do not know how much cheaper was to film this somewhere else, but this definitely affects the realism of the movie and my viewing experience. If you guys are trying to make a movie and distribute it in the US, consider the fact that quite a few of us have traveled south in the past. There are quite a few movies out there, in which the action supposedly takes place in some fictional country in Eastern Europe or Asia, so it would have not been that difficult to adapt the storyline. I give this movie the 2 stars because I liked Scott Adkins' performance. Otherwise would have been less.
Django Unchained (2012)
One of the best profanity movies of the year
After the huge success of this movie over the past few weeks I started wondering what is Tarantino's winning recipe for this movie. Was it the depiction of brutality African people were subjected to during the slavery? Certainly not, since there are movies that do a much better job in that area. Was it the spaghetti western style? Not the best one in that area either. The satirical portrayal of some characters or situations? The movie has its funny moments, but with all of my generosity I could not call it a comedy nor a satire. And then it struck me. Profanity. Profanity spiced with a few jokes and the right dose of blood spatter. Thinking back to his previous work I started to see the pattern. This recipe seems to be very successful with the audience. Why not give the masses what they want, right? That one worked for Rome too. At least for a while. It seems to me the prophecy of the movie Idiocracy regarding our society is becoming a reality much sooner than expected.
Skyfall (2012)
One of the worst Bond movies ever
Story line was what mostly spoiled this movie for me. M's corporate style excuse for betraying one of her agents actually made me root for the bad guy. Also made me happy to see her die at the end. Not a stellar finale for Judy's role as M.
Bardem's tirade on what HCN does to a person when ingested was probably very impressive for somebody who never went to high school or never watched CSI.
The Bond girls tradition was broken too. Normally the girls would leave a lasting impression - either good or bad. Not the case this time. Their screen presence was barely noticeable. I thought the franchise had hit rock bottom with Halle Berry in that regard. I stand corrected.
Daniel Craig's and Javier Bardem's performances were stellar and this is the only reason I gave it 3 stars. And I am not sure I will be paying to see the next one. Unless the the franchise comes up with money back guarantee.
Continuum (2012)
Long live the corporate domination of the world
Sci-fi movies and TV shows that touch the subject of the world ruled by corporations in the not so distant future depict a bleak destiny for mankind. Such scenarios seem to be pretty plausible considering history up to this point in time. The writers of this show seem to be trying to convince me of the opposite. Corporate domination of the world is good. Tyranny is good. And so are the protectors of such domination, while the people who oppose it are the bad guys. And to support that theory those guys are depicted as psychopathic murderers, so I would empathize with the corporate rulers. I decided to follow the show for a while, hoping its premise would eventually change. That has not happened so far and I am through watching it. The acting and the special effects seem to be decent, but that alone is not good enough for me. Might be okay for the non-discriminatory viewer though. This is a Canadian show, right?
Mission London (2010)
Close, but no cigar
This movie was recommended to me by a Bulgarian friend who proudly described it as a world class motion picture. It was supposed to be a comedy, but after watching it I was no longer sure what the genre was. It had only a few funny scenes a person who was not brought up in communist Bulgaria would find funny. I seriously doubt the story would reach an audience outside of Bulgaria. Some countries of the former communist block are its best shot. Choosing a location outside Bulgaria to make the movie more appealing did not help in my case. Neither did adding some native English speaking actors to the cast. Acting of the Bulgarian cast was sub-par. I could not make sense of some of their English sentences. If that were intentional, they were not targeting English speaking audience for sure. The story had the potential for a B-movie, but the execution fell short of that. The Bulgarian film industry has a long way to go before it could be accepted by a wider audience.