michael-neichl-904-632888 Reviews

Taken 2 (2012)

What happened to this story?

[6/10 · 13 October 2012]

I cant believe there are people out there saying that those who enjoyed the first movie will love this one. Taken was one of the most surprising movies for me when it came out. I expected a solid action film but what i got was a great thriller with a lot of suspense, great acting, dialogs and an awesome leading character.

Where did all these ingredients go to for the sequel? I don't want to make a direct comparison in detail about the two taken movies because it would take forever, but to put it short: While the first one took itself serious and respected the audience, the second one feels more like a bad action comedy that treats the audience like they have never seen an action film. There are so many things that are wrong in this movie and that make no sense (LITTLE SPOILER the way the daughter finds her father again END OF SPOILER) The action-scenes are so badly put/cut together you can barely make out a thing. The dialogs (with the exception of one or two) were dumbed down, I got the feeling someone who had never even seen the first movie wrote them.

All in all if you expect the sequel to be as thrilling or close as serious as the first one you're gonna get left in the dust, this sequel is only for those who don't mind a complete different take on a "franchise" that could have easily been so much more, than just a cheap, filled action film.

The Hunger Games (2012)

But it could have been so easily 10

[7/10 · 27 March 2012]

First of all I have to say that I haven't read the hunger games, a friend told me that the movie just had a few changes but it would sum up the book pretty good.

Well I gonna start with the good things: The characters and actors. I was impressed by the between teen and adult actors they were really good, I felt really connected to each of them which is also because their characters were written very well it's great to see that the author obviously treats his audience/readers seriously and knows how to write clever teenagers who aren't just cardboard cutouts. Next the camera-work is pretty good although there is a lot of shaky cam, the length and the way the suspense is build up with it's sort of two half's was really great sort of a Kubrick like and overall I liked the idea But with the idea and story were my problems. Now keep in mind I haven't read the book and i didn't want my friends to tell me anything from the book so that I can only understand this universe by the movie and I think thats were some people gonna have the same complains as I have.

*I'm not gonna spoil anything, but give a short version of the beginning* First of all these are the 74th Hunger-Games is seriously anyone telling me that this ending NO SPOILER has never happened in 74 years? I mean these are still humans I just cant comprehend the fact that for over 74 years these hunger games happened just as they were planed without any problems caused by the competitors. Second these games *again no real spoiler but a basic info* as I understood were made to prevent a war of the districts. Exactly how is a tournament of kids from 12-18 going to prevent a war rather then forcing people to get mad at the government and system who made this happen? In the book its probably explained but again in the movie it stays as a plot hole, at least for me. There is also a little problem that would require me to spoil something but I think a review doesn't need spoilers to explain my thoughts.

All in all its a nice movie, definitely watchable and for smart teenagers a must see but in the end I feel like I really have to read the book in order to understand the world this story takes place in and thats kind of sad because with Harry Potter I could leave the books aside and enjoy the movies for what they are without feeling betrayed, with Hunger Games I know that I cant understand this universe enough.

The Ides of March (2011)

I never wanna go to politics

[8/10 · 8 January 2012]

I just came home from the ides of march and boy, what a political drama this was. First i want to give the reasons why I couldn't give a 10, which I'm going to make pretty short because I really want to focus on the good stuff. First the length: Even though it is important to build up the drama and especially the thriller aspect slow and step by step, I have to admit there were some scenes that could have been cut better. I'm not saying there were any unnecessary moments but at one point or another they could have saved us a couple of minutes. And the ending which I'm not giving away is debatable but for me it wasn't quite what I expected nor what I wanted. Thats not to say it was horrible or anything but I don't know, it didn't fit for me.

But now lets get to the good stuff: The actors, the pacing (for the most part), the clever twists. This (speaking as an Austrian) was just what I had in mind when I thought of politics in America when it comes to who is going to be the president. It's not about who has the best speeches or what whoever is going to do to serve his country best, its about finding mistakes of the opponent and using tricks and all sorts of manipulation to get to the goal. The more time passes the more you feel along with the main character that when you want to get somewhere in politics you have to become a cold hearted bastard who wont stop for nothing. There are many sub messages like in the end it doesn't care what your motivation was as long as you get what you want. Or in politics you can do everything, like in war there are no rules except for one, and so on and so on. So yes, this movie makes for a lot of debatable topics, which is something I really enjoy. The cast is fantastic, everyone of them is just in his role I never saw an actor in any of these people I saw the freaking characters they were supposed to be, I'm thrilled thinking this might could have been reality.

So if you are tired of the 100th action movie and looking for something rather slow but pretty intense, go and check this one out, probably especially if you are American.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

Your average, typical okay action film

[7/10 · 20 December 2011]

Before I give a piece of my mind about Phantom Protocoll, a quick sum up of my thoughts of the other Mission Impossible movies: Part 1: nice and good Part 2: forgettable Part 3: really cool, due to Philip Seymour Hoffman so all in all, I wouldn't go as far as to call the trilogy great or fantastic but it definitely has its moments and overall is pretty entertaining. And the same can be said about Part 4.

First lets talk about the things that work: the story, its your typical agents go on a secret mission story, its no inception but it works fine for the film. Then the cast (for the most part): even though i'm not a huge fan of Tom Cruise (still loved him in minority report though) here he is okay, plays his role pretty subtle and the same can be said about Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg. The only minor problem I have is that Peggs role is a bit too over the top since he is the typical comedic flick who has to be in every movie nowadays. Not bad, but not necessary ether. The last thing that works really good is the action. There is a good use of CGI, the scenes in Dubai are amazing and the movie is never too overblown with effects so you can't take a break from it (go and tell Michael Bay that).

Now the things that don't work for me are as I said the role of Simon Pegg, the length of the movie because i think it could have been cut a bit but most of all the quote unquote drama back story of Jeremy Renner. Even though I really love this guy and the fact that i wanted to see this movie because of him I think he was the weakest link in the chain. His back story is beyond clichéd, there are some mayor plot holes in it and he was absolutely unnecessary for the main plot.

But still if people ask me should I see Phantom protocol I'd say yes, as long as you just expect some nice action with maybe a bit too much forced humor, you're in for a ride, even though it doesn't revolutionize the genre of action films.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Really nice, but not without flaws

[8/10 · 30 October 2011]

I've seen this movie with a good friend of mine and we both thought paranormal activity is one of the better horror flicks from the last century. With that said though, there are definitely some problems with the movie too. For example i have to say the ending *NO SPOILER* (which my friends often say was the most horrifying part) didn't give me much of a thrill, there were some other scenes which were way scarier but thats opinion based. Also some scenes were too long you could argue its to give the audience a little pause and build up for more suspense but at a few moments i really thought the film was unnecessarily stretched out.

But now that I told you my negative parts I have to point out the positive ones as well and Paranormal Activity had a ton of great ideas for modern horror films. For example the suspense: as far as never has there been a film that build up so much uncomfortableness and suspense like this. Every time you see the timer on the camera going from fast to normal you get little thrills not knowing whats going to happen next. There are not that many jump scares but really creepy, frightening scenes. *SPOILER* my favorite being when she gets out of bed stands next to him and just staring at him, or the scene where both wake up and he asks: Did you hear that as well?" really really good stuff *END OF SPOILER*

So yeah I'd definitely recommend Paranormal Activity to every true horror fan as well as people who usually don't watch these kind of movies because this one truly is something different.

The Three Musketeers (2011)

There is stupid logic, no logic and then there is...

[4/10 · 6 September 2011]

The three musketeers, and by god am I disappointed. I mean don't get me wrong I excepted a simple story with typical elements, nice fight scenes and a great cast that can act great. Except for the actually really cool looking fights I didn't get anything, the cast is great but the dialogs and script are so horrible even Christoph Waltz couldn't save them. The story is all over the place, you don't get to know any of the musketeers, or barely a character at all and the biggest problem: A movie doesn't have to be realistic for me but it has to make sense in his own universe of the movie (like Matrix its not realistic but logical). The three musketeers plays with the rules of physics, logic and sense of a human being like they were beanbags. Oh and surprise surprise: 3D is useless, but thats nothing new tell me a movie that really had to have 3D except for avatar or maybe tron.

Movie with a simple plot fine , one that makes no sense at all, you better don't count on my vote.

So if you can enjoy a pointless excuse of a story for some nice swordplay, have fun.

Final Destination 5 (2011)

As stupid as entertaining

[7/10 · 26 August 2011]

I don't know what it is about the final destination movies, the trilogy was pretty nice, the fourth was totally forgettable and I expected that the 5th would be as well.

But it's actually pretty nice, everyone who has seen a final destination movie knows the drill: teenagers getting saved from a disaster (realy great looking bridge scene) just to get killed in a pretty brutal way (and oh my god they were awesome). By the way because some people often treat final destination fans as heartless and bloodthirsty come on the violence in these movies is so over the top and ridiculously impossible you just cant resist laughing at some points, I had a good time in the cinema watching this little horror-flick, its no Shakespeare just some pretty nice death scenes, a cool ending that i wont spoiler and actually some good 3D effects (which is rare nowadays).

So if you're a final destination fan go check this movie out you wont be disappointed.

Super 8 (2011)

THE summer-blockbuster I was waiting for

[8/10 · 8 August 2011]

Seeing that there has been such an amount of really lazy dumba** movies this summer I was so happy watching Super 8 last night. I don't know where to start, to make a long story short: It's awesome, it's a really great film, has a lot of heart (you definitely feel this was a production by Spielberg and Abraham's)the child actors are unbelievable totally fantastic. (Funny that Spielberg has a talent for finding good child actors) The story is typically Spielberg story, I know it's by Abrahams but it has so much of an old nostalgic Spielberg movie, you don't have to like it but I loved it. Maybe the ending NO SPOILERS was a bit rushed but overall it was a great adventure.

So yeah by chance go to the cinema and check that movie out. Won't regret it.

Insidious (I) (2010)

Two stars for the two moments I got "scared"

[4/10 · 2 August 2011]

And scared isn't the right word because I define scared as feeling uncomfortable and exhausted and just wanting to pause the movie to watch something less scary (like when I watched paranormal activity, that was a great movie) But I jumped two times when an unsuspecting jump-cut happened. Thats it! The rest of the movie is for those who have never seen a horror movie, then it probably is pretty scary, the scenery isn't too bad but the story, the characters, the shock moments you know absolutely every scene and what's going to happen next.

So like I said those who love clichéd horror movies or who never saw a classic horror title may have a pretty good time.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

10 years of Harry Potter, the great ending of a great series, Thank you!

[7/10 · 13 July 2011]

It's over! It has finally ended! After 10 years of watching Harry Potter growing up and becoming a great magician it's finally time to say goodbye. For me it's still kind of sad seeing I really grew up with Potter, I was about 6-7 when the first movie was released, so keep in mind that this review isn't really about criticizing the actors, the story, the effects because for me as a big Harry Potter fan, I couldn't talk about these things without having my own Potter glasses on.

So how was the ending? Well it was awesome! For me, this was as close to a perfect ending of a series as it could have gotten...almost! If I'd have to find one little flaw about this movie it would have been that, and its probably better in the book that, (!LITTLE SPOILER!) after it had all ended, you don't know what happened to most of the characters how they continued living and what they made out of themselves, except for a few one, but like I said, probably better in the book.

Well, what is there left to say? For me there's only a big big THANK YOU! Thank you Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and all the other great actors who for some part, really took me by the hand and grew up with me, gave me thrills throughout the entire series and kept doing a great job till the very end. Thanks of course as well to J.K. for writing this most important series of books of the millennium and also thanks for all the directors, all the editors of all the movies for making the Harry Potter movies more then just films but a journey through which an entire generation could watch a great story with great characters having a great adventure.

Thank you!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Expecting a total failure, but then...

[7/10 · 5 July 2011]

First of all, I'm not a big fan of Transformers. I loved the toys when I was a kid, rarely watched the cartoon show, thought the first movie by michael bay was okay, but the second was completely stupid.

With that in mind I went to the cinema expecting to see another childish wanna be cool action film like the second one (Why the f**k does a transformer need genitals???) But I have to say with all honesty the third on was pretty cool. The effects were great (as always) the last hour is just ONE BIG WAR (I don't count that as a spoiler since i wont tell you who's winning, but take a guess ;) ) the camera shots were pretty good and actually for me thats all that counts for a good transformers movie.

Of course the story is stupid and the characters are completely forgettable, but come on who walks into transformers expecting a high class script? I went to the movie to see explosions, cool fights between robots and maybe a nice (pretty hot) new Megan Fox, and thats exactly what I got.

So for all those who can ignore a story full of plot holes and forgettable characters (eventhough I like ShiaLaBeouf) and just want to see some nice heavy action robot fights you sure won't be disappointed

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Great start, lousy ending

[4/10 · 21 May 2011]

First of all I'd like to point out I never was a big fan of the pirates trilogy. The first one was great, the second was slightly worse the third was a complete waste of time (but of course that's only opinion based I still respect the people who like it I just have my reasons why I really don't like it) Anyway I wasn't expecting much of the newest movie but seeing how keira knightley and bloom were gone (thank god) i at least thought it would be descent and till the first hour it seemed awesome, I felt like it was back to the first part more dark scenes more seriousness, great mix of story and jokes but the second half thats when it went down hill. The story has so many wholes and there are so many illogic scenes, the characters (except for depp who was as awesome as ever) were boring or totally left aside, Black Beard doesn't get any introduction, never any explanation why he is so powerful, the spains are...just there (!!!SPOILER!!! seriously these guys come out of nowhere throw down a wall at the fountain and disappear again...hello?) But my biggest complain is this love story between a religious man and a mermaid which was ridiculous it made no sense it was unnecessary for the story had a lot of plot holes and was all in all totally forgettable. The only good things about this movie for me were the music (as always Hans Zimmer just knows how to make a good soundtrack) the atmosphere was great as always and the jokes of Jack Sparrow which are funny as well. 3D was useless (as always) the last five minutes of the movie (and the scene after the credits) are incredibly stupid but I guess for fans it will be a nice experience again but i certainly can do without

The Green Hornet (2011)

What an god awful movie

[1/10 · 14 January 2011]

The green hornet is one of the most awful movies i've ever seen in my life and i watched the legend of aang! It just does everything wrong a movie can do wrong! the characters are forgettable and completely unlikeable, the story makes no sense, the motivation for the main characters makes no sense and there are a thousand scenes that make no sense. How could anyone like the character of the green hornet he's a useless idiot, he cant do anything, he is totally unlikeable and doesn't develop the story in any way. The awful camera-shots, the bad acting, the stupid stupid stupid nonsense able scenes just everything is god awful. i just hope that christoph waltz still gets a good role after this movie he's awful in this movie but at least he has inglourious basterds.