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Reviews
Mammoth (2006)
Hah !
This film is arguably, the worst film the SciFi channel has been responsible for - and that takes a lot. If this had been advertised as camp comedy it would have been right on the mark. As SciFi/Horror it is equal to 1953's "Robot Monster". For the plot, it is "The Thing" (1982 version) meets the "Blob" (1958 version) meets "How to Stuff a Wild Bikin". The Mammoth special effects would have Ray Harryhausen spinning in his grave and considering a change of career. Tom Skerritt either enjoyed playing in a farce or is broke and needed the work. I cannot think of any other reason an actor of his caliber would be in this film. Most of the casting was Abbot and Costello meets "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World".
The 2 bright spots in this film were the performances by the teen leads, Summer Glau and Cole Williams. They did a great job of portraying lovers in love. The final 15 minutes of the plot were the best in the film and contains a twist in the final scene that makes it worth setting an alarm clock to wake you up to see it.
Minotaur (2006)
Not too bad for the SciFi channel
This was one of the SciFi channels better offerings (although that isn't saying much). However, any resemblance between this movie and the mythology of the Minotaur is purely coincidental. The size of Athens's yearly tribute is wrong. The size of Athens is wrong. The hero's name is wrong (Theseus, not Theo). The gal who helped Theseus was Ariadne, daughter of King Minos and not sister to the high priest. Ariadne gave Theseus a sword to kill the Minotaur and ball of string to mark his way out of the labyrinth. None of Thesus's companions were killed and he took Ariadne when he left, etc ad nauseum.
But if you are not a purest and don't mind the "literary license" it wasn't too bad. The story line was better than usual, the special effects weren't too bad considering the limited amount of money spent, and character development was about the same as usual.
Caved In (2006)
agree
Reptilicus said just about everything. I would like to know 2 things however. First - why do all animate creatures in movies have to roar? I thought that the best beetles could do is click. Second - Where can I get one of those shotguns that never has to be re-loaded? This film could have been made in the 1950's.
The plot really was a fill in the blank effort. The big problem is that they only filled in 3 blanks - character names, location, and type of ridiculous "monster".
The least the Sci-Fi channel is do, is to hire Charles Band to produce and direct these movies. At least he knows how to do it properly.
Just another of the Sci-Fi channel's dismal and disappointing offerings.
Troy (2004)
Could be better, but not bad in the long run.
They did do a fairly good job of condensing 10 years of warfare into 4 weeks. The film had all of the salient points of the epic although not necessarily in the right order or context.
I didn't think that Brad Pitt did as bad a job as other reviewers. He did show the obsession and range of emotions of the lunatic he was portrayed as. After all, the actor can only be as good as the role he is given. Orlando Bloom did show some excellent emotions at times. He shows that he might really have promise for more than a pretty boy with a little more work and the right vehicle.
Peter O'Toole was magnificent ( what else is there to say ). The rest of the Ensemble was very good. For some reason the part of Odysseus was downplayed. For me the best part of the film, was when Paris passed the sword of Troy to Aeneas. Without that the film would have lost all credibility.
All in all, I think that Homer would have been pleased with this visualization of his story that had been passed down by oral tradition for a thousand years.
I give the film 3 1/4 stars. Randy Bolton