igor-muller's Reviews

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

1/10

5 October 2009

Warning: Spoilers

I was waiting for this film since i knew it was coming. I am a big fan of the team Tony Scott is dragging from film to film since Man on Fire, i love Harry Gregson-Williams soundtracks, i was absolutely hyped with it.

Since i couldn't see it in a theater, i finally watched it in a private screening. This is the first movie for probably several years i couldn't finish - at some point i just stood up and left.

Don't get me wrong, i know this is a remake (never saw an original and doubt i will) but screenplay is absolutely, totally horrible, from start to finish.

First, kidnapping is a federal crime, so there wouldn't be any NYPD guys in less then 20 minutes. No NYPD in the tunnels - FBI SWAT would be. And thats just whole another story, i felt that every piece of drama in film is made out of nothing. Car crashes and fly like 10 meters by air? on a full controlled lane when every cop in the city knowing what is going on? Skilled motorcyclist bumping into parked! car?

give me a break. but when i saw that rat getting inside the pants of a sniper i finally couldn't take it anymore - get some pictures of SWAT teams you will note that they either put pants into shoes or use inner tube like on snowboard pants to prevent EXACTLY that kind of incidents.

When i want to see a since fiction flick i go watch since fiction (btw i love since fiction, for real). But thats like a modern day thriller, serious movie with top stars and top director.

i was absolutely disappointed and badly surprised that such a low quality script got into production. and i couldn't even finish the film, while most people say that last part of the movie and ending is even worse. what a shame.

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Quantum of Solace (2008)

8/10

for real?

29 November 2008

oh people come on. i watched the film, and i was absolutely ready for a bad film, mostly because i don't like Krylenko. now movie started and the first action scene wasn't appealing to me - MTV style, Bourn style, w/e. not cool.

but after that, movie start building itself, and i started to like it. mostly because, like a lot of people mentioned, this is a different bond, and its a way more realistic one. no gadgets, no stupid shooting scenes, all stunts are very well thought out and realistic. you, you complain about it? like you wanted a Bond, James Bond every 20 minutes in this movie too? Shake, not stir? now that would make this film horrible. this franchise is old, it needs something new, jokes told over and over are not that funny. and this film delivers it, the new idea. and i for one liked it, i dislike the editing, yes, but the whole movie is nice.

its not epic, like someone said Oh No Bond Is Not Saving The World but a people in some 3rd world country. oh i see saving world of course is so much more important then helping people in a some god forgotten Bolivia :D

I would recommend this movie to pass an evening, just not if you are hardcore old school bond fan, then, yes, you will miss gadgets, sexual jokes, stirring, shaking, etc. if you want to see a well filmed movie with a questionable editing that still delivers - shoot it.

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Max Payne (2008)

6/10

it was OK but something was missing

12 November 2008

something rather vital. i wasn't sure what through it, and even after i finished. i am a computer gamer, absolutely enthusiastic about it, was pretty much into e-sport in early 2000s here in Russia. so i am kinda in that stuff. but - funny - i never liked Max Payne series, may be because i don't like rather "mindless" FPS games (tho i love tactical ones like competitive CS or Quake). while i admire the atmosphere it once created, still i wasn't a fan of it. so i was watching the movie with absolutely zero expectations, still in touch with idea behind it.

it was good, but it wasn't enough. i think this movie COULD be better, i mean really, i loved the idea, i loved all that winged stuff (not to spoil :D ), atmosphere, some scenes were in fact good, but something went wrong. a lot of scenes were very badly shot, some editing was extreeeeemly annoying, the movie lacked suspension terribly, it was just not enough space.

yeah i think that is - it was too crumpled. there should be just some more fresh air into it, for contrast. some better dialogs, some better editing and directing, and it might come out as a really good film. but as it is now - just overage flick, i liked Babylon A.D. better but hey, i am Yeoh's fan!

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Babylon A.D. (2008)

8/10

i liked it

6 October 2008

actually i am not surprised with bad reviews this movie gets, because editing was really really annoying and doesn't fit the movie at all.

but still i enjoyed it a lot, especially first 20 minutes or so. it was creepy and promising. it went downhill after that, but ending was still nice, may be because i like rather uncommon endings. i liked the story, acting was OK, Yeoh was great as always. Vin was still Diesel :)

i definitely going to watch directors cut, may be it will deliver even more. tho i don't understand people who say this movie is utterly disappointing or very bad, in fact its not (outside of really crappy editing). may be they were waiting for some kind of revelation level movie, but i wasn't expecting anything but a good Vin Diesel flick and got exactly that with some good story and dark, quality cyberpunk atmosphere. i would recommend this one to my friends.

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Bangkok Dangerous (2008)

10/10

Hollywood action movie with a production? wow!

15 September 2008

you know, i've been watching a lot of fresh movies lately, especially action ones because i really love the genre (i just never grow up i guess). and more then often i feel disappointed, because mostly directing an action film means flashy special effects stacked on top of loud sound effects with some taken from comics storyline (which will sell for sure, and thats what is important, i guess) - but without any soul put into the movie. this one is completely different. yes, it is absolutely predictive (i told to my friend who watched it with me almost exactly how film will end after first 15 minutes), it is sometimes not logical, but its still its a great movie because its a movie not a video game on a big screen. good color palette, great camera, good acting, nice music, punchy ending - i absolutely loved it. i am rather surprised with low rating people give it, so i uprate it to 10, i'd rather give it a solid 8+ it fully deserves.

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Wanted (2008)

1/10

Hollywood is in danger

7 July 2008

if it start giving away production to a people like Bekmambetov. As you can guess i am from Russia, we had a lot of hype about this film here. i was watching it on a release date, painfully surprised by the ticket price (2 dollars higher then normal). now what i am going to tell you - first 10 minutes of the movie are god dammed promising. the whole scene is well filmed, and the effects are right where they should be. problem is, after that, movie just goes down all the way you can imagine - in the end its you actually don't know what to do - laugh at the incredibly weak plot, full of clichés and poorly connected threads, or cry because you know it was a lot of money invested in this piece of junk and still it failed.

if you are a fan of special effects - then you might want to see this in a cinema, but if you want some more from a movie - do yourself a favor, wait for a DVD release. or don't wait and simply skip this one.

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Cloverfield (2008)

5/10

Not that good, not that bad - its a pretty average movie

11 March 2008

i would give it 4.5. OK, 5 because it indeed has some style in it.

when i got this movie to watch at home i actually was ready for anything - i've read plenty of reviews here and heard some from my friend who already watched. i was ready for a great film or a total trash - sadly, its not either of them. its an average horror movie, with a "blair witch" style camera (so its a copy, nothing new in the concept). the plot is terribly poor, i mean - come on... aliens meets godzilla? they might get people with "oh that could happen to us" feeling, but the acting is overall poor, character building is nonexistent, dialogs are really average, and worst of all, as someone else mentioned, there is ZERO sense of humor in this film. its dead serious. from start to finish. and this is bad. its like "snickers" - you bite it at one side you know how rest will taste. its too predictable.

ending is somehow touching, but not as deep as it could. i wasn't disappointed, but rather bored. i would just rate and stay silent, but seeing all the hype about this movie really forces me to vocalize my opinion.

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Mad Detective (2007)

10/10

A well made and rather unusual movie.

21 February 2008

Warning: Spoilers

Very well built film, i've seen it almost by accident - just got an opportunity and decided to use it.

I've never seen any films of Mr Ka-Fai Wai and Mr Johnnie To before, so i was a bit skeptical at start. my skepticism was pretty quickly driven away by the movie, and at the end I was really satisfied. May be because this movies message is somehow close to me, but still, acting was very good, directing and editing are awesome. some scenes put a huge smile on my face with a really great warm feeling inside, like the one with rain sent by god, or when he is shouting "She don't see you!". I agree with some previous comments that Hollywood can mostly reproduce some ideas like this - its worth a million alone, without huge budget spent on stars and visuals.

Should add that soundtrack was a very nice one. Overall i would recommend this almost to anyone except hardcore mainstream fans.

ps i am rating this 10 to compensate some downrates. this movie deserves 8+ no doubt, i would score it 8.5/10.

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