Reviews by BAMF

Initial Thought: I grew up watching Dragon Ball Z. It was always one of my favorite anime. It was crazy, intense, and just had some awesome characters. I never got around to watching many of the movies though. My brother has been hounding me about watching this one though. So I decided to finally give it a look see and find out what all the fuss is about.

Characters/Acting: Do I even need to go there with the characters here? If you are reading this review and you don't know the characters then you need some kind of help. Nah I joke, but you do need to watch some DBZ! They have Beerus's cat personality so dead on. There are so many damn recognizable characters throughout the whole thing from various movies and parts of the television series. I thought it was rather awesome seeing them all in one spot. Beerus is such a badass. Makes you kind of nervous what his full power is if he was only almost at 70%. I think everyone was awesome as usual. Too bad not everyone I liked got a lot of stuff to do.

Story: So the God of destruction known as Birus wants to take on Goku after learning of Freeza's defeat by his hands. There is a good amount of the usual humor while still have a badass atmosphere. I also enjoyed the fourth wall moments scattered about. It's quite a bit cheesy, but only once in awhile these stories are actual intense. The fights of course are the brutal parts of the show not matter the reason that causes them. The summoning requirements are a bit convenient for the Super Saiyan God. It was a cool idea anyways. The ending was awesome.

Directing/Writing: This is obviously based off of the manga by Akira Toriyama. The creator of all things Dragon Ball Z. He is the penultimate God of DBZ. This is the only work of Yusuke Watanabe that I have seen. It's also the only time he has worked on a DBZ film. The same goes for director Masahiro Hosoda who has only done one other film along with television shows.

Final Thought: This is definitely a must watch for the Dragon Ball Z fanboys. It was good to see all the awesome childhood DBZ characters again. The fighting was excellent as usual. This series never failed at producing great fights. Anyways it may not be for the casual viewer or you might get confused. It sure is for fans of the series. So for them I recommend definitely seeing this one.

Initial Thought: Honestly I can't tell you why I chose to watch this. I hated the first one quite a bit. From the trailer you can tell how much this one is going to suck. Nothing in the trailer screams laughter. You just cringe with how unfunny it is. Anyways nobody asked for it. Not many went to see it. Again why am I watching this. I'm bored and I want to see if it has any ounce of hilarity. Plus I like Daniella Alonso.

Characters/Acting: Kevin James returns as the character Paul Blart that no one outside of the movie honestly cared for. I never liked Raini Rodriguez probably because I was in a different era of Disney or the fact she just doesn't catch my interest. The only people of interest for me are David Henrie, Daniella Alonso, and Neal McDonough. The latter has his good and bad films, but for the most part I like him as an actor. The acting is okay and the characters are alright that isn't the problem here.

Story: While on vacation with his daughter at a security guard expo, Paul Blart takes on some thieves despite being teased. It tries so hard to be funny that it never actually comes off that way. It's such a ridiculous and repetitive plot. Again we have people who underestimate Paul Blart. He isn't the sharpest tool in the shed and yet somehow he always inspires those around him. He doesn't however inspire the audience. I was bored with it from the beginning. I did laugh at least twice to my surprise. I was even somewhat amused by the slapstick fight scene with the security guards. It was pretty cheesy throughout though and much more childish than the first film was. The ending was facepalm worthy. There seemed to be a few plot holes I noticed or maybe I wasn't paying too much attention.

Directing/Writing: Andy Fickman isn't that good of a director. All his films are average or below from what I've seen of his so far. That doesn't bring much promise to an unnecessary sequel. Kevin James who also stars as the infamous Paul Blart takes on co-writing again. The only time his writing was excellent was in Here Comes The Boom. Zookeeper was alright too to an extent. Nick Bakay also returns from the first film as a writer with his only other contribution being Zookeeper. They really should stay away from making this type of film. It's far from entertaining.

Final Thought: I couldn't wait for this to be over. These movies just suck. They want so much to be funny. They aren't at all. This was even worse than the first one. I hope they take note of the failure with this and do not attempt a third one. Avoid this one it's not worth the time at all. I'm sure even kids will be annoyed by how lame it all is.

Initial Thought: When I saw the trailer for this I thought it looked like fun. I always tend to like epic fantasy films. After hearing all the bad reviews and feelings for the movie I decided to let it go. Finally I changed my mind and decided to see if I would like this when others didn't. Everyone has their own opinions.

Characters/Acting: This is flooded with excellent talent. A lot of the actors here are well known in the genre as well. Ben Barnes was actually part of the Chronicles of Narnia films as Prince Caspian. Julianne Moore has joined the final two films of the Hunger Games. Kit Harington is most famously known for his Game of Thrones fan favorite Jon Snow. Djimon Hounsou was actually part of a previously failed series starter by the name of Eragon. He did much better when he was cast in Guardians of the Galaxy. Oh man Jason Scott Lee still acts! I'm excited for Alicia Vikander and Kandyse McClure too big crushes of mine in one movie is just perfect. So much talent in one spot. Some are top tier while a few I don't really admire that much. Oh no we lose Jon Snow again! Once again Jeff Bridges is cast as the grumpy old master. It's kind of tiresome when he has so much skill beyond that. Would have liked more Kandyse McClure, but with a cast so big it's hard to give everyone a strong amount of screen time.

Story: A man is trained to fight evil spirits to protect humanity. It's a pretty straightforward plot if I do say so myself. The action is pretty good when it happens and the CGI is quite beautiful. I actually liked all the creature and witch designs. This reminds me of Stardust and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. I actually found most of this boring and cliche to be honest. It just wasn't strong enough for me. Not even the action was quite enough to save this from being mediocre. It did have a few moments that were pretty good albeit seldom. The ending wasn't my favorite. It felt odd. They did make it seem like it will have a sequel. It doesn't seem too likely, but only time will tell.

Directing/Writing: This is my first encounter with director Sergey Bodrov who tends to stick within earlier time periods like this one. This is inspired by the first of Joseph Delaney's Spook Apprentice books. The author isn't known for any other work. Matt Greenberg who wrote the "screen story" has a few notches in his belt. He has some pretty far lows with Children of the Corn III and Halloween H2O. His ups are pretty average with the likes of Reign of Fire and 1408. This also took two other writers to come up with the screenplay. Charles Leavitt hasn't had many in the past I'm familiar with except the excellent Blood Diamond film. He does however have Warcraft and In The Heart of the Sea coming out later this year. I have seen Redemption from Steven Knight and still need to see Locke. I wasn't really impressed with Closed Circuit, but The Hundred-Foot Journey was quite good. Wait what is the difference between a screen story and screenplay? That seems a bit odd to me. Anyways with these too as the screenwriters it can't be all that bad.

Final Thought: Well that was quite a disappointment. I really wanted to like it a lot, but it was quite a bit underwhelming. I didn't think it was awful though. It just could have been better and more epic than it was. Given the talent involved the expectations are high. That may be the reason it was disappointing. It might kill some time if you have nothing else to watch. Other than that you aren't really missing much here.

Initial Thought: I don't really have much reason to why I am watching this. Pretty much the only things of interest here are Viva Bianca and that it sounds like a crazy future prison movie. Other than that I honestly don't care for it.

Characters/Acting: I used to like Dominic Purcell until he ruined Dracula for me and ended up constantly as one of Uwe Boll's right hands. The only person here of any interest to me is the beautiful Spartacus actress Viva Bianca. Two actors (Roger Ward and Carmen Duncan) from the original film this is remade from return for this remake. Switch from The Matrix is here, but she looks way different without short blonde hair and 16 years added to her looks. I thought the killers were interesting and cool to look at. Haaken, Armageddon, and Kintay were the coolest of the assassins in my opinion.

Story: Surprisingly or maybe not this happens to be a remake. So basically after a civilian massacre in a war zone a Navy Seal is thrown in a maximum security prison for the military. He gets the opportunity for freedom and find out why he was set up if he can take down ruthless killers in dangerous locations. It doesn't sound all that original of course. This is pretty low budget with most of what they had going to the gore and action. So some of the action is a bit lackluster given that is where most of the budge is at. Also there is only actually one scene with gore that is shown a few times. Oh man is this pretty cheesy with the way everything is dealt with. One thing in particular is the absolute repetitiveness of the guy announcing the show. It was pretty cool that they had the original film playing on the television. The twist was quite obvious here. The ending was cringe worthy.

Directing/Writing: I haven't seen a single film of Jon Hewitt, but I have heard of X. He writes and directs all of his films. Holy crap the co-writer here is Switch from The Matrix! Not only does she help write this she is also a major character here. Oh man they stole lines from other famous movies flat out! I really hope they got permission or that is just mad disrespectful. Some of the shots they do throughout look like they glitch. I'm not sure if it's just poor editing or the director think it was a neat gimmick.

Final Thought: Now that was pretty bad. I mean the war message seemed like something that would happen. Everything else here is so cliche and boring. The action was a waste of time. I was expecting a little bit more than what was given with that. It had so many lame gimmicks. The only thing about this that had any redeemable quality was Viva Bianca. Nothing saves this movie from crap though. Avoid this one for sure. It totally isn't worth the time.

Initial Thought: Great another sequel that was thrown on television. That always disappoints me because the flow always feels so much different. Anyways it is said to be better than the previous film. We shall see.

Characters/Acting: Anthony Perkins returns for the final time as the legendary Norman Bates. This is the first film not to have Virginia Gregg as the voice of Norma. We have a few pretty well known new additions with Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey, and CCH Pounder. It is an interesting idea to see how Norma Bates was when she was alive. She kind of reminds me of Carrie White's mother although not quite as insane. It was great to finally see the villain become a hero. I thought that the wife was quite an honorable character.

Story: So this happens to be a prequel/sequel. We get new events where Norman is talking to a radio show host with flashbacks of his younger life with a living Norma Bates. He believes he will kill again because his love is pregnant and doesn't want his baby to be born as another psychopath. I liked that we got the musical score from the original to finally make a return. The whole thing about Norman's childhood was really interesting. I like how he goes about answering questions the audience is wondering too. The ending was quite fitting and yet different.

Directing/Writing: Of course the characters are still based on Robert Bloch. That never changes. Mick Garris once again takes the helm as director of a sequel to a popular movie. He has his ups and downs, but his work is fairly enjoyable. Joseph Stefano returns after writing only the first entry. He completely disregards the other sequels with his own idea. They really made this fourth installment actually quite worthy on it's own. Good on them for including the music and for bringing back Joseph Stefano.

Final Thought: That was a fitting end to the series that shouldn't have even been one. This should have only been one film. They ended up making a pretty solid series to be honest. I thought this was about evenly as good as the third one if not slightly better. There really aren't twists in this one. It does go into the depths of who Norman Bates is and how he became the psycho we all adore (in our own strange ways). I was glad this didn't feel like a made for television movie. I recommend if you start this series don't let this one pass you by.

Initial Thought: Well I am continuing on with the Psycho series. It is kind of sad that the producers thought it necessary to dish out sequels to a masterpiece. The one good thing though is seeing more of our sympathetic serial killer. I don't think people can say that too often. Anyways on with the show.

Characters/Acting: Anthony Perkins continue his legendary role as Norman Bates. Several people from part two return again as well including Sheriff Hunt, Myrna, and Statler. Claudia Bryar only appears in archive footage. Virginia Gregg once again lends her voice as Norma Bates. Jeff Fahey is the only new cast member I immediately recognize. He plays one of the sleaziest most unlikeable characters here. Throughout the film you just wish Norman would take notice and off him. I really liked that Maureen was a blonde. It was obviously an intentional homage to Hitchcock.

Story: It isn't too long after the events of part two and Norman Bates is of course still running his motel. He employs someone to help him with caretaking while he gets a new young guest. Soon he has troubles when a reporter begins questioning his past. It starts out with a scene that seems to mirror a church scene in another film. I liked the transition styles that were done throughout the movie. I thought that was a pretty unique style and definitely admirable from someone who has no prior directing skills. I thought the bedroom scene with Jeff Fahey was a bit odd. It doesn't seem very sexy to rub cigarettes along yourself. There are only a few good twists this time around. The death scenes were pretty good as well too. That was a crazy ending for sure. I thought it fit perfectly within the Bates mythos.

Directing/Writing: This is also only based on the characters by Robert Bloch. This is the first of only two films directed by main star Anthony Perkins. From what I know he didn't feel as if he was right for the director's chair, but decided to give it a shot nonetheless. Charles Edward Pogue brought us the 1986 version of The Fly as well as Dragonheart. Both of which happen to be quite good.

Final Thought: This wasn't all that bad actually. It had it's faults throughout though. The ending I thought was done quite well and I loved the added touch that reminded me of part one. It paid some good homage to that in some respects. Anyways it isn't the best one, but it's still pretty enjoyable. I recommend it for Norman Bates fans for sure.

Initial Thought: I really enjoyed the first of this series. I didn't care for the remake though. I thought it was very distasteful and ruined the chilling atmosphere of the original. So I didn't really want to watch these due to that. Now I figured I would go ahead and see them. I'm sure they will be much more enjoyable than the remake of course.

Characters/Acting: Anthony Perkins returns as the iconic serial killer. It's always good when an actor can return for the sequels instead of getting replaced by someone who doesn't have the same charisma. Vera Miles also returns for this sequel. Virginia Gregg contributes her voice as Norma Bates again as well. I thought it was interesting how Norman Bates is the killer yet he is kind of pushed back into his old ways by people who just treat him with so much disrespect. No matter how insane Norman Bates is you can't help but absolutely enjoy seeing him.

Story: This takes place 22 years after the events of the first film. Norman bates wants to put his past behind him and live in quiet solitude. His past won't let that happen. I actually liked that this started with the infamous shower scene from part one. This some pretty interesting moments that really pull this together nicely. The thought of a criminally insane person trying to reconnect with society is a very real idea. I think they executed that really well here. There are so many pretty great twists and turns here. The ending was crazy and just amazing. I really couldn't expect all of what happens in this.

Directing/Writing: This is based off of the characters of Robert Bloch, but it didn't take his concept from his actual book sequel. Hollywood didn't like the way they were interpreted in his book. Tom Holland has brought us a few great classics with Child's Play and Fright Night. Both of which he also directed. He actually has a cameo in this. Richard Franklin who directs this also has a cameo. The only other work of his I have seen was Road Games which was pretty entertaining. I like that these two did cameos. It was like a homage to Alfred Hitchcock's continuous cameos throughout his career. They really did a good job honoring the previous film while also making it their own. These guys really know how to tell a twisted and insane story.

Final Thought: Sure this may be a sequel, but it feels like it's own film too. It's actually really well done and does justice for the original. If you are skeptical about seeing this don't be. I highly recommend it. It is by far one of the best horror sequels there is in my opinion.

Initial Thought: When I saw the trailer it looked like it would be a fun gory experience. I knew I would see it as soon as I saw it was out. Foreign horror is some of my favorite since they don't play by Hollywood rules.

Characters/Acting: We have two horror legends here by the names of Kane Hodder and Bill Moseley. It is always odd seeing Kane Hodder playing a normal person. Then we have Nathan Jones who is more known as a wrestler, but he has played in some well known films as bit parts. Tara Reid here is the only issue with the cast I have. She just doesn't have what she used to have. Too much plastic is never a good addition to the face after awhile. She actually doesn't look too bad though here to be honest. On the other hand her acting is still quite awful and far below everyone else here. Bill Moseley is hilarious as the creepy cannibal father of Charlie. I was pretty disappointed when Tara Reid's character was the final survivor. I thought Charlie Wilson was an excellent edition to the horror round up of killers.

Story: So four friends decide to explore Charlie's Farm in the Australian outback. A place known for the brutal murders by the hands of an angry mob. It kind of feels like Hatchet meets Wolf Creek meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It also has hints of other horror films sprinkled throughout. It has quite a few 80s cliches that you know were intentional rather than just to be repetitive. It does have some moments that catch you off guard though. The fist fight between Charlie and Kane Hodder seemed like it was meant to mirror Jason Takes Manhattan. That was a pretty awesome scene that did something different with it's homage. The gore is a plenty with some kills being rather original. That ending was too awesome.

Directing/Writing: This isn't writer/director Chris Sun's first rodeo. He has made two other films before this. This is the only one I have heard of so far though. This guy should definitely bring us more horror films especially some Charlie sequels. Just don't make one where he goes to space.

Final Thought: This was pretty freaking awesome. It takes awhile for things to heat up, but when they do it gets pretty insane. The kills were mixed with creativity and a few ones we have seen before. The acting is fairly good except for Tara Reid. I wonder how she got the role here, but that is besides the point. Anyways whether or not you like her this is one badass film. If you are a horror fan you should really check this one out.

Initial Thought: When I saw the trailer I really wanted to see this. I thought it looked like fun. Growing up I had watched the first two originals and enjoyed them. I watched the third one only recently. It was alright, but I had to finish the original series to get to this one. Unfortunately this hasn't been getting good notice. Well we all have our opinions. Time to see for myself.

Characters/Acting: Sam Rockwell and Jared Harris are really interesting and bold choices. I really enjoy both for vastly different reasons. Sam Rockwell is great for roles with humor. Jared Harris on the other hand is excellent when it comes to more serious roles. Rosemarie DeWitt is also familiar. She hasn't made much of an impact on me yet though. The little girl here is definitely no Carol Anne. I really didn't care for her at all. The little boy who plays Griffin was one of the highlights of this remake. I wish the family as a whole had more chemistry with each other. Why does the father become a bit of an asshole and so indifferent to everything when Maddy is taken? His character just makes a freaking 180 from a cool dad who tries his best to this uncaring d-bag. I didn't understand that at all. Jared Harris is awesome as usual here.

Story: Well the same as the original where a family moves into a home above a graveyard. The daughter is abducted by the "ghosts" and then they must save her before she is lost to them. That was an interesting title reveal. There are quite a few things that are pretty much impossible here. Once scene in particular where the dad comes home with some seemingly expensive items never gets explained. I mean this family is on a money struggle. Everything they have they shouldn't even be able to afford. Besides this nonsensical stuff I did think there were some rather creepy moments. I thought the clown design was interesting and different. The whole scene with it I actually liked even though it wasn't all that original of course. There are quite a few continuity errors throughout that get a bit annoying. The ending wasn't quite as epic as the original had been. A little extra during the credits if you liked this enough to stick through it.

Directing/Writing: So the script is based off the story written by Steven Spielberg. I'm sure I don't have to explain anything about this legend. He is simply incredible with very little disappointments. David Lindsay-Abaire has written some pretty well known stuff like Robots, Oz: The Great and Powerful, and Rise of the Guardians. All I have seen of his I rather enjoyed even to an extent Robots. Gil Kenan hasn't directed much, but his work is quite entertaining. Of the two other films his more famous and well received was Monster House. With all the talent here I'm surprised people are bashing it so hard. Okay I see a lot of errors in the writing. There are so many moments that just don't make since with the script. It makes you wonder what the hell Abaire was doing at the time of writing.

Final Thought: So it wasn't awful. In fact I enjoyed it to a certain extent despite it's many flaws. It could have used some work and attention to detail. I wouldn't watch it again, but it was decent enough to pass the time. As a remake it doesn't do very well. On it's own however I could see it being more enjoyable.

Initial Thought: I have been meaning to watch this for awhile now. I remember thinking the trailer looked unusual and had to know what exactly was going on. Not to mention it has quite a good cast. I finally chose to watch it now after a coworker mentioned it to me.

Characters/Acting: This cast includes quite some big names including Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, and Vincent D'Onofrio, etc. It's good to see Rupert Grint still in the industry. It seems he is the least successful of the three main young actors. Evan Rachel Wood pulls of the Romanian accent and look off with such perfection. If you weren't familiar with her you would think she was Romanian. Everyone's performances here are quite good. Mads Mikkelsen is flawless as the dangerous ex-husband Nigel. He isn't on-screen too often, but when he is you know it's going to get intense.

Story: A young man with disturbing visions goes to Romania and falls in love with a local cellist who has a twisted ex. This is quite visually stunning. I liked the visual representation of the souls leaving people who died. That to me was beautifully poetic. It's amazing how death can actually lead to a new life. We see two people who come together through the death of loved ones and become united by more than just that. I absolutely loved that ending.

Directing/Writing: This happens to be Fredrik Bond's feature film debut. It looks like he has a future with the way this film looks visually. Matt Drake is also the writer of Project X which was a blast to watch. These guys really know how to put magnificence in a film. Everything they did here just put me in awe. We need more films from these guys especially if they do as well as they did here.

Final Thought: That was an absolute pleasure to watch. I consider this to be an experience rather than just another movie. The performances are spot on. It's quirky and has moments where it gets pretty intense. I think it's a romance as much for women as it is for men. I believe it's underrated and one that many people seem to have missed. I highly recommend checking this one out if you are one that hasn't.