gold_Warlord Reviews

Earthlings (2005)

Mind opening, but biased

[6/10 · 9 June 2015]

This documentary has both good things and bad things to it.

On the plus side, it represents a lot of realities that you may not be aware of. Even though I had previously regarded videos about animal farms, this was the first time that I have went through the subject of animals for human consumption in all of its span. The fact that this documentary goes beyond food, into the topic of entertainment, clothing, etc. will let you come face to face with realities that you were ignorant of, and give you a lot of food for thought.

On the negative side, this documentary is highly biased. The author is intentionally focusing on the worst case scenarios and, due to his own ignorance, spreads some ignorance and common misconceptions. The point were this was more noticeable to me, was when he was discussing scientific testing on animals, were he shows that he does not comprehend what is the purpose of animal testing. One simple example of that is vaccines, as the first vaccine was developed thanks to animal testing. Also, animal testing is carried with very strict regulations when it comes to causing pain or discomfort, and is not used to replace human testing, but rather to complement it. Similarly to this bias, you have biases on the topic of food, were he only covers mass production farms; leather production, were he focuses only on the worst case scenario that is the Indian market of leather; on the fur farms in China; etc.

In the end I recommend this video, as it will give you a lot to think about, and it will show you a lot of things you might be ignorant of.

The Interview (II) (2014)

Not worth watching

[3/10 · 26 December 2014]

This movie is not a 9+, a 8+ or a 7+. This movie is not even watchable by todays' standards. This is a comedy that will not make you laugh, and that is all. It is a B movie that had the luck to sparkle controversy. I have watched the whole movie from start to end, and there wasn't a funny or endearing moment that was worth remembering. Most of the jokes are the typical sexual innuendo catch-phrases or typical butt/feces/fart jokes. The approach to the topic of dictatorship is light-hearted and won't leave you thinking about the problem after you have watched the movie. Overall, this movie is definitely not worth watching and you'd better spend your time in something else.

Thunder and the House of Magic (2013)

Am I the only one who finds this a bit disturbing?

[5/10 · 11 July 2014]

First the good. The animation of the movie is not Pixar, but it is really good. Some of the characters are adorable, and there is a good message of forgiveness, friendship and acceptance in the story.

The story is amusing at times, but in general it is not super entertaining. You will not find yourself remembering this movie one month after you watched it. This is the kind of movie you watch, it distracted you and then it faded into memory...

Now the bad, that actually made me uncomfortable watching the movie. The movie literally starts with a little kitten being abandoned. Maybe this shocked me more than it should, and maybe a little kid would not notice this, but nonetheless it is a very sad way for the whole story to start. This is not one of those "cute kitten left in a box" moment, this is "a car stops and throws a cat away" moment. Later in the movie, there is a moment when the evil nephew is literally chasing the cat with a shotgun. And this could be a funny scene, a la Looney Tunes, but it is not. The evil nephew has the intent to kill, and he's giving his best to do so. I watched my share of Tom and Jerry when I was a kid, and this is not that friendly, funny, intent to catch. This is a grow-up, who hates this particular cat, trying to get rid of it, in a chasing sequence where shotgun rounds are fired very close to the cat, continuously destroying the house, with a somewhat realistic look for what should be a children's cartoon.

How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014)

Watch season 1-3 and just read the rest online

[6/10 · 1 June 2014]

When I first started watching How I met your mother I felt it had the potential to be a new Friends. It was funny, the characters were lovable, interesting, and had personality. The story was quite engaging and this is how it went for 3 seasons. Then the show got stuck. The main plot just goes in circles and all side plots, which could have been really interesting on their own, just get lost among fillers and boring moments that make you wish you'd stop watching the show. That's what I eventually did around season 7, and I only regret not have taking that decision earlier. I did feel tempted to go back to it for the last season, but I decided not to. From what I learned afterwards about the ending of the whole show and how the plot developed, I definitely don't regret my decision. The only thing I regret was season 5 and 6. Wish I had stopped back in the 4th, when I realised the show was going nowhere or even better at the end of season 3 (peak of the show).

In a World... (2013)

Over-hyped regular movie

[4/10 · 16 January 2014]

This movie is far from genial or provocative or anything at all. It is a movie that you will sit through, having literally 3 laughs, and not a single moment that's worth remembering.

The whole story has problems with continuity, and that prevents you from actually caring about the characters. For example *spoiler*, the whole subplot about betrayal starts and is resolved so fast that it could never happen in real life and that you can't really empathize with the characters */spoiler*.

The ending of the movie is a mess, and conveys a political message in a clumsy and not so subtle way. *spoiler* By trying to convey the message about feminism, by positively discriminating women, the director is giving a wrong idea of feminism that in the long run can hurt more the cause than help it. Plus, having the characters talk about it to bluntly is just silly. Oh, the ending about family values is just the perfect "we need a happy ending" plot device, that takes away all the attention from the previously delivered political message. /*spoiler