That pretty much sums it up. Its just ok. The set up is fun, if not a bit silly. Where it is let down is by the overall quality of the stories themselves that don't quite maintain there in story logic. The first Dont Answer the Door, starts off well and sets a great atmosphere however goes off the rails as it goes along and ends almost as if the girl reciting it had forgot how it started. The next is Endless Flight, it runs along fine but features a ghost/hallucination element that goes no where and might as well have not been included. The third is the very solid Secret Recipe, with my only gripe being overuse of some of this was a dream cliche. The finale segment Ambulance on the Death Zone simply doesn't fit the overall set up of this anthology, it is more of a scifi/horror story that one wouldn't expect her to recite as a set of scary stories. The ending of the wrap up is predictable but suitably unsettling.
Reviews
9 Reviews
Vixen
(2018)
Not the movie described
22 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I am not sure if there is another movie out there with nearly the same cast but different female leads but the film I watched lead character is Sunny played by Li Ran. There is not a Chinese police woman nor a roguishly handsome Interpol agent. They are not in the worlds tallest building, it's a conference center. And while Lei-ri Chen is credited as Lee in the movie credits at the end of the film I have no memory of her character. In fact Sunny is the only female character with any significant screen time. She plays one of the delegates at a conference except she has a Chinese military history which explains her ability to engage the attackers.
Essentially Sunny and other delegates from different nations come to a conference to discuss security software. The conference is to be locked down while this occurs. Attackers posing as cooks and waiting staff take over the building after it is locked down. They pose as terrorist but are really here for Other reasons. Sunny after leaving the conference room before the attack is their only hope as she alone must stop the attackers.
The acting is pretty poor in this film, there is some poor dubbing, the story is a die hard clone and even the fights are so poorly shot and choreographed they fail to carry the film. It's just very cheaply done. I am wondering if the summary was from kind of preproduction plan and things changed once they finally filmed it and it was never updated.
I watched it on prime, it is safe to skip.
Essentially Sunny and other delegates from different nations come to a conference to discuss security software. The conference is to be locked down while this occurs. Attackers posing as cooks and waiting staff take over the building after it is locked down. They pose as terrorist but are really here for Other reasons. Sunny after leaving the conference room before the attack is their only hope as she alone must stop the attackers.
The acting is pretty poor in this film, there is some poor dubbing, the story is a die hard clone and even the fights are so poorly shot and choreographed they fail to carry the film. It's just very cheaply done. I am wondering if the summary was from kind of preproduction plan and things changed once they finally filmed it and it was never updated.
I watched it on prime, it is safe to skip.
Inkubus
(2011)
Robert Englund is pretty much the only reason to watch this movie.
3 February 2019
This film really is a wasted opportunity for Englund as I would love to see this character in a better movie. Unfortunately its in this movie and its a very bad film. Englund is the only one that gives any kind of a solid performance, and is the only reason to even check out the film.
The film is set in a police station that is shutting down sometime in the 80s or 90s and has a skeleton crew led by Det Lt Caretti (Fatone). On this evening they catch a murder case where the suspect is for whatever reason brought to this understaffed station. The suspect lays the blame on another, though there is no evidence anyone else was there. It is when the real murderer, Inkubus (Englund), shows up that everything goes south.
You will see other names you may recognize, such as William Forsythe, Jonathan Silverman and Joey Fatone! But Forsythe and Silverman phone in their parts while Fatone's acting abilities are what you would expect them to be. Since he is the primary lead this is a very bad thing.
The film is just very low budget, badly written, badly acted outside of Englund, the editing is terrible, the effects with the exception of a couple good practical gore effects are horrible as well. If you are an Englund fan you may enjoy his turn in this but otherwise this film is best avoided.
IF you are interested in a similar but better film I would try Last Shift (2014).
The film is set in a police station that is shutting down sometime in the 80s or 90s and has a skeleton crew led by Det Lt Caretti (Fatone). On this evening they catch a murder case where the suspect is for whatever reason brought to this understaffed station. The suspect lays the blame on another, though there is no evidence anyone else was there. It is when the real murderer, Inkubus (Englund), shows up that everything goes south.
You will see other names you may recognize, such as William Forsythe, Jonathan Silverman and Joey Fatone! But Forsythe and Silverman phone in their parts while Fatone's acting abilities are what you would expect them to be. Since he is the primary lead this is a very bad thing.
The film is just very low budget, badly written, badly acted outside of Englund, the editing is terrible, the effects with the exception of a couple good practical gore effects are horrible as well. If you are an Englund fan you may enjoy his turn in this but otherwise this film is best avoided.
IF you are interested in a similar but better film I would try Last Shift (2014).
Gallowwalkers
(2012)
Wasted Opportunity Here
3 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I like the concept of the film and thought Wesley Snipes looked great in the lead role. However everything else was poorly done, the dialogue, editing, execution of story, some of the effects work, a few of the actors. You could see a better movie could have been made of this but it never made it to the screen. It's entertaining enough, but it's a 4/10 all the way.
Nailed It!
(2018– )
Parts are good but overall not great
19 May 2018
Some of the contestants and the things they bake are very funny. But the overall series is brought down by a host that gets annoying fast and a presentation of the show that may be intentionally unpolished. A new host perhaps would help, but I am unlikely to try it again if it returns.
Entertaining, but not great
10 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
First off I will say the film was entertaining overall, the effects were excellent and the appearance of Han and Chewie added a lot to the film as a whole. It does feel like Star Wars. So in terms of being worth the price of admission, it is.
Now having said that, the film is flawed in many ways.
The story is unoriginal. From the lost hunted droid on a desert planet to the death of a major character for character building purposes to the star killer base. Echoes of A New Hope are everywhere and blatant.
The new characters are also an issue. Rey, Finn and Poe are supposed to carry the new trilogy against the might of Ren, Hux, Phasma, and Snoke.
Rey is being described a lot recently as a Mary Sue. If you look up what that is you will find that the description is largely fair. The character is OK if not very well developed at this point. However what really hurts this character is her largely unbelievable growth in the force skill in the second half of the film.
Finn's behavior and motivations do not match his limited history as a stolen child brought up as a stormtrooper. He simply doesn't feel right. He is some of the comic relief of the film. However the character becomes annoying after awhile and he doesn't seem essential at all to the film.
Poe is an ace pilot for the Resistance. That's pretty much it. He isn't developed much beyond that other than he is the owner of the BB8 droid you saw so much of in the previews.
Han really helped carry this film for these characters.
As for Kylo Ren as the big bad. He starts off strong but is weakened through out the film. He is a conflicted character which is fine. But by the end of the film you questions whether he should have been the primary villain.
Hux is merely an important First Order Officer. He is like all the imperial officers you have seen in the past except given more importance in the narrative. He may become a bigger character in time as he clearly has a rivalry with Ren.
Phasma wears shiny stormtrooper armor and is a girl. That's pretty much her character. She is basically pointless and is literally thrown in the trash during the movie.
Snoke is the supreme leader of the First Order and the one that turned Ren. He is only seen as a oversized hologram and appears to be a CGI creation. He is some kind of a dark force user but you see little of him.
The characters are simply not as strong as OT.
There are other areas of weakness, but one of the biggest in this film probably features the worst lightsaber duel in all 7 films and it is this moment that undermines Ren and Rey's characters the most and pulls you out of the film. It simply not believable Rey would have been able to defeat Ren. Ren was severely injured and I get that and he fought Finn first which actually doesn't help because that was a joke as well. Finn wouldn't have survived a second trying to fight saber to saber with jedi/siths that have been seen in the past. To put it plainly, it was ridiculous.
Having said all that and not having said everything I still enjoyed the film as a whole. I have hope the next two will flesh out the characters better and maybe fix some of the weaker points of this film. In the overall scheme of things this is the 4th best Star Wars film, below ROTJ and slightly above ROTS. I do recommend it.
Now having said that, the film is flawed in many ways.
The story is unoriginal. From the lost hunted droid on a desert planet to the death of a major character for character building purposes to the star killer base. Echoes of A New Hope are everywhere and blatant.
The new characters are also an issue. Rey, Finn and Poe are supposed to carry the new trilogy against the might of Ren, Hux, Phasma, and Snoke.
Rey is being described a lot recently as a Mary Sue. If you look up what that is you will find that the description is largely fair. The character is OK if not very well developed at this point. However what really hurts this character is her largely unbelievable growth in the force skill in the second half of the film.
Finn's behavior and motivations do not match his limited history as a stolen child brought up as a stormtrooper. He simply doesn't feel right. He is some of the comic relief of the film. However the character becomes annoying after awhile and he doesn't seem essential at all to the film.
Poe is an ace pilot for the Resistance. That's pretty much it. He isn't developed much beyond that other than he is the owner of the BB8 droid you saw so much of in the previews.
Han really helped carry this film for these characters.
As for Kylo Ren as the big bad. He starts off strong but is weakened through out the film. He is a conflicted character which is fine. But by the end of the film you questions whether he should have been the primary villain.
Hux is merely an important First Order Officer. He is like all the imperial officers you have seen in the past except given more importance in the narrative. He may become a bigger character in time as he clearly has a rivalry with Ren.
Phasma wears shiny stormtrooper armor and is a girl. That's pretty much her character. She is basically pointless and is literally thrown in the trash during the movie.
Snoke is the supreme leader of the First Order and the one that turned Ren. He is only seen as a oversized hologram and appears to be a CGI creation. He is some kind of a dark force user but you see little of him.
The characters are simply not as strong as OT.
There are other areas of weakness, but one of the biggest in this film probably features the worst lightsaber duel in all 7 films and it is this moment that undermines Ren and Rey's characters the most and pulls you out of the film. It simply not believable Rey would have been able to defeat Ren. Ren was severely injured and I get that and he fought Finn first which actually doesn't help because that was a joke as well. Finn wouldn't have survived a second trying to fight saber to saber with jedi/siths that have been seen in the past. To put it plainly, it was ridiculous.
Having said all that and not having said everything I still enjoyed the film as a whole. I have hope the next two will flesh out the characters better and maybe fix some of the weaker points of this film. In the overall scheme of things this is the 4th best Star Wars film, below ROTJ and slightly above ROTS. I do recommend it.
Jason X
(2001)
Always a bad sign when it goes to space
18 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I happened to catch this last night, and it really is amazing how things are different as time passes. Now don't get me wrong this was not a very good film when I first watched it 12 years ago, but I didn't realize how bad until I was watching it with coworkers last night. Outside some of the kills and the few times it hits with humor the film is nearly the worst in the series.
The best actor in this film is Kane Hodder, and that is not a good sign people as he is the silent hulking masked monster that says nothing. Outside of him everyone else here is pretty woeful, delivering some awful dialogue from an already stupid concept of putting Jason in space. The one thing you need from your lead female in this film is the ability to be the victim to at least sell the fear. Lexa Doig is an actress of limited range and this was clearly beyond her and the writing for her did not help.
On top of that we are treated to some pretty awful effects work, the cgi elements are bad I have seen better effects work in Syfy originals.
The final insult to fans of the series is Uber Jason, the Jason upgrade that appears towards the end of the film. He is simply ridiculous, a silver masked, reddish eyed cyborg.
I understand this film is not trying to be a hardcore entry in the series but in the attempt to make it extra campy they soared passed that goal right into stupid and bad.
The best actor in this film is Kane Hodder, and that is not a good sign people as he is the silent hulking masked monster that says nothing. Outside of him everyone else here is pretty woeful, delivering some awful dialogue from an already stupid concept of putting Jason in space. The one thing you need from your lead female in this film is the ability to be the victim to at least sell the fear. Lexa Doig is an actress of limited range and this was clearly beyond her and the writing for her did not help.
On top of that we are treated to some pretty awful effects work, the cgi elements are bad I have seen better effects work in Syfy originals.
The final insult to fans of the series is Uber Jason, the Jason upgrade that appears towards the end of the film. He is simply ridiculous, a silver masked, reddish eyed cyborg.
I understand this film is not trying to be a hardcore entry in the series but in the attempt to make it extra campy they soared passed that goal right into stupid and bad.
Solid Kid film
6 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The film is very entertaining for children I believe partially because they don't typically catch the flaws in acting, plot, writing and overall production as adults have a tendency to do, so I can't recommend it for adults.
At its core its fun adventure story with a time spanning story, magical artifact and a villain kids could fear, as the story goes on the kids slowly learn about themselves. My daughter really loves this and watched it three times in as many days. Its ending that a prior poster commented on I guess can catch you a little off guard if you didn't pick it up as the story went along. As it is only occasionally pointed out till then end that this movie is a Christian film. Having said that, I think that nasty response is unnecessary. The film has a good moral story to it that can be appreciated whether you believe in God or not.
At its core its fun adventure story with a time spanning story, magical artifact and a villain kids could fear, as the story goes on the kids slowly learn about themselves. My daughter really loves this and watched it three times in as many days. Its ending that a prior poster commented on I guess can catch you a little off guard if you didn't pick it up as the story went along. As it is only occasionally pointed out till then end that this movie is a Christian film. Having said that, I think that nasty response is unnecessary. The film has a good moral story to it that can be appreciated whether you believe in God or not.
Forced to Fight
(2011)
Oddly Entertaining yet..a bad film
10 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I am not sure what to say about this film. I liked both Gary Daniels and Peter Weller in it, I thought the fight scenes were very well done and I was pretty entertained by it. However the film is bad on so many levels, the plot pretty standard fare, probably something you would have seen a lot in the 80s, Daniels has to fight to pay the debt his brother owes to a underground fight promoter played by Weller.
The acting of Daniels' characters wife and child are largely cringe worthy especially the boy. The pacing is very off in the film, you know time has to be passing, but it doesn't feel that way. Daniels decent into his characters fighting addiction is almost so sudden as to be unbelievable as is his abusive way he handles his family after this occurs. Nothing about this part of the film feels genuine and is what really brings the film down.
The nail in the coffin comes with when Weller kills the brother needlessly. It doesn't really follow, he has Daniels fighting for him, even got him to take dives. He took Weller's threats seriously, so the murder of the brother does nothing except give Daniels a reason to screw Weller royally which he does.
There are other nitpicks here, the big bad fighter at the end isn't really set up well, you never really see him as much of threat and Daniels seems to have an easier time of finishing him then he did the previous fighter. The cop that is investigating the murder seems to have been pulled from the 70s, old style appearance, unkempt appearance, heavy NY accent and all. Then the low budget swat team seen at the end, all black ski mask wearing subjects with handcuffs visible to show they are cops.
However even with all the flaws, I was still entertained and in the end that is all a film has to do.
The acting of Daniels' characters wife and child are largely cringe worthy especially the boy. The pacing is very off in the film, you know time has to be passing, but it doesn't feel that way. Daniels decent into his characters fighting addiction is almost so sudden as to be unbelievable as is his abusive way he handles his family after this occurs. Nothing about this part of the film feels genuine and is what really brings the film down.
The nail in the coffin comes with when Weller kills the brother needlessly. It doesn't really follow, he has Daniels fighting for him, even got him to take dives. He took Weller's threats seriously, so the murder of the brother does nothing except give Daniels a reason to screw Weller royally which he does.
There are other nitpicks here, the big bad fighter at the end isn't really set up well, you never really see him as much of threat and Daniels seems to have an easier time of finishing him then he did the previous fighter. The cop that is investigating the murder seems to have been pulled from the 70s, old style appearance, unkempt appearance, heavy NY accent and all. Then the low budget swat team seen at the end, all black ski mask wearing subjects with handcuffs visible to show they are cops.
However even with all the flaws, I was still entertained and in the end that is all a film has to do.
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