Year: 2013
Genre: Sci-fi horror
Director: Ruairi Robinson
Plot: A group of scientists on Mars come into contact with a virus that turns them into mindless monsters.
The gist: This film is actually very similar to Ridley Scott's Prometheus, with a lesser budget of course. But it also has the advantage of keeping things simple.
The film moves at a quick pace once the shit hits the fan, and despite the many familiar things that happen throughout, it never gets dull. Director Ruairi Robinson keeps things flowing smoothly as well as the tension level high, so the audience will stay with it to the end.
The good: Liev Schreiber does well as the lead hero, with Olivia Williams throwing in some solid work too as a crewmember with a sucky attitude, though it's rather brief. The pace and action are great, as stated.
The bad: Character development is close to zero here, but it's a small issue considering the genre. The cinematography gets blurry at times with too much smoke in the picture to depict the planet's surface.
Verdict: It's decent for a space horror flick. If you want Prometheus minus the complicated stuff, this is a good choice. (7/10)
Year: 2013
Genre: Action
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Plot: Machete is back, now he has to go to Mexico to stop a madman from launching a nuclear missile at Washington.
The gist: Machete Kills is the sequel to, well, Machete. I gotta say it's crazier than the first, and played for laughs a lot more often than I expected. It got pretty close to be as insane as MacGruber but thankfully it doesn't get that stupid.
The movie moves pretty fast so there aren't any dull moments at all. The one thing you have to do is to try and keep your logic circuits unwired.
The good: Danny Trejo is fun to watch as Machete, being the guy who can do all this crazy shit with a straight face. Charlie Sheen (credited as Carlos Estevez) is quite funny as the President, but Demian Bichir nearly steals the show as Mendez, the guy who's launching the missile. There's an action scene every 5 minutes or so, so you won't be bored. The opening trailer was awesome. The Star Wars references were funny.
The bad: Some of the jokes just fell flat or way too stereotypical. Sofia Vergara's boob shooting hooker was just bad to look at. Amber Heard is boring as usual. The whole El Camaleon thing was not funny at all and totally unnecessary. A horrible way to waste Cuba Gooding Jr, Walton Goggins and Antonio Banderas. Forget Lady Gaga was here. Please.
Verdict: It's not always entertaining, but it's never boring. It does make me wonder if Machete Kills Again...In Space will be good though. (6/10)
Year: 2013
Genre: Fantasy
Director: Harald Zwart
Plot: A young girl discovers a hidden world of demons, vampires and werewolves, and that she comes from a line of warriors chosen to protect the mortal world from evil.
The gist: This film has similar elements with Twilight and Harry Potter, but none of the former's heart or the latter's charm.
It's basically a story of good versus evil, and how a girl named Clary Fray, who had always lived a normal life, must now live up to her lineage of warriors and embrace her true nature. Along the way she meets a few people who will either help her, fight with her or kill her.
Director Harald Zwart tries his best but is unable to keep the film flowing steadily, his mistake is clearly trying to put as many things from the book into the film as possible. The result is an uneven and messy picture.
The good: Lily Collins and Jonathan Rhys Meyers are probably the only two solid performers here. Lily does great as Clary while Jonathan is menacing enough as the villain, too bad he doesn't get enough screen time. Lena Headey is always good to have in any film, here she plays Clary's mother, but gets even less time than Jonathan. The CGI and action sequences are decent at least.
The bad: Jamie Campbell Bower is a bad choice as the hero Jace, especially since he always looks like a male supermodel on screen. There's an oversaturation of characters in the film, till it's so hard to keep track of everyone. The final third of the movie is one big mess as a dozen things seem to be happening all at once. Some of the dialogue are also quite unintentionally laughable. And what's with the cheesy pop songs every time they want to make a romantic moment?
Verdict: Many people hate Twilight for obvious reasons. I'd rather watch that than this pile of mess. It's not the worst thing I've seen, but it clearly has too many problems to be good enough. (5/10)
Year: 2013
Genre: Action
Director: Gary Fleder
Plot: A former DEA agent moves to a quiet town with his daughter, only to cross paths with a local meth dealer.
The gist: Usually with Jason Statham, you can expect loads of action and lots of broken bones, unless it's the dramatic Hummingbird where he tones down the fist fighting and exercises more acting chops. Homefront seems to lean more towards his usual stuff, but doesn't have as much excitement as you'd expect.
The premise itself seems promising though not entirely unfamiliar. A DEA agent whose last task went south, retires and moves to a little town with his daughter, but soon gets the unwanted attention of a local meth dealer, who subsequently discovers his identity and tries to take advantage of it.
Statham does get to throw down a few times, but he spends half the film trying to be a father to his little girl, and sadly he's not very good at playing the caring dad trying to start anew. Even the final action sequence is a letdown, thanks to Gary Fleder's poor direction.
The good: Kate Bosworth is quite good as the trailer park trash drug addict sister of James Franco's character, but sadly doesn't get enough screen time. Izabela Vidovic is all right as Statham's daughter. Same goes for Winona Ryder as Franco's girlfriend.
The bad: James Franco falls short in becoming the villain of the film, he's just not intimidating enough. Frank Grillo, who plays one of the other bad guys, would have been more suitable for the role. And as stated, lots of slow and dramatic attempts at creating substance, but not very convincing.
Verdict: It's just decent as an action movie, and considering Sylvester Stallone himself adapted the screenplay, I expected more. (6/10)
