What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

[Markgway]

Surely you can say something similar about a lot of your points, that make The Expendables poor though?

Seriously. I have no idea what you're asking me?

[saltysam]

Does anyone who has seen Expendables feel it lives up to the hype? to me and others it's a crashing disappointment it seems.

[gasteropod]

Nah, 6/10.

[romerojpg]

I didnt even think it was that violent at all.

Right from the opening there's graphic R-rated bloodshed.
Thinking of the "warning shot" (actually the funniest bit in the movie)?

Maybe the fact a lot of it was blatant in your face dodgy CGI waters it down for me I just think CGI gore is just not even in the same world as real looking gore. That bit you mention for instance at the beginning, well that looks CGIed to death (who knows if it was or not, it was over so quickly and so poorly shot) it scared me, a bad start.

Mind you I re-watched Rambo the other day, the CGI gets worse every time I see that, its painful to see good films ruined by crap CGI. Stallone should have went back into Rambo and re-done most of it in his recent cashin Blu Ray, as frankly its bargain basement CGI from beginning to end in that mess.

On Expendables The film - well I liked it for what it was a silly little film, 3.5 out of 5, but hey the editing was dire, over edited and badly edited making some scenes almost impossible to follow what was going on. If the editing was better I think I could have really loved it, as it was the fights were a bit messy.

[Markgway]

Yeah, most of the blood and gore was CGI.

None of it realistic. Yet graphic all the same.

[romerojpg]

It just washes over me as soon as it turns CGI
I am just surprised it has not really got that much better, the CGI blood tech just has not moved very far in the last 10 years or so. It still on the whole stands out so obviously, even when they have massive Blockbuster budgets.
Yet the straight to DVD few million dollar cheapo films have real blood squibs and gore and look perfect! That is what gets to me, the dumbass use of time an cash to produce an inferior product seems crazy to me.

[bradavon]

Seriously. I have no idea what you're asking me?

Really? Quite simply, that a lot of your negatives are what made 80s action films classics.

[Markgway]

Seriously. I have no idea what you're asking me?

Really? Quite simply, that a lot of your negatives are what made 80s action films classics.

I wouldn't agree.

Many of the best 80s action films... the likes of Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Aliens, Robocop, etc... don't fit into that review.

Maybe if you're talking about Cannon Films and the B+ actioners but even they had a simple charm to them (and had tiny budgets to boot).

[saltysam]

Psycho 2 3.5/5

Sure,an unnecessary sequel made donkeys years later but this is far better than i think anyone could've expected.Perkins slips back seamlessly into his signature role and the film on the whole is well done,suspenseful and has some nice nods to the original,returning cast members...good ending as well.

Psycho 3 2.5/5

3rd time round with Norman is nowhere near as good as the first sequel but is fairly well directed by Perkins and has some good moments.worth catching,

Psycho 4 1.5/5

Made for cable tv 4th entry is one too far, cheaply made and fairly predictable. far fetched too...the fact Norman,after being locked up for a 2nd time at the end of the 3rd movie would be freed again to marry his nurse is ludicrous Henry Thomas plays the young Norman in flashback scenes.

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince 2.5/5

Latest Harry Potter adventure is pretty light on the action front and seems to mark time before what i imagine will be a slam dunk final 2 movies.Some entertaining characters from the previous movies are very much sidelined here and the would be romance between Ron & Hermione is getting boring.

Piranha 3/5

Entertaining Corman production with some great performances-Bradford Dillman should've been a bigger star!

[Markgway]

I think 'Psycho II' is one of the best horror sequels of all time.
It had no damn right to be this good.

III is very uneven; some strong scenes, some terrible ones.

IV is mediocre Cable TV fodder (but not terrible or anything).

[HungFist]

The Road (USA, 2010) – 3/5
Impressive end of the world film that nevertheless isn’t quite that captivating. One reason for this is the small number of characters: aside the two protagonists, the world is almost empty. The Road is perhaps easier appreciated than genuinely enjoyed. Still, the uncompromising nature was definitely the way to go, and the film gets very dark indeed (the fear of cannibalism comes across well) without being especially graphic.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration (USA, 2009) – 3/5
A mixed bag in Bulgaria. The new Universal Soldier is welcome old school action: no cgi, no editing tricks, just macho beating and arcade shooting (the bad guys literally run to the fire one at a time). On the negative side a tiny bit more style would’ve been welcome. The film’s low budget also shows: depressing contrast boosted look, and most of the film taking place in one run down factory. Despite Van Damme’s top billing he’s only in about half of the movie. Lundgren, the strongest actor in the film, doesn’t get more than a few scenes of screen time. As a whole, not bad, but could’ve been better.

The A-Team (USA, 2010) – 3/5
Fun action comedy with good cast and some jaw droppingly insane action set pieces. Crap CGI stands out in a few scenes, though, and the opening is unnecessarily violent.

The Karate Kid (USA, 2010) – 2/5
Passable remake. Not many positives but not that bad either. Jackie is ok, and, for good or bad, the elementary school romance is a bit difficult to witness with straight face.

Cop Out (USA, 2010) – 3/5
Violence and R-rated verbal comedy. Fun action comedy and buddy film from Kevin Smith.

Iron Man 2 (USA, 2010) – 2.5/5
Not an especially interesting film, but the cast saves. Robert Downey Jr., Sam L. Jackson, Mickey Rourke... Special effects are top quality.

+ almost saw Salt. Got to the theater floor already, but for fuck's sake a man's gotta have principles. I'd rather melt in 35°C heat and die of boredom than degrade myself to watch Angelina Jolie film.

[grim_tales]

The Expendables: 3.5/5

I enjoyed it a lot Great fun in an 80's action kind of way. There were some funny scenes and jokes which made me smile - eg the bit where Statham says he's getting a text (at the start) and Stallone saying Arnie "wants to President"
Quite violent and graphic eg throats slashed, limbs hacked off, the things I had problems with were - the plot is pretty flimsy, the film was like it was 3D even if it wasnt (if that makes sense?), it felt like I was watching DV and there wasnt a "film" look to it, looked weird and wrong. Shame about the CGI blood which was very noticeable.
IT'S LOUD, TOO LOUD. Guns and stuff are so loud and conversely it was hard to understand what was being said.

[grim_tales]

I loved Arnie's cameo - very funny With The Terminator-like walk and drum beat!
I agree with Mark's point about the mumbling and thick accents though.

[saltysam]

I loved Arnie's cameo - very funny With The Terminator-like walk and drum beat!

Really? while it was nice to see Arnie again the scene itself was pretty cringe-inducing imo.

[gasteropod]

'When will we see you again?'

'IHN AH THOUSHAND YEEARHS'

[grim_tales]

"Too soon"
I agree it was nice seeing Ah-nuld again, maybe the scene was meant to be cringey.

[gasteropod]

Yeah I think it was it was my favourite bit of the film.

[Markgway]

That scene should have been iconic. Instead it fizzled thanks to weak writing and indifferent acting. There's a fine line between having fun on a set and looking like you couldn't give a shit...

[grim_tales]

Resident Evil Afterlife: 2.5/5

I'd never seen a RE film before - and to be honest this is more action than horror (I'm not a big horror person), and... I rather enjoyed it.
Was rather cheesy in places, the final big set piece is one giant rip off of The Matrix with an Agent Smith a-like and bullet time aplenty That did make me laugh though

[romerojpg]

Resident Evil Afterlife: 2.5/5

I'd never seen a RE film before

So you just went into part 4 why on earth would you watch a film where you need to see 3 films before it to get most of it, that's crackers. You would have had zero idea what the fuck was going on

Do you watch TV shows by starting at the end few episodes and skipping the first 3rd

[grim_tales]

I know what you mean, it wasnt really my choice though, it was a film I was seeing with a large group

[romerojpg]

I would just refuse to see any sequel before I see the first, so get the other 3 films watched now then, some of it may make some sense if you do that you must have been sitting there thinking what? what? what? a lot the beginning esspecially must have been like what!

and hey Agent Smith came along many, many years after the character in the Resident Evil games which the film is based on, so they copied from him

[saltysam]

I've seen the first 3 RE movies and i don't know what's going on i doubt many people watch these for the story,i'm pretty sure you could watch part 4 prely as a standalone actioner

[romerojpg]

I've seen the first 3 RE movies and i don't know what's going on i doubt many people watch these for the story,i'm pretty sure you could watch part 4 prely as a standalone actioner

You could watch any film as a separate one in theory, but you would not exactly enjoy it much with so much missing.

Part 4 starts off where part 3 ended, you would be seriously confused as to what the hell is going on as they do not explain it at all in any way, it just starts, and you would miss a massive amount of the film as you have no idea what went on before, who people were, who died, who is good, bad etc etc.. even the last shot of the film you would not get at all either haha it meant something to people who saw the films, nothing at all to others.

Sill I would give Afterlife 4 out of 5 very polished with some amazing sequences, and the 3D is maybe the best ever created pisses on everything else out there, apart from maybe Avatar, maybe.

[bradavon]

I've only seen Part 1. Better than I was expecting but nothing special. It doesn't make me want to see all the numerous sequels.