Optimus Reviews

→ in
Tools    





"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""
Well i have finally hit my 50th review in just under a year. I know some of you post a hell of lot more than that .. but i'm pretty happy i have hit that number. Anyway, here ya go...



Jaws
Directed By: Steven Spielberg




The Story
Jaws is a horror movie, and I don't care what anyone else says. Forget your typical horror villain running around with a knife or a chainsaw, because nothing is more terrifying than a 25ft great white shark. Jaws is a movie with a case of what you don't see can scare you, and horror movies have been trying to accomplish what Jaws did ever since ( failing miserably). If you followed my top 50 favourites thread you will know i placed A Nightmare On Elm Street as not only my favourite horror, but also my favourite ever movie. And although that's true, it didn't quite leave an impact like Jaws did. Even now when i visit the seaside and i'm paddling i get thoughts of this movie. I get thoughts of something grabbing me, or something swimming below, and I'm from the bloody UK. The story of Jaws is enough to keep anyone out of the water. It's a horror movie like no other. And i don't think a movie will ever have the same impact again.

Movie Trivia;
Several decades after the release of Jaws (1975), Lee Fierro, who played Mrs. Kintner, walked into a seafood restaurant and noticed that the menu had an "Alex Kintner Sandwich." She commented that she had played his mother so many years ago; the owner of the restaurant ran out to meet her, and he was none other than Jeffrey Voorhees, who had played her son. They had not seen each other since the original movie shoot.

According to writer Carl Gottlieb, the line, "You're gonna need a bigger boat," was not scripted but ad-libbed by Roy Scheider.

Robert Shaw could not stand Richard Dreyfuss and the two argued all the time, which resulted in some good tension between Hooper and Quint.

When composer John Williams originally played the score for director Steven Spielberg, Spielberg laughed and said, "That's funny, John, really; but what did you really have in mind for the theme of Jaws (1975)?" Spielberg later stated that without Williams's score, the movie would only have been half as successful and according to Williams, it jumpstarted his career.

According to director Steven Spielberg, the prop arm looked too fake in the scene where Chrissie's remains are discovered, so instead, they buried a female crew member in the sand with only her arm exposed.

.
The Cast
The cast are fantasic. And they all add to why Jaws is one of the greatest movies ever made. My standout performance is of course Robert Shaw as Quint. He's such a great character and the moment the shark eats him whole is truly terrifying. To be honest, i can't fault any of the cast. Their faultless, and their the reason i love this movie so much.



Movie Highlight
My movie highlight is the movies suspense. Jaws never gives anything away, and we only ever get a quick glimpse at the beast below. It really makes Jaws more frightening, more exciting, and more intense, so that when we finally see Jaws in all its glory... its a complete WOW moment, its complete Hide behind your fu**** hands moment, its complete look at the F****** size of that thing moment.



My Verdict
Overall Jaws is one of the greatest movies ever made. It has the perfect cast, the perfect story, and the perfect score. It really is the best constructed horror movie ever made. This really is the perfect movie for my #50 review, and a movie i think everyone will agree with.

__________________
Optimus Reviews
LATEST REVIEW Zack Snyder’s Justice League // Godzilla vs Kong
My Top 50 Favourites

"Banshee is the greatest thing ever. "



"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""


Die Hard With A Vengeance
Directed By: John McTiernan




The Story
The story is a non stop action thrill ride that never let's you catch your breath. It's by far the best Die Hard sequel to date, and in my opinion it is just as enjoyable as the original. Now what i love about the Die Hard movies is that they have aged very well. They fit in with what is happening around the world today (terrorism). And they feel even more relevant now than they probably did back when they where released, so the story fits very well.

Movie Trivia;
Jonathan Hensleigh was actually detained by the FBI after completing the script for the film because he knew extensive information about the Federal Gold Reserve in downtown Manhattan. Hensleigh stated that he got all the information from an article written in the New York Times.

Samuel L. Jackson's look in the film was Jackson's idea after he'd done extensive research on his character by studying books on Malcolm X.

Sir Sean Connery was John McTiernan's very first choice for the role of Simon Gruber. He turned down the role, saying that he didn't want to play such a diabolical villain.

The sex scene between Jeremy Irons and Sam Phillips was added in at the last minute because John McTiernan knew that the film would get an R rating and he might as well put a sex scene in.

The Cast
Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson are brilliant together. I thought it was a great idea to pair the character of John McClane up this time around, and the chemistry between the two characters was fantastic. The duo added some much loved humour to the movie, and although Willis and Jackson have worked together before, i'm pretty sure this was the first time they had ever been on screen together, which was great.




Movie Highlight
My movie highlight as with all the Die Hard movies was John McClane. The character just doesn't give a ****, and he will do or go through anything to save the day. I also love how he's human and not like some of the other action movie characters out there, you know the characters that beat the crap out of 100 guys while dodging every bullet fired at them. John NcClane just seems like your typical guy, who's pretty damn crazy.



My Verdict
Overall Die Hard With A Vengeance is a fantastic film. It has some very cool action, and the cast are pretty badass too. It's a great sequel to one of the greatest action movies ever made, and just as enjoyable. You should check this out if you somehow already haven't.




Well i have finally hit my 50th review in just under a year. I know some of you post a hell of lot more than that .. but i'm pretty happy i have hit that number. Anyway, here ya go...



[center]Jaws
Directed By: Steven Spielberg



Never really cared for this movie but enjoyed reading your review.



[center]The Lost Boys
Directed By: Joel Schumacher

Never seen this movie, but your review makes me want to...BTW, I just wanted to bring up one technical thing about your reviews that keeps gnawing at me...in more than one of your reviews, you use the phrase "The cast are fantastic". Cast is a singular word and you should be using "is" not "are."



"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""
Never seen this movie, but your review makes me want to...BTW, I just wanted to bring up one technical thing about your reviews that keeps gnawing at me...in more than one of your reviews, you use the phrase "The cast are fantastic". Cast is a singular word and you should be using "is" not "are."
Haha okay. I feel like i am back in school here.



"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""


Jurassic Park III
Directed By: Joe Johnston




The Story
The story felt very forced this time around and the movie feels quite isolated from the previous 2 movies. It's a unnecessary sequel that lacks the thrills and excitement from the previous 2 movies, and the visual effects seemed to have actually gotten worse. I'm a huge fan of the first Jurassic Park movie, and The Lost World wasn't too bad either, but this third instalment was just garbage. Some scenes look like they have came straight from a video game, and the whole story just bored me.

Movie Trivia;
The effects crew used 250 gallons of oatmeal to simulate Spinosaur droppings.

According to an interview with William H. Macy, the actor said the film's animatronic Spinosaurus had a 1,000-horsepower motor and that creature could turn its head at twice the force of gravity, with the tip of its nose moving at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour.

The establishing wide shot of the dig site was actual footage filmed in early summer 2001 of Jack Horner's excavation, which contained several large Tyrannosaurs and some Hadrosaurs.

The Spinosaurus was the largest animatronic ever built. It weighed 12 tons and was operated by hydraulics. This allowed it to operate while completely submerged in water.

A few of the action sequences are borrowed from left over ideas from the first two Jurassic Park films, some of which were in the original scripts and made it as far as being storyboarded before they were scrapped due to time and budget constraints. These scenes include the pteranodon and river boat sequences.

The Cast
The cast is awful. There isn't one single character that I remotely cared about. Every single one of them was annoying as hell, and i was cheering for the dinosaurs to hunt them down and eat them whole, especially the mum (Téa Leoni). There just wasn't any type of spark from the cast, nothing to really cheer for, or nothing to really care about. Even the poor little boy seemed to be getting along just fine being all alone.




Movie Highlight
My movie highlight was of course the dinosaurs. Sure, they looked way worse than they did in the previous Jurassic Park movies, but it's still always great to see the dinosaurs - even if the movie was garbage.



My Verdict
Overall Jurassic Park 3 was a very weak sequel that should never have happened. The movie is so short, and so dull that it feels like this was just thrown out there for a quick $$$. The whole look and feel to the movie feels like a straight to dvd movie, and the acting just backs that up. Thank god Jurassic World turned up.




You can't win an argument just by being right!
I totally agree with your review of JPIII. The raptors should have had a BBQ.



You can't win an argument just by being right!
I liked the dinosaurs - I wanted them to bbq the hoomans.



"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""
Deep Blue Sea
Directed By: Renny Harlin




The Story
I remember back when this movie was released reading a review with the tagline " Jaws is Back". I remembered being so excited about its release that i couldn't wait to get myself down to the local cinema. Around that time i think i was around 12/13 years of age, so movies like this were fun. Fast forward another 15+ years and I couldn't believe I actually enjoyed this movie. Everything about Deep Blue Sea is just wrong. The story is just stupid. The cast are cheesy as hell. And the sharks are the worst looking things i have ever seen. The whole film is just dumb, and I can't believe this hold 50+% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Movie Trivia;
The license plate pulled from a shark's teeth, is the same plate as the one found in the tiger shark in Jaws (1975).

For one scene, Thomas Jane had to swim alongside a real live shark. He was only allowed to shoot this, once he had completed all his other scenes.

The orange colored mini-sub visible in the wet-entry area, was the same mini-sub seen in the end of Sphere (1998), also starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Preacher's description of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity (Tom Scoggins: "I spent four years at CalTech, and that's the best physics explanation I've ever heard.") is adapted from a quote by Einstein himself: "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity."

Samuel L. Jackson happily signed on for the film, as he had enjoyed his experience working with Renny Harlin on The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996).

The Cast
The Cast are cheesy as hell, which is a shame really because i'm a big fan of Samuel L Jackson and Thomas Jane. LL Cool J is a no no no, and Saffron Burrows character i just didn't like at all (She was a bitch). The Sharks are this movies saving grace, and even they look absolutely terrible. This movie is labelled as a horror, and believe me the horror aspect doesnt come from the sharks.




Movie Highlight
My movie highlight was of course watching Samuel L Jackson give his big motivational speech, only to then watch a huge shark jump out of the water and rip him apart. The scene was very unexpected, and i must admit it did make me jump. First a Velociraptor, then a bloody shark, the guy has no luck.



My Verdict
Overall Jaws is not back. Infact this movie shouldn't be even mentioned in the same light as Jaws. It's cheap, cheesy, and absolutely garbage. I would rather watch Jaws 3 over and over again than watch this movie again.




I enjoyed Deep Blue Sea more than you did... I reviewed it as well but can't remember my rating.


Going back a bit though to Jurassic Park 3, you mentioned that the dinosaurs were crappy... I said the same.
Those Brachiosaurs by the river were awful. It was like watching a cartoon.
The major thing with JP3 Dinos though is that the CGI and animatronics didn't match The Spinosaur animatronic was red... and the CGI Spino went from red, to brown, to purple to green.
The Rex as well, started brown with a hint of green... then the CGI Rex changed colour between shots as well. At one point, the Rex was almost turquois



"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""
Never Back Down
Directed By: Jeff Wadlow




The Story
Well the story is your typical teen high school movie. But instead of vampires and prom nights, we now have fighting. Yep thats right - fighting. All the students in this movie are martial arts expects that slug it out at those crazy out of control parties that they all seem to be able to throw together. Now before you all expect me to criticise this movie, i must say i kind of enjoyed it. Sure, it's cheesy as hell and its sort of a teen rip off Rocky (training), but i thought it was fun. And it does have some cool fight scenes.

Movie Trivia;
Sean Faris gained 15 lbs. of muscle for his role.

Actor Cam Gigandet , who plays the villain "Ryan McCarthy" in the movie, has a black belt in Krav Maga in real life. Krav Maga is an Israeli martial art used by the Israeli military.

Sean Faris broke his L3 spinous transverse process when Djimon Hounsou body slammed him.

Chris Hauty was inspired to write the script after his then-teenage son showed him YouTube videos of fights taking place at his high school.

Was filmed at Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, FL.

Second movie featuring Sean Faris and Evan Peters . The first was Sleepover (2004).

Before the film's release, a raw recorded video from the set featuring a Capoeira fighter was leaked onto various video-sharing websites.

The Cast
Again the cast are your typical teen movie cast. You know the one's right?.... they look 30 years of age and are supposed to be in high school, yet they party and drink all the time... them one's. Anyway lets be positive. The movie does star Djimon Hounsou, which is pretty cool. And it also stars Amber Heard who is absolutely gorgeous. Sure overall the cast is wooden and duller than a wet rainy day, but oh well hot girls and fighting will have to do.




Movie Highlight
My movie highlight would have to the whole underdog story. I enjoyed watching Jake learn to fight, and eventually fight it out with the school bully Ryan. And sure the ending is a little OTT, but i thought it was still pretty entertaining, and the fight scenes were still pretty cool.



My Verdict
Overall i thought Never Back Down was pretty good. It's a cage fighting teen high school movie with hot girls, and buffed up boys. Sure it's not the most original movie out there, but i found it entertaining and quite enjoyable. Maybe i'll check out the sequels.




28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
I enjoyed Deep Blue Sea more than you did... I reviewed it as well but can't remember my rating.
I believe you gave it a staggering
.


Either way, I'd be somewhere in the middle. The film is an homage to those b-movie monster flicks, of course you shouldn't take anything seriously. I remember first seeing this as a kid and complaining that they killed off the lead. "She's on the cover" I yelled, while my dad said Hitchcock had been doing it for years. I had never seen a Hitchcock movie before so that meant nothing to me.

Looking at the film now, it's fun. Stupid, but fun.

"You ate my bird!"
__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""
King Kong
Directed By: Peter Jackson




The Story
Well first of i have never seen the original 1933 King Kong. To be honest i have never seen any King Kong movie, so Peter Jackson was actually the guy to introduce me to the legend. Now i have seen this movie on a couple of occasions now, and i have always been left feeling a little disappointed. Now i'm not saying I don't like this movie - because i do, it's just there are alot of things I don't like also. I think the story is great. But i think it suffers due to it's very long running time. The first hour of the movie just isn't necessary. There are alot of scenes that really serve no purpose and could of easily been cut out. The movie feels like its cut into three parts. First we have the first hour about the characters boarding the boat and travelling to Skull island. Then we have Skull Island, and all it's mystery. And then we have Kong on the streets of New York. But the problem is all three parts felt like they didn't click together. I didn't think they flowed into each other, and they kind of felt forced. Watching and writing about this movie recently makes me think that Kong's problem really is the opening hour of the movie. It's so slow to begin with that it makes the end feel very rushed.

Movie Trivia;
It took 18 months to craft the CGI version of the Empire State Building. The real thing was built in 14 months.

King Kong's roar is a lion's roar played backwards at half speed.

The scene where Denham, Driscoll and the crew fall into a pit filled with giant bugs is a reference to a scene in the original King Kong (1933), where the crew fell into a pit and were devoured by giant spiders, which was cut after many members of preview audiences ran out of the theater in horror during the scene. The original scene has never been found.

This film held the record for being the most expensive ever made in the US until it was topped by Spider-Man 3 (2007).

Andy Serkis essentially had to play King Kong twice. First, alongside Naomi Watts in a makeshift gorilla outfit so his co-star had something to react to. Then, once principal photography was completed, he had to re-do his performance, this time in a motion capture suit.

The Cast
The cast are all pretty good. But it's Naomi Watt's (Ann Darrow) and Kong's relationship that steals the show. The moments there alone together is a really nice touch, especially the scene where she laid down with kong looking over Skull Island, it was a really nice moment. Jack Black and Adrien Brody were also pretty good, although it was very strange watching Jack Black in a more serious role. Overall I can't really fault the cast.




Movie Highlight
My movie highlight is Skull Island. The island looks incredible and has a whole lot of mystery. The moment we arrive there is actually quite haunting, and the more and more we see of it just adds to the intensity. Giant bugs, bats, dinosaurs, and a big giant gorilla are just some of the bizarre creature that habitat the island. And believe me when the action picks up - it's very exciting.



My Verdict
Overall i liked King Kong. I thought it was fun, and very entertaining. But as i mentioned above it's running time does hurt the movie as a whole. I only watched this movie again so my little boy could watch it before we go to the cinema to watch Skull Island, but he lost interest straight away, and i had to skip through the movie till the action started. Anyway.... bring on Skull Island.




The cast are all pretty good. But it's Naomi Watt's (Ann Darrow) and Kong's relationship that steals the show.
This was the best part of the movie for me too...I actually found my attention waning from time to time until Beauty and the Beast actually met.



"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""


Commando
Directed By: Mark L. Lester




The Story
I would best describe Commando as an old school "Taken" on steroids. But instead of a 60 year old Liam Neeson trying to save his daughter, we now had a bulging Arnold Schwarzenegger bursting out of top. Oh did i mention that Arnie's character John Matrix can lift tree trucks, jump of a plane, rip car seats out, and deliver quality one liners (put that in a pipe and smoke it Neeson). Anyway, Commando doesn't have the most original story. It also doesn't have the best cast or performances, but it's so damn fun it doesn't matter. It's 80's action at it's very finest.

Movie Trivia;
In 1986, a sequel was written by Steven E. de Souza, and revised by Frank Darabont, with an eye to having John McTiernan direct. The script was based on the book 'Nothing Lasts Forever' (1979) by Roderick Thorp, but Schwarzenegger wasn't interested in reprising the role. The script was then reworked with a new central character, eventually played by Bruce Willis, and became Die Hard (1988). The plot of the abandoned sequel would had seen Matrix being hired by a big corporation to oversee their security to protect their executives from being kidnapped. To stop people breaking into their building and to make sure their computers are secure. So he sets it up and hires the most dangerous people to be guards in the building and then lo and behold - he discovers the people he's working for are in the illegal arms business and the big corporation is a simply a front. The end of the movie would see Jenny and Cindy, who is now a lawyer, trapped in the building and Matrix now has to defeat all the people he hired - all the meanest, toughest guards - as well as the security systems, the guard dogs, everything.

The shopping mall (Sherman Oaks Galleria) used is the same one that was used in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), also starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Since both films wrapped, the mall has been remodeled.

Vernon Wells wasn't the original actor cast to play Bennett. He did audition for the role, lost to another. On the first day of filming, however, director Mark L. Lester fired the other actor and hired Wells. This is the reason that Bennett's clothes seem so tight, because Wells was bigger than the original actor, and the production didn't have time to make a new costume. Over the years, a rumor has developed that Wells originally auditioned for the part of Matrix, but this is false.

The Cast
Watching this movie again i couldn't help but laugh at how bad the cast and their performances actually are. Arnie is awful, and his one liners are truly cringey. I remember reading trivia about this movie and seeing something about how the studio didn't even want Arnie to speak at all.... i wonder why . Rae Dawn Chong was funny in parts, but more annoying than anything. And Vernon Wells as Bennett looks like he came straight from the gay bar in police academy. Little grey netted vest, and a 80's porno mustache makes Bennett look like the gayest bad guy ever. But again who cares, all of the above means nothing when the movie still worked.




Movie Highlight
My movie highlight has got to be the ending. I love it when they go midnight shopping for guns and Matrix gears himself up for all out war. Old school action movies were the best at delivering their final showdowns, and Commando certainly doesn't disappoint.



My Verdict
Overall Commando is great fun. It's exciting, it's cheesy, it's action packed, it's everything we love about 80's action movies. Sure, it's not the best movie in terms of performances, and dialogue, but who cares. Sometimes switching off and losing yourself in these movies is exactly what you need.




You can't win an argument just by being right!
LOL I love the comment about the stupid batman voice. Yeah, really good movie, Optimus. I think it was the first time I took notice of Bale.

LOL perfectly summed up. I swear that ws not there when I commented on american psycho.



You can't win an argument just by being right!
I like your style, Optimus. Keep em coming.

And thanks for moving my shout in the box to here, Yods.