Optimus Reviews

"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""

04-16-15

Fast And Furious: Tokyo Drift
Directed By: Justin Lin

Okay, I'll admit that this Fast And Furious movie sort of sucks. Lucas Black is a terrible actor and his performance is atrocious in this movie. I'll also admit that the whole story is pretty much laughable with most of the cast acting out as high school students who look like there 30. I'll also admit that this movie is cheesy as hell with some of the worst dialogue ever. But the real problem is.... I love it. I love that this movie was different from the previous 2 films. I love how they added a new approach to the street racing (Drifting), and I love how they changed location to Tokyo. But the main thing I love, and the thing that carries the movie for me is Sung Kang (Han). The guy is do damn likeable, and he's one of my favourite characters in the whole Fast And Furious franchise.

Movie Trivia: After poor test screenings, Universal Pictures asked Vin Diesel to make a cameo appearance to boost its box-office potential. Diesel agreed to appear if Universal would relinquish the rights to the "Riddick" franchise to him. Diesel was then able to make Riddick (2013) independently.

The drifting in the movie was not CGI; it was performed by professional drivers. As reported in a recent Sport Compact Car, Rhys Millen, his father Rod, and a handful of other famous rally and drift racers consistently performed amazing drift sequences for the movie.

The only Fast and the Furious film not to star Paul Walker.

Tokyo Drift sticks to racing a lot more than any of the other Fast And Furious movies. There are some very cool race scenes through the streets of Tokyo, and they really do capture some of the beauty of the city. There is one particular scene in which there is a chase. And the car's drift right through a very busy street full of pedestrians in slow motion. This scene is done in style and looks great. The majority of the movie is done in style. Everything from the cars, girls, and soundtracks just add coolness to the movie. Now I know this movie isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's certainly mine.

Movie Trivia: Paul Walker wasn't asked to return as the studio felt he was too old. The first draft of the script featured the return of Vin Diesel's character Domonic Torreto.

Han's VeilSide RX-7 driven by Han was a special show car crowned "Best of Show 2005" at Tokyo Auto Salon. It was reportedly worth $150,000; the custom leather interior alone cost $20,000. Universal bought the car for $50,000, then repainted the inside and outside.

600 Asian extras were used during the LA filming days for the street scenes.

The first film in the "Fast & Furious" franchise to have a full opening credits sequence.

Overall Fast And Furious Tokyo Drift is a real guilty pleasure of mine. Some of you may have even noticed it made my top 100 favourites, so I am pretty fond of it. In my opinion it's one of the better movies from the franchise, and also one of the coolest.

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Last edited by Optimus; 03-20-18 at 11:27 AM.

Fabulous

Jonsilfab

04-16-15

A lot of people say it was one of the weakest in the series, but I thought it was one of the best.

Optimus

"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""

04-16-15

Originally Posted by Fabulous

A lot of people say it was one of the weakest in the series, but I thought it was one of the best.

Glad to see someone else enjoyed it. What did you particular like.

MovieMeditation

Friendo.

04-16-15

I got myself to move the mouse to the 'thumbs up' icon, but I wasn't totally glad doing it.

Honestly though, I can more or less enjoy this entry in the vein of how I did the second, but both are kind of "surfing the same wave". They fall into the same kind of clich�s, the same kind of problems and bears the same stupid and stilted dialogue. I also miss the main characters from the franchise, but thankfully Han is there to save it. And even before he became "part of the team", he was definitely also my favourite thing in this film.

What does seperate this from the second film though, is that it's mostly very well directed, and the racing scenes are done almost in top notch style. The story is kind of weak though, many characters are flat or stereotypical, but I guess you can't criticize the story because it's never a shining moment in any F&F-film. I love a few scenes here and there, but overall it pretty much lands in the same category as the second, for me. I can only just enjoy it enough for it to be worth my time, but it's brainless entertainment and if the action and cars weren't so dominate and fun, I wouldn't even care for them one bit.

Lasty, it's funny... People want more racing in these movies, and the entry which consists of the most racing, is also the one which is universally hated... Guess they went the right direction after all, huh?

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Fabulous

Jonsilfab

04-16-15

Originally Posted by Optimus

Glad to see someone else enjoyed it. What did you particular like.

The nice change of scenery with a fresh cast felt nice. I also think the main point of the franchise, street racing, was really well done compared to the 2nd and 4th ones.

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Optimus

"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""

04-27-15

Originally Posted by Fabulous

The nice change of scenery with a fresh cast felt nice. I also think the main point of the franchise, street racing, was really well done compared to the 2nd and 4th ones.

I agree. I enjoyed the street racing aspect in this movie and some of the cars where pretty awesome.

Optimus

"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""

06-16-15

Jurassic World
Directed By: Colin Trevorrow

The Story - Jurassic World feels like a more updated version of the 1992 Jurassic Park. Now i know this movie is a sequel of sorts, but you cant help but feel like you have seen it all before. The children aspect of the story is pretty similar, the ending is pretty similar, and there is a scene of a dying Dinosaur out in the field which felt like more of the same. Now dont get me wrong, ime not saying this is a bad thing because Jurassic Park is one of my favourite movies out there, so taking a few ideas is all good. But what i am saying is that i thought this movie was more of a reboot than a sequel. I mean, you could probably start a whole new trilogy of the back of Jurassic World.

The Cast - are all great. Chris Pratt brings some humour to the film which was a nice touch. His relationship with the velociraptors was also a nice spin on the movie aswell. Bryce Dallas Howard was also a pretty interesting character, and damn fu***** hot

. To be honest the whole cast where great, and a big improvemt on the other Jurassic Park movies. Because as much as a love the other movies in the franchise (minus number 3) - ive always felt the cast where pretty dull and very wooden. So it was nice to see some up beat characters in Jurassic World.

Movie Trivia: The Jeep that was repaired by Zach and Gray is numbered "29", which is exactly the same number as the tourist Jeep that John Hammond rode in the beginning of Jurassic Park (1993).

Jeff Goldblum's character Dr. Ian Malcolm can be spotted on the cover of a book that is read by Zara (Katie McGrath) on the monorail ride in to the park. A copy of the same book is later shown on Lowery's (Jake Johnson's) desk in the control room when he is first introduced.

This is the first film in the series not to feature any appearance by Sam Neill, Laura Dern or Jeff Goldblum. This was a creative decision by Colin Trevorrow: "I know a lot of fans want to see the original characters back. They're iconic. But I respect those actors too much to shoehorn them into this story for my own sentimental reasons. Jurassic Park isn't about the bad luck of three people who keep getting thrown into the same situation. The only reason they'd go back to that island is if the screenwriters contrived a reason for them to go."

Movie Highlight - My movie highlight has to be when we arrive at the park. You really get the feeling like your along for the ride. And from the moment the huge gates opens and the soundtrack kicks in - your childhood comes rushing back. Its such a great scene and really kicks starts the excitement. The park looks fantastic and they really capture the theme park enviroment brilliantly. Everything from the safari tour, to the feeding time at the Mosasaurus tank looks amazing.

Things i liked:

-Again the park looked incredible.

- The Indominus Rex was great. I really loved the mystery surrounding the Dinosaur. I loved how brutal it was and i liked how we never really knew about how it was made, or from what it was made of until near the end of the movie.

- The Ending was awesome. I really loved the final showdown with the T-Rex and The Indominus Rex. It was so intense and exciting and it was great seeing these Dinosaurs battling it out.

- Refferences to Jurassic Park was also a really nice touch.

Overall- Jurassic World was fantastic. Its easily my favourite Jurassic Park movie and it deserves every bit of praise its receiving. Its exciting, intense, and its as entertining as you can get. Really great movie.

Last edited by Optimus; 03-20-18 at 11:29 AM.

False Writer

NJPW: King of Sports

06-16-15

Nice review Optimus! It's awesome that you enjoyed it so much. I enjoyed it as well, although I only rated it 3.5 it was still surprisingly good.

Optimus

"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""

06-16-15

Thanks mate.

MovieMeditation

Friendo.

06-16-15

Good review, Optimus! Glad you liked the film too, though I also rated it 3.5 as FW did. But actually, I feel like it holds a personal rating of 4/5 in my head.

Can't wait to see it again, it was a great experience as you said, with the park being the "main attraction" of the film. It was such a fun time to be there (again), in this modernized dino-world.

Optimus

"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""

06-16-15

Thanks Movie Med. ime gonna read your review now.

Optimus

"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""

06-17-15

Get Hard
Directed By: Etan Cohen

The Story - The story is pretty much as stupid and as daft as it looks from the trailer. But coming from a Will Farell movie i expected that. What i didnt expect was this movie to suck as much as it did. I thought the story was very weak and the comedy was awful. I love Will Farrel, and even tho his movies are silly i still enjoy them. Elf, Step Brothers, and Old School are great. There daft but there still very funny and thats what i expected from Get Hard, but sadly that wasnt the case.

The Cast - The Cast where very dissapointing if ime totally honest. There was so much potential with Will Farrel and Kevin Hart in a movie together and they pretty much blew it with Get Hard. Both men are very funny, especially Kevin Hart, he's great. But theres nothing funny about Get Hard fot them to shine. Bad jokes, bad chemistry, and just a bad film if ime honest.

Movie Trivia: "Will Ferrell stayed in character for all interviews and press releases for Get Hard
Hart sent out a notice on social media that he would give away tickets to see this film at the 5.30 pm showing in Greenville, South Carolina. Due to demand he extended the offer to two more showings and he appeared with the fans to express his thanks.

Kevin Hart plays the character Darnell, which is also Kevin Hart's real middle name.

There's an 11 inch height difference between Will Ferrell and co star Kevin Hart.

This movie is filmed in New Orleans at a golf course, a mansion in Metairie, a prison, and the Ninth Ward."

Movie Highlight - if i had to pick a scene that i enjoyed or a scene where i did crack a smile, then i'd have to go with ghetto Farrel. There is a scene where Will Farrel joins a black gang and they nickname him Mayo. He ends up meeting a black girl and he ends up about to do a hit on someone. Its a pretty funny scene and probably the funniest moment in the film.

Things i Disliked:

- Will Farrel and Kevin Hart didnt work well together. No comedy chemistry and just a total mis-match.

- No real humour. Everything joke is about prison rape.

- Will Farrel playing the same character we have seen numerous times, yet this time it feels annoying.

- The Film never seems to go anywhere. Its one silly gag after another and the film really struggles to find its feet.

Overall- I wouldnt recommend this movie to anyone. Its complete rubbish that even Will Farrel and Kevin Hard cant save it.

Last edited by Optimus; 03-20-18 at 12:03 PM.

Sedai

A system of cells interlinked

06-17-15

After reading your review of JW, I almost want to see it now...

Almost...

Well done reviews, as usual!

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Optimus

"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""

06-17-15

Thanks Sed. Also, please watch Jurassic World, you may be surprised.

cricket

Msg

Registered User

06-17-15

I know it's probably crap, but I still want to see Get Hard. I just like comedy like that.

Good job Optimus!

Optimus

"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""

06-18-15

Road House
Directed By: Rowdy Herrington

The Story
The Story is pretty weak, yet it works so well. Maybe the movie is just so damn cool that the plot doesn't even really matter. Or maybe the fight scenes, or the cheesy dialogue carry the movie, i dont know, but it works. The movie flows really nicely and its so damn enjoyable. I think ive seen Road House atleast 10 times and it never gets old. Its so much fun and so entertaining that its hard not to enjoy it. Cool fight scenes, hot girls, cheesy soundtracks and bad one liners is what we all love about old school action movies..... Right?.

Movie Trivia: According to Kelly Lynch, whenever Bill Murray sees her sex scene with Patrick Swayze on television, he calls her husband, Mitch Glazer, to tease him about it.

At one point, Patrick Swayze was approached to star in the film Predator 2 (1990) but was unable to, because he was injured during the filming of this movie.

The song "These Arms of Mine" by Otis Redding is playing during the love scene with Patrick Swayze and Kelly Lynch. It was also the song playing in Dirty Dancing (1987) during the love scene between Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

The band playing at the start of the movie is Cruzados. After the band disbanded, lead singer Tito Larriva formed the band Tito & Tarantula, which is the band that plays at the Titty Twister in the movie From Dusk Till Dawn(1996).

The Cast
The cast are all great but its Patrick Swayze who steals the show. His character John Dalton is such a badass and so damn cool, and its a role that Swayze nails perfectly. Swayze was one of those people that just carried them selfs really well. Every role he played - he played with style. The guy defined the word cool and this movie showcases exactly what i mean.

Movie Highlight
My movie highlight has got to be when Dalton (Swayze) first starts his job at the club. No one knows who he is or what hes capable of doing and he really shakes things up and transforms the club from a dingey s*** hole into a nice place. He gets rid of the trash and people see just how much of a badass he really is.

Things i Like:
- The Bar fights are very cool. Bottles getting smashed, tables getting broken, and asses getting kicked is exactly what we wanna see.

- As i mentioned above Patrick Swayzee is cool. Dalton is such a likeable character and great to watch.

- Sam Elliot is another very cool character. And its great when him and Swayze tear things up together.

Verdict
Road House is awesome. Great fights, great action, hot girls, and very cool characters. Its a shame we dont see movies like this anymore. Roadhouse is a classic

Last edited by Optimus; 06-18-15 at 11:55 AM.

Optimus

"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""

06-18-15

Warrior
Directed By: Gavin O'Connor

The Story
Warrior is best described as a sports drama that certainly packs a punch. Its such a raw and powerful movie full of intense and emotional scenes that really capture the audience. One minute you will be cheering and the next you will be wiping away the tears. Okay, the story is kind of cliched, but its the characters and performances that really drive this movie. If your a fight fan then you will certainly love the fight scenes throughout the film. And if your not a fight fan then the performances and characters will be enough for you to sit and still enjoy one of the best movies of 2011.

The Cast
The cast and performances in Warrior are what make this movie so special. Tom Hardy's performace is sensational and it showcases why he's one of the best actors around today. Joel Edgerton is also great, but its Nick Nolte who steals the show for me. His performances is so touching and sad that it really tugged on my heart strings. He put everything into this performance and it really is one of his finest performances as an actor.

Movie Trivia: Instead of going to his hotel after his flight from England, Tom Hardy appeared at director Gavin O'Connor's door at midnight the evening before his audition. The pair ended up living together for five days.

When the announcer is quoting Koba's credentials, he states that he is an Olympic Gold medalist in wrestling. Kurt Angle, the actor playing Koba, won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics in the 220lbs/100 kg weight class for freestyle wrestling. He was also a world champion in the same style and weight class in 1995.

The role of Paddy was written for Nick Nolte by Anthony Tambakis and Gavin O'Connor, who are neighbors with the actor in Malibu. The studio was resistant to casting Nolte, but the writers held firm and Nolte's portrayal has won him universal critical praise.

On the first day of shooting, the crew gave Nick Nolte a standing ovation after the first take of a scene shot at a local diner. The scene was later cut but appears as a DVD extra.

My Movie Highlight
The Highlight of this movie for me is the hotel room scene. Tommy (Hardy) and Paddy (Nolte) share one of the most powerful movie scenes ive seen in such a long time. Its so gripping and emotional and one of the best scenes in the movie. It showcases two fantastic performances and the scene really touched me.

Things I Liked
- The ending is very well done. Its very predictable, but still very satisfying.

- The cast are all fantastic.

- The fight scenes are great and look spot on

- The story is gripping and interesting from the very start. And with a running time of over 2 hours it never gets dull.

Verdict
Warrior is a truly great movie with a fantastic cast, great performances, and emotional story. Its one of the best movies from 2011 and one of my all time favourites.

Optimus