Platypuschow
Joined Jan 2015
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Ratings17.5K
Platypuschow's rating
Reviews1.8K
Platypuschow's rating
Plot
When his supervisors at the CIA refuse to take action after his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a decoder takes matters into his own hands.
Cast
Rami Malek and Laurence Fishburne deliver as they always do. Jon Bernthal is wasted, Adrian Martinez is always a welcome addition.
Verdict
The Amateur was the wife's choice, if she hadn't picked it I'd have likely never have given it a chance. It looks from the cover like a generic straight to DVD action flick, but I can confidently say I was mistaken.
The Amateur is a thriller with a level of intelligence, alas not as much as it attempts. The plot is less predictable than I expected and that's something, I loved the global wanderings and appreciated a lot of elements integrated but for every couple of things it does well it does one poorly and prevents the movie from being memorable, entertaining or quite frankly logical.
It entertains then it bores, it intrigues then it frustrates and all the while I'm left feeling like many scenes needed additional time but it rushed onto the next instead.
The Amateur could have been an enjoyable intelligent affair, the end result is a rushed mish-mash of ideas that badly falls short.
Rants
No spoilers here, but did you not expect a certain character to still be alive? I thought that was going to be the big twist. I mean come on, the general rule of thumb in movies and tv shows is if you don't actually see the character die then they're not dead. Well, I guess they were. I guess I'm glad as I thought that was predictable, but still it's the unwritten rule!
The Good
Solid cast Some solid ideas Loved the setting(s)
The Bad
Jon Bernthal may as well have not been in the film Badly rushed in areas Some poor writing decisions.
When his supervisors at the CIA refuse to take action after his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a decoder takes matters into his own hands.
Cast
Rami Malek and Laurence Fishburne deliver as they always do. Jon Bernthal is wasted, Adrian Martinez is always a welcome addition.
Verdict
The Amateur was the wife's choice, if she hadn't picked it I'd have likely never have given it a chance. It looks from the cover like a generic straight to DVD action flick, but I can confidently say I was mistaken.
The Amateur is a thriller with a level of intelligence, alas not as much as it attempts. The plot is less predictable than I expected and that's something, I loved the global wanderings and appreciated a lot of elements integrated but for every couple of things it does well it does one poorly and prevents the movie from being memorable, entertaining or quite frankly logical.
It entertains then it bores, it intrigues then it frustrates and all the while I'm left feeling like many scenes needed additional time but it rushed onto the next instead.
The Amateur could have been an enjoyable intelligent affair, the end result is a rushed mish-mash of ideas that badly falls short.
Rants
No spoilers here, but did you not expect a certain character to still be alive? I thought that was going to be the big twist. I mean come on, the general rule of thumb in movies and tv shows is if you don't actually see the character die then they're not dead. Well, I guess they were. I guess I'm glad as I thought that was predictable, but still it's the unwritten rule!
The Good
Solid cast Some solid ideas Loved the setting(s)
The Bad
Jon Bernthal may as well have not been in the film Badly rushed in areas Some poor writing decisions.
Plot
A documentary crew visits the Island of the Dolls, where they encounter Santana, a sinister spirit inhabiting a powerful doll, who begins to hunt them down relentlessly.
Cast
I recognized Emily Webber from Jack & Jill 3, beyond that not so much.
Verdict
The previous years Island of the Dolls was a dire attempt at horror, a messy ugly film with little going for it. A year later with a new director and writer could the follow up shock me? No, no it really couldn't.
Island of the Dolls 2 goes in a dramatically different direction than the first movie. Truth be told it could be considered a remake of the first considering there is no mention of the events of the first film and certain things that happened previously seem to have been omitted altogether from a canon perspective.
The kills are awful, the plot unoriginal and the cast interchangeable but when the credits rolled I didn't have my head in my hands so it at least has that going for it.
Messy, amateurish and yet still manages to be better than the first.
Rants
The saddest thing is that the Island of the Dolls movies (Or better yet movie singular) could have been good. Based on a haunting true story they should have run with that instead of going off on an illogical tangent. Google La Isla de las Muñecas, I'm sure it'll make for a better read than these movies make for a watch.
The Good
Santana was suitably creepy Better constructed than the first film
The Bad
Still ugly Dreadful kills Unoriginal mess of a plot Predictable ending.
A documentary crew visits the Island of the Dolls, where they encounter Santana, a sinister spirit inhabiting a powerful doll, who begins to hunt them down relentlessly.
Cast
I recognized Emily Webber from Jack & Jill 3, beyond that not so much.
Verdict
The previous years Island of the Dolls was a dire attempt at horror, a messy ugly film with little going for it. A year later with a new director and writer could the follow up shock me? No, no it really couldn't.
Island of the Dolls 2 goes in a dramatically different direction than the first movie. Truth be told it could be considered a remake of the first considering there is no mention of the events of the first film and certain things that happened previously seem to have been omitted altogether from a canon perspective.
The kills are awful, the plot unoriginal and the cast interchangeable but when the credits rolled I didn't have my head in my hands so it at least has that going for it.
Messy, amateurish and yet still manages to be better than the first.
Rants
The saddest thing is that the Island of the Dolls movies (Or better yet movie singular) could have been good. Based on a haunting true story they should have run with that instead of going off on an illogical tangent. Google La Isla de las Muñecas, I'm sure it'll make for a better read than these movies make for a watch.
The Good
Santana was suitably creepy Better constructed than the first film
The Bad
Still ugly Dreadful kills Unoriginal mess of a plot Predictable ending.
Plot
Manel is sheltering from a rabies-like disease which sweeps the planet, until he is forced to leave and meet unlikely but essential traveling companions.
Cast
Not familiar with anyone of the cast but Director Carles Torrens I'm familiar with, though with mix results.
Verdict
As a life long mid 40's horror fanatic by favourite sub-genre has always been zombies. However I'm not as excited booting a new zombie movie up like I used to be as generally they're cliché ridden, trope saturated generic messes and it's rare I come across one I truly enjoy. Part of reason is that they're cheap to make so indie filmmakers with no budget and even less talent are making them and even when the budget is there the originality has waned.
With a generic title like Apocalypse Z which would befit a Scyfy original I went in assuming the absolute worst but found myself engrossed in an entertaining and likeable affair.
Following a single character has been done before but tends to be the setup for rather boring zombie movies this bucks that trend and was very engaging. His tiny travelling companion added both joy and consistent dread throughout the film which I enjoyed but very easily could have not.
The film isn't perfect, it has a mediocre ending and suffers from pacing issues a couple of times but overall this is one of the better zombie movies I've seen in the last 5 years and is well worth a watch for anyone who is a fan of the sub-genre.
Rants
I have 6 cats, they're my world. Being a crazy cat dad and generally a person who looks at the world with a animals > people stance made me wince throughout the movie. I had to Google in advance to find out if the pet dies, if the answer had been yes I wouldn't have watched this as that to me is the biggest horror trope that needs to die. What it did bring here though was heart racing dread and genuine concern, I approve! Horror movies simply don't scare me anymore and haven't for 30 odd years but this dread was a surprising and appreciate substitute.
The Good
Solid character development Some original moments The cat element really worked
The Bad
Weak finale Slumps a couple of times.
Manel is sheltering from a rabies-like disease which sweeps the planet, until he is forced to leave and meet unlikely but essential traveling companions.
Cast
Not familiar with anyone of the cast but Director Carles Torrens I'm familiar with, though with mix results.
Verdict
As a life long mid 40's horror fanatic by favourite sub-genre has always been zombies. However I'm not as excited booting a new zombie movie up like I used to be as generally they're cliché ridden, trope saturated generic messes and it's rare I come across one I truly enjoy. Part of reason is that they're cheap to make so indie filmmakers with no budget and even less talent are making them and even when the budget is there the originality has waned.
With a generic title like Apocalypse Z which would befit a Scyfy original I went in assuming the absolute worst but found myself engrossed in an entertaining and likeable affair.
Following a single character has been done before but tends to be the setup for rather boring zombie movies this bucks that trend and was very engaging. His tiny travelling companion added both joy and consistent dread throughout the film which I enjoyed but very easily could have not.
The film isn't perfect, it has a mediocre ending and suffers from pacing issues a couple of times but overall this is one of the better zombie movies I've seen in the last 5 years and is well worth a watch for anyone who is a fan of the sub-genre.
Rants
I have 6 cats, they're my world. Being a crazy cat dad and generally a person who looks at the world with a animals > people stance made me wince throughout the movie. I had to Google in advance to find out if the pet dies, if the answer had been yes I wouldn't have watched this as that to me is the biggest horror trope that needs to die. What it did bring here though was heart racing dread and genuine concern, I approve! Horror movies simply don't scare me anymore and haven't for 30 odd years but this dread was a surprising and appreciate substitute.
The Good
Solid character development Some original moments The cat element really worked
The Bad
Weak finale Slumps a couple of times.
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