Before

From my perspective, the Red Baron still has high potential for great stories. But as they say in the film “the line between cowardness and smartness is thin.”

Plot

A young pilot (Schweighoefer) rises to the top ranks of the German fighter squadrons during WWI. But as he quickly starts to shoot down more enemy fighters than anyone else, superiors use him for propaganda purposes. His success grants him more privileges and he starts to fall for them. But when he realized that life is also about love, the woman he adores (Headey) opens his eyes for the cruelty of war. The pilot finds himself torn between the two worlds.

Opinion

Manfred von Richthofen. There’s only two reasons you might have not heard this name before: you’re either not interested in early fighter planes or you couldn’t care less about the most successful WWI figher pilot. If either is the case, this film might not be for you since it’s only worthwhile when you appreciate the truly astonishing dog fights. These scenes capture the atmosphere and the intense moments with great detail and are absolutely worth a look.
There surely is a lot of pathos in this movie, but I didn’t mind seeing (and hearing) that. Let’s face it: von Richthofen was the most successful fighter pilot of WWI and influenced all sorts of areas from films, songs, and games–even until today. But the question is: is there enough room in this character’s short life to make this an interesting story that can be told on the big screen? Unfortunately, the whole story seems a bit flat. As the characters did not develop over time, I was unable to have any emtions toward them.
But even worse are probably only the poor dialogues. First, they are all in English but with terrible German accents that make your ears bleed. It’s one thing to have an accent like Udo Kier to show off in one scene, but it’s another to have a movie full of that every minute. Second, the conversations are extremely short and filled with only basic words. For a movie that plays in a time where the German language has been a lot more formal, this was highly distracting for me. Finally, the fact that we don’t get to see a real beginning or end makes it even more painful to watch. Everytime I started to enjoy a certain part of the film, I found myself waiting for the next bad surprise: a bad conversation, fading out of a aerial combat scne when it started to become even more interesting, another stereotype that really no one could miss (e.g. a love scene).
What remains is a visually appealing movie that falls short on both the character development and the overall story line.

Before

I have to admit that I was just a bit curious about this movie since Jennifer is David’s daughter.

Plot

When the two FBI agents Elizabeth (Ormond) and Sam (Pullman) arrive at a police station for interrogation in the case of a series of murders, they interview the witnesses individually and record them. It turns out that all three witnesses have different stories to tell. And none of them seems to make sense.

Opinion

Given that this is not Jennifer’s first movie, I would have expected something else. While being the daughter of a famous director might raise expectations even higher, it is also easy to see how she wants to follow her father’s footsteps (David was actually producing this movie). Unfortunately copying someone like David Lynch is probably impossible. And even trying to do so looks pretty lame.
After all, the movie is actually not that bad. The movie looks pretty good. And the actors are not too bad either. Although the twist in the end was somewhat surprising to me (true: paying some attention might have helped forseeing that), it can not be considered a savior of the mistakes made before. Simply because it is not really a good movie either. Too many times did I feel bored and caught myself thinking of something else to do. And while the story was still trying to unwind, I was already thinking about how many more minutes I should give this movie before I started to walk out. But let’s be honest: interviews at police stations do not fall into my category of choice for a film. I am still puzzled why Jennifer picked this story when it seems a lot more prospective to go after existing novels (such as Dune…).

Before

Although there are quite a few game movies, Uwe Boll is probably responsible for bringing up bad memories when it comes to this genre. And even though this was far from any Boll movie, it still was not quite as good as most of the better adoptions.

Plot

Wound up in memories over the loss of his wife and family, Max Payne (Whalberg) is working in the basement at the DEA. Following the leads on unresolved cases, he stumbles across a link which seems to have some connection with his own tragic loss. Max decides to team up with an assassin (Kunis) as they start to dig up the truth behind the brutal murders.

Opinion

It is an atmospheric picture we are getting of this world Max Payne lives in. Full of eye candy with special effects and camera movements that keep you watching. And not having played the game, I was quite excited to see how this movie would reach its climax.
But while all of this is just nice-to-have, the plot itself feels a bit stretched. Whether we need to know the details of Max’s wife’s death or the rather winding connection between different parties at Aesir remains questionable. In retrospect, I found those a bit awkward and distracting. While some of this might actually make sense to game players, I did not get more insights into the whole story than before.
But all of that is probably just minor. After all, we are dealing with a action movie. What struck me more was that I felt reminded of Constantine quite a couple of times. Maybe it’s because of those reoccuring images Max gets to see. While a direct comparison of the plot (and hence the depth of the storyline) is flawed, Constantine does have more potential being watched for a second time. The acting in general is good–indeed, anything else would have come at a surprise with these actors. But not all the effects seem to be catching up with one another. Olga’s death in particular made me laugh: super bad acting and cheap effects seem to be more of a tribute to Ed Wood.
In summary, this remains an average action flick you will probably enjoy watching for the time being but never consider giving it a second try.

Before

Admittedly, Vin Diesel is not really getting me excited when it comes to betting on a movie’s quality. But having seen the first trailers, I was all gun-ho and waiting to see this–in the hopes Vin was not going to disappoint my expectations too much.

Plot

Toorop (Diesel), a former mercenary lives in Russia making his money smuggling goods from one country to another. When offered a deal to get a woman to the US, he can’t refuse since he is also offered a way to get back into the country with a new identity. But what he does not know is the reason for getting her across the border. He gradually finds out that what he is dealing here is way greater than his own life.

Opinion

First of all, unlike many others, this one is not the typical Vin Diesel flat-out action flick.
Second, in many ways, this is the regular Vin Diesel kind of action flick.
So, what’s the catch here? Well, Kassovitz brings a delightful and interesting perspective into play: some very neat, new ideas (I love Gerard Depardieu’s tank!), quite some places of current interest, and demographics. Unfortunately, it never outpaces the rather egocentric and mostly “too-cool” character of Vin Diesel. And as much as other elements were well thought-out, Diesel remains ubiquitous, always playing the emotionless bad boy while I believe that the actual point of interest should have been the woman. It is probably the most thought provoking movie Vin has been in so far. But knowing of his previous movies, that might not have been too hard.
We are left in the dark when we get to evaluate the true impact of the delivery of the woman. That is because the movie falls short on giving us more insights into the world this is set in.
The movie really shines when we get to see the mixtures of different sets, prevalent in scenes where I felt reminded of movies like Bladerunner and, to a lot lesser degree, more techno-futuristic movies such as Equilibrium or Avalon. It is this mixture you do not get to see in most mainstream movies. Maybe that’s another way of saying that this movie will most probably not become a box office hit. But the movie also lacks a deeper sense of criticism for today’s society, remaining undistinguishable from most other average, shallow flicks.

Before

A new horror flick with potential to massively drift into the gore zone. More than enough reasons for me to take a closer look.

Plot

When a young couple is heading for a romantic camping weekend, their car is being car-jacked by another couple. The delinquents are running from the police, threatening them with all but a gun. When they all get to a gas station in the middle of nowhere, they soon discover that now the cards have turned and all of their lives are threatened by a mysterious flesh-hungry, corpse-eating creature.

Opinion

Splinter is a nice mix of existing elements. There isn’t anything in Splinter you haven’t seen somewhere else: a great forest harvesting some weird virus, an abandoned gas station, a convict on the run, a smart couple, and a corpse-recycling monster. Most of the time I felt like I was watching a different movie. I kept thinking of past movies I was reminded of when watching certain scenes. A lot of what Splinter has to offer is pretty predictable, further diminishing my focus. The monster reminded me of Leviathan and the walking hand of the Alien face hugger (particularly in one scene later in the movie). I wonder why there has not been any new element to all of this. It all becomes predictable after about 25 minutes.
Nevertheless, the actors are playing their characters well. The special effects are quite good. I personally liked the idea of those splinters. Too bad that the full potential was not unleashed. While there is some great potential for more gore, the movie drastically cuts the scenes that might have distinguised it from many others.
But rather than something you want to watch again, this remains one of those experiences you will probably not care about, have you not seen it. It is not so bad as to calling it a waste of time though.

Before

The trailer to this movie was quite pathetic. But not so much because of one specific element but because of the movie as a whole. I remember very well that people were laughing when they first saw it.

Plot

Leon is a photographer. He and his girl-friend live in New York. He tries to capture the dark side of the city. Spurred by a possible recognition by some famous gallerist, Leon is staying until deep at night in the New York subway. One day he captures on film what he believes is a link to a recent murder. Unfortunately, the police does not believe him and so he goes on collecting more and more evidence until he finds out about the horrifying truth behind the mysterious disappearances.

Opinion

Midnight Meat Train–whoever came up with this name should not only get an Oscar but also be hanged. This title is so ridiculous that is hard to set the right tone to get into the mood for this movie. Maybe that’s what happened to me when I was watching it. It took me quite some time to watch all of this without laughing. Lucky me, I got over this before reaching the end of the movie. Unfortunately, the climax was wasted.
This movie incorporates quite some good ideas. While some effects look particularly cheap, most are actually well-timed and thus do not over-stretch the whole blood and gore theme. But this is probably one of the very few horror movies that uses gore and violence without having its focus on it. After all, the main story is somewhat more behind the scenes.
It makes me feel very sad that even though you can see that the actors and the crew was trying to do everything to not make this movie appear cheap or simple. The actual story mixed with some rather cheap special effects is quite interesting as it offers some nice twists and turns. But when you get to the end, you know what I mean when I meant: I a, not convinced of this movie.

Before

A first glimpse was all that it takes: refreshing style and set in a fascinating future–what more can you ask for? Well, maybe some decent plot and a climax?

Plot

Paris, 2054: police officer Karas is leading the search for kidnapped Ilona, a scientist working for Avalon. Avalon is the largest and most influential multi-operational company in the city. Avalon has also been selling maintaining youth. As Karas dwelves into the case, pushed by the mighty heads at Avalon, he uncovers a huge conspiracy.

Opinion

Renaissance fascinates with its mind boggling animations and it’s unique style. The movie was done in a very unique way, incorporating motion capturing techniques. And this effort pays off: the way the characters appear on screen let you ask the question whether you’re still watching an animation. But as with most such dominating styles, it tends to get quite a bit exhausted after some time. I found it quite stressful watching only such stark contrast of black and white for so long.
Knowing that the movie was done by a French director prepares you for some weird twists in the plot. As with most animations, you are expecting some deeper meaning. But Renaissance is quite shallow on this part. While the overall story is not that bad after all, it’s not that new either. And I guess this is the worst part of the whole flick: at no point in time do you actually have the feeling of being completely into the film, watching it from some distant point of view always on the lookout for errors or mistakes.
After all, it has been a worthwhile experience but maybe only just because of the nice images rather than the actual movie experience.

In the near future, a computer game programmer realizes that one of his game characters has created a conscious mind. With this development at hand, he becomes a sought-after person in a run-down world. A movie that lacks money, focus, and the experience of an entire crew to make it look good. Don’t waste your time.

Before

I know: Lambert. But then again this one promised to be one of the very few cyberspace movies I haven’t seen so far. Maybe it should have been that way.

Plot

Jimi (Lambert) is a computer game programmer. The worlds he creates are virtual worlds people can jack in to escape the real world around them. The reason why his game has such a great potential to become the most popular game ever might not just be because of the great design. It is rather the monotony and the chaos that reigns outside his apartment. However, one day he realizes that one of the characters from his game has developed a way to preserve his memories in between his many deaths. Having the ability to remember and understanding that the people around you are characters in a video game is similar to creating a conscious and thus a life. Jimi, driven by the demand of this character for help, travels around to find the right people to help him find a way to delete his game. Jimi is personally haunted by memories of his lost wife and thus decides to combine this task with finding out what exactly happened to his wife.

Opinion

I admit that the plot might sounds pretty interesting. But there are two caveats: the production and the actors. While it has become some sort of negative trademark, this movie is no exception to the rule: every movie with Lambert is a desaster. If he becomes the strongest actor on the set, that’s when you should better save yourself from more and turn off the screen. Unfortunately this is the case here
The production obviously tried everything to tie in a great atmosphere with the right effects at the right time. With respect to these two aspects, the team has failed. Maybe it has been because of the rather cheap sets. Maybe because of the unemtional use of camera perspectives. It is without doubt not one of the most expensive productions. But then again most of the sets were rather easy to film and had so much more potential.
Finally, I am fairly convinced that the parallel plot and the resulting complexity is unnecessary. It’s almost like each character got his own story rather than focusing on one person. After all, it tricked me off and made me consider fast-forwarding. Something I should have done anyways since it was a complete waste of time.

After taking on a job as a watchman at a deserted shopping mall in the center of New York, Ben starts to see strange things in the mirrors.
Well done movie with good actors, high levels of gore, and a nice storyline. Go and watch–if you’re in for some horror.

Before

The trailers looked promising: a gory horror flick that wasn’t following the usual Saw 593. I couldn’t miss this one.

Plot

Ben (Sutherland) has been temporarily suspended from the police force after he shot a fellow officer. When he takes on a job as a night guard at a old, deserted shopping mall in the middle of Manhattan, little does he know about the terrible things that happened on these premises. Although the whole mall was up in flames years ago, it hasn’t been remodeled yet. But the most awkward thing is that all of the mirrors are intact and clean. It takes him so time to figure out what’s going on and what the dark secret is that’s behind these mirrors.

Opinion

The whole theme about another world in the mirrors has some great potential and I am quite happy with what Alexandre did here. The sets look terrific: dark, scary, evil. The story never feels stretched. The camera perspectives are what you would expect and let the building and rooms appear more frigthening, more mysterious. The level of gore and humiliation is set right from the start. Although the overall body count doe not reach levels of Dawn of the Dead, frequency and killing style compensate for this very well. Although there are moments when you don’t follow the ideas of the director anymore (esp. close to the end), it still is a nice piece of horror movie. And Sutherland does his part well, too. I recommend this to anyone interested in the genre.

In a reckless race, a new lifer is competing against others for his early release. But the race is unlike any other race you’ve seen before: lots of gore and endless bullets. A typical Statham movie or one for car race enthusiasts.

Before

Statham is always good for some entertaining stuff (when he’s not with Uwe Boll). Good for me I wasn’t expecting too much anyways.

Plot

In 2012 the US is overrun by criminals after a massive economic collapse. Jensen (Statham) is framed for murdering his wife and sentenced to a life long sentence. The prison he is sent to is a for-profit prison, generating income with a deadly car race. It has become the most successful pay-per-view show with inmates fighting for freedom in a arcade like race with pimped up cars, collectable weapons, and defenses. There are no rules as long as somone wins the race 5 times. Frankenstein, currently the most popular driver in the race, has already won 4 times before dying in an accident. Jensen, who has been a former NASCAR driver, is selected by the prison ward to take over his place, keep viewers’ attention high and win the race to be released early.

Opinion

Death Race is centered around action, violence, guns, and cars. All these elements promise a fun experience for the audience. With quite some money to spend, the movie looks quite nice: all SFX and settings look real. And while the actual story is pretty lame and predictable, the movie succeeded in keeping my attention high. This is due to a high and bloody body count, good acting (as far as that was necessary), and a rare mix of car races and gun fights. There isn’t much more to say about it but the general warning about movies of this kind: it is unlikely that the movie will make a hit at the box office, however, it is still one of those movies you can go and see if you liked any of the former Statham flicks or are into car races.