Reviews

Here's an interesting fact for you......

Look, at all the negative reviews for this show and note how many people show it is useful compared to not. If somebody rates the show as bad or awful, it's useful.

Now look at all the positive reviews and note how many say it's useful........

Funny how so many people are not willing to accept that people like myself, and others are loving this show, and say that their positive reviews are not useful.

The fanboys who post they're negative reviews are living in the past and are not willing to accept that times have changed......and Star Trek is moving with them!!.

There are some who post negative reviews, but at least give some constructive reasons as to why they dislike the show, and that's fine. That's the type of review that SHOULD be posted on this site, so any potential viewer can get properly balanced opinions.

Unfortunately, there appears to be VERY few constructive negative reviews. The Fanboys who dislike this show just say "This is not Star Trek", or "Star Trek is dead", "Boring" etc, and quote past series as being better and the new series like Picard are dragging the Star Trek name in the dirt, and leave it at that. Their 1 star ratings will have you believe that this show was made by complete amateurs, who are yet to get out of high school.

Well, let me say this......this show DOES NOT deserve the vast number of negative reviews it has received.

For those who haven't seen this show yet, it is vastly different from other Start Trek series you may have seen. I won't give any plot details away, but as the title suggests, this is about the much loved Picard, in retirement, doing what he does best, trying to solve a mystery and save the universe. Along the way, he receives help from some old and familiar faces that we've come to know and love over the years.

The first few episodes I must admit, are a little slow, and may put off some from continuing to watch. However, if you stick with it, the story becomes quite engaging. The special effects are, as expected, top notch for a TV show, as is (in my opinion), the acting by all concerned. The acting and production values are no where near as bad as some would have you believe.

I do agree with some, that maybe this series could have been done with fewer episodes, and that the profanity used by some characters was unnecessary, which is why I have my 8 star rating.

I, like many others, have grown up with Star Trek. I'm in my mid 50's and have enjoyed every incarnation of the franchise so far. There has never been anything particularly awful about any of them, (maybe one or two bad episodes in each series, but that's it). I also appreciate that Star Trek has to move with the times and appeal to a newer generation. Picard has made a big step in the right direction to achieve this, although Star Trek Discovery has done it better. Incidentally, the Star Trek fan boys slated that show too. Apparently, that show is so bad, it's now on it's third season......funny that!!.

So, if you haven't seen this show yet, all I can say is make your own mind up by watching it yourself, and not believing the, quite frankly, unconstructive reviews, that would have you thinking this show was made by children.

If, after seeing it, you dislike it, then post a review. But PLEASE, make it constructive so that we can all have properly balanced opinions.

To the fanboys out there.....BOO HOO!! Star Trek is changing and evolving,. It needs to move on from the past you're living in, and it is in no way as bad as you're making it out to be. It's not perfect by any means, I agree, but your one star reviews, in an effort to stop people watching the show are unnecessary.

To the real fans who dislike the show, but are more reasonable with your criticisms, thank you. We need the good and the bad together, to give others who have not seen the newer Star Trek shows, proper, balanced reviews.

P.S.

I bet the fanboys are on this like a rash, rating my opinion as "not useful".

Wow, where to start.....

This is one of those movies that has so many layers to it's story, that all pieces together finely to make one, great piece of film making. Now I'm no expert reviewer, or even amateur scientist, but I'll do my best to explain this one.

Isaac Bruno is a scientist obsessed with finding a new planet, with the potential to harbour life, around distant stars. But he's a troubled man, having to deal with a very recent loss in his life, which greatly affects his work and career. Enter Clara, who agrees to be his unpaid research assistant, but has a very unscientific way of explaining her view of the universe. Together, when new data is released following the launch of a new space telescope, they attempt to find the elusive planet, whilst helping each other to deal with more earthly problems.

The relationship side of the story between Bruno and Clara, never becomes boring. The characters are so well played by the two lead actors, that you actually end up caring for their lives and situations, something that is rarely achieved in many movies nowadays. And their story is so well intertwined with the main plot.

The science behind the planet searching is explained in a way that doesn't treat you like an idiot (even one like me!!), so even those not used to this kind of movie should at least grasp the basics, and it certainly doesn't distract ones attention from the story.

We seem to be bombarded nowadays with so many sci-fi movies about alien invasions and superhero daring do, that movies like this seem to get lost in the ether. Indeed I don't remember this movie getting a cinematic release in the UK (but I could be wrong there). And that's a real shame because this is probably (in my opinion), one of the best "thinking mans" sci-fi movies out there.

If movies like Aliens, Independence Day or Predator, are your thing, then you will want to avoid this one. If, however you prefer the likes of Contact, 2001 etc, then this movie is an absolute must.

Ok, so for a movie made nearly 90 years ago, it's obviously going to look a bit dated, but that by no means takes too much away from this film now. The acting is predictably hammy or over the top, except for the great Irene Dunne, which should also be expected for a movie of it's time. I won't go into the technicalities of camera work and the like because I'm no expert on such matters. But I will say this. It looks damned spectacular. These were the days when they could make movies involving casts of thousands and make it look fantastic, especially the opening Oklahoma Land Rush scene. Truly a sight to behold and be amazed. The really, sadly, don't make 'em like this any more. Great story.Great sets.Great movie.

You'd think that after all the years the Sc-Fi Channel and Asylum have been churning out absolute dross, one day they'd actually get a half decent movie out (law of averages). All it would take is the budget of say, four of their dumb movies, a decent script and FX team, and a few well known faces to star on screen. and they might produce something worth watching. Instead they keep trying to feed us eyeball melting,coma inducing trash like this movie. And believe me.......this is a real stinker!! Lynda Hamilton and John Savage must have been hard up to appear in this one. What WERE they thinking? The extremely thin plot involves the Air Force One being downed in a thunder storm over the Bermuda Triangle. The President escapes in his escape pod only to become stranded at the bottom of the ocean. The ensuing rescue effort wakens an alien see monster who's not very happy and procedes to cause havok among the U.S Naval rescue fleet. Cue special effects of the worst kind and even worse acting and music. It's all very gung-ho and cheesy, and very much NOT in a good way. It doesn't even fall into the catagory of "I't so bad it's funny. If you've watched one Asylum movie then you 'll pretty much know what kind of viewing experience you're going to get, so don't say you haven't been warned. If on the other hand you haven't, trust me. You'll be asking yourself why for the love of all that's holy did you bother.

Every now and then,you come across a movie that you've never heard of,take a chance watching it,and come out of the experience having really enjoyed the whole thing.

Battle Oasis for me was one such movie.

Plot wise,there is nothing particularly special to rave about as it's really just a simple story of hardship and survival.

The planet Kitri is dying.The various tribes scattered across it's desert surface rely on finding oases for their survival.Battle Oasis is the story of Motega and his mate Leyati,along with their tribe,fighting to keep hold of their oasis,from the clutches of a rival and more powerful tribe.

The animation was somewhat simplistic by modern day standards (don't expect Pixar quality visuals),and the sound and music quality also wasn't anything to write home about.However what stood out for me was how well the story was carried on a very limited dialog (subtitled as they speak Kitrian).So much was conveyed whilst saying little,and relying on facial expressions and actions of the characters to move the story along. It was at times like watching an animated documentary on some lost tribe living in Africa or South America (I mean that as a compliment).It was really cleverly executed.

If there was a downside then I would say that the animation for the characters and creatures when moving fast or in combat was a little ropey.But hey,I'm guessing that the creators had a limited budget and worked with the skills they possessed.........but they've pulled off a little gem in the process.

Check this one out for free on You Tube.The most you can lose is a little over 1hr 20 mins of your life.

What this movie has that most low budget sci fi efforts don't is a decent effort in nearly every department of film making.

On a budget of just $750,000,you get a movie with a plot that isn't necessarily anything special,but it's clear to see so much has been done with the money.

The plot has a group of youngsters hiring a shuttle to a certain planet for a bit of fun,but end up crash landing on an uncharted planet in a restricted system,where everything from the planets creatures to human soldiers who shouldn't be there,are out to get them.

Time and effort was clearly put in to the above average special effects.The indigenous creature effects are actually rather good,and the armour the human soldiers wear actually looks like some thought and imagination was put into it.

As far as the acting is concerned,nobody comes across as particularly wooden and they give it a good shot so kudos to them.

let's be clear though,there will be scenes where you will look at the screen in amazement thinking "No way would THAT happen",or "No sane person would do that" The soldiers come across as not being able to hit a barn door from 20 paces despite possessing weapons seemingly capable of destroying entire forests in minutes.There are more than a few flaws to be seen.

But you know what?.Look past it's failings and at the budget and what we have here is a movie worth watching far more than a lot of the crap churned out by the Sci Fy channel and Asylum.

There will be a lot of haters of this one,but it deserves a lot more praise than it has been given.

Jade (Laurie Love) survives a murder attempt on her wedding night,by the gang she has run away from.Her husband wasn't so lucky. Pawning her wedding ring for a .357 pistol,she writes the names of the culprits on the bullets in blood and goes hunting.Aiding her in her quest for revenge is Hammer (Fred Williamson),who trains her to become a lean mean fighting machine,and kick some serious ass.

As with most low/no budget movies (or lo-no's as I now call them)I really don't expect anything spectacular.In recent years I have become quite a fan of them because up and coming directors/actors can often bring something new and interesting to the table.Unfortunately,as with many of them,this one falls way short of the mark.

As a revenge flick,it has a simple plot and has quite a lot of action and blood letting (the effects are quite decent).It actually has (in places) a kind of comic book feel to it in it's delivery.

However,with the cast,apart from two of the main characters,everybody else comes across as a bit bland and boring.As a standout,Brian Ames steals the show as a decent villain,and Fred Williamson really doesn't have to do much to look good in any movie.Unfortunately he really doesn't do much of anything at all here,but it's nice to see him being given some screen time.

Laurie Love appears totally mis-cast here.She certainly looked the part but just doesn't for me come across as a decent action heroine.

The action scenes are sadly some of the worst choreographed I've ever seen.The shootouts have the bad guys standing still whilst being shot at,and the fisticuffs are very much "Ok I've hit you now I'll stand here while you hit me" kind of thing.There was no fluidity to the scenes to make them look remotely convincing.

Director Brian Skiba appears to have made a step up recently to TV movies and hopefully with a bigger budget and better cast he can produce better results because,despite the above comments,it's obvious he has a lot of potential.I genuinely wish him good luck with that.

Overall,fans of low budget actioners who aren't bothered about the quality of movie they're watching,will love this one.

I just expected a bit more....

Norman Reedus and Djimon Hounsou star as two maintenance technicians holed up in an underground bunker after the world above has torn itself apart with nuclear weapons.In this bunker with them in "deep sleep" chambers,are the selected few that hold mankinds hope for the future (scientists/government officials etc).As the air outside is now irradiated and unbreathable,its their job to maintain the chambers and ensure the air in the bunker remains safe until the occupants can be woken up.As clean air is at a premium,Reedus and Hounsou have their own sleep chambers,and must sleep/wake up at timed intervals to ensure the maintenance is continuous.

But all is not well in this "safe" haven.During a wake period,their computer data on the air outside appears false,and something is wrong with one of their sleep chambers.

Sabotage?......or are one or both of them losing their minds?

Air is a dark and claustrophobic movie.The makers did a good job of conveying a sense of being "closed in".The banks of computer screens and and sleep chambers had a very retro look and feel about them which added to the sense of fragility to the world in which theses technicians lived.

The problem was that neither Reedus or Hounsou managed to convey any real sense of fear or concern to the situations at hand.Their acting skills are normally extremely top notch but here just turn in an average performance.And that was a pity because the opportunity was there for these two to really shine (they were the only 2 main characters after all).

All in all this is of those "could have been" movies.It's by no means unwatchable.The production values were high,just a shame it was let let down by the below par acting.

I wanted to like this movie.The plot outline sounded like a lot of fun,and being an obviously lower end budget title I went into this one with low expectations and hoping to at least get a few laughs out of it in the process.

It was a simple enough story.Abusive husband catches his wife getting jiggy with it with another man in the barn. Just as the husband is about to give his wife a slapping for her infidelity,mother in law steps and and embeds a hammer into his skull......then hey presto an alien conveniently crashes into the barn. Mother and daughter then offer a large amount of money to anyone who can rid them of the alien and recover the husbands body (presumably to dispose of it later). The alien however has other ideas.....

And so began what should have been a reasonably entertaining action flick as every gun totting whacko from miles around arrived to get a piece of the action.

It was obvious that from the get go,everybody was playing this one for laughs. Unfortunately,the actors were either too wooden or over the top to be anywhere near funny.Even the late Roddy Piper as a gun totting priest couldn't add any comedy to the proceedings.

The action scenes weren't exciting enough because everybody was too busy trying to deliver a torrent of cheesy comments and one liners. To be brutally honest,the talent wasn't there to pull off anything remotely funny.

The alien effects however,were actually rather good.Unfortunately it was the only good thing about the whole movie.

At the end of the day,this is another one of those movies that would have benefited from a bigger budget and better actors.

Shame really.....this could have been something really entertaining.

For me,in general,a movie has to be pretty awful to merit anything less than 3 stars.........and this one came pretty close.

I don't expect a lot from low budget affairs. As long as a decent effort has been made to entertain the viewer,then much can be overlooked or forgiven.This movie however, (and I use the word "movie" in the loosest term) has probably some of THE worst acting I have ever the misfortune to witness. The performances from all concerned are so stiff and wooden,that you could turn the awful script into a baseball bat and hit a home run!! Particularly annoying is Joel Bishops narration throughout this mess.It really does sound like a 5 year old reading from a school play script and is pretty soulless in it's delivery.In fact a 5 year old could have done a better job. The rest of the cast really don't fare much better either.Nobody puts in a decent enough performance to make their characters convincing and look like they'd really rather be somewhere else. It really was unforgivable.I'm sorry.........if you want to put yourself in front of a camera and entertain,then you really should at least try to do better than this!!.

I did,however,note that "some" effort was made in the special effects department,and given the budget,they weren't bad at all.

Oh sorry......the plot.

Forget it.......

It's something to do with time travel but really,please don't waste your time.It's so confusing that I really cannot explain exactly what the hell was going on.

I dare say that with a bigger budget,script writer and cast,this could be made into something better.

Apparently this was based on a book.I wish I had read that instead.

3 out of ten and that's only because I've seen worse........

No really I have!!

Watch at your peril

I've read a lot of the reviews for this movie and I believe it has been judged a little too harshly.There are far worse movies out there than this but hey,that's other reviewers opinions and I respect that.

This is yet another low budget,after the apocalypse effort that for a change actually has actors that act and not just turn up for the pay cheque.

As the title suggests,this is set 20 years after the apocalypse,that had forced people to live underground in basements,bunkers and caves.Now,in a slowly recovering world,people are venturing up and outwards in an effort to continue civilisation. We have the seemingly obligatory,(for movies of this type) "radio" man Joshua,playing music and messages from his bunker,to anybody left in the world with equipment to hear him. We have pregnant Sarah,who's husband was killed 6 months before,with her mother Margaret,surviving in an abandoned basement,until the homes real owner Samuel arrives on the scene and convinces them to venture forth to find or start a better life. And we have the also obligatory bad guys,this time searching for the as yet unborn baby.

So what was it that let this movie down?

It certainly wasn't the acting.Whilst not overly convincing,everyone plays their part reasonably well and special mention should go to Reg E. Cathey as Samuel as a stand out (though he doesn't get enough screen time here). Some of the bad guys/henchmen were a bit naff but nothing awful. Even the minimal action scenes were done reasonably well.

What lets this one down is the fact that so much that happens doesn't make a lot of sense.

No explanation is made as to why the bad guys want the baby. One of the bad guys is actually pregnant Sarah's brother.He has no idea the baby he is searching for is his sisters.Why?No back story or explanation is given. Apparently Sarah is THE only pregnant woman left despite the fact there are plenty of seemingly healthy men and women left.Why?

There were many head scratching moments......

However,this was for me still a watchable movie despite it's flaws and I remained reasonably entertained until the end.

So to quote a many repeated IMDb phrase from so many reviews......

Not the best,but very far from being the worst.

I love sci fi.All kinds of it from aliens blowing us,or us them to smithereens (Independence Day,Aliens),to more of the "thinking man's" sci fi (Contact,Blade Runner etc). 15 Till Midnight definitely falls into the latter category.

Seeing the budget was an estimated $27,000,I went into this with low expectations and appreciating that "low budget" doesn't automatically mean "bad movie". Apparently,this movie was shot over a seven day period.....and that I think was it's problem.

There was nothing wrong with the plot/script.

Lukas wakes up one morning to find all traces of his wife Sera's existence in his life are gone.Thinking his wife has left him during the night,he ends up in a bar later that day with a work colleague and gets slowly drunk.So drunk he brings home a girl he picks up during the night.Waking up the next morning he finds a woman in bed next to him who claims to have been in a relationship with him for some time.Something strange is obviously going on......

The problem I had with this movie is that the dialog could have been a bit more snappy.Often the actors seemed to take an age to deliver their lines which for me made some of the scenes appear unnecessarily long.And often the dialog was drowned out by overly loud and possibly unnecessary music. The special effects also for me also detracted from the movie,coming across as quite psychedelic at times and I believe the movie could have done without them entirely.

Maybe the seven day shoot was responsible for the above or not.Whatever the reason if only a bit more time and care was taken,this could have been a much better movie.The potential was obviously there.

That said this is far from being a bad movie.Just a bit more spit and polish would have put this one above the norm.

Nice idea though.

Set in a post apocalyptic world,the parents of sisters Matti and Joslyn are murdered by an intruder in their home.Younger sister Matti finds 5 shotgun shells next to the body of her father.Picking up a shotgun from their loft,Matti and her sister set out to search for their Grandma's house.Along the way,Matti will find herself in situations where she will need to use the 5 shells in the title. Matti is hopeful that in finding Grandma's house,the world there will be a better place.Indeed she has dreams of walking the "Yellow Brick Road",hoping to find Grandma there.Many references are made to The Wizard Of Oz throughout this movie.

This is obviously a low budget flick.But it is also obvious that a real effort has been made to pull off a reasonable story with the money they had.

Good use is made of locations to give the viewer a real sense of a world fallen into decay,but the use of some of the music seemed a bit over the top for some of the situations.

The acting isn't great although a real stand out in this movie was Chad Brummett as shady character Frank.Everyone else is OK to mediocre but at least they made an effort.

I have stated in a review of a different movie that if you want to put yourself in front of a camera and entertain,at least make an effort,and here they did just that.And after all,these being actors I haven't seen or heard of before,you've gotta start somewhere right?

On the whole,this is a bleak and sometimes depressing movie to watch.But then maybe that's the point.Movies of this genre aren't really supposed to portray joy and happiness and all things bright and breezy.In that sense,this film hits the mark.

To sum up,there are better movies out there of this genre,but bear in mind the low budget constraints. This isn't the best of it's type,but it's very far from being the worst.Just don't expect anything particularly exciting. All in all.........good effort.

For what it is,this is a thoroughly enjoyable 40's detective flick.

Mike Carter (Tierney),gets sacked for punching his superior in an office fracas and becomes tempted into protecting a rich,meat packing business woman from some unscrupulous characters.......oh and gets framed for the murder of his previous superior in the process.

Assisting him is Doris Brewster (Lane),his girlfriend who still works in the police station he once frequented,and is able to provide Carter with valuable info from police files now out of his reach.

At a runtime of just over an hour,a movie like this needs to have a cracking pace,and this movie doesn't disappoint. It has all the action,intrigue,humour and suspense you could need,including some great one liners delivered by Tierney,all thanks to Richard Fleischer's direction.

You really cannot go wrong with this one.

There's nothing really about this film that hasn't been seen or done before,but certainly has been done better.

It's a familiar good vs evil scenario. With the return of the Christmas Star,hanging in the night sky,Kim Bassinger returns home from work to find her drug addicted sister holding a new born baby girl.Sister promptly dumps the child and disappears leaving Bassinger to care for the baby. Skip forward several years and we find the child being brought up quite nicely and attending a Catholic school for special needs kids.The girl apparently has a form of autism but in reality is extremely gifted in ways nobody yet realises.........except for the Devil/Occult worshippers apparently hunting for any child that was born on the date the Christmas Star appeared years before.

Getting the picture?.... Yep and so begins the battle to save mankind from the Devil......again...

There's nothing particularly bad about this movie.It's just,well....average. There's very little or no tension from the story and the actors just seem to be going through the motions just to get payed at the end.Even Rufus Sewell,normally pretty good at playing bad guys tends to nibble the scenery rather than chew it!! Jimmy Smitts investigating FBI agent doesn't seem overly concerned or have any urgency about the fact that young kids are being kidnapped and turning up dead,and Bassinger just doesn't show her character any conviction to be believable.

If anything,what really lets this movie down is the particularly bad special effects (just see the rats and you'll know what I mean).The movie could have probably done without them.I can look past average acting and overly familiar plots,but bad effects stick out a mile and do this movie no favours.

That said,this movie is still watchable.There was nothing here that made me want to switch it off,but if you've seen the likes of The Omen,Excorcist,Rosemarys Baby etc,then you've probably seen the best of this genre out there and will want to give this a miss.