Reviews

I spent most of the time in the secluded area I had to watch this film browsing the internet. This doesn't even pass for dumb fun as I enjoy those films. I like all of the Transformer movies for example...just dumb fun can be entertaining for an afternoon.

Actors, who I believe are much better than what is on display in this movie, seem to be going through the motions much of the time. This film is a complete waste of Sofia Boutella and that isn't because I think she has great range as an actress, she's okay and is great to look at, but because it appears they signed her on just to expose her most carnal attributes.

Tom Cruise has reached a point where he is just retracing steps he's already taken in film. Edge of Tomorrow was typical Cruise and entertaining while The Mummy is typical Cruise that fails. It is important that his style mesh well with those around him in a film and that didn't really happen in The Mummy.

I have to wonder how low the public ratings would be on sites like this if the Scientology crowd wasn't attempting to jack up the votes? Thankfully the near future has Cruise returning to his roots in Mission Impossible and another Edge of Tomorrow feature.

Spend your time in the theater this summer watching anything else and save The Mummy for a rainy day on DVD if you feel you have to see it for yourself...or at least find a corner of the theater away from any other viewers. You'll most likely be browsing the internet before it is over no matter where you watch.

Any episode with Joyce Summers is extremely hard to watch

I'm not sure that the actor portraying Joyce had much of a chance the way she is written but she didn't help the character with the lack of heart she put into her effort. Extremely cliché out of touch with the youth adult was somehow considered cutting edge at the end of the 1990's apparently.

This installment practically is a satire of the overly protective, ignorant to reality (the reality of Buffy, that is), nature of Joyce Summers. The writers should have realized how awful the regular character is when the satire was among the character's best received moments on the show.

The overall story of Band Candy is relatively entertaining. The main characters who are often portrayed as irresponsible until they have to save the world get a turn at being alone in the role since all of the adults have apparently taken on the childlike tendencies of the teenagers.

I'm a beyond middle aged geek who has watched most every genre show but managed to somehow never watch Buffy until now. I enjoyed Charmed and Angel having watched them both when they were the morning fare on TNT.

There have been moments through seasons one and two that I have enjoyed Buffy but as season three is progressing it is turning into more of a love to hate it watch...I'm determined to finish but it's not going to be easy at this rate.

As the credits began to roll on this film I found myself with two prevailing thoughts. I had neither in a particular order so I am not numbering them one and two but I have to list one first and the appropriate one to begin with is the message in this film.

At the end I found myself contemplating the easy to follow yet easy to miss message about family in Midnight Special. It was easy to miss because of the other thought that there is enough material and intriguing story with open questions to build a franchise.

A significant portion of science fiction fans want explanations and details about the mysteries in a film and they're simply not going to find that in this movie.

Alton is the eight year old son of parents who have been separated by circumstances that are not in their control but the backstory is vague. The important part is that the father had stayed and watched over his son from a distance and when the time came he acted to take his son back so he could help him get to where he is supposed to be going.

Alton has apparently revealed the outcome of the trip without being able to provide details specifically how they will get to their destination which leaves open the possibility that they won't arrive in time. A brief conversation between the parents reveals that the father has been shown a very brief vision what will happen if they are successful.

The journey is about parents and a child and what they would do to make sure he would get to where he is supposed to be in life...even if that might be both a beginning and an end.

Before writing this, I wondered if I had received what Jeff Nichols was presenting. I found an interview he had given and said,

"When I was writing the film I was a new father. When I write my films I try to find some palpable emotion to put in my films. I think that's the best way to communicate with the audience. And filmmaking is a really tricky process, takes a long time, and there are so many variables that go in, and you have to have this really strong emotion to make it through development. And with this it was the fear of losing my son. When I was conceiving of the film and he was 8 months old he had a febrile seizure, and my wife and I dealt with the reality of losing him. And I was terrified by that. In fact I was paralyzed for a couple of months."

Midnight Special is an intriguing Science Fiction film with a family message that has created a world that would be fascinating to see continued. If not in a sequel, then perhaps in novel or short story. Even though that is true, it stands alone as a film perfectly well for those who will appreciate the journey of parenthood.

Quote obtained from http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Heartbreaking- Story-Inspired-Jeff-Nichols-Write-Midnight-Special-118887.html and retrieved on 11/26/2016

I noticed that there have been two somewhat positive reviews of this movie and both of them have received heavy marks for not being helpful to readers. It makes me wonder if there is an anti-Asylum contingent (or individual) with an axe to grind.

Having played golf for years I am used to driver knockoffs that don't measure up to the real thing but that typically are far more worthy than most movie knockoffs created by Asylum. So it is surprising to me that I didn't feel that way at the conclusion of American Warships.

Sure there is a certain amount of bad acting and scripted clichés that might make you wince but it is not to the level expected of Asylum.

Most end of the world, mega disaster movies seem to eventually leave me thinking that they were fun but I've seen it before. In AW, there is an appearance of creativity that manages to present something that I didn't feel as though I've seen it dozens of times.

For free television and original programming, AW manages to at least put forth a plot that might have been really interesting with a big budget. Don't enter this expecting a "Transformers" meets "Pearl Harbor" and accept it for what it is and I believe you'll be entertained.

That's a giant leap forward for Asylum on SyFy.