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All reviews by ToriR811
0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Ancient History comes to life
Posted: 5/27/2004A review of Troy by ToriR811
The Trojan War story in the 21st Century and Brad Pitt as Achilles? I was skeptical, but after seeing this movie, I say it was worth reviving the ancient tale for modern times. Pitt turns in a good performance as the inscrutable demigod Achilles, and is in top physical condition. But Eric Bana has the best role in this film, playing the Trojan Prince Hector. He has just the right kind of angst, fire and passion to make one cheer for the doomed Trojans. Orlando Bloom is fine as Paris (great casting -- he resembles Bana somewhat and is young and vulnerable). He still shoots a mean bow and arrow as he did in LOTR. The cinematography is awesome, everybody in the cast played their parts well, and I can't think of any criticism other than it's not quite the story of the Iliad, but hey, nobody said it would be.<br>Highly recommend it
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0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Source Code not humdrum scifi
Posted: 5/8/2011A review of Source Code by ToriR811
Source Code was a nice surprise. The story is different and original from the typical 3D superaction scifi and the story flows well in spite (or because of) the constant replays of the last 8 minutes of a passenger train. Jake Gyllenhaal is the best thing about this movie -- he's so good an actor that he makes us care about the people he's interacting with, though most are forgettable. The actor playing the scientist seemed to be playing the part via Skype -- not very solid acting, in my opinion. I do recommend this film, however, because it's interesting and showcases Gyllenhaal in a mode more suited to his strength and good looks.
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2 out of 2 users found this helpful  Knowing not which way to go
Posted: 3/26/2009A review of Knowing by ToriR811
I had high hopes for this movie; after all, Nicolas Cage did reasonably well in the National Treasure movies. Unfortunately, this film tried to be a mix of supernatural, scifi and mystery thriller all in one and succeeds at none of those things. It would have been best to just stick to one plot line and finish it off -- but after a promising beginning, the plot just goes every which way and ends up with a whimper instead of a bang. I do not recommend this movie. Cage can do better -- in this case, the script was much too hokey for any actor to work with.
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1 out of 3 users found this helpful  Green is the new color of sadness
Posted: 6/22/2003A review of Hulk by ToriR811
The question is not &quot;is he blue?&quot; (which he certainly is, and with good reason), but will green be the winning color for this new venture into the world of comics brought to film. My answer: not really. &quot;The Hulk&quot; is a good film, but it's not X-Men, it's not Batman, and it's most certainly not Superman. It lacks the humor and passion of the other comic book films, but not because of bad acting or bad scriptwriting. Eric Bana is fine as the emotionally repressed Banner, and Jennifer Connelly is a class act, not matter what she does. I just think the pace of the film is too uneven to do justice to either the actors or the story. All in all, though, &quot;The Hulk&quot; is entertaining and it does make you think about what those wacky human genome scientists are planning for us in the future.
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0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Dont waste your time
Posted: 11/14/2010A review of Skyline by ToriR811
As a scifi fan, I'm willing to give any genre flick a shot, but this is an embarrassment. Should have gone straight to DVD, or air late late at night on the Syfy channel. I like Eric Balfour (Haven, among other TV credits) but he was not a factor in this movie. The story starts out OK, but after the alien attack, it goes nowhere and the end is disappointing, to say the least. It's like the producers bought a bunch of cool special effects, talked their friends into acting in the movie (using the word acting loosely) and then couldn't find writers to flesh out the story they had sketched out on a cocktail napkin. Don't waste your time or money... this is one of the worst in a long time.
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0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Action as it should be
Posted: 8/15/2010A review of The Expendables by ToriR811
This movie is everything an action film (was) and should be. Action, butt-kicking fight scenes (among other body parts) and just plain fun. Sure, these guys may be older, but they are in seriously good shape. Bruce Willis looked like he had way too much fun in his small role, as did Arnold, but everybody else was in top form. A hidden gem in this flick -- there is a scene where Mickey Rourke flexes his acting muscles instead of his biceps -- and he is amazing. I totally recommend this movie. Go see it!!!!
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0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Great Action Movie
Posted: 5/13/2012A review of Marvel's The Avengers by ToriR811
This movie is a great action flick with all the special shoot'em up, blow'em up and great panoramic scenery, but what makes it a cut above other action movies is that it has dialogue that does not distract from the action and is delivered right on target by all the major characters. All these superheroes can act and looked good while doing it. See this movie in 3D and you'll be glued to your seat the entire time. The best to come along in a while. (And ladies, another chance to check out Thor!!).
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0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Different but quite good
Posted: 8/24/2009A review of District 9 by ToriR811
I hadn't heard much about this movie, so I had no expectations whatsoever when I went to see it. It starts off kind of slow and goofy, but it gradually builds up to a great story. The aliens are amazing creations. This is gritty scifi and will make you think. I highly recommend it.
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0 out of 1 users found this helpful  Much better than the first Trek reboot
Posted: 5/19/2013A review of Star Trek Into Darkness by ToriR811
Lifelong trekkies, beware! This installment of the JJ Abrams reboot messed with one of my favorite villains of all time -- but I don't want to give away too much. I keep telling myself this is an alternate timeline to the original Trek, so some changes are to be expected. Otherwise, they really nailed it. The story and the characters are real Star Trek -- everyone is great; Chris Pine has finally become Kirk and no one is better than Zachary Quinto. The guy is unbelievable. Awesome special effects, too. I would give this film 5 stars except for the villain thing, but I admit Benedict C. is amazing. Still -- go see this movie! Star Trek lives!
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0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Dont get off the ferry for this snoozer
Posted: 3/10/2010A review of Shutter Island by ToriR811
The trailers led me to believe this would be a scary psychological thriller. It has a top cast, an Oscar-winning director, creepy setting. So what could go wrong? The story, that's what. Terrible waste of Leo DiCaprio's talent. He's very good, as is the rest of the top notch cast. The cinematography is effective; even the supporting cast plays it straight. But the suspense never builds; the pace is ponderous; some scenes make no sense and the ending is a bust. This film could work with a serious re-write; but too late now. Skip this one...
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0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Save the planet -- or else!
Posted: 6/25/2004A review of The Day After Tomorrow by ToriR811
This is a good summer movie -- at the very least, it should raise awareness of how we are essentially bound to the planet we live on, and we should be careful not to ignore warning signs of ecological disaster. I had anticipated this movie to be preachy on the subject of the environment, but it was actually very entertaining and the cast did a great job with the script. Even the minor characters turned in good performances, and along with the great special effects, it has a lot going for it.
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0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Arnold did come back
Posted: 1/27/2013A review of The Last Stand by ToriR811
As his Terminator alter ego assured us, Arnold is back. And it was a nice surprise that he has done a different type of movie than one would expect. For one, he's not doing everything by himself; for another, he acknowledges he's not as young and tough as he used to be. The cast does a pretty good job of playing along with him taking on the bad guys, and there are some funny bits thrown in to keep things on the light side. This has shades of a European western and a few plugs for the NRA types -- something for everyone. I recommend it if you're an Arnold fan and want to see what he's up to, or just want to watch an action flick with very basic good guys vs bad guys plot -- don't look for shades of grey.
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0 out of 1 users found this helpful  Awesome summer flick
Posted: 6/30/2009A review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen by ToriR811
The second installment of the Transformers franchise is the perfect summer movie -- and no, it's not just about the special effects (which are really cool) and the non-stop action. Shia LeBoeuf is really finding his stride as the young everyman in out-of-this-world situations (he was good in the Indiana Jones flick too) and the other actors really play it over the top for everything they've got -- well, except for Megan Fox, who is nice to look at but can't act. But who cares?? Go have fun with Optimus and company -- it's worth the ticket price.
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0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Not a good day for the Die Hard fans
Posted: 3/8/2013A review of A Good Day to Die Hard by ToriR811
I'm a Bruce fan -- not just a Die Hard fan; but this is not the best effort in the franchise. All the ingredients, but the end product didn't come out right. Looks to me like Bruce wasn't into it (maybe jet lag after flying to Moscow and hopping immediately into action?). It's a good weekend afternoon flick, but not a must see. Bruce can do so much better (I really liked his performance in Looper). Everybody else gave it a good effort -- awesome special effects and stunts.
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0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Not bad for a family outing
Posted: 6/2/2013A review of After Earth by ToriR811
I wasn't expecting much from this movie -- but it's Will Smith and it's scifi and I'm a fan of the Men in Black franchise, so I went to see it. It's actually pretty good. Young Jaden is fine as the conflicted son and Will comes across really well as the military dad. The special effects are fun and the story is interesting. All in all, a nice summer movie. I recommend it.
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