walls of the city » one-line review http://www.wallsofthecity.net defending our rights from the ramparts Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:37:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 one-line review – underworld: awakening http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2012/02/one-line-review-underworld-awakening.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2012/02/one-line-review-underworld-awakening.html#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:02:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/?p=9942 Underworld: Awakening – Perhaps the most telling statement I can make about the fourth installation of this particular franchise is this: one of the main characters – a police officer at that – employed either a Taurus Judge or Smith and Wesson Governor as his personal sidearm while dealing with …

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]]> Underworld: Awakening – Perhaps the most telling statement I can make about the fourth installation of this particular franchise is this: one of the main characters – a police officer at that – employed either a Taurus Judge or Smith and Wesson Governor as his personal sidearm while dealing with a known Lycan threat; any judgment you make off that observation is probably accurate. 

(Though, in fairness, both can fire the MHI-mandatory pistol bullet caliber…)

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2012/02/one-line-review-underworld-awakening.html/feed 7 one-line review: contagion http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2012/01/one-line-review-contagion.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2012/01/one-line-review-contagion.html#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:01:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/?p=9887 Contagion – Yes, I know the government is going to show itself to be staffed and run by fear-driven, self-absorbed children should an emergency like that ever arise, and, yes, I know society is going to pretty much implode along the way; I do not watch movies for reality, and …

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]]> Contagion – Yes, I know the government is going to show itself to be staffed and run by fear-driven, self-absorbed children should an emergency like that ever arise, and, yes, I know society is going to pretty much implode along the way; I do not watch movies for reality, and given that this one lacked anything approximating "suspense", "mystery", or "intrigue" (simply because it was such a believable foreshadowing), the best I can say is "meh".

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2012/01/one-line-review-contagion.html/feed 7 one-line review: conan the barbarian http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2012/01/one-line-review-conan-the-barbarian.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2012/01/one-line-review-conan-the-barbarian.html#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:40:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/?p=9848 Conan the Barbarian – While Jason Moma is probably the best shoe-filler we are going to find for Arnold Schwarzenegger this side of a time machine, I was left expecting significantly… more… when the movie ended.

(And he did not say the line, which is just about an unforgivable …

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]]> Conan the Barbarian – While Jason Moma is probably the best shoe-filler we are going to find for Arnold Schwarzenegger this side of a time machine, I was left expecting significantly… more… when the movie ended.

(And he did not say the line, which is just about an unforgivable offense.)

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2012/01/one-line-review-conan-the-barbarian.html/feed 8 one-line review: walking dead, second season http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/12/one-line-review-walking-dead-second-season.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/12/one-line-review-walking-dead-second-season.html#comments Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:38:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/12/one-line-review-walking-dead-second-season.html Walking Dead, Season Two*: Just as Top Shot turned out to be nothing more than "Survivor with Guns", this show is turning into nothing more than "Days of Our Lives with the Occasional Undead Shambler"; the only reason I might continue watching is the last half of the last …

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]]> Walking Dead, Season Two*: Just as Top Shot turned out to be nothing more than "Survivor with Guns", this show is turning into nothing more than "Days of Our Lives with the Occasional Undead Shambler"; the only reason I might continue watching is the last half of the last episode (and, no, not just because it was a zombie-slaughter).

(* – This whole "half a season now, half a season six months from now" gos-se needs to stop. Now.)

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/12/one-line-review-walking-dead-second-season.html/feed 5 one-line review: in time http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/10/one-line-review-in-time.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/10/one-line-review-in-time.html#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:31:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/10/one-line-review-in-time.html In Time:  Rather than take a rather imaginative concept, sit down, and think about it to develop a story surrounding it worthy of the originality, we instead are faced with a nearly-verbatim techno-Robin-Hood, complete with a rather convincing Sheriff of Nottingham portrayed by none other than Cillian Murphy.  …

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]]> In Time:  Rather than take a rather imaginative concept, sit down, and think about it to develop a story surrounding it worthy of the originality, we instead are faced with a nearly-verbatim techno-Robin-Hood, complete with a rather convincing Sheriff of Nottingham portrayed by none other than Cillian Murphy. 

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/10/one-line-review-in-time.html/feed 3 hard magic: book 1 of the grimnoir chronicles http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/08/hard-magic-book-1-of-the-grimnoir-chronicles.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/08/hard-magic-book-1-of-the-grimnoir-chronicles.html#comments Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:35:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/08/hard-magic-book-1-of-the-grimnoir-chronicles.html Hard Magic: Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles – I am going to catch seven kinds of hell for writing this, and I feel kind of bad saying it at all, but Larry Correia has gotten a little formulaic*; however, if his ability to write awesome, attention-grabbing action remains …

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]]> Hard Magic: Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles – I am going to catch seven kinds of hell for writing this, and I feel kind of bad saying it at all, but Larry Correia has gotten a little formulaic*; however, if his ability to write awesome, attention-grabbing action remains as predictable as his storylines, then I will happily keep buying and reading them.

(* – Meet big strong good guy with troubled past. Meet bigger stronger bad guy. Big strong good guy falls in with a crowd of misfit heroes. Big strong bad guy gets world-ending apocalypse device about the size of your hand. Big strong good guy and big strong bad guy fight. A lot. Eventually big strong good guy pulls a smart move and wins. The end.)

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/08/hard-magic-book-1-of-the-grimnoir-chronicles.html/feed 9 cowboys & aliens http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/cowboys-aliens.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/cowboys-aliens.html#comments Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:57:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/cowboys-aliens.html Cowboys & Aliens – Precisely as advertised… have your “I believe” button handy. 

On a related note, is anyone else getting annoyed at how scenes portrayed in the trailers are not showing up in the actual movie any more?  The, “Should we step in?” conversation in a trailer occurred nowhere …

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]]> Cowboys & Aliens – Precisely as advertised… have your “I believe” button handy. 

On a related note, is anyone else getting annoyed at how scenes portrayed in the trailers are not showing up in the actual movie any more?  The, “Should we step in?” conversation in a trailer occurred nowhere in the movie, though the fight did.  I get them chaining scenes together in ways designed to not give away everything, but showing you things that are not actually in the movie? 

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/cowboys-aliens.html/feed 2 captain america: the first avenger http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/captain-america-the-first-avenger.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/captain-america-the-first-avenger.html#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:04:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/captain-america-the-first-avenger.html Captain America: The First Avenger – Personally, I found the copy-pasting of Chris Evans’ face onto a smaller body to be remarkably disturbing, especially how it did not seem to be scaled at all, but those 30 minutes of the movie aside, this will probably go down as one of …

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]]> Captain America: The First Avenger – Personally, I found the copy-pasting of Chris Evans’ face onto a smaller body to be remarkably disturbing, especially how it did not seem to be scaled at all, but those 30 minutes of the movie aside, this will probably go down as one of the better, if not the best, comic-book-to-movie adaptations yet…. and it certainly did not hurt that it did not take itself too seriously. 

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/captain-america-the-first-avenger.html/feed 7 forget me not http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/forget-me-not.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/forget-me-not.html#comments Sat, 16 Jul 2011 22:57:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/forget-me-not.html Forget Me Not:  A predictable, plodding remake of a beaten-to-death story concept that probably got its birth in an original Twilight Zone episode, only made tolerable by considerable consumption of alcohol. 

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]]> Forget Me Not:  A predictable, plodding remake of a beaten-to-death story concept that probably got its birth in an original Twilight Zone episode, only made tolerable by considerable consumption of alcohol. 

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/forget-me-not.html/feed 2 Transformers 3 http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/transformers-3.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/transformers-3.html#comments Mon, 04 Jul 2011 00:14:00 +0000 wizardpc http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/transformers-3.html Better than the second one, though “giant shapeshifting robots from outer space” was NOT the most implausible thing in the movie.

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]]> Better than the second one, though “giant shapeshifting robots from outer space” was NOT the most implausible thing in the movie.

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/transformers-3.html/feed 2 Unknown http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/unknown.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/unknown.html#comments Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:00:30 +0000 wizardpc http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/unknown.html One part Bourne trilogy, one part Conspiracy Theory, one part La Femme Nikita,  one part Taken, mixed on HI for 105 minutes.

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]]> One part Bourne trilogy, one part Conspiracy Theory, one part La Femme Nikita,  one part Taken, mixed on HI for 105 minutes.

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/unknown.html/feed 1 Red Riding Hood http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/red-riding-hood.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/red-riding-hood.html#comments Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:56:41 +0000 wizardpc http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/red-riding-hood.html Surprisingly good (not great) and very, very pretty.

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]]> Surprisingly good (not great) and very, very pretty.

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/07/red-riding-hood.html/feed 1 super 8 http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/06/super-8.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/06/super-8.html#comments Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:06:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/06/super-8.html Super 8:  One part Goonies, one part ET, one part Close Encounters of the Third Kind, one part Cloverfield, and one part Aliens… and a hell of a ride to boot, with big screen heartily recommended. 

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]]> Super 8:  One part Goonies, one part ET, one part Close Encounters of the Third Kind, one part Cloverfield, and one part Aliens… and a hell of a ride to boot, with big screen heartily recommended. 

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/06/super-8.html/feed 4 x-men: first class http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/06/x-men-first-class.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/06/x-men-first-class.html#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:34:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/06/x-men-first-class.html X-Men: First Class – Outstandingly chosen actors who gave performances I was not expecting, convincing story development (though how a certain character got his particular powers is left to the viewer’s imagination), seamless special effects, entertaining inter-character banter and relationships, and a compelling (or at least convincing) bad guy… I …

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]]> X-Men: First Class – Outstandingly chosen actors who gave performances I was not expecting, convincing story development (though how a certain character got his particular powers is left to the viewer’s imagination), seamless special effects, entertaining inter-character banter and relationships, and a compelling (or at least convincing) bad guy… I cannot speak to the canonical nature of this particular installment (reboot?), but it was a darned engaging movie regardless.

(And they actually set Condition Zebra throughout a battleship right after sounding General Quarters, which was just freaking awesome.)

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/06/x-men-first-class.html/feed 10 priest http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/priest.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/priest.html#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 00:38:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/priest.html Priest:  Better than Legion (which, granted, is not saying much), but not as good as it could have been – hopefully the apparent sequel will step things up a bit. 

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]]> Priest:  Better than Legion (which, granted, is not saying much), but not as good as it could have been – hopefully the apparent sequel will step things up a bit. 

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/priest.html/feed 6 thor http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/thor.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/thor.html#comments Mon, 09 May 2011 21:37:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/thor.html Thor: Take the concept that Norse mythology Asgardians are superhuman aliens from across the galaxy, multiply it by some of the best computer graphics I have seen in a while, and throw in some semi-decent one-liners, and the end result is that you should definitely see this at some …

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]]> Thor: Take the concept that Norse mythology Asgardians are superhuman aliens from across the galaxy, multiply it by some of the best computer graphics I have seen in a while, and throw in some semi-decent one-liners, and the end result is that you should definitely see this at some point, though big-screen-ed-ness is not strictly required (And maybe this will provide sufficient impetus to the folks at Silicon Knights to release/finish/start the sequel to Too Human.).

(Also, Heimdall is my hero.)

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/thor.html/feed 10 fast five http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/fast-five.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/fast-five.html#comments Sun, 01 May 2011 22:18:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/fast-five.html Fast Five:  I have absolutely no problems admitting to a healthy mancrush on Vin Diesel, but combined with a return to the basics that made the first and fourth movies so good, I dare say that milking this concept for all it is worth has turned out relatively well… …

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]]> Fast Five:  I have absolutely no problems admitting to a healthy mancrush on Vin Diesel, but combined with a return to the basics that made the first and fourth movies so good, I dare say that milking this concept for all it is worth has turned out relatively well… so long as you do not expect anything more out of it than what it is. 

(Brief aside:  seeing Vin Diesel and The Rock throw down, even in a choreographed act, is about as awesome as a fight scene can be…) 

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/05/fast-five.html/feed 6 atlas shrugged http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/04/atlas-shrugged.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/04/atlas-shrugged.html#comments Sat, 16 Apr 2011 21:19:27 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/04/atlas-shrugged.html Atlas Shrugged, Part 1: Some parts of it dragged longer than I might have done (specifically the anniversary party scene and sex scene), and some things were a bit understressed in my opinion (specifically how irrationally depraved the looters were, and how they exhibited that behavior), but speaking as someone …

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]]> Atlas Shrugged, Part 1: Some parts of it dragged longer than I might have done (specifically the anniversary party scene and sex scene), and some things were a bit understressed in my opinion (specifically how irrationally depraved the looters were, and how they exhibited that behavior), but speaking as someone who had no particular appreciation for the book, the movie was significantly better than it could have been, and while it does feel a bit “made-for-TV-movie”-ish, it may do quite nicely for taking Rand’s message to the next generation.

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/04/atlas-shrugged.html/feed 7 sucker punch http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/03/sucker-punch.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/03/sucker-punch.html#comments Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:43:46 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/03/sucker-punch.html Sucker Punch: Two parts Pan’s Labyrinth, two parts American McGee’s Alice, one part Inception, five parts face-melting awesomeness, and a sprinkle of gratuitous gunporn… blend on 11.

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]]> Sucker Punch: Two parts Pan’s Labyrinth, two parts American McGee’s Alice, one part Inception, five parts face-melting awesomeness, and a sprinkle of gratuitous gunporn… blend on 11.

]]> http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/03/sucker-punch.html/feed 9 i am number four http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/03/i-am-number-four.html http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/03/i-am-number-four.html#comments Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:40:00 +0000 Linoge http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2011/03/i-am-number-four.html I Am Number Four:  Take Push, move it to the American heartland, drop a high school on the set, mix in about twice as much teenage angst, add some bad guys who actually got some relatively amusing one-liners, and you will pretty much be in the ballpark. 

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]]> I Am Number Four:  Take Push, move it to the American heartland, drop a high school on the set, mix in about twice as much teenage angst, add some bad guys who actually got some relatively amusing one-liners, and you will pretty much be in the ballpark. 

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