Adam Diver VS Shia LaBeouf, and Aubrey Plaza mm mm. Not entirely convinced by the killer actor. Jon Voight I'm still skeptical of.

Its visionary. A mirror of our own world, of the past and future, a layer of alternative potential on the almighty USA.

Megalon, is that the matter of dreams? Hope? Love? Is this a metaphor for the indestructible quality it takes to build a new world?

The setting feels both old and new. The structures are futuristic, but the world's clearly America. Voight even says it at one point. It seems unfitting for a parallel world. I like the creative filming, and the symbolism, with mist and light and time control, but then some things don't seem creative enough... not different enough.

Aubrey's kinky aunt scene seems out of place for Rome, too, especially watching this at a movie theatre, in a room apparently mostly inhabited by older people. I kept thinking about how they would perceive it more so than actually appreciating the scene for myself - which I no doubt would have did I watch it at home, solo. The thought that other people in the room of said upper age group might actually appreciate the scene too was maybe even more off-putting than that. Regular sex scenes don't seem that awkward, but this one man...

Though the depravity is a big part of the movie for sure. I don't mind when its scandalous if its in a good way. When its with a flare, or nudity natural. The party. The body at the bottom of the lake. The morgue. Those scenes feels alright... Aubrey somehow does not seem a part of this world.

Maybe I misread her character.

For the most part though this was so good.

Love the play with nature.

Love the message.

Curious about what parallels they really draw to modern politics, are these the leaders of our time or more so historical ones

Are the people symbolic, or the symbols symbols of people instead.

The circus, the games, we still have those too... the parallels ring true. The decadence and depravity of our modern world seem to be key...

It's almost perfect. Adam Diver in particular is flawless, I'm not as convinced by everyone else. Like Nathalie... there's just something about her. She's sweet, but not as convincing...

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome

AKA Den Vilda Roboten (I did watch the dubbed Swedish version of this too).

Went to a free screening of this one, and sat in a room full of toddlers, with a buddy, feeling somewhat out of place... well not full of toddlers per se, but people substantially younger than me. One particularly little boy sat to my right, his mom on the other side of him, and during the duration of the film he kept coming with somewhat unnecessary questions and remarks on what was going on within the movie. Not too loudly, though. It made me realize how well they made the movie, though. A lot of it explained itself. The further in we got, the less questions, and yet it's not like they took time out of the actual film experience to elaborate on all details of the plot, and the robot, and the animals. They did so in a natural way. Made me respect the importance of both good scripting and filmography even more: of showing details that need explained without explaining, too. Of angling it in a way that introduces you to and makes you understand the various facets of the movie.

And aside from that it was SUCH A FRIGGIN' GOOD MOVIE.

I think I teared up way more than the little kid beside me. I assume they haven't experienced mortality the same, and don't feel the same depth in bonds, and distancing, and the trials the characters go through and overcome... but it was so beautiful. Visually awesome, a true Dreamscape, and in story a fascinating mix between a future dystopia/utopia, and the wild. It takes place on an island, where the one robot is the rarity, but they show you the other side of civilization too, and at one point they fly over a submerged bridge, that looks like the one in San Francisco... they hint at a world destroyed by climate change and innovation, but never go into the details.

The story is a kid's story. It's exciting, and humorous, and creatively riveting all the way through, yet there's another layer to it, that lets you question tech - to both see the downsides and the benefits of it, and ponder where we're headed, and wonder what happened to the world to make it as it was in this particular film.

I started watching feeling like eeeeh, this seems like something for a way lower age group... but ended up enjoying it way more than the kids.

Masterful film. Glad they showcased this one especially, or I'm not sure I would've seen it all. Appreciate y'all Filmstaden.

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

Read on...

It's psychotic, unnecessary, with sexy outfits, a creative set of villains... it's depraved, and not bad, but not satisfying either.

It does have a grindhouse kind of vibe to it that I really like, though. With the guy at the gas station in particular. And I like the girls. Speed's an interesting character too. The partial sex scene in the car was nice. But overall... this could use something more. It's predictable, not novel, mostly visual, and the special effects and all not the greatest.

If they had a crazier main villain maybe this'd be a bit better... he's pretty sedentary after all. His motive's not motive enough for me - it'd be better if he was openly psychotic and vengeful. Even if they really capture the hate in his eyes in the one scene... visually, it looks good. Nice work on filming, costumes, arrangement and all.

 rated 3.5/5: not bad at all

I saw the fifth one of these way back in the day...

I remember thinking I ought watch all the ones leading up to it too, but I don't think I ever did. Yesterday somehow we stumbled upon it, under a different name - in Swedish it's called 'Hotet från Underjorden' or 'The Threat from The Underground' - and so I've at least started my Tremors journey! And it may be a while until I continue it...

It was good though. It may not be the most captivating. You just don't feel that great a sense of fear or desperation, even when people actually do die - though never any of the main ones. And yet... they keep it exciting. The props are impressive. The scenery's nice and dusty. It's not a comedy in a slapstick kind of regard, it's more so in that it's just fun to watch, the characters have characters, it never gets overly dark, occasionally they say something clever, or time something well, or there's some irony involved, or something fun about the banter between the main two characters, though I'm not sure I'd actually classify this as comedy after all. Wonder if the sequels were categorized differently...

I'm glad to see that some of the characters here are still there in the future. In the fifth one at least I recognize Burt on the cover when I look back now. The main characters changed though. Kevin Bacon was in this one, and I'm not sure he was in any of the sequels... the second had plans, but didn't get the budget to actualize them, and so that may have been where the fat of the franchise changed...

But I liked this one. It's not a spectacular movie in any regard, but it's good, simple but well-constructed 'popcorn action', as one IMDB movie review calls it.

That's a good way to summarize. The props probably were pretty complex, but it's not a complicated kind of movie. It's simple fun. It's good entertainment. Good action. Good character bonding and all too... good watch.

 rated 3.5/5: not bad at all

When his mistress threatens to expose the secret of their affair, a respectable insurance broker seeks the help of his underworld brother to save his reputation.

This movie's just full of surprises, in the best possible way!

South Africans have a skewed sense of humor, and I love it.

It's wholesome, it's well-scripted, the pace is good, the characters have character, and bonds, and there's crisis, and plenty of bizarre twists and turns and bad-asses like no other along the way... it feels laid-back and easy at a glance, yet it's got it all. It's good action. A simple slice of life kind of gangster movie on steroids, kinda. Don't expect a surplus of people getting gunned down along the way - barely anyone does - and when they do it's in the most bizarre way. But that seems like one of the strengths of the movie too. They really capitalize on the kills. Each one's a big deal, and unique, and has repercussion's, and further enhances the overall madness and ruggedness of the plot.

Dialog's never wasted, either. It's remarkable how good a movie gets when it's done well, even with so simple mediums... Eeven if the whole work-out theme is an innovative background too, makes the clashes in lifestyle and demeanor all the more entertaining, is the red thread that seems to pull it all together, and the main character really does seem to be in killer shape. Everybody carries themselves well. They truly do feel true to who they are in the movie.

There's a strong Jew permeating culture involved too but... in the best way. You'll see.

Friggin' awesome movie. Friggin' loved this'.

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

This seemed more an episode than an actual movie, this one. An introduction to 'gatherers' we don't get to follow all the way. We're introduced to an alternative Chernobyl, with a flare for the supernatural, and it's cool, but the narration's without emphasis, and the story... leaves much to be desired.

Everybody stabs everyone in the back somehow, and tells stories, and searches for artifacts, and then it's over. You wonder if it really is over. Who died; who's still there; who was the mysterious man under the covers?

What about the girl? What role does she play?

The one thing I'm wondering now though is: was this really filmed in Chernobyl? Because if so that is cool. Very cool. The movie though...

Not so much.

It looks cool. The premise is very cool. The execution's a mess.

 rated 2.5/5: almost not bad