Breach (movie)

This is the true story of FBI agent and tratior-spy, Robert Hansen. The plot: internal affairs hires a secretary/clerk for Hansen who spys on him, looks through his stuff and tries to find incriminating evidence against him... umm.. what else... oh, nope, that was everything.

Here's the problem: it was based on a true story. Now, that fact alone was enough to peak my interest enough to watch the movie all the way through. As you know, something that is real or plausible tweaks my reality nerve. But it wasn't enough.

The fact that it was based on a true story, I believe, was in itself its own demise. The reason is because in real life (apparently), NOTHING HAPPENED! While interesting to some extent... it was in fact BORING.

I hate to say this, but, other than the very end (which you can probably guess easily), I've already told you the WHOLE MOVIE.

My Rating: 1/5 (I didn't hate the movie, but then again I don't hate many movies at all)
My Recommendation: Skip it. It's slow, depressing and not worth your time.

Live Free or Die Hard (Movie)

John McClane is my hero. No I didn't say John McCain. But I digress...

I just saw Live Free or Die Hard (finally) and all I have to say is WOW! This honestly has to be the best shoot 'em up blow 'em up action movie I've ever seen. I think it was better than Eraser in that category if only for the modern aspect of the visual effects.

John McClane, played by Bruce Willis, is the best action hero ever. He tops James Bond, Ethan Hunt, and Rambo, and here's why: the guy just walks around and does some seriously AWESOME stuff all in the name of nonchalant luck. Rambo and the Governator had attitude and seriously big guns and you could tell they weightlifted 23 hours a day. James Bond, Ethan Hunt and Jason Bourne are highly trained special ops spies. But John McClane is a city cop. He has no skills but always seems to come out the winner. And let me tell you: it ain't boring to watch how he does it.

This is by far (in my opinion) the best of the Die Hard films. It had funny moments in which I laughed out loud (which hardly every happens with me). There was a great scene in which the Keanu Reeves character convinced the OnStar person to start the car for him. If you've seen the film, you know what I mean. You know, the kid was a bit cliche but I have to admit that I found him funny and entertaining. Good job, kid.

There were also some amazing moments of action, too many to name, but one that comes to mind is when McClane drives an SUV into an elevator shaft and proceeds to make it out alive. And of course there's this one here (pictured) in which he drives a police car into a helecopter. Awesome.

And of course, as in every action movie, there were a few unrealistic, yeah-right moments, like when McClane drives up a crumbling freeway bridge, gets demolished by a jet and then just jumps out unharmed.

The movie was about computer hackers and in my opinion it was all done very well. It was not without flaws--even I found a few things that were inconsistant. For example they took all the power down on the whole east coast but I saw a stop-light working in the background. My brother would be able to more accurately tell you how plausible and accurate the computer hacking stuff was portrayed.

If you like action movies, if you like explosions or Bourne Identiy/James Bond style action, sweet moves and amazing feats of incredible and highly unlikely strength and skill... you will LOVE this movie.

My Rating: 5/5 (No question)
My Recommendation: SEE IT. BUY IT.

24 - Season 1 (TV Show)

This show came out one school semester before I went off to BYU. I watched the first 6 episodes or so and loved it. My brother and I would talk about the show throughout the week, speculating and waiting for the next episode. I then went off to college and never saw an episode of 24 again. I've always wanted to see the show.

So now I've finally done it. I just finished watching season 1. It was an amazing show from start to finish. It wasn't perfect but it was well worth my time and I can't wait to start season 2.

What was good:

• The acting. Everything was believable. No one seemed amateur. Sutherland was awesome, and so was the Allstate Insurance guy that played Senator Palmer.
• The story. There's actually a "con" with "the story" as well (see below) but it was a "pro" as well. The story was VERY in depth and naturally as a writer I thought about the writing process as I watched. It was very hard for me to conceive of how the writers of the show could put together such an intricate and twisting plot line. Well done guys.
• Intensity. I love Lost and Heroes because they keep you on the edge of your seat and the story continues from episode to episode as if it were one long movie. 24 fit that same bill. I knew the good guys would win but there was no telling how right up to the last few minutes.

What was bad:

• The filming. I loved the split screen affect they did, showing a number of things going on at one time, but I kid you not, twice I saw a camerman in plain view off to the side of the screen. One time I had to pause and just stare at it because it was so perposterous. Unbelievable. Fire the guy in the editing room!
• WARNING. THIS "CON" HAS A SPOILER: Moles. There were a couple of people in the CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) that were moles (working for the bad guys). But the one they revealed at the very end was SO STUPID. There was NO WAY this person was a mole. I can point out a dozen things she did earlier in the show that are perfectly against her end goal if she were a bad guy. There were many times that she went out of her way, on her own, by herself, to help Jack. But if she really wanted him dead, then why did she do those things? It was more than silly. It was perposterous!
• The Story. It was interesting to see everything happen in real time because you couldn't argue with the fact that a lot of stuff could really happen in 24 hours; you were watching it happen. Still... there was just TOO much stuff that happened in 24 hours. When you sit back and look at everything that happened, it's... just... insane and highly inprobable. On the otherhand, it made for awesome entertainment value.
• The commercials. This was a mistake right up there with the cameramen off screen. The show takes place in real time. This means that when you go to a commercial your TV will tell you that the time is 8:43:23 and when you come back from commercial it's 8:47:11. Okay so 4 minutes have passed while we were away at commercial. Then why is Jack still closing the same car door he was closing before we went to commercial? Why is the bad guy still loading the cartridge into the same gun? Why is Nina still hanging up the phone after a disturbing phone call? You get my point. While they tried to make a realtime show, including commercial time, they didn't do it correctly. I'm hoping this is a problem they fixed in future years of the show.

So there it is. 24 Season 1 has finally made my list. If you like Lost or Heroes, I HIGHLY recommend this show. Netflix it. Buy it. Rent it. There are even websites online where you can watch it for free.

My Rating: 5/5 (even though I pointed out a bunch of flaws, that was only for the sake of the review. The show was amazing and easily deserving of a 5).
My Recommendation: See above: Netflix it. Buy it. Rent it. SEE IT!

Next (movie)

Anybody that knows my taste in fiction knows that I love science fiction, and that, more specifically, I like the element of time travel.

Next is the story of a man (Nicolas Cage) that can see 2 minutes into his own future. This means he knows exactly where each punch will be thrown in a fight, he knows exactly where bullets will hit him if he walks toward someone firing at him, and he knows if he's going to win at black jack.

It's a very interesting premise and it was portrayed satisfactorily.

The direction and vision were executed well. I had a great time watching Nick Cage view all the possible outcomes of the near future. Especially toward the end they did a great job showing how this all worked.

The acting? Fairly good. The only complaint I would have about this is that Nicolas Cage is a great actor but he only plays one part. Have you ever seen him in a movie? Then you've seen him in this one too. He makes great movies but his performance gets old after the first 124 movies you've seen him in.

The only complaint I have is that the cgi needed a bit of work in the major avalanche scene. There was a lot of apparent green/blue screen work and some sub-par visual FX added in the mix. See the movie and you'll see what I mean. The avalanche looked more like a video game rendition. But if you can look past that, the rest was well done.

It was an action flick but I wouldn't say it was action packed. It was somewhat intense but not edge-of-your-chair intense. The plot was good, but not all that thick.

On another note, the major dilema in the movie was that a bunch of terrorists were going to nuke Los Angeles, but there was never a mention of their motive. WHY did they want to blow up the city? It was all just kind of overlooked.

My Rating: 3.8/5 (even though it's a 3, it's a high 3, almost a 4)
My Recommendation: Rent it (definitely see it but not worth the buy unless you're a fanatic about buying every DVD you watch)

The Andromeda Strain (Movie - 1971)

This is a classic sci-fi movie that takes itself very seriously. Based on the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton, this movie was very popular in its day and has also been more recently remade (review coming soon on the remake).

I found the plot interesting even if unoriginal. Then again, it very well may have been original in its day. Have you ever seen Outbreak? This is like an old 70s version of that movie.

It was interesting to see "super advanced" computers whose graphics looked like the Atari.

The acting was nothing to applaud. Every single character (and I mean every character) seemed to be angry and yelling the entire movie. Not very good direction--I'm sure the actors themselves were capable of much more.

The believability was high. Everything, even if a very serious, angry, and non-smiling, was portrayed in a very real-world way.

As I mentioned before, the plot left a bit to be desired. It was paper thin: an alien bacteria enters the atmosphere via a down satellite. It mutates, travels by air, and kills you in seconds. The main characters must figure out how to stop it. That's pretty much the whole movie. That said, I did actually find the movie quite unpredictable. It was shot in a way that you weren't sure if the good guys would actually win. It felt like an long episode of the old Outer Limits in which anything is possible.

Thin plot, not-so-great acting, poor direction, but unpredictable and believable.

My Rating: 2/5
My Recommendation: Skip it (unless you are totally into the classic sci-fi thing, in which case you might as well see it for its nostalgic factor)