Jim Thomas (1)

The Predator vs. an LA cop.

I recognize it doesn't deserve it, but I love this movie. The dialog and acting are cringe-inducing pretty much any time anyone opens his mouth. The violence and gore is disgustingly senseless beyond reason. There's no craftsmanship beyond what's necessary to get by. Everything good about the plot (apart from the superficial change of background) comes directly out of the first movie. But there's just something about the concept of the Predator, hunting down a show more single bad-ass guy, that makes for one of the most fun action movies ever. It's kind of like a game of Who Would Win in a Fight.

Concept: A
Story: C
Characters: D
Dialog: D
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: D
Music: D

Enjoyment: A plus

GPA: 2.3/4 show less

An alien hunts soldiers in the jungle.

Half awesome science fiction (which is great), and half terrible 80s action movie (which is also great). Arnold just has a way of making this kind of stuff work. Even in a scene that consists of nothing but shots of guys waving giant guns interspersed with shots of people dying or buildings blowing up (or, more often, people blowing up), you just kind of go with it. He transforms corny into iconic.

Concept: A
Story: C
Characters: F
Dialog: F
Pacing: show more B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: C
Music: C

Enjoyment: A

GPA: 2.2/4

(Jul. 2012) show less

A terrorist takes over a plane with the stated desire to get his leader back. What he really has is a plan to put chemical weapons in the air on the eastern seaboard of the United States. To prevent this, a team of special forces board the plane from a stealth aircraft hooked to the bottom of the plane. When things go bad with the stealth they have to take over the plane before Washington orders the plane shot down.

Pretty good movie, with a number of recognizable faces.

Intermediate
This is a good example of science fiction. It is set in a believable world of talking robots and racing space ship. It draws you into wondering what science might be able to do and what humanity is capable of. The plot of this book mostly comes from the Star Wars movie. It is the plot of Luke becoming what he is suppose to be in a Jedi rather than being a moisture farmer. It has good conclusion without giving all the details of the movie.
Media: watercolor