misel982001 Reviews

Rumpelstiltskin (1995)

A Memorable Film

[10/10 · 14 November 2020]

Despite its clumsy directing, obvious low budget and superficial dialogue, Rumpelstiltskin manages to deliver where it was supposed to: being a half riciculous, half horror b movie. To begin with, the directing and plot as a whole is indeed like a hybrid as it was intended. It is full of plot holes, exaggerations but somehow manages to pay tribute to the fairytale. The film itself is full of memorable moments that will make many of us laugh to tears: Rumpel drives trucks, kills with joy and even swallows a broom stick. What else would someone ask from such a film? Acting is not convincing but I am sure that it was not indended to. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who would love to have a 90s night in good company to a scotch on the rocks.

The Bouncer (2018)

A great film noir, outside of the usual Van Damme genre

[10/10 · 22 December 2019]

I was expecting to watch the usual Van Damme stuff when I rented this film but I was quickly surprised to realise that I was wrong. To begin with, the acting is very good and conveincing. The character development is satisfactory as a whole. The atmosphere is dim and moody while the story is realistic and coherent. Van Damme acts well above average and the relationship between him and his daughter is touching. As a whole, a very well written film.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

The return of The Terminator as we know him

[10/10 · 28 October 2019]

Terminator Dark Fate recasts the basic protagonists along with some fresh faces in a daring attempt to reincarnate the tormented franchise. Does it succeed? To my humble opinion yes. First of all, the idea of Sarah's return is a smart move. The whole storyline was based on her from the beginning. Hamilton's performance is conveincing and well acted. Arnold's part proves for once more that there can be no Terminator film without him. The action scenes are simply explosive while the overall acting is of high quality. The actors really look the part, despite this not being a drama film. The plot elements although I shall not discuss them provide numerous elements of surprise and it is evident that the presence of Cameron boosts the film into a higher level. To conclude with, I believe that the franchise will be revitilised after this entry and that the box office figures will justify all of the cast's efforts. I loved it, and I hope you will, too.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)

Bellow expectations, the usual thing for a commercial sequel

[4/10 · 16 October 2019]

Despite the marketing campaign, this sequel does not prove itself to be the exception to the rule; that is, almost no sequel is better in any terms than the original film. To begin with, despite the superb cast and good acting, the film as a whole lacks the imagination and the atmosphere of the original. The story is evidently weak while the script at times seems to be full of plot holes like it has been hastily written. The evolvement of the story is easily predictable while the budget of this film manages to cover many of the plot holes. Of course there is no doubt that this film will be a commercial success but to my humble opinion it fails to repeat even at the slightest degree, the feeling of the original film.

Newness (2017)

Problematic personalities and lead filthy unethical, meaningless lives

[1/10 · 14 September 2019]

In this repetitive film we become witnesses of a miserable subculture and its dead ends. The subculture of dating sites ,what kind of people you will get to meet and the problems that one may face if he attempts a relationship. To begin with, the acting is convincing indeed but the characters are so unethical and problematic that tend to be annoying. For a middle aged viewer who is not accustomed with the dating sites and this animal like behavior of such people, this film is a punch under the belt. I have rarely witnessed such miserable lives and disregard for love and emotional bonding. The 20 something characters appear to be something between animals with some level of consciousness who are driven by only a desire for sex with anybody available and who also lead highly problematic lifestyles and lack of personal goals. The story is constantly circulating but it is evident from the first ten minutes of the film that people like that do not deserve any serious attention by others since they are constantly creating or recycling emotional and personal problems. What is completely outraging is that the characters of the film are struggling to find a balance by trying to persuade their partner to accept their miserable lives. It is really sad and I could not watch it. This is one of the worst films I have ever seen, maybe the worst and trust me , I have seen great many films. There is no ethical basis, no coherent storyline and the characters are extremely miserable and unethical.

The Dinner (I) (2017)

A Complicated Story About Decision Making

[8/10 · 28 May 2017]

The Dinner is a slow paced film about human relations and decision making. To begin with, the cast excellent and its acting is equivalent of their acclaimed career. Geere performs compellingly a senator whose troubled relationship with his mentally unstable brother (Coogan) is about to reach a critical point because of a sudden accidental incident about their children. Their wives (Linney and Hall) are desperately trying to influence their final decisions. This film could also be a play because the story is based on the dialogues and not on scenery change. The script is well written and coherent while the character depth is very adequate. The final moments of the film will find the audience questioning themselves which decision they would make if they were experiencing the same circumstances. Drawbacks of this film include the slow pace and the sometimes persistent focus on Coogan's character. Despite these it is a worth seeing.

Battle of the Damned (2013)

Robots Vs Zombies.....Why not?

[10/10 · 18 January 2014]

I was curious to watch this film and I was expecting it to be a real tragedy. Nevertheless I was wrong. First of all, I would like to mention that this is an 100% b movie, not only in terms of budget but also in terms of plot, acting and effects. If you do not stand this facts do not bother with it. Acting is mediocre, effects are not of the best quality and the zombies are sometimes funny. However, the idea is original: what would happen if robots were pitted against zombies and Lundgren was somewhere between? If you like to spend sometime and forget about your everyday problems by watching a brainless, non plot action movie like this, then....why not?

Grudge Match (2013)

Two Boxing Legends Meet on New Year's Eve

[10/10 · 24 December 2013]

Grudge Match is a boxing film which includes a lot of entertainment. Razor (Stallone) hates The Kid (DeNiro) for over 30 years. When they meet again for helping a company creating a video game it is obvious that a Grudge Match is necessary for them to make things clear on who is the best. Things further complicate when Sally (Basinger) makes her appearance. Instead of trying to recalibrate Rocky series, this film offers us some original elements: the screenplay is good, making great use of humor and catchy dialogues while the cool music helps us to relax and enjoy the story. Stallone delivers a good performance and convinces us as Razor while DeNiro seems to enjoy his part as the Kid. As the story evolves we learn details of their rivalry and we have the chance to realize how things that seem to us important when we are young, later in life we have the chance to see them from another aspect. Also, what is important is that this film makes us realize that older people still want to have another chance in changing some things and really need the help of their beloved ones. Overall, this is a great boxing flick and a very interesting story.

What If... (2012)

A Great Parallel Story

[10/10 · 2 December 2012]

Christoforos Papakaliatis manages, in the darkest days of the Greek cinema, to deliver a great film that succeeds in touching the most sensitive side of the audience. Although the idea is simple and the resources used on it are minimum, yet the result is great. The acting is very good from all the actors participating and the story focuses on the lives of two young men (Dimitris and Christina) who meet in two parallel universes under different circumstances. In the first story their love is fierce and undeniable, yet they experience problems because of the economic crisis and these have an impact on them. But what *IF* they were met under different circumstances?

Papakaliatis directs this film with nerve and great talent using minimum resources but the result is magnificent. The stories take place in Athens' oldest area, Plaka and they are connected to an old film of the '60s titled "I Gini na Fovite ton Andra" which is an all time classic of the Greek Cinema. This genius connection further assists in the atmosphere and the emotional response of the audience to the protagonists' lives. Overall, this is a great film and a bright shine in the dark period of extremely low quality productions we currently live in.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Much Brighter than its title implies....

[10/10 · 11 June 2011]

In Transformers III, the battle of humans and Autobots vs the Decepticons moves into a new level; To begin with, visual effects are not just state of the art.They are innovative because they are really superbly designed and directed. There are hardly any faults and they look like real.Director Michael Bay helps us enter into the agony of the battlefield with his camera angles and movement. The film's atmosphere is now more dramatic. Many humorous elements of the 2 prequels are not anymore present. The dialogues are mostly desperate while the action is like a hurricane with a progressing climax that keeps the audience's interest and expectations on a constant knife edge. The battles can be described as epic. A minus (according to my opinion)is that the character of Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) is no longer in the script. Overall, a state of the art action film that will keep you in the seat from the first till the last minute.

The Expendables (2010)

War Dogs just don't give up

[10/10 · 4 August 2010]

During the 80's and 90's it was a common question whether action film superstars could ally and face evil enemies.Sly never allied with Arnie, and each superstar continued to trash evil guys by its own.Until today!In this film everything the audience could expect from the action movie genre is here:hard language, tons of big and small explosions, black humor and a small army of film heroes blowing away a large army of bad guys.All the stars we loved are here, along with our memories from past movies coupled with fresh stars like Jason Statham and Jet Li.Don't expect great acting here,neither a script that will be awarded an Oscar.Acting is decent,storyline absolutely predictable and the script is humorous and entertaining,simply perfectly fit for such a movie. Stallone has become a better director through time; directing is a strong point of this movie. The camera takes the audience inside the action and in front of the dialogues.Arnie's extended cameo appearance is a plus. It is a pity Van Damme and Seagal are not here,however Dolph Lundgren does his part fairly well.Overall this movie is a classic one and a must-see for action movie fans. Action film stars perform nicely and the storyline will leave almost no one disappointed.

Ninja (2009)

Probably one of the best action flicks of 2009

[10/10 · 22 April 2010]

This is a story about an orphan ninjitsu student who is assigned to go to New York and protect the armor of the last ninja. However things just don't get as planned when another student goes renegade against their former master and seeks to take the armor for himself.

Don't expect any surprises in the storyline, it is the action which counts!Scott Adkins is Casey and although most of critics will say that his acting is not good, I found it pretty convincing.He acts with nerve and besides that his stunts and choreography are stunning, much more than someone would expect to see in a DTV production. I strongly believe that it definitely deserved a limited theatrical release. Nu Image films has raised the level for action movies with its latest productions (Command Performance and Rambo) and the funs of this kind are sure that more good work will come.

Tsuyoshi Ihara and Mika Hijii perform also pretty good. The stunts are realistic and violent with a lot of bleeding and it is the fast paced directing of Isaac Florentine that makes the difference! To conclude, this is a movie that no action fun should lose and besides that it is a promising title that could, in the near future, produce a storyline with sequels.

Psyhi vathia (2009)

A true Masterpiece

[10/10 · 26 October 2009]

This is the story of two brothers, Anestis and Vlasis who fight in two different camps during the Greek civil war. The story takes place in 1949, the last year of the war and probably the year that the most ferocious battles took place between the guerrillas and the Greek Army. In this story the two brothers(who are not even adults) have to face their worst fear:Losing each other. While the story evolves, the audience can see the most realistic to date, images of this brutal war who cost the lives of 70.000 soldiers on both sides and resulted in the immigration of over 500.000 non combatants.

In this movie, almost everything seem realistic: Directing is great and the actors have been selected with great caution in order their appearance, voice and acting style fits almost perfectly with their roles. The director uses technics that make the audience feel that it is near the battlefield.The music that is used creates a realistic and depressing atmosphere that represents this period of great misery and pain. Another important feature of this film is that the story is being told from a neutral side: Since in this war there was no true winner and both armies were Greek, the director gives us each side's view. We will have an insight of what the Greek Army soldiers say and feel along with their rival guerrilla soldiers.

Concluding, by all means this is probably one of the best Greek movies of all time and most likely the best of the last decade. Besides subjective objections that everyone of us has when watching a movie, as a whole this war drama surpasses even the equivalent movies of the 1960s and 1970s era and proves that Greek cinema has still things to give.

Felon (2008)

A Masterpiece

[10/10 · 4 October 2008]

I was amazed by the quality and the storyline of this film.Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorf have done a great job.The story goes as following:An innocent person is imprisoned for a mistake he has done.There he must fight for his everyday survival and face a sadist Jailguard who likes to see prisoners fight each other.

Firstly,the storyline is coherent.It has no flaws or exaggerations.Acting as a whole is very good both from the protagonists and from the supporting cast.All of them act like the roles were written specifically for them.

Secondly,the action is realistic.Prisoners get hurt,bleed,have feelings and honor.The guards have also their lives and the director gives us a spherical view of each person's character.The main characters are not flat and neutral but have attributes just like real people.

To summarize,this is a great prison film.It mixes social issues along with action features,love and personal endurance.It is a film that anybody can watch not only to amuse hiself but also to acquire some knowledge of what is happening in prisons.Congratulations to Val Kilmer,Stephen Dorf and the director Ric Roman Waugh.

Rambo (2008)

Stallone is still here!

[10/10 · 20 January 2008]

During his career, Sylvester Stallone gave the audience many great times to remember him.From Rocky and Rambo, to Demolition Man and Shade, Stallone was always a true super star. As an almost exclusive action films actor, he brought to the audience for over three decades, high quality action movies. However, aging is always a problem for such actors and Stallone could escape it....a little though! His physical condition is tremendous! Let's not forget that he is almost 62. It is a fact that his last films did not manage to reach the quality of his previous successes. Driven, D-Tox, Avenging Angelo and Shade, were really good films indeed but their shine was not as big as Rocky or Rambo. That is why Stallone returned with his major two success roles. Rocky Balboa was excellent and meaningfull. Now it is time for...John Rambo! This film is simply excellent. Although it is mostly an action movie it has also deeper meanings such as ethical values and political messages. Just like Rocky Balboa, John Rambo uses the formula of the first movie mixed with this of the forth!Monosylabic dialogues from Rambo meet the political messages of the activists, The violent reaction of Rambo towards the brutal soldiers is justified by his ethical code with a deeper meaning that oppresion and injustice generates strong reaction! Acting as a whole, is very good and convincing. Stallone is really born to be Rambo and the supporting cast is made by young actors who meet the quality standards of Milo Ventimiglia. The project budget is 50m so as you understand there are many real-like explosions and effects. What is new is the ultra violent death scenes. They really look true!The story is interesting although ,as you expect, not complicated. To summarize, John Rambo is one of the best action movies that 2008 will probably bring to us.Also it is a must to see because not only it is a really good movie but also because it is the last Rambo film. Stallone even if he is 62, looks no more than 45 and his condition is impressive. A must for all action film fans and not only by them, Rambo is a really good film and you should not miss it.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Violent and Teriffying, a must for Alien and Predator Fans!!!!!

[10/10 · 19 January 2008]

Alien vs Predator Requiem is not the best picture in the franchise. It is not an Oscar winning movie. It is probably one of the most brainless movie of all times...BUT it is extremely entertaining!A lot of comments talk about violence and brainless action, bad acting and stuff like that.Pay no attention to them!This movie was not created to win an Oscar.It is made for Alien and Predator Fans who enjoy all the killing and the rush those two spieces create. AVP Requiem is worth to see and it gives the whole story a new step forward to the plot. We see how Weyland-Yutani corporation, the company that sent Ripley to the LV-426 planet starts to evolve as a weapon company and how it meets the Alien creature. With the new CGI technology the creatures appear more true than ever!If you are looking for a film which has a plot that forces you to think how it evolves don't waste your time with this. If you are a person who likes non stop action, decent acting, killings, simple plot and dark scenery, simply just DO NOT DARE TO MISS THIS!!!!

Kamikazi, agapi mou (1983)

Wecome to the Greek Bike Madness Birth!

[9/10 · 5 January 2008]

This time Stathis Psaltis plays a biker who falls again in love with Kaiti Finou.However in this movie, two more teen stars of the 80's decay take place: The -forever young- Stamatis Gardelis and the very young at that time Sofia Aliberti. This is a movie about bikes and bikers. What is worth to see (besides the truly good humorous jokes or black-humored situations) is the birth of the Greek Bike Madness!!! Bikers everywhere and the police can do nothing to stop it! Although there were always been bikers in Greece, it was during the time this film was produced that were taking over the streets! Psaltis is great as "Stathis Sgouros", Finou fights it fair with "Kitsa" but Gardelis and Aliberti make a great couple on screen. The scenes with the bikes are very good and the jokes make us truly laugh. Some words are really out of date but after all it is an 80's movie, isn't it? Watch it when you are given the chance, movies like Psaltis' and other 80's stars as Lezes,Konstadinou,Bokis,Tsakonas,Moustakas and Papanastasiou will never again be produced!They are our legacy from the 80's!!!

Kleftroni kai gentleman (1986)

Worth to see it again and again!

[10/10 · 4 January 2008]

This time Stathis Psaltis falls in love with Effie Pikoula (and not with Kaiti Finou). The pace of this film is faster than we have used before and Psaltis gives his best self. Again we meet some very important elements of the Greek society in the 80's: Punk boys and their girls, bikes, hard talking(!) disco dance, strong nightlife,the -then- new problem of unemployment for the bachelors and of course family issues such as marriage and matchmaking! Everything is just there! The flayer that says: "MARINA I LOVE YOU,FIGHT IS NOT OVER" has became legendary and many teens of that time did the same as Psaltis! Worth every second of it to watch and for some to remember how Greece was and how it has become...

Vasika... kalispera sas (1982)

A perfect example of how Greece was in the 80's...

[10/10 · 4 January 2008]

While this movie is very fun to watch and laugh, it still has some other very important issues: For older people who now are at their 60's and 70's , this movie can be a perfect example to show to their children or grandchildren of how the Greek society was in the 80's. A careful viewer will see the Athenian neighborhoods full of happy people, the smile in everybody's face, the -then- nightlife, how teenagers spent their time, the very few cars on the roads, even the relationships that people had then... Although the purpose of this movie is far away from what I describe (it is a pure comedy and not a documentary!) if a viewer may want to see how Athens was in the 80's this is his movie! Besides this, Stathis Psaltis gives a strong performance that makes everyone laugh, the cast fits perfectly for the roles and this is a movie that will continue to be fun to see even in the 2020's!!!

Trellos eimai oti thelo kano!.. (1984)

Psaltis Returns!

[8/10 · 4 January 2008]

Stathis Psaltis continues his 80's era with this film. Although not as good as "Vasika Kalispera Sas" it is still a classic one! Mike Vidas is played with much nerve from Psaltis and while the jokes seem sometimes a little (or a lot) excessive it still manages to make people laugh. Stathis Psaltis continued with comedy movies in the 80's and this made him very popular in Greece. It is fair to say however that movies like that do not stand a chance if compared with the Greek comedies of the 60's and the 70's. Teta Douzou and Kaiti Finou were the teen stars of their decade but by no means were they able to reach the publicity and magnitude of the previous decades film stars such as Zoi Laskari, Magda Karagianni, Maro Kodou or Aliki Vougiouklaki. What this film manages to do is give you some enjoyable moments of the madness and hyperbolic behavior that most Greeks had that time. If Vidas is compared with a Greek person of the 00's will definitely look like a caveman!

300 (2006)

Impressive!

[10/10 · 3 January 2008]

This movie is an epic one. While it is inspired by a comic book it manages to keep the same spirit as the original 300 incident in ancient Greece. Even this will sound bizarre, the historian's reports talk about an even more violent incident than this we watched on the 300 movie!!! Everything on this picture is awesome: The battles, the dialogues, Gerard Buttler, just everything! Although as a project, it did not cost too much (About 65 million $) it is still a very impressive and enjoyable movie. Although some critics warned the public about extreme violence, I believe that in wars and epic stories, violence is an important element. To conclude this is an by all means an excellent movie that will be remembered for a long time to come. Also it is imprtant we learn that 300 heroes from Sparta saved Europe long time ago.