AthenaStardear Reviews

The Return (III) (2020)

Interesting plot twist horror, especially for scifi fans

[10/10 · 10 August 2021]

As the story develops, this is less of a horror movie, eventually becomes entirely science fiction. Genius!

Pay careful attention to every detail. This is a unique twist on time travel that draws from some of the other scifi which involves matter scrambling teleportation system disasters.

The ending surprisingly makes more sense than some of the recent blockbusters that involved time travel fixes for the characters. It answers the question about how that would really happen.

It was also great to see the main characters from the scifi series that ended recently.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Fun and informative prequel for nerds like me

[10/10 · 27 May 2018]

Being a science nerd, I always wondered about making the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs, since a parsec measures distance. Now I see.

I found out how someone can love a droid for her brains instead of her beauty. Take that fem-bots!.

In the recent Jedi movie (not this one) we found about about light speed collisions as a battle tactic. Maybe that was another way Kirk (Star Trek) could have defeated solid neutroneum "Planet Killer," besides the self destruct button. Anyway, now we found out what powers the ships in that far away galaxy, and it's not dilithium.

What's not to love about a main character that is the mother to dragons in another universe?

Perhaps best of all, learned how to befriend a wookiee. That's gonna come in handy some day. I just know it.

I'm really expecting and look forward to the second Solo movie.

Stargate Origins (2018)

Continuity explanation of prequel reboot with spoliers

[8/10 · 16 February 2018]

If you loved the original Stargate installments, this reboot is for you. Other people not so much.

Having recently re-watched all previous series and movies, here's the analysis of why there are no continuity problems. The previous installments were relatively complete in themselves.

The original series included two Stargates that were discovered on earth. That's a big deal. They previously only explained how one was found. This prequel could be how the other Stargate was found and used.

In this short intro, the Germans claim they have a DHD in Berlin. That is another extremely important plot element that helps form the basis for a new earth originating prequel series, though it could extend in almost any direction of story line.

The use of a military vehicle's engine to power the Stargate and pseudo manual operation of the Stargate in this reboot is unusual, though not out of the question.

I loved each installment of Stargate, and enough time has passed to make a new movie or a new series.

Seriously, if they already have a half dozen full 42 minute episodes of scripts, or a new prequel movie script ready to go on this one, they should be able to get funding to go ahead with it.

By the way, there was a few more seconds of story after the credits in the third mini-episode of this reboot.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

Sci Fi fantasy better than the first, 10 points of what I liked

[10/10 · 31 May 2016]

I'm summarizing why I give it high marks.

Portrays a new fantasy take on time travel well executed.

Develops a likable backstory of key characters.

Places importance on love for family.

Shows a modern positive role for women.

Superb performances by all characters.

The 3D, CGI and other visuals are top notch for live action.

A perfect pace of character re-development and story telling.

In comparison, the predecessor live action movie was slow & tedious.

Morally uplifting with a focus on kindness from the heart and honesty.

Now even the Cheshire cat has fellowship and heart.

Gods of Egypt (2016)

Egypt visualized with a heart

[10/10 · 27 February 2016]

Since when is a movie not black enough? There were blacks and whites in important roles here. I ignored the bigotry of other reviewers and am glad I saw it.

This is a remarkable entertaining movie.

The cast, scenery and effects are beautiful.

The 3D is fantastic here.

The script is linear and heart touching.

This movie lets us experience what the people of ancient Egypt imagined of their gods. It is the best movie on this I've seen.

I will see it again on the big screen. 10/10

Maggie (I) (2015)

How to watch this while not becoming a Zombie

[5/10 · 15 July 2015]

I love Arnold and wanted more of him after seeing the new terminator movie, which was a blast.

The people viewing with me are better experts on zombie TV and movies, but I enjoy specialty zombies like iZombie and World War Z.

After giving this movie the benefit of the doubt for about 15 minutes, we still wanted more Arnold and more zombies, but couldn't take the boredom.

I set the player to about 20x speed and watched the rest of the entire movie at that enhanced speed in a couple of minutes.

I can honestly say we saw the whole thing and didn't miss anything in about 20 minutes total.

After Earth (2013)

Unique Futuristic Scifi Where Survival Blurs Distinction Between Enemy and Ally

[8/10 · 22 September 2013]

Comparisons to Battlefield Earth are unfounded. It's nothing like that.

This movie's futuristic science fiction setting combines a natural symmetry and flow with a remarkable and believable advanced technology.

It's not the first science fiction flick with an online rating less than 4 that I enjoyed more than other recent 7+ rated movies across genre, though I am a lover of science fiction.

The characters and story were well developed and believable. Exactly the right amount of time was used to convey the importance of the family centric theme.

Also central to the story is the importance of our emotions and how the control of our emotions affects our lives. The distinction between enemies and allies across species is blurred when survival is the key ingredient. Empathy is not unique to humans.

As soon as the movie ended, I knew exactly my favorite part, and most of this film will stay with me vividly because I love animals and people.

Man of Steel (2013)

Refreshing 3D update - confirmed excellent by audience chatter

[16 June 2013]

Storyline and technology are now up to date.

3D and XD enhanced audio theater were perfect, well worth it.

Emotional depth of characters developed and appreciated. This is a change from Superman movies of the past, earning extra points for "Man of Steel."

Intense cinematography, new weapons, new vulnerabilities and perfect casting.

Superman has always been my favorite. A few moderate political messages were okay for all. One of the people that saw it with me mentioned some subtle religious parallels. I say - maybe.

The audience had much to talk about after the show, I could tell they liked this movie too. I give 10/10.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Incredibly well crafted

[10/10 · 20 May 2013]

Myself and the spouse have watched every prior Star Trek episode, movie and derivative from the sixties, and we loved this movie. It is the best so far. I was curious how they could do better than the last one, but they truly did.

Daughter and son in law who have not seen the original Kirk / Spock series were mixed in their reactions. Daughter had objections of not knowing why some plot aspects were important. Son in law loved it as much as we did, regardless of not knowing all the older stories.

We saw this new one in an XD 3D equipped theater that made me feel I was there with the story. Well worth it. Fantastic use of technology. Our movie technology is so far ahead of real science these days, which seems to make no real leaps and bounds to get us to warp drive and transporters.

Continuing to build their likability, the new actors are all perfect and getting more familiar for their roles.

Although I would prefer it was done in HFR like the recent Hobbit movie, I'm not deducting any points for the lack of HFR 10/10.

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Not HFR, but I loved it anyway

[9/10 · 17 March 2013]

It's just the right length of movie to unfold the story.

This movie is a true connection with the famous 1939 movie. I've watched that many times and love it too. Other Oz based movies I've seen have made mince meat of out the original story. I can't remember any of them that connected so well.

There were many subtle, and not so subtle connections with the original movie, and I saw most of them. Other people with me saw several that I missed. I'll enjoy watching this 2013 movie again and again.

I saw this in 3D at an XD theater. That's not Imax but has enhanced sound and picture. Although motion is not as smooth as HFR 48fps in the Hobbit 3D, scenery and sound was as beautiful as ever. I took away one star for not being filmed in HFR, since that technology is available and should be the norm, not the unique exception that the Hobbit is.

While I am pretty good at guessing about events to come in the plot, this one had wonderful fantasy surprises.

Although this is a prequel, setting the stage for Dorthy's visit, I thought this was by no means "just before" Dorthy's visit. There is an ample gap in the plot elements and age of characters between 1939 and 2013 films for a sequel to fill in with more great adventures. I am hoping for these in the not too distant future.

Although this new movie is not a musical, it is a splendorous fantasy.

If it was HFR 3D 48fps like the Hobbit, I'd give it 10/10, but alas that's only the Hobbit. So Oz 2013 gets a 9/10. Studios need to get with the newest HFR technology.

Vamps (2012)

Surprise! - Now I like Vampires a lot more

[8/10 · 3 January 2013]

Starting with the end, I felt refreshed and positive after watching this. Movies like that score at least 8/10.

This movie stands apart since most of the "Vamps" are unanimously endearing. I can think of a lot of movies that aren't like that.

Funny to say the least. Great laughs when I wasn't expecting it.

Almost extraterrestrial in some surprising ways, with a sustaining image reminiscent of a few sci-fi flicks.

Pokes fun at groups that could stand a few pokes.

Might be a harder sell for some in the "under 20" crowd.

Certainly under-rated at the time I wrote this when the IMDb was only 4.7. A solid 8/10 overall and consider the occasional "comic" budgeted CGI a positive.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

HFR advantage compared

[8/10 · 27 December 2012]

Having seen both the 3D and HFR-3D versions of the Hobbit, I can tell you that the HFR is much more fun.

Compared to HFR, the non-HFR 3D Hobbit is like most 3D movies. At times during the non-HFR Hobbit, the 3D is more noticeable than others. The effect is more like a gimmick which wore out for me as the movie progressed.

As with a few other non-HFR 3D flicks, I got a headache about half way through. I closed one eye for a few minutes and it went away.

HFR on the other hand is like watching real people in real places. The depth starts in front of the screen. Every kind of motion is lifelike. Details in the image are sustained during motion. Objects tossed about are smooth, water flowing is like watching a natural waterfall in nature. The camera moves like your eyes would, and the panning of scenes is beyond breathtaking. The realism continues through the whole movie, and there are no gimmicks in the ending credits to remind you it was 3D.

In non-HFR, there are occasional things that jump out of the screen, and you feel you could touch them for a moment. In the Hobbit HFR, characters were standing right next to me to the point where I really thought someone had sat in the seat next to me for a moment, though it was in the movie.

There was no headache at all. I could watch HFR all day and love it.

With this realism, character development was stronger, and the soundtrack seemed a notch better, though I didn't see the HFR at an "XD" theater (not this first time anyway).

Though I have a great 3D home system, this HFR is not happening at home theaters any time soon, and will surely be missed. I will see The Hobbit in HFR again at the theater, which is a rare event for me these days.

8/10 since for the story and 10/10 for the introduction of HFR 3D. How did we put up with 24fps for so long?

Continuum (I) (2012–2015)

2 episodes so far and excellent

[10/10 · 8 June 2012]

Only spoiler here is my favorite quote from the second episode.

I'm in the USA and watch this courtesy of our neighbor to the north. So far it's better than most shows I watch on SyFy channel.

We have an age group here ranging from 22-57. All viewers here love Science Fiction.

Spoiler favorite quote from the 2nd episode, "I am an engineer in a field of science that doesn't exist yet."

I thought the first episode was interesting enough to keep with it.

The second episode was more intense in emotions, battles, setting the stage for things to come, and more new technology.

The fictional technology portrayed is great. The premise that "evil corporations in the future are in control" hasn't had impact on the story unfolding, since the series so far is how the agent from the future uses the technology she brought back in time with her.

If we do have toys like this in the future, it probably won't matter whether its an evil government or evil corporations in control, since the cool toys will make everything else less important.

Drive (I) (2011)

Enjoyed "Red" & "Kick-Ass" but "Drive" disappointed

[2/10 · 15 December 2011]

Vote of 2 instead of 1 since there are two likable characters, and there is a briefly inadequate apogee for them.

None of the characters are adequately developed by on screen story telling. More stereotyping than story.

The drama could be replaced with still frames and be equally inadequate.

The non-artistic pointless nudity wasted whatever talent there might have been, serving only to solidify the R rating which is otherwise due to violent gore that lacked surprise.

Total of all "thrilling" parts is less than 30 seconds, and there is zero new ground covered.

The back story is left to the imagination with only a few clues to help.

A miserable disservice to the talent.

Two people that watched Drive with me agreed that this review should be meaner, and we really should have watched something else.

Griff the Invisible (2010)

LOL comedy imagination reminds me how we do the impossible

[20 November 2011]

Last I checked, police cars we're still burning fossil fuels and stuck on planet earth, while imagination take us anywhere. This movie made it enjoyable to share the character's blurred line between imagination and reality, to fight crime and do amazing things.

Totally clean humor fun. Glad I paid attention to details that make it LOL funny numerous times, both at the characters and myself.

Nothing at all like other recent similarly framed films.

With surprises along the way, Griff is a refreshing a dash of fantasy science fiction, with a focus that reminds me that innovation starts with imagination - portrayed in a simple way that brings it all down to earth.

Though there was heartbreak, it ended perfectly; plus an extra star for appreciating kitties.

Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011)

Incredible moderate SciFi that is close to Science Fact

[3 November 2011]

The strong political theme mocks some events unfolding in our world today. This makes it an especially interesting though critical prediction on top of the fiction.

The characters are interesting and fit their parts enjoyably. It's easy to get a grasp of the roles projected through stereotyping. It's not a criticism, since this helps to convey the message.

My own work close to inventors with recent patents pending makes the science fiction theme of this flick similar to actual events also soon unfolding. Synergistic with the political prediction, this is what made the film a 10/10 for me.

Hopefully in real life the science will overwhelm the politics rather than the reverse that happens in this flick.

Glad I watched this and equally happy to see that Part II has been announced for 2012.

Skyline (2010)

Different than formula scifi - Trilogy worthy

[9/10 · 13 February 2011]

Skyline is told from a realistic and interesting though different than the usual perspective. It makes me think about what would happen to me if this really happened. Though I am not like the characters in my own life, it was involving to use my own feelings and place myself into the new situation. It fills the void we've had for a while in scifi, i.e. something newer and fresh. Great movie for the stated $10M budget. Could have easily cost 3x that.

Made me and others shudder, cringe and jump, borders on horror.

Understanding the ending relies on the viewer paying close attention. It leaves a glimmer of more to be told. I liked it. If it has a follow on movie, this first one will get more positive recognition when they continue the story. I'd like to see parts 2 and 3.