William_x_Lee Reviews

6 Feet Below Hell (2017)

Superb

[10/10 · 15 February 2019]

My expectations were for an indie action film with guns, zombies and interesting characters. I didn't expect Tom Cruise and a ten million dollar budget, so all the negative reviews here are obviously by people who have unrealistic expectations, or were fired from the film. Oh well, today's social media is a breeding ground for armchair critics and filmmaker wannabes. Question is, if this movie is so bad, why had it been at Redbox for 2 years. Hard to believe Redbox would continue to rent a film that wasn't selling.

M (1951)

Garbage

[1/10 · 26 August 2018]

The term film noir has come to mean many things, and yet it is best exemplified by Fritz Lang himself. This 1951 remake is an abomination. It is flat, without mood or nuance. It's a 1950's crime drama with the name M stamped on it. Please, apologists, spare me. Did your grandfather work on the film or something? You cannot seriously be lauding this film on its cinematic merits! Pure garbage. Mister Lang is obviously rotating in his grave.

I Am Wrath (2016)

No, please God. No.

[1/10 · 3 January 2017]

Let's not waste time here....Terrible direction, the actors don't appear to all be on the same page. The director also appears not to understand the elements of an action film: urgency! None to be found.The lighting is hideous to say the least, as a long time resident of Columbus, Ohio I would like to say Columbus has some of the most uninspired skyline and atmospheric shots. Travolta and Merloni are good, but it's hard to make a garbage script into a great film. Din't bother to watch past the first 40 minutes. I was falling asleep. And oh, what's with all the unmotivated slow motion shots? Not even worth the price of a DVD rental.

Code of Honor (2016)

Not his worst but pretty freaking awful

[2/10 · 7 August 2016]

Just attempted to watch Steven Segal's Code of Honor. Spoilers coming, but it's not like you won't get anything that Seagal has ever done before. He's a former agent, he's mad at the world, the cops are hunting him. There, did that spoil it for you? Seagal spends most of the film sitting on the same rooftop perch shooting down thugs. James Russo picks up a quick paycheck as a mob boss who walks around a dark room scowling menacingly at photos of his enemies, and the co star,Craig Sheffer, who plays an FBI agent who eschews standard issue hand guns for a pair of knives, which predictability leads to a poorly choreographed battle with Seagal. Props to the news anchors who give newscasts while using overly dramatic dialog which rivaled the writings of Shakespeare. Jesus. I'm not sure what the hell I just watched. Oh. Lots of strippers, and stereotypical Hispanic gang members. Do yourself a favor and get drunk and eat cheese curls on your couch instead of frying your brain with this incomprehensible vomit bath of a movie. Holy crap.

AC1: Alien Contamination (2014 Video)

Uh, not so fast bro......

[10/10 · 3 February 2015]

To the gentleman who had the negative comments about the film, here's a piece of news for you. that was not the official final version. It was rough cut. The new version is now on Vimeo VOD and is a far superior piece of work. Movie studios often put out tester copies to see what audiences do not like, and we agree that you may have pointed out some of them. However, you will find the new film is a completely different film and we do feel it will startle and surprise fans who like found footage films. However, our film is far beyond a typical found footage film in which we hear a lot of things going on, but never see anything. Calling it a "bad found footage film" is a compliment. thanks.

The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Don't drink the Kool Aid

[2/10 · 25 September 2014]

Sorry, this is americanized Hollywood garbage. It has no relevance to any actual Chinese history, Kung Fu, or anything even remotely compelling. Seriously, outside of the fight scenes between Chan and Li, the lead star is annoying and unconvincing. Karate Kid, Chinese style? yeah sure. But if we have a film with arguably the two best martial artists of this era,shouldn't we get more than a fluffy, semi PG rated love story, and watered down tale of redemption? This is not even a good Saturday afternoon children's film. This is why Hollywood should stay out of the martial arts business. This is a lame attempt to appeal to that teeny bopper generation, whom they captured with films like karate Kid back in the day. Now, it's just bad filmmaking. Cut out all oft he kid's scenes, and you might have a movie. As it stands, this garbage is a waste of time and money. Guess somebody needed a quick pay day. Overly ambitious, yet fails deliver on any front.

Five Fingers of Death (1972)

Not the First

[10/10 · 14 September 2014]

Actually, Jimmy Wang Yu's Chinese Boxer came out two years earlier. Although "Fingers' aka, King Boxer is a better film, it was not the first. If you want to get technical about it, Kwan Tak Hing was doing kung fu films in the early 1900's. In fact, Lo Lieh appeared as a villain in The Chinese Boxer, which makes this tale all the more ironic. Wang Yu was also by no means, a kung fu expert. he had some limited training in karate, but his film was basically an "experiment" by the Shaw brothers to see if films other than colorful Swordplay epics, direct copies of Japanese Cinema, could make a buck. truth be told, Lo Lieh also had little in the way of Kung Fu training, he simply had more experience in martial arts films, and a more creative choreographer and director in charge, by the time he shot "King Boxer". The appellation of first kung fu film, should be amended, in that it was the "considered" as first successful kung fu film of the world wide "kung fu boom" of the 70's.

Dismal (2009)

Excellent indie effort

[10/10 · 13 July 2009]

What I enjoyed about the film, was that it did not attempt to overreach it's bounds. It is what it is: a good old fashioned scare flick, which captivates the viewer from the first scene. What it reminded me of is the first time I saw the Texas Chainsaw Massacre back in the 70's. You kept saying to yourself "Damn, are there people out there like this?" Which when you think about it, is pretty creepy and that is where this film succeeds. While this film did not have the budget or Hollywood exposure of today's studio films, it is a worthy indie film which is far better than a lot of the low budget crapola on DVD now. In fact, you can take all the Pg13 horror flicks Hollywood is spewing out, and replace them with this. A good film done in the traditional horror genre, without bloated special effects, spoiled Hollywood stars, or a misguided remake of another sequels' sequel. Kudos to cast and crew.