ruddaga Reviews

The Hunger Games (2012)

Average At Best

[5/10 · 27 March 2012]

I went to a midnight screening of this movie having not read the books. I consider myself quite the movie critic and to be honest, it takes quite a lot to impress me these days.

I can understand that the books series is a fan favorite and that 50% of the positive reviews on this site will be from avid "fanbois" who can't see passed the fact that this movie is quite average fan fare at best. I'm assuming the other 50% are from either teeny bop teenagers who don't know any better or adults that probably don't have triple digit IQ's.

So I went into the midnight screening, blank slate, hoping to be wowed. I'll start by saying this - The first 1/3 - 1/2 of the movie, actually had me hooked for a little bit. Not knowing the background story of the world, I initially found myself craving more information about the plight of the people of district 12. Then after looking at the well rounded figured of the actress that plays Katniss.. I found myself thinking "Hang on.. She doesn't look hungry at all.."...

The movie for me went downhill after the actual games start. This isn't because the movie shows not one drop of blood spilled or a death scene.. It was just because it was done so poorly. Shaky camera angles a good action scene do not make. I hate to point out the obvious comparison between this movie and Battle Royale, but come on... It's pretty much the exact same concept, except this is like the poor under aged mans Battle Royale.

There is literally no character development for any of the other tributes apart from Peeta and Katniss, and their love story seems forced and awkward. Are we supposed to like Peeta? He just comes off as a hopeless whining ****.

Oh well.. Nothing I can say can change the fact that you've probably seen/or will see this movie. Here's hoping for the sequel they actually capture some of this magic these "best selling" books are supposed to have.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

2 Films for 1 Book, yet misses 1/4 of the story....

[6/10 · 12 July 2011]

I don't know what I was expecting... To be honest apart from the first HP movie... every single one of the following movies has left out major plot points, characters and story lines. I guess I figured that was mainly because the movies only have a certain length of time to tell the story. Thus it was natural for me to assume that with 5+ hours they would be able to include everything in the one book... I assumed wrongly.

First off - Do not see this in 3D... The 3D is an after thought and literally added nothing to the experience. The only scene that was 3D that stands out in memory was the death of Voldemort and his confetti explosion.

What did they get right? Well its hard to say really.. I was really disappointed with the pacing for the first half of the 2nd part. It felt slow and weird and anti-climatic the entire way. The bank scene and special effects seems average and low budget for a franchise with such high profits. The acting from everyone doesn't quite do the job. Snapes "redemption" scene was acted out really poorly by Alan Rickman.. which is a shame because I was really looking forward to it as it's one of the more moving parts in the series. The only scene that felt like it mirrored the book accurately was the Kings Cross section (apart from Harry having clothes on...) My main gripe with the movie is that they left out so much considering they had two movies to cover it. Harry telling Neville to kill the snake and thus Neville having and important role in the ending of the war <- This part was the ONE part I was looking forward to when Neville pulls the sword out of the hat and cuts Nagini in two... Yet they changed it to Hermione and Ron battling the snake and Neville coming in as an afterthought... The entire war at the end was missing - Centaurs, Goblins/Kreecher, Hagrid/Aragog and just felt very anti-climatic and also have very poor CGI. The entire point of the Deathly Hallows is missed out with Harry not claiming ownership of the wand and reflecting Voldemorts death spell back onto him, and is replaced with a VERY tame action scene that went for about 10 minutes (its then mentioned as an afterthought by Harry post battle). The scene when Harry confronts Snape was also bizarre and seemed unnecessary... Overall the changes and missing scenes left me feeling very empty.

My girlfriend hasn't read the books and she enjoyed it.. So I'm sitting here wondering if the knowledge of the books hampered my enjoyment of it. I have no doubt this film will be hailed a success and will make bazillon dollars, but I can't help but feel that another director/team could've handled this a lot truer to the books.

Scream 4 (2011)

Very "Meh"

[5/10 · 15 April 2011]

So I just got back from Scream 4 and I've just read through all the reviews that were put up before me... I'm wondering if they were all written by the cast and crew of the movie because I was totally underwhelmed by this addition to the Scream franchise.

I enjoyed Scream 1, found the 2nd one to be a bit meh and thought the 3rd one was a nice way to tie the movies up. This one starts off with the original trio living their respective lives, but we don't get an insight into what they've been doing the last ten years - just that Gale and Dewey are happily married - and Sidney has moved on and written some self help book about surviving. Then along come the next generation in the franchise and I know they're supposed to be a rehash of the original Scream/Stab characters... But it feels stagnant and stale. Haven't they done this already.. The self parody of the first movie with the original "stab" in the 2nd and 3rd one.. Feels like Wes is just scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Maybe it's because I've seen one too many movies... But if you couldn't pick the main killer in this from the get go... then you probably shouldn't be watching horror movies. I think a better ending would've been the killer actually gotten away with it.. and this led into a "I know what you did last summer" Scream 5... Maybe taken a chapter from the Halloween series when they killed Jamie Lee Curtis.. TAKE A RISK WES!!

I actually found myself looking at my watch during the movie.. It's just repetitive and we've seen it all before. Girls in house - Phone rings - Killer jumps out around every corner - if its a character that isn't one of the main trio they die, if it is they managed to get away barely - Wash, rinse, repeat. This is literally how the movie goes. There aren't any exciting death scenes... The violence is meh as is the acting. I really wanted to enjoy this... Feels like a money grab at the end of the day. Oh well.. Sucker Punch disappointed.. As did this.. Here's to Thor next week.

Saw 3D (2010)

One word sums up this movie - "Sigh..."

[5/10 · 27 October 2010]

So it's Halloween again, and here comes the supposed final Saw movie. I've reviewed the last 2 movies on here and if you read my review on Saw 6, you'll see I was pleasantly surprised by how much of an improvement it was over Saw 5. So since I had the day off I scuttled off to the local cinema to catch the midday premiere to see if the latest offering to the series was a worthy finale...

As my title to the review indicates - I walked out of the cinema with a hefty sigh... I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was something more then what this movie is. It felt like Saw 4 and Saw 5... Just pointless traps with no real connection or linkage to the overall Saw story. If you have the choice between seeing it in 3D or not.. Don't see it in 3D... There's maybe like 3 or 4 scenes in which someone throws an object towards the screen or an explosion goes off... It's unnecessary and it feels very forced.

The Traps in this one are downright boring. Maybe it's because it's been done before so many times.. But every trap just felt like a rehash of an old trap. The "main" game sees the main protagonist Bobby goes along a similar trial to that of Jeffs (from Saw 3) in which he has to save people in each trap in time before the trap kills them.

The story... I read up on the movie before hand and the writers apparently meshed the stories of Saw 7 and Saw 8 together so this was supposed to be a story filled movie that ties up all the loose questions and ends (it was also supposed to run longer then the average movie - 90 minutes long isn't what I'd call a long movie) from the previous ones.

*****this is my major spoiler part, you've been warned*********** - The story in this one is just rubbish.. It just continues on from SAW 6 with Hoffman breaking free.. and he spends the movie trying to get Jill to finish her off. This seems to go against the entire point of "Jigsaws" ideals and is just Hoffman out seeking revenge. The two so called "twists" are pathetic - The first one being Hoffman being one of the bodies that gets taken into the morgue <- When I saw the body being carted in I was thought to myself - Come on.. Surely that's not going to be it... And the second twist... I'm pretty sure every "Saw" fan called about 5 or 6 Saws ago.. If you look at my review for Saw 5 I even called it back then (Dr Gordan being the 3rd and REAL accomplise to Jigsaw)... What really annoys me.. is that they've said this is definitely the last Saw movie and they would tie up every loose end.. BUT.. the ending leaves a few things open - Like who the other two pig heads were that jump Hoffman.. And Hoffman actually still being left alive. ****************** End Spoiler***************************

All in all I left this movie feeling deflated. This is probably the 2nd worst Saw Movie in line with number 2 and 5. If this is actually the final curtain for the series.. what a lame note to go out on.. trying to squeeze the 3D train for a couple of bucks. God knows how the writers let this slip so far. I know every Saw fan will see this regardless, because I would'nt have let a review stop me and if they release Saw 8 (which I'm betting is riding on how much $ this one makes) then I'll definitely see it... I just hope they actually make a finale worthy of sending off the Saw franchise.

Heavy Rain (2010 Video Game)

Best Movie I've Seen all Year!

[7/10 · 3 March 2010]

After reading the other couple of reviews on this site i feel i had to come on and express my two cents on the matter. Let me start off by saying - Yes i enjoyed Indigo Prophecy (the game the company brought out prior to Heavy Rain) immensely. I thought the story was insane and even though I'm not the biggest fan of QTE's (quick time events.. i.e pushing buttons at the right time..) in the previous game it worked to help you be interactive with your characters during their crucial action scenes etc. My brother used to give me s### for liking the prior game saying - It was like watching a movie... and also was annoyed at the games switch from murder mystery to matrix themed universe... ANYWAYS with that out of the way...

So I had been heavily anticipating this game for AGES and maybe its because when you really REALLY expect something amazing your always going to be disappointed.. But in the end I found Heavy Rain to literally be a great movie in which i had to push a button here and there at the right time.

I thought the plot was fantastic... Easily one of the best I've seen in a video game.. I'm usually pretty good with picking endings etc (and i kick myself for not guessing this one..) but due to the games pacing and the way the characters are presented to you, I just did NOT see the twist ending coming. Which is why the game still gets a 7/10 from me. Because i love a good story in a game.

But here in lies the problem... Calling this a video game is like labeling.. well i cant think of a proper analogy at this time of the night.. But you get what I'm trying to say. You have minimal control over the characters at the best of times. You have the ability to see and pick from a range of thoughts at any time when controlling the character and it was from this I thought your "decisions" (as in which thought you chose" would help unravel the so called "every decision you make" ever changing story line. I was disappointed when i found out i could mash "Die!" "No, Fight!" "Give up" "Stay and fight" "What about this..." one after the other.. without it actually altering what the character did.. it just would be accompanied by their thoughts on the issue.. the actual plot would only advance with you moving to the right spot and pushing the x button on whatever the option was.

Fans of the game will say I'm being harsh... but they have to agree... this just isn't a video game.. its a pretty choose your own adventure.. i would've preferred it if they had taken out the limited moving around parts and just had 1,2,3,4 - choices came up at certain points of the story. The "control" over your characters feels painfully limited.

First time I played it (due to my MASSIVE skills at button pushing) i finished the game with the so-called best of the best ending (everyone survived to the end, killer was punished, everyone lived happy ever after.. bar one sub un-important character). So naturally i started loading up my games to see the MASSIVE changes that one would get if they failed/died etc - **Spoiler** I admit the first time I played.. i had the OMG MUST SURVIVE *MASH BUTTON* feel about crucial scenes.. but when you go back and try to fail on purpose.. your given SOOO much time to escape or not die im not sure how ANYONE could fail - i.e when Norman is walked at gunpoint by mad jack - if you just let this run without interfering Norman has three chances to get out of this initial part before you actually die. Or when Maddison is tied down by the doctor... i actually laughed when the guy came BACK and rang the door bell a 2nd time. I was also disappointed that you cant actually kill off the killer if you fail his scenes... And wtf is with all his endings.. 1.) His grave. 2.) If you have lauren survive and do the good endings for everyone else.. she seems to walk off being empty and hating life.. not really a happy ending for her... 3.) Her revenge ending.. which just seems stupid and forced especially since she leaves all trusting you etc at the train stop. 4.) The one with him walking away in the rain scott free. Maybe im just complaining here... But where was his happy ending??? Anyways.. Main point is... This is not everyones type of game. I had a friend come over who spat the dummy during the intro scene while Ethan brushed his teeth.. and fair enough.. it was things like this 'interaction' that really made the game drag. BUT that being said I did enjoy it enough to 'watch' it through several times. And the characters are well thought out and the acting is great. As i've said before.. The twist of Scott being the killer.. Sheesh.. did not see coming. Maybe because I likened his character to a friendly John Goodman type.

Returned it to the game store (that has a 7 day refund policy) and was happy to get my $ back.

Shutter Island (2010)

Did people on here watch the same movie!?!?!

[4/10 · 3 March 2010]

First off let me say that I for one actually think Leo is a pretty decent actor. Sure in his early days he was the "heart" throb pretty boy of Titanic and Romeo and Juliet.. But after seeing his latest attempts - i.e Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed and Catch me if you Can.. I've developed an appreciation for his skills as an actor... Also i respect the director of most of the same previous mentioned titles that Leo stars in...

But honestly what the hell were they thinking with this movie!?!? The story pace is terrible and the plot so predictable that I literally had called everything (and i mean EVERYTHING - including his wife etc..) 20 minutes in. I was hoping i was going to be proved wrong by some other twist but no..

As the movie started with them driving into the institution what was with the music score?? I was sitting there listening to the BOOOOM BOOOM.... BOOOM BOOOM... thinking "OK.. that isn't suspenseful.. its just irritating.." <- OK total minor point but I think it was from this point that my expectations from the movie started to drop.

I saw the movie a few days OK and it just keeps popping up in my mind how bad it is... its not scary at all. The plot is predictable. And the acting was below average. Avoid at all costs unless you have an I.Q under 100 and you haven't watched any 'twist' movies in your entire life.

Saw VI (2009)

Oh Thank God...

[9/10 · 22 October 2009]

I remember that feeling i had when watching the first Saw movie. At first i walked in with the notion from the trailer that it was going to be some lame "torture" movie... I then remember walking out afterwards going "OMG...OMG....OMG..." When i first heard they were making a second one, i was extremely happy. Then i walked out of Saw 2 feeling empty.. like i had just watched a lame cash in sequel. For whatever reason i kept coming back.. Premiere day... I'd be there to watch the next one. Saw 3 i left feeling way better then the 2nd one.. The 4th one i remember walking out going "Wtf.. what a lame new jigsaw..". The 5th one i had the distinct thought "Omg.. that was just a total filler movie and nothing was gained from it..." Six i didn't exactly have high hopes for...

But Thank... GOD... Saw 6 is not only just a good sequel but its actual a great movie on its own. The moral dilemma William faces as part of "his" game throughout the movie... real powerful choices. The traps (as always..) gory as all hell.. but the emotion behind the decisions and ending of all the traps.. sends a shiver down my spine. And the ending twist AND scene... I wont spoil it but my GOD.. You thought agent Straham had a powerful will to live in that intro scene to 5, You ain't seen nothing yet.

Mainly though.. The story.. One thing this chronicle of the series does nicely as well, is tie up SO many questions that have been still hanging from way back to even Saw 3 (with a couple of new ones added just for the next ones..). I found that even though i thought 4 and 5 were average on their own... After seeing this one, it amplified and made them.. i don't know.. make sense.

Just like a jigsaw.. as each piece is layed down... the entire picture starts to make sense. Bring on Saw 7!!!!!

Saw V (2008)

Saw 5 - One pointless prologue to Saw 6.

[4/10 · 23 October 2008]

**Review Written With Possible Spoilers** So i just saw Saw 5. And how to sum it up.. I think my brother summed it up best as "One long ass prologue for Saw 6."

Now i remember the first saw being one of the best films I've ever seen. Saw 2 was a major let down to me.. it was just too random and didn't have the calculated brilliance of Saw 1. Saw 3, i actually didn't mind, just because i found it more interesting then Saw 2. Saw 4 was pushing it but i kept on watching just cause all the little questions that had built up over the series had to be answered otherwise i couldn't sleep at night..

So we come to Saw 5... And what HUGE revelation do we get in this movie? ...... Well... actually we don't get one. Oh sure there is the back story of how Hoffman became the new saw killer.. But its so cheesy that a 6th grader could've strung it all together. And the story isn't...well...Good... There is no twist (none... NONE..).. And the entire movie we just see an agent going from scene to scene of the old Jigsaw crimes.. and somehow imagining how they all happened... by just standing there (and self narrating the past events..). There is a sub plot involving a bunch of 5 other subjects.. but if you don't pick how that ends after jigsaws "i wanna play a game rant" Then you've obviously never watched a saw movie. (**major spoiler** -also the 5 people in that subplot game didn't seem to mind killing each other at any given chance as well.. Not to mention it was random as.. the literally just turn on each other without giving reason.. then at the end instead of killing each other they decide to work together... it didn't really fit with the characters that we had been shown through the movie... Im surprised that the guy didn't shove the girls arm into the trap after finding out she was the one who set him up for the murder of the 8 people.. He just goes "Its your fault I'm here... But hey.. lets work together... Umm... OK...).

OK.. So lets ignore the terrible story that doesn't go anywhere (not to mention the B grade acting..) So we come to the traps... Saw 3 + 4 mainly rode on the fact that the traps got more and more gore filled then the original first movies.. And that helped carry them a bit since the story was semi lacking... So I'm confused why every trap in this movie... Is... Well lame.. We see a guy get sliced in half lamely.. A girl lose her head.. Some dude blown away without seeing anything.. Girl stabbed in the neck.. and a couple of people bleed a little out of their arms (probably the most violent scene in the movie..) Maybe the other titles have desensitized me to gore and violence.. But it was all quite tame in comparison.

Plus the lame attempt to fill half the movie with Flashbacks just to have jigsaw in the movie (while its nice to see Mr Tobin again..) just seemed like a massive time filler... Which sums this movie up nicely. Its just a filler. No questions are answered in this one... Apparently there is some huge underlining plot that we still aren't privvy to because the producers want to milk it for all its worth for at least another sequel. And you know what.. I'll see the damn sequel just cos i want to see how the series ends.. Which we all know is going to end with Hoffman getting killed by Gordan who will be the final new Jigsaw. We all know thats where its heading.... ;)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008 Video Game)

The Perfect Metal Gear Experience

[9/10 · 16 June 2008]

Possible Spoilers.. I wont try to... but.. :P When i played the first metal gear game i was BLOWN away by the story. It was fantastic, engaging and the characters were all deep and interesting. The control scheme took some getting used to, but before long i was snapping necks/avoiding with the best of them.

Then i cranked MGS2. The games graphics and song grabbed me straight from the start. And although it took some getting used to not being snake, it was an improvement of the first game. Although getting used to the controls was still a bit clunky, you dealt with it cos each bit you made it through unlocked more story. The third one i avoided playing for AGES just cos i didn't like this whole idea of cameo and eating snakes etc.. But when i read who you played as.. I was curious so i cranked it up. Fell in love again with the characters (except Ocelot as a kid.. i mean come on...) But once again.. Controls were still a bit dodge.. To see people coming was always an annoying mix of toggling between views and crawling around.

And lets face it.. In all 3 games previous to 4 the combat had never been the strong suit. So how does 4 compare.

Like... WOW.. Thats all i can say. The title screen ended and i was like "Oh my god.. NO!! HE CANT!! NO!" Then i jumped into the game. After the intro where you can flick through different channels to see the state the world is in.. The game starts.. Graphics - Awesome.. But we all knew that. He hops out of the truck.. And WOW.. THIRD PERSON... Wait.. What? I can see around me.. WHAT THE HELL?!?! And oh my god.. Does this series benefit from the new control scheme.. You now can sneak, fight, run and hide like the snake you've always wanted to be.

At the inclusion of the Octo-Cameo.. I kind of figured at first, lame attempt to mimic the third one without actually changing the stuff in the screen.. Then i realized.. Wait a minute.. This is awesome.. Instead of mucking around in a menu screen for 10 minutes altering my cameo %, lay/push against the wall for 1 second.. bam.. instant cameo. It actually works (even though i know it sounds lame..( really well. Combat is now actually.. (how to put this..) well lets just say you feel like you can actually take on people now (even though you shouldn't be.. SNEAK DAMN YOU!). There's a few other things like the mark 2/3 (which i personally didn't use that much..), The snake eye (really useful binocular/night-vision/radar thing that looks more complicated then it is, learn to use it straight away). A crap load of guns to purchase and find as well... In terms of game play.. This is snake at his best. Anyone whose played and loved one of the others mgs games.. Will simply get goosebumps crawling through the jungle bit stopping at every change of ground to cameo yourself in.

The story? Im of two sides here.. I mean.. It definitely finishes EVERY loose mgs plot that the other games left open (and i mean EVERY..) and the story is epic and grand (although ill admit the music didn't have the same effect on me as the last three games.. gimme the sons of liberty song any day.. doo doo doooooo)But hideo could've easily split the story he put in this one over the course of two games and put in more stuff.. But thats just a fan boy whining cos its over. The ending was predictable to me and if you don't see it coming.. Then shame lol. But yeah.. I cant complain.. Cos i played the game nearly 11 hours straight to finish it up and 8 hours straight when i bought it. I suggest playing it on big boss or at least solid snake. But don't worry about value, you play through again.

So yeah.. Ignoring the gripe i had with the music and nagging "fill the story with EVERY character from the series.." it is definitely the ultimate MGS experience to play. And this will be the game that sells all the ps3s. So yeah... People that don't like this game cant really be called mgs fans, cos even ignoring the story (which is hard to do in this game..) and forgettable music of this particular title.. The game play and graphics are so damn hot you'd be mad to miss it. Also it wouldve been nice if you could choose to install the 20 gigs the game requires.. rather then having to re install it every time.

Enjoy your rest Snake. You've earned it.