placebotonic Reviews

Revolution (2012–2014)

waste of time

[3/10 · 24 April 2013]

The positive is interesting premise, camera work is great too, I guess.

The negative is mainly that it is insulting to viewer's intelligence. The main characters could easily be models, every young guy seems like they pulled him off some Calvin Klein's catalog and their acting supports that - it is distractingly bad, the script is paper thin, cliché'd, the order of the day is drama, drama, mystery, drama, drama, drama. Though they have been living with no electric appliances, soap and shampoo for years, their clothing is neat and spotless, looks ironed too. Their hair looks like it's been washed and styled today, in a salon. And right in the first episode, we meet the typical American holier-than-thou moral movie thinking: willing to risk everyone's lives to save one man from being, not killed, but just taken away, then in the process several people die.

Everyone looks quite well fed, but in 15 years with no electricity, tractors, fertilizers, herbicides and so on, the famine would kill most of the world's population,the rest would be in perpetual war over food. I don't imagine people looking anything but starved, surely nobody would look overweight. Without machinery, you need to spend most of your time working on fields to support yourself and things don't look that way.

The Intouchables (2011)

beautiful

[9/10 · 10 April 2012]

Before watching, my only expectation was, that it really is a comedy, not a drama with two laughs in it. Turns out, it was a comedy with very subtle touch of drama, it is a movie worth every second of your time... does it have flaws? I don't know, I was too busy enjoying every minute of it. Captivating actors, beautiful script and great sense of humor. This is one of those very rare movies that make a tiny change deep inside you and you'll know it happened when the movie is over. Watching this, you can laugh at a tetraplegic's shortcomings without feeling bad, because it is in absolutely good spirit, you can laugh at the serious things in life, because they can't kill you and somehow can always find a way to have some fun no matter what.

Life's Too Short (2011– )

Funny

[8/10 · 6 March 2012]

It is said the comedy is only funny if the character doesn't "know" he's in a comedy, and Warwick is taking his life really seriously. Utterly desperate for attention, of any kind, he's getting through from day to day, actually broke but pretending to be well off. His "fame" is far in the past, he's out of work, nobody really wants anything to do with him, but he doesn't give up. He's trying to present himself as an important celebrity, or a successful womanizer, but his constructs fail comically.

While other reviewers see a strong connection with The office, I see none, other than they both belong to the same genre. The scripting and the idea of the show are original. Funnier than The office too.

The Sitter (2011)

underrated

[2 March 2012]

You know what this movie is about and I'm not going to go there. What I will tell you is that the movie is better than 5.5/10 it's got now, you just need to watch it relaxed, don't expect it to be a masterpiece, take it as a fun, comedy flick which exaggerates, but not the Rob Schneider kind of way, his movies are painful to watch, this one is simply entertaining. But what about the flaws you say? Oh, it's got many, probably too many to list, but now that I've watched it, I probably couldn't name you three but I could describe you three scenes I laughed most at.

Is it harsh to rate kids' performances? Anyway, they were not at all bad, in my opinion, they were better than that kid in high-praised Hugo.

Terra Nova (I) (2011)

Not quite as good as I hoped

[25 October 2011]

Recognizing the huge potential of the series, I obviously expected this to be awesome, alas no. The first slap in the face was when I realized that a lot of the acting is noticeably, and annoyingly bad, may have also got something to do with directing. The script is often uncomfortably corny and just too unrealistic, plus I have a notion they are copycating the Lost's two camps, the other being "the others" and here they are called "the sixers", both appear pretty Robinson Crusoey. But hey, everyone's copying everyone else these days, right? But, they bring nothing good to the table. Smashing Avatar, Robinson Crusoe, Lost and Star trek's high tech, and tossing in some willing participants is not exactly a recipe for success. Everything on screen has to be more than just passable. But this.. 10000 people are not wrong, we've graded it quite right. It's passable, nothing more.

Attack the Block (2011)

Lowlife teenage scumbags vs. aliens

[15 September 2011]

Meet our heroes: a group of teenage scumbags, who wander about the streets at night, preying on people who they then attack and rob so we see them on an ordinary evening and witness them robbing a girl and a guy even pulls a knife on her in the process, because she cannot pull the ring off her finger fast enough. People like that do not strike me as particularly brave, intelligent, or honorable, but then some fierce creature slams into a nearby car and then runs, they pursue it, follow it in a dark, small space and kill it. In reality, they would simply watch from distance or run. Anyway, the viewer is expected to identify with those guys, and get this "nice to be under the dragon's wing" feeling. But they are thugs... who would not think twice for beating you for a few bank notes and a cell phone, that is, if the number of them vs. you is at least 5:1. How. Am. I. Supposed. To. Like. Them. Ever. For me the movie ends right there, when I realize what it's really about. That there is no one else, that they are it. Our heroes.

The Expendables (2010)

Action action action!!!

[6/10 · 30 August 2010]

The cast is mind blowing, it's a collection of most well known action heroes and some villains. Like a high school reunion. I was really excited to see this one, it couldn't possibly be bad, could it? To tell you the truth, it's probably impossible not to enjoy this movie, still, considering the flaws, I find the current rating 7.4 too generous.

It seems The expendables is like a meal consisting of 10% food and 90% spices. The "action heroes" are strong spices, that usually don't mix well together, some fade in light of the others. Jet Li was virtually invisible, despite the screen time and seemed weak.

Some of the roles of the characters are really difficult to understand. The general's for instance. It's almost as if the whole script was made of action and THEN, they put in some reasons why someone shoots someone, it didn't really matter if it makes sense because, boom, boom, whoa, different scene, boom, you still follow? It seemed too obvious that some action scenes were sped up, played faster... very old school, very obvious.

It's entertaining, so go see it. But don't think while you're watching.

Top Shot (2010–2013)

Reality show about shooting

[17 August 2010]

I expected so much more from this show, I expected it to be a competition, the best shooter wins, you know, like Olympics, or soccer or any other sport. Sadly, it is much more a show than a competition. Regardless of what I just said, I would still love it, if the director, or creators, would change one element. A very crucial one.

There is probably no way that one could make shooting seem more show like, any more movie like than those people did. I felt like watching a sports movie, with lots of cuts and you don't really get the whole picture, basically just snaps, tension, result and comments. I understand the reverse of that would mean a dry show, but they didn't need to go so far. Let me give you an example: two competitors are shooting steel plates at the same time, the camera pans from one guy, to the other guy, to the targets being hit, then cue a slow-motion shot, then randomly mix all of those and repeat. It is impossible to follow or know what is happening just from watching, you see a guys face, hear a shot, and you hear the host saying: it's a hit! If you saw the show, do you really find this appealing? No, I didn't think you did.

Would it not make 10 times more sense to just point the camera at the targets and leave it there, while shooting is in progress, listen to comments and see what's happening in real time? The archery and the knife throwing are unbelievably unrealistic. And if I forgave the bow and arrow.. - how do you shoot a knife? I know, with a GUN! I don't want to see the next season.

Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

It's a bubbly crime soap

[6/10 · 30 May 2010]

I've started watching this because some people suggested it's the next best thing to Lost, but I was slightly intrigued how big a difference between the quality of the two really is. I'm not saying Breaking Bad is not good, I'm saying it's just not that good. The acting of most lead actors is great, chemistry between them is nothing to complain about, it's just that the show won't nail you to your seat. It goes from fast paced criminal action of Walt killing a drug dealer to long talks of his wife about one boring thing to another. You could basically condense the show to the half of it's runtime without losing any relevant information. It's not that there isn't much going on, it's just that it's a talkie, it's about resolving issues, new issues popping up, resolving some older issues, something happens, resolve some more issues, come to a dead end, resolve other issues. I feel cheated. I was promised a show with a chemistry professor becoming criminal, but I got a show in which as we learn, everybody has issues. It's tough to watch sometimes, so sometimes I skip through bits. Mostly those including Skyler. That shouldn't happen - I never, not in a single episode, skipped bits of Lost.

I would recommend this show to... people who like talk shows like Oprah, who like shows like Sex and the city or Desperate housewives. Breaking bad is packed with dialog and relationship related issues.

The Road (I) (2009)

Drags itself along the road

[10 January 2010]

I had such high hopes for this one, post apocalyptic stuff, great cast... But then there was a problem - the corner stones of the whole movie are suspense, feeling of constant danger, the horror of solitude, of grayness, lack of sun, food, clothes, joy and laughter so there will probably be nothing that brings a smile to your face.

The road reminds me of a special type of psycho thrillers, in which the director doesn't appear to watch the time, where a closeup of someones eyes can take up to two minutes, just for the sake of suspense. Does it work? Maybe sometimes it does, but here, what's too much is too much, and the movie is boring, no... not just boring, it drags, it's legs are broken and it drags them and itself along the road, inch after painful inch. The beginning is ugly, the middle is a pain and the ending is just not enough. It's simply no fun to watch.

Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009 Video)

Uninspiring

[5/10 · 27 April 2009]

It seemed like it's a good movie at the start there, but then I realized that the basic premise is so deeply flawed it is insulting to my intelligence. So 'death' is physically incarnated in quasi living people, walking around asking other people to check the names of those they are about to reap. Is this Mr. Smith? Do you know where he is? Are you Mr. Smith? Mr. Smith!!?? Oh and they get the name of the person about to die via the cell phone. I don't think I've ever seen death depicted as so powerless. It has to run and touch someone if it wants them to die. The ones being 'employed' as death also retain all the memories of their past life, and get to solve their ex family problems.

The acting itself wasn't so bad, but the movie as a whole.. very pale, the pace keeps changing and it's got TV written all over it, it never got even close to sucking me in, just way too many disturbing elements.

I was trying to think of a reason for you to watch it and I can't find one. You should probably stay away from it.

The Net (2003)

Pulls the cover from our eyes

[8/10 · 4 March 2009]

This documentary nailed me to the seat, because it explores the social links with great care and shows just enough for me to get the big picture. Kaczynski, no matter what you think of him, no matter what his victims think of him, has a very, very valid point. Philosophically, his goal could only have been to deconstruct society, make the links fluid, then reconstruct it in another way. It is only sad that he thought he had the power to do so, since the society, the whole world works in a uniform way, we are all, with very few exceptions driven by instinct through mind to obtain wealth, status, partner, family, luxury, security, and this is intertwined in such a way, that the common denominator is simply: mo'better. More and better, more of better, better and more of it. This inevitably means that everyone will be inclined to actively and passively seek shortcuts, most come by means of new inventions, technology. This is the driving force behind technology and an individual, or even a group of individuals, cannot possibly challenge that. It strikes me a bit odd that one of Kaczynski's victims dismissed his theories simply because he is a murderer. The difference between him and a soldier who kills is that the soldier has a mandate from the state to do so. Both are widow/orphan makers, but only one was allowed by the state to do so. Is he therefore not a murderer simply because the state allowed him to kill?

A historic fact is that former USSR and Nazi Germany were quite equal in ideology, but the reason we don't hear that is because Russia has been too powerful to be challenged like that. Because of politics, Russian holocaust of Ukrainians, for instance, was overlooked. It's the state that decides what you may do, what you may know. You see, things aren't always black or white and this movie is trying to show just that.

If you're thinking about the world, where we're going and just want your eyes to be able to perceive more, watch this documentary.

Punisher: War Zone (2008)

Somewhat entertaining

[5/10 · 21 February 2009]

Very early into the movie I realized this movie was going to have some serious issues. The accents are quite horrible, the old mafia boss's American-English dialect and especially Italian really insulted my intelligence. "Jigsaw" uses an accent that doesn't exist, though I've heard something similar before, it's like Sopranospeek, but strongly exaggerated and four times as arrogant. You think maybe I'm overly sensitive about this, but they talk plenty in this one, and it's annoying throughout. Some of the acting is disturbingly over the top.

This is a pretty pure action movie, so it is understandable that most of the characters are one dimensional. The storyline is nothing you haven't seen before, the screenplay is actually pretty good, the DOP did a great job, but that's pretty much all that is good and it's thoroughly spoiled by bad, bad acting all around, plus, the lead actor simply doesn't radiate the charisma he ought to.

In essence, this movie is good to watch in good company, as long as you don't have too high expectations.

P.S. Oh god, now I have brains splattered all over me.

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007)

A cinematic mess

[3/10 · 9 January 2009]

I wanted to like this movie, not in a wow kind of way, but in a hey at least it's entertaining kind of way. I failed. Watching it, I was growingly irritated, it was pathetic, acting was pathetic, the script was pathetic, and directing... It is said that the director can bring out the best from the actors and this movie is a living proof that the opposite stands true also. Ray Liota was unrecognizable as was Ron Pearlman and Leelee Sobieski, while Jason Stantham was quite fine, because he apparently understood the movie as being an action movie, the rest of the characters think they're in some Shakesperean play.

It appears the movie has an identity chrisis, it is very very far from being fluent, there are scenes that leave you in utter disbelief, or you have no idea why something happened, or you just saw something that is obviously impossible and then there are plenty of nice, likable, almost perfect scenes. Without thinking hard, it's tough to say why this movie is so bad, it's almost as if the director was cursed, unable to produce one single movie worth watching, like he was Ed Wood.

I couldn't recommend watching it...

My Name Is Earl (2005–2009)

Brilliant idea spoiled by bad acting

[3/10 · 7 October 2008]

After I couldn't ignore the hype about the show, I started watching season one and it struck me as really good and I was hooked.... for about 5 episodes, then it started to spiral downwards. Why? First, Ethan Suplee is scripted to act as a complete idiot confirming that very obviously by spewing out semi-random stuff in great expectations of it somehow becoming the next best joke.

Jaime Pressly's got stunning looks, but if she thinks stretching lips to explore parts of the face to which they normally never go to and making strange grimaces to accentuate everything she says is hilarious, she's way off track. Maybe she thought her character would be too flat, faded and she wanted to make it colorful and spicy, but made a flood of colors, overkill of spices and screams out loud for attention and it hurts my eyes, ears and intellect.

I really, really wanted to love this show, like I said, the premise is great, (comes from the same shelf as The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain) and Jason Lee is doing a pretty good job here, along with some of the other actors but there is no way no how I would get 'sucked in' and forget that this is just a show, because Pressly's and Suplee's surreal, extreme characters abruptly wake me when they show up. It's worth to note that their characters and acting would be fine if this wasn't a 70 something-part series and if they didn't get that much screen time.

Minuscule (2006– )

Animated zen concentrate that brings out the child in you

[10/10 · 22 July 2008]

First of all, 10 is the highest grade here, and it is impossible to grade this piece higher, but also impossible to rate it lower. Why? It has a certain something, it tells you what it's got without words, you understand everything because at some point of your life you were in a similar situation and probably only know in retrospect what evil little things you could have done to get the satisfaction you never did. Watching this will filter out all the 'real world' out of you and essentially you become a child. You understand, but more emotionally than rationally, twists - sometimes incredibly simple - surprise you, but never leave you hunger for something more, like after watching some high profile Oscar-material drama.

Those cartoons give you inner peace and happiness that very very few other movies can, it's for all ages and you can look at it from different perspectives.

Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)

Captivating

[10/10 · 14 March 2008]

This is one of "those" movies. You know the kind - like a catchy tune the vibe of this movie stays in your head... the movie had all the chances in the world to be depressing, but it was far from it, there are only a few drama elements and the title is not deceiving, it truly is a love story and a beautiful one at that and also threaded with great humor, when I laughed, I laughed hard. And I would probably cry if the ending was any different.

I won't go into possibilities and impossibilities of metaphysical, because that's absolutely not what this story is about; purgatory, if you will, is only the stage, where the romantic play is performed, with that, it's innovative though actually daring, as it was probably obvious the box office would never explode from what 'Wristcutters' would make. In my opinion, the movie is so well made it would have been great even if it was stripped of suicide thing and it was just a plain love story. Oh and Shannyn Sossamon was so convincing, I think I'm in love with her now. ;)

Last Hour (2008)

Unwatchable

[1/10 · 13 March 2008]

The cast seemed good, Michael Madsen, David Carradine, DMX... so the movie should be at least entertaining if not excellent, right? Couldn't be further from the truth.

The movie is as if it was patched, nay, slammed together with pieces that don't precisely fit. Add the complete lack of chemistry between actors/characters (as if they were shot individually in front of a green screen), and exaggerated, twitchy, uncommon reactions, and immense effort needed to follow what's even going on in the movie and equally as immense effort to keep watching and you get a movie nobody wants to see without having some sort of a weapon pointed to them. Some performances are spectacularly bad, not even B production class, something like high school play's rough draft.

Pascal Caubet: please stop making movies.

Sound department kids: did you even listen to what you've made?? If you wanted to make it sound like a 40 year old Sergio Leone movie, you succeeded, otherwise you failed like a spam commercial.

Carradine, DMX and Madsen: learn to recognize bad scripts? Also, never trust the French.

Day of the Dead (2008 Video)

Dreadful

[4/10 · 18 February 2008]

Let's talk about the good things first: the director of photography did a great job, special effects guys did a great job... well, that's about it.

I found that a very annoying thing in this movie is that gunshots sound as if a silencer was used, it just doesn't sound right. Screenplay is threaded with deja-vu's, they use almost every "trick" in the book, that has been used ad nauseam already and they aren't even trying to invent new ways of selling it. Oh wait, "zombie love" actually IS something new, but trust me, it's not as exciting as it might sound. The acting was sub-average on most part, but often it was interrupted by Razzie award kind of acting, except the actors whom I'd nominate, wouldn't actually get a Razzie, because they suck too much to ever make a career to which a Razzie could make a dent. I mean, why kick a dead horse? There are exceptions in this movie though, but very rare and their attempt to rise the quality of the movie equals the attempt to improve the taste of rotten egg pancake by spreading chocolate and honey on it. Sounds better, but it's still completely revolting.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who intends to half-watch it. You know what I mean, watch it with a boy/girlfriend. I guarantee it will eventually redirect your/his/her attention away from the screen. For this alone, it gets a 4.

The Secret (2006 Video)

Eye opening

[9/10 · 6 January 2008]

Occasionally I buy a book that helps you advance your knowledge to aid you in everyday life and the reviews I read are always - it's a good book, great book, wonderfully written, humorous, etc. etc. but they never say what I really wanted to hear: it works. It helped me. It made me move. It will help you too.

While watching this movie, I felt like the pieces of the puzzle I've known for a long time are all falling together and in the end I could finally see the whole picture, lucidly. I have a good BS detector and it perhaps went off once during the whole move, so nothing to worry about.

It deserves more than 50% rating at least because it's absolutely benevolent; how can anything bad result from so much positive attitude? If you always keep a smile on your face, not only will you be happier, but people around you will be happier because of you, and in return they'll make you happy and all will be well. Well, not always, but you get the idea. If someone bumps into you you can respond by barking a snappy remark without even looking at them - or smile and say something funny... Multiply this with various situations in an everyday life and you'll get the number of people that got to hate you just a little because you made them feel bad or got to love you just a little because you made them feel good. One of those could be your future wife, your future best friend, or just a stranger who will carry a bit of this goodwill and pass it on to someone else... Is this a bad theory?

Reign Over Me (2007)

Let the sorrow out

[9/10 · 24 August 2007]

First of all let me tell you I was stunned by the actors' performance, and though I imagine there are better combinations, I think Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle are great together, who would have thought? Actors playing the little roles, were nothing short of excellent, too. I appreciated Donald Sutherland, thank you, nice touch. Also, you know how some movies present some femme fatale, but she actually doesn't quite look like that and it kind of pulls you out of the movie? Well, this time casting director gave us Saffron Burrows... let's just say she convinced me.

The movie literally nailed me to my seat, it's filled with sadness and some insane instability, like when you're looking at a nervous guy standing in front of you and when he turns to you you don't know if he's going to tell you something or punch you in the face. This guy in the movie, is luckily less of a face puncher and more of a teller and the whole story (also the parallel story) has a slow, but very strong positive spin. Yes, you've lost everything, you've lost your world that was so perfect, you think it would be insane, to even imagine you could ever come close to it again. So you make yourself forget. Who hasn't done this? I know I have. I haven't had any post traumatic stress, but I did get my heart broke, and while pale in comparison, it's at least comparable, so I felt with Charlie, I understood where this came from, how he buried the pain and how this pain is leaking, manifesting itself in ways that lead Charlie over the Cuckoo's nest.

Sometimes dramas leave me sad and depressed afterwards, while this one only appears to be a drama, it doesn't want to be a drama, it wants to be happy and it's trying, really trying to find the way to the sun. The way the story is built, it leads us out of the freezing cold of Charlie's world and out of sterile, partially fake Johnson's life, which seems so perfect it's making him uncomfortable. It's a fine contrast, but on one level, they're both the same, they're both closed up, then because of each other's influence and impact, they grow out of their self built prisons.

Reign over me is beautifully directed and scripted, wonderfully acted and under the line, absolutely worth watching.

Senseless (1998)

An insult to the viewers intelligence

[3/10 · 20 August 2007]

When I'm running out of DVD's to watch, I'm kind of ready to watch anything, so last night, this was it. IMDb score was decent enough, but it was obvious to me I wasn't going to get awed by the movie.

Senseless is a comedy where the characters KNOW they're in a comedy and would do anything to get a laugh, which means, follow every cliché in history of comedy and exploit it until there's only some dust left. The plot is utterly predictable, Marlon Wayans does not understand the concept of the funny, or the concept of acting. Sure, you have to cut some slack to a comedy, you know, laws of physics do not necessarily apply, people are overly goofy, but seriously, if someone acted like the extreme non plus ultra overboard character of Marlon Wayans in real life, it would take less than a day for him to land in an insane asylum. I don't think this movie could possibly be parodied, unless the character would grimace through 100 percent of the movie, not just 95. Also, no disrespect to the actress, but I could not understand the Darryl's shock when he first saw his 'dream girl'. I just thought, wait, what, THIS girl took his breath away? In a university campus virtually littered with pretty girls? Uh... yeah... right, also, the chemical lab is full of bubbling glow-in-the-dark colored liquids, fumes, plus the stereotypical chemyst? It's like this movie was made by two screenplay writers and two directors, one team worked on making this movie for 4 year old kids, the other team worked on making it for 16+ kids and adults, then they put it in a blender, drank it, and vomited this movie.

I know, it's far easier to make a good drama, than a good comedy movie, but this piece... not just didn't make me laugh, it made me uncomfortable, irritated, nervous and angry, I felt insulted and violated. I know of no other movie that even came close to this and for achieving this, it gets a 3 instead of 1.

If you have a choice to watch this movie or stare at the ceiling, I recommend the ceiling.

The Protector (2005)

Action is great, the rest not so much

[5/10 · 25 February 2006]

The movie's plot is, well, like it's from another dimension (which is Thailand), going after the elephant. There are things in the story that are simply unclear or haven't been explained well enough so there would be a more or less fluent storyline. I understand this is difficult to make in an action movie, but why also make characters absolutely one dimensional and undeveloped? I really hated the "chief police angry with good cop" cliché and a bunch of other clichés. Plus, of 100 or so bodyguards and other bad guys, how come nobody carries a gun except Johnny, and the police?? What's up with in line skaters, bmx bikers and motorcyclists chasing Kham? Done with them? Time to face the boss - mr. Quad and then up to the next level.

The scene where Kham ties the bones of the elephant to his hands (how was there enough time to do that???) the bones are obviously not as heavy as they ought to be and if they were, his hand movement would have to be considerably slower and there is also a thing called torque, not to mention limited muscle power. Okay, so it is an action move, exaggerating a lot, sure. But, a large bodybuilder breaks off statue's head that should weigh... far too much (I bet robocop couldn't do that), and throw it at Khan, who blocks it with elephant bones and TURNS IT TO DUST??? This went a bit over the top, seriously. Some acting is excessively bad, reminds me of 7 samurai's peasants acting; exaggerated mimics, some actors tried too hard to signal to the viewer of how completely and utterly evil they are. Or is that a thing of eastern movies? I can't tell.

On the other hand, despite the feeling of deja-vu in many many scenes I think it's been presented in a different way; if Hollywood made this, it would probably be beaten, bruised and buried by the critics, but this is Thai movie and it is made the Thai way, old ideas but in fresher packages. The fight scenes are some of the best (if not the best) I've ever seen and overall, I HAVE been entertained and I guess that's what's important.

Renegade (2004)

Anything but a classic western

[3/10 · 20 November 2005]

The movie lacks credibility and likes to go from lightspeed to slugspeed pace. I admit this is so far the only DVD movie I kept on using the fast forward / 1.5x or even 4.0x speed feature in my player. Even during some of the incredibly slow paced dialogues or similar. I find the acting of several actors in this movie unbearable, they simply couldn't pick a more inappropriate Mike than Vincent Cassel, oh, maybe they could - Arnold Schwarzenegger. But I guess he would decline as well, since he's kinda busy. Can you imagine Indiana Jones with a Russian accent, or Superman with a Mexican accent? Well, apparently Mike here, has lived all his life in the USA, learned to speak this Indian language but he couldn't shake off his francophone accent when speaking English??? But he tried, really, I could hear some disturbingly hilarious attempts of sounding like a southerner. Sorry, I don't believe you, Vincent, you never convinced me. Some of the actors also sounded like they have french accents in which they spoke as if their voices had been dubbed over.

Michael Madsen.. well, is Michael Madsen strong character but he's always a strong character and in that - average, what can I say. Juliette Lewis is pretty much as good as always and in this movie she stands out with her performance.

The plot is pretty cliché, girl gets killed, man seeks revenge. When he gets so far, he realizes how terribly wrong he was. But that is all that is clear. Was Mike sort of adopted by the Indians? What did he actually DO there? How in the world did he become the local sheriff? What's the deal with the map, who started this and how does Wally know about it? If he always knew the map existed, why didn't he look it up before? Does Wally die in the end? If so, why? There are many unanswered questions in this story, but that is not the point, I don't mind SOME of the questions being unanswered, but I do mind holes in the plot line and if I can't believe the movie, if it doesn't "suck me in" it's worthless. It was like the director, the cameras and the crew were right there and from time to time someone would shout "CUT!! Well done! 15 minutes coffee break."

The visual effects were just too much. Tons of centipedes, snakes and dragons on one hand and light and morphing fractals on the other but dear god, why did I have to watch this for minutes that were like hours.

Personally, I think this film had a lot of potential, but the screenplay would have to be improved by a really fair margin, half the crew should be replaced, and the director, definitely. It does not surprise me that Val Kilmer, Willem Dafoe and Benicio del Toro declined. Trust me, Val Kilmer would have totally taken this role if it had a GOOD script. I said it before and I'll say it again: it doesn't, it is utterly bad, the movie made me angry, I want my money back.