Change Your Image
Andriyko3
Reviews
Tau (2018)
A pleasant AI sci-fi film
Let's start off by saying, I think this film deserves a bit higher of a rating than it has. If you really care about aesthetics in a movie, you will really like this. The set design is just great, the camera work is done very thoughtfully and the colors used in every scene make the film beautiful to watch.
Now let's get into the nitty gritty, what's wrong with it? Well for starters, the writing isn't as deep as it could be. It doesn't really go that far into the ramifications of producing an AI with sentience or awareness of emotions. It dips its feet into the water, even swims around a little bit, but it could be so much better if it went for a dive into this newly emerging subgenre. Another problem I had with it was the scripting. One minute the antagonist is a complete psycho, the next minute he's having a benign, light-hearted talk with the protagonist, and the next minute he's threatening to murder her. No, it's not because he's crazy, and if that was the explanation it could have been revealed through better scripting. It was just a bit of lazy writing when it came to the characters. The writers should have done a better job at showing the audience who these characters really are.
I really disagree with the notion that this movie just for "passing time". Yes it is not a cinematic masterpiece, but it is very pleasant to the eyes and has its own story to tell. I wish that the director and writers could have cooperated more to make this movie into the serious sci-fi film that it could be, but it is nonetheless enjoyable to watch.
The Beast (1988)
What a shame that such a great movie is so obscure!
When I read the synopsis for this movie I was instantly intrigued. I've never watched a war movie about the Soviets in Afghanistan before, and this was not a let down! It is shot very well, the camera work is just splendid especially when you consider it was made 30 years ago.
The footage has this very raw feel to it, making you feel as if you're really there, in the midst of the hellish Soviet war in Afghanistan. The actors all give great performances, especially Jason Patric who plays the protagonist and George Dzundza who plays the twisted commander that leads the tank crew. It is simply engaging, entertaining, tasteful and well-scripted. My favorite part of it is that it gives you some insight into the Afghan side of things, which I've never seen a movie do before. It shows the tank crew as simply soldiers following orders; the movie depicts the barbarity of war without antagonizing either side. The actions of the commander are what darken the audience's view of things, not the actions of the Soviets as a whole. This is important as it shows the directors intent of telling a story, instead of selling an ideology. All in all I really liked it. Great cinematography, great scripting, AWESOME PRACTICAL EFFECTS and sublime acting from the whole cast. I highly recommend this one to anyone in the mood for a war movie.
Shortwave (2016)
A short film padded up to feature length
This seems exactly like a student film trying to pass as a full length film just to serve as some guys' thesis work. The core idea behind it is actually cool, and if this movie was given the proper hard work and love it needed, it could've been something genuinely worth watching.
As it stands, it is simply a soft sci-fi short film that has been padded with an inexcusably large number of meaningless montages. You get a little bit of story, then a bunch of shots of the lead actress in her underwear, or some blurry flashbacks that contribute nothing to the story. It has some good shots, the acting is passable, but the audio design is glaringly bad. You should never be questioning the music choice while watching a movie, but they seem to have had no idea how to enhance the mood of a scene using an apropos soundtrack.
This movie just makes me sad, not because of the story, but because it is just full of wasted potential. Actors who seemed to really be trying, a story that really could have entertained and added something new to the genre, cinematography that was visually appealing but totally out of place. I hope the director of this film learns from it, and next time tries to put everything he can into making the movie a high quality production. A low budget is no excuse! With a good idea, good music choice, decent actors and careful cinematography, even a low budget film like this could be a great watch. Sadly, this didn't meet the criteria of something I would call entertaining.