Hello, cinema fans. Let's talk about one of the most underrated and forgotten classics of the science fiction genre. A mix of military action and humor that gave birth to a highly criticized franchise within the industry. But the nostalgia and memories that this work offers are the reason why I'm bringing it to you today. This film is directed by Roland Emmerich (the same director of Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012). It also stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. Discover one of those films that were part of a great era.

Plot

The film begins with what appears to be the Vietnamese jungle on a rainy night, with a soldier running for his life. One of his comrades stops him and asks what happened to the rest of the platoon, to which he replies that they have all been killed by their own sergeant. Soldier Luc Deveraux goes to the village where they were stationed to find the bodies of his comrades and Sergeant Andrew Scott making a necklace out of severed ears. Luc says he wants to go home, but Andrew accuses him of being a traitor like the others and orders him to shoot a couple they have imprisoned. He refuses, causing the couple to be killed by the sergeant and then killed each other.

However, instead of telling the world what happened in that village, the US Army decides to classify this as "missing in action". Later, the bodies of the sergeant and soldier Deveraux are taken away on ice to carry out a secret experiment in body reanimation. This project is called Universal Soldier and, decades later, is run illegally by a small group of scientists and soldiers. This elite squad, made up of soldiers killed in war, is used to carry out dangerous missions such as terrorist attacks.

Trailer & Review

Here is the trailer for the movie:

Undoubtedly, this is one of the films I remember most when names like Jean-Claude Van Damme come to mind, for example. And not because it is popular among the wide repertoire of action films he has worked on, but because of how nostalgic it became for me when I saw it as a kid. However, beyond being a simple classic from the 90s, Universal Soldier is nothing more than a failed attempt to recreate the famous success that Terminator had at the time. Of course, with the only difference being that, in this case, it's not robots coming from the future, but genetically reanimated soldiers.

While the premise was appealing at first, the execution never quite delivered the expected result. Even so, this first installment was a box office success, which doesn't surprise me at all given that it was directed by the great Roland Emmerich (although this is by far his best film) and starred two of the greatest action actors of the time. But if we look at the script, the story, and the characters themselves, there are so many details to mention that I would simply end up giving it a terrible rating in the end. I remember very well how one of the sequels to this film was repeated so often on television that it was difficult not to watch it because of how entertaining it is, but not in a good way.

Let's just say that this sequel surpassed the first film only in the absurdity of its plot and character development. In the end, the failure of this film and other subsequent sequels completely wiped out the franchise. Now it is only remembered as a classic action and science fiction film that went nowhere, beyond entertaining with the same old stuff found in any american film. As I said at the beginning, I'm only bringing you this film because of nostalgia and its plot, nothing else. Because it doesn't have much else to offer, beyond a brutal antagonist like Andrew Scott (played by Dolph Lundgren) and Van Damme's incredible action scenes, of course.

But if we look at the story, there are details that become somewhat absurd, such as the theme of body reanimation. This is barely explained in the film in a rather vague way—in my opinion—which is not at all convincing and borders more on fiction. This would be the only thing, since the rest is pure, hard action typical of the time. On the other hand, we have the main characters, such as Luc Deveraux (played by Jean-Claude Van Damme), who seems to be the younger, dumb brother of the Terminator. Both his personality and his acting leave a lot to be desired, to be honest. The only thing he excels at is the action scenes, and that's it.

Meanwhile, in the case of the aforementioned Andrew Scott, I think Lundgren does an excellent job of playing the role of a maniacal killer and ear collector. I don't know if it's because at that time I only saw him in villain roles (as was the case in the Rocky movies) or simply because the role suits him well. Other than that, I don't have much else to say about the performances of the other characters, apart from the mediocre doctors and the annoying ex-reporter who only serves as the typical supporting role. But that's not all, as the film fails not only in terms of its characters.

There's also the script and the absurd number of clichés in this film. Most of these details are seen at the end, in the third act, in particular. Moments when logic completely escapes the screen just to give us action scenes and explosions for no reason. Dramatic twists that are simply unnecessary. Double entendres and awkward moments that only serve to provide fan service. And let's not forget the inexplicable moment when everything went down the drain because we believed that a certain character had died when in fact he never did. The latter was just to give the story a more dramatic ending.

Honestly, I'm not saying that all of this is wrong in this movie, at least not if you're just looking to be entertained by watching your favorite action movie star fight and kick ass. Because if you're looking for logic or meaning in the story and some of its details, then you're better off forgetting about it and saving yourself the headache. In the end, these types of movies become famous simply because they are a repertoire of clichés with endless action sequences, low-budget explosions, and plots with superficial characters and not much to tell. You know, those Hollywood movies that abound today.

Last but not least, let's talk about the audiovisual aspect of this film. With such a low budget, it's to be expected that we'll see a lot of practical effects. There's almost no CGI, which is a positive thing. Likewise, both the plot and the script of the film don't point to many magnificent scenes, far from it. The style of photography, moving cameras, and transitions are typical of any action movie of the time. The sound effects are fine, but nothing like the movie's soundtrack, which, from time to time, can be quite impressive. As I said, this is a movie that is only good for switching off your mind and entertaining yourself.

Personally, I give it a rating of 6.5/10 in terms of the action and science fiction genre.

Tell me, have you seen the movie yet? What did you think of it? You can leave me your answer in a comment.

Dime, ¿ya has visto la película? ¿Qué te ha parecido? Puedes dejarme tu respuesta en un comentario.

All the best.

By: Nattosheru.

it’s the Korean fantasy-action series “Twelve” (트웰브). I did not think Twelve would appeal to me as much as it did when I was watching it. I was afraid it would be another colorful fantasy-action film, but the manner in which it incorporates myth, grit, and bare human burden impressed me even after the end-credits. It was not only the spectacle- the fights and the visuals were crazy, but it was the small moments that got under my skin.

There is this opening scene when Tae-san, the tiger amongst angels, moves through the city as a man who is burdened with centuries of battles. He does not say much, but you can feel the fatigue in him, that heavy kind of silence which tells you that he has lost more than he will ever admit. And when he gazes at the mural of the fallen four--the ones that sacrificed all to entomb the darkness--you could nearly hear the whispers of the ghosts around him. That scene slapped me in the face Not that it was dramatic, but that his guilt was eating him alive.

What confused me was the coming back of O-gwi. Park Hyung-sik portrays him in this dark and cold manner as someone who smiles before he kicks you out in the dark. There is the scene where he finds himself in a busy street in contemporary Seoul and nobody notices that he is there, but somehow it feels like Seoul is aware that evil is passing through it. I remember being there with a racing heart even though nothing very big was on the screen. It was nothing more than his presence, his stillness, the way the camera lingered on his eyes which made me feel that something dreadful is about to engulf everything.

There is Won-seung, the monkey, spouting off with the sharpest lines and the slyest grins as though he is too smart for himself. He even made me laugh at something that I did not anticipate. There is one moment when the angels are debating whether they should even be in this fight anymore and he makes this half-serious/half-sarcastic remark that broke the tension and it felt like you were watching old friends argue at a bar as opposed to warriors deciding the fate of the world. I needed that laugh because the entire climate was so serious.

But the scene that cut me to the quick was when the angels fell down under the storm--their powers blazing like real constellations--and you felt in their faces the burden of what was coming. It was not only about overcoming some evil power, it was about accepting the fact that not everyone would walk away. My chest tightened up It made me think of that awful sinking feeling you get when you realize the night out with your mates could be the last time that group will ever be complete. That combination of love and dread and inevitability broke me open.

At least by the end I was not considering the CGI or the epicness of the battles. What I remembered was the sadness in the eyes of Tae-san, the sharpness of the smile of O-gwi, the hints of humor that made humans seem so vulnerable even when they are trying to play deities. Twelve was not only entertaining but it left me with a sense of being haunted as I felt, I had touched something bigger than myself. And perhaps that is why I keep having it replaying in my head.

Thumbnail is designed by me on pixelLab and other images are screenshot from the movie

Dales una moneda de oro y se alegrarán. Dales una de cartón, y te clavarán los dientes...

HBO arriesgó su pellejo con la puesta en marcha de una serie basada en un videojuego, en tiempos en los que las adaptaciones suelen ser más acribilladas que alabadas por los públicos enardecidos. The Last of Us fue una de esas franquicias jugables que encendió la mecha y elevó los dólares, con una aclamación que le costó la fama mundial y, posteriormente, el fracaso y el repudio. Algo no entendieron los productores de dicho videojuego: un fan espera que su historia favorita siempre vaya a mejor, no peor. Hazlos enojar, y será tu fin.

Cuando se adaptó el videojuego y HBO dio a luz a una serie de televisión con ligeros cambios hacia la inclusión racial, muchos (incluyéndome) tuvimos miedo. Ver a una Sarah interpretada por Nico Parker fue algo que me sorprendió, sobre todo porque el aspecto de dicho personaje en el videojuego es muy diferente. Sin embargo, admito que el guión fue tan bueno, y el despliegue en escena tan limpio, que esos detalles pasaron (al menos para mí) desapercibidos.

Supuse que la incorporación de Bella Ramsey era más por el impacto que dejó en su actuación en Game of Thrones. No creí que, tiempo después, la actriz fuera víctima de tantas críticas por sus rasgos faciales, además de su incompatibilidad física con la Ellie del videojuego. La actriz es sin duda muy buena, pero simplemente no encaja bien. Algo faltó...

Claro que, más allá de un cambio u otro, mi miedo más grande era la segunda temporada... porque si en el videojuego la historia fracasó, y HBO estaba siendo fiel en la adaptación... ¿al fin de cuentas no se toparían con un deja vu?

La primera temporada fue muy buena. Pedro Pascal (otro que participó en Game of Thrones) se metió bastante bien en el papel, y de hecho, creo que después de su participación en esta serie las puertas a otros proyectos estuvieron más abiertas para él. Más allá de eso, la inclusión (podría decir yo que forzada) estuvo allí, ligera y aceptable por la calidad del guión. Todo bien hasta allí.

Lo que vino después rayó en una especie de garabato que todavía sigo reflexionando. Si bien ya sabía que la segunda parte del videojuego era mala, no esperé que en la serie de Tv fuera aún peor. De alguna forma pensé que, al tener un historial de fracaso previo, los guionistas harían algunos ajustes para evitar repetir el ciclo. No fue así. Sin Pedro Pascal, y con una Bella Ramsey que no simpatizaba con la gente, era poco probable que el resultado fuera igual de bueno que el anterior.

Para terminar empeorando el asunto, los showrunner (Craig Mazin y Neil Druckmann, si bien recuerdo) terminaron ablandando y estereotipando al personaje de Ellie. El asunto se volvió absurdo. Algunos elementos no encajaron, y todo se volvió mas Woke.

No, no terminé de ver la segunda temporada. La abandoné apenas escuché ese diálogo de Ellie, diciendo sorprendida que iba a ser "papá".

Señor HBO, ¿usted está consciente de lo que hizo?

O sea, lo arruinaste aún sabiendo que estabas adaptando un videojuego cuya segunda parte tuvo un fracaso argumental, que podría generar repudio en los fans que se sumaban al frente de sus televisores para recordar lo que obviamente fue malo. Estoy muy decepcionado de usted, ojalá haya aprendido la lección.

Eso le diría a HBO si tan solo fuera una persona, pero okay, al final del día, Craig Mazin y Neil Druckmann decidieron lanzarse al abismo aplaudiendo y sonriendo como los zombis que aparecen en su propia serie.

The Last of Us es memorable... solo en la primera parte del videojuego y la serie. Lo que viene después es semejante a los caballos torcidos que se reflejan en los memes caricaturescos.

Algo que me encanta de esta serie, es que inicia cada capítulo con la narrativa de una metafora médica, así que iniciaré igual...

En medicina se sabe que el cuerpo siempre busca la forma de curarse, aún cuando no siempre lo consigue del todo. Sin embargo en la vida, a veces hacemos lo contrario: tocamos la herida una y otra vez, como pacientes que arrancan sus propios puntos de sutura. Y esto me lleva a pensar que tal vez no le tememos al dolor, sino a lo que significa realmente sanar...

And this leads me to think that maybe we are not afraid of the pain, but of what it means to really heal...*

Por años he sido fanática de esta serie, no recuerdo la cantidad de veces que he visto algunos de sus capítulos. Sin embargo, hubo un momento en el cual decidí dejar sanar la herida, es decir, dejar de verla. Ya que cuando amas mucho una serie pero comienzan a sacar a tus personajes favoritos o los principales y los que mete luego de esos, realmente no logran conectar contigo, entonces sabemos que la producción ha fallado y que es hora de dejarlo ir.

La temporada 5 fue dura, lloré y hasta tenía pesadillas jajaja, porque es como la temporada de la muerte. Y asi hubieron otras, pero luego de muchos años, decidí volver a ver la serie, porque veia cortos de capitulos que no entendía ya que había dejado de verla. Sin embargo y aqui es donde hace eco mi metáfora inicial, fue darme otra vez en la misma herida. Comencé a verla desde la temporada 1 y comencé a sufrir de nuevo jajaja.

Lo mejor de volver a ver tu serie favorita, es que le puedes dar una segunda oportunidad a los personajes: amarlos más o de odiarlos. En mi caso, odié a Izzie, que papel tan equis tenía esa actriz, aunque se rumora que quiso quitar protagonismo, para mí su papel es pésimo. Fue egoísta, inmoral y con poca empatia. Por otra parte amé más que nunca a Cristina Yang y a Karev, mis 2 personajes favoritos y los cuales nunca debieron salir de la serie y menos Karev de la forma en la que salió, pero bueno producción, seguramente la idea era perder audiencia.

Derek, lo amé la primera vez que vi la serie y lo odié esta segunda vez, pero no al punto de que saliera de la serie justo en el clímax del odio que sentía por su personaje jajaja. Sin embargo su salida fue necesaria, mas no la veo nada justa y fue un timpo después de eso que dejé de verla. En esta segunda oportunidad que le estoy dando a Grey's Anatomy, aún no llego a la muerte de Derek, pero ya solo me faltan 4 capitulos, así que me gusta sufrir eh jajaja. Porque seguiré viéndola.

Otra de las cosas que no me gusta de la serie, más allá de la muerte y salida de algunos personajes, es que prácticamente todos se acuestan con todos. Y es que sí, a parte de las operaciones, emergencias, pacientes random, amistades e historias detrás de cada médico, hay sexo y no necesariamente porno. Y es como feo eso de que por ejemplo: Karev, se acostara hasta con Callie, que luego se declaró lesbiana jajaja y luego todas decían que Karev apestaba, pero bien que acostaron con él y luego eran amigos como si nada. O son bien maduros esos médicos con este tema o en serio es importa nada con quien se acuestaban.

Muertes que no debieron suceder: La de Omally, hubieran dejado que su personaje se fuera al ejército y ya. La de Lexie, una muerte innecesaria, triste y sin darle un mejor desarrollo a su personaje. La de Slon, solo porque sacaron a Lexie, aunque igual a él ya se lo veía muy delgado y acabado, lo hubieran hecho irse a donde vivía antes. Y la de Derek por supuesto, porque mataron al esposo de nuestra protagonista quitándole a todas las personas que tanto amaba.

¿Lo más egoísta que vi en la serie?

Izzie metiéndose con George, ya él estando casado.

Izzie, robando un corazón para Denny, para que al final igual muriera, quitando la oportunidad de vivir con ese corazón a otro paciente.

Owen con Cristina en sus primeros años.

Derek con Meridith, cuando ya quiere viajar a DC.

Derek con su hermana Amelia, casi siempre.

Muchas actitudes, en varios capitulos de Miranda hacia los demás médicos.

En fin, una serie que es como la vida, no se mide en las veces que caemos, sino en las cicatrices que decidimos llevar como prueba de que sobrevivimos.

Cuatro jubilados que se dedican a resolver casos que no han sido resueltos, se enfrentarán al más difícil de su carrera cuando se produce una muerte muy cercana el asesinato de un promotor inmobiliario, que los afecta directamente. El club del crimen de los jueves, con excelente protagonistas: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley y Celia Imrie.

Es la novela debut del presentador de programas de concursos británico Richard Osman. Me gusto mucho no hay escenas a la vista de violencia, pero si bastante intriga. Esa búsqueda de quien será el asesino siempre nos atrapa desde el principio.

Saben que no hago recomendaciones muy a menudo y aunque veo muchísimas películas y series, espero hasta tener algo bueno para comentar.

Hay mucho misterio e intriga en ella pero poco a poco se irán atando los cabos y el menos esperado, será el que lo resuelva todo; aportando pruebas de quien lo hizo.

Four retirees who dedicate themselves to solving unsolved cases will face the toughest case of their careers when a death occurs very close to the murder of a real estate developer, which directly affects them. The Thursday Murder Club, with excellent protagonists: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie.

It's the debut novel by British game show host Richard Osman. I really liked it; there are no obvious scenes of violence, but it is quite intriguing. This search for who the killer is always grips us from the beginning.

You know I don't make recommendations very often, and although I watch a lot of movies and series, I wait until I have something good to comment on.

There is a lot of mystery and intrigue in it, but little by little, the loose ends will be tied up, and the least expected person will be the one who solves everything by providing evidence of who did it.

El sitio oficial para verlo es Netflix hasta ahora.

Pero se espera que el Club del Crimen de los Jueves, continué con otras películas ya que Osman publicó una secuelas escritas; El Hombre que Murió Dos Veces, en 2021; luego, La Bala que Falló, en 2022; y El Último Diablo en Morir, en 2023, deleitando a los fans que esperaban con ansias estas entregas. La quinta entrega de la serie, La Fortuna Imposible, se estrenará el 23 de septiembre en libros, así que tendremos que esperar para las películas.

The official site for viewing is Netflix so far.

But Thursday Murder Club is expected to continue with other films, as Osman has already published written sequels: The Man Who Died Twice, in 2021; then The Bullet That Missed, in 2022; and The Last Devil to Die, in 2023, delighting fans who eagerly awaited these installments. The fifth installment in the series, The Impossible Fortune, will be released on September 23 in books, so we'll have to wait for the films.

Al final las historias terminan enlazadas o los crímenes. Me gusta porque no hay mucha violencia explicita y todo termina relativamente bien.

In the end, the stories or crimes are intertwined. I like it because there isn't much explicit violence and everything ends relatively well.

I’m honestly not in the mood to sugarcoat things this time so I’m hitting the nail right on the head with this one. And I may bring emotions into it too because why not? I’ve seen better survival thrillers to know that this one was executed poorly. It badly wants to be a tense survival thriller, but honestly, it feels like a low-budget B-movie trying way too hard.

The story follows Naomi (Madalina Ghenea), still grieving the death of her parents, who sets out sailing probably to declutter her mind, only to face drug traffickers and, you guessed it, a great shark. Sounds thrilling, right? Except the execution is off.

The acting just never really clicks. It felt forced. I mean they were giving me amateur vibes. Watching the guy who was meant to be Naomi’s boyfriend’s acting, made me chuckle, not out of excitement but great disappointment. In those moments of him showing anger, it felt so fake.

Ghenea is gorgeous, sure, but it feels like she was cast more for looks than range, and when most of the film rests on her shoulders, that becomes a problem. The performances around her don’t help either, everything feels stiff, like the actors are reading lines instead of living them. To make up for that, the soundtrack cranks up the “emotional” score. I felt like they were basically trying to blackmail me into feeling intensity that the acting itself doesn’t deliver. It’s manipulative rather than effective.

Visually, the film shows its budget. The shark shots are inconsistent, the action feels restrained, and long stretches of talking or drifting eat up the runtime instead of building tension. A survival thriller should make you bite your nails; this one mostly makes you check the freaking clock.

Would I recommend it? Honestly, not really. If you’re a die-hard shark-movie completist, maybe. But otherwise, it’s a forgettable splash in a genre already crowded with better films.

Rating: 4.5/10.

It’s got shaky acting, cheap thrills and a score that works harder than the cast.

Till next time.🌸