TIGAER-DESIGN.COM_.v5 – Digital Art by Christian Hecker

I stumbled over that tv production by accident. Not living in the states has its up and down sides. Missing that production is one rare down side i must admit. At least when it comes to this stuff. Now lets write a short review about that 7 part tv production.

The story is basically about a recon company of US marines in the first days of the second iraq war after 9/11. The story we witness is actualy from a book a reporter wrote who was one of the first journalists that embedded himself in the troops. So what we see in this series is pretty much accurate and surely mirrors the happenings in the early days of that war in a somewhat clear fashion. We soon learn that this production is a pretty bold one since the average US tv watcher doesn’t want to see these things. But this happens and it’s never wrong to face the truth. To maybe think about what is going wrong in this world today. And that may be the reason why i missed it so far. No one really talked about it.

The overall atmosphere throughout all 7 parts is remarkable. A big plus to the believability is that the whole communication is strictly military. A lot of cryptic talking going on but you find your way more and more into it with every episode you watch. There is also absolutely no music in all of these parts except for some acapella numbers from our marines. These guys have a questionable taste in music but it’s funny nonetheless. It brings in a few comedy elements. These are simply great and so dry in their execution. Wonderful. You soon get the view of these guys on all of the things going on there. It’s all very sarcastic, hopeless and cynic. The fighting sequences are rare but when they happen it’s hell. I wouldn’t want to live through something like this. There are also a lot of things you cannot believe are actually happening. There must have been so many stupid decisions by the US military. It’s hard to believe these things do happen but it does and it’s good that such productions try to open the eyes of the people. You often see our characters stare in disbelief about the orders they got from the higher authorities. That’s special for a tv production from an US american channel. Thanks to HBO for that, seriously. They’re at least trying. While i read that the US audience did not respond well to this production. And i’m sure everyone who saw the series understands why. What we see is plain honesty and a sad truth.

The cast consists of fairly unknown actors that all do a magnificient job from my perspective. These guys create a very unique atmosphere and everyone indeed has his own character and sight of things. The script actually doesn’t allow the characters to develop a too deep relationship with the viewer. You don’t get a lot of details about the back story of the characters, yet the cast manages it to establish a connection and makes the viewer care. Pretty remarkable. They manage to show how someone can change when he’s witnessing such events. What it does to you and how it brings everything into perspective. You can see it in their faces and gestures. At least most of the time. The series also goes a little bit over the top with the typical macho soldier stuff we know from other productions. That’s a small down side of this series.

The vfx delivered from Framestore (Avatar, Dark Knight) and other smaller studios work nicely. Some good matte painting work. You never think they’re outside of iraq. It’s the small things here. And it really works. Even if it’s only tv level vfx.

I highly recommend it to everyone who loved ‘Jarhead’ and is interested in what is going on down there in the middle east… or to anyone who is interested in military stuff. Should widen some horizons.

9.2/10 from me.

Generation Kill on IMDb

If there would ever be a list of movies to represent us as intelligent beings then this movie would be a part of that list. It tells so much about our fears and religion. It is a true classic and for its time (1973) a very bold movie. Also the most successful movie ever when it got out… until ‘Jaws’ was released a few months later. There are so many frightening things happening. And by that i’m not only referring to the amazing performance of Linda Blair. It’s the images we see. Or also the things we do not get to see. Especially in the beginning of the movie. On the dig site and the middle east part. We don’t see anything but there is something going on in the background. The pictures and performances suggest that something strange is going on. And this movie has the perfect balance of suggesting things and showing things. A lot of movies attempt these balance acts but only few succeed.

You surely know the story of the movie and i don’t want to go into too much explaining here. Instead i want to focus on things i discovered watching this movie. The characters in the movie all have their problems and get confronted with that crazy and unbelievable situation. While the mother of the possessed girl tries everything to get her back to normal, through medicine and psychology, nothing seems to work. I found that the scenes in the hospital were pretty frightening in itself. How they attempt to find out what is going on with the girl. Running tests with all these huge and loud machines. The girl, already frightened and confused by herself, going through all these tests. Seeing how the mother is feeling bad watching it all. I guess we all can relate to that. As well as the helpless feeling relying on these weird machines. Nothing helps. Physically the girl completely fine. The behavior of the girl gets more and more intense. The crazy scene where she crawls down the stairs. Still an eyecatcher and still quite a shocking picture. Things get worse…

Father Karras in the meanwhile has the burden of not having had the chance to help his mother when she died. He feels quilty and gets problems with his religion, not believing anymore. Something we all can relate to too i guess. We all had our moments when we thought that our existence is meaningless. Another character a viewer can easily connect to. Soon he’s confronted by the helpless family, being their last chance to resolve the situation. He agrees to visit the child and seems very confident that there is not much going on. Very soon he is sure that there is something big happening. And he admits that even religion won’t be a big help. We see him helpless again… but hooked. He wants to find out more about it. He wants to cure her.

It’s pretty amazing how you can see the minds of our characters working without them saying anything. Especially Father Karras is questioning everything. The camera work enhances this experience. The overall execution is pretty modern i would say. There is almost a documentary feeling in it sometimes. It is also a pretty quiet movie. Except for the exorcism scenes of course. It’s as if there is a whole different world in the room where they hold the possessed girl captive.

There are a few documented cases. Most importantly the story we can witness in the ‘Emily Rose’ movie. And all the time you ask yourself what would you do in that situation. Could you do anything? Such a strange situation. So well displayed. And, first of all, very believable! All actors, and of course Max Von Sydow, deliver a very believable performance and manage it to suck us into the craziness. And when the exorcism begins we are on their side and wish them all the luck in the world.

A true classic and recommendation.

8.2/10 from me.

The Exorcist on IMDb

“What if…?” – Could be an alternative title for this almost perfect tv series. On a certain level this tv series covers all layers of life itself in its storyline. The general search we as human beings are conducting. The way things go sometimes. Unexpected twists and turns. You never know what’s around the next corner. And that’s also one of its weaknesses. In its almost desperate try to be so super mysterious we get one cliffhanger after another. The series works much better when you can watch it from beginning to end without to wait weeks or months for the next episode to air. And i would recommend everyone to do only that. Because with all these weird episode endings that create more questions without answers… it’s really hard to stay motivated. At least it was for me.

**There May Be Spoilers Ahead**

The series itself could be described as a masterpiece of modern television production. It definitely set new standards for pretty much everything. Even though vfx could have been better at some points. However it created quite a buzz over the years and i’d say it was deserved.

We really early learn to understand that every single character in this piece plays a role. Some bigger some smaller. We also see that every character has a history that is to be carried around with him. All this creates the motivations for all the little actions our friends do. And how it all affects the overall happenings on the island.

The final season is pretty spectacular. Even if it makes you think that one or two seasons may have been useless. On the other hand it brings us closer to the characters. However the final season brings everything nicely together but… still leaves some questions. We don’t get a completely satisfying resolution to our characters. We don’t get the ultimate answer to the question of what the island actually is. Everything, from my point of view, is held very vague in its explanations. In certain situations that can be good. But in this case it’s a little let down. After all these mysteries and cliffhangers at the end of each episode… doesn’t the from beginning to end viewer deserve a final satisfying answer? Maybe i missed something? Beside that it surely was one of the most entertaining tv productions ever undertaken. I would say it was quite a remarkable writing job to get all the characters into one hat. To let all characters have their share of spotlight. There isn’t a single character that does not play a more or less heavy role in the overall storyline.

If you’re interested to watch that series then i urge you to watch it on your terms. Do not watch it on tv where you have to wait a week for the next episode. Try to watch it when you want. Maybe some ‘on demand’ service. It truly is the only way to watch that series. Everything else will make you go crazy. Literally every episode raises unanswered questions. Some answers will be given episodes or seasons later. And that doesn’t mean the answer makes any sense and leads to more questions. And, like mentioned earlier, that’s one of the biggest flaws of the series. They tried too hard to keep everything mysterious. Not that it hurt the series but it doesn’t really help too. You could argue with “that’s how LOST works”. And maybe that’s true. You could also argue that some things are really really unrealistic. And that’S true too. The whole last season i said to myself “no way that plane will take off again”. But they made it. That was a little bit too much for my taste.

To end this review i have only one question to ask.

What is the island?

There are tons of theories out there that can explain a few things. And maybe, after a while, we will understand that this vague ending is the best for this series. Not the most satisfying but still a good one.

My recommendation.

9.1/10

Lost on IMDb

There was so much talk about this HBO series that i had to see it sooner or later. Now i guess sooner was the case because i have seen it now. And i must honestly say that it was a weird experience. It definitely is a special series. And when you see how tv series productions went on at the time The Sopranos started, it really redefined a lot of things for future tv productions. Especially in the sense of storytelling and the quality of acting throughout the entire cast.

Storywise i’m sure you guys know that it’s about a mafia family environment. The Sopranos. More about Anthony Soprano who’s taking over the leadership of the organized crime in New Jersey. He’s dealing with a lot of problems in his business and of course family stuff happens too. Due to some health problems he’s consulting a psychiatrist and does that throughout the whole series.

You sort of get thrown into the cold water with this series and the famous ending takes you out of the water as fast as you got in. The best way to conclude this particular series. I’m sure a lot of people were disappointed at the time. And i think i can understand that. But from an artistic viewpoint it was a bold and intelligent choice to end the series that way. What am i talking about? Well i don’t want to spoil anything. Check it out yourself! The series is definitely worth watching from beginning to end.

A weird thing i encountered was that there actually was no character i was able to build a connection with. All of them were pretty violent and all of could have needed a psychiatrist. Not just Tony. Nonetheless the quality of the cast really pays off throughout the series. James Gandolfini is a god here. In a later season we have Steve Buscemi entering the series. His character was the closest i was able to connect with. Buscemi also directed episodes. I love that particular episode. It’s a funny one. Beside him there are quite some familiar faces to see in this series. All of them playing their part. Most of them even played in the Godfather or Goodfellas movies. It’s sort of a perfect cast and you always want to know how it continues. What’s happening next. You don’t want to know what happens to a particular person. But you want to know what happens to the collective of characters when something happens.

If i would have to pick an episode that impressed me the most then i would have to take the second one “Join the Club” from the sixth season. It’s actually a series of episodes where Tony gets shot and is in a coma. While the world around him goes on, he is having some sort of dream that possibly shows him a life he could have had. Far away from all the crimes. In that dream we see how versatile a James Gandolfini can be. The Tony we see there is completely different. He’s lost in this dream and practically fights against dying. When that second episode ends and that Moby song starts to play you could almost cry. The whole thing seeing Tony in that totally different light of what could have been. How lost he may have been living such a life. That he may be destined to live that dangerous, bad and sad life he’s having there in New Jersey. One of the best tv produced pieces of film i have ever seen.

It’s really hard to write a short review about all this since there are so many names to be mentioned, so many stories to analyze and etc etc. – so i will end this review here with just saying that it’s definitely a series worth to watch through.

A 9.0/10 from me.

The Sopranos on IMDb

Alright. Here we have the attempt to sort of revive something. I don’t count the ‘Aliens VS Predator’ movies as real ‘Predator’ movies. So for me the Predator 2 movie was the last real Predator movie. But that only my opinion. There was a lot of buzz on the internet prior to the announcement of the new movie and it got my attention right away. The guy who placed an ‘Alien’ head in the Predator ship at the end of Predator 2 must have been a genius. I really dig the design they established with the earlier movies and wanted to see more of that gritty sort of action movie style… with a touch of ugly faced alien.

I don’t have to say much about the story since it’s pretty much the same like in the Schwarzenegger movie. Some mercenary soldiers and other special characters of human society get shipped onto an alien planet and find out that they’re the prey for some hunting game practiced evil ugly aliens.

The overall casting reveals a very interesting mixture and all of the folks do their job nice. Topher Grace for example plays a good part in not revealing his true nature until the end of the movie. I didn’t really saw that coming for his character. Alice Braga does a nice job too in playing an isreali army sniper. Nonetheless the events that make her characters skills pop out seem a bit constructed. The other main guy is played by Adrien Brody. I was very excited for his part. He’s not exactly the type of guy/actor you would think could take such a soldier role. And again he surprised me by playing the badass in this movie. It may not be the most amazing performance but he plays believable. I guess he makes the best off of the script they had. His character is not necessarily the most likable but he definitely carries the movie. The Laurence Fishburne part was pretty unnecessary from my point of view. And Danny Trejo dies far to early.

The movie has some weird issues though. More than one time you see our heroes wander through the thickest rainforest and a few scenes later they’re in a totally different kind of forest with different sorts of trees and everything. Another example is that in one scene you have the ultimate dust storm in a pretty much no vegetation scene and one minute later they’re in a field of grass with lush trees in the background. I mean ok it’s an alien planet but that cannot be an excuse.

The VFX aren’t really amazing too. For a high profile production like this one, parts of the VFX are pretty weak. The only thing i found really nice was the integration of the alien dog things into the live footage. That worked amazingly well in an early ambush scene. Aside of that things could have been better. Especially the planet environment could have been a little bit more alien to really sell it. And by that i really don’t mean ‘Avatar’ like. Everything just looked too familiar.

Beside its prominent weaknesses it really was entertaining. The movie has a nice pacing from my point of view. It also creates some thrilling events when our heroes become trapped or ambushed. Good stuff.

A 7.4/10 from me.

Predator on IMDb

Every summer has its big big summer movie. Now this one surely is the biggest candidate for this year. It got all the ingredients. It got that special ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ feel to it. No wonder… it’s a big Jerry Bruckheimer production. It got everything these productions are known for.

I don’t think i have to say much about the story since most of you have probably seen it by now. It’s no big eye opener but nonetheless very entertaining. I felt a bit bored sometimes because there were a few lengthy parts i think. However the characters, played by Jake Gyllenhaal and a wonderful and beautiful Gemma Arterton, are fun to watch. Jake is playing a very unusual role. When you look into his acting past then there never was such a superhero role where there was a lot of body work involved. He’s doing a great job with that. That means he really is a good actor and very versatile. Gemma Arterton on the other hand plays the perfect counterpart to Jake’s character. Both create some funny moments in their scenes together. As well as some romance too of course. They are both fun to watch and they both carry the movie nicely.

In other roles are a Ben Kingsley as the bad guy. He has no problems with his character. Nonetheless it feels a bit underwhelming. They should have given him more evil character scenes. Alfred Molina has a part too and does his job nicely. You see his character not very friendly when we first meet him. Later his character is changing and you start to like him. Solid jobs from my point of view. Both of them could need bigger parts to really use their amazing talent though.

The VFX are nice and especially the finale is an eyecatcher. Other scenes in the movie don’t really get the right mood accross somehow. Maybe they got into some deadline trouble. Some more detail in certain scenes would have been nice. Anyway… solid job from the VFX people nonetheless.

Overall it definitely is a summer movie. If you got a few bucks left… go see it. If not… just wait for the dvd and make a nice movie evening with friends.

A 7.0/10 from me.

Prince of Persia on IMDb

First of all i must say i miss movies like this one. In the style of Cronenberg’s ‘The Fly’. Bad and evil companies trying to change the world and all that stuff. Splice falls into that niche and does a fairly good job.

Basically the movie is about a couple. Both are scientists and experimenting around for a company that tries to find cures for several diseases. All this gets explained in the first 10 minutes of the movie and serves very well as an intro. The cast does a nice job but shows a few flaws later in the movie. Overall it’s a solid and believable performance. Adrien Brody seems to be a pretty versatile actor and i’m excited for his part in the upcoming Predator movie. Sarah Polley is a good cast too. She does a good job in the beginning of the movie. It’s a believable ‘mad scientist’ performance from her there. In the middle of the movie the roles of our characters seem to switch. And the one actor plays the part of the other actor from the beginning. It’s a nice twist and good change of perspective. The movie took some bold directions storywise – it’s interesting and fun to watch.

The VFX through the bench look really good. Especially the ‘Dren’ creature and the later CG extensions. Dren herself later in the movie does indeed have something sexy on her. I guess that’s what’s the design wants. And it does it good. That one sequence where she’s dancing with Brody’s character is extremely well done and surely the best and most beautiful scene in the movie.

Ultimately i must admit that the movie is 10 minutes too long. The end is a bit predictable and from my point of view not really necessary. Of course i don’t want to say that every movie has to have a happy end but this movie’s ending is or feels a bit too constructed. Much like “we have to do that because we have to do that!” – if that makes any sense. =)

Anyway… check it out. It’s something different and definitely an entertaining movie.

A 7.3/10 from me.

Splice on IMDb

Now i’m a long time Ridley Scott fan. Alien, Blande Runner, Gladiator or Kingdom of Heaven (dc) are just amazing. The attention to detail. The camera work. The worlds they created there. Everything is rich in these movies. So full of atmosphere.

Russell Crowe is one of Ridley Scotts favourite guys since Gladiator. They both seem to have a connection. Scott once said “we’re both angry all the time, i guess that’s what connects us two”. Now i’m angry all the time too… maybe that is why i like his movies so much.

Robin Hood, formerly known under the working title ‘Nottingham’, isn’t one of Scott’s better movies. Chances are good that it comes together with a highly possible directors cut release on dvd and bluray. Same happened to Kingdom of Heaven. First the DC made the movie a whole. I have a strong feeling that a similar thing will happen to Robin Hood.

Robin Hood also isn’t the typical, magic movie you would expect. It is dark, it is gritty and there is absolutely no lovely magic in the air. It’s based on a realistic foundation. Now Russell Crowe’s character makes a transformation right in the beginning of the movie. They’re having a french fortress under siege for a while without any success of taking it. They’re trying to get home from the big crusade and have seen enough of war. Suddenly the King dies and Robin and his friends take the chaos to get away from the troops to try their own luck. You will find all the usual suspects, character wise, that belong into a Robin Hood movie, which is a good thing. These characters often understand it to bring some funny moments into the otherwise serious theme of the movie. All the actors are cast well and fit their characters very well.

Now this is a very long movie for a story like that and in the middle parts it often shows some weaknesses. The ending when the french attack the coast feels far too constructed to naturally flow with the rest of the movie. Even if it all was technically nicely done it was missing sense and somehow totally off the tone the movie has. Just weird. I wished we would have seen more of the crusade part instead. Since Kingdom of Heaven i really would love to see more of that historical area.

Ultimately the movie ends where a lot of people hoped it would have begun. I’m excited for the highly possible directors cut of this movie. It may bring in some missing links that make the movie feel more like it’s in one and the same flow. It’S a different take for the Robin Hood theme and it’s a good and interesting one.

Nonetheless the theatre version gets a 6.9/10 from me.

I want new Sci-fi work from you Mr. Scott! I’m excited for the new Alien movie and his other upcoming projects. This man is a restless filmmaker… my respects.

Robin Hood on IMDb

The first Ironman movie had every ingredient that all the other comic movies nowadays have. You see how a normal person becomes larger than life. You follow that character on its path and you see all the problems our character must fight. We see our protagonist grow through the happenings in the movie. People like that. Starwars had it, the first Spiderman has it and so many other movies have it too. It’s like written in stone and, if done right, guarantees a success. And Ironman was a success indeed.

Now Ironman 2 gives you exactly the things you liked in the first one. Only much more of it. Maybe a bit too much. The movie starts right after the happenings of the first movie. Tony Stark is still working on the Ironman technology and faces problems with the goverment because of the fact that he is holding back the knowledge about the technology. He also has health problems because the energy source that keeps him alive emits toxic substances into his body. So he is trying to find a way to solve that problem before his body gives up. We also learn a lot about the past of Stark Industries and Tony himself. Also the relationships between the characters find more space to evolve. Which is good because, even if this makes me a sissy, i like the romance between Tony and Virgina (‘Pepper’).

Now past movies series always have the dark parts of their stories in the second part. We have that in Starwars, Indy, Batman and Spiderman. Stories that show the audience that our superhero has his problems too. Tons of struggles to go through and we don’t know if our guy is going to make it or not. Mostly our main guy is a changed person after the happings in a second part. Now Ironman 2 has glimpes of that. But it’s just not enough somehow. It really is only more of what we had in the first movie.

There are also some parts that seem kind of odd to have. I’m referring to the party scene in the middle of the movie. With a drunk Tony, sort of out of his mind. I think that sequence is much too long and feels completely off. But that’s only my opinion. There is also the problem that, i think, the first Ironman movie had… the finale. It’s weird but like in the first movie it’s really underwhelming. There is a lot of baddaboom and baddabaaam but that’s nothing new. Nothing really creative. Maybe our expectations are too high. I don’t know.

On the technical side the movie is solid work. Camera, Acting, VFX and the women – everything really nice. Robert Downey Jr. really IS Tony Stark. There is no other actor who could play that part better. It’s fun to watch him. Also the romantic scenes between Gwyneth Paltrow, who is just adorable in this movie, and Downey Jr. really work so nice. It makes you laugh and happy and the same time.

Ultimately it’s a fun movie. A lot to see there. Nice action going on. More of the things you liked from the first movie.

My rating for this one 7.7/10

Ironman 2 on IMDb

This series was quite a big deal when i was younger and marked another spot firing up my interest in computers and what you can to with them creatively. The quality of the VFX and that special look of everything in the series. Back then the only other series i knew, that attempted to be a tv series with such immense depth, was Star Trek. Babylon 5 was so different. The creative mind J. Michael Straczynski, now a big hollywood writer, managed to create a very interesting universe with a lot of political background. All the characters we meet in that world aren’t flat at all too. All of them have a history they carry around with them. Throughout the episodes we learn a lot about these things. The cast, through the bench, does a very solid job and you can see that they love their characters and that the actors can relate and completely give back what’s written in the script. They carried the show. Now today you would say these VFX are crap. Back then it was amazing to have such things in a tv series at all. It was exciting and each season has had its own theme, leading to a big finale at the end.

While season one is establishing the whole idea and the characters, season two starts to get a more serious tone. Things that happen in season one can directly affect things that happen in a later season. The writing is phenomenal and you can see that in so many of todays tv series. ‘Lost’ for example. Connections through several seasons. Things that first start to make sense when you really keep loyal to the series and keep watching.

Like i said earlier it’s especially the characters that are fascinating. As well as the races they stand for. Andreas Katsulas who plays a Narn called G’Kar. He is the ambassador of a race that always seems to get punched. Especially by the Centauri race. There we have Londo, Centauri ambassador, played by Peter Jurasik. These two, conceptual very different characters, are played so well. They both have a history and they both have some very important storylines. Again we can see how much the actors seem to love their characters. You can see their pain… their happiness… all their conflicts through all the makup and masks in their faces. In season two we get our main guy added to the series. John Sheridan, played by Bruce Boxleitner. I personally was always a fan of him. Like all the other members of the cast he really IS his character. Captain of a space cruiser, of a spacestation and leader of an intergalactic alliance. All the other cast members deserve to be mentioned here too but that would be a bit too much. They all have their parts and they all play it very believable until the end. You know you’ll miss them when the last episode finished.

Beside the tv series there were also tv movies. J. Michael Straczynski always requested more financial support from the studios but never really got it. Which lead to the fact that the movies lacked of background detail. The sets, VFX or music. I wished they added more budget. However, the movies aren’t bad. Especially when you have already watched through the series it’s cool to get a bit more background info about certain things or events. Again all the characters are played well and it’s a lot of fun to watch them. J. Michael Straczynski refused to do more movies because of the budget problems. So there is a hope for new investors. Of course he wants his child to shine. It deserves to shine for sure and i can completely understand his decision. The chapter of Babylon 5 is not closed yet. And i like that. There is still so much to discover and explore in that universe so that every short visit shows you one more wonder. It’s worth the wait.

As you can see it’s a clear recommendation to every scifi fan. You will rarely find a tv series in that field that offers more depth.

8.8/10 from me.

Babylon 5 on IMDb