I got out of worse situations than this. Been married three times.
This must be the stupidest movie ever made about aliens who want to use our planet as a replacement. We already saw it happening in “War of the worlds” and “Independence Day“. But those movies overwhelmed us with expensive special effects and immense battles between earthlings and non-earthlings. The most original thing about “Occupation” is that it doesn’t happen on American soil but on the other side of the world. Down-under in Australia in particular. What they did learn from the American versions, is the patriotic waving with a flag. So expect a half-burned Australian flag somewhere near the end.
Environmental protests.
Right now, there’s a 15-year-old Swedish girl who comes to the European Union to fight for better environmental measures before we all ruin our planet. Apparently, these alien invaders haven’t listened carefully to their local “Rise for climate” movement and thereby seriously fucked up their planet. The moment the Alien chief announced this, I laughed spontaneously. I don’t know if there were any environmental protests in the world when they released this movie, but I thought it was appropriate. But that was the only humorous thing I had to laugh about spontaneously and sincerely. The rest of the film makes you want to cry actually. Except for the first 15 to 20 minutes. I still had hope then. Admittedly, the special effects weren’t impressive, but it looked promising. Those 20 minutes were fully utilized to present the entire group of people that formed the basis of the revolution.
It’s really true. A mobile home can stay ahead of lightning-fast alien aircraft.
First, there’s Matt Simmons (Dan Ewing) and his wife Amelia (Stephany Jacobsen). He’s a recovering “Australian Football” player who re-enters the field after taking a dose of pills against his headache. Furthermore, we meet Peter (Temuera “Once were Warriors” Morrison) and his beautiful daughter Bella (Izzy Stevens) who happened to have chosen this small Australian village as a short-term stop during their trip with a mobile home.
And then Jackson (Charles Terrier), a teammate of Matt who has taken over his role as the team leader and explicitly shows that, and his girlfriend Vanessa (Rhiannon Fish) is introduced. The moment the power goes out and an apocalyptic, stroboscopic light lightens the sky, it’s the beginning of a murderous alien invasion. And this jumble of persons ends up in Peter’s mobile home (along with local commentator Seth Grimes played by Felix Williamson). And yes, they know how to get away from this superior breed and end up hiding in a derelict farm.
The CGI was at times excellent.
The story “Occupation” has been told countless times. Nothing new under the sun. Naturally, those randomly gathered individuals become the basis for an uprising against the alien invaders. For that, the very first mutual feuds and misunderstandings must be cleared up, in order to conclude that cooperation and togetherness are a fearsome weapon. Even against creatures that have evolved much further technologically.
What really impressed me was how amazing it sometimes looked. Certainly when you realize that the budget was considerably smaller than that of an American blockbusters. The CGI used for the Martians’ mothership was certainly not bad. The advancing ground troops certainly had an old-fashioned look and reminded me a bit of Scifi from the 70s. And yes, when they removed the helmets of the aliens, their appearance was kind of cliché with those eyes of a fly. The most realistic thing in this movie was the time period. The shown conflict lasts more than a few days. A few months are being bridged. But the story is so full of unrealistic and ridiculous things that you’ll forget about that real soon.
Let’s sum up some stupidities.
A small anthology. Extraterrestrials conquer the planet with their giant spaceships and an army of laser-equipped stormtroopers. What do you do if they infiltrate into your hideout? Indeed, you just crawl behind a mattress or door. Guaranteed safe.
And when you conclude that natural surroundings act as a kind of camouflage, why don’t you use that to protect yourself all the time? Apparently, they realized this at a certain point in time. When they approached a legion of aliens, they were able to avoid a confrontation by driving into a cornfield. The upcoming troops immediately lost track of our heroes (Stupid aliens, they just turned left) and stayed behind just looking around in a dazed way.
Do you remember the troops the Americans gathered to start their attack against the mother ship? Here they save the world by deploying an ultimate attack with roughly 12 people. Even in a Smart, prepared for the upcoming war. And when someone just escaped death and was lying in bed comatose for a long time, you can get him up and running immediately by throwing a bucket of ice-cold water over him. And the final boss fight is just too grotesque for words.
Hey, you blew up half the planet, let’s shake hands.
But especially the end is totally whacked. Finally, they succeed in overriding the cruel conquerors and then suddenly they get all evangelical. Remember that phrase about turning the other cheek? In short, half the population was disintegrated or became slaves, and then they are going to shake hands and talk about improving the world by working together as a united force? Any spiritual or religious movement could use this as a study material.
It’s strange they are suddenly so kindhearted when you compare this with the scene where Temuera Morrison takes care of a captured alien. That was pure rage. But there are more of these oddities to discover in this courageous attempt by the Australians to prove that they are also capable of producing Scifi. In any case, I hope that if we ever have to deal with an alien invasion, these Martians will also be as tame and stupid as those you see in this movie.
The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Plot
A new generation of stars join the world’s top action stars for an adrenaline-fueled adventure in Expend4bles. Reuniting as the team of elite mercenaries, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Sylvester Stallone are joined for the first time by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and Andy Garcia. Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world’s last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. But new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give “new blood” a whole new meaning.
Iko Uwais as Suarto Rahmat (Lionsgate Movies)
The Expendables Film Series
I highly recommend catching up on the other movies in the Expendables film series.
Expendables 1 (2010)
The only life they’ve known is war. The only loyalty they have is to each other. They are the Expendables: leader and mastermind Barney Ross (Stallone), former SAS blade expert Lee Christmas (Statham), hand-to-hand combat specialist Yin Yang (Li), long barrel weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Crews), demolitions expert Toll Road (Couture), and precision sniper Gunnar Jensen (Lundgren). Living life in the fringes of the law, these hardened mercenaries take on what appears to be a routine assignment: a covert, CIA-funded operation to infiltrate the South American country of Vilena and overthrow its ruthless dictator General Garza (David Zayas). But when their job is revealed to be a suicide mission, the men are faced with a deadly choice, one that might redeem their souls or destroy their brotherhood forever.
The Expendables Official Trailer (Lionsgate Movies)
Expendables 2
Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time — six tons of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way….
The Expendables 2 Official Trailer (Lionsgate Movies)
Expendables 3 (2014)
In The Expendables 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. In order to defeat Stonebanks, Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.
The Expendables 3 Official Trailer (Lionsgate Movies)
Movie Review
Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Sylvester Stallone bring the explosive energy needed to give us an explosive performance on-screen. The new members, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and Andy Garcia bring in a breath of fresh air with new attitude and fighting styles to keep us entertained. This movie is the fourth in the Expendable film series, but there is definitely no clear link between this movie and the prequels. Each movie in essence is a new mission and Expendables 4 can be watched without watching the previous movies. I suggest watching the previous three movies to experience the explosive action that you get when you combine our favorite action heroes.
Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross, leader of the Expendables (Lionsgate Movies)
Expendables 4 was great and delivered yet another action-packed mission filled with awesome fights, humor, cultural references and explosions. However, it wasn’t difficult to spot the main villain and there aren’t much surprises in terms of the new action stars who join this mission.
The movie starts us off with the Expendables in a race against time to retrieve nuclear warheads, but the mission goes south and instead of sticking to orders, one of the soldiers attempt to save his team member instead, which results in a failed mission and a casualty. The story follows the combination of accomplishing the mission while delivering a can of revenge-based whoop-ass. The last fight isn’t as explosive as the cast but still manages to deliver a plot-twist finale.
Megan Fox, Andy Garcia & Jacob Scipio, some of the newest members of the Expendables (Lionsgate Movies)
A future sequel should really consider a completely new group pick up the baton and leave us in suspense as to who the new heroes and villains could be. I love a good surprise with a side of plot twist in any movie.
There is no post-credits scene, so no need to wait till the very end. The trailer doesn’t spoil any of the plot twists you can expect from the movie. Overall, my rating for Expendables 4 is a 3.5 out of 5.
Arthur must enlist the help of his half-brother Orm in order to protect Atlantis against Black Manta, who has unleashed a devastating weapon in his obsessive quest to avenge his father’s death.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom [credit: Warner Bros. / DC]
Genre:
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Release Date:
December 20, 2023
Director:
James Wan
Cast:
Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Plot Summary:
Arthur must enlist the help of his half-brother Orm in order to protect Atlantis against Black Manta, who has unleashed a devastating weapon in his obsessive quest to avenge his father’s death.
The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie, Retribution, being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Plot
When a mysterious caller puts a bomb under Matt Turner’s car seat, he begins a high-speed chase across the city to complete a specific series of tasks. With his kids trapped in the back seat and a bomb that will explode if they get out of the car, a normal commute becomes a twisted game of life or death as Matt follows the stranger’s increasingly dangerous instructions in a race against time to save his family.
Liam Neeson as Matt Turner (Lionsgate Films)
Did You Know?
This movie is the third remake of the movie titled Retribution.
In 2015, a Spanish-language adaptation, The Stranger (El desconocido) was released. This was the first Retribution movie. A dishonest banker pays the ultimate price for his wrongdoings when he is held hostage in his own speeding car by a bomb-making extortionist.
In 2018, a German-language adaptation, Don’t. Get. Out! (Steig. Nicht. Aus!) was released in Germany. A loving father and husband is extorted by an unknown guy and he is about to lose his life, his money and his family
In 2021, a Korean version, Hard Hit (Balsinjehan) was released. On his way to work, a bank manager receives an anonymous call claiming there’s a bomb under his car seat, and if anyone exits the car, it will explode unless he can pay a ransom.
The Turner Family (Lionsgate Films)
Movie Review
Liam Neeson plays the role of Matt Turner, and is literally in the ‘hot seat’ throughout most of the movie. The movie eases you into the drama and the suspense keeps building as the time passes. No time is wasted to bring A small cast brought an intense situation to life in Retribution, and I need to compliment, especially Liam Neeson, Jack Champion and Lilly Aspell, who played the parts of Matt Turner, Zach Turner and Emily Turner respectively for playing the part in the car to perfection. A plot twist is delivered at the end, but the ending is not as explosive as the bomb in the car.
Overall my rating is 3 out of 5 for the Retribution. There is no post-credits scene, so no need to wait till the end. The trailer doesn’t spoil too much of the movie and serves as a great appetizer for Retribution.
Catch the trailer, and watch Retribution at a cinema near you.