Battle LA - movie review

-
Battle LA - movie review

This is the SPCA disclaimer...
This movie did not involve any harm to animals, even though there was a vet in the movie, only humans and aliens were harmed in large amounts.... copious amounts of ammunition were expended in the course of this show, including some "fire and forget" type of rounds, with no internal guidance. So this movie is pretty like that. Watch and forget, not a lot of guidance and attention to holes in the plot but enough bangs and booms to keep the boys in the audience deliriously happy.

This show borrows plenty from Independence Day, World of the Worlds (especially the sound effects warning of the arrival of the aliens) and many other sci-fi movies. It also taps into Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, and Tour of Duty. But no one will mistake this as an attempt to vie for the Oscars, but most will agree it was excellent summer popcorn fun.

The aliens have come to town, and they want to exterminate us, take our water and only platoon 25 stands in their way, Hell retreat! Hoorah! and all that. Add this bravado talk, lots of stereotypes of the bespectacled intellectual, the Asian radio man, even a Nigerian Navy Corpman aka medic, and of course the all-Amercian hero built in the vein of John Wayne, with a cleft in his chin and a square jaw to boot and you have the ensemble. Throw in a Hispanic in distress, cutie vet (she was also in Lord of War and Sum of All Fears) and you have covered all the politically correct vignettes of American society. Oh don't forget Michelle Rodriguez, in yet another military role, and you have the whole Magnificent Dozen or so.

Now make them win the battle against unsurmountable odds, blow away the mother ship a la Independence Day, and viola you have the movie! What redeems this show is not the plot, but the Black Hawk Down-esque battle scenes, which will entertain and get the red-blooded American and all fans of action genre movies rip roaring.

Aaron Eckhart does his best with the limited script to add some dimension to the square jawed hero, and give some depth, but despite being panned by critics, this movie has scored more than US$ 202 million at the box office proving that mindless action and explosions does get the job done. This movie is not cerebral, and will be one where you will find some difficulty remembering much about the plot, expect that the ending leaves enough leeway for a sequel which is packed with more mayhem, explosions and more of Aaron Eckhart's SSGT Nantz. Hell retreat!

As for the potential BR owners - this movie is packed with so many demo scenes, that the entire movie is one well orchestrated demo of your surrounds, and this is despite only being master in 5.1 DTS-MA. You find rounds whizzing past you, explosions in the air, ambient noise of the aliens and deep explosions coming from all the speakers. Quite simply, this is probably the best, and defeats even Tron Legacy as the demo (audio wise) movie of 2011.

Picture quality is equally strong with no shaky cameras, or bleached colors.

Don't buy this for the plot guys, just grab it, rent it or buy it for the wonderful action scenes and the awesome sound field.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KEF LS 50 Meta review and comparison with the LS50

-
Image
The original KEF LS50 was one of those landmark speakers, a pocket rocket which performed at a much higher level than what it’s price tag might indicate. The original LS50 has been widely reviewed, and is well regarded by audiophiles everywhere.  However it does have some bite in the treble and lacks some deep bass, and works better for music which does not go too deep or with a sub to reinforce the bass. But what it does have is fabulous imaging, which allows you to how off great soundstaging, depth, and definition. If you are into details, you’ll love them. The coaxial design is also wonderful for those who sit a bit off axis. The construction is a marvel in itself and with a modern design, a beautiful gloss finish and a quality build. No wonder it’s loved by music lovers the world over. Now recently KEF has introduced the new KEF Meta. This is an updated version of the original and whilst it can look deceivingly the same, there are significant differences. First a link to the offici
Read more

Dynaudio Heritage Special Speaker Review

-
Image
Dynaudio is a company that has been in the speaker business for more than forty years and prides itself on making most of its components in house, especially the drivers and most of the cabinetry. Through the years they have developed many beloved components for their top end products and have also distilled them down to the masses whenever they launch a special edition. So they have adopted a similar format and take some of their finest drivers, an Esotar 3 tweeter and a woofer derived from the Evidence range and placed them into a more traditional walnut veneer speaker for us to sample.  Thus the Heritage Special (HS) was born. The catch ? Well there are two.. firstly it’s by no means cheap, even though it uses choice components. Second there are only 2500 pairs so if you’re waiting to get one, don’t ! And that’s the sum of my review if you may. If you’re a Dynaudio afficiando, just plonk down the deposit that had planned for the annual summer holiday and get this instead. Now reader
Read more

Haiku fan review II - Mounting a Fan and Using more than one Fan

-
Image
A long long time ago, you had but a handful of choice of fans, and well, they mostly looked the same. The luxury fan market was almost non existent and then Haiku came along and all that changed. My original review is linked here:  Haiku fan review - how to choose a fan Since then, things have moved on and now we are into the fourth generation of the Haiku fan, or fifth if you count the more budget orientated version as well.  Well let's mention what is still present first. The cool, sleek design is still here. And you get both composite ABS blades, as well as bamboo options. It is still a DC motor, with the attendant energy savings, and the silent motor. But most importantly for most buyers, it still looks good. So what is new?  The size options have increased, from 52", 60" and now 84". You still get the option of a longer stalk for higher ceilings, but the longer mount  which extends from 40 to 70 cm comes with a rather bulbous base, instead of the mo
Read more