ThiefHott Too much of everything

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

soulexpress When does homage cross the line into plagiarism? When it's the joint U.S./Russian film, TREASURE RAIDERS--or as I call it, "Indiana Jones and the Fast & Furious Da Vinci Code." After sitting through 90 minutes of this, I'm thinking Glasnost was not such a good idea after all.Michael (Steven Brand), an American professor teaching history at Moscow University, finances his passion for treasure hunting with competitive street racing. His racing nemesis, Wolf (Alexander Nevsky), becomes his ally when they embark on a quest to search for an ancient Russian treasure. There's also a sub-plot involving drug dealers, and David Carradine turns up as well.Nevsky, a one-time bodybuilder, appears to have based his acting style on Schwarzenegger--understandable if you've no ideas of your own. His acting makes Steven Seagal look like Daniel Day-Lewis. Not that the rest of the cast is any better. Steven Brand, a Tim Allen lookalike, is about as credible an action hero as Will Geer. Sherilyn Fenn, who plays Wolf's sister, shows none of the acting chops that got her cast in "Twin Peaks," "Wild at Heart," and "Of Mice and Men." As for Carradine, he shows even less interest here than in "Wizards of the Lost Kingdom 2." (If you haven't seen it, spare yourself the agony.)There is literally nothing to recommend this film to anyone. The plot is wafer-thin, the dialogue forced, the camera work is amateurish, and even the car chases are uninteresting. There are some feeble attempts at humor too, but I'll show mercy by not giving an example.Item: Though the film set in Moscow, not one character has an authentic Russian accent.Item: Wolf's car features a collapsible headlight that conceals a missile launcher. I knew street racing was dangerous, but goddamn!Item: In the final car chase, a policeman pursues our heroes and villains. Since he never calls for back-up, I'm guessing there's only one police car in Moscow.Item: Alexander Nevsky studied acting at the Lee Strasbourg Theater Institute. He must have threatened to beat the crap out of someone, because he damned sure didn't get in through his talent.Item: The budget for this film was $10 million. Except for the wrecked cars, I've no idea what they could have spent it on.

Philip Jones Alexander Nevsky - Actor - Action Hero – star of Treasure RaidersI can't believe I'm writing about this guy. I do so because in my boredom here I had the terrible misfortune to sit through one of the worst films ever made; Treasure Raiders, and Nevsky is the star. It's like a mixture of National Treasure and The DaVinci Code starring the retarded child of of some action-hero sperm donor. I was glued to the screen it was that bad. The movie also features some skeletal Carradine brother and that woman from Twin Peaks who never really died, more's the pity.The movie's set in Russia and the supporting cast is shocking. The script is autistic. The camera-work is infantile and even the end credits don't save it. The movie was made in 2007 and had a budget of $10 million. Ten million!Imagine how much good one could do with that much money! You, like me, will want to lay waste to the collection of idiots responsible for the imbecilic, talentless, celluloid turd that is Treasure Raiders - if you ever have the misfortune to see it that is.And so to Nevsky, the lead actor. I'm talking about the kind of bad acting we could only aspire to had we been swung by the legs as babies and had our heads repeatedly cracked against door jambs. Imagine the fattest Seagal with the stupidest Stallone with the most wooden Van Damme and then add a pinch of Arnie's awful accent. Yeah, it's really that bad. David Caruso would look like a Shakespearean actor beside this guy and anyone who makes Caruso look good must be a royal, acting spastic don't you agree? Watching Treasure Raiders I wanted to beat Nevsky to death with his own foot.Nevsky, like Arnie, has a bodybuilding background. After years spent winning everything in Moscow he then published bestselling fitness books…yadda yadda yadda until eventually…………wait for it……..he ended up in the Lee Strasberg Acting School.The Lee Strasberg Acting School!!!! The same Lee Strasberg School that trained DeNiro and Pacino and Keitel and Hoffman and Marlon Brando.WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's an interesting fact. Jack Nicholson had to audition five times to get into Strasberg's Acting School. Yup, five times. And that was a very young and hungry Nicholson too. Hoffman auditioned six times….Harvey Keitel eleven times. That school had standards man! One year, out of 2,000 candidates for places at Strasberg, only two were accepted….Martin Landau and Steve McQueen. Understand? See what I'm saying? And they let Nevsky in! What is the world coming to? Next they'll be telling us Drew Barrymore has talent.Yikes! PLOT: Historian who likes racing meets his racing nemesis and oh ….they share a common interest in treasure hunting! They hunt for treasure. There is a baddie.END PLOT: That's Treasure Raiders folks and believe it or not, Nevsky wrote it! Not with joined up letters I bet.I can still taste the bile in my throat. You know I think the storyboard was probably finger-painted by a child.And I get angrier and angrier at crap like this when I see how real artists struggle to make essential viewing like City of God or Das Boot or The Lives of Others; films that simply screamed to be made and must be seen whatever the cost. Movies like these save an industry that is awash with talentless Nevskys.Movies like Treasure Raiders are proof positive that the mainstream movie industry is drowning in a pool of its own prawn-cocktail urine. Shame on the misfits who have anything to do with this rubbish. History will be much more unkind to them than I could ever be here.As for Nevsky, he'll no doubt end up kicking the life out of some famous wrestler one of these action-movie days. He will be rich. His career will no doubt span ten years. Our lives will be no better or worse for it but our intelligences will be deeply offended. And the most maddening thing of all is that Nevsky shares his name with one of the most important Russians in history, a medieval warrior, beatified and once voted the greatest Russian ever! By the way, read this from an actual sperm-bank website… Los Angeles California Cryobank sperm donors will be reimbursed up to $100 per donation and up to $1200 a month by donating 3 times a week. We periodically offer incentives such as movie tickets or gift certificates for extra time and effort expended by participating sperm donors.What the hell is extra time and effort? Is that like having a slow rather than a fast one? Is that like making two consecutive deposits? Are they paying by the fluid ounce??? I wonder if you have to work a week in hand.I was going to invest in this clinic but I pulled out at the last minute! Just as you leave the clinic, do they thank you for coming?Okay okay...I'm done now......or should I say spent?

mattelmore This film is quite possibly the biggest piece of crap I've ever had the misfortune of watching, and that's saying a lot.The acting was painful to watch. It seemed as if they just pulled some random guys off the street and told them to wing it. The timing was unbearable. The chemistry: painfully lacking. The characters: one-sided, shallow, and downright weird (what were thy thinking w/ the guy from Colombia). Carradine and Fenn must be pretty hard up to have taken part in this monstrosity. Trust me guys, get new agents; making this kind of crap isn't going to bring you back.The plot was non-existent as if they set a couple of grade-schoolers loose with some crayons, took the end result, and used it to start shooting. Seriously, the big, Russian, wolf-guy who wrote this should be beaten to death with a playwriting guide.The title is confusing as there is no treasure and no raiding anywhere in this nightmare. Just when it shows a glimmer of getting interesting (more interesting than sleeping that is), the credits roll out. I give it 2 stars, and that's because I'm in a good mood.Do yourself a favor and avoid like the plague.

dwright-25 David Carradine what are you doing? Sherilyn Fenn what are you doing? Since when does unknown beef boy Alexander Nevsky get top billing over Carradine? Man this movie simply sucked. *** May contain Spoilers here *** A professor who likes to race at night as a hobby gets caught up with the usual suspects: Russian drug lords, backstabbing Columbian doctors and - David Carradine. Oh and this professor is on a journey to find the secret treasure to the nights templar - could they have found more to put into the plot? Sure! Why not throw in an irrelevant useless police force in there as well?! and have them appear whenever we need them to tie up loose ends in our swiss cheese plot?! or how about we kill interesting librarian characters without any explanation whatsoever? yes! let's do it! We've got ourselves a winner here! *** End Spoilers *** The only reason it gets 2 stars is because I found some serious scenes hilarious. The plot is all twisted up in the wrong way, but what I don't understand is how they've got explosions and cars getting busted up but the production quality looks like a film made on a 10g budget! Actually I've seen films made on a 10g budget and at least the acting was decent!! Sad to see actor's grab up a role just to keep themselves busy.