IT STINKS!!! ...or not.

[Reply #360 on:]

I just saw Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star last week and thought it was pretty good. It had alot of cameos, mostly by old childhood actors. And like most of Happy Madison Productions, it had alot of heart at the end. It wasn't great, but it deserved to do better than it did at the box office.

[Reply #361 on:]

 

Originally posted by Zed 85:
 I disagree. Yes it was not the best film ever, but it was certainly not without its charm.   

When watching with a cinema full of ten year old kids (Bah!) laughing out loud at every pathetic joke, it sucks, big time.

[Reply #362 on:]

 

Originally posted by Beamer:
 Yeah, I saw it last year. It's a really funny movie - you should rent it or something.

"And... and... I looked out th-the window, an...an...and I s-saw two pigeons and-d th-they were married."   

yeah, office space is an awesome movie, its one of the funniest ive seen, but the SQUIRRELS that milton saw where married, not the pigeons

[Reply #363 on:]

 

Originally posted by boingo2000:

And while I'm ranting, does this move take place during the same 23 day stretch as the first one, or 23 years later, or what?

Score was good, though.

I get the feeling it is set in the same 23 day stretch, but that's just because of how they tie the films together. Other than that I don't think I'd be able to tell when it's set. And about the score, I can't stand walking into the theater hat's playing in to clean it while the credits are still playing. Music usually doesn't bother me, but this score just creeps me out.

I saw Dickie Roberts and the thing I liked best were the cameos by the child stars, the "Child Stars On Your Television" and what Dickie says over the credits at the very end.

Once Upon A Time In Mexico
I wanted to see Cabin Fever, but the prints hadn't arrived in time to be built, so I saw Mexico. I'm glad I did. At times I found it kind of hard to follow because it jumped around so much. I thought Johnny Depp was great and same with Antonio Banderas. Enrique Iglesias was better than I thought he would be, but he didn't seem to fit in (not the character, the casting him as the character doesn't fit)

The only other Robert Rodrigeuz films I've seen are the Spy Kids movies, and I'm going to say that this had a Spy Kids feel to it. The music at some points sound just like the score from Spy Kids 3D, and with half the cast from Spy Kids 3 in it that just adds to the feel.

[Reply #364 on:]

 

By phish:
yeah, office space is an awesome movie, its one of the funniest ive seen, but the SQUIRRELS that milton saw where married, not the pigeons

And they were MERRY, not married! Sheesh.

 

By VF:
Office Space is one of the top "cult films" in the US. It's not at all like KOTH, which does suck. First difference- Office Space is funny.

Actually, it has some KOTH similarities. They both have that "characters have wacky quirks" kind of comedy. Boomhauer's stuttering could be compared to Milton's muttering.

But the main difference is that Office Space hasn't been stretched out over 8 seasons of television, so the tired character quirks haven't been beaten over our heads.

One and a half hours is the perfect amount of time to spend with any Mike Judge character. If King of the Hill had ended after only a few episodes, I would have loved it. Office Space ended after one movie, and it's one of my favorite movies.

*I should add that the cast in Office Space is perfect, and does a better job than the animated cast on King of the Hill. David Herman is so fucking sexy.

[Reply #365 on:]

Once Upon a Time in Mexico
I love El Mariachi and Desperado and I love Johnny Depp even more, so naturally I had to see this film.  A lot of people have complained that the plot is very weak, but I personally felt it was alright, albeit a bit confusing.  All the actors are wondeful here, minus Enrique Iglesias, but the lovely Salma Hayek is under-used.  It was thrilling to see Antonio Banderas take up the guitar again, and Johnny Depp was devilishly appealing and hilarious as Sands.  The cinematography is excellent and Rodriguez certainly puts those awesome high-definition cameras to work.  His writing skills are also evident in the witty script he wrote in one week.  I also enjoyed his musical choices ("Pistolero" is one of my favorite songs) and it was great to hear contributions from Johnny Depp("Sands Theme" ) and Salma Hayek("Siente Mi Amour" ).  I bought the soundtrack Tuesday and it's one of my favorite CDs now; definitely worth a listen.  The only things I didn't like about the film were Iglesias acting skills or lack therof and the pretty grisly surgery Barillo undergoes.  Otherwise, this is an excellent action flick, written, directed, produced, "shot, chopped and scored" by one of the greatest contemporary directors.  I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun popcorn movie. 

I'm also really, really, really eager to hear if our favorite three-armed, blind CIA agent will be starring in a spin-off movie series. 

[Reply #366 on:]

Saw pirates of the caribean the other night, quite enjoyable, not the biggest brain buster but a good big budget story romp.

[Reply #367 on:]

My sister saw it and said it was the best movie she has seen.

[Reply #368 on:]

your sister must be easily impressed, or has she not seen many movies?

it was good but not a must see, just as good on video / dvd as it is in the cinemas

[Reply #369 on:]

It stinks... or not?

I just saw Run Lola Run. It does NOT stink. That movie is a piece of genius on Cine.

[Reply #370 on:]

 

Originally posted by Grim:
your sister must be easily impressed, or has she not seen many movies?

Eh, shes always like that... 'That's the funniest thing I have ever seen!' 'Oh my god it's the best thing ever!' But this time she seemed to mean it... maybe not. 

[Reply #371 on:]

I have to say one of the best movies of all time is the fith element, a truely funny action film with many of the funny lines/noises coming from Chris Tucker. If you haven't seen this film then see it or wait for the special edition DVD coming this November!

[Reply #372 on:]

Is that Region 2.

[Reply #373 on:]

 

Originally posted by kip:
I just saw Run Lola Run. It does NOT stink. That movie is a piece of genius on Cine.

Agreed. I loved this film. The music went well with the scenes, and the animated parts were good as well. I loved the beginning, where it showed the people making the title "Lola Rennt", it was awesome  I'll have to buy this film, it was so good 

[Reply #374 on:]

 

Originally posted by M Jackson:
Is that Region 2.

Good news everyone! It is on region 2! Yet another USA beating DVD release! 

[Reply #375 on:]

The Fly:
This was pretty good. It was kind of creepy in places, but also slightly dull in others. Mostly, though, it was gross. If the aim of this film was to make me feel physically sick (and I think it was), then it certainly succeeded.
Grade: B

Run Lola Run:
I agree with everything that's been said about this. It's just one huge adrenaline rush, and also has some cool stuff about how tiny decisions affect things in huge ways. An original premise and never a dull moment, one of my favourite movies.
Grade: A

[Reply #376 on:]

Oooh...goody...here we go...chance to show off my writing skills (you can tell I am a newbie...)

 Dicky Roberts: Former Child Star:
 
   Okay, this movie was underrated. Movie critics can be so degrating. I went to see it two weekends back, I found it highly amusing. David Spade throws in a series of witty and well-crafted jokes, most of them being criticizing or sexual jokes (which always makes things better, don't you agree?). A very well written script, paritally credited to the very talented Mr. Adam Sandler (bravo to Happy Madison Films). Surprisingly there are LOTS of guest star appearances, including the likes of Leif Garrett, Brendan Frasier, Cory Felman, and Hal Sparks. Not to mention, tons of other Hollywood talents. So while movie critics criticize this movie with a measily 2 stars, I say screw them, this is a least a 4 star quality flick, no doubt about it. 

 

[Reply #377 on:]

Well, I just got back from watching Underworld for newspaper reviewing purposes, and I already made up the headline: "Underworld" Underwhelms.

The one thing that continues to stick out in my mind is they could have done so much more. I came in counting on seeing cool werewolf transformations, stylish vampire powers and both sides dealing out some major pain.

Instead, what we get is "An Introduction to Vampiric Politics 101" meshed with a sloppy Romeo & Juliet subplot. Time and again in this movie, they return to discussions about the vampiric order, and the vampiric council, and their vampiric covenant, and what kind of blood goes best with what vampiric sidedish (red is a favorite), and so on and so on. Nobody cares. What we care about is the action; forget all semblance of plot and just show us some goddamn vampires and werewolves fighting!

Even when the movie slips into action mode, it's all gunplay; gunplay that's been done better and more satisfyingly before. The couple instances of Kate Beckinsale going Kung-Fu on some punks only whet my and my friend's appetite to see some more. Unfortunately, we have to remain content with one-sided fights with lots automatic weapons fire and not much else.

That doens't even mention a couple plotholes, most of which deal with a central plot twist I won't give out. In the end, what should have been a mindless "Ohh! Vampires and werewolves fighting!" movie tries to be a soulful action movie, and it just doen't pan out. I'd give it a C+.

[Reply #378 on:]

^ That's probably the kindest review I've heard of "Underworld." And you people wondered why White Wolf didn't want to be associated with it.

From what I've heard, and LAN can support me on this, is that the vampires don't do anything vampric, and the werewolves don't do much werewolving (aside from a few bad shape change effects.)

The best line about this movie is "It's like the Matrix told from Trinity's perspective." AKA, there's no mystery about the setting or the characters, because the main character knows everything about the setting.

[Reply #379 on:]

     

Originally posted by evan:
From what I've heard, and LAN can support me on this, is that the vampires don't do anything vampric, and the werewolves don't do much werewolving (aside from a few bad shape change effects.)

I thought the werewolf change effects were some of the highlights of the movie; they were actually quite good.

But your main point is right on. The movie establishes that the Lycans turn into werewolves and are susceptible to silver stuff; and the vampires drink blood and are susceptible to light. Beyond this, nothing else of the vampire/werewolf mythos is used.

Granted, I don't know how much more there is about werewolves, but there's plenty about vampires. No garlic, no crosses, no holy water, nothing. One thing that turns up early on is that the Lycans use UV-radiating bullets in their guns to reproduce the effect of sunlight on vampires. My thought was, wouldn't it be 100 times easier to just put some holy water in a super soaker?

Also, this movies takes place entirely at night. That fact that it is never light outside sticks out like a sore thumb, as does the isolation of the events in the movie from the wider world. So there's been a blood feud between vampires and werewolves for over 1000 years, and no regular mortals have noticed anything about it? Riiiight.

EDIT: This article is almost exactly my opinion on the movie. Good premise, poor execution; hopefully they'll fix it if they decide to make a sequel. If you don't mind the slow bits, the movie is some dumb fun.

[Reply #380 on:]

I saw a picture of a Lycan during a preview for Underworld. It was incredibly fake. It's pretty clear that it's a plastic mask.

[Reply #381 on:]

 

Originally posted by Speli:
 Watch Brain Dead, you'll thank me   

i don't need to watch it, i already am brain dead.

[Reply #382 on:]

I saw Finding Nemo last night. I thought it was pretty good, and good for all ages. See the damn movie already if you haven't! 4.5/5

[Reply #383 on:]

Seen it twice, The first time I didnt catch much of it due to a very disruptive drunken viewer (most aussies will know the kind Im referring too) who brought her baby in to the cinema. The baby was squeeling and I had a blistering headache. Instead of stoping the baby crying she just mumbled "shut up you stupid little c***". I cant wait until november 04 when pixars next effort "the incredibles" comes out. It looked so good..

[Reply #384 on:]

Anything Else
Well, I may be one of those people who watches a movie, already convinced I like it.  I went into this film with a desire to enjoy it, and I did.  It was much more similiar to earlier Woody Allen films than his recent efforts, Curse of the Jade Scorpion and Hollywood Ending.  Seeing Jason Biggs in a role similiar to Alvy Singer...well, it "felt just like old times."  Biggs exceled as Jerry Faulk, a struggling comedy writer, and Christina Ricci captured Amanda's neuroses wonderfully.  The real treat is Allen as Dobel, though.  He's paranoid and more than a little crazy.  Though, as it's said in the film, "a broken clock is right twice a day."  Certainly, this film will never be on the same level as Annie Hall but it's a great light comedy.  Danny DeVito is great as the stereotyped manager, and Stockard Channing did well playing Amanda's mother.  Jimmy Fallon sounded a bit nervous, though that may just be his character.  The script is witty and very funny, though some would say it lacks a real plot.  Still, if you're a fan of Allen's work and like films a step above normal Hollywood fare, I highly recommend Anything Else.  It had me singing like Diane Keaton the rest of the day. 

[Reply #385 on:]

Lost in Translation
Wow. This movie astounded me. I've seen many a bad Bill Murray movie in my lifetime, but never has one reached out from the screen and slapped me.
I went in expecting this movie that would flush my body of all impurities. A movie that would make me, and every other film lover in the theater, ejaculate with glee. And yet, all I found was another overrated, pseudo-independent, film starring a veteran film actor. This movie is basically the writer's attempt to piss on the faces of all middle-class or foreign people, while kissing the fat asses of America's rich and overpaid film critics.
It's another movie about rich people who want you to know that being rich is perhaps the hardest thing in the world (sweatshop workers have it sooo good compared to the woman living off her husband and the ex-film star who can still find good work in an exotic country), a cynical asshole going through a mid-life crisis, and "miserable" people finding out that life IS worth living, especially for the sweet sweet money.
This movie pokes a lot of fun at Asian people, basically just portraying them as foreign psychos. Sure, Japan isn't the most sane country in the world, but they could've put at least one Asian that didn't seem like he needed a lobotomy.
If you're a fat, rich, moron like Ebert, you'll love this.
F

[Reply #386 on:]

my favorite film has to be jonny english. rowan had made a prety darn good comeback to the movie business(mr bean movie, adult movies ect)

[Reply #387 on:]

 

Originally posted by ooy:
my favorite film has to be jonny english. rowan had made a prety darn good comeback to the movie business(mr bean movie, adult movies ect)

God that was awful! So predictable and so pathetic. I hate slapstick comedy when overdone like that!

[Reply #388 on:]

I've seen a few movies since the last time I posted....

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: A bit too slow in the beginning, but things pick up, becoming more and more disturbing as we approach the end.  The dinner scene doesn't begin until there's maybe only ten or fifteen minutes left in the movie, but it's so weird that it seems longer in memory.  That guy in the wheelchair was really annoying; I was glad when he got chopped up.  I bet they ruin the remake.

Blue Velvet: Not a bad movie.  I liked the odd 1950s look of the production, though that restricted the story and made it too basic and by-the-numbers to be fully enjoyable.  Dennis Hopper's character was amazing; he easily could have been a flat villain (his only real motivation is that he's just a bad guy), but he was very detailed.

Dirty Pretty Things: Not bad, but the story was really too simple to be memorable.  Chiwetel Ejiofor was great, and Audrey Tautou's character, a Turkish Muslim (?!), was a lot different from Amélie.  I didn't like the bit at the end where Ejiofor's character talks about "the people you don't see;" that was just one of those deliberately dramatic clips you play at the Oscars.  And the poster (at least the one at the IMDb) is one of the most misleading I've seen recently, with an apparently topless Tautou looking at the viewer, even though her character usually doesn't even want men touching her.

Jian Gui (aka The Eye): Big disappointment.  People keep raving about this being the scariest movie ever made.  Movies don't scare me, but I couldn't see much that would scare anyone.  The plot was way too similar to The Sixth Sense and Ringu, especially the idea of traveling to a secluded place to learn the past of the psychic, ghostly figure.

[Reply #389 on:]

Event Horizon:
Just watched it for the first time, and I like it. It may seem a bit cliche with the sci-fi style it is (i.e. The thing, The Sphere... You know, the group of people that are all alone with no help, with a huge problem ahead, but they fight amongst eachother, and usually 2 or 3 people escape). Actually, now that I think of it, it stole many elements from Alien, The Shining and The Excorsist. Oh well, it still had a couple of elements of it's own. It was very disturbing indeed, though, what with all the images of hell, or the "Evil dimension", as they called it. I liked the idea of the Event Horizon's gravity drive, and that the ship turned out to be

Show spoiler

living

. The funniest part, though, would have to be when Fishburne yells "Oh fuck me!"
7.4/10

[Reply #390 on:]

Well then, I bought Donnie Darko on DVD today and watched it tonight. Everywhere I went on the net all I heard was 'Donnie Darko is the best film ever' and, when compared to 'Mullholland Drive (which I thought was an intriguing and stylish movie) was supposedly 'way ahead of it'. Well, being loaded with all this hype probably wasn't the best idea but I went with it, confident that the majority of the internet nerd community could not be wrong.

And it wasn't bad. I can say, it's much more original than most hollywood fare. But maybe it was the hype, maybe it was the annoying fan-obsession with it, but I wasn't that impressed by it.

Show spoiler

Right, so I get the idea of time travel, I understand that Donnie went back in time to put everything back to normal (he dies, so that everything else doesn't happen). But what about Frank?!? This is where I sat at the end of the film. I understood the ending, no problem with that, but nothing was explained about Frank. What is he doing in Donnie's dreams?

After checking out www.imdb.com  and the pamphlet on the DVD I understand it now. And I was sorely disappointed. I mean, the whole physics of the thing makes sense only if you use these 'rules' of time travel devised by the director? And that Frank is there because these rules allow him to be there? I was really looking forward to learning how everything ties together, and it was a real anticlimax to learn that Frank appears practically 'by magic'.

While you can understand the film without reading the additional pamphlet, most of the film is in the dark if you don't. And this annoyed me. I wouldn't be so annoyed about it if it wasn't so hyped up, but with all the loving praise it received I expected more. So this is a lesson to be learned- DON'T HYPE UP FILMS!!!

However, I liked the eighties feel to the film and I laughed heartily at some scenes (Jim's explanation that it was 'drugs, alcohol and pre-marital sex' that is destroying America  ). It think it actually worked better as a social commentary, especially since

Show spoiler

most of the stuff at school had nothing to do with the main plot.

Anyway, I'd give this film a C+/B-. This is why I try my best never to listen to hype any more.

@Speli: I saw Event Horizon a few years ago. It is cliched, unoriginal and a bit cheesy but that didn't stop it from keeping me awake all night! That Hell scene alone had me frightened for a long time after.

[Reply #391 on:]

@speli: I saw Event Horizon when it first came out at an all-nighter at the drive-in.  But the night got foggy, so my main recolection of the movie is the last half hour was nothing but a black screen with occasional flashing blue lights, while people scream things that make no sense over the soundtrack.

[Reply #392 on:]

Has anyone seen "School of Rock"? I like Jack Black, and haven't heard anything about it yet.

[Reply #393 on:]

 

I saw Event Horizon when it first came out at an all-nighter at the drive-in.

They still have drive-in movie theatres? I wasn't sure whether they existed or not. Cool, if I ever go to the US I know what's top of my 'to do' list.

[Reply #394 on:]

I went to drive-in while in the US recently, it was pretty cool, but I was watching 'SWAT', the most formulaic cop movie I've ever seen. You tune the soundtrack on the radio, so I watched most of it with the sound from American Wedding, which amused me immensely.

[Reply #395 on:]

 

Originally posted by Super Rad!:
Has anyone seen "School of Rock"? I like Jack Black, and haven't heard anything about it yet.

It opens on Friday (October 3). Entertainment Weekly gave it an A

Cold Creek Manor

Saw it on Tuesday, ecpecting it to be in own of the big theaters, but ended up in one of the smaller ones. I would have enjoyed it more with the bigger screen, but I did enjoy it, except for the fact that the woman behind me was talking all the time and responding to events in the movie (like if the lights went out she'd be "Oh My God!" ) and wearing way to much perfume. Then at the end of the movie she got out of her chair to fast and fell flat on her face in the isle and on the stairs (it was really hard to keep from laughing). Anyway, back to the movie, I liked Dennis Quaid and Stephen Dorff, but didn't really care for Sharon Stone or the woman that was Dorff's character's girlfriend. One again, like in The Ring there was a scene that ruined the whole movie for me, luckily I was able to figure out it was coming (thanks to trailers) and cover my eyes, I can't stand to see animals hurt, so with that scene in the pool, I just didn't want to see that. There were some really funny parts like seeing Dennis Quaid freak out. Cold Creek Manor is not a gore fest, and keeps a good amount of suspense thoughout.

[Reply #396 on:]

 

Originally posted by OC_James:
Lost in Translation
Wow. This movie astounded me. I've seen many a bad Bill Murray movie in my lifetime, but never has one reached out from the screen and slapped me.
 

My brother wants to see this movie.  He tried to get me to go last night, but it didn't work out.  When he told me about it I remembered your review.  I think I'll wait until it comes out on video.

I've had a love/hate relationship with indie/small release films.  It seems I either really like them (Ghost World, Memento) or I wouldn't watch them again if you paid me (Mullholand Drive, Igby Goes Down).  Your review of Lost In Translation stiffens my resolve to wait and see it later (and cheaper).

[Reply #397 on:]

School Of Rock
This movie kicked so much ass! So much calssic rock, including 3 songs by the mother load of all rock bands, AC/DC. There was just so much rockin' goin' on in this movie! OK, now that I've got that out, here's how it goes. The movie is probably Jack Black at his best, being himself. It's got alot of heart in it, but even more jammin'. I recommend this movie to any classic rocker, or any rocker in general.
Bottom Line: Best Movie I've seen in months.

[Reply #398 on:]

School of Rock

Very funny. I really like the music that the kids played, especially the song that Zack "wrote". The version of "It's A Long Way To The Top" over the end credits is one of the funniest things I've seen lately. The only thing I didn't like was Sarah Silverman. Her voice was so whiney thoughout and everytime she spoke I saw an animated character standing in place of her.

[Reply #399 on:]

Matchstick Men
From big action movies like Black Hawk Down and Gladiator director Ridley Scott moves into more intimate territory with Matchstick Men.
Amazingly realised film, with immense detail and thought put into it. Nicholas Cage yet again brings a mesmerising performance as the smalltime conman, Roy. His continuous twitching and compulsive disorder are both funny and depressing, add the convincing efforts of Alison Lohman as Angela, Roy's daughter who find her dad fascinating.... Too fascinating and Sam Rockwells suave performance as Roy's partner and you've got a film with interesting characters and an original plot.
A+