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Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans - R
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This movie was really disappointing. The effects were worse than in the first two films. It does manage to continue the Underworld universes tradition of godawful sex scenes reminiscent of cheesy 90's perfume ads. The whole movie basically rehashes stuff that we already learned from Kraven in the first Underworld. Michael Sheen and Rhonda Mitra have good chemistry but beyond that I have nothing good to say about this movie.
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May 20, 2009
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N/A
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The Wrestler - R
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From the aging stripper, to the bitter daughter, to the old and broken wrestler, this movie is very much about people who are (as Bono might say) stuck in a moment. The cast does a great job and you definitely feel for them, but I can't help but feel like I was expecting more from all of the hype. It's a bit too dark and depressing for me but it's not a bad movie.
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May 17, 2009
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N/A
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Quarantine - R
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This is an awful awful movie. Quarantine is a poorly acted, horribly directed, utterly predictable, bad parody of the worst horror movies. And given that they literally show the ending of the film in the trailer (and on the cover), there is very little motivation to keep watching.
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May 17, 2009
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N/A
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Frost/Nixon - R
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The most problematic issue with the way this unfolds is that it's based on popular history so we know from the start how it turns out. As a result, the big climax of the interviews seems oddly anticlimactic. Fortunately, all of the performances were pretty decent, especially Frank Langella as Nixon.
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May 16, 2009
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N/A
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Yes Man - PG-13
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Carrey is not as frisky as he used to be. Watching his antics now feels almost like seeing Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. Yes Man has laughs but it's very subtle and does just enough to get by but not much more. You wont be wiping tears from your eyes but you'll probably smile from the feel-good message.
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May 14, 2009
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N/A
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Get Smart - PG-13
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Get Smart is not particularly smart or funny. Having Steve Carrell as the lovable fool has worked many times before. This time even he can't save this predictable witless turd. I've seen better acting and chemistry on The CW. If you've avoided it this long then my advice is to stick to the plan.
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May 10, 2009
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N/A
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Star Trek - PG-13
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Star Trek is a lot of fun. I was familiar with but never a huge fan of the original series. I DID watch The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine (my favorite) though. It was great seeing this movie. J.J. Abrams knows how to keep the action moving. It's not without a little cheese and typical action sequences but it delivers on everything a geek could want in a summer blockbuster. The performances were also good all around.
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May 10, 2009
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N/A
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RocknRolla - R
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This is typical Guy Ritchie. You may experience deja vu while watching this movie. RocknRolla is not bad but you've seen it a million times before. Gerard Butler's character could have easily been Clive Owen or Jason Statham. There is a twist at the end but honestly, who cares?
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May 10, 2009
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N/A
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Australia - PG-13
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Australia was a pretty good movie. The visuals have a surreal quality that made me feel like I was watching something artificial but it was consistent and pleasing so I didn't mind. It's also long but it feels slightly more epic than drawn out or boring. There's a lot going on. If you were considering viewing it then I'd say give it a try.
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May 10, 2009
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N/A
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Max Payne - PG-13
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Watching Max Payne is like hearing a joke from a bad comedian. Before they finish telling the joke you've figure it out and decided that it's lame, but you still have to sit back and let it play out. Aside from being predictable, there is a serious lack of interesting action. Even the unrated version of Max Payne is a bore. Skip it.
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May 10, 2009
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N/A
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The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - PG-13
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I remember the first two mummy films being surprisingly entertaining. The only thing surprising this time is just how bad the jokes and special effects are. More often than not the third film in these trilogies suck: X-Men, Blade, Resident Evil, and so on. Add the Mummy.
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May 10, 2009
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N/A
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - PG-13
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Ben Button is a touching movie about life and death, love and loneliness. This movie is really long, but I found it fascinating from beginning to end. You can nitpick the details if you REALLY want, but any work of fiction that can get me misty eyed and make me examine my own life is deserving of a pass on such issues.
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May 10, 2009
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N/A
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The Uninvited - PG-13
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Within the first 15 minutes I had figured out what The Uninvited was about. The film deliberately steers you in that direction and then in the last 15 minutes it hits you with a lazy twist that you probably wont see coming. It's not clever or subtle, just cheap. Plus it wasn't scary at all. Skip it.
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May 5, 2009
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N/A
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In the Mouth of Madness - R
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I have a soft spot for this movie dating back to my childhood despite it being flawed. The effects don't hold up at all. In fact they are pretty bad by today's standards. It's goofy but not too cheesy, creepy but not really scary, and the twist is smart though it's given away with dumb dialogue. Also the bad guy looks like Barry Manilow. Wow. Still, In the Mouth of Madness is still one of the more enjoyable old-school horror films.
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April 20, 2009
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N/A
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Lost Boys of Sudan - Unrated
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Technically, this documentary is about as basic as you can get. It is, however, a fairly good firsthand account of the acclimation of hopeful Sudanese refugees to American life, and their eventual realization of the fact that there is no "Heaven on Earth".
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April 15, 2009
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N/A
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The Last Winter - Unrated
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This is a half creepy supernatural isolation film with good performances, but the monster reveal at the end is a bit of a let down.
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April 14, 2009
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N/A
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Event Horizon - R
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Event Horizon, like so many horror movies, starts out strong but looses steam QUICKLY. It seems like the writers had a great set up, but once they get us there they don't REALLY know what do. As a result, the majority of the film consists primarily of filler (basically a lot of cheap scares and stupid humor) which leads to a very cheesy ending. It's still watchable though if you have nothing better to do.
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April 13, 2009
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N/A
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Stargate: Continuum - Unrated
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Stargate: Continuum is not a bad movie by any means. It uses the old tried and true "bad guy returns to the past to stop the good guys" formula that's been used a million times before in Sci-Fi, from Terminator to Futurama. Unfortunately, Continuum doesn't add much else.
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April 13, 2009
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N/A
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Outsourced - PG-13
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Outsourced is a cute little romantic comedy. It starts out with a few cheap culture shock gags such as the old "rubber" double entendre, but evolves into a simple but effective story about people making the most basic connections across cultural boundaries. The very expressive leading actress, Ayesha Dharker, was a pleasure to watch.
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April 7, 2009
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N/A
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L'Auberge Espagnole (Pot Luck)(Euro Pudding)(The Spanish Apartment) - R
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L'Auberge Espagnole got of to a rocky start but turned out to be a pretty good film. To my surprise, Audrey Tautou had a very minor role, but leading man Romain Duris and crew all turned out good performances. Whether you've travelled abroad, been in a long distance relationship, or simply arrived at a point in life where you've been forced to grow as a person, you may feel somewhat nostalgic for those lived experiences that were once both beautiful and trying.
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April 6, 2009
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N/A
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Slumdog Millionaire - R
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This was the movie of the year!? This isn't even Danny Boyle's best work. Slumdog lacked passion. In fact, the only actor to show ANY emotion appropriate to his circumstances in the whole 2 hrs was the two-faced game show host played by Anil Kapoor. Other than that, everyone else could have been extras in 28 days later. Overrated.
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April 5, 2009
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N/A
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Religulous - R
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The problem with Religulous is that Bill Maher goes on the offensive against uneducated Joe Blow, which makes his questioning seem more condescending than curious. For what Religulous succeeds at doing, the film Zietgiest does a much better job. I'm giving this a very low 3/5 stars.
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April 5, 2009
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N/A
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Heat - R
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Heat is an excellent film. This is by far the best movie that Michael Mann has ever made in my humble opinion. After nearly 15 years, every element of this film still seems on point from the acting and direction down to the use of "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" as the soundtrack.
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April 5, 2009
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N/A
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Paris Je T'aime - R
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This was a wonderful collection of short love vignettes set in Paris. A few of them were kind of weak but for each of those there was one that was really great. Also, it's a little bit on the long side, but still worth viewing.
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April 4, 2009
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N/A
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Bolt - PG
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Bolt wasn't a bad film but I was expecting more. Ironically, it doesn't become interesting until it turns into the cliche "talking animals finding their way home" film that we've seen before. The voice acting was pretty good all around but the hamster and pigeons stole the spotlight. The kids will enjoy it but I probably wont be watching it again.
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March 31, 2009
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N/A
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353 ratings
299 reviews
