| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happy-Go-Lucky - R | June 4, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Nothing But the Truth - R | June 4, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Blindness - R | June 4, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Fanboys - PG-13 |
Fanboys is a film aimed squarely at me. I was one of those guys who was just the right age when Star Wars came out, so I was in the middle of the frenzy from Episode 4 all the way to Episode 3 (that sounds backwards, but its not). The devotion, the anticipation, the geekiness - not only to Star Wars, but to pop culture of all kinds (80's cartoons were the bomb, yo!)
It's a great idea, and a fun movie, but falls short of what I'd hoped for. Unfortunately, the film is trying way too hard. Everything feels forced. Too many quotes shoved awkwardly into normal conversations. Too many parallels between itself and scenes from the SW films. Too many references and lifeless cameos. Despite a great main cast (supporting roles/cameos are a different story), the film feels very amateurish. It's really just a feature-length fan film that has recognizable stars. Having seen it now, I'm surprised it was given as wide a release as it was. Still, it's got lots of fun moments and really makes me nostalgic for my younger fanboy years. It's probably only at best a 3 out of 5, but I bumped it an extra half because its heart was in the right place ...and because it has the already-hot Kristen Bell in a Leia slavegirl outfit. |
May 22, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Mulan II - G | May 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Pocahontas - G | May 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Rescuers - G | May 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Robin Hood - G | May 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Hercules - G | May 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame - G | May 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Tarzan - G | May 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Mulan - G | May 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Wall Street - R | May 3, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Soloist - PG-13 | Robert Downey Jr once again elevates an otherwise average film with another outstanding performance. Fairly forgettable, but a nice character piece and acting showcase. One problem the film has is that it touches on subplots that either have noting to do with the story (falling readership/stock prices at the newspaper resulting in more and more layoffs), or that it completely abandons (the city's promise to spend more to address the poverty issue in the area turns out to just be cracking down on arrests and pushing people off the streets). | May 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - PG-13 |
I was ready to write this off as just another passable romantic comedy, but a couple reviews from guys I usually agree with made me give it a look. And sure enough, it turned out to be pretty fun. As "Christmas Carol" films go, this one is closest in tone and style to the best of them all, Scrooged.
Say what you will about Matthew McConaughey, but the guy picks roles that suit him very well. Lately he has setted into being the go-to guy for the tired romantic comedy genre, but this one's different. This is really a romantic comedy told from a guy's point-of-view. Plus it's directed by Mark Waters, who made another very guy-watchable chick-flick with Mean Girls. It's fun, it's witty, and even a bit touching, and a great supporting cast brings it all to life, with Michael Douglas as the films "Marley" and Lacey Chabert as the high-strung bride being the stand-outs. |
May 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Crank 2: High Voltage - R |
Sloppy, loud, incoherent and waaaaay over-the-top, but a helluva lot of fun. Not for the easily offended or those who hate quick editing and fast, shaky action. They've taken everything they did with the first Crank (a great guilty pleasure flick) and multiplied it by ten. Profanity, violence, sex, carnage... this film revels in it. It coud've rated higher, but there were a few parts that were just way too out there even for me - namely the unnecessary "man-in-suit" Godzilla-style scene and the young Chev talk show scene.
Supporting cast and cameos are as random as they come with Corey Haim, Lauren Holly, David Carradine, and Ginger Spice/Geri Halliwell. |
May 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Witness - R | May 2, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Bride Wars - PG | May 2, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| X-Men Origins - Wolverine - PG-13 |
I am truly disappointed that they have, for the time being at least, decided to stop making X-Men films. While I still don't think they've gotten one quite perfect, I love the films and the X-Men universe. With such a deep roster of characters, the series could last for decades. But now we're just seeing spin-offs - Wolverine being the first, with a Magneto film and a New Mutants-ish film both in the plans so far. But even a spinoff of X-Men is gonna get me excited, and Wolverine is a great place to start.
I was cautiously optimistic about this film, but it turns out any hesitations were unfounded. It's great fun - on par with the best of the series so far. To keep this spoiler-free, I'll just keep it general: They rush through much of the early history (much of it in the opening credits montage), but I suppose that was necessary to keep the focus on the specific story they were telling. Liev Schreiber does a fantastic job as Victor Creed, and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool is just perfect casting. Unfortunately, Deadpool and some other characters really seem shoe-horned in here as nothing more than extended cameos. Same goes for Gambit. His character feels tacked on just to placate audience demand. Taylor Kitsch has the right look, and his acting is fine, but his accent is all over the place - sometimes Cajun, sometimes Texas southern drawl, and sometimes no accent at all. The look of the film seems much more down-to-earth, avoiding the gloss and costume look that made the earlier X-films seem a bit too artificial. The action sequences are exciting, and while there's no big surprises in the film, it does entertain. But like the last X-Men film, a few disappointing decisions the filmmakers made really complicate options for future films. and yes, as is standard with Marvel films these days, stay through the END of the credits for a tease of what's to come. TWO different post-credits tags actually, one showing on some prints, one on others. (in addition to a Stryker scene early in the credits) |
May 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Fighting - PG-13 | May 2, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Kids in the Hall - Brain Candy - R | April 27, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Spirit - PG-13 |
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a new winner for WORST film of 2008: THE SPIRIT (Keeping in mind I never saw the likely winner by far: Disaster Movie).
It starts out just looking silly, then is just plain bad; but as it goes on, every time you think it's hit it's low point, it gets worse. Where to start? The look? It's easy to compare its style to Sin City based on its spot-color, cgi-background visuals. But it didn't work for that movie, and it's even less worthwhile here. Between the annoying look and the HORRIBLE writing, I don't know if they worked in the graphic novel, but it damn sure don't here. There is such a thing as too faithful to source material. The acting? A new low for every actor involved, especially Scarlett Johannson - she never could act, but is worse here than ever. I have to think that every actor in it looks at the finished film and is simply embarrassed. But the worst of the worst here - the biggest share of the blame - is writer/director Frank Miller. He manages to fail at every imaginable aspect of the film. Stick to the comic medium, Frank. You're first directorial effort is officially a steaming pile of crap and a disaster of epic proportions. |
April 26, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Obsessed - PG-13 | April 25, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Notorious - R |
It's hard to look at this film objectively. Maybe I'd enjoy it more if I didn't think the music was all complete crap. Maybe I'd enjoy it more if I didn't think the whole gangsta rap "thug" lifestyle was a joke. But as it is, the characters are caricatures and the soundtrack is full of music that makes you wonder why anyone liked this guy.
So why did I even watch it? Well, even if I don't know or care much about someone, biographies can still be interesting and entertaining. This is not one of them. A subject unworthy of a biography. |
April 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Married Life - PG-13 | April 24, 2009 | N/A |
2339 ratings
171 reviews
