Griffinkay Reviews

I Care a Lot (2020)

A Promising Premise Goes Horribly Awry

[1/10 · 16 March 2021]

This movie had a great cast and an interesting premise, but so much of it was beyond my ability to suspend my disbelief. So much of it is implausible and Rosamund Pike's character is such a terrible human being. Honestly, am I supposed to root for her? Am I supposed to root for Peter Dinklage's character? Dianne Wiest's? I thought I knew who I should root for, but then the movie turns the tables and just makes everybody irredeemable. So why do I care? I left this movie feeling so annoyed. The previews looked interesting, and the movie started out fine but just got worse and worse. Believe all the bad reviews here. Skip this. You'll be glad you didn't waste your time.

Money or Mission (2006 Video)

Meh...Not the Best

[3/10 · 5 April 2009]

While I feel the message of this film is laudable, the execution isn't great. It's full of mediocre acting, bad story and character development, bad writing, and is completely predictable. A movie promoting good church values doesn't have to be this bad. Simply said, this movie doesn't offer anything interesting or new. It's the stereotypical story of a young man struggling with the decision of whether to serve a mission or not and offers its audience no surprises or insights we haven't already seen dozens of times in other "feel-good" LDS movies. Like I said, I think the message is important, but the movie comes off as bland and, quite honestly, a bit preachy. I think there are more artistic and compelling ways to tell the same story or deliver the same message.

The Champ (1979)

One of my all time favorite movies.

[10/10 · 14 November 2004]

This movie has been accused of being overly-sentimental. That's probably true. Nonetheless, I am unable to watch this movie without crying. Jon Voight plays an ex-boxing champion raising his young boy (played by a stellar Ricky Schroder). I think Jon Voight is very good in this film (and I'm not a huge Jon Voight fan), and I think the young Schroder (who was seven, I believe, when he made this film) is fantastic. I find Faye Dunaway (who plays the boy's estranged mother) slightly annoying, but I forgive her because I love the film itself so much. I think Franco Zefferelli's direction is superb, and I enjoy much of the cinematography. I think the relationship between Voight and Schroder is particularly touching, and there are several scenes between them that bring me to tears. I really do give this movie a ten.

Scavenger Hunt (1979)

It's not high art, but I love it.

[9/10 · 14 November 2004]

This is what I call one of my "guilty pleasure" movies. It's not a particularly well-made movie, and it is, admittedly, somewhat dated, but for some reason I never tire of watching it, and it still makes me laugh every time. I'm sure this makes me a geek (and some, I'm sure, will argue a geek with a poor sense of humor), but I think this film is hilarious. I've easily seen it 300+ times and have the whole thing memorized, and I still laugh at it. I love sophisticated comedy, old classics, art-house films, epics, and blockbusters as much as the next guy; but when I just need pure mindless entertainment or a good laugh, I pull out this film, and it always does the trick. Scavenger Hunt has a talented cast of famous names from the seventies, including Richard Benjamin, Richard Mulligan, Cloris Leachman, Tony Randall, Roddy McDowall, James Coco, Cleavon Little, Willie Aames, and Dirk Benedict plus cameos from such names as Vincent Price, Avery Schreiber, Scatman Crothers, Ruth Gordon, Liz Torres, Meat Loaf, and Arnold Schwartzenegger. Richard Mulligan, Avery Schreiber, and Stephanie Faracy play my favorite characters (actually I enjoy the whole servant team, which includes Faracy, McDowall, Little, and Coco). I remember seeing this movie as a kid, and I thought it was so funny (and maybe that's why I like it so much, because it reminds me of my innocent days of youth). I realize this flick isn't for everyone, but I find it humorous and entertaining, and it's clean. Some of the characters are overly broad, some of the humor is stupid, and some situations are simply unbelievable, but if you just go into this movie knowing that it's far-fetched comedy for comedy's sake and understand that it isn't taking itself seriously, you can still have a good time. I know I have.

Capricorn One (1977)

Great film filled with a lot of suspense and irony.

[10/10 · 3 February 2001]

Capricorn One is one of my favorite films. It's a bit dated, but I think Peter Hyams has put together a great story filled with a lot of suspense and irony. I enjoy the way the film is put together and the statements it makes about integrity. It's also just a lot of fun as an action film. The actors are all really good, especially Hal Holbrook, Elliot Gould, James Brolin, and Sam Waterston (as the wise-cracking comic relief).