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Reviews
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
Hits close to the heart
I love/hate this great film. When it comes on TV, I hold tight to ride the emotional roller coaster - crying and laughing at the same time. I too have felt the pain from lost love and it is portrayed perfectly by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The script is written perfectly and the creative shifting through the 500 days keeps the pace moving along.
The reviews here pretty much nail it on the head, especially from every young man who has looked into the eyes of someone they (thought) truly loved, only to have their heart crushed and life darkened (for several summer days).
FYI - This is NOT a movie for newly dating couples. No No No! I'd recommend it for that young lover recently broken up and needs a good cry or that couple positively strong in their relationship and can look at each other after the movie and say (in the words of Carrie Fisher from "When Harry Met Sally") "Tell me I'll never have to be out there again."
PS - "Especially you, Amy T. -bit$#"
Moon (2009)
Underrated SciFi movie
Sam Rockwell executes a magnificent performance playing both "Sam" roles. I was instantly drawn into the story at the beginning and was glued to my seat until the very end. A simple script with few characters but feels like a major motion picture. Put it on your watch list.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Midnight at the Concord (2018)
Best so far, but I'm still watching for the first time.
I loved this episode. Not to say everything up to this has not been hysterical, but the timing, script, and scenes were top notch. Definitely a top 5 pic for me.
No Time to Die (2021)
What he should have said...
Wished Bond would have used "je t'aime" at the end to respond to Madeleine's "I love you.". It would have taken her use of it at the beginning and brought it full circle in their relationship.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie. Let's hope they don't spin this movie into "007 something woke". James Bond, as we have known for years, should be at rest.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Messing up a good thing, George is.
When "New Hope" came out, I must have seen it 30+ times in the theater. I was 10 years old and the story was every boy's dream. How I yearned to harness the "FORCE" and use it to beat up some bullies at my school. Of course, a light saber would have been pretty cool for show and tell too! ...now, I wish I could use the FORCE to go back in time and have a chat with Lucas and fix this awful mess.
The opening sequence was eye candy and nothing else. The dialog: ridiculous. OMG!!...the tiny evil metal eating robots were screaming little yelps when they fell off the spaceships! Was that supposed to be funny???!! The only character who has the right to be comedy relief is C3PO and his on-screen time was maybe 5 minutes.
I nearly walked out of the cinema when Anakin was able to 'gently' land a flaming half-piece of space ship onto a (Oh wow...look straight ahead Anakin...there's the...) RUNWAY! A RUNWAY!!?? The wreck is falling out of the sky...on fire...in pieces. You can almost hear the robot flight attendant in the background saying "Thank you for flying with us". Bada Bum.
Good grief.
The bashing I could give this film will take 10 pages or so. The animation is Overkill^2000. George my boy...we don't need all that fancy stuff. One critic panned the movie for too much distracting digital artwork in the background...and I completely agree. I was taken out of the story line many times when watching the 'traffic' out the windows. How many flying cars do you need!!?? What fans need: Good/simple dialog, Jedi's using the FORCE, light-sabers, and a good butt-kicking fight scene. Speaking of which...the dual between Anakin and Obi-Wan at the end got "3" points....but, I had to subtract "1" point when they started fighting on floating lava blocks. Wow! Jedi's are flame retardant! Oh wait, maybe not Anakin. He can hover over hot lava for several minutes fighting...but 'suddenly' catch fire when his stubs get too close to the lava...??!!??!!
Sigh
When I left the theater, I was terribly upset. I looked around at the other people walking out and they all seemed to feel the same way. No cheering, no applause, no "Wow" factor. We left with our heads down low with a somber walk. Sorry Johnny...there is no Santa Claus.
At home, I pulled out my DVD of "New Hope" and watched it so I could forgive George for the mess he made. It was redeeming and wonderful. The memories of a simpler time. No fancy effects, simple dialog, evil & good, SSZZHHHHHH SSZZHHHHH light sabers, and heroes in the end. Ahhhhhhh....the good life. Gonna help myself to "Empire Strikes Back" tomorrow and wash the Sith out of my head for good.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Disappointed - Leave your towel at home
I barely remember what I read from the books almost 20 years ago...but the BBC television series is stuck in my head. I was hoping for something close to what that TV show provided. That was extremely entertaining and easy to follow along.
This movie?? *deep sigh* Uuuggghhh. I wanted to sit next to Marvin and sing a depressing song with him.
The dialog is uttered too fast and without meaning. I didn't 'feel' anything for the characters. In fact, I would have been content just listening to the narrator tell stories from the Hitchhiker's Guide for an hour. The animation from the HHG was the only thing the folks in our theater were laughing at.
People who have not read the book or seen the BBC series will be totally lost and will feel ripped off. For those of you who are fans, you 'may' enjoy the flick but I'd suggest heading down to you nearest pub and ordering a Pangalactic Gargle Blaster instead. Go buy the DVD of the BBC series and enjoy yourself.
Oh yea....semi-spoiler. Why in the world did they leave out references to 42!!??!!?? That REALLY bummed me out.
Sin City (2005)
Not what you'd expect from the commercials
After watching "the making of..." and late night interviews with some of the actors on TV, I thought I knew what I was expecting when watching this flick. A "cool" black and white film shot on green screen, stunning effects, angles galore, and an dark story line. Oh yea...and Jessica Alba looking mighty foxy.
The intro was interesting but the rest of the movie left me bored and shaking my head. At one point, there came a scene which resulted in several people in the audience laughing and saying "You gotta be kiddin" and "That's crazy"...etc. If I wasn't one of those people who stick to the "Silence is Golden" rule, I would have shouted the same utterings.
This movie, although very creative and full of eye-candy, is just too dark, sinister and gory for the average crowd. The violence (oh, the violence) is rampant. I don't think the people in our theater were expecting this much blood and guts. And what's with the talking Pez Head??? (inside joke) My wife was freaking out. She turned to me and said "Wake me up when Bruce Willis comes back on". She got a good hour of sleep until he returned.
On a positive note, I truly liked Micky Rourke's return to cinema as Marv. I was thrilled to see a good guy turn into "bad" good guy. He was ruthless...and to the point. He didn't let crap get in his way and his lines were priceless. They could have written a 2 hour movie called "Marv" and I would have loved it. Wish we could all have heroes like him.
The effects are pretty cool and it feels like the comic novel comes to life. However, the scenes and dialog are pretty sappy and you too might find yourself talking back to the screen with "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT???!!!". Viewer beware.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
George, we miss the passion from the originals.
As a child, I must have seen the original three episodes about 100 times. The movie was presented to me in a way that was easy to understand and the characters were well defined. You knew who the bad guys were...and who were the heroes. The effects were awesome, yet simple compared to today's standards. At the end of "A New Hope", I couldn't wait to see the next movie. At the end of "Empire", I was jumping out of my seat...applauding and cheering.
But now....
My good friend and I saw it 'this morning' at a midnight showing. When it was over...no one clapped, or cheered. We all just walked out. I could sense from the other viewers the disappointment I also felt. The effects were wonderful....but almost TOO much. Where was the heart of the movie like "A New Hope"? My friend quoted it perfectly..."They should call this sequel 'Anakin Creek'".
AOTC is a good movie, but is far from reaching the standards we have come to love from the originals. It is much better than Phantom Menace (easy enough). I feel that Mr. Lucas has chosen to ignore the cries from his fans and decided to simply make a movie for himself. So many of the action sequences are OVERDONE. He might like all that eye-candy, but fans like us want a better story....not a city of floating cars.
We all have learned in English class the term "KISS" or Keep it Simple Stupid. There are too many plots going on that are poorly defined. The love story (or lack of it) is worse than a TV daytime SOAP. Finally, there is just WAY too much animation. My guess...you could easily cut out 30-45 minutes of the stuff and still have a great movie.
Please Mr. Lucas, review original Star Wars episodes. Create that type of energy and plot line for us when you make the next one. We like simple stuff like light sabers, tie-fighters, good guys, bad guys, and Han Solo. Leave the digital effects for Pokemon.
PS - Delete Jar Jar Binks.
The Time Machine (2002)
On my list of top 10 worst movies
My wife and I went to see "Beautiful Mind"....but it was sold out. Next available movie, "Time Machine".
The "What if?" question I will ask myself from now on is..."What if we just decided to park in front of a brick wall and stare at it for 2 hours??" At least with a brick wall, I know what to expect.
I've seen the earlier versions of The Time Machine. All this movie had to do was remake it with new CG technology to make the travel sequences a bit more interesting. And, with Guy Pearce as the lead, we just might have something. Well, what you get is pretty bad.....no, make that downright awful. So bad, my wife fell asleep within 30 minutes.
In all fairness, the first 15-20 minutes had my attention. The story was moving along and his motivation was logical. However, the moment he got off his little Time Taxi and landed in 2090-something...the story fell to pieces. It was getting silly, lost, ridiculous, laughable, stupid......ever seen Highlander 2?
The rest of the movie is just one big spoiler. It is NOT a satisfactory remake of the original. As many other users have commented, there is just too much missing and everything seems rushed. AND WHAT IS IT WITH THE HOLOGRAPHIC GUY??? You've just GOT to be kidding!! It was the most idiotic script mistake and it played as corny as you can get. DID YOU SEE HIM PAT THE SKULL ON THE HEAD??? "Alas poor Morlock, I knew him well".
SO dissappointing. Save your hard earned money and rent the original. As for Mr. Pearce, I hope he got paid well....this is not going to look good on his resume.
Best in Show (2000)
Don't be tempted, this movie stinks!
I'm so confused. Not just by this terrible movie, but that there are 'actual' people commenting that this movie is worth watching....and, dare I say...."Funny"..???
Please save yourself the time and money...save this movie for the late late late show on television. My wife and I both agree (oh boy!), there is just no significant plot to this piece of junk. Hell, if they just put the dogs on the screen a little bit more, I'd be satisfied. But your filled with gay/lesbian/angry/adulterated/stupid comic material that doesn't support this movie.
The 'interview' cam works for a while, but then it gets terribly boring and idiotic. Now, if they had a 'dog cam', that might something!
Unless you are a member of these weird dog shows, I can't see how anyone can sit through this movie and enjoy it. It is NOT for kids by any means. It's just stupid.....no real plot, no good script. Blegh!
If you need to see a dog flick, pick up "Lassie", "Old Yeller", or "Cujo". At least you'll see more dog vs. bad acting.