areddick-2 Reviews

The Hunt for Gollum (2009)

On a budget of $3,000 and 160 volunteers this is a must-see for any Lord of the Rings fans.

[9/10 · 4 May 2009]

This movie was made for $3,000 and is being offered for FREE! around the internet. Simply it has unbelievable production values for a budget of only three grand.

It tells the brief story of Strider as he treks across Middle Earth to find Gollum and unveil the mysteries behind the ring of power.

Story aside the movie was very professional, cinematography, fight choreography, editing, sound, and the acting all have giant check marks by their side. The whole movie I was thinking, "no way this was made for $3,000, no way." The volunteers who worked on this movie must have worked very hard to get the finished product as polished as it is.

Many technical elements of the film are borrowed from other films (mostly Lord of the Rings but there was also some music borrowed from Clint Mansell's Requiem for a Dream score,) but don't let that turn you away, after all it's for fans, by fans.

An absolute must see for anyone who wants to be entertained, 40 minutes and it's free. Watch the first few minutes or the trailer and you'll be hooked.

Kudos to these guys, lots and lots of kudos. I hope we see more films produced like this.

Kangaroo Jack (2003)

I know I shouldn't have, but I did....

[10/10 · 8 February 2007]

I enjoyed this film to the fullest. I pretend to be a good film critic, I never think anything of these types of films, but I diverge from the crowd by liking this film. It's predictable, the story isn't that intriguing, and not terribly original. So why do I enjoy this film so much? I'm still really not sure, there are a couple lines in this movie that are superb and seemed out of place (in a noticeable, but good, way.) The acting was good and bad, Christopher Walken is always pretty good, but Jerry O'Connell wasn't so believable. Anthony Anderson did a great job being a pretty run-of-the mill character, the silly friend. Estella Warren should probably stick to the runways, but I don't think this performance is too bad.

In retrospect, this looks like a review that I would give to a movie that is about a 5, and I really can't explain what grabs me so about this movie. I guess if you let yourself into the fantasy mode, it just turns out pretty good.