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pjchatman
Reviews
The Stanley Dynamic (2014)
Cute but, the acting could be better
"The Stanley Dynamic" is a Canadian kid friendly/family sitcom about a family with a twin brother who is a cartoon.
This sure would have been much better if they actually focused more on Luke, the animated brother. I thought the show was going to be like "Alf" or other shows that had non-human characters. Instead Luke just comes off as a gimmick. (The idea of mixing animated characters and live action isn't new. FOX, in the US, had a similar show about cartoon superhero, from amother deminsion, visiting his human son in the real world.)
I thought it was going to be mostly about Luke living the world of humans, but it seems to put the focus on mostly the live action. Or they try to give all the characters equal story and screen time. Also, I got the idea that there a lot of other cartoon characters, so that he's not the only toon in the world. Are there other cartoon characters or is he the only one? I didn't dislike it, but I really do just wish the acting was a lot better. All the actors, except Luke's voice actor, seem like they're doing this for the very first time.
The Sissy Duckling (1999)
Smart story, but had issues that couldn't be easily ignored.
I just wish the voice actors were better cast. Harvey Fierstein was NOT a good choice, at all, for Elmer's voice. It was waaaaaay to distractedly raspy. Not AT ALL believable that a duckling would even have this kind of voice. Unless that was part of the point of Elmer being different. But, I believe as Ferstein is a homosexual, that the story was more about homosexual tolerance. (Or specifically, his own story) The name "sissy" could be argued that it was used to make a better point, as opposed to, say "fatty". Not that I have no issues with subjects, like homosexuality, but the voice actors just made it hard to take the story seriously. Harvey Ferstein's singing didn't help at all, either. While I was listening to this without actually watching (I'm typing this while the movie playing midway going towards the end) I could not even imagine that a duckling was talking. All u could hear was Ferstein. Even Ed Asner got corny. But, as for tolerance stories, it was pretty smart. But, the voice actors needed to offer better performances. Even for 1999.
Vampire Boys (2011)
Not what I expected at all. Bleccchh!
Jasin is a vampire. For some reason when he turns 100 he and his brood (not coven, only witches form a coven) will all die. Hm? Never heard that one before. Anywhoo, he meets uh..what his name..and falls for him, blah, blah, blah. He's the One and he must Sire him to live. ??? Seeing Jason Lockhard act is punishing. His "ol' so polite way of talking" gets old real fast, and you want him to shut up.
Time code 18:55 -19:05 is all this "film" is worth with a nice shot of Greg McKeon close up; plus Ryan Adames, both are hot to look at. (Too bad Ryan didn't get nudies) That's it. I'm a perv. So what.
With dialog like: Caleb: "So, are you going to turn me, too?" Jasin: "It *has* come to that." this film has no excuse. The idea of a gay vampire flick was honestly arousing. But the all white cast, gawd awful actors was what set this thing in motion as another bad gay film.
Whoever did this just wanted to make good use of all that stock footage (landscapes, cities, houses, scenery, etc.) they bought all in one film. I only liked the frontal shot of Greg that the director "just HAD" to get on camera. Well, that's it. Bye.
Dirty Laundry (2006)
A Real Gay Black film about people, not sex!
This is an Black gay film. Not white. Not yellow. Not brown. Black. That said Maurice Jamal, wrote acted (he plays Sherman's brother Eugene), directed, & produced this film, did a outstanding job of portraying a Black American family & their issues with homosexuality, which for Black Americans is more emotional than other races given the spiritual bond with church & home not seen in other races.
This film is about Sherman-Patrick's (he goes by Patrick in New York & his family calls him Sherman) life being upset when he gets news he's a father. Upon arriving home he is confronted with his bullheaded mother, loving sister, resentful brother, & his very self-righteous Aunt. His problems gets worse when his boyfriend follows him to Paris, GA looking for answers (whether Gabriel is his son, & why Patrick lied about his Mother, and his name). This film has some very good drama & comedy, but you have to 'get it'. Since this is not a white-gay, Latin-gay, or Asian-gay film, they won't get it. But I did.
The film starts off, yes, sloppy. We are indeed confused when see young Gabriel going to the airport, & then in the very next scene coming back home from the airport with Sherman. Jamal left the whole period of what happened when Gabriel was in New York until after Chapter 3 (the film's chapter, not the DVD). We, at first, are lead to believe that the family knows he's gay. This would certainty explain why he and his Mom argue when they meet after he brings Gabriel home. We even think he knows who Gabriel is for a minute or more. This makes the beginning feel very uneven, only because Jamal decides to tell us later what happened in New York rather than before which again made the beginning uneven. But when Sherman/Patrick finds Ryan, his boyfriend, on the porch of his childhood home waiting for him (Ryan thought he was having an affair with another man named Sherman), the cat is let out the bag & the film falls into place, & continues from there. There are other silly scenes, but this is the particular character of the director (Cookie's 'crunch', the triple 'gasp', Aunt Lettuce's four sons) and just shows he has unique sense of direction.
No film dealing with race and homosexuality is going to be 'perfect', but if it speaks to the intended audience than it accomplished it's goal. To Us (Blacks) we don't see Gay films as an excuse to get naked and swear. We explore the emotional-personal side of the lifestyle and not the sexual that most other races tend to focus on.
To quote a white gay person: "'eye candy' seems like too strong a statement considering (again) no love scene, no shirtless scene, not even a muscle shirt... So by any reasonable measure, this is not really a 'Gay' movie." Ahem, Blacks live very different lives, and most are very spiritual. So the Gay experience for us is very different from those of other races. This was Black Gay film; therefore, no sex, no shirtless hunks, no shirtless hunks having sex that's porn.
Stargate: Atlantis (2004)
Why is this still on the air?
From the pilot episode it was clear this is not worth the time it takes for the opening credits to roll. The characters are merely carbon copies of the SG1 cast, and the city is nothing more the re-hashed Cheyenne Mountain Complex. And the set design is gaudy and unimaginative. Even the stories are void of any imagination.
Take the enemy - the Wraith -(the character design, for one is laughable) are we supposed to fear these things? They look like part-vampire part-sea monster from the black lagoon. And the dialog -- OH my my my! I have to wonder HOW the writers even got the job in the first place? The dialog is just horrible. The words are all typical 'heard it-done it all before' sci-fi gibberish. I can literally mouth their lines. It's all so contrived.
The characters themselves are just so two-dimensional. Dr. Elizabeth Weir is the most 2D pf them all..it's like she is a robot of some kind. The hero, John Sheppard is a Han Solo wannabe--not to mention the actor is channeling Col. Jack O'Neil. Don't get me started on the 'scientist' and the Scotish guy -- these two are just jokes to laugh at. Then there is the 'alien'-token: Teyla....what exactly is she supposed to be? And WHY do ALL the natives on all the worlds they land speak perfect English and look like Europeans? I thought this was a DIFFERENT GALAXY? I thought this was going to be a good show, but it's clear that the only reason it's still on the air is because Sci-Fi viewers need a fix. This is going to end up like 'Enterprise' -- aired long enough to sell DVDs and be syndicated. Just kill it & get it over with.
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)
A Disappointment
This was not very good Muppet Translation, maybe because it was produced by Disney/ABC -- but it was just plain lacking of that Original Muppet Magic.
Most notable is an "unknown" who does the voice for Fozzie Bear/Cowardly Lion; it sounded way too much like Mrs. Piggy. The movie itself was much too fast paced, like they were rushing it for some reason. They had two hours, what was the rush? Of course, I'm of the camp who does not like it when singers become actors. Ashanti was bearable when she was just singing. I do not understand why Frank Oz, Brian Henson, etc didn't do their signature voices...working on Revenge Of The Sith?...contractual obligations? I don't know....but it was too annoying.
This would have been MUCH better if this was produced by the original Henson gang. This was a "cute" attempt...but not true to the original Muppet Magic/Spirit.