mikes2001 Reviews

Unhitched (2005)

Light, cute fluff

[6/10 · 21 September 2011]

I would have titled this summary an Okay, typical romantic comedy, but somebody already used that title!! In fact, my review is not much different than that review but I just wanted to add my two cents. Or two shillings, whatever that may be, as this movie is set in London.

It's a nice, light Romantic Comedy. There's no earth shattering observations and there's no attempt to relate the characters situation to any deeper event or philosophy. Which is cool. If I wanted that I'd be watching something other than a cute RomCom!! I wouldn't be happy if I paid $10 a head to see this in a theater, but as an available instant view on the web it's OK.

I wonder if somebody like Russell Brand could have turned the budding groom into a crazier, more gonzo character, but I don't think that would have helped the movie much. For what it is it's OK.

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)

Watch it for Dawn Addams

[7/10 · 21 September 2011]

Most people who watch this film are doing it because they're either Christopher Lee fans, or are fans of Hammer Studio films. Both are cool.

But I'm writing this review to let everybody else know that they should be watching this for Dawn Addams. I wasn't familiar with her name or work before I saw this movie, but here she is radiant. Add in her red hair and the nice looking sharp color cinematography (this isn't one of those dark B&W foggy London smudge fests) and she just sets the screen on fire!! Her radiance also adds to the story as this movie reveals the bawdy side of late night Victorian London, something I haven't seen in many movies.

Dawn Addams would bring out the Mr. Hyde in every man!! If only Dr. Jekyll came out of the lab a little more often!!

Worth a viewing.

I.Q. (1994)

Very Cute Movie

[8/10 · 8 March 2011]

Normally I don't write reviews for movies that have been around awhile and/or have other good reviews (and there are many for this movie), but when I saw that the overall rating for this movie was a 6 I decided that I had to step in and record my vote as well as give it some props here.

I.Q. is a treat. A nice, cute movie. I'm not saying it's the greatest movie ever made or that it will change your world, but it's a joy.

Walter Matthau, as always, is great. Tim Robbins once again shows why any movie he's in is worth watching. (Well, maybe not The Hudsucker Proxy, but that's not his fault!!) And Meg Ryan simply glows. She has never looked or acted better. As with any good movie, the supporting cast also shines. There's some familiar faces like Lou Jacobi and some different faces.

It is also a very nice looking movie. Maybe the Director coming from Australia is a factor as sometimes it takes an outsider to see the beauty of New Jersey!! And that Princeton part of Joisey is certainly beautiful.

You'll enjoy yourself with this movie.

Youth in Revolt (2009)

Wacky fun stuff

[8/10 · 30 December 2010]

When I saw the coming attractions for this movie, they only focused on the alter ego/split identity part of the story, and that seemed kind of goofy. Plus, I wasn't sure how far they could take that idea.

Watching Youth In Revolt in all its glory, I was very impressed. In addition to Cera, who's always good, check out this supporting cast:

Fred Willard. Steve Buscemi. Zach Galifinakis. Ray Liotta. Jean Smart. Justin Long. Eugene Roche. Mary Kay Place. The guy from Spring Awakening who was also in Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist.

Give it a shot. If you're looking for something offbeat & good you won't be disappointed.

Even the music is good.

She's Out of My League (2010)

Better than the critics said it was

[8/10 · 12 October 2010]

I remember when the reviews came out for She's Out Of My League that they were mostly lukewarm and that it was considered a poor Apatow knockoff. Those reviews were way off.

This is a charming little movie. In addition to that, there's Alice Eve.

The relationship amongst the guys in this movie felt natural. In addition to that, there's Alice Eve.

Sure the main character's family was a little too wacky, but Alice Eve was in many of the scenes with them.

I'll give this an 8 as it was a solid movie. Well worth your time. Move it up a few notches on your DVD queue. Maybe some of the jokes could have been funnier, but it fit the characters.

Jay Baruchal is great as the guy for whom Alice Eve is out of his league.

And Alice Eve is great, in case I didn't make that clear enough in the preceding paragraphs.

Zombieland (2009)

Good Movie. Worth Your Time.

[8/10 · 8 October 2010]

I'll keep this short & sweet. This is a good movie that's worth your time. Sometimes when you mix comedy and horror, one suffers at the hands of the other. Here, both are perfectly matched. The fine cast insures that. Enjoy.

It turns out that I can't keep this short and sweet as I must have 10 lines of text.

Woody Harrelson - Great Jesse Eisenberg - Great Emma Stone - Great Abigail Breslin - Great

I still need more lines so I'll just mention that Zombieland is an insightful abstract into the human (and unhuman) condition that ponders the great issues of our time and which dispatches those issues promptly. Sometimes with mechanized equipment.

Whatever Works (2009)

Stop drinking the Kool Aid - this stinks

[2/10 · 7 October 2010]

As I write this review, the average rating for Whatever Works is 7.3. That rating must be due to ballot box stuffing by fans of Evan Rachel Wood and Patricia Clarkson, and not by people who watched an interesting, funny, or good movie. Whatever Works is dreadful. It would be dreadful if it was made by a film student making his first feature; it's even more dreadful since it was made by a man who at one time made movies that were interesting, thoughtful, sometimes funny, sometimes serious and always entertaining. Now his movies are pointless, joyless and heartless.

It's sad what has happened to Woody Allen. Really sad. At one time his angst and dystopia once served as a vehicle for his jokes and was fodder for deeper thoughts. Now, his facile utterings are more like the complaints of a teen goth who has never ventured outside of their little world.

Practically every line of dialogue feels forced and out of place. It's not the actors fault as you can see the leaden snippets simply fall to the floor as they come out of their mouths.

I can only assume that the high rating for this film is due to folks who remember Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Bananas, Sleepers and all the rest from 20+ years ago. Both funny and serious. (Other than the Wood & Clarkson Ballot stuffers, of course!?!?) My 2 rating is to represent the one star I give each to Wood & Clarkson, who put on great performances and look great.

If you can see this for free somewhere, and you're a fan of Evan Rachel Wood and/or Patricia Clarkson, then watch while performing another task and/or while surfing the web. If you're a fan of Larry David, stick to Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm, where he does justice to his own writing and doesn't try to make Allen's dated dreck palatable.

Alice in Wonderland (I) (2010)

More wonderment from Burton & Depp

[9/10 · 6 August 2010]

Normally I wouldn't add my comments to a film that already has 573 comments as of this writing, but I see that reviewers have only given it a 6.7 rating. Alice In Wonderland is much better than that. A 6.7 is for a movie that had a couple of interesting points but was not expertly executed. Or was expertly executed but didn't have much substance. Alice is neither of those. It is an imaginative film presented magnificently.

To backtrack a little, I didn't think I'd enjoy the prior Burton/Depp hook-up - Charlie and The Chocolate Factory - as much as I did, so I went into Alice In Wonderland with high expectations. That is usually a recipe for disaster as I am then setting myself up for disappointment. But those expectations were satisfied. The characters were rich. The color was richer and the sets were incredible.

I saw this movie at home on DVD, not in 3-D in the theater, and I feel bad that I didn't make the pilgrimage to the theater to see it in its glory, but maybe on the next Depp/Burton collaboration I'll do it. Here in Long Island, 2 3-D tickets would be about $30, and I wasn't sure if Burton/Depp would deliver the goods. They did.

Give it a shot. Sit back and enjoy.

Extract (2009)

What kind of movie does Mike Judge want to make?

[5/10 · 5 August 2010]

I checked the "spoiler" box even though I'm really not giving any details away. But what I am giving away is that once Mike Judge decides what kind of movie he's making, he can let me, and the rest of the audience, know.

I went into Extract thinking I was seeing a comedy, but it was way more serious than I thought it would be. But when I treat Extract as a serious movie, it's much too light. What are we doing Mike? Are you getting all Rosie O'Donnell on us and getting serious after a career of being funny? Or have you entered a serious film phase like Woody Allen did after the "earlier, funnier" movies?

So.... I give Extract a 5 because as a comedy it's half serious and as a drama it's half funny. Not a bad movie, but not a good movie, either.

Extract is not the mess that Idiocracy was, but it's nowhere near the greatness of Office Space. Mike Judge should leave the muckraking and social commentary to Michael Moore, while he can return to the glory of his earlier, funnier stuff.

The highlight of the movie is Mila Kunis as she looks great. If you're a fan of hers, then enjoy. Jason Bateman is good. As is Kristen Wiig.

If this movie is in your rental queue, maybe drop it down a few notches.

Magnolia (1999)

Avoid. Don't waste your time.

[1/10 · 20 July 2010]

It's 10 years since I saw this bomb, and from talking with some folks I decided to check what the IMDb crew had to say. And what they said was "We Said Wha?????" As I write this, Magnolia is #209 out of the top 250. Ya gotta be kidding me. Abbot And Costello Meet Jack And The Beanstalk is better than this. And a lot shorter. I was going to give the spoiler for this movie to illustrate why it stinks, but I don't have to. The spoiler is that THIS MOVIE STINKS.

Don't waste your time.

Don't defend it.

IMDb doesn't have a 0 ranking, otherwise I'd give this a 0. Since I had to give it a 1, that 1 could be for the Aimee Mann music used in the movie. That's a the only plus imaginable with this movie, so just buy the soundtrack if you encounter it.

Adventureland (2009)

Nice Coming of Age story

[8/10 · 9 July 2010]

Nice, cute movie. More serious than funny, which surprised me as I was expecting lots of gags going in. Jesse Eisenberg is great in this Michael Cera type role. Martin Starr from Freaks and Geeks is always great to see. Kristen Stewart gives another performance where the less she says the better she is. That's not to dis her talking, it's just that her whole persona is so evocative. The girl who plays Lisa P is great. She looks like Eliza Dushku's younger sister.

Great music used throughout. Yo La Tengo did the soundtrack, which is worth an 8 all by itself.

Highly recommended.

From Paris with Love (2010)

Great fun

[8/10 · 1 July 2010]

Part of me can't believe that I'm giving this movie an 8. Travolta is eating scenery. I wasn't quite sure what was going on at times. That mustache on Rhys Meyers is too goofy. Yet another part of me is wondering if I should even give it more than 8 as this movie was a great joy ride. Other than a few scenes to lay the groundwork (which are interesting on their own), this movie straps you in and like a wild roller coaster it's over before you had a chance to scream.

Yes, Travolta is eating scenery, but, like Mae West, when he's good, he's good; but when he's bad he's even better!?!? The track record that Luc Besson has built up in this genre (let's call it 'non-sensical non-stop action flick') with all of those Transporter movies is incredible. Unlike Michael Bay, who turns your attention away from the movie with all of the overkill and grandiosity, Besson keeps it short, simple and tight. A quick karate chop to the neck or a bullet to the head is worth nine explosions.

I'm not saying I'd give this a 10 after spending $30 on a night out with the Mrs, but for a few bucks for a fun family DVD night from your local DVD center, it's a blast.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Not good. Not good at all.

[2/10 · 10 June 2010]

I've mostly stayed away from Woody Allen movies from the last 20 years because my few forays into things he's done in that time (Anything Else, Manhattan Murder Mystery) were not pleasant. Add Vicky Cristina Barcelona to the pile of unpleasantness. This movie is bad. I can't understand the folks who raved about it and gave it a 10.

What parts of this movie could have possibly warranted a 10?

• The boring narration that repeats the action we've just seen or are about to see?

• The stilted dialogue of Rebecca Hall in the scene where she first meets Javier Bardem and acts exactly like Woody Allen? Woody should have been sitting in that scene!!

• Any scenes featuring the stereotypical boyfriend of Rebecca Hall?

I'm giving this movie a 2, and that's because I'm giving 1 point for the arrival of Penelope Cruz, who first appears in the movie at 1 hour and 14 minutes into it. I know it took that long for her to appear because I checked the time on the screen. Her appearance completely wiped away anything that happened before in the film. Thankfully!! (Maybe that accounts for the high marks!?!?) This movie would have been better served if all of Scarlet Johansen's screen time was given to Penelope Cruz. But then we wouldn't have seen the kiss between these two, which accounts for the other point I'm issuing. Penelope is the only reason to watch this movie, but it's not enough to compensate for the crud around it. Javier Bardem was good, but I can't give this movie more than a 2, so I'll make it up to him elsewhere.

For young folks out there who've heard Woody Allen's name and have wondered about his movies, please stick to things like Hannah and Her Sisters and all of the other movies he made before that time. Those are wonderful. The dark ones, as well as the early funny ones if you know what I mean!! The stuff he's been churning out robotically in the past 20 plus years are mostly dreadful. It's sad, really, what's happened to Woody. Can't he just go away? I use to feel sad when I read about a writer or director who hasn't made a movie in many years and I wondered why they went away, or how enjoyable it would be to see them again. But like an athlete, creativity has a lifespan, with peaks and valleys along the way until the eventual final decline. The artists who stopped making movies once their artistry declined were smart. I'm sorry to say that Woody's final decline happened many years ago.

Taking Woodstock (2009)

Cute little movie

[8/10 · 10 June 2010]

I'm giving Taking Woodstock an 8 as it's a cute little movie and I want to counter some of the hate I've been reading in some of the low rated reviews.

What this movie is: A cute coming of age story. A family drama. A rural comedy. A wistful remembrance.

What this movie isn't: A Woodstock concert documentary (There already is one of those, you can rent that if you want to see/hear more of the music). An expose of the behind the scenes machinations needed to create a mass event. A diatribe of why the 60's were great and today stinks.

If more folks reviewed the movie on it's own merits, the ranking for this would be higher.

In the section below I talk about a detail of the movie, which is why I clicked the spoiler box, but it's really not much of a spoiler.

Yeah, the acting troupe didn't need as much screen time they got, but that was a minor annoyance. I'm just glad the leader of that troupe mostly stayed fully clothed!?!? Also, because of the nudity and drug use, you may not want your kids under 16 to see this. But if you've talked with your kids about the world that's out there, nothing in this film would upset them.

Anything Else (2003)

It's bad. Real bad.

[1/10 · 9 April 2010]

I was in a Christina Ricci craze for a while and was trying to catch many of her movies. This movie ended that phase. Boy was this bad. I wasn't even going to waste time writing a review, as I felt cheated enough with the time spent viewing, but then I saw all of the 10's that this movie received. Huh? Everything about this movie is bad - the script, the jokes, the acting. Even NYC!?!? I can see why Woody Allen has had success with recent movies that are not set in New York as the New York in this movie looks like it's from another planet. Jason Biggs performance in American Pie is like Citizen Kane compared to this movie. In case I didn't mention it already, this movie is bad. Avoid at all costs. Avoid especially if you're a Woody Allen, Christina Ricci or Jason Biggs fan as your estimation of each of them will only go down.

Remember the Daze (2007)

Avoid

[1/10 · 30 January 2009]

I hate to sound like an old parent, which I am, but this movie is truly awful. You have 25 year olds playing 17 year olds and 20 year olds playing 14 year olds and every conversation deals with smoking weed or getting wasted. Is that by itself supposed to be funny? The movie is set in 1999, so maybe it is attempting to be a Dazed and Confused for the Millennium, but it's missing minor details like good acting or characters you could care about. Or dialogue other than "let's smoke some weed". It's not even a good T & A movie like an old 70's drive-in movie, as there's no T or A, which is a good thing as 18 year old Alexa Vega is playing a 14 year old!!! The only interest in this movie is seeing what young actors/actresses pop up ("There's Zero from Holes", "That's the guy from Joan of Arcadia", "That's the guy from What I Like About You"....) And when Moira Kelly appears you feel sorry for her. Moira - you deserve better!!! Maybe Alexa Vega wanted something that's a departure from Spy Kids, but this movie is a departure from any standards of filmaking. If I could give this a zero I'd do so, but 1 is as low as IMDb goes. I guess the 1 is for one scene in the middle where there's only music, and no dialogue.

If the entire movie was only music maybe I'd give it a 5 as I wouldn't have to listen to the inane dialogue and I could just enjoy looking at Amber Heard and Katrina Begin and Melonie Diaz.

Watching the Detectives (2007)

Strange, quirky, cute fluff

[7/10 · 29 January 2009]

Like the summary says - Watching The Detectives is strange, quirky, cute fluff. Like all of us folks on IMDb (as well as the characters in this movie), we watch too many movies. Too many bad movies. Too many similar movies. Watching The Detectives knows that so it veers off in a different direction and has some fun with the Romantic Comedy formula. It's a cute little movie. Could it have been better? Yes. Could the characters have been developed more? Yes. Could Lucy Liu been any cuter? I think not!! And to think she was almost 40 when she made this movie. Think of Watching The Detectives as a well made Indie film and you'll be pleased. It's already dated as the idea of a small, local video store catering to folks who like all kinds of movies is an idea whose time has unfortunately passed, but that's also part of its charm.

Lucy Liu is great. Cillian Murphy is OK (his look is more suited to post apocalyptic movies!!). The supporting cast is good. The music is very good. In fact, the scenes where music is featured were my favorite parts of the movie.

Give it a shot if you're looking for something lite and different.

Idiocracy (2006)

Not too bad, but not that good, either.

[5/10 · 12 January 2009]

I was hoping that this movie was a hidden gem by a comedic genius that was unfairly shoved off to the side by talentless studio hacks, but this time it looks like the studio was right.

The movie is mostly a mess. There are a few funny parts, especially the opening sequences, but not too much after that. On the surface the idea of an average guy being deemed a genius sounded fun. A sort of futuristic Being There. And Judge's attacks on consumerism gave him lots of targets to shoot at. But it's almost as if Judge had too much on his plate. Perhaps if he narrowed his vision he could have focused on specific items.

And in this post 9/11 world, I don't think a world of idiots would be as benign as it is portrayed in this movie.

I pin most of the failure on Judge as the acting was sound. Everybody did a good job with their parts and you didn't feel that a change of personnel would make the material better.

Luke Wilson is good. His role as a fish out of water is believable.

Maya Rudolph is also good. Hopefully her association with this turkey doesn't limit her chances in the future. Besides acting great, she looks great. She's the reason I kept watching.

And props to the guy who played Michael Bolton in Office Space as he does a great job here.

You have to see this if you're a Mike Judge fan. But,if not,skip it.

This Is the NFL (1967–1975)

Still the best highlight NFL show ever

[10/10 · 21 January 2008]

I used to watch This Week in Pro Football on Saturday nights in the New York area, at either 6:00pm or 7:00pm. It was great. You got to see highlights of last weeks games to prepare for watching the games that would be played the next day. (With 'Blackout' rules, who knew what game would be on.) It is still my benchmark as to what a highlight show should be. One of the other comments refers to the laid back nature of hosts Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier. Let me just say that to me that is a positive asset. I don't need announcers like Chris Berman making up snappy names while shouting a mile a minute over the action. The action itself is sufficient. They covered every game and the focus was on the great plays, not on goofy commentary or camera tricks. With the voice of the great John Facenda, it was what a NFL highlight show should be.