There are several factors that made the Pixar film "Cars" not as successful as the rest of its blockbuster brethren. One of which was such a wooden lead in Owen Wilson's Lightning McQueen. Audiences (mainly children) really liked Larry the Cable Guy's wisecracking, hick, tow truck. The other was the somewhat lackluster story of a sports hotshot who learns to slow down and enjoy life. Something with a little bit more action and pizazz was what I felt like the story needed. Thus, both these issues are addressed in "Cars 2" with the focus shifting more on Mater the tow truck, and the film switching gears (hahaha) to a spy thriller flick. Not only that, but with the main character status now thrust upon Mater, the new side-character is a James Bond-esque, tricked-out, gadget car named Finn McMissile, voiced by Michael Caine.
The plot essentially puts our Nascar Wilson into a world grand prix, giving the animators an excuse to flesh out (so to speak) the world that these sentient cars live in, integrating three distinct human cultures (Japanese, Italian, and English) with a very automotive twist. But back to the story at hand, Mater gets mistaken for an American spy car, and Michael Caine and his female tech car put the hapless, completely clueless, tow truck on a wild espionage ride involving a bad car mafia and the race Owen Wilson is in.
And while it is not as amazing as "Up" or "Toy Story 3," it is still a great film, leagues better than its predecessor. But what do you expect, it's from PIXAR!
Also, moral of the story was kind of better handled in Kung Fu Panda
This film is one of my personal favorites among movies that come from TV series: It highlights all the great aspects of the show, condensing all the coolness and what fans and nonfans want to see into a feature-length film, and as a bonus, pays homage to the precursor series. The “Return of the Joker” gives a unique return of a classic villain to the Batman mythos set in the futuristic setting of the Batman Beyond series. With such a threat returning to Gotham, Bruce Wayne tells his new protégé to hang up the cowl. Despite the old man’s best efforts though, it gets personal when the Joker’s cronies attack all whom Terry McGinnis holds dear, including Bruce. It’s then we learn of the sad story of Robin II (in this universe anyway) in that he was driven completely bonkers and thus became a mini-me of the Joker. This pushes Batman over the edge and beats the crazy clown within an inch of his life. The Joker actually reverses the fight and almost kills Batman, and, depending on whether you saw the network censored version or not, dies either from unawareness of his environment or from the Robin he twisted into himself. This leads to another whodunit case with future Batman following an intricate trail, leading to fights, false leads, death traps, and thrilling car chases. Like I mentioned before, it showcases all of the new Batman’s gadgets and skills to take the Joker down, (including the through-the-wall-microphone in his fingertips and appropriate use of Ace the Batdog! Nobody remembers those things!). As par the course for animated Batman movies, the twist is amazing and the ending somewhat sweet if not bittersweet, but at least it does give a good “and so the adventure continues” vibe.
This film, I feel, also satisfies some comic fans in that it shows Joker doing something horrible to a Robin, and it having a lasting effect on Batman. In the comics, one of Joker’s most infamous deeds is slaying the 2nd Robin with a crowbar and an explosion while Batman got there too late. This being the lighter, more kid-friendly version (just a bit), they couldn’t do on-screen death and thus they dropped the character of Jason Todd, going directly to the 3rd Robin, Tim Drake. As the Joker points out in another incarnation, “Where’s the fun in that?” I feel like they showed the Tim-Drake-is-now-another-Joker as a way of having this villain do an equally appalling act to Batman’s allies, leaving a lasting devastation to the Bat-family in the aftermath. Thus horrible things can happen and still make it appropriate for younger viewers who should not be subjected to kids getting beaten to death by an evil clown.
This film is topnotch overall.
The mystery’s solved: she’s not a homosexual. There. I ruined “Batman, Mystery of the Batwoman” for any comic book purists who expect animated adaptations of the Batman mythos to actually be completely translated 100%. Interestingly enough, this movie came out years after Batman: The Animated Series, the New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, heck, even Justice League Unlimited was done airing, so it is very refreshing to go back to the dark & grim city which started this universe affectionately named by the fans the Dini-verse. A mysterious silver-suited, hi-tech Batwoman starts terrorizing the Penguin and his organized crime, and Ol’ Bats himself takes it upon himself to stop this lady from doing crazy and dangerous vigilantism…Alfred said it best in the movie, “As they say on the street, ‘I ain’t touchin’ that one.’” Just to keep us on our toes, three new women are introduced into Bruce Wayne’s life, throwing red herrings left and right so that even the Great Detective is questioning who is that mysterious masked not-man? The film comes to a climax when ol Ozzy calls in Bane to fight the Dark Knight aboard a flaming ship and Batwoman helps out in what can only be called an epic three-way. The end shows Bruce possibly having a new fling in his life, but then anyone who has watched Batman Beyond knows it’s not going to last…what else is new?
The movie itself is a great throwback to the Saturday mornings and after-school TV-blocks of some of our childhoods, keeping the aesthetics of the New Batman Adventures along with a new story and new characters without discounting old favorites (Barbara Gordon gets a speaking cameo even…she’s not the Batwoman either). Batman is in his A-game for fighting, gadgets, sleuthing, and menacing voices without sounding like he’s gargling gravel (looking at you Christian Bale). Good movie for Batman fans…but not the hardcore comic book fans because the Batwoman’s not a red-headed lesbian.
Without spoiling anything, the secret of the Batwoman here is like this:
The one who is vengeance and the night with pointy ears encounters a kindred spirit in “Mask of the Phantasm” in another vigilante on a personal vendetta. This one targets mobsters who essentially ruined the life of one of Bruce Wayne’s old flames, who is slightly different from his other romantic pursuits in that that he actually had feelings for her and could’ve settled down with her, thus leading him to NOT go running around in his underwear throwing boomerangs at crooks. Of course, with Batman being a tragic character (mostly) she has to leave Gotham and Batman comes to be. What’s interesting is how they tie in the Joker to all this backstory, making the feud between Bats and him all that more intense with the 3rd party of the Phantasm also being part of the action. Again, the big mystery throughout the movie is who the Phantasm is and how does that affect Batman. It’s actually a good twist in that it affects him both as dark knight and as millionaire playboy. Movie ends with not so much a happy ending, but a return to status quo with some hope of survival on all parties (Joker included because hey, he’s just too much fun).
Best nod to continuity in the DC animated universe ever!
The animated film “Batman: Year One” might as well be relabeled, “Jim Gordon: Year One,” since he is more of the focus of the film than the titular character. Bruce Wayne’s, and by extension Batman’s, part of the story seems tacked on just so that people unfamiliar with the character will know who the crazy vigilante dressed up like a creature of the night is coming from. Gordon himself is no slouch at taking down bad guys, usually from his own so-called allies, so it’s a weird feeling seeing him do the beat-downs instead of the Bat. The film also explores his relationships, not only to the rest of the rotten cops of Gotham, but to the good ones and with his wife. Generally, I feel like the movie makes the audience want to root more for Gordon’s triumphs over Batman’s, despite his many cool fights and narrow escapes. Catwoman has a brief subplot going on as well, but it’s quickly dropped almost as soon as she dons her costume.
On the other hand though, the movie plays very similarly to “Gotham Central,” an old comic series that focused on the honest police of Gotham trying to figure out crimes in their twisted city with Batman and his fellow costumed crime-fighters making guest appearances. If you liked that comic series, or if you want a brief look into the Dark Knight’s bumpy bumpy start, you’ll like this movie.
Quite possibly how to make James Gordon even more crazy awesome is to make him a Pokemon
Basically, if you’ve seen a Spielberg movie, you’ve seen “Super 8.” While nothing in this film is completely original, it is still a great smorgasbord of the clichés of any movie starring kids getting involved in things much bigger than themselves. Of particular interest is that this cast of preteens are budding filmmakers (one possibly being a younger Spielberg himself, and another being mini Michael Bay), so part of the intrigue of the movie is to see how the story they’re making is coming together while more intrigue is heaped on the shenanigans going on in their sleepy little 1970s-era town. If it’s not the weird electrical mishaps, it’s the conflict of the recently widowed single father and his awkward relationship with his little protagonist. If it’s not the military covering up their big bad secret from the townsfolk, it’s the love interest of the protagonist being told “you are not to see that boy again” from her guilty alcoholic father. If it’s not the infrequent abductions straight out of horror movies (yes, complete with them screaming and clawing as they’re dragged off-screen), it’s the chubby kid’s bluster and fluster about his zombie film not having enough “production value.” And as the credits roll, we get the best part of this entire big budget blockbuster by watching the low-budget, so-bad-it’s-good, zombie flick the kids put together.
Overall, it’s a great film with a lot of suspense, action, unintentional comedy springing from the innocence of youth, and surprising amounts of heart.
Despite my dislike of Jack Black, I suppose it really boils down to my distaste of his obnoxious performances in his movies. However, with "Kung-fu Panda 2" I've come to realize that it's really not the man, but the kinds of films he chooses to partake in; if the story is amazing, no amount of Jack Black ridiculousness will ruin the overall experience.
Instead of a ferocious, daddy-issues-prone, ultimate warrior snow leopard, the main villain is Gary Oldman's best villainous voice in an albino peacock bent on taking over China. Not only is this bird an accomplished martial artist in his own right, but he has mastered the art of the cheap-shot fireballs from Street Fighter and Dragonball. Instead of chi however, he makes due with fireworks and a giant iron cannon. Oh and he might have massacred all of our main protagonist's hometown.
Thus begins a grand adventure of restoring justice in ye old kung-fu film style with a panda, a tiger, a crane, a praying mantis, and a monkey. Aside from the wacky hi-jinks, beautiful animated choreography despite animal physiology, and jokes thrown faster than ninja stars, there is also a surprising amount of character development and relationship-building for both the titular kung-fu panda and Angelina Jolie's Tigress.
Overall, a film full of humor, action, golden storytelling, and heart with a simple Aesop of overcoming the past and looking forward to the future.
Final battle with the evil peacock and his firing squad went a little like this and a little bit of this mixed in.
As far as superheroes go, I’ve always considered Captain America to be not quite as good as other examples like Superman, Spiderman, or even Batman who has no superpowers. However, despite his lack of really attention grabbing powers, his 2nd attempt at a movie “Captain America: The First Avenger” is a pleasant surprise with what they can do with the character. If you’ve seen enough superhero flicks you can probably guess the specific order in which the events occur:
Average Joe is seen struggling with real life.
Average Joe is gifted to become a superman (this time with SCIENCE!).
Mentor of the Average Joe is killed, thus spurring the new hero to seek justice/fight the enemies who sent the killer.
New hero becomes a tool for the media and the government for propaganda’s sake.
New hero becomes disgruntled with role and then does something super heroic (like save nearly 200 POWs from super science Nazis).
New hero is actually hero now and given cooler costume and equipment.
Montage of excellence and fighting bad guys.
More tragedy.
One last heroic stand (usually with all the supporting characters).
Final confrontation with the evil boss-man.
And then, never-happily-ever-after because you crash into an iceberg and get trapped until Inuit children break you and your bison out of suspended animation until you’re revived in present day and Samuel L. Jackson in an eyepatch puts you in a superteam?
Still, despite the clichés of the superhero film being out in full force, the movie really makes you emote with the main character, before and after transformation, and it really lets you feel good for all his victories. Hugo Weaving as the main villain, a protosuperman, is great for his Agent Smith-like demeanor and villainy. Tommy Lee Jones had a side role, but was played his cool-old-guy role very well. Overall, super film for a superhero who was subpar in my book.
For Captain America, it's always an open invitation.
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled) review, go here.
While not as well-known as Batman or Superman, the DC superhero Green Lantern is distinct by having the unique power of having a magic ring (actually alien science) that makes anything out of green light and the user’s imagination. That being said, now you know why his movie has been greatly anticipated by many a DC comic nerd. However, the film was met by humongous criticism not only by hardcore fans who could recite the names of every Green Lantern Corpsman by heart, but by the average movie-goer who expected a superhero film with lots of epic fights, explosions and gigantic green baseball bats that could clobber even the largest of space monkeys. The direction the director was trying to go for it seems to focus more on the emotional connection aspect of the film; some might even call it the “human” aspect, which left us with only a bare minimum for the action, the sci-fi, and the superhero-y aspects. And despite the power of the ring having endless possibilities for constructs, it appears the writers didn’t have the imagination necessary to wield the rings since not that much thought was put into fights or just using it the ring for the heck of it. The ultimate enemy was a bit too easily vanquished if it was supposed to be the physical embodiment of Fear and the psychic bighead wasn’t that much of a threat either.
Overall, a good film for DC comics fans (and fans of Ryan Reynolds in general), and even then, might be a bit disappointed.
Someone's just a tad bit enraged he wasn't even mentioned in the film...just a bit.
Also, even though I am thoroughly disdainful of mashed up pseudo-trailers, the idea of Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan is too good to pass up:
The Powerpuff Girls are arguably one of the best things to come out of the early days of Cartoon Network. Young heroes with “ultra super powers” that, while not original, presented themselves in original packaging in the form of cute super-deformed (chibi even?) girls and the challenges they face not just from their eccentric rogue’s gallery (which has amongst its ranks living giant amoebas in gangster hats, a pink-antennaed hillbilly bigfoot, and a cross-dressing Satan) but from the drama of their conflicting personalities and daily preschool life. Anywho, the origin story of these titanic tykes has never been fully shown until the geniuses at Cartoon Network released a theatrical run in 2002. Not only were their relationships and powers explored within the first 25 minutes, but it showed just how fragile is the position of a young (both in age and experience) individual with superhuman abilities when your city is made of very destructible pieces. So as they are shunned by their community, they go running unwittingly into the care of a dirty monkey hobo, who promises that together they can make the town love them. Instead the plan was to turn an entire population of simians at the zoo into himself (super-intelligent with protruding brains) leading to a funny scene where each ape or monkey tries to outdo each other in dastardly plans for destroying the city. And at first, the girls are reluctant to help everyone because of how they were treated by the uncaring masses, but once the threat of damn dirty apes reaches their father, they unleash righteous fury upon all the monkey business going on. Then it comes to a head when the lead monkey (Mojo Jojo) injects more of the super-power-giving serum into his own head, becoming MO than BEFOr. After recreating the King Kong scene, with gratuitous We-can-rule-together-because-we-are-alike, the girls take him down, the town loves them and wants them to continue the super-heroing, and the narrator gets to say his famous lines from the intros and end of every episode.
Overall, the movie was a good ol’ nostalgic trip. The rich personalities of each character are spot-on and the action scenes are pretty good despite the trademark animation of Gendy Tartovski being what it is. And while it follows the superhero movie formula strictly by the book, it was still an enjoyable film in its own right.
Amusing viewpoint on the Powerpuff girls and the proper response to haters.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Chris Rock and Frasier Crane’s brother are buddy cops protecting a Ghostbuster from an evil Laurence Fishburne while a corrupt mayor William Shatner interferes with their work. Did you get the movie? No? Well that’s because that’s the premise for the poorly received “Osmosis Jones,” a rare mix of real-life action and cartoony goodness that you only see from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and select others. It depicts all human beings as essentially bustling metropolises of sentient cells, with the main character of Chris Rock ironically playing a white character…a white blood cell to be specific, which is akin to law enforcement in our world. The city he calls his beat is actually Bill Murray, who is a total health SLOB! For crying out loud, his diet is atrocious and the plot is kicked off when he eats a hard-boiled egg that had been stolen from a chimpanzee and dropped within the creature’s cage at the zoo. Of course disgusting germ-types would be crawling all over the less-than-edible so pretty soon a new kind of virus, played as some sort of smooth gangster by Laurence Fishburne, begins to wreak havoc in the ol’ voice of Garfield. As most people do when sick, they pop pills. The pill is actually introduced as a sort of Iron-Man-esque cyborg with a gun for an arm, posh mannerisms, and being roughly the size of a really large cell with the rest of the pill being explained away as sugar and cherry flavoring. So after plenty of the typical buddy-cop mismatching misadventures, the virus cracks down and pretty much kills the former Ghostbuster with the intent of spreading to his daughter. But after a slickly animated fight scene in the daughter’s eyeball (don’t ask how they get there…this is not the movie for germophobes) the villain is vanquished by falling into a beaker of alcohol (proof that hand sanitzer can be super-effective) and the day is saved when the hero returns the Mcguffin (DNA from the hypothalamus) back to the body so that it can continue functioning instead of burning up with fever. The hapless man also takes up new leadership in the brain, having a paradigm shift after coming so close to death and begins to live more healthily, demoting William Shatner’s mayor character to poopsmith.
I think that part of the reason it was so poorly received was because the target audience couldn’t really be firmly established. On one hand it tries to be a serious movie, with the live action scenes showing just how nauseating Bill Murray’s character is and how his unhealthiness interferes in his relationships with everyone, especially his daughter. But on the other hand, the cartoony world of his insides draws us into the surreal workings of the human body and how it really goes down at the microscopic level, which insults the adult brain but completely goes over the heads of younger viewers who haven’t taken basic anatomy yet. But the humor can be so juvenile sometimes, you’d think that it was aimed towards that kind of middle school age group because let’s face it, the only people who consider body function humor as hilarious are those kinds of kids…you know the ones. I must admit though, the animation is pretty smooth and well done, showing us a fantastic view of how the Magic School Bus could’ve got stuck in traffic in the bustling, city of Bill Murray’s insides. The story is your run-of-the-mill buddy cop movie with the fate of an entire city resting in two different-as-night-and-day characters who are misunderstood by their peers with an (ironically) chilling villain, but like house buying, the key is location, location, location. With the characters relegated to sentient cells and other critters invisible to the naked eye, it brings a new dimension to cliché characters and which, oddly enough makes the animated characters much more interesting than the character portrayals outside the body. The acting for the live-action parts is subpar at best and horrendous at most; it’s understandable for the “main character” because the movie’s really trying to nail down the message that unhealthy eating habits and mindsets really does wreck your life, but the other characters don’t really help him along much except his smart kid.
Overall, great film for their blending of animation and live-action, but don’t expect greatness on the live-action parts and expect some juvenile humor…lots of juvenile humor.
Can you imagine if your insides consisted of that^ looking like this:
Quick, name the genre when a movie has guns, violence, train robberies, little towns run by corrupt officials, bandits, shootouts, and whores with hearts of gold. If you thought Western, then yes those would be elements in a typical western...but the film covered today is set in early 1900s China, "Let the Bullets Fly."
The protagonists are the leader of a gang of bandits, and a dude about to become a governor of a small town. Their opponent is Chow Yun Fat as a notorious mob boss in charge of a tiny town. Thus instead of good vs evil, it's morally ambiguous vs more bad. Along the way there are double-crosses, assassination attempts, horrible unjust deaths and the vengeance that comes along with it, extortion, Robin-Hooding, betrayals, more saddening deaths, and ultimately, a master plan to take down the crime boss that controls the fear-ridden little town.
Great pseudo-western Chinese film with dark humor that range from awkward chuckles to why-am-I-laughing-at-this?-this-shouldn't-make-me-laugh.
There was a lot of this going on too despite the fact this wouldn't be popular til thugs from the hood started doing it in the 80s-90s...
Just to get it out of the way, I am slightly biased toward comedy movie series. They usually involve cheap laughs involving dicks, sex, toilet humor, and etc with nothing but those as material to make you the audience try to laugh. That being said, I am strangely impressed with "Little Fockers," which was reportedly such a dumb script Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller's onscreen dad in the previous film, wasn't on board. (They upped his paycheck and his role (slightly) so he made a longer cameo than previously rumored.)
The story follows the same formula as the previous two films, with Robert de Niro's character mistaking Ben Stiller's character as a lousy guy, due to circumstances beyond Stiller's control (or it was in his control but it looks much worse than intended). But at the end their differences are resolved and de Niro respects his son-in-law once again. What makes it different this time is that Stiller's character is not as intimidated by de Niro's character and as such, is much better at the verbal sparring and more of a match for de Niro's machinations. De Niro himself is not depicted as such an implacable man and untouchable as he was previously. Owen Wilson is a more prominent character in this film as well, coming off from a broken engagement and unintentionally wooing Stiller's wife, but also going pretty crazy as far as his other culture obsession goes (refer to Hansel from "Zoolander"). It's this kind of characterization that strangely sets apart the "Meet the Parents" trilogy from other raunchy comedies.
Ironically, the characters that "Little Fockers" didn't develop too well were the titular little Fockers themselves. We get that the girl is the more mature and smarter of the twin pair and that the little boy has issues but apart from that, we don't get much. It was pointed out at one point that the girl might've taken more genetically from de Niro's side of the family but that was dropped pretty quickly. Also, Jessica Alba shows up as sort of an unintentional temptress, but other than that, her character is poorly written, exceedingly perky, and pretty much NOT a real person and pretty much a living drama device.
Overall, just plain nutty but if you liked the previous movies, it's a good end for the series (at least we hope so...sequel hoooooook)
Yeah, forget what you knew of the previous character Owen Wilson played, HANSEL IS BACK!
Hayao Miyazaki. Someone world-renowned for his anime films that don't seem like anime films, but more like gorgeous pieces of art. That thinking was dashed after I saw "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," which ironically, seemed to have none of his trademark magic. I thought that film was the start of his descent, but I was wrong. That dubious "honor" goes to "Tales from Earthsea."
While it does have some common elements of the Miyazaki film like stunning visuals, protecting the earth(sea), surprisingly strong female leads, and malevolent evil being represented as nasty goo, the story itself falls a little flat. The film is actually an adaptation of some books from a fantasy series known simply as "Earthsea." Thus, it is a piecemeal tale with plot points not making sense sometimes, and strange character shifts. At first you think the film is about the disgraced prince who inexplicably kills his father. Then you think it's about the wandering wizard that speaks and sounds like Qui-Gon Jin (I was surprised to find out that it wasn't him actually, but Mr. Pricklepants himself, Timothy Dalton) because he saves the prince and they travel the gorgeous, only-drawn-by-Studio-Ghibli landscapes together. But nope, when it comes down to the wire, it's the somewhat unlikable girl with a Prince-Zuko-burn scar who saves them all and gives a pep talk to the prince who got tricked by the evil wizard into doing bad stuff.
2nd of all, the film does come off as preachy, with the emphasis on why so much crap is happening in this world is because mankind is upsetting the balance in the great Circle of Life. Also, the terms "light" and "darkness" are thrown around so much you'd think this was a Kingdom Hearts game.
Some critics say the blame goes solely on the new director and screenwriter, Miyazaki's own spawn, Goro. Even Miyazaki himself says "Son, I am disappoint," and they supposedly have some friction, which leads him to make "Ponyo" as a sort of apology. Back to Miyazaki Jr. though, it could be said that while he could be to blame for this movie, he learned from the best so maybe this could've been a sign of his father's not-so-genius becoming apparent in his son.
Overall, if you're a hardcore Hayao Miyazaki fan, this film ranks a little below "Princess Mononoke" in my book; full of Miyazaki elements, but ultimately forgettable.
Also, the twist surprise was done in "Spirited Away" first.
"March of the Penguins" is a nature documentary adapted from a Frenchman's book, and narrated by Morgan Freeman. It follows the mating, egg-tending, parenting, feeding, dangers, and baby growth of penguins. So unless you're really into penguins, and want to see some cute stuff, this is for you. Alternatively, you do see a lot of dead penguins as the film frequently points out that Antarctica is a harsh place to live when you're a bird. Overall, a film for penguinphiles.
"I invented the penguin to demonstrate parental devotion...and to make really cute babies. REALLY cute babies."
In addition to being a general parody of the spy movie genre in general, “Spy Hard” takes the absurdity way past the “Austin Powers” films. At least with those films, things went by formula.For “Spy Hard,” madness was the name of the game.Not only did things frequently not make sense, but they also blatantly spoof “Pulp Fiction,” “Home Alone,” and even “JurassicPark.”Despite that, the film is made of laughs.You know things are strange when Weird Al Yankovich sings the James Bond-like opening and subsequently explodes at the end just because.Also having Surely Youjest (don’t call him Shirley) Leslie Nielsen as the Bond stand-in just adds to his comedic legend status.While the ending does seem a bit rushed and nonsensical, the film was a good laugh from start to finish.
It seems like that insane things are acceptable when it's in the name of family, and that's certainly the case for "Mrs. Doubtfire." Robin Williams stars as a guy who hits the sad streak of losing his job and getting divorced (both for petty reasons IMO). In order to spend more time with his children, who his ex-wife is too busy to properly care for but the court decreed he could only see them on one day a week, he takes the role of going undercover as an elderly English nanny. Just in time too because his wife starts to see a new beau that looks suspiciously like James Bond. Beyond the whole "father learns to love his family more" trope, the main reason to watch is to see when it'll all go south. There are so many close calls with his cover getting blown, that eventually, all you want to know is how long he can keep up the facade. The ending itself is surprisingly bittersweet, but it's a better turn from the cliche happy ending of the couple getting back together. Robin Williams is at his comedic best, doing a variety of voices and mannerisms that define his fame. Despite his cover of a real supernanny, what with him NOT being one, his goof-ups are hilarious as well.
Overall, nutty fun involving Robin Williams pretending to be a woman with a small sappy center of going to the extreme for your family.
Some may throw me into the street and grab their torches and pitchforks when I say this, but “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.2” was only ok. Like Voldemort in regards to his personal Deathly Hallow, I feel like the film had more potential, could’ve had more laughs, and should’ve been more satisfying.
I’m writing this with hopes that most who read this are already fans of the Harry Potter series, so those who hate, stand to the left and go back to your normal lives; this review ain’t for you.
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled!) review, go here.
For a more entertaining abridged version of the book, go here. (Seriously funny!)
For a nonfan's absolutely clueless perspective of the movie, go here
Don’t get me wrong, I think Steve Martin’s an amazing comedic actor. But while “Father of the Bride” is toted as one of his greater films, I find his performance only funny in the first half. The 2nd half, he falls into the stereotypical role of sentimental father about to give his daughter away. In the first half, he’s completely bonkers in every reaction, sometimes over-the-top and sometimes just laughable because it’s not how normal people do or think.It’s only after Diane Keaton talks some sense into her husband that he becomes a cool, level-headed guy again, even helping with a premarital spat the young couple has. If anything, the side characters are the ones who seem to have the most fun out of it. The wedding coordinators are hamming it up to their full potential, and the little brother Culkin is unintentionally funny because of his mature demeanor.
Overall, still a funny film and can tug at your heartstrings.
Mental note: Not a good idea for anniversary gift. Women can get out of the kitchen nowadays after all.
Nature has been found to inspire some of the most iconic monsters of our time; wolves begat wolfmen, vampire bats make Count Dracula's image more alarming and threatening, and tadpoles with see-through intestines inspired Satoshi Tajiri to make Poliwag. The film "Little Shop of Horrors" derives its monster's inspiration from Venus Fly-traps, having a more literal bent on plants with Venus in their name.
The movie is based off a Broadway musical so the film is interspersed with songs which really help along the narrative of the story, although the "Greek Chorus Supremes" can be a bit distracting. Rick Moranis and his co-star with a speech impediment/fake accent can sing surprisingly well. One of the most enjoyable of these songs is Steve Martin's take on why people fear dentists; energetic, a bit creepy, but plenty of fun because Steve Martin's a loon. The real star of the show though is the puppetry skills that make Audrey II, the man-eating plant, really come alive. In a sad sense of loss, you'd realize such simple yet elegant special effects are lost on a younger generation fed CGI images from any studio with the cash and a half-baked story. But this plant is seriously a wondrous monster that not only menaces but entertains, singing some pretty amazing songs and having jaws that would make the famous shark jealous.
Overall, fun, crazy, and quite musical bit of film with a memorable monster that stands up amongst the greats, erm ingrains in the soil amongst the greats.
Thanks to the power of Netflix, I was able to see this Tom Hanks classic, "Big." For what it's worth, the film showcases the acting prowess of Mr. Hanks to have a childish mindset. While that may seem like an easy task, he is also able to convey the other emotions of the child beside glee; easy frightening, incredulity at subtle adult themes, even strange nostalgia (which can happen at age 13 believe me). Even though the idea of "not-my-body" is not a new theme, the writers try to make it interesting by making it quite a child's fantasy too. What kid hasn't thought about eating junk food for meals, filling their living spaces with naught but toys and other awesome stuff instead of tedious furniture, and hanging out with fun people (his boss is one of those "kid-at-heart" types and promotes Tom Hanks to unbelievable heights because they share the same ideologies)? The movie takes a strange turn though after he spends a night discovering the other side of an adult's night life...he grows up and forgets who he is. Just like Robin William's performance in "Hook" he forgets himself and almost gets too immersed in his new life. The real thing to keep the viewers watching at that point is to see if he's really going to keep going or go home to his kid-life.
Not too bad, but I wonder why nobody thought he had a mental disease.
He totally invented the Insecticons too. "Can't you make em bugs" indeed.
As is typical in movie trilogies, the third film always comes under the most scrutiny. People will inevitably compare the last in regards to the first and the second.
That being said, "Transformers Dark of the Moon" is an oddity to me when compared to its predecessors.
Good: It is TONS better than 2nd installment "Revenge of the Fallen," which was plagued by crude humor, pointless characters human and robot, and just scenes that did "nothing" for the story. "Dark of the Moon" had a lot less crude humor, and made more use of their characters and scenes than did ROTF.
The action was much more acceptable as well, surprisingly not only from the Autobots but from the human soldiers as well. It seems like years of fighting these metallic monsters have finally evolved past "shoot til it dead" as actual tactics have been developed. Decepticon redshirts didn't stand a chance. But of course, when it comes to rocking and socking, nobody does it better than giant robots with huge honkin' guns and swords.
Storywise, it feels more like what the 2nd movie should have been. Sam going to college? Whoop-de-doo. Government trying to cover up transformer presence on Earth? Pffft. Some kind of sun-destroyer that'll convert the planet to Energon? Meh. Main badguy is basically the Judas Iscariot of the Transformers mythos? Hmph.
THIS was a much more compelling story for sure. Sam tries to validate existence with finding a job AND maintain relationship with girl-that-is-not-Megan-Fox-but-might-as-well-be. Autobots actively working with government is a big plus. Somewhat noble intentions from the big bad despite evil actions? Slag yeah! Big bad a traitor with personal connections to the Autobots? Even. Better.
Also, full Decepticon invasion of major city where almost nobody survives? Dark, but much more realistic for supposed world conquerors.
However, there is still many many things about this movie that is full of sadness and pointlessness.
About the only scenes with Sam interacting with humans that are worth it is him trying to find a job, and him dealing with a Decepticon sympathizer/blind loyalist. Every other scene? Ranges from "painfully pointless" to "OMG why do they even NEED this in the movie?" Strangely enough, I find his interactions with the transformers in this film to be much more meaningful (Bumblebee and his connection = aaaaawwwwesome; he kills a high-ranking Decepticon with Za Bee...geez).
Even though the scenes with just the Transformers in it are mercifully more abundant than the previous two films, this movie still insists on crazyness happening on the human front, especially from a no-nonsense, meddling, government liason lady. Granted, Wash from "Firefly/Serenity" is in this film playing a German super-manservant to Agent Simmons and he's kind of awesome.
Pointless robot characters are surprisingly few and far in-between. Bless us all, no annoying, brightly-colored twins that steal Bumblebee's thunder! Most pointless bots boils down to Decepticon grunts with no names (who actually scan earth modes upon entry! yes!) and teeny tiny Autobots that surprisingly have a big damn heroes moment.
3rd act/climax? EXCEEEEEEDINGLY long. But at least it's not running and firing in the dessert like in ROTF. Final boss fight though? Thankfully lasts longer than 5 seconds.
OVERALL, pretty good. Not great, but not super-awful either. Much more of a solid movie than the first two, but that's not saying much. Recommend to watch on $1 DVD though. Fast-forwarding will be your friend.
Megatron has now adopted the look of the retired anime badass: raggedy tan/brown cloak. Heck, it's even on the toy!
For someone else's more in-depth review, go here
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled) review, go here.
Do you ever think about how often it is in films where it is the father which has the most positive impact on a main character and thus spurs on the plot? (father figures are not included since the list would be freakishly long)
Luke Skywalker seeks to walk in his father’s Jedi shoes in “Star Wars” but then has doubts when he finds out who his daddy really is. Cue famous Skywalker family “NOOOOOOOO!”
The first “Superman” movie had young Clark finally begin his hero journey once his foster-Pa inexplicably got a heart attack.
Marty McFly in “Back to the Future,” while a bit ashamed of his father, is still willing to befriend the younger version of him and get him to try and fall in love with his not-yet-mother. Turns out he didn’t need that much help.
The most famous line from “The Princess Bride” is when Inigo Montoya tells the six-fingered man who he is, what happened, and what the creep should prepare for.
Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” showed us a girl who loved her dear stumpy little dad enough to spend (maybe) an eternity with a hideous beast and his castle full of sentient furniture. Would you do the same?
Peter Pan finally gets his groove back in “Hook” when he realizes his new happy thoughts are his thoughts of his children and what he needs to do to protect them.
The great Mufasa in “the Lion King” came back from the dead to roar some sense into his wayward son.
Mel Gibson’s “Maverick” had the tendency to “misquote” his pappy when the situation arose. Not to mention that his dad plays a big part in the film itself.
“Rush Hour 2” has Jackie Chan’s character trying to tie up his father’s last case…Chris Tucker kind of helps. ^~^
Austin Powers in “Goldmember” is willing to put his daddy issues aside to try and find him again. When your dad is Michael Caine why wouldn’t you?
Hooo boy. If you’ve seen the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, you’ll know the main three characters are all either inspired by, motivated by, seeking revenge for, or trying to save their fathers.
“Finding Nemo” gave us a single father as the main character who, over the course of his journey, truly learns when to stop babying his son and so, grows as a father and a man (erm fish).
“Kung-fu Panda” had the titular character find his true strength with wise words from his duck dad (the sequel has something to do with finding his true roots too).
Liam Neeson in "Taken" shows us just how ferocious the paternal instinct can get.
“Star Trek (2009)” gives us a young James Tiberius Kirk who was challenged to be better man than his father, which saved dozens of lives. He kind of succeeded with a little help from his new crew.
Gru from "Despicable Me" finds out the joys of fatherhood from 3 lovable gals. And it is when those kiddos are threatened, that Gru shows us the audience why he's a dangerous man.
“Tron Legacy” shows us the Dude’s kid seeking him out in cyberspace so he can bring him back home. Turns out Mr. Bridges’ exile there turned him into a pretty cool guy as well.
“True Grit” revolves around the young daughter going to extreme lengths to execute justice for her departed dad.
So Hollywood likes to use dads as the an impetus for their stories to really take flight. Guess that makes them crazy about dads. I'm crazy about mine too. Happy Father's day!
Some sources say that Bruce got the idea of being a bat-man because he remembers his father dressing up as one for a Halloween party. Sadly no film recognizes this.
The thing I personally love the most about "Ocean's Thirteen" is that it's a return to form. We see the characters as we remember them, masterful planners and thieves who work together as a cohesive unit so smoothly, but also allowing themselves to poke fun at each other. Not like in "Ocean's 12" where they seemed to be written by different people and had to get bailed out by the kid's mother of all people. The whole plot hinges on showing how much camaraderie the characters have for each other and the lengths they go to for hurting the man who wronged one of them. It's also sweet that the setting is Las Vegas again since that is the true environment for a gang such as them (not like in "Ocean's 12" where it seemed like an excuse to go to Europe for pretty landscapes' sake). Not to mention the plan coming to together is amazing and jaw-droppingly satisfying. The end also shows how much they're gentlemen thieves who only wrong those who seem to deserve it. Greatness.
Like 11 of this guy, only a lot less megalomaniacal and much more of this guy:
Is quite impressed by the 2010 revisioning of "True Grit" with Jeff Bridges filling the shoes of the legendary John Wayne. To be honest though, the Dude playing a quirky, hard-drinking, fast-shooting, curmudgeon is not bad, but such as the trend in Hollywood, these kind of hard-boiled old dudes get softened by the presence of a young child (in recent memory, Up, Grand Torino, Karate Kid, Despicable Me) and that is truly the cool performance of the leading lady. Only 14, the Mattie character is one of the sharpest wits and brashest determinators I've seen in a long time, and yet, because of her age she sometimes comes across as too naieve or precocious. I personally find the mood and tone of the movie perfectly set by the actors' acting and especially their speech. It's so strange to hear absolutely no contractions (not even a "y'all" from the Texan character!) but that's how a mood is set. Slow on the action, but overall this is a movie to showcase just how far determination gets you...lots and lots of determination.
It's nice to see the X-men movie franchise get back on track. To be more specific, start the track in "X-men: First Class." The acting was very dynamic, chemistry between Charles Xavier and Magneto (and arguably Mystique) was pretty good, and Kevin Bacon makes quite an impressive evil mastermind. The funny thing about prequels is that if characters carry over, we know what they'll be like so we have expectations of them for their supposed past, and this film certainly delivers with the characters' wit and personality shining through with a hint of youthful naivete. I also like how the story tries to merge history with these characters, but manages to make it believable.
Overall, this film has made me NOT want to watch the first X-men movies anymore because I want to see how this storyline plays out...that good.
Indeed, what would be Scott's mutant ability? Video game effects to show up at random?
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled!) review, go here
Star Trek (2009)
- Sylar Spock is great as well as this new cast of youthful remakes. If they make sequel, I am totally up for that. Although stopping it where it is does leave an "and so the adventure continues" vibe. Overall, wonderful film.
For someone else's more in-depth review, go here.
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled) review, go here
Monsters vs. Aliens
Not the strongest Dreamworks Animation cgi film...but definitely better than "Bee Movie"...Most of the laughs come from the idea of the famous celebrity voice actors as the characters depicted. For example, Dr House as a cockroach mutant good at DDR is very lulzy.
Apparently, on the way to making this:
you'll get this:
For someone else's more in-depth review, go here.
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled) review, go here.
Beetlejuice
Creepy, and for me, the laughs are more awkward laughs as opposed to true lulz. Very cool performance by Michael Keaton that is NOT batman. Arguably, the most loltastic scene in the movie.
X-men origins: Wolverine
Entertaining, but makes my inner comic book nerd cry rivers. What happened to Gambit's accent too? Totally nonexistent...
For someone else's more in-depth review, go here.
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled) review, go here.
Quite possibly better than the movie.
The Iron Giant
That government agent fellow was a paranoid lunatic AND a creepy pedophile vibe, which makes him one of those really annoying antagonists you really want to shove into a snake hole...Touching titular character with a most humogous heart that strives to fight against programming. "you are not a gun"
(Commence stride)
Shaun of the Dead
Beautifully subverts all the tropes of typical zombie films (such few ones I have seen), gives it laughs, and makes a surprise ending of what to do with zombies after the supposed apocalypse.
Hot Fuzz
Very cool. they make a good logical reasoning for the creepy going-ons in the quaint little village and then they blow that theory out the window for the more obvious reasons. Also, cop Simon Pegg is totally badass. ^_^
VS
Normally you don't bet against James Bond...but you sure can if he's an evil grocery store owner.
Up
Not the strongest Pixar film either, but certainly brings a lot to the table to challenge the preconceived notions of "children's movie" so that it gets upgraded into an "animated feature." Also, Dug the dog and Kevin the...crazy offspring of the Roadrunner and a rainbow are adorable. Just a good film. Touching, funny, and good.
Handing the Pixar legacy off to the one in the tree
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled) review, go here.
Braveheart
Before there was "300," there was this...too bad Mel Gibson didn't have any internet-meme worthy lines! Ye average Scotsman tries to fight da power...and kicks so much ass doing so. Historically inaccurate if wikipedia is to be believed, but hey, glamorize history and that's Hollywood.
Mel Gibson is a pig?
Blazing Saddles
A good ol'fashioned Western, with humor a-plenty. Mel Brooks makes being un-PC funny. Also, final fight so big it breaks the 4th wall completely. lulz
Chariots of Fire
Inspirational and powerful sports film. Hooray for somebody still willing to make Sunday a day of rest! Still preplexed as to why the film was called "Chariots of Fire" when the film had nothing to do with Elijah getting spirited away or the biblical reference had nothing to do with racing. ^~^
Octopussy
What kind of idiot nicknames his daughter Octopussy? Probably the only time you'll see James Bond disguised as a clown. Freakin' cheesy Bond film, but hey, that's why you watch em right?
Pom Poko
One of Hayao Miyazaki's lesser known works, shows raccoons (actually, tanuki, but that's beside the point) fighting da power of human expansion into their homes in the hills. Certainly has a lot of shapeshifting hijinks and also, explains why energy drinks are so popular these days.
All because of:
Madagascar 2
Interesting in that this sequel adds more depth to the characters previously established in the first film, and as an added bonus, there's little to no reference to events of the past film so it's one of those few sequels that can stand on their own. Lemurs are awesome. =)
<3
Theirs is truly a strange love...
Fireproof
Moving film about marriage and how God NEEDS to be a part of it.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
and oh how he got his revenge...>~<
(sigh) Will the following transformers please go to the principal's office for being fail in the new transformers movie:
Mudflap and Skids, whose principle crimes are not being horrid racist stereotypes, but for being utterly useless as characters. We already have the cool, brightly-colored, kid-appeal character in Bumblebee. Why you trying to steal his thunder dudes?
Arcee triplets...for being triplets for one thing! Also, the lack of Princess Leia buns disturb me...not to mention getting slagged pretty quickly.
Wheelie, for being the Cybertronian equivalent of a purebred horny chihuahua. >_< I would've much preferred the annoying rhymer from the animated film. Who ever heard of an autobot who was too whimpy and defects to the autobots?
Soundwave, for being a tentacle-rapist of satellites and for having no part in the final fight. Most loyal to Megatron my foot!
Ravage, for being a ONE-EYED PANTHER! Seriously kitty, your cool appeal decreased so much by looking like a skeletal, cycloptic evil kitty! Also, who said you can cash in on Gort's nanomachine bug schtick? And you make THAT turn into a bladed robot chicken? ^~^
Decepticon redshirts, where is your alt-mode? Where the Primus-fraggin' heck are your alt-modes? Back in my day, y'all could be an army of jets and I'd be cool with it because I always thought Decepticons were flying folk anyway...BUT NO! Y'all come in your protoform-re-entry comet forms and leave it at that. Such, fail.
Y'all go to the principal's office and have Jetfire use his old-man-monologue-no-jutsu as punishment.
Jetfire's dad? Looks like he can transform. XD
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled) review, go here.
Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
This. is. CLASSY! sci-fi movie. Did well for special effects of the time and Gort is a surprisingly good robot. Aesop of the story: stop playing with the combination of nukes and rockets or else somebody gonna get a hurt reeeeeal bad...in SPACE!
Hahaha no. =[
Gran Torino
Grumpy old (racist) man learns to love others, take a neighbor kid under his wing, and saves his neighborhood from a terrorizing gang.
Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind
Aliens make a ruckus, causing inconvenience for almost everyone they've "touched." Freaking ear worm of a song...becomes permanently embedded into your mind. If you think about it, the aliens are not as friendly as they appear...there is no excuse for driving a man to sculpting insanity to the point of alienating (haha) him from the rest of his family or for going to pedobear-approved lengths to swipe a child from his mother.
Bend it like Beckham
Ah, the classic story of youth rebelling against traditions and parents' expectations. Now with more hot actresses before they became super-famous!
Catch Me if You Can
Interesting cat and mouse game leading to...unfortunate implications about said cat and mouse. Amazing how lax security was back in the day. At least Leo Dicaprio wasn't as insane in this film as he was in the last movie I saw him in, "The Aviator." Just. Plain. Nuts.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Classic tale of SCIENCE going wrong and harming those close to you. At the same time, an interesting take on the survival-in-a-strange-land scenario with the twist being it's actually familiar land. Also, (sniff) stupid scorpion killed Anty! Heroic sacrifice for sure. T-T
Red Cliff 1&2
Ah, the classic stories of a Chinese warring period similar of Arthurian myths of the West, brought to my dvd player. Hella weak ending though. =(
Ip Man
Kung-fu genius protects his kung-fu loving town. But when the Japanese invades during WWII, it's all he can do to also FIGHT DA POWAA! Later on becomes Bruce Lee's teacher. All stunts really done by the main actor too. Geez, can that guy punch fast...
West Side Story
3 hours! It did NOT take me that long to read the book...but all that snapping and dancing had to get into one of the most famous stories of ethnic gang warfare and doomed romance somehow.
Young Frankenstein
So THAT'S where the dramatic prairie dog music comes from. Also, enormous schwanzstucker. I wonder if anyone's last name still is fronk-en-schteen? Willy Wonka as a demented mad scientist? It's comedy gold.
Ella Enchanted
Fail adaptation if i remember the book right, but one of the few that can actually stand on its own as semi-enjoyable entertainment. Lulz at Queen (yes the band) being sung by Anne Hathaway at a giant's wedding. It's really like an early live-action "Shrek," ie don't take it too seriously at all. >_>
The Graduate
...disappointing. Sure it's one of the greatest of American cinematic masterpieces, but I can't see why. Something about how it adhered to the philosophy of the times...which pretty much was "life is pointless." >_< I'm pretty sure that "The Graduate" is one of the worst movies he's ever seen in his life! Ridiculous, immoral, and spams the same 4 Simon and Garfunkel songs as a soundtrack...thank goodness Dustin Hoffman went on to better things...
Minutes before subliminal nipples. >_<
Kite Runner
Intense story of how two kids can be the best of friends, fall out, and what one is willing to do to keep that friendship going after one's death. Could do without the scene of little boy getting raped though. >~<
Hancock
Makes. no. sense! What kind of lame weakness is "don't get close to the one you love!" Will Smith as a bum superhero is pretty entertaining though. ^0^
For someone else's more in-depth review, go here.
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled) review, go here
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
it's like "Die Hard"...IN A MALL! >_> So weird, yet enough to numb my brain for a couple of hours.
Bedtime Stories
The funny thing about Adam Sandler is that I've seen him do good moving roles, but the problem is he's made it to my list of annoying actors more often than not. This is one of those films. He acted way too savvy to the fact that his bedtime stories to his nephew and niece would play out in real life. Normal adults would try to rationalize it away and insist it isn't happening. But no! He tried to anticipate everything and that was annoying. It was funny in some parts though. I want to know how to translate bee-stung-my-tongue-ese. XD
Seven Pounds
The title is in reference to the Shakespeare play "the Merchant of Venice." So this is the story all about how Will Smith's life must be redeemed for a horrible thing he did. And he does it with much improbable awesome planning and mind-blowing sacrifice. On one hand, it's a story that doesn't promise much from its opening scenes, but part of the beauty of it was that this was all a grand "just as planned" Will Smith's character does for good cause...and we are blown away.
Instrument of death. Believe it.
The Producers
Yeeeah...not much to say about this other than GAAAAAAAAY!!! And not even in the offensive sense, it was so full of gay. >_<
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Weaker than the previous two HP films, but still totally worth it. The way those core three interact is just so natural these days. Needs less Ginny Weasley though; she was SO forced into those scenes it was painful. VERY weaksauce ending. What about Dumbledore's body spouting it's own crystal coffin sounded like a bad idea?
Spinner's End looks a bit...suburban. Woodstock is considerably less cute too.
For a more entertaining (spoiler-filled) review, go here.
Made of Honor
Bizarre...nonsensical...but has a minimalist's amount of laughs all the same. darn those romantic comedies holding a special place in my heart...
Legends of the Fall
Hi crazy-as-all-insanity Brad Pitt. Here's the story of how you go insane from World War I and then find happiness, and then lose it, and then find it again, and then lose it. Wow, sounds familiar... Also, Anthony Hopkins is very awesome at acting like a stroke victim.
Departures
Soooo who wants to dress up dead people in Japanese rituals now? >_> Touchy and taboo subject, but very powerful because you realize this is what they mean by sending people off in style. Somebody has to do it right?
Maverick
Mel Gibson as a cowboy. Kind of like "Casino Royal" mixed with almost every western trope out there. Surprise twist is very twistful.
