Movie and Television Reviews (page 2)
The Answer Man
The Answer Man stars Jeff Daniels as a reclusive author who tries to woo a doctor played by Lauren Graham. This movie is basically a bad rip-off of As Good As It Gets, only it isn't very funny or charming by comparison. There's also a heavy religious slant that mostly goes nowhere. I didn't care too much for this one and don't recommend it.
Daybreakers
This is a great science fiction movie that combines film noir with vampirism for an allegory that just might really be about oil consumption. It's extremely bloody and violent as well as original, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe star alongside Sam Neill.
A Perfect Getaway
This is a thriller about a couple vacationing in Hawaii who meet another couple that just might be serial killers. It features all kinds of beautiful scenery, but I think the movie tried too hard to be clever. From what I read on message boards on IMDb.com, most people either loved or hated this one. Personally, I thought the movie just didn't work the way it was intended.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Have you ever watched a movie and wondered why in the hell anyone would purposely make something so awful? It's not that Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is an awfully made film, because the acting is mostly great, but the story is disgusting and so unappealing that you have to ask why it would appeal to anyone. I hated this movie. I really HATED IT!
Gilmore Girls - Complete Series
Gilmore Girls was a fun little show that ran for seven seasons from 2000-2007 before the CW abruptly cancelled it and left a lot of things unresolved, at least in my opinion. You can still stop where it left off and call that an ending, but I think it could have wrapped things up with one more season. Such is the nature of television. This complete series box set comes with every single episode, plus a booklet full of bonus material.
REC
Before watching REC, the only thing I knew about the movie was that an American version of it was recently made called Quarantine. Since most remakes aren't as good as the original, I decided to watch this original movie first. It's a horror movie in the style of The Blair Witch Project, but with more characters and a bigger budget. If you can handle all the first-person camerawork, then you might dig this movie. It was made in Spain and is subtitled.
Franklyn
Franklyn is one of those movies where you have to watch more than half of it before you really even know what is going on. It's rather confusing up until the last half hour, and then it comes together. If you're willing to sit through the confusion, the reward is actually pretty good. This review will contain no spoilers.
Far Cry
Far Cry is the latest movie adaptation of a video game from notorious director Uwe Boll. Although it does actually have some decent action scenes, pretty much any other scene that involves dialogue or humor ends up being truly awful. This is a B-grade action movie that is typical of Uwe Boll's line of work, and I actually liked it on a ‘so bad it is good' level.
State of Play
State of Play is a pretty interesting political thriller about some reporters uncovering a murder plot used to discredit a congressman who is investigating multi-billion dollar military contracts. It stars Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, and Rachel McAdams. I think it is worth seeing if you like these type movies, and it does have a few good surprises.
I'm Reed Fish
This is a fun little indie movie about a small town guy who gets caught up in a love triangle which makes most of the town turn on him. It stars Jay Baruchel of Tropic Thunder and Alexis Bledel of Gilmore Girls. I sort of expected this to be a goofy teen comedy, but it was actually a funny and intelligent story about small town expectations.
The Prodigy
The Prodigy is a good example of how you don't need A-list stars and a big budget to make a good movie. This was made by a bunch of first-timers with actors you've never seen before, and the result was surprisingly entertaining with some stellar action sequences. I liked how the action was portrayed with real fights and not martial arts.
Blood: The Last Vampire
Blood: The Last Vampire is a classic example of style over substance. With its lame acting and horribly overused CGI blood, this nearly plotless martial arts film turns into a series of fight scenes with very little story in between. It's based on a popular Japanese anime series, and features a katana-wielding school girl.
Nerdcore Rising
Nerdcore Rising is an entertaining documentary about a nerd rap group called MC Frontalot and their first tour around the United States. The name of the movie comes from their self-titled style of music, which they dubbed nerdcore. It's an interesting film about what it takes to travel and play shows, and what makes it unique is the style of music and the fans they attract. It is available for rental or online viewing via Netflix.
The Burrowers
The Burrowers is a cool horror western movie set in the late 1800's in the Dakotas. It combines U.S. military and Indian wars with a monster element, as the name implies. Creatures come from under the ground and eat people, but it's not as campy as Tremors. I really liked this one if you like westerns or horror movies.
Punisher: War Zone
If I were to make a list of movies where the sequel was better than the original, Punisher: War Zone would be in the top five. I really loved this movie. Maybe it was because I expected to not like this movie, or maybe it was because I had been itching for a really good action movie. As much as I disliked the last Punisher movie with Thomas Jane and John Travolta, I thought this one was completely awesome from beginning to end. That's why I am giving it five stars.
Whiteout
Whiteout is an interesting suspense thriller about a U.S. Marshall (Kate Beckinsale) investigating some murders at a remote scientific research facility in Antartica. It is based on a graphic novel, and directed by Dominic Sena, who previously did Swordfish and Gone in Sixty Seconds.I thought this was a decent movie, but not very memorable.
Timecrimes
This is a subtitled Spanish movie about a man caught up in a complicated time travel experiment. It does a great job of presenting the paradox that is time travel, but makes sense of it. This is one you'll be thinking about long after the credits roll. If you can handle the subtitles, I highly recommend this movie.
Top and Bottom 5 - Video Games and Movies
Ever notice how most video games based on movies are not very good? Most movies based on video games aren't so great, either. Here's a list of what I consider five of the best and worst of each category.
- Top 5 games based on movies
- Top 5 movies based on games
- Bottom 5 games based on movies
- Bottom 5 movies based on games
Simon Says
This is a very bad horror movie that might also be considered a dark comedy. It stars Crispin Glover (Back to the Future) as a psychopathic redneck who sets various traps for pretty young people and kills them in exceptionally gory ways. Think Slingblade meets Friday the 13th. Unfortunately, it fails as both a horror movie and a comedy because it is neither scary nor funny.
The Secret
This is a really interesting movie starring David Duchovny as a grieving father who finds his teenage daughter possessed with the spirit of his dead wife. It's a remake of a Japanese movie. I went into this expecting some kind of ghost story, but it ended up being something completely different. This has nothing to do with that ridiculous new-age positive thinking book of the same name.
Tunnel Rats
This is a Viet Nam war movie from notorious director Uwe Boll, who I consider to be a modern day Ed Wood. It features Michael Pare in a supporting role, but otherwise doesn't have any main character or even really a plot, and the director admits it was made without a script. All that aside, this movie is actually kind of good. There's also a video game based on this movie, but I heard it sucked.
Outlander
This is a fun action movie that combines elements of fantasy and science fiction for an experience thatcompares itself to Beowulf and Predator right on the DVD box cover. It stars James Caviezel (Mel Gibson's bloody Jesus) and packs in quite a bit of action. This is a pretty big budget movie that never got a theatrical release, but it does look like some money was spent on the production.
Eastbound & Down: Season One
A friend of mine recently recommended this show because he knows I am a fan of Danny McBride's crazy sense of humor. The first season of this incredibly rude and crude show came out on HBO and is now available on home video. If you saw McBride in The Foot Fist Way, he's playing basically the same kind of character, but this time with a mullet.
