Man this list was a lot harder to put together than the 10 best. There just seemed like so many worthy candidates for this one. But I had to narrow it down to just 10 and here is what I came up with. I tried to keep it just theatrical movies so Pulse 2 and Lake Placid 2 and shit won't be here, although they damn well deserve to be.
10 Worst Movies of 2008
10.Madagascar Escape 2 Africa
Never thought I would hate this one as much as I did. It almost escaped the bottom 10 but wasn't quite lucky enough. This is lazy on every level, except the somewhat decent animation. The script is terrible, the voice acting sounds like everyone is bored and the whole thing screams cash grab. This movie angered me with it's awfulness and kids deserve a lot fucking better than this dreck.
9.Over Her Dead Body
Another oldie. I couldn't remember how much I hated this one until the memory returned that we had to shut it off and my girlfriend refused to watch the rest, leaving me to watch it alone. Aside from it's retarded name and premise, I still don't get what the fuck Paul Rudd was doing here. I remember seeing him in interviews before it came out and was sure he sounded disinterested. They must have had some dirt on him because wow, I can now see why. Throw in one of the dumbest twists ever (one that is stolen from There's Something About Mary anyway) and you have yourself the ninth worst movie of the year.
8.Fool's Gold
Fool's Gold tried to be a romantic comedy and a classic adventure movie rolled into one. Well, it sucked at being either of those things. Adding another pile of shit to a pair of resumes already oozing them, Matthew McCounahgheywas and Kate Hudson give us another reason to wonder why they keep getting work. I've never seen more attention paid to a story that was frankly never worth telling in the first place. 10 straight fucking minutes of backstory and exposition?! This movie has more plot explanation than every James Bond villian combined I think. Just an awful, awful movie.
7.Prom Night
This movie is the epitome of everything that is wrong with the horror genre these days. It's lazy and generic, yet it rakes in money. What the fuck is wrong with everyone? This movie inspired one of my only rants, that's how awful it is. The lamp jump scare will forever rank as one of the worst moments of my movie going life since not only did it happen, but people fell for it! Read my review for this one, I'm kind of proud of it.
6.Star Wars The Clone Wars
It wasn't easy to make a movie I disliked more than the prequels but here it is. So kid friendly it was nauseating, this takes the Star Wars name, pisses on it, kicks it in the face, rapes it, and leaves it to die in a ditch.
5.College Road Trip
This movie is 90 minutes of people shouting at you. To make matters worse, they think it's hilarious. It's a trial to sit through this movie. They even throw a musical number at you in case their movie wasn't terrible enough. Martin Lawrence....please just, just leave us alone. We didn't do anything wrong to deserve this! Just leave us alone!!!!
4.Mad Money
Apparently Katie Holmes turned down Dark Knight for this one. Hopefully she hired someone to kick her in the head every time she tries to make stupid fucking decisions like that again. I barely remember this movie except I know I hated it. At least it can be forgotten, that's the only positive thing I can say about this one.
3.Witless Protection
Worse than I ever could have imagined. People have defended this movie on the internet but I have to assume those posts are being made when they are on their break from drooling on themselves and yelling at birds. I can't believe this movie really exists. Enough people got behind it so that it got made. This is the movie that makes failing screenwriters want to kill themselves.
2.American Carol
All the terrible parody humour you're used to, plus a political arrogance to boot. Painfully unfunny with an agenda that I just can't get behind, this one is epic in it's awfulness. However it still can't even come close to number 1....
the worst movie of 2008.....
1.Meet the Spartans/Disaster Movie
I was going to divide these up but come on, they both deserve the top spot. They're both made by the same guys and they are both SOOOOO bad. Granted I would say DM is the worst of the two but MTS is still like having a dog munch on your testicles. These 2 movies have my longest reviews because I couldn't stop my hatred from flowing out of me. Thankfully I don't think they have another movie lined up at least. This year we may have seen the rise and death of Aaron and Jason and if not....well then hopefully someone just kills them.
Honourable Mentions: How She Move, College, Babylon AD, Meet the Browns, The Women, Strange Wilderness, 88 Minutes, Made of Honor, The Happening, Meet Dave, The Love Guru, What Happens in Vegas, Hottie and the Nottie, Bangkok Dangerous, Deception, My Best Friend's Girl, Beverly Hills Chihuahua
So that's it, the worst movies of the year. I'm sure some of the movies I missed would have a chance at this but I think I saw all the worst ones. If ever confronted with someone who wants you to watch one of these movies with them, simply throw acid in their eyes, and run the fuck away.
HAPPY '09 EVERYONE!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
TOP 10 OF 2008
It's kind of sad how few of these came in the first few months of the year. My god things really did get out to shitty start this year. It's really too bad that I fell behind on this. It's almost a little sad to look back to the beginning of things when I was on the ball and making sure I kept up to date with all of the release. Didn't take long to fall behind though. But now we've reached the end and it's been a fun ride and I'm glad I will have this blog to look back on in the future. There are a lot of fond memories wrapped up in this thing and hopefully it's something I will hang on to for many years.
So let's start by talking about the 10 best I saw this year. I would say most of the movies I watched in 2008 ranged from mediocre to just fucking terrible. Hell the great movies didn't even start to show up until the last week. I would say half of my list is made up of movies I've watched in the last 5 or 6 days. But here are my picks for the best. They may not represent their original scores but some of these have had repeated viewings, and that can alway schange your opinion on a movie.
Top 10 of 2008
10. In Bruges
One of the biggest surprises of 2008 for sure. This was just a great movie. It had comedy, drama, action, all blended together with great story and great performances. Plus Colin Farrel can now always claim he did at least one good movie! Hoorah!
9.Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Often in my comedy reviews I would at the end say "it's funny, but not the funniest of the year". Well this friends, is the funniest of the year. It was pretty close with this one and Pineapple Express but this one got the edge. I've seen it 3 times, plus the commentary and it's still a great movie. It's funny and sweet, but never goes too far into sappy territory. It's full of hilarious actors and great lines and once again, is one of the bigger surprises of the year.
8.Iron Man
We knew it would probably be good, but did we think it would be that fucking good?! I remember the screening we had for this just blowing everyone's minds. Everyone loved it and it was a great start to what turned out to be a really solid summer for movies. Robert Downey Jr got put back on the map with this one. It has now written the book on how to do a super hero origin story as well. The action was satisfying and it was a great summer blockbuster that didnt pander to the audience.
7.Wanted
This one is probably my most bizarre choice but I loved it. I have no shame in saying that Shoot 'Em Up was easily one of my favourite movies of last year and this one is this year's version of it. It's ridiculous but it's fucking fun. I've watched the full movie a couple of times since buying it, plus just random scenes every now and then. It was sort of a guilty pleasure but I loved every second of it.
6.Slumdog Millionaire
This one actually ended up a little lower on the list than I originally expected it to. Oh well that's how it works I suppose. I pretty much just wrote the review for this one so there's not much more to say. This one will be tearing up the Oscars I'm sure so make sure you check it out.
5.Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I literally just finished writing the review for it before I fired this article up so again, check that one out for more thoughts on it. It was a great way to end the year and lived up to a huge amount of hype I built up for it. Here's hoping this is David Fincher's award movie because my god he has earned it.
4.The Wrestler
I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed this one. I'm tempted to watch it again and I only just finished it yesterday. It's one of the best examples of a simple story being told in an impossibly engaging way. Plus Mickey Rourke is fantastic in it. And they invented an 8-bit Nintendo game just for the movie!!!
3.Cloverfield
Bet a lot of you fuckers forgot about this when making your end of the year lists huh? Ohhhh not me. It was one of the first of the year and remained one of the best, no matter how many more times I watched it. It lived up to my impossible hype, and had everyone at my theatre talking about it and dissecting it for weeks. I have such fond memories of everyone neglecting their work duties to sit in the theatre and try to spot the object falling from the sky. This movie contains a lot of my best movie memories for the year.
2.The Dark Knight
Every bit as good as people say it is. One of the best screen villians ever, a fantastic story that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and Christian Bale sounding a bit like a jackass. But hey, the movie is so good we can overlook that.
and number 1.....
1.Wall-e
No surprise here. I loved this movie and would rank it in my top of all time too. It's perfect in just about every way and really holds up to repeated viewings. Pixar is gonna have a tough time topping this one, but I knew they are up for the challenge.
Honourable Mentions: Changeling, Gran Torino, Revolutionary Road, Let the Right One In, Kung Fu Panda, Speed Racer, Milk, Pineapple Express, and more I'm sure
So that's it, my 10 favourite movies of the year. Now let's get to the fun stuff....BRING ON THE 10 WORST!!!!
So let's start by talking about the 10 best I saw this year. I would say most of the movies I watched in 2008 ranged from mediocre to just fucking terrible. Hell the great movies didn't even start to show up until the last week. I would say half of my list is made up of movies I've watched in the last 5 or 6 days. But here are my picks for the best. They may not represent their original scores but some of these have had repeated viewings, and that can alway schange your opinion on a movie.
Top 10 of 2008
10. In Bruges
One of the biggest surprises of 2008 for sure. This was just a great movie. It had comedy, drama, action, all blended together with great story and great performances. Plus Colin Farrel can now always claim he did at least one good movie! Hoorah!
9.Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Often in my comedy reviews I would at the end say "it's funny, but not the funniest of the year". Well this friends, is the funniest of the year. It was pretty close with this one and Pineapple Express but this one got the edge. I've seen it 3 times, plus the commentary and it's still a great movie. It's funny and sweet, but never goes too far into sappy territory. It's full of hilarious actors and great lines and once again, is one of the bigger surprises of the year.
8.Iron Man
We knew it would probably be good, but did we think it would be that fucking good?! I remember the screening we had for this just blowing everyone's minds. Everyone loved it and it was a great start to what turned out to be a really solid summer for movies. Robert Downey Jr got put back on the map with this one. It has now written the book on how to do a super hero origin story as well. The action was satisfying and it was a great summer blockbuster that didnt pander to the audience.
7.Wanted
This one is probably my most bizarre choice but I loved it. I have no shame in saying that Shoot 'Em Up was easily one of my favourite movies of last year and this one is this year's version of it. It's ridiculous but it's fucking fun. I've watched the full movie a couple of times since buying it, plus just random scenes every now and then. It was sort of a guilty pleasure but I loved every second of it.
6.Slumdog Millionaire
This one actually ended up a little lower on the list than I originally expected it to. Oh well that's how it works I suppose. I pretty much just wrote the review for this one so there's not much more to say. This one will be tearing up the Oscars I'm sure so make sure you check it out.
5.Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I literally just finished writing the review for it before I fired this article up so again, check that one out for more thoughts on it. It was a great way to end the year and lived up to a huge amount of hype I built up for it. Here's hoping this is David Fincher's award movie because my god he has earned it.
4.The Wrestler
I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed this one. I'm tempted to watch it again and I only just finished it yesterday. It's one of the best examples of a simple story being told in an impossibly engaging way. Plus Mickey Rourke is fantastic in it. And they invented an 8-bit Nintendo game just for the movie!!!
3.Cloverfield
Bet a lot of you fuckers forgot about this when making your end of the year lists huh? Ohhhh not me. It was one of the first of the year and remained one of the best, no matter how many more times I watched it. It lived up to my impossible hype, and had everyone at my theatre talking about it and dissecting it for weeks. I have such fond memories of everyone neglecting their work duties to sit in the theatre and try to spot the object falling from the sky. This movie contains a lot of my best movie memories for the year.
2.The Dark Knight
Every bit as good as people say it is. One of the best screen villians ever, a fantastic story that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and Christian Bale sounding a bit like a jackass. But hey, the movie is so good we can overlook that.
and number 1.....
1.Wall-e
No surprise here. I loved this movie and would rank it in my top of all time too. It's perfect in just about every way and really holds up to repeated viewings. Pixar is gonna have a tough time topping this one, but I knew they are up for the challenge.
Honourable Mentions: Changeling, Gran Torino, Revolutionary Road, Let the Right One In, Kung Fu Panda, Speed Racer, Milk, Pineapple Express, and more I'm sure
So that's it, my 10 favourite movies of the year. Now let's get to the fun stuff....BRING ON THE 10 WORST!!!!
Shawn's Curious Case of Benjamin Button Review
2008 Movie #165 - Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Well this is it, my last official review of the 2008 blog. That's a pretty god damn high number of movies seen too. That's even after missing a lot. I would post a full list of everything I missed but I think it would just depress me. This is the last movie I was really excited to see from this year so it's a great way to go out I would say.
From the very first trailer where there was no dialogue and just music (great trailer by the way), I knew I had to see this movie. You throw in David Fincher as the director and I'm set. I can say the man has never made a bad movie. Sure Panic Room was mediocre and Zodiac way too long, but they were still enjoyable. Plus Seven and Fight Club are two of my favourite movies ever made. So I knew this one was a must see. Once it started showing up near the top of a lot of top 10 lists, the excitement grew even more. I was starting to get worried that I was building up expectation for this movie that would be impossible to meet.
Well it met them. It's not the best movie I've seen this year but its' a really great one. People have been comparing it to Forrest Gump and while I can see where they are coming from, they are very different movies. Like Zodiac this one is also a little long and tends to have a few slower parts in the middle, but it's always engaging and never boring.
We have to start with the acting for sure. Brad Pitt is great as Benjamin and he damn well better be up for best actor for this one. Cate Blanchett is also great and each of them are fantastic representing the different ages their characters go through in this movie. We basically get to see every stage in each characters life and they are phenomenal. I'm not sure if that was actually Cate Blanchett as the old woman in the hospital but if it was, my mind is officially blown the fuck away.
Second of all, the make up in this thing is incredible and I would say a shoe in for the Oscar. It's crazy how they made Brad Pitt look in the beginning stages of this movie. It's overall great and a huge achievement. The whole movie looks terrific though and will definitely be up for a lot of visual awards. Hell I even enjoyed the music, which is something I almost never notice when I am watching a movie.
It's a great, original story that is very well told. It has 2 great performances and looks fantastic with some of the best makeup work I have ever seen in a movie. What else do you need to hear to go and watch this one?
**** 1/2 / 5
Well this is it, my last official review of the 2008 blog. That's a pretty god damn high number of movies seen too. That's even after missing a lot. I would post a full list of everything I missed but I think it would just depress me. This is the last movie I was really excited to see from this year so it's a great way to go out I would say.
From the very first trailer where there was no dialogue and just music (great trailer by the way), I knew I had to see this movie. You throw in David Fincher as the director and I'm set. I can say the man has never made a bad movie. Sure Panic Room was mediocre and Zodiac way too long, but they were still enjoyable. Plus Seven and Fight Club are two of my favourite movies ever made. So I knew this one was a must see. Once it started showing up near the top of a lot of top 10 lists, the excitement grew even more. I was starting to get worried that I was building up expectation for this movie that would be impossible to meet.
Well it met them. It's not the best movie I've seen this year but its' a really great one. People have been comparing it to Forrest Gump and while I can see where they are coming from, they are very different movies. Like Zodiac this one is also a little long and tends to have a few slower parts in the middle, but it's always engaging and never boring.
We have to start with the acting for sure. Brad Pitt is great as Benjamin and he damn well better be up for best actor for this one. Cate Blanchett is also great and each of them are fantastic representing the different ages their characters go through in this movie. We basically get to see every stage in each characters life and they are phenomenal. I'm not sure if that was actually Cate Blanchett as the old woman in the hospital but if it was, my mind is officially blown the fuck away.
Second of all, the make up in this thing is incredible and I would say a shoe in for the Oscar. It's crazy how they made Brad Pitt look in the beginning stages of this movie. It's overall great and a huge achievement. The whole movie looks terrific though and will definitely be up for a lot of visual awards. Hell I even enjoyed the music, which is something I almost never notice when I am watching a movie.
It's a great, original story that is very well told. It has 2 great performances and looks fantastic with some of the best makeup work I have ever seen in a movie. What else do you need to hear to go and watch this one?
**** 1/2 / 5
Shawn's Let the Right One in Review
2008 Movie #164 - Let the Right One In
Well it's 2009 now so really I should be done with this blog. I basically am, just have this review and then one more to write. Then it's the top and bottom 10, followed most likely by a year in a review that will come in the next few days. That may conclude with a link to my 2009 movie blog but I doubt the goal of that one will be to see all of the movies.
Anyway, this is another movie that kept showing up on best movies of the year lists and got me curious. Now this movie is exactly what Twilight should have been. It's essentially a vampire love story, only the kids are younger, and the movie is well...good. I don't know if it will crack my top 10 list since recently there has been a whole lot of worthy candidates for it, but it's a really good movie that's for sure.
It's getting pretty hard to do an original take on the vampire genre. It seems like just about everything has been done with it now. Kudos to this movie because it actually manages to take the whole vampire thing in a new direction and give you something you haven't seen before in the genre. I would qualify this movie more as a drama than a horror movie, but there are some definite horror moments in there. There is a good amount of gore, including some stuff that actually made me cringe, which is getting harder and harder to do these days. There is some creepy imagery as well but for the most part, this is a fucked up romance movie.
The acting is top notch. You know it's really good when you can tell even though nobody is speaking English. I forgot to mention this movie is subtitled but whatever, it's worth it you lazy bastards who don't want to read. You are invested in the main story and you really, really, want to know what's going to happen. The movie keeps you guessing and you are never really sure how things are going to turn out.
It's another example of a simple story, but one that is just told really fucking well. It terrifies me that there is already talks of doing an American remake of this one. There's no need! Give this one a wider release and call it a day. You're only going to fuck it up by trying to make it more like Twilight. That's the beauty of this movie...it's everything Twilight isn't.
****/5
Well it's 2009 now so really I should be done with this blog. I basically am, just have this review and then one more to write. Then it's the top and bottom 10, followed most likely by a year in a review that will come in the next few days. That may conclude with a link to my 2009 movie blog but I doubt the goal of that one will be to see all of the movies.
Anyway, this is another movie that kept showing up on best movies of the year lists and got me curious. Now this movie is exactly what Twilight should have been. It's essentially a vampire love story, only the kids are younger, and the movie is well...good. I don't know if it will crack my top 10 list since recently there has been a whole lot of worthy candidates for it, but it's a really good movie that's for sure.
It's getting pretty hard to do an original take on the vampire genre. It seems like just about everything has been done with it now. Kudos to this movie because it actually manages to take the whole vampire thing in a new direction and give you something you haven't seen before in the genre. I would qualify this movie more as a drama than a horror movie, but there are some definite horror moments in there. There is a good amount of gore, including some stuff that actually made me cringe, which is getting harder and harder to do these days. There is some creepy imagery as well but for the most part, this is a fucked up romance movie.
The acting is top notch. You know it's really good when you can tell even though nobody is speaking English. I forgot to mention this movie is subtitled but whatever, it's worth it you lazy bastards who don't want to read. You are invested in the main story and you really, really, want to know what's going to happen. The movie keeps you guessing and you are never really sure how things are going to turn out.
It's another example of a simple story, but one that is just told really fucking well. It terrifies me that there is already talks of doing an American remake of this one. There's no need! Give this one a wider release and call it a day. You're only going to fuck it up by trying to make it more like Twilight. That's the beauty of this movie...it's everything Twilight isn't.
****/5
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Shawn's The Wrestler Review
2008 Movie #163 - The Wrestler
I was really looking forward to watching this one, even before all of the positive buzz started to come in. Now I gotta say, this is one fantastic movie. It's easily making it's way onto the top 10 list I would say. It may be nearish the bottom, but it's still a great movie.
A lot has been said about the performance of Mickey Rourke in the lead role and I have to say, it's deserved. I don't think it's as impressive as Marv in Sin City, but it's damn good. His character reminded me a slightly smarter, more crass, Rocky Balboa. Despite his many mistakes, you can't help but root for the guy. You want things to work out for him and it's genuinely sad when they don't, even when it's his own fault. Great character and a great performance.
It was also cool to see a good role go to Marisa Tomei. And she shows her boobs a lot, so nothing wrong there either. I thought she was really good and I also liked Evan Rachel Wood in a somewhat small role. She's another actress I don't think I've seen in a while. Then again I can't think of anything I liked her in so maybe that's ok. She's good here though.
I just liked watching this movie unfold. I love the camraderie between all of the wrestlers. It's a side you don't normally see and there's a great scene at the beginning where they are all discussing what they will each do in their matches. Very cool stuff.
Also any movie that not only features an original Nintendo, but actually takes the time to invent a game for it, is automatically awesome. I mean they took the fucking time to show us an 8-bit wrestling game that doesn't even exist! That's just pure awesome.
It's a simple movie, but it's a great way. It has a sort of documentary feel to it that really works well and really helps draw you in to the story and the characters. Great movie.
**** 1/2 /5
I was really looking forward to watching this one, even before all of the positive buzz started to come in. Now I gotta say, this is one fantastic movie. It's easily making it's way onto the top 10 list I would say. It may be nearish the bottom, but it's still a great movie.
A lot has been said about the performance of Mickey Rourke in the lead role and I have to say, it's deserved. I don't think it's as impressive as Marv in Sin City, but it's damn good. His character reminded me a slightly smarter, more crass, Rocky Balboa. Despite his many mistakes, you can't help but root for the guy. You want things to work out for him and it's genuinely sad when they don't, even when it's his own fault. Great character and a great performance.
It was also cool to see a good role go to Marisa Tomei. And she shows her boobs a lot, so nothing wrong there either. I thought she was really good and I also liked Evan Rachel Wood in a somewhat small role. She's another actress I don't think I've seen in a while. Then again I can't think of anything I liked her in so maybe that's ok. She's good here though.
I just liked watching this movie unfold. I love the camraderie between all of the wrestlers. It's a side you don't normally see and there's a great scene at the beginning where they are all discussing what they will each do in their matches. Very cool stuff.
Also any movie that not only features an original Nintendo, but actually takes the time to invent a game for it, is automatically awesome. I mean they took the fucking time to show us an 8-bit wrestling game that doesn't even exist! That's just pure awesome.
It's a simple movie, but it's a great way. It has a sort of documentary feel to it that really works well and really helps draw you in to the story and the characters. Great movie.
**** 1/2 /5
Shawn's Bedtime Stories Review
2008 Movie #162 - Bedtime Stories
I was pretty damn ready to hate this one. The trailers made it look pretty bad and the reviews for it certainly aren't great. In the end, I didn't hate it. In fact I kind of liked it. Only kind of though, I still thought there were a lot of problems with it.
My first problem is with Sandler himself. I like Sandler, despite some of his recent film choices. He's not bad here and it's kind of neat to see him doing a kid's movie, but he seems to be trying way too fucking hard. He uses his traditional goofy voice he uses in most of his movies but it's way too overdone here. I can't help but wonder how much of the dialogue was improvised by him. This could have been a very different movie with someone else in the lead. Anyway, he's ok in it but it reminded me a bit of Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty where you just wanted to tell him "ok shhhhhhhhhh!!"
The rest of the cast is good. Always great to see Keri Russell in a movie since she always looks fantastic. The rich daughter character was extemely attractive and kudos to the writers for not making her a complete airhead bitch either. It would have been the easy route so at least they chose not to go on it. It's weird to see Russel Brand in a family movie but he does alright here. It's also a little weird that Courtenay Cox is playing Sandler's sister here after playing his wife in Longest Yard but hey, whatever.
Another thing that bugged me is the universe in which this movie takes place. I understand the idea of bedtime stories becoming true is pretty god damn out there in the first place, but I assumed aside from that the movie was supposed to take place in some sort of reality. Then the cartoon eyed guinea pig shows up and throws that idea right out the fuckign window. I hated that thing. Every time it showed him having a cartoony reaction to something I wanted to step on it. Who the fuck thought of that? And why did so many jokes center on it?! There were at least 90..at least! Also stop having dogs react to things!! It's not funny! AAAAAAAA!!!
To continue on the same idea, there is a scene at the end on a motorcycle that is so fucking out there and ridiculous I couldn't believe it. By this point there is no WAY this movie can be grounded in reality at all. ...Although I guess the whole movie is supposed to be like one big bedtime story huh? Well shit. Meh...either way that hamster was not fucking funny!!
In the end, it's an ok kid's flick. It's a feel good movie and pretty fitting for the holidays...unlike that Seven Pounds. Which by the way is now being marketed in the commercials as a "feel good holiday gift for the whole family." Did the commercial not see the actual movie? Cuz it should check it out before it says shit like that. As for Bedtime Stories...
** 1/2 / 5
I was pretty damn ready to hate this one. The trailers made it look pretty bad and the reviews for it certainly aren't great. In the end, I didn't hate it. In fact I kind of liked it. Only kind of though, I still thought there were a lot of problems with it.
My first problem is with Sandler himself. I like Sandler, despite some of his recent film choices. He's not bad here and it's kind of neat to see him doing a kid's movie, but he seems to be trying way too fucking hard. He uses his traditional goofy voice he uses in most of his movies but it's way too overdone here. I can't help but wonder how much of the dialogue was improvised by him. This could have been a very different movie with someone else in the lead. Anyway, he's ok in it but it reminded me a bit of Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty where you just wanted to tell him "ok shhhhhhhhhh!!"
The rest of the cast is good. Always great to see Keri Russell in a movie since she always looks fantastic. The rich daughter character was extemely attractive and kudos to the writers for not making her a complete airhead bitch either. It would have been the easy route so at least they chose not to go on it. It's weird to see Russel Brand in a family movie but he does alright here. It's also a little weird that Courtenay Cox is playing Sandler's sister here after playing his wife in Longest Yard but hey, whatever.
Another thing that bugged me is the universe in which this movie takes place. I understand the idea of bedtime stories becoming true is pretty god damn out there in the first place, but I assumed aside from that the movie was supposed to take place in some sort of reality. Then the cartoon eyed guinea pig shows up and throws that idea right out the fuckign window. I hated that thing. Every time it showed him having a cartoony reaction to something I wanted to step on it. Who the fuck thought of that? And why did so many jokes center on it?! There were at least 90..at least! Also stop having dogs react to things!! It's not funny! AAAAAAAA!!!
To continue on the same idea, there is a scene at the end on a motorcycle that is so fucking out there and ridiculous I couldn't believe it. By this point there is no WAY this movie can be grounded in reality at all. ...Although I guess the whole movie is supposed to be like one big bedtime story huh? Well shit. Meh...either way that hamster was not fucking funny!!
In the end, it's an ok kid's flick. It's a feel good movie and pretty fitting for the holidays...unlike that Seven Pounds. Which by the way is now being marketed in the commercials as a "feel good holiday gift for the whole family." Did the commercial not see the actual movie? Cuz it should check it out before it says shit like that. As for Bedtime Stories...
** 1/2 / 5
Shawn's Changeling Review
2008 Movie #161 - Changeling
Now we're getting back to the good stuff. I had wanted to see this movie for a while but only had the chance to sit down and watch it yesterday afternoon. This is one hell of a movie that I really hope gets a good chunk of nominations at Oscar time. I think Jolie should be up for Best Actress, Eastwood for Best Director, Costume Design, even Best Picture maybe. I really hope to be seeing a lot of this one.
To begin with, I really liked the story for this movie. I like that it's based on a true story that I would say 99% of the population most likely aren't familiar with at all. It's cool that there are stories like this that haven't been told in a movie yet. The story keeps you interested and is very well told. It's powerful stuff man, powerful stuff.
I've already touched on the performances a little bit but let's get back to that for a moment. Jolie is great in this movie. It's weird to watch Wanted and go on to this one because they are two very, VERY, different roles for her. At least we know she can act now. My respect for her went up infinitely after this one. It was also very cool to see John Malkovich playing a good guy. I don't think that's ever happened before. He may play a good guy who is also creepy, but never just a flat out good guy, so I enjoyed that as well.
This movie also made me mad, but in a good way. Remember how in my Gran Torino review I mentioned how rare it is to actually hate the bad guys in a movie? Well I fucking HATED them in thsi one. I mean I wanted to walk into the actual movie and just start kicking the shit out of everyone. All of the cops and doctors are just so fucking smug and assholey that it drove me insane. I wanted Jolie to expose these assholes more than I wanted to be alive. Good job Changeling, it's not easy to ge tme that fired up.
All in all, this is great stuff. Great story, excellent performances and characters so well written you just want to fucking stab them in the face.
**** 1/2 / 5
Now we're getting back to the good stuff. I had wanted to see this movie for a while but only had the chance to sit down and watch it yesterday afternoon. This is one hell of a movie that I really hope gets a good chunk of nominations at Oscar time. I think Jolie should be up for Best Actress, Eastwood for Best Director, Costume Design, even Best Picture maybe. I really hope to be seeing a lot of this one.
To begin with, I really liked the story for this movie. I like that it's based on a true story that I would say 99% of the population most likely aren't familiar with at all. It's cool that there are stories like this that haven't been told in a movie yet. The story keeps you interested and is very well told. It's powerful stuff man, powerful stuff.
I've already touched on the performances a little bit but let's get back to that for a moment. Jolie is great in this movie. It's weird to watch Wanted and go on to this one because they are two very, VERY, different roles for her. At least we know she can act now. My respect for her went up infinitely after this one. It was also very cool to see John Malkovich playing a good guy. I don't think that's ever happened before. He may play a good guy who is also creepy, but never just a flat out good guy, so I enjoyed that as well.
This movie also made me mad, but in a good way. Remember how in my Gran Torino review I mentioned how rare it is to actually hate the bad guys in a movie? Well I fucking HATED them in thsi one. I mean I wanted to walk into the actual movie and just start kicking the shit out of everyone. All of the cops and doctors are just so fucking smug and assholey that it drove me insane. I wanted Jolie to expose these assholes more than I wanted to be alive. Good job Changeling, it's not easy to ge tme that fired up.
All in all, this is great stuff. Great story, excellent performances and characters so well written you just want to fucking stab them in the face.
**** 1/2 / 5
Shawn's Redbelt Review
2008 Movie #160 - Redbelt
Another movie I was sure I was going to miss. Actually I've had it available for a while so I mostly assumed I would miss it because I would never take the time to sit down and watch it. The main reason I did is because I've started to see it show up on a huge bunch of Top Movies of 2008 lists so I got curious. After watching it, I don't really get why it's showing up on these lists really. It's not a bad movie don't get me wrong, but I definitely couldn't place this one in my top 10. Hell I doubt I could do the top 30 or maybe even 50. It just wasn't for me really.
As with Secret Life of Bees, it's a performance from this movie that stood out to me more than anything. That would of course be Tim Allen. Now I should stay up front that I am anything but a fan of his. I don't like Home Improvement (if you would like I could summarize every episode of the show ever in about 10 seconds...I have a feeling I actually did that in another post somewhere in this blog) and most of his movies are crap. Galaxy Quest aside, we have Wild Hogs, all three Santa Clause movies, Zoom, Jungle 2 Jungle, Christmas with the Kranks and the list probably goes on.
Here however he does alright because he takes on a more serious role. The man is actually a pretty decent actor if given the right oppurtunity. Plus it was kind of cool to hear him say fuck. Tim's performance was the one thing I really carried away from this movie.
Well him and this one scene where a woman is supposed to be angry at the main character for something I won't spoil here. The reason this scene stands out is that the woman isn't exactly what you would call good at acting. She doesn't seem angry, she barely seems mildly upset. I would go as far as to call her disinterested even. It's a bizarre scene that actually made me laugh, which considering the context, probably wasn't their intention.
That's about all I have to say. The plot is ok, the performances are mostly good aside from the one mentioned in the last paragraph, and some of the fighting is cool. Other than that, meh.
**/5
Another movie I was sure I was going to miss. Actually I've had it available for a while so I mostly assumed I would miss it because I would never take the time to sit down and watch it. The main reason I did is because I've started to see it show up on a huge bunch of Top Movies of 2008 lists so I got curious. After watching it, I don't really get why it's showing up on these lists really. It's not a bad movie don't get me wrong, but I definitely couldn't place this one in my top 10. Hell I doubt I could do the top 30 or maybe even 50. It just wasn't for me really.
As with Secret Life of Bees, it's a performance from this movie that stood out to me more than anything. That would of course be Tim Allen. Now I should stay up front that I am anything but a fan of his. I don't like Home Improvement (if you would like I could summarize every episode of the show ever in about 10 seconds...I have a feeling I actually did that in another post somewhere in this blog) and most of his movies are crap. Galaxy Quest aside, we have Wild Hogs, all three Santa Clause movies, Zoom, Jungle 2 Jungle, Christmas with the Kranks and the list probably goes on.
Here however he does alright because he takes on a more serious role. The man is actually a pretty decent actor if given the right oppurtunity. Plus it was kind of cool to hear him say fuck. Tim's performance was the one thing I really carried away from this movie.
Well him and this one scene where a woman is supposed to be angry at the main character for something I won't spoil here. The reason this scene stands out is that the woman isn't exactly what you would call good at acting. She doesn't seem angry, she barely seems mildly upset. I would go as far as to call her disinterested even. It's a bizarre scene that actually made me laugh, which considering the context, probably wasn't their intention.
That's about all I have to say. The plot is ok, the performances are mostly good aside from the one mentioned in the last paragraph, and some of the fighting is cool. Other than that, meh.
**/5
Shawn's The Secret Life of Bees Review
2008 Movie #159 - The Secret Life of Bees
Well it happened again. I actually watched this movie right after I finished watching Swing Vote and then just completely forgot about it and never wrote the review. It's only a few days later and I can't remember too much about the movie to even talk about it here. I guess that pretty much sums up everything you need to know about the movie right there. It's ok, but pretty forgettable.
The one thing I took away from this movie was that Dakota Fanning is getting older. I haven't seen her in a movie in a while now and she looks a whole lot different from what I remember. She's still a good actress though so hopefully she can stick around as she gets older. Very few child stars have managed to pull that off, with Elijah Wood being one of the few examples I can think of right now. *moment of silence for the career of Macauly Culkin*
Also Paul Bettany is really fucking good at playing a backwoods redneck. I was surprised to find out it was him because for the first part of the movie I really had no idea. So kudos to him because he did a stand out job.
Aside from those 2 facts, nothing much else about the movie stands out to me now that I think back to it. It was pretty decent, with some really good performances and a merely ok plot. It probably doesn't help either that I watched this one in the middle of a huge field of Oscar and award movies. Really doesn't help this one stand out. I guess check it out? Really though there's a whole lot of good stuff out there right now that you should be checking out instead.
** 1/2 / 5
Well it happened again. I actually watched this movie right after I finished watching Swing Vote and then just completely forgot about it and never wrote the review. It's only a few days later and I can't remember too much about the movie to even talk about it here. I guess that pretty much sums up everything you need to know about the movie right there. It's ok, but pretty forgettable.
The one thing I took away from this movie was that Dakota Fanning is getting older. I haven't seen her in a movie in a while now and she looks a whole lot different from what I remember. She's still a good actress though so hopefully she can stick around as she gets older. Very few child stars have managed to pull that off, with Elijah Wood being one of the few examples I can think of right now. *moment of silence for the career of Macauly Culkin*
Also Paul Bettany is really fucking good at playing a backwoods redneck. I was surprised to find out it was him because for the first part of the movie I really had no idea. So kudos to him because he did a stand out job.
Aside from those 2 facts, nothing much else about the movie stands out to me now that I think back to it. It was pretty decent, with some really good performances and a merely ok plot. It probably doesn't help either that I watched this one in the middle of a huge field of Oscar and award movies. Really doesn't help this one stand out. I guess check it out? Really though there's a whole lot of good stuff out there right now that you should be checking out instead.
** 1/2 / 5
Monday, December 29, 2008
Shawn's Revolutionary Road Review
2008 Movie #158 - Revolutionary Road
After a slight break for an animated mouse, we’re back to the awards movies. This is another one I knew nothing about before I watched it. I had never seen a trailer and aside from the cast, that was about all the knowledge I had.
The plot is pretty simple. It’s basically a married couple in the fifties who are having some problems. It’s a simple premise but they do a great job with it. Things get off to a good start and then the movie does slow down. However when it picks back up again, it picks up like a motherfucker. It really gets you into the story and you HAVE to know just what the hell is going to happen.
The movie hinges on the performances and my god these are some quality performances. Leo and Kate go the exact opposite route as Titantic and spend a good chunk of this movie just screaming at each other. I have to give particular props to Leo though. He is great in this movie. I would maybe go as far as to say this is his best performance, and he has given some damn good ones. Kate is really good too, but it’s Leo who steals the show. He has one scene near the end of the movie where he is yelling at a character who isn’t Kate (I don’t want to give anything away) that is fantastic. It’s also satisfying because you’re waiting and waiting for him to unleash so when he does, it just feels damn good to watch it unfold. If he doesn’t get a best actor nomination for this, I’ll eat Hollywood. The whole damn thing.
There isn’t much more to say about this one. It features two excellent performances and a simple, but well told plot. Another great movie that comes right at the end of the year.
****/5
After a slight break for an animated mouse, we’re back to the awards movies. This is another one I knew nothing about before I watched it. I had never seen a trailer and aside from the cast, that was about all the knowledge I had.
The plot is pretty simple. It’s basically a married couple in the fifties who are having some problems. It’s a simple premise but they do a great job with it. Things get off to a good start and then the movie does slow down. However when it picks back up again, it picks up like a motherfucker. It really gets you into the story and you HAVE to know just what the hell is going to happen.
The movie hinges on the performances and my god these are some quality performances. Leo and Kate go the exact opposite route as Titantic and spend a good chunk of this movie just screaming at each other. I have to give particular props to Leo though. He is great in this movie. I would maybe go as far as to say this is his best performance, and he has given some damn good ones. Kate is really good too, but it’s Leo who steals the show. He has one scene near the end of the movie where he is yelling at a character who isn’t Kate (I don’t want to give anything away) that is fantastic. It’s also satisfying because you’re waiting and waiting for him to unleash so when he does, it just feels damn good to watch it unfold. If he doesn’t get a best actor nomination for this, I’ll eat Hollywood. The whole damn thing.
There isn’t much more to say about this one. It features two excellent performances and a simple, but well told plot. Another great movie that comes right at the end of the year.
****/5
Shawn's The Tale of Despereux Review
2008 Movie #157 - The Tale of Despereux
I have never read the book this is based on. In fact I didn’t even know it was based on a book until it was released. The movie gave me no real desire to go back and read the book, but it does a few things right that I have to give it credit for.
It’s been an up and down year for animated movies. On one end of the spectrum, we have great movies like Kung Fu Panda, Wall-e, and even Horton Hears a Who. On the far opposite end, we have ones such as Madagascar 2, Igor and Veggie Tales (wow now that one takes me back). Somewhere in the middle of all that, lies The Tale of Despereaux.
First off, I’ll list the things I thought the movie did well. For starters, I liked the look of the movie. It goes a very different route than most animated movies. Usually they are bright and colourful, but this one has a much more drab colour palette. Not that it looks bad, it looks very good. It has a unique look that makes it stand out from just about every other animated movie that has come out this year.
Second of all, this is a kid’s movie that gives kids some credit. You know this is an issue I have with most kids movies and it’s always nice to see one go a different route. Sure there are some slapstick moments and whatever, but not nearly to the point we’re used to. This one actually tries to tell a story and actually features some darker moments. I could see a lot of kids finding this movie slow since it doesn’t spend the whole time screaming in their faces, like fucking Madagascar 2 never stopped doing.
Those points aside, it’s still a pretty average movie. It looks great and doesn’t condescend to the kids, but it’s still just ok. The storyline is in fact a little on the slow side and the storyline is a little familiar. There is a scene with a cat that I rather liked though. Overall, not bad.
** ½ / 5
I have never read the book this is based on. In fact I didn’t even know it was based on a book until it was released. The movie gave me no real desire to go back and read the book, but it does a few things right that I have to give it credit for.
It’s been an up and down year for animated movies. On one end of the spectrum, we have great movies like Kung Fu Panda, Wall-e, and even Horton Hears a Who. On the far opposite end, we have ones such as Madagascar 2, Igor and Veggie Tales (wow now that one takes me back). Somewhere in the middle of all that, lies The Tale of Despereaux.
First off, I’ll list the things I thought the movie did well. For starters, I liked the look of the movie. It goes a very different route than most animated movies. Usually they are bright and colourful, but this one has a much more drab colour palette. Not that it looks bad, it looks very good. It has a unique look that makes it stand out from just about every other animated movie that has come out this year.
Second of all, this is a kid’s movie that gives kids some credit. You know this is an issue I have with most kids movies and it’s always nice to see one go a different route. Sure there are some slapstick moments and whatever, but not nearly to the point we’re used to. This one actually tries to tell a story and actually features some darker moments. I could see a lot of kids finding this movie slow since it doesn’t spend the whole time screaming in their faces, like fucking Madagascar 2 never stopped doing.
Those points aside, it’s still a pretty average movie. It looks great and doesn’t condescend to the kids, but it’s still just ok. The storyline is in fact a little on the slow side and the storyline is a little familiar. There is a scene with a cat that I rather liked though. Overall, not bad.
** ½ / 5
Shawn's Slumdog Millionaire Review
2008 Movie #156 - Slumdog Millionaire
Let’s keep the award movies coming! This was one of the biggies. It’s made just about every 2008 top 10 list I’ve read. Not to mention the tons of nominations it’s gotten/is bound to get. That’s a whole lot of hype for a movie to live up to. I was pretty positive it could never manage to meet the high expectations I set for it. What do you know? It pulled it off.
First of all, I love the narrative device this movie uses. It has the main character on the India version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire being interrogated for cheating since he is winning big on the show. The movie consists of him telling the stories about how he knows all of the answers to the questions. These all lead to flashbacks of his life. Each story is interesting and will really have you wanting to know just what is going to happen.
Few movies can draw you in like this one did. This is one of those movies where things just HAVE to work out for all of the characters…except for maybe one. I don’t think I have felt this strongly about 2 people ending up together since Wall-e. I’m pretty sure this son of a bitch got me to the edge of my seat, especially in the finale. Slumdog Millionaire is just an example of fucking great storytelling. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen and puts most of the stories from 2008 movies to absolute shame.
I was very impressed with the acting in this movie, particularly from the boys who portray the main characters when they are younger. They do a fantastic job. Of course all of the adult versions are good as well. There really isn’t a weak performance in the bunch.
The movie also looks great. The scenery and everything is fantastic to look at. Yep, that’s that paragraph.
Slumdog Millionaire manages to live up to a huge amount of hype, and even surpasses it in some ways. It’s a shame it took until the end of the year to get some more movies of this quality but I would say this is one that is worth the wait.
****1/2 / 5
Let’s keep the award movies coming! This was one of the biggies. It’s made just about every 2008 top 10 list I’ve read. Not to mention the tons of nominations it’s gotten/is bound to get. That’s a whole lot of hype for a movie to live up to. I was pretty positive it could never manage to meet the high expectations I set for it. What do you know? It pulled it off.
First of all, I love the narrative device this movie uses. It has the main character on the India version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire being interrogated for cheating since he is winning big on the show. The movie consists of him telling the stories about how he knows all of the answers to the questions. These all lead to flashbacks of his life. Each story is interesting and will really have you wanting to know just what is going to happen.
Few movies can draw you in like this one did. This is one of those movies where things just HAVE to work out for all of the characters…except for maybe one. I don’t think I have felt this strongly about 2 people ending up together since Wall-e. I’m pretty sure this son of a bitch got me to the edge of my seat, especially in the finale. Slumdog Millionaire is just an example of fucking great storytelling. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen and puts most of the stories from 2008 movies to absolute shame.
I was very impressed with the acting in this movie, particularly from the boys who portray the main characters when they are younger. They do a fantastic job. Of course all of the adult versions are good as well. There really isn’t a weak performance in the bunch.
The movie also looks great. The scenery and everything is fantastic to look at. Yep, that’s that paragraph.
Slumdog Millionaire manages to live up to a huge amount of hype, and even surpasses it in some ways. It’s a shame it took until the end of the year to get some more movies of this quality but I would say this is one that is worth the wait.
****1/2 / 5
Shawn's Milk Review
2008 Movie #155 - Milk
After a slew of mediocre and shit movies it’s nice to finally start delving into the award movies. The Oscar nominations haven’t been announced yet but I’m just now getting into the movies that will apparently be up for a bunch of them. Milk got it all kicked off and it was a great start to things I would say. This is a very good movie that helped to sort of wipe away the memory of things like An American Carol.
The movie is based on a true story that I really knew nothing about which may have helped make the movie more interesting to me. It tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first gay person to become an elected government official in the history of America. It’s a really good story that I’m surprised took this long to be made into a movie. I mean fuck, look at some of the stories movies have told us this year. You’re telling me Martin Lawrence taking his daughter on a road trip probably got greenlit and made before this one? Disgusting. Thankfully the story has been made into a movie now because it’s one that deserves to be told.
Sean Penn does great in the role of Harvey Milk. I’m not a huge Sean Penn fan (as an actor he’s fine but as a person I think he’s a humourless prick) but I got to respect what he has done here. It could have easily come off as him playing the stereotypical, flamboyant gay character but it doesn’t. He plays it more lowkey, which could be how Harvey was really like I’m not sure. Either way kudos to Penn. Now if you just fucking laugh or smile once in real life we would be in business.
James Franco goes back to his usual, more brooding roles here, which is too bad because he was fantastic in Pineapple Express and I want to see more comedy from him. He’s still good, but it felt like all of his other characters, except this time, gay. I didn’t even know Emile Hirsh and Josh Brolin were in this movie but I’m big fans of both of them and they do great work here.
I can see why this one has a lot of award talk around it. It’s a well told story with great characters and performances. It keeps you interested and really makes you want to see what happens, unless you’re not me and knew the actual story it was based on. Check this one out for sure.
****/5
After a slew of mediocre and shit movies it’s nice to finally start delving into the award movies. The Oscar nominations haven’t been announced yet but I’m just now getting into the movies that will apparently be up for a bunch of them. Milk got it all kicked off and it was a great start to things I would say. This is a very good movie that helped to sort of wipe away the memory of things like An American Carol.
The movie is based on a true story that I really knew nothing about which may have helped make the movie more interesting to me. It tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first gay person to become an elected government official in the history of America. It’s a really good story that I’m surprised took this long to be made into a movie. I mean fuck, look at some of the stories movies have told us this year. You’re telling me Martin Lawrence taking his daughter on a road trip probably got greenlit and made before this one? Disgusting. Thankfully the story has been made into a movie now because it’s one that deserves to be told.
Sean Penn does great in the role of Harvey Milk. I’m not a huge Sean Penn fan (as an actor he’s fine but as a person I think he’s a humourless prick) but I got to respect what he has done here. It could have easily come off as him playing the stereotypical, flamboyant gay character but it doesn’t. He plays it more lowkey, which could be how Harvey was really like I’m not sure. Either way kudos to Penn. Now if you just fucking laugh or smile once in real life we would be in business.
James Franco goes back to his usual, more brooding roles here, which is too bad because he was fantastic in Pineapple Express and I want to see more comedy from him. He’s still good, but it felt like all of his other characters, except this time, gay. I didn’t even know Emile Hirsh and Josh Brolin were in this movie but I’m big fans of both of them and they do great work here.
I can see why this one has a lot of award talk around it. It’s a well told story with great characters and performances. It keeps you interested and really makes you want to see what happens, unless you’re not me and knew the actual story it was based on. Check this one out for sure.
****/5
Shawn's Swing Vote Review
2008 Movie #154 - Swing Vote
Swing Vote is another movie I was sure I was going to miss this year. I did get the chance to get watch it after all and unlike American Carol, at least this one wasn’t a complete waste of time.
Although far fetched, I was somewhat into the whole idea of this movie. Yea the idea of an entire election coming down to one person is pretty fucking ridiculous, but so are most movie plots. Therefore I was kind of into it. The movie did get a little preachy at times about how it’s our civic duty to vote and all that but it was an election year so I can almost forgive it. Plus coming off American Carol, it’s not nearly as go America go as that one so that helped too.
Having said that I kind of liked the idea of the movie, I should say that the movie itself is still not that great. It reminded me a lot of, of all fucking movies, Welcome to Mooseport. Both are 2 hour movies with election themes, that are intended to be comedies but don’t seem to contain a whole lot of comedy. Granted this one is supposed to also be a drama, and some of those moments work better, but the movie never quite succeeds as either a comedy or a drama. Though I have to admit I was entertained by the campaign commercials the candidates did that were designed to appeal to just one guy. Those were actually pretty funny and I was kind of hoping for more of them since the rest of the movie pales in comparison.
It’s also weird this movie also had both Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, as did American Carol. They must have been all fucking about America this year. At least I can understand a little more why they would choose to do this movie. Kevin Costner’s role isn’t much of a stretch for him but he does fine and makes the character likable when he probably shouldn’t be. I can’t decide my thoughts on the character of his daughter. I think the actress did a really good job but I was constantly going back and forth on whether or not I actually liked her character.
Swing Vote isn’t bad, but it’s easily forgettable. It’s not that funny aside from a few moments here and there, and the drama never quite works either. I was interested though because I sort of liked the idea behind the whole thing and was curious how it would all turn out. One last thing, the movie is a little too long.
**/5
Swing Vote is another movie I was sure I was going to miss this year. I did get the chance to get watch it after all and unlike American Carol, at least this one wasn’t a complete waste of time.
Although far fetched, I was somewhat into the whole idea of this movie. Yea the idea of an entire election coming down to one person is pretty fucking ridiculous, but so are most movie plots. Therefore I was kind of into it. The movie did get a little preachy at times about how it’s our civic duty to vote and all that but it was an election year so I can almost forgive it. Plus coming off American Carol, it’s not nearly as go America go as that one so that helped too.
Having said that I kind of liked the idea of the movie, I should say that the movie itself is still not that great. It reminded me a lot of, of all fucking movies, Welcome to Mooseport. Both are 2 hour movies with election themes, that are intended to be comedies but don’t seem to contain a whole lot of comedy. Granted this one is supposed to also be a drama, and some of those moments work better, but the movie never quite succeeds as either a comedy or a drama. Though I have to admit I was entertained by the campaign commercials the candidates did that were designed to appeal to just one guy. Those were actually pretty funny and I was kind of hoping for more of them since the rest of the movie pales in comparison.
It’s also weird this movie also had both Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, as did American Carol. They must have been all fucking about America this year. At least I can understand a little more why they would choose to do this movie. Kevin Costner’s role isn’t much of a stretch for him but he does fine and makes the character likable when he probably shouldn’t be. I can’t decide my thoughts on the character of his daughter. I think the actress did a really good job but I was constantly going back and forth on whether or not I actually liked her character.
Swing Vote isn’t bad, but it’s easily forgettable. It’s not that funny aside from a few moments here and there, and the drama never quite works either. I was interested though because I sort of liked the idea behind the whole thing and was curious how it would all turn out. One last thing, the movie is a little too long.
**/5
Shawn's An American Carol Review
2008 Movie #153 - An American Carol
Speaking of movies with no redeeming qualities (which I was at the end of my last review in case you aren’t keeping up), here we have a great example of one. I was sure this was going to be one of the 2008 movies I missed (which wasn’t too upsetting) but the DVD is coming out and lucky me, I got to watch it. It isn’t Meet the Spartans or Disaster Movie bad, but it’s really fucking terrible.
I’m going to try and get through this review without too much political talk since well, I don’t want to get into that shit here. The movie is coming from a completely Conservative viewpoint though so it’s hard to not at least mention something about it. The movie is of course a huge, blatant rip on Michael Moore. Right there should be a warning since he has been made fun of for years now. This movie seems to think it’s doing something new though. Lots of jokes about he likes to eat and how he is fat. Wow, cutting fucking edge.
The movie also takes a firm standpoint that America is perfect in every single way and that criticizing it means you hate it. It also takes stabs at college education and so on. I can’t just can’t support the viewpoint of this movie (then again I’m Canadian too) so right there I can’t like it. It’s just so “yay America!” that by the end it’s fucking nauseating. We get it, you like your country and hate anyone who thinks it has flaws. STOP! STOP!!!!
I could maybe look past the go America go stuff if at least the movie was funny. Of course it isn’t. Oh god is it ever not funny. I can’t even accept that they thought they were making a funny movie during production. I smiled once at a cameo by Elaine’s boss from Seinfeld as himself, but that’s it. The rest of the humour is just pratfalls and bullshit you’ve seen be unfunny 1000 times before. There’s also a bizarre 9/11 reference that actually shows the smoldering remains of the two towers. This ranks as one of the most out of place moments I’ve ever seen in any movie. Then 10 seconds later the main character is hitting his head on bells…fuckin’ movie. There’s also a musical number that they try to justify by mocking the fact there is a musical number. It doesn’t work and that 3 minute stretch is just fucking death.
I can’t help but wonder what attracted this cast to the movie. They aren’t huge names but there are genuinely talented people in this thing. I guess maybe the Conservative agenda attracted them initially maybe. But then how did the terrible fucking script not drive them away immediately afterwards? I just don’t get it.
It has been an awful year for the parody movie. I can’t help but wonder, and hope, if this is the end of them. …oh god someone is going to try and remake Airplane aren’t they? I saw give it two years and that will either have happened or be in the process of happening. Mark my fucking words. In the meantime, stay far, far away from this crap. I look forward to talking about it again in a couple of days when it hold it’s place in the bottom 10 movies of 2008.
0/5
Speaking of movies with no redeeming qualities (which I was at the end of my last review in case you aren’t keeping up), here we have a great example of one. I was sure this was going to be one of the 2008 movies I missed (which wasn’t too upsetting) but the DVD is coming out and lucky me, I got to watch it. It isn’t Meet the Spartans or Disaster Movie bad, but it’s really fucking terrible.
I’m going to try and get through this review without too much political talk since well, I don’t want to get into that shit here. The movie is coming from a completely Conservative viewpoint though so it’s hard to not at least mention something about it. The movie is of course a huge, blatant rip on Michael Moore. Right there should be a warning since he has been made fun of for years now. This movie seems to think it’s doing something new though. Lots of jokes about he likes to eat and how he is fat. Wow, cutting fucking edge.
The movie also takes a firm standpoint that America is perfect in every single way and that criticizing it means you hate it. It also takes stabs at college education and so on. I can’t just can’t support the viewpoint of this movie (then again I’m Canadian too) so right there I can’t like it. It’s just so “yay America!” that by the end it’s fucking nauseating. We get it, you like your country and hate anyone who thinks it has flaws. STOP! STOP!!!!
I could maybe look past the go America go stuff if at least the movie was funny. Of course it isn’t. Oh god is it ever not funny. I can’t even accept that they thought they were making a funny movie during production. I smiled once at a cameo by Elaine’s boss from Seinfeld as himself, but that’s it. The rest of the humour is just pratfalls and bullshit you’ve seen be unfunny 1000 times before. There’s also a bizarre 9/11 reference that actually shows the smoldering remains of the two towers. This ranks as one of the most out of place moments I’ve ever seen in any movie. Then 10 seconds later the main character is hitting his head on bells…fuckin’ movie. There’s also a musical number that they try to justify by mocking the fact there is a musical number. It doesn’t work and that 3 minute stretch is just fucking death.
I can’t help but wonder what attracted this cast to the movie. They aren’t huge names but there are genuinely talented people in this thing. I guess maybe the Conservative agenda attracted them initially maybe. But then how did the terrible fucking script not drive them away immediately afterwards? I just don’t get it.
It has been an awful year for the parody movie. I can’t help but wonder, and hope, if this is the end of them. …oh god someone is going to try and remake Airplane aren’t they? I saw give it two years and that will either have happened or be in the process of happening. Mark my fucking words. In the meantime, stay far, far away from this crap. I look forward to talking about it again in a couple of days when it hold it’s place in the bottom 10 movies of 2008.
0/5
Shawn's The Women Review
2008 Movie #152 - The Women
This one is similar to Sex and the City and Twilight in that maybe I’m just not supposed to get this movie. Either that or it’s my other theory, the movie just isn’t very good. Right now, I’m going to choose to lean towards the second option.
This will be my third really short movie review in a row. I just didn’t like this movie. I really don’t even know how to expand on that further. I didn’t care about the main story, or any of the smaller subplots. None of the characters were interesting and some were just flat out unlikable. The jokes fall flat just about every single time. One about referencing the original movie by saying “what is this a movie from the 30’s” actually made me angry because I’m pretty damn sure the writers thought that was really fucking clever. Not so much guys, sorry.
The movie is also really, really long. I remember checking the length when I thought that it had to be just about over, only to discover there was still just over an hour to go. The movie is 2 hours long just about and doesn’t have anything to say or do that justifies that long of a running time. Yes there are a lot of characters but aside from Meg Ryan and Annette Bening, most of them don’t have more than 10, maybe 15 minutes of screen time each. I actually forgot about some characters when they would come back. Not a good sign.
This could be another one of those movies that I’m not supposed to get. Obviously it isn’t tailored towards me. I can safely give it a 1 because of 2 scenes I can think of that actually got me a little interested. Therefore it isn’t completely without any redeeming qualities, but it’s damn close to having none.
*/5
This one is similar to Sex and the City and Twilight in that maybe I’m just not supposed to get this movie. Either that or it’s my other theory, the movie just isn’t very good. Right now, I’m going to choose to lean towards the second option.
This will be my third really short movie review in a row. I just didn’t like this movie. I really don’t even know how to expand on that further. I didn’t care about the main story, or any of the smaller subplots. None of the characters were interesting and some were just flat out unlikable. The jokes fall flat just about every single time. One about referencing the original movie by saying “what is this a movie from the 30’s” actually made me angry because I’m pretty damn sure the writers thought that was really fucking clever. Not so much guys, sorry.
The movie is also really, really long. I remember checking the length when I thought that it had to be just about over, only to discover there was still just over an hour to go. The movie is 2 hours long just about and doesn’t have anything to say or do that justifies that long of a running time. Yes there are a lot of characters but aside from Meg Ryan and Annette Bening, most of them don’t have more than 10, maybe 15 minutes of screen time each. I actually forgot about some characters when they would come back. Not a good sign.
This could be another one of those movies that I’m not supposed to get. Obviously it isn’t tailored towards me. I can safely give it a 1 because of 2 scenes I can think of that actually got me a little interested. Therefore it isn’t completely without any redeeming qualities, but it’s damn close to having none.
*/5
Shawn's The Dutchess Review
2008 Movie #151 - The Dutchess
My god Keira Knightly sure does love her some old time movies. I would say 90% of her movies take place before the year 1900. The only one that doesn’t that I can think of is Domino, and there is no real reason to talk any further about that one. This is one of the first ones I’ve seen of hers though since I never did watch Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, Silk, and others I’m sure I can’t think of right now. Maybe this one wasn’t the best to start with because while not a bad movie, it was nothing spectacular I didn’t think.
Keira is definitely good in the movie, as is the rest of the cast. In fact I would say the cast is probably the highlight. I didn’t know what the movie was about and once the plot started to reveal itself I couldn’t help but think “…that’s it?” The whole movie sort of reminded me The Other Boelyn Girl, which I thought was overall the better movie out of the two. A lot of betrayal and trying to father a son and what not.
Once again it falls back into the familiar idea of I was never bored, but never that invested in things either. You know what, I have too many reviews to write to focus more on this one so that’s all I’m going to say. It’s weird though that I could type up more about Feast 2 than I could about this one. Basically, it’s a decent movie with really good performances, and the whole thing looks great too. The problem I had with it is that the plot never got me hooked in. Plus not once did Keira show her boobs which I thought was supposed to be a staple now? *sigh*
** ½
My god Keira Knightly sure does love her some old time movies. I would say 90% of her movies take place before the year 1900. The only one that doesn’t that I can think of is Domino, and there is no real reason to talk any further about that one. This is one of the first ones I’ve seen of hers though since I never did watch Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, Silk, and others I’m sure I can’t think of right now. Maybe this one wasn’t the best to start with because while not a bad movie, it was nothing spectacular I didn’t think.
Keira is definitely good in the movie, as is the rest of the cast. In fact I would say the cast is probably the highlight. I didn’t know what the movie was about and once the plot started to reveal itself I couldn’t help but think “…that’s it?” The whole movie sort of reminded me The Other Boelyn Girl, which I thought was overall the better movie out of the two. A lot of betrayal and trying to father a son and what not.
Once again it falls back into the familiar idea of I was never bored, but never that invested in things either. You know what, I have too many reviews to write to focus more on this one so that’s all I’m going to say. It’s weird though that I could type up more about Feast 2 than I could about this one. Basically, it’s a decent movie with really good performances, and the whole thing looks great too. The problem I had with it is that the plot never got me hooked in. Plus not once did Keira show her boobs which I thought was supposed to be a staple now? *sigh*
** ½
Shawn's Pride and Glory Review
2008 Movie #150 - Pride and Glory
Another huge milestone in the number of movies watched. No way will 200 be reached though, at least not with 48 hours left to watch movies. It's almost too bad because I bet with a bit more time, I could easily do it.
Everything about this movie screamed generic when I first heard about it. The trailer, the title, the story, everything about it looked so painfully generic. The usual cop drama we see at least once or twice a year really. After having finally seen the movie, well I can safely say the movie itself is just as generic as everything lead me to believe.
This review is also going to be short because I really don’t have anything to say about this one. It’s not really bad. It manages to at least stay somewhat entertaining, but it all feels so familiar. There is hardly an original moment in this entire movie. Except for one scene involving a baby and an iron. That was the one moment that made me sit up and pay some real attention. Other than that though, there is nothing to get one invested in what’s going on.
The acting is just fine, which isn’t really a surprise with a cast like this. It just kind of makes me wonder what actors like Edward Norton, Colin Farrel and Jon Voight saw in this one. Then again Jon Voight was in the Bratz movie last year so maybe it shouldn’t be too shocking he would appear in this one.
That’s about all I have to say about Pride and Glory. Not a horrible movie mat all, but it’s way too long (over two hours) to say it doesn’t have a whole lot to say or do that’s in any way original. It sort of reminded of Street Kings, another really generic movie. I would have to say Street Kings was the more entertaining of the two of them though. I would skip this one.
**/5
Another huge milestone in the number of movies watched. No way will 200 be reached though, at least not with 48 hours left to watch movies. It's almost too bad because I bet with a bit more time, I could easily do it.
Everything about this movie screamed generic when I first heard about it. The trailer, the title, the story, everything about it looked so painfully generic. The usual cop drama we see at least once or twice a year really. After having finally seen the movie, well I can safely say the movie itself is just as generic as everything lead me to believe.
This review is also going to be short because I really don’t have anything to say about this one. It’s not really bad. It manages to at least stay somewhat entertaining, but it all feels so familiar. There is hardly an original moment in this entire movie. Except for one scene involving a baby and an iron. That was the one moment that made me sit up and pay some real attention. Other than that though, there is nothing to get one invested in what’s going on.
The acting is just fine, which isn’t really a surprise with a cast like this. It just kind of makes me wonder what actors like Edward Norton, Colin Farrel and Jon Voight saw in this one. Then again Jon Voight was in the Bratz movie last year so maybe it shouldn’t be too shocking he would appear in this one.
That’s about all I have to say about Pride and Glory. Not a horrible movie mat all, but it’s way too long (over two hours) to say it doesn’t have a whole lot to say or do that’s in any way original. It sort of reminded of Street Kings, another really generic movie. I would have to say Street Kings was the more entertaining of the two of them though. I would skip this one.
**/5
Shawn's Feast 2 Review
2008 Movie #149 - Feast 2
I rather enjoyed the first Feast. Sure it was stupid but I had fun with it. Although it may have helped that my now girlfriend has just agreed to our first date earlier that day so I was in a really good fucking mood when I watched it. I also watched this one on Christmas Eve (what a fucked up double bill with this one and Blindess eh?) so I was in a good mood while viewing this one as well. I guess the trick to enjoying these movies is watching them in high spirits because you know what, I didn’t mind this one either.
The plot takes place I think just after the first one ends. A big problem I had with this movie is that it assumes the first Feast is fresh in your memory since there were moments and characters I’m sure I was supposed to remember that I really didn’t. Instead of being trapped inside a bar the characters get trapped in a few different places as they navigate through a city full of the monsters.
The budget must have been a lot lower this time because we don’t see the creatures as much as we did in the first one. Unless we didn’t see them a lot in the first one either I really don’t fucking remember. Either way, you only get to see them a few times but it is kind of cool that we get to see them in broad daylight. You don’t see that very often with monster movies. The creatures themselves are ok looking, kind of generic though.
The acting is what you would expect from this type of movie. It’s probably a cut above average and is definitely an improvement over my last direct to dvd horror sequel, Pulse 2. The swearing did seem excessive though, from one character in particular. I don’t know if the overuse of ‘fuck’ was supposed to be played for comedy, but it really just came off as annoying.
Speaking of which, the humour in this tries so hard to be shocking and edgy but it fails for the most part. It just comes off as childish really. It kind of reminded me of my thoughts on Postal in that the movie is trying way too hard to show off how ballsy it is. A couple of the jokes work but for the most part they fall flat. There is one involving a baby that I can’t decide if that crossed a line or not. I would assume most people would be pretty pissed about it though.
The movie does deliver a heaping amount of gore though. Hardly a few minutes will go without some icky gore, and it’s pretty good actually. Nothing we haven’t really seen before but it keeps things interesting.
I know it sounds like I should have hated the movie after all of those complaints but I didn’t. Like I said though being in a good mood probably helped me look past all of its many flaws and actually have a pretty good time with it. Watch this thing when you’re feeling good.
** ½ / 5
I rather enjoyed the first Feast. Sure it was stupid but I had fun with it. Although it may have helped that my now girlfriend has just agreed to our first date earlier that day so I was in a really good fucking mood when I watched it. I also watched this one on Christmas Eve (what a fucked up double bill with this one and Blindess eh?) so I was in a good mood while viewing this one as well. I guess the trick to enjoying these movies is watching them in high spirits because you know what, I didn’t mind this one either.
The plot takes place I think just after the first one ends. A big problem I had with this movie is that it assumes the first Feast is fresh in your memory since there were moments and characters I’m sure I was supposed to remember that I really didn’t. Instead of being trapped inside a bar the characters get trapped in a few different places as they navigate through a city full of the monsters.
The budget must have been a lot lower this time because we don’t see the creatures as much as we did in the first one. Unless we didn’t see them a lot in the first one either I really don’t fucking remember. Either way, you only get to see them a few times but it is kind of cool that we get to see them in broad daylight. You don’t see that very often with monster movies. The creatures themselves are ok looking, kind of generic though.
The acting is what you would expect from this type of movie. It’s probably a cut above average and is definitely an improvement over my last direct to dvd horror sequel, Pulse 2. The swearing did seem excessive though, from one character in particular. I don’t know if the overuse of ‘fuck’ was supposed to be played for comedy, but it really just came off as annoying.
Speaking of which, the humour in this tries so hard to be shocking and edgy but it fails for the most part. It just comes off as childish really. It kind of reminded me of my thoughts on Postal in that the movie is trying way too hard to show off how ballsy it is. A couple of the jokes work but for the most part they fall flat. There is one involving a baby that I can’t decide if that crossed a line or not. I would assume most people would be pretty pissed about it though.
The movie does deliver a heaping amount of gore though. Hardly a few minutes will go without some icky gore, and it’s pretty good actually. Nothing we haven’t really seen before but it keeps things interesting.
I know it sounds like I should have hated the movie after all of those complaints but I didn’t. Like I said though being in a good mood probably helped me look past all of its many flaws and actually have a pretty good time with it. Watch this thing when you’re feeling good.
** ½ / 5
Shawn's Blindness Review
2008 Movie #148 - Blindness
I watched this movie on Christmas Eve of all days. Nothing like a bleak drama about the end of the world to get into the ole holiday spirit. I was even wrapping presents while this was playing in the background. I had been curious about this one for a while. I liked the premise and I liked the cast and I wanted to see how it all came together. I had been warned that it was a very depressing movie though so I never was really in the mood to watch it. For some reason Christmas Eve became the day. Overall, I’m not too upset that I waited this long to watch it.
My main problem with this movie is the execution. I think this is a solid idea for a movie (the whole world going blind at once) that could have been really great and really creepy. This just isn’t the movie I was hoping for to go with this plot idea.
It starts off really well with a great opening sequence that really shows how sudden and fucked up the situation is. This really got my hopes up for what was about to transpire. Then things take a turn and the movie starts to unravel.
Right after this sequence we enter the hospital wards where all of the blind people are taken. This is where the majority of the movie then takes place. That’s another huge problem I have with the movie. After a while the movie focuses on the breakdown of the ward and how food is running low and how one of the wards has gotten power hungry and started to run things. For a while I forgot everyone was blind. It plays a role sure, but it’s not the focus. It felt a lot like Lord of the Flies and I wasn’t really interested in any of it. I was more interested in seeing how everyone was dealing with suddenly going blind, not how they would get food from their evil co-patients.
There is a bit at the end that shows how the world has been affected by it, and it’s more of how I envisioned things, but sadly there isn’t a whole lot of it. It doesn’t make up for the hospital portion of the movie, which I found to be boring after a while.
The performances are good, although at times I felt people seemed to be handling the fact they had just gone blind a little too well. People would be in hysterics if this happened but in the movie, people were generally calm and fairly ok with what was happening.
Good concept, blah execution. That about sums up my thoughts on Blindness. Maybe down the road someone will take another stab at a movie about this. I do think it deserves to have a better movie made about the subject.
** ½ /5
I watched this movie on Christmas Eve of all days. Nothing like a bleak drama about the end of the world to get into the ole holiday spirit. I was even wrapping presents while this was playing in the background. I had been curious about this one for a while. I liked the premise and I liked the cast and I wanted to see how it all came together. I had been warned that it was a very depressing movie though so I never was really in the mood to watch it. For some reason Christmas Eve became the day. Overall, I’m not too upset that I waited this long to watch it.
My main problem with this movie is the execution. I think this is a solid idea for a movie (the whole world going blind at once) that could have been really great and really creepy. This just isn’t the movie I was hoping for to go with this plot idea.
It starts off really well with a great opening sequence that really shows how sudden and fucked up the situation is. This really got my hopes up for what was about to transpire. Then things take a turn and the movie starts to unravel.
Right after this sequence we enter the hospital wards where all of the blind people are taken. This is where the majority of the movie then takes place. That’s another huge problem I have with the movie. After a while the movie focuses on the breakdown of the ward and how food is running low and how one of the wards has gotten power hungry and started to run things. For a while I forgot everyone was blind. It plays a role sure, but it’s not the focus. It felt a lot like Lord of the Flies and I wasn’t really interested in any of it. I was more interested in seeing how everyone was dealing with suddenly going blind, not how they would get food from their evil co-patients.
There is a bit at the end that shows how the world has been affected by it, and it’s more of how I envisioned things, but sadly there isn’t a whole lot of it. It doesn’t make up for the hospital portion of the movie, which I found to be boring after a while.
The performances are good, although at times I felt people seemed to be handling the fact they had just gone blind a little too well. People would be in hysterics if this happened but in the movie, people were generally calm and fairly ok with what was happening.
Good concept, blah execution. That about sums up my thoughts on Blindness. Maybe down the road someone will take another stab at a movie about this. I do think it deserves to have a better movie made about the subject.
** ½ /5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)