2008 Movie #42 - Diary of the Dead
I was actually pretty disappointed when it was announced that this movie would only be released in a very limited number of theatres. I was interested in seeing it and was actually close to watching it during my New York trip just because I didn't think I would have the chance otherwise. Thankfully this movie has become...readily available...so I was able to view. It's probably for the best I didn't waste my precious New York time watching it, but it's still a good movie.
Well let me clarify that more. If this was a zombie movie made by just some random people you had never heard of, then it would be borderline great. However knowing that it was George A Romero who wrote and directed it sours things a little because you know the man is capable of better. His Dead movies are classics in the zombie genre (a genre that I must say I am a pretty large fan of) and I was expecting the same from this one. Instead we get a much better than average zombie movie, but one that falls short of his past movies.
Those who know the movie know that it's filmed in Blair Witch style...which from now on I'm going to refer to as Cloverfield style because fuck Blair Witch. It feels a little gimmicky in the beginning but actually starts to work in the movie's favor as it continues. One thing I liked is that the camera doesn't flail around wildly like it's prone to do in the above mentioned movie. The shots are steady and the camera work is well done. As with Cloverfield it's a bit of a stretch that these characters would still be filming after the constant slew of shit they had been through, but otherwise we wouldn't even have a movie so whatever works. Plus who knows, maybe we would keep filming in that situation, we don't really have a real life situation to go by. I myself would be too busy crying in the corner to film anything, I know that.
The acting is frankly quite bad for the most part. It doesn't ruin the movie too much but it does sometimes remind you that yes, this is a movie. Granted I doubt people would start to believe they're actually watching footage of a real zombie outbreak, but it's nice to really escape into that movie world and the bad acting prevents that from happening often. The characters are, as expected, completely one note and disposable. Thankfully, the zombie movie genre is one of the few types of movies that can get away with that and still be alright.
Of course one of the most important aspects of any zombie movie is the gore level and in this area, Diary of the Dead definitely delivers (alliteration for the win!). Zombies are dispatched in many gruesome ways and the special effects are pretty damn good as well. There's also a really cool shot involving a swimming pool that was a highlight of the movie.
In the grand scale of George A Romero zombie movies, this one is sadly closer to the bottom of the pile. However that still makes it a shitload better than 90% of other zombie movies, and also better than at least 70% of horror movies in general. It will be tricky to see this one in theatres but it's worth a look on DVD.
***/5
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Shawn's Shutter Review
2008 Movie #41 - Shutter
Sadly I think April brings an end to our monthly pattern of at least one japanese horror remake. Things didn't get off to a great start with the awful One Missed Call but picked up slightly with the surprisingly decent The Eye in February. Now we wrap things up with Shutter, which sadly is much closer to One Missed Call in terms of quality.
The sad truth is that you've already seen this movie at least 12 times in the past few years. Absolutely nothing happens that you don't expect. In case you're worried that maybe this remake doesn't feature a creepy japanese girl ghost popping out of random places for most of its running time, there's no need for those fears. Scared that maybe there isnt heaps and heaps of unneccessary back story about all of the characters? Or maybe that there isn't a twist revealing one of the protagonist's has a dark secret they're hiding? Well you can put all of those fears to rest because Shutter absolutely bathes in predicatable story telling and seen it before plot points.
It borrows pretty liberally from a ton of other movies that are usually better than this one. There's a plot twist (already spoiled in most of the trailers) taken out of What Lies Beneath. Everything else just reminds me of every other j-horror remake, especially The Grudge. Needless to say, a movie that reminds you heavily of the Grudge, may not be the best movie.
The movie also commits one of the main sins that a horror movie can...it's dull. There are long stretches of time where nothing exciting happens and whatever does happen you already knew was coming probably before you even sat down to watch the movie. The only thing that comes in to try and wake you up is the typical "HOLY SHIT A LOUD NOISE" type jump scares. There are a couple of semi-creepy moments near the end of the movie but nothing you haven't seen before, as I keep saying.
As is the case with many horror movies, the characters are very one-dimensional and have no qualities that make you care about them. Joshua Jackson does alright in the role he's given, however the same can't be said for whoever is playing his wife. I'd look it up but I really just don't give a shit. There are a few points in the movie that highlight that she's really not that strong of an actor. Then again the role doesn't ask much from her except to look scared or yell. So maybe it's not the most fair evaluation of her abilities.
I can't say that I'm upset we won't be getting any more of these remakes for a while. I think they just need to be put to rest for a good long while. They aren't doing anything to help the always struggling horror genre but I guess as long as they continue to make money, they won't die. However my next two reviews will be for horror movies that actually, for the most part anyway, get it right. In the meantime, if you see Shutter walking down the street, kick it in the chest.
* 1/5 /5
Sadly I think April brings an end to our monthly pattern of at least one japanese horror remake. Things didn't get off to a great start with the awful One Missed Call but picked up slightly with the surprisingly decent The Eye in February. Now we wrap things up with Shutter, which sadly is much closer to One Missed Call in terms of quality.
The sad truth is that you've already seen this movie at least 12 times in the past few years. Absolutely nothing happens that you don't expect. In case you're worried that maybe this remake doesn't feature a creepy japanese girl ghost popping out of random places for most of its running time, there's no need for those fears. Scared that maybe there isnt heaps and heaps of unneccessary back story about all of the characters? Or maybe that there isn't a twist revealing one of the protagonist's has a dark secret they're hiding? Well you can put all of those fears to rest because Shutter absolutely bathes in predicatable story telling and seen it before plot points.
It borrows pretty liberally from a ton of other movies that are usually better than this one. There's a plot twist (already spoiled in most of the trailers) taken out of What Lies Beneath. Everything else just reminds me of every other j-horror remake, especially The Grudge. Needless to say, a movie that reminds you heavily of the Grudge, may not be the best movie.
The movie also commits one of the main sins that a horror movie can...it's dull. There are long stretches of time where nothing exciting happens and whatever does happen you already knew was coming probably before you even sat down to watch the movie. The only thing that comes in to try and wake you up is the typical "HOLY SHIT A LOUD NOISE" type jump scares. There are a couple of semi-creepy moments near the end of the movie but nothing you haven't seen before, as I keep saying.
As is the case with many horror movies, the characters are very one-dimensional and have no qualities that make you care about them. Joshua Jackson does alright in the role he's given, however the same can't be said for whoever is playing his wife. I'd look it up but I really just don't give a shit. There are a few points in the movie that highlight that she's really not that strong of an actor. Then again the role doesn't ask much from her except to look scared or yell. So maybe it's not the most fair evaluation of her abilities.
I can't say that I'm upset we won't be getting any more of these remakes for a while. I think they just need to be put to rest for a good long while. They aren't doing anything to help the always struggling horror genre but I guess as long as they continue to make money, they won't die. However my next two reviews will be for horror movies that actually, for the most part anyway, get it right. In the meantime, if you see Shutter walking down the street, kick it in the chest.
* 1/5 /5
Shawn's Meet the Browns Review
2008 Movie #40 - Meet the Browns
Ah movie #40 and I'm still not even caught. There's a good chance I could crack 50 movies by the end of the week. That's quite an important milestone...and a sad one in some way. I really hope that my 50th movie is a whole hell of a lot better than my 40th cuz my god.
I'm not overly familiar with the works of Tyler Perry. I watched some of Madea's Family Reunion and shut it off rather quickly, knowing I would never ever go back and finish it. It was just irritating to watch. Other than that, I knew that most people (critics and audiences alike) hate the movies yet they still go on to make shit loads of cash. After watching Meet the Brows, Perry's success completely baffles me. If this is the kind of stuff he generally releases, then I really have no understanding of what is making this man popular.
I won't lie, I did not watch this in a theatre and thank god for that. I was watching a download but still could hear the audience's reaction of course. The audience who was watching this showing laughed hysterically at anything. I would actually have to rewind the movie just to try and find the fucking joke. I would say that 90% of the time I had no clue what they were laughing at. Maybe they were laughing at how bad the movie is but sadly I just don't have much faith in that.
I am now seriously so confused about Tyler Perry's success. Yes I haven't seen any of his other movies but I have read in numerous places that Meet the Brown's is essentially like all of his other ones so I'm choosing to take that at face value. The plot is nothing you haven't seen 1000 times before, and usually done better at that. The characters are way too over the top and a couple of them are so fucking irritating I would mute the movie until they went away. Even seeing the characters wild, spastic gestures made me angry however.
I'm happy to have this movie behind me because it was I think the only movie I hadn't watched yet that I was absolutely dreading having to partake in. Even the list of upcoming movies is looking pretty good with very few weak links among them. In the meantime, ignore this movie and continue to ignore any other movies Perry comes out with and we'll just have to hold on to the hope that maybe he will go away.
0.5 /5
Ah movie #40 and I'm still not even caught. There's a good chance I could crack 50 movies by the end of the week. That's quite an important milestone...and a sad one in some way. I really hope that my 50th movie is a whole hell of a lot better than my 40th cuz my god.
I'm not overly familiar with the works of Tyler Perry. I watched some of Madea's Family Reunion and shut it off rather quickly, knowing I would never ever go back and finish it. It was just irritating to watch. Other than that, I knew that most people (critics and audiences alike) hate the movies yet they still go on to make shit loads of cash. After watching Meet the Brows, Perry's success completely baffles me. If this is the kind of stuff he generally releases, then I really have no understanding of what is making this man popular.
I won't lie, I did not watch this in a theatre and thank god for that. I was watching a download but still could hear the audience's reaction of course. The audience who was watching this showing laughed hysterically at anything. I would actually have to rewind the movie just to try and find the fucking joke. I would say that 90% of the time I had no clue what they were laughing at. Maybe they were laughing at how bad the movie is but sadly I just don't have much faith in that.
I am now seriously so confused about Tyler Perry's success. Yes I haven't seen any of his other movies but I have read in numerous places that Meet the Brown's is essentially like all of his other ones so I'm choosing to take that at face value. The plot is nothing you haven't seen 1000 times before, and usually done better at that. The characters are way too over the top and a couple of them are so fucking irritating I would mute the movie until they went away. Even seeing the characters wild, spastic gestures made me angry however.
I'm happy to have this movie behind me because it was I think the only movie I hadn't watched yet that I was absolutely dreading having to partake in. Even the list of upcoming movies is looking pretty good with very few weak links among them. In the meantime, ignore this movie and continue to ignore any other movies Perry comes out with and we'll just have to hold on to the hope that maybe he will go away.
0.5 /5
Monday, April 7, 2008
Shawn's 21 Review
2008 Movie # 39 - 21
You know I always say that it's the comedies that are the hardest to review. This is pretty much true but a close second to that would be mediocre movies as whole. Unless you really like something or really hate it, it can sometimes be hard to really be at all passionate about something. That's pretty much the main reason why this review, as well as several other ones now, have gone unwritten even though I saw the movies days and days ago. It's that I just don't really have that much to say about them.
I remember watching the documentary on the true story 21 is based upon. It was very interesting to watch and is overall a fantastic story. I had been debating reading the book for quite some time but then after hearing they were making a movie out of it, decided I might as well just wait for it. However, after watching the movie I think I'm now more inclined than ever to read the book. It's a great non-fiction story that this movie hollywood-izes just a little too much.
It's not a bad movie by any means. The story as mentioned is good and it remains interesting throughout the running time. The problem is that it's overall a pretty by the numbers movie with very few surprises along the way. Of course they couldn't just tell the story the way it happened as it wouldn't make for a hollywood movie. They have to add in the love interest, the villian, the twists and turns, and so on. I see what they were going for with all of this, it just tends to bog the movie down in mediocrity.
The performances are across the board quite good. Kate Bosworth does well and is certainly nice to look at. Jim Sturgess (I think that's his name anyway) does fine in the lead, if not just a little on the bland side. Kevin Spacey is of course great and is probably the stand out of the picture. His character is a little over the top but at least brings some much needed energy to an otherwise meh picture. Laurence Fishburne is stuck in a fairly thankless role but does just fine with what little he has to work with.
The film certainly looks good and is very slick. The problem is the old situation of style over substance. They had the material for a really great movie here but instead settled for your average thriller/caper movie.
** 1/2 /5
You know I always say that it's the comedies that are the hardest to review. This is pretty much true but a close second to that would be mediocre movies as whole. Unless you really like something or really hate it, it can sometimes be hard to really be at all passionate about something. That's pretty much the main reason why this review, as well as several other ones now, have gone unwritten even though I saw the movies days and days ago. It's that I just don't really have that much to say about them.
I remember watching the documentary on the true story 21 is based upon. It was very interesting to watch and is overall a fantastic story. I had been debating reading the book for quite some time but then after hearing they were making a movie out of it, decided I might as well just wait for it. However, after watching the movie I think I'm now more inclined than ever to read the book. It's a great non-fiction story that this movie hollywood-izes just a little too much.
It's not a bad movie by any means. The story as mentioned is good and it remains interesting throughout the running time. The problem is that it's overall a pretty by the numbers movie with very few surprises along the way. Of course they couldn't just tell the story the way it happened as it wouldn't make for a hollywood movie. They have to add in the love interest, the villian, the twists and turns, and so on. I see what they were going for with all of this, it just tends to bog the movie down in mediocrity.
The performances are across the board quite good. Kate Bosworth does well and is certainly nice to look at. Jim Sturgess (I think that's his name anyway) does fine in the lead, if not just a little on the bland side. Kevin Spacey is of course great and is probably the stand out of the picture. His character is a little over the top but at least brings some much needed energy to an otherwise meh picture. Laurence Fishburne is stuck in a fairly thankless role but does just fine with what little he has to work with.
The film certainly looks good and is very slick. The problem is the old situation of style over substance. They had the material for a really great movie here but instead settled for your average thriller/caper movie.
** 1/2 /5
Friday, April 4, 2008
Shawn's Superhero Movie Review
First off for those who read this (aka me) a couple of quick housekeeping points. First off you may have noticed that the movie number count has jumped up. That's because I decided to go back and count my bonus reviews as actual 2008 movies. I mean they came out this year, even if they didn't open in theatres. It's just easier this way, especially when it comes to listing the best and worst 2008 movies and what not. Plus it makes my task look that much more impressive since the number of 2008 movies watched will sky rocket upwards.
The second thing is that I will very rarely do multiple reviews within one update. Each movie will get their own. That way it doesn't sit unfinished forever like my Penelope and Run Fatboy Run reviews unfortunatly did. I for some reason find myself much less motivated to write them when there's a shitload of movies to review in one single update. I think that about does it.
2008 Movie # 38 - Superhero Movie
Those who know me even the slightest bit know that I was not a fan of Meet the Spartans. Meet the Spartans angered me. It angered me to no fucking end. I still think about that movie and get ridiculously pissed off. Even just seeing the announcement of the DVD made me angry. In fact I'm sure if I were all of you I would look forward to the release of that DVD because I am definitely planning on reviewing the DVD itself. I just have to see how fucking self congratulatory those fuckers will be on the behind the scenes features and commentary. I have to see how they justify the movies existence, as well as their own.
Needless to say after that movie I didn't have high hopes for another spoof just a couple of months later. I mean I think the Scary Movie movies are decently funny, parts 1 and 3 especially so the idea that the people behind those movies were involved in this one at least gave me a faint glimmer of hope. Sadly they have let me down.
Now this review isn't going to be the verbal raping that was my Meet the Spartans review. Superhero Movie didn't anger me, it just wasn't that funny. It does a lot of the things Meet the Spartans (which from this point on will be refered to simply as Shitfuck) does which includes references that won't be relevant in the next few months, a ton of "hey aren't we hip for saying that" references (things such as: myspace, youtube, wikipedia, top 5 on cell phones, pretty much any flavour of the month you can think of), theres even a Two Girls One Cup "joke" that doesn't even make any sense except to say the name of the site.
However at least this movie, unlike Shitfuck, keeps it's focus on one genre instead of any movie to come out within the last 12 months. In fact not only does it focus on just one genre, it pretty much focuses on just one movie, and that's the original Spider-Man movie from years ago. So this movie is almost the exact opposite of Shitfuck in that it's spoofing target isn't too recent, it's kind of too old.
Another problem is that Superhero Movie doesn't so much spoof Spider-Man as it does recreate the story and insert prat falls, farts and shit jokes. There are at least a couple of decent attempts at actually spoofing the genre, which Shitfuck certainly never tried to do. So that's something.
The final and biggest problem is that, as briefly mentioned above, the movie just isn't that funny. There are a whole lot of lame roll your eyes jokes scattered throughout that really overpower the couple of genuinely funny moments the movie does have. I did laugh at least twice (smiled anyway), which is twice as much as Shitfuck.
So I can't recommend this movie, not at all. But it's a very, very, very small step forward for the spoof genre after the tragedy that was Shitfuck.
*/5
The second thing is that I will very rarely do multiple reviews within one update. Each movie will get their own. That way it doesn't sit unfinished forever like my Penelope and Run Fatboy Run reviews unfortunatly did. I for some reason find myself much less motivated to write them when there's a shitload of movies to review in one single update. I think that about does it.
2008 Movie # 38 - Superhero Movie
Those who know me even the slightest bit know that I was not a fan of Meet the Spartans. Meet the Spartans angered me. It angered me to no fucking end. I still think about that movie and get ridiculously pissed off. Even just seeing the announcement of the DVD made me angry. In fact I'm sure if I were all of you I would look forward to the release of that DVD because I am definitely planning on reviewing the DVD itself. I just have to see how fucking self congratulatory those fuckers will be on the behind the scenes features and commentary. I have to see how they justify the movies existence, as well as their own.
Needless to say after that movie I didn't have high hopes for another spoof just a couple of months later. I mean I think the Scary Movie movies are decently funny, parts 1 and 3 especially so the idea that the people behind those movies were involved in this one at least gave me a faint glimmer of hope. Sadly they have let me down.
Now this review isn't going to be the verbal raping that was my Meet the Spartans review. Superhero Movie didn't anger me, it just wasn't that funny. It does a lot of the things Meet the Spartans (which from this point on will be refered to simply as Shitfuck) does which includes references that won't be relevant in the next few months, a ton of "hey aren't we hip for saying that" references (things such as: myspace, youtube, wikipedia, top 5 on cell phones, pretty much any flavour of the month you can think of), theres even a Two Girls One Cup "joke" that doesn't even make any sense except to say the name of the site.
However at least this movie, unlike Shitfuck, keeps it's focus on one genre instead of any movie to come out within the last 12 months. In fact not only does it focus on just one genre, it pretty much focuses on just one movie, and that's the original Spider-Man movie from years ago. So this movie is almost the exact opposite of Shitfuck in that it's spoofing target isn't too recent, it's kind of too old.
Another problem is that Superhero Movie doesn't so much spoof Spider-Man as it does recreate the story and insert prat falls, farts and shit jokes. There are at least a couple of decent attempts at actually spoofing the genre, which Shitfuck certainly never tried to do. So that's something.
The final and biggest problem is that, as briefly mentioned above, the movie just isn't that funny. There are a whole lot of lame roll your eyes jokes scattered throughout that really overpower the couple of genuinely funny moments the movie does have. I did laugh at least twice (smiled anyway), which is twice as much as Shitfuck.
So I can't recommend this movie, not at all. But it's a very, very, very small step forward for the spoof genre after the tragedy that was Shitfuck.
*/5
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Shawn's 10,000 BC Review
2008 Movie # 37 - 10,000 B.C.
Again proving that I don't know shit about shit when it comes to predicting things at the start of the month, I said that this movie would most likely be the best movie of March. This one and Funny Games which by the looks of it I will actually probably get to see it in theatres which is pretty exciting. I'm sure you already figured it out by that introduction but this movie certainly isn't the best movie of March. It's not even a good movie at all.
Roland Emmerich's movies certainly aren't for everyone. This is the man who made Independence Day (which doesn't hold up as well as you might think) and Day After Tomorrow, which has a really kick ass first hour but then it's like they ran out of money and lost the second half of the script and had to make shit up right there on the spot. These are movies that you either hate, or enjoy purely on a "well at least it's entertaining" level. At the very least I figured this was the level of enjoyment I would get out of 10,000 BC.
I certainly didn't get that level since this movie simply isn't entertaining. I hadn't heard a single good thing about it before I saw it. In fact I hadn't even heard a single mediocre thing about it. Everyone who saw it said it was just bad. I thought it was going to be laughably "oh my god this is so stupid" bad. But if anything, it's just boring. There are a couple of action sequences scattered throughout the movie that are alright, but for the most part nothing really happens and the whole affair is just rather dull.
I do have to comment on one thing though. Now I'm no geographist but I'm pretty damn sure that you can't be walking in a frozen tundra one minute, and then in the middle of a rainforest the next. You especially can't emerge from that rainforest into a vast desert. However that seems to be how this movie thinks. Also I know it's a movie but why do some tribes speak perfect english and others don't?
And why the fuck was the sabre tooth tiger only in the movie for maybe 2 minutes total. It's on all the god damn posters and is the money shot at the end of almost all of the trailers for the movie so what the fuck? Where is my sabre tooth tiger? I got wooly mammoths out the ass but just one brief sabre tooth tiger appearence?! Ridiculous.
Thankfully the movie is pretty short (about 100 minutes) since I was positive this was going to try and be one of those 2 and a half hour epics. So you're bored, but you're not bored for as long as you could be. That's pretty much the best thing I can say about this movie. I'm choosing to give this movie 2 stars because the wooly mammoth is an underappreciated animal and at least I finally got even just a little sabre tooth tiger action in my movie going life. I could always use much much more however.
**/5
Again proving that I don't know shit about shit when it comes to predicting things at the start of the month, I said that this movie would most likely be the best movie of March. This one and Funny Games which by the looks of it I will actually probably get to see it in theatres which is pretty exciting. I'm sure you already figured it out by that introduction but this movie certainly isn't the best movie of March. It's not even a good movie at all.
Roland Emmerich's movies certainly aren't for everyone. This is the man who made Independence Day (which doesn't hold up as well as you might think) and Day After Tomorrow, which has a really kick ass first hour but then it's like they ran out of money and lost the second half of the script and had to make shit up right there on the spot. These are movies that you either hate, or enjoy purely on a "well at least it's entertaining" level. At the very least I figured this was the level of enjoyment I would get out of 10,000 BC.
I certainly didn't get that level since this movie simply isn't entertaining. I hadn't heard a single good thing about it before I saw it. In fact I hadn't even heard a single mediocre thing about it. Everyone who saw it said it was just bad. I thought it was going to be laughably "oh my god this is so stupid" bad. But if anything, it's just boring. There are a couple of action sequences scattered throughout the movie that are alright, but for the most part nothing really happens and the whole affair is just rather dull.
I do have to comment on one thing though. Now I'm no geographist but I'm pretty damn sure that you can't be walking in a frozen tundra one minute, and then in the middle of a rainforest the next. You especially can't emerge from that rainforest into a vast desert. However that seems to be how this movie thinks. Also I know it's a movie but why do some tribes speak perfect english and others don't?
And why the fuck was the sabre tooth tiger only in the movie for maybe 2 minutes total. It's on all the god damn posters and is the money shot at the end of almost all of the trailers for the movie so what the fuck? Where is my sabre tooth tiger? I got wooly mammoths out the ass but just one brief sabre tooth tiger appearence?! Ridiculous.
Thankfully the movie is pretty short (about 100 minutes) since I was positive this was going to try and be one of those 2 and a half hour epics. So you're bored, but you're not bored for as long as you could be. That's pretty much the best thing I can say about this movie. I'm choosing to give this movie 2 stars because the wooly mammoth is an underappreciated animal and at least I finally got even just a little sabre tooth tiger action in my movie going life. I could always use much much more however.
**/5
Shawn's Drillbit Taylor Review
2008 Movie # 36 - Drillbit Taylor
First off, I like Owen Wilson. I want nothing but good things for Owen Wilson. Good Owen Wilson movies = Bottle Rocket, Wedding Crashers, Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited (ok so all of the Wes Anderson movies), Shanghai Noon, Starsky and Hutch, Zoolander, Behind Enemy Lines is entertaining in it's own right, Rushmore, Anaconda (fuck you Anaconda rules) and The Cable Guy (i like it).
On the other hand we should just ignore things like the Big Bounce, I Spy, You, Me and Dupree, etc. So now that we've gone through all of Owen's filmography, the conclusion is simple, I like the man. However, Owen Wilson needs to stop making movies that purely rely on him being well...Owen Wilson.
This movie suffers from the same problem that You, Me and Dupree did and that's that the script isn't very funny and sort of just relies on Owen to save things by acting like himself. He does what he can but it's just not enough. It may just be time for Owen to try something different, or maybe just stick exclusively with Wes Anderson, who knows.
My other problem with this movie (aside from the fact that it just isn't that funny) is that it focuses on entirely the wrong story. I was actually pretty interested in the storyline of the three nerds taking on their bully tormentors. However the movie feels that we should be much more interested in Drillbit's story of redemption. Unfortunatly for them, this is not at all the case. This movie should really be about the kid's and really anytime it cut away from them to show Drillbit's side of things, I kind of lost interest. I wanted to see the kids overcome their bullies, not Drillbit.
Speaking of the bully characters, do bullies like these actually exist outside of the realm of film? These guys (the main bully at least) are clearly out of their fucking minds and need to be locked away from the rest of society immediatly. Some of the things they do to these kids would easily lead to expulsion and possibly even jailtime. The fact that it goes completely ignored by both the principal and the parents is just unreal. This movie exists in some sort of bizarre plain of existence where adults are a-ok with this kind of shit going on.
Overall, this movie isn't painful to watch and is even likable at parts, but it doesn't leave anything even resembling a lasting impression after it's over. It has a couple of funny-ish parts but as a comedy it overall mostly fails. I do have to give it partial credit for the parts that focused on the plights of the kids, I was actually quite invested it those.
**/5
First off, I like Owen Wilson. I want nothing but good things for Owen Wilson. Good Owen Wilson movies = Bottle Rocket, Wedding Crashers, Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited (ok so all of the Wes Anderson movies), Shanghai Noon, Starsky and Hutch, Zoolander, Behind Enemy Lines is entertaining in it's own right, Rushmore, Anaconda (fuck you Anaconda rules) and The Cable Guy (i like it).
On the other hand we should just ignore things like the Big Bounce, I Spy, You, Me and Dupree, etc. So now that we've gone through all of Owen's filmography, the conclusion is simple, I like the man. However, Owen Wilson needs to stop making movies that purely rely on him being well...Owen Wilson.
This movie suffers from the same problem that You, Me and Dupree did and that's that the script isn't very funny and sort of just relies on Owen to save things by acting like himself. He does what he can but it's just not enough. It may just be time for Owen to try something different, or maybe just stick exclusively with Wes Anderson, who knows.
My other problem with this movie (aside from the fact that it just isn't that funny) is that it focuses on entirely the wrong story. I was actually pretty interested in the storyline of the three nerds taking on their bully tormentors. However the movie feels that we should be much more interested in Drillbit's story of redemption. Unfortunatly for them, this is not at all the case. This movie should really be about the kid's and really anytime it cut away from them to show Drillbit's side of things, I kind of lost interest. I wanted to see the kids overcome their bullies, not Drillbit.
Speaking of the bully characters, do bullies like these actually exist outside of the realm of film? These guys (the main bully at least) are clearly out of their fucking minds and need to be locked away from the rest of society immediatly. Some of the things they do to these kids would easily lead to expulsion and possibly even jailtime. The fact that it goes completely ignored by both the principal and the parents is just unreal. This movie exists in some sort of bizarre plain of existence where adults are a-ok with this kind of shit going on.
Overall, this movie isn't painful to watch and is even likable at parts, but it doesn't leave anything even resembling a lasting impression after it's over. It has a couple of funny-ish parts but as a comedy it overall mostly fails. I do have to give it partial credit for the parts that focused on the plights of the kids, I was actually quite invested it those.
**/5
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