2008 Movie #48 - Leatherheads
Completing this review will mean that for the first time in I don't even know how many weeks, I will be caught up in reviewing the movies I've watched. It's a pretty good feeling actually. It's not so much a good feeling knowing how fucking far behind I still am on watching movies, with one from February still waiting to be viewed, but what the hell, it's a start.
You wouldn't know it since I haven't gotten around to writing any sort of preview for the month of April (trust me it's coming, even if I write it on April 29th it's fucking coming), Leatherheads would have been mentioned as one I was genuinely looking forward to. George Clooney is one of my favourite actors and I'll support anything John Krasinski does based on The Office alone. I was also very much in favour of a throwback to the screwball comedies of the early century. Thankfully this movie delivered and was actually really good. It's not really fall down hilarious, but it's consistently enjoyable throughout it's entire running time.
It's nice to watch a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously and where everyone involved just seems to be having a good time. The feeling ends up being contagious because the viewer just begins to have a fun time watching them and watching the movie play itself out. That's really the best word you can use to describe this movie, fun. It's just fucking fun to watch. It's also something unique, and that's an element that's becoming more and more rare in movies. It's not very often anymore you can say a movie does something different, which is a fantastic reason why you should go and check this one out.
If you don't have fun watching this movie, then I hate to inform you but you may in fact be some sort of emotionless robot. If that's the case you have no place on this planet and will no doubt be destroyed in the near future by an angry mob of villagers. So...you know enjoy that. The rest of you enjoy Leatherheads, it's a damn good time.
****/5
Monday, April 14, 2008
Shawn's Stop Loss Review
2008 Movie # 47 - Stop Loss
Welcome to most likely my shortest review yet. I decided I wanted to talk about this movie without getting into any of my personal feelings on Iraq and the war and everything. As a result of that decision, I find with myself with very little to say about the actual movie itself. I'll admit this is one of the first movies this year that was more of a backgrounder. I paid enough attention to it to get the whole story and everything, but it never completely got my full attention. Did it deserve it? I don't even really know.
I wasn't that invested really in what was happening. The story was interesting enough and I was actually kind of invested in what was going to happen with Ryan Phillipe's character. I just wasn't all that invested in what was happening with anyone else in the story. By the end I found I was starting to lose interest in Ryan's story as well, which didn't leave me with much to care about in this movie.
The acting was fine. I've always liked both Ryan Philippe and Joseph Gordon Levitt (if you haven't seen The Lookout starring him I highly recommend it) and they do well in this movie. I have no opinion on Channing Tatum but he does fine here as well.
In the end, maybe I just wasn't in the right mood while watching it or something but I just couldn't bring myself to get into this movie. It wasn't horrible, it wasn't great...I don't know. I am actually struggling to come up with something to say here. It is kind of interesting though that every single movie to be released in the last year or so about Iraq (and there has actually been a fairly high number of them) hasn't done well. This is the first one of those movies I've actually watched and I don't know...whatever.
**/5
Welcome to most likely my shortest review yet. I decided I wanted to talk about this movie without getting into any of my personal feelings on Iraq and the war and everything. As a result of that decision, I find with myself with very little to say about the actual movie itself. I'll admit this is one of the first movies this year that was more of a backgrounder. I paid enough attention to it to get the whole story and everything, but it never completely got my full attention. Did it deserve it? I don't even really know.
I wasn't that invested really in what was happening. The story was interesting enough and I was actually kind of invested in what was going to happen with Ryan Phillipe's character. I just wasn't all that invested in what was happening with anyone else in the story. By the end I found I was starting to lose interest in Ryan's story as well, which didn't leave me with much to care about in this movie.
The acting was fine. I've always liked both Ryan Philippe and Joseph Gordon Levitt (if you haven't seen The Lookout starring him I highly recommend it) and they do well in this movie. I have no opinion on Channing Tatum but he does fine here as well.
In the end, maybe I just wasn't in the right mood while watching it or something but I just couldn't bring myself to get into this movie. It wasn't horrible, it wasn't great...I don't know. I am actually struggling to come up with something to say here. It is kind of interesting though that every single movie to be released in the last year or so about Iraq (and there has actually been a fairly high number of them) hasn't done well. This is the first one of those movies I've actually watched and I don't know...whatever.
**/5
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Shawn's Day of the Dead Review
2008 Movie #46 - Day of the Dead
I think I'm going to remake the original Die Hard only in my version, the main character is a pussy, we're going to get rid of the building and have all of the action take place in a department store, the bad guys now have super powers, Hans Gruber would be some sort of robot, there would be no one-liners, and there would be a fuck load more musical numbers. It would still be called "Die Hard" though. Doesn't sound a thing like the original huh? Well that was my incredibly long winded way of saying that this movie is Day of the Dead in name only. A couple of the characters have the same or similar names and yes there are zombies (although even thats a stretch since in this movie they just seem to be suffering from extreme colds, so who knows maybe some Tylenol is all they need) but thats where the similarities completely stop.
I'm sure they called this Day of the Dead to attract interest and get people to watch what is nothing more than a bottom of the barrel piece of shit horror movie. I mean this thing is just god awful. It might be kind of fun to make fun of with your friends but there are way better movies out there for that. I think by the end you would just kind of get bored with the whole thing. The movie is so fucking ridiculous already it's like it's almost daring you to try and make fun of it more, because it's almost impossible.
I don't even really know where to begin in talking about how god damn stupid this movie is. I already mentioned that the zombies are merely people with bad colds, at least that's what I got out of it. Oh and these "zombies" can also climb on fucking walls and ceilings, run faster than most gold medal athletes, and leap from several stories off a building and not be phased. Zombie or not, that would shatter every fucking bone in your leg. Then let's see them climb on the damn ceiling.
Also there is one zombie who doesn't eat people, like in the original Day of the Dead. However instead of giving him an actual story and reasoning for it, we're just told he's a vegetarian and thats why he wont eat people. I'm not even fucking kidding. Even worse, this line of dialogue is delivered in the most dead fucking serious way ever. Anyone who could say that line and not follow it with a look at the camera and a "Are you absolutely shitting me?" is fucking Batman. By that rationale, a giant portion of the zombie population shouldn't be eating people. Are they actually saying this guy is the only vegetarian on the entire planet? I can almost believe wall crawling zombies but this? Come on now.
The acting will make you want to vomit out of your eyesocket. Mena Suvari could not be more miscast as the badass, and there are not enough feet in the world to kick Nick Cannon's ass as much as he needs it. His character is the absolute definition of fucking annoying. No death they could deliver would be enough. I don't care if he is slowly tortured if front of us for weeks on end, I would still say "eh, that could have been worse for him." I think we're actually supposed to like his character and find him funny, further evidence that the people behind this movie either have no idea what they're doing, or just fucking hate people who watch movies and wanted to punish us.
I can't even recommend this one as a stupid make fun of it time waster. For that kind of movie, might I suggest seeking out The Sleeping Car. Look it up, it's fucking hilarious. As for this one, walk into your nearest rental or retail store and just smash it to pieces. The managers will thank you for it.
.5 /5 (it gets half a point because the vegetarian line delivery made me laugh harder than I had in quite some time)
I think I'm going to remake the original Die Hard only in my version, the main character is a pussy, we're going to get rid of the building and have all of the action take place in a department store, the bad guys now have super powers, Hans Gruber would be some sort of robot, there would be no one-liners, and there would be a fuck load more musical numbers. It would still be called "Die Hard" though. Doesn't sound a thing like the original huh? Well that was my incredibly long winded way of saying that this movie is Day of the Dead in name only. A couple of the characters have the same or similar names and yes there are zombies (although even thats a stretch since in this movie they just seem to be suffering from extreme colds, so who knows maybe some Tylenol is all they need) but thats where the similarities completely stop.
I'm sure they called this Day of the Dead to attract interest and get people to watch what is nothing more than a bottom of the barrel piece of shit horror movie. I mean this thing is just god awful. It might be kind of fun to make fun of with your friends but there are way better movies out there for that. I think by the end you would just kind of get bored with the whole thing. The movie is so fucking ridiculous already it's like it's almost daring you to try and make fun of it more, because it's almost impossible.
I don't even really know where to begin in talking about how god damn stupid this movie is. I already mentioned that the zombies are merely people with bad colds, at least that's what I got out of it. Oh and these "zombies" can also climb on fucking walls and ceilings, run faster than most gold medal athletes, and leap from several stories off a building and not be phased. Zombie or not, that would shatter every fucking bone in your leg. Then let's see them climb on the damn ceiling.
Also there is one zombie who doesn't eat people, like in the original Day of the Dead. However instead of giving him an actual story and reasoning for it, we're just told he's a vegetarian and thats why he wont eat people. I'm not even fucking kidding. Even worse, this line of dialogue is delivered in the most dead fucking serious way ever. Anyone who could say that line and not follow it with a look at the camera and a "Are you absolutely shitting me?" is fucking Batman. By that rationale, a giant portion of the zombie population shouldn't be eating people. Are they actually saying this guy is the only vegetarian on the entire planet? I can almost believe wall crawling zombies but this? Come on now.
The acting will make you want to vomit out of your eyesocket. Mena Suvari could not be more miscast as the badass, and there are not enough feet in the world to kick Nick Cannon's ass as much as he needs it. His character is the absolute definition of fucking annoying. No death they could deliver would be enough. I don't care if he is slowly tortured if front of us for weeks on end, I would still say "eh, that could have been worse for him." I think we're actually supposed to like his character and find him funny, further evidence that the people behind this movie either have no idea what they're doing, or just fucking hate people who watch movies and wanted to punish us.
I can't even recommend this one as a stupid make fun of it time waster. For that kind of movie, might I suggest seeking out The Sleeping Car. Look it up, it's fucking hilarious. As for this one, walk into your nearest rental or retail store and just smash it to pieces. The managers will thank you for it.
.5 /5 (it gets half a point because the vegetarian line delivery made me laugh harder than I had in quite some time)
Shawn's 2nd Rant
I wasn't sure if this would be a segment of the blog that would make a return but damn it, sometimes the world of movies makes me so mad that I really don't have a choice but to rant about it. This one may not quite be as heated as my Meet the Spartans rant but it's still worthy of one. In fact I think I may have hinted at this one way back when I wrote the first one.
Rant #2 - Stop Bitching About No 'R' Rated Movies When You Don't Even See The Ones We Get
This is something that has been bothering me for quite some time but I hadn't really been inspired enough to write it until right now. You see I just took a look at the top 10 movies for this past weekend and surprise, surprise Prom Night is number one. It's not even just number one but it's number one by quite a bit. Now don't get me wrong it's not just that factor that makes me mad, although believe me it definitely angers me. It's fact that in just 3 days (2 basically actually) Prom Night has made just about double the amount of money that The Ruins has made. That's where we get into the bulk of this rant because of course Prom Night is a PG-13 movie and The Ruins is rated R.
It's no secret that horror fans both hardcore and casual are very vocal about their feelings on PG-13 horror. Many agree that horror movies should be R rated and feel that there are simply not enough of them. Anytime a horror movie that was originally supposed to be rated R is watered down and given a PG-13 rating, there is a ton of vocal outcry from horror fans about how it's a bad move. The problem is, it's getting harder and harder to blame the movie studios for this because it's becoming quite clear that PG-13 horror makes money but R rated usually does not, at least not in the same scale.
Am I saying that you can't make a good PG-13 horror movie? Absolutely not. I highly enjoyed the first Ring, and the recent Cloverfield was PG-13 but no less fantastic. I am saying that 90% of PG-13 horror is recycled garbage. I mean we've seen Prom Night 1000 times before. People die horrible deaths that we never get to actually see and then don't spill an ounce of blood. The movie is spent making loud noises and having people bump into things and scream. I've only seen maybe 10 minutes of Prom Night and it's quite clear that's really all the movie has to offer. This exact movie is released at least once or twice a year but they always make money so they show no signs of stopping anytime soon.
The other type we get are the ones mentioned above, the ones that were going to be rated R until the studio pussied out and lowered the rating. These movies can be even worse since it's always clear that a lot of stuff was cut to get the new rating. In fact sometimes the cuts are so bad that the movie no longer makes any narrative sense (The Darkness and Pulse for some reason come to mind, granted the R rated versions of those movies weren't that good either but still).
My point really is that PG-13 horror for the most part is lazy garbage, but they always make their budgets back, plus tons more. Then every now and then an R rated horror movie comes along. Sometimes even a really good R rated movie. We've had two really good R rated horror movies in the past few months, The Ruins and The Mist. Both R rated, both basically flopped at the box office. So you see what I'm getting at right? People bitch and bitch and bitch about R rated horror movies but then nobody seems to go and see them when they finally get released. This is exactly why studios keep making PG-13 ones!! You can't fucking complain about no R rated movies if you don't even go and see the ones that we get!!!
It's not just horror either. Many people also bitch about R rated action movies and how few of those we get. In fact I still read about that all the time. However last year I can recall not only two R rated action movies, but two fucking fantastic R rated action movies. I'm speaking of course of Grindhouse and Shoot 'Em Up. These movies were just fucking phenomenal. Everyone who saw them pretty much loved them (at least with Grindhouse), but the problem is that nobody went to go and see them. Both were considered huge flops. You don't think studios pay attention to that shit?!
When it was announced that Live Free or Die Hard would be released as a PG-13 movie people just about lost their fucking minds. Granted the movie still was kick-ass, but if you've seen the Unrated cut you know that it just feels much more like a real Die Hard movie. PG-13 Die Hard still made crazy fucking money though. This is just more reason for studios to go the PG route in the future.
I'm not saying all hope is lost. 300 was R-rated and made ridiculous money, and this year's Rambo did quite well also. I'm just saying that I know a lot of people and read comments by a lot of people who do nothing but bitch about not enough R rated movies, yet don't even go and see the ones we do get. The next time someone I know complains about no R rated action or horror movies I'm going to simply ask them, "Well did you see Grindhouse and The Ruins?" If the answer is no to either one of them, I'm going to kick them square in the junk. FACT!!
Rant #2 - Stop Bitching About No 'R' Rated Movies When You Don't Even See The Ones We Get
This is something that has been bothering me for quite some time but I hadn't really been inspired enough to write it until right now. You see I just took a look at the top 10 movies for this past weekend and surprise, surprise Prom Night is number one. It's not even just number one but it's number one by quite a bit. Now don't get me wrong it's not just that factor that makes me mad, although believe me it definitely angers me. It's fact that in just 3 days (2 basically actually) Prom Night has made just about double the amount of money that The Ruins has made. That's where we get into the bulk of this rant because of course Prom Night is a PG-13 movie and The Ruins is rated R.
It's no secret that horror fans both hardcore and casual are very vocal about their feelings on PG-13 horror. Many agree that horror movies should be R rated and feel that there are simply not enough of them. Anytime a horror movie that was originally supposed to be rated R is watered down and given a PG-13 rating, there is a ton of vocal outcry from horror fans about how it's a bad move. The problem is, it's getting harder and harder to blame the movie studios for this because it's becoming quite clear that PG-13 horror makes money but R rated usually does not, at least not in the same scale.
Am I saying that you can't make a good PG-13 horror movie? Absolutely not. I highly enjoyed the first Ring, and the recent Cloverfield was PG-13 but no less fantastic. I am saying that 90% of PG-13 horror is recycled garbage. I mean we've seen Prom Night 1000 times before. People die horrible deaths that we never get to actually see and then don't spill an ounce of blood. The movie is spent making loud noises and having people bump into things and scream. I've only seen maybe 10 minutes of Prom Night and it's quite clear that's really all the movie has to offer. This exact movie is released at least once or twice a year but they always make money so they show no signs of stopping anytime soon.
The other type we get are the ones mentioned above, the ones that were going to be rated R until the studio pussied out and lowered the rating. These movies can be even worse since it's always clear that a lot of stuff was cut to get the new rating. In fact sometimes the cuts are so bad that the movie no longer makes any narrative sense (The Darkness and Pulse for some reason come to mind, granted the R rated versions of those movies weren't that good either but still).
My point really is that PG-13 horror for the most part is lazy garbage, but they always make their budgets back, plus tons more. Then every now and then an R rated horror movie comes along. Sometimes even a really good R rated movie. We've had two really good R rated horror movies in the past few months, The Ruins and The Mist. Both R rated, both basically flopped at the box office. So you see what I'm getting at right? People bitch and bitch and bitch about R rated horror movies but then nobody seems to go and see them when they finally get released. This is exactly why studios keep making PG-13 ones!! You can't fucking complain about no R rated movies if you don't even go and see the ones that we get!!!
It's not just horror either. Many people also bitch about R rated action movies and how few of those we get. In fact I still read about that all the time. However last year I can recall not only two R rated action movies, but two fucking fantastic R rated action movies. I'm speaking of course of Grindhouse and Shoot 'Em Up. These movies were just fucking phenomenal. Everyone who saw them pretty much loved them (at least with Grindhouse), but the problem is that nobody went to go and see them. Both were considered huge flops. You don't think studios pay attention to that shit?!
When it was announced that Live Free or Die Hard would be released as a PG-13 movie people just about lost their fucking minds. Granted the movie still was kick-ass, but if you've seen the Unrated cut you know that it just feels much more like a real Die Hard movie. PG-13 Die Hard still made crazy fucking money though. This is just more reason for studios to go the PG route in the future.
I'm not saying all hope is lost. 300 was R-rated and made ridiculous money, and this year's Rambo did quite well also. I'm just saying that I know a lot of people and read comments by a lot of people who do nothing but bitch about not enough R rated movies, yet don't even go and see the ones we do get. The next time someone I know complains about no R rated action or horror movies I'm going to simply ask them, "Well did you see Grindhouse and The Ruins?" If the answer is no to either one of them, I'm going to kick them square in the junk. FACT!!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Shawn's Funny Games Review
2008 Movie #45 - Funny Games
This movie is without a doubt going to be my toughest review to write so far. I can't even verbally express my opinion on this movie, let alone in written form. I was worried I wouldn't get to see this one since it was playing in such limited release. However one of my local theatres got it and I got to check it out. Am I glad? Well, for the most part yes I am. I'm going to try very hard not to spoil anything, which is going to be hard but here goes nothing.
This movie is the absolute definition of a love it or hate it kind of movie. In fact it's almost dead even on rottentomatoes right now. Many people are going to dismiss it as nothing more than another movie in the long line of torture films, going for pure shock value and nothing more. However this movie has a lot more going on than just shocking the audience for the hell of it. Is it hard to watch? Oh god yes. It's almost constantly making the audience uncomfortable with whats going on. I mean when it comes down to it, the movie really is 90 minutes of a family going through hell and being tortured. There's no white light or bright area, it's constant abuse in the worst ways imaginable.
This movie is one that needs to be seen with someone else so that you can discuss it afterwards. Our post movie discussion made me realize a lot about the movie I hadn't even noticed myself. It's quite clear that the whole thing is a comment on movie audience's obsession with watching violence, torture and generally people being killed in horrible ways. I mean why do the Saw movies do so well? Unlike movies like Untraceable and the Condemned (both movies tried to relay a similar message), this one does so in a non-hypocritical way. It's constantly toying with the audience, as well as their expectations with this kind of movie.
For example, none of the violence happens on screen. A lot of absolutely, despicable acts happen in this movie, but we never see any of them. The one thing we do see happen in front of us is the only bit of violence that can be considered satisfying, but then we have it immediatly taken away from us. This movie knows what the audience expects/wants and absolutely refuses to give it to us. Watch the movie and you'll see exactly what I mean.
Another example, it knows the audience wants a motive for why these people are doing what they're doing. Again, we never get it. We're told motives, then told they're complete bullshit. We never find out why this is happening, and it makes things that much more horrifying to witness. The killers even go as far as to break the 4th wall, bringing the audience into their terrible acts and making us a part of them. All of it comes back to the theme of toying with the audience, killing their expecations and hopes, as well as commenting on the fact that we're sick bastards for deep inside, wanting to see these acts played out.
The acting is phenomenal by everyone. There is really only 5 central cast members in the whole thing but they all do a great job, especially Naomi Watts and Tim Roth. There is one shot in this movie that plays out for at least 7 or 8 minutes and never once cuts that shows just how great these two actors are. The two killers are also great and effectively creepy.
When we were leaving this movie you can hear the mixed reactions of the crowd. One person said it was amazing, another said it was "fucked", another said it was boring. I'm willing ot bet the guy who found it boring was expecating everyhthing that the movie didn't give him and danced around the whole time. I'm hesistant to recommend this movie because I know many people will hate it with every fibre of their being. I do think it's something that should be experienced though because it's rare these days to see something different and this movie definitely qualifies.
****/5
This movie is without a doubt going to be my toughest review to write so far. I can't even verbally express my opinion on this movie, let alone in written form. I was worried I wouldn't get to see this one since it was playing in such limited release. However one of my local theatres got it and I got to check it out. Am I glad? Well, for the most part yes I am. I'm going to try very hard not to spoil anything, which is going to be hard but here goes nothing.
This movie is the absolute definition of a love it or hate it kind of movie. In fact it's almost dead even on rottentomatoes right now. Many people are going to dismiss it as nothing more than another movie in the long line of torture films, going for pure shock value and nothing more. However this movie has a lot more going on than just shocking the audience for the hell of it. Is it hard to watch? Oh god yes. It's almost constantly making the audience uncomfortable with whats going on. I mean when it comes down to it, the movie really is 90 minutes of a family going through hell and being tortured. There's no white light or bright area, it's constant abuse in the worst ways imaginable.
This movie is one that needs to be seen with someone else so that you can discuss it afterwards. Our post movie discussion made me realize a lot about the movie I hadn't even noticed myself. It's quite clear that the whole thing is a comment on movie audience's obsession with watching violence, torture and generally people being killed in horrible ways. I mean why do the Saw movies do so well? Unlike movies like Untraceable and the Condemned (both movies tried to relay a similar message), this one does so in a non-hypocritical way. It's constantly toying with the audience, as well as their expectations with this kind of movie.
For example, none of the violence happens on screen. A lot of absolutely, despicable acts happen in this movie, but we never see any of them. The one thing we do see happen in front of us is the only bit of violence that can be considered satisfying, but then we have it immediatly taken away from us. This movie knows what the audience expects/wants and absolutely refuses to give it to us. Watch the movie and you'll see exactly what I mean.
Another example, it knows the audience wants a motive for why these people are doing what they're doing. Again, we never get it. We're told motives, then told they're complete bullshit. We never find out why this is happening, and it makes things that much more horrifying to witness. The killers even go as far as to break the 4th wall, bringing the audience into their terrible acts and making us a part of them. All of it comes back to the theme of toying with the audience, killing their expecations and hopes, as well as commenting on the fact that we're sick bastards for deep inside, wanting to see these acts played out.
The acting is phenomenal by everyone. There is really only 5 central cast members in the whole thing but they all do a great job, especially Naomi Watts and Tim Roth. There is one shot in this movie that plays out for at least 7 or 8 minutes and never once cuts that shows just how great these two actors are. The two killers are also great and effectively creepy.
When we were leaving this movie you can hear the mixed reactions of the crowd. One person said it was amazing, another said it was "fucked", another said it was boring. I'm willing ot bet the guy who found it boring was expecating everyhthing that the movie didn't give him and danced around the whole time. I'm hesistant to recommend this movie because I know many people will hate it with every fibre of their being. I do think it's something that should be experienced though because it's rare these days to see something different and this movie definitely qualifies.
****/5
Shawn's Nim's Island Review
2008 Movie # 44 - Nim's Island
It's very strange that this movie is sandwiched between two of the most fucked horror movies I've seen in quite some times. However this movie reminds me in a way of my thoughts on The Ruins. In that review I ranted about how rare it is that horror movies get it right lately. Well another kind of movie like this are kid's movies, at least in the eyes of an adult.
It's very rare these days that a kid's movie has some entertainment value for the adult. It's very important that theres something in there for the parents to enjoy, but there usually isn't sadly. Pixar has perfected this art. All of their movies are great for both kids and parents. Other movies have done alright with this too, including the recent Horton Hears A Who. I think it's a great thing when the entire family can enjoy a movie, not just the kids. It would make the experience that much better for everyone and can make for a great family night. That's why it's disheartening to see a movie like Nim's Island, a movie aimed solely at the kids and giving the adults virtually nothing.
It's hard for me to review this movie because, as with Veggie Tales, I am clearly not in the target audience. I think that kids would enjoy this movie as it has a sense of adventure I think they would find appearling. I myself was just not interested in what was going on. It reminded me sometimes of Penelope in that it was just a bit too loud and in your face. A lot of the comedy is slapstick in nature, with a couple sequences reminding me a little of the Home Alone ripoff period of the 90's.
The cast done a fine job. It's kind of cool to see Jodie Foster attempt to do a light-hearted comedy, it's just too bad she didn't pick a better movie to do it in. I hope we see more from her in the comedy genre because she looks like she has potential there. Abigail Breslin is quickly becoming one of the better young actors we have and I hope she takes over for the Village of the Damned-ish Dakota Fanning.
I really don't have that much more to say about this one. I can't say it was terrible but I didn't like it either. However I think kids would enjoy it and they are obviously the main audience here. In the future though, I hope we get more kids movies that at least TRY to have something for the older audience to enjoy too. The parents are the ones paying the 50 fucking dollars to get everyone in the movie, why do you have to punish them once they're there?
**/5
It's very strange that this movie is sandwiched between two of the most fucked horror movies I've seen in quite some times. However this movie reminds me in a way of my thoughts on The Ruins. In that review I ranted about how rare it is that horror movies get it right lately. Well another kind of movie like this are kid's movies, at least in the eyes of an adult.
It's very rare these days that a kid's movie has some entertainment value for the adult. It's very important that theres something in there for the parents to enjoy, but there usually isn't sadly. Pixar has perfected this art. All of their movies are great for both kids and parents. Other movies have done alright with this too, including the recent Horton Hears A Who. I think it's a great thing when the entire family can enjoy a movie, not just the kids. It would make the experience that much better for everyone and can make for a great family night. That's why it's disheartening to see a movie like Nim's Island, a movie aimed solely at the kids and giving the adults virtually nothing.
It's hard for me to review this movie because, as with Veggie Tales, I am clearly not in the target audience. I think that kids would enjoy this movie as it has a sense of adventure I think they would find appearling. I myself was just not interested in what was going on. It reminded me sometimes of Penelope in that it was just a bit too loud and in your face. A lot of the comedy is slapstick in nature, with a couple sequences reminding me a little of the Home Alone ripoff period of the 90's.
The cast done a fine job. It's kind of cool to see Jodie Foster attempt to do a light-hearted comedy, it's just too bad she didn't pick a better movie to do it in. I hope we see more from her in the comedy genre because she looks like she has potential there. Abigail Breslin is quickly becoming one of the better young actors we have and I hope she takes over for the Village of the Damned-ish Dakota Fanning.
I really don't have that much more to say about this one. I can't say it was terrible but I didn't like it either. However I think kids would enjoy it and they are obviously the main audience here. In the future though, I hope we get more kids movies that at least TRY to have something for the older audience to enjoy too. The parents are the ones paying the 50 fucking dollars to get everyone in the movie, why do you have to punish them once they're there?
**/5
Shawn's The Ruins Review
2008 Movie # 43 - The Ruins
I haven't read the book upon which this movie is based but I had wanted to, and after watching the movie definitely still want to. It's very rare that I get to say this, but this is a horror movie that gets it fucking right. It's by no means perfect, but it's damn good and it's really a shame this it didn't make more money.
So what exactly do I mean when I say this is a horror movie that gets it right? Well let's count the ways that it actually gets it right. First off, the jump scares aren't bullshit "HEY I JUST BANGED ON THE WINDOW REALLY LOUD" sudden loud noise scares but actual well earned scares. Almost every horror movie relys on this old tired trick. The Ruins has jump scares yes, but they're actual scares and not just the character bumping into some jackass offscreen and having a loud noise play. I'm sure this weekend the Prom Night remake will be throwing a fuckload of those kinds of scares at us.
Next, we actually care about these characters. Most horror movies (see my Diary of the Dead review for more on this) are full of one dimensional characters who only exist so that they can be killed off. In this movie these characters (with one exception) are humanized and made into actual people. They also don't spend the entire running time making one fucking retarded decision after another. "Hey a weird noise outside, I better investigate. Don't you even think about giving me something to defend myself with!!!" You don't get a whole lot of that shit with this one. I'm sure we can count on the Prom Night remake to give us exactly the types of characters I just ranted against.
Third, this movie doesn't fuck around with the gore. This movie is rated R and it really shows. It's not gore for gore's sake either (well somewhat), like say the Saw movies seem to be now. In fact some of the worst things in this movie happen offscreen and are left to the imagination. But the stuff you see is fucked and at sometimes worthy of looking away from the screen. Again, I look forward to the PG-13 Prom Night giving us a lot of violence cut aways and tiny amounts of blood.
I could keep going but the point is, this is a horror movie that actually works which is getting rarer and rarer as time goes on. This is what horror should be. As you can also see I'm not the biggest fan of the Prom Night remake, despite of course not having seen it yet. I feel though it epitomizes everything that is wrong with the horror genre. See The Ruins, it will kick your ass.
****/5
I haven't read the book upon which this movie is based but I had wanted to, and after watching the movie definitely still want to. It's very rare that I get to say this, but this is a horror movie that gets it fucking right. It's by no means perfect, but it's damn good and it's really a shame this it didn't make more money.
So what exactly do I mean when I say this is a horror movie that gets it right? Well let's count the ways that it actually gets it right. First off, the jump scares aren't bullshit "HEY I JUST BANGED ON THE WINDOW REALLY LOUD" sudden loud noise scares but actual well earned scares. Almost every horror movie relys on this old tired trick. The Ruins has jump scares yes, but they're actual scares and not just the character bumping into some jackass offscreen and having a loud noise play. I'm sure this weekend the Prom Night remake will be throwing a fuckload of those kinds of scares at us.
Next, we actually care about these characters. Most horror movies (see my Diary of the Dead review for more on this) are full of one dimensional characters who only exist so that they can be killed off. In this movie these characters (with one exception) are humanized and made into actual people. They also don't spend the entire running time making one fucking retarded decision after another. "Hey a weird noise outside, I better investigate. Don't you even think about giving me something to defend myself with!!!" You don't get a whole lot of that shit with this one. I'm sure we can count on the Prom Night remake to give us exactly the types of characters I just ranted against.
Third, this movie doesn't fuck around with the gore. This movie is rated R and it really shows. It's not gore for gore's sake either (well somewhat), like say the Saw movies seem to be now. In fact some of the worst things in this movie happen offscreen and are left to the imagination. But the stuff you see is fucked and at sometimes worthy of looking away from the screen. Again, I look forward to the PG-13 Prom Night giving us a lot of violence cut aways and tiny amounts of blood.
I could keep going but the point is, this is a horror movie that actually works which is getting rarer and rarer as time goes on. This is what horror should be. As you can also see I'm not the biggest fan of the Prom Night remake, despite of course not having seen it yet. I feel though it epitomizes everything that is wrong with the horror genre. See The Ruins, it will kick your ass.
****/5
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