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neerdowell
Reviews
Pay It Forward (2000)
Horrid - What Was the Point?
*****Contains Spoilers*****
NEVER in my life have I seen a film that starts out so well absolutely destroy itself so thoroughly as did Pay It Forward. Paying it forward is a concept that is going strong in the world today, with people around the globe stepping up and doing nice things for their fellow man. We have the opportunity to see many of them thanks to the omnipresence of cell phone cameras and the social network. This film had a chance to solidify that and build on the message. Instead, the message this film sends is "don't actually do it or you'll end up dead." The death of Haley Joel Osment's character Trevor completely destroys the goodwill that both his character - and this film itself - purported to "pay forward." Everything else is tainted as a result: outstanding performances by Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and Osment; good direction, and a decent script up until the travesty begins.
Am I one of those types of people who has to have everything turn out well in the end to enjoy a film? No. But this film was not one that needed an "edgy" ending just for its own sake. Every bit of goodwill that is cultivated early on is utterly destroyed so that you don't even care if the pay-it-forward thread that Trevor started continues.
Someone needed to blunt the brutal ending for the sake of this film, and no one did. The result is a movie that's not worth watching.
Return to Halloweentown (2006)
A Halloween movie with truly NO spirit!
What a huge letdown from such a wonderful series! In keeping with the Halloween theme, this movie had no spirit and no soul. It's been said before and I'll say it again: Sara Paxton is a wonderful person I'm sure, but she is NO Marnie! And don't let some of the online stories mislead you that Kimberly was busy with something else when it was made. It has come straight from Kimberly's mouth (see her video blog on Youtube) that she was totally available and totally bummed when Disney "went another direction." They went another direction all right - from quality movies in the Halloweentown series to this just-making-another-dollar entry. The plot line was convoluted, even for a kids' Halloween movie. Yes, Debbie Reynolds is great whenever she's on screen, and I'll always have a thing for Judith Hoag since she played April O'Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (Speaking of inexcusable actress replacements, Paige Turco as April in TMNT 2? I DON'T THINK SO!) But the rest of the cast seems to be castoffs from the Disney audition process. Maybe it's just that the Halloweentown series simply couldn't survive past high school; maybe the characters got too old and we simply couldn't make that leap with them to college. I don't know. But Return to Halloweentown started off by going off the rails, and never found its way. Watch the first three and forget this one ever happened.
Halloweentown (1998)
Simply a perfect Halloween movie for kids
Halloweentown does not get the credit that it deserves. I give it a 10 for what it is: a perfect Halloween movie that the whole family can watch. Not quite so scary as Hocus Pocus, it nonetheless has some scares in keeping with the holiday tradition. But much like Harry Potter introduced us to the wizarding world, Halloweentown introduces us to the world of Halloween witches, goblins, skeletons, and other creatures with comedy and heart. Much has been said about its plot so I'll just leave it at this: if you're looking for a great movie for the Halloween season for kids of nearly any age or for the whole family, Halloweentown fits the bill on all counts.
Phineas and Ferb (2007)
Phun for the Whole Phamily!
Other reviewers have done a great job of summarizing Phineas and Ferb. What I'd like to add is that this animated series is what I wish most children's programming could be. Sure, it's fun for the whole family. That's been said and the number of children and adults who love it are testimony to that. But it's HOW they do it that's worth mentioning.
One of the best things about P&F is not WHAT they do, but what they DON'T do. Much if not most of today's children's programs have children behaving in ways that are - or at least should be - frowned upon and greatly discouraged. This goes double for those horrid live-action shows of the iCarly, Hannah Montana, and Suite Life ilk. It seems not a minute goes by on those shows in which the kids aren't calling each other names or otherwise insulting each other, being disrespectful and disobedient to parents and other adults, and generally being a bunch of brats who should be getting a swat on the behind. Instead this behavior gets them everything they desire. This isn't the kind of behavior that I want reinforced in my kids by the TV shows they watch.
Phineas and Ferb has none of that. The kids are respectful of their parents and other adults. Even while Candace is trying to bust her brothers, they are always there for her, often telling her that they love her.
Beyond that, there are many other great messages in P&F. Creativity, intelligence, and ingenuity are not just looked upon favorably - they are REVERED and GLORIFIED. Everyone likes P&F because they're brilliant and they come up with great ideas. Their friends are also intelligent and resourceful, helping out when they can to bring P&F's latest idea to life. In many kids shows, the brainy kid is often ridiculed as being a "geek" or "nerd." Not so here.
In addition, you've got the wonderful message of a family that gets along and cares for each other. It's a non-traditional family, but they don't use that as an excuse to make them dysfunctional. Though Candace wants to bust her brothers, she still loves and admires what they accomplish. Mom may be oblivious, but she still comes every time Candace asks to see what she's talking about. And even with all this caring, the show is still funny and entertaining. It loses nothing by excluding jokes about how much they hate each other or try to punish one another.
Also, the show does its best to sidestep stereotyping whenever possible. They do have a bully and victim relationship on the show between Buford and Baljeet which could be considered a negative. Even still, the bully has been known to rattle off profound statements of morality and the occasional flawless French. And though they treat it as a bully and victim dynamic, the two seem to enjoy spending time together. For that matter, Buford is very protective of Baljeet. If you're going to have a dynamic like this one, this is the way to do it.
Phineas and Ferb has great messages, is entertaining for the whole family, and is very well done. "I know what we're going to do today." Watch more Phineas and Ferb and hope that other children's shows benefit from its example.
House of Fears (2007)
Come ON! House of Fears was great!
I don't know what movie some of the previous reviewers were watching, or exactly what standard they want to hold a horror movie to (Orwell???), but House of Fears was a great movie! Let me throw in my one caveat: FOR WHAT IT WAS. We're talking about a low budget horror film that was made with no well-known talent at the time. Expecting to see Oscar-worthy material is just being dense. But there was a lot to like about this movie.
First, are there really that many original stories left for horror movie setups? No, so what you do is take a known plot line and try to throw some originality in how you present it. You've got a basic haunted house story here, but they mix things up with the characters - two step-sisters who hate each other but who enter the haunted house together when one begs the other not to ruin the night for her. Will they bond together to survive, or will their hatred lead one to abandon the other? Also, instead of a maniac doing all the killing, it's an ancient artifact that is causing things to come to life. It finds out your worst fear and then kills you with it. (Or tries to.) Again, not original but when you put the two things together it works out nicely.
The comment about the lack of gore was also an absurd one. This movie does not bill itself as a slasher flick. I really enjoyed the fact that there is suspense and setup before each killing. And really - you'd have to have 40 teenagers sneaking into the haunted house to satisfy the blood lust of some of these so-called horror fans! Talk about an unrealistic setup! I've seen a lot of low to mid-budget films that were flat-out unwatchable. You turn them off after 15 minutes and berate yourself for wasting the money and the 15 minutes. Not only is House of Fears watchable, it's a darn good movie! And the lesser-known talent in this movie is now becoming much more recognizable. They've gone on to supporting roles in other films and TV. You'll enjoy watching House of Fears and remembering years later that some of tomorrow's well-known actors were in it.
The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
Where's The Whimsy?
The Santa Clause 2 is lacking in a very key area that the first movie had by the bushel - whimsy. The first Santa Clause was a delicious holiday treat that has become a holiday tradition in my home. We had very big hopes for the sequel, considering they were handed great material for the follow-up - finding a Mrs. Claus for Santa. And truthfully, the best parts of this movie are the parts that take place with Scott in the "real world" trying to find a wife. Yes, it's predictable that Scott will hook up with his son's "bah, humbug" principal, but the journey is a lot of fun. Between the hilarious bad date with Molly Shannon's Christmas-lovin' character and the delightfully whimsical scene where Scott magically transforms the boring teacher's Christmas party into a trip into everyone's inner child, the holiday magic is there.
Unfortunately, there was the ugly other side to this movie - the scenes taking place back at the North Pole, where Santa's look-alike toy replacement is wreaking havoc. Totally devoid of the whimsy that the other half of this movie achieves, the North Pole scenes drag this movie down to mediocre. Let me count the ways the filmmakers went wrong... Bernard is a totally different head elf from the first movie, and far less appealing. His character is more paranoid and spastic, which was absolutely the wrong way to go. Curtis the elf is obnoxious. I don't know who this kid is, but I hate him in every movie he's in. You simply do NOT give the "token fat kid" a major role in a feature film. It doesn't work, and neither does this kid as Curtis. (It is a REALLY, REALLY bad sign that Bernard is not slated to be in the third installment of Santa Clause - the Escape Clause. Instead, Curtis is evidently going to return as the new head elf. GAG. That bit of casting and plot line has "oh, no" written all over it.) They also changed the reindeer in the second movie. Instead of the intelligent, unspeaking creatures that worked so well in several scenes in the first movie, they have been reduced to a fart joke. And now they can speak, though it's in a silly, cartoonish voice. Don't even get me started on "Chet" the redneck mentally-disturbed reindeer. What a nightmare.
So if you want whimsy and feelings of holiday delight, watch the first movie. Make that one your tradition. Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause is a woeful sequel that you won't need to see more than once. Which is good, because you won't WANT to see it more than once.
John Doe (2002)
"Pretender" did it a bit better.
I am a fan of this type of show - where the protagonist has access in some way or another to information that the average person wouldn't have. They can be based in the supernatural, like "Early Edition," where it was a mysterious newspaper that gave the hero his information one day early, or more natural means, like "The Pretender," where the hero was a child prodigy that had his gift honed by the government.
"John Doe" features a hero who shows up in our world lacking the most basic knowledge in the world - his identity. What he does know is every factoid, piece of trivia, or tidbit of information in the world that could be gleaned through reading every almanac, dictionary, encyclopedia, or language book on the planet. He "knows everything," as he puts it, although this is NOT intended to mean that he is psychic, as some would suggest. He is not omnipotent, his knowledge is not supernatural. Given enough time, and perhaps a photographic memory, we could have this knowledge as well. While trying to figure out who he is, he decides to help the local police solve crimes through the logical application of his vast knowledge.
This is a cute show, and the crimes that the writers are giving him to solve can be pretty compelling - making him a "one-man CSI." What I don't like about this show is that it glosses over too lightly the negative aspects of his knowledge - how it affects his morality, etc. And at times, John seems to be a talking library rather than a feeling human being. It seems the producers just couldn't wait to get him into the police station to help out, so his being there doesn't feel as if it happened naturally. They didn't take enough time fleshing out his character, so we don't feel much sympathy for his amnesia. "The Pretender" did a much better job of displaying the humanity of its hero, Jared. And the negative aspects of his knowledge were very well known - they were the whole impetus for his wanting to "do good" in the world. In short, "John Doe" may be looking for his brain, but what he needs is a heart.