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kthoran
Reviews
War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death (2007)
Iraq war equals Vietnam as narrated by Sean Penn
I'm getting very tired of the Hollywood crowd trying to force opinion on the Iraq war. Everyone agrees war is bad but this movie is just a joke when it claims the USA's government only wants never-ending war since 1945 with no reason.
This film conveniently skips over just and victorious combat like the "Operation Desert Storm" war when the USA liberated Kuwait from Saddam. It also ignores how Saddam continued to violate ceasefire agreements he had signed up until the day his control of Iraq was taken from him. That doesn't further the argument so let's go back to the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" thing. The war in Afghanistan isn't even mentioned once.. perhaps because the USA was victorious there too and we can't have that.
I think the thing that bothered me most about this bit of bleeding heart liberal propaganda, complete with crying babies, was that they never bother to tell you why the USA is always promoting war as they put it. Are we to assume that the USA and it's government since WW2 is inherently evil? Do they start wars for fun? Come on, throw me a bone here.
I've already given this movie more consideration than they gave their audience. I gave it a rating of "1". I would've given it at least a "5" if they attempted to give a possible reason the USA promotes war other than that's what they always do.
Not recommended for educated people.
305 (2008)
Actually worse than you might imagine
Just what the world needed... another "300" parody only this time make it extra lame.
This particular one is not nearly as funny or interesting as "Meet the Spartans" which was actually a very fine and comical parody of "300".
This version almost seems intent on being bad with the "five extra lost" Spartans being seriously un-Spartan-like and yes, even a special-ed kid would get that, but come on... who finances all these crappy movies? Avoid this stupidness like the plague, unless you liked "Hottie or Nottie" in which case, don't rent but buy the DVD. Everybody else can just say no.
Otis (2008)
Weird, funny, and ultimately fun to watch.
Creepy subject matter but a well executed film with some interesting performances. Above average for this genre.
Contains all the elements of a great horror movie and yet somehow misses just a bit.
Excellent performances by the main actors made this a very compelling film. The parts were well acted but the movie had a couple of very blatant flaws which would keep it from being a huge, mainstream, movie. Would it kill the screenwriter to let us know why the main character was driven to do what he does? Dang, I wish I could write these things and get paid for it... how hard is it to give a point to a movie?
Enjoyed it and hope to see more by this director but I hope he has better writers and or control of the script.
War, Inc. (2008)
simply awful
This movie is billed as a political satire but usually satire implies humor and the humor is sorely lacking in this picture.
The only thing anyone can take away from this movie is that the makers of it think that simply saying "Dick Cheney" as the punchline to a joke makes it very funny. While this definitely could be a good punchline to a joke, the joke would have to be set up properly with some subtle humor instead of the naked and seething hatred for all things corporate and/or American. The lack of comedy, lack of realism, and convoluted story lines add up to a very unfunny and angry satire with no real point other than the makers of the film really don't like the USA.
What a waste of fine acting talent. But I suppose when your whole point is to make political commentary instead of entertainment the performances are going to miss their marks.
Would not recommend to most people. However if they are rabid USA/Bush haters, then yes they might enjoy it, but even then I wouldn't count on it.
The Hottie & the Nottie (2008)
I watched this and really tried to keep an open mind... and still hated it.
Where to start... I felt like the entire movie was a Paris Hilton commercial of some sort.
It's hard to ignore the camera work that used all sorts of filters to make the very average looking Paris into the "hotty". She is average looking at best at her current age even with special effects.
The plot was really bad even at it's most basic level. Loser dude decides to stalk his 1st grade heartthrob. Then the flip that no one saw. Puhlease, bad movie making 101. Maybe you could've had everyone ride off on horses on the beach to really make it end as stupid as the rest of the movie? This movie shows me that Hollywood is entirely f-ed up and especially when they devote the time and resources to push crap like this and actually think people will enjoy it.
I would like to punch Paris Hilton in her ugly face for making and producing this self-aggrandizing turd of a movie.
Freakshow (2007)
Ripoff remake of a classic
This movie is a really poor retelling of Todd Browning's 1932 classic Freaks.
It is essentially the same story of circus folks (offend one, offend all, etc) but instead of genuine freaks you get heavily tattooed people into body modification as the main freaks. Guys with stretched-out earlobes and excessive tats do not a freak make.
The only redeeming feature I can recall is the "cannibal girl" who is notable for her beauty and is not a freak in any way other than being freakishly hot. She is the only reason I did not bestow a rating of 1 on this movie.
The original Freaks movie was great because it had all those genuine circus freaks in it and was very controversial at the time of conservative film making.
This flick borrows, nay, steals heavily from the 1932 Freaks and even steals it's "banned in X countries" logo from the original. The only reason this modern Freakshow movie might be banned from anywhere would be for plagiarism.
Who's Your Caddy? (2007)
Worse than awful.
This movie is one of a kind and even that is too big of a compliment for this seriously lackluster movie. It tries to be funny and thoughtful and ends up being incredibly and offensively stupid, racist, and trite.
The comedy consistently misses the mark by a huge margin. This movie was intended to be a comedy although it's shockingly unfunny despite an almost foolproof set of comic circumstances and actors.
Was it supposed to be a black Caddyshack or was it supposed to be a story of achievement? The movie's underlying message ends up being a thinly-veiled message of unfocused racist hate directed at white people which is actually not funny at all.
Watching this film was an hour and a half of my life wasted. If you are considering watching or renting this movie please do yourself a favor and don't. Absolutely no redeeming value, even in it's terribleness. Consider yourself warned.
Outlaw (2007)
Interesting concept
The idea of vigilante revenge is a powerful basis.
This movie shows not only the possibilities of revenge but the reluctance and hesitation to engage in the same.
It was well acted and mostly believable but the plot did tend to get muddied a bit at certain points. Gives an interesting view of British home life, office life, and countryside as well to those interested in British culture.
Overall, it caught my interest and kept me watching until the rather predictable ending. But predictable ending aside it shouldn't matter to most movie watchers as the action keeps everything moving and keeps it interesting to the end.
The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (2007)
Fun film but rather disjointed
This movie is rather entertaining but has some glaring flaws.
To start with if we are to believe that this version of the Dukes tale is "the beginning" then the story should begin at an earlier time instead of the present day.
Additionally, the story isn't particularly compelling and doesn't reveal anything new about the origins of the Dukes of Hazzard but is instead another opportunity for the star of this franchise, the General Lee, to shine one more time which it indeed does. Humor and silliness is abundant and the eye candy is there but one is left with the feeling that this movie wasn't properly executed which perhaps explains why Warner's decided to skip releasing this at the box office.