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Reviews
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Better than all of the Rocky films combined
I have come to enjoy very, very few sports films, but this movie is great. Everything about it is put together so as to bring about a story not just about winning at a tough sport, but connecting with others and building a better future for them. The narration by Morgan Freeman was good. He was a great choice for that and for his role as the gym's caretaker. Eastwood, Swank, and Freeman all do very well with their characters, and I'm glad that they've managed a boxing movie that did not have to rely on so many sequels to get the job done. Awesome, tear-jerking, and fun.
10/10
The Strangers (2008)
More of a mystery than a thriller
I'll admit there were a few points in the film where I nearly jumped out of my seat. But this film is still almost south of decent. There were quite a few things wrong with it. For one thing, there is close to no explanation as to who any of the characters are. I mean, are the protagonists friends? Do they have jobs or more than one friend? Who are the strangers? What connection do they have to the protagonists and what is the reason for hunting them down, traumatizing them, torturing them? Nothing is explained in this movie, except for what the strangers represent: people in masks are usually not meant to be trusted. But that's it. The camera work is pretty off in most of the scenes, and only one of the three strangers has an actual speaking role. How indecent is that? Sure, hunting down someone while wearing a mask without a voice is scary enough, but still. There are way too many plot holes, and I want to add that I would've been more impressed if the events had taken place for more than just a single day or night. Because of all the problems and weirdness of it all, the movie falls into my mystery category than horror, because that is only shown in two scenes: when the friend of the guy is unintentionally shot and when the protagonists are stabbed to death. So yeah, I wouldn't exactly call this a horror film. One last thing: why did the woman wake up again in the end when she was really dead? That was never explained. Somewhat indecent, mysterious thriller that is only interesting on a low level.
5/10
The Wonderful World of Disney: Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002)
Not good enough
This isn't even worth paying for. None of the actors have any chemistry with each other, and the plot is worse than most others. This movie does not meet the standards that came with first 3. French Stewart, in particular, did a much worse job here than he did playing Inspector Gadget, and Missi Pyle doesn't even know how to act stupid. Terrible camera work and special effects. Barely any traps to acknowledge or pay attention to. Second rate jokes and action sequences. I wouldn't recommend this for audiences of any age.
All in all, big waste of my money and time.
1/10
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
An Absolute Thrill Ride
This turned out to be pretty good. It matches standards with the original version, which was a blast. Everyone that worked on this film made it a success. All of the actors (and I mean all of them) made their characters believable and fresh. This is Zack Snyder's 3rd film in matters of directing, and I give him more than 5 stars. The action is all edge-of-your-seat type stuff, and it really makes the situation more deadly than needed, which was cool. I especially liked the scene where the survivors fight their way through the undead in the buses. That was cool.
The one thing that I didn't understand is why they didn't fully explain what started the whole undead epidemic in the first place. Was it a virus? Nobody knows.
Other than that, an absolute thrill ride.
The Lost Tape: Andy's Terrifying Last Days Revealed (2004)
Pretty good
Bruce Bohne was the perfect choice to play the gun salesman named Andy, who is pretty much alone in his gun shop fending off the zombies overwhelming the world in the film. This bit of footage is a pretty convincing way of showing how he struggles to survive and retain his sanity. I found it pretty funny that the only other thing he could really talk to was his fish. This was a good extra and I still enjoy watching it. I didn't give it a perfect 10 because of the fact that he drinks and swears. But whatever. This was still pretty good and I can't wait for a sequel to the actual film.
9/10
The Dark Knight (2008)
No
OK, while there some new effects for the franchise, this film had its problems. Like Batman Begins, it brings in the guy who wants revenge against the guy that's causing the problems. Enter Heath Ledger. I really do not think that he did a good job. I mean, the first Batman film in 1989 introduced the joker, so why bring him back? Jack Nicholson stole the performance, and Heath ruined it. The problem with the Joker in this film is his looks. Jack's Joker had a smile surgically fixed on his face. Heath's Joker has a smile painted on his face. Pathetic. The original look was better. The jokes and puns are terrible, as are most of the action sequences. Now, seriously, someone bring back Michael Keaton? 2/10 sorry, guys, but this is just my opinion.
Angels in the Outfield (1994)
One of very few sports films that I've come to enjoy
This film was pretty good. I am not too big a fan of baseball, but this is a movie that was made to help understand the meaning of love, determination, heart, etc.
Danny Glover, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brenda Fricker, Christopher Lloyd, Tony Danza, and Milton Davis Jr. are brought in with a variety of talented actors and understanding of the sport. The plot was believable, and I love the message. William Dear and the guys put together a great movie.
Most sports films revolve around true stories or events, and they often do not work well. But this film hits a 10 on the perfectness scale, even though there were a few minor mistakes here and there.
10/10
Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
Gone is the gore
OK, some pretty good special effects are put into this film. The spiders are well-animated and well-choreographed. The casting is OK, but there's some poorly dramatic moments with most of the characters. Doug E. Doug did an OK job as a neurotic radio guy. The main problem with this movie is that there's no proper horror involved. I mean sure, some little deaths were gruesome like the ostrich scene. But just about every step of the way, there is no gore included like in the original giant spider movies (or any other horror movie for that matter). The little spiders (ok maybe all the spiders) made sounds that didn't even sound spider-like. That was an annoying part. Some of the characters were just plain stupid to begin with and are poorly introduced. Another thing that I found most perplexing is that they don't give a proper description of the chemical that caused the growth stunts. They brought in a rendition of George A. Romero's version of the film "Dawn Of The Dead", which I found to be fine as long as nobody's going off on their own (surprisingly, that didn't stick). I feel that instead of just a big, bad female orb weaver spider as one of the main focuses, maybe they could have brought in a BLACK WIDOW, or maybe just a bunch of colossal tarantulas. The humor, drama, action, and horror were all very poorly done, and the script was average. I mean, come on. I expected horror, as in "supposedly non-stop action, gore, and guns". That's the horror genre that I know. I can accept that they mixed extreme humor with horror in the Scary Movie series, but in a giant spider movie? 4/10
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Good, but not great
Personally, I choose not to recommend this film for anyone who is a die-hard fan of the Harry Potter series. OK, Richard Harris is dead. Condolences. But Michael Gambon did a terrible job as Dumbledore in this film than in the third. Seriously, someone bring in a better cameo. The film was rather rushed. They didn't really follow the storyline completely and made this a disappointment to J.K. Rowling's adaptation. Why are they making Ron shaggy all of a sudden? The classic use of the school, the characters, the lighting, and such has been lost as compared to what was used in the first two films. I was surprised to see that Brendan Gleeson was chosen to play Mad-Eye Moody, but the bad thing about this character was that they had to use a holder for his eye instead of just using special effects and enlarging his actual eye. The Yule Ball was OK. The introductions to the other two schools were OK. The dragon-fighting sequence was the only best point in the film. They made it more extensive, which was good. One character that I thought they were going to bring back was Dobby the House-Elf, because he was re-introduced in the book. The maze sequence was bad, mainly because the players were only attacked with lively leaves than the monsters that they encounter in the book. Most of the plot was missing, the acting was terrible, some of the action sequences were bad, and I was disappointed to see that no special features were added to the DVD edition. I didn't like this movie (or the third, or the fifth, and I am sure that I'm not going to like the sixth or seventh). Not entirely a proper recommendation for all you fans out there, but I guess you'll enjoy whatever suits you. I really don't know.
2/10
Ghost Ship (2002)
Pretty good film
OK, well, I'm not big on horror films, but when I first saw this film, I caught on really quick. I enjoyed the special effects that were made especially for this movie, packed with gore and corpses and the like. I didn't really like the fact that there was profanity (and a lot of it), but hey it's a horror film. The acting was good. Gabriel B, Julianna M, Ron E, Karl U, Emily B, Isaiah W, and Alex D really put effort into their characters and gave them life. The only actor that I didn't enjoy watching was Desmond Harrington. He didn't really put much effort into making a believable villain. Yeah, he was the one actor that I didn't like. The design of the Antonia Graza ocean liner was excellent, even though they showed it to be a falling-apart rust bucket. Photography, writing, special effects, directing, acting... ah well everything that had to do with the success of this movie made it all worthwhile. I mean, sure, of course I got scared. And one last thing: I am a HUGE fan of the band Mudvayne. I started listening to their music after listening to "Not Falling" in the end credits of the movie and have continued to do so ever since. I have had a whole new perspective of horror since I watched Ghost Ship.
9/10 Sorry, Desmond
An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000)
Not exactly grade-A material
I'll admit, there were a few good points in this film. Max goes to college, which shows us that he's moving into a new life. Goofy falls in love again, which I found to be most interesting. And new characters are introduced. But this film falls into the lower C to higher D category. For one thing, I was disappointed to see that all they focused on in college was skateboarding. I mean, Max should focus more on academics than on his sporting skills. Goofy's job is not very well introduced. I thought he worked as a photographer in a department store. Bebe Neuwirth and Vicki Lewis were interesting additions to the film. But the beret girl isn't given a name, so that was stupid. Also, WHAT IN THE WORLD OF Disney HAPPENED TO MAX'S CRUSH, ROXANNE? They never say what had happened to her. Lastly, I thought that the relationship between Goofy and Max had improved and brought them closer together, which was one of the main themes of the first film. In this film, they are right back to where they started. Terrible plot, terrible characters, and terrible animation.
1/10
Home Alone 3 (1997)
Pretty good
OK, I half-expected Kevin to be back, but Alex D. Linz matched standards. This film is better than the first two (I'm not saying that the first two were bad; they were classics in my opinion), for several reasons. For one thing, we see that the kid is not left home alone unintentionally. They had a good reason (actually several), and yeah chicken pox can be serious. For another thing, we have not two criminals, but four, and they really know what they're doing throughout 95% of the film (until the traps are set off). Olek, Rya, Lonny, and David really put character into their roles. We have a believable plot, whereas a kid with the chicken pox finds that he has to protect a missile chip from international thieves who are working for a terrorist organization. Alex (as Alex) delivered, and the traps were well put together and very clever. The last scene was funny too, where the main aftermath for the criminals was chicken pox. Kudos to the crew of the film.
9/10
Inspector Gadget 2 (2003)
Pathetic sequel
And to think that a sequel was made. I was expecting better. The first Inspector Gadget was great. Matt Broderick and Rupert Everett delivered. This was a pathetic follow-up. They replaced Broderick with French Stewart, who did a rather poor job. They got rid of Joely Fisher's Brenda Bradford and replaced her with a poor rendition of Star Trek's character Data. Dr. Claw is back, but not portrayed by Rupert Everett. Instead, we're given a villain who is attempting to go for the gold and plans on ruling the world with it all. Not original. ANY VILLAIN WILL GO FOR RICHES AND BE INTENT ON THREATENING THE WORLD WITH SUPPOSED SUPERIORITY! The only actor that was brought back was D.L. Hughley, who voices the Gadgetmobile. However, modifications were made and did not make that particular character as entertaining or interesting as in the first film. Michelle Tratchenberg is replaced by a kid who wishes to tag along as a overenthusiastic sidekick. The animation, special effects, direction, photography, and story were all unoriginal and pathetic. If I'm being harsh, it's only because I liked the first better. If they make a third film with the same kind of stuff, I don't recommend it for anyone who's looking for a good time, the same with this film.
0/10
101 Dalmatians (1996)
Oustanding
This is a great remake of the original animated classic, and I must say that the dogs used in this film, especially the dalmatians, were incredibly well trained. Kudos to the dog trainers! Glenn Close is unbeatable as Cruella DeVil, and the music was top notch. I watched this film, however, after the debut of the show House, and I was very surprised to see that Hugh Laurie was cast as Jasper, but he was perfectly cast, as well as Mark Williams (from the Harry Potter series) who played Horace. Roger and Anita were perfectly cast as well, and there were intense action sequences. The scenery was beautiful, with all the snow, and Stephen Herek was the perfect director. A character that i found most disturbing however was the man known only as Skinner. since he was not introduced in the original film, i had doubts. Still, one of Disney's best! 10 of 10
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
pathetic 3rd installment
OK, i really enjoyed the first two films. I was surprised to know that Singer did not continue. This movie was flat out terrible. It was badly written, for one thing. Almost every character seemed to have such dramatic dialogue that it ruined the whole thing. Bad graphics as well as rather stupid action sequences. The plot apparently focused on the Phoenix saga in the X-Men comics but did not do so completely which was a real disappointment. I mean since when does Jean Grey join the brotherhood? Many of the characters were undeveloped, poorly introduced, and had very small roles. Most of the Brotherhood are examples, such as the Juggernaut (sure Vinnie Jones was a good choice but he had little to do except rampage and push people around) Cyclops was killed off, and he shouldn't have been. A major disappointment is Rogue's appearance. She doesn't have much to do as she did in the first two, and her relationship with iceman is strained as Shadowcat is introduced. The Beast and Angel were very underdeveloped characters in this film,as were Colossus and Mystique and Pyro. Callisto was an interesting addition with a meaningless power. Storm and Xavier are also terribly positioned, and Magneto has terrible leadership skills this time around. AND WHAT HAPPENED TO NIGHTCRAWLER?! The film was rushed and the plot was twisted (since when is it a good idea to reverse a person's genetic codes? Poor plot, seriously. Overall, it's a terrible film and a waste of money. I do not recommend it for anyone looking for proper action or a good time with a marvel film directed by Rattner.