no_spm_brazil Reviews

Frank TV (2007– )

Another Goose Egg from TBS

[4 December 2007]

TBS ought to just give up already on original programming and stick with re-runs and syndication. Yes, Frank is a very funny guy, and most of his impersonations are spot on. I especially like Frank's Jack Nickleson and John Madden.

However, the Frank TV skits were just NOT funny, which is too bad because I loved the commercials. I didn't so much as chuckle once during the program, especially during the Donald Trump skit, which was ridiculous.

I'm not sure why TBS has so much trouble producing a quality show. Maybe they only allow of budget of $4 per episode.

Jam (I) (2006)

A Breath of Fresh Air

[19 August 2007]

After seeing so many mediocre movies in a row, this was definitely a breath of fresh air. To describe it I would say it's one of those off-beat films not driven by a plot but by characters. It reminded me a lot of The Breakfast Club in more ways than one.

As far as the actors, all of them were great and their characters were well defined and easy to relate to. In Fact, another movie to compare this to might be Glengary Glen Ross. It's not the story but the cast that make these films fun to watch. Jam had a great cast.

While I just compared Jam to two classics, I wouldn't necessarily rank it in that category, but I do think it certainly deserves better than it's current IMDb ranking of 5.3. I give it an 8.

The Foursome (2006)

Nothing funny or clever here

[18 August 2007]

In a nutshell: bad clichés, recycled jokes, bad characters. Nothing really to see here. Not the worst movie ever, but in the genre of golf comedies...maybe?

If you've ever golfed you will have heard every joke, and if not, well...probably not funny. Even the other jokes and skits same old recycled jokes you might hear from a middle school kid. So much for originality.

Otherwise, not a lot of substance here so not much else to comment on. In fact, this is the only time I've ever struggled to fill the minimum 10 lines of text.

The Riches (2007–2008)

Big Disappointment

[12 March 2007]

After watching all the previews for what seemed like an eternity, I was excited, finally, to see the premiere for which I had high hopes. What a big disappointment. The two main characters were wretched, and I felt like peeling a layer of skin off after watching the pilot. Moreover, the whole concept of the series is a tough pill to swallow, and Minnie's contrived "southern" accent is almost comical and all over the place (Izzard struggled too). On the bright side, as always, the FX network put on a fine production with a great soundtrack. Otherwise, I don't have high expectations for this series and will just have to wait for season 6 of the Shield!

Reno 911!: Miami (2007)

Hilarious

[24 February 2007]

I haven't laughed this hard in a theater since I saw Something About Mary. That said, I'm a fan of the TV series, and I thought the movie lived up to its expectations. My only complaint is it could have been longer. Nevertheless, I think the writers and actors were on their game. Take in mind this is dumb slapstick humor, with flatulence and vomit jokes, but its still very clever, unique, and definitely funny! There really wasn't much of a storyline, or I should say it had very simple plot. However, that's not what makes Reno 911 funny (a complex plot might even be distracting). What makes Reno 911 funny is the string of endless "skits" and scenarios these incompetent cops put themselves in. This is a great cast of actor/comedians.

The Path to 9/11 (2006)

This was a good movie. Many criticized it before it aired.

[12 September 2006]

I think most people who follow American politics would agree that the Clinton administration was not hawkish. Many of his opponents criticized him for this, while many supporters applauded him – especially as he drastically reduced defense spending shortly after taking office in 1993. There is not a lot of controversy there, and whether you supported this or not, it was intelligible to a certain degree, since a US territory had not been attacked since WWII. Many Americans did not see a threat, and most were caught off-guard on 9/11.

Therefore, by depicting the Clinton Administration's political cautiousness to not go on the offensive without precedence, especially during a scandal, and later a heated election between Gore and Bush, was not a political attack on Clinton, but a fair assessment of what was happening in Washington at the time. Clinton may have been weak on national security, and fearful of creating turmoil in the Middle East, but he certainly would have been criticized from the right by putting boots on the ground while campaigning for Gore. This was even acknowledged in the movie.

As far as the dialog, I'm not sure if anyone involved with this movie had any first or second-hand knowledge of comments made by Secretary Albright or George Tenet; or if Barbara Bodine was really that nasty. However, I think the general description of where the main players stood was generally accurate, and is supported by the 9/11 report and what facts are known.

Overall, I think this was a great movie, and if anything, I hope people realize that the real enemies are the terrorists, who are still a threat, and will attack if left alone.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Fun action film, but let's not go crazy

[5 May 2006]

Had this movie been released under a different directors name, I doubt it would have received the acclaim that it has. I apologize to the many dedicated Tarantino fans, but honestly, if not for the accolades from this dedicated group, Kill Bill Vol. 1 would be just another theatrical foot note from the many films released in 2003. I'm not saying it was a bad, but certainly not an "instant classic."

You've heard the expression that something is so "bad it's good," I assume that this is what Tarantino was trying to do with the over-the-top Kung-Fu action and corny storyline. I can't say that he was unsuccessful, but not to the degree of earning "classic" status. That's really my only gripe with this film.

The featured band, the 5,6,7,8s, whom I genuinely liked very much, would also fall into that category of being so bad, they're good. I think the decision to cast them in this film was an apposite choice. (I just wish that Vonage didn't play the song "Woo Hoo" in their US TV commercials, it's really made that song become quite annoying).

In its cheesy and corny way, this film does successfully pay tribute to the genre of Japanese action films, Menga, and Anime. If this is your bailiwick, you will certainly enjoy Kill Bill. Moreover, it's done with tongue-in-cheek and can be quite clever at times. Nevertheless, the action, gore, and story become a bit too sophomoric at times.

To summarize, this film is not bad, but aside the cheesy tributes and over-the-top gore, this film lacks the DEPTH to warrant the praise Tarantino received from his earlier works. In 10 or 20 years I suspect that Kill Bill will fall from "instant classic" to just a book mark.

Bottom line: Fun action film, but let's not go crazy.

Pumpkin (2002)

Brilliant

[22 April 2006]

Wow, this movie really surprised me. I found it on VHS for a buck. I figured it would be some cheesy movie about a cheerleader or some adolescent sorority flick, but for a dollar I figured I couldn't go wrong. I'm sure glad I did, because I would have never seen it otherwise. Judging from the photo on the box (which is always a bad idea), this did not look like the type of movie I would ever be interested in.

Since I didn't know anything about this movie, I have to admit I was 20 minutes into it before I realized it was a dark comedy. At that point, it just clicked, and was even better the second time around.

For those of you who liked Harold and Maude or Being There (as I did), you will probably really like this. If you watch it at "face value" you may find it cheesy, or even insulting to your intelligence, which is what makes this movie so hilarious and cleverly ironic. It mocks what it is.

That said, I don't think I need to outline the story, as many reviewers have already done that. All I really should say is the humor is really dry and dark, so beware. I especially enjoyed the way the story ridicules social conformity and addresses some of life tribulations, without being nauseating or PC. The actors (and director) were brilliant, and if you like modern alternate folk music, you'll love the soundtrack.

The last time finished watching a movie and thought to myself, "wow, what a surprise, that was really great," was the first time I saw Rushmore. This movie will definitely be added to my list of favorites.

One Eyed King (2001)

Bad Dialog, Bad Acting, and a BORING story.

[7 April 2006]

Not even worth the price of a rental. This movie stunk, from the acting to the cinematography. I rented this hoping that if was a fraction as good as Goodfellows, it might be worth watching; especially since there aren't many good movies about the Irish mafia.

The narrator started off by stating how notoriously mean these "Westies" were, but they certainly were not anything special in this movie. Yeah, a couple of action scenes with cliché tough talk, but mostly just bad dialog and dancing, riddled with a few fist fights with too much fake blood. Watching William Baldwin try to "act" the tough guy is like watching Lisa Lampanelli act sexy (no offense to Lisa!). Baldwin was just horrible, as was Jim Breuer(Half Baked), was that supposed to be a joke? I could go on, but it would just be waste of time.

I give it a 2/10, just because there are some movies that are worse.

Rushmore (1998)

Excellent! Wes Anderson's Best Film.

[17 March 2006]

UPDATE OCT 2, 2009

This used to be a raving 10/10 review of Rushmore, Wes Anderson's best film. I no longer have any respect for West Anderson and will not support his work. Wes Anderson has revealed himself as an apologist for child molesters.

Roman Polanski, Wes Anderson's colleague and friend, was finally arrested for drugging and forcibly sodomizing a 13 year old girl in 1977. The convicted child molester (and coward) fled the US the day before his sentencing, and lived in exile in France for the past thirty years. On September 26 Polanski was finally arrested on a standing warrant in Switzerland, who unlike France, has an extradition treaty with the United States. Three days later, Wes Anderson signed a petition demanding the immediate release of the convicted child molester, citing "dismay" over the arrest and defending Polansky's "freedom" as a renown "artist."

A History of Violence (2005)

Predictable and one cliché after another.

[16 March 2006]

What an awful movie. Suspense, what suspense? Totally predictable, as if I cared what happened anyway. The main character wasn't likable. The movie was slow moving, filled with gratuitous sex scenes, cliché sub-plots, like the typical bully at school, the country yokel sheriff, well, you get the point: blah, blah, blah! And what horrible acting. Like the scene at the end (SPOLER), right after Viggo/Tom killed his brother in his brother's big mansion. Then goes down to the lake to toss in the gun and proceed to bathe himself (I guess the mansion didn't have any running water), but not after falling to his knees like Charleton Heston in Planet of the Apes. I was waiting for him to clinch his fist and say "damn you." I didn't know whether to laugh or cringe it was so bad. Let's not forget about the "romantic" love scene shared in a 69. I guess the writers really wanted to show us the two characters love for each other by having them share a little snack. That was so stupid (and obviously gratuitous), I thought I was going to bust a gut laughing. What horrible writing.

Except for Ed Harris, pretty much all the acting was sub-par and character development was just as bad. The geeky son barely manages to catch a fly ball on the softball field, but then effortlessly manages to beat the hell out of three jocks, sending one to the hospital? I could go on and on, but you get the picture, this whole movie is filled with clichés, bad acting, stupid scenes, and a totally predictable payoff. I almost turned this one off halfway though, but I thought, just maybe, the ending would have a twist or something. I was wrong, it ended just as I suspected, and like a million other movies since the beginning of time.

The Man (2005)

Worth Renting

[28 February 2006]

Good ole Eugene Levy has been around for a long time, but I don't recall him ever playing a lead character (at least from what I've seen -he's been in over 80 movies). That's is too bad, because I think he made what could have otherwise been a dud work. Jackson's character was a little too "Pulp Fiction" or "hardcore" for this type of comedy, and the story itself was mediocre (read: "cookie cutter), but I thought Levy was hilarious, and I found myself laughing out loud more than once. Okay, the farting jokes were a little trite, but this is slapstick comedy. Nothing too deep, but very funny, and a decent ending. If you like Abbot and Costello, you'll probably like this. Definitely worth the price of a rental.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015)

Not sure why this is so popular?

[15 February 2006]

By looking at the reviews of this show (and its ratings), I concede that it's tremendously popular, but I just don't get it. It's like Law & Order dumbed-down. They do those ridiculous close-ups of evidence with the "spooky" background music and special effects. What's that all about? To me this insults the intelligence of the viewers: "Gee, you didn't catch that? Let's zoom in to make sure you're paying attention and play some creepy music to keep you entertained in the meantime." Actually, this show more reminds me of CHiPs, probably the dumbest (yet very popular show) of the 70s. Recall Ponch and Jon, a couple of California Highway Patrol officers who would go undercover, do detective work, rescue drowning swimmers at the beach, etc. Maybe entertaining, but not a realistic depiction of real CHP officers. CSI is the modern day ChiPs, and the forensic scientists are modern day Ponch and Jons, running around with guns arresting suspects, etc. Ironically, this is this show prides itself on reality. The only reality of this show is the overacting.

Buffalo Bill (1983–1984)

Brilliant

[2 January 2006]

Only once in a while does a show this clever come along. Buffalo Bill Bittiner (Dabney Coleman) is an arrogant, self-centered, misogynistic pig, who hosts a low budget local talk show in Buffalo, NY. While the concept of an off-color comedy based on such a vile character will not appeal to all audiences, this show had many layers, and was very well written and executed. On the surface, the show focused on the offensive, yet hilarious, antics of Dabney's character, but below the surface is an insecure, paranoid, confused, and cowardly train wreck of a man -- not that one should feel sorry for him. Bill Bittiner may think his "assertive" antics conceal his flaws and insecurities from his co-workers and talk show audience, but these antics are transparent to everyone but Bill, and only added comedic and ironic flavor to the show.

Not only was Dabney Coleman brilliant in this role, but so was his supporting cast. His research assistant was played by a young Geena Davis, his faithful stage hand by the late John Fiedler (the voice of Piglet), and his makeup man was played by Charles Robinson, who later directed Night Court. There were also a number of notable guest appearances such as: Oscar winner Martin Landau, comedian Julie Brown, and an uncredited appearance by Jim Carrey. Most of the show focused on Bill Bittinger's antics, but there were also some genuine moments and meaningful side-skits acted out by Coleman's diverse cast of supporting characters.

This show did not do so well in prime time, and I was very disappointed to see it canceled.. I suspect that too many viewers found Coleman's character too much to bear, even if taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, I was thrilled when I found out that the complete series was released on DVD, even though it took 20 years.

Daisy Does America (2005–2006)

Offensive

[1 January 2006]

If the Arquettes thought this show would appeal to the general public, then it's obvious they are completely out of touch. There is nothing funny or clever about ridiculing country folks or inner city kids for a cheap laugh. Daisy exploits these peoples' good nature as they welcome her into their communities to help Daisy achieve her bogus American "dream."

Daisy (and her producers) say that she's not afraid to embarrass herself, when it's obvious from watching the show that she is trying to make her guests look stupid with her attempted behind-the-back sarcasm and ridicule. Nevertheless, the Arquettes, Daisy, and TBS are the only ones being humiliated.

That being said, Daisy is just not very funny either: shaking some guys hand for five minutes, bugging her eyes at the camera, and running around like a lost child. None of that is original or very funny. Her dry attempt at slapstick humor would make the Three Stooges (and Benny Hill) cringe.

Maybe Daisy would be funny in another setting, but the whole premise of this show is offensive and definitely NOT funny.