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One Big Happy (2015)
Funny well written sitcom
My wife and I enjoyed this show and look forward to seeing the next episode. We found it to be a fresh, bubbly modern age comedy that like the accent wall on the show, pops. If they continue this show in the same style I foresee a long future. I look forward to the writers fleshing out the characters but understand that this may take a bit of time with a 30 minute comedy format.
From the sounds of some (one) other reviews, they seemed to be expecting Shakespeare. Come on it's a sitcom, a situation comedy, lighten up.
This show does very well with a somewhat socially thorny situation that may polarize some but I, for one found it very well done and in good taste. I am reminded too that taste in food or comedy can not be argued. I thought it was funny. Enough said.
CSI: Cyber (2015)
Small expectations and was still disappointed.
First let me say that I enjoyed the original SCI for a lot of seasons until the show became too poorly written to be enjoyable. When the story took a back seat to the characters and the graphics and that was it for me. I'm not saying that it was exceptional television but it was watchable as a mindless indulgence till then.
Now here we are 2015 and an all new series, ( lets just not mention the 12,000 other CSI formulas that have been tried ), one that focuses on "Cyber" crimes, something as a computer specialist I know a little something about and let me tell you unless you are a computer illiterate you are going to see the gaping holes in the events of the first episode. But let me allow for the moderate computer knowledge that most people possess and move on.
The story as a believable series of events is the hardest to swallow. Foreign kidnappers are willing to take white babies from homes in the United States in order to sell them on the black market. First of all this is an actual problem in a lot of impoverished and backward parts of the world but is not likely to happen here. For one thing there are many unwanted babies that would be easier to get than the ones these baby geniuses go after. On the show when you finally see these cyber masterminds that had the modest skills to take advantage of a vulnerability in the firmware of a baby monitor yet are easily traced by an unobfuscated IP address. Please, hacker 101, cover your tracks.
Then lets talk about the car evading police carrying a kidnapped baby in the back seat that drives into a lake as it's chased by two police cars and the police officers just stand around while the two main characters rush in and one dives in the water to retrieve the baby. I would be protesting if I was in law enforcement.
Let me also mention the unforgettable, for being so asinine, quote from agent Ryan ( Patricia Arquette ), "Evolutionary survival skills will instinctively take them to higher ground", this said when trying to figure out where two of the baby traffickers are going after getting paid. They are in a car, in a city looking for a bar and that will narrow the search area considerably since bars on higher ground are much more instinctively pleasing. I wont even mention that they wont be making any left turns so as not to attract attention to themselves. With logic like that it's a wonder anyone gets away from law enforcement ever.
The acting by the two main characters is wooden and ill timed at best. I understand the material was not very good to start with but at least put some effort into it guys, if for no other reason than to justify your hideously bloated paychecks.
I was determined to give this show a chance and managed to watch the first episode to it's conclusion and thank goodness, otherwise I may not have caught the 10 words that describe what motivates agent Ryan to catch these cyber meanies. If I was a betting man I would not give this show very good odds at making the cut when it's time to trim the fat at the network but then I have been surprised at the longevity of some amazingly bad shows. I hope this will not be one of those.
Rise (2014)
Badly written wanna be prison movie with nothing original or worth watching
Badly written and poor acting accentuated by terrible continuity and not so subtle religious undertones. This movie looked like it was done by a talentless group of first year cinematography students on a very restrictive budget. The plot was completely unbelievable which was surprising considering it was suppose to be based on a true story. The characters expressions didn't seem to match the words that where coming out of there mouths or the situations most of the time. I couldn't stomach more than half of this dribble and had to walk out of the theater fast before my anger at having spent money to watch this amateurish attempt at film making got the better of me and I demand a refund from the pimpled face kid behind the ticket desk. Save your hard earned money and time. Steer clear. You have been warned.
Tokarev (2014)
Solid disappointment for this crime genre fan
I can tell you all you need to know about this movie in one sentence. One dimensional characters spewing stereotypical dialog containing an implausible plot. I read the plot outline before watching this movie and thought it had the makings of a decent crime drama but I guess I should have paid more attention to the genre tag on the IMDb page. It lists action as the first type of genre. That is accurate. If you will be satisfied with some fist and knife fights, some shootings and a couple of generic car chases then this is the movie for you. Otherwise stay away. Go change the oil in your car or organize your toothpick collection as you will find these more entertaining.
Line of Duty (2013)
Tower of unoriginal clichés topped with a, well nothing.
Let me first say that I am a Spanish American and as such, I was looking forward to enjoying a movie with a Latin cast and writer. Not that I was expecting, "Goodfellas" or "Pulp Fiction" mind you but what I remember of the two-thirds of the movie that I did manage to watch was that it was poorly written, at times laughingly so. I think the actors tried to work with what they had and it was just not natural. You begin to feel like you are watching a 1970's made for TV movie about Latin Americans made in the UK. It just didn't have much authenticity going for it. The characters are one cliché after another. The 2/3 of the plot I did watch was unoriginal and lumbering. I am not a snob when it comes to movies I watch and have nothing against B movies as long as they have some redeeming qualities. Even really bad movies can be enjoyable if they are so over the top bad that they make you laugh but this one, sadly, had nothing going for it. Please don't waste your time as I did. I was fortunate enough to have been able to reclaim 1/3 of this films run time back. But seeing as how I just spent five minutes writing this short review I guess they got me for another five minutes. Drat!
Home Run (2013)
Generic Religious Spiel
This movie is NOT about baseball. This movie is NOT about addiction. This movie is NOT about relationships. This movie IS about how believing in God and religion can fix all problems. This movie is made by hallmark and I have to say the whole thing does come off as somewhat of an apology card. They should have made a card apologizing for wasting two hours of my life. Predictable writing of a predictable plot with one dimensional characters. I too, like most of the actors in the 12 step meetings could feel myself changing and not in a good way. Perhaps a nice tumbler of vodka over ice would have made this movie more enjoyable but I doubt it. Stay away unless you have lots of alcohol on hand and absolutely nothing better to do. What is good in this movie has been done before and it's been done better. What is bad is just plain bad. Lead role should go back to training camp, err acting camp that is.
All About Steve (2009)
One of myself and my wife's favorite romance comedies.
I just don't understand the low ratings this movie has on here. It's quirky and funny. What more could you ask for in an offbeat romance comedy. We especially liked Sandra Bullock's character. The only thing that keeps me from giving this one a higher rating is that some parts of the story are a bit over the top. The screenplay was well written with some very original and comical exchanges between characters. If you want a more standard romance comedy try Bullock's "The Proposal (2009)". She was fantastic in that as well and it's rating is currently 6.7. which is closer to what this one should be. Keep in mind this is a comedy, not a drama or documentary and as such should be given some allowances.
4:44 Last Day on Earth (2011)
Not with a bang but with with a fizzle?
Not with a bang but with a whimper...
The story is about how two particular people would spend their last hours on earth if they new the world was coming to and end at a specific time. The story contains little fanfare and no special effects. It did remind me of a play more than a movie, as was mentioned by another reviewer. The story of the two main actors is interspersed with a variety of spiritual leaders weighing in on such weighty matters as good, evil and the meaning of life. Hard to convey much depth given the brevity of these interviews.
At one point one of the characters decides to visit an old friend and his walk thru the city reminds us all that people are still drinking, hookers are still hooking and most importantly lounge singers are still singing. Nice to know that we would all stay in character right till the end. I guess I better go see that new movie today since the world is going to end tomorrow... It all just seems a little improbable and hollow.
The acting was good but would have been better with a much more well thought out script.
This film must have been pure profit for the makers. I think about 20 percent of it must have been archived footage from around the world. The biggest problem I had with this movie is that it reminded me of a mediocre film school project at best. It tried to be artsy but failed. It tried to be philosophical but failed. It tried to be an emotional tale of a shared ending and failed. It tried to tie all these together with the worst music and sound effects that I have heard in some time. My ears are still ringing. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this one unless you happen to be in the mood to be severely underwhelmed.
No bang, no whimper, just kind of a fizzle...
Earth's Final Hours (2011)
If they can stop the earth from spinning for this movie you can stop your sensibilities long enough to watch it.
There are so many things wrong with this movie, where to start.
People with a soccer ball size hole in their chest tend to not be able to talk.
Synopsis : Neutron star particle large enough and dense enough to go thru the entire earth damage our magnetosphere and stop the planet from rotating bringing on global extinction.
Given the current state of astrophysics the existence of such a particle is theoretically possible but that it would cause the type of damage to our planet is not even remotely possible.
Given the mass of the earth and it's sheer inertia it would take a lot more than a single particle no matter how dense to counteract that force.
Then there are those rays of solar radiation that seem to make it thru the magnetosphere and slice across the earth, hitting anything with a badge when they are about to arrest the well meaning hacker teenager who only wants to expose the big evil government plot to not tell people of the impending doom.
Luckily those rays don't go after the hackers dad who happens to be one of the a fore mentioned badge wearer of the Federal variety, and work together with the well meaning scientific geek'ete agent of the same variety to find a fix.
All they have to do is restore the magnetosphere and push start the earths spin with two satellites... peace of cake.
Enter scientist who saw the error of his ways after creating a dooms day device that will now be just the ticket to fix this sticky situation.
Good thing that the scientist even while being under arrest was able to hack into the system and have his 'device' moved from a guarded warehouse to some other location.
So the evil Federal agents are trying to get the device back and how do they do that.. well they shoot at the only people who know where it is.. and shockingly the scientist is shot and killed. Luckily he is able to tell his group of do-gooders the GPS coordinates of the 'Device' and some other cryptic mumbling...
So the big ending battle, bad feds vs good ( scientist-geek'ete/hacker-teen/agent-Dad ) for control of the device ( satellites ). Good guys want to save the world, bad guys want to save a small section so that they can create a small green zone of safety and screw the planet nearly 7 billion people.
Good thing that a non technical federal field agent could find the two wires that would make the satellite up-link work. Phew! Close one.
Save the planet, save a handful of people... decisions decisions.. Funny how all the people going after the good guys would be dead if they succeed. I guess that little point went unnoticed. Silly mindless Federal agents.
But once again the suns radiation comes to the rescue and smote those evil doers. Good ol' solar radiation. But it misses the main evil agent, dang it. So he manages to shoot the nice geek'ete and begins to smash the up-link. Silly evil agent didn't count on agent-dad kicking his butt, not to mention that the solar radiation always gets it's man. Poof, no more evil agent. The planet is saved and all is good. Miller time.
This Must Be the Place (2011)
Forget everything you read on the other user reviews
This movie was 118 minutes of pure boredom. I understood from the plot that it was about an aging rocker, I understood that it was about finding his fathers executioner an ex-Nazi war criminal who is a refugee in the US.
Sean Penn mumbled, whispering thru out the entire movie just made it difficult and frustrating to try to understand what he was saying most of the time.
Penns interaction with other characters was unbelievable and completely wooden. Real people, even aging rock stars, do not interact in this way.
Just because it's strange doesn't mean it belongs in this movie. The random sequences had nothing to do with the story and where just added for looks.
The side stories where slow, predictable and with little entertainment value. At one point my wife and I came to the conclusion that perhaps the end would tie everything together and shed some much needed light on the events we just witnessed. No such luck. The ending like the parts that came before was just as pointless.
My advice to you. Watch four episodes of The Osbournes and you will be better off.
Stories USA (2007)
I have watched some slow convoluted stories in my day but this one beats them all hands down.
Yes I understand it was a compilation of short stories. What was missing is that something that normally would tie these stories together or at least if they are all unrelated stories make each one stand on it's own merit. Merit is the missing factor here. I guess I made it thru about one half of this 90 minutes before I had to walk out of the theater. This one should have come with a money back guarantee. Interestingly the plot outline here on IMDb reads, "A compilation of short films about desperate lives in America, starring many of the world's top actors." and I wonder if any of these 'Top Actors' bothered to look at this piece of truly unwatchable garbage after receiving what must surely have been overpayment for services rendered. Did anyone working on this bother to read the script? I think my dog could write more lucid and entertaining stories. Please people that worked on this, don't do it again. Life is too short. This movie was about desperate people and it certainly achieved that, it made me desperate to leave the theater. You have been warned.
The Canyon (2009)
Nothing new but not a bad movie
I, like this movie, have very little to say about it. It has been done before. In various locations, with a variety of protagonist and with very similar ending. The writing on this one was not very memorable with the one exception of the alcoholic guide played by Eion Bailey. The cinematography was outstanding, great images of one of the United States great remaining natural wonders.
That being said, I do wish that the filmmakers had given a little more time to the script and less to the backdrop. While I was watching this movie the one thought that did come across over and over was that of Darwin theory of survival of the fittest.
I don't think this movie deserves it's low rating. I enjoyed watching it even if I found it somewhat predictable it did have an interesting ending.
The Limey (1999)
Nothing to get excited about...
It has all been done before and been done much better. I didn't like the lack of character development or script. I get the whole strong quiet type characterization but I would have preferred more of the type of dialog we see when The Limey is talking to the DEA agent.
Vengeance is mine said the Lord, but after spending over an hour of my life waiting for this movie to pick up, I'm the one who feels like dishing out a bit-o-the-old' vengeance mate! Please don't make the same mistake I did. The time spent is defiantly not worth the pay off.
If you are looking for good English/limey action try Snatch, Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.
Pineapple Express (2008)
Made my opinion for the Harold and Kumar movies increase with every badly timed and unfunny second of slapstick
I came into this movie with very low expectations and I was very disappointed. I didn't expect academy award material here just an interesting plot and some funny stoner, slash, pothead type situations, but what I got was a mentally challenged script accented by some very unimaginative directing. I don't understand how this movie received such high ratings here. I watched all the Harald and Kumar movies and actually laughed multiple times, ( most of all with the White Castle movie ). I laughed out load 2, 3 times max with this bland, made for TV release. This movie is fine if one of two conditions are met. One, you are 12, or two, you are stoned. I guess it was my own fault since I was neither at the time.
Jamie Kennedy: Unwashed (2006)
Fantastic stand-up deserves a higher rating
This guy was hilarious. I had heard of him and had watched a couple of episodes of his show, "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" and was not that impressed with that show but I was very surprised by the caliber of his stand-up. He was creative and had some very funny bits in this show. I would recommend this guys stand-up to anyone who enjoys a good laugh. Don't dismiss this guy if you are not into his TV show. Try it, you'll like it.
Until the time I did a search on IMDb for Leary I had no idea of the mans many different types of venues. From Talk shows like, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Last Call with Carson Daly, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Tony Danza Show to shows like, Arrested Developmentsode, Mad TV, Celebrity Blackjack and VH1 Rock Honors to movies like, Scream and Scream 3, Boiler Room, Son of the Mask, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Malibu's Most Wanted, to shows like, G-Phoria all about developments in the gaming world.
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Perhaps if others had read the book as a youngster like I did they would have rated it higher
I have to admit that although the acting and script where mediocre at best I did enjoy this movie. I guess I'm just a sucker for a David and Goliath plot, regardless of how the plot is expressed to me. I have seen Travolta in much better films over the years and really believe he was a victim of poorly managed project here. Also I am fairly sure his relationship with L. Ron Hubbard, the writer of the original series of Battlefield Earth books and his ties to Scientology had some part in him deciding to take on this job. I take my hat of to JT for his willingness to take this on. A worthy watch for anyone not expecting Terminator-istic special effects or anyone who has read the book(s).
Gerry (2002)
103 Minutes or 6180 Seconds of Total and Complete Boredom
I watched this film at home on my DVR and I think the only thing that kept me watching thru to the bitter, boring end was the single thought that this film has to have a point somewhere. At the end I did understand the point of this film. ********* Spoiler ******** It had to be a bet, perhaps between the producer and director, to see how long an audience would watch two men walking thru the desert. Recurring image of a donkey with a carrot dangling in front of it, walking steadily forward comes to mind. Life is too short to watch this movie. Skip this film unless a Readers Digest condensed version comes out.
I have to concede that there are a couple of interesting moments in the film but 103 minutes to invest for 3 minutes of actual entertainment seems no bargain, even by today's low standards. I want my money back! Well at least I didn't pay for this movie, not in monetary terms anyway. One out of Ten ain't Bad, it's HORRIBLE.
Melvin and Howard (1980)
The title says it all, MELVIN and howard, notice the lower case Howard.
This movie left me feeling like I had been taken advantage of. I was expecting a movie about how a chance interaction with an eccentric millionaire, Howard Hughes, can change a persons life or at least have some small effect on a person. This was not the case. ******** SPOILER ******** The movie starts out teasing the audience by showing us a small glimpse of the sad condition of this once great man had ascended to, but then it's over, poof. Nothing profound, or earth shaking takes place in the small time Melvin spends with Howard and then the rest of the movie was all about Melvin. I would not have minded this too much had Melvin's life been at least marginally interesting, but unless average and mundane are what you are into, don't bother watching this con job. I would not recommend this movie if you are a Howard Hughes fan, or even a little bit interested in him. You will be disappointed. I do recommend this movie if you are a fan of Melvin what's his name...
Added Note: Howard Hughes left an estate estimated at $2 billion. Four hundred prospective heirs tried to inherit it but it eventually went to twenty-two cousins on both sides of his family.