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Reviews
Shrek the Third (2007)
Shoulda stopped at TWO
Third installments are the hardest acts in the world. The second movie was commissioned on the popularity of the first. And if they green-light a third it must mean that the second was as equally or better than the first. So much expectation. So much to live up to.
I felt sorry for Shrek the Third. It felt long. The cast seemed like strangers again. Not enough Fiona and Shrek. Not enough Puss in Boots and Donkey. Artie was hard to like. And "Revenge" stories are so single dimensional. When the 'villians/ bad guys' were attacking Far Far Away the movie felt dark.
The biggest disappointment was the music. It sucked - big time! Honestly 'live and let die' at a funeral???? And what is it with singing frogs??? "Flushed Away" and "Meet the Robinsons" had singing frogs...Shrek had to add their own? Overall, my six year old enjoyed repeated watchings of it. I fell asleep. So thanks Dreamworks for finally alienating your paying audience and dumbing down the franchise to kids-only material. One vote off for that. Gone from 4/10 to 3/10.
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
A movie to crawl out of...literally!
This movie was so bad on so many levels. 1. The special effects over shadowed the action 2. The action over shadowed the story 3. The story over shadowed the actors 4. The actors were looking over whelmed and probably thinking..."damn that three picture deal contract!" 5. Spidey went bad...as in Superman III and the evil kyptonite. 6. MJ sang more times than she should have 7. Peter Parker being hip was painful,especially with that "Boys from Brazil" look. Honestly, I kept expecting Gregory Peck to show up. 8. You know the movie is bad when they add music scenes like MJ and Harry cooking together for some bizarre reason. 9. Spidey and the flag was a bit too much...save it for Captain America 10. I think Bruce Campbell does a great Basil Fawlty impression. Sorry guys - should have stopped at 2.
Big Momma's House 2 (2006)
Typical help the family find itself movie
If you had seen the first movie you pretty much guessed what this would be like. C'mon it's Martin Lawerence not Will Smith. So he gets back into the 'Big Momma' outfit and stakes out a crim. At this stage I figured this is where Vin Diesel's movie stole that Pacifier movie. In fact the kids are almost the same. Actually the hacker (Malcolm) was funny...The movie was predictable in parts but it was still watchable. Though the FBI not knowing that the main suspects Dad was at Oklahoma seemed a bit lame but then again, where is Osama? The end though was so sappy that it could have been the end to the Color Purple, in fact I expected to see people coming through the fields...
Casino Royale (2006)
The real deal Bond is back...fast forward from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig
This was awesome. I started out watching the Bond movies with the Roger Moore version of Bond. "Man with the golden gun" was my first 007 flick. Love that car jumping the bridge. Later in life I rented the Sean Connery version. I was blown away with the difference. I actually liked George Lazenby story but not style. Did not really like Dalton, but Brosnan's Bond was boy scout suave - as in, an improvement on Moore's version.
Daniel Craig is a guy who is a spy with a license to kill. It is very believable and he comes off as a guy who you really think will take you down. There is acting (like real acting) and minimal gadgets. It is still very British. MI6. So the essence of Bond is there. More SAS than super spy.
Go see it. Make your own mind up. Wipe away all expectations and previous notions.
Death of a President (2006)
Wow - a movie that made you think...my head hurts
I have just watched this film after getting the DVD a month ago. The premise did not really intrigue me. Since it's raining outside I thought I would sit down and watch it. I must admit that I was waiting for another Moore/ Trey Parker and Matt Stone anti-Bush assault. Pleasantly I didn't get that. The current President is presented as a decent man doing what the believe is the best for America. All the participants are - including the assassin.
The movie uses a tragic event like the President as a way to demonstrate how polarized and biased in objective investigation and reporting would be. The most amusing line for me was President Cheney asking if there was a direct link to Osama or Alkeda right off the bat. A fair question? Yes. But the interpretation by subordinates might have been, "make it link".
Questions to ask: What happens when fear dictates our laws? Who decides what is unpatriotic? Will we have an open mind or mind guided by profiling, polarized over-simplification news reporting?
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
X-Men... X-Men 2... X-Men 2.5 and now X-Men 0
Sad to say that as a long time fan of the X-Men (comic) books and a recent fan of the movies that I did not like this movie. I understand that if I want to see my comic book heroes on the screen like they were in the books I should watch Cartoon Network. You can never truly translate comics to the big screen. The first two movies really captured the essence of the book - misfits trying to find their place in the world as a team.
This movie went for the all action - lots of characters but no substance - no story flick. Just like the "Rush Hour" movies. Quite sad considering Brett Ratner did the 'Prison Break' pilot about a group of misfits trying to breakout of prison as team. Lots of action - lots of character - and a storyline.
What happened to Night Crawler? What happened to Cyclops? Why did Magneto move a bridge?
I think people will wish that Bryan could have done this movie and taken the characters to the next place.
Roll Bounce (2005)
All Skate! All skate!
Great movie! Probably because I was not expecting it to be so CLEAN. Black movies have a tendency to slide into reality and over-reality very quickly. This movie was so much fun! From the first rink that reminded me of the dodgy places I use to skate back in the day in New Zealand to the Vegas rink that was up town. The lights, the feel and the vibes made it very entertaining. Sure it was cliché but at least the soundtrack was awesome. Nowadays it's gangs, drugs and guns. I am sure some of us always look back on the good old days with rose tinted glasses and this movie is a testimony to that. Great escapism! When the father comes home and catches the boys slacking off - that was a trip down memory lane...
Great Music! Great nostalgia! Everybody needs a little light under the sun!!!
xXx: State of the Union (2005)
xXx - leave your brain at the door
I liked this movie. After watching Hotel Rwanda and Sideways, this was a great way to just "BLAH"! If anyone wants explosions and stunts, this is the movie to see.
***SPOILER ALERT*** Warning bells should start ringing after reading I-C-E C-U-B-E if you wanted something like 'The Bourne Supremacy' (Hello?). ***SPOILER ALERT***
It was OK. Sam L Jackson looked like Sam L Jackson. The nerdy tech guy was trying a bit too hard and so was the sexy black chick. Boyz in the Hood take on America's best...hahaha. It was all fun, tongue-in-cheek and a parody about the greatest of all oxymoron "Military Intelligence"!
IF you want to see 2/10 movies, start with STEVEN SEGAL.