michaelbauers Reviews

The Phantom (1996)

Enjoyable Action Adventure

[7/10 · 7 April 2011]

Only read a comic book once or twice on the Phantom. So I had no preconceived notions.

I give this 7 out of 10, because it was enjoyable, and I think it executed it's ideas well (it's an homage to serials I believe, like Indiana Jones.) I liked the guy who played the Phantom, he had an amusing charisma of sorts.

The girl who played Diana was cute, and I enjoyed her independent woman role. Sure it's simplistic, but that's the style you go after for this genre. It's about heros and damsels in distress so to speak.

The female villainess was probably the best role. She was sexy and fun.

Tron: Legacy (2010)

Excellent sequel

[8/10 · 19 December 2010]

First off, not sure what people did not understand about the storyline. Made sense to me, anyway.

If this was not a sequel, I think I would give it 7/10. Because it's a sequel which did not disgrace the original, I bump it to 8/10.

I was not bothered by some of the quibbling details some other people seemed fixated on. I was too busy enjoying it.

I like a sequel which connects well to the original. I feel they did an exceptional job with that here. Loved that they used the original Flynn arcade for example.

While the philosophical aspects of the film are not particularly deep, I think they touched nicely on some ideas, and it did give the movie depth.

Unlike people who think maybe Bridges did not do a great job, I was very much moved by his performance. He was very dynamic. OK, maybe some of his language was more 70s surfer than 80s techno geek. I guess they were trying to present a laid black Californian Zen explorer. It worked OK.

Olivia Wilde very much held my attention. What can I say, she's very pretty and I think did a nice job.

Almost all acting was good, almost all dialog was good.

Of course we expect good visuals. Light cycle scene was cool, for example. I was most interested in the set they used for Kevin Flynn's residence. I was quite taken with it. Some nice work there The visuals were less important to me than the story, especially it's capability of extending the original movie. I very much felt they did a nice story, and extended the original movie (which I am a fan of...it was than I remembered when I watched it again not long ago.)

Skyline (2010)

Left me feeling cold

[3/10 · 26 November 2010]

As the summary says, left me feeling cold. Perhaps puzzled. Maybe a bit of deer in the headlight reaction.

I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I am not the dullest either. I minored in math and program computers. So I should be able to figure out a movie, at least a little.

But nope. I had no idea what the actual purpose of the aliens was. And the ending which was maybe supposed to be one of those sophisticated endings where the viewer makes up their own mind, left me puzzled (and maybe a bit disgusted.) But maybe you will love the ending. But to get there, you have to put up with uninspired dialog, characters you may have trouble feeling sorry for, and a plot with little scope (Aliens show up for no known reason, people try to escape them, and then a weird ending.) I go to movies to be entertained. This movie failed to entertain, except for a few decent action scenes involving helicopters. There wasn't even any decent female eye candy to inspire me to bump the rating up.

I give it a 3, because well, at times the action was watchable, and for some reason, I kind of dug how some scenes were filmed, I think I like the lighting.

Nasty Quacks (1945)

Daffy when he WAS Daffy (rather than just being annoying)

[7/10 · 3 November 2010]

Best part of this cartoon is some of the "manic" animation. There's a scene of Daffy sword fighting with the father that's great. Another one where he's banging at a door which is great.

The gag with the duck call, and duck perfume is great. Hadn't seen this exact gag before. There's another gag at the end with the duckling that's unexpected.

This might be a wartime cartoon, because Daffy threatens to leave, then comes back and says he can't because the government has asked that people don't do unnecessary travel.

The hatred of the father towards Daffy is also awesome. He REALLY wants to get rid of him.

As someone above said, Daffy is very angular. But the overall quality of the animation seems excellent.

p.s. What's with the girl's underpants always showing? Seems I recall seeing that sort of thing in older cartoons. Today they would probably get some parent's council on their butts for doing that.

If Looks Could Kill (1991)

Every time I watch this, I laugh

[6/10 · 18 October 2010]

I am rating this to up the rating. And reviewing it, just to add my piece of mind.

First off, the french teacher. Hilarious. Best part of the whole movie. "I want all references to the operative, the french teacher." Next, the dialog. It's funny. Most of the time, it's great. At least I find it funny most of the time.

The lead actor did a pretty good job. He's as flat as a pancake. But I think he's supposed to be a superficial high school student. They could have made him a bit more bright. He does save the day in the end. And it would be slightly more believable if he came across as a bit brighter from the start. But, you know, it's a comedy. You can't be too critical.

I realize this is sort of a demographic movie. I am sure it's aimed at teens as a fantasy. At 45 though, I still appreciate a mindless fantasy/comedy/adventure. And this is a pretty good one. I think it deserves a better rating - I rate movies with based on similar movies. I don't compare this to Das Boot, for example. I compare it to say, Hackers or something like that.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Not as good as the ratings would indicate

[7/10 · 16 October 2010]

I am rarely the guy who rates a movie lower than others. So let me discuss why.

I will start with the main reason - the characters. I hate to compare movies, but I have to use some reference here. Take Kung Fu Panda, perhaps the new gold standard in animation movies. Every characters was interesting in some way. They were all captivating.

Compare to this movie. I was not enthused with the main character. He was so...plain. About the only really interesting character was the female viking. She was a bit cliché (the tomboy thing,) but she held my attention more than the rest.

Then there's the plot. The underlying moral of the story is fine. It's standard now, in these movies, for some happy moral to be expressed. This movie is no different. And I have no issues with it. But the plot is almost non existent. The movie drags. I think because his interaction with the dragon drags a bit. There's the dragon, the training, the conflict with father, and the final scenes (where something finally happens.) That's about it.

Now the last 15 minutes...great, impressive, inspiring. So 7/10 for the last 15 minutes. Pull out all the stops here, I guess.

So by all means see this. And some people will enjoy more of the movie than I did.

But the ratings imply this is really good, over 8 out of 10. Very high for IMDb. I am not seeing it. Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Robots, Cars, Finding Nemo ... all 8+. But not this movie.

Roadie (1980)

Rock and roll cult movie

[16 August 2005]

This movie, in my opinion has many of the features of a cult classic.

The acting is uneven, the comedy is uneven, and the plot is a cliché.

But the movie is worth watching (as a cult movie,) for a number of reasons.

1) Ecletic and enjoyable sound track including a fun cover of Ring of Fire (and you can't experience too many covers of Ring of Fire.) 2) A mix of different comic elements such as an amusing car chase, and Forest Gump like moments where Redfish is simply in the right place at the right time 3) Great rock and roll cameos 4) Occasional surreal moments, if you like that kind of thing

Another part I found refreshing was doing a rock and roll movie involving a groupie with no gratuitous sex or nudity. I have nothing against those things, but its refreshing to see a movie that had no need for them.

If you take the movie seriously for a minute, or are looking for a consistent style of humor you will be disappointed. You need to be the sort of person who likes off beat movies simply because they are offbeat.