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Dubs
Reviews
Good Advice (2001)
Sheen is the luckiest man alive
A cute movie that is more than it seems, and worth sticking with after a mediocre beginning. Angie Harmon, who had never seemed more than a pretty face, made a believer of me and Denise Richards played against her looks well. As usual, Jon Lovitz in a supporting role only helped, and the whole cast had snappy dialogue to play with. A very entertaining rental. Only one sore point: why does Charlie Sheen get to be with Harmon, Richards, and Lisa Rinna in the same movie--three of the most attractive women in Hollywood!
Siu Lam juk kau (2001)
Awesome in Asia...
I saw this movie last year in China...emphasis on SAW because my Chinese isn't good enough to understand exactly what was going on. Still, the visuals themselves have enough comedic humor to keep an audience entertained and I can't wait to see how the movie will play in America, with subtitles. Just imagine the Matrix crossed with a goofy sports movie (i.e. The Mighty Ducks, where each character makes one 'contribution' to the team effort) and you'll see where it goes. Fun and amusing, and Steven Chow, while fairly serious here, seemingly deserves his nickname as the "Asian Jim Carrey". Reccommend it, though the new name of "Kung Fu Soccer" doesn't work quite as well as Shaolin Soccer.
Startup.com (2001)
.Com-mendable
If you worked at a dot-com, you will see some part of your life in this movie. There is no better current film that captures the heady adventure of the beginning (while showing that practically everyone, even those with half-finished business plans, got money) to the eventual fall of the internet culture.
Yeah, there are lots of valid complaints. Almost no bio of any non-Tom, Kaleil characters...almost a total lack of understanding what the website did...but it's the best around thanks to the filmmakers' ability to pluck one story out of the many and hew pretty closely to it.
Get Over It (2001)
Better but not best
Get Over It is forgettable and at times lifeless...at the same time, it's so far above "She's All That" and all the Freddie Prinze crud, that the movie's redeemable simply because it's a decent Teen Movie. It's pretty surprising that the lead actors aren't more interesting; Dunst was awesome in Bring It On and Foster was even better in Liberty Heights. Maybe if they had played their characters from those films their impending couple-dom would have been more entertaining. As it is, you never really get a feeling for why Kelly likes Berke, especially because he's constantly making a fool of himself.
Three of the better Teen Movies--American Pie, Can't Hardly Wait and Ten Things I Hate About You--take pains to develop their characters and let the audience in on what makes them tick. Had "Get Over It" traded a few of its shock scenes for personal revelation, had Dunst or Foster been a little more alive in their roles; this would have been a pretty funny movie, the material was there. That said, it's a good rental for fans of the genre.
She's All That (1999)
She IS, but the movie...
Deciding to rent this movie was like, well, probably going to see this movie in theatres. It's tempting but you know it probably will be bad. And sure enough, you regret wasting the time and money afterwards.
"She's All That" starts promisingly enough, with a cool introduction of Uber-school president Prinze and some of the other characters(Matthew Lillard mostly), a neat beach flashback, and a subsequent performance art scene. Then the movie completely gets away.
Film critic Roger Ebert applauds the humor "around the edges" of "She's All That". Though there were some funny, random scenes, many of the jokes in this movie went out to die.("I've decided to supersize my [falafal] balls," says an old man at a Middle Eastern-fastfood restaurant.) Really inexcusable were lines, meant to shed depth on the titular characters, but came out of absolutely nowhere and just confused me. For example, a confrontation between Zack(Prinze) and his father plays out horribly cliched, especially because Zack's complaints don't appear based in reality. Another artist mocks Laney(Cook) for no reason and refers to something that the viewer hasn't even witnessed in the movie. "She's All That" was set over a six week time span pre-Prom, but surprisingly little takes place, not enough to fill up more than a week by my reckoning.
I don't know why this movie has been treated so favorably on IMDB. At this point, "She's all that" is rated in the mid-6s--above, "Top Gun", "Spaceballs", "White Men Can't Jump", and "Risky Business". Heck, the far better "Can't Hardly Wait" was cut from the same cookie cutter mold and targeted at the same group, and most like this movie more. My only guess is that viewers like the young, talented cast. Cook was beautiful and Prinze and the rest of the cast were cute, though they didn't work great together. This is the exact kind of shlock that gets packaged together and trotted out to high school kids every graduation. Thumbs down from me.
Any Given Sunday (1999)
Settles for a Field Goal
Sports movies are notoriously disappointing as 'serious' films(with the notable exceptions of "Hoosiers", "White Men Can't Jump", "Major League" and a sad few others). Unfortunately, "Any Given Sunday" falls more into the former category than the latter.
It's really a shame. I had been waiting for this movie ever since I first heard mention of it. If anyone can do justice to the epic nature of a football team and league, I believed, it could be Oliver Stone and his first-rate cast. Yet Stone has fallen victim to the meatloaf principle. A meatloaf is only good as long as you put in what you need to make it; when you start getting all the unneccessary ingredients, it's not really a meatloaf anymore. Stone's stunt casting detracts from establishing characters, and while the plethora of subplots and roles may be realistic, it doesn't help the viewability of the film much.
"Any Given Sunday" also gets boring, which isn't what you expect or want to see out of a high-octane machoismo football movie. Maybe its the length, maybe its the plot. Personally, I blame it on the characters. You just don't LIKE any of them about halfway through the film, and you just can't have that. As a friend said, "they were all too hypocritical." Once again, that might be realistic, but it doesn't help make the movie more enjoyable. Other concerns include jumpy camera angles that open the film and leave the viewer confused, and a loud soundtrack that drowns out some important dialogue.
This is a movie that begins with a Vince Lombardi quote, and to aim that high means that not all is bad. Certainly, the actual football scenes smack of realism and the end is worth waiting for. The credits also add a great dimension to the film, and the Pacino and Foxx performances weren't bad. Lawrence Taylor could have been an all-pro actor if he had more than the occasional appearance, and LL Cool J was in his usual charismatic mode. Isolated events aside, however, Stone has just bit off more than he can chew in this film. While "Any Given Sunday" isn't even close to the mediocrity of say, "Varsity Blues", it really just isn't a good movie, let alone a sports one.
American Movie (1999)
American tale
At several points in "American Movie," would-be filmmaker Mark Borchadt is forced to confront what compels him on a trail with seemingly few rewards. A constant refrain is heard in his answers. He doesn't want to work the forgettable life of a newspaper boy; he wants to achieve celebrity. Why? Though Mark doesn't quite know, his volumnious collection of scripts and tomes underscores his simple love of film.
Yet "American Movie" is brutally honest in its treatment of Mark. While it allows his dreams of making "the great American film" to fly free on film, it also captures a life filled with lower-class constraints and realities. Despite all of Mark's desire, his motivation is frequently lost in a life gush with alcohol. Hence, the making of Borchadt's film, "Coven", goes from 6 months to 3 years and the movie suffers a bit from being drawn out.
"American Movie" is rife with memorable supporting characters and Mark is an able lead. This film is really the story of two filmmakers, the one in front of the camera and the one behind. Director Chris Smith has already received his plaudits, and once "American Movie" makes the rounds of the indy circuit, Mark Borchadt will also have his share of fame. Maybe then he'll know what to do with it.
Passions (1999)
Different but OK
I never watch soap operas. Every time I was home from school and tried to watch one, I was always mystified by the seemingly intricate plots. Besides, soaps seemed aimed at adult women and homemakers.
Not the case with Passions. Before I came back to college, I caught fifteen minutes of one episode and was hooked on what I saw. It wasn't good by conventional standards; the characters weren't deep or intriguing and the acting was relatively mediocre.
Yet the actresses were cute. All of them. And they were all relatively young. The youth factor just seemed like a big break from the typical soap operas I had seen in passing before, and that alone was enough for me to be interested. I disagree with the previous commenter who feels that Passions is for "little ones." I don't think many high schoolers would catch this show on TV, since it plays at 1 PM here, but it could really succeed because it appeals to the niche market of college students, who are willing to watch almost any kind of television. For example, my two housemates now watch Passions with me after they previously mocked me incessantly. The only show we used to watch together on a regular basis was Sportscenter.
The subplots are all fairly interesting, and as others have noted, kind of different than one would expect for a soap. The characters of Timmy and Tabitha are definitely a change. After he first opened his mouth, I wanted to beat up Timmy, or as he would say, "Dubs wants to punch Timmy in the face," but even he has grown on me. I can't wait to catch up with the show tomorrow.
Weird Science (1985)
Worse than I remembered
I caught a few minutes of "Weird Science" on television the other night. Boy, I wish I hadn't.
Whereas the TV series was funny for being the goofy and pleasant comedy that the movie aims for, "Weird Science" is only amusing when one realizes how bad it was.
Look at the casting. Anthony Michael Hall was tolerable in other John Hughes' movies as a supporting character, filling the nerd quotient. As a lead, however(even a lead nerd)?...I think that question answers itself. Who was Robert Downey, Jr. supposed to be playing? Were the love interests some of the worst drawn roles ever? The only character I liked was Lisa and Vanessa Angel proved to be a much better choice for the role 10 years later.
There were a lot of great 80's movies about teens and for them, but Weird Science just doesn't belong. The only way I think you'd genuinely like this film is if you believe in ridiculously fantastical plots or Bill Paxton's ridiculously bad haircut.
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Bumbled and jumbled
I knew the movie was going to be a pulpy action flick, but still didn't think "The Last Boy Scout" was going to be such a mess of rough-around-the-edges action scenes and a continuous stream of throwaway dialogue. Granted, its not ALL bad--there are some redeeming funny parts and Wayans and Willis play well off of each other. But the plot? It needs more football, less murky conspiracies that don't make sense. And who thought up the idea of that 13 year old girl? She might be the most unnecessary character ever in a movie. "Last Boy Scout" was good for a few laughs and a little bit of entertainment, but I was surprised it was directed by Tony Scott, who also did "Crimson Tide" and "Enemy of the State." In both you had to think...The only thinking I had to do tonight was to try to decide what the best and worst parts of the movie were. The worst was probably when Bruce Willis started blasting away with a dog puppet on his hand...actually, that may have been the best scene too.
Higher Learning (1995)
Confused Emotions
What a great effort by John Singleton! "Higher Learning", while not as good or focused as his earlier "Boyz N the Hood", certainly deserves a screening and is even more worthy of a subsequent debate, whether internal or not, as to how realistic and meaningful the story related is.
Synopsis (at least at first glance): Several students of varying background come to large, diverse university but find themselves more segmented than ever.
Outcome: Singleton does a good job of making the viewer understand the backstories of the characters he focuses on, especially Omar Epps and Michael Rapaport. Indeed, Epps' story is certainly the best and most worthwhile. However, Rapaport is convincing as an outsider in search of an identity--a role that many college students find themselves in, at least at the beginning of school. Fishburne is terrific (especially in light of his "Matrix" character, which is quite a departure--but not totally--from the stately professor he plays here.)
Since anything else I am going to say is going to be derivative of Roger Ebert's review, which really hit the mark, I can summarize quickly. This is a good movie, but it is in no way realistic. It exaggerates and highlights and twists some realities of the college experience. The movie asks you to "unlearn" at its finale; I ask you to decide why it comes to this conclusion.
Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1990)
Teen genius
Like its contemporary on Nickelodean, "Clarissa Explains It All", Fox's early hit "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" was a show featuring a teenage protagonist sporting an attitude of mastery of one's environment. However, hidden in within the plot lines was a hint of the insecurity that all teens face.
The stories follow Parker Lewis(Corin Nemec) and his two friends, the suave Mikey and the nerdy Jerry. They do battle with a cold-hearted principal and Parker's spiteful younger sister, while somehow navigating the strange worlds of high school.
This amusing show was one of Fox's staples during its earlier years, and went into brief syndication. Look for fan favorite Abraham Benrubi(Jerry on "ER") as the recurring character of Kubiac, a hulking, basically non-speaking giant of a high school student.