Dell's Good, Bad & Ugly Movie Reviews

[dell71]

haha Ebert gave Lakeview Terrace four stars. No offense, but what a terrible choice. Kind of like him giving Knowing four stars just recently. i KNOW it wont be THAT good.

I like Ebert but sometimes he's a bit too lenient.

Then again, I might be a bit too harsh...


High School Musical 3: Senior Year
2008. Rated G, 112 minutes.
Director: Kenny Ortega. Starring Zac Effron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu.
High school sweethearts, Troy (Effron) and Gabriela (Hudgens), as well as their classmates, have to deal with separation anxiety as graduation looms. Singing and dancing ensues. It does exactly what it wants to do. It gives it's target audience a romanticized, asexual, insulated from the real world version of high school in which every problem can be dealt with by an inoffensive pop tune complete with 1980s music-video styl group dance numbers. By the way, saying these kids have "problems" is overstating it quite a bit. They have inconveniences that slightly detract from the perfection of their lives. Adults in this world exist merely so we know they actually exist. The exception to this is the great and powerful drama teacher. Seriously. The whole thing is a rather innocuous affair that my pre-pubescent daughters both love. Honestly though, all that cheese just upsets my stomach. There, all better. MY SCORE: 3/10


And for something from the complete opposite end of the spectrum...



Mysterious Skin
2005. Rated R, 99 minutes.
Director: Greg Araki. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jeffrey Licon.
Neil (Gordon-Levitt) and Brian (Corbet) each have traumatic experiences when they are eight years old. A decade later, they both journey into manhood with the weight of these experiences still adversely affecting their emotional growth. The two stories are written parallelly at first but connect in a way that's both plausible and disturbing. Neil obviously prefers to go it alone and deal with his problems by himself. Conversely, Brian is always looking for help. Strangely, the dialogue of the characters each boy is surrounded with is filled with constant warnings as if these people collectively make up the conscience of the movie. Of course, we note pretty consistently that Neil, in particular, should heed some of these warnings. Speaking of Neil, he makes the movie tick. He is at once troubled and troubling to watch because he is hell-bent on trying to recreate an experience he should never have had in the first place. Finally, as the movie ends it has given us a solution to one problem but intriguingly leaves us with another and plenty of possibilities to ponder. This is definitely not your typical "bucke of popcorn, family movie night" flick. Its more something to put on when you're in the mood for something dark and thought provoking. Homophobes beware: Neil nor the movie is shy about his sexuality or sexual escapades. MY SCORE: 9/10

[Berowsk]

Joseph Gordon-Levitt bears a striking resemblance to Heath Ledger...



oh and the kid in the middle is the dude from the brothers garcia, if anybody remembers that show

[dell71]

If you're gonna claim he looks like Heath Ledger, at least give us a pic of Heath Ledger.

Since I'm only here to help...




meh...I wouldn't say "a striking resemblance"...a passing resemblance maybe.

[Berowsk]

enough of a resemblance to play the joker.. lol

[Shwayzed]

Wow, great reviews. Keep 'em coming.

[dell71]

Since I'm up at this ungodly hour, I've dug one up from a couple weeks ago.


In Bruges
2008. Rated R, 107 minutes.
Director: Martin McDonagh. Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ray Fiennes, Clemence Poesy.

Plot: When an assassination in London goes terribly wrong, hitmen Ray (Farrell) and Ken (Gleeson) are ordered to go to the city of Bruges to hide out and await further instructions from their boss Harry (Fiennes).

The Good: Our heroes build a nice camaraderie that serves the story well. It helps that we get excellent performances throughout the cast. Farrell, in particular, gives us a nicely layered portrayal. Fiennes doesn't actually appear until late in the movie but he brings the fireworks when he does. Though it's not action-packed, it maintains a nice pace until we finally get a violent and twisted climax. Finally, the city of Bruges itself is an interesting character. It's simultaneously historical and beautiful to Ken yet plain old and oppressive to Ray. And it even figures in the climax.

The Bad: Though the overall pace is good, it does tend to drag whenever the story shifts into love-story mode. This is because our hero's love interest, Chloe (Poesy), is far more plot device than believable person. She seems to exist merely to make sure Ray is in certain places, doing certain things at certain times. Her screen time develops both the conflict and the solution but not herself. The film could've spent more time making us care about Harry's family. That would've made that ending even more of a doozy.

The Ugly: Ray's run in with a family of "elephants." His words, not mine.

Recommendation: If you read the back of the DVD cover trying to decide if you want to rent this, you'll come across the words "action-packed." That's simply false advertising. However, it is a funny and twisted dark comedy with most of its action back-loaded into its crazy conclusion.

The Opposite View: Tom Charity, CNN

What the Internet Says: 8.1/10 on imdb.com (#201 all time on 2/17/09), 81% on rottentomatoes.com, 67/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 8.5/10

[dell71]

The Miracle at St. Anna
2008. Rated R, 160 minutes.
Director: Spike Lee. Starring Laz Alonso, Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Valentina Cervi.

Plot: After committing a seemingly cold-blooded murder in 1983, former soldier Hector Negron (Alonso) recounts the events in WWII that led to him receiving a Purple Heart.

The Good: As with just about every Spike Lee joint, we get a wonderful looking movie. In this one, he ditches many of his trademark shots for more traditional cinematography but it still looks gorgeous, nonetheless. The story itself is fascinating. It keeps us intrigued with the possibilities of what the miracle could be and how it ties into the beginning of the movie. Interactions between soldiers of the all black 92nd Infantry feels true. In general, the way people react to crisis situations feels real.

The Bad: Spike never lands the ship. He takes us on what's shaping up to be a great journey but the ends don't justify the means. It attempts to go down the same path as Spike's Inside Man. However, where Owen's character in IM works his way through an elaborate maze to a satisfactory finish, our hero in St. Anna shows us the maze he's already gone through in hopes of justifying the unjustifiable. Unlike most of his work, our black soldiers generally fall into easily recognizable stereotypes. Finally, an old Spike problem creeps up: his female lead is poorly drawn. She seems fine for most of the movie but makes an inexplicable decision that feels gratuitous at best.

The Ugly: The conclusion to the massacre scene.

Recommendation: The story-telling on display is outstanding but the story it's telling is not. The ending wants your jaw to drop and for you to say "wow." Painful as it is for me to say, since Spike Lee is my fave director, that doesn't happen. Instead, we get an ending that we can see coming and are left to wonder about a certain legend the locals in Italy kept blathering about. Well, to be fair there is an explanation for the legend but it's lame and seems to hold no meaning. Oh, and what exactly is the miracle? Anyhoo, see it if you're a Spike Lee fan but be warned, this isn't one of his better efforts.

The Opposite View: Lori Hoffman, Atlantic City Weekly

What the Internet Says: 5.8/10 on imdb.com (3/24/09), 34% on rottentomatoes.com, 37/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 5.5/10

[Bigpapa42]

Pretty much exactly how I felt about St. Anna. The pieces were all there, I think, it just really didn't come through. Quite disappointing.

[chazmaniandevil]

in bruges was my top movie of 08

[Buzzman]

In Bruges was a wierd movie if you ask me. The midgets where dumb if you ask me, and so many things had t happen in order foir that ending to happen it was rediculous.

[MVP1991]

In Bruges was a wierd movie if you ask me. The midgets where dumb if you ask me, and so many things had t happen in order foir that ending to happen it was rediculous.

Good thing no one is asking you.

[Matt10]

Dell, would love to hear what you thought about The Departed - I have seen that movie about 10x - one of my favorites. (Worked at blockbuster couple years ago)

[Tailback U]

Must chime in with more In Bruges appreciation.

An all around great flick. With all the CGI and comic book character crap out these days, it's almost shocking to find a great movie built simply on acting, plot, character development and dialogue.

[chazmaniandevil]

"Watch out, the stairs are narrow"

"FUCK YOU MOTHERFUCKER"

[Buzzman]

"Watch out, the stairs are narrow"

"FUCK YOU MOTHERFUCKER"

That part was funny