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the deleted scenes for Star Trek are sweet. They def should;ve included them and changed the way Kirk meets the old Spock to there original plan.
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Don't think so. I did grow up with "The Shat" but I'm not one of those so blinded by his awesomeness I love everything Trek that he was involved in. Hell, just look at the review for ST:TMP, in which I was far harsher.
Didn't watch them. If I ever buy it, or somehow wind up with it in my possession otherwise, I'll have to check them out.Comment
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Dell's Classics Presents:
The Virgin Spring AKA Jungfrukällan
1960. Not Rated, 89 minutes.
Director: Ingmar Bergman.
Starring Max von Sydow, Birgitta Pettersson, Gunnel Lindblom, Birgitta Valberg.
In medieval Sweden, a family sends their teenage daughter to deliver candles to the church since they must be delivered by a virgin. Along the way, she meets up with a trio of vagrant brothers who have other plans for the afternoon. It's a revenge tale different than most in that it does more than pay lip service to the possible religious ramifications. It seriously examines where the act of vengeance fits into the spiritual scheme of things. In fact, it deals with faith in general but in a way that's demonstrative, not overly preachy. This sets up the final scene and gives it far more resonance than most of the films it inspired. Not only does this include the two versions of The Last House on the Left, which basically rip it framework and replace the guts with more contemporary and goofier parts, but any number of revenge flicks made since. In most of those movies, revenge is completely gleeful activity. Here, it is something very different and more genuine with regards to how most people would probably react to themselves as opposed to how we'd like to think we'd carry ourselves. That said, modern audiences may find it a bit slow, the dialogue a bit unnatural in places and the choreography of our two action scenes a bit too, well, choreographed. If you like either or both of "The Last House" films I suggest taking a look at this, if for no other reason than seeing where the story originated and gauging how it was updated, first for the 1970s and then again in 2009. If you haven't seen either of those but plan to, I say start here for the same reason. The latter two might be more exciting in the visceral sense but this actually leaves you something to ponder. Subtitleophobes beware, we're speaking Swedish.
MY SCORE: 10/10
PS: Thanx to nflman for this one.Last edited by dell71; 12-09-2009, 09:48 PM.Comment
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Push
2009. Rated PG-13, 111 minutes.
Director: Paul McGuigan.
Starring Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou, Camilla Belle.
Plot: A top secret government agency hunts down people with special abilities in an effort to create super-soldiers.
The Good: Its a visually entertaining movie. Stuff is constantly whizzing across the screen. That includes bodies as what we have here is basically a chase movie involving telekinetics and psychics. As our lead, Chris Evans is solid and has a nice chemistry with Dakota Fanning. Fanning gives her usual blank stare laced performance but for some reason is less creepy to me than normal, landing her in the "good" section.
The Bad: In an effort to be complex things get a bit convoluted. Not terribly so, but that means lots of strands are introduced and not all of them are resolved. More of a problem is that it comes like another attempt to make X-Men more of a real world story. It lacks the intriguing characters, dynamic villain (though Hounsou is cool, as usual), and social commentary that makes X-Men tick, relying on action and lots of twists that often don't go anywhere.
The Ugly: Me, just wishing I had the power to "push" people.
Recommendation: If you're just looking for an action flick, it has enough excitement to likely do the trick. Use 2008's Jumper as a guide. They're fairly similar in plot but this, while not great, is far better.
The Opposite View: Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
What the Internet Says: 6.0/10 on imdb.com (12/7/09), 23% on rottentomatoes.com, 36/100 on metacritic.com
MY SCORE: 6/10Comment
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Miss March
2009. Rated R, 90 minutes (unrated DVD version).
Director: Zach Cregger.
Starring Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Raquel Alessi, Craig Robinson.
Plot: Eugene (Cregger) wakes from a coma after four years to discover that his high school sweetheart, Cindi (Alessi), has become a Playboy playmate. He and his bestest bud Tucker (Moore) set out on a cross-country journey to the Playboy mansion in an effort to reunite with his old flame.
The Good: Every once in a while, one of the many sight gags and prat falls tickles you in just the right spot. Fans of the Apatow group of comedies (I Love You, Man, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, etc) might get some enjoyment out of Craig Robinson who gives us essentially the same persona here as he does in those films. His character's name is actually funny, Horsedick.mpeg (that last part actually pronounced "dot em peg"), and they get good mileage from that.
The Bad: Everything else. There is an art to making a juvenile comedy about getting laid (I forgot to mention our hero's a virgin) which includes lots of gratuitous nudity and/or gross humor. It's been done, see Animal House, Porky's, American Pie or even the overrated Superbad. These guys, and by "these guys" I mean our two heroes who not only play the lead roles but co-wrote the screenplay while Cregger directs...these guys include the nudity and plenty of gross but its largely artless. Its an excercise in pushing the envelope of good taste. I'm okay with that but you have to make me laugh while pushing. This doesn't, it just routinely mistakes disgusting and/or stupid for funny. Think back to There's Something About Mary. It gave us one of the most hilarious scenes of all time and it involved sperm. What happens with it and why are what's funny. This movie obviously thinks the sperm all by itself is just hysterical. Its as if a 14 year old boy who watches all of those National Lampoon's straight-to-DVD releases were given free reign to make his own movie. However, that's fitting since I can actually see this being popular with teenage males.
The Ugly: Three words: Involuntary bowel movement.
Recommendation: This is basically a ripoff of the Tom Green vehicle Road Trip, only not as funny. While certainly no masterpiece, RT is far superior to this bucket of scuz. Skip this and watch RT again. If you just have to see it, understand that if the mere sight of breasts onscreen doesn't make you giggle and blush, you're probably too mature to enjoy it.
The Opposite View: Ken McIntyre, Total Film
What the Internet Says: 4.9/10 on imdb.com (12/9/09), 4% on rottentomatoes.com, 7/100 on metacritic.com
MY SCORE: 1/10
Sidenote: This movie has caused me to lose what I thought was an unshakeable faith in this man:
The Hef plays himself in Miss March. That alone, isn't what causes the loss of faith. What does it is this: Robert Wagner originally played Hef. When the rough cut was shown to the man himself to gain his approval, he found it so damned hilarious he insisted on playing himself in the movie. Really, Hef? In the words of the fellas on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown, "C'mon, man!"
If you don't believe me, take his word for it...
[youtube]R8tRo8iA_yk[/youtube]
Either senility has kicked in or Viagra has fried his brain.Comment
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hahaha i cant believe you watched this. this is the worst movie ever for me. i tuned this trash off 20-30 mins or so into it.Comment
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I was kinda hopin' for so bad its awesome, I just got really fucking bad.Comment
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"16 year old Jimmy tell your 18 year old brother Black Dynamite where you got the smack!"
Black Dynamite
2009. Rated R, 90 minutes.
Director: Scott Sanders.
Starring Michael Jai White, Salli Richardson, Kevin Chapman, Tommy Davidson.
Plot: When he finds out that his brother's been murdered, Black Dynamite (White) set out to find the jive turkey responsible and make him pay. Can you dig it?
The Good: It painstakingly recreates the look and feel of a real blaxploitation flick. This includes lots of the flubs the genre is known for. The funniest of these being the editing "mistakes" is which something causes star Michael Jai White to seemingly come out of character for a moment, often talking or gesturing directly to the audience before an abrupt cut. It works everytime. Speaking of White, he gets double kudos here. I've never been a big fan of his actual acting but he gives what's easily the best performance of his career, he's simply note-perfect. He's also co-writer of the screenplay. I didn't know he had it in him. As a welcome addition, blaxploitation isn't the only targe. Seventies standard and one of my all time faves, Enter the Dragon also gets a healthy skewering. Overall, a large number of movies are referenced here but don't overwhelm the film like they do in the Scary Movie, Date Movie, etc franchise. Instead, they're nicely incorporated into the movie as part of its own narrative which even manages to get in some apt social commentary.
The Bad: A couple of gags are overused. In particular, the one where someone instantly starts crying when speaking about a loved one who's "in trouble" gets old fast. The first time or two Kym Whitley does it, its funny. The next thirty times when everyone else in the movie does it, its tedious. Also, there's too much Tommy Davidson for my taste. Somehow, in a movie purposely overdone to spoof genre full of movies known for being over the top, he still overdoes. I'd have much rather seen he and Arsenio Hall, who has a bit part, switch roles.
The Ugly: The very brief appearance of Abraham Lincoln...yes Abraham Lincoln...is a symbolic stroke of satiric genius.
Recommendation: Here's the part where you question my judgment. If you know me, you might know that I count I'm Gonna Git You Sucka among the very best spoofs ever made. Made by the Wayans family way back when they were actually funny, its a brilliant send-up of the blaxploitation genre. I feel very comfortable saying BD is at least as good and far better than the other popular movie of its kind, Undercover Brother. I'm sure the fact that I've seen and enjoyed dozens of blaxploitation flicks and watched Enter the Dragon dozens of times has something to do with it. Enjoying spoofs requires knowledge of the source material to use as a reference point and the ability to see the ridiculousness in that material. For this movie I have a huge point of reference and there's no denying the genre's ridiculousness. Knowing this, if you watch it and tell me its the dumbest thing you ever laid eyes on I'll understand. I'll just be thinking the opposite.
The Opposite View: A.O. Scott, New York Times
What the Internet Says: 7.7/10 on imdb.com (11/20/09), 84% on rottentomatoes.com, 65/100 on metacritic.com
MY SCORE: 10/10Comment
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lol @ giving Stark Trek a 7/10 and then giving Push a 6/10
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Haven't seen it.Originally posted by cbgolfer13
meh...I thought ST was good, not great - a solid popcorn flick. I understand everyone else is falling all over themselves praising it but while it entertained me, it didn't knock my socks off. I sorta like Push, even though most people seem to hate it. I give all movies I "sorta like" a 6.Comment
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The Janky Promoters
2009. Rated R, 85 minutes.
Director: Marcus Raboy.
Starring Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Young Jeezy, Little JJ.
Plot: Two scheisty local promoters try to pull off a Young Jeezy (playing himself) concert despite not really having the funds necessary to do so.
The Good: What if Craig and Day-Day from the Friday franchise became incompetent club promoters? That's about how it feels since its pretty much just Cube and Epps doing their thing while misleading rapper Young Jeezy. For some, that'll be enough to make it a winner. Young comedian Little JJ, who plays Cube's son and wannabe rapper Young ... shows some promise as a comedic actor as well.
The Bad: Its a paint-by-numbers job that tries to expand what has been a subplot in other, better movies into a full-length feature. Even worse, way too many of the jokes are either predictable, flat or both. Only the abilities of its main stars keep it from being totally unwatchable. Neither should be preparing an acceptance speech for their work but they're personas we're familiar with and have enjoyed before. Still, it never fully draws us in nor gives us a sense of closure as we get a disingenuously happy ending (not really a spoiler, you just know everything's gonna be okay from the start).
The Ugly: How Cube's fiance helps him blow up a couple balloons. Nice.
Recommendation: If you're a big fan of either Cube or Epps, or you just have to see Young Jeezy play himself then have at it. Otherwise skip it, you're not missing any riveting cinema.
The Opposite View: Joe Leydon, Variety
What the Internet Says: 4.2/10 on imdb.com (12/11/09), 25% on rottentomatoes.com (only 4 reviews), NA on metacritic.com
MY SCORE: 4.5/10Comment
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new Star Trek = 10/10Comment
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Orphan
2009. Rated R, 123 minutes.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra.
Starring Vera Farmiga, Isabelle Fuhrman, Peter Sarsgaard, Aryana Engineer.
Plot: After the pregancy of what would've been their third child ends in miscarriage, the Coleman family decides to adopt. They settle on nine year old Esther (Fuhrman) and get a lot more than they bargained for.
The Good: It does a great job creating atmosphere. The whole thing has a dark, brooding temperament. As our adoptive mom Kate, Vera Farmiga is perfectly fragile while hubby John (Sarsgaard) is perfectly oblivious. We can see the two effectively being played against one another by the evil Esther. Speaking of Esther, the movie pulls no punches when it comes to her dastardly deeds and creepiness. At first, the coming and going of her Russian accent bothers you but trust me, there's reason for that. Its all part of a great setup for a wonderfully silly twist that might make you shake your head but works well, regardless, given what happens to that point and enables the movie to give us a really creepy scene involving a lot of makeup towards the end.
The Bad: There are a few plotholes to be found and liberties taken with the legal process (Social Services should've intervened several times). More bothersome is how quickly John is ready to put his wife out, given the circumstances, and also how much of a wuss their son is. If he had manned up like we thought he would this might've been a very different and much shorter movie. For us folks over thirty, the whole thing is very reminiscent of The Good Son which starred Macauley Culkin in the evil kid role.
The Ugly: There's a disclaimer at the start of the movie basically begging us to adopt. Of course in the movie that follows, the orphan lies, steals, commits murder and all out terrorizes the family that adopts her.
Recommendation: Its a fun, over the top thriller that builds nicely until we get a twist you can't see coming. It absolutely works within the context of the film. Some may find it a bit silly. Those people will insist its a terrible movie and compare it to the worst of M. Night Shyamalan. For the rest of us, its an exciting ride that will keep us far away from the orphanage.
The Opposite View: Cliff Doerkson, Chicago Reader
What the Internet Says: 7.2/10 on imdb.com (12/11/09), 55% on rottentomatoes.com, 42/100 on metacritic.com
MY SCORE: 7/10Last edited by dell71; 12-13-2009, 12:02 PM.Comment
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