Dell's Good, Bad & Ugly Movie Reviews

[dell71]

The movie's about racism. I took it as they took the time to learn the Alien language because they were hoping to gain some insight on their technology and it kind of became a Spanish type deal with them living in such close proximity. As for the Nigerians. Color racism was notorious in that 20 year period in South Africa.

Basically Blomkamp was saying, "Yeah they're racist/speciest against the aliens, but they don't like the blacks too much either."

Here's the part you're missing: taken on the surface, the very mechanics of communication dictate speaking in one language or another as each one has different sublteties and nuances that may mean something entirely different in another.

Sheer logic dictates that not every human should be able to understand the aliens with ease, as they were here. Again, every So. African understood the alien language with ease & so did every Nigerian. The aliens understood both English and Nigerian. Going back to my Haitian refugee example, do you think communication is so easy between them and the soldiers/officials who work there on a daily basis?

No doubt, the movie is about racism. The great irony is that the movie itself, not just the So. Africans, is racist against the Nigerians. If it were not, it would've given us at least one Nigerian character who was more than a savage and criminal, which it did not.

[ChemTheThriller]

you ever going to watch hurt locker dell? i seen it a couple months ago and actually enjoyed it. (this is coming from someone that hates 99% of military movies because they usually never are even close to how it really is... but this one only really has one part that is alittle bs)

[Pitty]

Here's the part you're missing: taken on the surface, the very mechanics of communication dictate speaking in one language or another as each one has different sublteties and nuances that may mean something entirely different in another.

Sheer logic dictates that not every human should be able to understand the aliens with ease, as they were here. Again, every So. African understood the alien language with ease & so did every Nigerian. The aliens understood both English and Nigerian. Going back to my Haitian refugee example, do you think communication is so easy between them and the soldiers/officials who work there on a daily basis?

No doubt, the movie is about racism. The great irony is that the movie itself, not just the So. Africans, is racist against the Nigerians. If it were not, it would've given us at least one Nigerian character who was more than a savage and criminal, which it did not.

Another possibility is that neither Humans nor Aliens have the vocal capacity to imitate each other's languages, resulting in a great understanding of each other, but not a communicative middle ground. There's a biological barrier and the only logical choice would be to learn to understand what they are saying, even if they can't speak it.

It's not too farfetched that MNU employees would be required to have a advanced understanding of the Alien language, nor the Nigerians who use them as the base business in their black market.

The great thing about Sci-Fi is that they bring up these arguments, the what-ifs and likelihoods of these hypothetical situations.

[dell71]

you ever going to watch hurt locker dell? i seen it a couple months ago and actually enjoyed it. (this is coming from someone that hates 99% of military movies because they usually never are even close to how it really is... but this one only really has one part that is alittle bs)

Yes, its definitely on my radar. I've been hearing how good it is for a couple months, now. I'll see it when it gets to DVD (don't think it has, yet).

Another possibility is that neither Humans nor Aliens have the vocal capacity to imitate each other's languages, resulting in a great understanding of each other, but not a communicative middle ground. There's a biological barrier and the only logical choice would be to learn to understand what they are saying, even if they can't speak it.

It's not too farfetched that MNU employees would be required to have a advanced understanding of the Alien language, nor the Nigerians who use them as the base business in their black market.

The great thing about Sci-Fi is that they bring up these arguments, the what-ifs and likelihoods of these hypothetical situations.

There are a couple problems, here. The first is with the Nigerians who don't seem educated at all, yet can fully pick up understanding a third language (most of them spoke English, as well) with complete clarity. The same goes for the Aliens who may be from an advanced society but in their time on Earth have no formal education and pick up complete understanding of two languages (only unsure of the meaning of the occasional word).

Finally, the MNU employees are educated but if none of the Aliens have the vocal capability of any human language and presumably no text since none of it sounded like anything you can write down, who teaches the MNU employees the Alien language?

[Buzzman]

I just watched Memnto for the 1st time and the movie was such a mindfuck that I rewatched it right afetr it was done to try and get everything that happened in the movie. It was real sweet though.

[dell71]

I just watched Memnto for the 1st time and the movie was such a mindfuck that I rewatched it right afetr it was done to try and get everything that happened in the movie. It was real sweet though.

Memento is one of my all time faves.

[stevsta]

Here's the part you're missing: taken on the surface, the very mechanics of communication dictate speaking in one language or another as each one has different sublteties and nuances that may mean something entirely different in another.

Sheer logic dictates that not every human should be able to understand the aliens with ease, as they were here. Again, every So. African understood the alien language with ease & so did every Nigerian. The aliens understood both English and Nigerian. Going back to my Haitian refugee example, do you think communication is so easy between them and the soldiers/officials who work there on a daily basis?

No doubt, the movie is about racism. The great irony is that the movie itself, not just the So. Africans, is racist against the Nigerians. If it were not, it would've given us at least one Nigerian character who was more than a savage and criminal, which it did not.

what about the guy training under the main character

[Fox1994]

you ever going to watch hurt locker dell? i seen it a couple months ago and actually enjoyed it. (this is coming from someone that hates 99% of military movies because they usually never are even close to how it really is... but this one only really has one part that is alittle bs)

You seen Platoon? Both my granddad's served in Vietnam. While my paternal grandfather never talks about it, my mother's dad is adamant about his hate of the military, this war, and that one. And he said that's the most realistic one he's seen. It's deep, dark, and depressing. It's gritty... It's just a hell of a movie.

Charlie Sheen (ironically enough) is the main character. Willem Dafoe is in it. Tom Berenger (one of the Wisemen from Training Day) is in it. Keith David is in it. As is Forest Whitaker. It's one of those big-name movies from before they were big names.

Oliver Stone directed it and it's said to be based on his experiences.

lol. You've probably seen it, though... but perhaps all I've said will make someone else see it. :D

[dell71]

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
2009. Rated PG-13, 118 minutes.
Director: Stephen Sommers.
Starring Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols.

Plot: After some mysterious and very high-tech bad guys steal some mysterious and very high-tech warheads, the mysterious and very high-tech G.I. Joe team is called into action.

The Good: Everything goes boom. Let's be honest, despite the fact that the characters are played by real people, it's a two hour cartoon. Recognizing itself as such it keeps its plot simple and gives us plenty of action. The other big toy movie of the summer Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen also focused on non-stop action but it was so long and repetitive, it was boring. It was incoherent, as well. For all of its many flaws, G.I. Joe at least keeps its simplemindedness together and exciting. One strand in particular, the storyline between Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) was far more intriguing than it had any right to be.

The Bad: Everything goes boom. Let's be honest, it's a two hour cartoon. The cringe-worthy dialogue, bad movie science, apparent lack of knowledge of the laws of physics and overall stupidity never let you forget that. And it doesn't help that it mercilessly slathers on the cheese.

The Ugly: "Nanomites" eating you alive from the inside.

Recommendation: People hate this movie because its cheesy and fairly dumb. I look at it a different way: its just as goofy and corny as the tv show that spawned it. If you're a Joe fan from back in the day, go back and watch some of those episodes and be honest with yourself and you'll see what I mean. How many times did a plane blow up and the pilot instantly appears coming out of the flames on a parachute? By the way, this movie even hits that silly notion. It has plenty of shortcomings, but its exactly what it sets out to be: a fun, action-packed, turn your brain off, popcorn flick. "Turn your brain off" is the key phrase. If you can't don't get anywhere near this movie.

The Opposite View: Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

What the Internet Says: 6.0/10 on imdb.com (9/11/09), 37% on rottentomatoes.com, 32/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 6/10

[dell71]

what about the guy training under the main character

Nice...but I'm not sure he's Nigerian (I honestly assumed he was So. African).

You seen Platoon? Both my granddad's served in Vietnam. While my paternal grandfather never talks about it, my mother's dad is adamant about his hate of the military, this war, and that one. And he said that's the most realistic one he's seen. It's deep, dark, and depressing. It's gritty... It's just a hell of a movie.

Charlie Sheen (ironically enough) is the main character. Willem Dafoe is in it. Tom Berenger (one of the Wisemen from Training Day) is in it. Keith David is in it. As is Forest Whitaker. It's one of those big-name movies from before they were big names.

Oliver Stone directed it and it's said to be based on his experiences.

lol. You've probably seen it, though... but perhaps all I've said will make someone else see it. :D

Yes, I've seen it. One of the best war movies, ever.

[Fox1994]

^I was kinda askin' the dude I quoted. lol.

I had hella Nigerian friends in Cali. I wonder if any of them have seen District 9 and how they feel about it.

[dell71]

^I was kinda askin' the dude I quoted. lol.

I had hella Nigerian friends in Cali. I wonder if any of them have seen District 9 and how they feel about it.

Oops.

[dell71]

Adventureland
2009. Rated R, 107 minutes.
Director: Greg Mottola.
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Matt Bush.

Plot: After graduating from college, James (Eisenberg) takes a dead-end job at an amusement park to earn money for a trip to New York City.

The Good: Even though it is, without question, a teen sex comedy it hardly ever resorts to over the top antics the genre is known for. This gives the movie a genuine feel and lets the story develop naturally rather than be pushed along by sight gags. The dialogue also aids in the realism. Its sharp without feeling overwritten and the differing maturity levels of the various characters is easily discernible. The overall effect is we have a film in which the funny things that happen are easily relatable and not just outrageous things that can only happen in the movies.

The Bad: It sacrifices 100 minutes of refreshingly real life humor for 7 minutes of cliched rom-com big finale type stuff. It just feels forced. The other distracting element is while our lead actor (Eisenberg) does a fine job, he has this whole Michael Cera vibe going, even looks like him. Its nearly to the point you start to think he actually is Cera.

The Ugly: What Frigo (Bush) is so fond of doing to James.

Recommendation: Its a lot calmer in demeanor than most teen sex comedies. Yes, despite the fact the main character has just graduated college and most of the characters are in their early twenties, it is a teen sex comedy. It earns this moniker because almost all of these characters are distinctly worried about what their parents think and will do. Anyway, we can relate to it, even more than we laugh at it because it seems like similar stories really play out in similar fashion all over the country every summer. That said, it mostly lacks the roll-on-the-floor-funny moments of something like Superbad, but it doesn't really try for them. And its better for it.

The Opposite View: Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

What the Internet Says: 7.4/10 on imdb.com (9/11/09), 89% on rottentomatoes.com, 76/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 7/10

[Buzzman]

I liked Adventureland, one of my favorite parts is when haders character is trying to figure out what to do with the left out corndogs.

Also with GI Joe, I thoguht it woulda been better if they hadnt fucked up the Cobra Commander, the whole movie, just looking at him made me want to leave but overall i enjoyed the movie.

The Nigerian that was shown "good" the one that is working under the main characotr is still shown racist because they show the aftermath of the battle at the end that he is in prison when hes doing the interviews.

[dell71]

Body of Lies
2008. Rated R, 128 minutes.
Director: Ridley Scott.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani.

Plot: Special Agent Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) tries to track down a high ranking terrorist with the help of his boss back home in the states, Ed Hoffman (Crowe) and Jordanian government official Hani Salaam (Strong).

The Good: It's an intriguing depiction of a three-way power struggle. Their bickering about how to go about the task at hand draws us in as they continually undermine each other. Since DiCaprio is used as the centerpiece, we get frustrated the same as he does when everyone around him is making his already difficult job even harder. Speaking of DiCaprio, he does a very good job, as usual. A very chubby Russell Crowe does, as well. This much is expected. What isn't is how good the rest of the cast is. Finally, the movie gives us a more realistic version of "big brother" watching our every move, without the paranoia of unmanned computers running amok like in such horrible fare as Eagle Eye and Stealth.

The Bad: It wastes an opportunity for a great villain simply by not using him often. He could've been a compelling multi-dimensional character. Instead, he's the same run of the mill Arab/Islamic extremist Hollywood has been cranking out, lately. The love interest, Aisha (Farahani), and her sister are also wasted. She is merely a plot device to get our hero in a certain position and the sister only has one scene. It is a powerful one, so the disappointment is we miss a possibly dynamic addition to the story.

The Ugly: What the hammer does to our hero's fingers. Ouch!

Recommendation: Though the bad guy is a bit lacking, it's an excellent watch because of how the good guys deal with each other. They have various cat and mouse games with one another even moreso than with the villain. Fans of Traitor should enjoy this. Oh, on a sidenote, I just have to mention that Mark Strong as Hani Salaam looks exactly like a dark skinned Andy Garcia. His tailored suits and cool demeanor make me think they were separated at birth.

The Opposite View: Ian Nathan, Empire

What the Internet Says: 7.2/10 on imdb.com (9/14/09), 51% on rottentomatoes.com, 57/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 7.5/10