Buttered Popcorn: Buzzmans Movie Review Thread

[BrntO4Life]

Have you seen The King's Speech? If not, I'd recommend it.

 

[Buzzman]

Have you seen The King's Speech? If not, I'd recommend it.

seeing that bitch tomorrow.

 

[tigstah]

going to d/l devil tonite.....will be up for awhile

 

[Buzzman]

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010)

While Horvath (Alfred Molina) and Drake (Toby Kebbell) plot to restore Morgana Le Fay (Alice Krige) to power, master sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) makes physics student Dave Stutle (Jay Baruchel) his apprentice, teaching him enough magic to save the world from sure ruin.

Do you remember that live-action adaptation of Fantasia you’ve always been clamoring for? Have no fear because it has finally arrived and Nic Cage gets another shot at showing off his new beast sitting upon his head.

Right from the start, the film gives off an extremely cheesy vibe with a quick story recap about the betrayal of Horvath and how Balthazar preserved their lives in order to save them. Then begins his century’s long quest to discover Merlin’s successor and save the woman he loves. Don’t worry; it’s not as sappy as it sounds. It wants to be fun. As soon as Dave is found, dragons appear breathing fire all over the place, shitty cars transform into sports cars on the go, and plasma bolts get shot all over the place. It never tries to be something deeper, but that’s not a bad thing because it’s exactly what they aimed for, a family fun adventure.

The territory that comes with that though drags the film down. The film tries to force its humor upon you as if you’d laugh at anything but most of these moments linger on in awkward silence because they missed the punch line. The films villain was also a bit of a letdown because he just wasn’t menacing at all. At no point did he ever seem like he was a threat. Maybe that was because Molina himself isn’t menacing, but he’s shown in Spiderman 2 that he can provide a great adversary. It’s disappointing because Cage actually showed up in this one. He’s never amazing, not even great, but he seemed to be having fun and his odd behavior matched his character.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice isn’t want Disney had in mind when they planned it. It can be fun at times, but too often its plot got messy and you might get a little bored. IF you have a date night or you kids want to watch a film, Apprentice wouldn’t be a terrible selection. You’ll enjoy some, if not, most of it and get to see another hairpiece in the increasingly famous Cage lineup.

Overall Score: 5/10

 

[dell71]

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)

Overall Score: 5.5/10

Not at all my favorite Bat-movie, but I enjoyed it.

 

[Buzzman]

The King’s Speech (2010)

Britain's King George VI (Colin Firth) struggles with an embarrassing stutter for years until he seeks help from unorthodox Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Logue's pioneering treatment and unlikely friendship give the royal leader a sense of confidence that serves him and his country well during the dark days of World War II.

The King’s Speech might be the saddest movie of 2010. Watching George throughout most of the film struggling to find his voice is such a brutal experience to watch. From the very first scene, George loses any form of dignity he had, and it never gets any better. Every scene feels as if you’re watching him slowly die inside, and there is nothing he can do to change that.

Slowly though, as he starts to bond with his speech therapist and trust him more, he seems to finally overcome his fears and be the leader he was born to be. Then rock bottom suddenly crushes back upon him, and you get the sense no matter how hard he tries, failure will always await him.

These repetitive ups and downs might weigh down any other film, but not this one. All thanks are due to Colin Firth and the absolute brilliant performance he gives. He immerses himself so well into character; you’d honestly think he had a stutter problem himself. I didn’t think anyone could come close to Franco’s performance in 127 Hours, but Firth matches and carries the film just as great, and as long as either one of them win the Oscar, all will be right in the world. His therapist, played by Geoffrey Rush, surprised the shit out of me correlating so well with Firth that they could be best friends in real life. Whenever the film felt like it was getting too depressing, Rush was there to say a pitch perfect joke to lighten the mood and get your attention back again.

After watching such a morbid film, when you get to the end and listen to The King’s Speech it almost brings a tear to your eye. After everything he has had to overcome, he’s finally capable of delivering the one thing he wanted most; to be the voice of the people he loves and cares for dearly. It is one of the best emotional scenes you will see in a film this year. Even if you think this film isn’t your taste, take a chance and give yourself the opportunity to watch something that lets you know dreams can come if you just put some effort into them.


Overall Score: 9/10

 

[Fox1994]

Good reviews. Mediocre movies... Except this last one. I might have to check that out.

 

[BrntO4Life]

I knew you'd like it Buzz. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Really surprised at how many funny moments were in it, but they worked wonderfully.

 

[Maestro]

I'm happy someone else felt the same way about True Grit. When i first saw the trailer is was thinking "eh", then the Johnny Cash song played and i thought "hell yeah this is going to rock".

The trailer was very misleading, much like Daybreakers, it made you think it was going to be a bad ass chase movie, and it turned into a bore. I was disappointed throughout the movie. Like you said Josh Brolin was completely forgettable. I was expecting him to be a tough hardnose badass, he turned out to be a soft dumbass. There was no real action, i was honestly bored to death. Usually when that happens i get a nice OTPHJ from the girlfriend, but since the theater was crowded that didn't even happen. I am failing to see how it holds a 95% on Rotten Tomattoes, granted i've always though that people on there were idiots anyway.

 

[Buzzman]

Season of the Witch (2011)

In 14th-century Europe, a courageous knight (Nicolas Cage) leads a group of weary warriors across impossibly treacherous terrain in order to transport a suspected witch (Claire Foy) believed to be responsible for spreading the devastating Black Plague.

The first thing you have to understand about Season of the Witch is that never at point does it seem like they are trying to be taken seriously, that or they’re just extremely lazy. You see the story takes place during the 14th Century, none of the characters speak with an accent, the clothing looks ridiculous, and none of the characters age in the ten years the movie covers. It’s actually quite the accomplishment to pull all of this off in the same film.

When you first meet Behmen and Felson, they are fighting together during the Crusades and the film shows a montage of “epic” battle scenes over a 10 year span of them killing men in the name of God. When Behmen kills an innocent woman, he begins to question his mission, thinking he’s been deceived in order to benefit the royalty above him. To find redemption, he ends up transporting an ousted witch so that she may receive a fair trial.

This witch is the key to the film. It’s not great acting on her part rather just they rather hide her intentions for most of the film. You can’t tell if she’s a witch but you do know there is something mythical about her. You can’t tell if she really is an evil witch causing the black plague or the innocent looking woman that you always see through Behmen’s eyes. It’s an intriguing question that carries the movie until its climax. It features some cool fight scenes and some not so bad CGI shots.

Cage as the heroic Behman is pathetic in a good way and will never fail in displaying an attractive hairpiece. He overacts in a way only he has perfected. He brings life into a rather dull film. Pearlman and he bicker to each other with the cheesiest lines that are funny once you roll your eyes a bit. If you go into the film knowing you’re not getting top-notch work with your money, you should walk away enjoying what you have just watched.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

 

[BrntO4Life]

Season of the Witch (2011)

In 14th-century Europe, a courageous knight (Nicolas Cage) leads a group of weary warriors across impossibly treacherous terrain in order to transport a suspected witch (Claire Foy) believed to be responsible for spreading the devastating Black Plague.

The first thing you have to understand about Season of the Witch is that never at point does it seem like they are trying to be taken seriously, that or they’re just extremely lazy. You see the story takes place during the 14th Century, none of the characters speak with an accent, the clothing looks ridiculous, and none of the characters age in the ten years the movie covers. It’s actually quite the accomplishment to pull all of this off in the same film.

When you first meet Behmen and Felson, they are fighting together during the Crusades and the film shows a montage of “epic” battle scenes over a 10 year span of them killing men in the name of God. When Behmen kills an innocent woman, he begins to question his mission, thinking he’s been deceived in order to benefit the royalty above him. To find redemption, he ends up transporting an ousted witch so that she may receive a fair trial.

This witch is the key to the film. It’s not great acting on her part rather just they rather hide her intentions for most of the film. You can’t tell if she’s a witch but you do know there is something mythical about her. You can’t tell if she really is an evil witch causing the black plague or the innocent looking woman that you always see through Behmen’s eyes. It’s an intriguing question that carries the movie until its climax. It features some cool fight scenes and some not so bad CGI shots.

Cage as the heroic Behman is pathetic in a good way and will never fail in displaying an attractive hairpiece. He overacts in a way only he has perfected. He brings life into a rather dull film. Pearlman and he bicker to each other with the cheesiest lines that are funny once you roll your eyes a bit. If you go into the film knowing you’re not getting top-notch work with your money, you should walk away enjoying what you have just watched.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

I interned last summer at one of the companies that produced this. We all knew then it would suck.

I had to edit the interview reels of Cage and Perlman. Cage is an idiot through and through.

 

[Buzzman]

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

After coming within one question of winning it all on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?," 18-year-old Mumbai "slumdog" Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is arrested on suspicion that he cheated his way to the top. While in custody, he regales a jaded inspector (Irfan Khan) with remarkable tales of his life on the streets and the story of the woman (Freida Pinto) he loved and lost.

Slumdog Millionaire might’ve ended has a fairytale as old as time, but everything that came before that happy conclusion was a brutal look at one poor man’s reality. From the minute you meet Jamal you instantly root for him. He’s being tortured and ruthlessly interrogated for unfair reasons. In finding how he knew the answers on the millionaire show is where the story begins. It’s a great use of flashbacks too actually have them flow within the story rather than mere clips that interrupt a film’s rhythm.

As you’re taken back into Jamal’s life you witness firsthand the struggles he has gone through and how it has affected both him and his brother. He has been beaten, threatened, and betrayed, but he has developed this notion that everything happens for a reason and fate has him exactly where he’s supposed to be. It’s impossible not to love the guy. He’s completely down in the dumps but still believes his dreams can come true.

By the time that fairytale ending arrives, it’s something that you want to happen; Jamal deserves it. It’s nothing short of a joy to watch. Its themes and messages are what we all want to believe can happen, and this film provides such a reality. Was it the best film of 2008? No, but it certainly deserved all the accolades it racked up. If you still haven’t seen Slumdog Millionaire, then move it near the top of your list. It has earned that much.

Overall Score: 9/10

 

[Buzzman]

The Dilemma (2011)

A delicious comedy about two best friends and business partners -- Ronny (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Kevin James) -- who are about to land a fantastic deal when Ronny learns something about Nick's wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder), that rocks his world. Ronny turns amateur sleuth to determine whether Geneva's cheating on Nick and learns that telling a friend the truth is even more difficult than concealing it.

What would you do if you found out your best friend’s wife was cheating on him? That’s the topic that the film tries to tackle. It’s something that could happen to you at some point, so it should’ve been an interesting watch, and at times you actually catch a glimpse of what could have been. If it would’ve taken the topic seriously, maybe it dwelves more into the husband’s side of the marriage, but instead just quickly forgets about it. That happens far too often in The Dilemma.

The characters don’t help the story make much of an impact either. The way Ronny handles the entire situation is a bit dragged and dumbed down. Vaughn tries his absolute best, but he just can’t seem to find the right script. Being a comedy, they tried to take the funniest route rather than the smartest, and it failed to bring in many laughs. I’ve read people question how Kevin James marries Winona Rider because she’s out of his league, but I can look past that; What I wonder is what qualities does he even bring to win her over. They have nothing in common to make it seem like they once had a flame. I might also add Queen Latifah sort of cameos in one of the weirdest cameos that while funny, didn’t seem to fit with the film.

I’m almost certain if The Dilemma was a hard drama, it could have been a great movie. It had a great scenario that could have pushed the boundaries of the topic. Instead we got a mediocre comedy that is short on laughs and always skates along the edge of the serious questions it comes to face. Rather disappointing from Director Ron Howard and a personal favorite Vince Vaughn.

Overall Score: 5/10

 

[Buzzman]

Knight and Day (2010)

Perpetually unlucky in love, June (Cameron Diaz) becomes intrigued by a mysterious man named Roy (Tom Cruise), who unexpectedly drags her into a whirlwind adventure involving devious enemies, life-threatening confrontations and a major discovery that may alter the future of humankind.

This was supposed to be the movie that brought Tom Cruise back into the spotlight as box office king. The trailers showed a little bit of charm and charisma that he had as a young face in Hollywood and seemed to offer a cheesy over the top action flick. Misleading though they weren’t, the final product was a bit messy.

From the minute you meet Roy, he’s supposed to be a complete badass. He can take down a slew of men without dropping a sweat, fly a plane falling out of the sky, and still have enough swagger to hit on June all at the same time. He might be a little entertaining at first, but eventually he runs himself to be a jackass who you want to see die. When your main character manages this feat, something had to go wrong. I’m almost positive the biggest problem comes from Cameron Diaz playing as June, the helpless damsel who’s an annoying little twat that has nothing unique about her to help you understand why Roy goes gaga for. It’s a big reason I ended up disking him so much. Apparently the line “Love makes you do stupid things” hold true here.

Did I not mention the story yet? O yea Roy is a spy who appears to be good, then bad, then good again. It goes back and forth until the ambiguity of it becomes more of a bore then a smart tactic for the story. He just happens to drag June along for the ride. If you happen to catch this film, you might not end up loathing it as much as I, but it won’t ever be anything more than a mediocre action flick. I found the film Killers (similar plot, same release month) to be a little more enjoyable to sit through.

Overall Score: 2/10

 

[Buzzman]

Megamind (2010)

When a cunning supervillain (voiced by Will Ferrell) accidently kills his crime-fighting nemesis, the rogue suddenly finds life boring and uninspired. So, he creates a new enemy (Jonah Hill) who seeks to destroy the world, forcing Megamind to play the hero role for once in his life.

What if Lex Luthor had managed to kill Superman? Dreamworks explores that scenario in this comical animation, Megamind. The focal point of the villain gives it a rather fresh perspective on the same-old story. You get an idea of what the ending is right away, but it was still nice to see the plan fall into place for Megamind and defeat Metroman. The onslaught is a bit hilarious after this victory. He’s in a bit of shock of winning and feels on top of the world, but as time passes by he starts to wonder what’s the point in being evil if there is no good to try and stop you. Here is where he comes up with the fail proof plan of creating a superhero to battle, but it ends up backfiring and he ends up having to save the day. It’s a bit predictable, but still entertaining.

One of the great things about the film is the constant references to old superhero tales and pop culture references if you can catch them throughout the film. It can be very funny to two different people for entirely different reasons. That in itself is why this animation is fun to watch and more than just a silly cartoon; it’s smart comedy for all ages.

Megamind was the second film to use the villain approach and if this is the jumpstart to a new take on the good vs. evil genre, it’s gotten off to a great start with Despicable Me and now Megamind. Dreamworks really hit the homerun out of the park this year with not one, but two great animations that not only did well financially, but succeeded in telling a story worth sharing. We seem to be in an animation period of dominance. We need to enjoy it while it lasts.

Overall Score: 7.5/10

 

[Buzzman]

And Soon the Darkness (2010)

Two American friends, Ellie (Odette Yustman) and Stephanie (Amber Heard), set out for a bike trip through Argentina, eager to explore its spectacular beauty. One afternoon, Stephanie disappears, and as darkness encroaches, so does Ellie's panic and desperation. Virtually alone in a foreign land, she wonders if either of them will get home alive.

A few years ago Hollywood got into a trend of what most people ended up calling torture porn. They were films that combined nudity with vast amounts of unnecessary gore for the entertainment of its viewers. After a while things started to die down, and Saw seemed to be the only series left in the genre. You occasionally got a knock-off that tried to duplicate its success but none ended up being very good. That’s where And Soon the Darkness comes in. It seemed to have come five years too late. Not that it would have made a difference anyway. It’s downright awful and should be an embarrassment for all parties involved.

It takes place in some foreign country, and follows two adventurous young woman who obviously don’t care what happens to them as they constantly make absurd decisions about their day to day activities. It’s almost as if they wanted something to go wrong and one to go missing. Once the one goes missing, the other goes on a dreadfully boring walk to find her. Through luck and coincidence, she finds her friend and hilarity ensues on what eventually happens. It’s is one of the worst endings to one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.

They even waste the potential to offer any type of thrill with Amber Heard and Odette Yustman in a film that should scream sex scene. And Soon the Darkness was a straight-to-video crapfest that ends up being one of the most boring films ever made and takes the honor of being my worst movie of 2010. You should only watch to agree with me.

Overall Score: 0/10

 

[tigstah]

Megamind (2010)

When a cunning supervillain (voiced by Will Ferrell) accidently kills his crime-fighting nemesis, the rogue suddenly finds life boring and uninspired. So, he creates a new enemy (Jonah Hill) who seeks to destroy the world, forcing Megamind to play the hero role for once in his life.

What if Lex Luthor had managed to kill Superman? Dreamworks explores that scenario in this comical animation, Megamind. The focal point of the villain gives it a rather fresh perspective on the same-old story. You get an idea of what the ending is right away, but it was still nice to see the plan fall into place for Megamind and defeat Metroman. The onslaught is a bit hilarious after this victory. He’s in a bit of shock of winning and feels on top of the world, but as time passes by he starts to wonder what’s the point in being evil if there is no good to try and stop you. Here is where he comes up with the fail proof plan of creating a superhero to battle, but it ends up backfiring and he ends up having to save the day. It’s a bit predictable, but still entertaining.

One of the great things about the film is the constant references to old superhero tales and pop culture references if you can catch them throughout the film. It can be very funny to two different people for entirely different reasons. That in itself is why this animation is fun to watch and more than just a silly cartoon; it’s smart comedy for all ages.

Megamind was the second film to use the villain approach and if this is the jumpstart to a new take on the good vs. evil genre, it’s gotten off to a great start with Despicable Me and now Megamind. Dreamworks really hit the homerun out of the park this year with not one, but two great animations that not only did well financially, but succeeded in telling a story worth sharing. We seem to be in an animation period of dominance. We need to enjoy it while it lasts.

Overall Score: 7.5/10

i saw a few references. it was really boring. Despicable Me was a much better movie. i wouldnt rate megamind that high...more of a 5/10

 

[Buzzman]

Love and Other Drugs (2010)

Pharmaceutical representative Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) becomes a player in the big game of male-performance-enhancement-drug sales and, along the way, finds unexpected romance with a woman (Anne Hathaway) suffering from Parkinson's disease.

The very first impression I have about Love and Other Drugs is how in the world it was ever mentioned as a sleeping Oscar contender. There is nothing about the film that screams unique. It was said to be a different kind of romantic comedy than all the rest, but outside of the woman having Parkinson’s disease, it follows the same ordinary storyline we have come to expect out of this type of shit.

The film attempts to sell its two lead characters as something more than they actually are. It’s pretty obvious a few minutes after you meet them that they are exactly what they appear to be. Jamie is underachieving ladies’ man who struggles to find his purpose in life. I don’t want to say Jake Gyllenhaal was bad, but he didn’t exactly impress in the slightest. Anne Hathaway on the other hand continues to impress as an actress. She’s not great, but she leaves a far greater impression on an otherwise forgettable film. Her portrayal of the disease is scary realistic if you’ve witnessed it firsthand.

Once you meet the characters, you have an idea of where it’s headed but this small doubt that you could be wrong sticks in your head because if it strays down the path you know it’s going then how could it be anything more than a typical chick flick? Unfortunately it never takes that left turn to something far more depressing and unique and stays on the safe comfortable road. What exactly did that earn them? A shitty box office, mild reception, and no awards to show for it; Congratulations on creating something ordinary in every way imaginable.

Overall Score: 4.5/10

 

[CrimsonGhost56]

buzzman gets a 0/10 for even watching that movie

 

[SOS4Prez]

I feel as though Love and Other Drugs was on the right direction, but just gave in to being an average, slightly more raunchier than usual, romantic comedy. Hathaway was good and deserves praise, but Gyllenhaal...where's Donnie Darko? Where's the Holden Caulfield rip-off? Prince of Persia and Love and Other Drugs. Yikes. Dude's 2010 was almost as bad as his 2005-2009 was good. He better knock the shit out of Source Code because I don't think I can handle such a talent becoming so inconsistent.