Buttered Popcorn: Buzzmans Movie Review Thread

[Buzzman]

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Cunningly clumsy Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) meets his match when mysterious beauty Angelica (Penélope Cruz) forces the pirate to join her in search of the Fountain of Youth in the fourth installment of the humorous and action-packed "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Sparrow tries to determine whether Angelica is friend or foe while the riotous adventure sets him aboard a vessel belonging to the fearsome pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane).

If you are like any sane person on this earth, you’ve had enough Pirates of the Caribbean to last you a lifetime. After you saw the first one, you thought they were onto something good, but everything after that just kept getting worse and worse until the third one seemed to kill any good that came away from the first one. Yet here we are with the fourth entry in the franchise that nobody wanted nor asked for.

This time around the film focuses on the fountain of youth and the powers it possesses. Three parties covet to control its powers. The first being the new villain, Blackbeard. A prophecy has been that he will die soon at the hands of Barbosa, so naturally his first place to travel to is the same place Barbosa is headed to. That would be my first choice as well. For no other reason than to introduce a new flame for Jack, Angelica (Cruz) decides to tag along and help save her father’s soul, while dragging Jack along with her. Then you have the Spaniards, who are complete joke and forgotten group. Then you have the British who want it simply because the Spanish want it as well. That’s where Barbosa comes in and begins his journey of other intentions there. The entire thing felt like it was written in one afternoon sitting. The big difference between this installment and the others is at least the others had huge over the top action sets that occasionally made the time pass faster. All you get here is a rather predictable boring story, outside of the surprisingly scary mermaid encounter.

The main reason the film comes off so boring and lazy is old characters feeling stale and the new ones feeling absolutely pointless. Jack Sparrow was always at his best when he was working behind someone rather it be Barbosa, William, or Elizabeth. His humorous behavior and dialogue was never too much. They made the mistake here of focusing just about the entire time on Jack, and this time he felt like last year’s cool toy, but the problem is that something better has come along and he is old news. Then Barbosa is just ridiculous. He has no reason to be here other than that he is a recognizable face. The fact that he’s working with the British seems laughable considering the strict policy they have had on pirates; not to mention Geoffrey Rush looking like he got hit with a make-up covered ugly stick here. Blackbeard is a terrible villain for this kind of movie. Where Barbosa and Davey Jones brought fun into the adventure, Blackbeard is just plain and depressing. McShane acted without emotion the entire time and made you wonder why Angelica wanted to save his soul so much. Cruz as Angelica was so forgettable; I am going to just stop here about her.

Unless you loved the third one, I do not picture many people actually enjoying this. I will say it was better than the third one merely because it was thirty minutes shorter, but it doesn’t offer much that you haven’t already seen before. Do yourself a favor and just pass on by this forgettable entry in a forgettable franchise.

Overall Score: 4/10

 

[Rivers17ncsu]

I was hoping this one would be good too. I'll probably go back and watch all of them in order when possible. I've forgot a lot of stuff from the past movies. Also sad with no K.K.

 

[Buzzman]

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

This is a Documentary.

Amateur filmmaker Thierry Guetta's project to chronicle the underground world of street art takes a fascinating twist when he meets Banksy, an elusive British stencil artist, in this Independent Spirit Award winner for Best Documentary. Unimpressed with Guetta's footage, Banksy takes over filmmaking duties while Guetta reinvents himself as a street artist and -- much to Banksy's surprise -- instantly becomes a darling of the Los Angeles art scene.

This may be one of the most ambitious documentaries I have had the pleasure of watching all the way through. It features an amateur filmmaker named Thierry, who starts discovering the magical underground world of street art. He becomes so addicted to this bizarre new way of life; he must capture it all on his camera. This is essentially what makes up the first half of the story. The people Thierry crosses path with show him this new world and how images he once never noticed were actually small parts of art. The stuff he captures is mostly underwhelming, but once he meets the infamous Banksy, the dam comes down. The end products that come from Banksy’s work truly are magnificent to see, even if we only see them on film, rather than physically in our eyesight. It is not until Banksy starts to be annoyed by Theirry and his view on the garbage he thinks is art that the film turns a 180 on its audience.

The rest of the film not only describes what Banksy thinks of Thierry, but if I understand the message correctly, it is also what he thinks of the people watching. He decides to takeover Thierry’s documentary because it was headed nowhere. Thierry is and will always be an idiot. When Bansky starts displaying Thierry and the show he is going to do, he shows it in a manner that allows the viewer to see how easily people can be manipulated into thinking things. Simply due to the amount of pre-hype Thierry gave his first art exhibit, people flocked to see this new artist in town. We are shown backstage the pointlessness of Thierry work, yet the people seemed to love it because it was expected of them. There is a scene near the end when Thierry spray paints a wall and its completely random junk that many people would indeed call “art”, but then the wall gets torn down and its become the garbage it was in the first place. This simple shot divides the audience into who they are. The kind that loves Thierry and the kind that does not.

The ambiguous interpretation Banksy has on mainstream work allows the film to live on even after the credits roll. It makes you question what art is. How does it come to form? What is the difference between junk and a masterpiece? That is up to you to decide. The debate on whether the characters in this film are real, but does that really matter? The message was loud and clear and this opens up your eyes into that same world. You could very well be Thierry. That’s the brilliance in the way it was shot.

*Now in the only way I can see fitting, this movie is going to get the score I think Banksy wants it to get; A big fat zero. I find it very ironic that Banksy spends an hour telling its audience how easily people can get manipulated into thinking something pointless is valuable, yet here he is getting worldwide critical acclaim to his film. Do I think he loves this film? No, but I do believe he wants his audience to. I am not falling for that one, Banksy, you cannot fool this cat.

Overall Score: 0*/10

 

[Champ]

If you had to put an actual score on the movie what would it be?

 

[Buzzman]

If you had to put an actual score on the movie what would it be?

Unofficially, I'd probably give it a 9.

 

[Buzzman]

The Hangover Part II (2011)

In this booze- and laugh-soaked sequel to The Hangover, the buddies from the earlier film's bachelor party reunite for a wedding trip to Thailand where one of them, Stu Price (Ed Helms), is planning to tie the knot. Stu is determined that his own pre-wedding party should be a restrained and dignified affair, but between the habits of his friends and the multiple distractions of Bangkok, fate has other plans in store for him.

Ah, The Hangover Part II; a sequel that apparently everyone wanted to see based on the box office records it is about to break this opening weekend. They were probably thinking that same thought while coming up with this sequel. I understand completely that you should not deviate too far from the path that made you successful in the first place, but were they really that lazy that they had to use most of the same jokes and situations over again. It is downright pathetic if you were to sit down and compare the two films side by side.

I will be one of the first to say that I thought the original was a hysterical good time. It was a hidden gem that blind-sided you so hard; you could not breathe at times. It was that sense of freshness mixed with a cast with great chemistry that made the film so damn fun to watch, but all of that goes out the door here. That sense of mystery in the first one went by quick because the transition between scenes was smooth, but they rehash the exact same scenario here. Get drugged, wake up with another hangover, find the missing person by retracing your steps, after they call it quits, a sudden epiphany occurs and you save the day at the last possible minute. I am not going to say some of the scenes were not funny because I laughed quite a bit, but at the same time I found myself bored just as much. This wasn’t new; I get the basic storyline, but I just don’t understand why they had to constantly throw the first films jokes at you. When they did throw new material at you, it was funny, even hilarious, but they just didn’t do it enough to have this stay afloat.

Getting to watch the characters throughout another shenanigan was exciting to see, but once again I find myself wondering the originality of them. Alan, the obvious fan-favorite, is hit and miss this time around. When the joke works, you’ll be laughing pretty hard, but when he misses, you get that long awkward phase that seems to last an eternity. His little remarks that made the first so great seemed to disappear here. Phil gets the best dialect here and Bradley Cooper plays that cocky dude o so well. Last is Ed Helms as Stu who is the worst of the bunch because if you think about him, he literally gets the exact same jokes except a minor thing is changed. He sings his stupid song, gets a tattoo instead of losing a tooth, and ends up with the girl. He was the weakest of the pack. If it were just the three in the film, it wouldn’t have been a problem but the side characters are just fucking brutal. I don’t understand how Chang ever became so popular. He was great in a tiny dose, but to give him a good thirty minutes of screen time was an absolute mistake, everything funny about him was wrapped up with at the end of the first. And his introduction into the film was disgusting, not funny. That damn monkey kept getting laughs from the crowd that I was in, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I guess I don’t find a smoking monkey all that funny. Throw in Mike Tyson and the final throw the original in your face was complete, but I was half expecting Black Doug to somehow make an appearance with just how bizarre that turned out characters.

The Hangover 2 is good for a few laughs, but it just doesn’t hold a candle to the original. I’d have a hard time recommending this too a non-Hangover fan, but at the same time fans of the first might feel just as cheated as I. If you absolutely must, have a go at the film, but my advice is to back off and just go see Bridesmaids since it fits the bill as the same brand of comedy, but with a far more fresh perspective. If The Hangover Part 2 doesn’t wind up being the worst comedy of the summer, I will surely be disappointed.

Overall Score: 4.5/10

 

[Rivers17ncsu]

That was a good solid review. I can understand why some people didn't like it. I personally enjoyed it and would give it around a 6.5 or 7 myself. I expected the same scenario to happen going into it so I wasn't surprised with that. I actually had low expectations for this movie due to the trailers I saw and clips I saw on talk shows. So it was better than I originally was expecting it to be.


I kinda want to see Bridesmaids, but with the same as Hangover 2, just going by the trailers and clips I've seen it hasn't really interested me. I probably wouldn't have gone to see Hangover 2 if I hadn't seen and loved the first one.

I have a feeling Zookeeper will be the worst comedy of the summer though.

 

[Buzzman]

I walked into thinking Hangover 2 was going to be shit and it was exactly what I thoguht it'd be. I love the shit out of the first, but I just find it unacceptable the amount of lazniess they put up on screen. You had probably 3-4 months to write a script and this was all you could come up with?

As for Bridesmaids, I cannot believe the amount of buys that i recommend them go see it just to laugh and say that stupid chick flick. The movie may be an all female cast, but its funny as fuck and a lot of the jokes feel ripped from a mans comedy, except with the freshness of a female point of view. I love the way Wigg describes a man giving her a facial.

Anyone who watches these outtakes and not laugh quite a bit doesn't have a funny bone.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HjnrtXPFWE[/ame]

 

[Rivers17ncsu]

The parts with Melissa McCarthy and then John Hamm (the end parts) were funny. I'm sure I'd like it because I usually enjoy Judd Apatow movies though there are a couple I hated. I'm not huge on Kristen Wiig though.

 

[Buzzman]

Buzzmans Underrated Films of 2010

The films on this list are not necessarily great films that were overlooked; hell they may not even be good films. What they are though are films that either came and went without very much attention paid toward them, were films that I enjoyed but many others seemed to dislike, or films that received a unfair bias toward them based on its material. So alas, here it begins.

#6 | The Last Exorcism

The Last Exorcism felt like a movie many had seen before. A possessed girl thinking she has the soul of the devil inside her and the found footage documentary style format wasn’t exactly original material. Right away audiences seemed to develop their own opinion of it without even a single viewing. What is so strange about the reception of the film was that critics enjoyed it, while audiences did not. It normally is the opposite direction in the horror genre. The film itself I thought was a great mockery of this entire genre that seems to have a pretty decent sized following. These movies tend to be guaranteed profiteers, but this film was different. It made fun of itself and never took itself entirely too serious, that is until the last two minutes of the film and completely ruined what should have been a great film. I’d suggest just turning it off right before that ending.

#5 | Ondine

Ondine is the case of being such a small film, that I wouldn’t doubt that a single member here has ever seen it and few have actually heard of it. It is not a great film by any means, and it is borderline good, but it does do a few things right. It allows Collin Farrell to act in his natural environment and the first half of the film is a pretty damn good fairytale mystery. The problem was the film backed itself in a corner and the only plausible solution was to unravel the mystery into a very anti climatic finish. Had they had the balls to be creative the entire two hours, maybe more people would have come to see. Ondine for the year sits right in the middle of the pact for movies and if some of the shitty ones below it got an audience, Ondine certainly deserves one too.

#4 | Leaves of Grass

Leaves of Grass isn’t underrated in quality; Nearly everyone who has seen it has at least enjoyed it, with some loving it. Here was another case of being so unadvertised, it slipped through the cracks and was left up to Edward Norton fans to tell people about it. I know my review got a few people to watch it, but it always helps to further promote it. This may be the best quality film on this list despite sitting at number four.

#3 | Daybreakers

It’s very simple, a lot of people passed on this simply because it featured vampires. It is understandable, not only are they oversaturating the market with these films, but most of them have the new lovey dovey ones that are complete shit. Daybreakers bring old school back a bit. These vampires are vicious, spread blood and violence, and burn in the sun. They can actually become scary at times again. It also helps the flipped race dominator flipped and now vampires run the world rather than humans. It was a much needed perspective on an dying breed of movie creatures.

#2 | Morning Glory

This film rolled out exactly in-between 127 Hours and Unstoppable, so it seemed to be quickly overlooked. It is a shame too because it features a comeback of sorts from Harrison Ford. He is absolutely electric while on screen. It was a quirky movie that introduced you to morning television without ever boring you with too much of the technical perspective of it. It should have been a tiny box office hit, but instead was quickly booted out for bigger undeserving films. If you ever need to kill two hours, just give this a go. The time should pass quickly and you probably end up having an entertaining time with the film.

#1 | She’s Out of My League

This is a romantic comedy, but in the good way. Usually they suck, but when they are good, they tend to be really good. She’s Out of My League is a very funny film that gets a pass on its plot because the comedy is handled so well and its full of a great cast that all pitch in to make this the most underrated film of the year. This should have been a box office smash considering it released with no competition of the genre for weeks, but I guess audiences didn’t want to laugh, but rather go see another shitty Jennifer Aniston flick. I promise you the film is funny and even holds up well on multiple viewings. It’s a film everyone can enjoy. It was forgotten because it released at the very start of the year, but its definitely in the top 3 funniest movies of 2010.​

 

[Maynard]

i saw leaves of grass cause of your review. good film that i had forgotten about until this list. gonna try to DL morning glory. never heard of that one

 

[Buzzman]

X-Men: First Class (2011)

In this exciting prequel to the X-Men series, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) -- the future Professor X and Magneto -- are best friends dedicated to harnessing their powers and promoting the education of fellow mutants during the turbulent 1960s. The duo works together to stop a powerful adversary that threatens mankind, but their ideological differences drive them apart and turn them into ferocious enemies.

The X-Men franchise started with an incredible bang. The first two films in the series were great with the second one being one of the best comic book adaptions to date. Once Bryan Singer left for Superman, the franchise quickly came crashing down critically. They still made money, but it was all pretty much agreed that the last two entries weren’t very good. Despite the tremendous trailers, there was reasonable doubt about this prequel of sorts. You can rest assured though, not only is this a great comic book adaption, but is simply a great standalone film in itself.

Since this takes place years before the originals, the sense of already knowing where these characters are heading may seem anticlimactic, but it’s presented in such a well-conceived matter that some of the rehashed information you know is coming still feels fresh. It also has an interesting take on alternating history, specifically the Cuban Missile Crisis. They effectively take advantage of the setting of the film to develop the characters and also setup the plot of mutants living with the human population that the original trilogy focused on so much. It seemed to work out great for the film.

The heart of the film though, focuses on the relationship between Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr. From the minute these two interact, you just cannot get enough of them. Each lived a completely different childhood that affected the men they would become and merely switching places would have turned each other into the other. You understand these clashing personalities will be the flaw that breaks their bond, but you actually want them tough it out and become the friends they were always supposed to be, but the anger and distrust inside Eric corrupts him into becoming the nemesis we know as Magneto. It was done really well and never felt liked a forced conclusion. I t wouldn’t have worked so well without the acting of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. McAvoy plays a far more playful Xavier then were used to but in moments of fear, he shows the leadership skills that will eventually earn him the respect of mutants of all. Fassbender has always been said to be a talented actor, but it wasn’t until I saw him showing the struggles of Eric trying to get revenge did he finally win me over. His transformation isn’t very different in the beginning compared to the end, but it’s the roller-coaster of emotions he goes through in the middle that will impress you the most.

The other side-characters all add small tidbits to the story but one it comes to do it, they are unimportant compared to Eric and Charles. It was cool seeing how old faces like Beast and Mystique struggled with their appearance so much that they allowed it to consume the choices they make, but nothing about it felt like it was worthy of your time. The new team of X-Men was at their best when they were just using their powers in training or during battle. Pertaining to the villains, Kevin Bacon started off brilliant as a Nazi Officer Shaw and continued the momentum he established, but he was overshadowed by his crannies Riptide and Azazel; they provided some great looking kill shots that would have been absolutely dope had this been rated R, but still effective none the less. They seemed to be worthy adversaries for a change.

X-Men First Class injects a whole new life into a dying franchise. It may have been a prequel based off the original trilogy, but definitely established itself as its own separate franchise. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the first two and the cameos and references to them are fun and all, but I sort of wished they hadn’t existed because then this interpretation of the franchise wouldn’t be limited on the plot points of the other two. As you can tell I don’t even mention the last two entries into the franchise because in my book they don’t even exist. First Class isn’t better than the second installment, but it just about matches it in every way. Mathew Vaughn has earned himself a spot on the must watch list with yet another great piece of work. This is a film that all should watch, not just the comic book audience it heavily targeted.

Overall Score: 9/10

 

[Rivers17ncsu]

Morning Glory and SOML were pretty good movies, I went to see SOML the first weekend it opened. I added Leaves Of Grass to my netflix so I'll watch it soon.

Might have to see the X-Men movie as well. Love me some Jennifer Lawrence.

 

[Buzzman]

Morning Glory and SOML were pretty good movies, I went to see SOML the first weekend it opened. I added Leaves Of Grass to my netflix so I'll watch it soon.

Might have to see the X-Men movie as well. Love me some Jennifer Lawrence.

Glad to hear

I'd be surprised if you didn't enjoy it.

She is easily the worst part of the movie. She whines a little to much, never goes full Mystique kick-ass like the other films and while I think she is good looking, the suit made her look a tiny bit chubby.

 

[SOS4Prez]

Definitely gunna make it a point to see Morning Glory. Was intrigued when it came out, but never got around to seeing it.

 

[Rivers17ncsu]

I don't really know much about X-Men so I don't know who Mystique is :smug:

 

[Sean]

 

Found out about Wolverine cameo a week or so again, but Rebecca's cameo was surprising. Also, I liked the hints at other characters, but didnt know all of them, I know in the first Cerebro scene, there was Storm, and i'm guessing Scott Summers with the glasses, didnt recognize the others.

I really liked this movie, makes up easily for the last 2, but i'm hoping they are just used the first 2 as blueprints.

Felt like there were alot of characters, and some didnt get great character development, but I understand this movie was just setting everything up, and more will be seen in the sequel.

 

[Buzzman]

 

Found out about Wolverine cameo a week or so again, but Rebecca's cameo was surprising. Also, I liked the hints at other characters, but didnt know all of them, I know in the first Cerebro scene, there was Storm, and i'm guessing Scott Summers with the glasses, didnt recognize the others.

I really liked this movie, makes up easily for the last 2, but i'm hoping they are just used the first 2 as blueprints.

Felt like there were alot of characters, and some didnt get great character development, but I understand this movie was just setting everything up, and more will be seen in the sequel.

Might want to add that first part in spoilers, what made it awesome for me was it was a complete surprise and others might want it that way as well. But I do agree with the character development.

 

[Buzzman]

I don't really know much about X-Men so I don't know who Mystique is :smug:

THis is here in X-Men 1,2,3

This is her in 1st class

 

[inthecards21]

 

Found out about Wolverine cameo a week or so again, but Rebecca's cameo was surprising. Also, I liked the hints at other characters, but didnt know all of them, I know in the first Cerebro scene, there was Storm, and i'm guessing Scott Summers with the glasses, didnt recognize the others.

I really liked this movie, makes up easily for the last 2, but i'm hoping they are just used the first 2 as blueprints.

Felt like there were alot of characters, and some didnt get great character development, but I understand this movie was just setting everything up, and more will be seen in the sequel.

Spoiler alert anyone?