Buttered Popcorn: Buzzmans Movie Review Thread

[Buzzman]

Charlie St Cloud (2010)

Plot: Charlie St. Cloud is a young man overcome by grief at the death of his younger brother.

Story: It is essentially a poorly told love story with a mildly interesting twist to it. The movies attempts to pull at your emotions through Charlie’s struggle of losing his brother, but because he plays catch with him everyday, it feels like he never lost anything to begin with. When Charlie starts to forgive himself, a surprising twist comes, but the execution afterward is poorly written and a quick fix that makes it feel like an extremely cheap M Night Shyamalan climax with an unresolved ending.

Characters: Zac Efron as Charlie St Cloud is completely out of place. Efron can’t play a depressed young man, and most of his lines are feeling like he’s stretching the words so a fifteen second sentence feels like a minute. Tess, his love interest, is a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. The two don’t share any chemistry, automatically damaging the film. Ray Liotta needs to quit acting. How convenient his character shows up at two key scenes that later influence Charlie’s choices. And where the hell was the mother in all of this? Would have been seeing how she shaped Charlie into becoming a graveyard keeper. (What a weird ass job choice.)

Others: Add another lousy addition to the romantic drama genre. While it at least tried to be a little different with its main character, it never walks away from the clichés, cementing it as a mediocre film. The twist could have added a little extra jolt when it got extremely slow, but the aftermath of it was complete rubbish. It has it’s moments that make it not a complete waste, but it’s a one and done type of film.

Overall Score: 4/10

 

[Fox1994]

^You watched that shit? ... I'm sorry... Whatever you did, it didn't warrant that punishment.

 

[Buzzman]

Salt (2010)

Plot: A CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy.

Story: Maybe because I wasn’t paying attention 100% of the time or I underestimated it, but Salt turned out to be a entertaining conspiracy flick. It’s inspirations come from the middle 90s movies where Russian villains and car crashes were all the rage. It knows what it wants to be and doesn’t hesitate to throw the unbelievable at you. Salt can outrun the entire secret service, she can break into the White House, and she can even look like one ugly man. The entire espionage concept works well because you don’t necessarily know what side Salt is on and they even manage to throw in a surprise that somehow hit me by surprise despite it’s obviousness after thinking about it.

Characters: Jolie throws some punch she hasn’t shown since Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Wanted doesn’t count) with the character Salt. She plays a badass spy who plays on both sides of the game and adds a bit of mystery. Even her appearance looked good because they hid her 50lb frame with baggy clothes, giving her a bulkier then normal perception. The film’s villain Orlov was legit himself, but he didn’t get enough screen time and development with his relationship with Salt. It was just a brief flashback and a few words in a short conversation and that was it. They could have played the on the relationship more. Liev Schreiber finds himself in a nasty situation and his departure is one wicked great scene. You also can’t have August Diehl (the King Kong Nazi officer in Inglourious Basterds) and waste him with less then five minutes of face time.

Others: Salt is a surprisingly fun film to watch and Jolie’s punch kept them from missing Tom Cruise. Its not smart, it doesn’t have the best action sequences, and its climax might have been very unoriginal, but it had enough of everything to keep the pace of the film going faster and faster until the end. It definitely leaves room for a sequel that could lead into better things, but knowing Hollywood, they should just let it be.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

 

[Tailback U]

Watched Leaves of Grass and What Doesn't Kill You the other night. Both decent flicks.

I like the fact that you watch movies that I haven't really heard of or would never think about seeing. Keep up the good work.

 

[The Buddha]

I watched Leaves of Grass because of this thread, and really enjoyed it.

"I aint a Hindu" had me rolling.

 

[Buzzman]

Alvin and the Chipmunks The Squeakquel (2009)

Plot: The world famous singing pre-teen chipmunk trio return to contend with the pressures of school, celebrity, and a rival female music group known as The Chipettes.

Story: A sequel to a terrible movie is bound to be just as bad, but when you take the same plot it goes for bad to embarrassing. The chipmunks are at the end of some terrible jokes and the initial freshness they had in the first is completely gone. The chimpettes go through the exact same story as the chipmunks as the first and how stupid to have them look like the chipmunks twins. They better test they are not brother and sister before the third one.

Characters: The chipmunks feel old in this. Their voices feel more annoying then usual, and the over-presented egos have no room in this film. The chipettes were completely pointless. We already have what the little kids want in the three boys, but these girls literally added nothing to the film except another trio of awful sounds. (Where they even in the cartoon?) Jason Lee must intentionally hurt himself so he could only have five embarrassing minutes in this. The fatherly figure this time goes to Zack Levi, my boy from Chuck, who they totally wasted by having him just play video games the whole time.

Others: I totally understand why they made a sequel to a box office hit, but did it have to be so bad that you feel like a worse person just for watching it.

Overall Score: 0/10

 

[Buzzman]

Ondine (2010)

Plot: The story of an Irish fisherman who discovers a woman in his fishing net who he believes to be a mermaid.

Story: The film gets off to a fascinating start because Ondine’s background is so surreal. Is the woman found in Syracuse’s fishing net really a selkie? (A seal that sheds its skin to walk the land and fall in love.) It constantly keeps the mystery alive; it can’t be true, but everything says otherwise. But in the latter third things get messy. Syracuse throws himself in and out of their relationship and Ondine’s background reveals what could be a film killing explanation to some. They had the pieces fit, but it was such a boring revelation.

Characters: Nobody stands out here. Colin Farrell as Syracuse does a fine job but his accent tends to hide his words making them a bit hard to hear at times. His character seems pretty unphased at finding a woman in his net, where a normal person would have handled it far differently. Ondine's character is fascinating with the idea that she represents, but the script weighs her down. Syracuse daughter, Annie, provides a nice little side-story that helps fill in gaps, and for a child Alison Barry does a good job here.

Others: Ondine had potential to be great, but its lackluster ending tore it down a bit. It doesn’t detract what was built the first 60 minutes; it was a wonderful surreal world where fairy-tales could come true. If you don’t mind a slow paced films that has a good sense of mystery and a misguided love story in it, then have at it. If you need fast paces in your film, stay far away.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

 

[Tailback U]

I don't mind slow films if they can emotionally grasp me. How is Ondine in that sense? Did you feel any emotions for the characters and story? I'm interested in it because I like Collin Farrel, especially when he plays his Irish self, so thinking this could be a decent flick to watch with the lady if it's not too slow and boring....what do you think?

 

[Hitman]

Buzzman, thanks for the Leaves of Grass review.. wouldn't have known the movie existed without it.. very enjoyable movie..

 

[Buzzman]

I don't mind slow films if they can emotionally grasp me. How is Ondine in that sense? Did you feel any emotions for the characters and story? I'm interested in it because I like Collin Farrel, especially when he plays his Irish self, so thinking this could be a decent flick to watch with the lady if it's not too slow and boring....what do you think?

I'd say in Ondine, you grasp more at the idea Ondine represents more so then her character. The first half of the film is really good, but it all depends on how you like the explanation. The film put itself into a corner and I felt like it didn't have a clue on how to get out. As for your lady, I don't think she will like it if shes into the mainstream chick flicks because at the core this isn't a love story.

 

[Fox1994]

Saw 12 Angry Men when I was in elementary school... not in school, but at home. lol. Excellent film. I shoudl watch it again.

Not seeing Ondine, but good for you for reviewing it. :2thumbs:

And good for you for watching that terrible Chipmunks shit. You're a bigger man than I.

 

[Buzzman]

The Other Guys (2010)

Plot: Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize -- only things don't quite go as planned.

Story: It can be hilarious; have you rolling on the floor. But then some of the jokes fall flat and leave you with a punch line to no joke. The dull parts happen way to often for this to be considered a great comedy, but it does enough to warrant it a successful one. The way our two cops are portrayed as complete opposites give plenty of awkward scenes that are genuinely funny, rather then the stuff you find in spoofs. While the first half brought the laughs, the ending was a bit off with the rest of the film because it got a little serious for this type of movie.

Characters: Will Ferrell is a blast here. His overly intellectual ideas collide with his inexperience in the field, bring lots of crazy Ferrell actions and dialogue that you cant help but laugh at. His background in college was comedic gold and by far the best part of the movie. Mark Wahlberg is decent. At times he’s funny with his over-seriousness but it can get a little annoying having him yell all his lines and when the jokes are flat, he stinks. He too has a great flashback scene that should get everyone rolling. Eve Mendes was there to look beautiful but her presence provided some nice punch jokes thrown in her direction. And finally Samuel Jackson and The Rock might have the greatest accidents shown on screen.

Others: The Other Guys is more hit then miss and is one of the brightest movies in this weak summer lineup. Will Ferrell rebounds from some failures and brings his good humor here. It feels like a giant spoof of an 80’s buddy cop film but set in the present and less on the relationship of the partnership and more on the laughs, which is a good thing. This will have you laughing hard when the jokes hit, but if your not a fan of Ferrell’s, this film wont be an enjoyable experience for yourself.

Overall Score: 7/10

 

[Fox1994]

Generally favorable review. I'm looking forward to this, but idk when I'll see it.

 

[Buzzman]

comedy: Idiocracy/Robots
action: Stardust/Serenity

I'll probably review these four films I like them so much.

 

[Fox1994]

Idiocracy's hilarious. The girl from that plays Chris Rock's wife in Grown Ups... Which was pretty terrible, albeit somewhat funny.

 

[BrntO4Life]

The Other Guys (2010)

Plot: Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize -- only things don't quite go as planned.

Story: It can be hilarious; have you rolling on the floor. But then some of the jokes fall flat and leave you with a punch line to no joke. The dull parts happen way to often for this to be considered a great comedy, but it does enough to warrant it a successful one. The way our two cops are portrayed as complete opposites give plenty of awkward scenes that are genuinely funny, rather then the stuff you find in spoofs. While the first half brought the laughs, the ending was a bit off with the rest of the film because it got a little serious for this type of movie.

Characters: Will Ferrell is a blast here. His overly intellectual ideas collide with his inexperience in the field, bring lots of crazy Ferrell actions and dialogue that you cant help but laugh at. His background in college was comedic gold and by far the best part of the movie. Mark Wahlberg is decent. At times he’s funny with his over-seriousness but it can get a little annoying having him yell all his lines and when the jokes are flat, he stinks. He too has a great flashback scene that should get everyone rolling. Eve Mendes was there to look beautiful but her presence provided some nice punch jokes thrown in her direction. And finally Samuel Jackson and The Rock might have the greatest accidents shown on screen.

Others: The Other Guys is more hit then miss and is one of the brightest movies in this weak summer lineup. Will Ferrell rebounds from some failures and brings his good humor here. It feels like a giant spoof of an 80’s buddy cop film but set in the present and less on the relationship of the partnership and more on the laughs, which is a good thing. This will have you laughing hard when the jokes hit, but if your not a fan of Ferrell’s, this film wont be an enjoyable experience for yourself.

Overall Score: 7/10

I'm really happy that reception of this film is overall fairly good.

I still think Paramount neutered some great moments to get it to PG-13, but even so it looks to be one of the summer's best comedies.

It's really cool to have memories of my internships attributed to the release of an actual movie, let alone a fairly good one.

 

[Buzzman]

The Expendables (2010)

Plot: A team of mercenaries head to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator.

Story: The story shouldn’t matter but when it’s this bad, you just can’t overlook it. Too many times they had boring and pointless scenes that added nothing but bad acting to the film. It should have been constant action non-stop but this plot with trying to find an inner peace with yourself was laughable. The one great thing was they saved all the good action for the climax. It was so over-the-top awesome and bad that it almost made up for the shit it put you through. I have to wonder though, why didn’t they all just bring automatic shotguns?

Characters: No one did anything special, but they didn’t need to anyway. Statham was the best because he had the best method of killing with knives to the throat, but Terry Crews near the end just blows away everything (literally) with his automatic shotgun. The rest were poor to bad. Mickey Rourke was so fucking stupid, his sense were a pathetic attempt at giving the movie meaning. And why have Jet Li in this and rarely use him?

Others: This should have been amazing, but sadly it was not. The action was great, but they didn’t have enough of it. The plot and dialogue were so bad it can’t even fall under the so bad it’s awesome because they make you not want to ever watch this again. I recommend renting this, fast forwarding it to the end and have at it.

Overall Score: 5/10

 

[Fox1994]

Others: This should have been amazing, but sadly it was not. The action was great, but they didn’t have enough of it. The plot and dialogue were so bad it can’t even fall under the so bad it’s awesome because they make you not want to ever watch this again. I recommend renting this, fast forwarding it to the end and have at it.

Overall Score: 5/10

:smh: I'm so disappointed... Guess I'll avoid seeing this in theaters.

 

[The Buddha]

I went back and read your review for leaves of grass looks excellent I noticed some people talking about they downloaded it, anyone wanna hook me up with a PM? Appreciate it...

Im headed to see The Expendable on Tuesday since its 5 bucks a ticket, really hoping I enjoy it more than the review you gave.

You should go see Dinner for schmucks I found it to be excellent and Steve Carrell at his finest, would love to see what you think.

PM Sent..Its the very top one on that list.

 

[Buzzman]

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)

Plot: Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes in order to win her heart.

Story: On the surface, Scott Pilgrim Vs the World has Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) battling his true love’s seven evil ex’s so he has a chance to date her because he believes she’s the one. It handles a lot like a video game, referencing them a ton, even going so far as to treat the battles like something you see in 2D fighter games. It was a little dull, but plenty of fun at the same time. I truly believe that underneath it all, the movie is just one giant metaphor of Pilgrim breaking down the walls Ramona has put up herself and none of the battles actually existed.

Characters: Cera was his usual shitty self, but to his advantage, it’s exactly what the film needed. His style of acting fits in perfectly with the world that was created. It’s a Cera movie for Cera-haters like myself. As for Ramona, I thought she was a little bitch who wasn’t worth it until she pulled out her big ass hammer and went to town. She struck my heart like no woman should. Of the evil exes, Mathew Patal (1st evil ex) and Lucas Lee (3rd evil ex) really stood out; one being funny and the other having the best fight scene of the film. All the exes brought something good to the except the last one, Gideon, whose final battle seemed a bit dull and short. Have to give prop to the gay roommate for bringing the funny.

Others: While it wasn’t the film I thought it would be, Scott Pilgrim Vs the World turned out good, but not great. Visually the film was exciting with things popping out and little things such as a pee meter that made it a fun environment to watch. The story felt a little boring at times with the climax being a big let down. You were waiting to see this seven evil ex as some badass, but he was just some loser with glasses that didn’t put up a fight like the others. Maybe on my next viewing, I can come up with more evidence on my theory that the whole thing wasn’t real and M. Night Shamalyan was behind the whole thing.

LAST INQUIRY: With all that is 3D buzz right now, didn’t this movie, with its style of film, it definitely felt like 3D could have been good here compared to the other crap you see nowadays. It also wouldn’t have hurt the box office as well. It needs all the money it can get.

Overall Score: 7.5/10