Dell's Good, Bad & Ugly Movie Reviews

[dell71]

I'm sorry you had to watch Dance Flick, Dell.

me too

 

[dell71]

Somethin' a lil better...and a lot older...

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954. Not Rated, 170 minutes.
Director: Richard Fleischer.
Starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre.
Prof. Arronax (Lukas), Ned (Douglas) and Conseil (Lorre) sail around the world in the world's first submarine, thought by the rest of civilization to be a sea monster, as guests/prisoners of Cpt. Nemo (Mason). Based on the classic Jules Verne novel. Fans of the book will like that its pretty faithful to the source material. That's a major plus as it doesn't try to fix what isn't broken. It just tells the story pretty much the way it was intended to be told. It's also an early 1950s version of a big budget special fx flick. In that regard, its not bad as the fx are excellent for their era and haven't aged nearly as much as you would think going in. That said, the backdrops have. It is so obviously shot in a studio it can be hard to buy into the illusion these people are really sailing around the globe. Admittedy, that's a strange thing to say when this movie won the Oscar that year for Best Art Decoration & Set Decoration. Still, the solidly adapted screenplay and excellent acting keep us invested enough for it not to be a deal-breaker. Kirk Douglas is front and center among the actors, embodying all that is both good and bad about the movie. His actual performance is excellent the way its written. It makes the movie tick. However, the way its written is problematic. If there is one major drawback it's the same one that haunts Disney to this day. Ned and many grimier moments from the novel, including the overall tone, have been sanitized for mass consumption by children. This means while Douglas' work is great when it stands alone, its lacking when compared to its literary counterpart, a much more brooding and seething brute. All of this simply means its a pretty good movie but like most, it pales in comparison to the book.
MY SCORE: 7/10
SCORE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK: 8/10

 

[Rush]

This thread is amazing. Nice job

 

[dell71]

Land of the Lost
2009. Rated PG-13, 102 minutes.
Director: Brad Silberling.
Starring Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, Danny McBride, Jorma Taccone.

Plot: Dr. Rick Marshall (Ferrell) finds out his time machine actually works when he and two companions wind up in a strange land of dinosaurs, lizard people and cavemen. Loosely based on the popular 1970s show.

The Good: Wisely, its played for laughs instead of trying to scare kids. Will Ferrell is perfectly goofy and often the butt of the jokes. His two sidekicks also fulfill the requirements of their roles very well. For Holly Cantrell (Friel) that means making googly eyes at the doctor and encouraging him, mostly by filling up a tank-top. For Will Stanton (McBride) it means playing know-it-all dumb guy he's played several times before. The movie gets a good deal of mileage from a battle of wits between Marshall and the T-Rex. It's funnier than it should be. Same goes for the scenes involving Matt Lauer (playing himself). Finally, of course there's lots of action with nice special fx if the jokes aren't working for you.

The Bad: Coming on the heels of the Brendan Fraser vehicle Journey to the Center of Earth it almost feels like a remake. The template for both movies is essentially the same with the backgrounds and a few details changed. Also, the movie misses out on a chance to add some menace to the mix by rendering the sleestaks impotent. Akin to zombies on the old tv show, many a kid had nightmares about them back in the day. Here, not so much.

The Ugly: How Dr. Marshall and the T-Rex become friends.

Recommendation: This is a solid fam-flick that might be a little too risque for really young ones as it earns its PG-13 stripes via lots of boob jokes (including the grabbing of them) and a sprinkling of four-letter words. Parents, you know your kids better than I and have your own ideas on raising them so judge accordingly. If you just dread watching it, rest assured its no masterpiece but it is the rare movie that's better than the trailer makes it look.

The Opposite View: Victor Oliver, Teletext

What the Internet Says: 5.4/10 on imdb.com (11/10/09), 26% on rottentomatoes.com, 32/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 6/10

 

[dell71]

The Big Score
1983. Rated R, 85 minutes.
Director: Fred Williamson.
Starring Fred Williamson, Richard Roundtree, John Saxon, Nancy Wilson.
Det. Hooks (Williamson) kills the local gangster while busting up a major drug deal. However, the money the suspect was seen with has disappeared and Hooks has to prove he didn't take it. As the star, Williamson exudes cool as always. As director, he was always more focused on his craft than the average blaxploitation filmmaker and it shows here. And this movie actually came out well after that era had ended, even though he is of that time. All of this means some of the elements the genre is known for are present but dialed way down while others are totally absent. Well, except for that one wonderfully overdone car explosion that would make Michael Bay proud. The result is a gritty cop drama without most of the antics and unintentional humor we've come to expect from blaxploitation. It's certainly flawed, but enjoyable nonetheless. There were two major hiccups for me. First, Richard Roundtree inexplicably disappears about halfway through the movie. Second is the casting...ahem...miscasting of legendary jazz songstress Nancy Wilson. She plays Williamson's love interest but comes across so nurturing it seems that whenever he's having a rough day he pops by mom's house to get it on. Ewww. It doesn't help that she looks a bit older than he does. Thankfully, the two don't have an actual love scene. Anyhoo, fans of 70s cop dramas should give it a look. It won't make you forget The French Connection but it's a decent watch.
MY SCORE: 6/10

 

[dell71]

Zombieland
2009. Rated R, 88 minutes.
Director: Ruben Fleischer.
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin.

Plot: A virus that transforms people into zombies has infected most of Earth's population. Columbus (Eisenberg) is among a handful of survivors and tries to survive and wants to make it back to his hometown in hopes of reuniting with his estranged family. Strangely enough, love intervenes.

The Good: It's downright hilarious. It perfectly spoofs zombie flicks and road movies, alike. A little commentary on society is thrown in for good measure. Woody Harrelson give his best performance in years, getting back to his roots as a comedic actor. His never-ending search for what remains of the world's supply of Twinkies is way funnier than it should be. Even better is the cameo by Bill Murray (playing himself). His time on screen is hysterical and some of his best work in a few years, as well. Story-wise, it moves along at a nice pace and includes some really well done flashbacks. There are also some very fun and funny action sequences.

The Bad: Our two females are rather bland. They're both serviceable characters but not particularly memorable. In a movie where there are only four humans, the two ladies (one of whom is a preteen) should do more than just be chased (including by our heroes). So other than just being really horny due to a dearth of women, I've no clue why Columbus is head-over-heels for Wichita (Stone), the older girl. Speaking of Columbus, I have the same problem with him as I did James in Adventureland: he's played by Jesse Eisenberg. I don't necessarily dislike him, he just reminds me so much of Michael Cera, its distracting. Finally, we needed more zombie stuff.

The Ugly: How Bill Murray's scene ends. Comedy gold.

Recommendation: My faith in the future of spoofs has been revived. It was trampled nearly to death by the unrelenting crappiness of Dance Flick. Thankfully, this one's actually funny. As far as zombie spoofs go, it's not quite as over-the-top or gory as the recent Planet Terror half of Grindhouse but its even more tongue-in-cheek and delivers more consistent laughter.

The Opposite View: Scott Foundas, Village Voice

What the Internet Says: 8.1/10 (#233 all time) on imdb.com (11/14/09), 89% on rottentomatoes.com, 73/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 9/10

 

[j.hen]

Watched 20,00 Leagues the other day. It reminded me a lot of Life Aquatic.

 

[dell71]

Watched 20,00 Leagues the other day. It reminded me a lot of Life Aquatic.

:joker:

 

[j.hen]

Lame use of the Joker gif.

 

[Fox1994]

^NOOOO :facepalm: awesome use of the joker gif.

The Good: It's a harmless affair the kids will eat up. As usual, Murphy has no problem poking fun at himself and comes across well as a doting father who becomes a bit misguided by his success. Thomas Haden Church is sufficiently weird as Murphy's main competition at the office, eventually becoming the villain. The two play off each other nicely to get laughs. It also deserves some credit for showing Murphy as an African American single dad, even though there is a perfectly capable and not at all dysfunctional mom available (take that Tyler Perry!). Of course, an even better option would be having mom and dod still together but it took courage to do it the way they did. It goes against the stereotype and what we normally see from our judicial system (moms overwhelmingly win custody battles whether they're the best choice or not).

I might ask my mom to rent it again just for that. I didn't watch it the first time, but her, my stepdad, and my sister did...

Also: "it's as if he stops by moms to get it on" was priceless... from the blaxplotation film you were reviewing. And fuck it, I'm paraphrasing, but that was still one of the funniest things you've ever said... er typed. LOL.

 

[Fox1994]

Also, thanks for the heads-up on Dance Flick.

 

[dell71]

Lame use of the Joker gif.

I really just want you to expand on that. I've seen both movies as well & have no clue how one reminded you of the other.

^NOOOO :facepalm: awesome use of the joker gif.



I might ask my mom to rent it again just for that. I didn't watch it the first time, but her, my stepdad, and my sister did...

Also: "it's as if he stops by moms to get it on" was priceless... from the blaxplotation film you were reviewing. And fuck it, I'm paraphrasing, but that was still one of the funniest things you've ever said... er typed. LOL.

Be warned about Imagine That, its still just a cute kiddie flick. And thanx for the laughs.

 

[Ralnakor]

Zombieland
2009. Rated R, 88 minutes.
Director: Ruben Fleischer.
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin.

Plot: A virus that transforms people into zombies has infected most of Earth's population. Columbus (Eisenberg) is among a handful of survivors and tries to survive and wants to make it back to his hometown in hopes of reuniting with his estranged family. Strangely enough, love intervenes.

The Good: It's downright hilarious. It perfectly spoofs zombie flicks and road movies, alike. A little commentary on society is thrown in for good measure. Woody Harrelson give his best performance in years, getting back to his roots as a comedic actor. His never-ending search for what remains of the world's supply of Twinkies is way funnier than it should be. Even better is the cameo by Bill Murray (playing himself). His time on screen is hysterical and some of his best work in a few years, as well. Story-wise, it moves along at a nice pace and includes some really well done flashbacks. There are also some very fun and funny action sequences.

The Bad: Our two females are rather bland. They're both serviceable characters but not particularly memorable. In a movie where there are only four humans, the two ladies (one of whom is a preteen) should do more than just be chased (including by our heroes). So other than just being really horny due to a dearth of women, I've no clue why Columbus is head-over-heels for Wichita (Stone), the older girl. Speaking of Columbus, I have the same problem with him as I did James in Adventureland: he's played by Jesse Eisenberg. I don't necessarily dislike him, he just reminds me so much of Michael Cera, its distracting. Finally, we needed more zombie stuff.

The Ugly: How Bill Murray's scene ends. Comedy gold.

Recommendation: My faith in the future of spoofs has been revived. It was trampled nearly to death by the unrelenting crappiness of Dance Flick. Thankfully, this one's actually funny. As far as zombie spoofs go, it's not quite as over-the-top or gory as the recent Planet Terror half of Grindhouse but its even more tongue-in-cheek and delivers more consistent laughter.

The Opposite View: Scott Foundas, Village Voice

What the Internet Says: 8.1/10 (#233 all time) on imdb.com (11/14/09), 89% on rottentomatoes.com, 73/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 9/10

Ah, I always love it when your review lines up perfectly with my thoughts on a movie.

Edit although I do have to ask. What were your thoughts on how they handled the rules by actually integrating them into the scenery as opposed to just plopping them on-screen?

 

[Maynard]

co sign.....dell's review summed up my thoughts on this movie.

 

[Vinsane]

This...

Law Abiding Citizen
2009. Rated R, 109 minutes.
Director: F. Gary Gray.
Starring Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Colm Meaney, Viola Davis.

MY SCORE: 6.5/10

Couldn't agree with your review more, Dell. At the end of it I left the movie theater saying to my wife "That ending blew". She agreed but I think she too liked it more then me. You nailed it, a movie that's great the first time through. And not 1/10th as enjoyable the second go round.

Also the Cell Phone call, I seen it coming but the scene itself still made me jump a little.

 

[Fox1994]

You need to see Meet Bill. An review it. lol.

 

[Tailback U]

This...

Law Abiding Citizen
2009. Rated R, 109 minutes.
Director: F. Gary Gray.
Starring Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Colm Meaney, Viola Davis.

Plot: Clyde Shelton (Butler) is promptly imprisoned after killing one of the men who brutally murdered and raped his wife and daughter. However, it becomes apparent that even from behind bars he's responsible for the ongoing murders of people involved in the case.

The Good: It is a fairly unique cat-and-mouse because the mouse has already been caught yet somehow keeps stealing the cheese. This makes the movie easy to get caught up in as your theories get shot down one by one. Our two leads do a nice job. Butler provides a snarkier version of Jigsaw from Saw mixed with Kevin Spacey's John Doe from Se7en. Jamie Foxx ably morphs Morgan Freeman's and Brad Pitt's characters from the latter into one character. Yes, this movie borrows heavily from both of those but does so in a manner that still allows it to stand on its own. It helps that the twist and ending, while a bit of an eye-roller, are handled well.

The Bad: It's one of those movies where whoever is doing all this killing would either need an army of helpers (like a movie crew, perhaps) or have to be omnipotent. There are other major loopholes as well. For instance, the amount of time it takes to get from one place to another clearly depends on who's doing the travelling and what the plot needs at a given moment. The movie gives some explanations but they don't quite add up. Instead we start to think the killer has some sort of super-power. I suppose that's partly the point but it seems like overkill.

The Ugly: That's what you get for answering your cell phone during a meeting.

Recommendation: This is a fun but silly entry into the thriller/suspense genre. Even as implausibilities mount, you tend to let them slide while watching because it manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. The problem comes after its over and you start to think about it a bit. Scrutiny is not its friend. To quote famed critic Roger Ebert's review of the film, it is "One of those movies you like more at the time than in retrospect."

The Opposite View: Nick Rogers, Suite101.com

What the Internet Says: 7.4/10 on imdb.com (11/3/09), 24% on rottentomatoes.com, 34/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 6.5/10


PS: Apologies to my wife who loved the movie and peruses my reviews at least enough to see the scores. After it was over she began pleading her case for me to give it a '10'.


Sidenote: Every time I see Gerard Butler I think to myself, 'This can't possibly be the same guy who played King Leonidas in 300, can it?'

It's funny how women tend to enjoy these types of movies much more than men.

My feelings for this movie are similar to yours, while my girlfriend shared your wives'.

I thought it was entertaining and a good action flick but a bit over the top, she thought it was great because of the guessing game aspect of it.

 

[Palooza]

Dell have you ever seen/reviewed Carnal Knowledge? We're watching that tonight in my Film class and I'm going to have to write a paper on it before next week. Can't go wrong with Jack Nicholson, though, which helps.

 

[dell71]

Dell have you ever seen/reviewed Carnal Knowledge? We're watching that tonight in my Film class and I'm going to have to write a paper on it before next week. Can't go wrong with Jack Nicholson, though, which helps.

Seen bits & pieces of it but never in its entirety or any lengthy parts for that matter. I'll have to check it out.

 

[dell71]

The Darjeeling Limited
2007. Rated R, 91 minutes.
Director: Wes Anderson.
Starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan.

Plot: Three brothers try to come to grips with their father's death, their mother's apathy and each other during a train ride across India.

The Good: This is a sufficiently odd comedy that's more about quirks than wackiness. The idiosyncracies of not only our three leads themselves, but of their relationships with each other drive the movie. Later, when their mom (played by Anjelica Huston) is thrown into the mix things get even more interesting. What helps is a script that rarely looks for the easy answer or even the easy laugh. Therefore, the performers never have to overexert themeselves to sell a joke. They can play it straight and laughs come from time to time organically, the way they do for most real people, not manufactured by unrealistic hijinks and shenanigans.

The Bad: For most comedy fans, its too slow and a bit repetitive. Like I said, it doesn't really go all out with any slapstick and the repetitiveness of how they interact with one another does add realism but will make some viewers groan. This will make the plot seem like its meandering and its point will be lost. Even for people completely into it, its point might seem overblown. That's because the reason for all the anymosity between them is a bit murky. We're shown what has happened but why it should cause such a rift among brothers isn't clear.

The Ugly: Could we not find even a 30 second scene for Bill Murray? He appears very briefly on screen at the beginning and end of the movie and says nothing.

Recommendation: It's one of those movies I like but don't feel real comfortable recommending. Its got that dry style that only plays well to certain people. By the way if you rent the DVD, select the option to view the movie with Hotel Chevalier. It's technically not part of the movie but a short billed as "Part 1." Essentially, its a 13 minute prequel. Watching it adds some context to the final scene. To convince you horndogs that its worth your time I'll divulge the following: Natalie Portman (who also has a two second non-speaking cameo in the actual film) gets naked. For my personal tastes, she could definitely use a meal but I know lots of you are into that sort of thing.

The Opposite View: Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide

What the Internet Says: 7.3/10 on imdb.com (11/16/09), 67% on rottentomatoes.com, 67/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 7/10