Dell's Good, Bad & Ugly Movie Reviews

[Leftwich]

Dell I'd like to see you do a review of my favorite vampire movies ever.

The Lost Boys.

 

[nflman2033]

The Thing
Directed by John Carpenter
1982. Rated R, 109 minutes.
Cast:
Kurt Russell
Wilford Brimley
Keith David
David Clennon
T.K. Carter
Richard Dysart
Charles Hallahan
​

A dog that appears to be running from the Norwegians who are stationed nearby shows up at an American research camp in Antartica. Shortly, the dog is discovered to really be some sort of shape-shifting organism that can perfectly imitate other life forms and tries to ingest whoever or whatever it copies. It doesn't rush us along from one killing to the next. Instead, it deals extensively with how the problem at hand affects the trust of the people who have to deal with it. This is where the strength of the movie lies. Still, it gets nasty when it has to through the use of special fx that have held up surprisingly well over the nearly 30 years since it first came out. That's mostly due to the fact that they're used sparingly. Unlike most movies of today, we're not constantly looking at some cgi concoction or another. We have organically made creature effects that we only see enough to creep us out. The only major drawback to the movie is that it plays like an Earth-bound version of the classic Alien. It's actually a remake of the 1951 move, The Thing from Another World. Either way, its an excellent sci-fi/horror experience.

MY SCORE: 8/10​

10/10 one of my all time favorites

 

[Maynard]

teen wolf was great. I still watch it if it comes on TV.

i watched sideways last night. I forgot how great that movie is.

 

[dell71]

Dell I'd like to see you do a review of my favorite vampire movies ever.

The Lost Boys.

Also one of my fave vampire movies of all time. Even though I own it, its been a long long time since I watched it and can't do a proper review just yet. I'll have to dig it out of storage one of these days.

 

[Leftwich]

Also one of my fave vampire movies of all time. Even though I own it, its been a long long time since I watched it and can't do a proper review just yet. I'll have to dig it out of storage one of these days.

Hopefully sooner rather than later.

 

[Senser81]

The Thing was a great movie. John Carpenter actually put a lot of thought into the sci-fi aspect of it...its a very bizarre movie. I think Alien (the original) is more of a "what is going on here?" movie where you spend most of the time trying to figure out what the Alien actually is and where its hiding in the ship. In The Thing, its tense throughout the entire movie because The Thing could be the person standing next to you. Its a little bit different experience.

 

[Epidemik]

Con-Air

What did you think sir Dell?

 

[Maynard]

i thought i saw a review of snatch. I remember dell saying it was possible the bes role brad pitt ever played....i cant find the review.

But i started this last night. This movie is just silly. Incrdible directing and acting across the board. I am only about 30 mins into it, but its pretty funny. That scene with the 3 black dudes robbing the bookie was cracking me up.

the only problem is that they all have accents and i have a hard time understand what they are saying. I need sub titles! I know Pitt was supposed to talk that way, but like the 3 jews in the beginning are very hard to understand

 

[dell71]

Con-Air

What did you think sir Dell?

Over the top, ultra-macho (read: homoerotic), highly watchable and enjoyable trash. Think most Sly Stallone or Schwarzenegger movies. If its not clear, I remember liking it when I watched it however many years ago but wouldn't call it a great film.

i thought i saw a review of snatch. I remember dell saying it was possible the bes role brad pitt ever played....i cant find the review.

But i started this last night. This movie is just silly. Incrdible directing and acting across the board. I am only about 30 mins into it, but its pretty funny. That scene with the 3 black dudes robbing the bookie was cracking me up.

the only problem is that they all have accents and i have a hard time understand what they are saying. I need sub titles! I know Pitt was supposed to talk that way, but like the 3 jews in the beginning are very hard to understand

That was in the "decade in movies" thread. And yes, it is silly but that's certainly par for the Guy Ritchie course. The accents are strong but I didn't really need subtitles. Besides, I got the impression you're not really supposed to understand everything Pitt is saying. If you're watching on DVD feel free to turn on the subtitles feature.

 

[Maynard]

i gotta torrent...i just have to rewind alot Pitts charecter is halarious....that fat dude trying to get out of the car....hehe

 

[FUSE]

Dell when will we see you review Avatar?

 

[dell71]

Dell when will we see you review Avatar?

Sadly, I'm not sure. Hopefully soon, though.

 

[Tailback U]

I just watched The Last Samurai again last night after some time, have you seen that, Dell? Don't see a review for it.

 

[Fox1994]

G-Force
Directed by Hoyt Yeatman
2009. Rated PG, 88 minutes.
Cast:
Sam Rockwell
Will Arnett
Bill Nighy
Zach Galifianakis
Penelope Cruz
Nicolas Cage
Tracy Morgan
Steve Buscemi
​

Plot: A program developing guinea pigs and other small creatures into a walking talking spy unit is in jeopardy of having its government funding pulled unless they can stop an evil mogul from taking over the world.

The Good: The little furries are very well rendered and so gosh-darn cute. All the tenets of spy-team comedies are present. We have our hero type, and our wacky sidekick. Both are smitten with the only female on the squad. Then we have our techie...I'll stop here. I don't think I'm fooling anyone.

The Bad: Many movies have annoying characters and many movies are boring. Both of those problems plague this movie. The characters are annoying enough to make PETA supporters don furs. As far as the boredom it causes, its near fatal. In fact, I'm pretty sure Shakespeare must have watched this, or at least had me in mind whil he was writing. What does that mean? It means over the course of the 90 minutes I spent watching this movie I felt like I died a thousand deaths. Lest you think I'm just being way too grown-up and unwilling to have fun with a kiddie-flick I'll have you know my 9 year old daughter stood up about 30 minutes in, announced "this is boring" and left the room. I wish I had such guts. Spinelessly, I endured it with my 7 year old daughter who was only mildly entertained but holding me hostage, nonetheless.

The Ugly: Okay, I admit I chuckled a bit when Juarez (Cruz) had her emerging from the water scene.

Recommendation: Only watch this is you absolutely must. If that is the case, be sure to keep all sharp objects out of reach or you may be tempted to jam one in your own eye merely for the sake of having something interesting happen. If your kids want to watch it, load it in the DVD player and inform them it is really urgent that you count and label the strands of carpet in the another, then disappear. C'mon, an hour and a half of Disney baby-sitting won't kill them. I don't think.

The Opposite View: MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher

What the Internet Says: 4.9/10 on imdb.com (1/9/10), 24% on rottentomatoes.com, 41/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 0/10​

"If you ever get a chance to bring humanity to its knees... Do it."

God, this movie killed me. It was too bad to laugh at. The only good part was Will Arnett, but that passed quickly. Ugh, this movie was depressingly bad. My sister turned it on.

I was hoping I'd get to play my PS2 afterward (we were at my dad's house), but I decided to turn in after that... And I think she turned-on some other bullshit movie after that.

 

[JrRawlins]

i know you have seen City of God, but have you done a review for it?

 

[Coach]

How about Gone Baby Gone...that was my fav movie last year.

 

[dell71]

How about Gone Baby Gone...that was my fav movie last year.

In my other thread, The Decade in Movies I have it ranked as my 2nd best movie of '07 and #17 for the decade. If you want the full review:

Gone Baby Gone
2007. Rated R, 114 minutes.
Directed by Ben Affleck. Starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman.

Plot: When little Amanda turns up missing her Aunt Bea hires a pair of young private detectives to help find her.

The Good: For starters, the entire cast is terrific. Even Casey Affleck holds his own quite well. True, the flashiest moments belong to Ed Harris and the heaviest stuff is lifted mostly by Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Freeman. Still, Affleck is perfect in his role. With all of the bigger names in the cast its easy to forget Amy Ryan as Amanda's drug-addicted mom Helene. She pulls off her role brilliantly. If she doesn't the whole thing would fall apart. Also, the city of Boston is presented differently than we're used to. It's not a land of ultra-powerful mobsters like in The Departed or the over-the-top Boondock Saints. It's grittier and more urban than it's normally shown to be. The story itself twists and twists, then twists some more. The miraculous thing is all of the twists are believable enough to be realistic and heighten the tension. Finally, what really elevates the movie is an ending that causes a moral dilemma for everyone in the movie AND in the audience. Affleck's character is given the burden of deciding how it ends. I won't say whether he does or doesn't but after it's over viewers can debate whether he should have or shouldn't have for a long time.

The Bad: Black characters get the shaft in this one. Don't get me wrong. I won't go so far as to say it's racist. However, for a movie set in a city with a rep for being racially intolerant, the casting choices are curious. That said, the movie surrounding this is so good it's easy to overlook.

The Ugly: Me, for an ill-advised joke I made at one of the actors' expense (some of you will know what I mean).

Recommendations: See this movie. By the way, to this point I've neglected to note this is the directorial debut of Casey Affleck's better known and more widely hated brother Ben. He did a great job in his first time at the helm.

The Opposite View: Armond White, New York Press

What the Internet Says: 8.0/10 on imdb.com (5/18/08), 93% on rottentomatoes.com, 72/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 9.5/10

 

[Fox1994]

So it's not just my uncle that says Boston is intollerant? And you're both from the NY... Hmph. Coincidence? I think NOT! Haha. Fuck Mass. Good review.

 

[dell71]

i know you have seen City of God, but have you done a review for it?

I have but can't seem to find it. My initial review graded it at 8.5. Then I watched it again. Its a sure-fire '10' and may require another viewing so I can rewrite the review.

 

[Buzzman]

About Gone Baby Gone

 

Do you think Casey Afflecks decision at the end makes him a hypocrite after he killed the child molester? I mean I was kinda pissed he could pull the trigger, but he cant just let the little girl go with Morgans Freeman.