Dell's Good, Bad & Ugly Movie Reviews

[Houston]

What do you think about the Oscars last night?

 

[dell71]

What do you think about the Oscars last night?

Lol, just finished posting about it in another thread. Solid show, stretched out too far as always. No real surprises, though (maybe the Sandra Bullock win). Glad to see The Hurt Locker get Best Pic.

 

[nflman2033]

Very solid movie.

BTW, for all of you waiting on my review of Moon, I finally got my hands on a copy after a few misfires so I really will have it up sometime in the next week or so.

Still don't have my home computer back up so the reviews will continue to be a little on the slow side.

watched Moon on Saturday, can't wait to see your review.


I would give it about an 8/10, it wasn't overly predictible, but it wasn't hard to figure out where they were going with things pretty quick, however the mark of a good movie for me is that even though there were no suprises i still enjoyed it.

 

[dell71]

I know it's not Moon but I do have a review to share...(I'm such a tease)...

Never Back Down
Directed by Jeff Wadlow.
2009. Rated PG-13, 110 minutes.
Cast:
Sean Faris
Amber Heard
Cam Gigandet
Evan Peters
Leslie Hope
Djimon Hounsou
Wyatt Smith​

Plot: After he and his family move to a new neighborhood, troubled Jake Tyler (Faris) finds himself the target of local underground mixed-martial arts champ/bully Ryan (Gigandet) and falling in love with Ryan's girl, Baja (Heard).

The Good: In true movie fashion, the fight scenes strip MMA of the long stretches in which fighters are on the ground, subtly moving and trying to apply and reverse holds. For the sport's enthusiasts, that's a very technical and enjoyable part of combat. For the rest of us, it's two guys laying on each other for minutes at a time without accomplishing much. Instead, we rightfully focus on the flashier, more visibly brutal aspects of MMA since they make better theater. Although the cast leaves much to be desired, the biggest name in the group turns in good work. As this movie's version of Mr. Miyagi, Djimon Hounsou gives a bound to be underappreciated performance. The movie is also paced pretty well, zipping us along from one event to the next.

The Bad: Nothing happens we don't see coming. We can literally count down the minutes until this character or that gets beat down, to when Jake gets kicked out of training for being a hot-head, to when the girl starts to come around, to when he does something nice for his little brother, etc. Aside from that, all the characters are retreads from dozens of other, better movies. These two factors render the movie totally unimaginative.

The Ugly: One character tells another "This ain't no Bruce Lee movie, bro!" Hmmph, only in their dreams.

Recommendation: It's a fun enough movie that some will excuse or ignore it's shortcomings and enjoy. For those people, there will be nothing really wrong with it. Indeed, there is enough action to whet the appetite but it still may not be terribly memorable. If you liked the Channing Tatum vehicle Fighting or a fan of Tony Jaa movies, this is right up your alley.

The Opposite View: Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter

What the Internet Says: 6.2/10 on imdb.com (3/9/10), 24% on rottentomatoes.com, 39/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 5/10​

 

[Palooza]

AND I WON'T... BACK... DOWN.

/tompetty

 

[wingsfan77]

Yea I'd give that movie a 5 as well, it was okay but nothing I'd wanna watch again. Watched "In Bruges" the other day and I really enjoyed it, loved the subtle humor.

"I can't see!"
"Well of course you can't, I just shot you in the eyes with a blank"

hahahaha

 

[dell71]

AND I WON'T... BACK... DOWN.

/tompetty

Nicely played, sir.

 

[KillaK]

Dell have you ever seen Dark City? I just watched it the other day and really liked it. It was a pretty neat dark sci-fi movie imo.

 

[dell71]

Moon
Directed by Duncan Jones.
2009. Rated R, 97 minutes.
Cast:
Sam Rockwell
Kevin Spacey
Dominique McElligott
Kaya Scoreland​

Plot: Sam Bell (Rockwell) works alone as an energy miner on the moon and is nearing the end of his three year contract when an accident leads to some startling revelations.

The Good: It takes a unique approach by limiting our scope to a single person (sort of) while simultaneously maximizing the potential consequences (he mines for what has become Earth’s primary source of energy). Though the latter isn’t played up as much, it still sits on the very edge of our consciousness. For the former, it calls into question the ethics of a certain scientific possibility and explores the psyche of a stranded man. To keep us engaged, Sam Rockwell is phenomenal in the lead. In what becomes dual roles, he gives two very different and excellent performances. He effectively gives us both ends of a spectrum. Finally, when it ends we’re not sure whether our hero has achieved victory or just delayed defeat. This gives us something to contemplate and debate.

The Bad: The movie gives up the good a little too quickly. It could’ve toyed with us a bit longer by continuing to make us doubt the sanity of a truly singular man. Our villains are totally faceless. That actually works in this instance but we’d still like to hear more from them. We’d also like to hear more about the physical condition of our hero. We can certainly develop our own theories but this is something HAL…er…GERTY (Spacey) could’ve explained and probably would’ve deepened our empathy for Sam.

The Ugly: What happens when Sam phones home.

Recommendation: This is the thinking man’s sci-fi. If you’re looking for an outer-space adventure filled with lasers, phasers and intergalactic warfare, go watch Star Trek again. When you’re ready for something that has deeper roots and more relevance to our current reality, take a trip to the moon.

The Opposite View: Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

What the Internet Says: 8.0/10 on imdb.com (3/12/10), 89% on rottentomatoes.com, 67/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 8/10​

 

[dell71]

Dell have you ever seen Dark City? I just watched it the other day and really liked it. It was a pretty neat dark sci-fi movie imo.

Yes, I have and also enjoyed it. When I get a chance I'll dig up the review I wrote for it.

 

[dell71]

Year One
Directed by Harold Ramis.
2009. Rated PG-13, 97 minutes.
Cast:
Jack Black
Michael Cera
David Cross
Olivia Wilde
Oliver Platt
Hank Azaria
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Juno Temple
June Diane Raphael​

Plot: When caveman Zed (Black) eats the forbidden fruit from The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he is forced to leave his village and never return. With his buddy Oh (Cera) in tow, the two set out on an adventure of biblical proportions.

The Good: Hmmm…well…ya know…oh, I’ve got it. There are a couple amusing moments involving Kane (Cross). Yes, Kane from The Bible. There are also some laughs to be had over the scenes between the High Priest (Platt) and Oh. Speaking of Oh, Michael Cera’s patented line delivery and his normal smart-alec dialogue occasionally causes a chuckle.

The Bad: Roughly 95 of the 97 minutes it takes to watch. The story is comprised of a number of random biblical stories and scientific events assembled regardless of chronology and utterly devoid of humor or depth. Jack Black is constantly talking or aping for the camera yet, nothing he says or does is even remotely funny. Whatever message the movie is trying to get across is muddled, at best. And why did Oliver Platt sign on for this garbage?

The Ugly: Examining the poop.

Recommendation: Unless you’re just a die hard Jack Black or Michael Cera fan, stay far far away. In fact, I hereby forbid you to watch YO. Any who disobeys my command shall eternally be forced to watch this movie and this movie only while being intravenously fed a continuous supply of 5 Hour Energy. Believe me, as horribly unfunny as those previous two sentences are, they’re downright gut-busting compared to 99% of YO.

The Opposite View: Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

What the Internet Says: 5.1/10 on imdb.com (3/12/10), 15% on rottentomatoes.com, 34/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 0/10​

 

[NAHSTE]

I need to check out Moon, heard too many good things about it not to. Heading over to netflix now to update my queue. Thanks for reminding me Dell.

As for Year One, as I mentioned in the Last Movie You Saw thread, I punched myself in the face after seeing the trailer to erase my memory of it. So I've seen it a negative amount of times.

 

[Palooza]

I need to check out Moon, heard too many good things about it not to. Headign over to netflix now to update my queue. Thanks for reminding me Dell.

As for Year One, as I mentioned in the Last Movie You Saw thread, I punched myself in the face after seeing the trailer to erase my memory of it. So I've seen it a negative amount of times.

Moon is awesome. Check it out. I'm a huge fan of Rockwell's (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is one of my favorite movies)

 

[nflman2033]

good to see you gave Moon the same rating I gave it

 

[Epidemik]

haven't even heard of moon. gotta check that one out

 

[Houston]

lol congrats on being able to watch all of Year One.

I'd say on average I stay up to 5 in the morning, but this movie put me to sleep before 11. I feel asleep at the Cain and Abel part and never bothered to watch the rest.

 

[dell71]

lol congrats on being able to watch all of Year One.

I'd say on average I stay up to 5 in the morning, but this movie put me to sleep before 11. I feel asleep at the Cain and Abel part and never bothered to watch the rest.

I should've went to sleep...believe it or not, it was all downhill from there.

 

[dell71]

Avatar
Directed by James Cameron.
2009. Rated PG-13, 162 minutes.
Cast:
Sam Worthington
Zoe Saldana
Sigourney Weaver
Stephen Lang
Joel Moore
CCH Pounder
Michelle Rodriguez
Giovanni Ribisi
Laz Alonso​

Plot: Jake Sully (Worthington), a former Marine who has become a paraplegic is recruited to replace his deceased twin brother in the research department of a mining colony from Earth on the moon Pandora.

The Good: It’s a great looking movie. In Pandora, director James Cameron gives us a plush world filled with wonders. Each creature is a magnificent beast and the blue-hued Na’vi people are beautifully rendered. Then there are things like floating mountains and gigantic trees that also take our breath away. Like all of the physical aspects of this movie, the action scenes are a sight to behold. In fact, nearly every frame contains something amazing for us to marvel. As the most fully realized native character, Zoe Saldana is excellent as Neytiri. Admittedly, it’s hard to tell how much is actually her and how much is technology. Finally, instead of being difficult to ascertain, it gives us easily understandable metaphors for the recent/current wars America involves itself in (the precious resource here is heavy-handedly named ‘unobtainium’) and for saving our own planet.

The Bad: The story is a complete cut-and-paste job. Beneath all it’s visual splendor, it’s a rather predictable love story. Each point on the arc of the relationship of the highlighted couple can be spotted pretty far in advance. Meanwhile, other situations that hold no surprises play out between the military and research branches of the human camp. This unfortunately gives it something in common with the worst of the Star Wars movies. It often feels like all techno-wizardry dragged along by trite dialogue.

The Ugly: Man, can Colonel Quaritch (Lang) hold his breath a long time while performing physically demanding feats.

Recommendation: If you’re into big special fx flicks, you absolutely cannot miss this movie. That said, it’s a hard movie to grade because it’s so visually spectacular but so narratively blah. It’s not a terrible blah, but blah, nonetheless. Because of what it might mean to the advancement of technology in movie-making, it’s possibly the most important movie of the last few years. However, when you step away from it for a moment you realize it’s beautiful, exciting and ultimately cute, but not great.

The Opposite View: Scott Tobias, The Onion (A.V. Club)

What the Internet Says: 8.5/10 on imdb.com (#67 all time as of 3/16/10), 82% on rottentomatoes.com, 84/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 7.5/10​

DISCLAIMER: If some of the "lost posts" show up then this review might show up again...or a few of you may even have seen it. If it turns out to be a duplicate post just ignore it.

 

[Houston]

I think Avatar is one of those movies where you gotta step back for a sec before you judge. Gotta stop jizzing over all the amazing visuals and effects first...

 

[Fox1994]

Now that I think about Year One, Jack Black really wasn't all that funny. I think the movie was, though. Like, the majority of the actors were humorous. Of course, Michael Cera led the way...

Didn't see Avatar. Not planning on it. I could tell it was just techno-wizardry. I'll pass.