Dell's Good, Bad & Ugly Movie Reviews

[Houston]

Whoa, was not expecting that.....



I thought it was gonna be just another lame slasher flick.

 

[Rivers17ncsu]

I haven't see the original, but I really liked Let Me In

 

[j.hen]

Dell I think you should definitely check out/review K-PAX. Incredible film.

 

[dell71]

Dell I think you should definitely check out/review K-PAX. Incredible film.

I will.

 

[NAHSTE]

Nice review of Let Me In, but I still think the original is better. The one knock I have on the American version is the lack of subtlety with which it explains the relationship between the girl and the older guardian. It's a little bit more of an "oh shit" moment in the original when you figure it out, whereas in the remake they pretty much spoon feed you the dynamic of the relationship.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Let Me In
<strong>Directed by Matt Reeves.</strong>
<em>2010. Rated R, 116 minutes.
Cast:
Chloë Grace Moretz
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Richard Jenkins
Cara Buono
Elias Koteas
Sasha Barrese
Dylan Kenin
Richie Coster
Dylan Minnette</em>​

Owen (Smit-McPhee) is twelve years old and has no friends. Even worse, he’s the class punching bag. Things are so bad, he hangs out alone at night, in the courtyard of his apartment complex and fantasizes about getting revenge. If that weren’t enough, he lives with his mom who’s in the process of divorcing his dad and is an emotional wreck. One night, he notices a girl his age moving into the apartment next door to his with her father. Eventually, we find out her name is Abby (Moretz). As it turns out, she’s also a loner who seeks solitude in the courtyard most nights. Even though, it’s the dead of winter she doesn’t wear shoes. Owen notices this and also finds out rather quickly that she leads some sort of tortured existence, as well. The two seemingly kindred spirits strike up a friendship. However, Owen doesn’t realize something we already know. Abby is a vampire.

To remain as conspicuous as possible, Abby’s “father” (Jenkins) supplies her with blood by killing random people, draining the blood from them and carrying it back to her. Whenever he fails at this task, or hunger overwhelms her, she has to hunt for her own meals. Let’s just say her table manners are less than desirable.

The movie’s pace is deliberately slow but it doesn’t drag. It draws us in through the growing relationship between Owen and Abby. It also never forgets that there are murders being committed so the police are working feverishly to find out who’s responsible. All along, we wonder what will happen when things get figured out? What will happen when Owen comes to understand what Abby really is? What happens when the police figure it out?

Of course, the vampire craze of the last few years can be traced back to the <em>Twilight</em> series. Everything in that critic-proof juggernaut is dolled up to appeal to young girls and teach them about the virtues of abstinence. While that’s a fine message it’s done in a manner that makes the idea of vampires even less tangible than it already is. It’s not just fantasy. It’s impossibly sanitized so that any thoughts deemed to be impure are like the greatest evils know to mankind. On the other hand, any good things are romanticized to the nth degree. In short, the <em>Twilight</em> films alternately panders to and preaches to its audience on a continuous basis.

In <em>Let Me In</em>, the characters are not in some totally foreign dimension where everything is glossy and nice where vampires can go out in the daytime and wean themselves from human blood. Instead, the vampire is dropped into our reality. This offers insight into what it might be like if there really were such a creature in our midst. To understand the difference between this world and the <em>Twilight</em> world think about the <em>Batman</em> movies. Specifically, think of how Gotham City is portrayed in the recent Christopher Nolan movies and in the franchise-killing Joel Schumacher flicks. <em>LMI</em> would be the Nolan films, not quite fully realistic but enough to seem a lot more plausible.

For those of us lucky enough to have seen it, there is yet another elephant in the room. That one is the Swedish original, less than two years old when its American remake hit theaters. Technically, like its predecessor, <em>LMI</em> claims to be based on the novel <em>Let the Right One In</em>. The Swedish film keeps the full title while this one truncates it. Otherwise, there’s not enough of a difference for me to say it isn’t a remake. There are some changes here and there. Most notably, there is one glaring omission and one event moved to the beginning of the film. The omission is the now infamous crotch shot of our vampire. The event involves the father and is key to the movie so I won’t spoil that.

The fact that this is largely the same movie is not a knock on the American flick. It wisely follows the template already created. Aside from the omission I mentioned, it doesn’t water things down, at all. Unlike most remakes, the additions don’t become subtractions. There are no overly big showy moments for no reason other than injecting some perceived excitement. To its credit, the one recognizably American thing it did actually works. It adds a little more gore. However, it does so for good reason and not at the cost of character development as is often the case. It is rare that a remake can stand up to the original, particularly when the remake is American and the original is not. This one does. What I’m going to say next may seem even stranger than that. When the subtitleophobes tell you this one is better, ignore that they’re probably basing their opinion solely on the fact it’s in English. They might actually be right, this time.

<strong>MY SCORE: 9/10</strong>​

Dell, c'mon man.

This flick was awful.

Lacked every bit of charm, simplicity, nuance, and innocence the original had, which, is basically want makes the film so awesome.

 

[dell71]

Nice review of Let Me In, but I still think the original is better. The one knock I have on the American version is the lack of subtlety with which it explains the relationship between the girl and the older guardian. It's a little bit more of an "oh shit" moment in the original when you figure it out, whereas in the remake they pretty much spoon feed you the dynamic of the relationship.

Fair.

Dell, c'mon man.

This flick was awful.

Lacked every bit of charm, simplicity, nuance, and innocence the original had, which, is basically want makes the film so awesome.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[Houston]

I may have already asked this, but what major movies from The Oscars have you seen?

 

[dell71]

I may have already asked this, but what major movies from The Oscars have you seen?

I'm a little slow on the trigger as far as Best Pic noms go this year. Of the 10 noms (way too many, they should go back to 5) I've seen & reviewed here in this thread:

The Social Network
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
Toy Story 3

I'll see the other 6 noms soon enough.

Movies nominated in other categories reviewed in this thread:

The Town
How to Train Your Dragon
Alice in Wonderland
The Wolfman
Unstoppable
Salt
Iron Man 2

 

[dell71]

Megamind
<strong>Directed by Tom McGrath.</strong>
<em>2010. Rated PG, 95 minutes.
Cast:
Will Ferrell
Tina Fey
Brad Pitt
Jonah Hill
David Cross
J. K. Simmons
Ben Stiller
Jessica Schulte
Justin Theroux</em>​

Like most supervillains, Megamind (Ferrell) can never quite beat the hero in town. Try as he might, his plans are always thwarted by Metro Man (Pitt). To give you a point of reference, Metro Man is basically Superman dressed in all white. Megamind has spent practically his entire life trying to overcome the do-gooder. However, he hasn’t really thought about what he would do if he were actually victorious. So, when he finally manages to defeat Metro Man, he finds out that total domination isn’t all he thought it would be. With no one to challenge him, and no one to share his success with, he gets bored.

In order to spice things us, Megamind takes on two tasks. First, he tries to woo TV news reporter Roxanne Richie (Fey). Essentially, she’s the Lois Lane of our tale. In the past, he’s kidnapped her way too many times to count. Therefore, he creates an alter-ego. He also creates an alter-ego for his second task: coaching someone else up to be a hero and provide him with some opposition. This other alter-ego is a bit problematic for the movie’s target audience. Most kids simply won’t get it. They’re just too young. Whether or not parents get it seems to depend on whether they’re fans of the Superman movies, or not. That’s because the shape Megamind takes for this is that of Superman’s father as portrayed by Marlon Brando in those movies. If you have that point of reference, it’s a great source of comedy. If you don’t, not so much.

The rest of the movie works pretty well. It nicely spoofs both superhero and supervillain lore by poking fun at the clichés we’ve all come to know and love. This keeps us chuckling for much of the runtime. In addition, we come to genuinely feel for the bad guy. We even come to be on his side as he works to correct his mistakes. Surprisingly, we also find ourselves thinking about Metro Man at the end. What happens when the hero becomes tired of, or is left unfulfilled by being heroic? The movie treads lightly in this area so it doesn’t drag us down, emotionally. However, it is still a question that’s left out there.

In the end, <em>Megamind</em> is a fun affair that does what it sets out to. It entertains us with a family-friendly redemption story. It shares a number of similarities with <em>Despicable Me</em>, but is different enough that watching both is no issue. However, I will say that even though I enjoyed both, which you like best might be predicated on which you see first.

<strong>MY SCORE: 7/10</strong>​

 

[Buzzman]

Good review on Megamind, and it didn't help that out of the 10 movies nominated for best picture it seemed half of them came out in December. Then we gotta wait 4 months for the DVD release so you can review it.

Edit: Thinking back, December had Black Swan, The Fighter, King's Speech, and True Grit. Not to mention Blue Valentine came out as well. December was a loaded month. I hate when they do that but I wonder how much more of an impact Inception would have had on the voters if it had been released as a Christmas film. It certainly helped Avatar.

 

[Maynard]

State of Play
MY SCORE: 7.5/10

watched this again today. still great after 3 viewings. predictable now (obviously) but still an interesting and entertaining film

Dell I think you should definitely check out/review K-PAX. Incredible film.

i just noticed he still hasnt done north dallas forty. the GOAT when it comes to sports films. its been on cable recently too. The Encore channels

 

[tigstah]

i saw megamind, your review summed it up perfectly. i thought i was too long, it seemed to drag on. it also didn't help that i watched despicable me before i watched megamind. i liked the superman references, pretty funny. i would have given it a 5.5 or a 6. i find myself comparing the two, i just liked despicable me more.

 

[dave]

You should watch Easy A, Dell.
Good movie not on your list, surprisingly.

 

[dell71]

i just noticed he still hasnt done north dallas forty. the GOAT when it comes to sports films. its been on cable recently too. The Encore channels

Very soon on this one.

You should watch Easy A, Dell.
Good movie not on your list, surprisingly.

Also very soon on this one, too.

 

[dell71]

Dell’s Classics Presents:

Cool Hand Luke
<strong>Directed by Stuart Rosenberg.</strong>
<em>1967. Not Rated, 126 minutes.
Cast:
Paul Newman
George Kennedy
Strother Martin
J.D. Cannon
Lou Antonio
Jo Van Fleet
Clifton James
Robert Drivas
Dennis Hopper</em>​

Drunk, and possibly bored, Luke (Newman) gets busted for cutting the heads off about a dozen parking meters. He is sentenced to a prison where he has to work on the chain-gang every day. For you young’uns, there was a time when prisoners did much more on the highways and by-ways than picking up the trash. Being convicted of a crime meant physically exhausting work on those roads on a daily basis. Luke enters just such a place.

Luke also has a smug attitude and unwillingness to conform that tends to rub people the wrong way, at first. Upon his arrival, neither the officers nor his fellow inmates care much for him. Soon, his unbreakable spirit wins over the other prisoners and even most of the guards. However, it also earns him some trouble. Eventually, the movie becomes a battle of wills between Luke and his captors.

The man in the lead role facilitates the battle, perfectly. Paul Newman shows once again why he is a Hollywood icon. His trademark smirk shows just enough arrogance for us to be hesitant about liking him. Arrogance soon reveals itself to really be the type of confidence that attracts people. Then, somehow despite his movie star looks, he never feels like a pretty boy. He’s simply magnetic.

As good as Newman is here, George Kennedy is his equal. As Dragline, Kennedy is charismatic, funny and a commanding presence. His rapid-fire, rumbling voice practically scores the film. Indeed, he seems to do a great deal more talking than our hero, Luke. Dragline is the one that seems to come around on Luke, first in spite of the rocky start they get off to. His near constant chatter helps everyone else do the same.

From the outside looking in, we grow to love Luke just like the inmates. Early on, before us or them is really on his side, Luke finds himself in a fistfight with Dragline. Luke is pitifully overmatched. He gets knocked down so often you’d think it was his mission in life. However, it’s what happens between knock-downs that is his real purpose. He gets up. He gets up, over and over again. He keeps getting up even when it doesn’t seem to be in his best interest. It’s just who he is. Who he is endears him to us. We wish we had his courage. That’s why, during the latter parts of the movie, our sentiments echo those of the convicts during that lopsided fight. From our seats we feel helpless, yet we keep begging him. Stay down, Luke. Stay down.

<strong>MY SCORE: 10/10</strong>​

 

[Maynard]

i barely saw paul newmans head and knew it had to be cool hand luke. great film...excellent review

 

[Houston]

Cool Hand Luke came on TCM yesterday. I recorded it, gonna watch it later.

 

[KillaK]

Loved Cool Hand Luke. Whenever my girlfriends dog acts up I usually start the speech with "What we have here is a failure to communicate"

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Dell’s Classics Presents:

Cool Hand Luke
<strong>Directed by Stuart Rosenberg.</strong>
<em>1967. Not Rated, 126 minutes.
Cast:
Paul Newman
George Kennedy
Strother Martin
J.D. Cannon
Lou Antonio
Jo Van Fleet
Clifton James
Robert Drivas
Dennis Hopper</em>​

Drunk, and possibly bored, Luke (Newman) gets busted for cutting the heads off about a dozen parking meters. He is sentenced to a prison where he has to work on the chain-gang every day. For you young’uns, there was a time when prisoners did much more on the highways and by-ways than picking up the trash. Being convicted of a crime meant physically exhausting work on those roads on a daily basis. Luke enters just such a place.

Luke also has a smug attitude and unwillingness to conform that tends to rub people the wrong way, at first. Upon his arrival, neither the officers nor his fellow inmates care much for him. Soon, his unbreakable spirit wins over the other prisoners and even most of the guards. However, it also earns him some trouble. Eventually, the movie becomes a battle of wills between Luke and his captors.

The man in the lead role facilitates the battle, perfectly. Paul Newman shows once again why he is a Hollywood icon. His trademark smirk shows just enough arrogance for us to be hesitant about liking him. Arrogance soon reveals itself to really be the type of confidence that attracts people. Then, somehow despite his movie star looks, he never feels like a pretty boy. He’s simply magnetic.

As good as Newman is here, George Kennedy is his equal. As Dragline, Kennedy is charismatic, funny and a commanding presence. His rapid-fire, rumbling voice practically scores the film. Indeed, he seems to do a great deal more talking than our hero, Luke. Dragline is the one that seems to come around on Luke, first in spite of the rocky start they get off to. His near constant chatter helps everyone else do the same.

From the outside looking in, we grow to love Luke just like the inmates. Early on, before us or them is really on his side, Luke finds himself in a fistfight with Dragline. Luke is pitifully overmatched. He gets knocked down so often you’d think it was his mission in life. However, it’s what happens between knock-downs that is his real purpose. He gets up. He gets up, over and over again. He keeps getting up even when it doesn’t seem to be in his best interest. It’s just who he is. Who he is endears him to us. We wish we had his courage. That’s why, during the latter parts of the movie, our sentiments echo those of the convicts during that lopsided fight. From our seats we feel helpless, yet we keep begging him. Stay down, Luke. Stay down.

<strong>MY SCORE: 10/10</strong>​

NOW NOW NOW!!!!!!!

Love this movie.