Published by The Reviewer 1 week, 3 days ago
in Comedy.
One Sentence: Some great comedians were not used at all in When In Rome.
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Release Date: 29-Jan-2010
Nudity: None
I am all for romantic comedies, they are light, fun and usually make the lady or man in your life a little happier if you go with them to see it. So when I go to a romantic comedy I am open to the formula that usually happens, and to most of what happens in romantic comedies. So when you put people like Will Arnett, Danny DeVito and Bobby Monyihan into a romantic comedy, it gives me great hope that it is going to be funny. Along with the always cute Kristen Bell I was pretty excited about When In Rome.
After seeing it I can not pass on that hope to you all. This is a hard thing to write as people generally don't think much of romantic comedies but, When In Rome might have been the worst romantic comedy I have seen in a very long time. Poorly written, horribly cut, completely unfunny and sort of boring, When In Rome was very hard to get through. Which is so disappointing when you have such an amazing cast in a movie.
I think When In Rome is the leader for worst movie of the year 1 month into the year and if not for a few slightly funny scenes this movie would get 1 star, but it saved itself just barely. But getting 2 stars doesn't mean anyone out there should see it in any format, even when it's on HBO at 2 AM and you have nothing else to watch except the Magic Bullet infomercial, pick the Magic Bullet infomercial.
Tag:
Comedy
Published by The Reviewer 1 week, 3 days ago
in Action.
One Sentence: My girlfriend had a panic attack because of this movie.
Rated: R
Running Time: 117 Minutes
Release Date: 29-Jan-2010
Nudity: None
Mel Gibson is back after his assault on the Jews to avenge his murdered daughter in Edge Of Darkness. What we find is a twisty, weak story led by an aging angry old man that never ends up being very good. The movie is one of those movies that ends up being about more than you can see originally, and while those movies can end up being very interesting, I don't think Edge Of Darkness succeeds at being very interesting at all. It attempts at being something that the audience would really get into, it just fails almost completely.
Mel Gibson's performance is ok, but it is hard to get past his recent statements, and it is hard to look at him otherwise. The performances of everyone else doesn't really make for an amazing supporting cast as well. I also had quite a few scenes where I had a hard time understanding people talking to each other, accents and mumbling just made it hard to figure out what was going on, in some crucial scenes.
Overall I am pretty meh on Edge Of Darkness, the girlfriend liked it more than me, and the panic attack really didn't have too much to do with the quality of the movie, and more with some of the content. I guess you could rent this, for a mediocre action drama, but don't go out of your way to catch Mel's return to the movies.
Tag:
Action
Published by The Reviewer 2 weeks, 3 days ago
in Drama.
One Sentence: Grumpy Harrison doesn't stretch at all.
Rated: PG
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Nudity: None
Release Date: 22-Jan-2010
This is a new movie Executive Produced by Harrison Ford and released by the new production company CBS Films. It is one of those movies where the subject matter by itself is supposed to make you feel, and while I can get on board with these types of movies, I think that the subject matter by itself can not carry the movie. Extraordinary Measures doesn't have the story or acting to carry the heavy subject matter to an extraordinary movie.
The movie ended up being more of a look into the pharmaceutical business and less about healing, life, and love. Which is really where the movie should have gone. It felt so clinical and cold, with both Brendan Frasier and Harrison Ford not really being anything exceptional as well. Harrison just seemed grumpy and short, not much different that he seems when he does interviews in reality. Maybe this was the intention but I didn't enjoy it.
I don't feel like backing this movie even for rental. I don't think it was especially bad, but I just don't think it was good either. I felt like if you never saw this movie you would not feel any differently than you did today. If you are into the business of getting a drug to market, then you should go see it, otherwise, I would skip it.
Tags:
2 stars,
Drama
Published by The Reviewer 3 weeks, 3 days ago
in Action.
Rated: R
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Release Date: 15-Jan-2010
Nudity: None
One Sentence: Might be the best apocalypse movie I have ever seen.
Going into The Book Of Eli the only thing I knew about it was that Denzel Washington was in it and it looked apocalyptic. The trailers told me nothing and there seemed to be no one talking about it or know much about it. I think now it is better that way and I will try to tell you as little as possible while telling you that this is an amazing movie.
The movie is one of the best, if not the best apocalypse movie I have ever seen, it is quiet, powerful and wonderfully put together. The movie seems huge and tiny all at once, the feeling of a giant empty world and yet a story about a single man in that world doing what he must. The story is simple and amazing and a wonderful idea about what must be done in a world like this. It captured what I think the world would be like after some huge catastrophic event and it does it beautifully. I think it goes without saying that Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman are amazing in their parts, and I can find very little to fault this movie.
I think this is as the ads are saying on TV the first must see movie of the year. I loved it and I think most people will love it as well, so go to the theater and check it out as soon as you can. It is rentable from a visual effect point of view, but it is so good I think you should pay the theater cost for this one anyway.
Tags:
5 stars,
Action
Published by The Reviewer 3 weeks, 4 days ago
in Drama.
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 135 Minutes
Release Date: 15-Jan-2010
Nudity: None
One Sentence: Not the movie you are thinking it is.
All the comments about The Lovely Bones I have been hearing from people that have not seen it yet is pretty universal. I read that book, I don't think I want to see a movie about it. I get a general feel that The Lovely Bones rubbed people the wrong way even though it was a best selling book. So they feel the same way about the movie. Do they want to go through that experience again? Do they want to deal with the subjects that go on in the book, or would they just like to skip it. I never read the book, but I would not skip the movie.
The Lovely Bones felt like certain movies, that deal with death and dying, that capture it in a way that I hope one day I might experience in death. I generally like these types of movies, and I did like The Lovely Bones. I thought it was wonderfully executed, the blend of life and death, the dark and light times of it all, and I think Peter Jackson made both of these worlds come to life in a spectacular way. I think he crafted the delicate subject matter in a way that painted the picture he wanted to, without putting too much weight on the audience. I left the movie feeling surprised with what I had seen and glad I had watched it.
I think it is a lovely January movie for you to go see in the theater, and due to the solid visual effects I would recommend a theater viewing of The Lovely Bones. If you have to rent it I guess it would be ok, but I think you will be missing out on some visually appealing scenes.
Tags:
4 Stars,
Drama
Published by The Reviewer 1 month ago
in Drama.
Rated: R
Running Time: 111 Minutes
Release Date: Dec 16th 2009
Nudity: Not really
One Sentence: One of the best performances I have ever seen.
My girlfriend said, "I want to meet Jeff Bridges to see what he is really like, because that didn't seem like acting." She is right, it didn't seem like acting, it seemed like a look into a man's life. A documentary almost, with how natural, real, and convincing the portrayal of Bad Blake was by Jeff Bridges. Bad Blake is a country music singer who is down on his luck and life. Jeff Bridges brought this man to life in a way I rarely see, even with every years Academy Award Winnders.
Crazy Heart is a rough and tumble movie about a man's choices in life, it travels along the road slowly through New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. It moves at the speed of Bad Blake and his life gone wrong, and while at no time does the movie ever bore or feel slow, this movie is not the normal movie I would recommend on The-reviewer.net It is a dialogue movie through and through, about hard lives and bad choices, if that doesn't seem like your type of movie I would steer clear, but if it does then Crazy Heart is worth checking out.
Additionally all music that is sung during this movie is done by the actors in the movie and it is very well done. The music rubbed off on me as well, it, like the movie felt hard lived and true. I am not a country music fan, but I do live in Texas and once in a while that feeling rubs off on me and it did in Crazy Heart. This is the type of music movie that I wish all those other biopics that have come out in the last few years was. I highly recommend this movie to everyone at least for rental. I would expect to see this name Crazy Heart pop up a few times at the Academy Awards.
Tags:
4 Stars,
Drama
Published by The Reviewer 1 month, 3 weeks ago
in Action.
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 162 Minutes
Release Date: 18-Dec-2009
Nudity: Blue people sort of naked.
One Sentence: They have solved the final CG problem.
Star Wars, Tron, The Abyss, Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, Toy Story, Lord Of The Rings. All these movies in some way or another changed the way movies were made in my lifetime. There were turning points where you could actually see from that point on a change in the way movies were made. All of these movies have done amazing things in the world of CGI and special effects. They had almost solved everything, except for creating "humanity" within a CG character. This never has been done exceptionally well, until today.
Avatar solves the problem of humanity within the world of CG and movies from this day forward will never be the same. It was a amazing experience and one that I think everyone should experience. Now any actor can become anyone or anything. The things James Cameron invented with Avatar are very hard to explain or describe, the only things you can say are amazing, wonderful, and excitement from this movie and all things to come from the new high standard it set. I can't wait to see what movies next use this technology.
Avatar isn't only a CG fest either, the amazing 3-D world that was created carries with it a wonderful story, with beautiful acting both by human and CG "humans." It has action and beauty and is a wonderful package of everything put together. Every shot, every spoken word, and everything within Avatar are put together with such skill and grace it made me forget quite a few times I was in a theater with other people and not in that world. I can not say enough good things about this movie, and I think everyone should go see it in the theater in 3-D as soon as you can.
Tags:
5 stars,
Action
