Reviews

Okay, first this movie is great for what it is meant to be, a family friendly comedy romp. It has funny moments, touching moments, it gives you chuckles and even a few laughs. It isn't trying to win awards or stun the audience with special effects. You sit down, watch it, laugh a little, think about how cute the kids are, then go on with the rest of your day. A lot of action stars have taken a turn at comedy to soften their image, Stallone and Arnold S. to name a couple, so Vin Diesel is in good company there. I think it is a decent, light movie worth at least a matinée viewing. The kids are charmers, Vin Diesel doesn't seem to mind being the but of jokes, and most of the acting is good. And ladies, he spends most of the movie in tight t-shirts, and according to my wife has a nice posterior region. Guys you have to settle for Lauren Graham's sweet smile.

I agree with most of the people who have spoken. This show has a lot of potential, but it needs some work. A lot of the stuff will probably work itself out as the writers and actors get more familiar with the characters they are working with. The sidekick character seems the most out-of-place and needs the most adjustment. I would like to see more of the impact being restricted by parole has on the main character. Could he really work in a night club? Not in my state, he couldn't. Someone else mentioned that he seemed to run from a lot of the fights, well on parole, any arrest can get a parolee right back in front of the parole board and sent right back inside, they don't even have to be convicted of the crime. A new charge of a violent crime would result in a revocation faster than ever. I think the show could be great and it is a definite improvement over the current "reality" show crap all the networks are shoveling.

Okay, let's get it out of the way. This isn't a horror film. It would fit in reasonably well with the movies turned out in the late 70's early 80's. The kind of eery films that were supposed to make you nervous and introspective. Only problem is, it is being marketed as the latest big-time horror movie and it isn't even a little scary. Okay what's the bottom line. Pluses: male and female eye candy, a few really neat scenes, and an interesting core to the story. Minuses, kind of slow paced, can see most of the twists coming, and if you go to the bathroom at the wrong time, you will end up wondering why certain people go to certain places and will throw things at the screen. If you want to be scared or thrilled, go to another movie, this one is more drama. Not a horrible movie, but it is missing something.

This is a cute, feel-good family type movie. It doesn't have any surprises, it doesn't try to make you think, you just go laugh at the cute little reindeer named Chet, who sounds suspiciously like Timmy on South Park, and then forget about it the next day. What more could you ask for in a modern holiday movie?

Okay, if you liked the remake of 13 Ghosts, you might like this movie. If you like the old horror movies with Vincent Price, you might like this movie. If you want to see a slasher flick then you won't like this movie. If you want a creepy psychological thriller, then go see The Ring. I like the idea that Dark Castle is turning out horror movies on a regular basis. I just have the same problem with Ghost Ship that I had with 13 Ghosts. Something just seems to be missing with both movies. However my better-half, and her younger sister and brother all declared this movie cool, and they hated 13 Ghosts, so maybe its just me.

I am not old enough to remember the original TV show, but I have, thanks to the miracle of late night cable, I have seen the reruns. The original show was noteworthy of for three things: first, at a time when the average spy show was flashy with gadgets, super spies and super villains and shot for humor like The Man from Uncle, it portrayed a more dramatic show without gadgets that drew its humor from witty dialogue, second, it was the first prime-time show to have an African-American (Bill Cosby) in a lead role, and 3 it was the series debut of Mr. Cosby.

The only things this movie has in common with the series, is the title, the fact that you have a white spy and a black spy working as partners, and the names of the main characters, although I believe they may have switched the names. The movies has very little in common with the show, so why even bother trying to link them? Trying to pull the nostalgia element into the picture.

The movie itself is not bad, but it isn't good either. The jokes and the plot are rehash that's been done before, but better. Eddie Murphy pulls his loud and obnoxious, but funny character out of the closet again, but it only helps a little. Wilson plays a sort of bumbling character that he does pretty well. They had the money for a top-notch cast, and plenty of special effects, where is the story, where is the great interaction you need for a good buddy movie. This movie does have some funny moments, but it doesn't stand up to what you know it could have been with this cast and a little more work. It feels like someone was watching late night tv, and said, hey that could work, let's get a black comedian and a white guy and make them spies, and so they got everyone in place then said, oops forgot a script, whip one up quick.

This movie floats by on the fact that Jackie Chan seems to be a likeable guy and he almost always plays a likeable character. This is a cute movie filled with stupid gags and jokes. The plot, characters, ect are very weak. And why would anyone make a movie starring Jackie Chan and only put a couple of lame fight scenes and no impressive stunt work into it? Video rental for a very slow night.

Okay, Red Dragon was the only one of the Thomas Harris books I've ever read, and that was a long time ago. I also caught Manhunter one night on satellite. I remember it as being a good movie, but it's been awhile. I went into this movie with expecting a lot and I think it delivered. The cast is excellent, the pacing good. The villains are creepy and Norton does a good performance, although not his best. I think this movie was much better than Hannibal, although maybe not as good as Silence.

Okay, I think that Kevin Bacon's character added the tension and chills to this movie. I went into this show expecting it to stink and was surprised that it was actually worth watching. Bacon makes an excellent psycho, and the rest of the cast did a great job. There were a few plot holes, and I think Courtney Love's character would probably have lasted 15 seconds in any kind of risky job, she paid no attention at all to her assignment. The first half of the film is good and creepy, but after the stupid subplot is revealed, it kind of devolves into a run-of-the mill chase film, however worth checking out.

If you are after a complex, tight-plotted movie, you are in for a disappointment, this isn't it. There is enough plot to hold the movie together, but barely, and a lot a questions will come up if you think about the story line long enough. However if you just want a fast-paced action movie that's a lot of fun to watch and isn't going to overtax your brain this will do it. It has great fight scenes, fabulous car chases, great stunt work, explosions, and gun fights. As an action movie it works great. I kind of wish the main character had been explored a little more and the plot had been a little tighter though.

Okay report card time:

A for atmosphere -- the rain and gloom should have worked in the movies favor

B for some of the effects. the computer graphics were decent and the albino kid was pretty spooky, but you made us watch those things so much they lost there shock value.

C for cliches -- you pulled more than a few.

D for characterization -- You didn't have any, were those actors or cardboard cutouts left over from Southpark?

F for the plotline and story, it looks kind of familiar and there are huge holes in the story.

Okay, Robin Williams has long ago proven he can really act. His recent foray into darker, more menacing characters is an interesting change. His work here is excellent. For a first time directing a movie, this is also impressive. The biggest problem we had with the movie was that we never got more than a brief glance into Sy's motivation and past. We never really got to know the rest of the characters either. We saw more of the Yorkin family than Sy did, so we weren't looking at them only through Sy's perspective, yet we knew only a little more about them then he did. We never got inside of any of the characters, we never really came to know any of them enough to like or dislike them. Although slow paced, the atmosphere was great, the tension and emotions built nicely and a couple of nice surprises delivered cleverly. Overall worth checking out, just don't be surprised if the movie seems a little unfinished at the end.

Okay, I saw this on dvd right after seeing Fear Dot Com at the theater so maybe that colors my perspective, but I liked this movie. It was funny and the cast worked well together. I do realize that the movie was weak in places, and sometimes seems to ramble on, but overall I think it gets laughs in the right places and seems to have fun and never really stumbles. Christina Applegate using the urinal in a men's room was one of my top movie moments of this year. While not a ten by any means it is at least worth a 7 out of ten.

Okay this movie was kind of the middle-of-the-road. It isn't a bad movie, it isn't a great movie either. It's the sort of movie you might enjoy on a lazy afternoon. The acting is okay, not top-notch. The plot is not complicated, the story-line is not original, the cgi wasn't the greatest, but the background was beautiful, the oceans scenes were great. The surfing scenes were filmed in amazing ways with underwater shots and odd angles that tried to pull the viewer in. The surfer girls were attractive and the obligatory love story not too irritating. The movie is worth watching just for the scenery and surfing shots.

I like animated shows. I enjoy the Nick fare pretty much, including Hey, Arnold. But moving a TV show to the Big Screen isn't easy and this just didn't feel big enough. It was more like a long episode of the show, and it just didn't move along that well. Judging by the behavior of the kids we had with us, it didn't score that well with them either.

Okay, we were really looking forward to this movie. After Pitchblack and the Fast and the Furious, we were anxious to see Vin Diesel in an all-out action role. He does do that and does it in true tongue-in-check action hero fashion, but this was mostly a rehash of old material. It didn't really do anything new or special. It is a great late night hbo romp or good weekend matinee movie, but we expected so much more.

Okay, the ending of this movie is a real let down, that's all there is to say about it. It does take this movie a little time to get going, but once it does, it is a very good, creepy movie, until it ends, then you are left wondering if the same person wrote the end that did the rest of the movie. It just feels too tacked on and rushed. Make yourself watch the beginning, enjoy the creepy middle, then scratch your head and the ending.

This is a great little movie. It has the right mix of comedy, drama, and tear-jerking. The characters are interesting and very well done. The animation is high quality. The setting is fairly unique. I have to say, Disney's animation people can do something besides make bad sequels after all.

Overall this movie worked for me. It had a few surprises, the action scenes looked good, the effects were better than expected and the characters were mostly effective. The plot was a little weak and the story a little uneven, but it kept moving well and everything kind of worked in the end. Well worth watching.

The history of trying to transfer elements of Marvel's Universe to the screen, either little or big, is at best rocky and usually leaves a mess. Probably the first reasonably successful attempt was the first Blade movie. You could nitpick it some, but you really didn't have to be a fan of the comic to enjoy the movie. The next big success would have to be the X-Men. While it might not have always stayed true to the source material, it was a good movie and it did justice to the tone and theme of the comics.

Spiderman, however is something of a cultural icon. More teenaged comic readers probably identified with him on such a level, that the mere thoughts of moving him to the big screen is terrifying. Spiderman was a teenaged superhero. He was strong and fast and agile. He could do things most people couldn't, but he was also a teenager. He had girl trouble, family problems, school problems, as well as a secret identity. He was never the strongest or fastest. He was usually weaker or slower than the opponent he faced, but he always outsmarted them in the end. Heady stuff for the readers. How to capture that in the movie? And how to bring in the cast of characters so neccessary to the story? Well they did it. They picked an excellent cast, a good script and turned it into a fast-paced movie that stayed very true to the storyline and themes of the source material. It isn't a perfect movie, the CGI didn't blend that well, the goblin costume left something to be desired and Mary Jane wasn't quite like I remember, but I still can't wait for the next movie.

Well first thing it did not show that much. It left you out there not knowing what was really going on. They made it sound so big and it really didn't stand up to it name. I can understand not wanting to be too gory, but for the most part, you were left wondering what was happening during the murders. There really wasn't any character development, so you did not have much sympathy for the victims. The main character wasn't developed very well, and was a waste of Depp's talent.

If you like horror movies, you have probably seen this movie, done better, before. The special effects were weak, mainly red glowing eyes, and hearts being burned out of chests. The acting was half-hearted at best, the actors seemed bored by the whole affair. The basic premise of the movie, is two teenage siblings, separated by a mysterious event in the past, hold the key to stopping a (very small) cult from helping a fallen angel destroy the world. Naturally this happens at a boarding school somewhere. The accents in the movie were awful. The fallen angel resembled a constipated Uncle Festor from the Adams Family, but he was the most menacing and convincing character in the movie. Interestingly enough the talisman the movie is named after is a large pewter-looking necklace, that features an upside-down cross superimposed on an upside-down pentagram. There wasn't any real character development, so who cared who died or didn't, so it wasn't dramatic or spooky. There wasn't enough camp to make this it cheesy. No black comedy, to make it a cult classic, so I guess this just has to be a bad movie. Watch the original Satan's School for Girls instead. I think that may have been the inspiration for this anyway.

This movie managed to slip by. It should, at the least be a cult classic, but unless you accidently see it on cable, or someone tells you about it, you never hear of it. This is a lively, interesting movie, that works better than a lot of movies that cost much more to make. You also get to see Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd before Charlie's Angels. If you get a chance watch this movie, if you like occult horror, you will enjoy it.

Okay, you don't expect a movie with a name like Bikini Island to be intellectually stimulating or filled with great acting or an actual plot, but you wouldn't think it would be boring, would you? This movie is boring. The starlets are attractive, and costumes and acting are kept to a minimum. The plot is simple: Swimsuit magazine sends models with sleazy photographers and manager to a remote island paradise for a photoshoot. The girl chosen for the cover gets an additional $100,000. The girls start disappearing one by one. Most of the people who die are smothered to death with a toilet plunger, believe it or not. Every cliche you can imagine is trotted out, but very little is ever done with them. I had trouble caring who died or who was doing the killing. Very little effort was spent developing personalities for the models, and the manager, female escort and photographers were pretty much stereotype characters. This movie offers nothing new, there are better swimsuit models dying on an island movies out there.

This is the best effort yet to update the old series. The acting was good, the casting was good, and it managed to capture some of the feel of the original series. The cameo by the surviving members of the original cast in the restaurant being served by Herman was a nice tip of the hat too. Christine Taylor seems to be doing well playing updated characters, first Marcia Brady, then Marilyn Munster, then Marcia again. Oh well, she looks good here.