Reviews

Imagine making a movie trying to prove a story from the Bronze Age. If just 200 years ago people still believed in vampires, try to imagine what people were capable of believing 3,000 years ago! Even if a global flood happened, there is no way for this myth, as told in that compilation of fragments of parchments from the Iron Age, aka Bible, to be true. And because of what? Exactly: This myth says that specimens of all the animal species in the world walked, flew (and swam?) to a boat that took a hundred years to build by a five-hundred-year-old man (so, he was 600, when he finished it), and all those animals spent more than a year on that boat. I mean, seriously! Add to that that the myth of the flood says that the god of the Bible drowned also old and sick people, mothers, pregnant women, children and babies. So, even if this absurd story were true, how could it possibly be a good thing? How could it possibly make someone see this god as a god of love, a god who deserves to be worshiped?

A very good book about all this and much more is "Liberated from Religion", by Paulo Bitencourt.

Imagine a movie with jokes about the execution of J--s by Hitler. Outrageous, right? Yet, for some reason, it looks like it's perfectly fine to make jokes about the execution of Russians by Stalin!

I'm a big fan of Iannucci's creations that I know of, like Alan Partridge. And I love dark comedy. My favorite standup comedian is even Bill Hicks! So, I got really excited when I discovered this movie by chance. Wow, what a disappointment! So unfunny that I couldn't even watch the whole thing. It's both the "jokes" and the actors. But, then, ultimately, it must be the director's fault. He is the one who tells the actors how they should deliver their lines. And maybe converting a good comic book into a movie does not always go well. I think it's the case here.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that Christian Nationalism (like any other religious nationalism, for example in Iran) is dangerous, because almost nothing can be more dangerous for a country than when it's ruled by people who are 100% convinced that they were chosen by none other than the Creator of the Universe himself to fix the world. And fixing the world means forcing their religion on all people. Christian nationalists believe in an angry, vengeful god who does not tolerate dissent and is eager to punish Humanity. Since God is not here to personally do it, his followers will do his job for him. Christian nationalists want to placate the wrath of their god, by imposing his will, which, in the case of this deity, is written in a heap of copies of rags of parchments from the Iron Age, with myths also from the Bronze Age.

I recommend the book "Liberated from Religion", by Paulo Bitencourt, which brilliantly exposes this great danger.

This movie is boring.

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Paella recipe:

STEP 1

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add the onion and soften for 5 mins.

STEP 2

Add the smoked paprika, thyme and paella rice, stir for 1 min, then splash in the sherry, if using. Once evaporated, stir in the chopped tomatoes and chicken stock.

STEP 3

Season and cook, uncovered, for about 15 mins, stirring now and again until the rice is almost tender and still surrounded with some liquid.

STEP 4

Stir in the seafood mix and cover with a lid. Simmer for 5 mins, or until the seafood is cooked through and the rice is tender. Squeeze over the lemon juice, scatter over the parsley and serve with the lemon wedges.

An interesting idea, but ruined especially because its message is constantly rubbed in your face. No subtleness. And while the actors weren't bad, the direction was. Too many scenes with the actors just staring at each other and for far too long. The dead old man constantly appearing to the main character as a ghost soon became super annoying. Many things make no sense. But the worst is that there is no explanation whatsoever why this place exists and why it is the way it is, nothing about the characters' backgrounds, no likeable character and - worst of the worst - no ending! So, in the end you feel like you have wasted your time. Pity.

Most things that go up must go down. Gervais is going down. This probably happens to all comedians who become too famous: Gervais thinks he is a comedian god. In addition from so rich, he is so popular that he undoubtedly believes he can say ANYTHING. I'm sure he thinks he could even poop on stage, and people would still laugh and consider him a genius. Maybe even more than before. This is the decline. He gets so much money that he doesn't care about anything, except one: he clearly wants to be remembered as the most offensive, edgy comedian. This whole routine is just about pedos, disabled children and race. It's just too much, and the level is so low, done only for the sake of proving he can do it. When you get too famous (and rich), all you'll hear is praise. You'll have no one around telling you that what you are doing is terrible. No critical voice. This is happening to Gervais.

There is a reason why the original Manos is loved by so many people: it's so bad it's fun. The original Manos is a movie by a man who tried his best to make a good movie, but had zero talent, and, thus, failed miserably. This is something that cannot be copied, or intentionally made. So, any remake of or sequel to such a movie will not have the same charm and appeal as the original. The original Manos is bad, yet never boring. It's VERY entertaining, because, in sheer disbelief, the viewer wonders how on Earth it's possible that a movie ends up becoming that bad! There is something cute about that. The original Manos really is an unintentional piece of art! Not so with Manos Returns. It's just plain bad, that is, boring. I praise the effort of these people for trying to, somehow, revive Manos. Maybe it's a tribute. I feel a bit sorry that I am writing a negative review, but I'm just being honest. I think some things should be left untouched. Manos the Hands of Fate is one of them.

This series is well-made, well-acted, etc. Yes, it is funny, but it exposes that this is the only type of comedy that Gervais and Merchant are able to do: it's all just about laughing at someone's failures, how he embarrasses himself and spirals down to rock bottom. Because of that, you can predict the outcome of every scene. You keep watching, because, yes, it's funny, but at the same time a bit boring. Watching this series is like watching The Office, but with different characters and in a different context. Again, not bad, but not original either. Merchant did a comedy in the US, which is all about watching him embarrass himself. So, as I said, it looks this is the only type of comedy he and Gervais can produce. Also, some "jokes"/situations were inserted with the sole purpose of daring, crossing the line and, therefore, were totally unnecessary, some even cheap.

I wonder how many Kowalkis gave this movie a low rating. Come on! It's not a bad movie! I'm very critical and hard to please. Obviously, it's not the best movie on Earth, but it's unfair that it's rated only 6 stars. It should have at least 7. Jack Black's performance is amazing, and the movie does have hilarious moments. The only weakness of the story is that it fails to explain how on Earth did Jan manage to convince so many people to give him money. I know he was charismatic, etc., But is that enough? I especially liked the sarcasm and irony, with Jan being very proud of having become American, talking about "land of opportunity" and then scamming greedy Americans. Again: not a super great movie, but not bad either. I can easily get bored, but this movie didn't bore me. On the contrary. I even laughed out loudly a couple of times.

It's always the same: people are afraid of giving a movie a bad rating and writing a bad review if it was directed by someone who made one or two good movies. They think people will think they are too stupid to understand the "masterpiece".

So, Bergman made one or two good movies, and because of that all his movies are masterpieces, right? No! This one is not a good movie. It deserves three stars, tops, but I'm giving it one, because it's so overrated.

This story is not interesting enough to deserve becoming a full-length film. Proof of that is the pace of this movie: it's painfully slow. The story would be OK as a short movie, 15 or 20 minutes. Besides, the story doesn't make sense: Why on Earth would the father send his daughter (who, inexplicably, seems to live totally devoid of any sense of danger) over mountains and through valleys and forests, accompanied only by a (pregnant!) female servant? I mean, what father would do that? In a country sparsely populated, the murderers seek shelter right at the home of the girl they murdered. What a coincidence! Then the so-called "revenge" is too quick and unspectacular. Also, the acting is bad: lots of pathos and overacting. Lastly, the movie doesn't know what message it wants to convey. In the end, there is a miracle (what about God making the girl come back to life? No, he thought water is more important) and the stupid father even promises to build a church!

Amen.

The character Ace Ventura is super silly. So, you think this movie is for kids. But then there are some sex scenes and sex jokes, and it even shows a "woman" almost naked (worse: being made fun of for actually being born a man). I watched this with my 11-year-old son and I felt embarrassed. If this movie is for adults, Ventura is way too silly. So, it clearly has a target audience problem. I would say, Jim Carrey is funny up to the middle of the movie. Then you can clearly see that he has run out of steam. As much as I like Jim Carrey, from the middle of the movie I got tired of his grimaces. Also, the story is very weak and not that interesting. If all you want is some laughs, watch it up to to the middle, then turn it off.

I'm a movie freak. I have watched thousands of movies, including from far away countries. I watch also bad, cheesy movies (because they are so bad that they are "good"). This movie is not a bad movie, nor a so-bad-that-it's-good movie. It's a really good movie! I'm very critical and, therefore, very hard to please. First, it's technically very well made. Second, it's very well played. All actors are good, and Jim Carrey... I mean, what he can do with his face, body and voice is just amazing! He is so intense. How not to admire, even envy that? And then the story. On the surface, it's a comedy, but underneath it touches a sad reality lived by many millions of people, a condition that is getting worse every year: loneliness. So, this movie makes you laugh, but also think. I like that.

Best. Movie. Ever. Period. Simply, everything in this movie is perfect: from plot to acting. Location, set, lighting, soundtrack, poster, everything. It was even made in the year I was born! I have no idea why most people don't know this movie exists. Probably, because it is so avant-garde! You know how most people hate good, that is, artistic movies. So... And all this time, I thought only the French, or the Swedes, can make good movies. No! The best movie ever made is an American movie! I particularly liked the couple that spend the whole night kissing in the desert, the catfight between the wives who never stop arguing and that the little girl was dubbed by an adult. If, like me, you have a very good taste, you'll love this piece of... art!

I watched this today on YouTube and laughed my socks off reading the comments. Unbelievable how many people take this mockumentary seriously, thinking it's a true documentary. Here on IMDb too. What's wrong with the people? This clearly is a comedy!!! It's making fun of people who believe in conspiracy theories, in this case in "Elvis is still alive". It's a joke, and it's hilarious! So many people taking this seriously, either believing it or angrily dismissing it as a lie, confirms the world is full of gullible humorless people. Although a comedy, it's very entertaining and informative. OK, maybe it overused the comic book joke and the guy playing Elvis was clearly reading his lines, that is, wasn't speaking like a person who is being interviewed. But those were minor issues, given that, on the whole, it's very well made and very funny. Long live the King!

It might not be everybody's taste, the story might not be super exciting, but it is a very well-made movie! Production values are high, camera work is superb and all actors are very good, even the small parts. And then, there is Ava Gardner. Not only is she a pleasure to look at (here, she is almost 50 and looks gorgeous), it is unbelievable how well she plays. It looks like this movie was tailor-made for her. She is so natural!

Some people here wrote this is Roddy McDowall's only work as a director because this movie is so bad. Impossible! There must be other reasons, for example it was/is considered too artistic, or McDowall realized that he did not like directing after all, since for being his first (and only) work as a director this movie is too good, too well-made. For being his first directional work, McDowall was extremely talented! In fact, I never regarded him as a very good actor (good, but not very good). That is why I did not expect this movie to be this well-directed. It surprised me very positively.

I simply cannot understand why this movies does not have more reviews and is rated just 6.2 stars. It is really well-made. Production value is high. The costumes, the sets, the location, everything really gives you a feeling of the medieval times. The actors are very good and the black humor is as delicious as the salad that my wife just made for me 20 minutes ago. She normally does not like the movies I watch, but she liked this one, which means it really is good. The knights' fights looked very authentic and were hilarious. I would change just the very ending. I think it would be funnier if Dennis, being such an idiot, would send the princess and half of the kingdom to Hell and would run to Griselda, who would then reject him (for being poor), and he would end up with nothing. All in all, a very good movie.

There is no way another bad movie could be more entertaining than this one. This one takes the cake. I can say that because I have watched hundreds of bad movies. This one is bad in everything, but the story is just so bizarre, it's unbelievably hilarious! I am pretty sure this movie was meant to be serious, which makes it even more hilarious, because you have here adults "acting" like children who are playing supernatural stuff. I try to imagine what went through the actors' mind while working in this bizarreness. They must have thought "WTF?" and laughed their socks off.

By the way: "Lando, wherever you are. Hear us. Come to us. Your uncle needs you!".

The low ratings and the negative reviews are only because some people here are dissatisfied with Barbara Feldon not being in it and Sylvia Kristel being in it. But come on! This movie is hilarious! It's 100% in the style of the original TV series, in fact I even found that Don Adams acted better and funnier than in the TV series. I am a very critical person when it comes to comedies, and I laughed all the time! I am totally amazed that this movie seems to be forgotten and I knew nothing about it. Thank Osiris for the internet! I stumbled upon this movie on one of those free movies sites. I almost missed it by that much.

Compared with Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (1994) or I'm Alan Partridge (1997) or The Man Who Thinks He's It (1998) or even This Time with Alan Partridge (2019), this is terrible. I am a huge fan of Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge, but I almost never laughed watching this. I understand that Coogan wants to play Alan Partridge in a different way, but he "forgets" that most people who love Alan Partridge probably want to see him the way he was created, being rude to interview guests, etc. This TV special is not very funny, in part because it is too different from the classical Alan Partridge. In part, it has to do with Coogan's performance itself. His voice is strained, his hands are almost always in the air, he is constantly reading his lines on two screens on the stage floor and pressing buttons on a remote control. He is not even dressed like Alan Partridge. Pity.

I love cheesy movies. So, I can't explain how on Earth I knew nothing about this turkey. Besides, David Carradine is in it. He isn't a very good actor, but I like him, because Kung Fu is an important part of my childhood. This movie is simply freaking hilarious! When you think that it was not meant to be a comedy or parody, that it has at least three famous actors, that it cost more than 1 million dollars (1982) to make and that the stop motion animation was done by two famous animators, you ask yourself how come this movie is so bad. Add to that that the story makes zero sense. A giant dragon is flying over New York and killing people - and nobody sees it! On the other hand, I'm grateful that this movie is so cheesy. It's very entertaining and made me laugh loudly. Also, it was interesting (and shocking) to see that the crown of the beautiful Chrysler Building is so shabby. Well, it fits the movie.

I belong to that group of people who think that The Day Today, Brass Eye, Jam and Four Lions are works of a genius: Chris Morris. Because of this, I naturally expected this movie to be very intelligent, and funny as hell. Unfortunately, it wasn't. In fact, I laughed maybe twice in the beginning and then no more. Maybe the problem is that this movie was made in the US. For some reason, when very funny British comedians make movies in the US, or with American actors, their movies feel American, I mean, somehow commercial, which makes them be boring. The same with this movie. The dialogs between the FBI agents were just unbearable. And why is Anna Kendrick in this? Apart from not really fitting into this movie, I don't even understand why she is so famous. Sorry, I don't think she is a good actress. But then, everyone else in this movie wasn't great either. I feel sad writing this, since I really like Chris Morris' work. This story is important, and should be a serious movie, a thriller, an action movie, not a comedy.

There was something about the animation that made Beavis and Butt-Head unique, special, the way everything was drawn. In this movie, they used a different technique, and it has the look and feel of made with a computer. The colors, the backgrounds. So, visually is this movie disappointing. And then the story. Of course, it's Beavis and Butt-Head, but(t) somehow not as clever, entertaining and even funny as the TV series or the first movie. I laugh easily, but I did not laugh much watching this. The title is even not coherent with the story. I expected they would go to other planets and mess around there.

Rutger Hauer is good in this movie. And that's it. The story is dumb. It borders on supernatural. It is just impossible to root for the young man being psychologically tortured by Hauer, since the former is such a wimp and makes lots of bad decisions. The ending is dumb.

I have to write 600 characters, but have nothing more to say. So, I'll just repeat:

Rutger Hauer is good in this movie. And that's it. The story is dumb. It borders on supernatural. It is just impossible to root for the young man being psychologically tortured by Hauer, since the former is such a wimp and makes lots of bad decisions. The ending is dumb.

...by extremely fake-looking 90-year-olds who can barely move and nonetheless are able to drag corpses and even hang them. Yes, that is what this movie is about.

Boring as Hell. It takes forever for the horror to arrive, and then it is not even well done.

Whoever gave this movie more than 1 star was paid to do it.

I love John Goodman (who doesn't?), so I was very excited to watch this. The first five minutes were funny and it looked like this would be a good show. But it wasn't. The story is incoherent. Preachers, pastors, televangelists: so much material to make fun of, yet the jokes aren't really good, also because this series doesn't know whether it wants to present this family as cons or good people. It lets you confused about whether they believe or not the religious crap they sell. And then, John Goodman (the main reason I wanted to watch this) isn't the main actor.

PS: No, it's not offensive. Megachurches and rich pastors: that's offensive.