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Reviews
The Age of Spin: Dave Chappelle Live at the Hollywood Palladium (2017)
Chapelle brings it!!!
Have seen this stand up half a dozen times. Love the OJ nostalgia and Bill Cosby jokes. Dave has the best rhythm and killed this special. He will go down as one of the greatest stand-ups of all time. Watch it a couple times. Gets funnier and funnier. We've missed Chapelle. Dozens of other comedians have been doing Dave Chapelle's routine.
Flutter (2014)
Unconditional love
FLUTTER is a special movie that stays with you. It's about the love that exists between a parent and child and what any parent would do to save them. Eric Hueber is the next great director. He has an eye for talent and focuses on the core of a great movie; where is the soul of the film. The ending of Flutter is similar to other classics like The Graduate or Midnight Cowboy leaving you wanting more.
Flutter is a movie that creeps up on you. You will begin to look at the psychology and dynamics of your own movie. It's a little gem and deserves to get major distribution and to be put out to the masses. This is a real independent film unlike a lot of the Hollywood type. It almost never got made per the filmmakers. Very glad it did and exists now.
The After (2014)
Great premise. Bad execution.
I don't understand the Amazon pilots. The After is a great premise by one of the TV creators. I mean, the x files was so smart and nuanced. This show is not. Sorry. The execution is poor and the characters have no arcs or real development. It's a shame. I wish it was a better show. Most TV show creators show look at True Detective. Great writing. Great directing and amazing characters. A wonderful premise is just the beginning. The execution is absolutely everything.
Chris Carter. I'm a fan, but it's back to the drawing board. And please will someone tell me what is going on? Lost got away with this idea of giving no answers, but most of the time that doesn't work.
Super 8 (2011)
Spielberg meets Michael Bay
Super 8 had a lot of potential. The story of the kids and first love was well constructed, however it was overshadowed by the schmaltzy story plot point and steroid-induced explosions. J.J. Abrams is a decent filmmaker, but has a long way before he reaches the precipice of greatness like Zemeckis, and early Spielberg. Abrams is afraid of the quiet beautiful moments and is on top of you with another huge explosion. It was a period piece, right. There was no need to blow everything up so he can compete with the comic book extravaganzas and Transformers of the summer. He should have been confident to tell the story and not focus on gimmicks.
Also, the alien is a total contradiction. The alien is scared and wants to go home, but eats and kills certain people and leaves others alone. I guess the alien was bi-polar too.
Rainbows End (2010)
Double Rainbow
A movie about a bunch of eccentrics and characters. Can it be real? At first you feel like you're in an insane asylum, then you realize the heart and soul at the core of this beautiful narrative in the body of a documentary. Eric Hueber has a subtle touch and adds humor with the wonderful voice-over from Don Morrow. Dreams are wanted, dashed, and achieved all during the short ninety minutes. This is a movie you will want to see and to find. All of the characters from Country Willie to Birdman the cock fighter to Audrey the baton twirling web diviner will become a part of your family in a matter of minutes. You will begin to dip into the child-like imagination inside all of us.
Inception (2010)
Great Special Effects...Needed help with ending and story
Let me just say that first and foremost I am a Christopher Nolan fan. I watched The Following and Memento over and over again. In his new movie, Inception he has a love story with no love. This is the biggest piece missing in the puzzle. The trailer convinced the moviegoer that this movie was about a guy who goes into people's dreams and steal secrets. That is not what this movie is about. In fact, there are giant holes in the set-up. He did a few cardinal sins as a writer, for example, he set up rules for his world and then broke them. The movie is interesting and ground-breaking with the action and effects but in the end you don't care about the characters. In the end, with all the dizzying effects and cut backs all you have is a Lost like ending. I hated Lost because ultimately they didn't know how it was going to end. And I think for Christopher Nolan he fell victim to this same fate.
Everybody Wants to Be Italian (2007)
Saw it. Critics are right
I attended a screening of this movie. It was wrought with clichés and very unfunny jokes and set ups. I think the other comments were by people who must've worked on the movie or been family members of the cast. I'm amazed this movie cost $3-$4 million without any real stars. Where did the budget go? It obviously didn't go to writers for re-writes. Nice thought to bank on the success of Big Fat Greek Wedding, but a major miss. There was little or any spark between the main characters and the inciting incident was a bit flimsy at best. The direction was uninspired and looked like a student film.
I don't even know what it means Everybody Wants to Italian. Is that a real saying. I've never heard it.
Knocked Up (2007)
Funny but not great
I think Knocked Up was funny. I do think it was too long and could've spent more time in an editing bay. There were a lot of scenes that were in the final cut that did not progress the character development or the story. Also, the set-up is far-fetched. I'm from LA, there's no way in hell a girl that hot at a club would even talk to, let alone dance with a guy that fugly, unless he was dripping in diamonds. LA is a material place, that set-up should've been stronger. The story spent way too much time with the secondary characters, it's Ben's story. People are freaking over this movie in my opinion because of the dearth of good movies out there. It's not classic, nor will be a classic like Dumb and Dumber or Something About Mary. And I wonder if it got the Guiness World Record for the most F words in a movie...
Once again, fun but not great.
Watch The Hospital by Paddy Chafevsky or Being There by Hal Ashby...Those are great comedies.
The Invisible (2007)
Greatest Movie Ever Made
I am a film school grad, some might say snob. But what the hell were you thinking? I watched this movie with my wife and friend. There were two other people in the theater. We tried to give the movie a chance. The biggest problem was the script, the writers should be taken to task, how do they still have agents? And did Goyer ever do a re-write, he's a real writer....Wow. First BIG mistake of many, the bad guy is a 5'2" girl who's misunderstood and wears a beanie almost the whole movie until she takes it off for a reveal moment (ala Herbal Essence commercial in the club)...One of my favorite SCENES of many, Annie steals jewels from a store, then wakes up next to Marcus. He tells her to leave the jewels she says, "No". He's on parole, has prison tats the whole nine. Why didn't he bitch slap her, knock her to the ground? Oh yeah, cause that was a big plot point. Annie had to believe Nick's best friend (emphasis on best), biggest snitch on the planet and what a douche bag? had seen her put the jewels in her locker. Why were they in her locker anyway? Oh yeah, part of the plot point. Then she gets arrested and gets a slap on thew wrist. Are you kidding me? Utterly and completely ridiculous. In real life, that girl would have had the worst beat down ever, from her ex-con boyfriend, the cops, everyone.
It's also obvious that Goyer should stick to writing, he was lost in scenes where the characters really needed to act, maybe it was the script again. I can go on and on.
I looked at the message boards and vote breakdown...for some reason teenage girls loved this movie. Bizarre. There were so many holes in the movie, like watching the movie with swiss cheese on your face.
Another HUGE problem, the writers and filmmakers had no idea what the rules of the dead world were...You should have watched GHOST or THE SIXTH SENSE over and over again. Bad mistake. Great idea, bad movie.
Have to say though, at the end, my wife and friends were laughing hysterically for at least a couple of minutes and applauding. I was thoroughly entertained at the preposterous scenes in the movie.
And the best lines, now ingrained in my head. And I quote from memory: Nick, "I like your plane." Kid, "My sister gave it to me." Nick,"What happened to her?" Kid, "She died." Nick, "Do you want to write something on the plane?" Kid, "Hey Annie." Hey Annie is right...Thank you David Goyer, thank you fantastically horrible screenplay, clueless producers, for an entertaining and hysterical movie experience.