Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Vegas Vacation (1997)

Although not nearly as good as the previous vacation movies it still is pretty good. It follows the Griswolds on another family vacation. There is a plenty of the usual physical gags that you usually see. Chevy Chase does another great job playing the always down on his luck Clark just wanting to have fun with his family but having everything turn into a mess in front of his very eyes. If you are new to the series then I would check out the first few first. But if you are already a fan you should definitely check out this one as well. 6 out of 10

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Raise Your Voice (2004)

This ended up being a lot better than I expected it to be. Although at times the story is a little corny and predictable overall it is pretty entertaining and kind of touching. My biggest complaint would be that the vocals in a the majority of the scenes with singing is very obviously overdubbed. It is pretty similar in many ways to other teen type movies so if you enjoy any of those then you probably will like this. 8 out of 10

Monday, September 22, 2008

Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector

If you are a big fan of Larry the Cable Guy then let's face it you are going to see this movie no matter what I say. Chances are you will probably like it too. Me being an average fan just thought this was OK. It is filled with pretty much exactly what you would expect and there are some laughs here and there but overall it is just mediocre. 4 out of 10

Lakeview Terrace (2008)

So the Samuel L. Jackson films that I have seen lately have, for the most part, been hit or miss. So I did not have high hopes for this one, but it ended being pretty good. It has enough twists and turns to keep it pretty entertaining and will keep you wondering exactly how it is going to end. Samuel does a pretty good job playing the bit off his rocker cop who does not care too much for his new neighbors. It is definitely worth a shot if you have liked any of his previous work or if you like drama thrillers. 7 out of 10

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Coffee and Cigarettes

This movie is made up of several short segments of different people where there does not appear to be any common story lines except that all of the segments are based around smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. Which let's face it is not all that great of a topic. There are many good people in the cast but even that can not save this movie from falling to the 30 minute rule. 1 out of 10

The Challenge (2003)

Wow this was really pretty awful. The concept is terrible and the way the story is shown with interspersed reality show style diary room and challenge type segments is just not good. The acting is some of the worse that I have ever seen. In my opinion this movie should really be completely avoided. 1 out of 10

Monday, September 15, 2008

Meet Wally Sparks (1997)

This is a mediocre comedy at best. There are a couple of good one liners but overall it is just kind of corny. Rodney Dangerfield has some much better films and his style of comedy is classic so do not write him off based on this if you are unfamiliar with his work. 4 out of 10

The Astronaut Farmer (2006)

This movie starts out pretty slow and boring. The concept is really not all that bad a man who has always dreamed of going to space builds a rocket. It does leave you wondering whether he will actually launch it or not but watching him get there is just to tedious. It did fall to the 30 minute rule but I had to know how it ended so I fast forwarded it to the like the last 15 minutes or so. Which happen to be the best part of the film. So if you have an interest in this my suggestion is to do as I did give it a shot straight through but if you find you cannot do it then just hit fast forward. 1 out of 10

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

I was really surprised with how good this ended up being. When you get such an odd and dysfunctional family and throw them all into a car for a road trip the calamity that ensues is really quite hilarious. At times it is a little slow but it usually does not last for long before the next laugh out loud moment occurs to make up for the slowness. The entire cast does a fantastic job with each of their odd roles. Everyone should see this movie because it is pretty much a guaranteed laugh fest! 8 out of 10

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Beerfest (2006)

This is another one of those stupid comedies that if not taken too seriously is kind of funny. A couple of Americans go to Oktoberfest to deliver their grandfathers ashes and discover a underground International beer drinking competition and some interesting information on their family history. After returning home they decide to build a team to return and compete in the competition the next year. As you can imagine there is plenty of drinking which often leads to some drunken hilarity. Give a go if you usually like party type comedy movies. 6 out of 10

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

So I figured here is a quick 30 minute rule candidate I can knock off the list. But wow I was quite surprised that this ended up being a pretty good comedy. Anne Hathaway does a great job playing the second assistant to the fashion guru Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep). It is quite amusing to watch her try and fit into the fashion world of which she knows little about all while trying to accomplish the seemingly impossible tasks often set by Miranda. So even if you think that you will probably not like this movie I highly recommend giving it a shot. 8 out of 10

No Reservations (2007)

This is a pretty good romantic comedy. It starts off with Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who is an acclaimed chef who seems to have everything going for her until her sister dies in a tragic car accident and leaves her niece to her. This leaves her needing to take time off from work causing her boss to hire another chef to help her out at the restaurant and thus her perfect life is turned upside down. If you typically like these types of movies then chances are you will like this one so check it out. 8 out of 10

Bangkok Dangerous (2008)

Despite what others have said I thought that this was actually pretty good. For the most part I generally like Nicolas Cage's movies so I will usually give any of them a chance. The story is decent it follows an assassin known as one of the best towards the end of his career and how he begins to go soft and starts breaking his own rules. It has an alright amount of action but not as much as I expected. It is definitely worth a shot for anyone looking for a good movie. 7 out of 10

The Return (2006)

The story and the acting in this movie are really not good. The only thing that helped it from not being cut off at 30 minutes is it really makes you wonder what the hell is wrong with this girl. I will not spoil it for anyone who wants to put themselves through the whole movie to find out but trust me it is so not worth it. 3 out of 10

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Ballf of Fury (2007)

This is one of those stupid funny type comedies. Although not nearly funny enough. Sure there are a few laughs here and there but the story is really sub par. The acting really is not all that great as well. Even Christopher Walken could not save it. If you are bored and there is nothing else to do give it a go. 4 out of 10

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)

If you are familiar with any Adam Sandler film then there is not much of a surprise here really. If you have liked any of his previous stuff then you will probably like this. It is a good movie with lots of laughs. With the added gay twist there are plenty of opportunities for crude humor but of course in the end it wraps up with a good message. Do not go in expecting anything mind blowing and you just may be surprised. 7 out of 10

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Thing About My Folks (2005)

I have had very little luck with anything that Paul Reiser does. I was not a fan of Mad About You (1992) at all. In fact as I look through his credits the only things that I see that I have enjoyed are the Beverly Hills Cops movies and in those he really did not play all that major of a role. This was very slow moving and rather uninteresting to say the least. At 30 minutes in I was glad that I could stop it. 1 out of 10

Elephant (2003)

From the plot summary of this film I would have expected it to be a lot more interesting. Unfortunately I found it to be very slow and boring. The majority of the cast were non-actors who improvised most of their lines. I would say that that played a big part in it becoming a victim of the 30 minute rule. 1 out of10

The Bridge (2006)

This is an interesting documentary about the Golden Gate Bridge and people that go there to die. The basic rundown of how this is laid out is that footage of the people committing suicide is shown and then they mix in footage of family and friends talking about the person and their life. The concept is good and some of the footage is quite creepy. My complaint is that they would often start one persons story and then bounce around to other people and then come back to the first person. I think it would have played out better if they started one person and finished with them before moving on to the next person. Probably the highlight is the interview of a jumper who survived. It is definitely worth checking out if you are looking for something different. 6 out of 10

Kangaroo Jack (2003)

Jerry O'Connell kind of had a misstep with this one. I did not expect much but I expected more than what I got. The story was OK and although it is supposedly based on an urban legend it is pretty unbelievable and kind of takes you out of it. There are a few laughs here and there but overall it was just mediocre. 5 out of 10

Monday, September 08, 2008

Mystery Men (1999)

I did not expect a whole out of this one and that is for the most part what I got. There were a few laughs here and there and the highlight of the movie was probably Paul Reuben's performance as The Speen. Other than that this is a near miss of the 30 minute rule. Watch it if it is on and you have nothing else better to do. 3 out of 10

X2 (2003)

This move is really fantastic. The special effects are amazing, the Story is great and there is plenty of action and suspense to spare. I saw the first movie of the series before I started reading The Uncanny X-Men and I must admit I did enjoy this film better knowing some more of the back story on the characters. Even if you have never read any of the comics before though there is still a good chance that you will probably like this movie. So I highly recommend this to anyone. 9 out of 10

The Pink Panther (1963)

So I saw the spin off version of this with Steve Martin made in 2006 and it was decent not great but decent. I have heard many people say how much better this original version was and so I geared up for a good comedy but boy was I disappointed. I did not find too much at all about it funny and it seemed very slow and dragged out. Therefore this becomes a victim of the 30 minute rule and gets a 1 out of 10.

City Slickers (1991)

This is a very decent comedy. As you can imagine there are plenty of awkward an humorous moments that happen when you take three city boys out into the country on a cattle drive. The cast seems to work very well together and you can tell that they probably had a good time making this film. Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, and Jack Palance all do terrific jobs. If you are a fan of Billy's or if you are just looking for a good comedy I recommend checking this one out. 7 out of 10

Sunday, September 07, 2008

How to Deal (2003)

Here is a case of getting exactly what I expected. I did not really expect much and I definitely did not get much. 1 out of 10

Pineapple Express (2008)

Well Seth Rogan is on a seriously good roll. Looking through his credits out of all of the movies that I have seen of his I do not see a single bad one. Also one can easily see that he is quite the busy man with with 6 movies already done for 2008 and one more on the way. This movie is damn funny. While no where near the level of Superbad (2007) it is still really good. It has some of your usual stoner comedy fare but it mixes in some new twists and throws in plenty of laugh out loud moments. 8 out of 10

Friday, September 05, 2008

Mirrors (2008)

Keifer Sutherland plays a recovering alcoholic who takes a job at an old burnt out department store. When he starts to notice weird things happening around the mirrors of the store he begins investigating the history of the place and makes some shocking discoveries. This has some decent scares and a pretty good creep factor. It will definitely make you try not to look in any mirrors at night. 7 out of 10

I Am Legend (2007)

This is a really good disaster film. In the future a vaccine is developed to cure cancer however after a mutation it ends up killing the majority of people and turning others into dark seekers (zombie type creatures who can only come out at night). Will smith does a great job playing Robert Neville, a scientist who is immune to the disease and is one of the last non affected humans living in the world. He desperately continues to try and create a cure from his own blood that will hopefully be able to turn the dark seekers back to normal. With plenty of action and suspense to spare I highly recommend checking it out. 8 out of 10

Failure to Launch (2006)

Although bringing nothing really new to the romantic comedy genre, this ended up being a good movie. If you are into these types of movies then you will probably enjoy this. It is your typical couple being put together with one person not knowing that it is a fake relationship and eventually the person finds out and... if you feel like you have heard this before then chances are you know where it is going so it ends up being kind of predictable but entertaining nonetheless. 8 out of 10

Hammy's Boomerang Adventure (2006)

This is a short film available on the Over the Hedge (2006) DVD. It's basic plot is the characters are playing pranks on each other while video taping it in a Candid Camera (1953) type fashion. It is on par with the first movie really. 6 out of 10

Over the Hedge (2006)

Although the story here is really now all that great the animation is top of the line. It follows the story of RJ the raccoon who steals food from a hibernating bear and is caught. He then must find a way to return all of what he stole by the time the bear wakes again and thus the "hilarity" begins. It will probably do well with children because it is quite colorful and the story is rather simple. Other than that it just end up being OK. 6 out of 10

The Hitcher (2007)

I honestly thought that this would probably be just a throwaway but surprisingly it ended up being a decent Thriller. A crazed hitchhiker repeatedly stalks and attacks two college students on their way to spring break. Sean Bean does a fantastic job playing John Ryder. John often seems super human with some of the things that he pulls off. It will make you second guess any thoughts you may have of picking up a hitchhiker ever again. 8 out of 10

The Sentinel (2006)

This ended up being a decent action thriller. Keifer Sutherland, Michael Douglas, and Eva Longoria Parker all did good things with there roles. Although nothing amazing it is worth checking out if you are looking for a couple of hours to kill. 7 out of 10