10-27-2008 Monday Round Up

So rather than do a bunch of reviews on all of the movies and such that I see I have decided to once a week on Monday do a round up of sorts of the things I have seen for the past week. So here is the debut. Comments are always welcome.

Toy Soldiers (1991) 7
Enchanted (2007) 6
Are We Done Yet? (2007) 7
Saw V 8
Teen Witch 1
Mean Creek 7

My pick of the week is probably Saw V. If you are a fan of the series thus far then you will most likely enjoy this one. It is not as good as the first couple but it still holds up and gives you some good twists and turns as well as a bit of the gore that we have come to expect from the series.

In other media I just finished reading the 30 Days of Night TPB Vol. 1
It collects all three issues of the series into one book. It is a pretty quick read but the story is really good and the art work is quite unique. I am looking forward to checking out the next set in the series. I also have not checked out the movie based on the series yet but I am hoping that it does the book justice.

Reviews Update

After much consideration I have decided to not do so many in depth movie reviews. On the right hand side under my sites there is a new IMDB link. That will take you to my vote history at IMDB where you can see all of my ratings. If you have any comments or suggestions feel free to send them my way.

Baby Mama (2008)

I had heard so many good things about this but unfortunately I feel that it was a bit over hyped. It was not terrible but it was not great either. The beginning starts off really slow and the comedy does not really kick in until Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are both on screen together. If you are a fan of Saturday Night Live then you will probably enjoy this. Just do not expect the greatest comedy ever. 7 out of 10

Wild Wild West (1999)

I have heard and read that this movie was absolutely horrid. It is not that great really but it is not all that bad either. The story is pretty weird and all. But it makes for some interesting comedic moments. The acting really is not all that great. If you go in expecting a masterpiece it is probably best not to go in at all. If you go in expecting a mediocre weird comedy you may just have a few laughs. 6 out of 10

Eagle Eye (2008)

Although extremely unrealistic in many ways if you do not focus on such things this still turns out to be a pretty good movie. It is pretty action packed and has some twists and turns that will keep you guessing at what exactly is going on. Most questions are answered by the end so it will not leave you hanging. I suppose sometime in the way off future a situation like this may occur but I do not see it happening anytime in the near future like is shown here. The story is decent but not mind shattering. It is mainly the action sequences that are the highlight here. 7 out of 10

Philadelphia (1993)

This is a really great movie and I highly recommend everyone seeing it. Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington both do fantastic jobs with their roles. You can tell that they really put their all into it. Including Tom losing 26 pounds for his role. It brought many different issues to light that can be often over looked by people and shows that discrimination is not always focused on race. 8 out of 10

Species: The Awakening (2007)

Unless you have seen the rest of the series I do not necessarily recommend seeing this. The first few are much better. So see the first one and if you still have an interest check out the next few. Currently this is the last in the series of hopefully it will stay that way and they will let the series die before it gets any worse. It is not that this is the worst film ever it just does not live up to the standard set thus far. 6 out of 10

The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002)

Anytime that I watched this TV show I enjoyed it quite a bit. Unfortunately the story lines and subject did not carry over to a feature film all that well. It kept my attention for the entire time but the adventures of the Thornberrys are just better left to the small screen. 4 out of 10

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)

This was not as good as I hoped that it would be. But overall it ended up being really good just not spectacular. It follows Nick and Norah too high school students who are not necessarily the most popular kids in school. Nick is trying to get over his ex-girlfriend and Norah just can not seem to find anyone who likes her for her. They both love indie music and they find themselves searching for a concert in New York City together. The story is good and the characters are intriguing. It is definitely worth checking out. 7 out of 10

The Last Mimzy

I had some high hopes for this movie. The trailer made it look like it was going to be a great science fiction-y fantasy film. For the most part it ended up being pretty good just not as good as I hoped. The special effects are done very well and it looks terrific. The story is great and can be enjoyed by both young and old a like. Where it falls short is the acting. It just does not seem all that natural and can be way over dramatic at times. But for the story and the effects it makes it worth checking out. 7 out of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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