Wyndell Long - reviews page 3 movies television

reviews : movies 3

The Incredibles - Kid's have it extra good today. THey aren't making escape movies this good for adults these days. How many pg-13 wonders have you sat thru and thought, wow if the budget of this shitty film was put towards raising teachers salaries or helping out single mom's that would be money better spent. You can see a love of film making and storytelling in every frame of this animated feature. Great story, great voice casting, incredible (I know) animation, I could go on and on. And mrs incredible.....ahhhhh. Holly Hunter is one of my favorite actresses to it was nice to hear her voicing mrs incredible. IF there is a flaw in this movie it's that they didn't make the sequel at the same time. See it.

Kung Fu Hustle - Wow. If you're a martial arts / fantasy fan it's like the movie that you've had in your head but never thought you would ever see with real live people doing the Fu'. I look forward to this guy's future work cuz so far I've been impressed with not only his movies but also how they are cast. No huge names, average looking people which leaves more money for the great FX. I will not explain any part of this movie cuz it's best scene not having any idea what it's about. See it.

note: kung fu hustle is my 11_05 - my 2005 movie of the year

House of Flying Daggers - Pretty decent. OF course the action sequences are off the chain, but the story is a let down. I don't want to give anything away so I'll keep quiet of what the let down was but by all means see this one. It's like Hero in that you feel like your looking at art in motion.

Elektra - This one was dogged by the critics. Personally I liked it. I've seen far far worse. It's a comic book flick so don't expect the meaning of life or "SPiderman 2' dragged out self loathing drama. Garner is an assassin who grows a conscious. Nifty FX and a fast paced story never gets dull, just try not to over analyze it. Worth a rental.

Assult on precinct 13 - The original is a much better film which makes me ask yet again, why not just take the budget of this film and apply it to a school system somewhere in need out there. Again I'm not saying this was a bad film, it's just kind of pointless to be remaking classic films if your not going to add something spectacular to them. The shoot outs are pre John Woo style in which a lot of shots go off but you don't see where the bullets go. I hate that. Rental at most. Movies like this is why I've been renting less n less.

Ringu 2 - In short the japanese version sucks so I won't be renting the american version. Besides, wouldn't Sumara/Sadako be using dvd-rw's by now? Liked the first one but it should have ended there. I could barely get thru this one. Instead try to force a bowel movement or something more useful.

After the Sunset - To be honest the only thing worth watching in this one is Salma Hayek. When she is on the screen behold.....the Salma. Beyond that wish you were an 'actor' and could go off to nice island locations to shoot a film that you know won't make any money but hey, you get paid in advance. Lots and lots of monay! Get this only if you need to worship Salma Hayek because damn she looked good in this movie in what ever she was doing. Walking . Talking. Trying to extend a deck. If your looking to save $ and do not feel the Salma ga ga get the THomas Crown Affair instead. It has Peirce Bronsan in it, its about stealing, and you will save some $$.

The Island - Critics hate Michael Bay. That's like hating Walmart. He makes movies for people who like to see shit blown up on screen with no regard to safety or the need of constraint. The Island, a movie about what can happen in fiction land when the gov' ment turns their backs and lets maniacs have their way with 'cloning for parts", is a great b-list cast action movie with a-list action and FX. For the first 50 minutes your not sure if it's a michael bay movie cuz it's trying to tell like, a story, but then theirs running and gunshots and freeway mayhem. I liked the movie, but then I don't take movies so seriously. I was entertained and that's all I ask. Honestly I think he made this movie because he got such a buzz off the bad boys 2 freeway chases he just wanted to ramp it up by focusing more on cars being demolished.

Batman Begins - Well done. I was expecting a decent movie just because they got a director that actually likes telling a story (chirstopher Nolan). Nice touches with things directly from the comic books and graphic novels. No camp, just a pissed off dude enjoying his vigilantly work. No bullshit romance either. Check it out.

Constantine - Lately I have been bypassing the theater all together since much of what is released now just doesn't warrant the drive and money. No War of the Worlds, Batman Begins, ect. If this is all they can make then I'll spend $2 to rent them on new release tuesday. Take Constantine. Pretty kool movie. Kool enough fro my theater money? The verdict after watching is no. Very nice rental movie, ok theater movie. I'm not saying it was some pass the time bullshit. It was pretty good. Finally someone actually talks to all these angels and deity's in a movie. Keanu Reeves take on John C is well, Keanufied. He doesn't really act since he has 2 facial expressions which are really a blend of one. THey made a nice flick around him just like the Matrix series & Devil's Advocate. Rachel Weisz (playing twins) is always nice to watch. Gabriel was really nice and for the most part this was one of those movies where the dialog was fun, even for a non God fearing person like myself. THe comic book was exceptional, but there is only so much they are willing to do in these movies, even with a r rating these days. Rent or buy, it's worth the scratch.

note: Purchased the 2 disc version. THey should not have cut out the deleted scenes on disc 2. There's a nice subplot going on with another woman in John's life and more detail given on characters. The cut ending is better. Why on earth did they cut so much good stuff out? Good dvd for geeks (like myself).

War of the Worlds - As with all of Spielberg's recent work from Lost world to now, you get 1/2 genious, 1/2 what the hell? THis could have been really good, especially learning that this thing cost $139 million to make. Where did the money go? The action sequences are gone before you have a chance to go wow. In fact if you cut out the hokey dialog and bullshit situations the movie would be about 25 minutes long. The Book and the original movie are still classics to me (where else do you see a priest get lit up with a death beam?). To set this in modern times and not smart up the flick to keep the story in check is criminal. Tom Cruise is well....Tom Cruise. ANyone could have played his part and freed up an additional $20 million (or whatever these guys get now) for better writers and longer action sequences. Missed opportunity.

Mr & Mrs Smith - Pretty good. Don't get it for realism though, it's far fetched. If anyone else but Doug Liman directed this I probally wouldn't have bothered with it but anyone who makes The Bourne Identity has my money. My only problem with this movie is that it's one of those vehicles where there's nothing really at stake, in fact after they figure everything out there's no more story, no villain. The ending is rushed, abrupt and asks the viewer to swallow a whole lot shit. It killed the movie. But I have to admit the chemistry between Jolie and Pitt was kind of worth the money I sprang for the DVD. I could give a cow's testicle of what any hollywood star's love life is about (with the money those people make and having 24 hours a day to do nothing but look good why on earth would you get married anyway?), but I guess it helps those two were really into each other cuz it shows on screen. Jolie looked stunning. I always found her to be attractive but not goo gaa. She was goo gaa. I like Pitt as an actor, but all they had to do really was look really good. Made me want to do push up's & eat celery for a month watching this movie. They looked real good, like I want to be down. The writers should be smacked for not coming up with a better story to carry out the second half of the film. And if you your going to have a shoot out do it up hong kong John Woo detailed style and make every bullet count. Some slow motion and doves would have been nice. Hearing Jolie speak without a accent was a change for me. Overall rent this baby, don't buy unless you have to see these two together over and over again. It's thin on depth, but looks smashing.

Serenity - Well, I wasn't blown away like I thought I might be considering this is another Joss Wheadon production (buffy, angel) and was worshipped by critics n firefly fans. It's a good movie, in fact the pace is so good time flys by. it's almost 2 hours but feels like a 88 minute movie. The story is not the kind of thing you would think a writer/director would make a feature film out of, but the pace and dialog is so good that it makes up for the lack of 'theater' story you might come to expect. They released this thing in 3 months after the theatrical release and to be honest it should have been a tv movie on the sci-fi channel. It's along the likes of Farscape's final movie, another top notch tv show that was cancelled to make way for garbage television, except the Farscape movie gave more bang than Serenity. I never saw an episode of firefly on tv but meant too. In fact i'll probally buy the season dvd when I find it under $19 based on this movie. It looks like it was a great tv show.

note: got my hands on the season 1 dvd set. Interesting show. It's really a western with spaceships thrown in. I like the fact that in this series THERE IS NO SOUND IN SPACE. That alone get's props. The Cast is great and the women naturally are all unnaturally HOT, which seems to be a TV standard. The future is depicted in a realistic way, it shows technology will never replace the nature of man so there will always be campfire's, settlements, and mercs.

Two For the Money - Starts out good, then it fizzles like 3 day old pepsi. What a waste of a great cast. You don't learn much about sports gambling either.

Lord of War - Pretty good if you can get past the Nicolas Cage effect. Nic 'Copolla' Cage is Nic 'Copolla' Cage in every movie. Same talk, walk and swagger. You really have to make the people around him interesting, and 'S1MONE" director Andrew Niccol keeps it interesting. Luckily in this flick they have some good support. The great opening sequence that follows the life of a bullet. THe trophy wife (Bridget Moynahan) is good. Ethan 'blink and you'll miss him' Hawke is great for the underwritten role he had. The Eamonn Walker as the liberean Andre Baptiste Sr., his performance made the movie for me(but he goes unmentioned in most reviews I read, typical). THe chemistry between him and Cage was interesting in a movie basically about souless monsters. Good movie, worth the rental.

Doctor Who season 27 (2005) - Doctor Who is my favorite television show period. Noting has come even close to touching it in terms of long term enjoyment and ingenuity in story's and ideas. In fact most sci fi shows I watch are splinter ideas taken from Doctor Who. I mean it has over 30 years of stories to 'borrow' from. When you see the Borg you see the Borg you see Doctor Who. WHen you see Quantum LEap you see Doctor Who. When you see Farscape (which was really good as well) you see Doctor Who. It's a truly amazing show that has so much history to it and remained underground for 30 years which kept it's show strictly for the fans that like their television to challenge them. True the production values were low but fans don't need flash and bang t to be entertained. Doctor Who always had top notch actors and great performances. You had to have that to make the low budget sets and FX look real. Can't praise this show enough. THAT being said I wanted to give a quick review to the new 2005 version (season 27) of Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston as the timelord and Billie Piper as the new companion. This new start of Who is produced by Russell T Davies who is known for the show Queer as Folk. He did a amazing job in bringing Doctor Who back to an audience who for the most part will not pay attention to things unless it's moving at a fast pace. Old Doctor Who episodes were actually more like 90 to 100 minute movies that were broadcast in half hour spots. Luckily here in the states we got them as 1 90 minute broadcast. The new Doctor Who is mostly 45 minute productions with a couple of 2 partners in the mix, 13 episodes is al you get. This means you have to cram a lot of ideas into a short time frame. Russell T Davies has taken a new approach with Doctor Who and has focused on just about every angle you can have with traveling in time and space. How it effects companions and how the Doctor needs companionship in his LIVES. The first season was top notch stuff. Eccleston brought the Doctor back with a bang. Billie Piper tans Rose Tyler has made a companion character that rivals some of the best in Who (Elizabeth Sladen's Sarah Jane Smith, Louise Jameson's Leela, Janet Fielding's Tegan, ect) and their chemistry was really nice. The stories really brought out the new look to who where production values are much higher now. The stories while being too earth bound were nice. Standouts were "the unquiet dead", "dalek", "Father's Day", "The Parting of Ways".


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