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Reviews
The Two Coreys (2007)
Not Terrible
I realize that this show receives a lot of negative criticism, some of it I can agree with. Corey Feldman admitted recently that a portion of the show is scripted, which at times, is painfully obvious. But it isn't all scripted and staged. I have to say that probably the best part of this show is all the little things that Corey Haim does. His stupid yet funny comments always make me laugh. I can easily recognize that Haim is a true character. Yeah, sure, he is doing this in an attempt to kick start his career again, but he isn't fake (as Feldman can sometimes be). It's certainly no emmy winner, but The Two Coreys is worth watching every once in a while.
Stand by Me (1986)
A Real Classic
"Stand by Me" is often regarded as a real classic. It is based on the Stephen King novella "The Body," a story that depicts four close adolescent boys who go on a quest to recover a missing boy's dead body in hopes of becoming town heroes. Even King himself has said numerous times that "Stand by Me" is one of his favorite movie adaptations of a book. Nowadays, it is a very rare thing to come across a movie that has such superb acting, a gripping plot, and such a wonderfully made bittersweet ending as shown in "Stand by Me." Although made more than 20 years ago, this movie is so timeless.
The movie is set in the summer of 1959. Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Chris Chambers (played beautifully by River Phoenix), Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman), and Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Conell) play four very close twelve year old boys who help each other through the hard times and make the best of memories together. Gordie is the sensitive writer. He is unfortunately overlooked by his parents due to his star athlete brother's untimely death four months earlier. Chris may be the most complex yet relatable of the group all at once. He is a tough guy on the outside, who steals the milk money at school, and has a reputation of being the bad seed. Yet underneath it all, he wants nothing more than to succeed in life. Teddy Duchamp is the zany one, who can make everybody laugh without any effort. His dad "stormed the beach at Normandy," a thing Teddy greatly admires even though his dad held his ear to a stove (more is revealed about it in the film). Vern Tessio is the portly kid who everybody picks on but still loves. A little bit slow and always forgetting something, Vern is a character I think everyone eventually feels for. Keifer Sutherland also does a great job playing Ace Merrill, the town bully who the four boys are constantly insulted and teased by. Although it is clear Ace will be stuck in the small town the boys live in for the rest of his life, he still reigns.
The four main boys set out on an adventure together in order to find the dead body of missing 12 year old classmate Ray Brower. At first, the viewer may assume that this adventure is solely about four kids just wanting to see a decomposing body. However, "Stand by Me" is far from that. The adventure is accompanied by coming-of-age revelations, emotional breakdowns, heartache, and the longing for acceptance. This is the time in which their lives will change forever. Their last real time of innocence, as the movie's tagline states.
I must point out River Phoenix's performance as the troubled Chris Chambers. This was his star-making performance, and obviously for a good reason. His acting is wonderful in every aspect. There is never a scene where his acting could have been improved. It is that incredible. Not to say the other boys did not do well, because they definitely did, but Phoenix's performance stood out. Due to his surprising death in real life that came all too soon in 1993, I was left at the end of the movie thinking he could have done so many other great things with his talent. At least the world was able to recognize him as such a talented actor while we had the chance.
The music in this movie is also something to be recognized as phenomenal. It is filled with classics from the '50s that make the movie that even more unforgettable. I do not believe I have heard better-fitting music for a film ever before in my life. Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" is placed just at the end of the movie, and it all makes perfect sense. The song made the ending that much better. It is truly a beautiful part of the movie.
All of themes of friendship are so timeless and relatable no matter what year we are in. The acting is magnificent and is guaranteed to make a lasting impression on you. It will probably bring a tear to your eye, but I think in a good way. And it is really one of those movies you can watch over and over and never fall out of love with.
"Stand by Me" is easily one of the best films ever made.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Decent, yet somewhat disappointing
Upon leaving the theater after seeing "At World's End," (AWE) I was left with that "kinda-sorta-okay" impression. The first two films in this series are truly excellent, and that is one of the various reasons I was so disappointed. I expected to be wowed and pulled into a fast-paced world of action as I was when viewing "Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Dead Man's Chest," but I was bored.
Before ever seeing AWE, I had heard there was too little action; not enough sword fights, exciting battles with strange creatures of the sea, etc. I had always thought of myself as one who disliked action in movies, and I just thought of it as filler. However, this series absolutely needs action and those famous sword battles on top of moving objects (like the giant wheel shown in the second film) that we have all come to know and love. Without that needed action, the film unfortunately became dull. And the numerous sappy plots of the film, such as Will's (Orlando Bloom) ordeal with his father as well as Elizabeth's (Keira Knightley) situation with her father, were just not enough to keep the viewer entertained.
And that brings me to my next point---all this boring talk about fathers. Nearly every other word out of both Bloom and Knightley's mouth was "father." To speak the truth, the movie was mainly about the character of Will Turner talking about his father, and Elizabeth Swann crying over hers.
I have never been a Johnny Depp fan until seeing the first film in this series. Depp brings character, humor, and entertainment to the screen. A lot of critics are saying this and I must agree---there was not enough Johnny Depp. He made the first two movies such wonderful films, and with the third missing his presence in too much of the picture, it failed. Depp has a tendency in really any movie to spice things up. I looked forward to seeing Depp because I've noticed he makes otherwise boring scenes just fantastically entertaining. The movie missed a lot due to his lack of appearances.
There were also a number of confusing scenes that left many questions unanswered. Instead of focusing on the film, I was stuck trying to determine whether "it was real or just a dream." These weirdly baffling scenes distract the viewer from any real significance they actually had. For instance, the first scene involving Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) was incredibly strange, although I think the writers were going for more of a "creative" feel. It is wildly weird, and never explained. Perhaps if there was some sort of explanation, the importance of the scene would have been shown.
Even after all the flaws AWE had, I did enjoy some aspects of the film. As always, composer Hans Zimmer brings a wonderful set of songs into the movie, including the easily recognizable "He's a Pirate," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme song.
The appearance of Keith Richards as Jack Sparrow's father was quite interesting also. Richards had supposedly been asked to appear in the series for quite some time, and I am glad he took a part, in my opinion, the perfect part. I would have liked to see more of Richards though, because his part was rather small.
The special effects were, as usual, great. With the potential for much more action that was never capitalized on, there could have been plenty more special effects though. But, what was included in the film was substantial.
In conclusion, I guess I would say "At World's End" could have been much better, but we have to deal with what we are given.
Lady in the Water (2006)
Failed to live up to Shyamalan's previous works
Firstly, how in the world could someone possibly be so insane as to rate LITW a perfect ten? Saying this film is flawless is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a long time! I honestly had high hopes for LITW. I had heard it was horrible, but I felt it unfair to the movie to prejudge without any real background information about it. Hey, at least I gave it a try.
The main point-Shyamalan needs to stick with what he's best at: the semi-creepy thrillers most've come to know and love. LITW was SUCH a failure, although I did have fairly good expectations due to what I've seen earlier, like Signs and The Village, all decent flicks. But LITW failed to bring anything whatsoever, no interesting surprise endings, strongly intense scenes, or good acting on behalf of Bryce Dallas Howard. The story was just stupid, and it wasn't anywhere near cut-out and developed enough to become a major motion picture. It needed lots of work before it was even considered to become a film.
It was difficult to follow, partly because little things were just thrown in here and there just so the story could continue with some sense of any logic. Nothing was very well explained, leaving the viewer just barely holding onto the weak concept and storyline of the movie.
Hopefully Shyamalan will pull a better plot out of his head for his next production. I've really enjoyed his past films, mainly because they leave you thinking about the movie and really getting a great thought process going. However, with LITW, one, and only one thought came to mind: "DUMB." By the way, I do think I've been exceptionally nice with the rating I've Given (4/10). I believe LITW at least deserves some points for an attempt at making a good movie, even though one was never created.
National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002)
Underrated
First off, I believe Van Wilder is one of the most underrated films ever. The comedy is truly something worth laughing for, it's got a pretty good script, great music, and Ryan Reynolds is excellent as Van Wilder.
Van Wilder instantly became one of my favorite movies right after I watched it. I know National Lampoon has produced some failures lately, but this movie definitely is not one of them.
The plot: The coolest guy on campus (Van) has seven years of college under his belt, but would rather party than study. Van then meets a reporter who knows Van is purposely failing in school to avoid graduating and going out into the "real world". Simple but funny and interesting plot.
As I mentioned earlier, Ryan Reynolds is phenomenal as Van, and acts is part just perfectly in my opinion. Kal Penn shines as Taj, the awkward but lovable new transfer student from Bunglapoor, India. Honestly, I feel every character except Gwen (played by Tara Reid) was portrayed very well.
Bottom line: I love Van Wilder, it's a hilarious movie that really stands out among others.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
Insanely Hilarious
Borat originally got his start on "Da Ali G Show", quite the funny HBO show starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who also plays Ali G, an English rapper/thug, and a gay television reporter from some European or Asian country. Many at first assumed Borat was a real person, not an actor, but he's exactly the opposite.
The plot of this movie is one of the simplest ever, which is one reason why I think it's such a success. Not that it's a bad thing, but you don't have to think deeply about the moral of the film, what's going on, or any deeper meanings the movie might posses. It goes basically like this...Borat Sagdiyev (Cohen) is a Kazakhstan news reporter sent to America with his friend, Azamat, to learn and experience different cultural styles of "The U S and A" so that Kazakhstan can become more culturally knowledgeable. Simple plot, huh? Borat is originally sent to the Big Apple to fulfill his cultural duties, but stumbles upon a "Baywatch" collectors book at a garage sale, and sees his true love, Pamela Anderson. Yes, I know, that's a little if not VERY dumb-sounding, but all of this makes that movie absolutely hysterical! Now Borat's journey is set for California, the only place where he can find his true love, Pamela.
Along the way, Borat winds up at an Evangelist church, dining with the South's finest (among other things bound to get laughs), taking driving lessons, being deathly terrified of a bed and breakfast, adopting a wild bear, getting hold of a cruddy ice cream truck, and hanging with some new-found Atlanta thugs. These scenes are just some that got laughs from everyone at the theater I attended, there are many more.
But, there is one BIG scene that "takes the cake", beats the rest. I will only say it involves some grossly nude wrestling, that is actually quite disturbing, but in a hilarious way! If you see this movie, you'll know what scene I'm talking about! Everyone I know that has seen this movie agrees that it was the funniest one they have ever seen, especially this scene here. I laughed myself into tears, as did many others. It was such a simple scene, but it was so crazy and absurd that it was extremely funny.
So to state it simply: Go see Borat! Funniest film ever! (By the way, that is not just an isolated opinion, MANY critics (newspaper, television, magazine employees) have said this too)
Jackass Number Two (2006)
Pretty Much Perfect
When I first saw the trailer for Jackass Number Two on television a while back, I literally jumped up from my seat and screamed in excitement. I'm a true fan of the show, and the original Jackass movie has always been a real favorite of mine. However, I did have one major doubt: Would this just be a stupid unfunny sequel? Jackass Number Two was the exact opposite! It far surpasses the first Jackass, and is packed with stunts that are just funnier, plain and simple. Every cent I paid to get into the theater to see this movie was absolutely worth it. I laughed so much harder, and when I walked out of the movie theater, I immediately thought "I want to see it again!" And there's no question, I will see it again because this movie was perfect for me. It was incredibly entertaining, despite what you may have heard.
I believe the only reason this film has been deemed controversial is that people have been labeling it as "dumb", or "stupid", or "a waste of money". Besides the fact I have only heard this from people who have never experienced Jackass at all (whether it be the show or the first movie), these people just don't get it. Unfortuanately, they feel movies must contain an important theme, and have some element in it to really make you think, like a strong and powerful script. This movie was meant to make people laugh, which is what is does, and it does that very well I must say. You may hear of "unnecessary nudity", and "disgusting scenes", which I will tell you now is what Jackass Number Two has. But, these "disgusting scenes" are important to have, only for one reason: they're funny.
Jackass Number Two is perfect, but only if you're looking to laugh, not if you want to see an Oscar worthy movie. So, see this movie! It will really make you laugh! This movie really does deserve to be number one on its opening weekend. This means that finally people are getting the message; see this movie if you're looking for something funny! I'm glad this film has become so successful, I love it.
Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Better Than Expected
"Snakes on a Plane". I can somewhat easily see where one could have reason to believe this movie would be bad. When this movie came out in theaters, I was quite excited to see it. Some of the people coming with me were a bit reluctant to do so, for they thought this movie would be "stupid".
To their surprise, it was phenomenal! The acting was great, even though the movie contained what I thought to be average characters: The ditsy rich girl, the hotshot superstar rapper and his two suck up assistants, the irritated stuck up rich man, the nervous guy who hates planes, the kids flying without their parents for the first time, the tough and heroic FBI agent (Samuel L. Jackson), etc. I thought each of these characters and more added a little flare to the movie that made it more interesting. There was also a hint or two of comedy, and not just your typical barely funny one liners, but physical comedy that is not just from the actors, but from the vicious snakes too! Eddie Kim (a dangerous criminal wanted by the authorities for quite some time) has committed a grisly murder of a powerful attorney that was witnessed by an ordinary guy. To lock up Kim in the big house for good, the witness must fly from Hawaii to California to testify. Of course Kim does not want to be prosecuted, so he concocts what I think to be a brilliant and clever plan: Fill the plane the witness is riding with hundreds of deadly and venomous snakes. Now the question simply is, will the plane make it safely across the ocean? In conclusion, do not let the title and/or previews of "Snakes on a Plane" convince you to pass this movie up. You do not really have to prefer gritty and suspenseful action films to enjoy this movie, because "Snakes on a Plane" is much more than that. It is actually an intelligent and gripping movie that really captured my interest. I have to admit though that within the first few scenes, I began to assume this would just be your average action flick, no better or worse than any before or after it. Then, the movie really took off, and became something good. Maybe I should just put it this way: When it is released on DVD and PSP, there's no question about it, I am definitely purchasing it!
Detroit Rock City (1999)
One of the Best Movies...EVER
When I first watched Detroit Rock City, I absolutely fell in love with the movie. The music is excellent, featuring TONS of great songs from KISS, AC/DC, Sweet, Cheap Trick and more top notch bands. The entire cast acts their roles amazingly, and I really felt each actor/actress fit their part perfectly. To briefly describe the plot of the movie, four high schoolers who are total KISS fanatics purchase tickets to see KISS live in Detroit, but, it's not as easy as that! Without giving away too much, they encounter so many hilarious problems along the way to Detroit that are very entertaining! Plus, Detroit Rock City contains so many laugh out loud lines throughout the whole movie! This movie is great for someone who knows the music and is familiar with KISS, but I'd also recommend it to someone who isn't as familiar with the group. Detroit Rock City is my all time favorite movie, and in my opinion, one of the funniest movies ever!