capncruller Reviews

Bustin' Loose (1981)

very funny

[6/10 · 25 May 2014]

This movie may appear to be a family movie, but yet Richard Pryor's Braxton character is clearly not a family man. He swears and yells at children, slaps them, teaches them strip poker and is constantly smoking stogies.

I found myself really enjoying this movie though. There are quite a few laugh out loud moments. I especially liked when the Miss Perry character told Braxton to be careful with his cigar because he might set himself on fire!

The movie even features comedian Paul Mooney in a small cameo at the beginning.

Judgment Night (1993)

Guy's Night out Goes Gonzo Bananas!

[6/10 · 25 May 2014]

This movie starts off strong with an interesting premise and great actors. Four buddies from the suburbs hop into an RV on their way to a boxing match in the big city. The problem is, they decide to take a short cut and end up in the wrong side of town.

Overall it was a decently entertaining movie and I really liked Jeremy Pivens character because he was so entertaining. Kind of a sleazeball type of guy.

The things I didn't like were the ending being anticlimactic and predictable and I never really liked Emilio Estevez' character. He was supposed to be a reformed tough guy, but the guy is like 5'3. It seemed like he was just phoning in his performance. Not very believable.

Mo' Better Blues (1990)

Bleeek!

[7/10 · 25 May 2014]

This was a frustrating movie for me because it was at times brilliant, yet there are a few things that could have been done better.

Spike Lee shows why he is revered as a writer director, with beautiful dynamic shots, intercut with smooth jazz. It is a charming presentation. Also the dialogue is interesting and feels natural and spontaneous. The combination of strong writing and acting makes for interesting conversations.

The things I found frustrating was the lack of a focused or interesting story. Also Spike Lee's performance was very weak compared to Denzel's and he should have stayed out of the movie. He actually took a lot of the attention from the other characters and tried to make the movie about himself.

Internal Affairs (1990)

An intense cop drama

[8/10 · 25 May 2014]

I really enjoyed this movie, mainly due to the great performances. It seems that a lot of gritty cop dramas were being made in the 90's, with great acting and mature story lines. Now all we get are superhero movies, but I digress.

Richard Gere plays the ultimate bad ass and alpha male cop on the streets (before Denzel did it), woman love him and men respect his gangster.

Andy Garcia plays the internal affairs agent who is trying to take Gere down. Garcia is the type of guy who likes to play it cool. He loses his cool though after things get personal. Great movie

The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968)

A barrel of laughs

[8/10 · 8 March 2014]

This was an enjoyable spoof of the western by the great actor Don Knotts. Knotts is in top form as a mild mannered man out of his element in the old west and plays Dr. Heywood with one of the greatest physical comedy performances I've seen. He is able to faint at one moment and at another freeze in place like a statue (that was one of my favorite gags)and let's not forget his hilarious bug eyed expressions.

The movie also features the pretty red haired Barbara Rhoades as Knott's love interest/protector who adds a twist on the heroic exploits of the western hero.

Overall this is a light hearted romp which left me laughing on numerous occasions.

Vampiro: Angel, Devil, Hero (2008)

Not very compelling

[4/10 · 14 November 2009]

As a wrestling fan, I was pretty disappointed with this movie. It had a lot of promise, but overall it just didn't deliver. The whole premise of him promoting his own independent wrestling show was not very interesting to me because I could tell from the beginning that the venture was doomed to fail. Also I must say that Vampiro comes off as a douche. I know that may be harsh but the guy is just not that likable. I do appreciate him being candid about his personal life though. There were some things that they did right here though, which I would have liked to see more of. The surf punk music was excellent and really matched well with the wrestling action. Stories of Vampiro's earlier years were hilarious and his friends had a lot of funny stories about him. The stories about life on the street and working for Milli Vanilli were pretty good, but then much of the last 15 years of his life were not talked about all that much. Not even a mention of his years at WCW? C'mon. For hardcore fans only.