Change Your Image
chris_n_malone
Reviews
Tyson (2008)
In his own words
In the 80s and early 90s nearly everyone in the United States had an opinion of Mike Tyson. Chances are that if they did not watch boxing that opinion was very negative, but for those of us that did watch boxing we were a bit torn. Before the rape conviction, prison sentence, and subsequent ear biting (insert joke about 'Tyson being the hungrier fighter' here) we watched a boxer the likes of which we hadn't seen. A brilliant strategist, with speed, and power unrivaled in his era Mike Tyson was to boxing what Tiger Woods is to golf today. Furthermore he was nearly always the smaller fighter and we as a people tend to root for the little guy possibly because of our winning the Revolutionary War against Mother England. But then it happened, Mike Tyson was accused of rape and the downward spiral began. You couldn't help but want to see him continue competing, but if these allegations were indeed true how could you reconcile it? We all know what happened after that and chances are very few opinions of him improved.
This documentary is Mike Tyson walking you through his life in his own words. From his troubled youth, to his start in armature boxing, all the way through his ultimate demise, with a lot of relationships sprinkled throughout. He takes very little responsibility for any his trials which probably won't help anyone's opinion of him, but listening to him tell his story was wonderful.
It's a pity this documentary was filmed prior to the death of his daughter, I'd like to know how it happened from his perspective and how he dealt with it.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
From someone who hasn't read the books to people that haven't read the books
The Good: - The actors and actresses that we've come to know over the previous five movies really came into their own in this one. At one point, for whatever reason, Harry is very jolly. He does it well and is hilarious in the process. In the hospital Hermione shows a range of emotion and it was quite convincing and rather touching. Of the three main characters Ron probably matured the most. A great job done by all. - This movie was very dark which is appropriate giving the ending of the prior movie - There was a ton of character development in all of the youths. - This was the funniest of any of the movies thus far. - The last half hour changed the relationships that some of the key characters will have with the others in the following movie(s).
The Bad: - The actors, especially Ron, look much older than 16. I suppose that's unavoidable and will be even more prevalent in the last movie(s) in the series. - While I'm confident that the last movie(s) tie everything together I can't help but feel that the previous movie had very little connection with this one. I'd like to get more specific, but we'll say that many of the main themes in 'Order of the Phoenix' are completely omitted in this film. - There is a bubbly chick with a lot of screen time that does very little to further the plot. I suppose that she does supply some comic relief, but if your endgame is Harry defeating Voldemort she appears to me to be completely irrelevant.
The Ugly: - I'm sure people that read the books saw the ending coming, but I for one did not. I won't go into any more detail, but it was very disappointing. - This movie, more than any other, focused on the interest in the opposite sex. It is a major part of the film and again, if your endgame is the conflict between Harry and Voldemort, I would have preferred it being done away altogether. If she's feels it necessary for the characters to show an interest in the opposite sex because of their age, it should have been scaled back considerably in my opinion.
Overall a good experience and a very good movie.
Blast from the Past (1999)
From Deer Hunter to this stinker? C'mon Chris!
After seeing the Deer Hunter, one of cinemas most prolific masterpieces, I was convinced that Christopher Walken may just be one of the most talented actors in my lifetime. Unfortunately all of the goodwill that he built up in Deer Hunter, and to a lesser extent Pulp Fiction, was spoiled by this stinker. This movie is absolutely dreadful. I expect Brendan Fraser to sign up for junk like this and his terrible performance is not out of character, but Christopher Walken!?!?!? Say it isn't so! It is! He was horrible, the story was horrible, and the script was horrible! Basically their family believes that a nuclear bomb goes off, they climb into a bomb shelter for 35 years, and then come out to find a new world. All attempts at humor fail miserably, skip this movie. If you want a laugh pick up 'Thank You For Smoking' or 'Caddyshack.'
Hoop Dreams (1994)
7.9 Rating? You have got to be kidding me.
I enjoy a good documentary so when I stumbled across this one I was optimistic. It takes about 20 minutes of this nearly 3 hour documentary to become indifferent to all of the main characters. The documentary's narrator goes out of his way attempting to draw empathy from the viewer but, at least to my wife and I, it falls flat. The story is about a few children that care not about getting educated, only about playing basketball. The parents and siblings don't make you want to like them either. The families all receive handouts and then have the audacity to complain that their handouts aren't adequate and the system isn't fair because they all deserve greater handouts. As a taxpayer, with a job, this movie is maddening. The parents should not have allowed their children to play any sports, hang out with anyone, or do anything else until their grades were adequate, but when the parents themselves are on welfare I guess their actions are to be expected.
Holiday in Handcuffs (2006)
How this move got above a 2 is beyond me
As I write this review, the movie has a rating of 6.5. How this movie got above a 2 is beyond me. To call the acting terrible would be a disgrace to the word 'terrible.' The plot was silly, the dialogue was garbage, and again the acting was repugnant. My wife managed to convince me to watch this movie with her, and admittedly, the movie's "awfulness" overcame me and prevented me from finishing it. I have to assume that family and friends of the cast came on and voted, there is no other logical explanation for the 6.5 rating. Oh yeah, the weak plot was about a girl that kidnapped AC Slater and took him home for Christmas. Apparently AC Slater and Jesse Spanno are no longer together because the movie's would-be villain was his fiancé.
Off the Chain (2005)
Well done film on a very difficult subject
One of the top things on my priority list when a documentary touches on tough subject matter is fairness, were both sides of the story told fairly. I think this documentary does that. Going into this film I thought that people who fought dogs were sick, evil, and twisted. Leaving this film I feel even stronger about this, but at least two of the people engaged in this appalling activity were given the opportunity to explain their mentality, as off-base as I felt it was. There was a most horrifying scene that I can still hear, you'll know it when you see it; there were also some very graphic pictures of these poor animals, but going into this movie you should expect that. It does a good job of describing where this spectacle originated and how it developed to the point that it is today. It also does a fair job defending the pit bull terrier, but I think that they may have done this up a little too much. My 2 primary criticisms are that 1. Most of the information (history, etc.) comes at you in the first 10 minutes where I would prefer it be spread out through the film 2. It's vague as to where in the United States this is occurring most often.
Overall this film was very good. It got some information out there and was very powerful, hopefully the controversy surrounding Michael Vick will encourage more people to educate themselves on this subject matter.
Freedom Writers (2007)
Dangerous Minds 2
This movie should have been called Dangerous Minds 2 or 187 2. It's about a giddy, do-gooding teacher, trying to make a difference by teaching a class full of hoodlums. I'm not sure if the director wanted to make you care about these high school thugs, I imagine that he must have, but was completely ineffective in doing so. The movie is totally unrealistic and it rips off other movies without any shame. On the school grounds it even identifies the social groups within the student body in the EXACT same way that Ice Cube did in Higher Learning. I mean, they didn't even make an effort for original thought here. It's not that it was an unwatchable film like, Urban Menace or something, it was just boring beyond belief. This film was nothing more than a bunch of rip offs smeared together in a totally predictable mess. I will say that the second half of the movie may have gotten substantially better, but I wouldn't know because I turned it off at the hour mark. If you are considering renting this film do yourself a favor and rent Dangerous Minds instead. I don't think that was a particularly good movie either, but at least you could see the original as opposed to this lowly imposter.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Don't set your hopes too high
Let me preface this by saying that I've never read any of the books.
I thought that this film lacked a storyline, spent far too much time on a new character, and scratched the surface on a main character's past (but didn't go deep enough). I also thought that the media over-hyped the movie's 'darkness.' A final criticism is that the charades played near the start of the film could have been done much quicker and set up the storyline just the same. The biggest positive is that you learn a little about one of the main characters and by the end of the film you feel like Harry's character has gone through some progression. It wasn't a bad movie, but walking out of the theater I don't feel like the story had advanced much from the point where the 'Goblet of Fire' movie left off.
Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders (2006)
Had potential, but fell flat
Going into this movie I felt that a documentary on America's debt crisis had a subject that most could relate to and had the makings of one of the great documentaries of our time. Unfortunately it fell well short of my expectations. One of the people interviewed presented what I would consider to be nothing more than conspiracy theories about the credit reporting industry and it was presented as fact. Also, the film got too wrapped up in the emotions of people whose lives were affected by personal debt and debt of loved ones, rather than tackling the inner-workings of the consumer lending industry, which I would have found much more stimulating. While I don't think that late fees should make up half (or more) of a consumer's credit card bill, I find it difficult empathizing with people that purchase something, then elect not to pay the bill. On a positive note, the film did bring to light the ties of large banks to some other businesses. While I have seen worse documentaries, the film did not do the subject matter justice. Perhaps they should have had someone on staff with more analytical skills and some insight as to the inner workings of the consumer lending industry.