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laballatician
Favorite Actresses - Kate Winslet, Gillian Anderson, Amy Acker, Scarlett Johansson
Reviews
Revenge for Jolly! (2012)
Big Disappointment
I've had this movie on my Watchlist since it first popped up. A comedic overly-serious bloody revenge flick over the murder of a dog? Plus this cast? Count me in. I love "stupid" movies (see Smiley Face, The Ten).
Sadly, it's not very good.
The concept is pretty funny. The sincerity in which the characters behave adds to the ridiculousness of the plot. But there's a shockingly small amount of humor. I appreciate subtle comedy, but it's nearly non-existent here. There is a funny moment where a character freaks out about getting ranch dressing on his pants, but that's about it.
It doesn't help that the two main guys are dull and unlikeable. I wanted to root for the main guy, cuz I'd totally wanna react the same way if anyone hurt my pets, but I ended up thinking he and his cousin were just a-holes. But their real problem is they just recent interesting enough to make me care.
Finally, and worst of all, the film completely wastes Kristen Wiig. I'm all for seeing her in different kind of roles, but different here doesn't mean better.
I feel like I'm being harsh, but I feel that it would be unfair to make excuses for the film just because of the goodwill I had built up toward it. I wish I liked it more than I I did. That's probably the best thing I can say.
Maron (2013)
About these comparisons to Louie
If its trying to be like Louie, it fails.
Louie is self-centered without being narcissistic. It's dark, but deep. It has heart. Plus, it's hilarious. It's freaking poetry.
This show? I came in ready to love it, but I'm left feeling frustrated. It's mean-spirited. It's narcissistic in a way that completely lacks the self-awareness that Louie has. Even the moments that feel designed to make us think Maron has the ability to mock his self feel false and prideful.
I don't really think it's fair to compare shows, though. Each should be judged on their own. And on its own merits, Maron ultimately fails because it's not funny.
Hemlock Grove (2013)
It's The X-Files meets American Horror Story meets Twin Peaks
Okay, this show is really getting mixed reviews, and I'm pretty confused because I loved it!
People seemed to really enjoy Netflix' other series, House of Cards, and I thought it was brilliant as well. But Hemlock Groves isn't getting the same kind of love, but I'm a fan.
It's creepy and weird and beautiful. The two male leads are awesome and have great chemistry. The actor who plays Roman is equal parts sympathetic and sociopathic.
It also includes one of the more awesome werewolf transformations. No stupid Twilight silliness. Very disturbing.
So, give it a try. Maybe you'll dig it like I did.
John Dies at the End (2012)
Good movie. Disappointed.
Not a bad movie, but just not what the book deserved.
First I want to say that I have nothing but respect for the people involved. I think Don is an awesome director (LOVE Bubba Ho Tep and Phantasm is the stuff), but this book just needed a bigger budget and this movie didn't have it.
I'm just going to get into my problems with the movie:
Bark Lee? Why? Such a silly unnecessary change. Molly is now a boy dog named Bark Lee? I don't get it. Not a major change, but I just don't see the need.
No Las Vegas. Nobody shifting out of existence. In transferring a book to film, obviously things need to be cut. But this is a short movie, and I'm just overall disappointed that my favorite book didn't end up getting a big-budget, big-event kind of movie. If so, maybe we would have gotten Vegas and more.
Which is really one of my overall disappointments with the film. Again, not a disrespect to the people who made this film. The budget just didn't exist, and I'm glad we have a movie, but I'd hoped for a bigger deal. The special effects are impressive for the budget, but JDATE could have been so much more.
Amy is now Jennifer Lopez. And Amy is also pretty much a non-character. Her whole section from the book, which was my favorite and really creepy, is completely gone. No bags of goo. Amy in the movie makes zero impact.
No Dave in the shed! This one kind of really annoys me. This should have been in the movie. I'd love to hear an explanation as to why it's not. Actually, I bet the explanation would really annoy me. I think it's a bold place to go and someone didn't think audiences would "get" it. The running time could have certainly handled this aspect. Why do you bother with the whole ax analogy? Why is THAT in the movie but not the ACTUAL POINT behind it?
Like I said, the movie pretty much removes the entire middle section, which is a waste since that's some of the more interesting stuff and the characters suffer. We don't really get to know Dave or John or any of the characters. We like them, which is a relief. Chase Williamson is a fantastic Dave. I wish we could have seen a bit more of his story. The bullying story isn't here. We don't see much of him and Amy until all of a sudden she's his girlfriend.
So obviously I had my problems with the movie. I'm clearly a fan of the book and it tainted my view of the movie 100%. I think people will enjoy this movie if they haven't read the book. I think people will enjoy this movie if they have read the book. I totally own up to the fact that I had higher expectations for this movie. I would have loved for this movie to have had no limitations while being made, but that wasn't the case. And what we have is a fun movie, so don't let my ranting deter you. Check it out for yourself.
Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)
No one cared about the movie they were making
At least, that's the only explanation I can come up with for this mess.
The first Urban Legend wasn't exactly great, but it was fun, had some sweet kills and the idea of deaths based off of urban legends has a lot of potential for a good series of flicks.
Final Cut takes zero advantage of that potential, however. The whole urban legend thing seems almost shoe horned in to another movie. The killer's motive is actually interesting, and had the execution made a bit of sense could have made an interesting movie away from this franchise. But this is an Urban Legend movie so the fact that we don't get some really classic urban legend kills is inexcusable. There is one cool scene involving ice nd a bathtub that really worked, though.
The real problem with the movie is that it's just not trying. None of the characters aim beyond formulaic, and the film requires that they all be stupid beyond belief to keep the story going.
And when a movie depends on such stupidity from its characters AND its audience to reach its finale, it's clear that whoever made it just didn't seem the need to put much effort in it. So I say follow their lead, and don't bother putting in the effort to watch this mess.
Heart String Marionette (2012)
Strange ... and beautiful!
I'm not sure what I just watched.
I'm not sure I'm supposed to know.
What I do know is that Heart String Marionette is a beautiful film - both visually and thematically. I don't want to get into the plot of the movie, because it will just confuse you. Just know that it's ... strange.
Very strange. And epic. And hilarious. And mind blowing.
In fact, the movie will blow your mind, pick up the pieces of brain matter spread across your TV screen ( or computer monitor, or iPad, or whatever method you choose to watch --- just be sure to watch), rearrange them in a different order and the proceed to blow them again.
This movie was introduced to me by a friend. I've never been big on animated films, and I was unfamiliar with m dot strange, but consider me a new fan.
I'll definitely be checking out his other work, and anyone on the fence should check out Heart String Marionette.
Just be warned: it's very STRANGE.
Burlesque (2010)
Best Musical of the Year!
Burlesque, starring the fabulous Cher, Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci, Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough, and Alan Cummings, is without question the musical of the year! Now sure, there's not much competition. As a matter of fact, I'm failing at coming up with even one other musical from 2010, but that's beside the point. This is a quality musical!
One of the major failures that modern musicals have suffered from is an inability to truly entertain the audience aka the fun factor. Burlesque embraces the fun, and even delivers on the wow factor in several of many balls to the wall dance numbers. There is no holding back on these performances. The success is the film's ability to go completely over the top in these sequences, yet pull back in the moments that call for it. It's a tricky balancing act that a lot of similar films have not been able to manage. They usually end up going the campy route (see Showgirls) or play it safe and deliver a snooze fest (see Glitter).
Cher may be the big name in this movie, and she's great, but it's Cher. You know what to expect. The real surprise of Burlesque is Kristen Bell as Nikki. Just as Kristen Bell is not exactly the star of this show, Nikki finds herself left of center stage at The Burlesque Lounge. You get the sense that Nikki is completely aware of her destiny as a "never was", but she's going to make sure you know she's not happy about it.
The only place the film is really lacking is in its script. There's some PG-13 level romance that never connects to the audience, and really only distracts from what we really want to see - great music and great dancing. Plus, the dialog is pretty stale, the kind of one-liners you'll hear on The Disney Channel. The exceptions here being Cher and Tucci, who sometimes feel like they brought in their own team of writers to handle the characters of Tess and Sean.
Burlesque also marks the film debut of singer Christina Aguilera.