jmorales22's Reviews

Year One (2009)

6/10

9 November 2009

If you're looking for a review from a pseudo movie critic, look elsewhere. This is just a review from a movie fan stating his opinion on a website. I won't give you the names of actors, and what roles they've been in, or who directed this, because that stuff is on the info page you just saw, and that kind of redundancy doesn't make anyone some kind of movie critic, despite what so many reviewers think of themselves.

I'm not a Jack Black fan but this movie is funny regardless. I'm not sure if a lot of people just find biblical satire offensive or if people are taking the movie too seriously and picking apart its accuracy, but whatever the case there were tons of characters in this movie that had me cracking up, and that even included Jack Black at times.

As I expect from just about any comedy these days, there are things I can do without, such as the eating poop and peeing on one's self which have been mentioned ad nauseum here. I used to detest those but now just have come to accept that those things will get into these kinds of comedies so they can reach the part of the audience that finds it funny. It might have made me rate it higher had those been left out, but I still had a lot of laughs from the biblical satire. I loved the characters of Abraham, Cain and Abel, and the witch doctor guy at the beginning.

Overall it's an entertaining way to spend your time. Heck I'd watch it again....

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Grindhouse (2007)

6/10

Surprisingly disappointing

15 April 2007

Warning: Spoilers

I've been awaiting Grindhouse since I saw the trailers. I must admit, I think it's a great idea. I went into the thing thinking there was no way I wouldn't like it, but unfortunately it somehow couldn't deliver on the hype you get from the trailers.

Planet terror was so-so. I love zombie movies anyway, and appreciated seeing Michael Biehn, so I'll give credit there. Overall it was 1.5 hours of entertainment, probably worth the price of a rental.

The other half, Dealth Proof, was Tarantino's brainchild and after the so-so feeling I got from Planet Terror I really put my eggs into that basket. I'd forgotten that Tarantino loves his dialog and his girl power so much, I guess because previously his dialog had been entertaining (see Pulp fiction... maybe he should go back and re-watch that a few times himself) and I had been able to overlook the girl power stuff as long as it wasn't outrageous and the rest of the movie fit together. But Dealth Proof fails to accomplish some basic things I need as a movie watcher: I have to like the protagonists and dislike the villains, and I have to continue to be engaged in the film by SOMETHING (that can be humor as in the reel jokes, or dialog as long as it's good: see conversations about giving another man's wife a foot massage.) This film does neither. Kurt Russel's character does a complete 180 from cool guy to total wimp in the blink of an eye (nay, it was slower than that... the dialog made it seem like several hours later before Russel's character re-appeared.) For the record, most girls can't deliver punches that hard (especially not ones their size), Kurt Russel's character knew what pain felt like already and wouldn't have wimped out over being shot in the arm (didn't he break his nose and finger, etc in the first accident?), and nobody likes an overly in-your-face girl like the one driving the car making all her shrewd insults. If anything it made me want to see her put in her place. I'm not a chauvinist, just be realistic about things, somewhat? Please? That's all I ask.

I think I'm turning on Tarantino, a man whose directing and writing skills I never questioned before. Seeing this reminds me that I only really liked Kill bill vol 2 because of the Pei Mei scene.

The jokes with the reels, fake trailers, etc are generally funny (my favorite thing was the fake restaurant ad, with those crappy disposable camera shots of their cheap, not that good looking entrées which I've definitely noticed before), but I would say the directors took it too far even for my taste on a few gross things (the trampoline knife, Kurt Russel eating nachos.) He's had his shot at paying homage to the old kung fu movies, now the grind-house ones... next up I guess is old Westerns. I'll give each movie a 6/10, which on my scale is an acceptable way to pass the time. But for Tarantino's standards, that's a disappointment.

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The Time Machine (2002)

7/10

Wonderful adaptation of H.G. Wells' story in the context of a century later

9 March 2002

Although some might disagree, I think some things had to be changed to make the story fit the modern age, and I think this movie did so nicely. If you watch the original, it's obvious some of the culture biases that were prevalent at the time of its making. Weena, the leading-role eloi woman, was a blonde hair/blue eyes. I think it's great that they picked someone with darker skin for the leading eloi role, and Samantha Mumba did a fine job, without adding any pop-bias in it (which I was concerned about; I for one don't want pop culture to seep into our moviegoing experience, especially movies that I'm actually interested in seeing such as this one and the Matrix.) She's no Aliyah though, which is good, nor does she have the lack of acting ability of a Britney Spears. It's been predicted that at some point in the future, we may all have the same skin color of Vanessa Williams, so this is accurate. Also, this movie took time to explain why the Eloi spoke and understood English... something the older movie didn't. Comparing the two movies, you can also tell the effect that the feminism movement has had on our culture. In the original, Weena was a complete ditz, totally incompetent and incapable of making her own decisions. In this new one, Mumba's character is smart and competent. I also liked how they kept the relationship between Mumba's and Pierce's characters largely plutonic.

Something else that's changed since 1960 is the end of the Cold War, so Wells' apocalyptic scenario didn't seem as likely. The moon destruction thing was a great change I thought, and looked awesome. In the 1960 version, the Morlocks would sound an alarm that used to be used during the war to get people to go to bomb shelters. The eloi would mindlessly march into the Morlocks' place. Again, since this seems less likely now, the Morlocks are changed into fierce hunters, the kind our protagonist can't single-handedly take on and destroy. And they they look awesome. The addition of the Uber-Morlock role fit well in my opinion, and I loved the fact that despite knowing the original story, I didn't know how it was going to end. The climax was very exciting, and the resolution was moving. Lastly, I was a bit apprehensive about the special effects, thinking they would overuse computer animation (which can look as fake as the special effects they used in the 1960s), but it turned out to be tastefully done. The time travel scenes looked amazing. Great job to everyone involved. 7/10.

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Contact (1997)

8/10

A very moving movie

5 January 2002

The story written by Carl Sagan is of itself very deep and intellectual, no doubt a reflection of the man himself. Sagan was indeed a remarkable person, and the context that this movie came out just after his death makes it even more moving to me (especially at the end when it credits "for Carl"). The score makes it that much better too. I give this movie an 8/10. Keep in mind that I have never seen, nor do I ever expect to see a movie that is a 10/10. 9s are also very very rare. I consider an 8 to be a fabulous work. The acting is top notch in this movie, and I have to say that Sagan's story leaves you thinking about not just space or science, but about life in general. It's movies like this that are deserving of a high rating, but they don't get all the hype by the mainstream (Star Wars) crowd such as was the case with the "greatest movie of all time" (read the sarcasm), Lord of the Rings.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

2/10

An example of the effect that hype has on society.

27 December 2001

I'll have to admit that I went into this movie with serious doubts, knowing that it had been voted the best movie of all time. But the fact is that this movie is mildly entertaining at best. My friends wouldn't even give it a 6, which is what I give it. It's obviously aimed at a younger audience, and/or the Star Wars crowd, of which I'm neither. It surprises me however to find so many well articulated reviews that were clearly written by older, more educated people. It's unusual that such people could love the movie so much. As someone who has not read the books, I found the movie to be corny in many areas. The things holding it up are the spectacular scenery and wonderful sound. It's also predictable, which is an inherent flaw of the book/story, not the adaptation of it in the movie. Still, my friend who watched it with me had read the book, and he mentioned several parts where it differed from the book, and unnecessarily. I would think that anybody who's seen a good share of movies would know what to expect, and it's those few that keep you guessing that are standouts. This is definitely not one of them. And how could people not find certain parts corny (such as the emotional moments between Frodo and the other hobbit guy)? Oh well, my piers here voted it #1 of all time. This site is usually pretty reliable on movies, but I hope people don't rely on the rating of this particular one.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

2/10

Very good, but c'mon, do you honestly think it's the 6th best ever?

20 December 2001

Warning: Spoilers

SPOILERS ALERT

I saw the movie and I thought it was an excellent movie. But the hype that surrounds it has consumed it, and now it's ranked ahead of such movies as Pulp Fiction, The Matrix, and Saving Private Ryan. Although they're from different genres and in some ways apples and oranges, I'd have to say that this movie can't hold a candle to any of those. I've never read any of the books, but I'll bet many of the people who gave it a 10 haven't either. The action scenes were great, and the sound effects and acting were top notch(there's no doubt about that.) But for someone who's seen it all before, it's easy to find ways to criticize this movie. Let's step back from our awestruck utopian viewpoint, and look at it a little more deeply. For one thing, I felt like the plot was aimed at a younger age than mine (yet I'm only 21), when for example Ian McKellan's character supposedly died after his fight with the other wizard. I felt that way since I knew that A) we hadn't actually seen him die, B) he's obviously a main character, and C) why would they bring in an actor of his stature just to kill him off quickly. So predictably he's back in a later scene, and I just saw that he's in the next of the trilogy, meaning he didn't die in the crossing through the mountain scene either. I suppose that is more of a critique of Tolkien than the movie itself though. I'm sure the movie does a superb job of bringing the novel to life. Still, was anyone else besides me about to get up and say "would you just die already" towards the end when the guy had 3 arrows in his chest? I swear it took at least 30 minutes for him to die. There were also numerous scenes in which a character was about to be killed, but was predictably saved at the last minute. I also found it fascinating that 'Pippin' emerged from the long trek, including numerous hard-fought battles, with nothing more than a bruise on his forehead (the rest of his complexion completely perfect.)

I give this movie a 7.5 out of 10 for its excellent special effects and acting, but taking points off for its predictability.

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