Ben's Movie Reviews

[sixpac shakur]

Boy hornytoad, I hemmed and hawed about which screening to attend last night and chose "I Think I Love My Wife" instead of "Shooter." ITILMW is a total chick flick!

The movie features Chris Rock as Richard Cooper who is a successful investment banker who has a wife and two great kids. Problem is that the marriage has hit a plateau and an old friend (who is still hot as hell) comes back into his life with interesting results. Will he bow to temptation or stay faithful to his wife and family?

The movie is a comedy and had it's laugh out loud moments. Sometimes the humor got really silly but it stayed lighthearted. Steve Buscemi had an excellent role as the sidekick. The movie had no nudity but there are some sexually suggestive scenes and there's a fair amount of bad language in the film (c'mon it's Chris Rock!).

I don't think I would pay full price but would definitely rent it on DVD. I gave it a B-. I wish I had seen "Shooter" instead but I Think I Love My Wife wasn't horrible.

[bendogg]

I saw PREMONITION tonight. I give it a B- because it was confusing in parts and the ending really sucked. I was like: Seriously, that's how they are going to end it? I wasn't pleased. Anybody else out there see it?

On another note, I realize that this is my second post of 2007, so I'll try and get on here more often. Scout's honor or something like that!

Ben

[hornytoad]

Hey BD, yeah read my earlier post. It was ok and you're right what the &*^%&^ was up with the ending, like dude get the hell out of the car already, it was like that steamroller scene in Austin Powers, it took FOREVER!!!

The Shooter flick kicked major butt, I highly recommend seeing it when it comes out this week.

Glad to see you haven't dropped off the planet entirely.

[MrGreg]

Just saw Shooter. It was good for what it was... a sniper/action movie. Worth seeing. Expect to see a bunch of people get shot by high power rifles. Not one for the kids. Marky Mark was actually ok, even though he didn't have the Funky Bunch to back him up.

Oh, and Kate Mara is a hottie. With freckles. And a (fake) southern accent. Yum.

[hornytoad]

Saw Reign Over Me on Thursday night. It was rather slow at times but the acting was good especially for Adam Sandler's first non-comedic performance, although there were some funny lines thrown in at times. Don Cheadle was great too, but I like all of his work. It was a tad depressing and had a few shocking scenes. I give it a B+.

[mcs328]

I saw Premonition and I didn't like it as much as my wife. I give it a B- for confusing timeline and a blah ending.

Anyone see TMNT? Better than I expected. I thought it looked great. The story was good...not great but worthy of a feature film and not a made for TV movie movie. The ending was kinda blah...they wrapped it up too easily. I think if more time was given it would have been better. I give it a solid B.

[sixpac shakur]

Blades of Glory stars Will Ferrell and John Heder as figure skating stars Chazz Michael Michaels and Jimmy MacElroy. They have been banned for a lifetime from singles competition and decide to compete for the gold medal in the pairs category.

This movie was a standard goofy Will Ferrell movie. It has a lot of slapstick comedy and mild language (no nudity). The movie had it's share of laughs but it's really silly. I really enjoyed the scenes that Will Arnett (Arrested Development) and Amy Poehler (SNL) were in. They were the brother and sister team to beat for the gold.

Pairs skating involves close body contact and hands placed in "sensitive" areas to perform lifts therefore the skating scenes were pretty hilarious.

Compared to Will's other movies I enjoyed Ricky Bobby and Anchorman a LOT more. I would give this movie a B-.

[dogopoly]

Blades of Glory stars Will Ferrell and John Heder as figure skating stars Chazz Michael Michaels and Jimmy MacElroy. They have been banned for a lifetime from singles competition and decide to compete for the gold medal in the pairs category.

This movie was a standard goofy Will Ferrell movie. It has a lot of slapstick comedy and mild language (no nudity). The movie had it's share of laughs but it's really silly. I really enjoyed the scenes that Will Arnett (Arrested Development) and Amy Poehler (SNL) were in. They were the brother and sister team to beat for the gold.

Pairs skating involves close body contact and hands placed in "sensitive" areas to perform lifts therefore the skating scenes were pretty hilarious.

Compared to Will's other movies I enjoyed Ricky Bobby and Anchorman a LOT more. I would give this movie a B-.

Just saw this tonight and agree with the review except that there were plenty of chuckles. I give it a solid B...decent for a matinee.

BTW
Look for the guest appearance from Fox6's morning co-anchor Angela **** and lots of skating celebrity cameos.

[thresher]

Grindhouse - 2 movies for the price of 1
Well, I just got back, it's 1:35 a.m. and I am dead tired but I had to write something. The premier was insane. I have pics posted on another thread. The two movies were crazy, weird, gross (GROSS) and sick and twisted and a blast to see. A very hard R movie. Frankly, I am surprised they weren't NC 17 or harder with felating headless corpses and other unimaginables (how do they think up this stuff?)! This makes 300 look like Disneyland. Planet Terror, the first film, is about a small town under siege by a biological gas leak and the survivors' efforts to escape the 'zombies'(?). Stupid movie and terrible acting, but hilarious all the same. So over the top - and that is the way it was planned. Bruce Willis phoned it in. Freddy Rodriguez, though, was a blast! C+
Death Proof, the second film, is about a serial killer stalking females across the countryside. In typical Tarantino fashion, the characters (in this case women) have 10 minute one take dialogs that make no sense whatsoever, but are cool as hell because you know some twisted mind had to a. write it, and b. remember all that stuff and c. film it in one crazy take. The action scenes are so over the top I was breathless. The cars are amazing and....someone put a blindfold on DarkFury...the things they do to the Mopars will make you cry. Sick sick sick.
Death Proof = A-

Here is the rating on Grindhouse cut/pasted from my local theatre. Hilarious.
Rated: R (strong graphic bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, some sexuality, nudity and drug use -- everything, really)

[ski]

Blades of Glory: B

Don't expect more than it is; it's just a really funny and enjoyable movie to watch, and it hit that aim right on.

[dogopoly]

The Reaping is about a missionary-turned-miracle-debunker who is brought to a small town to investigate a river that has apparently turned to blood just after a little boy died.

The whole town has decided that one little girl is the cause of it all and they want the sheriff and town leaders to kill her to solve the problem.

As the investigative team explores the evidence, they begin to see each of the 10 plagues show up that are listed in the Bible (including things like locusts and frogs falling from the sky.) As she investigates, she finds more and more oddities in this little town.

All-in-all, I thought the movei started out well, with a good mystery and suspense. However, to gain that suspense they often spun the camera around so fast it made me dizzy. The acting was decent and the story intriguing but I found the ending very disappointing. As they approached the end, it seemed like they were writing things as they went rather than a well-layed-out script. I'll have to give is only a C--maybe OK for a weekend evening suspense movie at home.

Also, they left the door open for a possible sequel...I hope not.

[hornytoad]

The Hoax

Pretty good performance for Richard Gere, and I'm not really a big fan of his, so I'll give it an even B.

[Trigun]

Saw Meet the Robinsons today and loved it.

The story and cinematography are amazing. The animation is outstanding. Great movie for the family.

Loved the message at the end.

Saw it in Disney 3D and WOW totally recommended it. A++

[Paniolo]

I also saw THE HOAX, & give it a strong B+

[Up N Here]

"How far would you go to protect a secret??" and that's pretty much the entire storyline. While the story becomes dauntingly complex as it goes, the finale resolves its multiple mysteries seamlessly. Halle Berry's strong performance and a cool twist overcomes conventional plot. The ridiculously convoluted plot is even fairly good fun to follow, right up to the genuinely surprising end. It didn't get the best reviews but I likeed it and would give it an A.

[Paniolo]

Saw this one a couple of weeks ago, & neglected to post. We all liked it. Good movie, with a life lesson/message. I give it a B+/A-.

[hornytoad]

I also saw Perfect Stranger Thursday night. It was pretty good but I'll give it a B+ .

[bendogg]

I saw this one last night in Disney Digital 3D at AMC Mission Valley 20. It was a great animated movie! The computer animation looked similar to The Incredibles, but the storyline was great, and it left the audience with a nice feeling as they wrapped up the movie. I'd give this film a strong A and would strongly recommend seeing it in 3-D if possible. AMC MV 20 and Palm Promenade 24 both have it in 3-D.

[ski]

Grindhouse

"Previews" - Solid A. Tongue-in-cheek humor, everyone bust out laughing.

"Planet Terror" - I actually liked it. Bits of humor, the story flowed, but I wasn't on the edge of my seat or holding my breath much. A solid B.

"Death Proof" - The dialog made no sense, it didn't fit right. But the action sequence made up for it. Edge of my seat, holding my breath for about 15 minutes. Ending was interesting, but it felt like they just called it a day. B

[bendogg]

I saw Next this weekend. It was great! The basic premise was that Nicholas Cage can see 2 minutes into the future. The government wants him to help them determine where a stolen nuclear bomb is going to be detonated.

I won't give any more of the plot away. Jessica Biel (Mary from 7th Heaven) is the female lead, and she did a great job on top of looking really sexy!

The movie definitely had a Frequency/Butterfly Effect feel to it, but was done much better than Preminition. I give this film an A- and recommend that you check it out if you get the chance.

In box office news, Disturbia was #1 with just over $9 Million. Pathetic for a #1 film, but me thinks next weekend's box office numbers will be a little better, with Spiderman 3 opening and all.

[dogopoly]

This is the story of a Las Vegas Poker Gambler, son of a 2-time Tournament of Poker champion. He's a bit reckless and, although talented, seems to blow his winnings at inopportune times. He ends up meeting a girl (Drew Barrymore) who is the friend of a friend. She is challenged to "fix" him but he is just interested in winning the big torunament. As the movie goes, he starts to learn the difference between gambling and real life.

Overall, the acting was decent, but the story had no real flair...it was somewhat predictable with no really exciting parts. And since the story is really about the psychology of poker, with an effort to throw in the psychology of love, if you're not into gambling strategies you'll probably find the story rather ho-hum. And even if you enjoy gambling, I suspect that the lack of excitment in the storyline will leave you felling ho-hum too. I give it a rather weak C+.

[mcs328]

I liked it. Just came back from midnight show. Goodnight all. B+/A-

[Trigun]

Loved it. Nice ending to the trilogy.
Only one thing was missing and only Spidey Fans will notice, Venom doesn't refer to himself as "we". A+

Nuff said.

[dogopoly]

Loved it. Nice ending to the trilogy.
Only one thing was missing and only Spidey Fans will notice, Venom doesn't refer to himself as "we". A+

Nuff said.

Cool....so do you think it's worth the price to see it in the new iMax/Edwards theater?

[thresher]

Scared the hell out of me (and my two friends in tow)!
Excellent thriller - Shia LeBouf is going to PWN this season's blockbusters (he is also in Transformers). Great fun - lotsa thrills and very scareworthy. (Is that a word?)

[Trigun]

Cool....so do you think it's worth the price to see it in the new iMax/Edwards theater?

If only to see Venom in the big iMax screen, I have to say Hell Yeah...

[Kevster]

You know, I really liked this film as well. It wasn't as strong as the first two, but it still fired home the key points of spiderman and his inner conflicts that make him what he is. I really wish the 'odd' scenes (and most of you know what I'm talking about!) could have been stronger, but I'm not sure there was much for McGuire and Dunst to work with. That was my only disappointment. I did notice that Venom never referrred to him/themselves as 'we'. I was also a little surprised that Venom was in complete control, too. Thomas Haden Church was a good choice for Sandman; I was happy to see that he played it well (he also bulked up a bit for the part too).

[thresher]

Stranger Than Fiction :
All I can say is was I under a rock for the release of this movie? I am not a Will Ferrell fan, but I like Maggie Gylenhall(sp) whenever I catch her in roles - she owned her role in this film. This movie moved at a nice pace. More like a novel than a movie with a classic three act pace. The characters were either perfectly one-dimensional or fully fleshed just like a novel. And the narrative (not giving anything away here) was intoxicating to listen to. Catch this on-demand or rent it. It's good stuff and certainly Ferrell's best work to date.

[dogopoly]

This is the story of Jenna, a waitress in a small town who makes awesome pies but has a loveless marriage to a man who loves her but controls her. When she learns that she will be having his baby, she starts looking for ways to control her own destiny and find a way out of her angry life.

This movie is a total chick flick, although there are a few scenese that anyone would find amusing. Although I didn't find it intruguing, I also didn't find it boring so I'll give it a solid B.

[Paniolo]

I also saw WAITRESS, & give it a B/B+