vernbob Reviews

Chuck & Buck (2000)

i felt betrayed

[5/10 · 5 December 2002]

i remember seeing previews for this and thought it was what it was marketed as. a quirky comedy. at blockbuster, it was in the comedy section as well. imagine our discomfort when we sat down to watch it with some friends. where is the mention of the homoerotic undertones? sure it's symbolic yadda-yadda, but i felt like it was purposely misleading. that said, it was a good movie, but knowing more about it going in would have prevented some squirming in our seats.

The Animal (2001)

Sucked Hard

[1/10 · 5 June 2001]

I liked Deuce Bigalow (mainly because of Eddie Griffin), and decided to give this a chance mainly because we were at the mall and it happened to be starting in five minutes. It was painfully bad. I laughed mainly from nervous embarrassment for everybody involved. Whenever a bit was close to being funny, they ran it into the ground. Sandler's cameo is lame, but Norm McDonald's may have been the best part of the movie. Please don't see it. I beg you.

The Lone Gunmen (2001)

promising start

[7 March 2001]

the pilot was a good start to the show. it will take some getting used to after the x-files. much different pacing and tone, but it stands alone pretty well. as for the readers who criticize the grammar of the title - IT'S A PLAY ON WORDS! think about it for a few seconds.

Left Behind: The Movie (2000)

not that good

[7 February 2001]

not as thought provoking as i had heard. it was just preachy. if you are going to try to get a 'non-believer' thinking, this is not the tool. the acting was at best, mediocre. the only thoughts that were provoked were those pertaining to the bad acting and effects.

though most 'believers' would call it blasphemous or obscene, i would recommend 'the rapture' with mimi rogers and david duchovny. that movie actually made me ponder faith and the consequences of what we do during our time on earth.

Mission: Impossible II (2000)

Lame

[3/10 · 26 May 2000]

Cut out all the slo-mo bicycle kicks and this movie is about 45 minutes long. Just kidding, but John Woo needs to come up with something new. Same old slo-mo-spinning-gun draws and fight scenes. The movie was tolerable until the last 15 or 20 minutes, which left me with a bad taste. Would have made an ok James Bond movie, but didn't fit with the MI genre. Too much shooting, exploding and none of the teamwork and twists that marked the series. And enough of the rubber mask effects, it got old in the first movie. And speaking of the first movie, I would rather have a convoluted, hole-filled plot than this plot built around action sequences. Recommendation - leave when the motorcycle chase starts.

Army of Darkness (1992)

one of my favorites

[11 June 1999]

i usually only comment on movies, i think get a bad rap. but it appears most people enjoy this movie almost as much as i do. my only recommendation is to get the japanese version. loosely translated it is called 'captain supermarket' some of the one-liners have been edited and it has a completely different ending. i had a japanese friend hunt it down for me. it is in enlish with japanese subtitles. if anyone wants a scan of the box, i'll send you one if it helps. if you are a fan of this movie, you definitely should see this version. it has a totally different tone.

Ishtar (1987)

not that bad, in fact - quite good

[8/10 · 11 June 1999]

o.k. i was one of those people who took it on other's advice not to see this movie. a trusted buddy of mine and i were discussing our favorite underrated movies and this was his #1. i rented it, and regretted not having seen it sooner. as for the people who seem to revel in trashing it, i might recommend 'dumb or dumber' the point of the humor is subtlety. maybe you just didn't get it. i haven't seen much mention of charles grodin's performance, but i thought he was hilarious. how can you not laugh at the lyrics to 'wardrobe of love'? oh, and the blind camel was pretty funny as well. the key to viewing movies is to watch them in the context which they were made. figure it out.

One Crazy Summer (1986)

another addition to the 'underrated movies list'

[11 June 1999]

one of my favorite comedies. bobcat has most of the best lines, especially his touching story about the poor kid whom nobody liked because he was different. he also contributed by credo - 'i don't know, it kinda sounds like work'

1941 (1979)

another one for the 'underrated movies list'

[11 June 1999]

i can't believe some of the comments on this movie. did someone really think this was supposed to be an accurate portrayal of wwii california? IT'S A COMEDY! and a good one. i agree that the christmas tree scene shouldn't have been cut, but then again maybe spielberg didn't want to undermine the gritty realism that some reviewers were looking for. p.s. - by far it's mickey rourke's best role.