bellini97 Reviews

Jack Black: Spider-Man (2002 TV Short)

Late Opinion: Loved it

[12 July 2003]

Tenacious D and stuff like this short show us all why Jack Black is going to be huge. As a big fan of the movie, Black made me laugh a lot. Gellar, not much, but this is all about Black. From his reenactment of Tobey Maguire discovering his new self in the mirror to the webbing gags to the modified CGI Spider-Man (with a slightly bigger gut) to the kiss at the end with the odd Yoda reference, Black was at his best. Could've done without Gellar, but I guess you still needed a female for the parody (could've done without Wonder Woman; not funny and no Marvel). The shorts for this particular MTV Movie Awards show were top-notch and better than this year's.

Crank Yankers (2002–2022)

Awful

[14 June 2002]

A cast of very funny comics is wasted on this show. The prank calls are a little funny, but there is no point to having the calls reinacted by puppets. They actually detract from the humor. It'd be better to have the prank calls on a cd rather than act them out poorly by puppets. I've seen names of some very funny people listed on this show (Denis Leary, Sarah Silverman, Dave Chappelle, Patton Oswalt, Tracy Morgan, Dane Cook, etc.) and they should all be doing much better thing than this cowpile of a show. Comedy Central: cancel this garbage and bring back TV Funhouse.

Undercover Brother (2002)

A big surprise!

[1 June 2002]

I wasn't expecting much when I heard about it, but I saw quite a few good reviews of it and decided to see it last night for the hell of it. To my surprise, it had me laughing a lot. It's very much in the same vein as the Austin Powers movies and Zoolander (endearingly silly movies w/ spy movie elements that end up being funny), only it takes a little more risks w/ its jokes. The risks pay off; there is a lot of funny stuff here. Eddie Griffin, who has had a lot of supporting roles in movies I've made sure to avoid, proves to be quite funny in the lead role (love that afro). Chris Kattan gets pretty annoying, but his screen time is limited and his fight at the end w/ Griffin is very funny. The funniest performance in the entire movie is by Dave Chapelle as Conspiracy Brother; he just goes off every time he's on screen and will make you laugh a lot and possibly even shock and offend you, but that's expected as you continue to watch. I also liked the additions of the gruff and snarling Chief and the Token White Guy. This movie is "solid" indeed. *** out of ****.

The Tick (2001–2002)

Great show

[7 December 2001]

I'm really enjoying this show. Seeing how it is live-action though, it can't go all out in the bizarre the way the animated series easily could. So they seem to be concentrating on more down-to-earth storylines, if that's possible in a show like this, making it a kind of "Seinfeld" with superheros. So far it has been keeping me laughing with its stories of hero-sidekick relations and more adult humor. Patrick Warburton is excellent in the title role. He's bound to shout out "SPOON!" sooner or later, so don't worry about that. The show is very funny and clever, and I'm really hoping it doesn't get abused like the cartoon did, or worse, get axed too early.

Planet of the Apes (2001)

I liked "Apes"

[7/10 · 19 November 2001]

Sure, the movie has its flaws (the biggest one being that it could have done much more considering the material and talent available), but I still, for the most part, enjoyed it. Mark Wahlberg could have done better, but I enjoy watching him still. The people behind the ape makeup gave the best performances, especially Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, and Paul Giamatti. Estella Warren is a definite hottie. Tim Burton's direction, the sets, the fx, and the makeup were all great. There are some really cool action scenes, especially at the final battle. And although the ending isn't fully explained, it was a cool little twist reminiscent of the original's ending (though not as good) and it was something that audience members both heavily thought and argued about. You can't say that for every movie last summer. Overall, a satisfying and rousing sci-fi actioner.

*** out of ****

Shallow Hal (2001)

Funny and rather sweet.

[7/10 · 3 November 2001]

I caught "Shallow Hal" at a sneak preview Friday, and though it doesn't come close to "There's Something About Mary", it is enjoyable. It tends to drag at times, but picks up the pace with some really funny moments. It even has some very sweet moments as well. Paltrow and Black are very good in the lead roles. Jason Alexander has the funniest bit towards the end, when his character reveals a certain "physical trait" he has kept secret to Black's character for who knows how long. To change the subject, I don't think many fat women would be offended by Paltrow's overweight persona, for the fat girl cliches are so over-the-top they are hilarious, and Paltrow plays her character as a smart individual. I'm sure, though, that people will find other things offensive, most likely the character of "Walt" (even though he's played as smart and positive). But hey, this a Farrelly Brothers movie, so you probably will be offended. Fortunately, you will also be entertained.

Army of Darkness (1992)

Gotta love those stop-motion skeletons

[5 October 2001]

There's a lot of fun stuff in this movie, especially from Bruce Campbell (the quintessential King of Camp), and Sam Raimi is definitely a talented director, but it doesn't quite compare to the previous movie, Evil Dead II, despite its bigger budget. I think the problem is that the fun and charm that made Evil Dead II so good comes off pretty forced and more obvious in this movie, especially with the cartoony sound effects and Campbell going REALLY over-the-top as Evil Ash and the Tiny Ashes. The best stuff was with the army of skeletons (brought to life with puppets and stop-motion animation) bickering with one another. I only wish that they could have been stop-motion in the fight scenes and not stuntmen in cheap suits.

American Pie (1999)

:(

[2/10 · 9 August 2001]

I already made my feelings heard about this movie back in April (if you look you will find it among the messages), giving it two stars out of four. Now with the upcoming release of the sequel (complete with ads and entertainment shows saying how good the first one was) bringing the original back to my memory, it deserves less credit. The actors were actually worse then I thought they were, and the "morals" at the end were so cheap. Of course, I still believe that it's unfunny in long stretches and pales in comparison to "There's Something About Mary".

Half Baked (1998)

Quite the surprise!

[6 August 2001]

I was expecting this movie to suck, but I ended up laughing quite a bit. Dave Chappelle was funny, Jim Breuer was better than I expected, and Guillermo Diaz, a guy I never heard of until I saw this movie, had the best lines and seemed to be channeling Cheech in some scenes. Funny cameos, especially Jon Stewart. All of the scenes with the dog were hilarious! A passibly funny guilty pleasure- either **1/2 or *** out of ****.

Batman & Robin (1997)

runt of the litter

[6 August 2001]

I wouldn't go on to say that Batman & Robin is horrible, but it's laughable and very disappointing for sure. Too much campiness, George Clooney okay but essentially forgettable compared to what Keaton and Kilmer did as Batman, Chris O'Donnell isn't as good as Robin as he was the first time, Alicia Silverstone doesn't add squat to the series as Batgirl, and worst of all, the villians suck. So here's how I rate the whole series:

Batman-**1/2-Jack Nicholson had the juicier scenes and nearly stole the show from Michael Keaton, which doesn't quite work in a movie called Batman and not called The Joker. Some exciting stuff. Kim Basinger was pretty lame.

Batman Returns-***-It may have been darker, but Tim Burton's awesome imagination was more evident. Keaton was improved and in good company by Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito as the best villians of the entire series.

Batman Forever-***-New director, new look, new stlye, still lots of fun. Val Kilmer was great and had good chemistry with Nicole Kidman and O'Donnell in strong roles. Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones were over the top but worked well.

Batman & Robin-**-Joel Shumacher should have quit while he was ahead.

Evil Dead II (1987)

one hell of a movie

[27 May 2001]

I haven't seen the other Evil Dead movies but I just saw this movie for the first time yesterday. The movie is pretty creepy but not really scary, pretty funny but not in the way you would expect it to be, but an all-out blast. Sam Raimi, this movie's director who would go on to do more legitimate movies like A Simple Plan and The Gift many years later, shows some great flare, even though nothing is really taken "seriously". The effects and camera work are pretty cool. Everything else is incredibly over-the-top, including the story, the excessive blood, and star Bruce Campbell w/ his dialogue and facial expressions, yet unlike other over-the-top movies (Charlie's Angels, etc.), this movie supplies lots of general fun. It's not quite a horror movie but more of a tribute to horror movies, all from a budding young director who now finds himself making Spider-Man. This movie just has to be seen to be believed. It makes me want to check out the other movies. *** out of ****

The Tick (1994–1997)

Great Show

[17 May 2001]

This has got to be one of the best cartoon series ever made since The Simpsons! The concept alone is enough to pull you in and The Tick himself is hilarious with his dim-witted yet cornball heroic dialogue. I can't wait until the new live-action series comes on!

American Pie (1999)

Disappointed

[2/10 · 12 April 2001]

After hearing a bunch of good stuff about this film and then finally seeing it, I was disappointed by it. The characters are pretty likable, depictions of high school seem pretty down-to-earth, and Jason Bigg's pie scene is the best thing in the whole movie, but there's nothing much else. It's slow and unfunny in pretty long stretches. The sentimental material seems to overshadow the fact that it's a "raunchy sex comedy". It still has plenty of gross-out material, but barely any of it makes a big impact on you the way "There's Something About Mary" does, and it's not so funny either. "Mary" handled sentimental AND gross-out material much better. It's also sad that, with the exception of Mena Suvari doing "American Beauty", none of the main young actors who do a favorable job here (Biggs, Chris Klein, Tara Reid, Seann W. Scott, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kaye Thomas) have done anything good or, in the case of Thomas and Nicholas, anything at all. Overall, the movie is overrated and unremarkable.

** out of ****

Mystery Men (1999)

Most underrated comedy of the summer of '99.

[7/10 · 10 April 2001]

While numerous Americans swarmed to see the highly subpar comedies "American Pie" and "Big Daddy", they missed out on this forgotten gem. It's not great, but it is very enjoyable, A smart and funny sendup of superheroes as well as superhero movies like "Batman & Robin" with it's big flashy city, crazy camera angles, and the way the heroes dress up in new flashy costumes for the final battle. It brought back fond memories of "The Tick" TV series. The cast especially Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo, is just great. It's destined to be a big cult favorite on video.