tomjcek Reviews

New in Town (2009)

Packed with stupid clichés and stereotypes

[1/10 · 30 June 2009]

I have never seen more clichés and stereotypes in one movie. I've lived in Minnesota a good part of my life and have not once come across someone with an accent like the characters in this movie. Not even close. Not even believable. And the characters are portrayed as stupid, one dimensional baffoons. I don't mind folks being laughed at if there's a bit of truth to the joke, but this was total BS.

But anyway... assume for a second that it wasn't totally insulting. The movie would be horrible anyway. Five minutes into the movie and I'm thinking, who writes this stuff? But then I realize, oh yeah, about a million people have written this exact storyline about a thousand times. The whole thing, including the corny ending, was completely predictable from the very beginning.

The hip city chick has to live in the country and she hates the country folks because they're so simple minded and backward, but then all the predictable stuff happens and her feelings change and yada yada yada. And then there's the predictable romantic tension between the ambitious city girl and the dorky but handsome country dude with a heart of gold... Wow. How many times have we seen this plot? This has to be one of worst movies ever.

Syriana (2005)

Like all good lies, this movie has a thin vein of truth, making it good propaganda

[4/10 · 30 September 2006]

I like movies that challenge my intelligence, but this thing was too hard to follow. Clues to the identity of each character and what agency, company, country or kingdom they were aligned to were way too sparse. Yeah, I got the general idea, but it was frustrating not knowing exactly who was who and exactly what was their role.

And then there's the political message... Yes, the US government supports US corporate interest in the middle east. Yes, the CIA has in the past, and maybe still does, engage in covert operations that American people are not likely to approve of. Yes, lack of opportunity and religious extremism in the middle east fuel terrorism. It's all true. But the message of this movie still bothers me. Maybe because its so one dimensional. Its all black and white. The message is: US government is evil. The CIA is evil. Oil industry is evil. Come on. Give me a break. Show some more complexity in the message, not in the confusing story line.