ss97-1 Reviews

Memphis Beat (2010–2011)

So far so good

[7/10 · 10 August 2010]

So far, the show seems pretty good. I generally don't get hooked into shows right away, it sometimes takes years before I "discover" them. But with the case of Memphis Beat I was willing to give it a shot.

Jason Lee never seems to be out of place in anything he does, and so is the case here. He plays the sort of "against the grain" detective pretty well. He's harnessed a little bit of "Earl" and a little bit of "Brodie" from his roles in My Name is Earl, and Mallrats respectively. But he's also injected a little of something new.

The entire Elvis thing did not sound good at first, but the way the show handles it is pretty good. It's just sort of "out there" floating around the show and not an integral part.

The rest of the cast so far, quite honestly, is sort of forgettable. No disrespect to any of the actors, but no one really jumped out to me as a core part of the show. Maybe that will come with time, and a few more episodes.

The stories are so far pretty well done. The music score, has been excellent. This show has some of the best, most fitting music of anything on television. The music is part of the star power here, it really pulls the show around from place to place, and sets the moods perfectly.

I will keep watching...

Tropic Thunder (2008)

Funny? Maybe a little. Boring? Absolutely.....

[3/10 · 10 August 2010]

I can't even tell you if this movie was funny, it was so painfully boring I lost interest. I could not even make it through the entire film. It was basically morons walking through the woods arguing with each other, over which one was more stupid.

There were a few moments of smile inducing comedy, but I never once laughed out loud. Jack Black going through detox was kinda funny at times, but this movie was not very good.

I usually like Ben Stiller, heck I liked Zoolander. But this movie was just too lame to keep me interested. It lost me about the time the director blew up, and Stiller's character was too stupid to realize it was real, and basically started drinking the brain out of the severed head, to prove it was fake....at that point I was losing hope the movie was going to get better.....

Sadly, the next 30 minutes of the movie....nothing happens that is of any interest or comedy...it did not get better, it got nothing....not better or worse, it just goes nowhere fast...

The ending is just lame and predictable. I don't understand why this movie is worthy of the 7+ ratings is has here in IMDb.

It's Effin' Science (2010– )

Mythbusters Light?

[4/10 · 7 July 2010]

As a big fan of Mythbusters, I was less than impressed overall with this show. It's not bad, but it is also not original in any way. The host is fun, but the two science guys are somewhat underwhelming. So far all the experiments have just been another version of something other shows have already touched on. Now that in and of itself does not make it horrible, but the overall presentation seems rushed, like they are trying to fit too much into every 1/2 hour. They quickly explain the science, and then show the highlights of the experiment. None of the experiments seem well controlled, and seem some have a hard time finding the end point.

All in all it's not a horrible way to spend 30 minutes, but I won't be DVR'ing it anytime soon.

The House Bunny (2008)

OK I admit it was funny

[7/10 · 26 October 2009]

I really did not expect much going in. I really only wanted to watch it because Anna Farris is usually quite funny all by herself. She was great in "The Hot Chick" and usually funny in the "Scary Movie" flicks.

In "House Bunny" Farris is her typically funny self, but she shows a lot more sex appeal then I ever thought she might have. And that gives her the ability to pull off "Shelly" a totally typical "Playboy Bunny" without any problem. I never doubted for a second that she was a "Shelly" so-to-speak...

The rest of the cast is funny as well. Some of the girls in the sorority were so bizarre they were "cartoon-ish"....but in a good way. All the actors played their parts well. No one really steals the show from Farris at any point as she is without a doubt the star but the entire cast was a pleasure to watch.

If I have to have one casting complaint, it would be Colin Hanks. He got a bit of a short stick IMO. He was totally wasted in this movie. His character was woefully underdeveloped, and his scenes were mostly about looking oddly at Shelly. Hanks is too good of a comic asset to waste on such a small role. They should have expanded it more, or just used someone else because I kept wanting more......The entire Shelly/Oliver relationship was underdeveloped and lacking.

All in all the script was pretty silly, and provided all the typical ups/downs of the usually fish out of water scenario. In this case it attacks both sides of the coin well enough. It points out the basic morality of judging a book by the cover and etc...etc...It never takes itself too seriously but it does provide a few overall messages.

If you are looking for a fun movie with a few hearty laughs this is not a bad choice. Because lets face it, movies like this are designed to make you laugh for a while. There are a lot of small funny things going on the entire time, some original, some old school....but it tries the entire time.

There are some moments that are very funny....Farris will force a few laughs out of you that you didn't see coming. But you have to like silly jokes. There is nothing here that might not end up in your usual "Lampoon" movie. It is what it is. But few things like the way Shelly remembers people's names are just out-of-left field funny.

It was definitely worth watching.

The Comebacks (2007)

Not great, but not horrible

[5/10 · 17 July 2009]

It is hard to really rate movies like this. It is obviously not going to be anything classic. It is probably going to be pretty much forgettable. So what if any redeeming qualities might this have? Why waste your time? Well all I can say is that, it is what it is! There are many amusing moments, there are a couple funny moments. It is a mildly amusing comedy that hits the obvious laughs. And in that it is a decent movie. It makes fun of every sports movie it can think of, and most of the jokes are average at best. But on a few occasions there are some very funny prop comedy moments.

The actors all do a reasonable job with what they have to work with. The obvious jokes don't ask them to be exceptional. It just asked them to deliver the lines and try not to laugh at how ridiculous the lines are. And they all do a good job of being ridiculous, right in step with the movie.

It is a fun movie that does not take itself serious at all. No it is not "Airplane" or "Dumb&Dumber" type of classic flick. But if you compare it to something like "Not another teen movie" or any of the newer super-spoofs it holds its own. It is certainly better than "Meet the Spartans" or "Epic Movie" spoofs.

I thought Brooke Nevin was fun to watch. She is beautiful to start with, but beyond that she is very good. She delivers with a subtle but memorable performance. I'd like to see her more in the future I think she has a quality that comes through on screen. The rest of the cast is solid, and Mr. Lawrence is pretty good. He's a much better actor than his older brother if that is really saying much. And the always fetching Melora Hardin does her thing as she always does, this time as Coach Fields' wife. She is such an underrated talent.

The movies is filled with cameos from recognizable faces from both sports and movies. Just about every cameo can be traced back to someone with a much bigger resume than the role. It's fun stuff.

All in all, if you are looking for intelligent entertainment you won't enjoy this. But if you are willing to leave your mind at the door and just enjoy the stupidity, the movies has a lot of fun stuff going on to keep you interested for 90 minutes or so.

How I Got Into College (1989)

Fun and underrated

[7/10 · 24 March 2009]

This is one of those movies that few people seem to know about. And those that do seem to either love it or hate it. I would consider myself on the former curve of that scale, I like it a lot but I don't love it.

What this movie is, is a fun and light comedy that only briefly touches on any sort of real world lesson. But it does send a positive message loud and clear. It says that if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen with some hard work and a bit of luck. It does so in a basic way, but nonetheless it makes the point.

The movie itself is not filled with huge memorable laughs. There are some common and lame gags, helped along by some big talents like Anthony Edwards and the late great Charles Rocket. But what the movie lacks in classic moments, it makes up for in interesting and sometimes twisted moments that leave you smirking. It is not a laugh fest, but it is a smile maker that will make you chuckle at times.

The movie also has a lot of visual gags that often escape attention the first time around. You can see the subtle "Better Off Dead" ties all over the place in style and of course the several actors that were on both movies. The two movies do not really compare beyond that.

Lara Flynn Boyle is as lovable as she ever has been in this role. Her portrayal of the All-American "loved by all" High School girl is well done. She and Corey Parker pull off a believable chemistry, as this is probably his defining role. Parker is a good underdog without being an underdog. Its never hard to believe that his character could pull off the things he does by winning over the Prom Queen or getting into the college of his dreams.

All in all this movie is a lot of fun and deserves some props. If you like goofy and fun movies you will like this one. If you are looking for Oscar caliber entertainment you will not get past the first scene anyway so you won't care.

Airborne (1993)

classic mindless fun

[6/10 · 6 March 2009]

A typical fish out of water story.....

The young hip SoCal surfer kid named Mitchell (Shane McDermott) gets moved, against his will of course to land locked Cincinnati, Ohio where his geeky cousin Wiley (Seth Green) lives. Wiley an outsider himself in a way tries to show his SoCal cousin the ropes at his hockey crazy high school.

The set up of the movie is really lame. Somehow just a few days in town the Surfer kid ends up in a big Ice Hockey game (also against his will) and mistakenly scores a goal for the other team. So of course the hockey jocks of the school now want to make his life miserable and start a series of endless pranks. As a life-long hockey fan I was repulsed by what the movie called "hockey" ....It was a pathetic attempt at comedy I guess, but not really funny at all. I suppose it was sort of funny watching Jack Black play goal and fall down a few times but beyond that it was all pretty lame....

The movie really changes as soon as a dejected Mitchell comes home from another miserable day a school, and gets a package in the mail. The package contain his beloved Roller Blades and soon Mitchell is out on the town doing tricks on the streets, making friends on BMX bikes, skateboards and roller blades.

Once that switch is thrown on the movie the fun really starts. Mitchell starts to build a friendship with a local girl Nikki, played very well by the adorable Brittney Powell. And he starts to feel good about himself for the first time since leaving the beach.

Shane McDermott has since retired from acting, but this was probably his best performance. And make no mistake he was quite good in the movie. He plays the cool SoCal surfer kid well, and he manages quite a few dynamic character swings with relative ease. It makes you wonder why he gave up the ghost so easily on his career, he is a talented actor. He holds his own in a movie filled with fun characters by such current superstars as Seth Green and Jack Black.

This was the first movie I ever saw Jack Black in, and it was apparent right away that he was going to be a star. His natural character was just so apparent. And of course Seth Green is always good.

Alanna Ubach is also in the film, and although she is not yet a household name, she will be eventually. She has been a secondary player in many great movies including Legally Blond. And she is a very good actor.

Eventually the tough guys from the opposing hockey team pick a fight with Mitchell and his refusal to fight makes people think he is a wuss. But he tries to prove he is just peaceful. Then he learns that the girl he was courting, Nikki, is big jock hockey player's sister, who also wants to fight him. When Mitchell's pacifist ways make it look like he does not care, people pull away from him. Even his cousin Wiley is disappointed that he would not fight. But Mitchell is not a wimp, he is misunderstood, which is explained as a foreshadow story he tells Nikki at a hockey game when they first meet.

Eventually a dream compels Mitchell to chase after Nikki in spite of the fact she tells him to leave her alone, and in spite of the fact her large brother wants to kill him. But Mitchell fights back with some great play in a roller hockey game, and series of pranks against the opposing hockey team. His school hockey players figure him out and invite him to skate in an dangerous roller blade race, in traffic down a series of hills...... Of course he does and helps them win the big race and all his happy in the end.

While the hockey scenes are pretty lame as far as realism goes, the roller blade stunts are quite good. Nothing supernatural takes place, although some excellent stunts were pulled off. There is no CGI in this one, just old school stuntmen. The illegal street race that the entire movie leads up to is well done and accurately portrayed.

Like a million movies before it, Airborne does nothing special, or even original. But it does have fun along the way, and the actors do pretty well with what limited story they had. It also sends a positive message that restraint can be cool. And that maybe fighting is not always the answer.

The movie is just some fun mindless entertainment, with some good actors sprinkled through.

Wanted (2008)

strange and basically lame

[5/10 · 1 March 2009]

I'm not even sure what to say about this movie. Yet it was so bizarre that I feel like I have to say something.

First off, the idea and concept are intriguing. The whole loser guy being recruited by some secret fraternity in which he is the new superstar is always fun. It gives every average Joe the idea that it could happen to them. It is a formula that many movies have followed with success. And as with most cases, the hero prevails in the end....

The problem with this movie is its ridiculous action, and mind numbing lack of reality. Flipping cars, curving bullets, seemingly inhuman ability to recover from all wounds because of some wax.....all of it is so contrived and impossible that it takes the movie into places it should just not go. The parting shot where Angelina Jolie kills everyone with one curving bullet is beyond impossible, even if you could curve a bullet. The ballistics and physics of bullets are violated all movie long but this parting shot is just so stupid that it makes the less stupid parts of the movie seem...you guessed it....more stupid.... a bullet from a pistol would not travel through 7 skulls even in a straight line, yet here it does so in a circle?

Even beyond the stupid bullet tricks, was the stupid twists in the plot. The entire fact that these people kill because a cotton loom tells them to via some impossible code it just silly.... Especially given the fact that there is no explanation of why they started following the loom in the first place.

Then there are the plot points that are seemingly forced into the fold as last second thoughts. The main character learns to be a super killer because he gets the crap beat out of him? They seriously teach him to fight by beating him up over and over again within an inch of his life. Somehow that turns him into a calculated killer...again very odd and never explained. And he's killing his father and defending his honor, all in no order that makes sense or furthers the plot.

Oh wait it was explained, by the fact that the hero has the ability to process more adrenaline than normal humans, so he can "slow down" everything he sees....So apparently beating him to near death taught him how to control it. OK well.....maybe......

The acting in the movie was fine, all the characters were believable for the most part. There were even some moments of comedic levity that made you smile. And there were more than a few amazing and fun action scenes. Those elements were OK which was why I gave it a "5" and not a "3".......

The movie should have really been billed as a sci-fi flick, and not an action/adventure spy movie, which is what it seems to be on the surface. But really there was too much impossibility to even be plausible and that takes away from the movie. Some of those impossible elements could have been left out and the plot would still have worked. But the confusing and pointless plot twists were silly and only convoluted the entire thing.

Hot Pursuit (1987)

Should be more well known

[6/10 · 7 February 2009]

I generally like John Cusack in every movie he is in. There are some exceptions where that is not the case, but IMO it has been tough to find a Cusack movie I don't like.

With that said, it is no surprise I like this movie too. It is not exactly deep in story or genius dialog. It is not Cusack as his usual introspective self. What it is however, is a fun and funny chase movie that starts going quickly and keeps you entertained to the end.

There is nothing too shocking, the good guys win, the bad guys lose, but there is a lot of fun, and even some decently tense drama mixed into this bag of nuts.

You don't have to like Cusack to like this movie either, it is just a wild ride that he tags along for, and occasionally shines with some understated comedic moments. There is no deep hidden meaning here, its just a fun little flick that seems to have faded into the background. When really more people should know about it.

The Chase (1994)

Highy underrated

[8/10 · 15 December 2008]

This movie is one of the more underrated movies out there. It is fast paced, entertaining and funny. And above all it was different and original. It was a great parody of the modern media hungry America we live in and was somewhat ahead of its time. The documentary style that invades the film is not unlike the Youtube reality we see today, and it makes the film seem less outrageous and more plausible.

Sure the premise was a bit far fetched, and the love story a bit unrealistic.....but if you can suspend belief the movie is a lot of fun.

Charlie Sheen is great as the wrongly convicted escapee, a role that he did not really have to stretch for but still he was excellent if understated. Kristy Swanson was at her best IMO as the abducted millionaire's daughter, she was annoying and at the same time sexy. You just had to love her.

But the "supporting" star of the movie is without a doubt Henry Rollins. He plays the well-intended but power-tempted lead police officer so well it is scary. Rollins is funny and entertaining the whole time. He makes you really see into the plight of what the modern cop is facing from many angles.

The other supporting roles, in which many famous people are sprinkled in from Carey Elwes to rockers Flea and Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but all roles are really well done and satire rich.

I would say those just looking for some high octane entertainment with a thick dose of satire and parody mixed in would like this movie.

Death Sentence (2007)

Not so good........

[3/10 · 9 December 2008]

Now granted this is a revenge movie, so there are going to be things that are sitting outside the realm of reality. And this movie is no exception. But the lack of realism is not the main problem with this film. The entire set up is stupid. Mr. Hume (Bacon) decides to stop at the seedy little gas station, about two seconds after being accosted on the road by some speeding thugs. Any normal person would have driven down the road a bit for a better opportunity. It was not like he was going to run out of gas at that very second since the "low fuel" light just came on. He could have easily gone 15-20 miles down the road with no problem. No suburbanite in their right minds would have stopped there.

Bacon is OK, as usual he delivers a solid performance. The rest of the cast however is not very strong. Without exception they all seem rehearsed and forced and none of the lines or character development seem real. For this I can only blame the director since every actor cannot stink.

The police are portrayed as bumbling idiots. The entire story about how it was Hume's word again the killer's is idiotic. The person who hit the killer with his car would have certainly been able to put the killer at the store and if the CSI team could not find ONE drop of blood on the killer they were not very good. Then the two cops watching the Hume's house were killed, having their throats slit while they say in the car. First off this is silly, no cops sit there laughing with their windows open when they are protecting a family from killers.

Then the killers are apparently so poor at....um....killing..... that they leave the Hume family for dead after 3 shoddy shots. And why stay at the house at all? Why not leave the state altogether? Who sits there and waits for the killers to come and kill them? The fact that Bacon becomes a super killer himself, while not entirely plausible is not that hard to buy. The fact that he goes to the gang members father to buy guns is too much.... Is this man the only illegal gun dealer in the city? I don't think so. And as a pistol owner myself who goes to the range regularly I can tell you that most people, shooting for the first time can't hit anything from more than a few feet. It takes a good 100 rounds of shooting until you get a good accurate feel for the gun where you can hit anything with regularity. They could have made the entire story more plausible if they either showed Bacon taking some practice shots, or even if they had said he was once in the military or anything like that.

The plot of the movie is thin too, but again for this type of movie it is not a big deal. The movies moves at a good pace, there is not a lot of lag time but you still finding yourself seeking the end. Killing the wife and 2nd kid was enough to send Bacon on a killing spree but did they really need that? The death of his older son alone was enough to send Hume on a vigilante hunt. So the mere threat alone should have been enough. It seemed the killing of his wife was only for shock value and nothing more....

All in all it was a paltry attempt at a revenge film. As My Chemical Romance said "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge" and seeing as how this movie has a very good overall score I guess that stands even if the movie is not very good.

Redline (2007)

Hard to watch.......

[2/10 · 16 November 2008]

OK first off I generally like any type of car movie. I mean I actually liked Fast and the Furious enough to sit through it without wanting to turn it off.....even the Too Fast sequel was good enough to watch.

But this movie was just.........bad.....

Not only is it totally implausible that people are street racing $250,000 cars. Rare cars like the Ford GT and Shelby Cobra that no one is racing...cars that no one would race in a street race no matter how rich the stakes were. It is just not believable......Then there is the $3-million stakes being tossed down which is also just too unreal to believe.....

Now it must be said that Natalie Bjorlin is so striking, and so fetching in this movie that you cannot look away. She just exudes beauty and sexiness beyond the scope of this movie and is in fact the ONLY reason we kept watching it.

The rest of the cast is horrible..... Eddie Griffin tries to crack some jokes and play a high roller but while he acts it fine, the whole image seems forced....but beyond that everyone is rough.....even the random scantily clad hotties all over the movie are not enough.....

The plot is lame, the character development is nil and the entire movie seems random and pointless.....random fights happen and car chases follow so $250,000 cars can be wrecked the whole time.....

The bad guys are so moronic, they have no reason to be bad, they just are......unless you are in love with Natalie Bjorlin, there is not one reason to watch this movie..... and even that, as hot as she is, it really not enough to watch it with any real interest....

A Guy Thing (2003)

Really liked it........

[8/10 · 3 November 2008]

I have to say, when I first ran across this movie on Encore one day I was not expecting much. In fact I only watched it because I'm a big fan of Lee ever since I saw Malrats... I just knew he was going to be big based on that movie, he was funny as heck.

"A Guy Thing" took me by surprise. It was fun, and funny, and had some really great moments. As far as "romantic comedies" goes it was good. It was not too romantic, but rather put a funny spin on weddings and getting married in general. The "relationships" were taken more lightly than most romantically based comedy types. And it was really all around a well done movie. The jokes were a good mix, some very subtle moments, and some other more obvious laughs, but in all it was entertaining the entire time.

Julia Stiles was quite surprising in a light comedy role. I had really only seen her be serious, or typical teen cliché in things I'd seen. She was never especially good or bad, just sort of there.... But in this movie, not only does she look as beautiful as I've ever seen her, she is pure and entertaining. Her knack for comedy is something I'd love to see more of, she was quite funny in this movie from her silly tiki dance, to her quirky timing.

Lee is his typically brilliant self. The guy is just so much more talented than people even know yet. His diversity always seems to amaze me. This character was a bit removed from most things I've seen him do. He was just such a typical every man, that you almost forget while watching him that this was not actually him and was in fact a character. But that is a sign of a great actor.

The supporting roles are all great as well.... from end to end, top to bottom the movie was just a lot of fun. And I expect nothing more from a comedy such as this.

Biloxi Blues (1988)

great flick

[8/10 · 17 September 2008]

I must say I'm a little surprised this movie did not scoring higher with the IMDb readers. I really expected it to be marked higher. While the movie is a comedy I would not say it is hysterically funny, so perhaps that is why the score is not higher. Maybe people felt it should have been funnier. I don't know.

Regardless, this movie is very well done and funny. Not funny as in a bust your gut kind of way - but funny enough to make you smile and laugh most of the time. It has a few serious moments that tie it into the reality of war and living in the armed forced. Although it is period sensitive the writers did well to make it applicable even years later.

The acting is excellent, and Walken is brilliant as the complex Sgt. in charge of the young troops. I'm not sure Walken was ever better in a role, he is just pure genius.

The rest of the cast is wonderful as well, from top to bottom you end up liking the cast more and more as the movie unfolds. And in the end it is impossible to say anyone was miscast or uncomfortable.

I would say if you have not seen this movie, you should because it is a classic.

Employee of the Month (2006)

movie decent - casting just missed it

[6/10 · 12 September 2008]

I generally like Dane Cook as an actor and I liked his early comedy a lot. So I was expecting to like the movie going in, and I was not too disappointed.

The plot is fun, and the jokes are funny and unforced. There is not much to say other than it was all well done. The pace is sharp and you want the hero to prevail.

Cook was funny, if not understated at times. But the supporting cast is where this movie really shines. Efren Ramirez and Dax Shepard are hysterical as the antagonistic duo, and Zack's (Cook) supporting buddies are all funny and well cast.

The worst part of the movie was without a doubt Jessica Simpson. She did not look especially fetching with her bad roots and frozen face, and she at least usually looks good so that is something I didn't expect. But her acting was horrible for most of the movie. He face is expressionless and boring, and she never seems comfortable in the role.

The exceptions are a couple one-on-one scenes with Cook where the two seem to pull off some decent chemistry. Simpson's personality comes through a couple times, but that only makes you want to see it more in the movie and it just is not there. She really seems forced into the role, and the role was pivotal because she was the sole original motivation for Cook's character. But to be honest it is hard to imagine why he bothers, she is so "take-it-or-leave-it" in her approach that you come away saying the same thing about her, and ultimately the entire movie.

That is kind of sad, because the movie is a female lead away from being a classic. Had Simpson's role been played by almost anyone else the movie would have been that much better. Right away someone like Julie Stiles comes to mind, as she would have brought a lot more depth to the role. But even an relative unknown probably could have made the grade better than Simpson.

It it worth watching, as I said the rest of the cast is just about perfect and the acting is spot on and funny. It is a good movie. It is just kind of sad that Simpson was so weak in her role because the movie should have been better then good, it should have been great.

Accepted (2006)

Better that most

[8/10 · 9 September 2008]

I went in expecting another typical movie of the genre but came away very surprised. It is a classic? Well it might be close.

Justin Long was his typical likable self, and pulls off the lead with flying colors. He is funny when he needs to be, and inspiring as the leader of the outcasts who are in need of a home.

The plot is fairly original, it has some highs and lows but it keeps you interested in the outcome the entire time. The movie never seems to go over the top, and maintains a balance that most films of this type don't reach. It stays silly, but finds a workable realism that makes you feel like it could totally happen anywhere in any time.

Lewis Black is very funny as the only true teacher at S.H.I.T. and does his usual shtick well within the tone of the movie. The rest of the supporting cast does very well. I did not see one real weak character mixed in and no moments of wishing them off screen.

All in all it was a good movie. It is not overly hysterical but it does have some funny moments - it moves quickly but is not rushed - good characters and fun plot - bottom line is a decent chunk of entertainment value.

Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006)

not great..... but not horrible.....

[5/10 · 31 August 2008]

First off I must say I loved VW one, it is still one of my favorite movies. It was very funny, entertaining and Ryan Reynolds was just perfect. The acting was great and the Van Wilder character was unique but familiar.

Now that starts me off on the first problem with "VW2:Rise of Taj" and that problem is that Taj just does not bode well as a primary character. And as much as I like Kal Penn he looked uncomfortable trying to maintain "Taj" and not become "Kumar" and not become "Van Wilder" himself. He seemed conflicted with this issue the entire film. Even his accent would stray in and out, at times sounding totally SoCal American.

The plot itself was predictable from the second it started unfolding. You pretty much knew the gist of what was going to happen for the next 90 minutes based on the initial meeting of Taj and Pip (the antagonist) but really we don't watch these types of movies for their plot-twisting and high caliber story. We watch them because they are fun. Or in this case because we hope it is funny.

That brings up the next problem with VW2. It was not all that much fun, especially not compared to VW1. And it was not all that funny. The first hour was pretty boring and choppy, and seemed comfused about where it wanted to go, even though we knew where it was going. It never really seems to be leading anywhere but in circles. But the problem is that while it is leading in circles, the jokes trying to hold it together are not very funny. They had so many chances to go in interesting directions but never did. They seemed to force it all together too quickly, as the movie oddly moves too slowly.

I actually really liked some of the supporting case.... I really liked Lauren Cohen a lot. She was understated and strong at the same time, while doing her best to work within the limits of the script. The goofy cast of misfits turned cool are good, but are really underused by the writers and directors. One of the things that made VW1 so great was the use of secondary players and there was much more unexplored potential there.

But then something happened towards the end of the film. You unexpectedly start to pull for the underdogs to win and you don't have to wait too long for that to happen. Everything buttons up at the end in a more entertaining way then you expect after the first half. A few decent gags work their way into the fold and you have no choice but to smile a little.

You walk away feeling satisfied that the bad guy got what he deserved and all the good guys win. Which if the movie is that bad you generally don't care about at all. And that got me thinking that the movie overall was not as bad as it seemed.

Yes VW2 is a pretty bad movie, but so are a lot of movies. It is not that bad if you don't compare it to VW1. If you go in expecting to see the original feeling that VW1 had you will be disappointed a lot..... if you take VW2 by itself, it is a silly movie that is not all that funny, but still has some redeeming qualities, and a few funny moments. I gave it a 5-of-10 as I would compare it to most middle of the road college comedy movies.

Just don't go in expecting to see Van Wilder. This movie would have done better to drop the "Van Wilder 2" title altogether. It really is not VW2, it is a small secondary character in another movie with very few ties to the original. It would have been better to just toss in the VW association like they did and leave it off the title. I'm pretty sure Lampoon fans would have made the connection without VW being in the title. compare it to VW1 or it will pale in comparison....

Epic Movie (2007)

wow this movie is bad

[1/10 · 18 August 2008]

I'm not usually hard on movies like these.... these spoofs are never very good movies. But generally they can at least make me laugh a few times and be the mindless distraction we all seek in these silly movies.... even Scary Movies 3 and 4 which most people hate, I can watch and admire how silly they are.... but this movie was horrid. It was as if they just collected a bunch of skits made by some drunk frat boys and put them into a movie.... there was no plot, or rhyme or reason to the madness. Fact is we had to turn the movie off because it was just so horrible we could not watch...... that has not happened since White Chicks which we left the theater on during the first 20 minutes..... Epic Movie had such potential but the execution was terrible. They seemingly wrote nothing, they just copied the original and then over played it back with a lame celebrity twist or a predictable joke.....

Supercross (2005)

they really missed the boat

[5/10 · 26 April 2008]

First let me say I've been watching Supercross since about the mid 1980s when Rick Johnson and David Bailey were banging bars.

As a fan and former pit crew member of an MX race team I was excited to hear about this movie. Especially so when I saw real MXers were consulted and used. It was only a matter of having not had a chance to see it until recently. They pumped it up at the races for two years, a lot of industry people involved, I figured it would be good no matter what....

Of course the story is thin, the actors were weak, and the realism often questionable. But I would have been willing to suspend those things just to enjoy the movie about a sport I love.

I was even willing to grant them the leeway of putting a relative unknown into a Factory ride with Nami racing, skipping the Lites class altogether. In this case all they needed to do was claim that KC could have raced in Europe or something, or make the entire case slightly younger and claim that he jumped into the fold from amateur racing at 19-20. After all Yamaha's Josh Hill has stepped into the mix on a 450cc SX machine and won races this season as an 18 year old rookie.

But far and away the most moronic thing was the fictional Nami Racing being upset that KC won. I happen to know for a fact that as much as a factory wants a champion, they are not going to begrudge a new guy winning. If anything, this in fact makes the bike look even better that an unknown rider could go out and spank the other factories on it.....you cannot buy that kind of publicity and proving....

The entire notion of "blocking" as it is portrayed is nonsense. Team Yamaha is not going to tell Josh Hill to pull over so Chad Reed can go by, and they are not going to tell Hill to take out Kevin Windham so Reed is not "bothered" by him. If your top guy cannot win without someone blocking, he is not going to win at all. I'm not sure where the inspiration was for this other than to create controversy and give KC an excuse to quit the factory ride........

Certainly they could have come up with a better idea to give KC a reason to quit Nami. A fight with Rowdy to create tension between the two would have been better. As it was the Rowdy role was weak at best and undeveloped.

They also managed to somehow fail to capture power and grace of SX/MX racing. This seems almost impossible considering Speed Channel manages to catch it every week at the track with no script. And thousands of MX/SX videos have captured since the dawn of racing. The sound effects were odd at times, and did not help convey anything other then racket, when they could have been used to enhance.

I am willing to suspend belief for movies more often than not. But with this one I had a hard time understanding why those choices were made. Especially considering they are major plot points that drive the entire story...... in this case they drive the story right into the face of a huge triple and leave you wanting a rewrite....

Mr. Murder (1998 TV Movie)

Not as good as the book, but not bad

[7/10 · 31 December 2006]

I would say all in all a decent TV movie. There was a lot from the book that never made it into the movie but that is to be expected. I'm sure Koontz himself would have done things different if he could have had FULL control. But considering the books are generally butchered for the screen anyway there is not much you can do about that.

The movie flowed well and the acting was solid. The kids were very real and believable, and Baldwin was good in the duel role. I thought the wife (played by Julie Warner) could have been cast better, she seemed a bit out of step with the feel of the story.

It's worth watching.