spiffythedog Reviews

Constantine (2005)

get over Keanu as Constantine and you've got an enjoyable flick

[8/10 · 24 February 2005]

Completely disregard the comics, in every way. The comics are called Hellblazer, different name, different stuff. Watch this movie with a clean slate and you've got a pretty sweet movie that gets surprisingly harsh in what it is willing to show us - this flick doesn't pull any punches.

There is no shortage of reviews for this film on the internet, so that's as far as I'll go, but I will say this: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a terrible movie. It was unfaithful to its comics. It was bad even if you never read the comics. Constantine is a pretty sweet movie. It's unfaithful to its source material. I'm sure having read the comics you will find a lot of things to complain about here, but just let go and enjoy it. The comics will always be there for you when you get home from the theater, and if they managed to make an enjoyable film despite not remaining true to the source material, that's still quite a feat.

See it. Enjoy it.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

It's so damn good.

[10/10 · 24 September 2004]

Just see the movie. I'm telling you right now, don't read any review, spoilers or not, until you've seen the movie.

Now, I might be a little biased because i am absolutely in love with this movie. It hit me in all the right places, it's hilarious, it's tragic, it's silly, it's dramatic. I've never loved a set of characters from a horror film more - and that's the problem I've always had with zombie movies in particular. Now, sure, I like zombie movies, but it's always been about the zombies, and that's why the movies are good. In Shaun of the Dead, it's about the living characters. The first half hour of the film goes by without any zombies at all, just hints in the background to the coming epidemic - it actually lets you get to know the characters before the horror, which is a heroically refreshing change in things recently. And when the zombies come, hoo, boy. My favorite parts in the film come from the period in which the zombies just begin to appear, and it's so great that they don't just show up. It's so gradual that Shaun and everybody else don't even notice it, even though it's right there in the background. And, oh, the background humor. God, this movie has BACKGROUND HUMOR. I have so desperately missed subtle background humor in movies today. Right around when Shaun leaves his day at work, you should begin watching the background of every scene - and the fact that the background humor works so well is proof that Edgar Wright is a true director, completely in control of every little detail in each individual frame of the film. This movie is directed with such confidence that it's almost ridiculous to believe that his only prior directing work is in TV shows - especially because he uses the widescreen format so well (this is one of those movies that would just be a shame to watch in fullscreen.) Actually, there is nothing I can say about this movie that hasn't really been said already, and this review has been so disorganized because there's just so much to say. I could go into it more and more but it would be a waste of time for both you and me - just go see it.

Go see it, go see it, go see it.

Bert (2002)

Fun, funny little movie.

[6 January 2004]

Bert is a cg-animated short film about a vegetable's search for a family. It's just this funny little movie. There's no dialog, which is good because it lets the music become the dominant noise, and the music's just great. Overall it's a nice little flick which I actually laughed out loud at a few times throughout.

Rollerball (2002)

The most hilarious recent comedy that's not a comedy.

[10/10 · 31 December 2002]

Many people call this movie horrible, but I see it as a masterpiece of bad cinema. I can't believe anyone would find this entertaining - its hilarious! It made me laugh harder than most comedies out at the time and it also makes you feel good when you realize you had absolutely nothing to do with the making of this movie. Thank you, Rollerball! Bless your heart!