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Reviews
The Walking Dead: Secrets (2011)
A Confused Show with Loads of Potential
The Walking Dead has turned into a completely polarizing show with some people loving it and some people hating it. What the show suffers from is the writers creating too many dramatic cliffhangers and not knowing what to do with them. For example in a recent episode entitled "Secrets," the characters spend the entire episode revealing many of the most developed dramatic cliffhangers in the show leading up to that point. Because of the shear amount, it takes almost the entire episode to "clear the air" and makes the viewer feel as if he/she has wasted his time up until that point seeing where the story-lines are going. The show also suffers from many writing inconsistencies and plot-holes in season 2.
Regardless, the show has had many high points and exciting moments. Even the characters that aren't like-able are memorable. The zombies look and sound amazing and much of the camera work is largely fantastic.
Given the breadth and depth of the source material, a fan of the show can only hope the show can strike a balance of survival horror and drama, rather than get lost in its own ambition. Time will tell.
The Walking Dead: 6/10 with potential to be much, much more.
Batman Forever (1995)
Easily the worst Batman
If you like neon black light fight scenes, poor acting by good actors, awkward dutch tilt shots that never work, a poor music score, and Batman admitting in a crowded circus that he is Batman with no one hearing you will like this movie.
If you like seeing Robin fold his laundry, Jim Carrey's apartment full of Riddler merchandise, Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey playing battleship you will like this movie.
If you like Jim Carrey being unfunny, 8 second closeups of Batmans rectum, Batman using a hearing aid to escape a safe, "boiling acid", and Batman defeating the villains by throwing crap at the ceiling, you will like this movie.
If you like this movie, please buy every copy so no one else can see it.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Worst Superhero Movie to Date
What do you get when you take unimaginative storytelling, overdone special effects, and yawn-able fight scenes?
It is not hyperbole to call X-Men Origins: Wolverine the worst superhero movie ever made. Worst than Batman and Robin. Worst than Daredevil. I hated every single soul sucking, vacant, boring, trite, overplayed, cliché minute of this movie. I could not find one redeemable minute is the entire Hollywood mangling of what could have been a decently entertaining movie.
In sum, X-Men Origins Wolverine involves an unmotivated cast of characters defined by their powers and not their absent personalities. Some reviewers have highlighted Ryan Reynolds's performance as being notable. Well it is, because Reynolds overacts well beyond his supporting cast as wise-cracking cardboard cutout. Unfortunately even Hugh Jackman looks bored as Wolverine, and his performance is the least interesting rendition of Wolverine seen thus far.
If you want a superhero movie involving paint by the number fight scenes, fake looking cgi, a predictable and boring romance, and a climax that will leave you wanting to turn the movie off, I would recommend X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I will warn you though, it is not "so bad its good" its just so horribly below par it will leave you unsatisfied and wanting your time back even more than your money.
Not a single redeemable moment in the entire movie.
American Pickers (2010)
Great show. Anyone who has bought or sold in this type of business can relate.
American Pickers represents a strong niche of society, the buyers, sellers, and collectors of treasures that most people wouldn't regard as treasures. Having worked in a similar type of store growing up, I can relate to their plight.
'Pickers' can take different forms. Some are pure pickers who will go place to place, yard sale to yard sale, buying select items like Mike and Frank do. Others will buy entire estates for a flat fee: trashing the trash and selling the good stuff at different rates. There are multiple variations in the middle.
What makes Mike special is that within picker ranks there are invariably people who are looking for the buck, more than the adventure. There are very few people like Mike who will say something like "its worth more than that" and offer someone a better price on an item when the owner of the item gives him a low price offer. Commenters who think Mike and Frank are "rip-off" artists are incredibly misinformed.
1) Selling items requires knowing the market to sell in. If you place an item for auction you pay a fee on top of placing the item up, and it may not go for what you want. 2) Even selling on Ebay you may not get the price you want. When the show gives the "price" of items, that doesn't mean thats what Mike and Frank will get for the item. But people sell items to them because Mike and Frank have developed a customer base who the individual seller may never be able to find.
American Pickers is a show that does what it advertises to do: tell the history of America piece by piece. The little "historical quips" are NOT what tells the history, as the idiotic review before me noted. Rather the history of America is told through the items, their materials, and the people who hold on to them. American Pickers is a highly recommended show for anyone who wants to deviate from the path of the history books and see American history as it exists today.
Best Worst Movie (2009)
Amazing
I have seen many documentaries, it being one of my favorite film genres. I came into Best Worst Movie not knowing a ton about Troll 2, and had low expectations about the documentary. Surprisingly at about about forty minutes in I realized, I am really engaged with these people. I care what happens to them and what they have to say and where they are now.
They cared so much when making the movie, and the fans and even the director see the movie through the eyes of how Ed Wood saw his films. The movie was not make for the fans, but for the director to convey a message he believed was important; for the love of filmmaking, or for some to make what they thought was truly going to be a great movie.
Best Worse Movie is surprisingly touching, funny, and engaging, and after getting to know the cast and crew, I hope my imminent viewing of Troll 2 will have the same effect.