Change Your Image
nfwray
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Big Fat Liar (2002)
A much better film than people realize
'Big Fat Liar' is an underrated film. Yes, it is a kids film. Yes, it does lack a certain level of emotional depth that separates the good movies from the greats. Typically, I would never write a serious in-depth review about a movie like this. But still, as an adult, I find a lot of the character quirks and nuances (particularly with Giamatti's character) absolutely hilarious, and I think this movie deserves more than it has gotten.
The film tells the story of Jason Shepherd (Muniz), an intelligent 14-year-old who is a classic teenage compulsive liar. When he gets caught in a lie at school by his teacher and parents, he loses his dad's trust and is punished with a makeup assignment. On his way to turn in the assignment, a chance encounter with well-known Hollywood producer Marty Wolf (Giamatti) ends with Wolf (initially accidentally) stealing the assignment from Shepherd. The assignment ended up being a story that Shepherd had written called Big Fat Liar. After getting sent to summer school for not having the assignment to turn in, Shepherd and his best friend Kaylee (Bines) learn that Wolf is now planning to create a movie version of the story that Shepherd had written. Even worse, the movie is slated to be a huge hit and Shepherd will be getting no credit. Chaos ensues as the two teens then head off to Los Angeles to confront Wolf and try and earn Shepherd the credit that he is due.
I will start with the negatives, because there are way more positives. The movie has some obvious "reality stretches" that are typical of kids movies. In addition, the movie reeks of its time period, which might be a good thing in the future, but for now the "cool dude" language, monster trucks, skateboards, spiked hair and tiny sunglasses will draw a pitiful chuckle. Perhaps the biggest "negative" is just the lighthearted "kids" nature of the movie itself, which, given the fact that this is a movie made for a kids audience, is only a bad thing if you are looking for a certain level of emotional depth. It is for this sole reason, in fact, why this film is likely overlooked.
On the positive side of things, there is a lot to be said. The main positives are the story itself, and most importantly, the performances by the actors, chiefly Paul Giamatti as Marty Wolf. The story itself has no holes. It is decently complex yet easy to follow, and it builds up at consistent and steady pace. Several of the scenes are still well-known, particularly the infamous pool scene in which Wolf is dyed blue and orange by the kids. An instant classic.
Giamatti's hilarious performance as Wolf shouldn't come as a surprise as he has been fantastic in nearly everything he has been in, from John Adams and Billions to Compton and Love and Mercy. The list goes on and on. Even though it has been years since I first saw 'Big Fat Liar,' Marty Wolf is still one of my favorite villains from any movie. If you really think about it, this movie is actually really more about Wolf than anyone else. Without the valuable and convincing performance by Giamatti, this is just a very average kids movie.
The way that Wolf is simultaneously a Hollywood powerhouse and a pitiful, childish, weak little man is endlessly amusing to me. Every single one of his employees loathe him, and because of that he adores himself even more. One second he is coddling Mr. Funnybones (his stuffed monkey), and the next second he is slapping the monkey and treating it like garbage- this scene made me laugh uncontrollably. In fact, many of the scenes with Wolf added nothing to the story at all- they simply served to build Wolf's character, in hilariously random but genuine ways. And that is something that most "kids" movies lack. The point is, if there was anyone else in this role who was "half-trying" because he/she was just another classic, boring villain in a kids movie, this movie would be nothing more than just that.
With that being said, I also really liked the music score and thought that the soundtrack was decent enough. The score really made you feel the triumph (particularly at the end) as Shepherd reclaims his credit and releases his film. The script was dated but decent enough, and the cinematography was good, even great at times. The filming locations and sets were outstanding, particularly Wolf's house and the Hollywood ending scene.
All in all, this movie is great for kids (and really anybody) and parents should also find this movie quite funny. If you like Paul Giamatti, or watched this as a kid, I would highly recommend watching it again- it is a much better movie than people realize and I can promise that it will be even funnier the second time.
Big Fat Liar 2 (2017)
If a sequel means retelling the same story, then yes, this is a sequel
This one is bad. Real Bad. If you liked the original, this so-called sequel will make the original movie seem fantastic, largely because the original was actually quite good.
The film is about a typical compulsively-lying teenager named Kevin Shepard (Garcia) who creates the idea for a video game called 'Big Fat Liar' as part of a school assignment. In a chance encounter, entertainment executive Larry Wolf's (Bostwick) limo hits Shepard on his bike. Wolf steals the paper, and then attempts to use Shepard's stolen idea to create a video game which he thinks will please his boss and earn him a promotion to company president. As a result, Wolf and his best friend Becca (Ferland) embark on an adventure in an effort to force Wolf to admit his lie and give Shepard the credit he deserves.
I will start with the positives, although there weren't many positive things to say about this film. There were a couple of chuckle-worthy moments and at times the actors did decent for what they had to work with. At face value, Bostwick was by no means bad at all in his role, and neither were the other main characters. When compared to the originals, however, this is a different story.
On the negative side, this movie is loaded to the brim. The script is terrible. The cinematography barely nicks the bottom of average. The result was a very cheap feel, especially when compared to the original 'Big Fat Liar.' That leads me to perhaps the most egregious sin of this movie: other than some minor changes and a recast, it is merely a poorly regurgitated, or perhaps you could say thrown-up, version of the original.
Part of the reason that the original was so good was because of Paul Giamatti's outstanding portrayal of Marty Wolf. Despite being a Hollywood powerhouse and a very authoritative figure in cinema, Marty Wolf has a weak, childish, and downright weird side to him that is truly hilarious to watch. They were clearly aiming to create the same character in this film, but fell short. While Bostwick did decent with what he had, he clearly wasn't meant for this role. When they tried to show the "weird" side of Larry Wolf, it didn't work. It simply felt forced.
The Wolfs (both Marty and Larry) are what both of these movies are truly about. They are the cornerstone characters. Paul Giamatti is a tough, if not nearly impossible act to follow. And because of the weakness of Bostwick's character in the sequel, it really leaves the awful remainder of the movie hanging by a mere thread of terribleness.
In summary, this movie is really bad. When you consider that the moral of this film is the importance of telling the truth, it is quite ironic that this movie being branded as a "sequel" is a big fat lie itself. If you haven't seen either film, don't bother watching 'Bigger Fatter Liar.' However, if you have seen the original, I would actually recommend that you watch this one- it will show you how the original 'Big Fat Liar' was actually a surprisingly good film.
The Last Ship (2014)
A little extreme, but original and underrated
The first episode started off rocky, and while the effects were actually excellent for a TV show, there were some obvious, corny issues such as the lack of battle damage on the DDG's superstructure after the missiles hit, and the overly powerful special warfare team stood out as rough patches.
However, the remaining episodes since seem to have vastly improved their effects. Acting was never bad by any means, ranging from mediocre to great, with the exception of several unimportant "one-line" characters in season 2 who could have very well been asked to appear off the street. Adam Baldwin's acting, as has been mentioned, is fantastic and he adds an extra dimension to the XO's character. I was particularly pleased by the realistic, often tricky relationship presented between CO and XO, a key part in a ship's overall mood and demeanor.
The overall plot, barring a few minor details, was a major strength and was written originally and cleverly to provide a quick cure, followed by episodes more of post-apocalyptic action via encounters with new factions, people, etc. It is great to see a show that shines a little love on the military in a realistic way, instead of the typical zombies, good/bad cops, horny lawyers, and NCIS. At least it shows a facet of the Navy in a way that actually resembles the real thing.
Another big improvement on other shows is a relative lack of cliché romances, and instead the main romance introduced (between the two LTs) is done in a very well acted, realistic manner (i.e. they can't just openly show affection aboard ship and have to hide their romance). Its kind of cool and unique to leave the romance scenes to smaller characters (as opposed to the captain, etc) And for once in Hollywood there was a punishment for fraternization (military relationship.)
The only serious downside to the show, honestly, is that it is almost too pro- American and gung-ho. Mostly anyone could probably agree. Don't get me wrong, I love this country, but I could certainly see how this could be seen from others' perspectives' as propaganda-like. It got to the point where the Russians looked silly getting decimated at every turn they took. There were certain points (such as the Horatio Caine-esque "we don't negotiate with terrorists" line where I had to pause the TV and crack up.
All in all, I think that with some improvements to scriptwriting (less cheesy and cliché) and some new, original bad guys, it could be a very watchable series. The overall originality of the premise makes it the only show during the summer worth my time in a while. I'm not exactly sure why the harsh reviews are called for, what else could be expected from a TV series? We aren't just going to be surprised by another Band of Brothers quality series out of the blue anytime soon. Ignore the clichés and it is worth your hour.