Name: jimaz
Most Recent Reviews by jimaz
Woody Harrelson steals the show in this funny gross out send up on zombie movies with some clever dialogue and one liners. Too bad the film is in two halves. The first half is hilarious as Woody and a young kid (Jesse Eisenburg) team up to go kill zombies who have taken over most of the world. But in the second half this "buddy" film quickly goes south when they run into two sisters who also are out to survive at all cost. There subplot ruins the chemistry that was entertaining in the first half. The only thing that saves the last half is a long cameo by Bill Murray. Overall worth seeing but should have been a cult classic. Maybe they will do a sequel without the girls next time. Hmmmmm.
In a summer of high tech,FX garbage that Hollywood continues to shell out at us, its nice to see this clever little gem of a movie make waves with critics and audiences alike. Even with all the great strides that have been made with Hi-Def tv's,digital effects,Blue-ray etc,the quality of the product shown has hit all time lows. Where are the great writers? Does anybody do anything original anymore? And that's not only in film. Did I really see a "Britney Spears Greatest Hits" CD in Best Buy the other day. YIKES. Anyway,check out this wonderful film about young love gone bad. We've all been there. Boy meets girl. Boy falls for girl. Girl likes boy, Girl wants to have fun but does not want to get serious. Boy doesn't understand. What sets this film apart is a great cast and a different concept of telling the story going back and forth from flashbacks to present day to what is going to be. Great idea and it works. One of the best films I have seen this year.
Its been a while since there has been a movie villian so good that I wanted to jump onto the screen and just bop the guy over the head. But thats what Christoph Waltz does in this movie. If he doesn't win some kind of award for his performance I will be shocked. I'm still reeling from how he got under my skin. And his scene in the opening 10 minutes of the film will go down as one of the greatest scenes (along with Samuel L.Jackson's famous scene in Pulp Fiction) in cinema history. As for the movie itself? Well, its Tarantino at his best. One of the best filmakers of this or any generation. So what if this is just a make believe story about World War 2. Combine Kill Bill and The Dirty Dozen and you got one very entertaining 2 1/2 hour epic with a great ending. Brad Pitt is also convincing and sometimes hilarious despite that stupid southern accent. The movie is as historical incorrect as you can get, but take a chill pill and see this gem.
This film is an interesting study in two acting styles. On one hand you have Meryl Streep, one of the best of our generation. Then you have Amy Adams, who is cute but fresh out of the Ben Affleck school of acting. Once again Streep nails her character.(This time the one and only Julia Child.) Too bad for the audience that she only appears in half the film. The rest of the time we are subject to the subplot of Adams and her overacting schoolgirl like character she seems to play everytime. Her appeal baffles me. The movie itself is overlong,generic,and boring. Very boring. What should have been a Julia Child movie instead tries to be a chick flick. Not that there is anything wrong with chick flicks. A good movie is a good movie. This movie is not very good.
A fast,smart,different sci-fi movie that is a breath of fresh air in a rather lame summer season. With recent big releases near the 2 1/2 hour length, this one comes in at a perfect 111 minutes.(Proving once again that bigger is not always better) I must admit that at first I did not think much of this film. The follow around with a jerky camcorder technique that takes up the first half hour started to get on my nerves. And the lead actor was also reason to fast forward if I could have. But when the main plot takes hold and he is stricken with an alien virus,the movie takes off into a entertaining crowd pleasing gem. A bit violent at times,but this film works.
There is a scene in this movie where Adam Sandler's character is about to go onstage to do a stand up comedy act. His ex girlfriend ask him to "Please don't do any dirty jokes". Replies Sandler,"If I do that,it will eliminate most of my act". Thats about what describes this film perfectly. About 25% sweet stuff, and 75% body part jokes. Don't get me wrong. Its funny enough. But at a massive 2 1/2 hour length, it runs out of steam. The result is a disappointing last half that will leave most people checking their watches to see if this film will ever end. The cast is perfect. This might have been Sandlers best film had it been about 45 minutes shorter. Nice try,though.
One of the really great things about the Harry Potter movies is how consistent they are in quality, despite the change in directors. Each one is no better or no worse than the previous,(Which is a good thing) yet they still manage to be different. You know what your going to expect when you enter the theater, yet you still come out pleased. The main reason for this is the wonderful chemistry between the three main actors, Daniel Radcliffe,Rupert Grint,and Emma Watson. It was nice to see Grint given a little more screen time in this one. He has some of the films funniest scenes. One small negative might be that the film is a bit overlong. Other than that, another winner for the wizards of Hogwarts.
I wasn't really sure how to review this movie without making it seem I was taking sides. There is no middle ground here. You either love it or hate it. I found myself laughing silly and at the same time shocked at the subject matter. Makes one think how our culture has changed since 'Blazing Saddles", which seems like a church camp compared to this. You probably will walk out hating yourself for laughing so much. I know I did. I'll probably hate myself more when I see it again. Soon,I hope.
The casting of Johnny Depp as Dillinger was perfect. Thats about all I can say good about this overlong,badly scripited mess of a movie. The usually dependable director Michael Mann lays a big terd with this 2 1/2 hour film that never works from the very start. What exactly went wrong appears to be behind the scenes during production since the film is so uneven and confusing that the audience left the theater stunned how bad it was. Depp, as usual, is wonderful. He just has nothing to work with. The rest of the cast is so bad you sometimes think your watching an Ed Wood movie. Christian Bale, who is overrated anyway,gives one of the worst wooden performances in recent years as agent Purvis. Look for this film to gobble up most of the trophies at the next Golden Turkey awards. What a shame.
Did we really need another Terminator movie? Probably not. But they gave us one anyway. And truth to tell,its not bad. They spared no expense with the fast pace action and special effects. Even Arnold himself pops in to say hello.(With a little digital help) So whats the problem? Perhaps too much fast action and special effects? Maybe star Christian Bale's now infamous spat with a crew member? Or both? Whatever the reason,you leave the theater asking yourself that same question. Did we really need another Terminator. I guess not.
