The Buzz: movie reviews

This movie is a half-baked, somewhat cheesey drive-in science fiction flick. The characters are two dimensional, the acting is just okay, and some of the one liners are laughably hilarious. On the up side, the special effects are marginally acceptable. By today's standards, they look expensive, but not particularly passionate. The effects don't really take you into the moment. Rather, they distract from the reality the makers were trying to create. The movie spends too much time going through the motions of "setting up" how these characters become the Fantastic 4. And, it spends to much time with pointless conflicts between the heroes. It feels half-hearted and dried up. There is not a genuinely emotional moment in the whole film, other than the laughter I experienced from laughing at how bad it is. Jessica Alba is, I've decided, the new hottest woman in show biz. She's really perfect for the role of "Invisible Girl." I've decided that if she...

Two nights ago I watched Sin City through my Netflix rental. I have to say, I was wary about it because I heard about its violence. I knew there were controversial elements in it. But, I'm here to tell you, Sin City is absolutely incredible. Just imagine the late 90's science fiction thriller Dark City , throw in a twist of Pulp Fiction , add Benicio Del Toro, and you've got Sin City . Despite being somewhat grim, it's still fun. It's fun because the characters are exaggerated graphic novel cartoons. The special effects are top notch. The cast is great. And, my friends, there's the writing. The best element of this film is the writing. Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino really outdid themselves. I can't tell you the last time I saw a film, and I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen next. It really had me on the edge of my seat. I kept looking for predictable cliches, but there are none here. It was a delight being taken to the edge of realit...

This review is a film I recently saw called C.H.U.D. It's a 1980's horror flick of moderate budget. And, in case you're wondering, C.H.U.D. stands for "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers." Um...yeah. The cast is full of surprising future semi-celebs. Take, for example, John Heard. He is the guy from Home Alone who robs the house. (Not Joe Pesci, the other one.) Then, there's Daniel Stern, and a short appearance by John Goodman. The plot involves a police cheif investigating his wife's disappearance. He discovers some homeless people have also disappeared from around the same section of Manhattan. As he begins to uncover clues, what does he find? You guessed it. Bizarre underground zombies who dwell in the sewers and eat people. The script is completely convoluted. At some point, there is a nuclear government CEO guy who is trying to cover his own butt, because he knows about the underground zombie things. So, he attempts a cover up to keep anyon...

Clocking in at just over three hours, the new King Kong epic by Peter Jackson may drudge up flashbacks of the Lord of the Rings theater experience. It is definitely sprawling, imaginative, and relentless in its pursuit to entertain and pay tribute to the original King Kong . Successfully, the crew tried to do everything in this one film. Action, romance, laughter, tears. All the cliche Hollywood movie emotions are jam-packed into three hours. They certainly pulled no punches. When I saw it, I was sitting in a beautiful new theater, about three or four rows from the front. The screen was not IMAX, but it took up almost my entire scope of vision. That's what makes a movie like this fun. It is designed to be enjoyed in a movie theater, with your friends, with a mouth stuffed with popcorn. And, it delivers that and more. The thing that surprised me most about this film, besides the incredible length, was the depth of creativity. The variety of dangerous creatures, and varying elemen...

Okay, I only have a vague recollection of reading the classic C.S. Lewis series way back in 8th grade. I was, however, a fan of the series back then. I thought the characters were interesting, the fantasy was enjoyable, and the Christian symbolism was great. I will also admit that I, on a regular occassion, read various writings of C.S. Lewis just for enjoyment. I think he was a fantastic Christian thinker. His thoughts are still relevent and on the edge of Christian thinking in some regards. When this film came out, I was not at all surprised that they had decided to do a version of this classic. With Lord of the Rings being a hit, and the film technology pushing special effects further, it just seemed like the right time. I thought the girl playing Lucy was right on the money as the adorable youngest sibling. The ice queen is compelling, and obviously the devil character. Aslan was portrayed in accurate reflection of the books. Although I enjoyed Liam Neeson's performance, I cou...

Recently I watched the mid-90's comedy schlock, Jingle All The Way . Oddly, this one has become a quasi-Schwarzenegger classic since 1996. It seemed so out-0f-place for Arnold to play the hapless suburbanite father. Bizarrely, this fim choice was a good one for the future Governator. The cast is great. Future Anakin Skywalker, Jake Loyd, plays the rejected young child. A moderately washed-up Sinbad is the "humorous" and villainous sidekick. And, Phil Hartman plays a next door neighbor on the prowl for a new woman. And, if you care, SNL veteran Chris Parnell shows up in one scene as a young toy store employee. Casting gets an A+. As I sat and absorbed this Christmas schlock, I couldn't help but notice the overall tone of this film. It was obviously created as a Christmas cineplex cash cow. I could just imagine scores of family moviegoers at the local mall lining up to take their snot-nosed kids into the theatre to see this one. The writing is cheesey, and sort of abov...