Reviews

I'm not one who regularly watches magicians. Short of Penn & Teller or The Amazing Jonathan, I haven't given a crap about magic in years. Then one night, lacking anything else to watch, I tuned in to the first of several installments of this show - and I was hooked.

The masked magician made it an interesting angle, although I was pleased to see that he eventually revealed his identity in one of the last shows. Strange that I haven't heard much of him since... perhaps he got blacklisted for revealing the tricks!

But besides the revelations of how magic tricks are performed, I thought host Mitch Pillegi really made the show. Although he seemed like an odd choice when I first started watching, I quickly came to enjoy his dry sense of humor and near-monodrone delivery. It WORKS. And I know it was Mitch that made the show watchable because Fox has made at least one of these shows since the masked magician revealed himself and I was annoyed to hear some other guy hosting. I was gone in about five minutes. Without Mitch as the host, I just didn't care. If you're reading this, Fox, get Mitch back if you do any more of these shows! He needs the work since X-Files went off!

This is a great show for the family - it's a little scary at first for young kids, but in a way I think it's better that they watch this rather than a regular magician so they can see how tricks are performed, and hopefully they won't hurt themselves trying to emulate what they see. If a kid sees that David Blaine numbnut in a straitjacket and tied to a burning plank, who's to say they won't try tying themselves up and doing the same thing? At least if kid's see how complex some of these illusions are, it might save a few trips to the hospital.

Great show - and I'll watch it every time it's on. (as long as Mitch Pileggi is the host)

When asked about the funniest movies of all time, inevitable me and my friends have to mention Caddyshack. Classic scenes, classic lines... hours have been spent quoting this movie line for line, and it continues to entertain twenty years after its first release. One of Ted Knight's finest performances - and Chevy Chase in a GOOD movie? Yes, true believers, Chevy delivers in this one. A strong cast, brilliant script, and great directing by Harold Ramis. You don't have to like golf to like this movie. I HATE golf and I love this movie. 10 out of 10. Rent it, buy it, live it.

I'll begin by saying that Unbreakable is neither a sequel nor in the same genre as The Sixth Sense. If you want The Sixth Sense, go rent it and stop leaving messages about how much this movie WASN'T like The Sixth Sense.

That said... this was a brilliant drama about a security guard who gets involved in a train wreck during a period of irreconcilable differences with his wife. And just a note to those of you who paid to see this movie for a train wreck - YOU DON'T GET TO SEE IT. Go rent Faces of Death if you want that sort of footage.

David Dunne is contacted by the eccentric owner of a comic book art gallery who tells him that he is something more than human. David slowly begins to realize he's never been sick... he is stronger and tougher than the average person. We can rebuild him... we can... oops. 6 Million Dollar Man flashback - sorry. While some people didn't like that it took David this long to figure out he was more than human, remember that a blind man doesn't know he's blind until you tell him.

David spends the majority of the movie experimenting with his powers and contemplating what he should do with them. David's son is curious and excited that his father seems to have these abilities and actually threatens David's life in an attempt to prove his father's powers.

This is an excellent movie... Shyamalan uses camera angles and techniques to "frame" nearly every shot as if it was a section of a comic book page. Other comic references, such as the use of colors for certain characters, are obvious. You don't have to be a comic book fan to like this movie, but you could probably appreciate it more if you were.

My only complaint is the text at the very end of the movie... I think a movie like this would have been better if they left the audience not knowing exactly how everything ends. I was also extremely disappointed to hear that the rumors of Unbreakable being a trilogy were false. Unfortunately, Shyamalan doesn't want to make sequels (so forget about Sixth Sense Part II as well) which explains why he turned down the chance to write Indiana Jones 4.

I think Unbreakable is worth a chance... but rent it knowing that it's not a horror movie, nor do they show the train crash. If you still want to see it knowing those facts ahead of time, you'll probably love this movie.

Boy... I don't know if I've ever seen so many mixed feelings towards a movie. Some people were so offended that they felt the need to post multiple comments here! If you have that many issues that you have to keep coming back and re-insulting this movie, then maybe it touched a nerve and you just don't want to admit it.

The Blair Witch Project is an experiment in fear. It gives the impression that three student filmmakers are going into the Maryland woods to film a documentary about a supposed witch that lived in the area many years ago. It is also insinuated that the witch influenced a serial killed in the '30s. Unfortunately for our clueless heroes, they get REALLY lost in the woods and spend a couple of days just wandering around. They have a compass, so it seems that the Witch is somehow causing them to walk in circles. As the intrepid trio travel through the woods, they find little "gifts" left behind by the Witch... piles of stones, little men made of sticks, and a rather nasty bundle with a soft, chewy center. A particularly scary part features an attack on the group's tent. Later, one of them vanishes in the night. The remaining two students finally end up at the house of the 30's serial killer...

No spoilers. You'll have to see what happens for yourself.

I'm not pretending that this is a major Hollywood release... less than $50,000 was spent on equipment and production. But this isn't meant to be high-budget. The movie looks exactly like it's supposed to... a student film that was edited together by people who found the "lost" footage after the students "disappeared". (I did think it was funny that some people thought this was real... the hype on the Sci Fi channel was great - it took quite a bit of convincing, plus video footage of the three actors alive and well on MTV, to show that they were still alive!)

I think some people are angry at this film because they were expecting the next Exorcist or Poltergeist. Unless you're blind, it's blatantly obvious from the previews that the movie is shot with shaky cameras in a very "real" environment. If you came to this movie expecting something else, then you deserve to lose your $7.50.

Also, I think people were really p***ed that they didn't get to see the Witch. In this age of CGI monstrosities and special effect-packed blockbusters, many movie-goers expect to see the monster all the time. If that's what you want, go rent The Haunting remake or Godzilla. I'd wager these same people would get upset at the original Haunting for not showing the ghosts.

Maybe some of the people who hate this movie really WERE scared and it bothered them so much that they decided to pan the flick. Either way, I think it's worth giving this movie a chance... don't take it too seriously, though... it's a much better ride if you sit back and try to watch it with an open mind. Be prepared, because the "action" doesn't really kick in until halfway into the movie, and there isn't a whole lot of it. This is more of a suspense movie, not a slasher flick or an action horror movie.

I've seen BWP twice in the theatre and once on video... and the last 5 minutes STILL gives me goosebumps.

I saw Half Baked when it first opened in the theatre... I'm a big Dave Chappelle and Jon Stewart fan, plus I enjoy the old Cheech and Chong movies. I wasn't just delighted or pleasantly surprised by this Gen X drug comedy - I was enthralled!

Half Baked is one of the funniest movies I've seen in the last 10 years. The main cast is solid and very funny, but the cameos are the best part of the movie. Not many people know that Bob Saget's stand-up routine is so filthy that it would melt their children's ears off! He gets to bring some of that to the screen as a recovering drug addict. (won't ruin the joke - it has to be heard to be believed). A far cry from that god-awful Full House! Jon Stewart is even funnier as the "enhancement" smoker... a running joke with me and my friends to this day. I'd love to go see the Daily Show and ask Jon if he ever did the show... ON WEED! Snoop Dogg, Stephen Baldwin, Willie Nelson, Janeane Garofalo (my goddess!), Tommy Chong, and Steven Wright all make appearences and are equally hillarious!

Sure... a lot of the jokes are pretty juvenile and the movie's message "I love weed, but I love pussy MORE!" isn't exactly PC, but if you're ignorant enough to rent a movie like this thinking that it won't have jokes about weed, getting laid, gay jailhouse sex, more weed, overdosing a diabetic police horse, and weed, then you deserve to lose your $3.50 and should have rented something nice and pretentious.

If you like Animal House, Cheech and Chong, and/or Dazed and Confused, give this movie a chance. I can pretty much guarantee you'll want to watch it over and over again.

I've seen every time travel movie ever made, and I must say that the Philadelphia Experiment ranks pretty high on my list of favorites. Despite the cheesy love story (almost as bad as Titanic or Pearl Harbor) the effects are pretty good and the story is cool.

The actors were fair (Nancy Allen was great, though) and the screenplay is pretty good. It's a really interesting story in itself, though. If you have any interest at all in this movie, I would strongly recommend looking for books about the actual Philadelphia Experiment. (sometimes found in collections of paranormal phenomenon) The supposed true story involves tests to camoflauge a navy ship - rendering it either invisible to radar or TRULY invisible (stories vary as to the exact intent of the experiment) apparently through the use of magnetic fields. The rumor is that the ship disappeared from the Philadelphia naval yard and TELEPORTED to a Virginia naval yard. The crew had a variety of side-effects, ranging from temporary invisibility and/or intangibility to getting phased into solid objects and getting stuck there. (a couple of people who were phased into solid objects can be seen in the movie - pretty cool!) The "true" story makes a great read and even if only a fraction of it is true, it's a pretty remarkable idea that any of it happened in reality.

The Philadelphia Experiment is an entertaining movie, but more for sci fi fans and their girlfriends rather than the average moviegoer. Stay away from the Philadelphia Experiment II, though... it's just awful.

I'm not one who goes for slasher flicks... I never understood the popularity of Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street. But then, this isn't the typical 80's slasher flick... it's a fun and scary monster movie that actually draws emotion from its viewers that make you root for the heroes, despise the villains, and cheer when the CHUDs get the ***t kicked out of them.

Sure, it's got a low budget... but the story is good (probably with a grain of truth, too!) and the sewer sets look good. Daniel Stern is great as the cook/manager of a soup kitchen who is wondering where his assorted homeless buddies have dissapeared to. Christopher Curry is also very good as a police officer searching for his missing wife. The scenes with Curry and Stern are funny and it's neat to watch a friendship develop between them as they deal with the rampaging CHUDs.

Watch for John Goodman as a cop who gets slaughtered in a diner... this was one of his earliest screen roles. Stay away from CHUD 2 unless you REALLY like bad, campy horror. CHUD is freaking Shakespeare compared to CHUD 2.

In short: CHUD is a fun monster movie. Watch it by yourself or with friends... either way it's a good way to spend an hour and a half. Not overly gory like a bad slasher flick, not packed to the gills with nude women. Just a good cast and some funny, scary, and exciting cinema.

It's interesting to note that the original cut of the film that I saw on HBO differs from the regular TV version. The original mentions a slaughter in a diner where there's blood on all the walls but no bodies. At the end, a couple of bums see the CHUDs approaching "another" diner (the John Goodman cameo) and quickly scamper off. The last thing you see is a few CHUDs breaking into the diner to wreck havoc. The TV version has the diner slaughter in the proper timeline... you see it before, during, and after (when the cops find the bloody diner with no bodies). Strange that it would be edited that way, but so be it. 7 out of 10 - but not recommended for the uptight or "serious" moviegoer. If you can't appreciate Tremors, Lake Placid, or even Godzilla, then don't see this movie.

I've read quite a few reviews of this movie. Let me just say, I loved it. While Bill Pullman's acting was wooden (I think that was the point of his character) the Sheriff and Mythology Professor were EXCELLENT. Oliver Platt consistently plays great characters, and every time he adds a special flavor to each character. The dialogue, particularly that between Sherrif, Paleontologist, Ranger, and Professor is VERY well-written and fun to watch.

That's the point of this film. FUN. I see people complaining about various things, but sometimes you just have to LIGHTEN UP and just ENJOY a movie! This was one of my favorite movies on 1999 - I thought the CGI was very good (sure as hell better than Anaconda) and while the plot is a rehash (someone mentioned Jaws... ever heard of THEM!, kids? Ever heard of the Beast from 20000 Fathoms? Spielberg didn't create the genre!) it's still passable and if you just enjoy the filck, it's well worth the rental fee.

I compare this movie to another giant animal movie I love: Tremors. Similar plot, the only differences are climate and a different blend of characters. Tremors is a FUN movie. Lake Placid is a FUN movie. You want serious, go rent Blair Witch or The Insider. You want something to watch with a few friends so you can have a good laugh, rent Lake Placid. I hope Sci Fi channel or Turner picks this up... I guarantee I'd watch Lake Placid every time it appeared on cable.