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Disenchanted9
Reviews
This Is the End (2013)
A funny belly button comedy, but crappy music ruins the ending (possible spoilers)
I would have given this film an 9 for the humor and the overall story, but having that Backstreet crap in it costs it 3 stars.
Music in a movie can make a movie better or it can detract from the film. This is a movie where it detracts from the film experience.
Going in to the film knowing that the actors would be playing themselves, I expected over-the-top caricatures of themselves. The actors live up to that in a funny way.
There are lot of drug and dick jokes, which are funny before they become tiresome from overuse.
The funniest scene for me involves Danny McBride leading a gang of cannibals.
The film will be better when I can watch it at home where I can mute the scenes with the bad music.
Transformers (2007)
average sci-fi action movie
The action is good in Transformers is good and it is funny at times, which keeps the film from being horrible. However it is weighted down by too nonsensical plot points, clichéd filled plot, cheesy writing, under used characters, some horrid dialogue, and product placement overkill.
The premise is bit outlandish to begin with, but given that it is science fiction that is expected. However there are scenes that just defy belief too much. For example there is a scene where the Autobots (the good Transformers) are stomping around a house, including one stepping on a fountain and some how no one sees or hears them.
The writers uses a typical approach to developing the relationship between Sam Witwicky (played by Shia LaBeouf) and Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox). The approach leads to some good moments, but overall it isn't anything memorable.
The movie also had some astonishingly lame moments. A prime example of this is a scene where a little girl goes outside and asks one of the Transformers if it is the tooth fairy. Those that made the film were trying to be cute and funny, but just ended up with an awful scene.
For a movie that is about Transformers, the Transformer characters were disappointingly under developed and under used. It would have been better had they gave more time to characters other than the two main Autobots, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. It particularly would have been better to show and develop the Decepticons (the evil Transformers) more.
It was disappointing that Megatron (the Decepticon leader) only appeared toward the end of the movie and when he did appear he was given some awful, overly simple dialogue. An example is when prompted to say why he wants to kill the humans, Megatron just says something like "They deserve to die." Another example is when chasing Sam, Megatron asks him if he is "motivated more by courage or fear." It was as if who ever wrote it was determined to make Megatron sound like a character from a movie about cavemen.
Then of course there were all of the product placements. I find product placements annoying as it is, but I understand that is something that is a part of movies that I will just have to deal with. However there was so much focus paid to particular car company at times it seemed like I was just watching a long television ad. Then to compound that there were many mentions or shots to highlight particular Web sites, computers and other companies.
Overall, Transformers is on par with mediocre movies like Independence Day and Armageddon.
Meiken Jolie (1981)
Entertaining cartoon
As a child, "Belle and Sebastian" was the first show that I eagerly awaited each episode. It was far from dull or disgraceful. The cartoon followed a boy named Sebastian traveled through Spain, Andorra and France in search of his mother. He traveled with his dog Belle and puppy Poochie.
That was all it needed to be entertaining.
The Matrix (1999)
Glorified B-movie
"The Matrix" is a poorly written and directed film that rips off the much better "Dark City."
This film certainly is not among the top 100 films of the 1990s, let alone should be ranked 40th as it is at IMDB.com.
The script is poor as the writer and director did a poor job stealing parts from other films.
Keanu Reeves performance is poor, which is to be expected as his performances usually are.
Besides the special effects, Laurence Fishburne and Joe Pantoliano were bright spots in the film as they give good performances, especially considering the poor script, direction and acting from those around them.
The Shield (2002)
One of the best shows on tv by default
"The Shield" is a good, but not great show.
The directing and acting so far have been strengths for the show. The writing also is good, but it has some flaws. The show appears to draw its influence from shows like "Homicide: Life on the Street." However it is certainly not up to the level "Homicide: Life on the Street" was in its prime. One thing "The Shield" has lacked so far that has kept it from approaching that level has been a sense of humor, which makes the characters always seem too uptight. One of the things that made "Homicide: Life on the Street" great was its ability to have characters joke or discuss something besides the case like Lincoln's assassination, to loosen the show up.
"The Shield" also seems to have borrowed from a formula for a couple of the main characters from the film L.A. Confidential. Particularly the characters and the conflicts between, Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and David Aceveda (Benito Martinez), seems similar to the characters Bud White and Ed Exley in L.A.
Otherwise the show is good and certainly better than any show that isn't on paid cable. It is fine to use profanity, violence and nudity as long as it is used to add to the story; it is bad when those things just are used for shock. So far those things for the most part have been added to improve the stories.