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Reviews
Baby Boy (2001)
Not a bad life in the hood angst movie
Part semi-serious Gangster movie, part domestic life in the hood, I found it pretty entertaining. Vang and Snoop, with their borderline psychopathic personalities, round out the movie nicely. There are also some great comedic moments. For example one young gangster wanna-be hood rat needs to answer for his disrespect, but shows "heart" so he's told he won't be punched in the face. Instead he immediately gets belt whipped and screams like, well like a kid getting whipped with a belt. Little nuggets like this made me bust out laughing. (The best kind of comedy is funny because it is, not because it's pointed out to you that it's supposed to be funny.) A little more tame than "Menace II Society" it has the same quirky feel with moments that just ring true.
28 Days Later... (2002)
Annoying Pile of Rubbish!
This movie has the feel of a low budget, transparently contrived, amateurish, made for video piece of garbage. It comes off like some 1990s TV drama with its use of the jerking camera technique that is so annoying and boring that it helps to ruin the film. (Not that there are any other aspects of this POS that are redeeming) I was fast forwarding soon into this stupid tepid ridiculous soap opera. This film is nothing but a badly made "B" movie that should not even have been featured on late night television. All those involved in hyping this dullard fare should be beaten about the face and hands for profiting from this abortion.
Death Proof (2007)
This movie is an absolute POS!
Some people at work warned me it was not a good movie but the premise sounded interesting, and I've liked Kurt Russell's work, so I rented it. I started to fast forward after about 7 minutes due to boredom. Anyone who could sit through this startling awful piece of garbage is either stoned stupid or just a lemming believing that if Tarantino is involved it must be good. Anyone who finds this film meaningful should come to my yard where I will show them a wonderful object d'art that my dog just created.
It is the worst movie I can recall seeing since Gus Van Sant's "Last Days" I think I actually gave that horrific abortion a "2" because, at least, the cinematography was decent. This movie is an abhorrent POS that I want to scrape off the bottom of my shoe and force feed to that Hollywood Mama's boy Tarantino. That "Death Proof" is currently rated a 7.6 here is beyond comprehension.
Saints and Soldiers (2003)
Low budget, weak acting, boring, need I go on?
It seemed the majority of the apparently small budget was spent in the first five minutes and that was nothing special. From there prepare for a slow meaningless meander in the hills or what we see of them anyway. The writing is really bad and the acting is not much better. I am shocked that this is rated a 7, that is laughable. It is shot in the style that reminds one of a cheaply made soap opera and that gives the film an unreal cloying tone throughout. I had watched "El Alamein" right before this POS and found it much better. In fact I can't remember seeing much of a worse war movie than "Saints and Soldiers" I doubt most people would sit through this rubbish even as made for TV movie.
United 93 (2006)
A complete abomination of tedium and pretension.
The cinematography is simply horrendous. The camera is continuously panning back and forth and going in and out of focus while capturing such illuminating images as someone's back. The director's attempt at realism (excuse me this is not a documentary!) comes off like a cheap transparently contrived TV show for dullards. After five minutes of this immensely annoying tactic I was getting bored. I soon began to fast forward and everywhere I stopped it was more of the same inane drivel. Back and forth the camera goes with sophomoric pretense that is astounding in its ability to bore and annoy. The acting is just as bad. The only value this piece of garbage has is capitalizing on the subject matter to lure people unfortunate enough to pay to see it. I glanced at the ratings here before I rented this abortion and after watching this mess I can not believe anyone would rate it above 6. Hype! Hype! Hype!
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
Sophomoric and Moralistic Drivel
I found this movie to be mostly a transparent clichéd propaganda outlet. You have the "evil" white men and the "good" persecuted illegal immigrants. That is the basic premise to the movie.
The characters seem one dimensional, and for me, this quickly led to boredom. After 20 minutes I began to consider fast forwarding. By the half way point I did. How much of this syrup are we supposed to swallow?
It's too bad that the script wasn't better because Tommy Lee does a good job with his character. I am very surprised that this movie got the rating it did here. But then people are used to being spoon fed Hollywood formula films. Unfortunate.
Omagh (2004)
OK but somewhat tiresome and annoying
First I have never been a fan of the shaking camera effect. OK maybe it's useful for a few brief scenes to show chaos. Adding the documentary tone to this movie makes it come off as transparently contrived. It just gives the movie an unreal cheap low budget flavor.
I also did not know when I rented it that it was made for TV movie. The film is not horrible by any means. There are some very good segments in it dealing with grief. However considering the excellent subject matter I think a much better film could have been made. Of course it would have required a bigger budget.
It also could have explored the Northern Ireland conflict or at least shown what might have motivated the bombing. Rather than just use it as a tool to portray the subjects as apparently purely evil.
Shiza (2004)
Stark and gritty.
Most of the landscape is bleak and desolate which means the acting and story must carry the film, they do. This movie is far removed from the typical big budget cotton candy dumbed-down Hollywood syrup.
I would categorize it as basically a humanistic survival story set in the rural outback. The emotions are as sparse as the back drop and yet still quite beguiling.
Some of the fights seemed a little unrealistic, however, it does not detract too much from the movie's overall believable tone. Also it was not a predicable film. At times you feel that Schizo may be mentally impaired, by his lack of communication, yet his demeanor is fitting to his environment and circumstances.
King Kong (2005)
Unimaginative and insultingly awful. Badly written, acted, filmed.
Well I must say this movie had the worst writing and screenplay since that laughable tripe Titanic. It reminded me of a made for TV movie with kids 10-12 as the intended demographic. It seemed like they took some half baked moronic screenplay and just went with it.
That people would rate this movie so highly is proof that the industry has succeeded in keeping the herd as sedated as possible with thoughtless poorly executed fluff. It is absolutely gut-wrenching-putrid-dullard fare. I have no qualm with fantasy or special effect movies but this is an insult to anyone who thinks. Bad! Bad! Bad!
Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (2003)
This ain't no Deliverance
A mediocre movie. All through the film you get the feeling that there likely would have been much more interesting tangents to follow. Don't expect to hear much musical talent either! Jim White does add some thoughtful commentary along the way but not enough to make up for many boring sequences. I suppose if you are into offbeat and slow movies you might enjoy this one. Also this was not nearly as bad as "Last Days" which I could not even finish. If this movie represented the typical lifestyle of the Southern experience (which it does not) I would be scared as hell to go down that way. I give it four to balance out anyone who thought this deserved anything over seven.
Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story (2005)
A gritty and moving documentary
The story is about a prize fighter trying to come to grips with a tragic incidence in which he played a part as well as the other lives affected by that tragedy.
I think anyone interested in boxing, or possibly general American sports history, would appreciate this fine film. Emile is a very likable man whose seemingly unlikely fate was to become a world champion boxer.
All the players in this drama come off as open and sincere and their words resound with the ring of truth.
It's been a long time since I watched a movie twice as I did with this one.
Last Days (2005)
An insult to humanity. Avoid it like a chicken from Hong Kong!
After a few minutes I had a bad feeling about this movie and paused it to check the IMDb. As I feared the results were not good.
Could the whole film be as meaningless and tepid as the opening? Apparently yes.
Once while imbibing with my brother-in-law the subject of Yoko Ono came up. He put a Yoko record on the stereo and I was greeted by this hideous screeching sing-sang chanting. He then placed the needle on other tracks and it was identical.
This is precisely what happens when you fast forward through this piece of garbage--it remains a gut wrenching sickening fever nightmare of ponderous placid boredom.
I do recall laughing riotously at Yoko, however, there is nothing funny about this movie.
It is an abomination.