Movie Review Report

Although I have owned Arrested Development Season 1 on DVD for probably two years, I finally decided on watching it. I had heard it was pretty good, but I was unsure about giving it a try. Well, am I ever glad I did.

This is easily one of the funniest, well put together comedies I have ever seen. The characters are so unique, interesting, quirky and funny, that each episode is extremely entertaining. This family is about as dysfunctional and odd as it gets. It’s almost like Simpsons comes to life, yet funnier and smarter.

The show lasted for three seasons, so I’m very much looking forward to watching the next two seasons. I’m sure the show will only get better. I cannot believe this show was canceled… what a tragedy that is. Then again, Fox seems to have this strange ability to create amazing shows just to cancel them too early (Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, Fugitive, etc).

It’s hard to pick out who my favorite character is. Michael is the very likable main character, and it’s hard not to root for him, considering the family he has to deal with on a day to day basis. His son, unfortunately named “George Michael”, is such a great character. He’s a very odd young man, yet he’s possibly the most normal character on the show.

I am always laughing at Gob (pronounced Jobe). It is so hilariously delusional. He’s one of the worst magicians ever, yet is convinced he’s one of the best.

The person I may laugh out loud the most from could be their Mother, Lucille. Her facial expressions alone just kill me. She is such a stone cold bitch, and like most of her family, is completely delusional as well.

Tobias is someone I always want to see on screen, and it’s unfortunate he isn’t always in every episode. He’s a non-nude? Where do they come up with such magic? He’s so obviously gay, yet completely unaware of it. In the going trend with these characters, he is so delusional as well, and possibly more-so than any other character. He wants to become an actor, and although he can barely even get an audition, he thinks of himself as the next Hollywood superstar.

There are no weak characters, and the rest of the stars such as Buster, Pop-pop, Lindsey and Maebe are all great in their own ways.

If you, like me, never really thought about giving this show a chance, then you are making a huge mistake. This is easily one of the best comedies I’ve ever seen, and although it may not be for everyone, it’s still most definitely worth giving a shot to.

My Rating: 9.5/10

Here’s the notable movies and TV shows released on DVD for this week:

The Number 23

Directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, 8MM, Phone Booth), and starring Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen. When I first saw a trailer for this film, I was extremely pumped to see it. I really enjoy Carrey’s non-comedy roles, and this one sounded very interesting. Unfortunately, it didn’t get the best reviews, and the overall opinion is that the film was a pretty big disappointment. Saying that, I will still rent it and come up with my own conclusion. The film is a thriller, about a man named Walter (Carrey) who becomes obsessed about a novel that he believes was written about him.

Zodiac

Directed by David Fincher (Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room) and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. It’s based on the real life story of the serial killer nick named “Zodiac”. He terrorized San Fransisco during the 60’s and 70’s with seemingly random, unpredictable killings. It was a critically praised film, although failed to be a huge hit with audiences, earning only $33 million at the box office. It runs nearly 3 hours long, which was probably a deter ant to casual viewers. I’m still definitely going to check this one out, as serial killer films always fascinate me, and I’ve even read on a book on the famed Zodiac killer.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

A crime thriller starring Ben Whishaw and Francesc Albiol. The film is based on the best-selling novel from Patrick Suskind. It focuses on Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man with a superior olfactory sense. He creates the world’s finest perfume, but things turn awry when his obsession to create the perfect scene consumes him. I saw the trailer for the film a long time ago, and even though it lacks any name cast members, it looks like a very interesting movie. I think it’ll be worth checking out.

The Contract

Even though it stars Morgan Freeman and John Cusack, this looks like a film that might be one to ignore. Even with big name actors, the film never received a box office release, and went straight to DVD. The film’s tag line reads, “the only thing standing between an assassin and his target is a father who must protect his son”. It may end up being a decent film, but even though it has a great cast, don’t expect much from this one.

Weeds: Season 2

I have yet to see the first season, as I was waiting for the second season to be released first. I have heard great things about this show, and I cannot wait to start it. It’s a comedy about a suburban mother that turns to selling marijuana. Seems original, and I look forward to starting it soon.

This was a pretty good week for new DVD releases, and it looks like the can’t miss one for this week would be Season 2 of Weeds. Zodiac looks to be the best movie release of the week.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry is the latest film from Adam Sandler. He, along with Kevin James, play New York Firefighters that pretend to be gay in order to get special tax benefits.The film also has appearances from Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Ving Rhames and Dan Ackroyd.

The plot is a little weak, but that doesn’t really matter. The whole point of the film is to have as much uncomfortable situations as possible. And there are a lot.

I went into the film not really sure what to expect. I am really back and forth on Adam Sandler films. I loved the guy when I was 14 and 15, but lately his type of humor annoys me more than it makes me laugh. I am, however, a big fan of his dramatic work. Chuck & Larry is one of the good Sandler films. As funny as he is, however, I found Kevin James to be the stand-out in this one.

And Jessica Biel? Oh. My. God. I’ve never really found her all that special, but holy crap she is about as perfect as perfect gets in this film. Guys, her three minute bra and panties scene is worth the admission alone.

At times, I found the film seemed a little too much like a gay rights commercial, but it didn’t take away from the movie all that much. They film makers worked with gay rights activist to make sure the film wasn’t offensive to gay people. Of course there are a few jokes here and there, but I don’t think you’ll see any gay people complain about the film whatsoever.

It had it’s cheesy moments, and is not a top-notch film, but it’s entertaining throughout, and not often does even five minutes go by without a few laugh-out-loud moments.

If you’re looking to sit back, relax, and be entertained for a couple hours, then Chuck and Larry is definitely a film to check out.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Turistas is about a group of young backpackers that end up stranded in a small town in Brazil after their bus crashes. The film is a horror film, but I’m more tempted to say it fits into the recently popular “gore” category.I am not a fan of gory films. It all seems so unnecessary, but with the popularity of films like Hostel and the Hills Have Eyes, I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon.

Turistas sounded interesting to me, so I decided to check it out, when in most cases I would pass on a film like this one. It stars Josh Duhamel and Olivia Wilde, both of who I am fans of. It also stars Melissa George, who I cannot stand.

The film starts out with some potential. The idea is pretty good, and for the first half of the film I was pretty entertained. Then, we get into the gore. Complete, unnecessary gore. When you are hung over like I was, gore is not something you want to see.

I made it past that, only to be treated to 10 minutes of near darkness on the screen where I could barely tell what was going on. Then comes an underwater chase scene that lasts about 15 minutes longer than it should have.

If you’re into teen horror movies, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this movie. If not, you’ll probably want to pass on this one.

My Rating: 6/10

I love documentaries, and when I heard that BBC was releasing this massive 11-part series about our planet Earth on HD-DVD, I knew I had to see it. This series is the perfect of example of how to get the most out your HD-DVD player.The one word I would use to describe this series is “beautiful”. It is quite simply, the most beautiful piece of work I have ever seen on screen, and I was constantly in awe while watching this series.

Not only is it beautiful, but it is highly entertaining and informative as well.

The series comes in 11 parts, and each part (besides the first one) deals on a specific topic.

The first part is almost like a summary, or preview rather, of what you’ll see in the rest of the episodes. It’s entitled, “Coast-to-Coast”, and was probably my favorite episode of the bunch. It didn’t get into a lot of detail, but it covered a ton of ground, and although at times it kinda jumped all over the place, it remained highly entertaining. It featured a ton of animals, which was always the best part of the series

Nearly every episode was incredibly enjoyable, entertaining and interesting. I learned a ton about our Planet during this series. The only episode that didn’t hold up to the others was the one entitled “Caves”, but considering the quality of this series, that says more about how great this show was, not that Caves was a bad episode.

Fresh Water, Shallow Seas and Ocean Deep were about as good as you get when it comes to underwater documentaries. Shallow Seas was my favorite of the three, as most underwater life seems to be found during that part of the Ocean. Ocean Deep was filled with some unique creatures I have neither heard or seen of before.

I am an animal lover, and this is without a doubt the best animal-related series I have ever seen. The series covers animals from all types of landscapes. You’ll see at least something about nearly every animal you can think of. From Polar Bears to Wolves to Lions to Elephants, nearly every interesting animal is covered.

You will also be introduced to some truly remarkable and unique creatures as well.

I cannot say enough about this series. If you’ve considered upgrading to an HD-DVD player, I highly suggest using this series as the perfect excuse to do so. It is available in regular DVD-format, but it will pale in comparison to the HD version.

So, in summary, Planet Earth is about as must-see as must-see gets. Even if you don’t like documentaries, I’m sure you will find this series incredibly entertaining and interesting. You will learn a lot about the planet you call home, and be entertained by amazing parts of our planet that you are unlikely to ever see elsewhere.

My Rating: 10/10

When I first saw a trailer for Domino, I was pumped. It looked like a very cool movie, and I really enjoy Tony Scott’s type of directing.

Somehow, it took me until now to see it.

The film is about the life story of Domino Harvey, a Ford model turned bounty hunter. It’s based on her life, but the story told is not necessarily true, nor does it try to portray itself as a true story. Yes, Domino Harvey existed, and was a bounty hunter, but no she did not kidnap part of the cast of 90210.

Tony Scott took some “artistic liberties” with his film, which turned out to be great, as it became part satire, part action film, part true story. I love his direction, with the unique film colors, quick snaps from scene to scene, great music, and gritty feel.

Domino is not one of his best pieces of work, but it’s an entertaining film none-the-less. It’s much more confusing than it needed to be, and the story becomes somewhat jumbled, but overall I enjoyed this movie.

Keira Knightley did a great job portraying Domino, and I liked the sassy, badass-chick attitude she brought to the film. Mickey Rourke was great as Domino’s boss, Ed, and this role suited him perfectly. Delroy Lindo, Mo’Nique, Macy Gray and Lucy Liu also make appearances.

If you liked Deja Vu or Smokin’ Aces, this film has a similar feel, and I think you would like it as well. It’s a fast-paced, bad ass, shoot ‘em up film, and if that sounds like your type of movie, check out Domino.

My Rating: 7.5/10

This direct-to-DVD film stars Jon Bon Jovi as an unemployed man in his 30’s that’s always coming up with get rich quick ideas. His latest idea is for a women’s hockey league, where the women are all hot and wear little equipment. Not many of them are hot, and they wear a lot of equipment, and the main female character is a huge nasty woman that resembles a man.

Not really sure how they hoped to please the potential renters with this one, as it’s clearly a movie teenage boys rent in hopes of seeing some breasts.

I rented it, as it’s a film about hockey, which is something you don’t see very often. I figured, how bad could it be? Well, it was so, so, so much worse than I could have imagined. It looks like the budget was somewhere between $45-65 dollars, and I just cannot fathom how any studio would decide on making this film.

Absolutely horrible movie, and possibly one of the worst I have ever seen.

My Rating: 1/10

Broken Flowers is very similar, yet completely different from his previous film, The Life Aquatic.

Bill Murray stars in this one as well, and he plays a rich, yet lonely man in his 50’s who gets an anonymous letter from an old girlfriend. In the letter, it says he got her pregnant 20 years ago, and her son has gone off on a road trip to try and find him. Don (Murray), in turn, goes on to visit each of the four girlfriends he had during that time to try and find clues to see if that was the one who gave birth to his son.

The movie is a dramatic comedy, and puts Murray’s character into several hilarious situations. It also stars Sharon Stone, Julie Delpy, Jeffrey Wright, Chloe Sevigny and Frances Conroy.

I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but went into the film with high expectations, and didn’t necessarily live up to them. It’s a good film, yet the ending disappointed me, which I’m sure it did to several other viewers. Still, a good film worth checking out.

My Rating: 7/10

Incredibly, this film from the creator of Office Space and King of the Hill went straight-to-DVD. It stars Luke Wilson and Dax Shepard. It’s about a man of average intelligence that gets frozen as part of a military experiment, and ends up waking up 500 years in the future.

In this new future, the world has become incredibly stupid, and Joe (Wilson) is now the world’s smartest man. It’s an interesting plot idea, and I wouldn’t say they failed at it, but the movie didn’t impress me. It could have been much better.

It came off as very low budget and “cheap”, and I think that hurt my opinion of the film. It was a little too goofy, and I guess that was the intent, but I think they had a good idea and didn’t pull it off as well as they could have. Still, it was an enjoyable movie and helped pass the time.

My Rating: 6/10

I usually don’t go to the theater very often, but this was my second visit in a week’s time. Michaela and I went to see Ratatouille over the weekend. As you may know, from my Top 12 Computer Animated Movies post, that I love Pixar films. Each year, one of my most anticipated films is the latest Pixar release.They have struck gold yet again with this latest creation. Rats aren’t nearly as lovable as other previous main characters such as toys, cars, fish or superheroes, but somehow director Brad Bird gets you to care about them just as much.

The film centers around a rat named Remy who has a nose for great food. He soon discovers that he loves to cook exquisite meals, but must be in a kitchen to have access to the ingredients he needs. This, of course, is an impossible dream, as everyone knows the biggest no-no for any kitchen is to have a rat among it’s inhabitants.

Remy meets a young man named Linguini, who cannot cook whatsoever. Despite their obvious differences, they form a unique team in order to get the things they are unable to get on their own.

Like all Pixar films, the animation in Ratatouille is unmatched. The story is also wonderful as well. It’s a great family film, that can be enjoyed by any age. I’m 25 years old, and loved it, while I would have no doubts about letting my three year old sister see it, either. Pixar and Disney form such an incredible combination, and are continually releasing incredible films for the whole family to enjoy.

I highly recommend Ratatouille. As far as how it fits in the mix of Pixar’s previous works, well it’s hard to say. I wouldn’t rank it up there with Finding Nemo or The Incredibles, but it probably comes in ahead of Cars and Monster’s Inc. Either way, it’s an incredible movie that is a definite can’t miss film.

My Rating: 9/10

Last night I watched the latest Denzel Washington film, Deja Vu. It didn’t get necessarily the best critical reviews, but action/adventure films rarely do. I went into the movie without any expectations, which is my preference.I enjoyed the film quite a bit. It has a pretty wacky and unrealistic premise, the it’s definitely an enjoyable, entertaining movie.

I am a big fan of director Tony Scott’s style, and have enjoyed many of his past films which include hits such as Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop 2, Days of Thunder, True Romance, The Fan, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, among others.

Denzel Washington, who made my Top 10 Favorite Actors list, was great as always. Val Kilmer, Jim Caviezel and Adam Goldberg also appear. I was also very impressed with the incredibly beautiful Paula Patton, who I had not seen before.

The film starts out with an explosion on a large cruise boat, and ATF agent Doug Carlin (Washington) is sent to investigate.

I don’t want to give away any of the plot, so I don’t want to say too much about the film. It’s the perfect choice if you’re looking for a suspenseful, “thinker” type of film. If you can get by the movie’s unrealistic and far-fetched plot, you should find it very enjoyable.

My Rating: 7.5/10

This past weekend I discovered a little-known gem called, Mini’s First Time. After really enjoying her work in Thirteen, I was anticipating Nikki Reed’s next piece of work. It comes in the form of another sexually driven film, where she plays a rebellious young girl.Mini’s (Reed) mother is a failed actress that has manages to marry a very rich man named Martin, played by the incredibly wonderful Alec Baldwin. Mini is in grade 12, and growing up with her drugged-out Mother (Carrie-Anne Moss) has caused her to want to do whatever possible to rebel, in hopes of actually getting some attention from her emotionally-absent Mom.

The acting was simply great in the film. As much as I enjoyed Reed and Baldwin, who were perfectly cast, I think the stand-out was Carrie-Anne Moss, of Matrix fame. She was absolutely hilarious in her out of control role, and she really impressed me. I’ve never been a fan of hers, but seeing her in this role has changed my opinion of her.

There are also appearances from Luke Wilson, Jeff Goldblum and Rick Fox.

The film’s tag line, “Sex. Murder. Blackmail. There’s a first time for everything”, is a perfect way to describe the film. It’s an incredibly fun dark-comedy. I’m surprised I haven’t heard much about it, as it had a pretty big-name cast, and it’s a great little film.

My Rating: 8/10

After waiting for the Transformers live-action film for over twenty years, I was finally able to watch it this past Tuesday. I’ve been looking forward to the film since before it was even considered, and especially since it was announced three years ago.

I had huge expectations going into the movie, but also had my reservations. I had this awful feeling, that somehow, someway, they would find a way to ruin my dream. Well, after leaving the theater, I was very happy to say they didn’t.

I am extremely impressed with how the whole film came together. It was as advertised; a grand, special effects extravaganza with a good story, good characters, and it was just an overall enjoyable experience.

The acting was much better than you’d expect in a film like this, and I am liking Shia LaBeouf more and more with every film I see him in. Megan Fox performed way beyond my expectations, and the rest of the cast did an admirable job as well.

The stars of the film were easily the Transformers themselves. The special effects were absolutely mind-blowing. I will go out and say they were the best I’ve ever seen in any film. Of course, I am pretty biased, but the fight scenes and transformations were so incredibly cool and jaw-dropping.

It was great to hear Peter Cullen’s voice again (he voices Optimus Prime), and he did a great job reprising his most beloved role. I liked how they paid homage to the original cartoon and movie, by both including quotes as well as a few other little things here and there to give a nod to the hardcore fans.

Some people may be reluctant to see Transformers, as they might think that because they never watched or cared about the show as a kid, they wouldn’t enjoy it now. I don’t think that’s true at all, as they made the film one that anyone could enjoy. You do not need any prior knowledge of Transformers to understand or enjoy this movie, and I highly suggest that anyone who appreciates a great, all-out action film see Transformers.

I am a hardcore fan, and even though I had huge expectations, the film lived up to them entirely. Everyone should check out this film, and if possible, in theaters, as it’s one hell of a great time.

My Rating: 10/10 (how could I give it anything less?)