This will be a quick review. Shorts is a movie for kids made by a big kid in writer/director Robert Rodriguez continuing on from the modestly successful Spy Kids movies he made in between Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Planet Terror and Machete, oh and he has a fourth Spy Kids in the pipeline. I guess he figures while he’s making movies targeting adults, might as well give the kids something. Read More…
I think what Bruce Timm did with not only “Justice League” but the others as well, was give an animated series that adults can appreciate and one’s that weren’t targeted at kids where the stories can be too simple and the jokes too lame. I still like “Batman” more since I have been a fan since I was 8 but “Justice League” is probably on another level both in terms of animation style and storylines. Read More…
Four Christmases, though at times funny, is filled with mostly unlikeable characters that you really could care less about, and that includes the two leads with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. And I like both of them even if they don’t exactly give stellar performances even in a romantic comedy genre that rarely produces anything of note (and of late). Read More…
Angels & Demons, the sequel to 2006’s The Da Vinci Code, was originally slated for a 2008 release but due to the writers’ strike, it was delayed. Many, myself included, felt The Da Vinci Code was a bloated and boring adaptation to a controversial international best seller that told the story that Jesus took on a wife and his bloodline still existed. However, where there was extreme interest in Da Vinci, such controversies were basically non-existent with Angels & Demons. Read More…
There’s always a problem in today’s Hollywood market of actors and actresses of being typecast to the point of me not wanting to see a film. For example, is it believable to see someone like Sacha Baron Cohen in a love flick? Or Leonardo DiCaprio in a film that doesn’t have a sinking boat? Not really, so that brings me to the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123. Travolta and Washington, as the good and bad guy respectively, are amazing in their roles here in the film. The issue here is the fact that it’s something we’ve seen before. Read More…
“Monsters, Inc.: We Scare Because We Care”
Monsters, Inc. isn’t my favorite film in the Disney/Pixar line of mega-hits – that will remain with Toy Story 1 and 2 – but it is one of the most endearing animated movies with lots of fun that kids will love and one the adults will be thoroughly enjoy, meaning it’s not so kid-friendly that anyone over 13 will still laugh. Read More…
Tony Scott’s latest thriller is a “remake” of a 1977 movie starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. However, from all accounts, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is not that similar with the original. Either way, I’m unsure exactly what to make of this film. You’ve got two great actors in Denzel Washington and John Travolta and the latter has proven to play cool villains in the past (see: Face/Off), and as good as these guys are, I think the direction and screenplay by a capable men lets them down. Read More…
Gerald McMorrow’s oddity, known as Franklyn, channels Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko with a little A Beautiful Mind thrown in for good measure. Franklyn isn’t the weirdest movie I’ve seen but it certainly has strange moments but when it all comes together, even though it doesn’t strike a perfect chord, I still found it to be an entertaining little film which originally was released in the UK earlier this year and then finding a home on the United States’ DVD market. Read More…
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is one of my all-time favorite holiday films, a true classic in fact. What makes this movie so timeless is no matter how many times I’ve watched it (and if it’s on TV, I can’t help but put it on if only for a couple of minutes), it is still as funny as it was the last time. Read More…
One of the most essential films for the teenage audience of the 80’s is finally available on Blu-ray. I’ve seen the film several times (the last being a few years ago) and enjoyed each and every viewing. There is something about Cusack that brings me back to the film with a smile on my face. The deadpan delivery of some of his lines is extraordinary. Take the whole ‘process’ scene where it’s pretty obvious he is trying to act smart but towards the end just comes across as someone who is likely repeating something he had heard before and now calling it his own. Read More…
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, the third entry in the modestly successful series, is a little too simple and convoluted for my taste, but still a whole lot of fun for the whole family. It’s funny, sweet and features a good voice talent pool. I think if this were a Pixar movie with high Pixar expectations, this would’ve only received an average score, but because it’s from Fox Animation, those expectations are lower. Read More…
Get this, Two Girls and a Guy is about, well two girls and a guy. Go figure. The movie begins outside of a NYC apartment where two chicks, Carla (HEATHER GRAHAM) and Lou (NATASHA GREGSON WAGNER), are waiting for their boyfriends. But after comparing notes, they discover they are dating the same man, an actor/singer named Blake Allen (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.). Read More…
Just a quick welcome to the new Movieman’s Guide to the Movies home page. I’m hoping this will help streamline updates in the future. The rest of the site will remain as is including side links to new reviews and such but I may change that over in the future. For now, enjoy and let me know what you think!
Heat is an incredible and well layered crime-drama featuring two dynamic performances and one of the best supporting cast of any modern film. I’m a little hesitant to give this Blu-ray a full recommendation since the picture isn’t awe-inspiring but it is still a step above the DVD video, so if you can get this on sale, it is well worth picking up.
I think The Number 23 could have been a niche classic but unfortunately, it never quite builds the right momentum to take it across the finish line. Carrey once again gives a good performance, as does Virginia Madsen — who takes some risks with her Fabrizia alter-ego —, and I must give even Joel Schumacher some credit just for Fingerling’s world. The film has some intriguing ideas that might make watching once worthwhile.