“More Movies”

Here are some more 2002 flicks I checked out. Man I saw A LOT more than I thought!

½ Star = BRUTAL
*=Awful
*1/2= bad
**= it was OKAY
**1/2= good
***= really good
***1/2= Put it on the top of your list.

****= AWESOME MUST SEE OF THE YEAR


Austin Powers: Gold Member
* 1/2

The franchise takes a nosedive in the third installment of the bumbling Austin Powers. What few jokes work are few and far between or rehashed from the previous two films. All the surprise cameos were cool and for the most part worked. However Austin’s love interest is lame and given nothing to do. It’s nice to see Fred Savage getting work again. However, other additions like the Goldmember himself and the return of Fat Bastard fall flat.

The story blows the shit out of the fourth wall and it makes it simply doesn’t work. Some of the film was just mind-numbling unfunny. It made me just want to watch the other two.


It was nice to see that Dr. Evil finally get his sharks with lasers. Too bad this movie franchise just jumped one.


Full Frontal

½

Good Lord. Sometimes way ahead of time I read about movies in the making, and for some reason this one really appealed to me. Sounded intriguing, and boy was I wrong! The film was a movie with in a movie with in a movie, and I had a hard time keeping track of what world was what. Plus there was a plot line about some guy putting on a play about Hitler that had absolutely nothing to do with anything.

Some good jokes in the movie, and some interesting comments about the movie industry but it was wasted in an ocean of incoherence. Easily the worst movie I saw in theaters in 2002. Everyone involved with this film should have to do charity work or something. I am thinking on writing a letter to try to get my 8 dollars back, or filling a lawsuit against the Ritz. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!! DON’T GO NEAR THIS FILM EVER!

About A Boy ***


For the longest time I have been saying to people that the writer and director of the American Pie flicks could easily write a screen play without bathroom humor or Jason Biggs humping a pie. Since this film made the top ten list of many critics looks like I wasn’t out of my mind. Underneath all the sick jokes both American Pie flicks had heart, attention to friendships and relationships and I could see the potential. They seem to like to write about the transition period in a person’s life. I look forward to American Pie 3 (titled American Wedding) and what ever project they have next, since Off Centre got axed.

Never a fan of Hugh Grant (although I think I might give his work a 2nd look) or British films( although this is like an American British film), I really was surprised that I liked this one. The movie had well written characters, a good soundtrack and was quite well acted.

Hugh was good as the rich playboy. He made millions of his fathers Christmas song, collecting royalties so he could just sit on his ass literally his whole life. He dedicates his days to doing..well NOTHING. He watches movies, reads magazines, shoots pool, tries to manipulate single girls, and listens to CDs. Sounds like what I would do if I were rich.





Under Cover Brother ***

Fresh Comedy spoofing 70’s funk movies, and lampooning the differences between WHITE guys and BLACK guys. Sounds bad, but most the jokes work, and the story tells about a group of black people who fight against the man. Apparently the Man is a real person who tries to discredit black culture with inventions such as Urklee. If that isn’t evil enough he wants to thwart the first black person to actually run for president and keep the white house white.

Jokes about African American culture such as Orange soda, fried chicken, wanting to bang white chicks, afros, and getting funky are in abundance. I loved most the characters in the film, the story progressed, despite the fact the film was only about an hour, and twenty minutes it worked pacing wise.

If I told you there was a movie that had Billy Dee Williams, Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser Md), Dave Chapelle, and Denis Richards wouldn’t you want to see it? That alone is worth a rental. I might check out this Eddie Griffen fellow in other movies. I have a feeling a sequel will arrive in about two years. It could get stale like Austin Powers, but with this talented cast …”It Aint NO THANG!”


The Ring ****

I am not going to say anything about this movie for anyone who has not seen it. Lets just say it’s a damn good thriller, one of the best I have thing in a lOOOOOOng time. I knew very little about the film going into it. And neither should you. Just rent it when it comes out, and leave the phone off the hook.


Minority Report ***

Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg team up for this slick futuristic flick. Tom Cruise has to catch criminals before they commit crimes. Some freaky stuff going on this film it kind of reminded me of Blade Runner and Dark City at times.


The movie came out in a time when in the war against terror had similar patterns when some suspected terrorists were rounded up before they could commit any crimes. Some innocent and some not so innocent.

If you like a good action popcorn movie with actual depth check this one out. I didn’t even know what was what until the movie ended. I mean that in a good way. Chris Arter hated the movie though.


Star Wars: Attack of the Clones ** 1/2

Months before that strange group of sex freaks claimed to have made cloned baby, a bunch of poorly done CGI storm troopers marched across a big screen. George Lucus rebounds from the horrendous Phantom Menace, but fails to reach the level the original 3 hit.

The plot has to make us see the transition form good to evil for the kid who becomes Darth Vador. It was a tough role to play, and the kid who plays him is awful. But Lucus said he doesn’t care about the acting in his films anymore. Just likes neat effects.

The movie has some incredible sequences, such as the chase scene in the start of the film. Ewan McGregor manages to get a better handle on what his character should be like this in this film. The most talked about sequence was the Yoda which was pretty good. I mean you had to have something to make audiences to understand why people respected him too much. It came close to becoming overkill though. Now that he is computer generated his facial expressions are more advanced.

Some movie magic makes its way into this movie, and makes for fun time. Despite the sub-par acting and the at times confusing plot.

However again some of the CGI effects prove to be no better if not worse than models, miniatures and puppets used in pervious films. For example that illregular looking space ship that looked like it came right out of an X-box game and what ever the heck the kid was riding in the middle of the movie were laugh out loud embarrassing. Some one should have to balls to tell Lucus that CGI hasn’t been totally mastered yet and how horrible they looked. There were more examples of that but I cant think of it off hand.

The film was a lot better than I thought I would be, and I want to bonk Natalie Portman.

Still more to come….keep checking back…..