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Reviews
The Mummy Returns (2001)
awesome opener for the summer season
I gave this one a nine based solely on the fact that it's probably the first summer blockbuster to come out this holiday season (well, I consider summer movies a holiday season. . . I don't know about you). It does suffer from "sequel-itis" to some extent, but that's not a problem when you look at all the awesome special effects, hilarious comedy, and excellent fight sequences.
Sure, it lacks the suspense it seems to be going for and many of the plot turns are simply stupid, but anyone should be able to tell that this 21st century rendition of the classic story of "The Mummy" is one that comes with a lot of farce. I liked being able to predict certain things because it made me feel so comfortable that I didn't expect the other things coming. And sure, some of the stuff was so stupid that you had to slap your forehead and shake your head in disdain, but do you think that Stephen Sommers made this film with the intent of winning an Oscar or something? Maybe making a buttload of money yes, but you've gotta give some credits to the sell-outs out there who can make money and be extremely entertaining at the same time!
I thought that the whole thing had this sort of old-fashioned style to it, like an old serial from the thirties, i.e. Captain Marvel or Batman. It was kind of like this really cool western that utilized some really funny cliches that nobody's seen for a while. Specifically, I think I'm talking about some of the scenes involving the Magi. Then there were other scenes that were a lot like Star Wars Episode 1 when JarJar's people are fighting the droids. This film just came together to use a lot of old techniques and themes that work really well and kept me entertained throughout.
It's a great starter for the summer season. Makes me feel more optimistic about what's to come, probably because all the awesome trailers that came before the feature. Anyway, this is definitely worth your money even if the little kid in it can be a little annoying and the plot wraps around you like a badly weaved afghan with a thousand huge holes in it!
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
emotion carnival!
I laughed, I cried, I laughed, I cried, I rinsed and repeated about twenty-four times, and then the credits rolled. Sounds mundane and derivative? Well, perhaps a bit, but this was nonetheless an awesome feel-good group hug dramedy that makes a great date movie and a great flick to see with a group of friends.
Renee Zellweger turns in an awesome performance in the title role. Her accent is surprisingly good -- she can even sing and yell well with it. Hugh Grant shows awesome range in his acting. Well, not really. He's usually the stuttering cute moron or the annoyingly gorgeous jerk and he's the latter in this one. Still, good job there chap.
This is definitely a chick flick, but one of those good ones that has poignant moments and a cool plot amidst the emotional rollercoaster. Check it out, it's worth your two hours.
Me, Myself & Irene (2000)
same old, same old, but it's still entertaining
I heard good and bad things from everyone who had seen this movie. After viewing it myself, I do have to say that it wasn't by any means a good movie, and on the Farrelly scale, it was hardly even anything new (more Rhode Island comedy with strange people and weird situations with oddly heartwarming portions thrown into the mix). Nonetheless, I never got bored throughout the film.
Maybe this is because Zellweger and Carrey did have a never-before tapped chemistry and both of them, although not really creating totally new characters, can make their roles interesting. The caper chase romance comedy with two parties (the concerned pursuants and the pursued) is somewhat unoriginal, but I was entertained by the more minor of the major players involved, like Whitey and Charlie's three sons.
My huge complaint is the overabundance of narration weaved into the film. I'm used to seeing minstrels in Farrellyland (i.e. the 2 annoying guys with the guitars in "Mary"), but having an unseen narrator voice over the content every twenty minutes to keep us updated felt unnecessary. The storybook narrator routine was never explained (we never did find out who he was) and I feel that it came off as annoying and amateur. Despite that and the fact that the soundtrack was a little too bubblegum "let's put a song in here because so-and-so paid us so much to do so," I really enjoyed it as a pick-me-up-buttercup feel-good venture with a healthy amount of disgusting potty humor!
Baxter (1989)
perhaps if the marketing was better?
I thought this movie was wickedly delicious at times, but at the same time is was downright depressing and had that feel of a car accident that you know you shouldn't be watching, but you keep your eyes glued to it anyway feel.
Perhaps I'm a fool, but here's my major complaint: I could not tell that this was such a dark movie just from the box. I picked it up at the video rental store thinking it would be some kind of cute flick about a dog doing social commentary. The box neglected to mention that it was a sick existential journey into the mind of a sociopathic pit bull who lives only to serve himself and destroy others.
I'll grant that the movie was hilarious in one part where Baxter is shown a baby and he comments on how disgusting this "bag of flesh" is. With lines like, "I thought they were trying to apologize to me for this mess they had conceived," you can't help but crack up. As for the rest of the movie though, I found myself shifting around uncomfortably a great deal more.
The Last Man on Earth (1964)
can I have my hour and a half back?
This is one of those few movies that I found almost impossible to sit through. You get the point in the first five minutes -- he's all alone on a vampire-ridden earth where he has to fight for his life every day. I don't understand why he didn't just off himself and let the credits roll? It was badly dubbed and its existence for me only served to prove that Price may have been an excellent actor and writer, but he would do a picture for anyone anywhere as long as there was enough green in it!
Blow Dry (2001)
Sorry to be corny, but it was shear fun!
A great cast of characters and extremely interesting provocative styles makes this somewhat reminiscent of "Strictly Ballroom" or "Pret-A-Porter," but this was much better. I don't care what other people say. This was an extremely enjoyable movie that left me with a smile on my face the whole night after I saw it.
Hartnett's accent and acting are surprisingly better than anything I've ever seen him in before, making him worthy in my mind of playing a character in a family played by greats like Rickman, Richardson, and Griffiths. The major feel-good aspect that prevailed throughout was the changing family dynamics of our times and we how we still manage to pull together into a family no matter how weird everybody else may think it is. That certainly was underplayed, but just enough was left in the final cut to make me happy.
The score is a strangely interesting mix of your usual stuff reflecting the emotional undertones and some more modern movement during the actual haircutting scenes. The music actually did make me think of scissors cutting through hair, though, so that was a nice touch!
Who cares what other people think....listen to me! "Blow Dry" is by no means a great movie under classical and conventional terms, but it'll certainly lift your mood and make you chuckle a bit, so it's definitely worth 90 minutes of your precious life.