timberlinetoast's Reviews

The Heavenly Kid (1985)

8/10

16 January 2020

It's always funny writing reviews like this. It's hard not to be biased. I suppose an outsider might see this film and say it's predictable and boring. For me, I see films like this as a window to my past. The 1980's. Something I would fondly watch on HBO when I was growing up as a teenager. I always found Heavenly Kid to be funny and sentimental. If I had to make an honest review for the public, I'd have to give it a 7 or 8, when inside, it really feels like a 10.

I think the public should see it as a 7 or 8, because even though a lot of it is predictable, it had a unique and entertaining perspective on life, the afterlife, love, loss and closure. And to see this film in 2020 as somewhat lost in time, makes me sad. But I guess that's life. It goes on. And I had a blast watching this all over again. I'll probably click on it a few more times over the next few months, just for fun. I hope you enjoy it too.

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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

4/10

Apocalyptic movie that leaves viewers walking away emotionally confused

23 September 2019

This film was directed in a way in order to elicit an emotional response and interject some humor. I found the whole emotional aspect of lost love, broken relationships, being true to yourself and coping with the end of the world, very interesting and sometimes emotional. Although it left us short quite a few times to move the story along, I still found it captivating enough to save the film.

The main problem here is the comedy. Not only is almost every attempt completely unfunny, it's literally jarring because the timing is just awful. There is an art to comedy and the director just doesn't have a clue. He gets you encapsulated in the emotional aspect and then blasts you out of it with something stupid that leaves the viewer emotionally confused.

It's too bad though because you can see where he was trying to go with this film. I thought the topic was really interesting and you get the feeling it could've been a lot better and even funny if it were handled properly.

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Captain Marvel (2019)

3/10

Hard to sit through

4 August 2019

I can usually overlook a movie's flaws if it has some sort of charm or redeeming features. This film has none. It's poor character development and storyline are just a taste of what's wrong. Captain Marvel is silly, stupid and boring with a capital B. And yes, even by Marvel film standards if you're a fan. I've been a fan of Marvel comics and film resurgence over the years and I have to say, this is the worst of them. I have no idea what they were thinking. Maybe they thought they could get by with continuous "girl power" references and an unlimited budget? Or maybe they thought Brie Larson was incapable of a poor acting performance? Whatever it was, they failed on all counts.

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The Flamingo Kid (1984)

9/10

A coming of age film full of charm and nostalgia

22 July 2019

It's wonderful to see a film that captures your imagination and whisks you away to a different time in your life. In my eyes, the Flamingo Kid is one of those films. Whatever it lacks in overall polish, it more than makes up for in its charm.

The films main character is Jeffrey, a Brooklyn native who's just graduated high school and dreams of being somewhere else. On a chance encounter, he winds up being invited to a fancy beach resort in Long Island, where he's immediately captivated by their lifestyle. He finds a way in, but slowly becomes so hypnotized that he can't see what's happening and his family life begins to deteriorate. Jeffrey eventually has to decide what's really important and whether this new life is real or just a dream.

Great performances by the entire cast. The soundtrack is wonderful, perfect for a magical, 1963 summertime. The directing is competent and flows very well. If you've ever had summers in your youth that you wish would last forever, this is the film that will bring back those fond memories.

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Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

2/10

Makes Jaws 3 look like an Oscar winner

12 May 2019

Warning: Spoilers

You didn't need a sixth sense to know how this installment was going to turn out. It never stopped studio execs from throwing cash at it, in order to squeeze every last dime this moniker had left to give. Subsequently and unremorsefully burying it's reputation deeper than the Mariana Trench.

This time around, our shark seems to have gained some supernatural powers to go along with his cranky disposition. How clever. Not only is he telepathic, but he also seems to be able to levitate and let off a roar that would be the envy of Jurassic Park. It's always great seeing characters evolve. Seriously though, I'm surprised they didn't go the Mechagodzilla route and have the shark encased in armor.

Along with the Brody bunch subplot being buried in the background, we also get to watch traditional Bahamian life of giant sea snails, welding wives, bad haircuts and watered down Jamaican accents. Michael Caine makes a splash as the witty, wise-cracking pilot named Hoagie. Caine has way too good of a time in this film though, obviously suffering from an undisclosed, obscenely vulgar seven figure salary.

As for the rest, let me just say it's beyond words. You'll have to check out this little gem on dvd......if you can find it.

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Entrapment (1999)

7/10

A good rainy day movie

21 March 2019

Entrapment is a quickie, large budget film that tries to capitalize on the timing of the millennium. It's not really that well written, predictable and seems somewhat thrown together in a very generic way. It has good visuals though and the actors do their best to save this from being a disaster (Catherine was so incredibly beautiful). Connery and Jones work well together and I'm kind of glad they didn't consummate the relationship, considering the age difference. Do you realize Connery was more than double Jones' age? (He was 69 and she was 30!) Despite it's flaws, it's at least entertaining and that's what the studios were aiming for.

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Club Paradise (1986)

6/10

Very mixed feelings about this movie

21 February 2019

The movie's slapstick was awful to the point of it being painful to watch, but I really enjoyed the witty banter and verbal jibes between the cast most of the time. There were plenty of times the film had me laughing out loud with their verbal jabs, but the physical comedy was so overacted, it looked like a silly, low budget comedy. It's a shame because this cast was fantastic and it should've played out a lot better than it did. I gave it 6 stars because it's still a fun movie and it's always a pleasure to see stars like Peter O'Toole and Robin Williams mixing it up with other comedic talents, even though this one falls a bit short.

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Interstellar (2014)

10/10

Gravity wins seven Oscars and this wins one?

20 January 2019

Interstellar is simply on another level. It doesn't pretend to be an accurate representation like Gravity, because it knows it's a fantasy. With that out of the way, the director was able to flesh out a brilliant storyline, instead of trying to portray itself as some sort of documentary like Gravity does. Gravity is a fun roller coaster ride no doubt, but it's woefully overrated.

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Gravity (2013)

7/10

Ridiculously overrated

20 January 2019

This was a fun movie to watch with great visuals, but 7 oscars? Give me a break. Interstellar was much more cerebral and a better film overall.

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13 Going on 30 (2004)

9/10

More charming than I expected

16 December 2018

I thought this was going to be one of those empty teen movies that had a lot of trendy fluff and no substance, but I was pleasantly surprised. While it was a rather simple film, I found it to be heartwarming and even nostalgic, because looking back, I'm pretty much the same age as the main characters. Ruffalo and Gardner did a great job bringing that emotional element that makes their relationship feel very genuine and sweet. Its not a work of art, just a really nice movie.

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Popeye (1980)

9/10

Popeye has a lot of heart and charm

2 September 2018

Warning: Spoilers

It may not be the greatest movie ever, but the people I know that loved this movie, loved the charm and heart of its characters, especially Robin Williams. His version of Popeye is someone that is unafraid to be himself, but is also caring, lovable, genuine and even sad. He's searching for his father, falls for Olive Oyl, but loses his heart to the little, orphaned Sweet Pea, whom he's determined to devote himself to. I think no other choice in cinema would've been more suitable for Olive Oyl than Shelly Duvall. I just wish they didn't portray her as so aloof and standoffish. Paul Smith is very intimidating as Bluto and Walton does a great job as Pappy. The shocking part of the film for me was the Wimpy character kidnapping and trading Sweet Pea for some hamburgers. To me, this destroyed the character completely and put him alongside the film villains. Paul Dooley does his best to remedy this, but it was an irreparable mishap by the director. Overall, the film is entertaining, it's songs are catchy, but it's characters and their vulnerability put it over as a wonderful film imo.

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Firestorm (1998)

7/10

More fun than I expected

26 November 2017

It's pretty obvious that the director has numerous Oscar nominations for cinematography, because the visuals look pretty spectacular. This in of itself makes the movie entertaining to watch, which is OK for a film that's really only intended to be a basic action flick. Forsythe, Amis and Glen do a good job helping Howie Long through the scenes. Even though he can't really act, Howie's likability and physical prowess make him fun to watch. I could easily delve into the problems of this film (which are numerous), but if you go in with very low expectations, you may come out pleasantly surprised. Firestorm is a fun little action flick with great visuals you can watch on a rainy day. It's certainly no worse than some of the other films of the same genre.

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Jaws 3-D (1983)

7/10

Not meant to be taken seriously

4 May 2017

Warning: Spoilers

If you can handle this concept, this film may just turn out to be a fun, little rainy afternoon popcorn flick. I mean, it's filmed in 3-D for starters. If you're going to sit there and critique the cheesy effects and expect them to be on par with the original Jaws, then prepare yourself to be drastically let down. It's flawed, but a fun film. Better than Jaws 4 in my opinion.

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