Change Your Image
mtl_mlsha
Reviews
The Last Kiss (2006)
twist-less but sharp
As a huge "Scrubs" and Zach Braff fan, and after having been told "The Last Kiss" was a must-see, I finally got around to sitting down and watching it. I will say right now that everything you think will happen, does. There isn't much in the way of twists when it comes to this movie, but it finds a way to fight through the clichés and remain very solid. Behind a solid lead performance by Zach Braff as a 29-year-old suffering a premature midlife crisis, and the OC's Rachel Bilson as a hot college girl who throws herself into (Braff's) Michael's life, the movie manages to remain sincere and not as cliché as it would appear on paper. The very strong supporting cast includes Blythe Danner as Michael's girlfriend's (Jacinda Barret) mother, and his occasionally psychotic group of friends includes Erik Chrisian Olsen, Michael Weston, and the very good Casey Afleck. Although you know from the first time Bilson's Kim appears that Michael is going to cheat, you hold out hope that he will stay loyal. Like I said, it is a very predictable film but still manages to seriously entertain viewers for 90 minutes.
Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
huh? oh yeah it all makes sense now.
Although this movie leaves viewers in the dark for about 2 hours, it all makes sense in the last five minutes and leaves you completely satisfied. The first 20 minutes involve Bruce Willis telling the story of a brutal murder involving a fixed horse race gone wrong. Right away, you begin to feel for the characters, although they all end up dead in the first half hour. After this, we meet the real characters. Slevin (Josh Hartnett), is a seemingly harmless guy who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lindsey (Lucy Liu) is a quirky neighbor we're initially annoyed with but learn to love. The two rival mafia leaders are The Boss (Morgan Freeman), named because he's the boss, and The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley), because, of course, he's a rabbi. ALthough it starts out bloody, "Slevin" is actually pretty hilarious, and confusing, but ultimately satisfying. Throughout, the characters interact seemingly randomly, but smoothly, sarcastically, and often in a way that makes you laugh out loud. If you rent "Slevin," know that you will certainly be frustrated, but if you can restrain from popping out the DVD halfway through, you'll ultimately be satisfied as it will all make sense.
Open Season (2006)
underrated, not disappointed
Although the group I went to see this movie was actually trying to get into Jackass 2, we were not disappointed. I laughed out loud at quite a few parts, especially the ones with Elliot the one-antlered deer (voice of Ashton Kutcher). He brings the same zany personality to Elliot that he does to Kelso in That 70's show. Martin Lawrence was good also, but wasn't his usual slapstick comedic self. The real scene-stealer, though, was the crazy redneck hunter Shaw (voice of Gary Sinise). Although this was a kids' movie, and I suppose Shaw was supposed to be the "bad guy," he actually came off as the funniest character in the movie. So, this fall, instead of wasting 10 bucks on a poor sequel like the Grudge or the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, take a shot with a movie that's sure to entertain: Open Season.
Gridiron Gang (2006)
good movie, if you're looking for nonstop football
I enjoyed this movie, although if I had been looking for some good drama to go with the football action, I would've been disappointed. Luckily, I am a sports fan, and enjoyed those parts quite a bit. It was a longer-than-average film, running 2 hours, and at least an hour and a half was football. It was this way right from the beginning, which starts with one of the inmates jumping another inmate. Although the film does touch on such issues as racism and gangs, it's not quite as deep as it makes itself out to be. That's not a problem, though, because the action and acting make up for what it lacks in character depth (we only learn about one character and how he got into the camp, and he's a prisoner). Even the main character's background is only hinted at (played by The Rock). Despite this fact, though, Gridiron Gang is a quality film that keeps you engaged for its entire two hours.
Beerfest (2006)
funniest movie i've seen in a while
OK. I saw Super Troopers, and I loved it. I saw Club Dread, and it was OK. But to compare this movie would be like comparing Annie Hall and Jackass. This movie was hilarious. I didn't stop laughing, from the "warning" that if you drink as much alcohol as they do, you'll die, all the way to the outrageous outtakes, including a "sequel" with Willie Nelson called Potfest. I recognized several characters from the other Broken Lizard films, such as Jay Chandrasekhar, Erik Stolhanske and Paul Soter. I'd especially recommend this for fans of Broken Lizard, as well as the American Pie movies and others. This movie is a definite must-see.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
harry potter 4
In the 4th installment of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, Mike Newell ("Four Weddings and a Funeral") takes over as director for Alfonso Cuarόn. 10 minutes into the movie, at the Quidditch World Cup, it's obvious that Newell is aiming to make the movie scarier than the other three, when we see a group of guys in skeleton masks and hoods walking through camp lighting everything on fire. This is most likely what earned the movie its PG-13 rating.
Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) wakes up from a dream of an old man who gets murdered by Wormtail, Voldermort's assistant. Harry wakes up, and he's at Ron Weasly's house. This is one part I don't like, because I enjoy the parts where Harry is at his aunt and uncle's house. Right away, he's at school. In the book, this is about 10 chapters long. As soon as he's at school, the other two schools, Beuxbatons and Durmstrang, arrive. Right after that, we hear about the Tri-wizard tournament, which, in the book, took much longer and was developed better.
Most of the stuff I look forward to in the other movies, such as the House Sorting, and the Dursley's, and the banquet at the beginning of the year, were all left out, because the Tournament takes up most of the movie. One of the most popular characters, Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), is barely in this movie at all. Some characters new to the story are Fleur Delacour (Clemence Poesy), the representative in the tournament from Beuxbatons, Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski) the representative from Durmstrang, and Professor "Mad-Eye" Moody (Brendan Gleeson), a new, extremely paranoid teacher. Also, Katie Leung plays Cho Chang, and Robert Pattinson as Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion.
There are two problems with basing a movie on a book. One is, people who have the books memorized will be upset that the movie doesn't follow the book exactly. If it had, it would've been about 8 hours long. Already, at 2 hours and 37 minutes, it's much longer than average. The second problem is, if you read the book, then go see the movie, there's no surprise. You know what's going to happen, so you spend the time waiting for the end, and you don't enjoy the movie as much.