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thmilin 03-20-06 12:37 AM

Review This, by thmilin, inc.
 
It begins. There was a time when I mocked up reviews in Notepad and sent them to Senor Yoda to load, but that time is long ago, and I enter now the hallowed halls of mofo reviewdom.

Style Warning! : I write/talk a lot. Old folks from this board know this. That means unless I am tired/bored/preoccupied, you're going to see a very thorough analysis of whatever it was I saw.

My Background : Surprise, surprise - I'm a writer for a living, and creatively on the side. My major was English, Creative Writing. My minor was Film Studies when my university didn't even have it as a major or a minor, so in my pursuit of film, I forced the Art History department to give me recognition for my work.

This shows how much I wuv movies, just like you. :) This also shows why I may refer to some filmic elements, but since I did not make film my career, you're not going to see me get into extreme detail regarding the framing of shots, the actual film used, saturation of color, etc. I love film, but not enough to make it, so I'm not going to talk about it from a film-makers' perspective. I'm going to talk about it from the POV of an every day film lover who also has a thing for the nuance of film, with my eye being grounded in the similar story-telling elements and skills needed to tell a story well that are a part of creative writing.

What I Review : I review crap. Just kidding! I review anything I come across, so you may see mindless crud (teen stupidity flicks), foreign films, art house, independent, period pieces, action flicks, dramas, romances, films of worth and films of no worth at all. Whatever I feel like seeing and writing about will appear here.

Films I like a lot: Matrix 1, Terminator 2, Gosford Park, Elizabeth, Oldboy, The Big Sleep, Entre Las Piernas, Live Flesh, The Lovers, Taboo (JP), Shawshank Redemption, Sideways, Kill Bill 1/2, Dirty, Pretty Things.

Let the games begin ... wooooo!

TheUsualSuspect 03-20-06 01:00 AM

Looking forward to them.

thmilin 03-20-06 02:01 AM

V for Vendetta: B+ / A-
 
V for Vendetta
Rating: B+ / A-

Director: James McTeigue
Natalie Portman .... Evey
Hugo Weaving .... V/William Rookwood
Stephen Rea .... Finch
Stephen Fry .... Deitrich
John Hurt .... Adam Sutler

Official site's synopsis:

Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey (NATALIE PORTMAN) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man (HUGO WEAVING) known only as “V.” Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he urges his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V’s mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself – and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.
The Nutshell

Worth watching, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little silly. I was more apt to forgive mistakes considering the subject matter and that the source material is a "graphic novel" - these tend to have a different "spirit" altogether that can lead toward grandiose or stylized. Considering this, elements that came off oddly or poorly can be written up to the director not merging the source style with the film presentation with finesse. There is some action, but the point is not physical action but the "spirit of action."

It's basically a social commentary told in a style that might remind you vaguely of Tim Burton's Batman mixed with X-Men. Ie, the capacity for a dark, rich story based in myth that verges on the superficial and overdone. But, thought provoking, interesting, will instigate discussions and exclamations afterward.

The Review

D@MN Hugo Weaving's voice is sexy. I remember I used to find his Agent Smith's threatening, relentless nature hot and bubbly in The Matrix but you know, I wasn't thinking of him as like, worth kissing. Long "Introductory V Vocab Lesson" aside, I found his elocution delicious and his delivery divine. It made me want to just melt right there and invite him to slice all of my clothing off while he was at it. Eargasms, people. Remember how we used to always quote, dryly and sensuously, "Missssterrrr ... Anderrrrsonnnn"? And why? Because the way he said it was memorable, evocative, and just a little bit dirty.

Flash forward to Vendetta. The choice of Hugo for his voice is a sound one. However, they did not develop a presence strong enough to stand behind the mask, character, story, or myth. Just because you went through something doesn't mean you're mighty, scary, or vengeful. You need to SHOW me you have depth, might, rage, and grief, passion. Tossing a joke along with your knives doesn't help to prove that. This is not Indiana Jones. If you're going to use humor, it ought to be Batman style - understated and slightly painful.

I should clearly hear malice in V's voice, grief when he thinks about other's suffering, confusion and betrayal when he speaks of the agreement of his people to comply with a totalitarian government. Instead he's perpetually well mannered and snazzy, vaguely trite, more often slightly amused or nonchalant than emotionally reflective of wanting the revenge he has dedicated his life to. This man was a victim, and a victim has a thick, convoluted, difficult emotional pallette with which to paint. They used a very limited color pallette.

There is one key moment later in the film where V is unlocking a side to himself that betrays Evey, but it suddenly becomes Evey's story rather than his. You understand why they do that later in the film, but this is another example of the film undermining itself. To best understand the future, I must know the past. If you gloss over the past (V) I will not understand or believe in the future nearly as well (Evey).

This and other troubling flaws drop this movie from A to B. It's mainly the lack of force behind Hugo Weaving's V, which is not his fault (because we know how fabulous he was as Agent Smith) but the filmmaker's fault. They did not build upon V, but used him only as a caricature and an excuse to expound on an film that can be encapsulated with the word "ego."

Whoever it was who did it, Wachowskis or McTeigue, their own egos got the better of them, and the film suffered for it. There is a man behind V, because the film as they conceived it offers a framework that claims he is a man who must now launch his nation into a new era out of his own suffering and need for vengeance. So the filmmakers sketch it out and then run amok, rather than building that framework solidly to justify what comes after. They were so concerned with running amok, showing off this and that, the flair of this idea or that, the montage sequences they're so proud of, the melodramatic turns of phrase from our Hero V, that they dropped the power of the film to some extent in favor of the Power of Cheese.

But, Cheese, aside, I was moved by the film. I was moved by V's words, even if his own actions didn't always support the ideas he was formed of. I was moved by powerful images of people making a stand, of people suffering for false truths. I felt utterly verklempt watching a march of people upon the streets of London.

The movie touches on things like a leader of government saying "I will show the terrorist what terror is." Ironic and powerful - is this not the heart of Bush's declaration of the War on Terror? What man claims he will show evil what evil is, but evil himself? Or is he? Does the end justify the means? Do you need to fight fire with fire? How far is too far? When does speaking the truth become anarchy?

When does protecting your own people from harm become genocide? When does proteting the moral fabric of your people become racism, sexism, tyrannism? When does the government saying "Trust me to take care of you" become "I cannot trust you to take care of yourself"? How far will a belief take a people - into madness, into power-mongering, into human experimentation, into murder?

Powerful questions that are raised, but the man who raises them seems almost docile in his "vendetta." He barely asks any of these questions of anyone except in one televised speech that is fairly blase'. You never see him discuss these things or what he's seen and done with Evey, a key character in his mission. We, the watcher know - but the only key character who DOES know, from all sides, is Stephen Rea's (Inspector Finch). That's fairly sad, considering that he's not our main character.

I do like that they don't actually make V the hero. I mean he is, but he isn't. I heard rumors this movie was a support of anarchy, but it clearly isn't. Again, the "fight terror with terror" statement, and the plot- is blunt - a government can be as evil as a terrorist, a terrorist as evil as a government. No one is safe from the rules of humanity. All of us are suspect. We can all lose ourselves in our self righteousness. We can easily become V or the Chancellor, who are merely two sides of the same coin - torturer and victim, each taking his turn. As V learns from Evey, it's a fine line he's walking and he can easily turn into the monster that made him.

There's a love affair, too, but it's misplaced and lacking. Don't use it if you can't support it. Build it up steadily and consistently from the beginning, not as an afterthought. There was soooo much potential there, and that fell flat. Embarassingly so.
WARNING: "V spoiler" spoilers below
I thought Evey and V were platonic and then all of a sudden they're dancing and he's smashing mirrors like he's the Phantom of the Opera and she's Christine - ludicrous! She's declaring they can run off together, which makes no sense if she really knows who and what he is. If she's ok with him not taking off his mask, why on earth is she making that offer? Why is she SUCKING on that mask when we know he can't feel it, maybe can't even see it, and she's been told to ignore his body by HIM? USE what you know gets to him - WORDS. Leave it at that, man, leave it at that. That mask is freaky.

V seems to playing (like the Joker, who is a true anarchist and not trying to justify, villify, free, or enlighten anyone except prove to the world how delightfully wicked and clever he is). But V is claiming to have a vision and a meaning behind his actions - he wants vengeance, and to wake his people up. If so, STOP PLAYING. I never read the book but man, if you want me to buy that you're serious, then the prancing around like a minx in your mask is not going to help.

Give me angry when you're betrayed, let me FEEL the spittle you're building up behind the mask, even if I can't see it.
WARNING: "V spoiler" spoilers below
Why on earth is he perfectly unemotional about Evey selling him out to the Bishop? Yes, she didn't get away with it, but it should still have made him snippish at the very least. No more egg on toast with butter for YOU.


These people had a fierce story and it was just not told fiercely enough. If you really want to wake the world up, then you entreat them with the ferocity of your love for your nation and what you want them to see. You are fighting first and foremost for something, and if after you have a beatific moment of sainthood, fine, but you need to be gnashing, crying to the heavens, and wailing about it first.

And you don't undermine it with jokes, overdone montages or parallels to Hitler and holocaust, screaming tyrants, lack of proper character development for your hero from HIS POV, etc.

So, yes, I liked it. But like OG, I expected so much more, considering the fact that these filmmakers were after a point and seemingly wanted to touch people, make them think, inspire them. They inspired me, but also made me doubtful just because of these mistakes. So I forgive them, but only so much.



Actor/Character reviews ...
Natalie Portman (Evey) was fabulous in her suffering and fear, lacking in her accent, likeable and interesting. She got way more character development and screen time than V and should not have.

Stephen Rea (Inspector Finch) did the best with his character in the whole film. Flawless. Everyone else made a mistake somewhere, or were told to do something they shouldn't have and went with. He was consistent, believable, and you saw all kinds of emotions lurking around in there he was struggling with without making huge statements or dramatic gestures.

Stephen Fry (Gordon Deitrich) was also very good, very believable. Got a little more screen time in places than he should have before the big revelation later (his tv sketch). How they used his character was very smart, useful, and powerful.

John Hurt (Chancellor Adam Sutler) was way overdone. He probably did what he was told, but man. They literally threw him up there and practically had a banner over him that said "AKA, HITLER." Then again this speaks to the "graphic novel" source versus the "film source" and so I'm more likely to forgive it.

thmilin 03-20-06 02:48 AM

She's the Man : B-
 
She's the Man
Rating: B-

Director: Andy Fickman
Based on: William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

Amanda Bynes .... Viola
Channing Tatum .... Duke
Laura Ramsey .... Olivia
David Cross .... Principal Gold
Emily Perkins ... Eunice

Synopsis from IMDB

When a teenage girl, Viola, discovers that her soccer team has been cut from her school, she disguises herself as her twin brother and takes his place at his new boarding school for two weeks. Comedy ensues when she falls in love with her new roommate, Duke, and finds herself the object of affection of the beautiful Olivia, the girl whom Duke loves. Things get even more complicated when her twin brother, Sebastian, finally turns up...oh wait. This film was made over 11 years ago. It's called Just One of the Guys. My mistake.
The Nutshell

My friends and I enjoyed it for the cheap thrills.

Target audience is clearly high school, high adults, or people looking for silly movie time. Teen girls, take your girlfriends to see this, don't bother if you're a boy (unless you're trying to win makeout points). Has some hot flesh (male and female) but since it's targeted to girls, more male than female. Has some sweet moments, some funny moments. Is often filled with painful awkward moments (if you love awkward, a la Seinfeld, enjoy). I can't stand them, so I literally looked away groaning.

The Review

It's amazing how a girl can be so attractive as a girl and oddlooking as h*ll as a male. I'm sorry, but Amanda Bynes does not compute well here.

There are a lot of things that don't compute well, but if you're looking for a couple laughs, some nice shots of boys with hot bods in locker rooms, this is your "waste brain cells and veg out" flick.

I'd like to note that there was an 80s flick with the original storyline that I feel told it much better. Seriously. The chick in this one ONLY showed her breasts, no penii were exposed, and there was no twin or literal usage of Twelfth Night character names, but I feel they did it much more compellingly. In that one, the chick wanted to be a reporter for the school paper and made a far more convincing male in looks and behavior.

EDIT: I found a synopsis that cites the flick from the 80s! Just One of the Guys

This flick uses stereotypes like crazy and is not as witty as flicks like American Pie and such. Lots of physical and situational stupidity and goofiness. The parents of our heroine are idiots, her twin brother looks nothing like her male version and yet, everyone believes she's him, even those who know both of them. There's even a horrible situation in which Viola runs all over a fair switching back and forth between male/female multiple times in the space of ... what? A real life hour? Nuts.

I do like the motif of "girls can be just as bad@ss as boys and don't need to be debutants, have a boyfriend, or the manners of a princess" although, sadly, they undermine this with our heroine turning into a better soccerplayer because her new male friend teaches her the ropes. BAH. If Viola's so evolved WHY is she attacking Olivia in a catfight because she's chasing after Duke? Oh, we need a girl smackdown fight for the boys who brought their girls to see this movie. I shake my head for poor Shakespeare.

Other than this, Bynes is generally really goofy and good at the "male doofus" behavior, which is kinda cute to see. She proves a nattier mind than her poor mother (sad, I know).

My favorite character is actually the school principal, David Cross, an unbelievable and hilarious bald, spying freak.

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya...id_cross22.jpg

And the UK Soccer Coach gives some believability to the football playing. Eunice is a great be-braced character, so intense with longing and freaknerd hunger she TREMBLES! Ugh.

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya..._perkins23.jpg

Bring booze if you can. I did. :)

thmilin 03-20-06 02:54 AM

Dave Chappelle's Block Party: A- / B+
 
This was posted elsewhere but hey, I'd like em all in one place. I'm proud of this one ...

Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Rating: A- (content) / B+ (film quality)

THE SETUP
(from movies.yahoo)

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya...rty_poster.jpg

'Dave Chappelle's Block Party' spotlights comedy superstar Dave Chappelle in all-new freestyle standup material, and also one-time-only performances by Kanye West, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Dead Prez, Jill Scott, and The Roots, among others. The combination of comedy and music was shot on location, as Chappelle threw a party in downtown Brooklyn, inviting local residents and cameras. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michel Gondry and cinematographer Ellen Kuras captured the performances.

My note: He returns to one of his childhood stomping grounds, Yellow Springs, Ohio, to ask elderly white folk who don't even listen to rap to come on out. He asks the lady who runs the dimestore, where he occasionally bought cigarettes. He asks a parole officer who keeps an eye on the bad kids in town. Etc. It's very cute, sweet, and he's very genuine. He also asks a college marching band that swings on by by chance.

THE REVIEW

Oh, Dave. I saw him on Bravo's Actor's Studio earlier this year, a 2 hour special on him. It was supergood. He was far funnier in that, actually, than he was in Block Party. However, it turns out that this concert movie was meant to be more about a comedian's love of music, than it was meant to be about the comedian who orchestrated it.

Which is beautiful. Thus, the movie will stand the test of time far longer than Half-Baked. I'm not saying the film is genius, I'm simply saying it is a love letter to black culture, black history, black politics, black music, black people. By a black comedian, and the black musical artists he admires and feels a kinship with. He discusses how comedians and musicians have a long, intertwined history together. It's a lovingly presented film that didn't have the biggest budget (Chappelle says so himself) so it lacks in some things (some portions are really really grainy and don't have the best lighting). But in a way, this ads to the story Chappelle is trying to tell.

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya...lockparty3.jpg

Chappelle covers the relationship between musicians and comedians while tinkling out his favorite jazz piano song on an un-tuned piano in a Salvation Army that's lending his crew some furniture to use on their roof to overlook the block party as it goes on below. I'm paraphrasing from memory:

Originally Posted by DaveChappelle
All comedians are sticklers for timing ... and can usually play a little something ... and all musicians think they're funny. So, MosDef, he's a musician, but he's also a really really funny guy. ... and I'm mediocre at both ... but I managed to talk my way into MILLIONS!
He's the MC for the show, and the movie. He intersperses reality comedy (ie, an unassuming guy roaming around who, by simply being himself in every day situations, ends up being amusing) with scenes of setting up/rehearsing for the concert, which was actually held in Sept. 2004. Then we get scenes from the concert itself, and the crowd and their reaction.

Chappelle is understated and friendly in this film, even allowing a guy he calls "Mr. T" to come up and free-style on the stage with him and rumple up Chappelle's jacket with some friendly mussing. He rolls through the neighborhood, asks questions, chitchats, cracks a few jokes just naturally through the convo. Then you see him coaching the performers on how he wants the show to play, and musing them all.

There are some really magical backstage/pre-show moments - artists admiring other artists. Jill Scott talks about Erykah Badu, who is dressed crazy. A surprise performer shows up at the end ... it's all magic. It's not all polished like the Grammies or a tour show - it's real, and honest, and genuine. Chappelle wanted to bring poor, every day people into contact with average income people to come enjoy famous people who mingle with them before and after the show - showing they're just as real as the crazy person on the street preaching about the new world order.

You get glimpses of hip hop history, and you engage with hip hop icons, who don't get their music played on the radio because they sing things like, "I'm ready to run up into City Hall and set the crackers on fire." It's figurative, and reflective of the struggle and the lack of a voice, being muffled and hidden, unplayed on the radio because those in power don't want you heard.

It's so sweet, and so real, and so magical. Erykah Badu rocks a shirt that says "CORONER" - MosDef plays straight man on the drums to Chappelle's crazy man - there is a camaraderie here, and a history here. You discover how artists hung out in the same hood, grew up in the same area - Jay Z next to Common, etc. John Legend rolls through, Dead Prez rolls through ...

Kanye West Walks With Jesus
http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya...west/block.jpg

It's honest poetry and musical virtuosity mixing together, caucasians blending with blacks, comedians and musicians loving the music but loving the music more than for the tribal connection (tribal reaching beyond africa to the core tribes we are ALL descended from, white and black). It's a love for the music beyond the packaging and the money - it's music that got you out of the projects, music that got you a scholarship, music that let you cry out when you were demoralized by your country at war or in courtrooms, music that let you point out the crimes against you and those you love.

The son of a murdered Black Panther rolls through, teaches the crowd to raise their fist and say "Power to the People." He gives an offstage speech about the murder of his father by police, brief, and demands that it not be censored.

There's a beautiful scene with Wyclef from the Fugees - he's known for messing around on a piano and having a conversation with others to teach while he's playing. He's done it on The Score album, asking school children about their ideas on love. In this one, he asks the college marching band - what would you do if you were president? Answers include ending the war, getting more jobs for people, getting more scholarships so students can go to school. And then Wyclef makes a song out of it - and ends it with a prompt.

Paraphrasing again -
Originally Posted by WyclefJean
Don't blame whitey for anything. White people aren't responsible for sh|t. YOU are - you do what you gotta do. I'm so happy to see black people in college. I started in this country not speaking any English - it's my THIRD language. And you see that I made something of myself. You can do it - make something of yourself.
So perfect. And as he leaves, the students are cheering. They've just gotten a moment they'll get to treasure forever. They've also gotten some inspiration to keep pursuing personal growth and knowledge - they can BELIEVE success is possible. And it's so wonderful to be there with The Fugees, a core group in hiphop/rap, who disbanded ages ago. And now they're coming back together because of this concert, mingling with everyone and doing what they do best.

Talib Kweli Rocks the Mic
http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya...weli/block.jpg

It turns musicians into people, comedians into people. Real people who just want to create what they were born to create, and to share it with people who feel the power of the same vision. There are jam session scenes, and the moments are pure and unpolished and unslick, but they are real, and honest, and powerful.

You get a comment from Lauryn Hill - "Where have *I* been? There -- that's where I've been." And she points to her kid at the back of the stage - she's been off being a mother.

The mix of people and colors is captured by Chappelle - they've used this quote in the screen and radio trailers:

Originally Posted by DaveChappelle
10000 black peeeeeple ... 19 white people peppered into the crowd ... trying to find a ... mexican ....
Dave Chappelle Serves Some Beat With His Comedy
http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya...elle/block.jpg

I think it's definitely worth seeing. There is some cussing, but these are such talented artists. The cussing is just a byproduct, the point isn't foul language. The point is artistry, and as Chappelle himself says while sitting next to the director of the nearby day care center where I believe they said Jay-Z went as a kid -

Originally Posted by DaveChappelle
This is the greatest thing of my career. I am so proud of this ...
He says it haphazardly in the midst of chitchatting with her ... more quiet than his usual loudness, before he wanders off into a more inyourface joke. These little moments show the man Chappelle is, the heart behind his creating a block party of this caliber to share with people who will get to treasure this and know they might never see anything like it again.

Definitely worth seeing. :)

adidasss 03-20-06 07:08 AM

Originally Posted by thmilin
I think it's definitely worth seeing. There is some cussing, but these are such talented artists. The cussing is just a byproduct, the point isn't foul language.
was this warning even necessary? chris rock is as foul mouthed as they get, and i think he's the funniest man on earth...

SamsoniteDelilah 03-20-06 01:23 PM

Yay! Thanks for these, thmilin! I like your style. :)

Twain 03-20-06 02:03 PM

We had some disagreements about King Kong but I've enjoyed your reviews here...so far. :D

Pyro Tramp 03-20-06 03:59 PM

Wow, Film Studies and Creative Writing is the course i did as well, crazy.

Ain't had time to read your reviews... yet, looks a bit time consuming....

thmilin 03-20-06 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by adidasss
was this warning even necessary? chris rock is as foul mouthed as they get, and i think he's the funniest man on earth...
um, was that comment even necessary? no.

i don't care if you think chris rock is funny. i'm not talking about chris rock, and i'm not talking about whether it's ok to be foul mouthed or not. does that look like chris rock in all those pics up there to you?

did you see me say "i don't like cussing" anywhere in that post?

that wasn't even a warning. i didn't say, "oh it has this bad stuff, by the way." i just said it had cussing and didn't even talk about my personal feelings about the cussing. i just said it's in there.

I also said:

"MosDef plays straight man on the drums to Chappelle's crazy man "

Are you gonna sit there and tell me:

"Was this warning even necessary? Andy Richter was always the ultimate straight man to Conan O'Brien on his show, and I think he's hilarious"

I posted that statement in MYOWN REVIEW THREAD on WHAT I THINK about a MOVIE I CLEARLY LIKED. see the grade at the top? see all the stuff I wrote? yeah, that means i had no problem with the cussing, Einstein. it's called posting with multiple points of view in mind.

which clearly, you didn't do. try it sometime. If you have nothing constructive to say, don't bother.

adidasss 03-20-06 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by thmilin
um, was that comment even necessary? no.

i don't care if you think chris rock is funny. i'm not talking about chris rock, and i'm not talking about whether it's ok to be foul mouthed or not. does that look like chris rock in all those pics up there to you?

did you see me say "i don't like cussing" anywhere in that post?

that wasn't even a warning. i didn't say, "oh it has this bad stuff, by the way." i just said it had cussing and didn't even talk about my personal feelings about the cussing. i just said it's in there.

I also said:

"MosDef plays straight man on the drums to Chappelle's crazy man "

Are you gonna sit there and tell me:

"Was this warning even necessary? Andy Richter was always the ultimate straight man to Conan O'Brien on his show, and I think he's hilarious"

I posted that statement in MYOWN REVIEW THREAD on WHAT I THINK about a MOVIE I CLEARLY LIKED. see the grade at the top? see all the stuff I wrote? yeah, that means i had no problem with the cussing, Einstein. it's called posting with multiple points of view in mind.

which clearly, you didn't do. try it sometime. If you have nothing constructive to say, don't bother.
and the award for overreaction of the year goes tooo.........??

i commented on that refference because you put it in such a way ( there is some cussing, BUT these are talented artists ) that i interpreted you felt cussing was a bad thing and could undermine the humour.....otherwise i see no reason in mentioning it at all. chill out and grow up....

SamsoniteDelilah 03-20-06 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by adidasss
and the award for overreaction of the year goes tooo.........??

i commented on that refference because you put it in such a way ( there is some cussing, BUT these are talented artists ) that i interpreted you felt cussing was a bad thing and could undermine the humour.....otherwise i see no reason in mentioning it at all. chill out and grow up....
I appreciate a heads up about cussing. I'd appreciate it even more if I had kids or watched movies with my parents, because then I'd be really uncomfortable with a lot of obscenity, knowing their tolerance is low for that sort of thing. It's worth mentioning in a review that is read by a wide array of demographics. [/my 2 cents]

thmilin 03-20-06 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by Pyro Tramp
Wow, Film Studies and Creative Writing is the course i did as well, crazy.

Ain't had time to read your reviews... yet, looks a bit time consuming....
yes, pyro, i'm stalking you!

no worries, i blabber. sometimes i write more, sometimes i write less, sometimes i try to write less. and sometimes not. HAH!

Originally Posted by Twain
We had some disagreements about King Kong but I've enjoyed your reviews here...so far. :D
I don't even remember. we can always agree to disagree, as long as people aren't brats about it. i support a democratic review environment. i am honored you have deigned to enter my thread. *bows*


Originally Posted by adidasss
and the award for overreaction of the year goes tooo.........??

i commented on that refference because you put it in such a way ( there is some cussing, BUT these are talented artists ) that i interpreted you felt cussing was a bad thing and could undermine the humour.....otherwise i see no reason in mentioning it at all. chill out and grow up....
lord. you see that flippant tone you took? i used it on you already. it means i wasn't overeacting, but rather that i took a wordy way to tell you to keep it ziped if you don't have anything constructive to say. yeah, i used caps. it's cuz i was annoyed at having to spell something obvious out to you in my own d@mned thread.

i'm tired of high and mighty attitudes all over this board. you came in thinking you can fart all on my parade, which it's your legalright to do. and i'm saying don't do it, cuz if you do, i will set fire to it and enjoy the show.

grow up? i repeat:

Originally Posted by thmilin
If you have nothing constructive to say, don't bother.
saaaaamsonite. your 2 cents are like, worth 2 million. i am now rich, RICH, I say! maniacal laughter

anyhoo, glad you enjoy, know they're long, again, i try to hold it back but sometimes the keyboard takes over ... hee.

Aniko 03-20-06 07:24 PM

Great reviews thmilin. I like your style. :)
Thanks for posting your background too.


Originally Posted by SamsoniteDelilah
I appreciate a heads up about cussing. I'd appreciate it even more if I had kids or watched movies with my parents, because then I'd be really uncomfortable with a lot of obscenity, knowing their tolerance is low for that sort of thing. It's worth mentioning in a review that is read by a wide array of demographics. [/my 2 cents]
I appreciate the heads up on the cussing for the same reasons. Also, I've seen quite a few reviews for parents with the same type of information given. Personally, I like it. Two thumbs up for thmilin.


:up: :up:

Tacitus 03-20-06 07:58 PM

Beautiful reviews. Keep 'em coming! :)

Sexy Celebrity 03-21-06 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by thmilin
Yeah, that does not look like a guy... at least not an attractive, STRAIGHT guy. Good review. I don't know why they keep making these same old "crossdressed & disguised" movies over & over again (White Chicks, Juwanna Mann, Mrs. Doubtfire, etc.) We live in such a different time now - we could explore crossdressing without it being a disguise.

thmilin 03-21-06 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by Sexy Celebrity
Yeah, that does not look like a guy... at least not an attractive, STRAIGHT guy. Good review. I don't know why they keep making these same old "crossdressed & disguised" movies over & over again (White Chicks, Juwanna Mann, Mrs. Doubtfire, etc.) We live in such a different time now - we could explore crossdressing without it being a disguise.
and that's why we have Transamerica. YAY!

thanks, glad you liked the review. :)

blibblobblib 03-21-06 08:21 PM

Loving the reviews oh unpronouncable one. :yup:

thmilin 03-22-06 02:54 AM

Failure to Launch: B+
 
Failure to Launch
Rating: B+

Justin Bartha .... Ace
Kathy Bates .... Sue
Terry Bradshaw .... Al
Bradley Cooper .... Demo
Matthew McConaughey .... Tripp
Sarah Jessica Parker .... Paula

IMDB synopsis:

A thirtysomething slacker suspects his parents of setting him up with his dream girl so he'll finally vacate their home.
The Nutshell

Sarah Jessica Parker (Paula) stars with Matthew McConaughey (Tripp, who spends most of the film half dressed or at least bare-chested) in a romantic comedy with a dramatic undercurrent that's a bit far-fetched but forgiveable. Sarah is slightly better than she was in Sex and the City, and far more bearable than her pinch-nosed, twitchy little self in The Family Stone.

Sarah's pushing it for whimsical, whiny, and girlish at this age, but hey, so's Matthew with his perpetual pectoral displays. I'm not saying he's not hot meat, I'm just saying there comes a point when you wonder about a man who always has his bare toes out and his chest orange and freckly at 35+. You start to think about melanoma and notice the burnout in a face that could have rivaled Paul Newman's. I say could have - past tense.

Tripp's drawl is enjoyable though (how on earth he got it with two parents from an entirely different state is beyond me), but even more enjoyable is the supporting cast, who make this film worth watching far more than the lead pair do. Surprising bad behavior, nature philosophy, and the fabulous hijinks that Tripp's two male best friends get up to, along with Paula's violent roomie Kit, pull some laughs you didn't expect, along with the always-stellar Kathy Bates as Tripp's mom, and the odd and funny-frightening Terry Bradshaw as his dad.

Kit drinks continuously, pulls off lazy-goth stylings, and plots the death of the mockingbird that keeps her up at night. Paula had a number done on her by a man like Tripp and she's resolved to fix every other version out there she can - for money. Most of these cases are not nearly as hot as he is though, thus making her more of a saint.

The fantastically moody and perpetually drunken Kit ... before she got laid. Then she became the fantastically moody and perpetually drunken AND horny Kit.

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya...l/failure3.jpg

Tripp's buddies, Ace and Demo, are amusing when added to his shots - you stop paying attention to Tripp and start paying attention to them. Ace is the bomb, cracking me up with his maniacal, yet friendly, grin. He speaks granola hippie truths about nature, approves of Paula's spatial awareness, and is danger-loving and sexy. Demo stumbles around incapable of social skills and finesse, yet by fate and by sheer courage, finds his way into the prickly, slender arms of Kit.

The delectably evil and nature-loving Ace. "Rescue him from the killer dolphins? Oh, he's on their ride, now."
http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya...r/failure1.jpg

The storyline here is that Tripp's parents want him out, and hire Paula to do it. But, surprise surprise, Paula falls for him, freaks out, the two hate one another, the parents are caught, the world sucks, the world is righted again by loving friends who cruelly force the two to make amends and have it out. The first half of the film is pretty typical (aka, hohum, same old thing) except for the fun bits with Kit, Ace, and Demo. The second half gets good - because of Kit, Ace, Demo, mom and dad.

Tripp and Paula sitting in a tree ... torturing one another?
http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya...conaughey6.jpg

Worth watching, don't expect a lot, but you will get some laughs for your dollar, and shake your head at some of the coolsickcrazy stuff the comedy pulls. Again, the supporting cast? Hilarious.

thmilin 03-22-06 02:56 AM

Originally Posted by blibblobblib
Loving the reviews oh unpronouncable one. :yup:
YOU? YOU call me unpronouncable? :bawling:

i ... i thought we were of like minds? heh. it IS pronouncable. ceable. sable.

th-my-lin. come on. say it with me ... thhhh ... myyyy.... liiiiin.


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