Movie Reviews by FilmBuffDave

Don't be fooled by seeing The Rock Dwayne Johnson starring in this movie. This is totally not an action movie. It is a drama movie with an interesting plot. Basically The Rock's son in the movie gets set up by a friend and he is facing ten years in jail for possession. The scumbag government offers the kid a deal to set up someone else and he refuses so The Rock takes his place and goes into the deep underground world of crime to get his son out of jail.


The movie is pretty slow although I really like the message. It is basically showing how corrupt the government is and how drugs should really be decriminalized for non-violent offenders. Other than Gridiron Gang this is probably the most serious movie The Rock has been in and I thought he did a pretty damn good job considering he doesn't usually do dramatic acting. Jon Bernthal who is most well known for playing Shane in "The Walking Dead" tv series is also in the movie and he also does a pretty good job.


Overall the movie is slow and drags, but it has a decent message. I won't say that it is a good movie, but I can't say it is a bad movie either. I'm thinking they should have added a bit more action in it. There really isn't any until about the last fifteen minutes of the movie.


Star Rating- ★★½ Okay

I first saw Blade Runner around the year 2000 when I was twelve years old. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was really slow and seemed kind of long although even at twelve years old I could tell that it was a very good movie.

I should probably note that this is my first time seeing the new director's cut that was released in 2007. That means it doesn't have any of the annoying narration that the studio made Harrison Ford do. That is good, because the narration by Harrison Ford in previous cuts of the movie is just horrendous.

It amazes me how well this movie holds up. The visuals in this movie are almost flawless. You could release a remastered version of this today and most people who had never seen it probably couldn't guess what year it was made. The look of the city in this movie is spellbinding. For some reason though I would have preferred Harrison Ford's costume to look a little bit more futuristic. I get that he lives in a dystopian society, but I think it would have been interesting if he had worn pretty much the same thing with darker colors. The brown overcoat and khaki pants just seem too bright for this movie.

There is a scene near the end where Rutger Hauer's character makes a speech and it has become known as the "Tears in Rain" speech. I kind of remember this scene as a kid, but I don't think I realized what the movie was trying to say back then. Today listening to that same speech in the right context really makes me like this movie that much more. It has instantly become one of my most favorite moments in film history. It shows that this isn't just some silly fun science fiction movie about some cop chasing after some cyborgs. It is really an interesting philosophical movie about life and death.

Star Rating- ★★★★★(5) out of ★★★★★(5) Masterpiece

I won't hold back when I say that I love this movie. The whole idea of a dystopian future where Manhattan island in New York City is turned into a prison is an extremely cool concept. Kurt Russell is awesome as Snake Plissken. Sure he may be borrowing a bit from Clint Eastwood, but Snake Plissken is still one of my all time favorite anti-heroes. Issac Hayes as the bad guy Duke of New York is also really cool. Not many people could pull off having chandeliers on their car, but Issac Hayes sure as hell can.


It comes off as kind of a B-Movie, but I think if you look a little closer there certainty is a lot of substance. It is a little slow, but I think seeing it for the first time at 12 years old in 2000 really made me fall in love with it. I've always felt that the movies you see at about 12 years old are the ones that stick with you. Even if they are sometimes not that great. I won't say that everyone will enjoy this movie, but if you are looking for a cool unconventional prison movie then this flick is for you.


Most people may think I'm overrating this movie and I wouldn't argue with them. There is just something about this movie that I really love. Maybe it's just that I like prison movies. Maybe it's also because I like post-apocalypse movies. In a way this movie kind of takes those two genres and melds them together in an awesome way.


Star Rating- ★★★★★(5) out of ★★★★★(5) Masterpiece

Dazed and Confused is about a day in the life of a bunch of high school kids in the 1970s. It is the last day of school and the incoming freshmen are just trying to survive, because the new seniors want to paddle them.


I first saw this on TV back in the late '90s and always thought it was cool. There isn't exactly a main character although you could say that Jason London's character is the main character. To me it's as if they really just drop you down into the '70s and witness a day in the life of all these teenagers. The script is a little spread out which will turn some people off, but I kind of like how unconventionally structured the script is.


The breakout performance is by Matthew McConaughey. Even though his character was a pretty small part overall in the movie it has become a huge pop culture reference. Alright Alright Alright!!!!!


Star Rating- ★★★★½(4½) out of ★★★★★(5) Must See

I caught this on Netflix streaming because it was a movie I had never heard of before. The picture on Netflix has Richard Pryor and George Carlin on the box so of course I assumed that they were the stars. Well that isn't the case at all. Their parts are basically nothing but cameos and they don't even appear on screen together. I guess Netflix and whatever dumbass company is trying to trick people into watching this with that deceiving picture. Good thing I'm here to tell you not to watch this piece of crap movie.

The premise of the movie isn't bad and some of the main actors aren't either. The biggest problem with this movie is that there is barley a plot. It also suffers from having way too many characters. I think with less characters this could have been reworked as a decent sitcom, but as a movie it has very little chance of being any good. It almost seems like they made this movie because of the disco song "Car Wash" by Rose Royce. I wouldn't be surprised considering there is a big part in the movie where they do nothing but wash cars and dance while listening to the entire song as if it were a music video or something. If you want to watch a good day in the life of a normal guy working a crappy job movie then check out Kevin Smith's Clerks. (1994). As for Car Wash, just leave it alone where it belongs and that is the 1970s.



Star Rating- ★½(1½) out of ★★★★★(5) Weak