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Reviews
Idiocracy (2006)
Starts strong, fades some, but a great premise. Mike Judge scores again.
The first 30-40 minutes is simply brilliant and had me laughing harder than I have since Borat. The flow chart of the rabbit-like reproductive habits of the rednecks had me howling. Also funny, but in a dry and sad fashion, was how the WASP-y couple never had kids and thus we set the stage for the future of the human race.
So fast forward 500 years as our incredibly mediocre protagonist (who really nailed the role of the waste of food and fuel nameless Army clerk) is reawakened. The scenes showing how far we had fallen, specifically with the doctor, the TV shows, and the court proceedings, were fantastic. "You talk like a fag!" Awesome. We all know people like this, now. Shades of Beavis and Butthead.
The movie really didn't have anywhere to go from here and slid for a while and didn't quite keep it's footing. I did like the indication at the end that society really wasn't going to recover, and the dumb were just going to continue to have a buttload of kids. So what did our hero really generate? Just a 'dead cat bounce' in our society, as they say in the investing industry.
Knocked Up (2007)
You'll love this movie if you have an IQ of 70
Utter waste of time. It's so preposterous that anyone who has at least three awake brain cells will not be able to stand it. I like this genre, and like Seth Rogen, but this is a contrived piece of junk.
So an ugly, broke, fat, shiftless slacker who lives in a flophouse with his loser stoner friends scores a hot chick when they're drunk at a bar. Check...*possibly* believable, but very unlikely. Booze makes some crazy things happen, so we can buy this so far.
So this same clown somehow endears himself to this hot chick, who is a career oriented rising star on a major TV network. FAIL. Utterly impossible. Wouldn't ever happen. Lame, and the movie and the script are unrecoverable at this point.
The Box (2009)
it's a psychological thriller! no wait...sci fi! no wait...period piece!
This is a frankenmovie - sewn together script that doesn't work well as a whole and shambles around the screen. If I didn't know better I would think that it was 1/3 1970s period piece, 1/3 psychological thriller, and 1/3 science fiction. Wait...it is!
The only positive is the way the movie started well and got your attention. Then, it fizzled badly (think Darkness Falls or Jeepers Creepers), and then it took on the odd, uncomfortable, science fiction patina bit. Even that felt oddly layered, like a bad paint job where the old color shows through, and it kept introducing new elements that didn't add anything, created confusion for the viewer, and did not resolve any questions. None of it fit or make sense or compels anyone to suspend disbelief. Well, maybe if I had a 20 ton crane I could suspend mine.
It's a Big Big World (2006)
Absolute favorite show for our baby daughter
Excellent show - the animation and puppeteering is fantastic and high quality. The story lines are all very friendly and positive. They pace is not the hyperkinetic, seizure inducing frentic, change scenes three times a second style that dominates too much programming for kids. Our daughter absolutely loves this show, and smiles and babbles happy noises when she hears the theme song. She has a total crush on Snook the Sloth and smiles when he is on screen. She especially loves the closing song.
The themes the show covers are all good, learning friendly concepts - science, math, self-discovery, getting along, confronting fear and doubt sensibly, and growing. The animals are mostly youngsters with some adults, like Snook and Madge the turtle, to guide and mentor the young animals.
One small criticism - Bob. What is up with Bob? He has his "moments." He's the Woody Allen of the World Tree. Bob ought be voted off the island. Also, Snook is indeed a stoner, but a lovable one.
Hey PBS - how about a DVD?
Night of the Lepus (1972)
Attention...Attention
(megaphone)
Ladies and Gentlemen...Attention...There is a horde of killer rabbits headed your way and we desperately need your help! (/megaphone)
That's perhaps a slight paraphrase of what the policeman says through his megaphone as he rallies cars at a drive-in theater to help him put down the pack of killer rabbits. The dialogue has other gems, such as Janet Leigh saying "It's OK - the rabbit is gone now" to a bloodied near fatality of an attack.
And so goeth Night of the Lepus. I can't believe this isn't a Mystery Science Theatre 3000 job.
Bones! Quit chasing those giant rabbits and get back up here to the Enterprise!
Black Belt Jones (1974)
And who said a movie couldn't be violent and groovy?
Fantastic...it's got it all! Even LL Cool J sampled the soundtrack on Jinglin' Baby (remixed but still jinglin).
Every time I watch this movie, I have stomach cramps due to the amount of laughter it induces...nothing is quite like the sound effects of '70s kung fu flicks.
The opening scene, when "Belt" helps out the ambassador in the parking lot, sets the stage-the funky music, dopey bad guys, and slow-mo are more than one can ask for.
Of course, the classic scene where he fights off La Cosa Nostra with the help of turning the lights on and off is a piece of work...somehow, his hat goes on and off throughout the scene...how's that?
The over the top Pinky just completes the whole scene...I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a good laugh.