On my list of top 20 movies of all time, at least 4 of them are Kevin Smith's. I *LOVE* his work. That said, I found the Clerks animated series to be boring. The stories were slow and repetitive. The jokes were sophomoric and tedious compared to his usually intelligent humor. I just couldn't get into it. I know what you're thinking, "Jay and Silent Bob? Intelligent humor?!" Ok, so maybe intelligent isn't the word, but it's humor for intelligent people. Compare and contrast with, for example, Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler. Still often VERY funny, but it doesn't take a much wit to get the jokes. This disk was more like that kind of humor.
Reviews
11 Reviews
Dark City
(1998)
An audio visual feast
5 November 2002
Dark City completely blew me away. As the credits started to roll and the lights came up in the house, I could hardly move as I noticed how heavily I was breathing. This film was like an orgasm for the senses. The cinematography, mood, music and ambience easily equaled that of "The Crow" and "City of Lost Children". Unfortunately, this film lacked in just about every other category. That is to say, the acting, plot, dialog, and characters were all pretty laughable. Still, I have to give this movie 10 stars, just for the intense feeling of "WOW!" I had when it was over.
Bowling for Columbine
(2002)
Should be required viewing for every High School
24 October 2002
The message of this film is so powerful and so important, it should be shown in every High School across the US. It is shockingly enlightening, and with the sniper shootings in Maryland dominating this months news, the message of this film is that much more relevant.
Michael Moore combines images and music to create some spectacular contrasts. As he is walking up the driveway to confront Chalton Heston, chairman of the NRA, we hear the theme song "It's a Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood" from the Mr. Rogers childrens show. One photo montage uses a quick succession of images to transition from proud gun toting Americans to civilians being shot by soldiers.
I don't know what else to say. Everybody should see this movie.
Michael Moore combines images and music to create some spectacular contrasts. As he is walking up the driveway to confront Chalton Heston, chairman of the NRA, we hear the theme song "It's a Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood" from the Mr. Rogers childrens show. One photo montage uses a quick succession of images to transition from proud gun toting Americans to civilians being shot by soldiers.
I don't know what else to say. Everybody should see this movie.
The Steven Banks Show
(1991 TV Movie)
Funniest Thing I've Ever Seen on TV
10 October 2002
I caught this show on PBS around midnight some Friday night in 1998. It was one of the funniest things I've EVER seen on TV, on par with the best Simpsons episodes and Robin Williams doing stand-up. I stayed up for the next 3 weeks on Friday night, waiting for more episodes, but never caught it again.
Watching Steven do his thing was incredibly off the wall funny. The show basically followed him around his small apartment as he went through his evening, including: listening to his answering machine messages, doing a re-enactment of Indiana Jones running away from a giant boulder with little plastic action figures, playing the drums (incredibly poorly)... it was GREAT.
Watching Steven do his thing was incredibly off the wall funny. The show basically followed him around his small apartment as he went through his evening, including: listening to his answering machine messages, doing a re-enactment of Indiana Jones running away from a giant boulder with little plastic action figures, playing the drums (incredibly poorly)... it was GREAT.
Bounce
(2000)
Slow, Boring, and Predictable
25 June 2002
I was appalled by how poor this movie was. I love both Ben Affleck
and Gwyneth Paltrow and it's a shame that a movie with
reasonable potential could be so bad.
The characters are un-interesting and the plot is overly predictable
to the point of annoying. This movie was a waste of a perfectly
good 106 minutes of my evening.
and Gwyneth Paltrow and it's a shame that a movie with
reasonable potential could be so bad.
The characters are un-interesting and the plot is overly predictable
to the point of annoying. This movie was a waste of a perfectly
good 106 minutes of my evening.
Ice Age
(2002)
A fine kids movie
31 March 2002
Warning: Spoilers
Having been blown away by what animated films are capable of in
the last year (Shrek & Monsters, Inc.) as far as cross-generational
humor, I was sadly disappointed by Ice Age.
All the reviews said, if you like Shrek and Monsters, Inc., you'll love
Ice Age. The trailer made it look interesting, the cast was good,
and this movie had everything going for it. Sadly, it didn't live up to
what it could have been.
The animation was poor by today's standards, with the human
characters looking more like GI Joe's than people. The cave men
had square jaws, rigid lines, and twine hair. Their movement was
jerky and unnatural. It was a big step down from other recent
animated films. The wind blowing through Sullivan's hair on the
ice covered mountainside in Monsters, Inc. comes to mind for
example.
Poor animation could have been overlooked, if it weren't for the
predictable plot and tired jokes. At one point in the movie, an 8
year old boy sitting next to me turned to his friend and said, "Oh my
god, this is so predictable, next he's gonna <insert spoiler here>".
All I can say is that when an 8 year old finds a movie too
predictable, it's not going to keep me interested for long.
As I mentioned earlier, I've enjoyed several other recent animated
films that offered something to multiple generations. They
contained jokes that were clearly intended for a mature audience.
Ice Age had one or two, an amusing commentary on evolution
comes to mind, but for the most part, the jokes were all kid stuff.
To sum it all up, if you've got kids that want to go see Ice Age, by all
means, take them; I'm sure they'll love it. If on the other hand
you're interested in something you can both enjoy, or maybe you
don't have any kids at all but are a kid at heart, I'm afraid Ice Age
may let you down.
the last year (Shrek & Monsters, Inc.) as far as cross-generational
humor, I was sadly disappointed by Ice Age.
All the reviews said, if you like Shrek and Monsters, Inc., you'll love
Ice Age. The trailer made it look interesting, the cast was good,
and this movie had everything going for it. Sadly, it didn't live up to
what it could have been.
The animation was poor by today's standards, with the human
characters looking more like GI Joe's than people. The cave men
had square jaws, rigid lines, and twine hair. Their movement was
jerky and unnatural. It was a big step down from other recent
animated films. The wind blowing through Sullivan's hair on the
ice covered mountainside in Monsters, Inc. comes to mind for
example.
Poor animation could have been overlooked, if it weren't for the
predictable plot and tired jokes. At one point in the movie, an 8
year old boy sitting next to me turned to his friend and said, "Oh my
god, this is so predictable, next he's gonna <insert spoiler here>".
All I can say is that when an 8 year old finds a movie too
predictable, it's not going to keep me interested for long.
As I mentioned earlier, I've enjoyed several other recent animated
films that offered something to multiple generations. They
contained jokes that were clearly intended for a mature audience.
Ice Age had one or two, an amusing commentary on evolution
comes to mind, but for the most part, the jokes were all kid stuff.
To sum it all up, if you've got kids that want to go see Ice Age, by all
means, take them; I'm sure they'll love it. If on the other hand
you're interested in something you can both enjoy, or maybe you
don't have any kids at all but are a kid at heart, I'm afraid Ice Age
may let you down.
Over-acting and lack of empathy kill this movie
30 August 2001
Besson has done some spectacular movies. This is not one of
them. Milla's over-acting creates a character who is both annoying
and difficult to believe. None of the central characters are easy to
empathize with so one doesn't really care if they live or die. The
violence seems unnecessary and gruesome. The script is choppy
and the dialog is forced.
them. Milla's over-acting creates a character who is both annoying
and difficult to believe. None of the central characters are easy to
empathize with so one doesn't really care if they live or die. The
violence seems unnecessary and gruesome. The script is choppy
and the dialog is forced.
Threesome
(1994)
Skip the last 5 minutes
24 June 2001
A friend of mine owns this video and we watched it on a lazy
Sunday night. I was loving it until it was almost over at which point
she promptly turned it off. There were five minutes left but before I
could complain she insisted that she refuses to see the end of the
movie. She told me I could borrow the tape and watch it on my
own time. Confused, I took the tape home and went to bed,
thinking that it had been a very good movie. Later that week I went
back and watched the last five minutes and I now understand why
she insisted on turning it off. The ending is TERRIBLE. It's like the
director made a great movie and then in the ending he felt guilty
and decided that he had to throw some morals in. It ruined the
movie. So watch this movie, enjoy it, think about all the wild
hedonistic adventures you had in college, and then turn it off
before it goes bad.
Sunday night. I was loving it until it was almost over at which point
she promptly turned it off. There were five minutes left but before I
could complain she insisted that she refuses to see the end of the
movie. She told me I could borrow the tape and watch it on my
own time. Confused, I took the tape home and went to bed,
thinking that it had been a very good movie. Later that week I went
back and watched the last five minutes and I now understand why
she insisted on turning it off. The ending is TERRIBLE. It's like the
director made a great movie and then in the ending he felt guilty
and decided that he had to throw some morals in. It ruined the
movie. So watch this movie, enjoy it, think about all the wild
hedonistic adventures you had in college, and then turn it off
before it goes bad.
A waste of a perfectly good $7 and an hour and a half
28 October 2000
You know how when you're a little kid you're afraid of the dark and afraid of the bumps in the night? The Blair Witch project brought me back to that time. It was scary because it let your imagination mess with your head. You never saw the thing that terrified you and that made it even scarier. Book of Shadows went the opposite direction entirely. In the first five minutes you've already seen more gore and blood than in the entire original film. I may have been able to appreciate this movie if only I could have gotten past the excessive (to the point of silly) use of random violence and gore and the HORRIBLE acting. I couldn't take this movie seriously. It had no plot, the characters were unbelievable stereotypes, and I left the movie feeling like I had my $7 stolen. A waste of a perfectly good Friday night. I want my money back.
What Lies Beneath
(2000)
Insultingly Predictable Cookie Cutter Horror Movie
27 July 2000
So my girlfriend convinced me to take her to see "What Lies Beneath" last night. I figured, with a cast this good, how bad can it be? The answer? REALLY REALLY BAD.
"What Lays Beneath" follows just about every cookie cutter scary movie rule that I can think of. From the ever popular "oh is that a ghost!? ;SCREAM; Oh! It's you Sparky, thank goodness" scene to the over used "Writing in the steam on the bathroom mirror" trick.
This movie was so predictable, I was ready to walk out a half hour before the movie was over without any fear that I would miss anything. It was a struggle to stay for the entire thing without standing up and leaving, or at the very least cracking up with laughter at how bad this movie is.
From the very beginning it tries too hard to be a scary movie. Watching the neighbor crying through the fence in the middle of the day does NOT deserve suspenseful music.
There are lots of popular horror movies out there. They all have something going for them, something different that makes them special. "What Lies Beneath" just doesn't. It doesn't have the humor of "Scream", it doesn't have the camp value of the "Evil Dead" series, it doesn't have the teen appeal of "I Know What You Did Last Summer", it doesn't have the originality of "The Blair Witch Project", it doesn't have the pure suspense of the "Alien" series, and it doesn't have the surprise ending of "The Sixth Element".
If you like predictable make-you-jump scary movies, this could be the one for you. If you're like me and you like something with a little originality, you're better off saving your money.
"What Lays Beneath" follows just about every cookie cutter scary movie rule that I can think of. From the ever popular "oh is that a ghost!? ;SCREAM; Oh! It's you Sparky, thank goodness" scene to the over used "Writing in the steam on the bathroom mirror" trick.
This movie was so predictable, I was ready to walk out a half hour before the movie was over without any fear that I would miss anything. It was a struggle to stay for the entire thing without standing up and leaving, or at the very least cracking up with laughter at how bad this movie is.
From the very beginning it tries too hard to be a scary movie. Watching the neighbor crying through the fence in the middle of the day does NOT deserve suspenseful music.
There are lots of popular horror movies out there. They all have something going for them, something different that makes them special. "What Lies Beneath" just doesn't. It doesn't have the humor of "Scream", it doesn't have the camp value of the "Evil Dead" series, it doesn't have the teen appeal of "I Know What You Did Last Summer", it doesn't have the originality of "The Blair Witch Project", it doesn't have the pure suspense of the "Alien" series, and it doesn't have the surprise ending of "The Sixth Element".
If you like predictable make-you-jump scary movies, this could be the one for you. If you're like me and you like something with a little originality, you're better off saving your money.
The Pest
(1997)
Stupid, Childish, Shallow, and a lot of fun!
1 February 2000
If you're looking for something deep and thought provoking, this isn't the movie for you, but if you want something to sit around and laugh at with a bunch of friends, "The Pest" is a killer choice. John Leguizamo (Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Spawn) is the saving grace of this movie. If you're a child of the 80's like myself, you'll love his goofy style and great impressions. This is a great party movie.
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