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jthmaniac78
Reviews
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
Great Movie
For those considering if they should invest the 80 minutes or so to watch this film, allow a true horror fan to give you his ten cents. First let's talk about the bad...because lets face it...it's rare for a film to get something right.
BAD: 1.) Plot holes: There are a few plot holes in the film in regards to a few of the central characters: Leslie's background, Eugene is never explained, and of course neither is the doc's (sorry, forgot his name).
2.) The reaction of the film crew...at times they seem to be having fun with this whole, 'real life' slasher/movie guru, but there is a big shift at the end when the killing starts. This is odd, because earlier in the film someone gets killed too and nobody seemed that worked up over it...oh wait...it must have been because she was some short, old woman.
3.) Acting: This is hard to classify seeing as this is a low-budget B movie, but sometimes the actors do a great job and then other times it didn't work for me. Some of the lines seemed forced and the acting, here and there, a bit stiff and wooden. Especially all the teens, oh man, they sucked! 4.) Gore hounds will be disappointed in this movie because most of the kills aren't shown or are shot at a distant. This didn't bother me in this day and age where gore is constant in films (Hostel/Saw). However, when making a parody of 80's slasher films, gore was everywhere. I mean hell, it was the rise of the splatter flick! How can you make a movie like this without having gore? Feddy, Michael, and Jason created the slasher/gore genre in the states! If they were going to do this part of the film better they should have made the gore over the top in a kind of Peter Jackson/Sam Raimi style. Oh well, maybe it wasn't in their budget.
4.) The last five minutes of the movie was a bust. Things happened so quick I couldn't help but think--oh no, they're running out of money. It was either that or the editor made a few too many snips. I won't point anything out, because it spoil a few kills, but you'll see it when it happens.
GOOD 1.) Extremely funny! I wasn't sure about this movie when I got it--went out on a limb after hearing some decent reviews. This movie hooked me from the start with its campiness, black humor, and twist. A lot of people point at Scream as being the movie that turned the horror genre upside down by playing with a particular genre--but I think BEHIND THE MASK did a much better job.
2.) Great lines and for the most part, good performances. The main characters, Leslie, Reporter chick, Eugene, etc. where all acted really well. Sure they missed a few spots here and there, but over all, they were good. Leslie really sold his role well, better than some of the leading Hollywood actors these days that's for sure.
3>) Fun story! This is what the horror genre needs, people who make fun camp movies. In today's sick age where we got all these stupid TORTURE PORN movies, it's nice to sit back and just enjoy the story. Sure, as I mentioned above, the gore was missed to an extent, but at least it wasn't in my face the whole time, replacing good storytelling with some cheap splatter effects.
4.) This movie is great for drinking games! Man, there are so many symbols, inside jokes, and references that I want to see it again just to see what I missed during the first viewing.
Okay, overall, it's an enjoyable film--especially for us guys from the 80's who grew up with the movies referenced in this. For those looking for something scary or full of gore--skip it. You'll only be disappointed, but if your looking for a fun flick, check this one out.
Transformers (2007)
Transform and Roll Out!
When I first got word they were making a live action version of Transformers, I'll admit, I got excited. Now I'm not Michael Bay fan, though I do enjoy a handful of his films--so when he was announced the director, I shrugged. I figured if anyone was going to direct a movie about giant robots turning into cars, then who else to make it than Michael Bay.
Anyway--I saw the movie today and felt compelled to write something about it. I've seen that so far it has received good reviews from fans on this site as well as a lot of positive praise all over the internet, which COMPLETELY baffles me! What are you guys seeing that I'm not? Did we watch the same movie or was the cut of this thing I saw some kind of rough cut piece of crap. Okay, let me break it down into pros and cons, because everything has two sides.
Okay--the good: 1.) Hot chicks 2.) Explosions 3.) Cool climax at the end That's it. So many things were happening in this film that annoyed me that I never really felt comfortable about anything going on nor care about any of the characters.
Okay--the bad: 1.) First the Transformers, since most of you seeing this movie are going to see them.
--Stupid stereotypes: Jazz was a ghetto robot, Bumblebee was basically Junkion from Transformers (1986).
--They look stupid and during battles, you can't tell who is who.
--They all have terrible lines.
--You don't care about them, because they have zero character.
--The bad guys die very easily.
--No suspense in the battle scenes, because, well--you can't tell what's happening.
--Shockwave was like the Jar Jar Binks of the Transformer movie.
Now for other bad things: 2.) Horrible script--it was like the Terminator. These robots traveled millions of miles to find a pair of GLASSES ON EBAY?! What the hell?! Who wrote this script? It was so stupid. And people are complaining that Spiderman 3 was terrible, yet are giving this movie such endless praise...man, I must be on the wrong planet.
3.) Bad editing--So much is going on that I don't think anyone involved in this project knew what they were doing. Or what was happening or why. When it came to watching this thing, my eyes hurt! 4.) Horrible music.
5.) Some of the worst battles I've ever seen. $150 million dollars to make it and you still couldn't see what has happening on the screen. The smaller battles worked for me, but the big city climax was a bit over the top and so badly constructed that I didn't even know who was dying.
6.) 2D characters--but that's a small compliant. You don't go into a movie like this for good characters anyway, right? It's a Summer Blockbuster and you go to see the big bangs, the robots, a hot girls running around.
7.) Lame coming of age story.
8.) All the subplots could have been cut--I mean it was like four different movies going on at the same time that you, as a viewer, had no idea who the movie wanted you to care about: Boy and his car, Soldier trying to get home to his wife and kids, a woman who works for the government and her hacker friend who likes donuts, and a dog with a broken leg. Come on, choice a central character and let the audience follow them! 9.) Tried to be funny, but wasn't.
I don't know, maybe I should stop now. I mean it's bad enough I wasted money to see this stupid movie and now I'm wasting more time on it tell you why I hated it. Chances are a lot of you will still go and see it and that's fine, but be warned. This is not as good as people are telling you. People from the ages of 10 to 18 will love it. Men between the ages of 18-25 will love it too, unless they are film majors. If I were you, I'd use my money and see something good like Ratatouille, Live Free or Die Hard, or anything else at the box office. This was a waste! I wouldn't even download this movie for free to watch it again--that's how bad it is.
Well I warned you.
Men in Black II (2002)
What a let down!
Spoilers! I really liked the first MIB. It was orginal and fun. This one was a nightmare. About ten minutes into the film, I knew right away, this one was going to suck. The jokes, through out the movie, were as lame as Will Smith's acting. This one had one bad joke followed by another one and the special effects weren't that special. The movie, however, does get good towards the end. I found myself enjoying the last fifteen minutes of the movie, because that's when special agent K finally comes back. Up until that point the movie is pure dribble that never really fill the bucket, if you get what I mean. Avoid this movie...trust me.