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PeterPPK
Reviews
Tom and Huck (1995)
Preeeeeeeeeeeeeetty Bad Movie
Maybe it's because I read the book before viewing it, or maybe I was over-analyzing it, but I swear this was one of the worst movies I ever saw. I mean it.
First of all, why is it called Tom and Huck? After watching the entire movie, I came to the conclusion that the film really should have been titled "Tom and a few other people". Huck rarely has any affect on the story, and his character is always in the shadow of Tom. Anyway, as I mentioned, I had to read this book for school right before also watching the movie,in school. Now, I know what happens in the Mark Twain's classic, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I know the plot, the story, the key events, and the settings of the book. However, I don't think that the creators of this movie do. Right off the bat, the movie features an event that never happens in the book. That's a bad sign right there.
I also did not like the acting. I suppose Johnathan Thomas was alright as Tom Sawyer, but I did not like the roles of Huck, Injun Joe, or Becky Thatcher. The performances that these actors gave were bland and totally non-believable.
The thing I hated the MOST though, was the movie's sheer stupidity. I can not believe how many inexcusable moments there were in the movie. And it's not just the fact that there are parts that aren't from the book. But there are some parts that just do not make any sense, whatsoever. I question sometimes what the writers(not Mark Twain) were thinking when they wrote this. There is a scene in the movie in which Tom is doing stunts on a bridge that's above a small, shallow creek. Becky comes along and PUSHES Tom off the bridge and into the creek! Now, this may not sound bad, until you realize that if his angle of fall was just a tad steeper, he probably would either broken his neck or have been killed. There is another part that absolutely made me grind my gears. There is a scene in the movie in which Tom and Huck need to get the treasure map from Injun Joe, who is sleeping in the forest after drinking a pretty good amount of alcohol. Tom and Huck then realize they need to blend in with the back round, so they cover themselves with mud. Tom starts walking toward Injun Joe, who wakes up and looks straight at Tom, but doesn't see him as if he is the Predator and Tom is fooling his infrared vision with the mud on him. I mean come on! I realize that Injun Joe is supposed to be super drunk, but can you really be drunk enough to not notice the giant piece of mud in front of you that looks suspiciously a lot like a boy? As for the rest of the movie, I can't say it doesn't follow the basic plot of the book; it does. But it seems to be butchered. There are many parts of it which either A) Don't belong there and come later/earlier in the story; B) Never even happen in the book; or C) Are missing.
In Conclusion, I give this movie a 2/10. Why a 2 instead of a 1? Well, because the movie did supply me with some good laughs, but sadly, that's all it offers.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Not too bad of a movie
Fear and Loathing is a movie that requires you to think sometimes. And a lot of people don't and therefore, they dislike the film. It's a pretty good movie and a great representation of the 70s.
The acting is superb. Depp and Del Toro are flawless. You might think that they act stupid when trying to portray a person who's under the influence, but I'll guarantee you, that's how those people act in real life.
There's a lot of funny moments. Some people found this movie to be boring because only the first half-hour is funny, and that the rest is just them on weed. I disagree. There are a bunch of humorous moments, you just have to think about it sometimes. And the reason why they're on drugs is because this is the 1970s. There were a lot of potheads back then. Also, the stuff that happened in the movie, happened in real life. So blame real life events if you don't find the humor humorous. Some people even go the extra mile and watch this movie high. Well, don't do that. Trust me, you will understand WAY more if you're sober.
The plot(like everything else in this movie) requires massive amounts of thinking and don't expect yourself to get it on your first time watching. It's not just about two guys and their intoxicating adventures. Noooo. It's MUCH more than that. The plot is about a journalist and his attorney who, during the early 70s, try to find the American Dream.
All in all, the movie is great. Now, it's not a cinematic masterpiece or anything, but its still a good movie that's fun to watch. You may need to watch it a second time in order to completely understand it, though. I myself, recommend it.
8/10
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Slightly better than the Original
The first Star Wars movie, is a Sci-fi and cinematic masterpiece. But where Star Wars capitalized, Empire Strikes Back took it to the next level.
Here's what I think of the movie:
Story - I'm pretty sure we all know the story of Star Wars. A Galactic Empire is empowering the galaxy, and a Rebel Alliance tries to stop it. Today, it's sort of a cliché plot but back then, it was imagination skyrocketing into the heavens. Now, thats the plot of Star Wars. The story spans from a battle on the frigid planet of Hoth, to a space dogfight in an asteroid field, to Cloud City where the greatest plot twist in the history of cinema, is reveled. The film ends on a cliffhanger which leads to Return of the Jedi. I'm not going to spoil it, but I don't think I would need to because I'm willing to bet that about 99.99% of people have already seen this movie anyway(to that .01%, where the hell have you been?).
-Rating 10/10
Characters - The characters from the original movie are back, including Luke, Han, Leia, C3P0 and R2D2, and of course, Darth Vader. But the films also introduces some new characters as well, including Lando, The Emperor, Boba Fett, and Yoda. The Emperor doesn't really play a big part in the movie(I think he only has like, 10 lines) and Boba's name is never really mentioned. However, Yoda plays a big part by teaching Luke the ways of the force, and Lando, who is Han's old pal, plays a big part by betraying our heroes and giving them to Vader. Of course, he's still a good guy, he had to hand them over. Overall, I'd say the characters are still great.
- Rating 10/10
Visuals - This was back when Star Wars movies didn't rape the fabric of CGI. So what you see in the movie were real things. The Walkers, asteroids, X-Wings, Tie Fighters, everything. The original Star Wars set the standards for Special Effects with the light sabers, Death Stars blowing up and everything. Empire Strikes Back isn't any different. The Effects are still awesome and look great.
-Rating 10/10
Music - The Star Wars theme is (of course) still here and it's one of the most recognized themes in cinema. You only need to hear a second of the Star Wars theme, and you'll know what it is. Like any other Star Wars film, the music is composed by John Williams, so everything is played by an orchestra. Even though it's great the here the Star Wars theme in all it's nostalgic glory, the music thats played is still just as great.
-Rating 10/10
Overall - Empire Strikes back is my favorite Star Wars film and is one of my favorite movies. If I had to make a Top 10 list of my favorite movies, about 15 movies would be tied for the #1 spot, and this would be one of them. Everything about it is just perfect.
Final rating : 10/10
-PeterPPK
Forrest Gump (1994)
"You said it all, man"
This is one of my favorite movies that I've ever seen. It's heartwarming, beautiful, charming, funny, and just overall great. The acting is superb, the story is excellent, and music is probably the best I've ever heard. Mostly because of the genius song selection for this movie. Every single song in this movie that you will hear(not including the original score)will perfectly some up the 50's - 90's era.
A great thing about this movie is that the story centers around historic events like Vietnam, Watergate, and even includes famous people like JFK, LBJ, Elvis, and John Lennon. The movie perfectly captures these famous moments and people through the eyes Forrest Gump who simply was at the right place at the right time.
Forrest Gump is an innocent tale about an innocent, loving man who gets sucked into America's history from the 1950's - 1990's. While going through these important moments of America's history, he is also trying to be with the woman he loves, Jenny. Jenny is an interesting character because her actions and her life are the exact opposite of Forrest's. Forrest is a person who wouldn't hurt a fly. He manages his life well, works hard, and has family values which make him a great person and therefore,the audience can easily fall in love with him. Jenny on other hand, is a person who can't seem to live her life. As a child she was abused by her father, she got kicked of college for appearing in a Playboy magazine, and her dream of becoming a country singer is pretty much destroyed because in the 70's she started taking drugs and the entire time she's being used or abused by every man that she meets, except Forrest.
Thats the beauty of the film. You want these two to get together. You're rooting for the characters. And that's something hard to find in movies.
Forrest Gump still stands the test of time even though it's already 15 years old. It's a classic movie that I enjoy watching whenever it's on TV. It offers a great story complete with great acting. If you haven't seen this movie yet, then what the hell are you doing? Go watch it, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
10/10 A+ all the way
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
The Funniest Family movie I've ever seen
OK so I guess you can't really call it a family movie because it's rated R. But that family movie presence is still there.
Anyway, what can I say about National Lampoons Vacation. It's probably one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. If you don't even laugh at ONE of the jokes, you're not human. I'll admit, there is some crude humor but most of it should, at the very least, make you chuckle. Chevy Chase is outstanding and is probably the funniest character in the movie.
It may be a bit old but it's a classic and I enjoy watching it.
10/10
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Eh...it was OK I guess
I went to see Terminator Salvation last night and before seeing it, I didn't expect much. I just expected it to be an action/war flick and I thought that I would be mildly entertained, and I was. However, I still had problems with this movie.
First of all, this movie was too short. It didn't have as many memorable scenes as the first three(maybe two)had. It just simply wasn't long enough.
Another problem was Christen Bale. Not that I dislike him, but I just don't think he did too well in this movie. At least he was believable but I still felt that he could've done better as the role of John Connor Lastly, to me it just didn't have the humor and fun that the first three had. In the first movie, the humor was Arnold saying "F*** you asshole". There was a lot of humor in the second movie mostly revolving around young John Connor, and the Terminator(the good one). And in the third movie, the fun was probably all the scenes of destruction and the car chase scenes. However, in this movie, there just wasn't any fun and any humor. Probably the reason being is because its a post-apocalyptic setting, so everything's destroyed.
Now, if you wanted to see this movie and had high hopes for it but now feel bummed out after reading my review, don't worry. The movie does have its problems, but if you don't look over it too much then its not all bad. The action sequences were great and you get to see all the different terminators, which is pretty cool.
All in all, I'd would actually recommend seeing it. It's a good movie if you don't look too deep into it.
I give it 7/10
Billy Madison (1995)
Adam Sandler at his Finest
Adam Sandler has always made me crack-up and this film was no different. Billy Madison is a movie where if you don't laugh at at least one joke, you're not a human being. There are so many parts in this movie that I love. I can't mention all of them. The plots a little weird but it makes up for it with all the hilarious moments.
Of course, this movie is really famous for many things, but one thing that definitely comes to mind : The quotes. I can't even begin to say how many lines there are that make me bust up. They range from "T-t-today junior!" to "You get your ass out there and find the f***ing dog" to "If peeing your pants is cool, then you can call me Miles Davis''Oh my god thats the grossest thing I've ever heard in my life'". Again, there's too many to count. There are many great moments in this movie.
If you want to watch a comedy, I'd recommend checking this one out. It's probably the best Sandler flick in my mind, and it shouldn't disappoint.
I give it 10/10