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Old Movie Buff
One person's thoughts on some movies.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Deadfall (1993)
A truly awful con movie. Pretty much everything about it was awful. Charlie Sheen ends up looking like a decent actor, in his few scenes, by comparison with the rest of the cast.
Labels: 1 star
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
The Rundown (2003)
After catching
Snitch, and the beginning of this movie, I thought it might be a bit of another well meaning movie, but it's just contrived action/adventure.
Labels: 3 stars
Double Take (2001)
This movie was so awful, specifically the worthless writing for, and acting by, Eddie Griffin, that I simply had to stop watching.
Labels: 1 star
Zoom (2006)
I like to give Tim Allen credit, for making funny, family friendly movies, but this is pretty bad, whether you like super-heroes or not. The few good lines are swamped by mediocrity.
Labels: 3 stars
Animal Kingdom (2010)
Hardly ground-breaking stuff, but I get an extra kick out of watching movies from Australia, for a change of pace.
This is a crime movie.
Labels: 4 stars
Monday, January 27, 2014
Freeloaders (2011)
Not much worth watching here in a movie about a bunch of people who live in a rock stars house while he is away, and then find out he is selling it.
Labels: 2 stars
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
It does try to point fingers, and surely, some of those fingers are correctly pointed, but I really am left wondering about the level of scholarship.
A movie of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Labels: 6 stars
After the Sunset (2004)
Pretty cute for a heist movie.
Labels: 5 stars
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Metro (1997)
Eddie Murphy, apparently, liked the type of cop movie where you learned things about how police do their business from the cops in the story. He sounds like a bad PSA doing it. Michael Rapaport does not come off as a super-cop. This was only slightly better than Murphy's debut album.
Labels: 2 stars
Money Talks (1997)
Chris Tucker did this movie the same year he did the Fifth Element, and it shows.
Too bad it was this movie.
Labels: 3 stars
Island in the Sun (1957)
This is three movies, rolled into one. None of them are that good, or that bad.
Labels: 5 stars
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
Did I actually watch this?
I like pot, but not this movie.
Although, to be fair, the very next day I had a momentary pancreatitis scare, until I remember the symptoms, as revealed in the movie.
Labels: 2 stars
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Innerspace (1987)
A reasonable amusing sci-fi/comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Labels: 4 stars
The Hurricane (1999)
I'm a bit of a sucker for movies about justice, eventually obtained.
Still, hard to appreciate the teenager's character.
Labels: 5 stars
Lawless (2012)
A well-produced mediocre movie about prohibition-era moonshiners vs. the Federal government set in Virginia.
I appreciate stoic characters like Tom Hardy's.
Labels: 4 stars
Snitch (2013)
I did not expect to find a Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson movie with a social conscience, but, here you go.
I think it is well balanced, between making a point, and being a reasonably entertaining movie.
Too bad the son was such a mediocre actor.
Labels: 5 stars
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Wanderlust (2012)
This could have been an OK movie, but then, during the scene where the male lead is talking to himself in the mirror, and the subsequent scene, it descends it fetid crap.
Labels: 1 star
Strange Cargo (1940)
Does it
have have to be like that? Other than that, the rest of the movie had lots going for it.
Labels: 4 stars
These Are the Damned (1962)
Movies like this hardly ever get made. I could not think of a truly similar one.&bsp; So, despite its weaknesses, give it a start.
Labels: 5 stars
Playing God (1997)
I liked it.
Labels: 6 stars
Final Encounter (2000)
Hard to overlook the glaring ultra-cheapness of this movie.
Or the complete lack of any acting which could be called "good."
The story wasn't too terrible, though. I'm not sure about the ending, but this seems like it was a reasonable short story that could be remade into a passable movie.
Labels: 2 stars
Freedomland (2006)
There was one scene in the movie that I think definitely made it worth it for me.
The rest wasn't so bad.
Labels: 6 stars
Out of Time (2003)
For a while I couldn't get over that the criminal's "plan" involved making sure someone handed them the cash and left, even though he could have easily kept it until it needed to be spent. Just now I realized they could have had a fake doctor's office ready, with a fake cashier.
Overall? Lots of nice bits.
Labels: 5 stars
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Career Opportunities (1991)
A John Hughes movie I never heard of?
Oh! Now I get it. Bad script, bad acting, meager themes.
Labels: 2 stars
Monday, January 20, 2014
Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010)
A pretty paranoid fantasy about North Korea invading Australia. The North Korean Army, apparently, was hiding in shipping containers. The Australian and an armies of its allies were apparently too busy to take notice.
Still, some decent character work, and some gorgeous shots of New South Wales.
Labels: 3 stars
Cleanskin (2012)
This goes beyond an ultra-right-wing fantasy version of Syriana, but more of a paranoid delusion the Tea Party might have come up with.
Simon Bean was fun in Bravo Two Zero. This erases all that.
Labels: 1 star
Saturday, January 18, 2014
John Carter (2012)
The Words (2012)
Nicely done, although the direction felt weak, and I never quite believed the Cooper/Saldana relationship was as strong as they wanted me to believe it was.
Labels: 5 stars
Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)
Great CGI, reasonable cast, and an unexpected rewrite of the original tale.
Tucci's performance was weak.
Labels: 5 stars
Wing Commander (1999)
The only movie I enjoy Matthew Lillard's performance.
It's not terrible, but it does seem sort of pointless.
3 of 7 stars.
Labels: 3 stars
Friday, January 17, 2014
Ladder 49 (2004)
This could have been a semi-timeless story of firefighters, which was needlessly turned into a tragedy.
John Travolta's terrible acting must be noted.
2 of 7 stars.
Labels: 2 stars
Thursday, January 16, 2014
An Innocent Man (1989)
Sure, it all feels a bit contrived, and I have a strong suspicion that if everyone in jail had to kill someone in jail to prove themselves, the prison population would be a lot lower, but this is hardly simplistic fare.
6 of 7 stars
Labels: 6 stars
The Ladykillers (2004)
The Ladykillers has to be one of the more poorly named movies, even if it
is a remake.
Should have been named something mellifluous, more like "A Little Bit of Grand Larceny Tempered by Some Inspirational Music of the Gospel"
Haven't liked Tom Hanks in anything since Big.
I don't think I've seen the original.
5 of 7 stars.
Labels: 5 stars
The Juror (1996)
Good story, good acting, good casting, nothing noticeably wrong with the direction, the production was fine, and I kept being a bit surprised at the changes.
7 of 7 stars.
Labels: 7 stars
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Layer Cake (2004)
A smarter than average movie of the lives of criminals in Europe.
A little too easy to make exciting story lines with such lives keeps this one star back.
5 of 7 stars.
Labels: 5 stars
Another Stakeout (1993)
This has got to be one of the stupidest movies Hollywood has made since I was born.
I am debating between giving it 1 and 2 stars because, well, I haven't seen everything, and there is that Steven Segal movie which is actually two movies stitched together.
Nope.
1 of 7 stars.
Labels: 1 star
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
My Baby's Daddy (2004)
The story is a pretty typical immoral morality play, with some bad acting.
3 of 7 stars
Labels: 3 stars
Monday, January 13, 2014
Scoop (2006)
Woody Allen is back in pretty good form as Director and starring as a hack magician.
6 of 7 stars.
Labels: 6 stars
Waterworld (1995)
As I recall, this movie was roundly panned.
It's nearly impossible to get around the fact that no one copied the map!
Other than that, though, I liked it.
4 of 7 stars.
Labels: 4 stars
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Into the Night (1985)
If you are 40 or older, watch it for the cast. Regrettably, Jeff Goldblum is simply
not the exhausted, aerospace engineer he is trying to act as. Somewhat decent chase/comedy.
4 of 7 stars.
Labels: 4 stars
Prometheus (2012)
Seems like a new twist on the sci-fi/horror genre, to me. Avoids tons of mistakes that the typical horror movie makes. But, apparently, they hadn't established the structure of command before they left Earth??? The spacecraft is the lander??? If it wasn't, then they left
no one on board the spacecraft??? And, when the shit starts hitting the fan, it seems like a free-for-all, with everyone making spur of the moment command decisions.
Some pretty awesome fake scenery.
4 of 7 stars.
Labels: 4 stars
Cold Light of Day (2012)
It's pretty decent, for an action movie, but gets rated much lower, probably by Bruce Willis fans. Why? Bruce Willis is listed as one of the top 2 or 3 characters, but, (spoiler), he's gone after the first 10-20 minutes of the movie.
Moments of retardation present, e.g. "We're stuck on a roof, let me lower you five stories using some coaxial cable up here." The building isn't five stories long, so there is no reason for the cable to be long enough. Smart answer? Overlook the door as the enemies come out, and shoot down at their heads. It's a deadly angle.
4 of 7 stars.
Labels: 4 stars
Friday, January 10, 2014
A Gentleman's Game (2001)
It would be hard for any director to make an engaging movie about a young kid who can golf well, and the handling of young love and racism were forced, but it was pleasant enough.
4 of 7 stars.
Labels: 4 stars
How To Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Pretty typical moral-boy-abandons-principles-seeking-wrong-girl-and-easy-street movie.
I had a hard time believing he'd really be into the one he wasn't supposed to have.
4 of 7 stars.
Labels: 4 stars
THe History Boys (2006)
A homosexual friendly look at British school days among a bunch of students seeking to enter Oxford or Cambridge.
It's been a long time since I was in high school, but the characters definitely seemed a bit exaggerated.
Some of the words shared are worth sharing.
5 of 7 stars.
Labels: 5 stars
Broken City (2013)
Pretty typical political intrigue movie, a little shoddy in places, and hard to believe, but, there it is.
4 of 7 stars.
Labels: 4 stars
Knife Fight (2012)
Rob Lowe has a lot of cachet as a political operative, since West Wing, which he utilizes here.
The stories were pleasant, if a vaguely naive (while pretending to be anything but), so, I can recommend it.
6 of 7 stars.
Labels: 6 stars
The Brothers Bloom (2008)
A finer con artist movie, which avoids mindless action or chase scenes.
Purely a fable, but a person could do worse.
5 of 7 stars.
Labels: 5 stars
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Day of Wrath (2006)
Christopher Lambert, of Highlander fame, did not have much follow-on success.
Day of Wrath is a story of the Inquisition. I was expecting something like another The Name of the Rose knock-off, but found it, if nothing else, thought-provoking. What other movie, if any, is like it? Lots of fancy costumes, too.
5 of 7 stars.
Labels: 5 stars
Below (2002)
A lot went into making this movie, the direction, the writing, the acting, the casting... but it is hard to put your finger on exactly which makes it truly awful, since each contributes its own "awful" to the mix.
It also feels like none of the cast ever saw a WWII submarine movie, because they all behave in a modern way.
2 of 7 stars.
Labels: 2 stars
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
El Gringo (2012)
The perfect action movie to have people watch if you want to give them brain cancer.
Tons of useless screen flashing, repetitive jump cuts, ludicrous fight scenes (one man with two shotguns vs. 10+ men with pistols and automatic weapons), and style rip-offs aplenty.
2 of 7 stars.
Labels: 2 stars
That's My Boy (2012)
The message might have been that incest, initiated by an older female sibling, is worse than a female teacher sleeping with a student.
Godawful waste of time.
1 of 7 stars.
Labels: 1 star
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
True Colors (1991)
During the 1980s, the heroes were often the nerds. Here, we quickly learn that the scion of wealth, privilege and blondness wants to be a cop, while the lower-class kid is eager to do what it takes to get to the levers of power.
I had a hard time really believing both his good fortune in achieving access to this power. Why would a U.S. Senator be so appreciative of a one time loan of a car? OK, it was very convenient for the Senator. But why would a (supposed) Democratic Senator be so supportive of his aide when it is clear he has strong (supposed) Republican sympathies? That makes little sense. And the deal, the introduction for silence? Permanent silence like that simply can't be bought with favors or anything else.
Oh well.
Pretty skippable, even if morally upright.
3 of 7 stars.
Labels: 3 stars
Archives
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01/01/2014 - 02/01/2014
