DVDizzy Forum

Arachnophobia.

And, I swear to God, when the big climactic scene with Jeff Daniels in the cellar came up... a bug crawled up my leg.

Medicine Man - We watched this in Biology over the past 2 classes. Eh, it was ok. Not great.

Mean girls

Yes, I admit it: I, a 23 year old straight man, have voluntarily watched Mean Girls on my own, and liked it very much. There are several reasons for this:

1.) It's one of the few (teen-targeted) comedies out there that's actually funny. Not because of childish armpit-farts and raunchy sex-jokes, like most of them. But it had really smart, clever writing and the actors for once actually knew how to deliver the jokes in a funny way.

2.) It's never overdone. Even if the characters are slight exaggerations of actual 'types' of people (nerds, popular girls etc.), the filmmakers never go overboard with it, which is a trap most teen-comedies fall into.

3.) Beautiful women. Oh my God, there were so many of them. Turns out Lindsay Lohan is quite attractive after all, but the 'Plastics' were so too. All of them. Even though they were terrible persons, they looked terrific. Christmas will never be the same again (those who have seen the film probably will know which scene I'm thinking about here).

BMX Bandits - one of my favorite movies growing up... 15-20 years later, nostalgia glasses are broken and I can see what it really is: a very long commercial for BMX bikes. It's not without its merits though, it's kind of fun but in a cheesy way. Oh, it's also Nicole Kidman's first movie role.

I've had a bit of a Chris O'Dowd session last night, watching two new movies he stars in.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel

Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910554/videogallery

According to the box, this is "Live Shaun of the Dead Meets Doctor Who". No, it's not.

But it is a surprisingly good romp which actually makes use of Time Travel and potential problems and paradoxes it may cause. The three main stars (Chris O'Dowd, Marc Wootton and Dean Lennox Kelly) are all familiar faces on UK television, and each is likeable in their roles.

Its a BBC films/HBO Films co-production so the effects aren't great, or numerous and its basically dialogue driven. But its still entertaining.

The Boat That Rocked
Trailers: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131729/trailers

This is another Mamma Mia. It's something which on the face of it simply shouldn't work half as well as it does. It's littered with flaws - some of them so frustratingly obvious that you wonder why they weren't removed at the time. I can only assume that its down to the ego of Richard Curtis and Working Title wanting to appease him.

There's a few moments where the comedy can be viewed as distasteful - such as an attempt to trick a girl into having sex in the dark with a person pretending to be her intended partner, which I really don't feel fits with the general upbeat, free-wheeling feel of the film. There's plenty of other sequences which depict the anarchy and hedonistic nature of the radio staff which don't feel distasteful. So such sequences really weren't required.

And that's the main problem. The film is 2 hours 5 minutes and its way to long for a comedy film. It's a common problem these days - most comedy films are just too long and most don't justify their length. This film could easily have been the more traditional 1 and a half hours and would have benefited as a result. I hear the US release (renamed Pirate Radio) will be trimmed by 20-odd minutes, and I'm sure it will be a better film by doing so.

But its easy to critisise. At the end of the day, the film still was a great, wonderful, feel-good movie. It shouldn't work. It resorts to cliché and lazy co-incidences at times. Some scenes are superficial to the what can only be called "loose plot", while other scenes seem to go on far beyond their natural length and most worryingly the same joke (about somebody's name) is laboured way beyond breaking point (and arguably isn't funny to begin with).

But despite all that, the film works. You care about the characters - even the ones which display a mild-cruel streak. And that's because you like them - each and every one of them. I suspect it has more to do with the actors than the writing to be honest, but the reason doesn't matter. When the ship is sinking and it genuinely looks like they may die (well, as genuine as you can get to near-death in a feel-good movie) you do feel involved. The boat sinking scenes are much more emotional and involving than those in Titanic, despite being smaller, cheaper and... well... mostly undramatic. Their rescue is sign-posted early in the film with reference to a certain historical event, but damn it all, when it happens you feel like cheering at the screen!

What really boggles my mind is that the original cut of the film was over three hours! (and we get about 3/4 of an hour of these scenes as deleted scenes on the blu-ray)!

The Time Traveler's Wife - Seriously? The book was so amazing, and this wasn't. At all. I was majorly diasppointed, particularly in Eric Bana's performance, because Rachel McAdams was wonderful in it. I think I need to reread the book just to get rid of the bat taste the movie left in my moth.

Rocky(1976)

I thought it was an okay movie, but there were some scenes that dragged a bit.

3.5/5

Crazy/Beautiful - This was actually a very good teen drama/romance. It stars Kirsten Dunst as an out-of-control rich girl who falls in love with a poor, Mexican, straight-A student, played by Jay Hernandez. They overcome the struggles of two different worlds clashing, and try to make the best out of it. Recommended.

Big Fish-an unusual film, especially for Tim Burton to direct. His visuals are less literal and more metaphorically supportive of truths that are understandably tall. A beautiful movie, and one that deserves one or two viewings.

Plus, it's one of the few Tim Burton films that doesn't star Johnny Depp. Helena Carter plays a couple of minor roles, but barely intrudes. Ewen Mcgregor, Danny Devito, Albert Finney, Steve Buscemi and the rest all do the film justice.

Mad Money - This was... cute. I actually did laugh once or twice, and it wasn't the most horrible thing I've ever seen.

Just got finished with Enchanted on blu-ray. Enough has been said about the movie itself, but the picture quality is exceptional for a romantic comedy. And now I have HD Audio, it really is something. What stood out most to me was the opening and the musical numbers. Sometimes, I swore I could isolate every single instrument with nothing more than my own hearing. Thanks a lot, DynamicEQ!

The Hottest State - I loved this movie! It was written and directed by Ethan Hawke, who wrote the novel the film was based upon in 1997. He also stars in it, alongside Mark Webbs, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Michelle Williams, and Laura Linney. STRONGLY recommended!

Inglorious Basterds - 9/10

Really cool movie, Tarantino movies are amazing, although there's been a lot of long conversations and most of them aren't even in English, so keep that in mind.

The Hangover - for the best reviewed (mainstream) comedy of the year it wasn't that funny. Solid but overhyped.

27 Dresses - cute movie. Two leads have a great chemistry.

Paradise - good drama about a boy sent on a summer vacation to family friends who are still coping with the death of their own son. Great early performances of Elijah Wood and Thora Birch. Recommended.

Y Tu Mama Tambien - fantastic film. The sexual nature of the movie may be off-putting to some, but, unlike some other films, it's there for a reason. Several sequences seem disjointed from the rest of the movie, but it all comes together in the end. The ending itself is heart-breaking (for multiple reasons). Highly recommended.

The Proposal - great. Though it kind of tried to channel While You Were Sleeping in the end.

I decided to watch Singin in the Rain last night. I thought it was a pretty good musical. One thing I learned that I did not know was that some of the songs were taken from older musicals.

Once again I watched 3 movies only this one was a "franchise" somewhat.

Scooby Doo

After solving the case of the Luna Ghost, an uncooperative Mystery Inc. splits apart. Two years later, the group are unexpectedly reunited to solve mysteries occurring at the remote amusement park Spooky Island.

The plot was fairly respectful to the franchise in various ways, a couple of nods to the show(s) . Seein Scooby in Computer form was kinda hard to take in but the animation was fairly impressive, the character development was strong for Velma,Daphne and Fred as we see different sides of their personalities. There's also a surprise villain that the gang faces (not gon'na spoil the surprise)

I'd recommend this summer hit if you need a good horror comedy and I'd also suggest you watch some of the tv show(s) (IE Scooby Doo Where Are You, The Scooby Doo Show).

Monsters Unleashed

Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo - are attending the grand opening of the Coolsonian Criminology Museum in Coolsville, the evening's premiere exhibition is the costumes of the many monsters Mystery Inc. has faced over the years. However, the night turns into a crime scene when an Evil Masked Figure attacks the museum with the Pterodactyl Ghost costume that has come to life and escapes with the Black Knight Ghost and the 10,000 Volt Ghost costumes.


Not as good as the 1st film, this one is more true to the franchise. The Villains costumes are rendered realisti (some are cgi) for dramatic effect, seein the classic villains, like The Volt Ghost and Tar Monster comin to life was a delight for me to see... Plot points could've been a lil stronger and character development sorta focus on Shag/Scooby.

Again I'd recommend this film if you need a good laugh or just want to see a classic properity reimagined.

Mystery Begins

When four teenage sleuths (plus one dog detective) first met. Unjustly accused of staging a spooky practical joke complete with ghosts, the kids are suspended from Coolsville High. To clear their names, they team to solve the supernatural mystery...

This film was fairly watchable, I'd recommend it for renting, there's a new cast ( unknown teen stars) and they do a pleasing job of portrayin the gang, Scooby's animation is more "Toony" with realistic personality, the story mainly focus on Shaggy's insecurity of fittin in and course how Mystery Inc was formed.

Riding in Cars with Boys - I loved this movie. Drew Barrymore gives a great performance as a young mom coping with her decision to have her child at fifteen, and throw her life away in the process. I actually thought Brittany Murphy was fantastic in this, and she needs to do more roles like she did in the 90's. Maggie Gyllenhaal's VERY brief performance was also a plus.

The Queen - Honestly, I thought this was overrated. Helen Mirren gave a riveting performance as Queen Elizabeth II, but the film was a whole was overhyped. I did really enjoy the Princess Diana montages and clips, though.

Missing (1982)

A few days ago, we remembered the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. The people of Chile also remember 9/11, but in their case it's September 11th, 1973. That was the day that the democratically elected government of socialist president Salvador Allende was overthrown by the military, headed by general Augusto Pinochet. His facist dictatorship would last until 1990 and ultimately would cost over 30,000 lives.

In this film, idealist American journalist Charlie gets rounded up by the military and then 'disappeared', which happened to a lot of Chileans. His wife Beth (Sissy Spacek) and father Ed (Jack Lemmon) are going on a quest to find him, but they find that the American ambassador and other American officials and diplomats aren't very eager to help them. Beth already knows why this is: the brutal coup d'état was arranged and supported by the US Nixon-Kissinger administration. Ed, though, is a conservative and won't accept this easily. But when the Americans start to work against him, he slowly changes his mind...

The Nightmare Before Christmas - first time watcher and I have to agree with UD's review: it's not bad but it's not that good either. I prefer Corpse Bride. The visuals and the songs were great though.

It wasn't my favorite movie of all-time or anything, but I really liked this as a kid. One of the reasons was because it was so stark and business-like. So, yes, I admit it. I feel a lot like Frank Cross at times. But this movie just makes it so easy to agree with him. You know? His brother does spout out pretty flat and lifeless drivel. His secretary is too easy to abuse. When people criticize him (or anyone else in the movie- you'll notice in the scene where Elliot Loudermilk / spell? / is splashed by the cab), they act like it's the very first time they've ever encountered rudeness. Which actually is part of the movie's appeal and all its' fun. That and the pitch blacker than black comedy of the dialogue. My best friend and I still crack up at the- "This is MY little boy!" "Alright, then you beat him" exchange. And, like I had to even bring it up- Carol Kane's fairy bitch ghost is just the Queen of all twisted movie... well, since this is really Frank's show, I'll say it: she's a villain. Then, the movie completely changes its' spots by the end. When Frank turns pure, well it's impossible to accept it. That means you have to go back and re-evaluate everything you've seen. It really takes the fun out of Frank's mean streak. Not because that's the way we all are underneath our politeness. But because... there's no good reason Frank couldn't have waited for Claire to make that phone call. Symbolically, that was his moment of redemption and that's the one moment I didn't feel like laughing (but how can you resist- "these are big girls, they can do it themselves!"). He's beyond unreasonable. He at times is unreasonable even by his own standards. I can't believe when he says things like, "that was a rotten thing to do," and "this is just a possible future, right?" that he's realizing he's been a schmuck.

This might sound like nitpicks to a fan, but the fun of this movie depends on getting into the Scrooge spirit. Because this more than any other A Christmas Carol movie (that I've seen) wants to make the audience enjoy being mean. This could have been so much more fun if the ending had been a little less... "Party hardy, Marty!" Though, this movie at times gave me a serious Tales from the Crypt vibe. And that makes it worth recommending.