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A|clumsily|manufactured|exploitation|flick|,|a|style-free|exercise|in|manipulation|and|mayhem|. |
The|whole|affair|,|true|story|or|not|,|feels|incredibly|hokey|...|(|it|)|comes|off|like|a|Hallmark|commercial|. |
What|'s|missing|is|what|we|call|the|`|wow|'|factor|. |
The|nicest|thing|that|can|be|said|about|Stealing|Harvard|(|which|might|have|been|called|Freddy|Gets|Molested|by|a|Dog|)|is|that|it|'s|not|as|obnoxious|as|Tom|Green|'s|Freddie|Got|Fingered|. |
...|Tara|Reid|plays|a|college|journalist|,|but|she|looks|like|the|six-time|winner|of|the|Miss|Hawaiian|Tropic|Pageant|,|so|I|do|n't|know|what|she|'s|doing|in|here|... |
The|young|stars|are|too|cute|;|the|story|and|ensuing|complications|are|too|manipulative|;|the|message|is|too|blatant|;|the|resolutions|are|too|convenient|. |
Normally|,|Rohmer|'s|talky|films|fascinate|me|,|but|when|he|moves|his|setting|to|the|past|,|and|relies|on|a|historical|text|,|he|loses|the|richness|of|characterization|that|makes|his|films|so|memorable|. |
I|highly|recommend|Irwin|,|but|not|in|the|way|this|film|showcases|him|. |
It|'s|been|13|months|and|295|preview|screenings|since|I|last|walked|out|on|a|movie|,|but|Resident|Evil|really|earned|my|indignant|,|preemptive|departure|. |
This|picture|is|mostly|a|lump|of|run-of-the-mill|profanity|sprinkled|with|a|few|remarks|so|geared|toward|engendering|audience|sympathy|that|you|might|think|he|was|running|for|office|--|or|trying|to|win|over|a|probation|officer|. |
Malone|does|have|a|gift|for|generating|nightmarish|images|that|will|be|hard|to|burn|out|of|your|brain|. |
But|the|movie|'s|narrative|hook|is|way|too|muddled|to|be|an|effectively|chilling|guilty|pleasure|. |
Though|it|goes|further|than|both|,|anyone|who|has|seen|The|Hunger|or|Cat|People|will|find|little|new|here|,|but|a|tasty|performance|from|Vincent|Gallo|lifts|this|tale|of|cannibal|lust|above|the|ordinary|. |
A|Blair|Witch|-|style|adventure|that|plays|like|a|bad|soap|opera|,|with|passable|performances|from|everyone|in|the|cast|. |
Diaz|wears|out|her|welcome|in|her|most|charmless|performance |
It|is|too|bad|that|this|likable|movie|is|n't|more|accomplished|. |
The|actors|try|hard|but|come|off|too|amateurish|and|awkward|. |
The|plot|has|a|number|of|holes|,|and|at|times|it|'s|simply|baffling|. |
An|ill-conceived|jumble|that|'s|not|scary|,|not|smart|and|not|engaging|. |
Brainless|,|but|enjoyably|over-the-top|,|the|retro|gang|melodrama|,|Deuces|Wild|represents|fifties|teen-gang|machismo|in|a|way|that|borders|on|rough-trade|homo-eroticism|. |
Gets|bogged|down|by|an|overly|sillified|plot|and|stop-and-start|pacing|. |
``|What|John|does|is|heroic|,|but|we|do|n't|condone|it|,|''|one|of|the|film|'s|stars|recently|said|,|a|tortuous|comment|that|perfectly|illustrates|the|picture|'s|moral|schizophrenia|. |
Like|coming|into|a|long-running|,|well-written|television|series|where|you|'ve|missed|the|first|half-dozen|episodes|and|probably|wo|n't|see|the|next|six|. |
Its|generic|villains|lack|any|intrigue|(|other|than|their|funny|accents|)|and|the|action|scenes|are|poorly|delivered|. |
Dripping|with|cliche|and|bypassing|no|opportunity|to|trivialize|the|material|. |
Hard-core|slasher|aficionados|will|find|things|to|like|...|but|overall|the|Halloween|series|has|lost|its|edge|. |
Stiff|and|schmaltzy|and|clumsily|directed|. |
The|story|the|movie|tells|is|of|Brian|De|Palma|'s|addiction|to|the|junk-calorie|suspense|tropes|that|have|all|but|ruined|his|career|. |
Too|many|improbabilities|and|rose-colored|situations|temper|what|could|'ve|been|an|impacting|film|. |
Generic|slasher-movie|nonsense|,|but|it|'s|not|without|style|. |
With|tiny|little|jokes|and|nary|an|original|idea|,|this|sappy|ethnic|sleeper|proves|that|not|only|blockbusters|pollute|the|summer|movie|pool|. |
It|sticks|rigidly|to|the|paradigm|,|rarely|permitting|its|characters|more|than|two|obvious|dimensions|and|repeatedly|placing|them|in|contrived|,|well-worn|situations|. |
Ever|see|one|of|those|comedies|that|just|seem|like|a|bad|idea|from|frame|one|? |
Once|Ice-T|sticks|his|mug|in|the|window|of|the|couple|'s|BMW|and|begins|haranguing|the|wife|in|bad|stage|dialogue|,|all|credibility|flies|out|the|window|. |
The|best|drug|addition|movies|are|usually|depressing|but|rewarding|. |
Quitting|,|however|,|manages|just|to|be|depressing|,|as|the|lead|actor|phones|in|his|autobiographical|performance|. |
It|would|be|great|to|see|this|turd|squashed|under|a|truck|,|preferably|a|semi|. |
In|the|end|,|all|you|can|do|is|admire|the|ensemble|players|and|wonder|what|the|point|of|it|is|. |
For|most|movies|,|84|minutes|is|short|,|but|this|one|feels|like|a|life|sentence|. |
While|Glover|,|the|irrepressible|eccentric|of|River|'s|Edge|,|Dead|Man|and|Back|to|the|Future|,|is|perfect|casting|for|the|role|,|he|represents|Bartleby|'s|main|overall|flaw|. |
Shatner|is|probably|the|funniest|person|in|the|film|,|which|gives|you|an|idea|just|how|bad|it|was|. |
Tries|so|hard|to|be|quirky|and|funny|that|the|strain|is|all|too|evident|. |
As|immaculate|as|Stuart|Little|2|is|,|it|could|be|a|lot|better|if|it|were|,|well|,|more|adventurous|. |
Simply|a|re-hash|of|the|other|seven|films|. |
With|jump|cuts|,|fast|editing|and|lots|of|pyrotechnics|,|Yu|clearly|hopes|to|camouflage|how|bad|his|movie|is|. |
He|fails|. |
I|found|myself|more|appreciative|of|what|the|director|was|trying|to|do|than|of|what|he|had|actually|done|. |
A|very|depressing|movie|of|many|missed|opportunities|. |
Goes|on|and|on|to|the|point|of|nausea|. |
By|turns|numbingly|dull-witted|and|disquietingly|creepy|. |
Boy|,|has|this|franchise|ever|run|out|of|gas|. |
One|problem|with|the|movie|,|directed|by|Joel|Schumacher|,|is|that|it|jams|too|many|prefabricated|story|elements|into|the|running|time|. |
The|comedy|is|nonexistent|. |
...|a|bland|,|pretentious|mess|. |
It|'s|a|pedestrian|,|flat|drama|that|screams|out|`|amateur|'|in|almost|every|frame|. |
A|bland|animated|sequel|that|hardly|seems|worth|the|effort|. |
It|'s|not|just|the|vampires|that|are|damned|in|Queen|of|the|Damned|--|the|viewers|will|feel|they|suffer|the|same|fate|. |
If|religious|films|are|n't|your|bailiwick|,|stay|away|. |
Otherwise|,|this|could|be|a|passable|date|film|. |
This|is|the|case|of|a|pregnant|premise|being|wasted|by|a|script|that|takes|few|chances|and|manages|to|insult|the|intelligence|of|everyone|in|the|audience|. |
The|pace|and|the|visuals|are|so|hyped|up|that|a|curious|sense|of|menace|informs|everything|. |
Stuffy|,|full|of|itself|,|morally|ambiguous|and|nothing|to|shout|about|. |
It|is|most|of|the|things|Costner|movies|are|known|for|;|it|'s|sanctimonious|,|self-righteous|and|so|eager|to|earn|our|love|that|you|want|to|slap|it|. |
Do|n't|let|the|subtitles|fool|you|;|the|movie|only|proves|that|Hollywood|no|longer|has|a|monopoly|on|mindless|action|. |
Chai|'s|structure|and|pacing|are|disconcertingly|slack|. |
To|be|oblivious|to|the|existence|of|this|film|would|be|very|sweet|indeed|. |
The|director|,|with|his|fake|backdrops|and|stately|pacing|,|never|settles|on|a|consistent|tone|. |
One|just|waits|grimly|for|the|next|shock|without|developing|much|attachment|to|the|characters|. |
Instead|of|panoramic|sweep|,|Kapur|gives|us|episodic|choppiness|,|undermining|the|story|'s|emotional|thrust|. |
The|director|seems|to|take|an|unseemly|pleasure|in|(|the|characters|'|)|misery|and|at|the|same|time|to|congratulate|himself|for|having|the|guts|to|confront|it|. |
This|dubious|product|of|a|college-spawned|(|Colgate|U.|)|comedy|ensemble|known|as|Broken|Lizard|plays|like|a|mix|of|Cheech|and|Chong|and|CHiPs|. |
The|movie|does|n't|think|much|of|its|characters|,|its|protagonist|,|or|of|us|. |
Super|Troopers|is|an|odd|amalgam|of|comedy|genres|,|existing|somewhere|between|the|often|literal|riffs|of|early|Zucker|Brothers\/Abrahams|films|,|and|the|decidedly|foul|stylings|of|their|post-modern|contemporaries|,|The|Farrelly|Brothers|. |
...|will|always|be|remembered|for|the|9-11|terrorist|attacks|. |
After|seeing|the|film|,|I|can|tell|you|that|there|'s|no|other|reason|why|anyone|should|bother|remembering|it|. |
Made|me|feel|uneasy|,|even|queasy|,|because|(|Solondz|'s|)|cool|compassion|is|on|the|border|of|bemused|contempt|. |
As|a|kind|of|colorful|,|dramatized|PBS|program|,|Frida|gets|the|job|done|. |
But|,|for|that|,|why|not|watch|a|documentary|? |
With|minimal|imagination|,|you|could|restage|the|whole|thing|in|your|bathtub|. |
Nights|feels|more|like|a|quickie|TV|special|than|a|feature|film|...|It|'s|not|even|a|TV|special|you|'d|bother|watching|past|the|second|commercial|break|. |
Although|...|visually|striking|and|slickly|staged|,|it|'s|also|cold|,|grey|,|antiseptic|and|emotionally|desiccated|. |
You|can|see|where|Big|Bad|Love|is|trying|to|go|,|but|it|never|quite|gets|there|. |
Friday|After|Next|is|the|kind|of|film|that|could|only|be|made|by|African-Americans|because|of|its|broad|racial|insensitivity|towards|African-Americans|. |
It|'s|not|as|awful|as|some|of|the|recent|Hollywood|trip|tripe|...|but|it|'s|far|from|a|groundbreaking|endeavor|. |
The|only|thing|``|swept|away|''|is|the|one|hour|and|thirty-three|minutes|spent|watching|this|waste|of|time|. |
One-sided|documentary|offers|simplistic|explanations|to|a|very|complex|situation|. |
...|Stylistically|,|the|movie|is|a|disaster|. |
The|corpse|count|ultimately|overrides|what|little|we|learn|along|the|way|about|vicarious|redemption|. |
As|violent|,|profane|and|exploitative|as|the|most|offensive|action|flick|you|'ve|ever|seen|. |
Egoyan|'s|work|often|elegantly|considers|various|levels|of|reality|and|uses|shifting|points|of|view|,|but|here|he|has|constructed|a|film|so|labyrinthine|that|it|defeats|his|larger|purpose|. |
Life|or|Something|Like|It|has|its|share|of|high|points|,|but|it|misses|too|many|opportunities|. |
This|is|a|truly|,|truly|bad|movie|. |
Despite|bearing|the|Paramount|imprint|,|it|'s|a|bargain-basement|European|pickup|. |
What|'s|hard|to|understand|is|why|anybody|picked|it|up|. |
Wiser|souls|would|have|tactfully|pretended|not|to|see|it|and|left|it|lying|there |
Believability|was|n't|one|of|the|film|'s|virtues|. |
Sewer|rats|could|watch|this|movie|and|be|so|skeeved|out|that|they|'d|need|a|shower|. |
The|Santa|Clause|2|'s|plot|may|sound|like|it|was|co-written|by|Mattel|executives|and|lobbyists|for|the|tinsel|industry|. |
His|best|film|remains|his|shortest|,|The|Hole|,|which|makes|many|of|the|points|that|this|film|does|but|feels|less|repetitive|. |
Just|another|disjointed|,|fairly|predictable|psychological|thriller|. |
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