reviewId
int64
363k
588k
userId
int64
33.9k
15.9M
itemId
int64
1
1.42M
rating
float64
1
10
title
stringlengths
1
10.9k
content
stringlengths
81
11.6k
365,449
4,888,011
156,934
5
random lungs
For years it had seemed - to me , at least - that Sydney Pollack and Harrison Ford might have to collaborate on a movie . It resulted that they collaborated on the somewhat weird " Random Hearts " . In the movie , Sgt . Dutch Van Den Broeck's ( Ford ) wife and Kay Chandler's ( Kristin Scott Thomas ) husband are having ...
364,699
4,888,011
139,699
5
I don't know anything about football . And why do we call it football if we don't play it with our feet ?
While staying with a family in Queretaro , Mexico , in summer 1999 , I saw " Varsity Blues " in the local cinema . Since I'm totally numb to anything sports-related , I only half absorbed the movie ( I spent most of the time reading the subtitles ) . Teenage boys are likely to only take interest in the whipped cream bi...
363,906
4,888,011
114,508
5
Learn to accept it as a near porno flick , and it's quite fun
While " Species " has as its actual plot a group of scientists looking for an escaped alien specimen - did somebody say " Alien " ripoff ? - I derived that the whole movie was really an excuse to show off Natasha Henstridge's breasts . If in fact that was the film's purpose , then they did a pretty good job with it ( s...
364,490
4,888,011
120,524
5
I Dream of Jeannie . . . the horror version
After so many years of genies being funny , cute , and maybe even wacky ( thanks , Robin Williams ! ) , here's a malevolent one . The overall concept in " Wishmaster " - modern person unleashes ancient evil force - is pretty routine , but there are some really neat scenes . I think that we all have to agree that the co...
365,362
4,888,011
33,065
5
vacations work better when you take a map
OK , pretty much all great artists have to start somewhere . Chuck Jones's first star was the cute-by-any-measure mouse Sniffles . I can see why Sniffles eventually disappeared to make way for other mice in the in Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies cartoons ( namely the fastest one in Mexico ) . In " Sniffles Takes a Trip ...
364,764
4,888,011
50,567
5
Even if we let there be Lyte , can there be another kind ?
Ah , we Americans patriotically remember when we were in elementary school learning about how the people in the thirteen original colonies gallantly fought the British and founded the great nation that we know today . And " Johnny Tremain " is supposed to represent this . Of course , given that it comes from Disney , t...
363,082
4,888,011
444,682
5
movies like this lead to low parodies
Usually , I like silly parodies in the vein of " Blazing Saddles " and " Airplane ! " . But some parodies just come out really low , such as " Scary Movie 2 " . However , it's worth noting that these low parodies often resulted from even lower movies . Stephen Hopkins's " The Reaping " , while not terrible , is a prime...
363,831
4,888,011
33,170
5
combining " The Birds " and Wagner's music of course doesn't equal quite what I predicted
During his first few years as director , Chuck Jones actually veered more away from the zany comedy that had come to characterize Warner Bros . animation ( although he did direct a few wacky cartoons , it seems like his work only turned to the totally crazy once he started directing Bugs Bunny ) . Two of his cartoons f...
364,501
4,888,011
28,323
5
racist material can still function as a time capsule
While it's true that " Sunday Go To Meetin ' Time " contains very stereotypical portrayals of African-Americans , it appears that the people behind the cartoon were actually taking some interest in African-American culture . The cartoon has a man skipping church , but then getting knocked out and dreaming that Satan se...
363,319
4,888,011
204,626
5
You can always torture the squeamish with this .
For the most part , " The Watcher " is another serial killer movie : there's a psychopath killing people and a detective has to stop him . But the three-way relationships between the killer ( Keanu Reeves ) , the detective ( James Spader ) and his psychiatrist ( Marisa Tomei ) add an extra , more interesting dimension ...
363,640
4,888,011
120,338
5
In Spanish class , I wrote a story portraying the famous movies of 1997 aboard the Titanic while it was sinking .
Okay , everyone knows what happens in " Titanic " , so I'll discuss a few other points . While the movie was in the theaters , one of my friends went to see it 13 times , just so that he could find goofs ; the one that he picked up on was when someone opens a door , turns his head , and you see that it's the wrong colo...
363,738
4,888,011
59,245
5
Life of Brian is my favorite biblical epic
Anyone who's read any of my reviews of most musicals and / or epics will most likely know that I only watch them so that I can trash-talk them a la " Mystery Science Theater 3000 " . " The Greatest Story Ever Told " would be perfect fodder for that show . Among my heckling remarks were : " Son , when you reign . . . " ...
363,016
4,888,011
97,757
5
Rethinking Columbus offered some good insight
In 1992 , when most of the country was celebrating the quincentenary of Columbus landing in the Americas , the educational organization Rethinking Schools published a study guide called " Rethinking Columbus " , looking at the real effects that his legacy had . One of the things that it mentioned was portrayals of cert...
365,582
4,888,011
89,686
5
Remember what they said in " Scream " ?
In " Scream " they said that the original " Nightmare on Elm Street " was neat but the sequels sucked . Of course , it's practically a given that sequels will suck . Still , Robert Englund in his most famous role is always good for a laugh . " A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 : Freddy's Revenge " features pretty much t...
364,248
4,888,011
242,998
5
( caveman's ) valentine
Mostly , this is your average horror flick : a person abused as a kid takes revenge on the tormentors . . . or is it the same person ? What I thought was really interesting about " Valentine " was that its release preceded by about a month the release of another valentine-titled suspense movie : " The Caveman's Valenti...
364,852
4,888,011
120,716
5
no comparisons with " Life is Beautiful " , please
First , I want to say that Robin Williams is one of my favorite actors , and one of the funniest people alive today . Which makes it all the more disappointing that he doesn't get to do anything in " Jakob the Liar " . A lot of people compared this movie to " Life is Beautiful " ; if anything , it just ripped that one ...
365,581
4,888,011
403,217
5
What exactly do we know about Kurt Cobain ?
Gus Van Sant went to incomprehensible extremes with the go-nowhere " Gerry " and rebounded with " Elephant " . I couldn't tell whether or not he was trying to do anything with " Last Days " . Portraying Kurt Cobain-esquire drugged-out singer Blake ( Michael Pitt ) mindlessly wondering around , the movie almost seems li...
364,302
4,888,011
50,335
5
Nobody's getting me into the army
In this semi-sequel to " From A to Z-z-z-z-z " , daydreamer Ralph Phillips dreams - at night , that is - of being various things , until a figure named Willie N . List appears and shows him the benefits of joining the army ( rather than waiting to get drafted ) . I assume that in 1957 , an army life seemed more honorab...
365,304
4,888,011
357,507
5
Boogey nights
I guess that the good thing about " Boogeyman " is that it never takes itself too seriously . It's a pretty much silly movie about a guy traumatized by a childhood incident and wondering whether or not the boogeyman still exists , and it doesn't pretend to be anything else . Still , the idea itself was fairly interesti...
364,344
4,888,011
120,753
5
hard to tell whether or not it has Wim Wenders written all over it
Maybe I've been too cruel to Wim Wenders ever since I saw " Until the End of the World " ( which is a movie that I wholeheartedly recommend ) ; ever since that movie , I expect top-notch work from him . Which isn't to say that " The Million Dollar Hotel " is a bad movie . The lack of health insurance is certainly an im...
364,115
4,888,011
120,669
5
Well , they did it .
Hunter S . Thompson's recent suicide brings " Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas " to mind again . Many people considered it unfilmable , so Terry Gilliam decided to make a movie . The result ? Well , it's not a bad movie , but it's almost too weird too understand . Reporter Raoul Duke ( Johnny Depp ) and lawyer Dr . Gonzo...
363,048
4,888,011
128,278
5
they should have just stuck with " Ishmael "
I have read Daniel Quinn's very interesting novel " Ishmael " ( in which a gorilla explains to a human the problems that humans have created in the world ) , and I would like to assert that " Instinct " didn't do the fullest job adapting it . Anthony Hopkins , Cuba Gooding Jr , Donald Sutherland and George Dzundza all ...
362,926
4,888,011
120,696
5
Is a hard rain gonna fall ? Maybe , but this one's not pathetically awful .
First off , I should identify that there's nothing special about " Hard Rain " . It's an action movie in which a bunch of people shout out their lines at various intervals . However , unlike so many action movies , this one isn't idiotic . Granted , the whole thing about a small Indiana town flooding was obviously an e...
363,034
4,888,011
50,177
5
Your mission , Mr . Graves , should you choose to accept it , is to start out in giant bug movies
Typical giant bug movie . Nuclear fallout turns regular grasshoppers into truck-sized killing machines . Scientist Ed Wainwright ( Peter Graves ) tries to figure out how to stop the over-sized insects ( the solution may or may not be nuking Chicago ) , while reporter Audrey Ames ( Peggie Castle ) investigates the whole...
365,621
4,888,011
111,003
5
a puppet of better movies
OK , how many movies have there been about aliens coming to earth and possessing people ? " The Puppet Masters " doesn't seem like much that we haven't seen before ; specifically , it looks like a remake of " Invasion of the Body Snatchers " . Still , Donald Sutherland makes the most of his role as a really creepy weir...
363,687
4,888,011
181,151
5
strange to think that Mike Nichols directed this
Knowing that Mike Nichols directed greats like " The Graduate " , " Catch-22 " , " Carnal Knowledge " and " Silkwood " , it's a real shock that he directed something as silly as " What Planet Are You From ? " . The movie has space alien Garry Shandling coming to Earth to impregnate a woman after the men on his planet l...
365,044
4,888,011
102,511
5
So was " Naked Lunch " impossible to film ?
Most of you probably know that " Naked Lunch " is not about unclothed people eating a midday meal . It's an understatement to say that the movie is about drug addiction . Based on William S . Burroughs ' autobiographical novel , exterminator Bill Lee ( Peter Weller ) gets addicted to the substance that he uses to kill ...
365,783
4,888,011
119,942
5
it's all in the timing
There is often debate about whether or not a person should see a movie without having read the novel first . That said , I will admit that I never read the novel " Primary Colors " ; I only saw the movie . It was of course loosely based on Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and the various vicissitudes therein ....
365,533
4,888,011
80,802
5
these children ain't nice
Another movie about a seemingly cute child with a not-so-cute side ; Portland's video / DVD store Movie Madness has in the horror section a whole shelf devoted to Killer Kids . In this case , a typical English family one day picks up a woman who gives birth in their house and then disappears without a trace , leaving h...
364,053
4,888,011
80,731
5
Fu fighter
Although the thought of a white person playing an Asian sort of makes us cringe , I wouldn't call Peter Sellers's final film ( also David Tomlinson's final film ) awful . Granted , this was probably less than they would have wanted to end with . But Sellers brings a certain charm to the double role of the 168-year-old ...
362,761
4,888,011
33,723
5
Abbott and Costello needed the Ghostbusters
I prefer it when comedies don't have people occasionally break out into song ( leave that to Gene Kelly , will ya ! ) . But once the unnecessary songs in " Hold That Ghost " are over , the movie gets going . Bud and Lou play gas station attendants Chuck Murray and Ferdinand " Ferdie " Jones , who inherit a murdered gan...
363,272
4,888,011
80,761
5
Starring Bing Crosby's son !
There have now been nine " Friday the 13th " sequels - plus " Freddy vs . Jason " - so the original one seems pretty sedate . Since you most likely know the plot , I'll just talk about a few aspects . Kevin Bacon appears in an early role ( and watch what happens to him ) . Bing Crosby's son Harry plays one of the couns...
365,244
4,888,011
102,558
5
actors directing do occasionally seem to have trouble
I'm not sure whether to describe " Nothing But Trouble " as funny or gross . Portraying yuppie motorist Chevy Chase and hubby Demi Moore getting stopped for speeding and getting taken to the weirdest courtroom ever conceived of , director Dan Aykroyd really makes it look like he has a messed-up mind . Playing the nasty...
364,538
4,888,011
80,663
5
Hopefully , it ends here .
Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24 Century isn't really terrible , but I don't understand why they thought that the original needed a sequel . Whereas the original was clever every step of the way - namely the conveniently alphabetical planets - there's just too much dialog here , something that director Chuck Jon...
363,130
4,888,011
33,324
5
racist yes ( but still worth seeing )
Obviously , it's hard to laugh at " All This and Rabbit Stew " nowadays , given the blatantly racist caricature . The cartoon features Bugs Bunny teasing an African-American hunter . I have to admit that some scenes are quite funny - that whole sequence with the bullets was a real hoot - but how can we judge the rest ?...
365,115
4,888,011
167,423
6
It's hard to tell whether or not " Diamonds " is forever .
Kirk Douglas , in a role probably reflecting on what happened to him in real life , plays a stroke-afflicted ex-boxer about to go on a journey of self-discovery with his son ( Dan Aykroyd ) . It's good to see that even after his stroke , Douglas hasn't lost any of his acting skills , but the movie doesn't really seem l...
364,850
4,888,011
52,603
6
not all classical music comes out the same in cartoons
After the Termite Terrace crowd had used classical music to great effect in " A Corny Concerto " , " Rhapsody Rabbit " , " Back Alley Oproar " , " Long-Haired Hare " , " Rabbit of Seville " and " What's Opera , Doc ? " , it came out a little flat in " Baton Bunny " . This short has Bugs Bunny conducting an orchestra wh...
365,122
4,888,011
95,684
6
Maybe you can only sink your teeth into this once , but it's still OK .
Oh not another vampire comedy ! Actually , this one isn't half bad . Robert Sean Leonard plays a Houston high school student who one night has a fling with a sexy babe . The only thing is , this sexy babe just happens to be a creature of the night , and she turns him into one . At first , he refuses to accept his new s...
363,499
4,888,011
87,980
6
curtain razor
Taking a break from his goof-ball roles , Bill Murray starred in this serious movie about a man's search for meaning . " The Razor's Edge " is an interesting movie alright , but I guess that it's one of those situations where they throw so much philosophical stuff at you that it's hard to digest . Is Bill Murray the ri...
365,692
4,888,011
105,001
6
Would you see it in a box ( ing ) ?
OK , so we all agree that Robert DeNiro and Jessica Lange are among the greatest stars of their generations . Well , even they can play mildly confusing roles . " Night and the City " is an example . DeNiro plays a lawyer who seeks to get into boxing . . . but what might this lead to ? This is one of those movies whose...
364,450
4,888,011
87,909
6
this movie shouldn't " bug " anyone
I have to admit that " Phenomena / Creepers " is the only Dario Argento movie that I've ever seen , but if this is any example , then his other movies must be pretty cool . Jennifer Corvino ( Jennifer Connelly ) is a student at a Swiss school where some bizarre murders have been happening . Jennifer may be the only per...
365,149
4,888,011
52,611
6
and other gigantic things
There were so many movies about radioactive fallout turning ordinary animals into skulking monsters that it sometimes gets hard to remember which is which . " Behemoth , the Sea Monster " is passable . True , it's hokey ( particularly the early scene where the guy says what killed him ) and nothing that we haven't seen...
364,173
4,888,011
52,646
6
Was the monster that guy in the Diane Arbus photo ?
We might call " The Brain That Wouldn't Die " a B-movie , but it actually wasn't too bad . Granted , the concept was pretty outlandish , but the movie is worth seeing ( if only for sci-fi fetishists ) . The plot of course has Dr . Bill Cortner ( Herb Evers ) keeping lover Jan Compton's ( Virginia Leith ) decapitated he...
364,585
4,888,011
61,401
6
Just how many times can one do this ?
This time , Jerry Lewis plays reporter Gerald Clamson , who just happens to be a dead ringer for Sid Valentine , wanted by a crime syndicate . The only thing is , Valentine is supposed to be dead , so when the thugs see Clamson , you can imagine what sorts of things they do ! Mistaken identity seems to be a frequent so...
365,372
4,888,011
209,958
6
how to " cell " an idea
Sort of expanding on " The Silence of the Lambs " , " The Cell " portrays a woman ( Jennifer Lopez ) entering a comatose killer's ( Vincent D'Onofrio ) mind so that he can help her find his latest victim . I guess that this movie is really all about the visuals as she drifts through his subconscious . If the movie has ...
364,204
4,888,011
105,428
6
now this one was just ridiculous
Sometimes , I wonder why Stephen King allows Hollywood to make certain movies from his books . For instance , " Sleepwalkers " features a scene where a woman stabs a man to death with an ear of corn ! I admit that I haven't read King's novel so I don't know whether or not it included that scene , but was that really su...
365,397
4,888,011
70,334
6
Hello to " The Long Goodbye "
Elliott Gould probably wouldn't usually seem like the choice to play a detective made famous by Humphrey Bogart , but he does a reasonable job with the role . Phillip Marlowe ( Gould ) tries to help friend Roger Wade ( Sterling Hayden ) accused of murdering his wife . Needless to say , things aren't as they seem . The ...
362,836
4,888,011
95,253
6
Aykroyd and Candy : a great combo
The Great Outdoors is what anyone would expect of a John Candy movie : completely goofy , but funny nonetheless . He plays Chet Ripley , taking his family on vacation in the wilderness . Unfortunately , Chet's unpleasant brother-in-law Roman Craig ( Dan Aykroyd ) is also there , and he just has to make everything mis...
363,206
4,888,011
43,495
6
gambling is the opposite today
Early to Bet starts off somewhat lame - as a warning not to gamble - before they start showing the usual crazy stuff ( the cat's increasingly nasty punishments ) and have a pretty humorous ending . This is of course a product of the days when people considered gambling a sin and moral failure . They probably had no i...
363,529
4,888,011
87,507
6
dangerously silly
Johnny Dangerously is one of those movies that exists for the sole purpose of being silly , much like " Airplane ! " . Michael Keaton plays Johnny Kelly , who once became a gangster under the name Johnny Dangerously , to pay his mother's ( Maureen Stapleton ) bills . His nemesis is Danny Vermin ( Joe Piscopo ) . Afte...
365,738
4,888,011
113,228
6
Who would have ever guessed that it's the same place ?
For the most part , " Grumpier Old Men " is pretty silly . Max Goldman ( Walter Matthau ) and John Gustafson ( Jack Lemmon ) are still at each other's throats when Italian immigrant Maria Ragetti ( Sophia Loren ) arrives in town and throws everything into flux . What actually struck me most about the movie was how diff...
363,710
4,888,011
260,830
6
Is this the same one that I saw ?
I've seen a few movies from Tintin books , including " The Crab with Golden Claws " . I'm assuming that this one that I'm reviewing is the same one that I saw when I was really young . Since only Tintin fans are even going to look up this movie , then I don't have to explain the story . But the one that I saw was in co...
364,602
4,888,011
70,126
6
How far can one go in ripping off Kubrick ?
When I picked up " Una gota de sangre para morir amando " ( called " Murder in a Blue World " in English ) , I think that the box loosely said something about it being a Spanish " Clockwork Orange " . It turns out that the movie is a total rip-off of " A Clockwork Orange " ( to the point where they even mention " ACO "...
364,311
4,888,011
43,265
6
a queen of a movie
Okay , so I admit that " The African Queen " is pure escapism , but you gotta love it . Katharine Hepburn plays Rose Sayer , a prim and proper missionary in German East Africa with her brother ( Robert Morley ) in 1914 . Suddenly , right after they receive news that war has broken out in Europe , the German army comes ...
365,704
4,888,011
382,077
6
keep the ending ( and for that matter , the whole plot ) hidden
Hide and Seek is one of those movies where you can only enjoy it if you know absolutely nothing about it ahead of time . I couldn't have predicted what would happen . David Callaway ( Robert DeNiro ) and his daughter Emily ( Dakota Fanning ) move to a small town after his wife Allison ( Amy Irving ) commits suicide ....
365,187
4,888,011
78,736
6
Agatha Christie meets " The Twilight Zone "
Until I saw " Agatha " , I had never even heard of the story of Agatha Christie disappearing - or hiding - in 1926 . The movie offers a possibility of what might have happened , portraying the author ( Vanessa Redgrave ) secretly checking into a health spa under a false name , while detective Wally Stanton ( Dustin Hof...
364,682
4,888,011
765,443
6
David Cronenberg should know better than to use a cliché
I have always liked David Cronenberg as a director . " Scanners " , " The Fly " , " Naked Lunch " , " Crash " and " A History of Violence " are truly one of a kind . So although " Eastern Promises " has a good premise and pulls no punches , the movie has a problem : it has long since become a cliché to portray Russians...
364,614
4,888,011
52,847
6
time capsules forever
On the one hand , " Gidget " looks like an intelligence-challenged flick , as the cute teenage girl goes to the beach to possibly meet boys . But I think that there's more to it than just that . As far as I could tell , the movie also looked at her burgeoning sexuality and her uncertainty thereof . Plus , the girls wea...
365,385
4,888,011
481,369
6
I can find yet another loose connection to 23 .
OK , " The Number 23 " features Jim Carrey in another dark role . This time , he plays dog catcher Walter Sparrow , feeling sort of uncomfortable with his job . His wife Agatha ( Virginia Madsen ) gives him a book with the same title as the movie . It not only tells a story which seems eerily similar to Walter's life ,...
362,722
4,888,011
52,805
6
marijuana flick
While the plot involves a man getting blasted off into space , running into a meteor shower , and getting turned into something resembling a golem carved out of rock and having a strong desire for blood , I notice something else here . There seem to be some references to marijuana . Aside from the fact that they talk a...
364,959
4,888,011
60,490
6
nothing particularly significant , but OK
In the somewhat confusing " Harper " , Paul Newman plays the title detective who gets hired to find a kidnapped man . As this was back in Newman's heyday , we might all think that we want to check this out as a historical reference at the very least . The truth is , " Harper " doesn't seem to be much else . It's not an...
363,761
4,888,011
155,975
6
But they don't answer the overarching question : why remake this movie ?
I still can't quite understand why Gus Van Sant followed up " Good Will Hunting " with a " Psycho " remake . Just because he could ? Granted , it was a worthy effort . But they don't really make use of the techniques that made the original so great ( such as shadows and facial expressions ) . And besides , everyone kno...
364,677
4,888,011
43,008
6
Beaky needs some SERIOUS counseling
Braindead avian Beaky Buzzard debuted in Bob Clampett's " Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid " in 1942 . Clampett brought him back in " The Bashful Buzzard " in 1945 . After a five year absence , Beaky reappeared in " The Lion's Busy " and " Strife with Father " , after which he never appeared in another theatrical short . This ...
362,808
4,888,011
60,661
6
Benign
The 1994 big screen version of " The Flintstones " was undeniably atrocious , so if you want a decent " Flintstones " movie , then " The Man Called Flintstone " works ( if only marginally ) . The plot has secret agent Rock Slang , who just happens to be Fred Flinstone's doppelganger , getting injured and replaced with ...
365,134
4,888,011
60,244
6
suddenly , RR gets kind of mean and senses danger
In the mid to late ' 60s , Warner Bros . animation was slowly but surely coming to a close . " Clippety Clobbered " is a prime example , as Wile E . Coyote receives in the mail a non-Acme product to help him catch Road Runner . Naturally , this one fails , as do his subsequent attempts . However , I notice something di...
362,771
4,888,011
94,597
6
Freddy Krueger behind the camera .
Robert Englund finally steps behind the camera , directing " 976-EVIL " , about a phone number that gives people satanic powers . As you may expect , it's not any kind of great movie ; but don't worry , it doesn't pretend to be . This movie is all about nice , fun entertainment , and it gives us just that ( plus at lea...
363,746
4,888,011
60,397
6
I can't breathe ! . . . nor can she act . . . but the movie's still pretty cool
Richard Fleischer's death yesterday brings to mind his movies , including this one . You have to forgive " Fantastic Voyage " for it's dated qualities and less-than-credible acting . I would imagine that it seemed really cool when it first came out , and I found it really cool when I first saw it . It's just that this ...
364,681
4,888,011
473,444
6
Persian black fungus ? They really got it from present-day Iran ?
I have to admit that I haven't seen Zhang Yimou's early movies , only his works from the 21st century . And it seems that he tries to outdo himself each successive time : " Hero " , " House of Flying Daggers " , and now " Curse of the Golden Flower " ( " Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia " in Mandarin ) . The plot is a l...
365,615
4,888,011
131,369
6
ed iting the world for " tv "
In a way , it was sort strange that less than a year after " The Truman Show " came out , there was another movie about a man's life getting broadcast on TV . Moreover , it seemed like whereas " TTS " was more of a biting satire , " Edtv " was going soft - maybe trying to be cute - with cameras following a video store ...
363,067
4,888,011
129,280
6
cute , but fun
I actually managed to see " The Out-of-Towners " in Mexico ( and the subtitles were occasionally out of place ) . Knowing that it stars Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn as a couple having various unpleasant adventures in New York City , we can safely assume that it mainly exists to be silly . And it doesn't disappoint . St...
363,986
4,888,011
36,004
6
silly comedy doesn't need singing
I would like these sorts of movies a lot better if they didn't have the musical scenes . I watch these movies strictly to laugh . Certainly plenty of scenes made me laugh ( namely the snowball scene ) . One can imagine being a fairly intelligent guy like Abbott's character always having to deal with a brainless sap lik...
364,684
4,888,011
113,936
6
Forrest Humps might be a neat idea for a movie
I should say that " Senior Trip " is mostly one of the silly comedies that they released in the 1990s ( of course , it was intended as such ) . I guess that on one level , it has an important lesson about paying attention to what happens in the government . In my opinion , the best parts were some of the briefer things...
365,468
4,888,011
121,765
6
I can see that Anakin was becoming Darth .
OK , we all know that this is where Anakin Skywalker ( Hayden Christensen ) has become an adult and is starting to develop Darth-like qualities . What more to say ? I still assert that Jar Jar Binks was the coolest character . I know , everyone's going to hate me for saying that , but I don't care ( why do people think...
364,171
4,888,011
381,707
6
even if the movie's dumb , it's good to see Paris Hilton mocked
Basically a big excuse to mock the Paris Hilton crowd , " White Chicks " is pretty dumb , but never dull . Shawn and Marlon Wayans play FBI agents Kevin and Marcus Copeland , who pose as a pair of Paris Hilton-like heiresses . Any goofy thing that you can imagine , this movie most likely has it . I guess that some scen...
364,286
4,888,011
443,489
6
some things made it worth seeing , but I am just not a fan of musicals
Before you read the rest of this review , you should know that I have never really liked musicals ( except for the Beatles ' movies and " West Side Story " ) . Therefore , if you really like musicals , you might as well just stop reading my review and find a review by a fan of musicals . But if you choose to learn what...
365,276
4,888,011
86,618
6
Peter Boyle , RIP
Peter Boyle's death yesterday brings to mind all his movies , including the rather silly " Yellowbeard " . The movie features Graham Chapman as the title character , an 18th-century pirate who gets released from jail to help the British government find his treasure . That's when he finds out that he has a son who has l...
363,821
4,888,011
35,889
6
no surprise that this isn't available
Flop Goes the Weasel is another one of the Warner Bros . cartoons not widely available due to its racially offensive content ( I saw it on YouTube ) . In this case , a hen - closely resembling a mammy - sees that her egg is about to hatch and runs off to get something for the chick , when a weasel steals the egg . Th...
364,626
4,888,011
60,053
6
I think I'm a clone now
When I was really young , part of what I always liked about the classic Looney Tunes cartoons was the beginning , when the Warner Bros . shield would zoom towards the audience through the concentric circles . For some reason , later on they made up a less creative intro , like the one seen in " A-Haunting We Will Go " ...
365,667
4,888,011
35,899
6
I guess that everyone had to meet someone sooner or later .
Okay , we know who Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man are , and we can safely assume that if they meet , then there's gonna be some real trouble . Yes , we pretty much know what's going to happen , but the movie does an acceptable job with the material . Lon Chaney continues his portrayal of the Wolf Man , while B...
363,885
4,888,011
113,987
6
not as good as it could have been , but Oliver Stone was not a crook for making it
America's 37th president was most famous for Watergate , but there were other aspects of his life . Oliver Stone's " Nixon " goes into some of these . It shows not only Tricky Dick's presidency ( in particular , his escalation of the Vietnam War ) , but also his early years in Orange County . However , it seems like th...
365,263
4,888,011
120,866
6
Blue in the face .
I will admit that I'd never heard of Shakespeare's play " Titus Andronicus " until the movie " Titus " came out - it was one of ol ' Bill's lesser known works . This may be one of the harder Shakespeare plays to understand , but it basically has Emperor Titus ( Anthony Hopkins ) returning from battle only to find doom ...
362,922
4,888,011
95,107
6
Keep it going when possible .
There was never anything particularly special about the Ernest movies : mostly they were excuses to have a series of nonsensical gags . But still , they were fun to watch . And believe you me , this one sure is . " Ernest Saves Christmas " has lovable hick Ernest P . Worrell ( Jim Varney ) trying to help Santa Claus fi...
363,795
4,888,011
421,054
6
these days , we make up words at an exponential rate
OK , so it was inevitable that after Keira Knightley made a splash in " Bend It Like Beckham " , she would go on to star in a series of Hollywood movies . The " Pirates of the Caribbean " trilogy is the most obvious , but there was also Tony Scott's somewhat jarring " Domino " , about Laurence Harvey's daughter who bec...
363,210
4,888,011
59,794
6
Do we debate on whether it's believable or achievable ?
OK , so we in the 21st century don't judge Sandra Dee's movies too kindly , as she usually played some nubile woman existing only to be cute , and we don't consider it particularly PC . The truth is , most of the teen flicks of the past 25 years haven't been much different , and I for one find " That Funny Feeling " mo...
365,760
4,888,011
59,800
6
Here they were starting to get gimmicky .
After " Dr . No " , " From Russia with Love " and " Goldfinger " were more oriented towards their plots , " Thunderball " was more gimmicky and focused more on gadgetry . That's not to say that it wasn't enjoyable . Here , SPECTRE steals some nukes , and James Bond ( Sean Connery ) has to stop them . Of course , part o...
363,030
4,888,011
51,755
6
here's something interesting
Every once in a while , a movie comes along that makes us wonder about certain things that don't happen ; we wonder about how things would be if they COULD happen . " I Bury the Living " is one such movie . Robert Kraft ( Richard Boone ) becomes head of the Immortal Hills cemetery . Strangely , he has an ability that n...
363,276
4,888,011
86,190
6
At this point , it was starting to get gimmicky .
Star Wars was without a doubt a masterpiece , " The Empire Strikes Back " was still good but one has to wonder why they continued the story , and " Return of the Jedi " was sort of gimmicky . Granted , it's good that they wanted to show how everything would turn out , but it almost seemed more like a video game . The...
363,945
4,888,011
36,546
6
it sucks to be Porky
One thing that I always say about " Mister Ed " , " Bewitched " and " I Dream of Jeannie " , is that it sucks to be Wilbur , Darrin and Maj . Nelson , respectively . I say that because these things that they have to experience at the hands of Ed , Samantha and Jeannie , have got to be mind-numbing . In that respect , i...
364,240
4,888,011
266,221
6
Why " Shakespeare in Love " ?
I still can't understand why they gave " Shakespeare in Love " Best Picture . I was rooting for " Life is Beautiful " . Even " Saving Private Ryan " and the conspicuously snubbed " Truman Show " were better . But at least they gave Roberto Benigni the two Oscars that he really deserved ; does anyone deny that his accep...
363,905
4,888,011
94,849
6
the rabbit-proof fence didn't work
In summer , 2003 , I took a class about Australian cinema . We watched films like " Walkabout " , " Gallipoli " and " Rabbit-Proof Fence " ; it might have thrown a wrench in the works had we watched " Celia " . At the video / DVD store , I found it under the horror section , but it's only a horror flick in the loosest ...
362,655
4,888,011
36,452
6
The ending seemed a little inappropriate , but it was mostly OK .
Bugs Bunny was still in his relative infancy when they made " Tortoise Wins by a Hare " . It portrays Bugs Bunny angry that Cecil Turtle always wins and challenging him to a race . But this time , Bugs has a dirty trick up his sleeve : he finds out Cecil's secret - his " air flow chassis " shell - and makes himself one...
364,710
4,888,011
429,487
6
What Uruguay was thinking .
A day or two after " The 77th Annual Academy Awards " , I read an article in The Wall Street Journal about how Uruguay's new populist president Tabare Vazquez had just been sworn in . But it said that the thing on the minds of most Uruguayans was not their new president , but what happened at the Oscars : Uruguayan sin...
363,923
4,888,011
120,533
6
at least he's making fun of rich New Yorkers
In the late ' 90s , we began to find Woody Allen's work stale because he was focusing on neurotic rich New Yorkers and the various goings-on in their lives . Personally , most people could give a rip about that stuff . " Deconstructing Harry " was better since it showed these people as more vicious , and " Celebrity " ...
363,376
4,888,011
80,365
6
not a masterpiece , but worth seeing
Julian ( Richard Gere ) is an LA male prostitute who bounces around the city with his various clients . The sultry Michelle ( Lauren Hutton ) eventually redeems his existence , but a little too late , as Julian is charged with murder and can't give a credible alibi . I guess that there's nothing particularly important ...
363,936
4,888,011
110,687
6
I actually didn't find it so bad .
When " North " came out , it got a scathing review in Portland's newspaper The Oregonian ( I found this out several years later , as I didn't know about the movie's release at the time ) , and Siskel & Ebert named it the worst movie of 1994 ( I knew about this at the time ) . Even the previous reviewer on IMDb . com ca...
364,628
4,888,011
110,622
6
good thing that they ended here
And not just because of the whole imbroglio involving O . J . Simpson . One gets the feeling that they were running out of ideas here . In " Naked Gun 33 : The Final Insult " , Frank Drebin ( Leslie Nielsen ) has to stop a terrorist ( Fred Ward ) from setting off a bomb at the Academy Awards . Needless to say , the who...
363,400
4,888,011
89,918
6
still , it's not quite his best
While I like pretty much all of Richard Pryor's work , I suspect that " Richard Pryor : Live and Smokin ' " probably embarrassed him a little bit . The humor is very dated , and Pryor looks somewhat uncomfortable here . But even so , he certainly tells some funny stuff . I think that my favorite of his material here is...
363,012
4,888,011
97,613
6
Happy 60th , Susan !
Since today is ( well yesterday was ) Susan Sarandon's 60th birthday , I saw fit to review one of her lesser known movies ( actually , it's Kevin Kline's movie ) . " January Man " is not a movie that I really know how to describe . Kevin Kline plays Nick Starkey , an ex-cop who gets drug back into the force to help fin...
365,866
4,888,011
50,530
6
So Little Joe Cartwright was a teenage werewolf . . .
Those rock ' n ' roll-loving teens in the ' 50s sure must have loved this movie . It tied old-style horror flicks with the modern youth culture . High school student Tony Rivers ( Michael Landon ) has a chip on his shoulder and seeks help from a psychiatrist . The only problem is , the therapy turns him into . . . well...
364,831
4,888,011
59,252
6
to make your brain swim
No doubt the fact that there were two movies about Jean Harlow in 1965 might surprise some people ; to add to that , apparently neither Carroll Baker nor Carol Lynley was the right woman to play her ( I have to admit that I've never seen any of Jean Harlow's movies - unless you count her appearance in " City Lights " -...