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chackers
Reviews
Funny Games (2007)
Glaring oversight
!!!SPOILER AHEAD!!! What I thought was unrealistic was that both parents didn't go nuts on those kids, as soon as the father got hit with the golf club, and ESPECIALLY after the kids indicated that the entire family would be dead by morning. Pain or not, when you realize your child's in danger, you react with extreme prejudice; your anger would certainly numb you temporarily, while you provided for your kid's safety. Otherwise, very good acting, especially from Devon Gearhart ("Georgie") and Michael Pitt ("Paul"). In fact, I was wondering if it was good for a kid Devon's age to even ACT in scenes this intense, some of which looked genuinely greuling.
Spider-Man (2002)
Humorless
This is strictly a by-the-numbers plot, and utterly lacks visual flair ("Star Wars" had more convincing special effects, and it's 25 years older!). I loved the cartoon when I was a kid, especially because Spiderman seemed to be the only superhero with not only a sense of humor, but a self-deprecating one at that (I don't think I was consciously aware of it at the time, but in retrospect, I realize that this is one aspect of the cartoon I enjoyed most). Toby McGuire's "flat" performances have worked well in other movies, but he has been miscast here: this rendition of Peter Parker/Spiderman is utterly humorless. And except for the extraordinary rain scene starring Kirsten Dunst's wet blouse, the movie isn't even worth watching even if someone else paid to rent it.
Elf (2003)
Chuckled 2 or 3 times; Not even worth renting
I was taken completely by surprise moments ago upon discovering that the current average rating for this movie was 7.3. I might have chuckled twice the entire movie; an episode of almost any current sitcom would yield more laughs in its half-hour (and would cost much less, too)! It was so bad that I commented to my wife that the movie needed a laugh track (maybe I'm watching too much TV...). I am so disappointed with this movie that I'm sending a photocopy of my ticket stub to New Line Cinema to ask for a refund. Will Farrell was trying, but he had little to work with; the entire production was simply too weak (point: studios really need to put out fewer, better movies: in the 70's, I remember that "Star Wars" played at one local theater for more than a year. Nowadays, a "smash" is here and gone in 2 weeks.). I'm almost as disappointed with my fellow IMDb users as I am with this movie: I used to consider IMDb a good barometer of a movie's worth; I'm very suspicious now. My only hope is that this is some kind of IMDb abuse perpetrated by New Line Cinema. Hope not...
Love, American Style (1969)
"Happy Days" pilot?
I seem to remember a vignette that is supposed to take place in the 50's, possibly featuring Ron Howard, in which a girl to whom he's attracted expresses an interest in him when she discovers that his parents just bought a television set. This may have been the pilot (of sorts) for "Happy Days". Does this ring a bell, anyone? Thanks.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Suspension of disbelief required
There is an "IQ floor" below which viewers are simply not intellectually equipped to appreciate this movie. Required for enjoyment of The Blair Witch Project is what ee cummings called "the suspension of disbelief": i.e. you must disregard the fact that you know this movie is a product of the motion picture industry and view it as if you really believe that it is actually the recovered footage of missing film students. But, as I said, some lack the intellectual agility to accomplish such a feat, and, consequently, can not enjoy this movie as it was designed to be.
Another factor that contributes to the negative reviews is that modern American movie viewers have been spoiled by the non-stop razzle-dazzle of what are now all-too-common special effects. Yes, this movie begins slowly, which I think might be where the more impatient viewers are lost; they never give it a chance (Remember `Alien'? That movie started out so slowly, even the characters were asleep! And look how worth-while that wait was!).
But again, those who could manage to suspend their disbelief would be fascinated from the start by this pseudo-documentary, and horrified by the thought that what they're watching is authentic.
The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Eerie, gorgeous, incredibly feminine
I figured out why I felt such a sense of loss after watching this movie, and why other males may feel the same way: the time, the circumstances, and the Lisbon girls are, together, very appealing, and consequently, males envision themselves a part of it, as a new character that also has the perspective of the movie viewer. This sense of loss comes, I think, when you recognize that, even if such a scenario was viable, it's for naught, because the Lisbon girls are already gone. I suppose that I feel the way the neighborhood boys would have felt: if a romance with a Lisbon girl might ever have been possible, it certainly is no more.