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Kyle_Richards
Reviews
Rebound (2005)
Not-so-hot comedy by Martin Lawrence
Well... granted I think this movie is geared towards kids but for what's it worth, it pretty much stunk. Martin didn't do anything funny besides getting hit by basketballs and this movie accomplishes nothing we haven't seen done better already. Horatio was severely underused for such a funny guy and the kids were just SO typical and predictable.
The plot was garbage and each step was more predictable than the last. In fact, its so bad I was predicting which kid would make what shot in the basketball game. That little brat from Even Stevens is in this movie and his gimmick is that he constantly vomits. I wanted to vomit with rage at the stupidity of the character. Then there's some chick on the team named "Big Mac" and her trademark is that she's a bully, bigger than all the kids on the team. These cliché, overdone characters made for no comedic situations and overall a lousy dose of comedy.
This is just another "the funniest moments were in the trailer" movies. People came looking for a good time with Martin Lawrence and Horatio Sans and got a big letdown. A much better "coach" movie would be Coach Carter, which is just coming out on DVD. Much better spent money and far more entertaining. Overall, Rebound was not a complete flop, but there are FAR better movies out there. Certainly the worst I've seen of Martin Lawrence.
Bewitched (2005)
This was not what this film should have been...
I'm going to come right out and say I am a big Will Ferell fan. I loved Old School, Elf, and Anchorman and he's always reliable for great comedic performances. That being said, although he had me laughing at times during this movie, the part of Darrin was not made for Ferell, it was made for Jim Carrey - and the fact that they made this movie before Jim Carrey could do it is a crime to remakes and cinema in general.
The cast was very well cast. Nicole Kidman looks just like Samantha and Steve Carell has Uncle Arthur down very well. Everyone from Samantha's mother to the neighbors was just the right person. However, the perfect Darrin was inexcusably Jim Carrey, and although Will Ferell ensures a good and funny performance, its not Darrin. Plain and simple. And that hurts the movie the entire way through to anyone who's even seen what Darrin looked like.
Another huge problem this movie had was the plot. MY GOD. I haven't seen a plot in a movie this bad in a long time. It is really too confusing. Needlessly so. Will Ferell plays Jack Wyatt. Jack Wyatt plays Darrin. Who was played by Dick York/Sargent. Already way too many characters in one. And you'd THINK, in a Bewitched movie, Darrin would be the main character Ferell plays, but its actually this Wyatt guy. The same relative scenario applies to Kidman's character. Who happens to be a witch in real life too. And then there's her mother in the show, who's actress is unclear whether she's a witch or not. Then the aunt from Bewitched is the real life aunt of Kidman's character, not Samantha's. And to top things off, Uncle Arthur appears as Paul Lynde, but he is some sort of ghost, or figment of Wyatt's imagination, and the neighbors are given the shaft and only appear at the very end for a minute or so and that too is unclear whether its part of the actor's world, or the show. They scrambled everything together and really screwed this movie up. The plot is pathetic and ultimately ruined the movie for me.
So, assuming you can look past the HUGE error they made by leaving Jim Carrey out and can find your way through the mess they made of the plot, the movie does have some enjoyable parts. However, this movie's enjoyable parts come from the comedy of Will Ferell and what you'd come to expect from a "Will Ferell movie" and the playful romantic scenes you'd come to expect from a "Nora Ephron movie". The problem is, it shouldn't be either of those, it should be a "Bewitched movie" and because they left tons of important aspects out, the movie you come to see isn't there. This movie is an obvious example of why every TV show shouldn't become a movie 20 years later and some things are best left as they are. The movie pretends to be Bewitched, which it's not. That's one thing "The Honeymooners" did a lot better than this movie. In that movie they don't pretend they're the original show for one minute. In this movie you don't quite know what the hell they're doing to begin with.
In conclusion, this is definitely one of Ferell's weakest films, one of Kidman's weakest films, one of Ephron's weakest films, and a poor adaptation of "Bewitched" with a cruddy storyline. It's full of charm and humor, but its missing so very much, you wish they would have just waited to deliver what this movie should have been.
Land of the Dead (2005)
HUZZAH! Land of the Dead is everything you hoped for and more.
Well, I just returned from seeing Land of the Dead at the late show, and I can't help but grin. It's a great zombie flick and has everything you could hope for in it. Big improvement on Romero's part and really leaves a good impression. It has its flaws, as does any movie, but it provides a great blend of horror and comedy and lives up to both Romero's classics and the recent comedy, Shaun of the Dead, which was terrific as well.
Land of the Dead accomplishes exactly what a "survival movie" should. A cast of likable characters, others there simply to be killed in interesting ways, and out-of-their-minds crooks trying to sabotage the whole operation. This has all of those, plus a very interesting twist on the threat, which is of course the zombies. The zombies in this installment have evolved and learned from their countless mistakes. Unofficially led by a the big ass gas station attendant labeled "Big Daddy", the zombies find a way to infiltrate one of the last remaining populations of people by using the weapons of the living and several other clever tactics. Throughout the movie the threat grows and grows and a feeling of hopelessness helps set a great mood and also many great scenes of gore and comedy. I'm not going to lie to you, this movie had me laughing harder than most of the comedies I've seen recently. I just loved it.
The characters are also just great. And the scenery is phenomenal. One such sets is the underground club in the city where many criminals and scum bags lurk. You really sense that they built an entire city here and it feels real. The characters fit in just right. Simon Baker as Riley and his second banana Charlie, played by Robert Joy, are one of the great duos I've seen in a movie in some time and they both give great performances. Asia Argento also gives a nice performance as the token spitfire chick, and manages to not be annoying and exactly rather likable, which is hard to come by these days. And then there's Pilsbury, played by the magnificent Pedro Miguel Arce, who you can't help but smile at and you find yourself rooting for them throughout the whole movie. John Leguizamo also appears, reunited with Dennis Hopper from their days as Luigi and Bowser in the Mario Bros. Movie, and plays a character who isn't content in being a slave to the system and tries desperately to make something for himself while Dennis Hopper's character is constantly preventing him and everyone else. It leads for many interesting scenes and combined all together you have a great cast of interesting characters.
This is one the more entertaining movies out this summer and highly enjoyable in my opinion. It was a thrill to watch and it has you itching for more of Romero. A fine job on this movie. Thumbs up in my book.
Madagascar (2005)
Ehhh... Uneventful with a handful of good laughs
3D animation seems to be all the craze since Toy Story and Shrek came about so successfully. Well, at this point I believe it has gone overboard. The only cartoons you see anymore are either 3D, like this, or anime... I guess I prefer the old stylings, due in part to the poor story lines that come along with many of these 3D animated films packed with 300 celebrities a piece yet feature overused cliché jokes and do-nothing plots. Small children may be entertained by the same jokes we've all seen a million times before dumbed down for them, but thats only because its the first time they saw them.....
This film in particular introduced nothing I haven't seen before with some parodies of old films that only adults could find funny, but since they're not good parodies, adults won't find them funny. No one will. Such as the lion's rant on the beach, "Darn you! Darn you to heck!" He says............ All I say is, "WOW.... That was lame..." And the corny Beaches parody complete with "Chariots of Fire"! Wow, I've never seen a comedy feature slow motion running to that music before!!! Oh wait, I have, multiple times. And when you've heard a joke a million times before, suddenly, its not so funny.
The animation style also is nothing that great. The various lemurs and penguins look very nice, I'll give them that. Each one of them fits the style nicely and conveys a nice comical appearance, especially Cedric the Entertainer and Andy Richter's lemur incarnations. However, the four main characters are just atrocities. The zebra and giraffe are just plain ugly. Their awkwardly big lips and triangle shaped features make for unappealing characters. The lion's mane is also a bothersome polygon. Overall, the style is really blocky and, as much as I can appreciate stylized work, this style really just comes out as lazy and unappealing.
The storyline is also quite the bore. Basically, the animals leave the zoo and through an unimaginative twist of fate, they wind up in Madagascar. Then... nothing happens. There is a minor conflict between Rock's zebra and Stiller's lion but its far too drawn out for what it is, which is surprising seeing how this movie is only an hour and twenty minutes.
The movie does have its pros though. There is some good humor from a handful of the characters. The scheming penguins are a joy to watch as are the idiotic lemurs. Cedric the Entertainer, Sacha Baron Cohen (of Da Ali G Show), and Andy Richter play three very funny lemurs with many comedic parts. Even David Schwimmer (of Friends) gives a overall funny performance as the Giraffe. However, Chris Rock and Ben Stiller, who you've come to expect more from, give pretty drab performances, due mostly to the drab lines, and since they're what you see most of time, the laughs are few and in between and you're left wanting more from the other characters, and basically more characters in general.
The movie doesn't live up to what it could have been, an immersing and fun movie full of colorful characters and situations. But this doesn't happen, and anyone looking for something more than a sad rehash of every comedy ever made will be disappointed. I was much more pleased with the movie "Robots", which really catered to the situation and took advantage of the fact that they were robots and brought a lot to the table. This movie could have been done with anything and doesn't take advantage of what it is at all.
Overall, its one you can miss, and I look forward to when the fad of 3D animated goldmines lacking the imagination cartooned films used to have dies down.
The Honeymooners (2005)
Certainly not as bad as everyone's making it out to be...
All right, I know very well why people hated this movie. Its because its called "The Honeymooners". The movie itself is quite entertaining and Cedric, Mike Epps, and John Leguizamo gave very funny and likable performances. The chicks were all right too and the plot was overall interesting. I mean, you knew the outcome the whole way through, but the fun part of this movie is not knowing how they'll reach the end result. It's a light hearted comedy that delivers good jokes and good spirits. I found it to be a lot better than Cedric's last movie, Johnson Family Vacation, which was really not funny at all. Its a shame that he when he actually puts out a good comedy performance he is shunned. However, its easy to see why.
The biggest mistakes the makers of this movie made were naming it "The Honeymooners" and naming the characters the same names as characters from the classic series. The movie is very reminiscent of the show, but its NOT the show. Its nothing like the show.... But it is a good movie in its own respect. Granted its not the best movie you'll ever see, but it IS an enjoyable comedy that many can enjoy, that is, unless you look at it as what its not, "The Honeymooners". This movie accomplishes everything a good comedy should- genuine performances, good casting, fun and comical storyline, and a slew of good jokes. This is not a bad movie, its just a bad remake for a show that really didn't need to be remade.
The only problem with this film is something thats wrong with many films, trying to be something else. I don't like remakes for that reason, but I still manage to find enjoyment in them by looking at them as their own films. This movie would have been far better off as its own movie. It would have worked just as well and wouldn't have received all the criticism. Its a shame that this movie is so ill-fated to already be in the bottom 100 on this site, as there are FAR worse films.
How does it compare to other remade films in theatres now? Well, its better than Herbie, but not as good as the Longest Yard. Overall, its a good time and I don't regret seeing it. Just don't expect The Honeymooners, because its not.