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Brilliant, not exactly "mindless", political satire
4 April 2002
This movie ought to be up with the best political satires America has ever seen. Yes, I'm serious. This movie is hilarious, laugh-til-your-sides-ache comedy, but don't be fooled by all of the swearing and toilet humor. This is not just intended for adults because of the language and violence. This movie skewers war, censorship, the "blame game", racism, religion and so many other topics in a way that (sorry kids) goes right over most childrens' heads.

I noticed one reviewer commented that he would not want his children to see this movie. Neither would I, until they were mature enough to understand it! But isn't that exactly the point of this movie? Ironically, I recall quite a bit of parental uproar at the time of this movie's release over kids sneaking in to see it, blaming the movie industry for not trying harder to stop the kids. The theme of this movie could not have been more appropriate, then. To summarize the basic plotline (and in so doing, unfortunately glossing over or even not mentioning some of the best parts), Kyle and co's parents blissfully give them permission to see the latest "Terence and Philip" movie without even knowing anything about it. Guess what, folks? "T&P" is R-rated and chock full of some of the most hilariously gratuitous swearing and toilet humor you've ever seen (and yes, "Shut Your F***ing Face, Uncle F***er" is exceptionally catchy, but then, how would this movie work if it weren't?). The kids walk out of the movie intrigued by their new vocabulary, and impress all of the other kids at school, who promptly run out and see the "T&P" movie themselves. The parents only begin to take note of what their kids have been up to when the kids start spouting out vulgarities. Instead of admitting to themselves that perhaps they might've done a better job of monitoring their childrens' activity, they blame Hollywood, Terence and Philip, and yes, all of Canada (T&P's home country) for their childrens' "degeneracy". Of course, the children are the only ones who see the ridiculousness of the whole scenario, and join "Le Resistance" to counteract America's war against Canada. The movie does have its flaws -- the Satan and Saddam plotline quickly becomes predictable and (dare I say it?) over-the-top -- but this movie is chock full of enough priceless comedy and satire to more than make up for them. My advice? Watch it again, and again, and again... 9 out of 10
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From the perspective of one who never read the books
23 December 2001
Warning: Spoilers
*might contain spoilers*

Before this afternoon, all I knew about "The Lord of the Rings" was that my brother had read the books in junior high and was always trying to convince me to read them. That's right, I never read them and before I comment on the movie I must state that the one thing I got out of it is that they were probably really excellent books to read....But NOT to sit in a movie theater for 3 hours and attempt to watch when you have no idea what's going on! Why didn't I like it? For one thing, I'd have to say the screenwriter depended a bit too much on the supposition that all of the viewers would have read the books before seeing the movie. Several characters were not fleshed out at all, to the point that I had no idea even of what their names were, refering to them only as "that elf guy" and "that dwarf guy" and "the other guy", etc. Several threads were left hanging, not in a "...to be continued" way, but in a "wait a minute, what the heck just happened??" way. For example, for the first hour or so of the film, nine eerie undead black riders hunt Frodo. The good guys repeatedly fight them off, cutting their heads off with swords and throwing torches at them, etc., etc., but they always manage to come back... until they suddenly disappear from the film! Why? Oh, that last time they killed them it was successful? Or they can't get Frodo in whereever it is that he is now? Or what? I had totally no clue. My second major problem with it is that I spent half of the movie with my eyes closed -- not because it was scary, mind you, but because the bizarre cinematography made me want to vomit. All of the swooping and spinning and shaking of the camera was I guess supposed to be innovative and exciting, but it only succeeded in giving me motion sickness. Furthermore, in one seemingly critical battle scene, the camera shook so vigorously that I literally could not bring the screen into focus! Help! In spite of the nausea, I really did enjoy this film for about the first hour or so, until too many characters and plotlines were thrown in with too little backstory. I can understand that this is an epic novel and it's difficult to fit the whole thing in 3 hours in a way that's understandable to those of us who know nothing about Middle Earth, but it seemed to me that an awful lot of it was just spent watching them walk around sans any action when that time could have been better spent introducing the various characters to the viewers and explaining what in the heck was going on!! In summary, to those of you like me who know nothing about "The Lord of the Rings", read the book before you see the movie!!!
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City Guys (1997–2001)
Hilarious show in the classic TNBC style!
1 October 2000
Like many of my generation, I grew up with Zack, Kelly and the gang on "Saved By the Bell." However, after the disappointments of "SBTB: The College Years" and "SBTB: The New Class," as well as graduating from not just high school but college as well, I decided I might just be a little too old for TNBC. Then one day I tuned in to "City Guys" on the recommendation of a friend, and changed my mind altogether.

"City Guys" has all the best elements of a classic TNBC show. Filmed before a live studio audience, it features Jamal and Chris, the troublemaking, girl-chasing duo; L-Train (Lionel), the humorous dim bulb of the group; Cassidy, the pretty actress; the requisite couple (Alberto, the wisecracking schemer and Dawn, the honors student/activist), and Ms. Noble, the wise but fun principal who takes no guff. Hilarious hijinks ensue!

Seriously, "City Guys" covers the gamut from "very special episodes" (a student with a shaven head is accused of being a skinhead) to wacky plotlines (Jamal, L-Train and Al join Dawn's ballet troupe). It is safe to say that "City Guys" is why I drag myself out of bed at 11am on a Saturday morning.
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City Guys (1997–2001)
A hilarious comedy in the classic TNBC style
23 September 2000
Perhaps like many of you, I grew up with Zack, Kelly and the gang on "Saved By the Bell." However, following the disappointment of "SBTB: The College Years" and "SBTB: The New Class," as well as graduating from not just high school but college as well, I decided I might just be a little too old for TNBC. Then, following a recommendation from a friend, I turned on the TV one Saturday to "City Guys," and changed my mind altogether. "City Guys" has all the right ingredients for a perfect TNBC comedy: Chris and Jamal, the girl-chasing troublemakers, L-Train, the humorously "slow" one, Cassidy, the pretty actress, the requisite couple Al (the wisecracking schemer) and Dawn (the smart activist), and Ms. Noble, the wise but fun principal who takes no guff. Hilarious hijinks ensue!

Unlike... certain other shows we all know and love... "City Guys" does not resort to stereotypes about nerds and cheerleaders. The gang at Manhattan High "keeps it real" with "special" episodes (Dawn's mom battles alcoholism, L-Train learns he has dyslexia) as well as wacky plotlines (L-Train, Al and Jamal join the ballet club, Chris, Jamal and Cassidy compete to see whose diet strategy will help Ms. Noble lose the most weight in time for her high school reunion). What more could you ask for in Saturday morning entertainment?
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Mystery Men (1999)
8/10
Either you get it, or you don't
8 August 1999
The thing with "Mystery Men" is, you need to have a certain understanding of the idiosyncrasies of superhero comic books and be able to laugh at them. If you grew up reading comic books or watching "Superfriends" or the live-action "Batman" on TV, you'll probably like "Mystery Men." If you never found anything particularly entertaining or humorous about that genre, you won't enjoy "MM." As one who grew up on superheroes, I loved this movie! First of all, great concept! Second, great script! Thirdly (and not least), fab cast! From Janeane Garofalo talking to her father's skull encased in a bowling ball to "The Spleen"'s pseudo-deep philosophies ("Until you learn to master your rage, your rage will be your master") to Geoffrey Rush's Cassanova Frankenstein threatening Ben Stiller's Mr. Furious with his very sharp pinky finger, this movie was hilarious!
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5/10
Keep your mind open, and don't listen to the critics; it's great!
19 May 1999
Warning: Spoilers
At long last, the newest "Star Wars" movie is out! Of course, everyone knows it has gotten largely panned by movie critics. Keep in mind, though, that many people are coming to this movie with 16 years worth of high expectations, and want it to be even better than the first 3. Well, it's not better than the original trilogy. But "The Phantom Menace" is a great movie!

The special effects are amazing, including a spectacular pod race, an unbelievable Coruscant and Gungan City, and the best lightsaber fight yet, but it's not just the effects but also the plot that makes this compelling. Yes, there is a plot *and* good acting, contrary to what you may have heard. Liam Neeson, Ewan MacGregor, Jake Lloyd, Ray Parks and Ian McDiarmid do wonderful jobs, although it's true that many of them do not have enough screen time. I cannot say enough about Natalie Portman! Awesome!

There are twists and turns you do not know about, and you will be shocked by some events (unless you've spent way too much time reading spoilers. But if you did, you shouldn't have expected any surprises). Yes, there are some aspects that are kiddy-ized, i.e., Jar Jar (no worse than the Ewoks, IMHO, but if they were going to make him nearly incomprehensible, they shouldn't have had him speaking English) and the announcer at the pod race. But adults can definitely enjoy this as well. Interesting religious analogies, and fun foreshadowing (I loved hearing Senator Palpatine say "Young Skywalker")! This is a great setup to the presumably darker Episodes 2 and 3, and I walked out excited for the next one!!!

p.s. Couldn't resist, I have to say my only real problem with the movie was what was up with the accents on the Trade Federation aliens? They were really overdone and detracted from their scenes. Other than that it was a good movie, of course.
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Dave (1993)
10/10
Excellent political romantic-comedy (!)
7 January 1999
Like any Kevin Klein movie, this movie was excellent! When this movie opened in early 1993, it was considered a parable for Bill Clinton taking over the presidency from George Bush: Dave, an idealistic newcomer with liberal ideas who just happens to be a presidential lookalike, is brought in to replace President Bill Mitchell (who looks suspiciously like Bush) when Mitchell goes into a coma. Klein and Weaver are both excellent and very likable, and Ving Rhames gives one of his earliest appearances in a memorable turn as bodyguard to the president.
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