Reviews

This is a kids' movie, to say the least, but since I'm a kid at heart, I enjoyed every minute of it. I wonder what people expect from a cartoon-turned live-action movie anyway...well, judging from all the negative reviews, I'd say a lot. And might I also say: get a grip! It's a cartoon...turned into a live-action movie. It's supposed to be silly, goofy, and over-the-top. It's based on a car-toon. It's not rocket surgery.

I have loved the Fairly Oddparents since they started coming on Nickelodeon many, many years ago. I like Drake Bell, and I love Daniella Monet...a lot. She's always been a really cute, pleasant actress to watch, and now that's she's an adult, she has turned into a stellar beauty with lots of acting potential. I even watch a guilty pleasure (Victorious) with her in it, and the entire cast of that show is just a fun bunch to watch.

This movie has all the "classic" characters, with Vicky being the only exception that I didn't really care for. It's a tried-again standard plot of the cartoon series, so nothing new there, and the ending is a little forced and over-the-top (even for this movie), but I still watched the entire thing, beginning to end, never got bored, and even chuckled a few times. It was fun, and Mr Crocker actually stole the show. I was actually hoping he'd be the main bad guy, but nothing doing. I guess the writers/directors/producers didn't want to go that far down Timmy Turner Lane at this point in the series.

Daniella Monet is an absolute beauty, and I hope she doesn't do anything silly like resorting to plastic surgery to fix her (a tad childish) cheeks. She'll grow out of them if she can just wait. And those boots she wore: red vinyl go-go boots, very reminiscent of the ones Mary Horowitz wears in the movie All About Steve. I wonder if maybe the wardrobe/costume designers were related somehow...

Enjoy it for what it is: good, clean fun. If you liked the cartoon series, I don't see any reason why this won't entertain you as well for a little over an hour. It's a worthy addition to the franchise, I'm sad to see it go. I think everyone did a good job with it and look forward to watching it again in the near future.

This is an entertaining movie. There really are people out there in this world that aren't exactly like you. Get over it.

Sandra Bullock portrays her neurotic, quirkily-dressed character to a T. She is funny, irritating, socially-crippled, yet I am still in love with her, no matter what type of character she plays. I hated Steve in this movie and think he should have been a little nicer to Mary. This movie isn't going to win any awards, but it's full of interesting characters and is a real hum-deelio of a lesson in social/behavioral disorders and how they can affect (destroy/help/make things difficult in) life.

The red vinyl go-go boots she wears in the movie were some cheap (tacky) ones they found at a local store and like a lot of things in show business, they stuck and became an "icon" associated with a film. I happen to love boots like those and thought they were almost entertaining enough to be considered a character in the movie. Okay, I know that's stretching it, but you gotta admit: everyone remembers the boots! Bought my wife some other colors (pink, silver, black) because she hates red.

Just about all of the characters in the movie (with the exception of Steve) were good and entertaining as hell. Always love Katy Mixon and DJ Qualls, and Mr. Jeong as well, in everything they do. This movie is loaded with quirky characters, and I think it was a good solid performance by all, albeit a goofy one. Yeah, I thought the ending stank a little, but it was a whole heckuva lot better than some other movies I've forced myself to watch all the way through.

I give it a 6 out of 10 rating because it's just so stupid and the ending sequence in the well was just difficult to sit through (no one's that dense, right?), but the rest of it was sheer enjoyment. I laughed and I would watch it again: two things that go a long way to making a movie enjoyable for me.

People just need to lighten up, enjoy the ride, and not expect so much out of their entertainment. Let it entertain you; don't freakin' boo-hoo about it because it's inane or trivial. Sometimes we need diversions in life. Everything doesn't have to be top-notch Oscar-worthy material all the time. Relax.

I had no preconceived notions about this movie, other than I like Russel Brand as an actor, absolutely love Helen Mirren in anything she's done, and like Jennifer Garner for the most part.

This movie surprised me. I loved the original, although I haven't seen it in several years, but saw it back in about 1987 or so and loved it then too. This "remake" is more of a reworking, I think. Russel Brand adds his own style and class to it, and it's that much better for it. I immediately felt connected with his character, Helen Mirren's character (Hobson) as the stuffy English nanny who is gruff on the outside but loves Arthur deeply on the inside even if she doesn't always show it. Greta Gerwig, who plays Arthur's love interest, is absolutely charming in a quirky, goofy, sweet kind of way, and I absolutely adored her in this role. The chemistry between her and Arthur is believable and interesting to watch. Loved every minute of it.

Jennifer Garner is one of those actresses that I really like in some roles, and don't really care for in others. She's not really supposed to be likable in this movie, but I found myself strangely attracted to her. I think she pulled off the psychotic-power/money hungry bitch-demon from hell role quite well, actually, and thought she and her character added a much-needed dimension to the movie. As for Nick Nolte's character (her father), I could have done without him. I like Nick, but thought this role was unneeded and a little disturbing, and I felt like it would have been a better movie without him. Sorry, Nick.

Overall, the comedy in this movie works wonders. I laughed at most of the jokes, and I was thoroughly entertained by the three main characters' interactions and their blossoming relationships. Every minute was believable and enjoyable. I even liked the chauffeur's character, played by Luis Guzman, and like him in pretty much everything he does. He's just funny and entertaining to watch on screen.

Overall, I highly recommend this movie. I was surprisingly mesmerized by the whole thing, and I will definitely watch it again, probably several times. It's really, really sad at one point, and I can't remember the last time I cried watching a movie. I just don't do that, and this one has a particularly poignant and touching scene that left me watery-eyed.

Just a good, funny, entertaining movie all around with lovable characters and good story. I don't require much else from my movies, so I give it 9 out of 10 stars and loved it. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the movie as well.

I have watched only a handful of the original series. I really had no expectations going into watching this movie, and I realize that probably helped a lot.

It starts off at a fast pace, and I was prepared for that, since I hadn't seen enough of the series to know what was going to be happening. I would just have to sit back and enjoy it. And, enjoy it I did. On Blu-ray and with surround sound this movie looked and sounded fantastic. It had amazing effects and gorgeous locales. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, and I wanted more when it ended.

I thought the story and the characters worked just fine. I didn't have any trouble following the story, it was paced just right, and there were plenty of touching moments to give a little unexpected depth. And, it felt like it could stand alone, and not like a chopped off piece of a movie where you felt left wanting in the middle of a plot.

Now, I definitely want to watch the animated series. Granted, I might wind up liking the series more, but that's okay. I felt like M. Night Shyamalan did a fantastic job. And I'm not a big Shyamalan fan since he started going downhill with the shudderingly bad "The Happening".

I only give it an 8 out of 10 because it did feel a little rushed. It needed more backstory and balance (Earth didn't really get its due in this one.)

I give it a 4 out of 10 rating. (I originally wanted to go with a 2, but that's about the point where I would stop watching a movie if it was that bad.) So, I watched the whole darn thing. But I have mixed emotions about it.

First of all, you've got Harry Connick, Jr in it and he's pretty much great in everything. Then you've got Ashley Judd in it, and no matter how wound up/strung out/down on her luck she is, she still looks amazing; her acting, albeit over-the-top at several points, is the best part of the movie (and admittedly some nudity). Then you've got weird-dude/creepy-guy extraordinaire Michael Shannon. That's about all for the characters, except for an occasional luscious Lynn Collins (where has she been all my life?) in girl-girl kissing action with Ashley Judd...*tingle*

***SPOILERS!!!*** Yeah, I wish I had known ahead of time it wasn't about "real" bugs, although I knew from pretty early on (say 5 minutes after I saw the Peter Evans character, played by Michael Shannon, that he was "THE BUG" the movie title referred to; didn't take long). Anyway, I think I would have enjoyed this movie a whole lot more if I had known it was about cranked-out drug users instead. Some of the ridiculously insane crazy-rants the two main characters went on would have made a whole lot more sense. The director tricked me into watching (wasting!) about an hour and forty minutes' worth of suck-time that left me wondering where the heck the freakin' bugs were!! Even enjoying it a "whole lot more" would only have pushed my rating up to maybe a 5.5. And all those stars come from getting to see Ashley's awesome body for a little while.

Hate to say it, but this movie had no real re-watch or lasting value of any kind for me. It was just plain too-weird, and not in a good way at all. Even if I had watched it knowing it for what it really was, about the only improvement would be that I could laugh (more) at the characters and maybe sympathize with them (a little). As it was, I wanted them to kill themselves by the end, and I probably would have wanted to join them if I had paid more than $3 to see it!!

I only give it a 6/10 for reasons that I can't go into too much detail because of spoilers. Spoilers that I won't post and ruin what is potentially a good movie for other people who might think the movie is great.

I can say I took off points for it being un-resolved at the end. Sorry, but I think a movie should be made for the intent of making one movie for one story and then finishing it off. I don't like movies that are obviously made for a sequel (Saw 2 is already in "pre-production"...) Also, several comments were made during the movie that were never followed up on, while just about every other small detail was tied back to a previous occurrence. I kept seeing things and saying "What the...?" and then later on they would get explained, but a lot of stuff wasn't, and I felt the writer/director should have taken the same care with the other stuff too. And, more points taken off because some of the "jump"-in-your-seat sequences weren't really all that "jumpy". They could have been done a lot better. Even some ambient sounds/music used at the right places would have been much better, but some of the scary moments just left me "ho-hum".

All in all, it was a good movie, but I don't think I'll be watching it again. Maybe these guys will grow into something spectacular one day and not turn this franchise into another "Jeepers Creepers" fiasco.

I have seen several negative comments about this movie and felt I had to add some of my own (positive comments, that is). Several folks have said this is a propaganda flick or that the characters weren't all that memorable. I beg to differ: not only do I definitely NOT want to be put anywhere near a situation like these guys had to endure, but I also don't think Ridley Scott intended to make any kind of statement about this being "the right thing to do" or any political statement whatsoever. He set out (and succeeded in my opinion) to show the general populace how brutal armed conflict is and the high price the men of the armed services have to pay for the whims of the 'suits' in Washington.

Getting off my soapbox now, this is an amazing movie. I think "gritty" is the perfect word to describe this movie. It's tense from early on and never lets up. From the fine performances put in by a wide range of actors, to the intense firefights on the dirty urban landscape of rundown Mogadishu, this movie is a potent reminder that "War IS Hell". Although there were many moving and memorable lines and characters, my favorite ones came from Eric Bana playing the character of "Hoot". He says, "You wanna know what I think? I don't think it really matters at all what I think; once that first bullet goes flying by your head, politics goes right out the window." And when he comments on why he does it, "It ain't about being a hero; nobody sets out to be a hero. You do it because of the guy next to you." (I paraphrase some, but the general idea is there.)

***A FEW SPOILERS AHEAD***

So, it may not have been the "just" or even the "right" thing to do, but these guys did it and went through hell to get there. I think it deserves a looksee from anyone who wants a little insight into the kind of stuff that goes on for the sake of "freedom". Watch it for what it is: a gripping story about a bunch of guys doing their jobs and trying to stay alive long enough to get out and continue on with the rest of their lives. Anyone who thinks this film is "propaganda" needs to watch the faces of the actors in this movie, especially near the end. The anguish and loss these guys went through are summed up in the end when they're all standing around panting and crying in exhaustion and frustration and hugging each other as they look at all their injured or dead comrades lying in a row against the wall when they get back to base. They aren't high-fivin' each other or laughing raucously about how many skinnies they killed; they're shaking and puking from the exertion and tension they've been through.....Some are even gearing up to go back into the battle zone because there are still guys left out there...the guys who **were** next to them, but aren't anymore. Watch the documentary/behind-the-scenes extra on the DVD: the real Rangers and Delta Force guys slipped a note under the actors' door in the barracks and told them to tell their story. And they did.