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billkincaid
Reviews
Better Call Saul (2015)
Stepping into some pretty big Clarks Wallabees
On its own I don't see this show as strong enough to make it through an entire season, even on basic cable. In the context of having deeply loved a previous AMC series which serves as the inspiration for this one, I have very much enjoyed Better Call Saul. Perhaps I enjoyed more as a thank you to fans of that previous show than for its virtues, but I was happy to see each new episode pop up on the schedule.
It's not perfect. The subplot with Michael McKean is not my favorite. Michael McKean seems to cause the show to grind to a halt every time he enters a scene. On the bright side the scenes we've been treated to of Saul in his current sad existence as a fugitive working in a mall in Omaha have been tantalizing. Maybe we will see a little more of these. Hopefully the ever-resilient Saul will snap out of it and reinvent himself out of this hellishly bland life.
Unlike the previous series I'm not seeing any signs of genius in this one, at least not yet. But I am happy to have it back for another go.
Brooklyn (2015)
Beautiful nostalgia seen through rose-colored glasses
Sweet, romantic and heavily laden with longing, this little film has all the ingredients of a date night movie. The camera loves Ms. Ronan, and the Brooklynesque scenery behind her is meticulously dressed considering this movie was shot a long way from NYC. It's not an epic, and I don't know why it would be nominated for an Oscar were it not for the ten nominee slots the Academy has to fill every year. But it is a gentle and pleasant tale that leaves the audience feeling uplifted, something we can't say about a lot of the big movies this year.
On the negative side, do we need another movie about a woman whose entire existence seems to revolve around finding a man? There are thousands of stories to tell about women of true accomplishment. And was Brooklyn really an all-white borough back then? Just some quibbles with a movie I walked away from smiling, and holding hands with my wife.
Deadpool (2016)
It's "Kickass" on steroids and too much caffeine.
NO spoilers in this review. I loved it and would like people who see it to not have it ruined by some guy blabbing about what happens in it. Go see it for yourself. If you're not the kind of person who can enjoy a hard "R" movie, though, be warned - it is on the edge of NC17. Language, nudity, sex, violence, immorality, torture, check, check, check. It really earns the R.
Ryan Reynolds is perfect in this part. He nails the character. Deadpool is fast-paced, funny, ultraviolent and incredibly crude. Also clever, archly satiric, and possibly the best comic book movie ever made... at least it's right up there among the best. that completely delivers on the essence of Deadpool. The pacing is also very tight with the exception of a few slower scenes which seem to be there to allow the audience to rest up a bit. The self-referential stuff was brilliant, just brilliant. They even took some potshots at star Ryan Reynolds, a couple delivered by Ryan himself. If you enjoyed "Kickass", this is Kickass on steroids and too much caffeine.
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Did they leave in the "Deleted Scenes"?
Plays like a rough cut. There are some truly fun moments - the cowboy movies, the sailor dance, but there are also many scenes that are almost lifeless. And that's the problem. In between these fun moments, the audience quiets down and starts looking around the theater to see if anyone else is getting that same "uh oh, we should have waited for this to come out on Netflix" feeling.
Some of the more positive reviews sound like essays from a community college film class. Quite a few of the positive reviewers have alleged "true" Coen fans will love it - hence if you don't love this movie, it's because you should be somewhere more suited for unsophisticated people, such as a wrestling match or Adam Sandler film festival. I'm not sure what irritates me more, the faux elitism or the $10.50 I paid for the ticket. This isn't a case of "some people just don't get this movie". The Coens have never been in that stratospheric league of art house filmmakers whose work only appeals to some lofty intellectual upper class. It's a "movie movie", aimed at people who appreciate movies perhaps a bit more than some, perhaps, but still at the mainstream. This movie fails to deliver a coherent, engaging story to its intended audience.
Cut out the confessional scenes, cut out the Lockheed subplot, cut back on the scenes with Ralph Fiennes, trim the scenes at the Malibu House and pare back Clooney's role (unless you can actually have him do something interesting). These can go on the DVD as "Deleted Scenes", because they already play like those.
Expand the story with Jonah Hill and Scarlett Johansson, because that could have been funny and sweet instead of an off-screen nothing. Add a climactic chase between the cowboy star and Channing Tatum, each using their already-established skills, through the studio, passing through and riotously disrupting several movie sets.
It is visually lovely, but moves slowly on its way to nowhere.
Coming to America (1988)
Tiresome, Eddie Murphy not at his best
Eddie Murphy was at the peak of his career when he made this movie. Which says a lot about it - the studio was looking for an Eddie Murphy vehicle to get him into the theaters, stat, and they threw this mess together as a result.
One might question the fantastic castle the prince lived in during his years in Africa, as Africa is not known for castles. Rather, he more likely lived in a mud hut, but one larger than the other mud huts in his village. The vanity that an African prince somehow lived in the same sort of luxury enjoyed by royalty in western Europe is an insult to the intelligence of the audience, who surely must notice the lack of programs about "The Great Castles of Africa" on the AWE channel.
Next, there is the Bruce Lee-esque fighting the prince engages in during the altercation at the restaurant. Again, Africa has no known martial arts tradition. Certainly, there is plenty of violence in Africa, but the brutality of child soldiers swinging machetes and inter-tribal limb-lopping is far from what Eddie portrayed in the fight scene.
I think there's a lot of wishful thinking in this movie. Much of it centers around wishing the studio could throw a bunch of audience-pandering into a script, stick a star's name on the poster, and make a fortune. In at least the profitability sense, they succeeded, but this is not a good movie. Sad that it's one of the best Eddie managed to make.
Toys (1992)
Nonsensical and Disastrous
It insults the intelligence of adult viewers with its preposterous mess of a story, yet has far too much sex and ultra-violence for more innocent young audiences. The ham-handed anti war message seems like a cheap way to try for credibility. It has so little wit, so little heart in its dull script, it seems like an amateur production, or perhaps something slapped together during a writers' strike. Yet it has some real talent both behind and in front of the cameras.
Although one would hope for at least "so bad it's good" status to salvage some value from the rental cost, the many long, dry, humorless scenes make the two hours wasted on this mess at best regrettable. Apparently Barry Levinson leveraged his hit-making track record to get $43 million to make this utter bomb, scorned by audiences and critics alike. The studio execs were probably horrified when they screened it but not surprised when it failed to bring in $24 million in tickets before it slunk out of the theaters.
If Barry Levinson had made this stinker before he made his box office successes, he would be working at Taco Bell right now.
EuroTrip (2004)
Massive error goes unnoticed!!!
Fun if flawed teen movie... a little on the blasphemous side for us Catholic viewers in the final scenes, I guess, but what harm is done? Michelle Trachtenburg is very charming as one of the worst twins ever.
However, what surprises me is that nobody on IMDb who has commented has pointed out that one of the characters repeatedly talks to his boss at work in the US during the middle of the day in Europe. With a seven hour time difference between Ohio and France, he would have to wait until about 10 pm at night to call his boss at 8 in the morning. Having had to do this myself, this is one of the complications of European travel, and the cause of jet lag.