dna007 Reviews

Knocked Up (2007)

Watch it solely for Katherine Heigl.

[4/10 · 5 November 2009]

************************ SPOILERS BELOW *************************

The movie is about four men devoted to talking sex trash using offensive language (i.e. language that would not be allowed in a court of law). One of the four is the male lead of KU and has not worked in years. While not being particularly attractive (overweight by any clinical method) and his attire would never make James Bond jealous, he can and does (near the end of the movie) make an attempt to curb his tongue, get a job and single living facility.

The female lead works for "E" and after being promoted to on camera status finds herself in a bar celebrating. Too much drink leads to a tryst, with the male lead, that impregnates her.

So here we have a beautiful, smart, successful lady having a baby with a dull, fat failure. She meets with the father and decides to keep the baby and give it a try "for the child's sake".

For clarification I did not hate this movie, but nether did I love it. I did watch it all through the final credits that showed snapshots from the movie.

Katherine Heigl is the sister I never had. OK, I had four sisters, but she is the one I never had. This was the only reason that I started and finished watching this absurd paring.

************** Caution this movie contains continuous foul language *********

Rating: 4/10 for language and cruelty to common sense.

PS – as part of the SPOILERS please note that there is nudity and two close ups during the birthing scene of the baby "crowning"

Comedy depends on surprise. I like to tell jokes and hear friends laugh. Once I met a man that was SO smart that he could always anticipate the ending. Being so smart the poor fellow never laughed at a joke. There must be various degrees of this smartness to laughter ratio as many, perhaps even most of the reviews for Knocked Up (KU) found this movie funny. The reviews that hated KU focused on the extreme use of language (mostly the fork word but with a u not an o). As pervasive as the language was my main problem with the move was the lack of timing required to make a joke funny.

The picture on the DVD cover of Seth Rogen smirking is the funniest thing in the movie!

Swimming to Cambodia (1987)

Not bad, but also not a movie

[1/10 · 27 March 2009]

I was lucky to find a copy of Swimming to Cambodia many years ago at the public library. I felt this was lucky indeed because our next-door neighbor is Cambodian and a close personal friend of the man befriended by the reporter in the movie the Killing Fields.

This was at a time in my life that I felt obligated to finish any movie I began watching. I have since learned that life is too short for such indulgences. Partly, or most likely, due to this film. You may have guessed that "lucky" is truly not how I now feel about finding this movie.

In any event as I said I was compelled to watch the entire movie. This turned out to be a task that lasted nearly a week. Each day I would watch as much as I could stand. Others have praised this movie as having humor and insightful knowledge. My poor brain could not grasp most of what was being said. At times it required rewinding to see parts I missed upon awakening.

I truly did not understand the movie. Actually I hesitate to even call it a movie. Really, even though picking up a glass of water to drink during the speech does require movement does that make it a move?.

If you find watching grass grow too exciting you should give this a look, else my recommendation is, well anything else is time better spent. The only exception I can think of is someone smart enough to understand it.

Rating 1 out of 10. I would go lower if possible.

Just for the record, I review very few movies. This is my only negative review.

Angela's Eyes (2006)

And so it begins...

[8/10 · 20 July 2006]

I could not resist being the first to comment on a show.

Abigail Spencer as Angela Henson is attractive and compelling. The series seems to be one of the soap-drama-mystery types. There will most likely be a new mystery to solve each week and the thread of a mystery running throughout the series. It is not yet known if the thread mystery will be solved each season and a new thread introduced to keep you coming back or will just continue. From the plot summary it will also delve into her personal relations and problems associated with her "gift" which turns out to be an incredible intelligence and keen awareness of everything that allows her to discern when others are lying.

The show has promise and I intend to watch upcoming episodes. For now I have reserved giving it a grade but look forward to the next adventure.

2/10/2007 PS: Sadly this show was not renewed after the end of the first season and is not available on DVD.

Zuma Beach (1978 TV Movie)

One viewing was not enough

[10/10 · 23 February 2004]

It is true that there are a lot of beautiful people in bathing suits in this movie. While this is not necessarily a bad thing it probably has distracted some people from the wonderful character development throughout this film. The dialog is clever and the scene's flow evenly from one to another. It has always amazed me that so much is happening in just one afternoon on a beach in California. Watch it with an open mind. Enjoy the beautiful scenery and magnificent bodies but also revel in the simple story of changing lives. This is a pleasant easy going movie, no bad language, nudity or serious violence.

This was made for TV and cannot be bought but it shows up every so often on cable.

10 is a really high number to put on a movie. I look at films and if there is nothing that I would change then it should have a 10. This is rating the movie on itself and not ranking it in comparison other movies. Of the 1000 or so movies that I have seen I would rank this one around 985+. I cannot readily think of 15 movies that I thought were better. Movies that I would watch multiple times rank highest. I have seen this one at least 6 times and will watch it again