So, okay, not the greatest thing ever made, but then what is? And don't say Gone With the Wind because we all know you really mean Monty Python and the Holy Grail. So, Dana Carvey, talented mimic and funny-face, takes on a stick of a girlfriend and her parents, who were well-acted and enjoyably portrayed by two people I can't recall the names of. And you get to laugh if you like Carvey, and you probably won't like it at all if you don't, because it's his spirit behind it all. I don't know. I like it, but then, I like Dana Carvey, too, so what can I say?
Reviews
4 Reviews
Time Bandits
(1981)
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
28 June 2002
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! It is great! It is marvelous! It is wonderful! Sorry about that, but I really am in love. Terry Gilliam used to be my least favorite Python, but if he can do stuff like this, he's second only to Michael Palin, who, glory be, shows up in this terrific movie and has gotten over his personal problem and no longer needs his special....er....and the only thing wrong with him is the thing on the end of his nose and the hairpiece....oh my gosh! And Randall is the greatest! And Sean Connery, and whoever would have guessed that Ian Holm used to be so good looking? Anyway, whatever this is, it's great. Gilliam and Palin are talkin' loco, and I like it.
The Bumblebee Flies Anyway
(1999)
Hmm...
19 April 2002
"Weird" is a word that comes, inexplicably (ha!) but irresistably, to mind. The strangest movie ever made is patently "The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T", but "Bumblebee" is in the top five, at least. Don't get me wrong, I liked it. I didn't love it, except for about five minutes that I feel now I can't live without, but I liked it. Having been in love with Elijah Wood since I was seven and first saw "North", I was pleased to see him looking so well (ie, minus curly hair, pointed hears, and hairy hobbit feet, though the haircut he sports here makes him look so fey). And all you people saying he's wooden are patently deaf and blind. Elijah Wood can express more emotion with his eyes than the whole of Harrison Ford and Meryl Streep put together (I'd like to see what they look like together, wouldn't you?) and he's got enough everyman in him, despite his peculiar face, to be a great, great actor. it would have helped some of the lines (I wish they would have taken the script to the repair shop) if his voice was sharper and more emphatic, but really it's not his fault, he just happens to have a very soft voice. What I DID get a kick out of, having read the foregoing comments prior to watching the movie, was the much-hyped kiss. Hey, I'd like to kiss Elijah Wood if nobody else will. Granted, he's not got much romantic experience (movie-wise, anyway). I mean, who's he kissed? Leelee Sobieski. Briefly. I haven't seen all his movies, sure, but that's the only kiss I know of in his nice long history. This kiss, though...gosh. After it was over, I could just hear him booming, "YES, I AM NOW A MAN." He went at it with all the urgency of somebody who has no idea what he's doing and figures, if he does it enthusiastically enough, nobody will notice. Apparently nobody did. Incidentally, I wonder how many times he had to kiss Rachael Leigh Cook--- "Action." "Ow! Oh, sorry." "Cut. Action." "Oops." "Cut. Action." "What, I'm supposed to kiss her LIPS?!?" I'm in a cynical frame of mood today, feeling a bit depressed. Also, I'm short, and to kiss Elijah Wood I'd have to stand on a chair. You think I'm kidding. Whoever it was playing Mazzo did a terrific, terrific job. I like that kid. I don't know who he is, but I like him. What's up with Barney calling him "Matzo" all the time, though? The ending was bothersome. I was yelling, 'You're gonna go down the roof in a STRINGBEAN?" I wish Elijah Wood was in more and better movies. I'm addicted to Lord of the Rings- I loved North- The War was great (he won)- and Radio Flyer was sweet and made me cry. Flipper was a contaminating hunk of junk, though. THAT'S why they don't want to let Paul Hogan back into Australia, he keeps embarrassing them. So what I'm saying is--- oh, gosh, I've completely lost whatever it was. My train of thought has derailed. Bzzzz... Prior to THE KISS (ha-ha) Barney told Cassie, "Only you." I couldn't wait for him to get down on his knees and start to sing. there are SO DARN MANY opportunities for a bit of humor in this flimsy script, and they didn't take any of them! I know I'm a cynic, but I hate watching movies that force me to re-write as they go along. But there are good things here. Bad things, too, but good things. And if you concentrate on the good things, it's a moving, unique little film.If you concentrate on the bad things, you end up in a home, drooling creamed spinach. OH MY GOSH! FLIPPER CONTAMINATION!!!!!
The Artful
19 April 2002
Elijah Wood was too old for his role. Love the guy, really, but frankly, WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON WITH THAT ACCENT? It made me cringe! The Artful Dodger is probably my favorite character ever in fiction, and I've loved every incarnation of him I've seen, and really Elijah has a quality to him that should have made him perfect for the part. But will somebody get him a speech-coach! He is good, though, leading the bunch of kids like the Pied Piper (only it's more of a Pie-Eyed Piper). A question. Did they have to give him yellow teeth? Yuck.
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