poto3 Reviews

Best of the Best II (1993)

Not Bad, But Not A Fan

[6/10 · 25 December 2013]

"Best of the Best" from 1989 is a VERY well done film.

This is a review of "Best of the Best 2," so I will keep my summary of the first one short, but here it goes: BEST OF THE BEST is one of the very few movies that has emotionally touched and moved me. I can watch that film any day of the week, and each and every time, it leaves me happy, inspired, feeling good. It is a PERFECT "feel good about yourself" movie, and it is just PHENOMENAL with its writing and storyline. It has morals of brotherhood and teamwork, and it is just a FANTASTIC film.

"Best of the Best 2" on the other hand...different story. I normally am a HUGE action movie guy. I love action movies to no end. "Best of the Best" was one of the very few movies to be mostly a drama, centered around the characters, and to move me as it did. Best of the Best 2 takes everything about the first movie that did that....and DESTROYS it.

The plot, is basically just Rocky IV. Chris Penn of the first film is killed, so Phillip Rhee & Eric Roberts want revenge. Thats it. There is a completely over-drawn sequence where Tommy is being reunited with his family, and dealing with his alcoholic uncle James (Sonny Landham). That part is a bit too drawn out, and takes away from the films pacing. But basically, its a "fight for your life" movie, with ZERO morals and ZERO values, like the first one had. To me, that was an ENORMOUS disappointment, so see the likable characters from the first, emotionally driven movie, placed in a Gladiator-arena fighting movie.

As an action movie, it is not bad, some very grizzly scenes where Rhee breaks limbs of other "gladiators," but I HATED how the film destroyed everything that made the first one such a powerful film.

The end title song "(To Be) The Best of the Best" is a pretty inspirational, solid, soft-rock anthem performed by Mark Free, that is definitely a highlight of the movie...I just highly preferred the first film to this, because this delivers (besides fight scenes) close to NOTHING the original had to offer. Not a bad action movie, but I did not like it as the sequel to "Best of the Best." Perhaps if it was a stand- alone movie.

4/10

Destroyer (1988)

Has its Issues, But Still a Fun Watch

[5/10 · 20 March 2013]

"Destroyer" is a low-budget 1988 horror film, with slight touches of comedy here and there. It stars ex-football player Lyle Alzado (R.I.P -- never been a huge football fan), 80s actress icon Deborah Foreman, and Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins.

It sort of plays off of the ideas of late 80s supernatural thrillers, which involved supernatural revenge. (Much like "Shocker", "Prison", and "The Horror Show.") In this case, our killer is not necessarily supernatural, he is more pumped up.

It's a fun movie. Yes, it has its issues, it is not perfect, but it still makes for a fun watch when you need to take your mind off of things.

Lyle Alzado does a GREAT job for his original profession at being an NFL lineman. He is incredibly scary and ruthless in scenes, and....we'll just say you wouldn't want him chasing you. Deborah Foreman & Clayton Rohner do a solid job as our main hero & heroine, acting-wise.

Problems with the movie: I think Lyle Alzado could have been incorporated more into the movie, and when he was there, in a more violent, destructive way. In the movie, he kills people with mundane tools. A jackhammer, blow torch, hanging, and off screen decapitation. Nothing that would involve super-human strength as the poster and plot suggest. I also think certain characters should have had more screen time, AND more actions and events they performed. (Including Anthony Perkins, who is fun as the sarcastic director, but his scenes are limited. Rewire, the comic relief, is also someone who should have had more screen time.)

Overall, without spoiling anything; "Destroyer" is a fun watch if you like low-budget movies and movies that are fun. It has issues, and it is not to be dissected. Just watch it for fun, take it for what it was made on, it's a fun time.

7/10

Real Men Don't Eat Gummi Bears (1989)

Rare, Obscure, 80s German Comedy........

[4/10 · 20 March 2013]

Upon doing research, this movie has NEVER had any release outside of Germany. That includes here in the United States, despite having a cast of mostly American actors (Christopher Mitchum, Ernest Borgnine, Art Metrano, Bentley Mitchum, among some others). I was lucky enough to receive one of the original screener tapes of the original, un-dubbed, English version of this movie, recorded back in 1989.

"Real Men Don't Eat Gummi Bears" is basically the type of comedy you would see on Disney Channel. All this movie is, is a whacked-out, kid friendly, but disoriented version of Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors", in which it is about two twins that do not know about each other, and they finally clash.

Chris Mitchum hasn't had the best movie reputation in other reviews of his low-budget '80s action movies. Here, he does a pretty solid job as our two twins. One of them is a priest, and the other is a pimp from Africa. (Nice analogy) John Hillerman of MAGNUM, PI does a great job as one of the other priests at the Spanish Church Mitchum has migrated to. Real-life son Bentley Mitchum plays the pimps son in this movie, he does, actually, a pretty decent job.

Aside from "Comedy of Errors", the movie also has a Pink Panther-esque subplot involving Art Metrano (Police Academy) trying to track down top secret blueprints from the church, which ultimately leads to the Bishop of the church (played by Ernest Borgnine)

It is extremely low budget, and I'm sure is more common in and around Germany, however, here in America, I am not too sure about how the movie would get received. It has a quirky soundtrack, mainly consisting of one song performed by a band named "Edelweiss". Humor is pretty dry at moments, and I will say, my two favorite people in the film were Art Metrano & Art Metrano.

It's more oriented for kids, as I said, this is basically the type of comedy you would see on Disney Channel. It's not for everybody.

5/10

D.C. Cab (1983)

One of My All-time Favorite Comedies

[9/10 · 20 March 2013]

Right off the bat, "D.C. Cab" from 1983 has always been one of my favorite comedies and movies in general. It has an AWESOME cast....the main star of the movie is Adam Baldwin, despite what the poster may say about Mr. T. (He has a big role, too, don't worry) It co-stars Max Gail, Charlie Barnett, Gary Busey, Paul Rodriguez, and Jill Schoelen.

The movie has no plot. It is just fun watching all of these hilarious comedians and actors have fun with their roles, and get into all the crazy tactics that they do. Gary Busey is awesome as Dell, who utters some of the best one-liners in movie history in this movie. Mr T is great in the movie, he has a pretty large role. Of course, they do squeeze in a motivational speech about pride and all of that given by Mr T, however, it's Mr T, so you gotta love it! The soundtrack consists of various soul, funk, disco, & pop songs of 1983 that fit along perfectly with the movies tone.

Irene Cara makes a cameo as herself in one short scene, as well as performing the theme song for the movie entitled, "The Dream."

This movie is packed with non-stop fun and laughs, no doubt if you like comedies or you laugh easily, you're going to love this one! It has always been one of my top favorites.

9/10

Gattaca (1997)

Not my cup of tea

[9/10 · 20 March 2013]

So, in Honors Biology, my teacher announced we we're going to watch this movie. (Since we are in the DNA unit) Teacher said: "This movie was a flop at the box office"....already I was worried.

What the movie basically plays off as, is a romance-drama slash murder mystery. I do not sense an entire lot of "sci-fi" within the movie.

The movie opens with an un-needed 35 minute flashback/life story of our main character. To me, I like how they based the movie around his backstory, however, it was dragged out for too long.

Other than that, when the murder-mystery subplot enters the movie, to me, it lags, and doesn't keep up a fast pace, and is pretty slow moving. At certain points, Uma Thurmann even seemed like a character just added for time, it could have done without random romance scenes between her and Ethan Hawke.

Towards the end, the movie offers decent twists and turns with characters, Ernest Borgnine does a solid job as the mission director (Sadly, his screen time does not amount to a lot). Overall, I was expecting more of a science fiction movie, and basically what it is, is a romance/drama.

Only go into this if you're a fan of romance and/or drama movies. Sci-fi is pretty lackluster here.

5/10

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011)

2.6 / 10? How Did That Happen?

[7/10 · 26 February 2011]

I saw this movie tonight at the local AMC theatre, it was me and my father. I thought this movie was a hoot, I loved it! So I looked it up on IMDb, and saw that the ranking is 2.6 / 10, which I do not understand. I thought this movie had a good storyline, great plot, was very funny at some portions, I just legitly loved it.

Pretty much, "Big Momma" goes undercover at a female preforming arts school to find a flash drive containing some evidence that will put some crooks away. It's a simple plot, but there's lots of great moments in the film, I thought the wend finale ended funny and was something I did not expect at all to happen.

I loved this movie, I gave it an 8/10, go check it out if you want a good laugh. This is without a doubt something I'll be buying on DVD one of these days when it comes out.