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rmiller-26
Reviews
Date Night (2010)
Didn't much like it.
The first two thirds of this movie weren't funny, they dragged, and even though the rest of the movie-goers were laughing, I was just sitting there wondering what I had just spent $10 on. Finally I just went to the bathroom, and didn't feel like I missed anything. The plot flowed well enough, but suspending disbelief was rather difficult.
The last third of the movie had a bit of action - just enough but not *too* much. The ending was a little predictable, but satisfying. And there were a couple of funny moments that even had me laughing, particularly in the scene with the taxicab.
But all told... I don't recommend it. One of the movies in the previews looked better than this one. Maybe I'll see it instead.
Down to Earth (2001)
White guy doing hip hop. It never works.
Black guy becomes rich white guy, and rich white guy seems to embrace hip-hop culture, and most of the "funny" moments of this film play off of this. The problem I have is that it doesn't work and almost never works.
OK, so no one would expect Lance to grab a body like that and suddenly start acting like Charles Wellington. That would be too much to ask. I'll grant that. But at the same time, it goes too far the other direction. I'm supposed to imagine a rich white guy singing rap and completely upending things, playing like he's a bastion of hip-hop culture, and people just *accept* him? And what about Sontee, who falls in love with him *as a rich white guy*, even though she doesn't care about his money or power? This is so completely unbelievable it's not even funny.
I just couldn't suspend disbelief and I couldn't finish the movie. I added one extra star because it did make me laugh, even hard, a couple of times. But I just couldn't get get past the whole "white guy doing hip hop" thing that has never been well done in any movie I've ever seen that tries it. This was no exception.
The Celestine Prophecy (2006)
So-so.
I enjoyed the first book, read the other two books and didn't enjoy them as much.
It was a good movie if you've read the book. It covers many of the points and has a somewhat engaging plot. I didn't think the actors were all that bad. That's the good part.
The bad part is... I'm having a hard time imagining what I would have rated this if I hadn't read the book. It probably would have lost three stars. Because it was very disjointed, went into very little exposition about what in the world they were talking about, and if you didn't have the reference of the book, you'd probably be just sitting there with your mouth open going "huh?" The sole part where the movie beat all three books is that it was not nearly as preachy. The book just kind of yelled at you, and all of the characters went into these lengthy and ultimately silly expositions. The movie does not make that mistake, and that was a refreshing difference.
The book is best enjoyed when you're ready for it - either you get it or you don't. The movie is almost impossible to enjoy if you didn't *understand* the book. Note I didn't say read, I said understand. If you don't understand the message the book was trying to get across, this movie is going to make zero sense to you. Don't waste your money in that case.
But if you did... get the movie. It'll at least be a little entertainment, and you can say to yourself, "oh, I remember that part!".
Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006)
Unexpectedly good.
OK, being a guy in his thirties, you'd think there'd be only one reason I'd watch it, right? Well, not really. Once you get past the ridiculously short skirts, etc., there's actually a pretty good movie under here. The movie stayed true to its parent, with the standard formula, but that's to be expected for a sequel.
I think what I liked the most about the whole "bring it on" series is that they manage to take a premise based on cheerleading - and let's face it, guys and gals, cheerleaders have a reputation for being somewhat airheaded (Sierra did fit this stereotype but even she was kind of lovable) - and make an interesting and intelligent movie out of it.
I had a hard time figuring out what happened in the final scene - it took me two viewings to be sure of what was going on - but I really found that to be amusing as well. The whole movie had amusing lines scattered all the way through. (my favorite: "Some of my best friends live next door to black people!") The only criticism I'd have with this movie is that it was too flashy. The outfits were way more revealing than those of the first movie, and there were so many people bouncing and jumping around that I had a hard time making sense of it all when they started their acrobatics.
All in all, though, I would call this a "chick flick that is not a chick flick". I don't consider the time I spent watching this wasted, and I think it can be equally enjoyed by males as well as females. And, if not, at least you won't have an inexplicable urge to paint your nails after watching it.
Date Movie (2006)
Terrible.
I stopped watching about halfway through out of sheer disgust. Most of the funny moments were "I can't believe they did that" moments - especially with the cat desecrating the father's mother's corpse. That was just... indescribable. I'm glad I only got the DVD so I could fast forward through it, otherwise I would have had to actually sit through that.
If this is what the movie industry is turning out these days, no wonder they're in such a decline.
All I can say is... yuck. I wouldn't wish this movie on my worst enemies. Don't waste your money on this.