A big fan of mockumentary and musical fiction, I find this to be a great movie, fun for kids and 'tweens (the intended audience). Actually, it can be enjoyed by anyone with an open mind. The songs are surprisingly catchy, and fun to annoy your friends with (namely Crazy Car). These kids may not be so great now, but they definitely have a bright future ahead of them, if they don't get screwed over by the child star business anyway. I also find this movie rather inspiring. I'm sure many children will have NBB-influenced attempts at forming a band with friends... heck, I even wanted to do it after seeing this movie. I would recommend this film to anyone with an open mind who enjoys music and would appreciate the cute factor. It's also a great introduction to mockumentary, and maybe even independent film-making.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Pokémon
(1997–2023)
For anyone who's currently about 12-20 years old...
29 December 2007
Is there really any of us who doesn't suddenly feel nostalgic, with countless memories invoked, at the slight muttering of the words, "I want to be the very best, like no one ever was"? For those who lived in a cave, those are the first two lines of the theme song to the awesome anime, Pokemon. Most of us just remember the original Kanto Pokemon (Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pikachu...), as the franchise's popularity embarked on a steady decline come the Jhoto Pokemon. Although still relatively popular today, let's face it-- Pokemon was, essentially, a fad.
If you were like me, your life was pretty much based on Pokemon at the height of it's popularity. On the bus ride to school, you'd talk to friends about how you were able to catch Missingno. the following night and how your Charizard leveled up to 58. You'd hide your Gameboy in your bookbag during SSR (sustained, silent reading) or free time and play those games. At recess time, It was a rare occurrence you'd hear plain English speak on the playground... it sounded more of a zoo of "pika-pika!" and "meowth!" that we all just seemed to comprehend. While at home, you'd avidly tear open endless packs of Pokemon cards, then smuggle them to school, as they were illegal, and trade them on the blacktop, drug-dealer style. On the bus ride home from school, you'd secretly do a few more last-minute trades before racing home to catch the Pokemon anime series on the now-defunct Kid's WB. Glued your eyes would be to the television screen, even though you've seen the same episode numerous times and even had it on videotape. You'd eat Pokemon cereal, wear a Pokemon bathing suit, and you jumped for joy upon release of Pokemon: The First Movie. You obviously raced to the theater to watch it, and, of course, loved every second of it.
Somewhere after that movie; however, your love disintegrated.
Mentality drifted from "you're a freak if you don't like Pokemon," to "you're a freak if you do like Pokemon". Pokemon cards were handed down to younger siblings, thrown away, or sold; videos were ripped out and used as streamers; plushies were gifted to the family dog; and the games slowly lost their battery life sitting in your drawer. In many people's eyes, Pokemon were a thing of the past. Others stayed loyal to the franchise.
This show/franchise totally needs a comeback. I don't know what's wrong with it now, but a reinvigoration of the craze would be awesome and totally interesting. Ash, Brock, and Misty need to ditch whatever lame friends they have now and just stick together, and Jessie and James need to become again a force to be reckoned with, not just the comic relief characters they are currently. I want to see Pokemon card booster packs being way over priced (I'm talking' 7.99, people!) and impossible to find due to popularity, not lack thereof. No matter how cool you think you are, you know you're at least somewhat interested in this craze making a comeback.
The games are great, merchandise is readily available, and there's not much to improve about the cards-- I wonder if the problem lies in the show?
If you were like me, your life was pretty much based on Pokemon at the height of it's popularity. On the bus ride to school, you'd talk to friends about how you were able to catch Missingno. the following night and how your Charizard leveled up to 58. You'd hide your Gameboy in your bookbag during SSR (sustained, silent reading) or free time and play those games. At recess time, It was a rare occurrence you'd hear plain English speak on the playground... it sounded more of a zoo of "pika-pika!" and "meowth!" that we all just seemed to comprehend. While at home, you'd avidly tear open endless packs of Pokemon cards, then smuggle them to school, as they were illegal, and trade them on the blacktop, drug-dealer style. On the bus ride home from school, you'd secretly do a few more last-minute trades before racing home to catch the Pokemon anime series on the now-defunct Kid's WB. Glued your eyes would be to the television screen, even though you've seen the same episode numerous times and even had it on videotape. You'd eat Pokemon cereal, wear a Pokemon bathing suit, and you jumped for joy upon release of Pokemon: The First Movie. You obviously raced to the theater to watch it, and, of course, loved every second of it.
Somewhere after that movie; however, your love disintegrated.
Mentality drifted from "you're a freak if you don't like Pokemon," to "you're a freak if you do like Pokemon". Pokemon cards were handed down to younger siblings, thrown away, or sold; videos were ripped out and used as streamers; plushies were gifted to the family dog; and the games slowly lost their battery life sitting in your drawer. In many people's eyes, Pokemon were a thing of the past. Others stayed loyal to the franchise.
This show/franchise totally needs a comeback. I don't know what's wrong with it now, but a reinvigoration of the craze would be awesome and totally interesting. Ash, Brock, and Misty need to ditch whatever lame friends they have now and just stick together, and Jessie and James need to become again a force to be reckoned with, not just the comic relief characters they are currently. I want to see Pokemon card booster packs being way over priced (I'm talking' 7.99, people!) and impossible to find due to popularity, not lack thereof. No matter how cool you think you are, you know you're at least somewhat interested in this craze making a comeback.
The games are great, merchandise is readily available, and there's not much to improve about the cards-- I wonder if the problem lies in the show?
Passport to Paris
(1999 Video)
Chill out, people...
16 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
A majority of the comments on here are complaining about how the movie is "dumber than a box of rocks" and stereotypical. Well, I guess the thing that people don't realize is that this is a MARY KATE AND ASHLEY MOVIE. It's sole purpose? To cash in on the whole Mary Kate and Ashley craze. And, well, it fulfills that purpose. Of course, being straight to video and aimed towards loyal fans, the movie has very low production values (they try on clothes OUTSIDE the "store" during the shopping scene and the "museum" they walk through is CGI). But this movie is actually a pretty fun one for the audience it was aiming for. I don't think an intellectual looking for a in-depth review of Paris would particularly enjoy this movie... and it beats me why they'd even pick it up.
This installment in the Mary Kate and Ashley direct-to-video movie series doesn't bring anything really new to the table. But for preteen girls interested in feeling happy, following the girls having fun in an exotic location, and viewing the cute fashions, this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Seventh graders Alyson and Melissa had it all. They had the trendiest clothes, the hottest gossip, the cutest boyfriends-- but their parents believed the twins were just too wrapped up in their social life. To get them out of their small world, they decided they'd send them away to stay with their grandfather, the ambassador, in Paris, France for Spring Break. This meant that Ally and Mel weren't going to be able to attend the hottest party of the year with the two hottest boys in school, who happened to like them. Reluctantly, the girls boarded the plane and traveled from Southern California to beautiful Paris.
Their grandpa, much too busy to accompany his granddaughters in seeing France, hired a man named Jeremy to show them around. Grandpa's rules were strict; Ally and Mel were to follow an organized schedule of art museum after art museum, each and every day. The girls quickly grew bored of this, and their focus was further interrupted upon meeting two cute Parisian boys, John and Michel(sp?). They began to sneak off with these boys to see France in the way they wanted to see it: spontaneously and fun. Along the way, they also befriended renowned supermodel, Brigit (why a famous supermodel would spend her time shopping with two 12-year-olds beats me), who distracted Jeremy when they began dating.
One night, the girls returned home from a date with John and Michel in a cop car. The grandfather then forbade them from ever seeing those boys again and they had to attend a fancy dinner instead of a party where John and Michel's band would be playing. He at first seemed firm, but quickly changed his heart once he saw the boys sincerely apologizing at Aly and Mel's window. He saw how much the children truly loved each other. Grandpa apologized to his granddaughters, as he should have been spending time with them himself, but told them they still had to attend the dinner that night.
After a heated and intelligent discussion the girls presented at dinnertime, Grandpa, impressed, allowed the girls to go to their party. The night ended with the twins kissing their respective boyfriends, and Brigit and Jeremy even sharing a kiss.
The next morning, it was time for the girls to return to America. Every person they met on their journey would greatly miss them and await their next visit. The parents plan of culturing their children seemed to be a success, as they soon took up an interest of learning about different cultures and seeing the world. They even declined a fro-yo date with the boys they used to like, after seeing what jerks they were.
In the end, even though not too much learning occurred, Alyson and Melissa got to see what love was really like, and that other cultures can be really cool if you give them a chance. People criticizing this movie for encouraging girls to be shallow apparently missed the point. This trip taught the protagonists to break out of their small circle of gossip and popularity, and see the real wonders of the world.
This installment in the Mary Kate and Ashley direct-to-video movie series doesn't bring anything really new to the table. But for preteen girls interested in feeling happy, following the girls having fun in an exotic location, and viewing the cute fashions, this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Seventh graders Alyson and Melissa had it all. They had the trendiest clothes, the hottest gossip, the cutest boyfriends-- but their parents believed the twins were just too wrapped up in their social life. To get them out of their small world, they decided they'd send them away to stay with their grandfather, the ambassador, in Paris, France for Spring Break. This meant that Ally and Mel weren't going to be able to attend the hottest party of the year with the two hottest boys in school, who happened to like them. Reluctantly, the girls boarded the plane and traveled from Southern California to beautiful Paris.
Their grandpa, much too busy to accompany his granddaughters in seeing France, hired a man named Jeremy to show them around. Grandpa's rules were strict; Ally and Mel were to follow an organized schedule of art museum after art museum, each and every day. The girls quickly grew bored of this, and their focus was further interrupted upon meeting two cute Parisian boys, John and Michel(sp?). They began to sneak off with these boys to see France in the way they wanted to see it: spontaneously and fun. Along the way, they also befriended renowned supermodel, Brigit (why a famous supermodel would spend her time shopping with two 12-year-olds beats me), who distracted Jeremy when they began dating.
One night, the girls returned home from a date with John and Michel in a cop car. The grandfather then forbade them from ever seeing those boys again and they had to attend a fancy dinner instead of a party where John and Michel's band would be playing. He at first seemed firm, but quickly changed his heart once he saw the boys sincerely apologizing at Aly and Mel's window. He saw how much the children truly loved each other. Grandpa apologized to his granddaughters, as he should have been spending time with them himself, but told them they still had to attend the dinner that night.
After a heated and intelligent discussion the girls presented at dinnertime, Grandpa, impressed, allowed the girls to go to their party. The night ended with the twins kissing their respective boyfriends, and Brigit and Jeremy even sharing a kiss.
The next morning, it was time for the girls to return to America. Every person they met on their journey would greatly miss them and await their next visit. The parents plan of culturing their children seemed to be a success, as they soon took up an interest of learning about different cultures and seeing the world. They even declined a fro-yo date with the boys they used to like, after seeing what jerks they were.
In the end, even though not too much learning occurred, Alyson and Melissa got to see what love was really like, and that other cultures can be really cool if you give them a chance. People criticizing this movie for encouraging girls to be shallow apparently missed the point. This trip taught the protagonists to break out of their small circle of gossip and popularity, and see the real wonders of the world.
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