FT13TomDinardiJV Reviews

Fuller House (2016–2020)

Doesn't reinvent the wheel, but that's not a bad thing.

[8/10 · 26 February 2016]

Like a pair of well-worn shoes or catching up with an old friend, Fuller House doesn't break the mold but is refreshingly dependable: this is truly for the fans. You know what you're getting when you jump in, so if you weren't a fan of the original series, it may not be your cup of tea. If you were a fan growing up or catch the reruns, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Sure, some of it is familiar and fits into the sitcom template, but that is not a bad thing at all. The first episode truly feels like the finale we never got for Full House while also planting the seeds for the rest of the season. It's nice to see the original cast all together one more time, and it's especially refreshing to see the trio of ladies that anchor the rest of the season have not missed a beat.

I binged the entire season the moment I woke up this morning for its debut and it was everything I was hoping for. I was pleasantly surprised that it met & surpassed my expectations, had me laughing out loud every episode, and even some of the elements I wasn't a fan of (for me, the kid who played Max was a bit much at times) had their redeeming moments (some of his jokes miss wildly, yet others caught me off-guard with their hilarity).

To me, the two standout elements were some suggestive humor bits (still harmless enough for children) and Andrea Barber's portrayal of Kimmy Gibler: Kimmy may have gotten older in age, but she hasn't changed one bit which is s good thing for us. I'm already looking forward to the next season! 8/10

The Happening (2008)

Simple, dumb, barely-R-rated fun

[6/10 · 8 October 2008]

Let me preface this review by saying that I've enjoyed some of M. Night Shyamalan's films. Unbreakable was under-rated and I didn't think The Village deserved as negative as a reaction as it did.

However, I don't worship The Sixth Sense like some people, I've never seen Signs, and I can barely sit through 5 minutes of Lady in the Water.

If you do watch this movie, don't go in expecting a serious, thrilling commentary of the modern day world. If you're expecting anything like that from Night in his post-Village phase, you will be severely disappointed.

That's not saying this isn't a decent movie. At only 90 minutes, it's not too long at all. The movie hits the ground running and picks up speed from there. Sure, not everything makes sense, but using the "unknown" as a story basis gives Night freedom to do this. It's quite remarkable that if you were to actually remove the overly serious/dramatic scenes, you'd have a nice example of a brisk moving action movie.

Yes, despite all the death (sometimes more implied than visual) and the R rating, it definitely gave off more of an action movie vibe than horror to me, though the "outrunning the enemy" and "broken romance" threads seem to try and keep it conventionally tied into the horror genre. All the scenes with people going suicidal are more energetic than scary, and sometimes are (dare I say it) awkward-turtle-entertaining.

Mark Whalberg, Zooey Deschanel, and John Leguizamo do a decent job as the lead trio and based on their track records in film, you know if you like them or not.

Overall: You already know if it's your cup of tea or not. It's a matter of giving it a chance. I almost didn't bother with it, decided to give it a shot, and was thoroughly entertained. Some of it might of been pure dumb entertainment, but there are many worse ways to kill an hour and a half than this one. Judge it yourself. 6/10

Martian Child (2007)

One of, if not THE, greatest feel good movies of all time

[15 June 2008]

Now, I don't mean to hype a movie beyond belief...

But the other night, me and my best friend PJ came to the conclusion that Kevin Spacey & John Cusack are the two greatest performers for their consistently-awesome/ultimately-kick-ass performances (Kevin Spacety - The Negotiatior, American Beauty, Superman Returns, & 21 vs. Con-Air, High Fidelty, The Ice Harvest, 1408) And if anyone wants to argue ANY of the previous performances listed...

Even if you think the movie sucked, you have to admit that either actor in ANY roles listed were AMAZING...

Well, there's no denying this one, and I'll give you the exact qualifications.

John Cusack + Martian Child = FTW. (Not the one ending "... The World... more like = FOR THE WIN!!) If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and rent it for one night. Even in a state of turning off the movie every 10 or 15 minutes or so, then restarting and picking up where you left off, not only was John Cusack so engaging that he made me shed tears NINE MINUTES IN...

But at 45 minutes into this almost 2-hour movie, I broke down because of him.

Without a doubt, John Cusack delivers a career defining, but sure-to-be in the years-to-come, under-rated Oscar worthy-performance as a widower who decides to adopt his own child, fufilling the dying wish of his wife.

Trust me, this is one of the greatest feel-good, tear-jerking movies OF ALL TIME.

Please, if you read this, rent it no more than 30 minutes after you read this review and prove it to yourself...

Bottom Line: John Cusack delivers one of his finest career-defining performances, the rest of the cast delivers solid performances, and you'll cry at least three times, if not more, before it's over... even if you try to take breaks to prevent the tears! Overall: 10/10 - DO NOT MISS THIS MOVIE!! You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll love it!! :)

Doom (2005)

Better than you might think, give it a chance

[7/10 · 5 May 2007]

Don't go see Doom expecting Gone With The Wind, but if you're into movies with action, guns, blood, aliens, The Rock, and one of the most violent video games ever, then you'll probably enjoy it. Being a fan of all of these categories, I went and saw it the night it came out. (Seeing The Rock bring the BFG on The Daily Show sealed the deal.) Though the movie doesn't follow the plot line of the game (if you're like me, you're asking, "The game had a plot?"), it ends up being pretty good and easy to follow.

I had been hearing all the negative reviews when the film came out, but if you're not into this kind of film, then why would you go and see it? People know if they're going to like it or not.

If you don't think you'll like it, then go rent something else.

If this movie sounds like your cup of tea, then give it a shot - you'll enjoy it.

Batman Begins (2005)

Batman Truly Begins

[8/10 · 15 June 2005]

I've seen the other Batman movies. I've enjoyed them all for the most part. The first two were really dark for me as a child. Batman Forever was enjoyable. Everyone hates Batman & Robin, but I enjoyed the campiness.

However, none of these can hold a candle compared to THIS. This really starts the franchise over from scratch, and does so very well. Christian Bale puts on the best Batman performance so far. I like how Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same man in this movie, but they're also different. Bale turns it up to 10 notches as Batman, and uses some of the lessons he learned in American Psycho to make even the feared fearful of him.

All the acting is done well, & the story is especially interesting, getting story behind Batman right. There are a few minor problems. For being hyped as the villain, The Scarecrow doesn't get much in the way of screen time. Instead, Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) & Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) end up being the focus. I wish that these two would have been advertised as being the main villains from the movie, because they really do pull it off, but it still leads to The Scarescrow being a bit of a let down. Also, there's a "tease" as to who Batman's next villain might be.

Even at 141 minutes, me & my friend wished that this movie had been longer. The story hooks you in, keeps you there for the long haul, and leaves you waiting for the sequel. 8/10

In Good Company (2004)

Topher Grace continues his rise in a solid movie

[8/10 · 15 January 2005]

I went to see this movie because of Topher Grace. If you've ever seen That 70's Show, you know that he is a very talented comedic actor. I saw last year's not-so-well received Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! twice in theaters because of Topher, because I really enjoyed his character.

This was a very well done movie. Dennis Quiad plays 51-year-old Dan Foreman who is demoted from his job as advertising head for a sports magazine and replaced by 26-year-old Carter Duryea, just as his daughter is accepted to college and his wife becomes pregnant again (which, not more than 10 minutes into the movie, starts the comedy rolling). Duryea depends on Foreman at his job, and after inviting himself over for dinner on the anniversary of his & his ex-wife's first date, he meets Dan's daughter, Alex (Scarlett Johansson) and falls for her.

Unlike a typical "chick flick", this is portrayed more like the real world (I was surprised at the amount of swearing for a PG-13 movie) and not everything goes the way some of the characters want them to go. A very enjoyable movie, but the audience I saw it with didn't seem to like the ending because it isn't your typical happy ending. On the other hand, me & my drinking buddy who I saw it with not only enjoyed the movie, but liked the ending since it is, like the rest of the movie, more realistic. 8/10

CKY: Infiltrate, Destroy, Rebuild - The Video Album (2003 Video)

Godly

[10/10 · 20 December 2003]

Nothing can describe this DVD. "Godly" is about as close as you can come to it. CKY is the greatest band in history, and this DVD shows it. Plus, the Deluxe Edition comes with Chopped & Sliced, which has over 3 hours of footage. The best DVD ever made, period. End of story.

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

Simply brilliant

[10/10 · 16 August 2003]

When I walked into the theater for Freddy vs. Jason alongside my mom (yes, I'm under 17, and since I had gotten my mom to bring me to Jason X, I did it again), I was wondering what would happen. I mean, about 15 months earlier, I sat in the theater, waiting for Jason X to start, and I had known EVERYTHING about that movie. If there was a news bit that I could find in the 2 years I waited for the movie. This time, however, I didn't know much. I had read a few things, but other than that, everything was gonna be surprising.

I am glad I didn't know much about the movie, because it was awesome. I don't want to spoil much, but I had heard about a Rave scene & the Freddy bug scene, and they were highlights of the movie. The battle sequences are insane, and the ending is pure genius.

Critics have smashed this movie. That's funny, because they just treated it as a typical horror movie. They didn't even pick on it for not having the ending attached until opening day, which they probably would have done if they had actually seen this movie. Everyone that I know who has seen it has said it was awesome and intense. Ronny Yu is a genius director, and I hope everyone hops aboard for another Friday the 13th sequel, a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel, or the inevitable Freddy vs. Jason 2, which should kick as much ass as this one.

Doug (1991–1994)

Better As You Get Older

[11 July 2003]

When I was a kid, I liked this show. I didn't like it as much as, say, Rugrats, but I liked it. Then, Disney got a hold of this show, but they continued showing the older episodes on Nickelodeon. I thought that the Disney version, though it's suppose to make Doug older, is aimed towards littler kids than the Nickelodeon version. And now, I enjoy Doug more than I did when I was a kid, and catch it whenever I see it's on.

The Italian Job (2003)

Very entertaining

[7/10 · 5 June 2003]

*SPOILER ALERT!! PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED!!*

I was originally planning on seeing this movie this past weekend, but my plans ended up making me unable to have time to see it. So me & my friend made plans to see it after school today. Boy, are we glad we did. The movie starts off in Italy, with a planned heist with a group of guys (Charlie Croker [Mark Whalberg], Steve Frezelli [Edward Norton], Lyle, also known as "Napster" [Seth Green, you'll get the nickname later], Handsome Rob [Jason Statham], Left Ear [Mos Deaf], & John Bridger [Donald Sutherland]) plan a heist to steal 32 gold bricks. This leads to the whole opening, which is a good 10 to 15 minutes, and involves a boat chase, which opens the movie up right. While driving away in their get away van, Steve Frezelli turns on the group, steals the gold, and kills John Bridger, who is pretty much the (retiring) leader of the group. Fast foward to a year later, where where Stella Bridger (Charlize Theron), John's daughter, is one of the top safe-crackers that anyone can ask for. Charlie Croker (who was actually indirectly responsible for her father's death, as he called him out of retirement for the heist) says that they've found Steve (who has gone into hiding), and want to get back at him for what he did. She at first declines, but later agrees, and the teamgets back together, along with getting the help of Wrench (Franky G), a mechanic, to carry out the perfect heist, while creating one of the largest traffic jams in Los Angeles history. This movie is a perfect mix of action with funny bits thrown in throughout. There's an on-running joke about Seth Green's character, Lyle, creating Napster and how Shawn Fanning (who makes a cameo) stole it while he fell asleep, and eventually Lyle will only answer if refered to as "Napster". There's even a funny line in the movie by Seth, who goes "He said in an interview he called it Napster because it described his hair, like it was nappy. He callled it that because *I* was napping when he stole it!" The begining and ending sequences are pure genius, and everything in between fits perfectly. The only negative thing I can think of with the movie is that Edward Norton's acting was a bit weak. He wasn't a big, tough bad guy. He acted like he was being paid and just doing the bare-minimum (which is a fact, as he was forced to do this movie due to contractual obligation). But, even with that problem being the only real gripe with the film, the movie is still very enjoyable, and I definetly recommend seeing it. And even if you're not interested in the actual movie, go to see Seth Green shine in the comedic role. He's perfect. Rating: **** out of *****

Rocky Legends (2002 Video Game)

Simply awesome

[25 December 2002]

I got this as a Christmas gift, and when I first heard about Rocky finally being made into a video game, I was excited. Now that I've played the game, I still feel the same way. A definite must-own for any fan of the Rocky movies.

Hook (1991)

An Awesome Movie

[28 November 2002]

The last person to review this (about three years back) said that this movie was awful and they brag about having seen it three times. Well, that's nothing. From the time I was 3 years old until now, I have to have seen this movie countless times. Sure, I liked it as a kid because it was a cute little movie. And now, as I watch it at the age of 14, I can still say I enjoy it. Very, very entertaining.

Jackass: The Movie (2002)

THE FUNNIEST MOVIE EVER!

[10/10 · 27 November 2002]

Now, a lot of people have been saying how Jackass: The Movie was sick, immature, only for fans of the show, whatever. All I gotta say to that is: LIGHTEN UP. This past Sunday, myself and my younger brother, who love the Jackass T.V. series, convinced our mom to take us to see Jackass: The Movie. All three of us found it to be one of the funniest movies ever. Sure, there is some gross stuff. And yeah, one part got me to gag, but it is still one of the best movies ever. If you haven't seen it yet, you should soon.