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Reviews
Susan Hero (2007)
So Glad I Came Across This
Lost in New Mexico by director Jason Rosette really is a great film. Admittedly I tend to find a lot of independent films to be boring, but this one stood out from a sea of other films. The story, the characters and how they all interact and are involved are quite entertaining to watch. The film is about a woman who works at a movie theater when during her break she finds an advertisement in the paper about a man who offers a service to clone pets. She calls the man and requests if he would be willing to clone her child who had passed. He's open to the idea, and so she steals all the money from the theater register and heads off with a co-worker, who is also wanted by the law, to find the cloning professional. As the film progresses the two bond with each other and start a weird kind of friendship as they are both evading the police. This is a film that focuses a lot on character and does so very well. The movie follows several different characters and in the end they all interact with each other, giving it a Pulp Fiction kind of feeling to it. I've seen a lot of independent movies and this stands out as being one of the best I have seen. I would totally recommend this movie to all
Homeless in Los Angeles (2011)
A Shocking Exposé of Homelessness
Homelessness in America is undeniably a crucial problem. And due to a long economic recession, it's a problem that has only been getting worse. Everyday many of us walk past or drive by a homeless person without batting an eye or stopping to help. However many people may not be aware of just how extreme the homeless population has been growing until they have visited Los Angeles, California. As we see firsthand, this large city has an overwhelming homeless population with over two hundred thousand people experiencing homelessness at some point of the year. It shows us that Skid Row is continuing to grow and now several famous streets are looking identical to it. The documentary Homeless In Los Angeles is a shocking exposé of just how bad things have become in the land of opportunity.
From the very beginning we see how large scale of a problem homelessness is in Los Angeles. The film takes us to many notorious locations such as Hollywood Boulevard, Venice Beach, St. Monica Pier among others. We've all seen these places in movies and television and we're often lead to believe it's all glamorous. But Homeless In Los Angeles shows us the reality that it's quite miserable for thousands who walk the streets daily. Along the way we encounter many different characters who are all interesting and unique.
What makes Homeless In Los Angeles so good are the interviews given to the homeless. Every one has a different backstory, a different explanation of how they got where they are. While they are all homeless, no two people have the exact same story. Some people we encounter are drug addicts, most of whom seem to have gotten themselves into their predicament. Others were born and raised in extreme poverty. These are the people we feel most for, the ones who became homeless through no fault of their own, they were born into it. And some simply just want to throw caution to the wind and party. Whatever the case is, it's often difficult to hear the stories of these people. We discover many stoners and alcoholics who abuse substances just to make life passable.
The film is very well made with plenty of good cinematic shots of Los Angeles and really gives some scenes a good atmospheric feel to them. It shows you don't always need a big budget to make a good, important film. Homeless In Los Angeles attempts to communicate to us about the growing problem of poverty in Los Angeles and does so very well. It inspires its audience to get out and do good for the millions who are down on their luck. But the one thing virtually every audience member will do is ask themselves whether or not the American dream is still alive or if it's on a flatline. What are the odds that someone in poverty can eventually rise up and live a stable life? This is a film I would definitely recommend all should see. I found it on Amazon Instant Video which is a good option.
Wild Grinders (2012)
No Human Being Should be Subjected to Watching Wild Grinders
Rob Dyrdek is a huge star. If you watch MTV, he is probably a household name for you. Having several shows including Ridiculousness, Fantasy Factory and Rob & Big, not to mention founding the very popular Street League and co-starring in the skating movie Street Dreams, Rob is nothing less of a superstar. So when we heard Rob gave his personal approval to create an animated show about him and his group of friends skating, it could of had a lot of potential. I will review the show from two perspectives: as a viewer, and as a skateboarder.
Average viewer: Wild Grinders offers absolutely nothing groundbreaking to the world of animation. The characters were designed very simplistically. Before I watched the show (I watched several episodes) I saw pictures of it. I mistakenly thought the show was for three year olds, they are designed that basically. Rob is the only member of the cast who actually skateboards. I actually was pleased to see Kel Mitchell was in this. I loved him in Kenan and Kel/Good Burger and want to see him still have a job in Hollywood.
The humor was, quite simply, horrifying. Whoever is writing their jokes must get paid minimum wage and it really shows. Each episode has many many jokes, all which leave me shaking my head. It gets a "heh" out of me an average of one to two times per episode. The humor includes belches, characters who were told "they were dropped when they were younger," a camera that has "a bazillion gigawats of power" and so forth. After watching each episode for five minutes, I turn off my television it's that unbearable.
A skateboarder: Rob Dyrdek is a very talented skateboarder. He owns the successful skate brand Alien Workshop and gets a lot of respect. I tune in to his other show Ridiculousness time to time hoping for a laugh either from him, this blonde chick and this black who seem to serve no purpose being there other than looking cool. I think the black man rewinds the clips sometimes, but that's it other than stating the obvious.
Wild Grinders is not a good representation of actual skateboarding. Yes the skaters perform actual tricks like boardslides, nosegrinds, 5-0's and others. But a lot of the time Rob and friends do the physically impossible, even occasionally freezing in mid-air to do ten kickflips in a row. As I stated earlier, Rob is the only actor who is an actual skateboarder, which is a shame really. It only makes his animated show less credible, being the only skater on the crew. The other characters come off as being complete posers (not to mention stereotypical,) such as "Emo Crys" with long black hair, tight jeans and black eye liner. Goggles, the videographer, is a complete geek with large glasses. Which might sound funny, but really isn't once you get to know him. But Rob's dog even skateboards (adding more realism) and sometimes talks.
Verdict: If you want a good show for your kids, stay away from Wild Grinders. If you have kids under the age for five, they might like it. But any older and it's just not funny. If your' a fan of Rob, you might get a kick out of it, that is if you can tolerate pitiful humor. If your a skater, you'll be surprised how low Rob stooped, he clearly wanted a paycheck and that's all. This show really does make me appreciate Rocket Power more, which is what I would recommend over this. Break out the old VHS tapes you recorded, because in this case, older is better.