gdshrout Reviews

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995–1996)

Degenerates into PsychoBabble hogwash

[4/10 · 11 January 2007]

This anime series starts out great: Interesting story, exciting events, interesting characters, beautifully rendered and executed. Not everything is explained right away, dangling a proverbial carrot before the viewer, enticing the viewer to watch each succeeding episode. But imagine the disappointment to find that the sci-fi thriller/giant robot adventure is only a backdrop for psycho-babble and quasi-religious preachy exploitation. If you want to hear "You're OK. It's good to be you." after being embattled with negative slogans and the characters' negative emotions, then this is for you. If you want a good sci-fi flick that is simply fun to watch, forget this one. Both the original, and the alternate endings were grossly disappointing to me. All that, AND this movie was too preachy.

Shaolin Soccer (2001)

Laughed my butt off

[10/10 · 24 May 2006]

I thought this movie was great! I laughed my ass off! Great special effects, slapstick gags; it is just plain fun. And my kids enjoyed it. Basic, predictable story line, but with all the effects and gags, this was a thoroughly enjoyable movie to watch. There's the five former monks, all overweight and out of shape, regaining their Shaolin Kung Fu powers, led by the one in-shape former monk who thinks the entire world will benefit from the powers of kung fu. Watch for the flaming soccer ball burn the shirt off the goalie! And the gymnastics floor routine with three players all break-dancing AND moving the ball! And the monk who can grab the soccer ball with his stomach! It's just great. This foreign film is a wonderful respite from such Hollywood stinkers like Phonebooth and Paycheck.

Into the Blue (2005)

Attorney who can't read Latin

[7/10 · 4 October 2005]

Note to Hollywood: You don't need to make every bad guy a drug dealer!! And who came up with these characters: a dive bum, an ethical hottie, a coke whore, and (this tops the list) a lawyer who can't read Latin, is broke, and wants to sell cocaine.

A contrived premise and unrealistically bad decisions being made by the characters made my wife and I both squirm in discomfort as one bad decision was made after another.

That being said, the movie started out pleasantly slow, spending enough time to develop the characters (although they were cardboard thin) and establish the beautiful location and the premise of the plot. Things were moving along "swimmingly" and then WHAM - major action and major drama. Beautiful cinematography and plenty of gratuitous T&A (Jess Alba is simply yummy - in revealing low-cut bikini). Some of the underwater scenes show her bikini riding up to become a thong - delicious. It's unfortunate that Alba plays second fiddle to the male players.

Some shocking moments, an interesting twist and a few surprises lead to an "edge of your seat" climax. Not Jane Austin fare, but like a good TV channel, it's "time well spent."

March of the Penguins (2005)

An outstanding nature documentary

[9/10 · 22 August 2005]

It was a real treat to go to the theater for once and not a watch guns, explosions and over the top drama. Instead, this film is about the drama of life in the Antactic. Other comments will give you ample information about what the film is about, so I won't waste time and space writing about that. Instead, I will write about what I liked. The wide shots were cinematic in scope, and breath-takingly beautiful. There were plenty of close-ups of the penguins. Watching these noble creatures waddle about and occasionally slip and fall was good clean fun, and elicited laughter in the sparse crowd of the theater. The film and narrative is not overly sentimental; in fact, at times it is brutally honest about the harshness of life in that stark and cold environment. Finally, contrary to other opinions, I found the voice-over excellent and well-written. Morgan Freeman has an outstanding voice for this type of work. And I will say that I actually liked the music, and felt that it worked well with the action on-screen.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

Excessive and gratuitous

[3/10 · 13 June 2005]

The film was a big disappointment. The actors and actresses did their jobs well - and they certainly are 'beautiful people' for the screen. But the screenplay was weak. The dialog was limited. The two main characters didn't have much to say to each other except "I'd rather be nowhere else, but right here with you."

The film relied on the action/comedy formula of explosions, guns, and fast cars, with an occasional nifty quip, like "Those extra side doors (on a mini-van) really are handy."

The screenplay does a poor job explaining the situations in which we find the characters. Why would two lovers try to kill each other? Any sane person would have tried to talk over the issues - but no - they try to kill each other and destroy their house while they are at it. This scene was excessive and went on for what seemed to be a protracted amount of time.

Then they fall back in love and proceed to wipe out 52 black clad ninja assassins armed only with MP5 sub-machine guns and bullet-proof Kevlar vests. This was the other excessive and gratuitous scene that went on for a long time. There was also a car chase scene that was good - if you haven't already seen a movie with a car chase scene in it.

There were a few comedic moments and the movie was two hours of entertainment - which is why I gave it three stars.

But the screenplay has so many holes it leaks like a sieve. We are left with too many unanswered questions, e.g., what did Vince Vaughn's character decide to do at the end? Not kill his friend? Hire killers? Who do the Smiths work for? Why can't their agencies have them married and working together?

On the plus side - Angelina fans almost get to see a nip - and there are plenty of gratuitous bust and leg shots. The S&M queen scene is 'bound' to please fans also.

I'm glad the kids weren't with us. For excessive violence and adult situations the film should have been rated 'R'.