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Reviews
Grandma's Boy (2006)
A pleasant surprise
I was way off the mark with this film. I thought it was more of a family fun entertainment movie. My oldest son loves video games and his grandmother in equal measures and both of them wanted to see the movie together. Needless to say, if you've seen this movie, you didn't want to see it with your mother or your eight year old son. I loved the movie and thought it had some very funny scenes in it. This was a pleasant surprise as I thought I would hate it. The adult humour mostly went over my son's head, and the drug humour set my mom off a bit. All in all, my wife and I had a good laugh at the content and my mother's reactions.
Battlestar Galactica (2004)
Really like this series
It has been so long since I watched and enjoyed a sci-fi series, that I initially resisted attempts by my friends to get me to watch this it.
I fondly remember the original series, but have resolutely refused to go back and watch it as to not destroy the great memories I have of the show as I've done with too many other shows from my childhood (A-Team, Dukes of Hazard, etc.) Are there differences between this series and the original? Of course there are, but the changes that have been made has produced and smart sci-fi series, with good characterization and interesting story lines.
Give this series a try.
Jarhead (2005)
All around entertaining
Wasn't sure what to expect with the jarhead movie. With the fracture in American opinion over the current conflict in Iraq, a film centered around the original conflict could have fallen on one side of the fence or the other. That being said, I think this film did a decent job skirting the middle ground and focused on being a "jarhead" much more than the politics of the situation. In the film, there are characters that are predictably on each side of the political spectrum, but they aren't distracting to the point. I think this film is really showed the unglamorous aspect of the grunts in war. No Rambo like action here, just the almost never ending wait with no pay off. Jake is excellent in the film as usual and Jamie Foxx is believable in his role. All and all very entertaining and enjoyable movie.
King Kong (2005)
Mixed bag
Just saw King Kong and I left the theater wondering if I liked it or hated it. Very mixed bag for me. I think I see what Jackson was trying to do but I don't think he pulled it off as well as I'd hoped he would.
Not sure why Jackson would do a remake of a the original, sure CGI makes it look better than the original, but from a product perspective it lacked a certain umph that the original had. Less said about the 1976 remake the better.
Cute nod to the original by Jack Black's character when his assistant tells him Faye Raye is already doing a film so she's not available.
I absolutely hated the T-Rex fight scene. Not sure when T-Rexs' began fighting in a pack like Raptors or why there bits wouldn't even draw blood on King Kong.
All in all, it looked nice, still not sure if it delivered.
Shopgirl (2005)
Much better than I expected
First off I have to admit to being a fan of Steve Martin. I've enjoyed much, if not most of his work. That being said, I'm not sure why I came into Shopgirl with a bit of fear in my heart. Because he wrote the Novella that the movie was based on I think that I saw it as a vanity project that would make his character overly great. It was much better than I thought. The story was tight and vaguely realistic. The production itself had a bit of an indy movie feel. Claire Daines was wonderful in her role, it seemed almost natural. Jason Shartzman doesn't break new ground with this role, as it is similar to other characters he's played, but he does it well and with a certain flair. I guess that's why he keeps getting cast that way. I thought the ending of the movie was touching and you're left wondering at the could have beens in your own life. Well worth seeing.
The Fallen Ones (2005)
Fantastic Idea that went nowhere
I came into this movie really wanting to line it. I thought the premise had a lot of potential and was ripe for an interesting movie. Don't get me wrong here, I wasn't expecting Citizen Kane, I was taking this for the B movie that it is. That said, it still fell short of the expectation. The historical aspect of the story is glazed over and the ending left me a bit cold. The acting in the movie was very wooden. All in all I give it 4 for a great idea, but the movie could have scored much higher with a bit more attention to movie making fundamentals. Is it worth seeing? I didn't wish for my two hours back, but I don't know that I'd recommend it to others.