brooklyn-schuster Reviews

Vertigo (1958)

Real classics do not need the label 'Classic'

[3/10 · 8 December 2007]

As I was looking through the IMDb Top 250 I recognized Vertigo ranked on a very high position, knowing that I have found out about some of my favorite movies by the Top 250 and hearing all the hype about Vertigo I thought I'd give it a try. Well as far as I can tell, Vertigo was not that kind of 'brilliant classic' I heard about. It was a 2-hour cheese marathon without any suspense. The love-story featured in that movie is overly dramatized and absolutely horrible. There weren't any values that managed to impress me. Ironically Alfred Hitchcock defined the term "MacGuffin" and Vertigo was a single 2-hours long MacGuffin! There are many better movies which do not get the credit they deserve while Vertigo is called an instant classic. I give it 3 out of 10 because the ending was done very well but if you really want to see a brilliant 50's classic watch "Witness for the prosecution" Nuff said

Father of the Pride (2004–2005)

Fine Satire Cartoon

[7/10 · 8 December 2007]

Father of the pride is a pleasant surprise: It is funny, witty and features some great voice acting. The show is about the family of a Lion who is acting as the attraction of Siegfried & Roy shows. Indeed all of them are stereotypes but that's what makes them so funny. FOTP is not a kiddie-cartoon it includes some crude adult humor but in a very mild way. It is full of popculture references and celebrity cameos and most of them are very well executed. I'd say I'll give the show a 7 out of ten because it is nice fairly well executed but not very original, I've seen most of those stereotypes many times before, even in that particular order!

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

A bit disappointed but still entertained

[6/10 · 4 May 2007]

At first, I didn't really like the beginning of the movie it was a bit too minimalistic in my opinion. But later it got more interesting. Spiderman's fights were very wicked placed perfectly. I'm a big fan of Marvel comics, so I can't figure out why the producers decided to put Gwen Stacy into the plot. She didn't really fit in. Some scenes of Spiderman 3 were a pleasant fun. I mean fun in a way like in Raimi's earlier Evil Dead trilogy. In some way there were also unintentionally funny scenes, like Peter telling Mary Jane that the acoustic at the her musical was bad and shortly after the little comet including the symbiotic entity making almost no sound.The movie focused a bit too much on it's visual appeal rather than its character plot development. I have mixed feelings about the ending, on the one hand it was very epic and satisfying on the other hand it was too sentimental and cheesy. Some fans might say it was a bad idea that Harry dies at the end, but I don't think so, to be honest it is if the character would have been brought back and back again after surviving almost every attack. I have noticed some big flaws, but there are still more positive aspects. Some of them:

Awesome visual effects, there are dimensions between the this one and the first Spiderman flick.

Kirsten Dunst is still damn sexy

Funny dialogs

Scream (1996)

Much hype about nothing

[3/10 · 12 April 2007]

After the mysterious assassination of a young lady in a small town rumours circulate between Sidney Prescott and her friends. At this time Gale Weathers a local TV reporter enters to do some research. Sidney receives strange phone calls and get's pushed further into the plot of murders while her friends start to get less and less. Scream is best described as "could have t this been but is not". The plot is mediocre and very predictable. The acting was really bad and the cast was too. The ending of the movie was very disappointing and rather dull. If the ending would have been clever the movie wouldn't be that bad but this major mistake ruined it all.

3 of 10 stars

Alien (1979)

Fantastic, claustrophobic Horror experience

[10/10 · 11 April 2007]

Alien is certainly a movie that keeps you satisfied till the very end. The crew of the commercial ship "Nostromo" awakes from hypersleep as they receive an SOS signal from a distant planet. They want to explore the planet so they prepare for landing. Some of the Nostromo crew-members leave their ship to do some investigations. They discover a big amount of eggs by an unknown species. One of the eggs breaks and the creature in it takes possession of one of the crew members. They take him back to the Nostromo for medical researches but it's already to late, the Alien has found it's host.......... At the beginning of the movie everything seems very calm and harmless, until the Alien appears! From this point the movie starts a claustrophobic horror trip which takes your breath away. The most horrifying thing about Alien is, that the Nostromo-crew is just a simple commercial crew, so they are not armed well enough to face such dangerous creature. The concepts for the Alien by H.R Giger fit perfectly and the acting pretty good too. What else to say? 10 of 10 stars!

Gantz (2004)

Worst Anime Ever

[1/10 · 3 February 2007]

Lately there are some superb Animes I really enjoy. Gantz is not one of them! I use to watch Ghost in the Shell Stand alone complex very often lately. It's the best example of a well done Manga adaption. But Gantz is just horrible! Let's start with the bad plot: A group of people who all die about the same time are sent back to live.....by a giant metal ball called Gantz! (Guess it is metal I'm not sure) Gantz has a new occupation for those people: Hunting aliens on earth! With every eliminated alien they get points. If someone reaches a certain number of points he or she is able to turn back to life. All contestants get a suit and a gun from Gantz with which they should hunt the aliens. The next horrible thing is the bad character development. Our main characters are a pervert teen, a girl who seems mentally out of place and a whiny guy. The activities of all characters (Not only the main characters) are always the same: They swear, they cry, they behave egoistic and materialized and they ANNOY! For those people who want to watch it because they heard that it is gory: Well there is some gore in it but in my opinion The bad plot and the bad voice acting (And of course the annoying characters) would even scare of hardcore fans of Gore/Schlock. And there's one thing I have forgotten: The contestants can't be seen or heard by any human while hunting the aliens. Remembers a bit in A Christmas Carol. Talking about A Christmas carol: My comment for Gantz?-Bahhh Humbug! The only good thing is the song in the ending credits.

1 out of 10 Stars!

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Very impressing movie

[10/10 · 17 July 2006]

Well I'm not a big fan of Japanese Animes or Nangas but this movie impressed me! Japan of 2028:Most of the inhabitants are at least partly a machine. Many of them have a body made of steel or titanium. In those times there is a powerful hacker called the puppetmaster who is able to influence those human like cyborgs. Section 9 which is like the Police Force is looking for clues. A visually very amazing movie. The action scenes were brilliant, the artwork well done. And the plot was very good too. All in all it was like watching a James Cameron movie. Plus: The soundtrack was pretty good. I really enjoyed this one and I like Stand alone Complex too. A brilliant adult animated movie!

The Simpsons: Trash of the Titans (1998) Season 9, Episode 22

Excellent!

[9/10 · 10 May 2006]

This episode one of the best Simpsons episodes I've ever seen. After the celebration of "Love Day" (A feast invented by Costingtons), Homer has to take out a lot of garbage. On his way he has a conflict with the garbage men. After this, they decide not to take the Simpsons trash anymore. Homer has a crazy idea: He wants to become the next sanitation commissioner. A very funny episode with U2 as guest stars. And the "Garbagemen can" song was marvelous too. Steve Martin as Ray Patterson in another guest role. Another enemy for Homer! A great fun for everyone!

9 of 10 Stars!

The Simpsons: All Singing, All Dancing (1998) Season 9, Episode 11

Worst Simpson episode ever!

[3/10 · 10 May 2006]

Well this was not only the worst Simpsons Clip show it was the worst Simpson episode too! I'm a big Simpsons fan so and I find the creativity and the sarcastic humor superb. So 'I have to say that there shouldn't be any clip shows! Clip shows are just old scenes mixed with a mediocre plot. When I watch the Simpsons I want to see new jokes and satirical references. All singing, All Dancing was even worse than normal clip shows. It's okay to hear one Simpsons song in an episode...... but a 25 minutes of singing? Well, every brilliant TV show has it's bad times too! In this case it was "All singing, All dancing"

3 of 10 Stars!

Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Very good Sequel:

[7/10 · 17 April 2006]

Well first the positive aspects of the movie:

.Many running gags that kept me laughing .Fascinating animations .Seeing Scrat acting in a higher position (Even if it's only a coincidence

that he saved everyone from drowning) .The fact, that Manny finally finds a female mammoth .Much more black humor than in the first Ice movie

Now the negative aspects:

.Diego lost much of his aggression and sarcasm .The plot is sometimes a real meltdown (Some scenes are very predictable) .The Soundtrack is rather embarrassing

All in all I had lots of fun watching this one. Ice age 2 is a well done sequel.

Johnny English (2003)

Fun movie

[7/10 · 25 March 2006]

Hey this ones good just for laughs. Okay there is our (Anti) Hero who becomes a special agent for a very ironic reason. His mission is to protect the British crown jewels but he acts like (and of course is) a complete wannabe. I just can't imagine any movie which was funnier. This one is a spy spoof and this spoof was well done. To be honest I think it is one of the best spy spoofs ever made (aside from the Austin Powers saga). Well okay, there are better movies but that's visual Comedy. Slapstick is just for laughs and doesn't always have to make much sense. If you like the Bean TV series you gonna like that too. 7 out of 10 Stars

Highlander (1986)

Marvellous!

[7/10 · 19 March 2006]

There can only be one......the Highlander. Well what to say about it? Action and Fantasy fans, there is your movie. This one is full of action besides the plot is good. The Scottish Highlands 1536:The warrior Connor Macleod fights the Babarian Kurgan and gets hit deadly. But somehow he survived the attack. The people of his village drive him off because they think he has evil powers. Macleod now walks his own way. He falls in love with Heather and finds a mentor (Ramirez) who tells him, that he is a special warrior(He's called Highlander)which can only be killed by getting his head knocked off by a sword. Macleod is not the only immortal warrior, there are many others. Kurgan is one of them. Centurys later in New York City the Highlander prepares himself for his final fight against Kurgan.

Cats & Dogs (2001)

Baah Humbug!

[3/10 · 18 March 2006]

When I saw the trailers I was expecting less but I gave it a chance on DVD. It's worth watching, ain't it?-No! This is one of the dumbest movies I have ever seen. Well, okay, there were one or two scenes I laughed but the rest was just bad. I just can't imagine why all those celebrity's signed up for that one. As a Kids movie:Okay, watchable but there are plenty of better Kids movies. If you expect funny epic battle scenes between Cats and Dogs you're expecting too much. The "Battle Scenes" are just crappy and no fun at all. If you want to see Kids Entertainment movies with quality choose Ice Age! Cats and Dogs is just a waste of time.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Major embarrassment

[5/10 · 18 March 2006]

Well, the first 3 Parts of Star Wars (Episode 4,5,6) were spectacular. Almost everything was done right. But then........26 years later came the big change.Welcome to the category: Hollywood's most embarrassing Sequels! Okay, there are worse movies and it wasn't that bad but rather mediocre. First the good parts of Phantom Menace:

.The Effects were quite good .Darth Maul was a remarkable villain .The Final Fight

The bad parts:

.Too juvenile .Jar Jar Binx .Too commercial (In comparison to the older Episodes)

Star Wars always has been a serious saga, so what are characters like Jar jar Binx good for? Phantom Menace had a Target group of 6-11 year old kids and that's what Star Wars shouldn't be: A Kids Entertainment.

Popcorn Entertainment but nothing more!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

2005's cinematic Highlight

[8/10 · 17 March 2006]

I'm so happy I decided to watch this one. Great mix of sarcastic humor and fantastic story. Well, the main Character is a little boy called Charlie Bucket. Charlie is of a very poor decent but there's one thing Charlie really likes: Wonka chocolate bars. Willy Wonka is an eccentric Chocolatier who owns the biggest chocolate factory in the entire world. One day Wonka decides to give 5 children the chance to visit his factory. Tis is one of the best Tim Burton movies. Well,I did expect a good movie but this was more than good. The acting was well done. The effects were spectacular. Great score. A must see for all ages! 8/10 Stars

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Best Comic Movie ever!

[10/10 · 17 March 2006]

There had been so many movies based on a comic. The whole whole movie was absolutely satisfying. Well, I'm a fan of Marvel Comics and I have to say, that Marvel had a bad start with Howard the Duck and Captain America. But things started getting better in the late 90's. (Blade in 1998 and then X-Men in 2000). Spiderman was even better. .......And then the sequel: A masterpiece. I think Dock Ock was an excellent choice for the villain. The Visual Effects were superb (Far better than in the first part) Spiderman 2 showed everyone that Comic movies can be much more than MTV-style popcorn entertainment. The score was quite good.(Raindrops keep falling on my head by BJ Thomas is great but the rest is mediocre) Acting was really good (I think Kirsten Dunst is a very talented actress) Best 2004 Movie.