Archive for Reviews
Sarah’s Review: ‘Jeux D’Enfants’ (Love Me If You Dare)
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All of us know that the French do romance the right way with Paris making all its love magic. The French hone the most romantic city on earth, while the rest of the world helps glorify it. The rest of the world helps uphold its image as THE place to find love through romance film after romance film. The Eiffel Tower gets old, don’t you think? If you are looking for a simple “love in Paris” flick, you won’t find it in this French foreign film Love Me if You Dare that was released in 2003. Love Me if You Dare, originally titled Jeux D’Enfants, shows that the French are just as confused with love as the rest of us. The film is a diamond in the rough when it comes to dark comedy. Yann Samuell has mixed dark comedy and romance into a film both genders can enjoy. Gentlemen, don’t run away just because the word romance is being thrown around here. I recommend Love Me if You Dare to anyone with a love for foreign film and a sense of humor.
Filed Under:Jeux D’Enfants, Love Me If You Dare, movie reviewMatt’s Review: ‘The Expendables’ is Booooring
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The Expendables: C-
I definitely did not walk into this screening expecting much. This movie is loaded with a bunch of actors who are better at pretend fighting than pretending to act. So, consider my pre-screening feelings skeptical. However, my cautious perception of the movie was not mirrored by the movie-going American public. The Expendables ended up pulling a decent take with $34.8 million in its first weekend, $16.5 million the second, and finishing atop the box office both weekends
Filed Under:movie review, The ExpendablesMatt’s Review: ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’ is Great Summer Fun
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GRADE: B+
This is a movie probably unlike any other you have seen in your lifetime. It is a combination of many forms of entertainment in our culture, seamlessly combining film, music, video games, and comic book elements. This was my second most anticipated late summer movie (after Inception), and it measured up to all my expectations. Not expecting a high dose of comedy, I was surprised to laugh as much as I did throughout this movie. Many of the laughs weren’t blatant like the Will Ferrell brand, but a quieter and less dramatic form of comedy. This contribution to the overall product was something that I thought boosted this film’s already high value.
Filed Under:Edgar Wright, michael cera, movie review, Scott Pilgrim vs. The WorldMatts Review: ‘The Other Guys’ is Fun and Funny, But Not Ferrell’s Best
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GRADE: B-
This movie is very similar to Dinner for Schmucks in that it is a comedy featuring a tag team of lead actors who together form the only soluble piece for the entire film. Instead of the comedic duo of Carell and Rudd, The Other Guys features the mostly unfunny Mark Wahlberg and the most often funny Will Ferrell. I am going to try my hardest not to let my disdain for Wahlberg shine through in this review, but I cannot promise anything.
Filed Under:Adam McKay, mark wahlberg, movie review, The Other Guys, Will FerrellMatt’s Review: Dinner for Schmucks Lacks Big Laughs
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GRADE: C+
My feelings about this movie can be described easiest by simply saying, I expected more. This movie of course features the talents of Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, and Ron Livingston. With that cast, viewers go into a movie like this and expect to laugh hysterically. But this movie did not feature much of that. Sure it had its funny parts, but it lacked the kind of belly busting laughter a viewer would expect from a comedy like this. Even minus my high comedic expectations, this movie just did not do anything to really establish itself amongst other films in the genre. Read More→
Filed Under:Dinner for Scmucks, movie review, Paul Rudd, Steve CarellMatt’s Review: Salt is Decent, But Forgettable
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GRADE: B-
Angelina Jolie headlines this project as a character that isn’t a stretch from her usual sexy but deadly roles (Wanted, Tomb Raider, Mr. and Mrs. Smith). This 2010 film directed by Phillip Noyce seems to exist in a world close to our own reality where Jolie is an actual vulnerable human being. The previous mentioned films all put Jolie in a world of her own, on a pedestal of elite combative prowess. My perception of Salt early on was Jolie working her tail off to narrowly escape capture. Then the action sequences kept unfolding with Jolie coming out on top and unscathed. I began to question the film’s integrity to reality as it slipped closer and closer to mindless action.
Filed Under:Angelina Jolie, movie review, SaltBarrett’s Review: INCEPTION is an Awe-Inspiring Work of Art
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GRADE: A+
My brain; melted. My eyeballs; popped out of their sockets. My heart; ripped apart and then glued back together with an adhesive comprised of unadalterated joy. That is what happened to me for 148 minutes this week when I watched Christopher Nolan’s Inception for the first time. It is without a doubt the best movie of 2010, the best movie of the past 10 years, and IN MY OPINION, the best movie ever made. I know these gushing sentiments may be met with releuctance and skepticism for those of you who have followed my year-long obsession leading up to the release of this film, and for that I apologize. But I am just letting you know that, even with the highest, most ridiculous level of expectations that I had for Inception, Christopher Nolan exceeded them, resulting in the most unforgettable movie experience I’ve ever had.
Filed Under:Christopher Nolan, inception, movie reviewMatt’s Review: Despicable Me is Another Animated Classic
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GRADE: A-
An animated movie like this will always have the looming comparisons to the juggernaut on the playing field, Pixar. Heck, some people out there think every animated movie that comes out is a Pixar creation. But they aren’t all from Pixar, and these type of family orientated computer generated creations rarely own up to the might of the Disney owned company. Despicable Me showed that not all animated gems come from Pixar and that it too can bank at the box office.
Filed Under:Despicable Me, movie review, Steve CarellMatt’s Review: Predators is Good, But Lacking Great
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GRADE: B
This review will be similar to my Nightmare on Elm Street critique in that I have seen the original, but don’t remember the 1987 Predator well enough for comparison. Even with that said, the 2010 Predators played homage to the original in many aspects. The music, some of the dialogue, and of course the gritty looking alien creatures that thrive for the hunt. The story in Predators is much different than the original, but I think that helps put this movie in a class of its own.
Filed Under:adrien brody, movie review, Predators, Robert RodriguezMatt’s Review: The Last Airbender is an Utter Disappointment
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GRADE: C-
First off, I did not go and see this movie in 3D. It was converted to the third dimension by the controversial and horrid looking post production process and I was not about to give three more dollars to a movie studio. I will not support this price gouging via the post production conversion that lacks the quality of films shot in 3D, but cost the same. I was looking forward to this movie because it had potential to be a good film with a intriguing story set in a wonderfully creative world. Unfortunately, it was not a good movie and probably marks the end of M. Night Shyamalan’s big budget movie career.
Filed Under:M. Night Shyamalan, movie review, The Last Airbender
