SlyFlicks » Reviews

Review: “Kick-Ass”

Boris — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 08:00:42 +0000

“The title describes the movie perfectly. This is definitely one of the greatest “super” hero movies ever made. It is on par with The Dark Knight and Iron Man. The story is an original take on a cliché, adapted from a graphic novel by Mark Millar (who also wrote the graphic novel which inspired the movie Wanted). Director Matthew Vaughn is no stranger to the action film genre since his directorial debut film Layer Cake. And he has also produced all the greatest films by Guy Richie. But this is definitely the film that will help make him a household name. Even though most of the action scenes were shown in trailers (especially the red-band trailers), pretty much in their entirety, there is still a lot more that remains to be seen on the big screen. The bad guys in this movie are typical but the heroes are as original as you can get. Kick-Ass may be the main character, but the most memorable heroes are Big Daddy (who looks like Batman but makes him look like a big pussy, and even has a better back-story) and Hit-Girl (who is probably the best sidekick any hero can have). The ending has an opening to a sequel so there is much to be anticipated!

The Verdict

Must See!
Not Bad.
Rent It.
Must Miss!

Review: “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day”

Boris — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:00:43 +0000

“The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” is a good sequel to a great flick. There were a lot of similarities to the first one but there was enough originality to keep it fresh. The returning characters are still as entertaining as they were in the first flick and the new characters are just as interesting. Julie Benz’s character was a bit cartoony at parts but overall was a good addition. Unfortunately, it was a limited release so you’ll have to wait until the DVD/BluRay release to see it, but I’m sure it will become a cult classic as the first one did. On a plus side, there was an opening to another sequel, so that’s something to look forward to.

The Verdict

Must See!
Not Bad.
Rent It.
Must Miss!

Review: “A Christmas Carol” (2009)

Boris — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:09 +0000

“A Christmas Carol” is a well-directed film. But I do have a few problems with it. The pacing is really slow at parts which makes it quite boring. And much like all of Robert Zemeckis’ motion capture flicks, this one is no better. The first time I was put off by “realistic” 3D film was Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within because there was no realism in the character’s movements and facial expression. The second was Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf. It was the first movie I ever walked out on. It’s like watching an hour and a half long video game cutscene. I believe that motion capture is great when used as a supplement to an actor’s live action performance as seen in Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button; or Gollum in Lord of the Rings, who interacts with real actors, but not as a whole movie. But I digress. As a movie, it’s worth watching only in 3D. Which is the only reason I give it a Not Bad instead of a Rent It

The Verdict

Must See!
Not Bad.
Rent It.
Must Miss!

Review: “Law Abiding Citizen”

Boris — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:00:02 +0000

“Law Abiding Citizen” is a great thriller. The story is very well put together. Even though there are many cliches, it is still very original. The plot borrows a lot of elements from movies such as The Dark Knight, The Punisher, and Silence of the Lambs. All these elements work well with each other and a really brought out by the performances of Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx.

The Verdict

Must See!
Not Bad.
Rent It.
Must Miss!

Review: “The Room” (More Than a Bad Movie)

Boris — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:00:21 +0000

Remember the concept in The Producers? The classic story where producers figure you can make more money with a flop than a hit. And I think the best example is the following independent movie, “The Room.” It came out in 2003, but the way it was started involves a man named Tommy Wiseau, who wrote a book by the same movie name. So that book (and written as a play too) was then turned into a movie idea by Mr. Wiseau. The man somehow raised 6 million dollars, which no one can really know from where, for his film. My envy grows when he decides to purchase two cameras, one that is a high quality film camera and the other a digital average camera. While filming he placed both cameras next to each other because he couldn’t understand the difference. His script also needed on location changes, probably because the actors couldn’t understand some ideas. This film didn’t really see the light of day until April Fool’s day of 2009 where Adult Swim played a censored version that night. This awareness revealed a small cult following going on with this independent film where some cities were showing the film on the last Friday of every month at a midnight screening. A movie filled with so many plot holes, bad acting and odd lines that it became a hilarious film to watch with a group of people. My cousins hosted movie nights where a group of us would watch this film. Some would laugh, others wished to leave the room and many were scarred by the film. I couldn’t stand the movie at first but it grew on me as more and more I recited lines or funny moments with my friends. The midnight screening was an experience of its own, the first time I went to the theatre back in May, the screening was already sold out. A huge line formed leaving me and my friends in shock of how many people liked this movie like we do. Then in the summer, we went again, this time prepared with online bought tickets and getting on line early. So early that we were the first ones there on line. But watching the movie in a full sized theater is what makes it so much fun. First off, there’s an actual live band that plays whenever there’s a love scene (and there are several very unusual and hilarious love scenes). The audience sings along and discovering the actual lyrics is profound and so funny too. Then the excitement comes when on the screen, one character stands next to a small table with framed pictures on it. For some reason the pictures are of spoons, and this isn’t easily noticeable but when this is shown, the whole audience screams “SPOONS” and throws plastic spoons at the big screen. It turns into a spoon war, with missiles flying over your head, landing everywhere and sometimes you throw back and have little battles with the people behind you. The theater room was large and had 4 levels so many spoons reached the bottom level seats. It’s so much fun being in such an active audience, no other movie I’ve been to has that. When the lights go back on, you can see spoons covering the floor and even some under your seat. It’s amazing also to find so much more weird stuff I never noticed before in the movie that people point out or laugh at. And it makes one feel that they’re not alone in enjoying such a horrible movie. This is a huge example on how a bad film can create such an amazing response that makes one question if it really is so bad after all.

The Verdict

Must See!
Not Bad.
Rent It.
Must Miss!

Review: “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

Boris — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:00:00 +0000

“Transformers 2″ is where Michael Bay brings out all his movie ideas into one completely unstable film. This movie can sum up so many things on what not to do, and what to avoid in a sequel. The first film, in my opinion, was actually entertaining with the effects and storyline. But many fans were disappointed from (what they called) the lack of actual robot battles in the film. I thought the final climactic battle in the last act was worthy enough to say there was a lot of robot action put in. But Michael Bay seemed to have thought it’s a good idea to put more and more robot fight scenes instead of focusing on story or character development. The first film worked because it had a human main character that guided the story. This film is completely different and lacks any characters to care about. At the start of the film, I already couldn’t follow what was going on, who was fighting who and for what reason. It was literally just a big battle with a huge bicycle looking transformer. The main plot seemed to be that an ancient decepticon transformer (The Fallen, which is a stupid name in the first place) was hibernating in space and could only come back if no Prime transformer was left because those transformers are the only ones who can stop him. But then the Sam Witwicky plot is not to be forgotten, of him going to college and becoming something of a cube information surrogate. Honestly at the point this was explained, it felt like the movie was done by filmmakers under the influence of hard drugs. Nothing really made sense, and so much screen time was spent on cool looking robot transforming. And giving the robots different stereotypical personalities didn’t help anything. So many unnecessary things were shown with the robot and human storyline. At the beginning they showed that a satellite was a transformer, I got completely uninterested and thought they went too far. Then they bring in a girl who is actually a transformer…with a very long metallic tongue. Another point in which I couldn’t believe this is actually a real movie. The only beacon of hope I could get was when John Turturro came on scene. He’s probably the only actor in the whole movie I was entertained by. But the movie’s plot-lines kept making the movie more hard to enjoy, where these characters are doing so many random things so quickly it’s hard to follow. One of the last straws was when Sam went to robot heaven and was told of his (really dumb) “destiny” to save Optimus Prime. Looking back at this movie, I can see how this would all work in a cool transformers graphic novel with great detailed artwork to appreciate. But not everything can translate from comic to film, and this movie is a main example. Michael Bay with his explosions and random battles is kinda cool to watch with the hard work the animators did, but its not supported with anything if the plot is nowhere. And with news of a third film, I don’t know how Bay can do any better because in his eyes he made a great film better than the first one. I think he’s made one of the worst films I’ve ever seen.

The Verdict

Must See!
Not Bad.
Rent It.
Must Miss!

Review: “The Hangover”

Boris — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 08:00:19 +0000

“The Hangover,” to me, is a perfect comedy. This movie has every element you would want to see in a comedy and more. There are also different styles of comedy beautifully intertwined– such as slapstick, gross-out, screwball, and even romantic comedy. The main thing I love in movies is realism. This comedy did a lot of fantasy in a very realistic way. I strongly believe this movie deserves to win the Oscar for best comedy.

The Verdict

Must See!
Not Bad.
Rent It.
Must Miss!

Review: “Little Children”

Boris — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 08:00:06 +0000

“Little Children” is a 2006 film by Todd Field, based on a novel by Tom Perrotta, that tells several intertwining stories of troubled suburban characters. The story, without giving too much away, surrounds a town that recently has a registered sex offender living there. This is a partial reason for tension in the neighborhood. Main characters include a wife/mother played by Kate Winslet who develops a secret affair with Patrick Wilson’s character. Jackie Earle Haley plays the sex offender who lives with his mother and isn’t very welcomed. The story is presented in sometimes a form of a novel involving a narrator that sometimes tells the audience the thoughts of a character in a moment. The script seems to only give selected scenes to the narrator while leaving other parts more towards the actors responsibility to present the emotions and thoughts. With multiple storylines, it can be difficult to collect them all in a coherent form. Sometimes one character doesn’t get as much screentime as another. In this case I think Jackie Earle Haley, who performed a very dark and realistic character, didn’t get as much development as Kate Winslet’s character. The screenwriting and directing mainly determines which character will be focused on more. Patrick Wilson’s performance was alright but I think he’s still missing something to really say he’s a great actor. Other supporting roles were carried out well, especially Jennifer Connelly, who I think had the best performance in the film Requiem for a Dream. Back to Little Children, the film’s style in cinematography was nicely done and what surprised me the most was the final act. In that act, I really was grabbed in and wanted to know what was going to happen next. I wish every film can have that effect where it grabs your full attention and where those last final moments really interest you. The film ends in with a very interesting message towards choices, family, adulthood and redemption.

The Verdict

Must See!
Not Bad.
Rent It.
Must Miss!