VoodooChicken Reviews

Knocked Up (2007)

Very blah

[5/10 · 2 July 2007]

This movie pulls in too many directions and tries to say too many things, I'm not sure what exactly Judd Apatow was trying to say. Most of the jokes were good for a light chuckle, but I don't think they got any guffaws from me. Leslie Mann was great, as was Katherine Heigel. The main problem was I just didn't care much for any of the characters. It was also distracting the sheer number of current and former Apatow/NBCUniversal performers they crammed into this (40-Year-Old Virgin, Freaks & Geeks, SNL, the Office, etc.). I love, LOVE Kristen Wiig ever since her Joe Schmo days, but I just wasn't feeling it with her role. I really didn't need to see Seth Rogen's butt, or Jason Segel's butt. At least 30 minutes needed to be cut from the final product. Just go watch There's Something About Mary for the umpteenth time instead.

Andy Barker, P.I. (2007)

Couldn't help but chuckle

[7/10 · 15 March 2007]

The first season of Andy Barker is funny, not hilarious. However, I found myself stifling giggles at work while watching certain scenes. I don't know how much life is left in the show, but these first six episodes were more satisfying to me than The Office's first season. If you like NBC's sibling shows Monk or Psych, Andy Barker makes a good addition, and half the running time. While this is Andy's show, the supporting cast does well. I'm not a Tony Hale fan, but a lot of people are, so they'll be happy. This show does better with racial stereotyping than Knights of Prosperity, the eatery has some nice sequences. While some parts of the show are racier than Monk, it should be suitable for most families (8+). Now go buy Sledge Hammer on DVD.

Iron Monkey (1993)

Pure pulp goodness

[8/10 · 13 February 2007]

You pay to see a movie to be entertained, and this movie delivers. The so-called "wire fu" isn't anywhere as obnoxious as in other movies. There is a decent amount of character development spread among the action sequences. There are some pacing problems and subplots that don't execute well, but no major defects. This works as both a date movie and a family film.

There is a prologue, First Act, Second Act, Third Act with Climax, and an epilogue. No more no less. I certainly enjoyed it more than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, so thank you Mr. Tarintino for getting this distributed in a wide release. Please continue to do so.

The Incredibles (2004)

Not all that special.

[7/10 · 8 February 2007]

Disney + Pixar + Brad Bird should be a spectacular formula. While this was a good movie, it wasn't the GREAT movie I had hoped it would be. The positives are the voice cast which was great, although I'm not a particular fan of Samuel L. Jackson. Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter were awesome. I did enjoy the fact that the evil minions did have some semblance of competence as opposed to being bumbling doofuses.

I'm finding that except for Spider-Man 2, I really don't care for the overall climatic sinister plot cooked up by the main bad guy, this movie especially. The set ups from the first hour didn't really pan out during the last 30 min.

Body Double (1984)

Good male acting, bad everything else (for shame, Brian!)

[3/10 · 1 February 2007]

Gregg Henry is one of the greatest genre actors of all time. Craig Wasson showed promise as a master of disguise. Serious props to the makeup artists. However, the story and especially directing were worse than Uwe Boll's. Ed Wood didn't make crap this bad.

The murder scene nearly gave me appendicitis, I was laughing so hard. I really wanted to throw my shoe at Brian DePalma during all the 360 rotations. I guess in later movies, he learned and improved (still like The Untouchables), but he sure didn't accomplish anything with this mess. Craig, and especially Gregg deserved much better careers following this movie. It's a shame that despite all the other various projects each has been involved with over the years, they're still most associated with this disaster.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

instant classic

[10/10 · 25 December 2005]

I haven't given out a 10 on IMDb until now, and while I don't think this movie was "perfect," I'm pleased with the results. YES, I noticed some spotty chromoscreen effects, and YES, there were parts where I would have added/changed/whatever, but overall, I felt this adaptation was faithful to Lewis and entertaining in its own right. I haven't seen many movies this year, but this was easily the best one I've seen so far. The cast was superb (Tilda Swinton deserves props), and except for the Alanis Morrisette song, the score and songs were good. To be perfectly blunt, I would not have given Return of the King most of the Oscars it received; theatrically, that movie was a trainwreck. Comparing to Narnia, I guarantee I will watch this movie a lot more often when it comes to TV.

I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (2003 TV Movie)

go get 'em Rerun!!!

[6/10 · 21 August 2005]

Following the death of Charles M. Schultz, there can be no original Peanuts ANYTHING. So we're basically left with animating old strips. This can get tedious since pretty much all dialogue has to actually "fit" in four panels.

Anyway, as Rerun appeared relatively late in the Peanuts run, and was a minor character, there haven't been many animated skits featuring the tyke. Basically all he does is ride on his mom's bike.

In this special, I was completely drawn in by the incredible voice acting. I was close to crying for the kid when he's begging the sun "PLEASE DON'T MELT MY SNOMAN" It was so cute.

Xiaolin Showdown (2003–2006)

Best launch of a series

[14 February 2004]

I am surprised by how much I enjoy this show. It does have its flaws, but this initial order has so far been better than most other first seasons launched by Kids WB, including my fav, The Zeta Project which died an angonized death.

Omi is hilarious, Clay is admirable, Kimiko is sweet without annoying the fudge out of me, Master Fung floors me, and Jack Spicer is a good arch nemesis.

I have problems with Raimundo, Katt Nappe, and that ghost lady with Jack however. Fortunately, the last couple episodes have been Katt free. Best of luck to the show!!

Birds of Prey (2002–2003)

B.O.P. is P.O.S.

[1/10 · 10 November 2003]

I tuned in for the first episode, and of all things I've seen on TV and at the movie theatre, that was probably the most stomach-churning experience I've had. Yes, I have a bunch of comics, yes I'm a continuity freak, but still, even allowing for drastic changes to characters/plots/etc, this series just really *issed me off. I'm not a fan of the original Batman series from the 60s but I respected its existence. I liked the Super Friends cartoons of the 70s-80s. Batman:TAS was one of the greatest series, animated or not, ever produced (before they relaunched it and mucked it up). However, I'd rather watch BATMAN AND ROBIN (1997) than this crap. If there was a bottom 100 List on IMDb for TV series, this one would be on it.

Here's hoping Azrael gets better treatment for all celluloid translations.

The Return of the King (1980 TV Movie)

good considering the time crunch

[15 October 2003]

I really LIKED the whip song!!!

Considering this was a made-for-TV ANIMATED movie back in 1980, Rankin-Bass did an okay job trying to make amends for Ralph Bakshi's failure. R-B was hired to take the entire finale of LOTR and squeeze it down to under 90 minutes suitable for TV. By comparison, Peter Jackson spent over 90 million to make a 3 1/2 hour movie with a PG-13 rating.

R-B made some tough, hard, and brave decisions to pick what would stay, what would go, and what needed to be changed. Purists should stick with the books, but when you consider that Tolkien himself couldn't tell his whole story within the book and had to include appendices, it really isn't necessary to include every minute detail on TV.

The book spent over 100 pages just wrapping up all the "lose ends" after the ring was destroyed. The quest for the ring was the main plot, not dealing with Saruman, not resolving Aragorn's and Arwen's love, not even dealing with Legolas' and Gimli's bond. While these plots didn't make it to the movie and that's a shame, they are not essential to the main story.

I'm not saying the movie was GREAT. I still chuckle when I think that the actual RETURNING OF THE KING took a five second cameo, I stand by Rankin-Bass if only to pick up Ralph Bakshi's pieces, even in vain.

Cutthroat Island (1995)

What's the big deal?

[7 August 2003]

This is not the best movie in the world, but it sure isn't Gigli! When it was coming to theatres, I saw a poster for it (just a Jolly Roger), but never saw any trailers, TV spots, print ads or anything. I'm guessing MGM wanted to wash their hands of it for some reason. I really hope it wasn't based on test audiences or something lame like that. To put it to comparison, recently Dreamworks' Sinbad:L.o.t.7.S. "flopped" but had an adequate marketing campaign. If anyone bothered to ADVERTISE this film, it would have done okay business even if it couldn't come up with all of its budget.

Now getting to the actual movie itself, sure, a lot of it was Mediocre City, but there was enough going for it to keep it in M.C. and out of Razzie Town. I would gladly pay my $1 to see this movie at the 2nd-run theatre, heck I'll take my whole family for $8. Percentage-wise, that $8 would actually make a difference to their Box Office performance.

Now if somebody could just make a Monkey Island movie...

Crossing Jordan (2001–2007)

Daria Syndrome

[29 January 2003]

I never watched Jill Hennessy on Law & Order, but I absolutely hate her character on this show. However, I do like the supporting cast from season one. Miguel Ferrer, Steve Valentine, and Ravi Kapoor are excellent. Mahershalalhashbaz Ali was serviceable in season one, and Lorraine Toussaint was beyone surperb in her limited role in season two. While the rest of the cast does okay, the entire title character needs to exorcised from the show. My other major complaint with the show is they play some lameass song every 3 seconds which gets really distracting. That's something they do on the WB, not NBC. Now I'm really not happy they Big Pussy'd Lorraine Toussaint the other night (Jan 27 2003). Not sure I'll stick with this show much longer.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Solid filler

[8/10 · 18 December 2002]

*************

SPOILERS

*************

The first movie was good, but my main complaints were the volume being too loud and overuse of aerial photography. The Two Towers was too quiet actually, and while the A.P. has been toned down and doesn't annoy as much, it's still there. Gimli had a really good sight gag, but they really milked it not once more, not twice but I think 5 times. It was funny ONCE.

Cate Blanchett has a really good agent who got her listed before 80% of everyone else. PJ was able to justify Liv Tyler even being in this installment, but no need for Cate. Orlando has the glare, Viggo is cool. Gollum is done well, but seemed to be channeling the Cryptkeeper too much.

All in all, I'd say this is the best middle-installment of any trillogy that served only to bridge parts 1 & 3 (like Back to the Future)

The Messenger (2000 Video Game)

Complete waste of a weekend

[8 April 2002]

This has to be the WORST game I've played in a very, very, VERY long time. Half the time during the cinematic sequences, the characters mouths don't even move! All the puzzles are inane, and there's absolutely nothing credible going on. If you see this on the store shelf, just keep on walking. You could better spend the money on an 8-track that I guarantee will get more play.

The Longest Journey (1999 Video Game)

epic

[9/10 · 13 June 2001]

TLJ really raised the bar for the QUALITY of adventure games. This game adds nothing new in terms of gameplay or even cinematics. It's still a point-and-click fest and use-the-weird-object-with-the-other-weird-object-to-make-a-tool-so-you-can-m ove-on extravaganza, but at least you don't have to go pixel-hunting. Spread over 4 discs, TLJ offers twice as much playtime as the standard graphic adventure.

This is a European title, so I don't know what differences in dialogue, etc. were made before the two English audio versions were made, but the American cast seemed above par for computer voice acting. This has been the third best cast I have heard in a game after Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father and The Curse of Monkey Island, two of the greatest games ever made.

The story does taper off towards the end, and sadly, like most games in this genre, the ending feels tacked on. If they had a few less cinematics near the end, they might have been able to improve the ending. However, as it stands, this has been the last good adventure game to come out since Monkey Island 3.

Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1995 Video Game)

pinnacle of FMV and gameplay

[9/10 · 7 June 2001]

Out of all Wing Commander products to make use of video sequences, this one was definitely the best. Mark Hamill and Tom Wilson really add depth to the game, and the late-great Jason Bernard gives a performance to squeeze respect out of any Starfleet Captain. By far, WAY superior to the movie.

While making only slight improvements over the Wing Commander III engine, and a supporting cast substantially weaker than it's predacessor, The Price of Freedom has a deeper plot and is a joy for everyone. I do not know a single person who's played this to have been disappointed.

I hear the DVD version rawks!

Simon Birch (1998)

critique

[8/10 · 31 October 1998]

The best buddy movie since at least The Shawshank Redemption, if not the best of all time. Simon never lets anything get him down, and when life hands him lemons, he can turn them into ice cream. Simon is a good role model for anybody in any situation