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melc7854
Reviews
Illegal Aliens (2007)
A giggly comedy part Farrelly Brothers, part John waters UNDERRATED!!
I have to say that I rented the film out of morbid curiosity after Anna Nicole Smith died. The web buzz on this film was nasty and I didn't expect much - I kind of wanted it to suck. What I got was a surprisingly funny and yes, very stupid but amazingly inventive, edgy and intelligent comedy that left me smirking for days. The film starts out letting your worst fears set in for the first seven minutes or so, looking like you have a long slog through Chyna's screams and Anna's inability to act - but it seems that is all intentional as Director David Giancola is neatly setting you up for the rest of the film which takes a complete, wayyy left turn as it parodies not only Anna's bad acting (in a bold move as she stupidly fumbles a line, starting the real laughs!) but also the "dumbing down" of major studio blockbusters in a biting and hilarious way that no studio film would dare. The film then gets funnier and funnier, outdoing not only the grossest gags of any of the Farrelly brothers films but even John Waters. While Giancola's affection for fart jokes goes a bit far, it is jaw-dropping that he gets the late Ms. Smith to be the object of most of them is stunning. The film does not so much have a third act as it basically deconstructs in a goofy and highly experimental section with an ending scene that not only brilliantly wraps up the film but also is the first of it's kind. IGNORE ANY OF THE SNARKY COMMENTS AND HYPERBOLE YOU MAY HAVE HEARD BY THE WEB-HATERS and check out this low-budget gem. Yes, Ms. Smith was no angel and we are all sick of the news coverage but I have to be totally honest, I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard, and Mr. Giancola's pacing won't waste your time. He has obviously been laboring in the low-budget realm for years, but I bet if his last name was the same as those young insider kids; Kasdan, Coppola, or Reitman, we would be seeing his next studio film soon.
Icebreaker (2000)
Indy does it better than major studios with 1/1000 of budget.
You know, I just rented "Icebreaker" and I had a great time. Yes it is part of the "DieHard at a..." film sub-genre but it was well acted and executed. Bruce Campbell is great and you can really root for Astin. I almost didn't rent it because of some of the pompous negative reviews on this site, all wrong - and how many of the posts have agendas I wonder? The film was an entertaining 90 minutes ingeniously produced for obviously less than 1/1000 of the budgets of similar studio fare. It is a unfair double-standard to compare "Icebreaker" to similar studio movies, all of these films have the same flaws anyways. The film moves fast, doesn't take itself too seriously, and a lot of stuff explodes - what more do you want? Director Giancola even included Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" in the opening, an obvious nod to "Die Hard". Well done. Oh, and I give a big smack down to Astin for dissing it in his autobiography(first page even)he admits he was paid 40K to be in the film, then he talks trash. That's a whole year's salary for me there Samwise... And Campbell acts like the film is a blip on his resume but I think it's his best role next to the classic "Evil Dead" films. His acting and directing in "Man with the screaming Brain" were embarrassing. Give it a look, it's better than 90% of everything else on your video store's shelf.