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Reviews
Odyssey 5 (2002)
Average
Not bad, but I don't understand the love from the other commenters. It was an interesting story, and I enjoyed Sebastian Roche. Peter Weller's performance really grated on me. I have actually known a few astronauts and believe me, they don't act like that! That cowboy nonsense is long gone.
Worst for me was that the writers resorted to liberal use of vulgar words as a substitute for, oh, I don't know, actual dialog. I don't mind an occasional curse word, being an occasional user myself, but when whole conversations consist of:
"S**t" "F**k, f**k"
You know something is missing!
Waitress (2007)
Sweet Like The Pies
I wasn't looking forward to this movie... I went because it was a free preview and more importantly to support Nathan Fillion. It was a lot better than I expected. Nathan was great of course - all of his nervous business was hilarious. It was fun to see him playing a sensitive guy. And I loved Cheryl Hines.
I enjoyed the story a lot, although it does tend to get a little cloying. There's plenty of acid humor to balance it out.
I was hysterical crying at the end of the film, thinking what a horrible tragedy it is that Adrienne Shelly won't be making any more films. She definitely had a lot of talent - I can't get her "Gonna Make a Pie" song out of my head.
An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Too bad the disbelievers won't see this
As a movie, it's not exactly a thriller, but as a means to communicate something as complex as global warming, it's great. Al Gore comes across as a funny, self-deprecating, smart guy - which I'm sure he is, but too bad he didn't have these editors in 2000.
The movie is structured around the famous PowerPoint presentation that he's been doing all over the world. Over the course of the movie, I guess the entire presentation is shown. Intermixed are personal stories from Gore about how he got interested in the subject originally, his early tries to draw attention to it, as well as some of the personal tragedies in his life and how they further focused him on this cause. Only the briefest mention of the 2000 election is made - I would have liked to have more but it would have been a distraction.
Unfortunately, with its limited, art-house, blue state release I'm afraid it's not going to reach the people who truly need to see it.
Checking Out (2005)
Truly funny
"Checking Out" is a very witty and honest portrayal of a bizarre family that happens to be Jewish. Judaism plays virtually no role in the film, but American Jewish culture & behavior gets thoroughly sent up... it a loving way. I wish the movie dealt with the religious perspective on the topics it explores, because I think that would have been interesting.
I've never been a Columbo fan so I wasn't familiar with Peter Falk - he's a lot of fun to watch. It's great to see Judge Reinhold, Laura San Giacomo & David Paymer again - why don't they work more? They're all hilarious. The script is terrific with a lot of memorable one-liners I'll be sure to use with my own family. Watch for Gavin McLeod (Captain Stubing!) as the doorman.
A Dirty Shame (2004)
Silly & Strange, but not Shocking or even all that Dirty
I was really looking forward to a return to the old filthy John Waters. The NC-17 really boosted my expectations. I never thought of myself as being particularly savvy in the realm of fetishes, but nothing in this movie surprised me... it's about as tame as the average Savage Love (http://www.citypages.com/savagelove/) column. Sheesh, I'm starting to sound like quite the perv, aren't I? Anyway, I laughed a lot, mostly at Selma Blair's appendages. Tracey Ullman is terrific - Johnny Knoxville is strange, which of course works in this movie. I'm in the middle of enjoying the DVD extras now which I think are better than the movie itself. John Waters talks about the research required, and which of the fetishes/sex acts he thinks are creepy & which ones he believes no one has ever tried (hmm... I wonder if it's possible to shock John Waters?)
Team America: World Police (2004)
Great parody of life in the US these days
I'm giving this a 7 primarily on the strength of one song whose title I don't think I can write out & which might be considered a spoiler. It's a classic of our time..."America. F**k Yeah!" I can just picture the guys with the "Terrorist Hunting Permits" on their pickups singing along with this song like it's the next "I'm Proud to be An American!" The whole "world police" idea is great - making fun of the fact that we are jumping into situations without understanding them, blowing up a lot of stuff, and declaring victory. The technical achievement of this movie is pretty impressive (not the puppet sex scene which looks like stuff I did with my Barbies & that's what makes it funny - I mean the action scenes).
Cast a Giant Shadow (1966)
overacted & anti-women
In the scene where David Ben Gurion announces the creation of the state of Israel someone is conspicuously absent - Golda Meir. I was in that room & they have a chair with her name on it (on the right side, just in front of the table). Why were the filmmakers afraid to show that strong women were very much a part of the creation of the state of Israel? Instead, they wasted time on weepy Magda and self-sacrificing Emma.
Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000)
boring & pointless
The documentary on the DVD about Daryl & Co. going into real strip clubs to see what life is like there was much more interesting than the overblown improvisations that were actually put in the movie. If I could stand it, I'd figure out what percentage of the movie was just women dancing. I get it - they spin around poles, open their legs & crawl around. How does it move the story forward? Oh yeah, there is no story.