Shadowlandv1 Reviews

Lucky 13 (2005)

really disappointing.

[4/10 · 31 July 2006]

i rented this movie thinking that i'd find a cute, fun movie with harland williams, who i find really funny in his bit parts. it turns out that he was one of the sole highlights of the film. although it has a great concept for a movie, it sorely disappoints. the story is that a man, in love with his childhood friend, sets out to find his 12 ex-girlfriends for advice on what he did wrong. one, a blast from the 80's, is another highlight in trying to prove that she is "over him". also, zach (the main character) flashes back to a scene where he immortalizes a token from each relationship by tossing it into a lake. i thought it was genius then and tied in his quest perfectly. also, look for brande roderick as the coolmint girl who pops in now and again! all in all, a movie that could have been great if for the right cast and a bigger budget.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

if only i could give it 11 stars...

[10/10 · 31 July 2006]

first off, i AM a rum-runner (a huge pirates fan), so i may be biased, but i tried watching this movie from a neutral point-of-view. and..it was amazing. i loved it! it takes place right after the first left off, and also incorporates many references to the first film (which you MUST see before seeing this movie). you can see that will turner has become more daring, more like a pirate. another to succumb to pirating is none other than Elizabeth, who will shock everyone who hasn't read spoilers for the ending by heartlessly leaving jack aboard the pearl alone to face the Kraken. but let's not get ahead of things. ;] Keira Knightley did not do as good of a job acting-wise in this movie as she did in the first movie, but the ending and the funny bits she throws in redeem her. Orlando bloom does quite well, and you really start to love him. and, of course, johnny depp. Oscar nomination number two. i can't begin to describe my love for captain jack sparrow, but i'll just say that if you love the drunk staggering, crazy eye movements, and really random (and funny) quotes which now are featured on thousands of IMDb board posts, you'll fall in love all over again.

now onto the supporting characters. first off, governor swann. Jonathan Pryce has a little more character in this movie than in its predecessor, and the few scenes he is in are gems. my favorite black pearl crew member (besides cotton's parrot), Joshamee Gibbs, is hysterical in this movie. "lift it like it's a lady's skirt!" had me in stitches. onto Davy Jones. bill nighy: where's your Oscar? his performance was beautiful, and i can't wait to see more of his story in the third movie. Stellan Skarsgard also had a flawlessly beautiful turn as bill turner, will's father. the whipping scene (i won't spoil it) had me near tears. and..pintel and ragetti! they finally show some depth. "the dichotomy of good and evil", the pronunciation of "kraken", and the whole bible skit are too funny for words. also, Davy's crew (all amazingly done with cgi) are fabulous, as are the rest of the pearl's crew. also, look for naomie Harris who plays Tia dalma. i want to see more of her in the next movie! she's great.

in conclusion, this is the best movie i have seen this year and one of my all-time favorites. it's funny, has a GREAT sword-fighting scene (on a WHEEL!), and proves that not all sequels have to be worse than the first movie.

Son in Law (1993)

i'm making my friends rent this.

[8/10 · 26 June 2006]

when i first saw that this movie was going to be playing on TV, i only new of pauly shore as this joke of a comedian who wore really weird outfits back in the day. i still decided to watch it and i was impressed. shore brings a fresh breath of air to the screen. in this movie, he plays crawl a college adviser that probably needs his own adviser as well. carla gugino, in an underrated role, plays becca, a midwestern "farm girl" with a simple family and a movie-cliché boyfriend travis. when she heads off to ucla, she meets crawl and he quickly turns her into a bubbly, blonde Californian girl. she decides to bring crawl home for the thanksgiving break. when travis decides to propose, becca needs a distraction. crawl then decides to make everyone believe that him and becca are engaged already. this leads to crawl spicing up the romance between becca's parents, befriending her brother, and even getting the dancers at the local bar to get a little loose. i'm not going to reveal the end, but i liked it. anyway, don't rent it if you want a poignant performance; rent it if you want to laugh your butt of and enjoy an often-missed part of 90's humor.

Will & Grace: The Finale: Part 1 (2006) Season 8, Episode 23

extremely disappointing.

[4/10 · 22 May 2006]

i was very disappointed with the series finale. the show had been lagging for a while, but the clip show and the last few episodes were very good. however, the finale was not. the time-shifting (future, past, present, far future, etc.) was all too confusing and pointless. it's hard to believe that will and grace stopped talking for two years (no fan that i know hates the will/grace relationship) and then barely talked (or not even at all) for 18 years. i hated this beyond belief and was extremely agonized to see them meet again at their kids' college. i didn't like the jack/beverly relationship either. it was a time-filler. the only good parts in the episode were the duet of karen and jack (a stunning performance of "unforgettable"), the meeting of ben and lila, will and grace's separate children,and the extreme end, where it hows the old vs. young will, grace, jack, and karen. i got a little choked up at that part. the finale was bland, annoying, poorly-written, and a horrible end to a dearly-loved amazing TV show. overall, don't buy the series finale DVD, wait for the "say goodnight gracie" clip show to come out.