What Did You Watch Today?

[Guest Masking Tape]

I watched Alien vs. Predator. Not as good as everyone told me it was gonna be. But I give it a 7/10.

[BlackFlagg]

Raiders of the Lost Ark - 10/10

[BlackFlagg]

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - 10/10

[BlackFlagg]

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - 10/10

[ROC]

Once Upon A Time In Mexico - 6.5/10 or (**1/2) After having the biggest performance of his career just a couple of months earlier, Johnny Depp’s first big project after that was starring in the final part of director Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi trilogy, Once Upon A Time In Mexico. With a story that makes for some pretty good action fodder, Depp adds that showstealing effort to the role of Johnny Sands that manages to save a decent, but alas average, action movie. Of course, that was no surprise to those who saw that previous performance I last mentioned (His amazing performance as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.) Another plus is Rodriguez’s direction, which has always been top-notch even when his films haven’t (read: Spy Kids 3D). Overall, while Desperado fans may be a tad disappointed, they’ll probably like Depp enough to enjoy it anyway.

Swingers - 7.5/10 or (***) Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, and Ron Livingston star in the cult classic of 1996, and one of the more impressive films of that year. If performance is something you enjoy watching, certainly this one brings it, as all three talents give great performances as struggling actors searching for love in Los Angeles. Another impressive mark is the directing job by Doug Liman, who gets the best out of the young cast and out of the shots. While I found the film a bit too long at times, this is certainly a must-see for any fans of the three men and the director. Oh, and it’s not just me who would recommend it, just go ask Beatnik about it.

Love Stinks - 3/10 or (*) Cliche comedy is an art that will never die, no matter much how we want it to. In Love Stinks, French Stewart and Bridgette Wilson are lovers that hate each other...and let the zany comedy begin.

*silence*

Wait, that’s not zany, that’s just stupid. The film’s hugest problem is easily the whole plot, which proves to be unfunny and unlikable. The dialogue is right up that alley as well in its terrible attempts. Even the semi-talented cast gets lost in the shuffle as Stewart comes off as an annoying prick and Wilson is just plain wasted. Don’t even watch if you’re a Wilson fan, and, of course, stay away if you’re anybody else.

Torque - 2.5/10 or (*) As a souped up video game/music video, Torque would be perfect...or at least it would explain the weak CGI in the final scenes and throughout the entire movie. However, the final sequence is easily one of the most laughable scene since Nomi’s 80 million breakdowns in Showgirls. The rest is just highway mish-mash that is sucky for more or less. Meh acting is also present from the cast including lead Martin Henderson (who’ll seriously need the work The Ring sequel presents after this film tanked).

Toy Story 2 - 9/10 or (***1/2) As one of the smartest, funniest, nostalgic, and even touching films in years, Toy Story 2 became an even better movie than the first. The thing that separates this from the first is its emphasis on its moral point without feeling forced and preachy (and a point that separates it from its pop-culture reference wielding counterparts). It also gains points thanks to its amazingly talented voice cast including the original film’s leads Tom Hanks and Tim Allen and adding Joan Cusack to the shuffle. It also is solid family fare, as the humor and message applies to both kids and adults. On all accounts, Toy Story 2 is about as solid as a film could get, animated or not.

[BlackFlagg]

The Scorpion King - 6/10

[Big Red Fury]

Green Mile

9.5/10

[BlackFlagg]

The 13th Warrior - 7/10

[Benji]

The Breakfast Club

9.5/10: An amazing film which comments on social cultures and culture in general, the way we seperate from one another despite being so similar, and how, in adversity, as humans we generally know we need to work as one. Aside from that social commentary it's a funny and well written film. More than worthy of a look for the character of Bender alone.

[BlackFlagg]

Beverly Hills Cop 2 - 8/10

[Guest John Cena]

Alexander - 2/10

Could this movie have gotten any worse? Just absolutely terrible all around. I didn't enjoy one minute of this, kinda like The Aviator.

[Guest Faded Sanity]

Constantine

Based on the DC/Vertigo comic book Hellblazer and written by Kevin Brodbin, Mark Bomback and Frank Capello, Constantine tells the story of irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), who has literally been to hell and back. When Constantine teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister (also played by Weisz), their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldy events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.

Keanu Reeves gives one of his best preformances since the first Matrix Movie (the other two were crap.) This movie was undoublty the best I have seen this year. In fact its the first movie that I have seen this year, but it will be tough to beat this one. Not only does this movie have great special effects but I liked the whole idea behind the storyline and how God and The Devil make bet to whom can when the most souls without actually interacting with humans. It makes for some very interesting action. Not to mention that Shia LaBeouf (Even Stevens, Holes) is some pretty good comic releif in this one also. I highly suggest you see this movie. 9/10

[ROC]

Liberty Stands Still - 5/10 or (**) Now here is the closest thing we may see to a Phone Booth 2. Sure, it came out before that film did but it nearly has everything reminiscent to that film with the only difference being the ending, which in this goes for much less of the approach that made the ending to Phone Booth quite satisfying. I don’t want to reveal any more than that I suppose as to not spoil the film, but you’ll get the idea if you’ve seen Phone Booth and this. Another noticeable difference is the backdrop of American politics rather than the internal thinking on a man. And finally, the acting is not as crisp as PB, where Farrell really made you see Stu Shepard and not himself in the role, whereas Fiorentino just feels there as Liberty Wallace, but nothing more. All in all, while it feels similar to Phone, it is not hardly as good.

The Core - 5.5/10 or (**) In a sense, The Core is Fantastic Voyage with better effects (obviously, since the latter is 37 years old) and modern actors. It can also be considered quite the mixed bag of disaster movies, as very flawed logic, meh acting, and nice shallow entertainment all butt heads. For the acting part, some good talents mix with okay but overrated talents like Aaron Eckhart. Despite my liking for movies by the man who usually casts and directs him, Neil LaBute, Eckhart constantly overacts in the film. The rest of the cast, including Hilary Swank and Stanley Tucci, does a pretty decent job with what they’re given. All in all, it’s not really great, but not bad on the shallow disaster movie entertainment side of things.

Dogma - 8/10 or (***)

[EddieRuckus]

Ray-4 out of 5 Stars

It's amazing how many movies I mean to see and yet never actually follow through until it's oscar time. "A Beautiful Mind" I didn't see until the week or so before the Oscars(one of the Seattle theatres had all the nominees for best picture), and was one of those movies I'm still proud to own today. Ray is no exception. It is great in the sense of storytelling one of America's most genious men in the past century and his hardships and secret lives that most of the mainstream audiences didn't know(including me.) Good music throughout(though I thought during the middle it outplayed too much of the movie), and a very solid job by Jamie Foxx as Ray. However at the end it seemed a little rushed for my tastes, even though the movie itself was quite long. I heard a lot of songs I never knew existed(yes, I live under a rock sometimes), and am in the process of saving up money to actually purchase his albums. Perhaps not the best film ever made, but it serves it's purpose to tell the story of Ray Charles and get you to buy his CDs(a minor side effect.)

[Guest John Kerry's Evil Twin]

Boogeyman: 6/10

Better than I thought it would be. I prefer suspense movies over slasher movies, so I liked it better than my friends, who are "OMG BLOOD GUTS BOOBS THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER" type of people.

[ROC]

Boogie Nights - 7.5/10 or (***) After the independent success of Pulp Fiction in 1994, stars and studios began to jump onto the big indie projects flying around. One little project got lots of notice when the fledgling New Line Cinema, previously known for hit comedies like Dumb and Dumber, and more action oriented stuff like Deep Cover and The Long Kiss Goodnight, handed youngster Paul Thomas Anderson $12 million to directed his first film. That project was Boogie Nights. With an amazing cast of stars in a broodingly dark setting, Boogie Nights works because of the impressive performances by such great talents as Burt Reynolds, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alfred Molina, and Julianne Moore. Mark Wahlberg isn’t too bad in his role as rising porn star Dirk Diggler, either. Another superlative of the flick is Anderson’s direction, which embraces the dark element as well as nifty camera tricks to progress the story. Overall, Boogie Nights is quite the solid flick. A pretty good recommendation if you’re in the mood.

Glory - 9/10 or (***1/2) If there is ever an award given for the best war epic of all time, Glory would be the one I would take to win the award. Sure, Platoon was much more battle-oriented while showing the darkness of the Vietnam War, but it never was as moving, powerful, and great as this. Leading Glory’s impressive traits is the performances of three amazing actors: Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, and Denzel Washington. All three take very inspired turns in their roles, especially Denzel Washington, who shows his true acting chops in Glory’s most powerful scene. It also is a powerful statement on the past and on black culture, certainly very worthwhile viewing during Black History Month. The film works because it tells a powerful story that had never been told but certainly deserved telling. It became a groundbreaking sentiment of a time of importance in American history and certainly is a film I would highly recommend for watching.

[Fitzy]

The Godfather: Part III - ** 1/4

Boring, nothing exciting, waste of time it seemed.

[GoGo Yubari]

American Splendor - 9/10

This is, simply put, the best comic movie ever. Fuck Batman, fuck Spider-Man, American Splendor owns them all. Really well-acted, well-written movie that was only made better by the actual people the movie was based on being in the movie as well. The best bit was definitely the stuff about Revenge of the Nerds. Toby Radloff > you.

[Guest BacknBlackHoez]

Bloody Streetz - 1999

8.5/10

This was extremely good movie, for such a low-budget production. Gano Grills works magic again, he continues to have good stuff out there.

[BlackFlagg]

The Original Kings of Comedy - 7/10