RSS
 

Archive for the ‘Rotten Movies’ Category

My Cousin Vinny (DVD) Review

11 Aug


Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei steal the show in My Cousin Vinny, the hit 1992 comedy based on a clash of cultures between North and South. When two college buddies from New York, Billy Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and Stan Rothenstein (Mitchell Whitfield) are mistakenly arrested for murder in Alabama, they find themselves in desperate need of a high-profile defense attorney. But lawyers can be costly, so the two friends enlist the help of Billy’s cousin, Vincent Gambini (Joe Pesci), a former auto mechanic from Brooklyn who has never practiced in a court of law and needed seven attempts to pass the New York City bar exam.

With Alabama prosecutors salivating for the death penalty, Vinny arrives in the heart of the Deep South with his Brooklyn hairdresser/auto mechanic girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei). While roaming around town, the two learn about “mud in the tires,” grits, and regular crack-of-dawn sirens that “tell people it’s time to get up”. In hindsight, an entire movie could’ve been made from these scenes alone.

As the trial approaches, Vinny’s courtroom antics takeover the film as he engages in a power struggle with by-the-book judge Chamberlain Haller (Fred Gwynne). In between procedural snafus and trips to the slammer for contempt of court, Vinny slowly develops his natural talent for litigation. But can he save Stan and Billy from the electric chair? And if so, can he save himself from the wrath of Judge Haller? It’s a whole lot of fun finding out…

In My Cousin Vinny, the interplay between Pesci and Gwynne is more than worthy of an Academy Award. But the Oscar went to Marisa Tomei for her brilliant portrayal of the flamboyant and likeable Mona Lisa Vito. The screen relationship between Pesci and Tomei is mesmerizing, enabling the creation of a comedy that’s rare in that it has a decent plot, no outlandish or ridiculous scenes, and a stream of hilarious lines throughout.

Written by Dale Launer, the screenwriter behind such hits as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) and Love Potion No. 9 (1992), My Cousin Vinny is the classic fish-out-of-water comedy. The writing for this film is superb, with a plethora of one-liners guaranteed to stick in your mind long after you’ve seen the film, but what really makes My Cousin Vinny a top-tier comedy is the sheer number of standout performances by the cast. Pesci and Tomei received plenty of accolades, and rightfully so, but Fred Gwynne and Mitchell Whitfield had a number of memorable scenes as well.

Probably the most hilarious scene in the film is when Stan is in jail, horrified at the prospect of being paired up with an affectionate cellmate. In his initial meeting with Stan, Vinny doesn’t clearly indicate that he’s Billy’s cousin. The dialogue that ensues between Stan and Vinny is one of the best comedic scenes in cinema history. It’s well complimented by Judge Chamberlain Haller’s confusion over the word “yoots”. Overall, this is an ingeniously hilarious comedy, and I give it my highest recommendation possible…

By: Britt Gillette

About the Author:
About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of the My Cousin Vinny (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/my-cousin-vinny-dvd.html].



Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress

 
No Comments

Posted in Rotten Movies

 

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – A Disappointment For Die Hard Fans?

05 May


Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull gets a 77% from critics and a 66% from Viewers on Rotten Tomatoes Movie Community. Just 6% shy, according to viewers, of being considered ROTTEN. Amongst a slew of mediocre action films being released recently, newcomers to the series will delight in the skillful action scenes, fast pace and archaeological back-story. But is the new Indiana flick worthy to sit amongst its predecessors on the metaphorical Indiana Jones Shelf?

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) takes us on a quest to find the Lost Ark of the Covenant (The Ten Commandments), Temple of Doom (1984) takes us to find mystical Indian Stones, and in The Last Crusade (1989) we discover the Holy Grail. With all the religiosity of the past, something just seems a little off about the whole Alien theme in the new Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Although it does not come as a surprise, considering Stephen Spielberg’s affinity for Extraterrestrials, there is a lingering air of laziness about the whole premise.

Set in 1957, post WWII, and smack dab in the middle of the Cold War, the movie is split between a Nevada military base, and the Jungles of Peru. The bad guy is KGB agent Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), a fierce military chick with and equally fierce black bob and a thick Russian accent, and her crew of Soviet Agents, who want possession of the mythical Crystal Skull, which will endow them with the weapon of the future: Mind Control.

Marian Ravenwood (Karen Allen), reprises her role as Indie’s love interest (Raiders of the Lost Ark), along she and Indie’s lovechild, Henry “Mutt” Jones III (Shia LaBeouf).

The Action
The action scenes are some of Spielberg’s best, especially a memorable car chase through the Amazon jungle, equipped with high speed sword fighting, cars driving dangerously close to high cliffs, an impressive explosion, sharp flying metal, and a super intelligent swarm of killer red ants. We could do with forgetting the part where “Mutt” swings through the trees with a group of monkeys.

The only downfall is that the movie set sometimes looks unbelievable, and is reminiscent of an MGM studio set up.

The Acting
The best part is that Harrison Ford does not try to become the “Indie of old”. There are many humorous moments making fun of Indie as the “old man”. Fans will appreciate not being forced to suspend belief, and pretend that Harrison Ford is not pushing seventy!

Hints are made that Shia LaBeouf (as Mutt) may or may not be the future of Indiana Jones when he symbolically picks up Indiana’s hat and is about to place it on his head (only to have it snatched away by Indie himself). Unfortunately, Shia LaBeouf, more familiar to movie viewers as the sweet teenage kid, seems neither comfortable nor believable as the “bad boy”. Perhaps, Will Smith?

Karen Allen (as Marian) is a welcomed addition, adding a little extra spice and nostalgia. And everyone knows that no Indiana Jones movie flick be complete without a love affair.

The History Lesson
The history behind the Crystal Skull is not as impressive or deep compared to the first three movies which delved into biblical history and Indian mythology. And although well thought out, the alien stuff just seems downright made up at times.

Consensus
Although not as good as the first three, you’ll still be glad that you watched it.

Grade B/B+

By: Viviann Pustam

About the Author:



Create a video blog

 
No Comments

Posted in Rotten Movies

 

How to Download Superbad Online

19 Feb


To download Superbad online in itself is not so bad. Although the movie title speaks for itself, morality is always relative. Released in 2007, the movie starred Michael Cera and Jonah Hill.

It grossed $33,052,411 USD in its opening in the US box office and stayed in the number one spot for a week. The film was reviewed at 87% in the popular movie critic website, Rotten Tomatoes. According to many movie critics, the movie was a real depiction of how awkward it is to be in high school.

The story revolves around two buddies, Evan and Seth, who were also best friends. They were also both in high school and got into trouble. One of their friends had a fake ID and they were assaulted when they were trying to purchase alcohol. The police gave them a lift to the party they were supposed to go to. The officers then broke up the party and a chain reaction occurs on friendship.

One may ask if it is free to download Superbad online from its official website. Of course, the answer is no. What with all the existing copyright laws that we have, and of course the profit of moviemakers in terms of online technology, there is actually no movie producer who allows downloading online for free once it is released on the movie screen. Sure they will give you freebies, such a two or three-minute trailer, but the entire movie in itself is not free. But, you can always try looking for what we call preview copies which are typically released prior to theater screens.

One option to get the previews is to download Superbad online using torrent clients. Another one is to use any peer-to-peer or P2P software that is easily available for installation in the Internet. Of course, it is needless to say that downloading may be a bit tedious since it may take an hour or more to complete the file transfer. But, of course, patience is a virtue.

Free download also abound in several formats, such as DIVX. Just words of caution, though, many P2Ps are gateways for computer virus transmissions. Sound judgment is advised.

As a last resort, why not just buy the movie DVD or download it from the paid movie sites online? With a rating of 87%, one cannot go wrong. Barely can people see such high rating from the intellectuals of the movie industry. Now and then, seemingly good movies get bad credit, all because of lack of originality and essence.

Remember, buying the DVD itself is worth the penny you spend since this movie is one of the few that you will treasure. Keeping a disc as a collection is an alternative to download Superbad online from the paid movie sites if you do not mind paying for the DVDs.

By: Davion Wong

About the Author:
Join thousands of movie fans and grab full length movie downloads like SuperBad today.



Caffeinated Content

 
No Comments

Posted in Rotten Movies

 

My Dish HDTV – Spoiled Rotten and Unashamed

03 Feb


Dish Satellite Television is leaping above the pack in service, quality and options. My first satellite dish was a monster that engulfed about one-third of my backyard. It had to be aimed directly and precisely to the satellite I wanted to view and then it had to be fine tuned to get the best reception. This required a receiver unit, a tuner unit and a satellite positioning unit (plus another black box, if I wanted to watch certain channels). At the time, this was thought to be hi-tech stuff, and a person was actually proud that everyone for miles around could see the behemoth ten-foot satellite dish, it was a symbol of status. The truth is, that we lived on the side of a mountain in a somewhat remote location so if we wanted any kind of decent television to watch, this was our best option at the time. It sure beat continuously turning a rectangular antennae that we previously had mounted atop a thirty foot pole. The truth is, that I am happy to finally be rid of my huge eyesore and all the cables and equipment it took to operate it.

There have been huge leaps in satellite television technology since then. Satellite dishes are now no larger than 20 inches and can be placed in an obscure area on your roof. Large satellite dishes are no longer a symbol of status. Today is the age of Big Screen television. We purchased our big screen (54 inches) about two years ago. It came with High Definition capability, but at the time I did not know what I was missing, so I did not bother to check into HD programming. I never watched a lot of television until the past couple of years. First I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, and my age is starting to really slow me down. After a day at work, I am wiped out, and it has become more likely for me to spend the evening watching the big screen TV. It was nice to have a big screen TV, but nothing special.

Until the day that my big screen television was hooked up to high definition dish programming. Now all I can say is WOW! What a difference HD makes. The clarity of high definition television is about two-thirds better than traditional television. Combine this with a greater selection of decent channels to watch, a simple surround sound system and a DVR (which was free) and WOW! I feel absolutely spoiled rotten, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I even have a remote control that operates every piece of media equipment I own. I even got rid of my stereo unit because everything is now “hooked up” to the television. You used to have to posses five to eight different units for different kinds of media. With modern big screen televisions and a DVR combined with a simple surround sound system, you can do it all from the comfort of your chair and one universal remote control (the remote control is the only technology that has not been reduced in size, and that is simply because it controls everything). Between these three pieces of equipment I can watch, record and playback HD television. I can listen to my favorite music on dish satellite or plug my iPod right into the television. I can also view all the digital pictures I have of my grand-children by inserting an SD-Card into the ready made slot. I can even hook my PC directly to my big screen for awesome gaming or detailed graphic manipulation. I am really not a lazy person, these capabilities just free up more of my time for important things. Once you have it all set up, you control it all from anywhere in the room. There are even remote programming capabilities using the Internet or your cell phone (I haven’t tried those yet).

I mentioned set up, so let’s take a moment to discuss that. The thought of having a new satellite dish installed probably delayed my decision about as much as anything else. When I got my first ten foot monster dish back in the nineties, it took several men several days to assemble, install, wire and tune all of the gigantic pieces of hardware that it took to simply operate the television. I had to pay the “satellite technician” several hundred dollars for his time, as well as supplying volunteer workers for the assembly and installation. When I finally made the decision to get “hooked up” with Dish TV, They sent a very young man to install everything. To my surprise and delight, he was able to install set up and fine tune everything almost as fast as he could explain how to use the remote control. Installation came Free with the dish package I signed up for, and it truly was, a surprise and delight.

I am a simple and humble working drone like every other red-blooded American. I work hard for every dollar I earn and I believe that service is just as valuable as products. Self-serve has become an American way of life. I miss the days of gas station attendants that would pump your gas and check your car, hostesses and waiters that would attend to your desires and even bank tellers that you could have a decent conversation with. Today, we have to build our own furniture, pump our own gas, serve our own food and just try to get a real person on the phone when you need them (all you get is a maze of recorded prompts). The “kid” who installed my dish system would have spent the whole day with me, just explaining how everything worked. That means a lot to a man like me.

If you are half the media hound that I am, you owe it to yourself to check out the features and offers that dish TV has for you. I am certain that you will be as pleased as I was with the service and the value that you will get (over one hundred HD channels. I will not worry about reruns for a long time to come). What are you waiting for? Get “Hooked Up” with Dish TV. By the way, my seventy-one year old father recently added dish TV to his sixty-one inch television. So, in the words of my father, “that’s pretty cool”.

By: Charles Beason

About the Author:
Article By: Charles Beason
Charles is a Small Business owner, content writer and Pastor in the High Desert of Southern California. Visit his Dish Biz website at http://www.R-U-Dished.synthasite.com
This article is copyright (c) 2008 by Charles Beason, and may be reprinted in it’s entirety as long as this byline and copyright statement is included.



Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress

 
No Comments

Posted in Rotten Movies

 

HALLOWEEN at Halloween – Reliving the Michael Myers Legacy

04 Dec


A great way to spend a budget-friendly Halloween this year would be to have a marathon of those perennial horror favourites, the Halloween series. What could be better for Halloween than watching Michael Myers hunt down victim after victim? Well, actually, this could be pretty damn rotten if you try to sit through all of the terrible sequels. Including the remake there are now nine films that carry the Halloween title, but just picking any of them would be a bad idea. You need to pick the best ones in order to have a decent movie experience and Halloween fun, but which to choose?

First up, DO NOT WATCH HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH. This was a sidestep from the Michael Myers chronicles and doesn’t feature the infamous masked killer at all, or indeed have any links to the first two films aside from the title itself. Plus, it is generally a terrible film with little in the way of redeeming qualities. So, whichever you pick, make sure that turkey isn’t among them. Actually, avoid Halloween: Resurrection too. Gah. That was awful.

The Halloween movies got off to a fantastic start with two films that are rightfully honoured as true classics of the horror genre. Naturally, the iconic first film introduced the world to Michael Myers, Dr Loomis and Laurie Strode, and brought the genre a new antihero, Myers, who was also nicknamed ‘The Shape’ due to his chilling masked visage. Utilizing sterling camera work, excellent direction and ingenious use oif lighting and music, the initial Halloween movie became the benchmark of horror for a generation, and spawned many lesser imitators.

That film has certainly stood the test of time and still works to this day. Its first sequel, cunningly entitled Halloween II, was superb in that it carried on exactly where the first film left off, and plays as an extension of that landmark production instead of just a sequel. The original cast returned and continued with the carnage. While the first film was directed by horror legend John Carpenter, Halloween II was directed by Rick Rosenthal, a relative unknown, who did a great job capturing the atmosphere and tension that Carpenter had achieved.

These two would be wholeheartedly recommended, but there needs to be a third to round off your evening. I’d say Halloween H20, the seventh in the series, which saw Jamie Lee Curtis return to the role of Laurie Strode after 20 years away from the franchise. This entry, directed by Steve Miner, is actually a very good, very strong piece of horror cinema. It is taut and constructed very well, and alongside the first two films it creates an excellent trilogy. It even has a satisfying end, which provides some closure to the series. Sadly this was destroyed with the terrible eighth film, but if you try to ignore that and put these three films together, you’re in for a great Halloween night that won’t break the bank. The Halloween movie franchise has spawned comic books, merchandise, Michael Myers action figures, statues and of course, a whole genre in itself. With these three fine examples of the series, you will be up all night. Not just watching movies, but checking that all your doors are locked. Was that a man in a mask outside your window?

By: Andrew Hawnt

About the Author:
Andrew Hawnt is an expert on popular culture, movies, TV, comics, horror movie collectibles and more. He writes for the famous Starstore blogs and the popular movie collectibles site starstore.com as well as being a renowned music journalist and science fiction author. With boundless enthusiasm for pop culture, movie memorabilia, geek culture and the comic book industry, he is always ready to bring the latest news and views on the entertainment industry to you. For the latest news, free newsletters, podcasts and more, check out ===> http://starstoreblog.com



Caffeinated Content

 
No Comments

Posted in Rotten Movies

 
« Older Entries