BlackCat725

IMDb member since August 2000
    Lifetime Total
    10+
    IMDb Member
    23 years

Reviews

John Wick: Chapter 2
(2017)

Twice the killing, none of the fun
Let me start of by saying I really liked the first "John Wick". It was entertaining, fun to watch, visually stylish. The killing was over the top, but somehow not stupid. "John Wick: Chapter 2" has none of that. The killing has gone over to the realm of ridiculousness, it was boring, and I lost my empathy for John Wick. I don't know if these movies were intentionally set up as a "trilogy" but this middle piece is nothing more than a set up to the next one.

Kazaam
(1996)

I just couldn't look away
The only reason I DVRd this movie was because 1. I live in Cleveland and Shaq plays basketball for us now and 2. I've always heard how awful it was. The movie did not disappoint. The best parts were Shaq's outfits. The worst parts were, well, just about everything else. My 12 year old son and I just squirmed and couldn't look at the screen when Shaq started rapping and we kept wondering why Max didn't wish for Kazzam to fix that front tooth of his! But for all it's terribleness we just couldn't stop watching it, the story sucked you in, like a black hole or quicksand or a tar pit, it was hypnotic. But it was worth it for the laughs and just to say that we actually watched "Kazzam".

Cesta do pravyeku
(1955)

Started my life long love of dinosaurs
I saw this movie at the theater in the mid-late '60s. I spent years and years trying to find out the name of it based only on my memories of a few of the scenes. I finally tracked it down and got a VHS copy and watched it with my husband and son. My son (11) was totally cracking up the whole time, spoiled by all the movies he's seen. Yes, the dubbing is hokey and horrible, and the stop action primitive compared to today, but to an 8 yr old in the '60s it was wonderful! I may have to hunt down an original copy without the extra US storyline that was put in. I'm just glad that I found this movie, prove to my husband that I'm not crazy and it did exist and can now move on with my life! ;)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
(2009)

Too much snogging and not enough passion...
They cut all of the heart out of this movie. After reading the comments here, I'm even MORE disappointed in this movie, because I had rushed through HBP in order to read Deathly Hallows back in 2007. The movie, on it's own, is very good. But huge important scenes from the book were left out (Voldemort back story too brief), completely stupid scenes put in (the Weasley's house) and the ending was bland and anticlimactic when it should have been deeply moving. Another reviewer commented on the lack of applause at the end, I noticed that too in my theater. The girl behind me who commented (frequently) "that didn't happen" was somewhat annoying, but totally right. UGH, I'm SO tired of movies that could have easily been PERFECT but aren't.

OK, ranting aside, Ron was wonderful during the Quidditch scenes and Harry was a total HOOT during the Felix Felicitas scenes. I will most likely see it again because my son wants to and I will find that the movie will grow on me like "Order of the Phoenix" did. But once again, I walk out of the first viewing sorely disappointed.

WALL·E
(2008)

Beautiful and, wow, intelligent!
Pixar has created another stunningly beautiful movie, this is one that I will have to see at least a couple more times to soak in everything. I read some reviews before seeing it (why do I do that?) on another site, (Whoopee...) and I couldn't believe all the people tearing it apart because "there's no talking for like, the first HOUR!". I thought that was the best part of the movie, it wasn't incredibly dumbed down dialog, it was, intelligent! Maybe some of the kids who go to see this movie will benefit from having to use their brains and eyes and really think about something for a change. There were plenty of laughs and they weren't even all the baseball to the groin variety! And as always I love the homages and "inside" jokes. (anyone recognize Wall-E's chime?) A must see!

Surf's Up
(2007)

Wish I'd Seen it at the Theater
I feel bad now that I dismissed this as "just another penguin movie" and passed it by when it was out in the summer. With all the "blockbusters" out, this one was kinda crammed in between them all.(we shoulda skipped Spidey3 for this one...) This was entertaining, funny, and the graphics were just amazing. I wanted to run out and learn to surf just from looking at the beautiful waves and beaches in this movie. I thought that voice characterizations were perfect, they made the movie. Big Lebowski/Big Z, not much difference! The "mockumentary" style was great, we particularly enjoyed the interviews with the little penguin kids. My 10-yr old son and I both were cracking up throughout the movie, there were enough laughs that appealed to both of us.

Underdog
(2007)

It's not the cartoon, but it's a cute little movie!
OK, when I saw the previews I was APPALLED that they would screw up good old Underdog. But, I went to see it based on some positive reviews and honestly, it was a cute little movie! My husband, son and I all agreed and that's saying something. No, it's not Citizen Kane, but heck, it's not meant to be. I feel bad that all the bashers out there who haven't even seen this movie are giving it such a bad rating. (I'm assuming they haven't seen it, because if they did I would think it would have at LEAST 5-6 stars.

Jason Lee is great as the voice of Underdog, but I pretty much enjoy anything he does. My only real complaint was that it was a really short movie. I don't expect (or want) it to be two hours, but another 10-15 more minutes would have been better.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(2007)

I wish I hadn't read the book first
maybe I would have enjoyed this movie.

I will start by saying that I have thoroughly loved and enjoyed the first 4 HP films. I have read the first 5 books and am currently racing to finish the 6th in time for next Friday. That being said, our whole family was so disappointed in this film. My husband (who didn't read the book) said there was no "magic" to this film. My 10 year old son (the H-P fanatic) said this was the worst HP movie (where was the brain room and all the other things that happened in the Dept. of Mysteries?). I felt the story was disjointed. Previous movies hadn't felt the need to make major changes to the plot, why start now? I know it's a long book, I know it needed to be condensed, but it could have been done so much better.

I think the writers need to write lines for punishment!

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
(2007)

Too long? Who cares!
Yes, it's long (but really, it's only 2.5 hours long the CREDITS are an extra 15 minutes!) yes, it's overblown and yes, it's kinda confusing, but personally, I didn't care. I thought it wrapped all the loose ends up quite nicely (but created a couple more dangling ones) and I loved watching every explosion. I actually felt bad about some of the characters that died and it confirmed my plot suspicions from POTC2. For me, there wasn't quite enough Capt. Jack, but I can never get enough Capt. Jack.

My biggest complaint wasn't with the movie itself but the theater I saw it at, the sound quality was AWFUL and I missed quite a bit of dialog.

But all in all, a must see for Pirates fans!!

Open Season
(2006)

A funny, sweet film!
I saw this over the weekend with five 9-year-old boys, three 40ish adults and my 72-year-old mom. We ALL enjoyed it and thought it was cute and funny! It's too bad that it had to be released at the tail end of a year with so many other animated movies, but I think this one holds up against any of them for entertainment value. I thought the voice casting was great, and I LOVED the music. It was a simple story that you know is all going to work out in the end, but that's just fine with me. If I want complexity and angst and dark endings, I'll go see something else.

And I've GOT to learn all the words to Elliot's version of "Teddy Bear Picnic"...

Hoot
(2006)

Plain and simple, a NICE movie
My family (two 40-somethings, an 8 year old and my 71 yr old mother) saw this at a sneak preview on April 29th. We all enjoyed the movie very much. The story was a good one, and knowing it was based on real-life events made it that much more enjoyable. Luke Wilson was a hoot (pun intended) to watch as was Tim Blake Nelson. And seeing Neil Flynn play something other than "the mean janitor from Scrubs" was nice. The kids in movie did well and I'm sure they will all appeal to a certain demographic on the heartthrob level. The visuals were just lovely and the Jimmy Buffet music added to the "Florida feel". OK, maybe the story was a little too neat and well packaged for some adults, but hey, who cares? I can't compare it to the book, I honestly hadn't heard of it until the movie came out.

It was just a NICE movie and it had a good message. Plain and simple.

ChalkZone
(1998)

Sheesh people, it's a CARTOON!
I looked up ChalkZone because I wanted to check out who was singing on one of the songs, and geez, I couldn't believe the people who were ripping it up! I don't know/can't tell the ages so, I'm sure that makes a difference (I'm 44 and yes, I actually like Nick, even if I didn't have a 6 year old) Speaking of my 6 year old, he LOVES this show. We've decided that the theme song is the best one of all the Nick Toons, and we actually LIKE the "music videos". I think it's cute and different.

Time Squad
(2001)

Makes me think of Sherman and Mr. Peabody
I stumbled across this cartoon while digesting my Easter dinner and I have to admit, it's great! It makes me think of the old Bullwinkle Show and how Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman would teach me about history. I agree with another comment, it's funny AND educational. I watch it with my 4 1/2 year old son and I know he's not 'getting' 1/2 the jokes but he still loves it. I personally am not that fond of a lot of the "Cartoon Cartoon" shows (except for Dexter and Powerpuff) but this one is good. I do have a hard time not thinking of Bobby Hill though when Otto is talking....

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