kr98664

This one was hard to stomach. Somehow, the production team took an absolutely fascinating real life story and turned it into a dirge about patriarchal oppression.

I had looked forward to this movie with great enthusiasm after reading a book on the subject. For example, military intelligence agents had to procure an anonymous corpse that nobody would miss, but with all the right physical attributes for this bold ruse. Then a realistic background had to be created to fool enemy intelligence. Just those shenanigans alone would have made for a fascinating movie.

Instead, the main takeaway from this movie is that society was different years ago. For the most part, men ran the show. That's just how it was. Ah yes, but let's suck all the life out of this story by applying today's standards to a daring plan put into action three generations in the past. Count me out...

This movie is not for everybody, but my beloved wife and I both enjoyed it. The next day, we both agreed on something interesting about the movie in general. It wasn't preachy. It wasn't pushing an agenda. It was just a well-made slice of life story about 3 interesting characters forced together over a short period of time.

Ignore the trailer, which gives the impression of a heartwarming story with redemption, second chances, blah, blah, blah. Two of the three main characters weren't especially likeable, but neither were they overtly bad guys. If open to something besides the typical Hollywood schlock so prevalent these days, be sure to check it out.

An animated movie about dogs! Should be perfect to watch with a 6-year-old, wouldn't you think? Let's make some popcorn and snuggle in on the couch for movie night...

Sadly, this movie had plenty of content inappropriate for young viewers. Not real bad, but enough for my wife and me to cringe a few times.

Cuz I laughed my buttocks off. This is just a funny, stupid movie. Wish there were more like this. Disengage your brain clutch, sit back, relax, and laugh. It's as if Airplane and the Three Stooges had a love child.

Be forewarned, this movie is horribly non-PC in places. If you're a professional victim, you may want to find something else to watch.

On a side note, this movie got SOME of the aviation technical details right. I'm an airline mechanic and was impressed they used Weber coffee makers. Other details were way off, but at least some bits were spot on.

Lots of reviewers have called this a mockumentary, but that isn't quite the right word. For that category, I think of Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, etc. In those movies, the characters are comedic caricatures, gently mocked, hence the mockumentary moniker.

This movie was subtly different. Kenny, the primary character, was consistently portrayed as a decent, hard-working man handling an unpleasant job with grace and a well-deserved sense of humor. Well worth a watch. As others have said, I'm not sure I'll ever look the same again at a portable toilet.

Parts of the movie reminded me of my own late father. He worked hard and had a very prestigious career. But no matter where we traveled, he treated everybody with the same respect, no matter their occupation or status. That's a good lesson to model and quietly pass down to an impressionable young man.

Don't get me wrong. I laughed myself silly quite a few times. But the tone of this sequel seemed off, and it took a while to realize the difference.

In the original, Borat played such a complex, naive character, a true fish out of water. If you had encountered such a person in real life, you'd wholeheartedly want to help him. And that's where the original's hijinks started.

Subtle character differences in this one, though. The seemingly sweet veneer was gone at times. Rather than having some more or less harmless fun with the unknowing participants, he struck a harsher mocking tone. Several scenes are rather cringeworthy. Some kind, decent people bent over backwards to help a guy in a bad spot, and caught nothing but crap for their efforts. I'd call that a big misfire, and it severely detracted from any desired comedic tone.

A sure fire way to know a movie is bad? When you keep checking your watch, doing the math for when the movie will end.

Richard Jenkins? Debra Winger? Are you guys in a severe financial crunch and needed some money fast? Did you lose a bet and this was your punishment?

As you might have guessed, I found this movie painful to watch. It started out well enough, with some big names portraying a very eccentric family of small-time con artists. But that was it. It all just went slowly downhill after that, grinding slower and slower. At one point, I believe time stood still yet the movie kept going and going, despite my fervent wishes for it to end.

Almost left several times, but I stuck it out to see how it would wrap up. It wasn't worth the wait. I wish I indeed had left early. I didn't miss anything.

Nary a smile to be seen in the theater as we all somberly filed out. Just a lot of grumbling and people shaking their heads dejectedly.

Welcome back, Bill and Ted. I've missed you. Your new movie had my wife and me laughing away. Several days later, we're still reciting little pieces of dialogue and amusing ourselves.

The movie was full of many little fun bits. We both enjoyed the many variations of Bill and Ted in the future. The robot? He kept cracking us up.

Will this go down in history as the greatest movie ever? Probably not. But it provided some sorely needed levity, a nice escape for an evening. Thanks guys, for making it happen.

My darling wife, beloved as she may be, has one slight imperfection. Genetics has cursed her with a bladder about the size of a grape, or maybe a walnut at the most. Frequent movie goers that we are, we've perfected the drill. When (not if) she heads out to the restroom, I make note of where the plot was. Upon her return, I whisper into her ear what she missed, and generally throw in a little kiss, too.

This was the first movie where upon her return, she didn't ask what she missed. We both knew before she left that she wouldn't miss anything. For the whole movie, not much happened. Just a lot of ploddingness, talk about feelings, and perhaps two chuckles.

The trailer looked good, but it had all the funny bits. A great cast was wasted on this ho hum mess. I kept waiting for the movie to get better, but it never did. If only my watch had a turboboost option...

On the bright side, if you have a nanobladder, this may be the perfect movie for you.

Ah, where to start? Perhaps to mention the whole theater was in stitches most of the time? That's always a good sign, even if I missed some lines due to the noise of the laughter.

One quick thing to get out of the way: The plot was basically a vehicle to move from one funny scene to the next. There was something about a rich woman who lost everything and tries to get it all back, but that wasn't really important. This movie could have been just as much fun if it involved game show hosts or ballerinas, but the plot as written was fully passable. Remember folks, this was not a drama, but an actual comedy.

If hovering undecided over the button on Netflix, the best thing to ask yourself is if you've enjoyed other movies with Melissa McCarthy. She was an absolute scene stealer throughout this movie. She was unabashedly foul-mouthed and as politically incorrect as could be. Kristen Bell got to play the uptight, straight man (or person, in PC-speak).

Another sign of a good movie is I never checked my watch once. There even a few good sight gags, something sadly missing in so many high-brow flicks. I'll never look at a sofa bed the same way... It's been a couple of days since we saw this, and my wife and I are still chuckling over this one. It was quite the pleasant surprise.

Pay attention to Melissa McCarthy's costumes. She wears a turtleneck in every scene, even as a child. Some were quite over the top, practically covering her chin. This was a running sight gag throughout the movie. It had me chuckling, anticipating each new scene just to see how outlandish the next costume would be.

Leaving the theater, the general feeling was "meh". Possibly based on Yiddish origin, it's a general shrug of the shoulders meaning neither good nor bad.

The best way to describe this movie is to say it's not funny enough for a comedy, but not serious enough for a drama. Rather than combining words and calling it a dramedy, I'd suggest keeping the same words but flipping the order, calling it a coma. The movie just never seem to get going. If intended as a light- hearted story, the laughs were just too few and far between, even though the premise itself was humorous. Meanwhile, the basic story of a Biblical archaeologist down on his luck was just a bit too silly for a drama. I'm a big fan of Sam Rockwell, Jemaine Clement, and Danny McBride, but this wasn't a great vehicle for any of them.

It's a shame, because some aspects of the movie were very well done. The cinematography was fantastic, for example. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad movie. It just didn't do much for me. Your mileage may vary.

A disappointing mess. That's the kindest way to describe this movie. As the credits rolled, murmurs throughout the theater told me I wasn't the only one feeling the same way.

The movie was a misfire on two main levels. The subject matter was tough, no doubt about it. Partway into the movie, we finally meet the father (term used loosely, even in its lower case form), a man (once again, term used loosely) who is an absolute failure. Not because of circumstances or bad luck, but because of himself. Sadly, his delusional shortcomings affected his whole family. Any parent will have a tough time watching this movie, seeing the damage he did. However, I knew that going in, having read some background details about this family. As an aside, the kids themselves seemed amazingly normal in spite of their isolated upbringing.

The second aspect that ruined this movie was the storytelling. Subject matter aside, it just wasn't presented very well. The story was all over the place. A few captions with dates would have helped with the timeline. Much of the footage used was very repetitious. An outsider's perspective would have helped, too, even if something as simple as an interview with a neighbor, for example. Lots of seemingly important milestones were shown, but with hardly a word of explanation or anybody's reaction. There was no real ending, it sort of stopped at what may have been an important scene. The family's situation made for a very compelling story, yet so much was lost translating it to the big screen. A prologue would have been a nice touch, but that didn't happen, either.

This is one of the few movies I wouldn't recommend at all. Your mileage may vary, but don't get your hopes up too much.

To paraphrase another reviewer and a line from the movie's opening narration, it's as if Caddyshack and Superbad had a love child. A very funny love child...

As you watch this movie, it's easy to pick out influences from other flicks. Jonah Hill type? Check. Michael Cera type? Check, but let's go with black hair so it's not obvious. And so it goes, even including a mumbling grounds-keeper a la Caddyshack. Mind you, these are not necessarily bad things. Considering I laughed myself silly quite a few times, I won't complain.

This movie was a refreshing change from the standard fare of late. It's just a silly comedy with barely enough plot to move from scene to scene. It's not a dreary underdog saga set in a dystopian future. It's not another overwrought superhero movie with a 45 minute CGI battle scene to fill up the running time once the creators ran out of ideas. And most thankfully, it's not an angst-filled critique of relationships. It's just a funny story. I wish there were more movies like this one.

The many supporting characters were great fun. Kate Walsh and Jim Gaffigan played their parent roles to deadpan perfection. The kid from Bad Grandpa played a great straight man (straight kid?) to the totally inappropriate influences of Fred Armisen.

Don't expect too much, but do sit back and enjoy a few belly laughs. And be thankful not everybody in Hollywood has given up on making light-hearted comedies.

Is it real? That's the one question I had after watching this documentary. After some professional-grade thinking, I still don't know. And to tell the truth, it really doesn't matter. If everything was real, then this was an interesting true story. If it was a sly mockumentary, then it was still a fun movie. Don't beat yourself up trying to solve a riddle that may not have an answer.

Per the current reviews here so far, I have posted the first review by a person outside of a film festival. If nothing else, this would look good on a resume. I should also clarify I'm not literally outside a film festival, or even in close proximity to one. I'm actually at home as I type this, having watched the movie on a certain streaming movie service named after a major South American jungle.

The movie was quite intriguing. It's the story of a man making VERY low budget films. Throw in a little domestic drama and a somewhat surreal supporting cast, and you've got a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half.

Without giving anything away, the last part of this movie did seem to fall apart. Still, the movie kept my interest the whole time. And was it all scripted? I can't really tell, and don't really want to know. Okay, fine, maybe I do. But until then, it was still quite the enjoyable ride.

Right off the bat, you'll want to know this isn't a typical Hollywood story. The writer must have skipped day one of Screen writing 101, as he forgot to include a likable main character. From the first moment the teacher is introduced, you'll quickly develop zero sympathy for him. Less than zero, perhaps. He is, after all, the antagonist. So far, so good.

In my ignorant and ill-informed opinion, the main problem with the movie is the student's character. We've already got a clearly defined villain, so how about somebody to root for? He seems to start out that way, but slowly he morphs into a borderline bad guy, as if under the spell of his mentor. After a while, one's only interest in the student is to hope for him to break free of his psychotic teacher.

A day after seeing this movie, it's hard to believe it was nominated for an Oscar. From a technical standpoint, it was well made and featured good acting, but the story itself was somewhat off-putting. I'm a big fan of J. K. Simmons, but his character was so abrasive, I actually started looking forward to the scenes without him. Maybe it was the screenwriter's intent to make us feel uncomfortable. If so, he succeeded. Sadly, though, I can't say my life is any richer having seen this.

This was a fun, scatter-brained mess of a movie. As other reviewers have mentioned, the plot was über-confusing, almost indecipherable. Don't let that stop you from checking out this movie, however.

Faced with such a situation, you've got two basic choices. You can give yourself a brain cramp trying to understand it, or maybe even find a class at your local community college that would attempt to explain the plot. Or you can do like I did, which was to just relax and go with the flow.

About a third of the way through, I indeed made the command decision to quit trying to figure it out. I just went with the general theme of a comedic detective story with good guys, bad guys, and others straddling the line separating the two. The next day, I still don't understand the motives of (or even the need for) some of the characters, but I enjoyed the movie nonetheless.

The movie was full of small gems. After being arrested, Doc the main character, was represented by a lawyer who specializes in maritime law, not criminal defense. The movie was full of oddball little bits like that. Each and every character was a joy to watch, even if a few of them confused me to no end.

I'm not sure where he's been of late, but it was a joy to see Martin Short back on the big screen, even if for an all-too-brief role. Josh Brolin was pitch-perfect as a straight-laced civil-rights-stomping police detective. Joaquin Phoenix played his "hippie scum" role to perfection, too.

Think of this movie more as a character study of a handful of eccentrics, instead of a typical flick with a no-nonsense plot. Although Inherent Vice isn't quite in the same league, it took me several viewings before I understood the plot of The Big Lebowski. So take that with a grain of salt. Just kick back, slip your brain clutch, and enjoy. And on rare occasions like this, smile and know an understandable plot is overrated.

A man and a woman bickering for ninety minutes. That's my review summed up in one sentence. A young couple, who in theory care for each other, spend most of the movie sniping and yelling at each other. Maybe I was just raised differently, but I've promised my wife if I ever raise my voice towards her, it's because there's something imminently dangerous present, such as a fire, a mad gunman, or Nancy Pelosi at the door with a clipboard in her hand.

The murder mystery part of the story was good enough. There was a definite whodunit at the core of the movie. The nail-on-blackboard drama of the main couple's relationship, however, overshadowed all of that. This overdone tension made any comedic undertones null and void. And then add a couple of intersecting love triangles (a love rhombus?) and before long, I kept visiting the snack bar.

Your mileage may vary, of course. This wasn't the type of movie that prompts you to contact your Congressman and demand that all copies be collected and destroyed. I'd be fine if they were just locked in a vault.

I went to the theater, a bit afraid I'd be on the receiving end of Enviro-Preaching. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find something different. This was actually a suspenseful thriller about paranoia taking hold after the commission of a major crime.

The environmental aspect was just a means to move the story along. Although the story involves eco-sabotage, the basic premise of the fallout from paranoia could have fit in a story about something similar like a robbery gone wrong, etc.

I was tickled to see the counter-culture hippie family eating bacon, and the self-righteous radical enviro-warriors owning gas-guzzling full-size pickup trucks. One of the guys, for all his professed love of the earth, treated his property like a pig sty. I don't think these and other little treats were accidents.

On the negative side, the movie was a bit on the slow side. Not horribly slow, but just a little on the plodding side. I think there were a few too many shots of the main character staring into space, having deep thoughts. Maybe it was constipation, I don't know. And the ending? Definitely could have been reworked, as it was rather disappointing.

In spite of these moderate flaws, I enjoyed this movie very much. It's well worth checking out.

Right off the bat, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Not perfect, and definitely low budget, but still charming nonetheless. There's something fun about seeing guys just being their cranky selves, without having to put on pretenses.

One serious flaw bugged me, however. Technically this doesn't count as a spoiler, but Britt was seen enjoying yard work. Yeah, I know, the script was fine up to then, at which point it departed from reality. My beloved wife and I had been curled up in front of a fire, relaxing and watching this movie. Next thing I know, I'm on the receiving end of her patented spousal-control stink-eye, as she wonders why I never help around the yard like Britt did. Thanks, screenwriter from hell, for ruining my life.

Other than that, with my life left in ruins, it was a decent movie. I hope to see more from the team, as long as they promise to run the script by me first.

Funny, funny, funny. That's the only way to describe this delightful movie. I was in stitches most of the time. I've never seen the TV series so came into this cold, not knowing what to expect.

What fun it was to watch Steve Coogan play a pompous, self-serving, something or other (sorry, I ran out of clever bits there, but I'll get back in form by the end of the review.)

Colm Meaney did a great job, too, as a nice guy who just snaps. The script was full of funny tangents and throwaway lines, little gems lobbed into the audience solely for our pleasure.

Several weeks later, I'm still laughing over this movie. I'm not sure I'll ever look at a Tupperware container the same way again. Of course that makes no sense until you see the movie, so do yourself a favor and check it out.

It's not my fault, I swear. As a citizen of the United States, I don't have to take personal responsibility for anything, thank you very much. Yet somehow, I found myself furiously tapping my watch, willing it to go faster so this movie would just reach the end.

My main mistake, and I'm still actively trying to find somebody other than me to blame, was to think the presence of the delightful Leslie Mann indicated a pleasant cinematic experience was at hand. She has teamed up with hubby Judd Apatow and made some very funny movies. Now in my boundless ignorance, not having read all the details of cast and crew, I thought Mr. Apatow was also involved with this movie. Turns out I was wrong. Not only did he have no association with this movie, but his marriage to Leslie must be on the rocks. It's the only logical explanation. Otherwise, they'd have casually talked about her involvement in this project, he'd at least have looked over the script with professional curiosity, and then lovingly warned her it was a dud. There must be something seriously wrong in their household and it breaks my heart to think of the effect this will have on their kids.

The basic premise had promise, but that's it. The laughs were few and far between. The theater was eerily silent most of the time, meaning nobody else had any trouble containing their laughter, either. Maybe this was supposed to be a light-hearted drama, erroneously packaged as a comedy, but if so, it was still flat and lifeless. Was it a chick-flick, and as a male, I was outside the target audience? If that's the case, you certainly don't feature a bikini-clad Kate Upton jogging on the beach. Besides, my beloved wife, whose opinion I respect highly and is most certainly of the feminine persuasion, disliked this movie as much as I did.

My unsolicited advice? Skip it. And hope Leslie and Judd work things out so they can go back to looking out for each other again.

At my local cinema, there was obviously something wrong with the heating system. Right near the end of the movie, those dastardly ducts blew something into my eyes, dust or sand or something similar. Made my eyes well up ever so slightly. That's the only logical explanation, as I'm no sucker for maudlin moments.

This movie was quite the unexpected treat. Never played for all-out laughs, it still had a pleasant comedic undertone. The acting was spot-on. Bill Nighy was an absolute delight, as always.

The movie was never preachy, but it still felt like I learned something from it, i.e. the need to appreciate life. It even made my beloved wife forget all about my many and various shortcomings, which is no small task.

The boss was away. That is the only logical explanation. The head honcho at Magnet Films, taking a well-deserved break, was off on an extended vacation. After all, this is the outfit that brought us such gems as Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, God Bless America, and the amazing Troll Hunter. The boss must have been out of cell range, however, because somebody sans clue took it upon themselves to greenlight Rubber.

The movie started out well enough. Right away, the fourth wall is broken down and the audience is addressed directly, as if we were being let in on a joke. Unfortunately, it seems the joke was on us. Whatever it was, it really wasn't even much of a joke. It was just an hour and a half of film.

That's why I propose the creation of a waiting period to procure movie-making equipment. Just because you can operate a camera doesn't mean you can make a movie.

After watching this movie, I'm reminded of some things my prematurely gray-haired mother used to say to me. No, I'm not talking about how she warned me I'd go blind. (Turns out she was wrong on that one, as I only needed glasses...) I remember her admonition to always have something nice to say. So in honor of my Mom, I will say the cinematography was very well done. That's about all I can say on the positive side. The rest was just a confusing, muddled mess. I watched it for free with a DVD from the library, and it still feels like I paid too much.

A curious thing struck me about this movie, something you rarely see on screen: The living quarters seemed very realistic. Most of the characters worked on the fringes of the entertainment industry and were barely getting by. None of them had the standard issue, blatantly unaffordable, starving artist loft apartment as seen in so many movies. Instead, they had run-of-the-mill places in a so-so part of town. I was impressed they got this detail right. When we first saw Louis' place, I started to call BS because the outside appearance was intriguing, but I breathed a sigh of relief to find it was actually a cracker box on the inside.

In case you can't tell, I found this movie to be very enjoyable. The Dad was a juicy, borderline insufferable character. As obnoxious as he could be, he was fun to watch.

The movie had a few interesting subplots and themes woven around the main story. Not an out and out comedy, it still had some very funny moments, including some inside jabs at Hollywood. I especially enjoyed Geena Davis' brief role as a movie executive, and the confusing and somewhat contradictory bit of advice she offered.

And oh yeah, it's got Nick Offerman in a minor role. So far he's batting a thousand in my book, so check it out.

This was quite the engaging story about crime and the consequences of our choices in life. However, parts of it just didn't seem to click, with a few too many glaring plot holes. I picked this movie based solely on the combination of Edward Norton and Tim Blake Nelson, as I've enjoyed the movies each has previously made. The supporting cast is quite impressive, too.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie but it felt like the script should have been tweaked slightly. I thought the drug-dealing brother was played for too much of a simpleton. His mush-mouthed speaking mannerisms were a little off-putting. About halfway through, I had to turn on the subtitles just to make sure I understood him.

The contrast with the scholarly twin felt a little overplayed, too. It's hard to fathom such an intelligent person trying to argue philosophy with bad guys intent on killing him. In my opinion, the movie would have been more believable if the outward personas of the twin brothers had not been so radically different.

(Spoiler) The orthodontist's role was a bit perplexing, too. When he starts to spiral out of control near the end, his motive was murky. Was he after money, revenge, or both? An extra line or two of dialogue sure would have helped. I like movies that make you think, but this scene (and a few others) had me asking, "Huh?"

Please don't let these moderate criticisms scare you away, however. It was a good movie and quite captivating. It just felt like it could have been even better with a small dose of script doctoring.