leonardshelby17-1

IMDb member since June 2005
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Reviews

Like Me
(2017)

A Beautiful Ride Through The Weird & The Twisted
If you love the trailer, this movie is for you. The main character is fascinating and unpredictable. The story is bizarre and full of surreal moments. Almost every shot in the film is a beautiful work of art. It's perfection is even more impressive when I learned its from a first time director. I can't recommend it enough.

Jennifer's Body
(2009)

Underrated Gold
In one of the saddest movie news of this decade, Jennifer's Body fails and so many seem so happy about it. Question is though, how many of these haters actually saw the film? Judging from it's box office take, very few. Aside from Tarantino's Basterds, Jennifer's Body was the most anticipated movie of the year for me. Diablo Cody has had me hooked ever since her wonderful book Candy Girl years ago, then with Juno she cemented proof that this woman is no joke, and once again it pays off with Jennifer. Amanda Seyfried caught my attention in Mean Girls, and I've loved her ever since, and she shined in Jennifer. Finally, there's Megan Fox, someone who seems to just have to sit there to be hated by many. Jealousy fills so many with rage. She doesn't say all the right things that we expect from celebrities, and somehow this causes even more hatred. Curiosity and the fact that she's the reason 'wow' is in our vocabulary, has kept me interested, and the hatred from everyone for nothing made me even more. Put all three of these people together and you've got Jennifer's Body. It's fun, silly, disturbing, wild, sexy, and one of the best movies of the year. Megan has proved she has the talent so many say she doesn't and becomes Jennifer Check. What a movie. Being IMDb though, you all seem to only go to movies and actors you hate.

Closing the Ring
(2007)

Lost Without Your Love
First of all, this didn't deserve the straight to DVD treatment it received for the U.S. It's not perfect by any means, but it's an experience that should have been seen on the big screen. No, it's not action packed, but it's beautiful to watch. It's a romance with dimensions that work very well, and oddly enough I wasn't one step ahead of it the whole way through. Some elements are always a bit predictable for a film like this, but I wasn't always entirely sure where it was heading next. This could have gotten a solid score of 10 had it not been for several severe flaws. The biggest of which is the actor playing Teddy. Now imagine The Notebook if Ryan Gosling was an awful actor, it would have destroyed the movie. Luckily, as important as the Teddy character is, he's not in a massive part of the film, and it's easy to imagine what the character should have been, and believe the key romance behind the film. Mischa worked for me for the most part, although she had a majority of her scenes with the lifeless Teddy character. McClain and Plummer were amazing as they usually always are. Campbell did a believable effort as the daughter lost behind all the secrets, and I loved the actors who played the young friends of Teddy. Lastly, in the end we are treated with one of the most beautiful film songs in years. Watch the credits, you'll here the amazing Lost Without Your Love, which will complete your experience with this flawed but wonderful film.

Jackass 2.5
(2007)

Disappointing, But Still Funny
I LOVE the Jackass films. Part 1 and 2 are some of the funniest times I've spent in the theater. When word got out from Bam Margera on Howard Stern a few months ago about the upcoming 2.5, I was very excited to see it. Well, I just finished watching 2.5, and even though I laughed a lot, it just overall usually felt like a deleted scene reel from a DVD. Of course that's what a lot of the footage is, but after I heard they were still filming long after number 2's release, I figured we'd get the same type of movie we've seen in the past, but only this time they were just going to market it differently. This film consists of good bits and failed bits, most of which are set up with interviews. The first two films barely missed a beat, even when the bit wasn't the greatest, but 2.5. consists of mostly just amusing stuff. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time, but expected so much more. One thing that really let me down, is the lost Don Vito tooth pulling scene is still missing, even though Bam mentioned they'll finally show it. I'm guessing it's from the recent conviction, but that bit could have made the whole movie, if it's as great as Bam says it is. So if you're a Jackass fan, check out 2.5. If you're new to Jackass, check out 1 and 2, cause that's where the real laughs are.

Home of the Brave
(2006)

Flawed, But Actually Quite Good
I'm not for the war in the Iraq, and I certainly haven't wanted to see the string of many Iraq films coming out in the last year. Home Of The Brave really stood out for some reason, but since it failed in limited release last Christmas, and then again this summer when it tried a second release, it never did come to theaters locally. So I waited for the DVD, which I just finished moments ago. The film got bashed across the board, and obviously nobody else wanted to see it, from looking at it's box office take. I was somehow still compelled to watch it, and just like I hoped, it was actually quite good. However, it is very flawed, and it probably could have been a lot better as an HBO miniseries, cause the story feels way too rushed. You're introduced to these characters, most of which, I cared about. Even 50 Cent, who people here have HUGE issues with, played a character that I believed could be realistically that conflicted. Which makes it a pretty good performance to be able to do that. The film does have it's clichés, and it does get rather preachy at times. There's one scene in particular, which takes place in a movie theater, that goes a little bit over the top, where it becomes very obvious that the writer really had strong opinions to give out, which sort of took away a bit of the reality. It didn't seem to have a clear opinion on how it felt about the war, but I think that was probably the point. I'm generally not into war films, but besides the obvious war scenes, it's hard to call it a war film, cause really, it's a character study about how people who'd be heroes to a few, but to everyone else they are just another man or woman, trying to live their life. I really enjoyed this film.

Gossip Girl
(2007)

You Know You Love Me? Well, It's Getting Better!
The following review was written after I first started watching the series, but now that I hear Vanessa is joining the show, I'm having more faith! The series is still way too far from the book series, but it's getting much more enjoyable as I accept that. So, as bad as the following review is, I now think it may go in a direction I won't hate so much. Here's that bad review....I must say, Gossip Girl was one of my biggest anticipated shows of the new fall season. I've been keeping up with the series for several years now and when I first heard it was becoming a series, I got very excited. As the premiere slowly approached, I already got a little skeptical because the characters didn't seem to be quite the same. Mostly that of Dan, who in the book, at the beginning of the series,was a long haired, chain smoking, poet. In the show he comes off as just another pretty boy trying to get the girl. (Which, even though he also lusted after Serena in the book, it wasn't quite at the level they seem to want to go in the pilot episode.) Also, I'm not sure where they are trying to take the series, but if Vanessa, a major character in the book, has been taken out of the show, it'll miss a very important element and take the series in a totally different direction than the books, which defeats any reason why I looked forward to this series in the first place. The pilot played like it was made for those with ADD, so much was blown through in the opening that I thought that maybe I've missed an episode. It seems to assume that all the viewers are readers, who don't need introductions to these characters, which is sad, cause all of those who don't read them will quickly stop caring and turn the channel, which is something I also thought about doing. You know you love me? Not quite, but I am looking forward to the next Gossip Girl novel.

Basic Instinct 2
(2006)

It'll be hated and discarded by many,but some should take a closer look
This is the movie, the one I can see being trashed by critics and completely avoided by moviegoers, and talked about later by many how horrible it was, most of which will come from those who haven't even seen the film at all. Basic Instinct 2 isn't for everyone, I'll admit that. If you disliked the original, this certainly isn't for you. I, however, really enjoyed the original, and the sequel also worked for me, and I'll tell you why. BI2 isn't a masterpiece by any means, there are some problems with the plot, and if it's nudity you want, go elsewhere, there was a lot more nudity in January's Hostel. BI2 worked for me, and deserved my high score for one reason, Catherine Tramell. In my opinion Catherine is one of the best characters out there, and Sharon plays her so well, I often wonder if she doesn't have a bit of Catherine in her, herself. My biggest comparison to her would be that of the also addicting Hannibal Lecter, cause besides the eating people part, both Hannibal and Catherine are manipulative clever geniuses, you never know exactly where the truth lies, yet they are both so likable, you can't help rooting for the bad guy. Now, I'm not going to go into details on the plot, cause you get that in so many other reviews, but the point I'm making is Catherine Tramell makes BI2 a very fun experience, one that makes me hope she'll return again someday, maybe in another 14 years.

Zoey 101
(2005)

Zoey 101 Hits Puberty
I can honestly admit that I really enjoyed season one of Zoey 101, I can also admit that the reason I gave the show a chance was because I've been a huge fan of Britney Spears for years, and trying out her little sister's series seemed like a fine idea. I absolutely love the charm and cheesiness of season one, with a cast of very likable characters and a very "Lizzie like" bushy haired sorta dorky kid who tries his hardest to get Zoey to notice him as more of a friend. After season one's end, I really looked forward to season 2, which just premiered, although after watching the first episode, I noticed something was different, the cast went from kids to teenagers, of course it may seem silly that I said that cause all kids grow up, but it really changes the whole mood, where even the bushy haired kid isn't as dorky anymore. I still love it, and I won't stop, despite all the criticism it gets, but I have a feeling season 2 will bring along with it a completely different energy.

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