Movies Archives - Page 3 of 31

The Goonies Review

January 23, 2014 By AS Andrew

I highly doubt that there is a movie I’ve watched as many times as The Goonies. If anything, Back to the Future is a close second, but I seem to recall a time in my early life when I watched The Goonies with my friend on a daily basis. I’m not joking.

To this day, if I had the night off, and I happened to be flipping through the channels on the TV (that rarely happens; really) and I noticed that The Goonies was on, I would probably watch it again.

It has often been said that familiarity breeds contempt, and while that might be true in some cases, familiarity might also allow one the opportunity to continue to discover new and different things they didn’t notice before. Unmistakably, that is the case with a film like The Goonies.

Don’t get me wrong; if I was shoved in a padded room with an old TV that only played The Goonies over and over and over, I would probably start to hate it. And then like it again. And then hate it. And then recite every line from the movie. Anyway, that’s mostly a pointless discussion, because the chances of that happening are slim to none.

One of the reasons it seems to stay fresh is because it’s one of those movies that has a variety of different TV edits. For example, you might hear Chunk (Jeff Cohen) mention a giant octopus towards the end of the movie (at least I think it was Chunk… It might have been Mouth). Well, in case you didn’t know, there was a scene with the giant octopus by the pirate ship. It just got deleted. I must say, I rather prefer the movie without it; they made a smart move there.

However, I’m pretty sure there was one time I watched the movie on TV and all they left all the deleted scenes in. That was pretty cool.

What is it about The Goonies that related so well to kids in the 80s and 90s? For one thing, I think it was the characters. Each kid was a little different, but not in the way that archetypes and stereotypes are exaggerated today; much subtler and more realistic. That isn’t to say that there aren’t a few outrageous characters; Chunk, Data and Sloth in particular.

Another thing that really stood out was the adventure itself. Kids don’t really hang out the way we used to; and they’re definitely missing out. Even in this day and age, the movie as a whole holds up pretty well. The pacing is a little more relaxed, but you don’t feel cheated for it.

I also have to admit that the Cyndi Lauper song is quite good. Say what you will about her weirdness, “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” is still a ridiculously good theme song for the film.

Anyway, this is just a giant love fest for the movie. If you’re wondering if you should watch it, it’s worth experiencing at least once. They have tried to replicate the charm of this movie with pictures like Super 8, but it’s nowhere near as good.

AS Rating: (9 / 10)

This Means War Review

January 22, 2014 By AS Andrew

More Reese Witherspoon.

Is this a movie a single thirty-something should even admit to watching?

Well, you know me. I often go out of my way just to find bad movies. This Means War being a more recent mainstream title, I knew that it probably wouldn’t be a bad movie. Not to make excuses, but I think I just picked it because it was on Netflix and nothing else piqued my interest.

But hey, it’s got Reese Witherspoon. She’s pretty cute, right? And then we have Chris Pine who played Kirk in Star Trek. He’s hardcore! And then there’s Tom Hardy who played Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. Badass!

No? Yeah, I guess you’re right. This is kind of… shall we say… fruity (please don’t take offence; I’m only poking fun at myself).

So, okay, it’s basically a romantic comedy with a bit of action. It seems to be trying to please both sexes at once. Well, maybe not. Appease would probably be a better word.

This Means War reminds me of movies like Mr. & Mrs. Smith or The Tourist, though there are some differences (I’ll get to that in a second). It’s kind of a genre unto itself (or just a subset of a genre), and, I think it’s sort of doomed to perpetuate a ‘mediocre to pretty decent’ status for the rest of its existence.

Think about it. This brand of movie is always built around the sexual tension of the protagonists. It won’t ever be a mind-blowing Sci-Fi adventure like The Matrix; there isn’t enough room for that kind of depth. It will never be as funny as a movie like Happy Gilmore; the upper limit to comedy found in sexual tension is foreseeable. It will never be quite as fun as a film like Back to the Future; too many plot devices muddles up the romance.

I think you get the picture. For This Means War, its 6.4 rating on IMDb might be justified. It’s definitely not the worst you’ve ever seen, even if you haven’t gone to the lengths I have to find and screen bad movies. However, it’s altogether forgettable. Look, I watched it not that long ago and I’m already forgetting (oops).

If there’s anything unique about this picture, what This Means War did was turn the typical my-husband-is-a-spy or my-wife-is-a-spy or oh-my-god-we’re-both-spies plot into a two-spies-vying-for-one-woman story. Not much of a spin if you ask me, but after all that’s what spun content means.

So, basically, you get what you pay for. One beautiful woman, two handsome men. A little bit of character development (whoa, hold on there; doesn’t character development involve change?), a few ha-ha laughs (actually it was decently funny as I remember it), and a little bit of romance… kind of.

As a side bar, I really liked FDR Foster’s (played by Chris Pine) bachelor pad. Wow. I think I’m going to add that to my dream board.

Anyway, in short, this movie is not bad. It’s hard to get too excited about it, but if you like the genre, and you like some of the players, there’s nothing stopping you from checking it out.

AS Rating: (4.5 / 10)

Election Review

January 21, 2014 By AS Andrew

Success is overrated, dude.

It’s because of movies like these that you can really appreciate the acting talent of Reese Witherspoon. Not saying anything irreverent about Legally Blonde or This Means War, but here’s a gal that’s capable of ditzy and fun, smart and ambitious, elitist and obnoxious… I had her pegged as an annoying little snot at first. God knows why. She definitely has a broader range than actresses like Jennifer Aniston or Julia Roberts, though that’s not saying much. She’s much better than that.

She hasn’t really made any quantum leaps like Leonard DiCaprio in her career (we had so little hope for you when we first saw Titanic, Leo), but that’s really just because her acting chops have always been good. If you don’t believe me, check out Election from 1999. Watch as the young Witherspoon outshines and outplays Matthew Broderick, Chris Klein, and pretty much the whole cast.

The movie is about a high school student election. Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) sets out to sabotage the otherwise unopposed Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), and even sets popular varsity football player Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) against her. McAllister clearly resents Track Flick, or rather what she represents; hardworking people that achieve levels of success he doesn’t aspire to. He may have the capacity, but he doesn’t want to do anything about it.

There are both things to like and dislike about this movie. First, what’s to like. The storyline is pretty deep, it explores the darker, lazier side of being human, and the acting is pretty good. Character motivation is subtle instead of being spelled out, like it would be in real life.

What’s not to like: the movie doesn’t really have the most interesting premise. Everybody remembers high school, but student election is something only candidates remember well. The characters aren’t terribly likable. Sure, they’re human, but the film has you questioning absolutely everybody.

In essence, Election is a movie that explores the duplicitous nature of human existence. We may try to look good on the outside, but sometimes we’ll pay any price just to get what we want. We may even compromise our personal integrity.

In that sense, it ends up hitting pretty close to home. Even when we don’t think we have a price, sometimes we do. Even when we don’t think we would ever do anything to sear our conscience, sometimes we do.

At the end of the film, the self-sabotaging McAllister contrasts his life with that of Flick’s. After cheating on his wife, McAllister has to move out of town. Nevertheless, he talks up his newfound miserable existence, even as he observes how successful Flick has become.

I think what the movie is trying to say is that there is a reward for those who work hard to accomplish their goals. However, it’s putting it in a way that doesn’t demean those who choose a simpler life. It’s subtle, but those who are willing to read between the lines will definitely catch it.

AS Rating: (6.5 / 10)

Nostalgia Chick – City of Angels

January 15, 2014 By AS Andrew

Wow, Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan worked together? That sounds… mediocre?

Well here’s another Hollywood adaptation of a thematic cinema masterpiece. Can you guess what it’s about? Think really hard. It’s about sex. Yeah.

So, like pretty much every other Hollywood movie, it doesn’t have much of a point, except to say that love and sex is awesome. In case you didn’t get the message, love and sex is awesome. Oh, and just in case we haven’t beaten you over the head with it yet, love and sex is awesome.

Well hey, love and sex are meant to be good, but the movies tend to glorify it just a bit.

Nostalgia Critic – Sailor Moon

January 14, 2014 By AS Andrew

I’m sorry guys, I couldn’t resist.

This Japanese import may have appeared weird to North American audiences, but believe me when I say it gets much, much weirder. I guess that’s pretty common knowledge now.

Anyway, the creepy part was that there were Otaku guys who collected Sailor Moon merchandise and memorabilia. Good god. I guess you can’t blame them when the Anime babes make you think the wrong thing (see what I did there; I referenced Barenaked Ladies)?

Anyway, the Nostalgia Critic takes a closer look at Sailor Moon in this review. He is a much, much braver soul than I.

This video contains suggestive language. Probably. Viewer discretion is advised.