Slayre's Movie Reviews

9 and 10 yards

2005-05-29T23:41:00.000-07:00

I didn't watch very many movies this last week, and the ones I did watch, i don't recall too much of them.... nothing much to talk about this week..

Still have not seen the new Star Wars movie... plan to this week.. also want to see Jet Li in Unleashed.. and I hear Mother in Law is pretty funny....

I did watch:

American Yakuza -- Viggo Mortenson.. FBI agent infiltrates Japanese mob, befriends on of its top people, falls in love with one of the ladies... everyone ends up dead or near dead.... pretty good movie.....not top notch.., but, I enjoy Viggo.

Whole 9 and 10 yards -- Bruce W. Matthew Perry.. couple hot chicks... 1st one is hilarious... M. Perry, never thought he could be so funny.......second one was not as funny, but there is a bar scene where Matthew and Bruce are talking things out and Bruce ends up getting very emotionally upset and its truly funny.....

Ben Stiller

2005-05-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

Envy -- Thought this movie was pretty good simply due to the perfomance of Christofer Walken... he is always pretty good, this one tho, as 'J Man'.. a classic.. Jack Black sucks in this and Ben Stiller, well, is Ben Stiller....

Quigley Down Under -- oldie but goodie.... Tom Selleck as a cowboy in Australia... up agaisnt Alan Rickman as a bad guy... who btw, is usually only good when he plays a bad guy....

American History X -- not for the sqeemish... a look at how a die hard racist can change his ways and become or at least step upon the path, of a decent human being...

Spanglish -- truly a wonderful film..... Im not a big fan of Adam Sandler work.... most of his stuff annoys me.... which is not a reflection on how I feel about him, I don't even know him.. just think most of his work is in the gag category... but this one... truly a different side of the man... and the rest of the cast if awesome as well.. Tea Leoni, Cloris Leachman is hysterical, recommended.

Not many this week

2005-05-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

A Day without a Mexican -- I found this movie, hilarious... truly funny... Its a mockumentry style film about what might happen, in California, if all the Mexicans disappeared.. I saw it as a humorous way to bring attention to some of humanities faults....Recommended.

Warriors of Heaven and Earth -- Chinese film, not alot of martial arts... mostly sword play... great story tho.. its about a guy, chasing a guy, to kill him, so he can return to the home he as been away from for 25 years... they end up teaming up to defend a caravan agaisnt an evil warlord.... its a pretty good 'Western'. I was impressed... Recommended.

The Karate Kid -- nice feel good movie...

Chronicles of Riddick -- Different than the first.. not bettre and certainly not worse... ( first was Pitch Black ). I thought the story was kinda cheesey and the hot chick dies.. so, I can only give it 3 penguins..

5 movies 1 a redux

2005-05-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

Bride with White Hair - never finished watching it... sent it back

True Romance - if you have never seen this movie.. go out and get it right now... check out this cast.. Christain Slater, Patricia Arquette, Christofer Walken, Val Kilmer, Dennis Hopper, Brad Pitt, Chris Penn ( Sean's brother ), Samuel Jackson, Gary Oldman, James Gandolfini, Michael Rappaport, couple others I don't recall... written by Quentin Tarantino, directed by Tony Scott... its a good movie.. trust me..

Sideways - I like this movie.. I could relate to both of the main characters... I have been each type of person, at some point in my life.... its funny and cute and really takes a good look at depression.. friendships... etc...

Blade Trinity - not the best of three.. prolly second best, as I recall not a bit of the second one, altho, I know I have seen it... heh.. the young girl that plays Whistlers daughter is H O T, hot.... nice fun movie for a rental...

[edit: I caught Blade 2 on tv today... second half of it... perhaps I never did see it, as I did not recall any of it.. could be it is bettre than the third one]

National Treasure - this movie is way fun.. such a terrific ride.... set aside your beliefs and just enjoy the story.... the DVD has a game where you have to break codes to unlock some of the extra extra bonus features.. one which includes a trivia track.. but, I had already seen it twice, normal and with director commentary, so, was not ready for a third viewing.. I'll prolly buy this one...... Nick Cage is generally always alot of fun to watch....

Diego Luna

2005-04-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

Crimminal - Diego Luna and some other people I never heard of.... This is a pretty good movie about con artists conning con artists... I think Diego Luna is gonna go far in the movie business, he is a wonderful young actor.... I recommend any movie he is in... Starting with "Y Tu Mama Tam Bien".

Around the Bend - Excellent story about 4 generations of father/son coming together due to a death... bright, and funny, considering the subject mattre..... the lil boy has his debut and he is great.. stars Christofer Walkin, Michael Caine, couple others.. Glenn Headly is in it too, she is hilarious.... recommended.

Bride with White Hair - I haven't actually finished watching this one yet.. its a movie from Mandarin Films, Chinese Martial arts flick... supposed to be pretty good, but, I got bored really quick... but, could be, I just was very tired... gonna try to finish watching it before I post this....... so far... no big loss if you never see it...

Flight of the Phoenix (1965) - 5 Penguins.. This version, is 10 times bettre then the current version, even with the bettre special effects and the nice acting by Dennis Quaid, it still doesn't hold a candle to the original... some will say the new version is drastically different from the original, but, not really.. I mean... plane crashes, men rebuild a new plane, take off to safety... the stuff inbetween is the story... some characters are different... but, the main thing about the original.. they had to act out the trials and tribulations and demeanors and attitudes of men stranded in the desert with lil water, lil food, WITHOUT any special effects and very lil 'special makeup'. So, you have to appreciate a movie from 1965 that can still pull your emotional strings.....as this one does... James Stewart is such a fine actor and this is one of his bettre roles... To be fair... watching the new one, after knowing about the original, could very well jade ones opinion.... the story is basically the same, but the movies are different....

Primer - Have no idea who the actors are... interesting take on time travel, or time stopping.... was strange, but interesting.. low budget... I liked it... no special effects... no explosions.. no nudity... just an interesting story...

The Reckoning - Wilhem Dafoe, Paul Bettney(sp)((guy from Beautiful Mind, Knight's Tale)) - pretty good movie, set in the 14th century Middle ages, England... a priest has need to flee his village, ends up with a traveling band of actors... they come to a town where a murder has occurred and thru thier play, they can maybe figure out the truth of the matter.... pretty good.. recommended...

New Movies

2005-04-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

Finding Neverland - Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet

I consider this movie an antomy of a story.. the real star of this movie, in my mind, is the play, 'Peter Pan'. You really get a good idea of how a story is born, molded and finally brought to life, all with just an imagination. The entire cast of this movie is remarkable... Truly a wonderful movie... highly recommended.

Elektra - Jennifer Garner

Its ok.. Nothing special.. certainly better than Daredevil, no where near as good as Spiderman.. the effect were good, the fight scenes were mostly mediocre.. with a couple of exceptions... if I were going to rate movies, I would use Penguins, and I would use up to 5, and I would give this one, 2.5 Penguins.

High Roller:The Stu Unger Story - some guy I never heard of

This is really a story that I find hard to believe... the basic facts sure, boy good at cards, wins at Gin Rummy alot, wins at Piker even more, blows it all on horses, dies due to drug abuse.. but all the other stuff, in between, there has got to be some dramatic license abuse here..... one never knows tho... still, it was a good movie... recommended...

Open Range - Kevin Costner, Robert Duval

Good movie. Well done western.... I love the final(only) shootout at the end... for me, it seemed pretty realistic... I have always been offended by cowboys that never reload....this is one of Costners few recent movies where you actually see the character and not the actor...Duval is good no mattre what.. A.Bening is pretty good in this, really seems to understand her characters role.... Diego Luna, rising young star... small role here.. but intregal... recommended

Some more.....

2005-04-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

Secret Window Johnny Depp

Very entertaining mind thriller....type of movie.. like this one a lot...

Under Siege Tommy Lee Jones Steven Segal

Actually saw both Undersiege movies this last week.. both have their moments... both are good.. couple of Mr Segals better movies.. not saying much there tho... watching Mr Jones as the bad guy tho, highly entertaining...

Tears of the Sun Bruce Willis

This movie is about the atrocities happening in Africa, and how one person can make a difference.. Willis is a Navy Seal squad leader type guy, strictly by the book, strictly following orders.. but, after time, years and years, we get to finally see the humanity in this character break free..... doing the right thing when everything you have been taught tells you not to.. very well made movie.. directed by Antoine Fuqoa(sp)

The Assignment Anthony Hopkins Chris Rock

This was a fun lil movie.. Chris Rock was not the right person for the character he played... Hopkins tho, he was dead on... movie is about a cia person who gets killed and Hopkins recruits his twin brother to finish an assignment. Rock plays the brothers....

The Fugitive Tommy Lee Jones Harrison Ford

US Marshalls Tommy Lee Jones Wesley Snipes

Mr Jones as the good guy is just as appealing as him as the bad guy... the first one is better than the second, but, both are very good movies...

Sahara - Steve Zahn Matthew M. Penelope Cruz

A fun movie.. lots of movie spent on TNT, NITRO, C4, or whatever they use to blow stuff up, and a lot of stuff get blowed up.... The acting is sort of, missing, but, still a fun movie for a matinee.... Bit of violence, but no nudity or sexual content... don't recall any scenes that were overly graphic...

Coming Soon

Elektra

Finding Neverland

Stu Unger:HighRoller

Colin Farrell

2005-04-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

A Home at the End of the World -- this movie is about 2 friends coming to terms with terms with their current and past relationships.. sort of a love triangle, and including their past togetherness.... Sissy Spacik(sp), Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn... can't really go wrong with those three....

( Wow This has been a draft it appears, for a week or two )

((Since I just watched another Colin movie, will add that and then post))

The Recruit -- Colin Farrell, Al Pacino

Not a bad movie... boy tech wonder gets recruited by the CIA and ends up turning the table on a CIA agent gone bad... Very Suspenseful.. never know who the bad guy is.

Slow movie week for the Slayre

2005-04-07T05:02:00.000-07:00

Legend -- way back from 1985... some big names in this flick... Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, Billy Barty... directed by Ridley Scott.... its a good movie... must have for your collection... the commentary version is very interesting.. ie, the forest scenes were all shot in a studio.. they built the forest...

I Heart Huckabees - yuck yuck yuck

Forgotten -- I don't remember it being a bad movie.. but I also don't remember how it ended... I guess I have forgotten...

Mr 3000 -- I liked this movie... Bernie Mac is quite good in this somewhat dark comedy.

Final Cut -- stars Robin Williams.. but even his great talent can not help this yuck yuck yuck...

Actually saw those previously.. haven't watched any movies this week.... Might go see Sahara.. if I get bored enuff...

Intro

2005-04-04T05:59:00.000-07:00

I watch alot of movies... I recommend movies to friends, based on what I know of them and how I think they will perceive what they view...... I'm not a critic tho...

The first Batman movie, with Michael Keaton, I thought was 'ok'. Friends couldn't understand why I didn't like it and why I thought it was so bad. Well, I did like it and I thought it much much bettre than 'bad'. But simply saying 'ok', was translated into a negative review... ah well..

Movies I've seen recently, and recommend.... ( or not ) that I recall..

The Terminal - Tom Hanks is wonderful in this...and, it is based on a true story.

Pursued - stars Christain Slayter and Gil Bellows... I enjoyed this very much.. about a corporate headhunter(Slayter) who will go to much extremes to recruit a high tech wizard(Bellows).

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - yuck yuck yuck

Ray - Wonderful wonderful wonderful movie.... a must see....

Wake of Death - movie with Jean Claude van Dam not your normal run of the mil martial arts flick.... not too bad... B movie...

Stander - True story of Andre Stander.. South Africas most notorious bank robber... guy was a cop and robbed banks... movie is slow going in the beginning, picks up speed and finally ends pretty good... almost quit watching it.... Stars Tom Jane.. he played the Punisher and I liked him in that, so.....

Sin City - not too bad.. not a date flick, unless you date is into that sort of thing....don't take the kids..... much too much hype tho..... the real star of this movie is simply how they filmed it.... Elijah Wood as Kevin was a masterful choice...

Con Air - this is not a recent movie.. but, I love it.. have to put it there up with Aliens as my all time favorite.... Nick Cage has some great one liners in this movie... "I'm gonna show you God does exist.." I love that line..... and Steve Buscemi(sp) is in it.. hard to wrong with that guy.

Alien vs Predator - If you have seen Alien and you have seen Predator, then you have seen this movie.... everyone dies except the sexy chick in panties.

Ok, that is enuff for my first entry... am gonna try to make weekly posts with this thing, if I keep it up... and see how it goes...