I'm not gonna lie to you all and say I know the source material comics of Ghost Rider all that well - yeah, I own one, but its not exactly a starter or anything like that. I have seen the first movie, which like most superhero flicks was an origin take and I thought was relatively decent (if not very goofy). I mean, for a guy that's power literally came from a pact with the devil that causes him to turn into a flaming leather-clad skeleton biker at night in the presence of evil and kill them with their own sins , it seemed maybe a little out of place (all that humor). I tell you what, the Rider at the start of this movie? Holy cow, that escalated quickly!
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The 80's are home to some of the most entertaining movies ever made. You can try to prove me wrong here, but if those movies weren't as good as I claim, why does the current generation of filmmakers find the incessant urge to "remake" said films? A glorious time when action movies were filled with cheesy one liners, explosions, and macho men and yet still friendly enough that the entire family could tune in and watch. I've been told numerous times by Netflix that I should take the time to watch this, and upon urging of my reviewing compatriot TPB, I finally got off my duff and watched it - and since I watched it I figured I'd drop off a review, because I'm nice like that.
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The third installment of the Men in Black series, this one adds in the complex theory of time travel. The aliens, the agents, the adventure and world-saving all return, but the humor feels less frequent than the first two movies - even if most of the second movie's jokes where crude puns if anything (ballchinian?). Does the tag team duo of Agent K and J suit up for another thrilling film, or is this one more ho-hum than the last?
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Usually, you watch a movie based off of a simple premise that draws you in, and normally for most people that would be a genre that matches their mood. When this film originally hit theaters, I was pretty stoked because it had been a while since I had seen a good kung fu flick and this looked like it should be a pretty good kung fu flick. I never got around to watching it in theaters, however, as almost every reliable movie-opinion friend I had that happened to have seen it elaborated to me that quite frankly it wasn't very good. Well, to quote the Dude , "That's like, your opinion man." You came here to find out my opinion though, and by the pillars of Kung Fu you are gonna get it!
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Coming in by form of request is Tarantino's classic Pulp Fiction. It's a flick that's definitely not for the kids (as is any Tarantino film) and just bustling with snazzy quotables and violence. Even beyond that, we have a large cast of characters, many of which are well known actors involved, delivering wonderful performances.
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If you have ever been a fan of the original Three Stooges, this modern take on them is about the best you could ask for. While keeping in the spirit of the olden slapstick eye-poking, head-whacking, foot stomping shenanigans of the originals with probably a few moments of "the modern cinema" slipping in there as well, it easily entertains throughout. Being a comedy, it's generally watchable by the entire family as well, with the exception of a lion being hit in the no-nos by a peanut (still, nothing exceptionally detailed) that shouldn't be much of an issue.
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Discovers a lush planet? I sure as heck hope you aren't talking about plant life description, because I think you could find more plant life in the middle of a crowded city! Aside from a description that is slightly misleading as to the color palette you will be feasting your eyes upon for the entirety of the movie, this little guy received very little box-office presence, but was it rightfully lost in a crowd of movies or just another casualty of a nit-picky audience that refuses to enjoy something made for entertainment? You may not have some cute space-dog to guide you like the wind, but stay with me and find out.
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I am pretty sure that everyone knows who Mr. Bean is, but if you aren't familiar with him then it would be lost on you if I compared him to Mr. Magoo, as that's even older than Bean. As I was in a rather lighthearted mood and I did promise I would do something not scary for a change, I dug this one out of the seas of videos and thought we could all use a good movie to watch, and silly comedies is one of the fine line of movies that everyone can enjoy without anyone being left out of all the jokes (whereas some movies like Shrek contain jokes for the parents in a way that goes over the young ones heads). Without further ado, holiday to stage center.
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I know, I know, "Another horror movie? I hate horror movies!" Well, this is the last one for a while okay? I promise. Granted, it's not like you all are particularly making any outcries about it. I guess it's fitting at least that the last horror movie I do in a while is a proper 'scary movie' then. Last time, we had a brief chat about how horror is so diverse - well, to classify this one, we are gonna call it a ghost story. When I say ghost story, I don't mean it is entirely to do with ghosts, but more that it feels like the kind of story that you would tell around a campfire to scare the pants off of your fellow campers. You know what though? It would do a pretty good job of it!
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Horror in its own right comes in many forms, and is something that could be debated widely and hotly across countless hours of time. Let us suffice it to say that this movie focuses more on the areas of a psychological horror - one that makes you think and involves much mystery and atmosphere - than it does in other forms of horror. The tagline "Fear is a Place" aptly describes what they aimed for with their form of scare-induction, and now that you are aware of that, let us proceed into the mundane form of me elaborating to you my experiences with Session 9 .
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There has been many a Red Dawn movie made since movies started hitting the screens - but when the original first hit the screens it created something more than an underdog story. I should correct myself here I suppose, as it was nothing really all that new as far as movie history goes, but it somehow managed to evoke a whole new sense of feelings from it's audience when suddenly the cold war came down on us hard, and the world rested on the hands of a few teens and their determination. Enough about that movie though, this is a remake and all, but I feel we need to look at it on its own before we cast any judgments!
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There's one type of movie that over the years has slowly turned into a different breed from itself, and that's the horror genre. What used to be more psychological or general trickery of the mind to imply horror slowly turned into "whore"er movies where there happens to be more T'n'A then there is actual credible scares (such as most slasher flicks). Of all the monsters out there in the cryptozoological department, the vampire has been far hit the hardest by the modern-day glam machine, going from a tragic blood thirsty creature to a sparkling pretty-boy elven equivalent in the dead-man market, and so it's not surprising that when I want to watch a vampire flick I draw from an older stash.
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I was a bit worried about this movie way back when I heard they were making a sequel to the pretty successful Taken , as I didn't see how they could go about making a new addition to the line without it feeling like a cop-out to try and earn more money. Well, they managed to make a mix bag here, and the end result is still an enjoyable movie. Of course, I'm sure many a person will flock to any movie with Liam Neeson, the guy is crazy good at what he does after all!
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A surprisingly deep movie that's labeled as a comedy that involves dog-napping and mobsters? Martin McDonagh could have one of the only real comedies that thrill your brain with more than stupid humor that I have seen in years now, and it's appreciated on every front and only emphasized by the pure amount of fun that surrounds the characters.
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Ever wonder where calling out points for pedestrians came from? Surely most of us as young little punks who didn't know any better at one point or another blurted something stupid like "Oh, that one's worth 20 points!" without ever realizing that what we were doing was actually a movie reference. Ah, yes, but in Paul Bartel's Death Race 2000, it's not just a stupid kid thing to say, its an actual totally legit scoring method, where women's rights activists will be glad to know that they are always worth 10 points more . The real question is, how does this little cult classic feel when watched almost 40 years later by someone who just happened to have seen remakes or never heard of it at all? Keep reading, or listening, and let me fill you in.
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In 2004, Paul W.S. Anderson took the proverbial peanut butter and jelly of two sci fi series with long running comics, novels, and even previous incredible movies and gave us a rather mediocre sandwich for our dinning pleasure. Although it wasn't by any means a terrible meal, it left a bit of a peculiar aftertaste in the mouth, one that many would call the salty flavorings of the tears of franchise lovers. We have already been over my opinions of that back here, but the more important topic is that of the sequel soon to be discussed. Is it possible that the Brothers Strause threw off the shackles of bland mediocrity as they did with the PG-13 rating, or did they feebly try and salvage what was left of a situation too scarred by its plainness to make a difference?
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Willow is one of these grandiose movies, the original "Lord of the Rings" spirit of movies (albeit one told in much less time) with plenty of heart, adventure, and daring. Clocking in at 126 minutes (roughly two hours), it weaves a wonderful tale full of interesting characters, diverse locations, and magic. Stay with me, and let me take you on an adventure through the movie that is Willow!
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Since times long forgotten, things have been better when combined - peanut butter and jelly, ham and turkey, sunny days and beaches - and movies, comics, and games have even been known to launch titles that crossover between them. Sometimes, we find out that even when we add two great things together, they come out less spectacular then we originally thought. Alien vs Predator has been around for quite some time (since 1989) and has notably done quite well in many of its comic, video game, and novel forms when Paul W.S. Anderson got the idea that it should in fact be time to combine these two great things (now having spanned to successful series of movies singularly) into one wonderful sandwich of awesome.
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