Archive for the 'Movie Reviews' Category
May 18th, 2012 by David Freedman
An evil Witch turns Barnabas Collins into a vampire and buries him. But after 200 years, he is freed only to find his descendants and estate in ruins. Confronted by the witch who cursed him, Barnabas must fight for his family and his new love. This dark and somewhat campy comedy stars Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Eva Green. and was directed by Tim Burton. Written by Seth Grahame-Smith and John August and produced by Christi Dembrowski, Johnny Depp, Graham King, Richard Zanuck and David Kennedy. Continue reading ‘Dark Shadows – Just Seen It Movie Review’
May 18th, 2012 by David Freedman
Five couples are planning for the arrival of their first child. Whether pregnant or adopting, they all find the journey to parenthood a difficult one. But as the magical day arrives, they rejoice in the miracle of new life. This ensemble romantic comedy stars Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrison, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Jennifer Lopez and Elizabeth Bank. It is directed by Kirk Jones and written by Shauna Cross and Heather Hach. The producers are Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer and David Thwaites. Continue reading ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting – Just Seen It Movie Review’
May 18th, 2012 by Brian White
When I first heard they were making a live adaptation of the infamous Parker Bros. (now owned by Hasbro since 1991) game, Battleship, I thought oh my, what a huge naval epic it could be. The possibilities were endless, in my opinion. A grand scale naval adventure hasn’t seen success on the silver screen in many years now. So bring it on! But wait! Two things instantly ruined my anticipation of this onscreen adaptation. First there was the inclusion of Rihanna. Really? Come on! Why not include Brittany Spears and maybe even someone old school like Tiffany too? And then…there was this reveal of the film’s plot…ALIENS! Really?! I don’t exactly remember saying watch out for that alien ship when I sunk my dad’s battleship on A5. I only have one word to describe my feelings about all this…W-H-A-T-E-V-E-R. Continue reading ‘Battleship (Movie Review): Iron Man Meets John Carter in the Navy’
May 18th, 2012 by Jami Ferguson
When you see theaters advertising a Thursday midnight showing, you know the studios think they have a blockbuster on their hands. The latest summer blockbuster–to-be is Battleship. Being a Hasbro film, it made me a little nervous about it since I generally don’t like movies made (in part) by toy companies like G.I. Joe – The Rise of Cobra . Not having played with G.I. Joe dolls as a child I wondered if I was missing a certain nostalgia that would have increased my enjoyment of the film. To be fair, I did like the first Transformers movie but the other two lost my interest. Thinking of other board games that became movies, I did love the movie of Clue when it came out, although almost any murder mystery in a big house, is basically a game of Clue. Speaking of board games, I did play Battleship and I wasn’t sure how they were going to approach this movie since the game has two people sitting on opposite sides of a plastic game board putting pegs in sunken ships which doesn’t really sound like a great movie plot. I figured two warring nations would be engrossed in naval warfare, but that might get a little old. Battleship chose to go a different route and instead it’s everyone (multiple nations) battling alien invaders.
Continue reading ‘Battleship – A Hit and a Miss! (Movie Review)’
May 18th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
The trickiest thing about writing a review for Battleship, the film based on the popular board game, which now pits Tim Riggins of Mars against a fleet of aliens that challenge the Navy to deadly war games…or something, is capturing why I did not really care for the film as much as I did other, similar films. It is a loud, $200 million, alien invasion flick, with lots of stuff that goes boom throughout its 2-hour runtime. It is perfectly suitable for the summertime, yet I did not have that much fun as I would have liked with it. Having recently seen New York get toppled (The Avengers), Chicago get blasted (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), and Los Angeles become a blown out war zone (Battle: LA), I think I am just a little tired of this. Battleship does not attempt to do anything new with this kind of film and aside from having a higher appreciation for the military, director Peter Berg does little to make this film really stand ahead of Michael “Boom Boom” Bay’s alien robot adventures. Battleship is less a terrible film and more a film that seems to be hitting me at a point where its type fatigues me. Continue reading ‘‘Battleship’: The Most Explosive Board Game Of The Year’
May 17th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
I am really looking forward to seeing Sacha Baron Cohen tackle more serious and dramatic work. I saw a hint of it in Hugo and, as is generally the case, comedic actors seem work just as well in a dramatic environment. I start out this way because I like Sacha Baron Cohen in general, but the movies that involve him trying being as offensive as possible do little for me. I chuckle at them, sometimes I laugh much harder, but when they finish, I am fine enough with what I saw and have no real desire to watch the film again. I have seen Borat once; I have seen Bruno once; and now I have seen The Dictator, but I do not really have any real lingering thoughts about any of these films that make me want to reflect on these crazy characters that Cohen has played (with vigorous and committed enthusiasm). Chances are people will generally enjoy this movie more than Bruno, but I am basically indifferent. Continue reading ‘‘The Dictator’ Seizes Comedy, Whether You Like It Or Not’
May 17th, 2012 by Gregg Senko
Most people I know are only familiar with Sacha Baron Cohen’s work on the Borat and Bruno level. My first exposure to him was 11 years ago in a boring Biloxi, Mississippi apartment with time to kill. There it was. The Ali G Show. Cohen displayed comedic brilliance in the role of the suburban Brit gangsta-wannabe, which of course also included Kazakhi tourist Borat and gay Austrian fashion journalist, Bruno. Fast forward those 11 years and here we are with Cohen’s latest incarnation as Admiral General Aladeen. My, how the mighty have fallen.
Continue reading ‘‘The Dictator’ Commands Few Laughs’
May 16th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
I have seen and heard a lot of Bobcat Goldthwait lately, as he has been promoting his newest film, God Bless America. Having retired from stand-up comedy nearly a decade ago, with his eyes set on being a filmmaker, he’s since made some interesting (and quite good) dark comedies; including Sleeping Dogs Lie and World’s Greatest Dad (Robin Williams is great in that movie). I like Bobcat Goldthwait. Listening to him now, he is very honest, funny, and brash in a good sort of way. It is unfortunate that God Bless America is not a better film. It certainly has a lot on its mind in regards to the state of America’s fascination with reality television, among other things, but the film does not come together as strongly as it could. There are enough good bits in it overall to make it something worth checking out for a person that wants to enjoy a decent dark comedy/satire, it just could have been more. Continue reading ‘‘God Bless America’: A Road Trip/Killing Spree Comedy’
May 15th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Dark Shadows is a movie that has everything it needs to be a lot of fun, but ends up being too hit or miss to fully succeed in the end. The film has a great cast, some very impressive production values (fitting for a Tim Burton film), and an initial setup for a story that could have lead to some interesting places. The setup is strong, yes, but the film ends up being too messy in regards to handling all of its many subplots and characters. This would not be all too bad a thing if the film was at least constantly entertaining, but unfortunately, there are also various problems with how well established the characters are and how well the comedy works. Johnny Depp certainly tries hard, but the film is too messy and unfocused to really amount to much more than a forgettable, gothic jaunt. Continue reading ‘Dark Shadows Linger With Mixed Results’
May 14th, 2012 by David Freedman
Batman is now a criminal after taking the blame for Harvey Dent’s murders. But he discovers that a new villain is planning to destroy Gotham City. Together with both allies new and old, he fights against murderous Bane. This final movie in the trilogy stars Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman and is once again directed by Christopher Nolan. Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan wrote the screenplay and produced it along with Charles Roven and Emma Thomas. Continue reading ‘The Dark Knight Rises – Just Seen It Preview Review’
May 12th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Remember what happened to action movies after Die Hard came out? A lot of action films were made that basically amounted to things like “It’s Die Hard on a boat” or “It’s Die Hard on a train” to varied levels of success, but one thing was for sure, Die Hard changed how a lot of people and studios wanted to make action films. That has somewhat subsided in favor of other types of action cinema, ranging from the slow-mo escapades of John Woo-like films to the bombastic extravaganzas of Michael Bay features, or the shakiness inspired by Paul Greengrass’s work on the Bourne series. Sleepless Night is a French thriller that feels like a call back to the Die Hard days, placing an ordinary man in incredibly tense, violent, and stressful situations within a nightclub. It is well made from an impressively complex level rather than a stylish one and features action bits that feel very natural. Some minor plot flaws aside, the film is solid.
Continue reading ‘‘Sleepless Night’ Rests For No One’
May 11th, 2012 by David Freedman
General Aladeen, ruthless dictator of Wadiya, travels to NY to speak at the UN. But after he escapes a kidnapping attempt, no one in the Big Apple believes who he really is. So he risks his life to ensure that democracy never comes to the country he so lovingly oppresses. This comedy stars Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley and John C. Reilly. Its directed by Larry Charles and written by Sacha Baron Cohen and Alec Berg. Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg, Scott Rudin and Jeff Schaffer produced this broad comedy. Check out all our reviews at www.justseenit.com Continue reading ‘The Dictator – Just Seen It Movie Review’
May 11th, 2012 by Sean Ferguson
Director Tim Burton brings the cult classic series “Dark Shadows” to the big screen in a film featuring an all-star cast, led by Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter. In the year 1750, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from England to start a new life in America, where they build a fishing empire in the coastal Maine town that comes to carry their name: Collinsport. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of falling in love with a beauty named Josette DuPres (Bella Heathcote) and breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death—turning him into a vampire, and then burying him…alive. Continue reading ‘Dark Shadows – A Comedy With Bite’
May 10th, 2012 by David Freedman
Mallory is a freelance, covert operative and very good at what she does. But when a mission goes seriously wrong and her partner tries to kill her, Mallory must run for her life. Discovering that she was used as a pawn, Mallory hunts down her betrayer in Haywire. The action, spy thriller is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas and Michael Fassbender. Sound interesting? Well then check out our Just Seen It movie review below. Continue reading ‘Haywire – Just Seen It Movie Review’
May 10th, 2012 by Mary Welms
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are back together again for their 8th collaboration, a reinterpretation of Dark Shadows, a very popular soap opera that aired from 1966 – 1971. I think it goes without saying that I have been very excited ever since I heard Burton and Depp were working on this project together. As a child I would watch the soap opera wishing that I would grow up to be a vampire. Now Burton and Depp have brought back a cult classic for the younger generation to enjoy, but with a different twist on it. Being a fan of the original series I have to admit I wasn’t too sure how I would like the humor in it, but once again the dynamic duo did not disappoint me. I know I have said this before but one of the greatest enjoyments I get out of Johnny Depp’s acting is his facial expressions. I love that he puts his heart and soul into each character he becomes. You will find Barnabas drawing you in, sinking his fangs into your neck and holding you there. In my opinion, Johnny owned this movie. He took command of every scene he was in. He’s not only very captivating as a vampire, but he has also renewed my dream of becoming a vampire when I grow up. Continue reading ‘My I’m In Love With Johnny Depp ‘Dark Shadows’ Movie Review’
May 5th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Wrapping up my work at 2012’s Newport Beach Film Festival, the last film I was able to attend was the romantic-themed comedy-drama, Save the Date. Having just watched Lola Versus the previous night, I felt like I found myself more or less in familiar territory, except that Lola Versus took place amongst a hip bunch of New Yorkers, whereas Save the Date revolves around some of the exploits of a hip bunch of Los Angelinos. It is another independent film that deals with a woman coming out of one relationship and finding her way into another, despite the fact that everyone still hangs around with each other, occasionally. I can’t hold the film back for timing on my part, though I can be put off by the drastic tonal changes that take hold over the course of the film. I appreciated the performances, as it starred people I liked seeing, but a lot of the warmth this film has is brought down by the required drama of a film of this type. Regardless, it is the kind of film that I generally like when it comes to this familiar story and the film had enough in it for me to enjoy it overall. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Save The Date’
May 5th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
I kicked off the last night of the Newport Beach Film Festival with a really offbeat piece of work. Doppelganger Paul (Or a Film about How Much I Hate Myself), to borrow a descriptor from one of my favorite NBFF programmers, is a sardonic, strange, occasionally humorous, and fairly introspective film that plays like an alternative type of buddy movie. It revolves around events that bring two very different people together in an effort to confront some of the issues they have and share, given that they would appear to despise themselves. Very much fitting the bill of an independent feature, it is the way the film’s moody sense of humor carries over with the players involved, which makes this somewhat slow film worthy of an open-minded viewing. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Doppelganger Paul (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself)’
May 5th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
To go a completely different direction from Detention of the Dead, the first film I saw at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Wednesday night, May 2, 2012, the follow up screening was an offbeat romantic comedy, starring an actress who is currently a fixture of independent and art house features, Greta Gerwig. Lola Versus may play out in its own sort of way, but it very much follows a lot of the same patterns that these types of films tend to have. That does not make it bad, as I liked a lot of the film, save for some issues I had with the third act. Despite the disastrous nature of some of the romantic follies Gerwig’s character becomes involved with, the film had enough going for it to make it work for me. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Lola Versus’
May 4th, 2012 by Sean Ferguson
After seeing The Avengers twice, it seems like the entire concept of combining the Iron Man, Thor, and the Captain America franchises along with all of their supporting characters into one massive movie seems like a kick-ass idea with no chance of failure. But back in the late nineties that concept represented some pretty audacious thinking considering that Marvel had up to that point only licensed their characters such as Spiderman, Daredevil, Punisher, and the Fantastic Four to other studios with mixed results. While I’m sure that they regret that decision now, it was a necessary one for them to raise the capital to make their own movies which they did starting with Iron Man to great success. The first Iron Man movie showed that Marvel meant to do business differently with their surprising and yet inspired choices, as they hired Jon Favreau to direct the film and in their most brilliant bit of casting to date, hired Robert Downey Jr. to play Tony Stark/Iron Man. That tradition continued through hiring Kenneth Branagh to direct Thor and Joe Johnston for Captain America. Marvel continued to surprise fans by casting Chris Evans as Captain America even though he was already playing another Marvel hero – Johnny Storm. All of those unpredictable and brilliant choices have led up to The Avengers, which represents the biggest roll of the dice for Marvel and yet it’s also the one most guaranteed to succeed. Can all of these disparate universes and characters fuse together to become the biggest superhero movie of all time? Two words…Hell yes!!! Continue reading ‘The Avengers – The Sum Is Greater Than The Parts’
May 4th, 2012 by Jami Ferguson
As a non-comic book reader, my history and knowledge about The Avengers and its characters isn’t that great and often consists of only one viewing of each of their individual movies. On the way to the theater my husband was quizzing me about the other movies so he could make sure I understood what had happened before so I would understand what was going on in The Avengers. My recollection was hit and miss as I really liked Iron Man, but didn’t really recall much of Iron Man 2 at all. As he explained the plot of Captain America I wondered if I fell asleep at the end since the only thing I could really remember about the movie was his suit and that Chris Evans is a very cute guy. I never cared much for The Hulk movies but I did enjoy Thor. The more my husband talked about the history of these characters, the more I thought that I don’t care who did what and when since I just wanted to be entertained for two hours. Continue reading ‘The Avengers (Movie Review)’
