Menudo's Movie Reviews

[Menudo]

New Moon

 

I generally like vampire movies, so, I thought the 1st Twilight was a solid flick. I didn't get caught up in Twilight-mania like most of those young'ins out there, as I only needed to see it once. I thought New Moon was very good as well, but, a slight step down from the 1st movie. I liked the introduction to the Werewolves, but, the plot wasn't as solid. Entertaining movie, but, not as good as the 1st one.

7.5

[Menudo]

Jennifer's Body

 

Like I said in my last review, I generally like Vampire movies. That, combined with the fact that this movie had Megan Fox AND Amanda Seyfried gave me plenty of reason to give this movie a shot. Those two were indeed fun to watch, and there is a great make-out scene between the two of them. However, this movie was pretty bad. It was trying to be a dark comedy, but, it failed to be scary and failed to be funny. It was still entertaining at times, but, the plot was pretty silly.

5.5

[Menudo]

Extract

 

All they needed to reel me in was to say "made by the guys who brought you Office Space". This wasn't quite up with "Office Space", but, I really enjoyed it. Jason Bateman was perfectly cast in his role, and Ben Affleck & Kristen Wiig were very funny in their supporting roles. Mila Kunis was hotter than she has ever been in this movie. She does a great job as the criminally-inclined, manipulating hottie. Her character was actually one of my biggest problems with the movie, as they never finished her story. I couldn't believe they just left that part hanging in the breeze. In fact, they kind of ended the movie abruptly. It was almost like they had a good, comical story going, but, couldn't think of a solid ending for it. All in all though, this was a very entertaining movie, with a few laugh out loud moments.

7.5

[BeeR]

Big Fat Greek Wedding - eh. Great idea for a movie and some good acting ruined by weak writing. It's like someone came up w/the idea and people went "yeah, great idea!" ..........and then couldn't find anyone to write it. Oh well

[Menudo]

Shutter Island

 

I definitely went into this movie with a lot of high expectations. First, my family was telling me how much I would love this movie. I'm also a big-time Scorsese & DiCaprio fan. "The Departed" is one of my favorite recent movies. This movie was great, but, considering the expectations, I was mildly disappointed. I actually figured out what was going on in the middle of the movie, it was a bit too obvious to me. However, this was definitely an enjoyable movie, with another great performance from DiCaprio, who I believe is the best young actor in Hollywood.

8.5

Edited November 16, 2010 by Menudo

[Menudo]

Avatar

 

One of the most hyped movies in recent years. I felt that it completely lived up to that hype. First, it was one of the most visually stunning films that I've ever seen. All of the scenes in Pandora were remarkable. I also felt like the story was great, and the movie, though 3 hours long, seemed to play very quickly. Good performances by the actors, a great plot, and stunning visual effects equals a phenomenal movie.

10.0

[cliaz]

Avatar

 

One of the most hyped movies in recent years. I felt that it completely lived up to that hype. First, it was one of the most visually stunning films that I've ever seen. All of the scenes in Pandora were remarkable. I also felt like the story was great, and the movie, though 3 hours long, seemed to play very quickly. Good performances by the actors, a great plot, and stunning visual effects equals a phenomenal movie.

10.0

 

This is definitely a movie to see in the theater. I am a hugh JC fan and no matter what he makes I go see it in the theater (Minus Titanic. The wh0re that was to go with me I busted banging our seafood manager at the time so I waiting until it came out for rental). For me there are two movies tied as his best work: The Abyss and Avatar. I cannot choose which is better as both are very strong with cutting edge special effects (for the time the movie was made).

 

There are some points with Avatar that don't sit right with me.

 

1. How do the Avatar controllers link up with their Avatars? We know they go in to some machine that looks like a CT scanner but how does the Avatar receive the signals from a person's nervous system?

 

2. If the mineral they are mining produces the floating property like we see on the head dudes desk, why go through all the trouble of moving the tribe out of their tree. Why not go to the floating mountains and mine them?

 

2.1 I believe they misrepresented the mineral on the head dudes desk. I think it was on some type of device that allowed it to float - sort of like a new age trophy case so to speak. That being the case, ignore item 2.

 

3. If Jake was so critical for the Avatar program, why wouldn't they not fix his legs to begin with?

[Chavez]

Avatar

 

One of the most hyped movies in recent years. I felt that it completely lived up to that hype. First, it was one of the most visually stunning films that I've ever seen. All of the scenes in Pandora were remarkable. I also felt like the story was great, and the movie, though 3 hours long, seemed to play very quickly. Good performances by the actors, a great plot, and stunning visual effects equals a phenomenal movie.

10.0

 

That was my problem. If you were going to spend (reportedly) $1 billion on the movie, you probably want to allocate more than $500 for the script. It was basically Dances with Big Blue Cats. Some of the deaths were mildly surprising, but you could see every plot turn coming from a mile away.

[cliaz]

That was my problem. If you were going to spend (reportedly) $1 billion on the movie, you probably want to allocate more than $500 for the script. It was basically Dances with Big Blue Cats. Some of the deaths were mildly surprising, but you could see every plot turn coming from a mile away.

 

If you are reader or appreciate literature you've probably heard the phrase "There are only 3 possible stories" and all stories we read or see today are nothing more than variations. Yes i agree with you, it is very obvious it was Dances with wolves but dances with wolves was a good story. I enjoyed the movie very much even knowing this.

 

My only concern will be the sequels (he is planning to make this a trilogy). Hopefully we will get an 'Aliens' sequel instead of a Alien 3.

[Menudo]

The Runaways

 

This was a solid movie, not great, but, solid. The music was great. The acting was solid by most, but, what made this a good movie was the performance by Dakota Fanning. This is a rare case of a child actress who is going to develop into a great adult actress. I was very impressed were her in this role. The guy who played the manager also did a good job. We've seen the same story done several times, so, there weren't really any surprises.

Thrust into stardom, turn to drugs, let it slip away...it is a common tale.

Overall though, it was an entertaining movie with Fanning's performance and the music standing out. A good movie, but, I doubt I'll watch it again.

7.0

[tazinib1]

I cant wait until you review True Grit.

[Menudo]

I cant wait until you review True Grit.

 

The old one or the new one.

[Menudo]

Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian

 

I was pleasantly surprised by the first "Night At The Museum", however, as is often the case in sequels, this one wasn't nearly as good. It wasn't a bad movie, and I wasn't bored through it, but, I also don't think I really laughed at all. Also, repeating the cool idea from the first one gets stale. If a third one is made, I will probably pass on seeing it, as, it will probably continue the downward spiral.

6.5

Edited January 3, 2011 by Menudo

[Menudo]

Eclipse

 

I've got to admit it, I enjoy these movies. I know they aren't masterpieces that are going to be winning awards any time soon, but, I find them entertaining. I don't quite get where the cult-like status comes from, as they aren't that good. I put this one on the same level as "New Moon". The original was a bit better than the two sequels, but, all where entertaining for me. I typically do like vampire movies, and I think these movies have some pretty cool action scenes. I'm actually looking forward to the last two installments.

7.5

[tonorator]

Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian

 

I was pleasantly surprised by the first "Night At The Museum", however, as is often the case in sequels, this one wasn't nearly as good. It wasn't a bad movie, and I wasn't bored through it, but, I also don't think I really laughed at all. Also, repeating the cool idea from the first one gets stale. If a third one is made, I will probably pass on seeing it, as, it will probably continue the downward spiral.

6.5

 

while probably true for adults, my kids loved this. they quote many lines from it and it's silly enough to be kind of charming. i'd kick it up to a 7.

[Akfatha]

Shutter Island

 

I definitely went into this movie with a lot of high expectations. First, my family was telling me how much I would love this movie. I'm also a big-time Scorsese & DiCaprio fan. "The Departed" is one of my favorite recent movies. This movie was great, but, considering the expectations, I was mildly disappointed. I actually figured out what was going on in the middle of the movie, it was a bit too obvious to me. However, this was definitely an enjoyable movie, with another great performance from DiCaprio, who I believe is the best young actor in Hollywood.

8.5

 

 

If you figured out what was going on in the middle of the movie then you obviously didn't think too hard about the end.

[Menudo]

Whip It

 

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I found it pretty entertaining. It certainly isn't going to win any awards, but, it was an entertaining movie. Ellen Page is showing herself to be a pretty good young actress. I loved her in "Juno" and she was pretty good in this one as well. This was Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, and I think she did a pretty solid job. There is a decent supporting cast helping Page out: Daniel Stern, Marcia Gay-Harden, Barrymore, Kristen Wiig, and Juliette Lewis. I thought the guy playing the coach was funny, and thought that his voice sounded a lot like Luke & Owen Wilson's. I looked him up, and sure enough, he is their older brother. Overall an enjoyable movie, but, nothing mind-blowing.

7.0

 

Up Next: Iron Man 2 (FINALLY!!!)

[Menudo]

Iron Man 2

 

As is usually the case with a sequel, I did not like this one as much as the original. However, standing on it's own, I think this is a very good movie. Robert Downey Jr. is perfect as the narcissistic, witty & clever Tony Stark. He is the biggest reason why these movies work so well. I'm also impressed with the directing work done by Jon Favreu in both of these movies. The best words to describe these movies are fun & cool. I thought that Mickey Rourke was very well cast as the villain. He puts in a solid performance. There are a lot of hot women in movies, but, #1 on my list is Scarlett Johannson. She is ridiculously sexy in this role. Gwyneth Paltrow is a good looking woman, but, standing next to Scarlett, well, there just no comparison. It's often very off-putting when a new actor takes over a role from the original. In this one though, Don Cheadle is such a good actor, that it really didn't bother me too much. The action scenes are great, and the plot is fun. My only real complaint is that I thought the final fight with Rourke's character was too rushed. Other than that, I have no complaints. This was an exciting, entertaining and FUN movie. I'll probably be buying the Blu-Ray to go along with the original.

9.0

[Seahawks21]

I know that I've been beating this drum annoyingly hard, but I just wanted to add that Pirate Radio is currently running on HBO, for those that have it. Menudo, if you'd be willing to do the review, I'd be more than happy to send you a copy. Lemme know if you have any interest.

[tonorator]

Iron Man 2

 

As is usually the case with a sequel, I did not like this one as much as the original. However, standing on it's own, I think this is a very good movie. Robert Downey Jr. is perfect as the narcissistic, witty & clever Tony Stark. He is the biggest reason why these movies work so well. I'm also impressed with the directing work done by Jon Favreu in both of these movies. The best words to describe these movies are fun & cool. I thought that Mickey Rourke was very well cast as the villain. He puts in a solid performance. There are a lot of hot women in movies, but, #1 on my list is Scarlett Johannson. She is ridiculously sexy in this role. Gwyneth Paltrow is a good looking woman, but, standing next to Scarlett, well, there just no comparison. It's often very off-putting when a new actor takes over a role from the original. In this one though, Don Cheadle is such a good actor, that it really didn't bother me too much. The action scenes are great, and the plot is fun. My only real complaint is that I thought the final fight with Rourke's character was too rushed. Other than that, I have no complaints. This was an exciting, entertaining and FUN movie. I'll probably be buying the Blu-Ray to go along with the original.

9.0

 

big disagreement. maybe it's from stacking this up against the original, but this move was a hugh disappointment for me. even downey and favreu have acknowledged that it didn't turn out well. loved rourke's role as the villian and the grand prix scene, but then it all fell apart. the plot was bad. the multiple iron men fight at a party was ridiculous, the end fight was truly underwhelming and the whole interjection of the avengers angle was contrived and forced. i believe i read that favreu will not direct the 3rd.

 

this one gets about a 4 from me.

[Menudo]

big disagreement. maybe it's from stacking this up against the original, but this move was a hugh disappointment for me. even downey and favreu have acknowledged that it didn't turn out well. loved rourke's role as the villian and the grand prix scene, but then it all fell apart. the plot was bad. the multiple iron men fight at a party was ridiculous, the end fight was truly underwhelming and the whole interjection of the avengers angle was contrived and forced. i believe i read that favreu will not direct the 3rd.

 

this one gets about a 4 from me.

 

I don't disagree with all of your points, but, I still really enjoyed it, as it stood on its own. Iron Man got a 7.7 on IMDB, while Iron Man 2 got a 7.2, so, from a public opinion standpoint, it definitely wasn't as good, but, still solid. I respect your opinion though and definitely agree on the party fight and the end fight particularly.

[Menudo]

I know that I've been beating this drum annoyingly hard, but I just wanted to add that Pirate Radio is currently running on HBO, for those that have it. Menudo, if you'd be willing to do the review, I'd be more than happy to send you a copy. Lemme know if you have any interest.

 

I've had this one in my TIVO queue for a few weeks now, based on your recommendation, but, haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

[tazinib1]

I'm too lazy to look, so I'll just ask.

 

Have you ever seen Momento? If not, you must add it. The film is a must study at every film school in the world.

[Menudo]

I'm too lazy to look, so I'll just ask.

 

Have you ever seen Momento? If not, you must add it. The film is a must study at every film school in the world.

 

Memento is definitely in my Top 10 of all-time. I absolutely LOVE that movie. It is the only movie that I immediately watched a 2nd time after it finished. I had to see it again once I knew what had happened. That is a definite MUST-SEE !!!!

[Seahawks21]

I've had this one in my TIVO queue for a few weeks now, based on your recommendation, but, haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

Word, fair enough. I'm sure there is no way it will live up to the hype I have created at this point. I really just want to hear a take on the music and soundtrack from somebody who knows the era better than I do. It isn't exactly a life-changing film, so certainly no rush. If you get around to it, cool. Hope you enjoy.

 

I remember the first time I saw Memento. Didn't get any sleep that night. Mind-blowing film.