Post by greylon on Oct 12, 2007 11:26:20 GMT -5
Not going into detail, but here's a quick rundown of 2007 releases I have seen. These movies are taken from the top 150 grossing movies of the year (as of last weekend), plus a couple extra mentions of some low budget gems.
(note: scores may be different from original reviews elsewhere, but I don't record them, and as I rate by entertainment, mood does affect views)
Spiderman 3: Action. Director hits snag forcing popular character (Venom) into movie when he didn't want it. Good movie, could have been better. 6.5
Shrek 3: Animated Comedy. Became the pap it mocked in the original. Adults bored, kids enjoy. 5.5
Transformers: Sci-Fi Action. Potentially great action fest badly diluted with unimportant, unrelated, and below par teen angst love story that steals way too much screen time. 5.0
Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Action. Awesome action fest. Story and character development not wanted, needed, or forced. Joy ride. 8.0
Harry Potter 5: Fantasy. On its own, and not compared to the book, a decent enough adventure, but still the weakest of the five. HP has done better. 6.3
300: Action. WOW! Good guy, fight bad guy. Do it in really cool ways. Lather, rinse repeat. 9.0
Ratatouille: Family Animation: Clever, fun, soft enough for the kiddies, but smart enough for adults. Works all around. 7.5
The SImpsons Movie: Animated Comedy. One Simpsons episode, four times longer. Like the show? See the movie. Don't like the show? Move on. 7.0
Wild Hogs: Comedy. Except for the fun of John Travolta's character's nervous breakdown, a bland, by the numbers, no risk taken comedy. <yawn> 5.5
Knocked Up: Crude Comedy. Highly offensive humor oddly blended with a good story about a man-child forced to grow up. Brilliant dialogue and crass moments. 8.1
Rush Hour 3: Action. I love Jackie Chan. I didn't like HR3 at all. 3.5
Live Free or Die Hard: Action. Mindless action flick that challenges just how mindless you can go. Too hard to overlook the rampant flaws. 4.0
Fantastic Four 2: If you can buy Jessica Alba as a scientist, you'll buy anything here. 4.5
Superbad: Comedy. Judd Apatow's best to date! Very crass but touching story of two best friends forced to separate for college. Funny when it wants, moving when it wants. 8.5
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry: Comedy. If you can accept 100 mnutes of homophobia jokes, you'll be fine. Otherwise, this runs thin fast. 5.7
Hairspray: Musical. Very well done in its own right, but the original had so much more bite. A strong remake, but see the original. 7.5 (original movie 8.7)
Blades of Glory: Comedy. A buddy comedy that's good on the comedy, even if the buddies never gel. 6.2
Ghost Rider: Action. Visually beautiful graphics... and that's all. Tries to be smart, but comes off ridiculous. 2.8
Evan Almighty: Comedy. Most expensive comedy ever. Great F/X does not make for funny. Humor and story never truly gels, but passable for one-time viewing. 5.4
Bridge to Taribithia: Fantasy. Great characters, beautiful story. 7.1
Halloween: Horror. That rare remake that delivers. Wonderfully gritty, and never goes for the cheap scare. Psychologically scary! 6.9
Resident Evil 3: Horror. You better like butt-kickin babes, because this zombie flick has nothing else to offer. 4.7
License to Wed: Romantic Comedy. Oddly one of the most boring comedies, but with 5 minutes of the most unlikely pure brilliance. Fast forward to the robotic twins, skip the rest. 2.8 (robot twins scene 9.0)
Epic Movie: "Comedy." Ugh. I snuck in free and still felt robbed. 1.7
Stardust: Romantic Comedy Fantasy. An overlooked gem. A rare multi-genre that actually pulls it off. Rent this! 7.4
Smokin Aces: Action. Pretends to be clever. You never buy into it. 4.0
The Brave One: Drama. Jodie Foster is about as sure a bet for quality movies as Hollywood offers. 6.7
Balls of Fury: Comedy. Even Christopher Walken's super charisma couldn't save this lame "film it one take" limp-along. 3.3
Mr. Bean's Holiday: Comedy. G-rated comedy. Starts sluggish but brings the goods by the end. Be warned! An appreciation of Brit comedy a must! 6.0
28 Weeks Later: Horror. The story concept is so dumb, you want the zombies to win to teach the idiot humans a lesson. 2.4
Sicko: Documentary. Roger Moore's continues to hurt the importance of his subject material with cheap tricks. But overall, an important film worthy of debate. 7.1
Hot Fuzz: Comedy. Wonderful British comedy lampooning the buddy action genre. Never self-aware or overt, subtle intelligent comedy. 7.4
Mr. Woodcock: Comedy. Well, they said it was a comedy. Even comedic gem Ethan Suplee was lame in this paycheck flick. 4.0
The Hills Have Eyes 2: Horror. If our military was as dumb as those in this stinker, Saddam would still be in power and pushing into Florida. Cheapest of scare tactics combined with impossible setups equals who cares?! 1.0
Reno 911! Miami: Comedy. Very offensive but funny comedy. Not even a real plot, just a series of sketches strung together. Very fragmented, but still has enough laughs. 6.2
The Invasion: Horror. Fourth 'Invasion of the Body Snatcher' movie. Worst crime for the villains is their heavy-handed quest for world peace and civility. Otherwise, you'd want them to win! Oh, Nicole Kidman, did you really need the paycheck?! 3.8
Shoot Em Up: Action. Anyone who buys into the truly impossible action scenes should immediately be checked for drugs. Paul Giamatti's humorous scenes keeps the movie from being a complete waste. 4.0
The Astronaut Farmer: Drama. A man following his dreams, bouyed by a FUNCTIONAL family?! What a novel idea, Hollywood! They actually recognize some families actually bond. Fun movie, if nothing spectacular. 6.6
Black Snake Moan: Drama. Another overlooked gem. Wonderful exploitation movie about very flawed people just trying to survive themselves. If you can make Justin Timberlake a believable actor, something was done right. 7.3
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Animated Comedy. ONLY for fans of the show. Very random humor slapped over very bad animation. It has moments, but not nearly enough to be watched more than once. 5.0
Special Mention: Indie Flicks
King of Kong - A Fistful of Quarters: Documentary. Who knew a documentary could be so funny? Track the lives and world of arcade game supernerds. And yet, despite the silliness of their obsessions, there's a compelling story. A must see. 8.0
Randy and the Mob: Comedy. A wonderfully intelligent smart Southern comedy. Of course it would take a Southern production company to create a movie where Southerners aren't hicks. Great story, lots of humor, and a couple wonderfully unique characters you've never seen before... and should! 8.3
(note: scores may be different from original reviews elsewhere, but I don't record them, and as I rate by entertainment, mood does affect views)
Spiderman 3: Action. Director hits snag forcing popular character (Venom) into movie when he didn't want it. Good movie, could have been better. 6.5
Shrek 3: Animated Comedy. Became the pap it mocked in the original. Adults bored, kids enjoy. 5.5
Transformers: Sci-Fi Action. Potentially great action fest badly diluted with unimportant, unrelated, and below par teen angst love story that steals way too much screen time. 5.0
Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Action. Awesome action fest. Story and character development not wanted, needed, or forced. Joy ride. 8.0
Harry Potter 5: Fantasy. On its own, and not compared to the book, a decent enough adventure, but still the weakest of the five. HP has done better. 6.3
300: Action. WOW! Good guy, fight bad guy. Do it in really cool ways. Lather, rinse repeat. 9.0
Ratatouille: Family Animation: Clever, fun, soft enough for the kiddies, but smart enough for adults. Works all around. 7.5
The SImpsons Movie: Animated Comedy. One Simpsons episode, four times longer. Like the show? See the movie. Don't like the show? Move on. 7.0
Wild Hogs: Comedy. Except for the fun of John Travolta's character's nervous breakdown, a bland, by the numbers, no risk taken comedy. <yawn> 5.5
Knocked Up: Crude Comedy. Highly offensive humor oddly blended with a good story about a man-child forced to grow up. Brilliant dialogue and crass moments. 8.1
Rush Hour 3: Action. I love Jackie Chan. I didn't like HR3 at all. 3.5
Live Free or Die Hard: Action. Mindless action flick that challenges just how mindless you can go. Too hard to overlook the rampant flaws. 4.0
Fantastic Four 2: If you can buy Jessica Alba as a scientist, you'll buy anything here. 4.5
Superbad: Comedy. Judd Apatow's best to date! Very crass but touching story of two best friends forced to separate for college. Funny when it wants, moving when it wants. 8.5
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry: Comedy. If you can accept 100 mnutes of homophobia jokes, you'll be fine. Otherwise, this runs thin fast. 5.7
Hairspray: Musical. Very well done in its own right, but the original had so much more bite. A strong remake, but see the original. 7.5 (original movie 8.7)
Blades of Glory: Comedy. A buddy comedy that's good on the comedy, even if the buddies never gel. 6.2
Ghost Rider: Action. Visually beautiful graphics... and that's all. Tries to be smart, but comes off ridiculous. 2.8
Evan Almighty: Comedy. Most expensive comedy ever. Great F/X does not make for funny. Humor and story never truly gels, but passable for one-time viewing. 5.4
Bridge to Taribithia: Fantasy. Great characters, beautiful story. 7.1
Halloween: Horror. That rare remake that delivers. Wonderfully gritty, and never goes for the cheap scare. Psychologically scary! 6.9
Resident Evil 3: Horror. You better like butt-kickin babes, because this zombie flick has nothing else to offer. 4.7
License to Wed: Romantic Comedy. Oddly one of the most boring comedies, but with 5 minutes of the most unlikely pure brilliance. Fast forward to the robotic twins, skip the rest. 2.8 (robot twins scene 9.0)
Epic Movie: "Comedy." Ugh. I snuck in free and still felt robbed. 1.7
Stardust: Romantic Comedy Fantasy. An overlooked gem. A rare multi-genre that actually pulls it off. Rent this! 7.4
Smokin Aces: Action. Pretends to be clever. You never buy into it. 4.0
The Brave One: Drama. Jodie Foster is about as sure a bet for quality movies as Hollywood offers. 6.7
Balls of Fury: Comedy. Even Christopher Walken's super charisma couldn't save this lame "film it one take" limp-along. 3.3
Mr. Bean's Holiday: Comedy. G-rated comedy. Starts sluggish but brings the goods by the end. Be warned! An appreciation of Brit comedy a must! 6.0
28 Weeks Later: Horror. The story concept is so dumb, you want the zombies to win to teach the idiot humans a lesson. 2.4
Sicko: Documentary. Roger Moore's continues to hurt the importance of his subject material with cheap tricks. But overall, an important film worthy of debate. 7.1
Hot Fuzz: Comedy. Wonderful British comedy lampooning the buddy action genre. Never self-aware or overt, subtle intelligent comedy. 7.4
Mr. Woodcock: Comedy. Well, they said it was a comedy. Even comedic gem Ethan Suplee was lame in this paycheck flick. 4.0
The Hills Have Eyes 2: Horror. If our military was as dumb as those in this stinker, Saddam would still be in power and pushing into Florida. Cheapest of scare tactics combined with impossible setups equals who cares?! 1.0
Reno 911! Miami: Comedy. Very offensive but funny comedy. Not even a real plot, just a series of sketches strung together. Very fragmented, but still has enough laughs. 6.2
The Invasion: Horror. Fourth 'Invasion of the Body Snatcher' movie. Worst crime for the villains is their heavy-handed quest for world peace and civility. Otherwise, you'd want them to win! Oh, Nicole Kidman, did you really need the paycheck?! 3.8
Shoot Em Up: Action. Anyone who buys into the truly impossible action scenes should immediately be checked for drugs. Paul Giamatti's humorous scenes keeps the movie from being a complete waste. 4.0
The Astronaut Farmer: Drama. A man following his dreams, bouyed by a FUNCTIONAL family?! What a novel idea, Hollywood! They actually recognize some families actually bond. Fun movie, if nothing spectacular. 6.6
Black Snake Moan: Drama. Another overlooked gem. Wonderful exploitation movie about very flawed people just trying to survive themselves. If you can make Justin Timberlake a believable actor, something was done right. 7.3
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Animated Comedy. ONLY for fans of the show. Very random humor slapped over very bad animation. It has moments, but not nearly enough to be watched more than once. 5.0
Special Mention: Indie Flicks
King of Kong - A Fistful of Quarters: Documentary. Who knew a documentary could be so funny? Track the lives and world of arcade game supernerds. And yet, despite the silliness of their obsessions, there's a compelling story. A must see. 8.0
Randy and the Mob: Comedy. A wonderfully intelligent smart Southern comedy. Of course it would take a Southern production company to create a movie where Southerners aren't hicks. Great story, lots of humor, and a couple wonderfully unique characters you've never seen before... and should! 8.3