sacstate.com's moviereviews
 

Latest Movie Reviews:

Toy Story 2 starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
The Blair Witch Project starring nobody you know
Big Daddy starring Adam Sandler
Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me starring Mike Myers
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace starring Liam Neeson (Don't worry, we won't ruin the plot!)
 
TOY STORY 2
Woody and Buzz are back in the sequel to the highly successful animation Toy Story. The whole movie is basically about Buzz trying to save Woody from a toy collector, who will do anything to find an old Woody doll to go along with the rest of his Woody's Roundup collection. We find out Woody was the star in a 1950's TV show and was quite popular until the space race started.
This movie was highly entertaining. I think I liked it even more than the original. They incorporated all of the old toys from the original, as well as add some entertaining newer characters as well. We meet Woody's girlfriend, horse, and a gold miner collector from Woody's TV show, as well as meet Buzz Lightyear's arch nemesis, Zurton (or whatever the hell his name is). We even catch a glimpse at what Buzz's home planet is supposed to look like in the opening scene.
I thought they couldn't do much more with the original movie, but it was entertaining to see the new things the toys got in to. I found myself watching the movie, totally engulfed, and intrigued by all the animation. It was a kids movie, but I loved it nonetheless. I especially enjoyed some of the scenes such as when Buzz finds another Buzz Lightyear Toy, yet the other toy hasn't realized he's just a toy yet. It was really funny.
I found myself laughing out loud, and when I left, I was very satisfied with it. It's a can't miss.
 
REPORT CARD:
Humor: A
Adult Humor: A
Plot: A-
Originality: A
Overall: A
Conclusion: Definite date movie, or if you're stuck babysitting your kid brother, at least you won't have to see that "Pokemon" crap.
 
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
 
'The Blair Witch Project' was the unexpected surprise of the summer. It was pretty much an independent film made by a bunch of film students. Basically, it's all about some tapes that were found in the forest of Maryland, and on them was the documentation of these three aspiring film students, who were out to film about this tale of this haunting witch in the forest. The three cruise in and get lost, and find themselves getting hunted by this witch who they thought was a hoax, or just a suburban myth.
I have to admit, if this really happened, this would be the scariest movie you have ever seen. It goes through all the basic elements that a human would: from getting spooked at first, and then once they realized they were lost, they started realizing what was going on, and they mentally lost it. By the end, they were too terrified to sleep, too terrified to move. I would not want to be stuck in the position they were in.
However, knowing that this didn't really happen, I figured I wouldn't get all that scared. I felt sorry for what happened to them, but as morbid as it sounds, I wanted to actually 'see' something. I never saw any witch, I never saw anyone die. I suppose it adds to the movie, and with the budget these three had, any special effect would look really cheezy and very fake.
I think the best thing the movie had going for it was that early on when it was out, everyone thought this really happened. It looked like it did- they did a good job of that. If it really did happen, I would never visit the state of Maryland. Ever. That's how spooky a story it was. But once you know it didn't happen, you lose your curiosity.
 
REPORT CARD:
Scariness: A-
Plot: B+
Originality: A
Ending: D+
Overall: C+
Conclusion: Renter
 
 
BIG DADDY
 
Adam Sandler stars as this 30-year old guy that's mooching off a $200,000 insurance claim and works one day a week as a toll booth collector. His girlfriend dumps him because he's going nowhere in life. Then all of a sudden, in pops this 5-year old kid, who happens to be the illegitimate son of his roommate. So he decides to adopt the kid, and teach him a thing or two about life.
 
This movie was a big-time disappointment. I like Adam Sandler, and a lot of his movies, but this was a let-down. You know when you see a movie preview or TV ad and it gives away like 80% of the jokes in the movie? This was one of those movies. The jokes were funny when I saw them in the preview and TV ads, but by the time I saw them in the movie, I was like, 'oh yeah, this is where he...'.
 
This movie had promise and could have had a lot more jokes. It tried to be a romantic comedy as well, but I don't think it turned out too well, although Adam's new love was a crowd-pleaser. It also didn't help that it had this dramatic battle at the end, which was comedy-free.
 
Adam Sandler is funniest doing stupid stuff, but I think it was the fault of whoever advertised this movie that they gave away every punchline in the movie. What's up with that?
 
I guess if you've never seen one ad for this movie, you might be amused.
 
REPORT CARD:
Humor: C+
Romantic Comedy: C
Plot: D
Originality: B
Overall: C
Conclusion: Renter

AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME

Austin Powers is back, and probably better than the original. Although the original Austin movie was incredibly funny, I think it's possible this one was even funnier. Mike Myers plays Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, and a new character, Fat Bastard, in the sequel to Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. In the sequel, Dr. Evil goes back in time to steal Austin's mojo, and threatens to take over the world again.

This movie was hilarious. I was hesitant to see this, since so many sequels fail to live up to the original, but this movie went past that. Bringing back all of the original villains and bad guys (even ones that were killed in the first) made this movie even funnier.

What I thought was the kicker was the blatant advertising that went on throughout the movie. Starbucks, Heineken, and Volkswagen got their money's worth. But the way they did it was classic, since they pulled it off really well.

With so many scenes coming out of nowhere, I thought it was hilarious. They did so many things that you didn't see coming, plus all the stuff they re-hashed from the original was funny as well. Check it out. If you liked the original, you'll love the sequel!

REPORT CARD:
Humor: A
Gratuitous Sex Connotations: A
Plot: ? Who cares? It was hilarious!
Originality: A
Overall: A
Conclusion: See it with a bunch of friends or a date- it's almost a can't miss!

EDITION II - Instinct, The Mummy, The Matrix
EDITION I - Never Been Kissed, True Crime, Shakespeare in Love


Back to sacstate.com | sacstate.com's CD reviews