Hot Shots Part 2 Review

OK, maybe it is time for another type of comedy. I just keep getting this wacky ones with sight gags and spoofs of famous movies hoping for something as original as the Naked Gun. I watched the first Hot Shots and found it pretty funny. It was great to have Charlie Sheen poking fun of the Maverick character in Top Gun. Maybe it is just because I think Top Gun was to overdone and too stereotypical of an action movie where the guys never flinch in the face of danger. For instance, beach volleyball with a bunch of tanned Navy guys? PLEASE!!!! I'd rather skip that scene. More of Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise than I care to see. Anyway this movie on the right seems to make fun of Rambo and Rambo 2 almost the whole way through. For that I could see humor, but it just wasn't that funny. As I said above, maybe this type of comedy is starting to get old for me. At the right time I may have found it funnier, but when I watched this one, I barely laughed and found the story so stupid it wasn't funny. Lloyd Bridges can be funny, but in this one he was just plain dumb and his lines were lame. I thought the original Hot Shots movie was funnier. 2 stars out of 5 for this one. Skip it.

The Naked Gun 33 1/3

The final movie in the series, and I will say I found this one funnier than the 2nd one. It was interesting because it did star Anna Nicole Smith who has been in the news so much in the past, and of course O.J. Simpson is back again. Overall there were definitely parts in this that seemed like filler, but the academy awards show seemed to be the funniest part for me. There were some obvious movie spoofs, but all-in-all I found I laughed enough in it to not make it a complete waste of time (unlike the 2nd one). Again they seem to up the off-color humor which is unfortunate, but it did have its hilarious moments. Not the worst out there, but definitely not the funniest either. I probably wouldn't rent this one again, but I did find it the better of the two sequels they made in this series. If you want to save some time, skip straight to this one after renting the 1st one if you want to see what the series is about.

The Naked Gun 2.5 review

Well I said I would rent this, and rent this I did! What a disappointment. After watching the first one, I was expecting more of the same, and I guess it was - but the jokes just seemed to fall flat much more in this sequel. It had maybe two parts in the whole movie where I chuckled out loud. That isn't much compared to the first movie where I was almost crying it was that funny. Maybe because I was expecting more of the sight gags, and the humor seemed to be more off-color which didn't strike me as funny at all. For instance, there is an audience at this one show, that is falling asleep and they want to get their attention to warn everyone of a possible danger, so they decide to read sensual stories to get everyone perked up! Come on people, you can do better than that for humor. Sorry this was a Naked Gun movie that struck out in my opinion. You are better off re-watching the first - it is 10 times better.

Serpico Review

I decided to rent the classic 70s movie Serpico to see why it is hailed as one of the greatest movies about the police force (or something like that). I found it interesting (not very action packed) and kind of sad. It is based on a true story of a guy that wants to do the right thing (not take bribes and look the other way), and who loved being a plain clothes police officer. However, soon the other guys on the force decide they don't like what someone like Serpico does to their conscience. I liked what Serpico stood for, but I didn't like how he handled the conflict he dealt with. As the movie progresses, Serpico becomes very cynical and consumed with how much corruption seems to triumph. It ends up making him depressed and costing him his relationship with his girlfriend (who wanted to move on from talking about how corrupt things were). All in all, it was an interesting story, but I believe Serpico should have done something this movie fails to portray. Find good friends, keep living with integrity, depend on Christ for salvation, and don't underestimate the justice of the final judgement in life. Even though things may look bad, everyone will one day give an account before God. That is something to take comfort in.

Stand By Me Review

What the heck is all the hoop-la about this movie for? I had heard so many shining reviews, and was looking forward to a great story about some young boys with some moving emotional parts where the song "Stand By Me" plays resounding in the background. Instead I ended up watching a movie that was sad, and depressing about 4 childhood friends that swear like sailors even though they aren't even 14 years old, and that battle an evil Keifer Sutherland so that he'll leave them alone. Keifer Sutherland is no Jack Bauer in this movie. He is an immature dangerous teenager that thinks he is above the law and can do anything he wants to. Jack Bauer occasionally thinks he is above the law to protect others, but he isn't the punk character he portrays in this movie. Good thing, or 24 would probably have died out in the first season!!! On top of that, there isn't even one main part where the song "Stand By Me" is played in a moving manner!! Sorry, I'm gradually learning that when the critics say "Two thumbs up" you are better off skipping the movie, because most likely it is a sad, depressing movie that doesn't fit the normal encouraging flick that everyone loves but it deemed "artistic and different". They didn't quite say that about this movie, but I would definitely watch one of Rob Reiner's better movies like "The Princess Bride" or "A Few Good Men". Those seem much better directed and a heck of a lot more fun to watch.

Transformers Review

I went to the theaters for this one. I grew up with GI Joe and Transformers in the 80s, so I was curious what they did in the remake! Oh MY GOODNESS, this is one well-made movie!! The special effects are second to none, and I can honestly say I don't think I've seen effects this good since the Matrix movies came out. The story line is interesting, the effects are mind-blowing, and the music is rocking! This is a great summer blockbuster that is worth watching and very exciting for an action-adventure. Well done by Michael Bay.

Highly recommended if you have any interest in cool robots or remember the 80s toys at all. Well actually this is highly recommended regardless of your interests. Well done!

The Naked Gun Review

I know this movie has been around for a while, but I decided to rent it and see why they made 3 movies in this series. I can honestly say after watching the first one, I definitely want to watch the 2nd and 3rd movies - I was laughing so hard in this movie I was crying. A lot of the humor is sight gags, or just plain stupidity, but whatever they used, it worked very well in this movie to make a very funny result. I have also watched the Airplane I and Airplane II movies, and I was expecting this movie to be more of the same. However, having seen them both now, I think this movie is quite a bit better than the Airplane movies. I certainly laughed more, and even replayed a few scenes it was that good. I don't recall ever doing that with the Airplane movies. One of my favorite parts in this movie was the way the bad guy goes out!!! I found it laugh-out-loud hilarious the way the bad guy meets his end! The only drawback of this movie was some of the sex humor used throughout. Overall, the movie is very funny, but I wish they didn't have to resort to off-color humor. I still plan to watch the 2nd and 3rd movies as well.

Meet Joe Black Review

Ok, this movie was on TV and I have to admit it drew me in even though my wife and I started watching it about 1/3rd into the movie. It was actually better than I expected. I had seen some previews for it, and never really was interested enough to rent it, but I thought it had some great acting, great scripting and overall was a good movie with a memorable ending. What I liked so much about it was the deeper spiritual content that was found in this movie. Brad Pitt was supposed to be death personified, and some of the characters wouldn't even give him the time of day. They had a hostile approach to his character and found it annoying that Anthony Hopkins would be so attentive to his schedule and likes/dislikes. That to me is a pretty accurate picture of how people in our society feel about death. They don't want to think about it, they don't want to acknowledge that they will one day have an appointment with death, and they ignore it as much as possible even though death is inevitable in all of us. This movie was definitely geared toward the romantic side of things, but I found it entertaining enough to finish the 2/3rd I watched. Recommended for a creative look at the response of people toward death.

Fearless Review

A great martial arts movie if you are prepared for some great fight sequences with some good morals in the fighters. Jet Li played a lengendary fighter who took revenge without knowing all the facts. After he brutally killed someone, he realizes that revenge just means more blood and violence (which turns into an endless cycle). Jet Li played the character very well, and this movie showed true sportmanship in fighting and martial arts. It wasn't only fight scenes either. There is some good character development and even a touch of romance. Not as deep as a drama such as Stranger than Fiction, but still a good movie with a good moral, no bad language, and excellent acting. Recommended if you like martial arts movies.