Movie Reviews, vol. 2

Okay, here's what I think of the latest crop of movies I've seen recently:

You Got Served: Okay, this movie was rediculous. Rediculously goddamned good. It's a dance-off movie, and by god, it's fun as hell to watch. If you can catch it in second-run theaters, do it. By all means do it. Remember watching the dancing in the old video for Thriller and saying "that is hot shit!" - well this movie is just that feeling, stretched out for an hour and a half. So go see it already. A solid 9/10, for pure enjoyment. [Yes, I know it's #3 on the IMDB bottom 100, but those people must've been expecting something different. IT'S A DANCE-OFF MOVIE. IT'S AN HOUR AND A HALF LONG DANCE-OFF, WITH MINOR PLOT TO MOVE THE STORY. Not a fucking drama people, you should know better. And I stand by my rating.]

Waiting for Guffman: I'd seen Best In Show a couple years ago, and really liked it, so I borrowed the DVD for this and A Mighty Wind from Will V. to catch Guest's other movies. WFG was a funny movie, but at times it really showed some pure comedic genius. Eugene Levy was great, and the culmination of the movie, the play, was fantastic. A good view, 8/10.

A Mighty Wind: Along the lines of the aforementioned Guest films, this is another mockumentary, documenting the lives of three folk music groups leading up to one large tribute concert. What really makes this a great film to me, besides from all the brilliant performances (including Harry Shearer) was the incredible music in the movie. The only time I'd felt as much about the soundtrack was in the phenomenal O Brother, Where Art Thou? [which now that I think of it, should watch again. Clooney's great in it]. But this movie is funny, has drama, and great music - yet it still holds that documentary feel. Guest is a master at this artform, and I hope he keeps it up, because he's doing a great job. See it, 9/10.

Van Helsing: The summer's first true action flick, this movie was entertaining throughout. A decent enough story, lots of action, and great special effects made it a good time-waster. I can't say I'm in a rush to see this one again, but it was worth watching. If it ever pops up and you've got the time to watch it, you might as well. An above average action flick, 6/10.

Most Wanted: Every once in a while, you do the unthinkable - you watch the late night TNT or TBS movie. After a Lakers game, I kept the TV on and watched this Keenan Ivory Wayans "masterpiece" of a movie. An action flick, a conspiracy flick, and a political thriller - this movie tried it all, and for the most part, failed. I shouldn't have expected much out of a Wayans movie, especially a Wayans movie that was not a comedy. Stupid me [for watching it all], 3/10.

Mean Girls: Okay, this one took me by suprise. I looked over at the tomatometer for this flick at Rotten Tomatoes and the ratings were suprisingly good. Didn't critics hate stupid little teen girly movies? Yes they do, but this one was different. Written by the brilliant SNL writer Tina Fey, this movie did what all other teen-girl movies don't ever bother to do - be witty, tell a good story, and have some decent freaking comedy. Lindsey Lohan is brilliant, and this honestly is the best movie I've seen in a long time in the genre. You should see it, 8.5/10.

Shaolin Soccer: Comical, but nothing phenomenal. It was worth watching, but not worth watching repeatedly. So a 6/10.

The Triplets of Belleville: This movie left me sad, because I honestly was expecting a lot more. I do like, however, that I watched an entire movie in French but managed to understand everything that was going on [the flick is real, real short on dialogue]. There were some amusing moments, but I just wasn't that impressed. A just-above-middle-of-the-road 6/10 for this one.

Now this is the part where you IM and comment that I suck. Coming in the near future: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Day After Tomorrow, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Spartan, Club Dread, and whatever else my bandwith and TiVo scrape up.