"Reviewing Movie Reviewers" Reviewing Movie Reviewers "Reviewing Movie Reviewers
I have said long ago that of my many weaknesses as a movie reviewer, one of the most profound is the sad fact that I am easily entertained. I like movies, and for that I make no apologies.
Furthermore, I don't go looking to be critical. With the exception of a few great movies every year, the rest have weaknesses. However, while it is fair to point them out, the ultimate question is whether you will enjoy the film. After all, who can continue to go the theater if the product more often annoys you than not?
However, there are some advance signs that can give meaningful guidance as to whether a film is worth seeing. And as I have pointed out before, if a movie advertisement in the newspaper is reduced to quoting advance praise by either Larry King or Shawn Edwards of Fox-TV, you pretty well know that this particular movie will be a weak sister at best.
Accordingly, we should all proceed to Steve Carell's new film "Get Smart" with trepidation. The aforesaid Mr. Edwards describes it as the "Funniest movie of the summer!" Mr. King says the following, "A laugh a minute. 'Get Smart' is a summer smash!"
I don't know about you, but I am willing to go out on a limb that it will prove to be as sophomorically tepid as Mr. Carell's last two films, "Dan in Real Life" (2007) and "Evan Almighty" (2007).
Finally, you don't need any advance word concerning Mike Myers' new film "The Love Guru," as all you need to do is see the previews. This looks stupefyingly horrible. Then again, it does star Jessica Alba, so what can you reasonably expect?
Quite frankly, it looks like a cross of Myers' "Cat in the Hat" (2003) and the last "Austin Powers" (2002) disaster. If M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening" is to lose the contest for the worse picture of the year, surely "Guru" has a shot at the bottom rung.
On the other hand, just a prediction.
erob54 : RE: "Reviewing Movie Reviewers" Reviewing Movie Reviewers "Reviewing Movie Reviewers More..
Love Guru almost looks like 3 Austin Power's Characters rolled into one. I find this amusing because I was watching Mike Myers on TV and he said this character was unlike anything he has done before. I have only one hope that this movie will show how funny Vern Troyer (Mini Me) is when he is allowed to talk in a movie. He is actually a really good comedian.
Robert Hammerle : RE: "Reviewing Movie Reviewers" Reviewing Movie Reviewers "Reviewing Movie Reviewers More..
Your one step ahead of me, I have no hope at all...
joe.shearer : RE: "Reviewing Movie Reviewers" Reviewing Movie Reviewers "Reviewing Movie Reviewers More..
Actually the worst of these offenders has to be Pete Hammond, formerly of Maxim, now of Hollywood.com. He’s a shameless quote chaser, and will do anything seemingly to get his name on a DVD box or a movie poster (or on a commercial).
Do yourself a favor: look at those names on the quotes. If it’s one of the guys Bob mentioned, or Hammond, you might as well assume the movie is terrible.
joe.shearer : RE: "Reviewing Movie Reviewers" Reviewing Movie Reviewers "Reviewing Movie Reviewers More..
By the way, I still think you’re off on “Dan in Real Life.” I found it charming. I didn’t hate “Get Smart,” either, but the rest of the movies you listed are right on. :)
Robert Hammerle : RE: "Reviewing Movie Reviewers" Reviewing Movie Reviewers "Reviewing Movie Reviewers More..
Joe:
Sorry for the delay in getting back, but I’m afraid the realities of my real job as a criminal defense lawyer are yanking me back into my normal world. While that is not a bad thing, I did enjoy the opportunity to pose as a movie critic!
As to “Dan in Real Life,” I simply could never get over the absurdity of having the cosmopolitan Juliette Binoche fall for a complete idiot like Dane Cook! To add to the insulting premise, you had to buy into the fact that she was such a lightweight that after briefly meeting him in some workout facility that she would accompany him to his parent’s home for a visit. No! No! No!
To add insult to the injury, she then immediately falls for the emotionally battered character played by Steve Carell. I know that I may be coming down way too hard on “Dan in Real Life,” but I’m afraid the movie lost me with “hello!”
Now if you want to go see a movie that is as insulting as it is truly annoying, then go see “He’s Just Not That Into You.” Sold as a combination “date movie/chick flick,” it could be one of the most insulting films ever made about women. To buy in to this woeful film’s premise, you would have to believe that young women do nothing more than emotionally pine over idiots that they met in some chance encounter in a bar as they hang around and mope in hopeful anticipation that this lunk head will call them.
Scarlett Johansson as the femme fatale who is the marriage wrecker? How utterly original.
On an up note, Ben Affleck was almost tolerable, but I think that was due to the fact that he had very few lines of dialogue to utter. The only funny scenes in this lame film were the outtakes of the “muses” as they introduced one of the three sequences of this disaster.
On the other hand, maybe I’m just completely out of touch.
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