Movie Review: Space Chimps

TITLE: Space Chimps

STATS: U.S. RATING: G RUN TIME: 81 min GENRE: Animation/Comedy/Sci-fi/Family DATE: 6/18/2008 COMPANY: Vanguard Animation LANGUAGE: English

MY SUMMARY: An evil alien has taken over and enslaved his home planet with the help of Earth technology. Now, the descendent of the very first chimp in space, Ham III and his chimp team must fly to the alien planet and rescue the technology as well as the native alien race. However, there are many perils on the planet and much restlessness from the grumpy, scheming senator on Earth. Now, the fate of an alien planet and NASA rest in the furry hands of the space chimps.

IMDB SUMMARY: Jeff Daniels, Stanley Tucci, Cheryl Hines, and Andy Samberg lend their voices to this computer-animated comedy following the descendants of the first chimps in space as they blast off for fun and adventure on a far-away planet. Ham III (Samberg) is the grandson of Ham, the first-ever chimp astronaut. This ne'er-do-well chimp may not be the most qualified ape for the job, but a scheming senator (Tucci) has recruited him for a most dangerous mission. It seems that a powerful tyrant (Daniels) has overtaken an alien world, and now it's up to Ham III and his trusty simian crew (Hines and Patrick Warburton) to help overthrow the deep-space despot. Perhaps with some training from Ham III's mentor (Kenan Thompson) and the help of a friendly alien (Kristin Chenoweth) this fearless group of anthropoids can make the universe a safer place for aliens and humans alike.

DIRECTOR: Kirk De Micco

ACTORS: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton, Stanley Tucci, Kristin Chenoweth, Jane Lynch

MY RATING: 4 out of 10

ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 36%

MOVIEFONE RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

ROGER EBERT RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

THE GOOD: So there isn’t a ton that I thought was super good about this movie, but it does have some redeeming qualities, though not many. The humor and graphics in the movie was nowhere near Pixar quality, but I was expecting as much. However, the graphics were better than I thought they would be for the most part. The areas that I thought they could have improved upon was the “freznar”, which looks like an amateur animated it using some chrome filter in photoshop and the flesh-eating beast scene. When watching this scene, I wasn’t entirely sure what exactly I was watching. The reason being that the background, the creature and the characters all look like they’re are completely separate elements made from different things. For example, it looks like the characters are CG, the creature is somehow real or a puppet with the silicon skin and the background (which is a cave) is real footage. It’s a weird scene, but I thought the creature was done really well and looked pretty realistic. The music in the movie was done by The Blue Man Group which you will notice as soon as the movie begins. The Blue Man Group is known for using their experimental instruments that they create themselves and it is these instruments that make the music of the alien world come alive in the opening scene. The humor, although nothing hilarious enough for quoting, isn’t too bad. If you have young kids (I have 3 under the age of 3 right now), chances are they will find it pretty funny. It’s colorful enough and has enough action and movement to keep them entertained for the most part. The humor is clichéd, but there were still a few parts that made me chuckle. You just can’t take the movie too seriously.

THE BAD: Space Chimps has two different sides, the Earth/human/chimp side and the alien side. Now, the alien side has its own civil struggles because of our technology, but the movie doesn’t spend enough time (maybe 30 seconds worth actually) getting us used to and connected to the alien race, so we don’t feel any sympathy for them when the “evil” alien takes over. And that is another thing, the evil alien Zartog isn’t all that evil. His voice isn’t evil, his look isn’t evil  and his actions aren’t all that evil. Sure, he may dunk the aliens in the freznar, but they don’t die, they just stay frozen. And the freznar doesn’t look all that bad since it cracks as easy as that chocolate topping for ice cream. All this adds to the lack of sympathy I have for the aliens. Something else that annoyed me through the whole movie is the fact that Houston’s voice didn’t seem to “mesh” with the other voices. It was almost otherworldly. I don’t know if he was standing too close to the mic or what, but it just doesn’t seem to fit for some reason. And the last thing that I thought was bad enough to be included in this section was the lack of good adult humor. Like I mentioned before, this movie is nowhere near what Pixar and Disney have come out with, but it’s almost like they didn’t really try in some parts. The script tries for some adult humor, but misses completely. Luckily, I’m more childish than I am responsible and adult-like, so it was the little-kid humor that made me smile. So, when you watch this movie, keep in mind that you have to watch it like you’re a young child and you’ll enjoy it more.

FUN FACTS:  Fittingly, the teaser ad for this movie premiered on June 20th 2008 during a Fox broadcast of another 'Monkey in Space' movie - 2001's remake of "Planet of the Apes" Adam Samberg contributed to much of the humor in the movie

WORD OCCURS WORD OCCURS A** 0 RACIAL FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN 0 A**H**E 0 B*****D 0 RACIAL FOR HISPANIC 0 B**CH 0 C*** 0 RACIAL FOR ASIAN 0 D**N 0 F*** 0 RACIAL FOR CAUCASSIAN 0 G**D*** 0 H**L 0 RACIAL FOR OTHER 0 M*****F****R 0 S**T 0 LORD'S NAME IN VAIN 4 * These numbers are as accurate as possible, but some mistakes may be present. This is to give a general idea of the vulgarity and not to represent a precise measurement system.

The Social Network: the Facebook movie

Just when people thought Hollywood was running out of ideas for movies, Hollywood proves them right…

The Social Network - A story about the founders of the social-networking website, Facebook.

Based off the book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich and directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), the movie is a loose account of the history of Facebook and its founders.

In The Social Network, Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield will play Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin, while Justin Timberlake will star as Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster and the founding president of the site. The screenplay for The Social Network was penned by award winning writer Aaron Sorkin, and production on the film is slated to begin next month in Boston. The film will be produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures, Scott Rudin, and Kevin Spacey. – Screencrave.com

So far, the three people who have been confirmed for roles are Jesse Eisenberg (as Mark Zuckerberg), Justin Timberlake (as Sean Parker) and Andrew Garfield (as Eduardo Saverin).

The funny thing is that the book that The Social Network is based off of is not really doing so well according to Amazon user ratings. Out of 44 user ratings, the average is 3 out of 5 stars, but there are 10 one-star ratings (at the time of this post). That is not very good comparatively. Most of the lower-rating critics say Mezrich’s books are formulaic and his characters seem like puppets. But who knows? Never judge a book by its cover and never pre-judge a movie by its book – as we’ve seen with Twilight.

Movie Review: Stick It

TITLE: Stick It

STATS: U.S. RATING: PG-13 RUN TIME: 103 min GENRE: Comedy/Drama/Sport DATE: 4/28/2006 COMPANY: Kaltenbach Pictures LANGUAGE: English

MY SUMMARY: A troubled youth gets a second chance at a prison-free life after getting in trouble with the law when her father pays for her to basically come out of retirement and get back into gymnastics. She is rebellious in nature and has a hard time agreeing, but it is that or prison for her. Her rebelliousness eventually rubs off on her teammates and others at the world competition.

IMDB SUMMARY: After a run-in with the law, Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym) is forced to return to the world from which she fled some years ago. Enrolled in an elite gymnastics program run by the legendary Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges), Haley's rebellious attitude gives way to something that just might be called team spirit.

DIRECTOR: Jessica Bendinger

ACTORS: Jeff Bridges, Missy Peregrym, Vanessa Lengies, Nikki SooHoo, Maddy Curley, Kellan Lutz, John Patrick Amedori

MY RATING: 6 out of 10

ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 31%

MOVIEFONE RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

ROGER EBERT RATING: 2 out of 5 stars

THE GOOD: Being a musician myself, the soundtrack to a movie is very important to me – a soundtrack can make or break a movie in my eyes (and ears). With this movie, although it wasn’t an original, instrumental soundtrack, I think the soundtrack fit the attitude that they were trying to go for, the pop-punk skater vibe. The soundtrack was basically a mixture of alternative rock and hip-hop with a few other songs sprinkled in. I liked it. As for the characters, I think Joanne made a very good innocently dumb girl. She was quite believable. Hopefully it was only good acting and not natural… I also liked the courtroom judge, Polly Holliday. I’ve grown up with her as Jill’s wife on “Home Improvement” and I just like her “essence”, for lack of a better word. Also, since I would like to be a film director one day, I put a lot of observation into special effects and cinematography. I don’t mean to say that I’m an expert in these fields except in what I like and I really liked the scene in which all the girls are competing in their own little civil competition in order to find out who is going to the main competition. I thought it was pretty neat how they timed everything out and overlapped it all. But I’m simple like that. Lastly, I do like when my questions that the movie brings up are answered and all loose ends are tied. For example, towards the end, we find out why Hailey left the Worlds competition and how Vick pays her restitution. Everything is finished and you’re left feeling pretty complete.

THE BAD: One main thing that bugged me from the start is how it felt like the director was trying way too hard to make Hailey seem skater-ish. Now, I’ve known quite a bit of hardcore skaters and none of them have a room that looks anything like hers. First of all, their rooms are usually completely messy. Second, none of them took the time to artistically spray paint their furniture. Usually, they were too busy skating! Another thing that bugged me (and this is just because I am who I am) happens right after Hailey learns about how much her dad is paying Vick and her two friends pick her up. As they are driving down the road, there is a vehicle that is way too close behind them. Seriously, they are on the main characters’ tail! If those boys were as much punks as they were made out to be, they’d totally “brake check” that person. Just wait, once you notice it, you won’t be able to stop noticing it.

FUN FACTS:  Kassandra Nelson played the girl who threw a soda on Haley. She also was the stunt double for Haley Nastia Liukin, the 2008 All-Around Gold Medalist at the Beijing Olympics, played herself. In the movie, she was 'chosen to win' the uneven bar competition Missy Elliot's video for the movie, "We Run This," won a 2006 MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects

WORD OCCURS WORD OCCURS A** 4 RACIAL FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN 0 A**H**E 0 B*****D 0 RACIAL FOR HISPANIC 0 B**CH 2 D**N 1 RACIAL FOR ASIAN 0 D**K (Penis) 1 F*** 1τ RACIAL FOR CAUCASSIAN 6 G**D*** 0 H**L 0 RACIAL FOR OTHER 0 M*****F****R 0 S**T 5 LORD'S NAME IN VAIN 2 * These numbers are as accurate as possible, but some mistakes may be present. This is to give a general idea of the vulgarity and not to represent a precise measurement system. τ This was heard in the soundtrack music during a scene and not actually said in the dialogue.

Movie Review: Orange County

TITLE: Orange County

STATS: U.S. RATING: PG-13 RUN TIME: 82 min GENRE: Comedy/Drama DATE: 1/11/2002 COMPANY: Paramount Pictures LANGUAGE: English

MY SUMMARY: A high school senior picks up a book he found on the beach after one of his best friends dies. After reading the book, he decides he wants to become a writer and basically changes his whole lifestyle. He writes to the author of the book who happens to be a professor at Stanford and basically commits to the idea of being accepted to that university. However, his oblivious counselor sends in the wrong transcript and he gets denied. The movie is then mainly about him trying every means possible to get into Stanford while he balances his girlfriend and trying to keep his family from “ruining” his life.

IMDB SUMMARY: Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends the wrong application. So, Shaun goes to great lengths with a little help from his girlfriend Ashley and his drugged-out loser brother Lance to get into Stanford any way they see fit.

DIRECTOR: Jake Kasdan

ACTORS: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk, John Lithgow, Catherine O'Hara, Lily Tomlin, Carly Pope

MY RATING: 6 out of 10

ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 47%

MOVIEFONE RATING: 53 (3 out of 5 stars)

ROGER EBERT RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

THE GOOD: Although the movie is defined as a comedy, there aren’t many singular “laugh-out-loud” moments, but the movie as a whole is pretty funny; it’s just not the same kind of funny as watching a good comedian on stage. The movie moves along pretty well so it doesn’t make you want to look at your watch and wonder how much longer until it ends. All the characters have a pretty good mix of realism and exaggeration to them. It’s just enough where you don’t pass the movie off as just a slap-stick type of comedy, but also enough embellished enough to not make it a Hallmark kind of movie. I also wanted to note that I loved the soundtrack to the movie, which is mainly a collection of alternative rock.

THE BAD: If you want to watch this as a family, you have to be careful. Although there isn’t a ton of swearing, there are a lot of drug, alcohol and sexual scenes and innuendoes. Most of the “high school kids” in the movie are perpetually drunk, high or having sex or some combination. This isn’t a surprise as this is also an MTV movie. Again, if you were looking for a comedy that will leave your sides sore, this probably is not the movie for you. Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but it just isn’t hilarious for the most part. Instead of a howling laugh, it’ll leave more of a half-smile on your face the whole way through. Also, when you watch the movie, there is a little boy that makes you just want to reach in the TV and slap him across the face. This was obviously done on purpose, but maybe it was done a little too well. I don’t know if the boy could be that good of an actor that young… Just a little side-note.

FUN FACTS:  Jack Black wore a wig throughout the entire film Three people involved in the production have famous parents. Colin Hanks is Tom Hanks' son, Schuyler Fisk is Sissy Spacek's daughter and director Jake Kasdan is Lawrence Kasdan's son Jack Black is writer Mike White's next-door neighbor; his part in the movie was written specifically for him. Surprisingly little was improvised

WORD OCCURS WORD OCCURS A** 6 RACIAL FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN 0 A**H**E 1 B*****D 0 RACIAL FOR HISPANIC 0 B**CH 1 (used as “bitchin’”) C*** 0 RACIAL FOR ASIAN 0 D**N 2 F*** 1 RACIAL FOR CAUCASSIAN 0 G**D*** 2 H**L 0 RACIAL FOR OTHER 0 M*****F****R 0 S**T 1 LORD'S NAME IN VAIN 12 * These numbers are as accurate as possible, but some mistakes may be present. This is to give a general idea of the vulgarity and not to represent a precise measurement system.

Movie Review: Heart and Souls

TITLE: Heart and Souls

STATS: U.S. RATING: PG-13 RUN TIME: 104 min GENRE: Comedy/Fantasy/Romance DATE: 8/13/1993 COMPANY: Universal Pictures LANGUAGE: English

MY SUMMARY: Four people from completely different backgrounds are involved in a fatal bus crash at the same time a baby is born, therefore they are linked to the boy. They discover however, that they are causing problems for the young boy as people think he has mental problems so they decide to disappear. Twenty years later, they discover the reason they haven't crossed over is so that they can complete their unfinished business that they each had before they died. In order to do this, they must make Robert Downey Jr. believe in them again and the adventure begins...

IMDB SUMMARY: In 1959, Milo, Penny, Julia, and Harrison board a bus that later crashes, and all of them die but do not go to heaven right away. A baby is born in town at the same moment the bus crashes. The four dead passengers are tied to the baby, who would be named Thomas. For some reason Thomas can see them, and Thomas grows fond of them but when people think that Thomas might have something wrong with him, they decide not to let Thomas see them, which devastates him. Thirty years later Thomas is all grown and a little jaded when it comes to letting people into his life, and the four of them are still with him even though he can't see them. One day they simultaneously appear to him, and stay by his side until each one completes the final task of their personal lives.

DIRECTOR: Ron Underwood

ACTORS: Robert Downey Jr., Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodard, Kyra Sedgwick, Tom Sizemore, David Paymer, Elisabeth Shue

MY RATING: 7 out of 10

ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 50%

MOVIEFONE RATING: Not Available

ROGER EBERT RATING: Not Available

THE GOOD: The movie has pretty decent special effects for the time and the acting wasn't too bad for what I would call a "fill-in" movie (a movie that doesn't launch anyone's career, but gives the actors a paycheck). I especially liked Robert Downey Jr.'s acting when the characters inhabit him. I also liked how their last "mission" tied everything together and completed the movie so to speak. There were plenty of heart-warming moments where even a criminal becomes a good guy. The movie also had some good morals, such as there is always hope and don't let love pass you by.

THE BAD: This is a pretty cheesy romantic comedy which is something I enjoy, but if you don't enjoy this kind of movie then you definitely wouldn't like this one. It is as cheesy as it gets, but it is a pretty good movie for families. The one thing that really got me was a fight scene with Milo at the beginning of the movie. It was horrible. They didn't get anywhere near hitting each other. It was just a little too fake for me, but if you aren't as obsessive-compulsive as I am, then you'd probably look over it.

FUN FACTS:  When Robert Downey Jr. is a kid in the bathroom of his school, he doesn't actually wash his hands. He doesn't even turn the water on! The microphone at the B.B. King concert looked to be a SM58 microphone made by Shure The guest comedian at The Purple Onion is Bob Newhart, played by his real life son, Robert William Newhart

WORD OCCURS WORD OCCURS A** 2 RACIAL FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN 0 A**H**E 0 B*****D 2 RACIAL FOR HISPANIC 0 B**CH 1 C*** 0 RACIAL FOR ASIAN 0 D**N 7 F*** 0 RACIAL FOR CAUCASSIAN 0 G**D*** 1 H**L 3 RACIAL FOR OTHER 0 M*****F****R 0 S**T 3 LORD'S NAME IN VAIN 10 * These numbers are as accurate as possible, but some mistakes may be present. This is to give a general idea of the vulgarity and not to represent a precise measurement system.