VIDEO: MOVIE: REVIEW: RE-REVIEW: Mind Game (2004)
Clint:::::: 3.8/5 stars, 7.4/10.
Carolyn: 3.6/5 stars, 7/10.
THIS IS A SERIOUS DOWNGRADE from my previous rating of 5/5 stars, 10/10, after watching it 7 yrs ago in 2005, where I reviewed it on my blog at https://clintjcl.wordpress.com/2005/08/09/best-movie-ive-seen-in-a-long-long-long-time/
… Simply put, I didn’t like this as much as the first time. I wasn’t as impressed by the crazy, style-changing animation as I was the first time around (perhaps).
The film won Japan’s most prestigous anime award, and is pretty inspiring and very unique… But it just doesn’t hold up to a rewatching as well as we’d hoped.
Sucks to have to downgrade from a 10 to a 7! 50% of people who watch this movie give it 9-10/10, so it’s still quite good, and better than 95% of anime out there. Perhaps one’s enjoyment of this movie is based on one’s mood?
Studio 4oC is an awesome studio, though, and I automatically pay more attention to something if “4oC” is attached to it.
LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452039/
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VIDEO: MOVIE: REVIEW: Spy Kids 1 (2001) – Machete’s first appearance
2.8/5 stars, 5.8/10 from both of us.
Native ratings: 3.4/5 (Netflix guess for us=3.2/5), 5.5/10 IMDB.
This could have been better, but some of it was waaaaayyyyy too convenient at times.
Still worth it to see the first film appearance of Machete, who was a character in the Spy Kids movie before he had his own movie.
Also cool to see Cheech Marin.
But yeah. Even with low expectations, this was a slight disappointment. It was still entertaining and enjoyable, just not very much.
I mean, it’s the same director as Sin City, Planet Terror, and The Faculty. Robert Rodriguez apparently has a decent range for directing different kinds of movies.
LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0227538/
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VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Goon (2011)
3/5 stars, 7/10 from both of us.
Native ratings: 3.7/5 (Netflix guess for us=3.6/5), 7.0/10.
So for once, we rated lower than average. Probably because we despise sports. Yet, this was a quite serviceable sports comedy, and I have no regrets watching it. We laughed. And apparently it’s a “true” story, albeit turned into a comedy. A bloody, bloody comedy.
However, the ONLY reason I convinced myself to watch this was that it was co-written by a  writer who worked on Pineapple Express, Superbad, Da Ali G Show, and The Green Hornet. And the other co-writer? Jay Barchel, the gangly kid from Undeclared, Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Fanboys, & The Rules Of Attraction.
Actores include Seann William Scott (Stifler from American Pie) — who seemed to be breaking his previous acting range, playing a soft-spoken, humble character, instead of a full-of-himself asshole. His acting was actually a treat. Also with Alison Pill (Kim Pine from Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World), Liev Schrieber (Sabretooth from the X-Men movies, Cotton Weary from Scream 1-3), and Eugene Levy.
Yea, this was an enjoyable sports comedy. And most people seemed to like it even more than we did.
“Two rules, man: 1) Stay away from my fuckin’ percocets; and 2) Do you have any fucking percocets, man?”
LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1456635/
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VIDEO: MOVIE: REVIEW: Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
4/5 stars, 8/10 from both of us
3/5 stars, 7/10 was what we gave Kung Fu Panda 1.
Native rating: 4.0/5 stars, 7.4/10. (Netflix guess for us=3.8, which makes sense since we rated the original lower).
We actually liked this more than 1! Fancy that!
I wonder if this has to do with the fact that we watched Kung Fu Panda 1 during our movie-glut of watching 200+ movies in a year.
We stopped doing that, because we eventually learned (by analyzing our numerical ratings) that watching movies more often makes you enjoy them less. The rating disparity could be completely because we are watching movies at a rate of about 90/yr instead of 200/yr (the rate we held up for several years after buying a 52″ tv – I think the honeymoon finally wore off).
Who knows.
But this was good.
And funny.
And entertaining.
And well-animated.
I forgot just how funny the dialog and attitude of these movies were.
I had put this off for a long time. Probably because of how nonplussed we were by episode 1 of the animated series.
But it turns out this is really good!
And you get to learn more backstory about Po (the kung-fu panda).
I’ll have to remember NOT to pass up movie 3 when it comes out. This franchise is better than we remember.
LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302011/
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Claire's blog 