TheMovieRhino's stats
- Review count647
- Helpfulness votes412
- First reviewNovember 16, 2008
- Last reviewMay 26, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.9
Overall rating
5
/
5
Drive Angry 3D is One Wild and Crazy Ride!
PostedFebruary 26, 2011
Drive Angry is a grindhouse movie and, as a grindhouse movie, it is a 5 star success! It may be the ultimate grindhouse 3D flick! Know that this is not a street racing flick like "Fast and Furious"! The 3D is sharp and effective and adds to the graphic violence, sexually charged scenes, car chases and explosions! Not for the squeamish, faint of heart or those looking for a deeper meaning beyond the violent quest! This film is what it is! Drive Angry is packed with extreme characters that are salted with a bit more dimensionality than the characters in the typical grindhouse reeler. Given this genre of action movie it is "blessed" with great cinematography and sound, a story-line that has a few nice twists and turns, some interesting dialogue (at times - even though the "f" word is abundantly over used), and above average actors acting! If you liked Kill Bill 1 & 2, Grindhouse and Pulp Fiction you should get a thrill from Drive Angry. Primal and well done! If you are over 17, have a penchant for the rare quality grindhouse flick, drive peacefully and safely, but, do drive, to your nearest multiplex and see Drive Angry in 3D! It is quite a ride!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Take a Trip to the Big City and see Cedar Rapids!
PostedFebruary 21, 2011
This movie is a hoot on virtually every level. I was born and raised in Iowa, attended college and got married there. I am an old, simple midwestern boy at heart (even though Arizona has been home now for almost 30 years). My wife of 34 years is from Cedar Rapids! Ed Helms is perfectly cast as the honorable sales guy attending his first big convention, making his first plane flight and staying in a big city hotel in Cedar Rapids IA (the home of the Quaker Oats company). Ed's character is repressed on a nuclear level. The mix of characters and the mis-adventures that they find themselves in is hilarious and most of us can at least relate on some level (especially if you are from the midwest and have a sales background). This comedy gem is a perfectly blended stew with a wide range of comedy seasoning. At times it is innocent and sweet .... at times it is raunchy and audacious .... at times it is weird and eccentric .... at times it is physical and slapstick ... and it traverses all of these comedic stylings with originality, panache and congruity. Bravo - all of you funny people that put your geniuses to work to tickle our funny bones in "Cedar Rapids"! You nailed it! I'm laughing out loud as I write this review just remembering scenes from the movie. No finer compliment ..... a big Rhino Horn up!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
4
/
5
Know that "Unknown" is Worth a Theater Viewing!
PostedFebruary 21, 2011
With so many main-line critics bashing "Unknown" you would think that there could be very little divergence of opinion. Yet - there is. We all liked it and enjoyed the whole "Liam Neeson character's" journey. You feel compelled to guess at what is really going on before you even begin to watch the movie (due to the effective marketing and trailers) and this effort to try and figure everything out continues and intensifies throughout the film. To it's credit we continued to be surprised by the twists and turns clear through to the ending. This is escapist fare and not meant to be a facsimile of the gritty, melancholy "real world" we all live in. We give "Unknown" a Rhino's Horn up and recommend it .... as long as you can let loose a bit and "go with the flow".
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+4points
4of 4voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
1
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5
Ah - Allow Me To Ruminate on The Roommate ....
PostedFebruary 21, 2011
.... save your hard earned movie bucks fellow cinematic wayfarers. You have seen this one many times before .... and often much better ... at that. This is a 2D movie with 1D acting. Nothing is original here which is why no one in the movie audience jumps or shrieks - ever! Not even a "cheap scare". This movie is so flat, so uneventful .... simply so bad .... that you may be driven mad out of sheer frustration. At least as you go "looney-toons" and begin to growl and grumble and salivate and stare without blinking at the "nothings-going-on" on the screen ... your fellow audience members may begin to feel a bit tense and scared .... which is their only chance at being frightened while watching "The Roommate"! With all of the accurate and bad reviews you are reading about this movie, if you still find yourself compelled to see it, perhaps you will need to schedule a therapy appointment in conjunction. Say NO to The Roommate! A giant Rhino Horn down!
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
The Illusionist - Art Pretending to be a Movie....
PostedFebruary 19, 2011
The Illusionist is a moving watercolor morality tale packed full of subtle messages and life lessons. Even without a story this gorgeous animated (really far more than what most would think of as simply animated) 82 minute film would be worth your viewing investment on the big screen. It is NOT a movie for children .... with the exception of older children with a very sophisticated movie palette. There is no violence, no sex and no foul language but the subtlety and quietness of this movie and the journey it takes us on will bore most under 30 year-olds silly. I was transfixed from start to end. I rarely buy a movie for home viewing but I will purchase The Illusionist. I like collecting art! Be sure to stay until after the titles at the end for one final act of visual whimsy. Not to be missed by those that want more than standard fare when they go to the movies. Magnifique!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
3
/
5
I Am Number Four is a Toss-up ....
PostedFebruary 19, 2011
.... and here is why: It is a "mixed bag". On the "rhino horn" up side is - some original and interesting special effects and creature effects (all are not original though), a few decent actors that do a nice job - like Olyphant and lead actor Pettyfer (in spite of Pettyfer being "over-directed"), a well-imagined - if not totally original - premise that has "good aliens" hiding out from "bad aliens" on good old planet Earth and those bad aliens themselves - dressed in black with front facial "gills", cool tattoos, menacing sneers, spikey teeth and intensity. On the "rhino horn" down side we have - too long of a movie, many below average actors, too much teenage "angst" as filler between the meatier sci-fi sequences, often weak dialogue and weirdly very poor sound work (often one actor is very clear while the opposing actor - in the same scene - cannot be heard and/or understood). It has been a long time since I found myself "snoozing" in a film and I have seen some boring doozies .... sadly I did sleep through about 15 minutes of this one and right at the time the big exciting things were "about to happen". The pacing and drawn out length simply lulled me into nappy-ville and that does not add to the luster of this flick. Best Rhino advice is to go but be forewarned or don't go and rent later. My bet is if you are under 30 you will tend to like it more.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+3points
3of 3voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
4
/
5
The Eagle Soars Without Special Effects ....
PostedFebruary 13, 2011
.... and is a throwback to quest movies of the past. TheMovieRhino is cutting against the grain of many movie reviewers on MovieTickets.com this weekend. Saw the new Adam Sandler flick (Just Go With It) Friday night and could find very little to redeem it .... but many other reviewers seemed to like it!? It appears that many reviewers are not caring too much for "The Eagle" while TheMovieRhino found it to be enjoyable - maybe even a guilty pleasure. Yes, it is a bit 2-dimensional at times ... and, yes, the dialogue is a a bit stiff occasionally .... and all of the pieces do not always perfectly and logically align themselves .... BUT what gorgeous cinematography and breathtaking landscapes .... how refreshing it is to see battles without obvious CGI .... and how clarifying is it to have a straight forward quest and purpose for a hero to strive for?! I enjoyed the whole film. Thank you Donald Sutherland for adding just the right amount of heft. Escapist, gritty, heroic, adventure tale that will draw you in .... if you let it. Channing Tatum shows promise as a lead actor. He is someone to follow. Let's see what his next film roles are! He will be smart, I think, to keep them varied and on the dramatic side - at least for a while.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
2011 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts - Cool Stuff!
PostedFebruary 13, 2011
First - thank you Harkin's Valley Art Theater for bringing the 2010 Oscar nominated shorts in animation to Arizona! Dan Harkins - you are the best! Loved "The Lost Thing", "The Gruffalo" and "Madagascar" but I think the supremely inventive front-piece for Toy Story III - "Day & Night" will grab the Oscar. Very creative and beautiful work in all 5 nominated pieces and the 2 extra shorts (especially "Cow wants to be a Hamburger" that are part of this anthology! Kudos to all involved. What fun!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
1
/
5
Don't Go With "Just Go With It"....
PostedFebruary 11, 2011
.... why bother? Imagine every other Adam Sandler movie and the typical persona that he portrays on screen .... here it is again. Now, take the one thing that makes watching that same Adam Sandler persona engaging - that being some really crazy humor and sight gags - and eliminate those (or at least most of them) and tone it down a notch. What's left? Not much. One can boil down the really funny parts of "Just Go With It" to about 10 minutes (the sheep CPR scene, the deflated booby scene, the final negotiation for swimming with the dolphins scene). I had already committed to never going to another Adam Sandler flick and then I got sucked in by reading a review that stated "...for an Adam Sandler movie this one is not bad..."! The reviewer should have substituted the words "just as" instead of "not". Guess I'm just tired and bored from seeing Adam Sandler play Adam Sandler for the umpteen zillionth time. I suppose the plan is he will keep making this flotsam as long as he can keep stuffing millions in his mattress. Sandler will probably "go with it" .... but I am determined to "not". What is that definition of insanity again?
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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-1point
2of 5voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Barney's Version is Original and Engrossing....
PostedJanuary 31, 2011
...and both Giamatti and Hoffman provide some of the best acting seen on the screen in the last year or two! My favorite Hoffman performance ... ever! Barney is a sad man that we can all relate to because his myopic self-absorption and selfishness are such a big part of the human beings that we all are. One sees enough humanity and vulnerability in Barney so that, by the movie's end, we really do care about him, in spite of the pain he creates and the hurts he visits on others around him. This is testimony to director Lewis and Giamatti. Thank the Lord that there are still directors, producers and artists willing to invest in making unusual, quality dark drama-comedies like Barney's Version. Don't miss it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.