Topic: KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011

[Jimmy]

Certainly better than the first part is, too bad it became an Exorcist rip-off in the second act without it this movie would have been one of the best horror movie sequel.

Was surprised to see Burt Young in this as horror movies are rare for him

Carnival of blood was his first movie. This is an horror movie and he plays an hunchback... That, was a surprise

[KinkyCyborg]

Certainly better than the first part is, too bad it became an Exorcist rip-off in the second act without it this movie would have been one of the best horror movie sequel.

Was surprised to see Burt Young in this as horror movies are rare for him

Carnival of blood was his first movie. This is an horror movie and he plays an hunchback... That, was a surprise

I'll be looking to add that to my collection if for no tother reason so I can see Young's turn as a hunchback!    He certainly has the stature for the part.

[KinkyCyborg]

Rocky Marciano



Title:Rocky Marciano
Year: 1999
Director: Charles Winkler
Rating: R
Length: 100 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Jon Favreau
Penelope Ann Miller
Judd Hirsch
Tony Lo Bianco
Duane Davis

Plot:
Step into the ring with one of America's greatest legends... and stand a couple of rounds with greatness! "Pulling no punches" (LA Daily News) Jon Favreau (Swingers) and Oscar winner George C. Scott give TKO performances in this outstanding biography of the only undefeated world heavyweight champion in the history of boxing!

In the small blue-collar town of Brockton, Massachusetts, young Rocky Marciano (Favreau) turns to the ring as his ticket out. Training twice as hard and twice as long as anyone else, he pounds his way to victory and his reputation quickly spreads as "the guy to beat." But behind the gloves Rocky is unhappy with his gift and he's thinking of retiring. So, with the fate of his career hanging in the balance, he finds a way to unleash his thunder again - this time against his biggest hero - Joe Louis!

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

I actually put off watching this for a few days because I am not a big fan of Jon Favreau and the mostly obnoxious, loud mouthed characters he portrays but while I was at work yesterday I began to think that Rocky Marciano who was loud mouthed, aggressive and brimming with confidence in life might be well served by Favreau.

I was right. I thought he captured the essence of Marcino excellently, nailing the emotions during the highs and lows of his tumultuous career and life. While I have yet to see all of his movies I doubt Favreau will ever achieve anything near as good a performance as this, nor will he ever look as buff.

Like so many athletes from those bygone days, they essentially competed for nothing as they often fell prey to crooked managers and agents who squandered their fortunes. At the end of their careers that had little more than their memories left. This movie gives some insight into the descent of the Brown Bomber, Joe Louis' career as he too had nothing left to show a marvelous boxing career.

George C. Scott is great and likable as Pierro, Rocky's immigrant father who always kept his son grounded and humble.

Great drama for anyone and a must see for boxing fans.

KC

Rating:

[m.cellophane]

Collateral
Great movie and I think one of Cruise's better performances.

hmm. I'll have to check this out. I expected it to be bad for some reason.

The World Is Not Enough
Still haven't watched either of the Daniel Craig Bond movies yet which I hear are unlike anything that came before in the 007 series. Looking forward to watching them.

I grew up with Roger Moore as James Bond (sorry to the Connery crew). I loved Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. And then...I found Daniel Craig to be awesome as James Bond! 

Shooter
Wahlberg is quickly becoming one of my favorite action stars. He's no nonsense, leveled and more down to earth than most of the puffed up action stars of today.

I agree. More often than not, I like Mark Wahlberg's films and I enjoyed Shooter.

P.S.
All I can say is WOW! Laura Linney knocked my socks off!

She's nearly always incredible. If you can see The Big C, I highly recommend it. She's beyond peer in that role.

[KinkyCyborg]

Collateral
Great movie and I think one of Cruise's better performances.

hmm. I'll have to check this out. I expected it to be bad for some reason.

The World Is Not Enough
Still haven't watched either of the Daniel Craig Bond movies yet which I hear are unlike anything that came before in the 007 series. Looking forward to watching them.

I grew up with Roger Moore as James Bond (sorry to the Connery crew). I loved Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. And then...I found Daniel Craig to be awesome as James Bond!  

Thanks for all your thoughts James. I have heard good things about The Big C from others as well so it is definitely on my radar.  
Shooter
Wahlberg is quickly becoming one of my favorite action stars. He's no nonsense, leveled and more down to earth than most of the puffed up action stars of today.

I agree. More often than not, I like Mark Wahlberg's films and I enjoyed Shooter.

P.S.
All I can say is WOW! Laura Linney knocked my socks off!

She's nearly always incredible. If you can see The Big C, I highly recommend it. She's beyond peer in that role.

Thanks for all your thoughts James. I have heard good things about The Big C from others as well so it is definitely on my radar. 

[KinkyCyborg]

Only You



Title:Only You
Year: 1994
Director: Norman Jewison
Rating: PG
Length: 108 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1, Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, French: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Marisa Tomei
Robert Downey, Jr.
Bonnie Hunt
Joaquim de Almeida
Fisher Stevens

Plot:
A love story written in the stars.

An irresistibly romantic comedy from the director of Moonstruck, Only You stars Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. as lovers destined to meet and fall in love. Tomei stars as Faith Corvatch, who, at age 11, asks her Ouija board the name of the man she would marry. As a teen, she asks a carnival gypsy, and receives the same answer: Damon Bradley. But when Damon Bradley never shows, the grown Faith decides to marry an earniest podiatrist. Just 10 days before the wedding, Faith's fiance receives a message from a high school alum- Damon Bradley. On a wing and a prayer, Faith flies to Italy with her best friend in search of Damon.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Silly romantic comedy with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr.

The highlights... Marisa Tomei is deliciously gorgeous in this early role of hers, more so than in any other movie I have seen her in. Bonnie Hunt plays her best friend and I've always liked her and her ability to deliver witty quips and biting retorts. The backdrops, Rome, Venice and the beautiful rolling countrysides of Italy are amazing and I'd love to visit there some day.

The lows... Marisa Tomei's silly performance counters her beauty as she is flippant, ditzy and ultimately annoying. Fisher Stevens inclusion in any film automatically tarnishes it to a a certain degree and lastly, while I don't mind romantic comedies this one was just way too sappy for me.

Won't be revisiting this one again any time soon...

KC


Rating:

[KinkyCyborg]

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li



Title:Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Year: 2008
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Rating: PG-13
Length: 97 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Kristin Kreuk
Chris Klein
Neal McDonough
Robin Shou
Moon Bloodgood

Plot:
Brace yourself for the hard-hitting action and high-flying excitement of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. including an all new unrated cut! Based on the wildly popular Street Fighter video game series, this powerful martial arts adventure explores the origins of the Street Fighter universe through Chun-Li (Kristen Kreuk), who avenges her father’s death at the hands of Bison (Neil McDonough) and his evil Shadaloo Empire. Now the stage is set, the challenge is clear, the legend will be forged...but who will prevail? Round One. Fight!

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Storyboard Comparisons
Closed Captioned
Theatrical and unrated versions

My Thoughts:

I was never a fan of any of the generations of Street Fighter games but I thought this screen adaptation was decent action fare.

Excellent fight choreography and an interesting enough story although they could have better explained the magical forces or 'powers' that some of the combatants had.

Kristen Kreuk played Chun-Li... a looker and an ass-kicker! I had never heard of her before this and I'm quite impressed... a Canadian no less too! Chris Klein, whom I'm used to playing those Aww shucks, straight arrow type characters seemed out of place as the sweaty, macho Interpol Agent Nash. Michael Clarke Duncan was fun as the brawny thumper Balrog. I though Moon Bloodgood would be one of the fighters but she was rather pedestrian... albeit yummy eye-candy! Finally Neal McDonough was great as the evil Bison. He's pulled off the villain roll more than a few times in convincing fashion with those weird eyes and his silver tongued talk.

Given the wide array of different characters from the Street Fighter world the possibility of follow-up flicks is quite likely. If they are comparable to this one I'll be eager to check them out.

Fight!!!

KC


Rating: ... and a half.

[KinkyCyborg]

Surviving Christmas




Title:Surviving Christmas
Year: 2004
Director: Mike Mitchell
Rating: PG-13
Length: 91 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1, Pan & Scan 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Ben Affleck
James Gandolfini
Christina Applegate
Catherine O'Hara
Josh Zuckerman

Plot:
It's madness, mischief and mayhem when rich executive Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) decides to rent himself a family for the holidays. Tired of spending Christmas alone, Drew makes the Valcos (James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate and Catherine O'Hara) an offer they should have refused. Now their annoying guest and his outrageous demands are turning their Noel into a nightmare in this hilarious slapstick comedy that puts the fun in family dysfunction.

Extras:
Scene Access
Bonus Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Gallery
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Atrociously bad movie through the first hour that only improves a smidgen in the last half hour. While I realize that Ben Affleck's performance was intentionally over the top in his portrayal of a weird rich guy who rents a family for Christmas, it was so detestable that you pray for it to end.

A great supporting cast including James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara and Christina Applegate who provide the few and far between laughs that were to be had but it wasn't even remotely enough to salvage an even average movie watching experience.

Terrible! 

KC

Rating:

[KinkyCyborg]

Monkey Love



Title:Monkey Love
Year: 2002
Director: Mark Stratton
Rating: R
Length: 95 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, English: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles:

Stars:
Jeremy Renner
Séamus Dever
Amy Stewart
Mary Margaret Robinson
Jesse Vint

Plot:
College senior Amy (Amy Stewart) is stuck-in-a-rut and about to discover there's nothing like sex to mess with your head and throw a monkey wrench into your life. Living at home with her annoying parents and trapped in a platonic triangle with her two best pals since the 3rd grade. Dil (Jeremy Renner) and Aaron (Seamus Dever), Amy decides to make a drastic change. Convinced that the only way to open her life up to new and exciting experiences is to get rid of her best friends, she decides to sleep with both of them and then dump them. Unfortunately, her "best-laid" plans for more excitement turn their comfortable friendship into a tangled web of super-charged emotions with hilarious but life-changing consequences for everyone.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers

My Thoughts:

There are only two things notable about this movie. The inclusion of Jeremy Renner, early in his career with much better things ahead of him and seeing William Sanderson again, best known as Larry from Newhart. 'I'm Larry, this is my brother Daryl, this is my other brother Daryl..." 

Other than those mere trivia bits this movie is a complete and utter joke. Couldn't wait for it to be over. Avoid at all costs.

KC


Rating:

[KinkyCyborg]

Carnivàle: The Complete First Season



Title:Carnivàle: The Complete First Season
Year: 2003
Director: 1. MilfayRodrigo Garcia, 2. After the Ball Is OverJeremy Podeswa, 3. TiptonRodrigo Garcia, 4. Black BlizzardPeter Medak, 5. BabylonTim Hunter, 6. Pick a NumberRodrigo Garcia, 7. The RiverAlison MacLean, 8. Lonnigan, TexasScott Winant, 9. InsomniaJack Bender, 10. Hot and BotheredJeremy Podeswa, 11. Day of the DeadJohn Patterson, 12. The Day that Was the DayRodrigo Garcia
Rating: NR
Length: 632 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
1. MilfayMichael J. Anderson
Adrienne Barbeau
Patrick Bauchau
Clancy Brown

Plot:
1934. The Dustbowl. The Last Great Age of Magic.
In a time of titanic sandstorms, vile plagues, drought and pestilence - signs of God's fury and harbingers of the Apocalypse - the final conflict between good and evil is about to begin. The battle will take place in the heartland of an empire called America, where a traveling carnival harboring Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl), a troubled healer, will clash with an Evangelical ministry led by Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown). And when it is over, man will forever trade away wonder for reason.

Episodes:
1. Milfay
2. After the Ball Is Over
3. Tipton
4. Black Blizzard
5. Babylon
6. Pick a Number
7. The River
8. Lonnigan, Texas
9. Insomnia
10. Hot and Bothered
11. Day of the Dead
12. The Day that Was the Day

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

I find myself gravitating to the HBO/Showtime type of tv series rather than the scads of unwatched network tv shows I have probably because in general they are much edgier and bold than those shows subject to the sensors.

This time I picked Carnivàle.

Taking place during the depression of the 30's, this traveling band of performers cross dust bowl after dust bowl trying to eek out a meager living. I immediately drew comparisons to The Grapes Of Wrath as the hardships and the misery come across almost identical.

There is a supernatural element to this series with certain characters possessing powers of varying degrees. Among them is Ben Hawkins, played by Nick Stahl. He can heal and give life but at a terrible price. He is destined to collide with another man, a priest called Brother Juston, played by Clancy Brown, best remembered as the sadistic Captain Hadley in The Shawshank Redmption. Despite being a man of the cloth he is filled with sinful thoughts and ambitions. What exactly is the crux or reason these men will eventually square off against one another is never really revealed at any point in this first season. That revelation, and as it turns out, it's conclusion, will all play out in the second and final season of the series.

This was likely HBO's shortest running series and while I find it very interesting it's not hard to see why it might lose an audience quickly as it can at times be weird and hazy, full of confusing dreams and visions by the two main characters.

Some excellent additions to the cast include Adrienne Barbeau, older but still beautiful as a snake charmer, Amy Madigan, as Brother Justin's sister and accomplice Iris and the diminutive Carnivale boss Samson, played brilliantly by Michael J. Anderson.

I'm looking forward to season 2 if not for the great acting and interesting side stories that take place, then because I'm hoping that it will all start to make more sense. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will but I have a sneaky suspicion I'm going to find out why this show ended after two short seasons.

KC

Rating:

[goodguy]

This was one of the most wonderful TV series I've ever seen and it is a shame that even on HBO it couldn't run its course. In S2, the pace picks up a bit and the show becomes more forthcoming in revealing its secrets.

[KinkyCyborg]

This was one of the most wonderful TV series I've ever seen and it is a shame that even on HBO it couldn't run its course. In S2, the pace picks up a bit and the show becomes more forthcoming in revealing its secrets.

We are a few episodes in to season 2 now and you're right, things are slowly starting to come together now and the tension is building quite nicely. I can tell that I too am going to be disappointed to see it end.

[KinkyCyborg]

The Men Who Stare At Goats




Title:The Men Who Stare At Goats
Year: 2009
Director: Grant Heslov
Rating: R
Length: 94 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
George Clooney
Ewan McGregor
Jeff Bridges
Kevin Spacey
Stephen Lang

Plot:
In this comedic look at real life events that are almost too bizarre to believe, reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) discovers an experimental top-secret wing of the U.S. military called The New Earth Army, trained to change the ways wars are fought through New Age psychic power. In search of his next big story, Wilton tracks down Lyn Cassady (Academy Award winner George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be a member of this legion of "Warrior Monks" with unparalled psychic powers who can read the enemy's thoughts, pass through walls, and even kill a goat by staring at it.

Marshall Fine of the Huffington Post states Academy Award nominee "Grant Heslov's wild comedy is a delicious and funny trip through the powers of the mind - and the powers of suggestion."

Inspired by Jon Ronson's non-fiction bestseller of the same name, this is an eye-opening and hilarious story of the government's attempts to harness soldiers' paranormal abilities in order to combat its enemies. Also stars Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey and Academy Award nominee Jeff Bridges.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Production Notes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Purportedly based on true events, this movie boasts that only the most bizarre facts are true. There were many bizarre and humorous moments but I guess without doing a bit of research it would be hard to garner which ones to believe.

The military looking into psychic and paranormal applications for combat is not unheard of in either fiction or real life. Every nation has at one time or another looked into alternative methods of fighting wars with the superpower nations leading the way I'm sure. If this movie is indicative of their success they obviously have a long way to go as making goats drop dead with a stare and dissipating clouds with your mind can't possibly tip the scales in favor of one side or another. Still, it was an insightful look into the attempt to tap into alternative combat applications brought to life by an excellent cast including George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor and Kevin Spacey. Stephen Lang, trying to run through a wall only to knock himself on his ass was a great, hilarious opening salvo, letting you know right away this movie is going to be a bit off the beaten track. 

Weird but entertaining.

KC


Rating:

[Rogmeister]

I thought of getting The Men Who Stare At Goats recently.  There were several copies at my local Blockbuster which is going out of business...but I didn't and I think that store may have finally closed it's doors by now.  Is this something like a Coen Brothers film?  I always had that idea...but perhaps I was wrong.

[Najemikon]

I really liked The Men Who Stare At Goats. Not sure what Kevin might say, but I thought the same as you, Rog, that it looked like a Coen movie. But by the end, no I'd say not. In some respects, it most resembles one of their "Idiot" films, but this film treats its subject more kindly. Ewan McGregor is essentially us, the viewer. He stumbles into this strange world and perhaps understandably, he sees them as deluded nutters! But Clooney and Bridges are so genuine and honest that they might just win him and us over.

It has such an understated delivery. Kevin Spacey is bloody funny too. I swear, the simple scene where he channels his spirit guide to reveal the contents of a box had me in stitches! Kevin, did you see the deleted scenes? There's another Spacey clip in there I thought was great, where he attacks Clooney during a self-defence class. I understand why they cut these things, but such a shame to lose Bridges' line!