Topic: RossRoy's Random Viewings

[RossRoy]

Funny I just watch the same one, gave it the same rating and would explain it with the same reasons if I would have wrote a review...

What's the saying? "Great minds think alike"? 

[Dragonfire]

Was that one from one of the movie sets you have?

[Jimmy]

Mine is from this set

and I think Sebastien own the stand alone release

[RossRoy]

Yeah, mine's the stand alone release. The exact one shown in my review actually.

[RossRoy]

The Addams Family / Addams Family Values

WHAT THEY SAY

Looking for something CREEPY...SPOOKY...KOOKY...and altogether OOKY? Come join the Addams Family for twice the frights and gags and ghouls galore with the screamingly funny comedies The Addams Family and Addams Family Values! Gomez (Raul Julia), Morticia (Anjelica Huston), Fester (Christopher Lloyd), Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and the rest of the most totally twisted family in history are serving up a banquest of tempting tricks and treats with two killer comedies that will leave you laughing your head off!

MY THOUGHTS

Wow! It's been a while since I last watched these two movies! Yet, I still could recite the first by heart, albeit in french, even after all that time! It's funny because while I love The Addams Family for it's dark humour and just the way told and filmed, at the same find, I find The Addams Family Values just falls flat on its face. And I just watched them both, back to back, and my opinion still hasn't changed. I find the first movie funny and witty, well written with some genuinely funny gags, both visual and spoken, and I like it's style. I think the main fault of Values is by trying too much to be funny. The school play scene is funny because it puts the Addams in a "normal" setting, but is short enough to still be "The Addams Family". Whereas the whole camp thing in "Values" is just too much. And there's plenty more examples of things that just worked in the first movie, that they tried to replicate in the second that just fall flat. And it's odd because while the actors and crew looked fully invested in the first movie, like they are having fun playing it and doing it the best they can. On the other hand, the second movie reeks of cash in (studio involvement?). Well, at least "Addams Family" is just as good as ever. "Values" is the "bonus movie" in the set, the one you don't really want, but it doesn't change the price of the set, so might as well get it I'm a bit sad though by the lack of french track in this. I don't usually do this, there are very few examples of it (Roger Rabbit, Slapshot and Spaceballs), but I would've preferred the french dub I grew up with. The film is still good in english, but I've seen this movie so many times in its french dubbing, it's like it lost something in translation. Some of the jokes I really did prefer on the french track. The guy who did Gomez's voice in french did really good job back then!

RATING The Addams Family: The Addams Family Values:

[Najemikon]

It's a while since I watched these! I may do again, now you've inspired me.  I always liked Values too as well though. I loved the camp sequence with Wednesday exacting revenge.

[RossRoy]

It's a while since I watched these! I may do again, now you've inspired me.  I always liked Values too as well though. I loved the camp sequence with Wednesday exacting revenge.

The revenge scene at the play is awesome! Thing is, I find the build up in camp to drag on too much. It doesn't help either that I found the two camp leader annoying as hell! Sad though, because I do like the two actors playing them, but the roles themselves were annoying. Yes, I know, it was the point, but it just didn't work for me.

There's also, to me, a really gaping plot hole. How the heck would Fester fall in love for Debbie? Yes I get that he's desperate and jealous of Gomez, that he wants to be loved madly, but Debbie so doesn't fit the bill. I don't see any Addams falling in love with that kind of a lady.

Unless they want to imply that Fester is still an impostor and not the real Fester, which would be reaching too far and I'd probably be reading too much into it.

[RossRoy]

Started watching Fringe yesterday. 

Love it!

Just hearing the theme song makes me want to watch it again and again


Oh and how could I forget! It features a beautiful actress I had never seen before! Anna Torv:


and she has such a sexy, sort of raspy and deep voice!

[Dragonfire]

I really like Fringe too.  I still need to get the second season.

[RossRoy]

Been watching S1 of True Blood (since I don't yet have S2 of Fringe  ) and just witnessed the first "live" vampire killing!

AWESOME!! 

Now that's how a staked vampire should die!

[Critter]

I witnessed that myself not long ago. It's disgusting isn't it? Especially the aftermath.

[RossRoy]

Yeah, it's disgusting. But damn! That's going out with style! 

[Dragonfire]

I still have to watch my set of the first season of True Blood...though I did get the second season of Fringe.

[RossRoy]

True Blood: Season 1

WHAT THEY SAY

Vampires have come “out of the closet” and are now living among us. Surviving on synthetic blood, they no longer need human blood to survive. Or so it seems… The small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana boasts a wide array of colorful locals. Meet Sookie Stackhouse (Academy Award winner Anna Paquin*), a sweet and innocent waitress who hides her powerful ability to read minds; Bill Compton, a 173-year-old vampire who’s just moved back to town; Sookie’s brother Jason, a ladies’ man who can’t seem to stay out of trouble; tough-as-nails Tara, Sookie’s loyal best friend; Sam, the owner of Merlotte’s who tries to keep his feelings for Sookie to himself; Lafayette, a man about town who’s always cooking up something illicit and “off the menu” and a quirky cast of characters who each hide their dark secrets in the shadows of night in this series that’s like no other. From Alan Ball, writer of Oscar-winning Best Picture American Beauty and creator of the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Six Feet Under, comes the critically acclaimed world of True Blood.

MY THOUGHTS

Just finished watching S1 today. I wasn't going to really do a review, but I have to say something. I'm torn. One the one hand, I loved it. The universe it creates, with the Vampire coming out of the closet and the hints to many other things being out in the open, is interesting. It also starts to build a nice little mystery in the first few episodes, featuring a new dead person in each, with all the hints pointing in a single direction as to who might be the killer.... ... then Sookie has sex ... and the whole mystery gets sent to the back seat, and all we get is: Sookie is happy. Sookie is sad. Sookie is angry. Sookie is happy again. Sookie is unsure. Sookie has to work. Sookie is having dark ideas. Sookie is happy again. Sookie is worried. Sookie is being stalked. Oh by the way, sorry to interrupt Sookie's moping, but I believe we should be resolving the murders, don't you think? So here: The killer is that guy. End of season. I mean... Wha?? I get it. The show is about Sookie. Buuut Sookie is not all that interesting so far. And I must say, had the season finale ended when they caught the killer, I'd be done with this. But, throughout the season, they've been planting seeds here and there, and the final 15-20 minutes of the episode are setting up some potentially interesting things for S2 and beyond. I'll be getting S2. But S1? On its own? Meh!

RATING ½

I have to mention though that some secondary.. well you could even say tertiary actors give terrific performances.

One that stands out is Tara's mother, Lettie Mae played by Adina Porter... Wow! You come to hate the woman. But the acting performance? Fantastic!

[Critter]

One that stands out is Tara's mother, Lettie Mae played by Adina Porter... Wow! You come to hate the woman. But the acting performance? Fantastic!

I just finished watching season 1 of True Blood myself recently and out of everything you said the quote above is what caught my attention the most. I didn't mind Sookie, I suppose I can understand why she got on your nerves but as far as annoying characters go Tara's mother was almost too far for me. Tara is one of my favourite characters but every scene with her Mother was just so painfully frustrating that I considered turning off the TV more than once. I can usually deal with frustrating people in TV shows but this women seemed to have no redeeming features at all, and I found that any episode where she had a lot of screentime was hard to get through. I suppose the whole crazy ultra religious thing just rubs me the wrong way.