Archive for June, 2002

Mr. Deeds

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted June 28, 2002 at 5:53 pm

A Film Review By Jason L. King

Starring: Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder, John Turturro
Directed By: Steven Brill
Rated: Rated PG-13 for language including sexual references, and some rear nudity

Final Grade:

Longfellow Deeds is a small town guy. One of them down to earth, good natured hometown boys who never made it out of his backyard let alone into the real world. Fortunately for Deeds, someone else closely related to him has. But when his filthy rich relative passes away, he leaves Deeds with 40 Billion Dollars. Deeds quickly learns that there are good people and bad people in the world as he is being tricked out of his inheritance by an associate, and as his face appears on the news due to dating a news reporter who he thinks is a lovely school nurse.

Adam Sandler has played the same role in every film. The good natured, good hearted boy, who is really a mentally handicapped child trapped in a man’s body. The good thing is that this works for him. Fans eat this stuff up like cake. Sandler never has to venture out far beyond his Billy Madison shadow for at least the next 20 years. Mr. Deeds, follows the Billy Madison suit, with the same type of character we have seen Sandler develop into over the years. It’s kind of sad, since Sandler just may be a fairly talented actor if given a chance, but the real question is who will give it to him, and if they would give him a chance, would Sandler do it? I just hope someday soon Sandler steps out and tries something new. Pretty soon his childish 5 year old act won’t cut it anymore. Audiences just aren’t very receptive of 60 year old men who’s only claim to fame is saying gibberish like “Abbey Doobie” on the big screen.

Mr. Deeds as a whole was a decent flick. Sure it had a pointless plot, cookie cutter characters, and some pretty lousy puns, but all in all it shouldn’t surpirse you that much since it is a Sandler flick. Adam Sandler has a knack for playing that cookie cutter good natured boy, and so this flick fit well for him. I was told that it was based off of a movie that was made almost Decades ago, but don’t quote me on it, since I have never investigated this myself. Somehow this flick seemed to have Sandler written all over it, and the fact that it is a remake is hard to believe.

So what is my final verdict on Mr. Deeds? Overall not that bad. It’s worth the money you would pay to see it on a Saturday afternoon, or worth the $6.25 if you were too young to make it into an R rated movie (for all you youngins out there). It’s definately no movie of the summer, and its not going to be a box office smash but its worth checking out if you get some time.

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Filed under: Comedy, Movies

Kissing Jessica Stien

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted June 25, 2002 at 10:17 pm

A Film Review By Jason L. King

Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen
Directed By: Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
Rated: Rated R for sexual content and language

Final Grade:

Jessica Stein has it all. A fast paced career, a fast paced life, and the money to support her. But what she doesn’t have is love. Every past romance has been a disaster. But when she stumbles across a personal ad, her life is changed forever. She meets Helen a girl who fulfills all her dreams. The only problem is that can she admit to her family and friends that she is in a lesbian relationship?

Cute, adorable, light hearted and humorous. I enjoyed Kissing Jessica Stein. Some people are turned off by the idea of Lesbian love, but this movie is making a subtle statement. It shows us that there is more to a relationship than sex, and happiness can come from spending time with someone you love regaurdless of their sex. Think of Kissing Jessica Stein as the “Bridget Jones” of lesbianism. Filled with some wit and humor the movie focused on finding the lighter side of the situation, which was well done for such touchy subject matter. Jessica, (Jennifer Westfeldt) was a convincing character, as well as her supporting cast. I really can’t complain about this movie at all. I went looking for a decent romantic comedy, and thats exactly what I got, if not more.

I enjoyed the movie enough to tell you to go check it out. The movie is well worth your time. Sure, some people might be offended by the idea of lesbianism, and other people might be turned on. (Just for the record guys, there is NO nudity) Never the less it’s a great film. if you get the chance, head to Varsity theaters in Ames and figure out why everyone wants to be “Kissing Jessica Stein.”

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Filed under: Drama, Movies, Romance

Minority Report

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted June 24, 2002 at 5:48 pm

A Film Review By Jason L. King

Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farell
Directed By: Steven Speilberg
Rated: PG-13 for violence, drug use and language

Final Grade:

The department of Precrime, has learned to stop murder before it can ever start. There hasn’t been a murder in years, and the system is deemed perfect. Problem is, nothing in this world or the futuristic world is perfect. Except for maybe this film.

Minority Report is the story of John Anderton (Tom Cruise). Anderton is a cop, who lost his son in a kidnapping, and his wife by trying to cope with his son’s loss through a drug addiction. The year is 2054, and Anderton is a member of the Department of Precrime, and organization that through the help of 3 mysterious Precogs are able to see the future and stop murder before it can start. But just before the near perfect organization they call Precrime goes National, a young investigator (Colin Farrell) begins to look through the system to try and find flaws. Anderton soon after finds a flaw. The precogs predict that he will commit murder.

Anderton runs, trying to find out who set him up or if it is a set up at all. It’s a race against time as we watch the story unfold. Will Anderton find out who set him up before his former co-workers find him? Who set him up, or was he even set up at all?
I can’t say enough about this film. I loved every minute of it. Based off a short Story written in the 1950’s by sci-fi author Phillip K. Dick, we get to see both Spielberg and Cruise at their best in this film. Spielberg takes everything he had going for him in last years A.I. and takes it to the next level visually in this movie. The camera work and effects are brilliant. This is the type of work we all know Spielberg is capable of, we just rarely see. He was able to take a 32-page short story and turn it into a beautifully scripted and plot and bring a Phillip K. dick’s futuristic world to life.

Is it worth the cash? Sure. After reading the short story, I was quick to pick out differences; things that were added in but it only enhanced the story even more. The sci-fi fan will love it, and it has something for even the non-traditional sci-fi fan as well. Overall a well-rounded great film that keeps me excited about the rest of the big summer blockbusters. So if you get a chance flock to the theaters, jump in those lines and check out Minority Report. You’ll be glad you did.

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Filed under: Action, Movies, Science Fiction

Lilo and Stitch

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted June 21, 2002 at 10:27 pm

A Film Review By Jason L. King

Starring: Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, Kevin McDonald
Directed By: Chris Sanders
Rated: Rated PG for mild sci-fi action

Final Grade:

Over 17 years ago, Chris Sanders had an idea. His idea was the story of a space creature named Experiment 626, an alien that although cuddly had the ability to destroy cities. Since he couldn’t actually create one himself, and because he works for Disney, years later we find Experiment 626 come to life on the big screen. In this summer’s long awaited Animated feature Lilo and Stitch.

For months we have seen 626 invade many of our old Disney Classics. We have seen him appear in clips of Aladdin, the Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. Who is 626? The lovable blue character known as Stitch. After months of wondering who is Stitch, it’s now time to find out.

Stitch (or 626) is an alien that crash lands in Hawaii. There he meets a young girl named Lilo, who is an outcast among her friends. Lilo adopts stitch thinking that he is a dog, and the two of them learn from each other lessons about love, respect, family and caring for others.

Sounds so warm and cuddly you want to barf right? Amazingly no. Stitch is the most evil little creature I have ever met. (Except maybe a 2 year old who consumed way too much caffeine) Our other character Lilo is a mouthy, snot nose little girl who is best known for brawling and scrapping amongst her friends. When Lilo is threatened to be taken away from her legal guardian it’s through a series of event, Lilo learns that she and Stitch are alike: nothing but trouble.

So is the movie worth the cash? Sure is. Although this isn’t the movie that will bring Disney back to superstardom once again, Lilo and Stitch is a good solid film. There seemed to be plenty of good ideas and some good morals in it. Stitch is easy to fall in love with, and Lilo although annoying has the cute little girl appearance, which makes it easy to forgive her for being annoying at times. The one thing this film does have is emotion. There are many emotional high points and low points in the film, and the audience is taken on an emotional journey with the two characters. That is important because it adds so much more to the film, which is something that I haven’t felt from Disney in a long time.
My Verdict: Makes Atlantis look worse than Rollerball (…maybe it was though….)

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Filed under: Family, Movies

The Bourne Identity

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted June 14, 2002 at 11:45 pm

A Film Review By Jason L. King

Starring: Matt Damon, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Julia Stiles 
Directed By: Doug Liman 
Rated: PG-13 for violence and some language 

Final Grade: 

When I was younger the was a time I wanted to be a spy. I didn’t really want to be the next James Bond, I wanted to be just wanted to be a “normal” spy. No fancy gizmos and gadgets just a spy. So After I grew older, I realized my chances of being a spy were slim, and even if there was a chance I was an idiot all my life for thinking that all those gizmos and gadgets were not cool. Sometimes it takes things like that to win over an audience, and other movie reviewers. This wasn’t the case with “The Bourne Identity.” 
This film, based on a bestselling novel, which I have been told is 100 times better than the film,is the story of Jason Bourne, a former spy for a government organization who wakes up on a fishing boat after a failed mission. Having no idea who he is, he has to piece together his life before the goverment agents who hired him find him. 

Matt Damon is our hero in this film. I never thought I’d say Damon was a decent action star, but all in all it could have been worse. For an example, think about this one, “THe Bourne Identity starring Steve Buschemi. It doesn’t work. Or How about Norm McDonald. see that doesn’t work either, but throw Matt Damon in there, and I can deal with that. Unfortuanately being a huge Kevin Smith fan I keep thinking about the movie “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” and my mind drifs to the Matt Damon “Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season” joke. So everytime I see Matt Damon with a shotgun I just keep thinking “Applesauce B*tch.” If you have no idea what I am talking about, never mind. Even though Damon was somewhat robotic and unbelievable at times, all in all he wasn’t that bad. He’s no Bond, but he’s not that bad, for an old man trapped in an 21 year old kid’s body.

My main disappointment was that my Julia Stiles didn’t get more screen time. However the small role she had, really didn’t deserve any. But since I am a sucker for her and her movies, I could have only hoped for a few more minutes to stare at her on the big screen.

Is the Bourne Identity worth the Cash? Maybe. It’s a huge summer for movies and I have a feeling that there will be many a more things deserving of a ticket than the Bourne Identity, but all in all it wasn’t half that bad, especially compared to the other things it opened with this week. Give it a chance, who knows you just might like it. 

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Filed under: Action, Movies
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