Scott's Case Files

Serenity - An Old Friend - 3/5

Firefly, the sci-fi series that was then turned into the movie Serenity, was taken from us before its time.  It was an incredible and groundbreaking sci-fi series and you don't hear that often in that genre.  But due to mismanagement and just bad judgment on the part of the network, it was canceled.  Bad decision.

So onto the film.  Serenity gets a solid 3 out of 5 stars from me.  It was really great and felt like I was watching an unaired episode of Firefly.  The story was at a TV series level with a Hollywood film budget...and that's really what I wanted.  It wasn't epic by any means, but it was a great episode and I look forward to more.

The movie takes place six months past the final television episode.  In reading up on it, they made mention that the Malcolm Reynolds (the captain of the crew) would be a bit darker character, having finally seen and gone through too much.  That worried me, since the character thrives off of living the bad but having faith in the good - if he lost that edge, he just wouldn't be the same and neither would the entire series.  For that matter, each of the characters in the ensemble cast lent their own flavor to the dish that was Firefly and made it special...and tasty!  For any of them to seriously skew their character would throw the rest of the series off.  I'm happy to say that Mal is still Mal, though like the rest of us he changes slightly through time.

So seeing the film was like meeting an old friend on the street by surprise.  I'm glad that Firefly popped back into my life - I'll have to keep in touch.

Go onto the continuation if you don't mind SPOILERS.  I repeat: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.  Read at your own risk or if you've already seen the flick.

Wedding Crashers Rocks! 4/5

Wedding Crashers has been out for a couple weeks now, I believe, and I'd heard nothing but good reviews of it.  So I just had to take a look and I'm glad that I did.

CONSTANT laughs.  I can't remember the last movie that had me laughing uncontrollably more consistently throughout.  Vince Vaugn's character definitely stole the show, though Owen Wilson was definitely good for his share of the laughs.  The humor was certainly off-color and non-PC, but that's the way I like it.  The thing is, things were so funny because they were so true.  Men are screwed up.  Women are screwed up.  Relationships are pretty screwed up at any given time.  But the great thing about being humans is that we somehow find happiness and love despite (or maybe because of) these factors.  The Wedding Crashers brings that out.

I gave the movie 4 out of 5 stars, which is a very good review.  It would have gotten five stars, but I wasn't sure of the re-viewing factor - can't decide if the scenes would only be funny the first time.  This is definitely one of those comedies that is fun with someone else or a group (like a theater audience) as you feed off of each other's mirth during the showing.  It wouldn't be as funny sitting by your lonesome.

So get out there and see it - money well spent, in this reviewer's opinion.

Zombie Finale - 3/5 Stars

I had to check out Land of the Dead this past weekend.  Of all the zombie movies out there, I'd rate it as second only to the remake of the original Night of the Living Dead (not to be confused with the more recent remake of Dawn of the Dead).  This is not to say that I think that zombie movies are classics in cinema, but if horror is the genre you're looking for, a good zombie movie goes a long way.

I give Land of the Dead a solid three stars within its genre.  I happen to like the slow but sure moving, shambling zombies as opposed to the more recent fad of the sprinting dead.  To this movie they added a new twist - some zombies are now developing at least slightly higher brain function, giving them the ability to organize and communicate on the most rudimentary of levels.  Alot of fans have called this a mistake, but I say it was a good move especially for the finale of the Dead movies.  People fear the unknown - that's what brings them to horror and supernatural movies.  Now due to the proliferation of zombie movies since the 70's we know as general knowledge several things about zombies (from the cinematic point of view): they have only the most basic brain functions going, the only way to "kill" one is to destroy its brain, they want to eat you, and if they so much as bite you it's just a matter of time before you're a zombie too.  So, ironically, zombies have crossed over from unknown and scary to known...and scary.  This new twist adds that element of the unknown again that I believe makes for a better horror flick.

Episode III - The Final Chapter

I went to see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith on opening night and I'm glad that I did.  My biggest gripe with the other two prequels (I liked Episode 1 and could have done with out Episode 2) was that there was no cohesiveness between the prequels and the original movies.  Episode 3 at least ties some of those ends together, but it's obvious that they were dreampt up to do just that in this movie and not planned from the very beginning back in the days of A New Hope.  Overall, I give this flick 4 out of 5 stars.

I enjoyed the acting in this one for the most part and it succeeded where the previous prequels had failed - it really made you feel for each major character and their individual situations.  The whole movie tugged at my geeked-out heartstrings, I tell ya.

Now, for a closer look at the movie, THE CONTINUATION HAS SPOILERS - DO NOT CLICK ON THE CONTINUATION IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET!

Nuff said.

Hitchhiking - 1/5 Stars

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  Holy suckage, Batman!

I don't know what to say.  The acting was contrived, the lines flat and meaningless, and even a lover of the series couldn't possibly find a decent film in this mush.

It was that bad, and I'm pretty generous when it comes to movie reviews.  I just haven't seen anything this bad lately.

In comedy, there's this thing called timing and the director apparently has never heard of it.

It hurt to watch this film and the crowded theater was dead silent for a greater bulk of it.

'Nuff said.  I could have made real use of that eight bucks that I spent on the ticket by wiping my ass with it, but no...I had to choose the movie instead!

The Station Agent 3/5 Stars

Three stars is actually quite a good score on this blog - it's a solid film, but just lacked something to be called extra special or a classic.  The Station Agent isn't a classic but it's a good use of 1.5 hours of your life, in my opinion.

The story follows a dwarf (the term used in the film) who inherits a small train depot in New Foundland, New Jersey.  He's tired of the constant attention and ridicule that he has to endure in the city and wants away from it all - he's a loner at heart in the first place.  So he moves to live in the depot and finds that living the life of the hermit is not quite as easy a dream to realize as he'd thought...

The Punisher - 4/5 Stars

I really don't know why The Punisher (the recent one, not the Dolph Lundgren version) got such negative reviews.  Is it any more violent than any other action film out there lately?  No.  Does it's story diverge from the comic book more than any other "superhero" line?  No.  Is it a good story?  Yes.

Imagine losing everything you loved or that meant anything to you and nothing happening to the offender of this loss.  It could make a person snap (and has many times in the past).  Imagine that spot in your soul that used to be filled with love and contentment now empty and yearning for something to fill it - something, someone, or some purpose.  Frank Castle finds that punishing the offenders is what fills this emptiness for him.  In his words:

"In certain extreme situations, the law is inadequate. In order to shame its inadequacy, it is necessary to act outside the law. To pursue... natural justice. This is not vengeance. Revenge is not a valid motive, it's an emotional response. No. Not vengeance. Punishment."

Bridget Jones: The Edge of My Sanity

You know, I like a good chick flick every now and then.  They're generally good movies with a message and give you warm fuzzies somewhere along the line.  A good way to spend a couple hours.

The new Bridget Jones movie was just painful for me.  I mean I laughed out loud at very brief parts, but for the most part I really could care less about Bridget and her neurosis.  Most of the women I know are self-conscious and have baggage that they carry around with them from former relationships (men can be much the same) but I don't need to see those two things taken to an extreme for my entertainment.  It's more like a train wreck than anything.

**Caution: Spoilers may follow in the continuation.  You have been warned!**

AvP - Movie Bad, PC Game Good

Alien vs. Predator has been eagerly awaited in film version by fans of either mythos since we saw the alien skull in the Predator spaceship in Predator 2. I know I was one of them.

My post title says it all. The AvP movie really wasn't that good (2 out of 5 stars)...while the AvP PC games remain great entertainment.

[Note: Possible movie spoilers follow in continuation!]

You GO, Spidey!

I've watched everything Spiderman ever since I was a kid. I watched the cartoons, had the lunchbox, wore the underoos (no pictures on file, thank you very much!), saw the movies (ala Nicholas Hammond), and wore the Halloween costume. I dreamed of working web-shooters and climbing walls and swinging from building to building righting wrongs and protecting the innocent. So when the first Spiderman came out I was overjoyed and NOT in the least bit disappointed. When Spiderman 2 came out I swore that I'd see it opening night and I did. Again, I was not disappointed.