I wanted to get one more movie out there at the end of 2013, and Robot & Frank has been sitting in my queue to watch for a solid month or so now. A new year is for some a rather serious note, and the last movie didn't feel quite party enough to be a "out with a bang" or serious enough to represent the hopes for the coming year. Welcome then a tale about a man and his robot, where we are reminded that just because something is new doesn't mean we should abandon the old.
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Ever wonder what a buddy cop movie would be like if you replaced the buddy cops with female buddy cops? It's about as ridiculous as one would imagine, although with generally less levels of action and over-the-top explosions. Can the uptight FBI agent overcome her better-than-thou attitude and work together with the rough around the edges and relatively hostile boston beat cop?
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Nevermind the fact that you can find Kaiser spelled with a S or Z depending on where you come from. Never mind that Netflix only had the subtitled version as opposed to the one with the English VA's I've read exists. Forget everything you know about Mazinkaiser, if you knew anything at all. This movie brings the metal back into the giant robot anime.
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When I first saw the trailers, I thought to myself "this ought to be a fun movie, but I don't think I want to pay 10 dollars to see it in theaters." Now, being out on DvD, it finally made it's way to my home for me to check out and possibly enjoy. It's one of those movies where at first glance, you can't really find anything you don't particularly like about it yet you still feel like somehow this movie might be a let down. I'll tell you right now, I might not have wanted to spend 10 bucks at the theater to see it, but between exoskeleton fun and some classic sci-fi staples present me might have a word to say with past me.
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Right off the bat, I'm going to get this warning out of the way: this movie is not for the kids, at all. If you read the description (particularly on Netflix) this movie ends up sounding like it was meant to be some kind of raunchy flick in disguise as a real movie - and indeed, there is a lot of naked in it. What actually got me to watch it was another review (on said Netflix), that elaborated on how they should really change the description because it doesn't really fully engross what the movie is about. So yeah, you watch what sounds good, and that person's little review did a number to make it sound like this could be quite a good flick (I mean, stopping time is always fun, right?) and it's been a bit of time since I've watched a movie that was more artsy then simply how to blow things up / kill things in the coolest fashion.
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Oh the nostalgia that comes out of this one. My roots back into Japanese animation actually reaches all the way back to this very movie, shown once on a Saturday morning before the Sci Fi channel became SyFy. This was the first of the batch I saw, and admittedly I cam in mid way through the adventure and was so lost I didn't finish watching it, but the seeds were planted and I tuned in for many other shows in that timeline, some of which would go on to become my favorite movies, hands down. Years later, I came back to this rather violent and strange tale - smartly watching it from the beginning to the end that time. Tell you what, the only way to watch Akira is from start to finish - otherwise be prepared to not get the most out of it.
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What happens when you take a psychic and combine them with dreams? This movie! Classy story base with a mix of special effects and some decent acting, but does it entertain? You won't need to go to sleep to find out that answer.
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With such a cute little robot on the cover as that, and the Highlander himself listed as an actor, how could I ever pass this one up? Not to say that I wasn't a little suspect that this was going to end up being some super-cheesy SyFy channel original movie, but since I enjoy those movies anyways that wasn't about to stop me either. So we dive straight in, and brace ourselves for what may come.
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Childhood dreams were quite the focus back in the 80's, which led to a lot of movies that a lot of people can relate to. Of course, when I say relate to, I don't think a lot of us ever had the events of the movies happen to us, but who hasn't gotten slightly restless and wanted to journey the world or fantasized about being famous or important? It's a wonderful little starting point to get us involved in the fun entertainment about to unfold, even when the experiences are out of this world. Starfighter tells you mostly everything you need to know in the title, so with luck you've already decide that that much sounds at least interesting enough to read this.
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How do you make a movie about a cappella more accessible to the mainstream movie goer? Obviously, set it in college romance movie setting! Yeah, needless to say this isn't my type of movie, but then again neither was Stranger than Fiction, and I still enjoyed that one. Well, either way, sometimes you watch movies for your own curiosity and sometimes you watch them because those you hang out with. Really though, it's the ever fun a cappella, so how bad could it possibly be anyways, right?
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Ray Harryhausen. It's a name that a lot of people should know, even though in reality these days it's more than likely that less know it than they should. If your old enough, you grew up on his movies, wondering how such creatures could possibly be brought to life - films such as Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans (the original one), and this one. He was a a special effects master when it came to claymation, and (to my knowledge), this is one of the first movies that he tried a new technique and also got to work with childhood friend Ray Bradbury. Giant monster from back in the days of black and white? Right up my alley, but what about you?
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I admittedly am not a huge fan of most of Will Ferrell's movies - stupid comedy such as Anchorman or Elf just don't tend to be my cup of tea. Yeah, I love hearing those types of movies quoted, such as lines from Superbad or Super Troopers , but the movies themselves I just don't find myself enjoying watching as much as some. As such, there was a little trepidation when this movie was requested for me to watch up and review, as I did notice Farrell's name attached - to which I was told it wasn't like those other movies. It's true, this isn't like those other movies, and I feel it might just be a good example of why you shouldn't go to (or avoid) a movie simply because of one actor.
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Even people who don't watch slasher movies know of Halloween, with it's iconic Michael Myers in that white mask. What a better day for a horror movie then on Halloween anyways? As one of the first box-office hits in the genre, it's no wonder that it's a classic - it also has one John Carpenter directing it, so we can be relatively assured that it would at least be amusing. So beyond all the nostalgia, let's figure out just what we have here to draw us all back in.
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I watch a lot of what some would call "the classics," not because I think they are superior to modern movies or anything like that - I just get a kick out of some of the old movies. There are some problems present with watching older movies though - namely, sometimes they show their age in unpleasant ways. Blob is a bit of a big thing for the little town it was filmed in, evoking a yearly Blob-fest that even involves a prized running from the very theater in the film to celebrate. Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself - simple fan status doesn't really always merit the movie being good necessarily, but please do continue.
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Ever hear the old adage that the pen is mightier than the sword? One way of perceiving that phrase is to say that the word is strong than action, and indeed this proves to be the case in this movie. It's hard to precisely label this in the genre of horror, as some would pass it off as a zombie film - although there are indeed similarities that would undersell the true nature of the film. Tighten your coat and secure the fireplace, this wintry tale of terror comes just in time to mimic the changing seasons.
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I have a soft spot for anthology style movies such as this. There are many like it, and indeed some stories are have some rather foreseeable outcomes as is typical of these style of movies, but I've always loved that Tales From The Crypt vibe that comes from horror anthologies. In classic format, Terror Tract delivers three stories all contained within it's one over-story, but keeps things from pandering on at a modest 96 minute run time.
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I remember seeing this as a kid, and that I thought it was pretty scary at the time. Now rather grown up, I return to my childhood to see just what I was thinking - and let me tell you what, it's a lot more humorous than I recall. Heck, I can even feel for the ever-hungry little balls of fur, being a guy who's constantly on the look for some lunch myself - of course, I don't eat the entire cow in one sitting.
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To most of us in this day and age, Dracula is a tale as old as time that we all have seen in at least one of its various forms. Probably most known of the various takes is the Bram Stoker's 1992 edition with Gary Oldman, but of all the actor's to have ever played the famous character it is probably none other than Bela Lugosi who a lot of folks see as the Dracula (especially the older crowd who were raised on the old Universal Horror flicks). Imagine my excitement over getting to see a classic such as this using my already existing Netflix streaming subscription - without even having to look for it manually, as it was kind enough to place it in my "Recommended for you" section. The real question, I suppose, that anyone who hasn't been raised on the classics is probably asking is how does it hold up, so I'll stop blathering on here and get to the point.
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People really like remaking old movies. This is a very dangerous line (remakes), as on the one hand you can draw people that loved the old one - but on the other, you risk being hated for every single thing you changed. It's been seen on numerous occasions - how people reacted to other movies such as the new Superman or Total Recall wasn't as positive as I'm sure the makers had hoped. Sometimes it feels as though it was just done to cash in on the name, and everything else was just tossed out the window. So, with a bit of trepidation I proceeded forth to watch this new Fright Night (not in 3D).
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I love being pleasantly surprised by movies, and I admit that this one did a wonderful job. It was kind of like ordering a cheese pizza, and finding out that you got some bread sticks extra for free - you've got what you want, and something that you like as a bonus. In this particular case, I got what I thought was going to be a ghost story, and got a bit of a compelling depth made to hit people "in the feels" so to speak. Yes, the audio is in Chinese (we'll get that right out of the way now), but as long as you can bear to read a little, you'll probably want to hear what I have to say about this one.
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