Mean girls

Olga and I watched “Mean girls“. We expected this movie to be really ugly from the trailer. Basically, that’s why we didn’t go to the cinema to watch it – instead we saw a really terrible DivX with screwed up colors and ratio.

The film wasn’t as bad as it could have been. It is a somewhat typical movie for teenagers, about their problems, with their characters, and with their jokes. There were a couple of funny moments and it was pretty dynamic, but it was not a masterpiece by any measures.

Overall, I would give it a 6 out of 10. Watch it at home, if you have to.

I, Robot

Olga and I went to RIO cinema to watch “I, Robot” today. It is a much hyped film about robots getting too smart and not following three laws of robotics (1. Don’t harm people. 2. Obey people, unless orders conflict with law 1. 3. Self preserve, unless conflict with laws 1 and 2.)

Many people who saw this movie and read original story by Isaac Asimov were really pissed off by how much the film was different. I haven’t read any Isaac Asimov, but I the story was in the film was very simple and stampy usual. Anyone who has seen more than two Hollywood cop movies, knows the story and the characters. By now I think that anything else would be better. So, I do support the group which is pissed off about turning Asimov’s story around and simplifying it, because I really doubt that a classic sci-fi author (or whatever was that he wrote) would come up with such simplicity.

Apart from the simple story, everything else was pretty good. Will Smith was as good as he usually is. Else of the actors crew was acceptable. The soundtrack was pretty good. And the computer graphics were excellent. Graphics were the main point of hype about the film and they proved themselves worthy. Lots of details, dynamics, and surroundings. Lots of things rendered. Actually, even part of Smith was rendered, but that’s a spoiler. :)

In general, I would expect a little less tak and a little more action from a movie like that, but the difference would be small. So, I’ll rate it as a strong 7 out of 10, while Olga thinks that 6.5/10 is enough. Go see it while it is in the movies.

The whole ten yards

Olga and I just watched “The whole ten yards“. It’s so good that we didn’t pay a penny to see it, because it wasn’t worth one. As much as I like the first movie, this sequel is horrible.

Let me stop for a second on major sucking points. Story sucked. Acting sucked. Most of the soundtrack sucked. Camera work sucked. Special effects sucked. Did I forget anything? Maybe. Just so that I have it for sure – acting sucked. It really turns me down to see people who can act pretty good (Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, and others) act like they did here. Yuck!

It is also difficult to say what was the intent of the movie. It is clearly not a comedy. Not one joke made me laugh or smile for that matter. Not one. It is for sure not an action, since there is about 15 shots, 1 dead body, and not a single car chase. It is not a love story, not a soap opera, not a thriller. It is nothing.

If it wasn’t for Amanda Peet, I would have broken my habbit and quit watching the film, so boring it was. Amanda was pleasant to look at. She was very natural and lightlooking (don’t know if there is such a word).

Overall, I’ll give this film a rating of weak 2 out of 10. 1.9 out of those 2 go to Amanda. Pity.

Budweiser WAZZUP!!!

Lev who pointed me to this article (in Russian) which is about Budweiser’s ‘WAZZUP!!!’ advertizing campaign.

The details are not that yummy as they could have been, but a collection of the ads is fantastic. All of them are in QuickTime format (watch with MPlayer or QuickTime Player).

Here are a few movies separately for you to get an idea.

Here is a TAR archive of all of them for an easier download (about 66MB).

Dogma

I was surprised twice right now. Firstly, I was surprised to find “Dogma” on TV. It is just 5 years old. I expected it to need more time to get here, considering how cheap and religios local stations are. Secondly, I was surprised to find out that I haven’t had a blog entry about this film. I have seen “Dogma” more than 20 times and I now it inside out, but I haven’t wrote anything about it here.

Well, I think it is much better to see the movie than to read the review. Especially from such a lousy reviewer such as myself. “Dogma” is a perfect movie in many senses. It is interesting, entertaining, gives you a lot to think about, funny, professional. I like every bit about this movie and it is interesting to note that every time I watch it, I find something new, something that I haven’t noticed before.

“Dogma” is a proud part of my home video library, but since my VCR is not working for some time now, I’ll be happy to get “Dogma” on DVD. Get it, watch it, and enjoy it. It is a sure 10 out of 10 movie.