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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Zookeeper (2011) in Movies

Aug 7, 2019

Zookeeper (2011)

2011 | Comedy, Romance

5.2

(9 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Kevin James plays Griffin Keyes, a sweet, kind-heartened animal loving zookeeper, who is loved by all his cohorts at the Franklin Park Zoo, from his co-workers to the zoo animals. Unfortunately, his status-seeking girlfriend Stephanie (Leslie Bibb) doesn’t feel his job as a zookeeper is very respectable when she rejects his marriage proposal and leaves Griffin completely heartbroken. Crushed, he tries to find a way to win back Stephanie by getting a new job, gaining some confidence and becoming completely different person.

Once the animals realize that Griffin wants to leave the zoo to pursue another job opportunity, they decide to break their code of silence and help Griffin try to win back Stephanie. They begin coaching Griffin in many animal courting techniques, which of course was very funny to watch him attempt to work these moves on a human. Joe the lion (voiced by Sylvester Stallone) suggests “cutting her from the herd” by trying to steal Stephanie away from her currently egotistical boyfriend Gale (Joe Rogan). Enter Kate (Rosario Dawson), the zoo veterinarian and Griffin’s best friend, whose love of animals is comparable to that of Griffin’s. Kate’s role was to try to make Stephanie jealous and help build up Griffin’s confidence and finally make him realize that he needs appreciate who he is.

Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Production co-produced the film along with Kevin James and Director Frank Coraci, a veteran of some of Sandler’s best movies such as the Waterboy, Click, and The Wedding Singer. They attempted to go outside the box and use real animals to play the roles as opposed to CG animals, which was very impressive. Unfortunately I was a little off put by the voices of each animal. They didn’t really match each creature. One thing is for sure, you can always rely on Kevin James to provide some great and painfully uncomfortable physical comedy. He definitely tried to create a movie that teaches people to stay true to who they are and do what you love.

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Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Pixels (2015) in Movies

Jun 11, 2019

Pixels (2015)

2015 | Animation, Comedy, Drama

5.2

(20 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Where's the off switch

When was the last time you went to the cinema to see something original? It’s probably a question a lot of film fans ask themselves and in the last few years, perhaps proved rather difficult to answer.

However, with 2015 being the year of the reboot and the sequel, it’s nice to see a film like Pixels showcasing something completely different. But is it worth a go?

Directed by Chris Columbus of Mrs. Doubtfire and Harry Potter fame, Pixels stars Adam Sandler, Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage and a woefully miscast Kevin James in a film that doesn’t do enough with its fascinating premise, descending into painfully unfunny slapstick instead.

Sandler stars as Sam Brenner, a video game lover who, after a brief scene showing his history, is tasked with saving the world as aliens infiltrate Earth and begin to attack using some of our most-loved classic arcade games.

Alongside him for the ride are fellow video-game champs Josh Gad (Frozen), Peter Dinklage (X:Men – Days of Future Past) and Kevin James (Paul Blart: Mall Cop). The latter also happens to play the US President.

Unfortunately, none of the cast are particularly likeable with the usually on-point James playing one of the worst Presidential roles ever put to film. He is simply unbelievable as the leader of the United States and provides Pixels with some of its more cringe-worthy moments.

Once the film gets going, there are a few standout moments including a Pac-Man rampage through New York City but this has been so heavily marketed in the trailers that there is practically no suspense or joy in watching it unfold.

The finale is also very good, with a Donkey Kong showdown rendered in some stunning CGI and ridiculously clever set building and it’s great fun seeing so many classic arcade games being brought to life on the big screen.

Pac-Man, Q*Bert , Centipede and Donkey Kong are just a few to appear and look glorious with their 21st Century upgrades. Q*Bert in particular is a little cutie and is a major character throughout the last third of the film.

It’s unfortunate then that Chris Columbus’ usually reliable direction takes such a knock here. There’s none of the clever generation-bending humour of Mrs. Doubtfire or the laugh-out-loud slapstick of Home Alone, and the visual style he brought to Harry Potter is nowhere to be seen. In the end, Pixels just comes across as a brilliant concept that seems wasted.

Perhaps this can be blamed somewhat on poor casting choices. Adam Sandler hasn’t been hot property for a while after numerous box-office bombs and Peter Dinklage is still establishing himself as a major movie star. With Kevin James also proving a disappointment, it’s only Josh Gad who comes out on top – just.

Ultimately, Pixels is fun while it lasts and has some absolutely brilliant set pieces but once the credits roll, it’s apparent that it won’t be memorable like the wonderful arcade games it parodies.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/08/16/wheres-the-start-button-pixels-review/

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Book of Enoch and Audio Bible King James Version

Book and Education

(0 Ratings) Rate It

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The Book of Enoch is considered to have been written by Enoch, the seventh from Adam. It is...

Nancy Whang recommended Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys in Music (curated)

Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys

1989 | Hip-hop, Rock

8.0

(4 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"It's a brilliant album. What's not to like? It's universally loved and accepted as an album, as a collection of music. When you're a kid you listen to Beastie Boys because you like to sing '(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)' because it's silly and fun but Paul's Boutique is sophisticated and mature, as well as being really musical, which I really like about it. And long before I had any awareness of what sampling was, all the different bits that they use I was always curious about what they were. I always knew they were from other songs, because some of them I recognised. But it was super fascinating to me. I was already in love with New York and the idea of moving to New York. And in my adolescent fantasy I thought: ""I'm going to graduate high school, I'm going to move out of the house, I'm going to move straight to New York, and then maybe, one day, I'll get to meet one of the Beastie Boys."" And now I've met all of them! James [Murphy] is really good friends with Ad-Rock and he'd be at the studio with us and I'd go there and be with Adam, and eat pizza with Adam. It was so bizarre because 15-year-old me was losing her mind but I had to be cool. But also it was totally normal because he's just a normal guy and he's hanging out with my friend who's just a normal guy and they're doing normal stuff. But no matter how many times I meet them or see them I've never stopped being star-struck. I have to stop myself falling apart."

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