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Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Tombstone (1993) in Movies

Mar 27, 2018

Tombstone (1993)

1993 | Action, Western

8.3

(37 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Fun Western

Renowned gunslingers Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and Doc Holiday (Val Kilmer) come to Tombstone, Arizona to settle down, but are forced to pick up their guns again when a gang called the Cowboys start to wreak havoc.

Acting: 8

Beginning: 10
Great start as you're quickly introduced to the bad guys of the film. You can't quite figure out if they're a sloppy group of thugs or a well-oiled machine, but you know they have the worst intentions. The first scene is very reminiscent of the bridal massacre in Kill Bill.

Characters: 9

Cinematography/Visuals: 7
Beautiful shots of the town of Tombstone create the proper western vibes from grassy plains to old-timey saloons. The film isn't as gory as one you would see in our current decade so when you see characters actually bleeding out, the effect is powerful. While I thought the scene in the rain was a bit over the top, the film definitely made up for it in its closing shots of the final face off.

Conflict: 9
The action is both consistent and fun in Tombstone. A lot of it is built up in the familiar traditional western style of long-paused shots. One second, you're watching a staredown and the next, guns are drawn. Wyatt Earp seemed to have this down to a science. His intense staredown right before he open-hand slapped Johnny Tyler (Billy Bob Thornton) was probably one of the most memorable moments for me. Seriously, what man open-hand slaps another man with zero hesitation?

The gunfight montages more than gave me my fill of action. You know it's just a film, but you feel like you're watching the best of the best show off their skills on screen as the bullets fly. I appreciated the original moments that later films have duplicated.

Genre: 8

Memorability: 7

Pace: 7

Plot: 7

Resolution: 7

Overall: 79
Not the best western I've seen, but still a very fun film. If you can get over the hump of the forced love story, this should be an enjoyable watch.

Kudos

BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Megamind (2010) in Movies

Dec 5, 2018

Megamind (2010)

2010 | Action, Animation, Comedy

7.1

(27 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Holds up well - very entertaining

When one thinks of Animation studios, the first 2 names that come to mind are, probably, PIXAR and DISNEY ANIMATION. Coming in 3rd on that list is probably DREAMWORKS with such hit franchises as SHREK, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and KUNG FU PANDA. But Dreamworks also made a few, fun "one-off" films (animation films that spawned no sequels), most notably OVER THE HEDGE, SHARK TALE and the animated film I'm reviewing today, MEGAMIND.

What? You don't remember MEGAMIND? Well, you should. Spooffing SuperHero films by focusing on the villain, Megamind stars some incredible voice talents - Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Brad Pitt, David Cross and Johan Hill - and tells the cautionary tale of "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."

Ferrell, of course, stars as the titular Megamind, a Super Villain who after years of failure, finally defeats SuperHero Megaman (Brad Pitt). He realizes that without his arch-nemesis, his life is empty and begins to search for meaning in his life. Along for the journey is a reporter (Tina Fey), her Cameraman (Jonah Hill) and Megamind's Minion (long before Despicable Me), David Cross.

Sounds like pretty standard stuff, huh? But in the hands of comedians like Ferrell, Fey, Cross and Hill it elevates itself to something more. The comic sensibilities make a little more sense to me when I realized that Ben Stiller and Justin Theroux were the Excecutive Producers - both very funny men. They, smartly, turned the Direction of this film over to Dreamworks Animation veteran Tom McGrath (REN & STIMPY, some of the MADAGASCAR films and THE BOSS BABY), he keeps the events of the film moving swiftly and simply, being really clear of the events and motivations of the players while not getting too clever and complex.

I caught this film on HBO, and am sure you can stream it elsewhere. If you're looking for a fun film for the whole family this Holiday Season - especially one without Princes & Princesses in it - check out MEGAMIND, it's a fun way to spend a few hours.

Letter Grade: A-

8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Trolls (2016) in Movies

Jul 15, 2019

Trolls (2016)

2016 | Animation, Family

7.2

(41 Ratings)

Movie Rating

The new film ‘Trolls’ by Dreamworks opens nationwide November 4.

Trolls is an animated kids movie starring the voices of Anna Kendrick as Poppy, heir to the Trolls, and her pessimistic best friend Branch, voiced by Justin Timberlake.

Trolls opens with a quick summary of the Trolls personality– they are always happy, love to hug, party and dance. This is immediately followed up by revealing the trolls biggest predicament: the Bergens.

The Bergens don’t feel anything at all and don’t enjoy doing anything, the only amount of happiness they feel comes from eating the trolls on a holiday they deemed “Trollstis”.

I actually enjoyed this concept although it is a bit dark for children. The film however, manages to stay away from having a dark tone throughout. Instead, it’s filled with cheesy musical numbers and has a very basic plot, I.e. trolls get kidnapped and need to be rescued.

The character depth is pretty slim and the only character development we really see is with Branch (Timberlake) who goes from being pessimistic and a downer to positive and happy by the very end.

Multiple times during the movie I found myself asking “when is this going to end?”. There was maybe one moment throughout the entire movie that got a half chuckle out of me and that was absolutely it.

Despite such big names like Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Russell Brand, Zoey Deschanel and Gwen Stefani, the subtle adult jokes sprinkled throughout the movie were few and far between…. Rather than most recent films targeted at kids, that have an underlying thread aimed at drawing in adults and making it worthwhile for the adults to attend, Trolls adult aimed content seemed to be at an absolute bare minimum.

Therefore, my conclusions are this: If you’re looking for a kids movie that also has substance that reaches adults, this film doesn’t make the list. This film is simply a kids movie in every way.

However, if you want to take your kid to a movie that lights up his face and brightens his day this movie is worth sitting through.

I’d give this movie 2/5 stars as an adult, but the 8 year old boy gives it 5/5.