#2011films

[jameseiji]

Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown - Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1297244449-never-back-down-2-the-beatdown?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=Eiji692&wp_originator=nbvLMfMZKnN1%2F2c92iYXT0biYDAi6urcpsiqBX54s6mWlX4MhwOzBQs0xWVu5Tg0AEc0gxhbSG1bNGmNBbHa%2FsasYO6modaeqX0OWKAsbvWTeylvJoYdFvan4kh3RF67 This is a summary and review of the 2011 film and sequel of the first Never Back Down film, releasede in 2008. In this one, a group of college students go to train with Elijah Walker, aka Case, who is an expert in martial arts.

#2011film #akacase #businessman #collegestudents #defendthemselves #elijahwalker #enjoyable #entertaining #entrepreneur #funtosee #goodscriptandplot #maxcooperman #michaeljaiwhite #mixedmartialarts #neverbackdown #recommended #secondfilm #sequel #thebeatdown #training #trilogy #underground #watchthemovie #accin #books #wattpad #amreading

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Artist (2011)

If you haven’t seen The Artist, you’re missing out. While some of the numerous awards it won may be tied to its veneration of old Hollywood, this could easily be your new favorite. Yes it’s in black-and-white, yes it’s silent and features artists you probably haven’t heard of, but this is no vanity project and neither is it artsy for art’s sake. This picture is a glowing example of the way limitations breed creativity. When it comes to its visuals, storyline, acting, and writing, it stuns.

Beginning in 1927, the story follows silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and his faithful dog Jack. George is on top of the world when suddenly, a new innovation in technology threatens his stardom: sound. As he struggles to adjust to a changing world, a young actress, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) rises through the Hollywood ranks.

I have tremendous admiration for this film. Not only because it’s gutsy to make a silent, black-and-white picture. I respect it for the clever way it shapes its story, how it takes what should be a handicap and makes it a strength. What better way to immerse you in the setting than to make a film that looks and feels authentic to the period?

Director Michel Hazanavicius (who also wrote the film) makes The Artist so much more than the sum of its parts. The picture’s intertitles (the cards that appear with the dialogue being spoken) are a great example. Modern cinematic techniques mean there are very few but what's happening is unmissable due to the performances, uses of music, zooms, the way the shots are framed. What percentage of conversation do experts say is non-verbal again? So it makes sense that you don't really need to hear or read the words said; you just need to see how it impacts the characters. This film is about the performances and the story, not the dialogue.

When we get intertitles, they're cleverly used. Think about any mystery novel. How often does the author deliberately leave information out to enhance the story? You’ll read something akin to “Through the ventilation grate, he heard a voice say ‘Your day has come now Johnny’ and then, a gunshot”. In a movie, that scene wouldn’t work. The killer's voice would give their identity away. In a silent picture, that kind of trick works. The Artist takes full advantage of its medium in a way other films wish they could.

Most importantly, this is a terrific comedy, a poignant drama, and a romance that makes you fall in love with the characters. The actors have so much charisma they don’t need to say anything. As soon as you see Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo together, you know there’s something special there. It may be in black-and-white but there’s a full color wheel of emotions to savor.

It’s a story that gets better upon repeat viewings. After the conclusion, you reconsider a slew of the other scenes before them, giving you a whole new insight into the characters. I remember working at the video store when The Artist was released on home video. I recommended it to everyone looking for a love story, a comedy, or something different. I remember my heart breaking when someone who couldn’t have been more than 10 years my senior said “it’s probably a movie my dad would like, but not me”. It breaks my heart even more, having just re-watched it. There’s not one element of The Artist that makes it for a niche audience. This is a universal film anyone can enjoy. (On Blu-ray, September 23, 2016)

#TheArtist #movies #films #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #MichelHazanavicius #JeanDujardin #BereniceBejo #JamesCromwell #PenelopeAnnMiller #MalcolmMcDowell #MissiPyle #BethGrant #EdLauter #JoelMurray #KenDavitian #JohnGoodman #2011movies #2011films

[1103199xmovies]

113/100 - One Day (2011)

On July 15, 1988 -- the day of their college graduation -- two people from opposite sides of the tracks begin a lifelong friendship. Emma, an idealist from a working-class family, wants to make the world a better place. Dexter, a playboy, thinks the world is his oyster. For the next 20 years, the two friends reunite on the 15th of each July, sharing dreams, tears and laughter -- until they discover what they've been searching for, each other.

Genre: Drama, Romance

#Movies2020 #One Day #2011Film #Favorite #Depressing af

[yourflixfix]

Lilia Cuntapay, Keeping it Reel

Written and directed by Antoinette Jadaone is a 2011 film Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay which is starring Lilia Cuntapay portraying the role of herself. When Lilia Cuntapay got multiple supporting roles after her debut in the 1990 film Shake, Rattle & Roll 2, she turned out to be far too well-known for being in horror movies that other people would opt to not hire her because of it. And that is why for a very long time, she was bound to constantly play as a bit-player or an extra. Despite being stereotyped as the actress who took on characters such as ghouls, ghosts, and all scary roles of that sort, Lilia Cuntapay managed to have her name be known and not just her face, for something she so loved and worked hard for. This mockumentary spiraled around the behind-the-camera life of a bit-player like herself, and emphasizing its harsh reality too which is not something everyone knows.

For so many years, degree of separation is an idea that researchers are trying to account for, that it actually stretches back to a 1969 study by researchers Stanley Migram and Jeffrey Travers. The idea of degrees of separation being a theory is known to contend that all people are linked to each other one way or another. This concept was said to be popularized by the 1990 play by John Guare which was turned into a film after a few years. It may seem impossible that we are chained by acquaintances with someone else we do not think that we are ever going to cross in our lives with, but it is in fact, quite possible. Later on, this idea has been taken up to a notch in 1994 by students at Pennsylvania Albright College who invented the game Six Degrees of Separation with Kevin Bacon, in which the context was to associate every film actor to Kevin Bacon in six cast lists or less. We cannot disagree with that the thought actually makes sense. In connection with the film in focus, Six Degrees of Separation with Lilia Cuntapay, degrees of separation has been a recurring idea in the totality of the film itself. This made me think that it is the bare bones or the so-called referential meaning of the film. The title of the film heavily suggests it too! The film made reference to degree of separation linking Lilia Cuntapay to Filipino actors and actresses, and to Kevin Bacon himself.

“In the end awards don’t really mean anything.” These words coming from someone as renowned as Peque Gallaga proves a point. Through the days leading up to a fictionalized awards night, Lilia Cuntapay spends most of her time getting things ready, renting the perfect dress, and asking for help and advices for her to come up with the perfect speech to deliver as she was a nominee for the Best Supporting Actress award for the first time in three decades of her acting life and imagining winning it. With this, I came up with the point that I think the film is trying to teach or tell its audience that an award is just an award. I find myself relating to the film and to the life of Lilia Cuntapay trying to seek for approval, most of the time. Nobody in life wants to do something without being recognized or for once, being in the spotlight. After so many years, Lilia Cuntapay for once, can in fact, have a chance and be in the spotlight but for me, this thought contradicts itself and tries to come across that indeed, award is just an award. It may be the reason why one can have a higher talent fee, it may be the reason why one can demand more in terms of his or her working conditions, but it can never sum up to how good a person is in what he or she is doing.

 The more abstract and underlying message that I have constructed while deep in the film is dreaming big. This might seem a reversing idea with the paragraph before this but it is not. Stating that an award is just an award is different from not having big dreams. In the film, the dream of Lilia Cuntapay to win the Best Supporting Actress award is not an impossible dream to have because she knows that she worked hard enough for her to bag the said award.

 It is undeniable that both the explicit and implicit meaning of the film worked together to express the role of a form of approval and dreaming big in an actor’s life even he or she is just a bit-player. Lilia Cuntapay believed that people like her can win an award or even just be nominated alongside well-known artists even when faced with constant rejections, discriminations, or even living in the harsh reality of being a bit-player. In her case, a familiar but unnamed face in the Philippine film industry. Her name and her face, seemingly, six introductions away from each other.

Delving into the film, I see myself empathizing and relating with the main character which a person would probably not, if the film is not that much realistic at all. The sense of empathy and relating to a character of a film is further supported if and only if it feels real. There is a blurred line between what is real and what is not, in this film. Reality can take on so many forms, and it is believed that a mockumentary is not one of them, however, Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay proved us otherwise. The film treated fact and fiction the same way which resulted into it being a unique piece of work. With that being said, for me, the film met the realistic criteria.

The film overall gave a casual but engaging and heartfelt feel to the audience all throughout the 1 hour, 33 minutes, and 24 seconds of watching. I find myself laughing and crying as the film progresses. The film has a comedic aspect but develops into an emotional and dramatic setting and this for me, highlights the smooth transition of the film. Antoinette Jadaone made a spotlight just for Lilia Cuntapay and the harsh reality of the industry that everyone seems to just see as glitz and glamour. We finally know who Lilia Cuntapay is and how she kept it real.

#film analysis #lilia cuntapay #sixdegreesofseparationfromliliacuntapay #antoinettejadaone #2011film #mockumentary #yourflixfix #bysamc

[gifilmotion]

#the sound of my voice #2011film #zal batmanglij #brit marling

[spacerangerprince]

Timehop: Disney Winnie the Pooh (2011 film) (04/15/19) #timehop #abe #waltdisneypictures #winniethepooh #animated #musical #comedy #2011film (at Walt Disney Animation Studios) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwTVZA4hJln/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=16b8ecfp69yuq

#timehop #abe #waltdisneypictures #winniethepooh #animated #musical #comedy #2011film

[rebeccavoszphlebotomycareers]

Students talk about the IBEST Program at Renton Technical College, Fall 2011Filmed and edited by Liz Falconer.

[cinfilmleri2]

Bunnyman Türkçe Altyazılı izle (2011) +18

Tür: Korku, Gerilim IMDb: 3.2 Ülke: ABD Süre: 90 dk.

İZLE; https://www.cinfilmleri2.com/bunnyman-izle-2011/

#film #sinema #movies #horror #korku #gerilim #gizem #korkufilmi #filmizle #korkufilmleri #2011film #fullhdfilm #filmtavsiyeleri #filmtavsiyesi #filmönerileri #vizyonfilmleri #filmkeyfi #sinemakeyfi #bunnyman

#film #sinema #movies #horror #korku

[adamwatchesmovies]

Final Destination 5 (2011)

Final Destination 3 was bad. The Final Destination a.k.a. Final Destination 4 was worse. Surprisingly, the series manages to recover with this fifth chapter. Final Destination 5 contains suspense, gruesome deaths that will make you wince, some unexpected turns, and characters you can feel ok about getting attached to.

Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto) is on his way to a company retreat when he has a vision. He manages to prevent the death of several people but a series of accidents hint that they were meant to die. As a mysterious coroner (played by Tony Todd) warns them “Death doesn’t like to be cheated”.

At this point in the franchise, you know who's headed for the grave right away. You're checking in to figure out how. Final Destination 5 excels at finding interesting demises for its characters. There is one scene in particular at a gymnastics practice that will have you on the edge of your seat. Little pieces are set up around the room and you don’t know how they fit in the big picture. Something as simple as a screw falling on the group and landing point up or the potential for some laser-eye surgery gone wrong makes for many scenes too nerve-frying to watch but too enticing to miss.

Starting with the third film, there’s been a trend to include men and women that are merely there to add to the body count. They’re so unlikeable you can't wait for them accidentally fall inside a lion’s cage. Here, we have a couple of men who are fairly one-dimensional jerks… but they’re done right. I kind of liked P. J. Byrne as Isaac. He’s such a loser, he’s so unlikeable that he's hilarious. I don’t know if it’s the delivery or the fact that both life and death seem to be against the guy but I looked forward to his scenes. The rest of the people catch on fairly quickly to what’s happening (maybe a bit too quick but I won’t complain about that) and from there, you’re excited to see them run around, trying to figure out how they can escape whatever new plan Death has for them.

Final Destination 5 isn't in the same league as the first two. Despite some new twists, the formula is getting a bit old. The ending makes up for this partially, but more could've been done with its theory that if you kill someone, you "trade spots" with them and "steal" their remaining years. It also - and this is going to sound weird - overdoes the gore. I keep going back to one of the most memorable deaths in Final Destination: the one in the shower. No bones were sticking out, no geysers of blood, no ropes of intestines on the floor. It was so much creepier because the people in the universe didn’t think twice about it. Here, when people bite the dust it’s so crazy they instantly know something’s up. When people's skulls are this easily crushed, how could there not be?

With the franchise now at an end, it’s easy to see who the winners are. Final Destination and Final Destination 2 are the best entries, with Final Destination 5 coming comfortably in third. The opening disaster sequence is spectacular. The deaths are memorable. The beheadings, dismemberments, fatal defenestrations, impalings, incinerations, etc. are inventive. There are some nice grounded moments of horror and some dark humor as well. (On Blu-ray, September 18, 2016)

#FinalDestination #FinalDestination5 #movies #films #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #StevenQuale #CraigPerry #WarrenZIde #NicholasD'Agosto #EmmaBell #MilesFisher #ArlenEscarpeta #DavidKoechner #TonyTodd #2011 movies #2011films #horrormovies #horrorfilms

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Howling: Reborn (2011)

I’ve never read The Howling or its sequels, but they must be some of the greatest werewolf novels of all time. Why else would the eighth film in the franchise be yet another adaptation of the second book? Yup. We have yet another sequel that has nothing to do with any of the previous chapters. What's this one about?

Will Kidman (Landon Liboiron) is just a regular guy, about to graduate from high school. Will pines after the hottest girl in his grade, but Eliana (Lindsey Shaw) doesn’t even know he exists because she’s dating the rich class bully (Niels Schneider as Roland) to whom no rules apply. Things become much more serious and deadly when Will encounters a werewolf at a graduation party.

What we have here is a director who saw Twilight and decided to re-imagine The Howling for a whole new generation of teen girls. Sounds like a bad idea on paper. It’s even worse on film. I accidentally missed VII, but I’m just going to say it anyway. This is easily the worst film in the franchise. We’ve seen were marsupials, Transylvanian werewolves that can only be killed with titanium bullets, mystery plots with comical musical cues, and lycanthropes so bad they looked more like sasquatches but this triumphs over them all.

This film is set in one of these schools where bullies can do whatever they want. Cutting someone in the neck, making death threats, physically assaulting other students, or bringing a gun to school is just business as usual for Eliana’s boyfriend and his cronies. None of their activities are reported to the authorities. Or maybe the teachers do know what's going on and just don’t do anything. Wouldn't be a shock when no one in this story acts like a human being. Our main character doesn’t even know what a werewolf is. How is that even possible?

Treat yourself to some of the worst camera work ever by watching The Howling Reborn. It’s one thing to use jittery camera work to hide your low-budget monster, but this technique is taken to a new level here. Simple scenes that require the tiniest choreography are made completely incoherent by a cameraman playing hot potato with their camera. You'll be made dizzy and nauseous as the camera circles around the simplest of scenes for no reason.

As the film progresses, it becomes more and more Stephenie Meyer-esque. Once our protagonist takes off his glasses, the tormented Edward-lookalike becomes increasingly concerned with the girl of his dreams. Then there’s a bunch of doomed romance stuff that'll make you think “please just get back to the rotten werewolf plot”. Too bad it isn't immune to the creeping infestation of badness. Will proves himself dumber than you thought humanly possible and then we get ludicrous revelations about his past. It makes less sense the more I think about it and the shoddy performances don’t help sell you on it at all.

Would you believe that every flaw I’ve listed is still secondary to the dialogue and soundtrack? Some of my favorite bits of dialogue include:   “He’s outgrown my usefulness to you my boy. Now it’s my turn.” “You don’t understand. Every second I’m with you is about restraint, reining myself in because the more I want you.” “I’ve always been scared of letting anyone in, or maybe I’ve been really scared of letting me out.” “It’s like somewhere along the way we were told that knowing too much about a partner somehow makes love less exciting.. we were led to believe wrong.” “I don’t want to lose you even though I feel like I’ve been seriously damaged by this relationship.”

Now read these lyrics and tell me a movie that features them could be worth anything: “I can take a punch; I don’t mind bleeding; as long as as afterwards you feel bad for me…” “The book of love is long and boring; no one can lift the damn thing; it’s full of charts; And facts and figures; And instructions for dancing; But I love it”

You’ve got to see The Howling: Reborn to believe it. It’s got one head-scratcher after another, like random electrical wires used as a defibrillator and teenagers deciding to have sex in the middle of a werewolf attack. It’s too bad two things preventing it from being truly “so bad it’s good”. Firstly, almost everything noteworthy or ironically amusing comes in the last half hour. For the most part, the picture is dull. The second is that this movie is rated PG-13. If your movie can’t be good, at least make it sleazy. There’s a scene in which two couples are getting ready to have sex… and nobody gets naked! There’s barely any gore. The money shot of any werewolf movie: that first full transformation scene is generated by the same special effects they used in the Animorphs TV show. It's pathetic.

Despite my low rating. I would recommend The Howling Reborn IF you meet the following criteria: you have seen at least half of the previous films in the series, you can get the movie for free/the price of a subscription, and you’re a werewolf enthusiast that also enjoys bad movies. While it’s often so bad I wanted to give it a zero star rating but when it starts getting funny bad, I was laughing out loud and continuously. The Howling Reborn is one crappy movie but the problems are so numerous and so inexplicable it kind of becomes a fascinating mess. (On DVD, October 23, 2015)

#TheHowling #TheHowling:Reborn #movies #films #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #HorrorMovies #Werewolves #JoeNimziki #JamesRobertJohnston #LindseyShaw #LandonLiboiron #IvanaMiliceviz #NielsSchneider #KristianHodko #ErinAgostino #SeanMercado #2011movies #2011films

[adamwatchesmovies]

Big Mommas Like Father Like Son (2011)

Did I really see Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son twice in one month? What kind of monster have I become? This is one bad movie, but as far as an installment of the cross-dressing comedy trilogy, it might be the best of the bunch by being so undeniably atrocious. It’s ridiculous, contrived, poorly written, not particularly funny, and frequently puzzling. At least it’s never boring.

FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) and his son Trent (Brandon T. Jackson) witness a murder at the hands of Russian mobster Chirkoff (Tony Curran). While they look for a flash drive that contains evidence to put him away, they are forced to go undercover as women at the Georgia Girls School for the Arts.

It's almost admirable the way this movie has to be seen to be believed. It’s like an essay on a historical figure done without any research and written on the morning it was due. Not only is the paper oriented in landscape instead of portrait, but the copy is centered, the font is 16 points in size and there’s a large photo taken straight from Wikipedia at the top. It’s almost better than something that tries and fails.

The biggest disappointment with Big Mommas House 2 was that with our protagonist married and happily anticipating a kid (the pregnancy isn't mentioned but I could've sworn that was a thing...) there weren’t as many cross-dressing shenanigans. Here, we get ALL OF THEM. It’s a double bill of men dressed as women. You get Big Momma being hit on by an extremely clingy horny guy while Trent as Charmaine constantly slips and yells “Damn!” at the hot co-eds at this... high school? College? It's unclear. On the one hand, they have dorms and nude models in art class. On the other, Trent is clearly described as underage (Despite the actor playing him being 26 at the time) and they offer beginner’s driving lessons. This film is already starting to fall apart and we haven’t even started examining it!

Like Father, Like Son is utter desperation. it's padded out with several musical numbers that come out of nowhere. I’m not talking about brief numbers either. We hear close to the entirety of Ke$ha’s Tick Tock, complete with impromptu choreographed dancing from the students. The plot with the Russian Mob? an afterthought. It’s simply an excuse for our two heroes to go undercover. Some plot points in that story never even get resolved. The supposed leak in the FBI for example. We never find out what that mole was. Did director John Whiteshell think we wouldn't pay attention? I’ve scrutinized this film to infinity; no detail has escaped me.

I don’t think anyone sitting down with this film expected it to be good (and if you did, I hope some day they manage to surgically remove that pick-ax from your skull). Nonetheless, it takes a lot of bravery to suck this much, and in public. I laughed frequently at Big Mommas House 3. Never in the way that it was intended for me to laugh, but I couldn’t help it. You can’t make a travesty like Big Mommas Like Father, Like Son on purpose, and that makes it fascinating. (Extended Version on DVD, June 3, 2016)

#BigMommasLikeFatherLikeSon #BigMomma'sHouse #movies #films #movieReviews #FilmReviews #JohnWhitesell #MatthewFogel #DonRhymer #MartinLawrence #BrandonT.Jackson #JessicaLucas #2011movies #2011films

[adamwatchesmovies]

Sucker Punch (2011)

If you’re a 13 years old boy, Sucker Punch will blow your mind. You’ll think this is is as good as movies get, that it's a powerful story about strong female characters shredding the chains of oppression cast upon them by evil men. You’d be wrong. This movie wants to be a feminist statement so bad it becomes misogynist. Writer/director Zack Snyder gets so hopelessly tangled up in his own ideas and boyhood fantasies his pet project becomes incoherent.

Orphaned Babydoll (Emily Browning) is sold to a brothel (or maybe it's a mental asylum) owned by the cruel Blue (Oscar Isaac). Desperate to escape before she is sold to the mysterious “High Roller”, Babydoll and “entertainers” Amber (Jamie Chung), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), Rocket (Jena Malone), and Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), concoct an escape plan. In this hellish prison, obtaining their liberation requires them to delve deep into a world of fantasy.

I won't say it's impossible for a story about a bunch of barely-legal strippers shooting at steam-powered WWI German zombies to also be empowering, but this wasn’t the way to do it. The protagonist may be named Babydoll, she may be dressed like a schoolgirl, but don't worry. She's 20. That makes it ok to have upskirt shots! Before you can raise your hand in protest, bere come the giant demonic samurai, time-displaced Gatling guns, mechas, dragons, orcs, bullet-deflecting katanas, and more stuff that would fit right at home in the margins of your notepad during history class.

Maybe you think a "strong character" means someone who can throw a lot of punches. That a good villain is a one-dimensional sleaze who cackles while twirling his mustache. You say it doesn’t matter if both the heroes and their foes are flat, that you don’t know them at all and that they’re completely interchangeable? I’d fight you on that one, but I won’t need to. Even if you just want something to watch with your brain left at the door, this won't please you. I'll concede that the action fantasy settings representing Babydoll and her friends’ heists are creative. They don’t actually fight a dragon; they steal a lighter with a picture of a dragon on it. Thing is, no matter how explosive, the action scenes become boring because you know what it's showing is actually taking like 30 seconds in the real world.

The characters often act illogically (writing down their awesome plan where it would be easy for someone to find) or devolve into cartoons. The special effects look good and the actors do an ok job for the material they’ve been given, but that’s not enough. This script must've been sitting in the director’s scrapbook for 20 years and before committing to the shoot, no one bothered to take a second look at it. Zack Snyder was just so excited about bringing his teenage dream to life he just assumed it would be the greatest thing ever, that we'd all understand what he was trying to say.

Sucker Punch is a bunch of video game cut scenes strung together with a weak plot. There are spectacular action sequences, cool special effects, the movie is well shot, but it's all in the service of nothing. The film undermines its own characters and if you really scrutinize that conclusion, the questions pile up so fast you’ll miss the truly out-of-place performance of Love Is the Drug by Oscar Isaac and Carla Gugino. Then, it gets all sorts of icky at the end. If you just want to see hot ladies in skirts jumping around kicking butt, watch Heavy Metal instead of Sucker Punch. (Theatrical Cut on DVD, April 1, 2016)

#SuckerPunch #movies #films #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #ZackSnyder #EmilyBrowning #AbbieCornish #JenaMalone #VanessaHudgens #JamieChung #carla gugino #OscarIsaac #JonHamm #ScottGlenn #2011movies #2011films

[adamwatchesmovies]

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011)

There aren’t enough ‘u’s on Earth to correctly convey how much Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son suuuuuuucks. To be fair, it stood no chance. Big Momma’s House was bad, but I guess it had to happen at some point. The sequel was puzzling but I can at least understand it on a business level. A third film? It’s so insane, so terrible fans of bad movies should sit through it just to say they did.

FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) and his son Trent (Brandon T. Jackson) witness a murder at the hands of a Russian mobster (Tony Curran as Chirkoff). While they look for evidence to put the bad guy away, they are forced to go undercover as women at the Georgia Girls School for the Arts.

It's nothing but the same jokes we’ve seen before regurgitated. Once disguised, Trent has to help his new female best friend try on underwear while hiding an erection powerful enough to punch a hole through steel. Big Momma becomes an unexpected man magnet and plays along with her role until she must do something so outlandish she breaks cover in a resounding “Awww Hell Nah!” These gags and the like are essentially all the "plot" we get. Some plot points, like the fact that there’s a mole in the FBI that is feeding Chirkoff intel are never get resolved. The whole Russian mob thing is introduced at the beginning and then promptly disappears. You forget about it and suddenly, it rears its ugly head again when there are about 15 minutes left.

This is a fascinating mess; the kind of picture that makes less sense the more you think about it. It almost reaches the same level of insanity as 2012's Branded. If you'll permit me to tell you a bit more, here is your

The most cerebral-exploding scene happens once Trent and Malcolm are firmly planted in the school. Trent’s love interest, Haley (Jessica Lucas), walks into the art class and announces that she’s the nude model for the day. Yeah Right. I went to art school. No student would ever volunteer to pose nude for their peers. I don’t care if it’s one of those all-girl schools where no one does anything at night but compare bras, practice making out, and frolic in their nighties. It doesn’t happen! That’s not the crazy part though. The moment that will make you tear off your ears in frustration is when Big Momma offers to take the young woman’s place to shield Trent from seeing a woman naked. Next scene, Big Momma is posing nude. This means when Malcolm put together his fat black woman suit, he put the care and detail, just in case he would have to be naked, of realistic-looking breasts and a vagina as well. It’s madness!

There’s nothing I could do to properly describe the sanity-grinding experience that is Big Mommas House 3. At one point, the plot literally screeches to a halt to show us a full-length music video, complete with choreographed dancing! It's one of those movies that’s better because it’s so much worse than you think it’s going to be. If you're brave enough to look into the abyss, then do it And I checked if the extended version contained any traces of Nia Long it does not. I guess two times was enough for her. (Extended Version on DVD, June 3, 2016)

#Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son #BigMommas #movies #films #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #JohnWhitesell #MatthewFogel #MartinLawrence #BrandonT.Jackson #JessicaLucas #2011movies #2011films

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Caller (2011)

I sought out The Caller because of how much I enjoyed its Vietnamese remake. Although the poster looks about as generic as you can get for a horror movie, the premise is ingenious. This is an inventive horror film that differs significantly from the film it inspired, meaning you can watch both and hardly feel like anything is repeated.

Mary Kee (Rachelle Lefevre) has moved into a new apartment to escape her abusive ex-husband (Ed Quinn). On her first day, she receives a strange phone call from Rose (Lorna Raver), whom she eventually realizes is living in the past. Though separated by decades, they form an unlikely friendship. When Rose becomes obsessed with Mary and threatens to alter her past if she doesn’t do as she says, Mary is held hostage by someone who may not even be alive today.

I love this concept because it makes the film different from other stalker horror stories. Mary is being stalked and tormented but there's no going to the police here. Even if Mary could track down Rose in the present, it’s not like that would do anything. Locking her up in a closet today doesn't change yesterday. Calling Rose to tell her the balance of power has changed and all she has to do is alter the future. How do you fight back against someone with that kind of power?

One glimmer of hope keeps the suspense burning even brighter than it would normally. Mary is against another human being and her future state must give her some advantages. Unfortunately, there's the matter of her ex-husband, who seems to have a gift for showing up at the worst time and poses yet another threat.

Ultimately, The Call is the better movie because of the ending. The Caller doesn’t fully utilize its premise during the conclusion, which is disappointing. It doesn't mean you need to pick only one, however. The two are so different you could be convinced the similarities are nothing more than coincidence. What this film does well certainly makes it worth seeing. The best scare comes in a scene in which Mary looks through the old photo album and notices some of the photos have suddenly changed. It’s such an unsettling visual but outside of the context, what are you seeing, really? It’s not like it’s a ghost or a demonic visage popping up, it’s simply a hint of an ordinary-looking person faraway. Seeing that one shot makes you paranoid for the whole movie. Whenever the camera goes outside, you’ll constantly look in the background, wondering if that one person in the distance is present-day Rose coming to finish the job she started years ago.

Although The Caller becomes conventional during its final act, you won’t mind too much. Its ideas are so good you just want to see what's next. This goes to show that with a proper spin, an idea we've seen before becomes wholly new. (December 1, 2020)

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Hobo with a Shotgun (2011)

Hobo with a Shotgun promises two things: first, there’s going to be a hobo with a shotgun in it. second, that it won't take itself seriously. You’re going to see at least a few people get their brains blown out in comedic ways. The film delivers what it promises, and more. This is a pretty good thriller/comedy that pays homage to high-concept, low-budget films from the 70’s.

Who is the hobo, why does he have a shotgun? Who is he using it against? The titular hobo is played by Rutger Hauer. He hop off a train and lands in a town that makes Gotham City look like a squeaky-clean crime-free paradise. A gang of maniacs own the police and go around doing whatever they want, including murder in broad daylight. Eventually, enough is enough. Our hobo decides to clean up the streets, one shell at a time.

I really do think this is a good film, so I’m going to get my criticism out of the way first. The very beginning of the film and some of the plot developments towards the end are not terrible but feel amiss. It takes a bit too long for the hobo to get his shotgun and start blasting people left and right. Finally, There’s a half-baked, ambiguously supernatural element introduced that's from another movie.You get what they were going for. It’s supposed to be the final boss the Hobo has to confront but the execution leaves something to be desired. Overall, those are minor points. This movie still turns out to be much better than anything titled Hobo with a Shotgun ought to be.

Give this picture credit for staying true to itself. It’s a movie displaced in time and truly feels like it was meant to come out in the '70’s. There’s a great use neon lights. You recognize that this city has been flushed down the toilet and come back up again after being spit out by Hell. The soundtrack/score is terrific. Rutger Hauer as the Hobo is great. He does what you absolutely must do in one of these outlandish movies: he takes his part seriously. He allows you to believe the on-screen drama and works as the straight man to all of the outlandish elements of this tale.

Opposite the hobo are despicable villains you'll love to see get their comeuppance. It has the gimmicky bad guys that don’t have much character development but are recognized and memorable because of their physical quirks and their weird methods of cruelty. It has the aspects of a legitimate movie, and the essentials for a film that would fit right at home next to Escape from New York and The Warriors.

Though you wouldn't think it, director Jason Eisener and writer John Davis have put a lot of effort into this movie's writing. You'll find some good memorable lines and iconic moments that will make you laugh long after the credits are gone. My favourite sequence has to be the montage of the Hobo when he first begins cleaning up the streets. The headline of “Hobo Stops Begging, Demands Change” is brilliant. In a world were many villains are as brittle as paper mache piñatas filled with red corn syrup, it sets the tone perfectly and delivers precisely what you want to see.

Despite the flaws, Hobo with a Shotgun is one I encourage you to see if you're the least bit curious. It has the violence, nudity, gore, one-liners, and the moments so insane you can’t believe it. It’s also legitimately well made, with a good performance from the lead and a great eye for colour and cinematography. It’s also got a wicked soundtrack. What more could you want from Hobo with a Shotgun? It’s trashy, but that’s exactly what it aimed to be. (On DVD, March 18, 2015)

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Bridesmaids (2011)

Bridesmaids is even funnier than I remembered. It features a nice blend of genuine heart and laugh-out-loud moments with just a touch of a romance thrown in. Don’t let the primarily female cast make you think this one's only for the ladies; it's got universal appeal.

Annie (Kristen Wiig) is unhappy. The bakery she opened went out of business, she is living with two idiots that pass off as roommates, she’s seeing a boy toy that cares nothing for her, she’s not excited about working at the jewelry store that earns her little money. She’s *this* close to moving back in with her mother. When her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) announces she's getting married, Annie is put in charge of the pre-wedding stuff. Her crappy life immediately begins leaking into the celebration.

It’s a movie that’s as much about a woman who has hit rock bottom as it is about a turning point in a friendship that has started to wane. At first, it’s very much your typical “good ol’ boys” comedy, but with girls instead. Lewd jokes, plenty of gross-out moments, and scenes that'll make you cringe from second-hand embarrassment. The first time I saw these, I thought it was a bit much. Now I see their merit. It’s the bait to lure you into the meat of the story: the friendship. While you’re witnessing catastrophic dinners, dress fittings that go so bad it’s legendary, and awkward drunken confessions, it builds up to a total meltdown that exposes the raw emotions inside the characters. It’s still plenty funny but at the end of the day, the heartfelt conversations are what make the movie, not the nasty jokes.

Many elements of the film are relatable, ovaries or not. Everyone's felt jealous of your best friend's new BFF. Everyone has felt like they've let a valuable friendship slip through the cracks. Do I still know the friends I grew up with well enough to throw them that final party before they change into full-grown adults? It could be heavy material but through the rivalry that develops between Annie and Helen (Rose Byrne), it's hilarious.

The side characters are memorable and provide the big, memorable scenes that'll have you in stitches. Rebel Wilson and Matt Lucas as the idiotic roommates, Melissa McCarthy as a forceful, don’t-take-no-guff-from-nobody future sister-in-law (she must've come up with a lot of her own lines) are going to be many people's favorites. My vote is for Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and Becca (Ellie Kemper). They form a sisterly bond based on their mutual, awful sex lives but not for the reason you'd expect.

Bridesmaids doesn't end with everything wrapped up all nicely, but it leaves you feeling good. Looking back, even the parts that made me say "that’s just nasty!” force my face to crack into a smile. It’s gross, but not excessive and those jokes are well balanced with real emotions. The romantic subplot is sweet. There are plenty of memorable/quotable scenes. The chemistry is terrific. I suspect Bridesmaids will become a comedy classic. It's a bit groundbreaking in a way because so many comedies are male-centered you’d swear there were no funny women in the world. It's a great pick for a date, or something to watch with friends. If you were put off by it initially, take another look at Bridesmaids. It really is a funny and insightful picture. (Theatrical version on DVD, March 30, 2015)

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