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2007 Summer Video Roundup, Vol. I

6/30/07

"Arrested Development" (Season One, 22 20-minute episodes)

My friend Val's boyfriend Patrick worked on this show as a production assistant, and even then, he would tell me "Man, this show is great!  You've got to watch this thing!" and I would be all "Yeah, right, man..." and never watched the show when it was on.  Of course, every TV critic who reviewed the show then gave similar praise, but unfortunately, no consistent audience ever watched the show...and, it died off after just over two seasons.  Going through the 22 episodes of the first season, I was struck by just how well the characters balance each other, 98% of them totally insane to any real person but just kooky enough to work as a comedic ensemble.  The writing of the show is great, but what really makes it is its speed, not unlike "The Simpsons" was when it was regularly rolling along in seasons four through nine...the Laughs Per Minute on "Arrested Development" is high because they get so much in due to its editing style.  That, and series star Jason Bateman is fantastic as the straight man to balance the wacky members of his TV family.

Rating:  Opening Weekend

"Cabaret"

Certainly, from generation to generation, it's hard to translate why some audiences thought some films were great and then future generations think they are terrible; much like "Citizen Kane" and its lack of love from many people I know who have watched it over the last 20 years, "Cabaret" baffles me because I can't believe it won a whopping eight Oscars after its 1972 release, including a Best Actress Oscar for Liza Minnelli, who has  done more with a pair of eyes than any other woman in film history.  I thought she was absolutely awful in "Cabaret" whenever she wasn't singing, but clearly the Academy thought a WHOLE lot differently back when these puppies were handed out.  (It did not win Best Picture even though it was nominated, thanks to "The Godfather" being released in the same year.)  What is not in question are the great musical numbers, led by the winner of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Joel Gray, who is great as the Master of Ceremonies and ringleader from the in-film cabaret.  In fact, whenever we were not watching a musical number, I was bored to death during this movie, especially watching "actor" Michael York go through the motions as the sad-sap British teacher.  Blah!

Rating:  Matinee

"Millions"

Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting", "28 Days Later") takes a departure from adult filmmaking to give us a film for the people...two kids (Alex Etel and Lewis McGibbon) discover a bag full of millions of pounds, which just happen to be going out of circulation soon thanks to Britain's conversion to the Euro, so they go about giving the money away, or spending it, or hiding it, all over town.  I was strangely drab about this film; it was just okay to me, featuring a whimsical idea--almost fantasy, really--that one of the kids would want to occasionally spend some cash on himself and his friends, while the younger brother would go out of his way to give cash to those less fortunate while having visions of real-life saints from long ago.  I'm not saying it's not possible, I'm just saying I had a hard time getting into "Millions."  The two kids are great, but the romantic angle with the kids' father and a speaker at the kids' school was lost on me and I was surprised at the supporting cast in this film wasn't very good after Boyle's previous films had such great support.  Oh well...at least I rented it!

Rating:  Matinee

"Roll Bounce"

I really, Really, REALLY wanted "Roll Bounce" to be great.  I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, because it's not great, but I still enjoyed it, even if it turned into a moments movie, and not something that flowed well start to finish.  That's because the movie gets a bit too caught up in the struggling family drama behind our man X (Bow Wow) and his dad (Chi McBride), who have lost X's mom due to illness.  The drama here isn't so bad--and Bow Wow isn't too bad of an actor, I must admit--but when you come in thinking "period disco rollerskating flick", you are bored whenever skating is not happening.  Worse, even the skating can't hold with the skating scenes from the far superior bits from "ATL" last year.  The soundtrack for "Roll Bounce" should have been better, the shots of Meagan Good should have been better (she is straight sinful!!), and the "bad guys" of Roll Bounce--a crew of multinational tights-wearing punks led by Sweetness (Wesley Jonathan)--could have been a little less cheesy.  Oh well...bring on more rollerskating flicks!!

Rating:  Matinee

 

Comments?  Drop me a line at justin@bellviewmovies.com.

 

Bellview Rating System:

"Opening Weekend":  This is the highest rating a movie can receive.  Reserved for movies that exhibit the highest level of acting, plot, character development, setting...or Salma Hayek.  Not necessarily in that order. 

"$X.XX Show":  This price changes each year due to the inflation of movie prices; currently, it is the $9.50 Show.  While not technically perfect, this is a movie that will still entertain you at a very high level.  "Undercover Brother" falls into this category; it's no "Casablanca", but you'll have a great time watching.  The $9.50 Show won't win any Oscars, but you'll be quoting lines from the thing for ages (see "Office Space"). 

"Matinee":  An average movie that merits no more than a $6.50 viewing at your local theater.  Seeing it for less than $9.50 will make you feel a lot better about yourself.  A movie like "Blue Crush" fits this category; you leave the theater saying "That wasn't too bad...man, did you see that Lakers game last night?" 

"Rental":  This rating indicates a movie that you see in the previews and say to your friend, "I'll be sure to miss that one."  Mostly forgettable, you couldn't lose too much by going to Hollywood Video and paying $3 to watch it with your sig other, but you would only do that if the video store was out of copies of "Ronin."  If you can, see this movie for free.  This is what your TV Guide would give "one and a half stars." 

"Hard Vice":  This rating is the bottom of the barrel.  A movie that only six other human beings have witnessed, this is the worst movie I have ever seen.  A Shannon Tweed "thriller," it is so bad as to be funny during almost every one of its 84 minutes, and includes the worst ending ever put into a movie.  Marginally worse than "Cabin Boy", "The Avengers" or "Leonard, Part 6", this rating means that you should avoid this movie at all costs, or no costs, EVEN IF YOU CAN SEE IT FOR FREE!  (Warning:  strong profanity will be used in all reviews of "Hard Vice"-rated movies.)