BAD MOVIES: The Cat in the Hat

Alright, here we are, the first entry in my new BAD MOVIES segment, the first review for this segment is a film from 2003, starring Mike Myers, known as The Cat in the Hat.  Based on the book from 1957 by Dr. Seuss, the film tells the story of two misbehaved children who meet a giant talking cat who wears a big red and white hat as he teaches the two kids how to have fun.  Where to begin with this one.  This is one of my favorite bad movies, I love it for all of its weirdness, stupidity and very bizarre choices made in its storytelling.  There are obvious sexual innuendos, hilarious racial stereotypes, out of nowhere musical numbers, hilariously stupid scenes, the Cat in the Hat literally talks about making a murder look like a bloody accident, this movie is all sorts of crazy!  Mike Myers is brilliant as the Cat in the Hat, he brings us an Academy Award worthy performance like no other, with beautiful looking Cat in the Hat makeup that is definitely in no way scary in the slightest.  Alec Baldwin gives an equally terrific performance as the mother's evil boyfriend who wants to sent the boy to military school.  This movie is also extremely hyperactive, so if that sort of thing bothers you, definitely don't watch this.  Also if you're a Dr. Seuss purist, this movie will REALLY piss you off, because this movie is nothing at all like the book.  I will admit that the production value is great, this movie was directed by Bo Welch, who was the production designer for Tim Burton.  Overall, The Cat in the Hat is a terrible movie and adaptation, but it's badness is part this film's charm.  If you like movies that are so bad they're good, this is wonderful pick.

Grade:  F (quality wise)

             A+ (for being so bad it's 

                    good)

MPAA:  PG (for mild crude humor and some double-entendres)

Run time:  81 min

Studio:  Universal Pictures

Saw II - Movie Review

Continuing on with the Saw reviews, we go on to the first sequel to Saw, known as Saw II.  Saw II came out in 2005, a year after the first one, and this one is about a detective and his team who must rescue 8 people who are trapped in an abandoned house partaking in a sadistic game.  Saw II is definitely a stereotypical sequel, it amps up the violence (very much so), it adds more to the lore, and it's not as good as the first, although it's still a damn good sequel.  Saw II gives a solid story, very simplistic but very interesting nonetheless.  I love how this film fleshes out the character of John Kramer (aka The Jigsaw Killer), it's really what makes this movie's story so good.  The acting in this film while not great, is better here than in the first film.  This film is also extremely fast paced, never a dull moment here.  The violence is definitely the star this time around.  There is plenty of gore, it's brutal, there one sequence that is quite disturbing actually (the needle pit).  If you're a gorehound like me, you'll find a lot to enjoy.  As for issues, there is a lot less atmosphere here than there was in the first film, there is some, but just not nearly as much.  The story, while strong, is not quite as engaging as the first film.  Saw II is a good sequel, not as good as the first one but still good.  It's amped up violence and gore make it tons of fun, it's well directed and the story is very good, just weaker than the first.

Grade:  B+

Run time:  95 min

MPAA:  R (for grisly violence and gore, terror, language and drug content)

Studio:  Lionsgate, Twisted Pictures

Sonic the Hedgehog - Movie Review

As I go along with a slew of reviews, this is the first of the 2020 films that I haven't reviewed yet but saw.  Sonic the Hedgehog came out on Valentine's Day of this year, it starred James Marsden, Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz, and tells the story of a fast blue hedgehog named Sonic, who teams up with the sheriff of a small town to stop an evil genius from capturing him and doing experiments to gain his power.  I'm not going to explain the history of this film because it's been done to death already, I am just here to give my quick and to the point opinion of this movie.  I really enjoyed this film.  It was fast paced, really funny, charming and has a surprising amount of heart to it.  This is an extremely enjoyable family film.  Ben Schwartz is fantastic as Sonic, he perfectly captures the energy and humor of the character as seen in some of the games and especially the cartoons of the past.  James Marsden works well for his role in the film, and by far, the best part of this movie is Jim Carrey!  He absolutely steals every single scene he is in, his physical comedy is always on point, and his charisma here is the best I have seen in a very long time!  The animation in this film is very well done, I love the details given to Sonic, all the individual quills and hairs are well defined.  The action sequences are also tons of fun.  They do rip off the Quicksilver sequences from the X-Men films twice here, but I can look past that considering the main character so it does feel appropriate.  As for issues, the story is very generic and so is the message, there is a very unnecessary fart joke about half way through the movie, and there is a scene near the end of the movie that is probably the most blatant and hilarious use of product placement since Transformers: Age of Extinction.  Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog is fantastic as a fun family action comedy, the humor is mostly great, the best being from Jim Carrey, it has fun, memorable characters, the action scenes are a blast and the film is definitely a delightful watch.  

Grade:  B+

Run time:  100 minutes

MPAA:  PG (for action, some violence, rude humor and brief mild language)

Studio:  Paramount Pictures 

Saw - Movie Review

So because of the "coronavirus" pandemic bullshit, there's no new releases coming out, which is a bummer considering there were a bunch of movies coming out that I wanted to talk about.  So in the meantime, I want to take the next month or so to talk about movies I always wanted to talk about and review 2020 movies that I saw but never reviewed yet.  Since Spiral: From the Book of Saw is coming out in May, and is one of if not my most anticipated film of the year, I want to review every Saw film leading up to it.  So let's review the film that started it all.  Saw came out in 2004, directed by James Wan (who is known for The Conjuring 1 and 2, Insidious 1 & 2, Furious 7 and Aquaman) and is about 2 strangers who find themselves trapped in a filthy bathroom, discovering they are forced to partake in a deadly game perpetrated by a serial killer known as "The Jigsaw Killer".  Saw in my opinion is a modern classic, it is a wonderful psychological horror film that is extremely well directed and filled to the brim with atmosphere and the sense of dread.  This movie's dirty, grimy look adds to the tone of the film wonderfully.  As a directorial debut, this was a solid home run for James Wan.  The story is constantly engaging, I was never bored watching this film.  This film is also one of the best examples that I can give for using flashbacks for telling the story, it feels very organic and it also feels very integral to tell this film's story.  If you ever want to get into this franchise but can't handle extreme gore, this is the one to watch, it's nowhere near as graphic as its reputation.  Yes this film gets very bloody at times, but it doesn't get to the gratuitous levels of its sequels (especially Saw VI and Saw 3D) at all.  For example, the most iconic scene of the film where Cary Elwes cuts off his foot to free himself, you hardly see anything, it's mostly offscreen.  As much as I love this film and I consider it a classic and one of my all time favorite horror films, there are a couple of issues.  One of them is the acting.  A lot of the acting is terrible.  Especially from Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell.  The last issue is a minor one, but I wish Danny Glover's character had a bit more development.  That's about it.  As a low budget indie flick that spawned one of my favorite horror franchises, Saw is amazing.  This film has a very special place in my heart as a horror junkie, it's perfectly paced, the story is fantastic, and it delivers atmosphere and tension in spades!  If you love horror, Saw is essential viewing.

Grade:  A

Run time:  103 min

MPAA:  R (for strong grisly violence and language)

Studio:  Lionsgate, Twisted Pictures