Okay, so this is the page where I'm going to rant and rave about the latest movies.
Most of the time I go to the movies once a week with friends, and I hardly ever say
that a movie is bad. I'll be updating this page quite a bit, as I go to the movies a lot,
so you might want to check this page out a lot. On with the reviews!
My rating system:
1 star: It sucks, don't see it.
2 stars: Eh, this film's okay, but not something you should go out of your way to see.
3 stars: Worth a look; I recommend it.
4 stars: An excellent, well-made film. Go see it, NOW!
This week: 7/25/03...the date I saw the movie.
Spy Kids 3D: Game Over----(***):
I know a lot of people that say these movies sucked. Why? Maybe because they haven't seen them. These movies are great. The first one was indeed original...the 2nd one had cool visuals and a fun plot...the 3rd one is any video gamer's dream, and it's in 3D, man! The new movie from low-budget director Robert Rodriguez is a worthy conclusion to the Spy Kids trilogy (I think), and it's got a fun story to boot. The 3D is a bit of a gimmick to get people to see the movie, and of course, the previews make the movie look nothing like it really is, but anyway, this is still a fun movie that's bursting with creativity in just about every scene. It opens with a small introduction to the 3D glasses, which is pretty cool, in my opinion, and starts with Juni as a Private Eye, retired from the OSS. Then we learn that there is a game, called Game Over, that people will be logging on to. Turns out, the maker of the game, the Toymaker, is planning on trapping kids' minds in the game, and will control the future with them. We then learn that the OSS needs Juni, since his sister is trapped inside the game, and Juni must save his sister, get to the 'un-winnable' level 5, and shut off the game, in turn saving the world. Yeesh, and that's just the first 15 or 20 minutes. Strange plot, but once Juni enters the game, things get extremely fun and exciting. Juni faces tough times in all of the levels...he meets new people, who turn out to betray him, but they later find out that he is "The Guy", a small play on the "The One" in the Matrix. They follow him, since he is supposed to be the one to lead them to the exit of the game. One problem I had, was that each plot device seemed as a way just for them to throw things out at you. Hell, it was a lot of fun, but a bit overused. The kids in the audience were loving it though, as I'm sure it was their first 3D movie. Now, I will stop spoiling things in case you plan on seeing this, but I doubt you will. There were lots and lots of cameos in this movie, and I NEVER expected Elijah Wood to show up in this. Apparently these movies are a lot of fun to be in, even if your screen time is limited. Alexa Vega (Carmen) is strangely absent for most of the film's duration, as are their parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino). However, the last 5 minutes or so brings in pretty much everyone from the first two films as they do battle with the Toymaker (Sylvester Stallone seemed like he had quite a bit of fun being the over-the-top bad guy in this film...finally a role he wasn't terrible in). Also, Ricardo Montalban, who has been paralyzed from the waist down for quite a while (he's the grandpa in the movie), gets to play a character that walks, and it is some of the best computer-generated-imagery I've seen in these movies. Also, the role seems to have been quite a bit of fun for him, as well. There always seems to be a theme running through these films, and in this one, it was that just about everyone is your family, which I thought was pretty cool. This film did that without being preachy, which is one of the best compliments I can give it. This film is most certainly worth a watch (although some 3D scenes may affect you afterwards...I had a headache during the film, and my eyes hurt a while afterwards...one scene also made me a bit dizzy, although that may have been from the cool, yet dizzying camerawork.) The camerawork must be mentioned. While one scene made me dizzy, I have to admit I was impressed with the stylish camera work this film had. Another thing...Robert Rodriguez is a cool man...He produced, wrote, edited, directed, and composed the entire musical score for this film. That's pretty damn impressive. Anyway, you should check this film out...I'm pretty sure you'll have a good time...
That's a pretty badass poster. It's colorful, like the flick itself.
Anyway, I'm out for now...
Click here to go back home.
Click here to go back to the reviews page.