The Last Airbender

Nicola Peltz and Noah Ringer learning to bend water. Whatever that means.

So we officially found our first terrible movie for this blog: The Last Airbender. It's rated PG for fantasy action violence, which means that all of the action in this movie could not possibly take place in the real world, so we can take comfort in that.

Mark-
So many people are probably wondering if this movie is really as bad as the reputation that proceeds it, and the answer is...yes! I will gladly admit to being an M. Night Shyamalan fan, but he did nothing to help this movie. There are some cool special effects in this movie, but it can’t help the awful dialog and numerous plot holes that fill this movie. The movie is based on the anime series called Avatar, which takes place among various Earth, Fire, Water, and Air regions. Within each region there are individuals who can manipulate or "bend" the different elements which are prominent to the nation they reside in. The one exception is that the Fire people have eliminated all of the air benders with the exception of one who is known as the Avatar. This special bender is likened to a God among all groups, and is the only individual known to be able to bend all four elements. Upon learning that he is the Avatar, Aang runs away from his monastery and becomes trapped under the ice in one of the water nations for close to a century. The fire people have destroyed all of the air benders in the meantime, knowing that the Avatar is prophesied to be among them. With the Avatar having returned it essentially becomes a battle of the fire nation against all others.
I will be the first to admit that this movie has a major disadvantage with me, as I’m sure it does with many, due to the fact that it is based upon anime. Sadly this movie leaves off in a way that leaves no doubt that a sequel is in its future. I have a small hope that many of the flaws of this first movie can be solved in the sequel, but I have a hard time believing any major changes will take place. If you like anime then you have probably already seen this movie, and if you don’t then I wouldn’t recommend this movie anytime soon. 1 ½ * out of 5 stars.
My Random Thought For The Last Airbender: What? No cameo appearance Shyamalan?

Dan-
This review is taken from a letter I wrote to this movie's director, M. Night Shyamalan:

Dear Mr. Shyamalan,

I have been such a fan of your movies for the last 12 years. I even own most of your movies. I want you to be around for a long time making movies, Night. Can I call you Night? I'm going to anyway because I feel like I may have understood you when few others did. I have defended your movies even when it seemed no one else would/did, which makes this letter that much more difficult to write. I recently watched The Last Airbender and felt compelled to write you. I had heard terrible things about this movie for the past year, but chalked them up to naysayers who didn't want you to succeed.

But we need to discuss this most recent movie of yours. I don't want to blame you for how much it sucked because there's a lot of stuff that factors into a movie, but at the same time you were the one who wrote and directed it. Maybe it was just a poor choice of source material. Seriously? Anime? What could possibly be done with it to make cool in live action? I have to assume that it was merely a showcase for the special effects team that created just about the only positive thing I could take from this movie.


This looks like a sloth mated with Falcore from Neverending Story, but for some reason it has a furry beaver tail and bull horns. A dragon would have been much less retarded.

 I know you can write dialogue well, so here's the benefit of the doubt that some of the cheesy lines were taken directly from the children's cartoon from which it was adapted. But what can be attributed to you was the child actors that were cast. I couldn't care less that they were white instead of Asian, but at least give me somebody who is talented other than how they move their arms and hands. What happened to the ability you once held to cast amazing child actors like Haley Joel Osment or Abigail Breslin? Has the talent pool dried up? I read somewhere you picked Noah Ringer based on a tape he sent in showing himself "bend" elements. Please tell me this wasn't true. Regardless, I'm sorry to say that the delivery of most of that dialogue was painfully bad.


Noah Ringer, showing more emotion here than in any other scene in the movie.

 I suppose the worst part of this mistake (what else can it be called) in your career is that you have set yourself up for a possible sequel with how this movie ends. I know it was a decent hit and money will try to dictate to you that more movies should be made, but I'm begging you, please don't. No good can come from more movies like this one.

Look, Night, let me be clear that I want you to succeed. I feel like I understand you as any moviegoer and director can understand each other. I get the fact that Lady in the Water was to be considered a bedtime story that you could tell your children. I also thought The Happening had one of the best tracking shots I've seen in a long time. For example, that scene where the same gun is used by 4 different people on themselves was done in one continuous shot. It was so effective that I still remember how impressed I was by it. Perhaps with Airbender you were hoping to create another movie for the benefit of your children.

The point is I'm not ready to give up on you. Yet. Everyone makes mistakes, but we can move forward and learn from the past. Spielberg went from "Jaws" to "1941", but rebounded with "Raiders of the Lost Ark". I believe in you Night. Please make your next movie as great as I hope it will be.

Sincerely,

Dan, the Movies for Lunch Critic

I rate this movie 1 star out of 5, simply because a few of the effects were really impressive. But the rest of the movie sucked.

Saving Silverman (2001)

Amanda Peet, Jack Black, and Steve Zahn

We watched another comedy for this one: Saving Silverman. It was originally rated PG-13 when released in theaters for language and a bunch of sex jokes. A subsequent DVD release (that we watched and review here) was rated R. For those interested, the difference between the two is adding some of F-bombs and a few gratuitous shots of some boobs.

Mark-
In the words of Bill Murray’s character Bob Wiley, "there are two kinds of people in this world, those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don’t" well the three main male characters take liking Neil to a whole different area. Wayne (Steve Zahn), J.D. (Jack Black), and Darren (Jason Biggs) are your stereotypical losers who have a love for Neil Diamond, which includes there own tribute band to him. Their obsession of Diamond goes so far in this movie that there is a restraining order against them, and in behalf of Diamond. That’s pretty much the highlights of the film as the rest just becomes a mess. Darren falls in love with Judith (Amanda Peet), who begins to control Darren and make him believe that she is his one true love. Wayne and J.D. decide they have to try and save Darren, their brilliant idea being to kidnap Judith and fake her death, hoping that Darren will fall back in love with Sandy (Amanda Detmer) who used to be his one true love, but that he never had the chance to ask out because her family went to join the circus (unfortunately Sandy’s brother, the dog-face boy, had to later be put down because of rabies). Are there a few laughs along the way? Sure. Have you seen a variety of this movie too many times before? Of course. Will you shake your head while watching? Often. It’s far from the best movie, but it’s hard to find many comedies that really are. 1 ½ out of 5 stars.
My Random Thought For Saving Silverman: Why is/was Amanda Detmer in so few movies?

Dan-
I'll be the first to admit that this movie seems to be better remembered than it actually was. Who knows, maybe I'm (shudder) growing too old for this kind of movie. There were times when I laughed, but then found myself feeling stupid for laughing. Other times I wondered to myself why I thought this movie was so hilarious when I watched it the first time.  Mark explained the plot rather well in the above paragraphs, so I won't worry about getting into it. Gotta love the Neil Diamond tribute band.

This is one of three movies I watched in relatively short time period that introduced me to Jack Black and his style of comedy. The other two are Shallow Hal and Orange County, with Orange County being the best of the 3. Jack Black is similar to Ben Stiller when it comes to comedy. They always seem to play some version of themselves and therefore the characters all seem about the same. Come on, Ben Stiller in Night at the Museum is not that different from Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents/Fockers. Similarly, Jack Black's performances are none too different in Orange County, Saving Silverman, Gulliver's Travels, School of Rock, etc. with a possible exception for the amount of drugs he consumes in each movie.

This also solidified how funny I think Steve Zahn is. He is criminally underrated when it comes to his talents and abilities to make people laugh. Ever since I first saw him in That Thing You Do, I've laughed at him. He also gets the best lines in the movie. For example when arguing with Judith he resorts to name calling and finishes off by calling Judith: "Stealer... of my best friend!!!!", as if it's the worst insult she could be given, but at the same time it's the best thing he can come up with. And his idea to arm wrestle Judith, and the winner gets Darren (see picture above) sounds eerily like something I might say or do in a similar situation. Anyway, check out some of his other cool/funny movies like Happy, Texas, Out of Sight, and Sahara. I'll agree that he may not be leading man material, but maybe if he got the right material...

All in all I'd give this movie 2½, maybe 3 stars out of 5. If it's on TV and you've got some extra time, watch it and laugh at the ridiculousness. And I also echo Mark's random thought about Amanda Detmer.

Wayne's World 2 (1993)

Dana Carvey, Mike Meyers, Tia Carrere, and Christopher Walken

So here's the sequel that probably no one needed, but was made anyway: Wayne's World 2. It's rated PG-13 for "ribald humor". Whatever that means. After watching it, there was a bunch of sexual innuendo and some bad language observed.

Dan -
Was this sequel unnecessary? Yes. Does the entire movie basically parody/steal ideas from other movies? Yes. Did it make me laugh out loud more than the original? Yes. After watching both of them, I realize that I may have been confusing some parts of the original and the sequel with each other. Please disregard the comment on the first movie that I made about yelling "Schwing!" to every hot girl that walks by.

The plot is simple: Wayne tries to put on a concert to prove he can do something with his life. Meanwhile Cassandra is now on the verge of selling out to and marrying her manager Christopher Walken (I know!). Ok, ok, it's a super lame plot borrowing not least from Field of Dreams, The Graduate, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and An Officer and a Gentleman just to name a few. But the best part has got to be Kim Basinger's role as Honey Hornee (and it's pronounced 'Hor-Nay' you pervs). I think what makes most of the silly comedy so funny is that with the exception of Wayne and Garth, everyone plays the jokes straight. Especially Christopher Walken and Kim Basinger. Her seduction of Garth to get him to kill her husband is probably the funniest sequence in the movie.

This movie, even more so than the first one, is one you watch for nostalgic purposes with a group of friends to get a laugh, preferably after watching the first one so, or if, you're still in the mood for the type of comedy. May I also add that it's good to see Chris Farley again. I miss him. Not that I ever knew him personally, but he is a hilarious dude. I can guarantee that "Tommy Boy" will be a future review on this site. He made a memorable character out of someone that could have easily been forgotten among the other metal-heads following Wayne and Garth throughout the movie: "I'm gonna go pick a fight!"

I give this movie 3 out of 5 stars because it made me laugh more than it should have.

Mark -
Sadly this movie is another example of why sequels very rarely work. The original was fun and had some memorable moments, but it was hardly successful to the point of warranting a sequel. My main criticism of this movie is its lack of originality. There are few and far between moments of new material, but the majority of this film involves mocking/mimicking of other films, or simply recycling material from the first movie with an ever so slight change. I have to admit that the only memorable thing that has stuck with me about this movie, from the first time I saw it, is that Kenny G will always be referred to as dentist music. I appreciate the realization of the writers that Dana Carvey’s character Garth needed a larger role than in the original movie, but it seems as though they diminished his original character by trying to make him assume too much of the role of Wayne, and not enough of the role of Garth. If I want to watch Wayne’s World I’ll simply stick with the first movie, and not give a second thought to the sequel. *1/2 stars out of 5.
My Random Though For Wayne’s World 2: Perhaps my favorite part of this movie is that in the credits it indicates that neither Kenny G’s name or music is used with his consent.

The Hurricane (1999)

Denzel Washington as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter


At the end of 1999, "The Hurricane" was released starring Denzel Washington. It was a modest hit, but maybe you have never seen it. It is rated R for language and violence.

Dan-
I have been wanting to see this movie for a really long time, but have never taken the opportunity to see it. It finally made its way up the Netflix queue (after more than 2 years I think) and I finally got the chance to see it. As cliche as it sounds, this is one of Denzel's best performances. He was nominated for an Oscar for it, but lost to Kevin Spacey in "American Beauty" (how he won against Denzel AND Russell Crowe for The Insider is beyond me). I also think this was a better performance than his role in "Training Day", for which he actually did win the Oscar.

Back to the movie. This is "based on the true story" of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter who, at the peak of his career, was framed for a murder he did not commit and imprisoned for more than 20 years. I use the true story term loosely because this is Hollywood, and naturally there will be some artistic license taken to create drama, conflict, and/or motivations. The movie implies that a single racist cop is the one responsible for all his troubles, which may have some truth to it, but there is likely a lot more to the story. While in prison, Carter writes a book about his life and wrongful conviction. There is also a black teenager named Lesra who is taken from a poor neighborhood in New Jersey to live with 3 white people in Toronto to be educated and given an opportunity he may not have otherwise had. Lesra reads Hurricane's book, shares it with his 3 educators, and they all take the cause to free the Hurricane from prison.

There were two things that sucked me in emotionally to the movie: 1- After Hurricane is sent to prison and refuses to wear the prison uniform he is sent to solitary confinement. There he has an argument with two versions of his personality, one that is weak and one that is strong. This became the point where Denzel's performance really started to shine. Prior to that the character is cocky and arrogant, and this begins to show the vulnerability of Hurricane. And 2- When he asks his wife to stop visiting him and walk away. "I'm dead. Just bury me." It's the emotion in his voice that resonates the most with me.

This is a strong legal drama of a movie. The bad point about real life and the good point of movies is that these appeals and court proceedings literally take years, but can be shown in much quicker so we as the audience continue to feel a sense of urgency. Even after Lesra meets Rubin Carter, the process takes years to get the final appeal heard in court. The movie tries emphasize that fact as there is one point where the attorneys that have been assigned to the case since the beginning of his appeals comment to Lesra's educators that many people have offered to help over the years, but due to the slow process and apparent lack of progress they felt they were making, abandoned the cause.

While I thought this movie was compelling and well-made, I think I loved Denzel's performance the most about this movie. There is a great line that Carter writes to Lesra: "Do not write me. Do not visit me. Find it in your hearts to not weaken me with your love." I'm fascinated by a man who wants to be so strong, but knows he will not appear as such if he gets close to anyone. He gains hope and loses it every time he goes to court.

I give this movie 4½ out of 5 stars.

Mark-
Sadly this movie seems as though it has been overlooked by many people. I don’t know what it is about movies about boxing or boxers, but they continually seem to be some of the best movies produced. My own wife is among those who hate boxing, yet she has admitted on numerous occasions how good movies such as Million Dollar Baby, and Cinderella Man were. I have to add The Fighter and The Hurricane to that list as great movies that have come out in the last 15 years focused in some way around boxing or boxers. This film portrays the personal and judicial struggles that Rubin "Hurricane" Carter endured, as well as a friendship developed between Carter and a young man named Lesra. Rubin Carter overcame many hardships and difficulties in his life to become a boxing champion, before being what eventually was determined a wrongful imprisonment for three murders. The theme of racial injustice is prevalent throughout this film as is the case in many of Denzel Washington’s movies, but these are also his greatest films and roles. When I think about the roles Denzel has played I think of the movies: Cry Freedom, Glory, Malcolm X, The Hurricane, and Training Day (only because he finally won his best actor Oscar for this movie). All of the above films and roles deal directly with racial differences, and you could of course add Remember The Titans and The Great Debaters to the list. Denzel Washington has been among my favorite actors for a long time, and this is in my opinion his best acting performance. Denzel became Rubin Carter for this film! The most obvious observation of this fact is the physical shape that Washington got into for this role. Although he has never been unfit in anyway, it is clear to see that he devoted himself to learning the skill of boxing, and getting for lack of a better word "ripped" for this role. Just as, if not more, impressive is the amount of emotional and psychological toil that Washington allowed himself to be subjected to. There are so many details of this movie that I could give, but I’m the type of person that would rather see the events for myself, rather than have someone tell me all about it. This is truly a great movie and was in my opinion much much much better than American Beauty which unfortunately won best picture the same year. ***** out of 5
My Random Thought For This Movie: Liev Schrieiber appears in this movie, and my random thought is that I’m beginning to wonder if he ever really ages. He has bulked up a little more than his earlier years, but with that exception I would claim that he still looks virtually the same.