Category Archives: Movie Reviews

John & Becky’s Movie Review of Pirate Radio

November 19, 2009 The Cool Car Guy Leave a comment

thebox Becky and I went to see the new flick Pirate Radio last week at the AMC theater in Highlands Ranch, CO. The MSN Movie website at Pirate Radio describes the movie as follows:

“In mid- to late-’60s Britain, an unusual yet colorful subculture sprang up and thrived as a product of the upswing in British pop music, only to meet its doom within a few short years. Though the BBC functioned as the country’s main source of news and music, its programmers offered very little airtime to rock & roll — which left an overwhelming need unfulfilled. In response, small bands of “pirate”…”

The Review
Pirate Radio is a very different story about the 1960’s than we’ve seen before. So many of the movies that take place in the 60’s are extremely political, not very fun and this was different. There’s a very political issue taking place in the film, as the British government doesn’t like rock and roll music while millions of their citizens have embraced it and the characters in this film are going against the government.

However, it’s really about this group of weirdo’s who live on a ship off the coast of the U.K. and broadcast rock music legally since they are in International waters. The government is trying to figure out how to make it illegal for them to broadcast and the crew on Pirate Radio really doesn’t care, which is what makes it so funny. They just like to listen to their movie and goof off. It’s very clever and done extremely well. You will you get sucked into the lives of these zany characters and understand why they are such a group of misfits, who become more like a family.

Becky and I both found it very funny and I’m not even a Phillip Seymour Hoffman fan, but he does a really good job in Pirate Radio, along with the rest of the cast. However, be forewarned that this film is not for everyone. A few people got up and left because the language is rough, there is plenty of sex, drugs and rock and roll.

It’s an adult movie for sure. It wouldn’t be any good though if there wasn’t sex, drugs and rock and roll because the film takes place in the 60’s and that’s what that rebellious generation was known for. I have plenty of friends who grew up in that time period and some of them are still like the people in this movie, which is one of the reasons it’s so funny.

The movie has good acting, with strange and funny situations and the characters are a riot. I can’t rate it as a Don’t Miss It since there will be some people who will be offended by this film. Many of my Christian friends will be surprised that we liked this movie, but for others it will be Worth The Trip. A friend of mine sent me a text yesterday and wrote, “I saw Pirate Radio and loved it!”. I concur and thought it was a great movie.

John – *** Worth The Trip
Becky- *** Worth The Trip
_________________________________________________________________________
John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado. Find his consignments at CoolCarGuy.com. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy or Facebook.

Movie Reviews, Uncategorized

John & Becky’s Movie Review of The Box

November 14, 2009 The Cool Car Guy Leave a comment

thebox Becky and I went to see the new Cameron Diaz flick, The Box at the Hollywood theater in Colorado Springs, CO last Saturday night. The MSN Movie website at The Box describes the movie as follows:

” Screen siren Cameron Diaz and former X-Man James Marsden star in the supernatural horror picture The Box (2008), directed by Donnie Darko cult fave Richard Kelly. The film’s premise involves a strange and ominous box granted to a young couple by a mysterious stranger (Frank Langella). They are informed that pressing various buttons on the box will grant them riches while killing a person unknown to them in the process. Executive produced by Ted Hamm, the film was adapted by Kelly from Richard Matheson’s…”

The Review
The Box is a very weird Horror film about a woman who makes a decision to push a button and kill someone she doesn’t know and then realizes there are huge consequences for her and husband for their actions. In exchange for pushing the button their family receives one million dollars, but there is always a catch to moral decisions and that’s what this movie is about.

The Box is based on a short story and it reminded me of something you would read in a High School science fiction class. You know the class where the teacher spends a week trying to explain what the heck it was you just read. Yeah, that class is like this movie. Especially, since the guy who did Donny Darko directed this film because he is definitely an abstract thinker, so be prepared to go “Huh?”.

The movie is really a play on the history of Adam and Eve since the Box is a test, much like God telling our ancestors not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. You’ll notice that it’s always women in this movie who push the button with their husband saying, “We probably shouldn’t do it.” with the consequence being severe for both of them. Like Eve eating the forbidden fruit and Adam going along for the ride until it’s too late.

In this case though, it’s not God who is putting the human race to the test, but aliens. More alien space movies from Hollywood – “Yeah.”. The movie is so disjointed you’ll be totally confused, even if you follow along. Many of the characters made absolutely no sense whatsoever. The acting is okay, but the story is really stupid.

Our advice is to wait for the rental or don’t bother on this one.

John – ** Rental
Becky- * Don’t Bother
_________________________________________________________________________
John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy or Facebook.

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John & Becky’s Movie Review of The Men Who Stare at Goats

November 9, 2009 The Cool Car Guy Leave a comment

menwhostare Becky and I went to see the new George Clooney movie, The Men Who Stare at Goats at the AMC theater in Highlands Ranch, CO on Friday. The Fandango website at The Men Who Stare at Goats describes the movie as follows:

“Struggling reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) gets the scoop of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who claims to be from a unit of psychic soldiers who have been reactivated for duty. Intrigued by Cassady’s assertions that they can walk through walls and kill goats by fixed gazes, Wilton follows him on a dangerous, top-secret mission across Iraq to find the brigade’s founder, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges).”

The Review
The Men Who Stare at Goats is another goofy flick by George Clooney. Remember LeatherHeads last year that would have made for a good rental at Red Box, but certainly not one you would want to waste your money seeing at the Box Office. Well, this movie is on the same level. Great acting, plenty of star power, but totally pointless, a few good laughs, and a pretty stupid movie overall.

I did like parts of the film and it was entertaining at times, but for most people they are not going to like this movie very much. You do wonder how much of this film is true, especially if you are into Area 51 conspiracies, remote viewing theories or other late night talk show stories about our government and its other worldly type endeavors. I had seen the Today show report on Barney songs being used to torture Iraqi terrorist prisoners, so that was wild to see in the film.

The movie has some funny parts with Jeff Bridges character being a Hippy trying to create a new Army. There’s a few lines, such as the “Be All You Can Be” Army slogan that will make you laugh, but this movie is just to disjointed and bizarre for most people and won’t be worth the price of admission.

Our advice is to wait for the rental.

John – ** Rental
Becky- ** Rental
_________________________________________________________________________
John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy or Facebook.

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John & Becky’s Movie Review of Paranormal Activity

October 28, 2009 The Cool Car Guy Leave a comment

We’re getting pounded with a snowstorm in Colorado right now and I escaped today for a couple of hours to go and see the top movie at the box office this week, Paranormal Activity at the AMC theater in Highlands Ranch, CO. There were three other people in the theater with me, so I wasn’t completely alone for this film. Not that it would matter, but in case you were wondering. The Fandango website at Paranormal Activity describes the movie as follows:

“A haunted house makes no secret of the fact it’s not pleased with its new tenants in this independent tale of supernatural horror. Katie (Katie Featherson) and Micah (Micah Sloat) are a twentysomething couple who’ve just moved into a new home in San Diego, CA. Katie has an interest in the paranormal and believes that malevolent spirits have been following her since childhood, though Micah is not so easily convinced. However, after several nights of loud noises and strange happenings, Micah starts to agree with Katie that some sort of ghost may have followed them to the new home…”

The Review
Paranormal Activity is a mockumentary as they call it, which is a film like The Blair Witch Project where amateur film makers try to capture real life events with their video camera. Paranormal Activity touts itself as being a true story about a demon that is haunting a girl and her boyfriend. It even opens up by thanking the family and the San Diego Police Department and ends talking about the police related to the ending of the film.

I think that’s what made this film scary for people because you actually believe that the movie is a true story, like The Blair Witch Project. It’s also why many people didn’t like the film though because when they find out that it’s not true it ticks you off that you’ve been duped into believing it to be true. Nobody likes to be lied to and I think that’s the main problem with this film because it really looks like it’s a true story and it’s done extremely well.

In fact, a friend of mine called me and said, “John, you have to go and see this film. It’s super scary.” Of course, for this person and myself there is a much larger reason for this film to be scary than most people because we have both had real-life experiences with the supernatural. In particular, we have both had encounters with wicked and evil spirits.

Getting back to the film though, I liked it, even though it wasn’t a true story. The language was really bad and when the guy started taking God’s name in vain, you knew it wasn’t going to end well for him. I thought that it accurately conveyed the dangers of playing with the supernatural, especially antagonizing and communicating with the demonic.

I have met a number of people in the Occult (hidden knowledge) over the years, read their articles or heard them speak, who are deceived into believing that they are communicating with “Spiritual Masters”, “entities”, “aliens”, “ghosts” and other familiar spirits, often using a spirit board, while failing to realize that the Devil and his horde are the Masters of Deception. Many people involved in the occult will emphatically claim, “A spirit board will not bring evil spirits!”, but when you probe a little deeper they will say, “Well, unless of course, you really believe that they will…”.

The Dark can make people believe they’re talking with a dead family member, friend, ghost, etc. when they are really communicating or entertaining a demon. Demons are more than willing to let you believe a lie and mess with your theology. Many of these same people will believe in aliens, ghosts and entities, but completely discount demons – go figure.

The film had a little bit more of an impact for me and my friend than most people based on our personal life experiences. I have to recommend it, if you’re up for a scary movie. Partly because I think it shows how “modern man” can easily dismiss the supernatural or think that they are above such primitive beliefs, and in this case, to their own peril. However, be forewarned that the language is bad.

It’s boring at times and it has the “reality” show feel that will frustrate a number of viewers. It’s not for everyone for sure, but it did $22 million at the box office, so apparently quite a few people liked it. By the way, if you want to read a wild story about a former Marine’s experience with messing around with a ouija board, click here.
John – *** Worth The Trip
_________________________________________________________________________
John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy or Facebook.

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John & Becky’s Movie Review of Law Abiding Citizen

October 26, 2009 The Cool Car Guy Leave a comment

couplesretreat Becky and I went to see the film Law Abiding Citizen on Friday night at the AMC theater in Highlands Ranch, CO. The Fandango website at Law Abiding Citizen describes the movie as follows:

“Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), a hotshot young Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Over his objections, Nick is forced by his boss to offer one of the suspects a light sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. Fast forward ten years. The man who got away with murder is found dead and Clyde Shelton coolly admits his guilt. Then he issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system that failed his family, or key players in the trial will die.”

The Review
Law Abiding Citizen was a huge let down for both Becky and I. The theater was packed and it was in one of the smaller theaters, but like us, I think that people had high expectations for this film. It turned out to be non-stop graphic violence that was completely pointless. The acting is great, but that’s the only thing this movie has going for it.

The hero of the film is a vigilante who wants to avenge the death of his wife and daughter after the State fails to get a proper conviction. After ten years of waiting for the death penalty to be carried out on the accomplice instead of the real murderer, Gerard Butler’s psychopathic character decides to dismember the murderer piece by piece.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, he then starts taking out the Justice system with graphic murders while he’s in jail. It was over-the-top, cruel violence that really made no sense for the audience. There wasn’t any part of this film that was any good. It wasn’t redeeming in nature and had a terrible ending to boot. You couldn’t cheer on the bad guy because they were really all bad guys in this movie. There weren’t really any good guys and it was a complete waste of time. It was different, but it wasn’t good. I wouldn’t even watch this as a rental unless you want to be depressed when you watch how sick our society and our justice system is today, as portrayed by this movie.

John – * Don’t Bother
Becky – * Don’t Bother
_________________________________________________________________________
John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy or Facebook.

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John & Becky’s Movie Review of Couple’s Retreat

October 11, 2009 The Cool Car Guy Leave a comment

couplesretreat Becky and I went to see the new Vince Vaughn comedy Couple’s Retreat on Friday night at the AMC theater in Highlands Ranch, CO with our friends Jerry & Linda. The Fandango website at Couple’s Retreat describes the movie as follows:

“Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Faizon Love star in Universal Pictures’ upcoming comedy “Couples Retreat.” Based on an original idea of Vaughn’s, the comedy follows four Midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resort’s couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couples. The film also stars Kali Hawk and Jean Reno.”

The Review
Couple’s Retreat is a crack-up. The theater was sold-out when we went on Friday night. It did over $35 million at the box office this Weekend, so tons of people were ready to see this one on the big screen from the commercials and previews. It really delivered with plenty of laughs. All the characters in the movie were great. I think they had every personality in the film and that’s of the things that made it so funny since we’ve all met these people before.

Vince Vaughn helped write the script, which was surprising. Since the film had plenty of thought and dealt with the different kinds of relationships beyond just the comedy aspect of the film. There were also some good lines and situations, more than what we saw on the Previews. Frankly, I thought they were going to give the whole movie away with the commercials. It was a pretty light-hearted film with a good message about relationships, sticking together, working things out and there were some very funny situations the characters found themselves.

We all left the film feeling good with a happy ending everyone was waiting for and that was nice for a change!

John – **** Don’t Miss It
Becky – **** Don’t Miss It
_________________________________________________________________________
John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy or Facebook.

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John & Becky’s Movie Review of Love Happens

October 10, 2009 The Cool Car Guy Leave a comment

lovehappens Becky and I went to see the new Jennifer Anniston movie Love Happens a few of weeks ago at the AMC theater in Highlands Ranch, CO. The Yahoo website at Love Happens describes the movie as follows:

“When a self-help author arrives in Seattle to teach a sold-out seminar, he unexpectedly meets the one person who might finally be able to help him help himself.”

The Review
Love Happens is a sappy chick flick about a guy who’s wife has died and he goes on to become a self-help guru for people who are dealing with grief. Apparently, it’s his way of dealing with his loss. It was a strange film because of his profession and the characters that he was working with and the chemistry between the two lead roles was really good.

The movie was okay, but it wasn’t great by any stretch. It was different, but it was too predictable like we’ve all seen this before, only now with two new characters. The acting was good and the story wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t one you should run out and see. We’re going to rate it a rental.

John – ** Rental
Becky – ** Rental

_________________________________________________________________________
John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado. Find his consignments at JFRCars.com. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy or Facebook.

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John & Becky’s Movie Review of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

September 27, 2009 The Cool Car Guy Leave a comment

cloudymeatballs Becky and I took the kids to see the new kid’s movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs this Weekend at the Kerasotes theater in Castle Rock, CO. The Yahoo website at Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs describes the movie as follows:

“A scientist tries to solve world hunger only to see things go awry as food falls from the sky in abundance.”

The Review
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a new film based on a popular children’s book. The story is fun, the animation is pretty good and since our children have all read the book they loved it. It’s definitely totally for kids, but Becky and I both liked it too.

It has a great message about persevering and being careful about fame and fortune. The main character has a strange relationship with his Dad after his Mom has passed away. He is a zany inventor with some incredibly stupid inventions with this big one becoming the huge hit to save the town when it starts raining food based on his computer system. As the film progresses things go wrong and the story is about how he handles the situation.

We all liked this movie, it’s done close to $30 million at the box office, so it’s a big hit. The kids liked it more than we did, but we enjoyed it with them. Conroy went and saw it a second time with his buddies.

John – ** Rental
Becky – ** Rental

Corban – *** Worth The Trip
Conroy – *** Worth The Trip
Bianca – *** Worth The Trip
_________________________________________________________________________
John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy or Facebook.

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John & Becky’s Movie Review of The Informant

September 20, 2009 The Cool Car Guy Leave a comment

TheInformant Becky and I went and see the new Matt Damon movie The Informant at the AMC theaters in Highlands Ranch, CO on Friday night. The Fandango website at The Informant describes the movie as follows:

“The Informant is the tale of Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), an Ivy League Ph.D. who was a rising star at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in the early 1990s. The bipolar hero wound up blowing the whistle on the company’s price fixing tactics and became the highest-ranked executive to ever turn whistleblower in US history. Whitacre secretly gathered hundreds of hours of video and audio tapes over several years to present to the FBI which became one of the largest price fixing cases in history…”

The Review
The Informant has a great commercial with all these reviews saying how great the flick is and even the Previews looked really good, so we were excited about seeing this one. We expected plenty of laughs, but at times I was one of the few people laughing in a packed theater and that wasn’t very often.

The film is based on a true story, which made it somewhat interesting, but that couldn’t save this film. Nor could the fact that Matt Damon put on like 40 pounds to do the movie. His character was crazy or at least he sure came across as a nut and it was hard to follow as you tried to figure out what was the truth and what was a lie. The people next to us got up and left after telling each other that it was too boring.

The Informant had no action, no suspense and very few laughs. The laughs that it did have were statements from Matt’s character about flossing his teeth in the shower for better time management over his lifetime. The flick was just too strange and it’s definitely a rental at best.

John – ** Rental
Becky – ** Rental

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy
_________________________________________________________________________
John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy or Facebook.

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John & Becky’s Movie Review of Whiteout

September 13, 2009 The Cool Car Guy Leave a comment

Becky and I went and checked out the new Kate Beckinsale movie Whiteout at the AMC theaters in Highlands Ranch, CO last night. The Fandango website at Whiteout describes the movie as follows:

“The only U.S. Marshal assigned to Antarctica, Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) will soon leave the harsh environment behind for good; in three days, the sun will set and the Amundsen-Scott Research Station will shut down for the long winter. When a body is discovered out on the open ice, Carrie’s investigation into the continent’s first homicide plunges her deep into a mystery that may cost her her own life…”

The Review
Whiteout is a thriller of the strange kind. I thought it was going to be a horror movie based on the Previews with some kind of monster in Antarctica, kind of like The Thing back in the 1980’s. It wasn’t that though at all and I think that’s what movie goers were expecting. Instead, it was a bit more like a slasher movie and that was surprising.

Kate Beckinsale was good in the film along with the other actors, but it wasn’t a great flick by any stretch. It moved really slow with plenty of scenes of the ice and cold weather. It looked like it was filmed on location and the scenery was wild. There are some really graphic scenes too that they could have done without and there are a few cliff hangers where you’re on the edge of you seat, wondering if she is going to get whacked in the cold, but the plot was really bad. It just wasn’t that interesting as it jumped around and you tried to figure out what they were after and who was the killer.

They tried hard to save this movie, but it was pretty lame. It’s definitely a rental. The ending is really bad. It’s one of those “six months later” deals and you’ll be glad it’s over at that point. Whiteout should make for a pretty good rental for a buck at RedBox, but don’t waste your money at the theater.

John – ** Rental
Becky – ** Rental

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy
_________________________________________________________________________
John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

Follow The Cool Car Guy on Twitter – @coolcarguy or Facebook.

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Category Archives: Movie Reviews

John & Becky’s Movie Review of Pirate Radio

John & Becky’s Movie Review of The Box

John & Becky’s Movie Review of The Men Who Stare at Goats

John & Becky’s Movie Review of Paranormal Activity

John & Becky’s Movie Review of Law Abiding Citizen

John & Becky’s Movie Review of Couple’s Retreat

John & Becky’s Movie Review of Love Happens

John & Becky’s Movie Review of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

John & Becky’s Movie Review of The Informant

John & Becky’s Movie Review of Whiteout

John & Becky's Movie Reviews