Monday, February 25, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Review: "Nitro Circus The Movie" is thrill ride stunt show flick
"Nitro Circus The Movie" R (unrated)
In 2012 the cast and creators of Nitro Circus bike stunt show from MTV made a movie of their road trip to Las Vegas where they performed several insane stunts, many of them using motorcross bikes and big wheels and an actual school bus. They are related to Jackass and are even given kudos by Johnny Knoxville who calls them the bastard children of the same father, implying a different mother, of Jackass. Similar also to the CYK crew that originated Jackass, and the Dudesons, another stunt team of similar make, the Nitro Circus allegedly grew up together performing daredevil stunts ala Evil Kenevil meets the Rascals. Because they were somewhat related to producer Jeff Tremaine of Jackass they were not immediately disallowed to come on MTV and Spike and be motocross daredevils. The cast even includes a stunt bike female, similar to Jackass in the first season. Some of their biggest death defying stunts include launching a schoolbus hundreds of feet in the air, trying to jump a semi truck, jumping trike vehicles across a pair of skyscraper apartment buildings, and launching themselves off a ramp using a jet ski rope, a motorbike, and a big lake to land in. Not as reliant on gross stunts like Jackass or like Dirty Sanchez, they're more about making crazy ramps and jumps and seeing which one biffs and crashes first. They even launch their wheelchair bound frien off some of these ramps, gleefully enjoying a crash dive or two into a wall. The big wheel ramp scene is hilarious. The extended opening with the outdoor motorbike freestyle jump and flip with the cars is like nothing you will ever see. Extras on the DVD are slim and there are few seasons out yet of the show. It says unrated bu really it's R for profanity sometimes. The extras are unrated and feature someone making a flesh wound talk, which is pretty gross. The one really messed up stuntman scene is when the older guy keeps crashing his heavily painted stars and stripes car, on purpose, to make it roll over. Yay. Johnny should be proud. Some of the bike jumps are incredible because they obviously did not use CGI bikes!
Review by Adam Browne
In 2012 the cast and creators of Nitro Circus bike stunt show from MTV made a movie of their road trip to Las Vegas where they performed several insane stunts, many of them using motorcross bikes and big wheels and an actual school bus. They are related to Jackass and are even given kudos by Johnny Knoxville who calls them the bastard children of the same father, implying a different mother, of Jackass. Similar also to the CYK crew that originated Jackass, and the Dudesons, another stunt team of similar make, the Nitro Circus allegedly grew up together performing daredevil stunts ala Evil Kenevil meets the Rascals. Because they were somewhat related to producer Jeff Tremaine of Jackass they were not immediately disallowed to come on MTV and Spike and be motocross daredevils. The cast even includes a stunt bike female, similar to Jackass in the first season. Some of their biggest death defying stunts include launching a schoolbus hundreds of feet in the air, trying to jump a semi truck, jumping trike vehicles across a pair of skyscraper apartment buildings, and launching themselves off a ramp using a jet ski rope, a motorbike, and a big lake to land in. Not as reliant on gross stunts like Jackass or like Dirty Sanchez, they're more about making crazy ramps and jumps and seeing which one biffs and crashes first. They even launch their wheelchair bound frien off some of these ramps, gleefully enjoying a crash dive or two into a wall. The big wheel ramp scene is hilarious. The extended opening with the outdoor motorbike freestyle jump and flip with the cars is like nothing you will ever see. Extras on the DVD are slim and there are few seasons out yet of the show. It says unrated bu really it's R for profanity sometimes. The extras are unrated and feature someone making a flesh wound talk, which is pretty gross. The one really messed up stuntman scene is when the older guy keeps crashing his heavily painted stars and stripes car, on purpose, to make it roll over. Yay. Johnny should be proud. Some of the bike jumps are incredible because they obviously did not use CGI bikes!
Review by Adam Browne
Review: "Escape from Planet Earth" is decent space cartoon comedy
"Escape from Planet Earth" PG
Cartoon fantasy is at times a touchy subject, so doing another one with some comedians playing space heroes seems like another money grab, but in this case it seems to work. The flashy cartoon world of a ringed planet called Baab (sounds like Bob) where little blue aliens live is much kiddie fare, Nick toon style. The story is basically fish out of water. The heroic alien stud is accidentally captured on the mysterious planet Earth and his nerdy brother, a much smaller alien, has to rescue him. William Shatner played a toupee tromping scene chewing villain, perhaps a bright spot in the film, whereas other comedian actors are forgettable immediately. (Actually the most laughs werre from the preview for Despicable Me 2, because fake Spanish is so funny, not). The villains pile up when the hero is approached by his brotherr, who gets himself captured, and they find out about the alien snatching humans, and the audience finds out about the villain's love interest, the commander who sent the brothers on the mission in the first place. Then the mother and kid have to rescue the brothers. Nods to Toy Story, ET, Mac and Me, Shark Boy and Lavas Girl, Monsters Inc. and various other films, better or worse, to not make this movie like them, just imitating them. Today it's all about just borrowing gags from other movies. So the kids might enjoy the flashy cartoon visuals whereas the adult parents might be like, huh, what was all that about? It's a decent movie.
Review by Adam Browne
Cartoon fantasy is at times a touchy subject, so doing another one with some comedians playing space heroes seems like another money grab, but in this case it seems to work. The flashy cartoon world of a ringed planet called Baab (sounds like Bob) where little blue aliens live is much kiddie fare, Nick toon style. The story is basically fish out of water. The heroic alien stud is accidentally captured on the mysterious planet Earth and his nerdy brother, a much smaller alien, has to rescue him. William Shatner played a toupee tromping scene chewing villain, perhaps a bright spot in the film, whereas other comedian actors are forgettable immediately. (Actually the most laughs werre from the preview for Despicable Me 2, because fake Spanish is so funny, not). The villains pile up when the hero is approached by his brotherr, who gets himself captured, and they find out about the alien snatching humans, and the audience finds out about the villain's love interest, the commander who sent the brothers on the mission in the first place. Then the mother and kid have to rescue the brothers. Nods to Toy Story, ET, Mac and Me, Shark Boy and Lavas Girl, Monsters Inc. and various other films, better or worse, to not make this movie like them, just imitating them. Today it's all about just borrowing gags from other movies. So the kids might enjoy the flashy cartoon visuals whereas the adult parents might be like, huh, what was all that about? It's a decent movie.
Review by Adam Browne
Monday, February 18, 2013
Review: "A Good Day To Die Hard" is super loud and five times as dumb
"A Good Day To Die Hard" R
John McClane (Bruce Willis) goes to Russia in this 'incredibly loud and unspeakably morose' sequel to the everlasting Die Hard franchise. He's on vacation and out to bust his son out of jail, who happens to also be a John, and also is some kind of cop. In this case he's a covert CIA person. The daughter has cameo in the beginning. The odd thing is, when did he have kids? Well his going to Russia makes about as much sense. The Russian names are hard to follow. One of them is a prisoner who wants to get out so he can be reunited with his daughter, and a secret file which is located at Chernobyl, the city where they had a nuclear meltdown in the late 1980s. The problem is there is another faction of bad dudes from sime kind of mafia that work for the Russian guy's ex partner, who is now a political hotshot. The politician plots to assassinate his old comrade at the court trial, but a third party appears using an armored truck, similar to the scene and the explosion at the court gag in Skyfall actually, but they used a tank like rig. Then there is McClane who by chance happens to be near the courthouse, and he gets back together with his son, (who we've never met, have we)? and the Russian dude with the beard he is protecting ruins their cover operation. A double cross happens involving the daughter being a double anget, which you see a mile away because of not only the music but Willis cracking lines about it not smelling right. Actually the Russian's daughter is a triple agent who is actually running the syndicate that is out to bag the politician also, and they're after the top secret stuff at Chernobyl, which they find and all, with both McClanes on their tail.
The trailer gives away significant details about the battles and CG explosions and all in the movie, including the ending.
The gangsters break into the nuclear vault and use radiation suits, but McClane and his son walk into the city in their regular clothes, where the radiation would instantly make it unable for the son to ever have any kids himself, and would give both some form of lymphoma. Not only that, the bad guys have a device that somehow magically removes the radiation from the room or vault they walk into in order to steal some plutonium or uranium (they keep mixing these terms, as it would be plutonium, and just touching it would give them severe radiation burns) but sicne they removed their suits after the trick, they're okay. One audience member wondered if they used a lead spray! Ha. No, that would screw them too. Now the McClane men are not wearing suits at all. At the end of this movie they should have had them both in a hospital covered in radiation sores with the dude with hair losing patches of his, not from male pattern baldness, but from all that near lethal radiation.
Then again, a few years ago Indiana Jones survived a nuclear blast inside a flying fridge thatr got chucked a mile in the sky.
Another nod to Indy occurs in that it's father and son, bickering and having moments, featured in both Indy 3 and 4.
Willis is nearly 60. He has to stop doing these movies. Really. That's why they brought in the new guy. But the new actor doesn't have the same charisma as he does, so it will not happen in part 6.
Review by Adam Browne
Addendum: http://diehard.wikia.com/wiki/John_McClane,_Jr.
According to this wiki, the character of Jack was seen in the first film as a little boy, but this assumes he isn't McClane but carries his mother's name. Still one would think that having the obvious name McClane, or that of the secondary mother character, Gennero, in that universe would make him a terrible choice for a spy for the CIA. Everyone would know him.
John McClane (Bruce Willis) goes to Russia in this 'incredibly loud and unspeakably morose' sequel to the everlasting Die Hard franchise. He's on vacation and out to bust his son out of jail, who happens to also be a John, and also is some kind of cop. In this case he's a covert CIA person. The daughter has cameo in the beginning. The odd thing is, when did he have kids? Well his going to Russia makes about as much sense. The Russian names are hard to follow. One of them is a prisoner who wants to get out so he can be reunited with his daughter, and a secret file which is located at Chernobyl, the city where they had a nuclear meltdown in the late 1980s. The problem is there is another faction of bad dudes from sime kind of mafia that work for the Russian guy's ex partner, who is now a political hotshot. The politician plots to assassinate his old comrade at the court trial, but a third party appears using an armored truck, similar to the scene and the explosion at the court gag in Skyfall actually, but they used a tank like rig. Then there is McClane who by chance happens to be near the courthouse, and he gets back together with his son, (who we've never met, have we)? and the Russian dude with the beard he is protecting ruins their cover operation. A double cross happens involving the daughter being a double anget, which you see a mile away because of not only the music but Willis cracking lines about it not smelling right. Actually the Russian's daughter is a triple agent who is actually running the syndicate that is out to bag the politician also, and they're after the top secret stuff at Chernobyl, which they find and all, with both McClanes on their tail.
The trailer gives away significant details about the battles and CG explosions and all in the movie, including the ending.
The gangsters break into the nuclear vault and use radiation suits, but McClane and his son walk into the city in their regular clothes, where the radiation would instantly make it unable for the son to ever have any kids himself, and would give both some form of lymphoma. Not only that, the bad guys have a device that somehow magically removes the radiation from the room or vault they walk into in order to steal some plutonium or uranium (they keep mixing these terms, as it would be plutonium, and just touching it would give them severe radiation burns) but sicne they removed their suits after the trick, they're okay. One audience member wondered if they used a lead spray! Ha. No, that would screw them too. Now the McClane men are not wearing suits at all. At the end of this movie they should have had them both in a hospital covered in radiation sores with the dude with hair losing patches of his, not from male pattern baldness, but from all that near lethal radiation.
Then again, a few years ago Indiana Jones survived a nuclear blast inside a flying fridge thatr got chucked a mile in the sky.
Another nod to Indy occurs in that it's father and son, bickering and having moments, featured in both Indy 3 and 4.
Willis is nearly 60. He has to stop doing these movies. Really. That's why they brought in the new guy. But the new actor doesn't have the same charisma as he does, so it will not happen in part 6.
Review by Adam Browne
Addendum: http://diehard.wikia.com/wiki/John_McClane,_Jr.
According to this wiki, the character of Jack was seen in the first film as a little boy, but this assumes he isn't McClane but carries his mother's name. Still one would think that having the obvious name McClane, or that of the secondary mother character, Gennero, in that universe would make him a terrible choice for a spy for the CIA. Everyone would know him.
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