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Reviews
Looking for Alibrandi (2000)
Horrible
To get things straight, there was only one reason I read both the book and saw the movie. It was to get a mark in my English class.
We were given the book and, after a dozen or so slow hours, the book was finished. And I thought I was free. And THEN my teacher pulls the TV into the classroom. HOwever long it was later, the TV was switched off, and I immediately started ranting about how bad it was. I wasn't the only one.
First off, the acting wasn't bad, it was reasonable. The music was good too (except for one instance which I will rant about later) and the cinematography was decent too.
BUT these things don't really matter if you don't have characters you care about or a decent plot!!!
The book at least attempts to make you care about the characters, it shows little scenes between some of them to show that they are actually human. The movie, however, just dumps you right in the middle of it and expects you to love all the characters instantly, which is especially hard for the main character who I think is a horrible person. What about the character John Barton? He spends the entire time he's in the film smiling, joking and running around, flirting with Josie, he's depressed for thirty seconds, there's a 'tense' moment and then he kills himself. And are we supposed to care? Yes. Do we? NO!!! Because the movie didn't build up his character, didn't make him realistic OR likable. But this actually brings me to the only compliment I can really give this movie. The funeral scene was well done. Well shot, it was reasonably moving. And the song choice was brilliant. U2's 'With Or Without You' is an amazing song and was perfect for that scene. Sadly, they had it sung by tone deaf cats with laryngitis. The singer (whoever it was, I don't care about him enough to look up his name) was HORRENDOUS!!!! Horrible!!!! I just couldn't believe they would let someone ruin one of the best songs ever like that! I hope they didn't pay him, because I would definitely be asking HIM to give ME money. And yes, I know I've spent a paragraph complaining about a song in the movie, but I had to get it out there.
Another thing that bothered me was the ending. The book had a rather realistic ending, not everything was sunshine and smiles. The movie, however, made it ENTIRELY sunshine and smiles, everyone was happy, everything was perfect. It kinda ruined the entire thing, although it was ruined anyway just by making it a movie.
All in all, this movie was worth the one star I gave it purely because of the funeral scene. I couldn't stand any more of it. The only thing that could get me through it was the fact that I want to do well in English and this counted towards the grade.
Cloverfield (2008)
So awesome
I am not a man who is a fan of monster movies. I have never watched monster movies before and I even didn't want to watch '8 Legged Freaks' after my friend assured me it was funny, not scary.
But 'Cloverfield' caught my attention because of one thing. This was a review/interview in an Empire magazine. And it gripped me so much, even before I had seen a trailer!
So I went with a few friends, expecting it to be good, but I underestimated it. It was, in my own personal words, so freaking awesome.
The characters, unlike what some of the previous reviewers have said, were very realistic and I found it extremely easy to be empathetic with them, especially when they were killed off. The acting, too, made me think that these characters were real.
The way it was filmed was one of my favourite touches to the film, using only a hand held camera and having you watch the film from one of the character's point of view, making it seem like you're the person running away from whatever it is attacking New York (and don't worry, you'll see it).
And that brings me to the monster. The thing that made millions of people around the world flock to this movie. It is so amazingly well done, both graphics wise and everything else wise. It looked and acted so realistically and made me jump in my seat many times. The fact that we didn't see it outright made it even scarier.
I've read lots of the reviews on this website and I don't understand why people didn't like it! Okay, maybe the camera could have gotten on people's nerves and maybe they've watched 'Godzilla' too many times but I don't understand why they said the characters were unrealistic! They were completely human, not the scripted Hollywood clichés that clog up our screens.
In conclusion, go see this movie. It's well worth it, it's scary, thrilling and just plain awesome.
Scrubs (2001)
If You Want Brilliance, Watch Scrubs
I began watching 'Scrubs' about half way through season four-mainly the episodes with Heather Graham- but since I live in Australia, they have stuck 'Scrubs' at the Midnight Timeslot on a Monday Evening.
This did not stop me.
I used to watch it rather casually, thinking it was 'all right' for a few episodes. Then it suddenly dawned on me-this is a masterpiece.
Every Monday at midnight, I would turn on the TV in my bedroom and watch the latest episode of 'Scrubs', loving every minute of it. Even the worst episode gets around a 7 out of 10!! This is by far the best comedy ever, not only because it's brilliantly funny every episode but because of the characters which we all love, because of the perfect scrips, because of the brilliant actors and because of the drama.
I know this sounds contradictory, but the drama in 'Scrubs' is perfection. One minute you're laughing at some of the best jokes ever written, next minute you're crying because the patient didn't make it, or the relationship doesn't work out or because the character is depressed.
Every single actor or actress in this show is brilliantly cast.
Zach Braff as J.D.-The show's main character who's head we are all inside. Perfectly quirky with amazing comedic timing. But when he has to be, he can be brilliantly serious without making it seem like the character has completely changed.
Sarah Chalke as Elliot-The insecure and panicky friend of J.D. Reveals the imperfectness that is Elliot's character in a superb fashion yet makes her so realistic, she could be your next door neighbour.
Donald Faison as Turk-The cocky surgeon who's been J.D's best friend since Med School. One word to describe Faison as Turk-Cool. He pulls off anything that's thrown at him, whether it's a song, Michael Jackson like dance moves or a dramatic scene with the other cast members.
Judy Reyes as Carla-The caring nurse from 'the block' who dates Turk. She can switch from a typical 'block-no sass' attitude to one that's full of emotion in a heartbeat and makes it so real.
Ken Jenkins as Bob Kelso-The Chief of Medicine who is 'hated from the bottom of his hooves to the top of his pitchfork'. Jenkins is apparently a very kind man. To see him pull of the roll of an almost 'evil' character so realistically is brilliant. He seems so cold hearted yet can make you smile when he does too.
Neil Flynn as The Janitor-A Janitor of the hospital who has taken it upon himself to give J.D hell. Every scene with him in it is brilliant. His character is so... out there and crazy yet Flynn makes him so real. And he apparently improvises a bit of his lines, which makes his performance even more impressive.
I've mentioned all but one member of the main cast so far. This is because none of the above compare to the perfection that is John C. McGintley's portrayal of Dr. Perry Cox.
McGintley has described his character as 'a hard-ass with a heart of gold'. This statement doesn't go far enough. Perry Cox has a hard exterior, a sharp wit and a sarcastic, yet pessimistic, look on life. Yet under all of that, beneath all the brilliant rants, the constant calling of girl's names and the almost mean exterior, he cares. He may even care too much. There is always one scene that gives me chills and it's only because of McGintley's brilliant acting does it do that. It's possibly one of the saddest and most chilling moment in the entire 'Scrubs' series. It's the ending scene of the episode 'My Lunch' in Season 5. By far, one of the best episodes they have ever made.
'Scrubs' is too good to be completely described in a review like this, there is so much you can comment on. Not many shows can do this.
I remember when I was first getting into 'Scrubs' I would sometimes describe it to my friends as 'Family Guy in real life'. Now I know this is wrong. 'Scrubs' and 'Family Guy' may have some similar aspects. The crazy, silly humour and the cut aways, for example. But 'Scrubs' is it's own show. I don't think any other show can combine drama and comedy as well as 'Scrubs' does. Problems that occur in one episode usually aren't solved by the end of that episode, something that few comedies actually do. The characters are so unbelievably realistic that sometimes you think they just set up a camera in an actual hospital.
'Scrubs' has had six excellent seasons and I am eagerly awaiting the seventh and final season, yet part of me is glad that 'Scrubs' is finishing before it gets too old and the writing goes downhill (such as 'The Simpsons' has, I used to be a fan and now I can't stand the new episodes). The great thing about 'Scrubs' is that I can watch all the old episodes, going right back to the first, and laugh at all the things that I laughed at the first time I watched it.
If you want brilliant comedy and drama, if you want brilliant characters and actors, if you want brilliant writing and story lines. If you want brilliance, watch Scrubs.