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GB_Koolio
Reviews
I Am Legend (2007)
A compelling story wrapped inside a decent film (CAUTION: Contains spoilers)
I must say, I was expecting this film to be quite the action-thriller after viewing the previews. I have never read the book, but both the book and film certainly contain one of the most elaborate and compelling stories of all time, and therefore because of this, a phenomenal, epic film, must be produced, right? Well, kind of.
To me, I Am Legend is one of those movies that looks really, really good when watching the previews, but when you actually see the movie, it turns out to be just decent but not excellent. The plot is easily one of the most wicked plots a movie has ever had, and the film did indeed deliver on the intense action-sequences and suspense, but I personally didn't think that all of the characters were given enough time to develop an emotional attachment with the audience. If a character, especially a major character, never makes that connection with the viewers, then the character may as well not even exist. Lack of character development is easily one of this film's biggest drawbacks.
Also, most movies, especially sci-fi thrillers with 'perilis' elements to them, have happy endings despite the suspense. I Am Legend didn't have a very happy ending; in fact, the ending left you wanting so much more. Perhaps lack of a more fairy-tale type ending is a stupid thing to complain about, but do you really want to leave your audience feeling down and depressed when it's all over? The fact that Robert Neville, the proverbial hero of the movie, committed suicide to save that woman and child is admirable but horrible. Also, Neville having to kill his only partner, his beloved dog, because she was infected was quite tragic as well. And, what ever happened to his family for crying out loud? Did they die? Were they saved? The movie never makes this very clear either. All that you're left with when it's all said and done is a woman telling you that Neville is a hero because he destroyed all the remaining infected people. Perhaps that wouldn't be so bad if you actually had cared about her and her kid. Neither one of them were featured in the movie long enough for the audience to give a rip about the seemingly only core survivors that had lines in the movie. So, the ending could have been considerably better.
All and all, probably the only major things that held this movie back from being an all-time-epic was its lack of story telling, lack of character development and morbid nature. I understand that horror movies are morbid, but this was really more of a sci-fi suspense thriller with horror elements. Unlike many horror movies, you were able to get emotionally attached to some of the characters and therefore you cared when they were in danger or what have you.
I give this film a 7 out of 10 for some awesome action sequences and phenomenal suspense, I just wish Neville had survived and that he was reunited with his family. It sucked that he wasn't. I would also recommend this movie to anyone who loves explosive action and intense, jump-out-of-your-chair moments, but don't look for tons of character depth or storyline development. I Am Legend is one of those movies that you can go see in the theater and enjoy it, but not necessarily purchase on DVD months later.
Drawn Together (2004)
Probably the Stupidest Crap on Television
Drawn Together. Essentially (and supposedly) the first ever reality show that ultimately spoofs all the goofy "reality" shows out there by putting an interesting twist on things, I.E. presenting the show as a cartoon, containing every possible cartoon stereotype you can think of while injecting as many pop culture references, gross-out humor, graphic violence and sexuality as possible. Sounds like the oh-so-common grand recipe for another hilarious (albeit South Park/Family Guy ripoff) animated spoof on society, right? Wrong. And I'll tell you why.
Normally, Drawn Together most likely would have easily lived up to all the hype it received prior to its official televised airing, with the previews showcasing all the typical satirical humor and content these types of shows carry, and giving the viewer a brief falsified glimpse of what was supposedly to come and creating the illusion that this show might actually be considered "humorous" especially considering the hefty amounts of shock-value Drawn Together relies on. Unfortunately, even if the previews and teasers did in fact convince a considerable audience to tune in to view the pilot episode, I seriously doubt that even half of the original viewing audience bothered to tune in to view any subsequent episodes, or even ever watch the show again period, for that matter. Why you ask? Well, for one thing, if you're reading this and asking that question legitimately, in good conscious I would have to assume that you've never actually seen the show. And if you are a fan, forgive me for my personal opinions, but in all honesty I for one simply cannot fathom how anyone would actually enjoy this show.
The main problem Drawn Together has is that despite initially having all the right tools needed for a quality satire on the current day and age, Drawn Together fails miserably to utilize these tools correctly, and instead bounces off the walls with confusing, irrelevant and inconsistent punch lines, that, although are caught quickly and easily understood by the casual viewer, don't end up actually garnering a chuckle from the viewer because these points of humor are not used at the right times during the show. It's like taking a blank, white canvas, having all these different colored paints, and then taking all the paints you have and soaking the canvas with them all at the same time and hoping to come up with a beautiful masterpiece. It simply isn't going to happen.
The reason why shows like South Park, Family Guy and even Robot Chicken have been so successful despite having a very similar approach to comedy is because the creators and writers of these shows understood that having an at least fair amount of consistency and relevance to their product were essential attributes needed to back up the humor their shows present. It's all about being able to accurately build your storyline in such a way that you are able to plug in your humor so that your product actually ends up being funny. Shock-value and randomness alone is simply not enough to make a show funny, and in turn usually just ends up making a show overwhelmingly annoying and painful to watch. The Simpsons and Futurama have not exactly lived up their own respective hypes, but even they have not imploded with miserable failure the way Drawn Together has.
Unless they are reacting to surprisingly positive ratings Drawn Together is receiving, I cannot understand why Comedy Central continues to push this awful series. Drawn Together is by far the worse thing Comedy Central has ever released, and I'm including Lil' Bush and Freak Show. All Drawn Together really is is tasteless content combined with sickening levels of shock-value and obvious but still non-funny references to pop culture and the media. This show really had a ton of potential if only it was marketed properly, but alas, not every program of this kind is destined to live up to the standards that it should.