Short Movie Reviews

It's been a slow weekend around the Lyons household so I got a chance to watch a few movies on DVD and cable.



1. Starsky and Hutch: I didn't have any expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised with this frivolous comedy. I didn't realize Todd Philips, the director of one of my recent favorites, Old School, also directed this. Many of the same actors appear in both movies: Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrel, Juliet Lewis and Dan Finnerty. You might not know Dan Finnerty by name but if you've seen Old School you probably remember him. He was the wedding singer who sang the inappropriate version of the Styx classic, Lady. Dan fronts the Dan Band and he appears in Starsky and Hutch with the Dan Band as the singer at Vince Vaughn's characters daughters Bat Mitzvah.



2. Hell Boy: I've been looking forward to seeing this and it didn't disappoint. I didn't read the comic book so I can't speak to it's adaptation as a movie, but as a fan of quirky sci-fi/fantasy/occult stuff I liked this movie a lot. I rate it right up with Spiderman and Unbreakable as one of the best comic book movies.



3. Secret Window: I'm a fan of most Johnny Depp movies so I expected I would enjoy this one. Unfortunately I thought it stunk. The twist at the ending is so lame I wanted to jump out my window.



4. Accidental Tourist: I was flipping through the cable channels and caught the start of this movie and decided to watch it. It's pretty old but I remembered it was well reviewed. Both Cori, my black Lab/Rottweiler mix, and I enjoyed watching this film. Cori enjoyed the dog that was always scurrying around and barking, while I enjoyed the adult themes of loss and dealing with change. This film was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, the same guy who directed The Big Chill, Body Heat and Grand Canyon. This film fits their mold.


On a related note, I learned a few interesting tidbits from my perusal of IMDB.
I was surprised to find out that Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screen plays for the Return of the Jedi, The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kasdan also directed a couple of westerns: Silverado and Wyatt Earp. He has quite the range.


I wish George Lucas had hired him for the new set of Star Wars movies. Even if it was too late to fix the first couple I would have hoped Lucas would have realized the hole he was in and gotten some help with the last movie, Revenge of the Sith.


Lastly, I learned Todd Philips is slated to direct Jim Carey in a new adaptation of The Six Million Dollar Man. That should be pretty funny.




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