Reviews

Just about every adult born before 1970 will know who "Peanuts" are. That lovable gang of children, with Snoopy, the worry-wart Charlie Brown's pet beagle, is the center of it all.

This movie, Snoopy Come Home, is a great film, for young and for old. I remember watching it many dozen a time when I was between the age of 4-6. Every character has something a child can relate too! The musical score to this movie is fantastic, each tune being both catchy and sounding delightful to one's ears.

If you have a sensitive child, I'd strongly urge you NOT to let them watch this film, as it WILL run the risk of damaging them down the track in years to come! From being hilariously funny to downright sad, there's a lot to love in this little animated dog, and a lot of attitude! So from giggling at Snoopy's delightfully cute laugh, or clicking your fingers along with one of this film's many tunes, this is a perfect movie for a parent and young children.

This, without any doubt, is the greatest spin off to Jackass ever made, hell, it even blows Jackass out of the water.

Picture this: You have a group of guys who just didn't want to grow up, throw in a ton of money, and some seriously cool stunts, and you have Viva La Bam.

This show, it's such a family-based one, and it's not just "the gang" running around being complete jerks (like in Jackass). For example: Bam's parents, April and Phil, are in every episode, with appearances of Bam's obese uncle, Don Vito to boot! The reason why the Margera family makes us laugh is simple: Somebody in our family can relate. April: The woman who wants to live life by the book and follow tradition. Phil: The guy who tries to be a good father, and finally, Bam: That son that never grew out of high school.

The pranks and jokes in every episode will give you a guaranteed laugh, and buying the DVDs is definitely recommended! Another thing which is surprising to see, is how casual Margera is over the whole thing. He's said in interviews that for the majority of episodes, he isn't acting, and is just acting off instinct.

What I liked the most about the whole thing, however, is the amount of influence Margera has over MTV. He wanted Slayer to play in his backyard, MTV did it. He wanted to hang with Dani Filth for a day and have a Cradle Of Filth concert in his backyard, it happened.

Add to this his passion for the love-metal (and debated as emo) band H.I.M and his brother's garage band CKY, and there's a whole lot of head banging going on.

If you liked Jackass, you'll fall in love with this. I borrowed Season 1 from a friend last year, and I would give up my legs to meet the Viva La Bam Crew. You will not be disappointed, and I can promise you'll be in stitches by the end of it all!

I've never seen Mr Snipes in acting, but I will say it first: His performance in Blade was fantastic. This movie has you on your toes from the opening credits, and you'll probably have a fear of the dark after watching.

So, the story. Keep in mind I've only seen it twice, hence my copy of the story may be off: Vampires. A night-going, light and garlic hating and very powerful, yet brutal breed of blood-suckers. Scary enough? Imagine the gore with the aid of special effects! Anyway, the vampires are rising up, what with the aid of the non-pure (meaning, wasn't born a vampire) Frost, a cunning and cruel man with intentions of bringing the Blood Lord back to dominate the earth.

So who be Blade, you ask? Blade's mother was bitten by a vampire whilst pregnant, she gave birth before dieing. Blade swore revenge, yadda yadda yadda. But he's one kick butt character. I mean, you combine Aragorn from lord of the rings, Neo from the matrix, and Jackie Chan, and you described blade.

But his role is critical to the vampire's domination. Blade is a "day-walker", meaning he can walk without burning up from the light (like vampires). If his blood is spilt and falls to the hidden altar, the blood lord will arise.

Back to the movie. There's so much fighting, you'll want to grab a stick and join in on the carnage with your friends. With a lot of violence, blood, bullet, and wicked sword and knife skills, our hero will blow off heads, slash hearts, and ward off the vampires with his evil garlic, for justice! The performance by Wesley Snipes really fits the character. A big beefy man that shows little remorse for other people, but underneath the bitterness has a heart of gold and a sense of humor.

This is a great movie, very gripping, and the team-up of Foxx and Cruise was a good one. Max, a cabbie with broken dreams picks up a hit-man with five targets. One night will change both of their lives. That's our storyline.

But the story is weak for this movie. As the "hit-man of the finest quality", you'd expect a better cast. Tom Cruise?! Come on, this guy's never been a "baddie" in many films and it shouldn't have been used here. I'd actually have rathered Brad Pitt, George Clooney, or an actor that looks cunning, smart, and aggressive. Sadly, Tom Cruise lacks the latter.

I mean, the reason why I'm saying the story is weak is this: When the body of the first hit lands on Max's (foxx) cab, Vincent (tom Cruise) tells him simply he's a hit-man. I mean come on people, where's the mystery surrounding it? By this, I mean, why couldn't they have kept it hidden from Max until say, hit number three?

But with those negativities disregarded, I shall now point out the positives within this movie. It's a very gripping one with some gorgeous scenes (a lit up LA always looks good in the movies, come on, admit it!)

Foxx plays his role perfectly. His looks of confusion, fear, and nerve show brilliantly and it really looks real. Cruise, well, let's just say there could have been a much better actor.

Now look, I won't lie to you, but I only got this movie for $3.99 from a friend because it had Danni Filth, the lead singer of the ever popular death metal band "Cradle Of Filth" in it. I expected of course violence and gore at its finest, as that is what Mr Filth can be portrayed as, amongst a plot line.

But dear god, I was oh so wrong. This movie seriously bites, big time. Being a low budget film (haha, wait, make that ZERO BUDGET), this obviously lacks the beautiful Howard Stern orchestra musical scores and the Spielberg special effects. Nope, it's all one camera, bad angles, and bad blood scenes.

Take for example when our star and violent fiend, Mr Filth, violently kills a mugger. A grab at the throat, and blood spits out, but oh my, it looks like there's a juice packet filled with fake blood in the man's shirt.

To you Cradle Of Filth fans: You'll hear two songs throughout the movie, but with the camera angles and shoddy filming, they drag the overall pleasure of the song DOWN.

My final comment: Steer well away from it. It's blood, gore, breasts, and hey, even a shoddy story to go with it. So if you like appalling violence, near no voices (yes, there's hardly any words in this movie), then by all means, buy it. But if shoddy movies isn't your thing, then avoid it. Don't waste your money.