Death To Smoochy (Fullscreen Edition) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)This movie is a prime example of why I never listen to professional critics. Most of the time, they hate movies that I love and love movies that I hate. Of course this movie isn't going to win any Acadamy Awards. Of course it isn't the best film ever. It's not trying to be. I found "Death to Smoochy" to be a dark and entertaining comedy with a really creative story. Robin Williams and Edward Norton star in this off-the-wall freak show directed by Danny DeVito.
Williams used to be "Rainbow Randolph;" a kiddie-show host who children just adored. That is, until he was busted for taking a bribe. Now the not so rainbow man is out of the job and is homeless. Out of an act of desperate measures, the company decides to hire Edward Norton; a dorky self-righteous dweeb without a single skeleton hiding in his closet. A new kiddie-show host is born, and his name is "Smoochy the Rhino." Well, Rainbow Randolph is not pleased at all. In fact, he's willing to take the rhino down for good. Because he's going hunting! The story unfolds with some of the most outrageous twists and turns to be seen in a comedy in a long time.
The acting is really good, and is right for this type of movie. Williams is over-the-top as always, and Norton really gives us the impression of such a moral imbecile, he makes Ned Flanders look like a no good hoodlum! The cast also inculdes Jon Stewart, Catherine Keener, and Danny DeVito himself. They all do this movie justice.
The directing by DeVito really shines in this movie. Had it been given to anyone else, it could've been a disaster. He knew when to have the actors take it up a notch and then tone it down when the time was right. I also really liked how the movie was filmed. At one minute, the movie would be bright and colorful, and then dark and grim the next. It really keeps the viewer's attention.
The DVD is quite good. Very surprised with it. As I said before, Warner Bros. usually likes to hold back when it comes to special features, but there's a lot on this one. Some of the features include commentary from the director and director of photography, additional scenes, bloopers and outtakes, trailers, and many more. I especially got a kick out of the bloopers and outtakes. Just wished it was a little longer.
So, if you're looking for an artistic movie or one that's going to win a few Oscars, then skip this movie. If you're looking for an off-the-wall dark comedy with a creative plot and story, then "Death to Smoochy" just may be the movie for you. Yes, I feel there could've been things done to make the movie better, but I was really pleased with the overall product. A very strange and bizarre movie it is, but that's the kind of movie I love.

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Randolph Smiley (ROBIN WILLIAMS) has it all - as the costumed star of the highest rated kid's show on TV, "Rainbow Randolph" has a Manhattan penthouse, a Times Square billboard featuring his beloved character, cars , boats, horses and all the indulgence that celebrity brings. Until he get's caught by the Feds in an under the table bribe, busted and instantly reviled, Randolph is a star no more. Enter Sheldon Mopes (EDWARD NORTON) and his alter-ego "Smoochy", a puffy, fuscia rhinoceros. Smoochy is the perfect remedy for what ails the networks...Now it's Smoochy who's got the swanky penthouse, the Times Square billboard and the smooth-talking agent (DANNY DEVITO). Sheldon soon learns that children's television is a dangerous world steeped in corruption, back-stabbing and violence with his biggest problem being Rainbow Randolph. Broke and homeless, Randolph seeks revenge on the Rhino that stole his job and his house; he's convinced the foam rubber carpetbagger is the face of evil sent by the devil to destroy him and he will not sleep until Smoochy takes a permanent dirt nap.

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August Rush (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)"August Rush" is a fairy tale. It doesn't have princes, princesses, evil stepmothers, witches, or big bad wolves, but it's a fairy tale nonetheless. And as such, it tells a story that resonates so strongly with its audience that it casts a magic spell. This movie is told in the language of music, and it exemplifies the harmonic connections between people, the rhythmic bonds that can never be broken in spite of distance and time. It's also told in the language of faith, of the belief that love will indeed conquer all. No, this is not a realistic idea, but that's not the point. Isn't it nice that we have films like this to escape to when realism is bringing us down? Isn't it wonderful when we find that one film that can raise our spirits? "August Rush" was that film for me, and I recommend it to anyone in need of a rejuvenating emotional boost.
The film stars Freddie Highmore as an orphan named Evan Taylor, a quiet yet determined musical prodigy. He was born as the result of a chance encounter between two musicians: an Irish rock guitarist named Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and a classically trained American cellist named Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell). While living in New York City, they met and separated through twists of fate--Lyla's controlling father (William Sadler) doesn't take the news of her unplanned pregnancy very well, and when she's hit by a car and injured, he uses that opportunity to make her believe that her baby did not survive. In reality, the baby was delivered and put into the legal system as a parentless orphan. Lyla and Louis go their separate ways, believing that they would never see each other again.
In the present day, their eleven-year-old son Evan lives in an orphanage with a number of broken-spirited boys. They're so disillusioned that they bully him into believing as they do. They constantly tell him that no one is coming for him, that his ability to hear music in everything makes him nothing more than a freak. And they will not stand for his belief that he actually hears the music of his parents calling out to him. But Evan refuses to sink to their level of hopelessness; he runs away to New York City, where the music seems to be beckoning him towards his destiny. It's there he meets Wizard (Robin Williams), a shady musician who houses a number of musically inclined children in an abandoned theater. He, too, is beaten down by life, so much so that he uses these children for his own financial gain. When he discovers Evan's natural ability to play the guitar, he gives him the pseudonym August Rush and forces him to perform in parks and on street corners.
Lyla, meanwhile, is living in Chicago as a music teacher. Single and without any children, she seems complacent yet stable in her new life. But all that changes when (1) she's offered a change to once again play with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and (2) she learns that her baby did not die eleven years ago. With a powerful yet unexplainable determination, she travels back to New York on a quest to find her long lost son, a quest that will hopefully be added by her playing of the cello. Hoping to help find Evan is Richard Jeffries (Terrence Howard), a social worker who met the boy when he was still living at the orphanage.
And then, of course, there's Louis, who has since gone on to be a businessman in San Francisco. His band members haven't forgiven him for leaving, least of all his brother, Marshall (Alex O'Loughlin). But worst of all, Louis hasn't been able to forgive himself, and upon seeing footage of himself performing on stage, he remembers the love he felt for Lyla. The memory is so strong that's he vows to reunite with her. This journey of finding lost love leads him from Chicago back to New York City, where he's inspired to rejoin with his band and restart his singing career. Much like his son--whom he doesn't know exists--Louis is a gifted guitar player; one can hear his passion and energy with every chord, and his music operates at the same frequency as Lyla's cello playing.
As you can probably tell, most of the film thrives on serendipity, and it gets more and more prominent with every passing scene. A kind-hearted pastor eventually takes Evan in, and when made aware of his musical genius, they send him to the Julliard School of Music. He composes a piece within the first six months of his stay, one that the faculty believes is good enough to be performed. Thus sets into motion the events leading to one of the most satisfying endings of any movie I've seen this year, a scene so touching that I was in awe. As I listened to Evan's "August's Rhapsody," I felt as if I had been enveloped in the folds of hope, love, and happiness; the earthiness of the chimes blended perfectly with the smoothness of the violins and the energy of the guitars, all of which made his unwavering faith in the power of connection perfectly clear.
This is the magic of "August Rush," a film so wonderful that I cannot recommend it enough. It's a modern day fable with a timeless message, and it comes across so well that I never once stopped to consider how implausible it is. Plausibility doesn't even come into play, here. What does come into play is the emotional impact, the sense that we can get something out of it if we surrender to pure fantasy. Evan opens the film by saying, "Music is all around us--all we have to do is listen." This is one of the year's best films, and if you keep that quote in mind when seeing it, you'll be more inclined to agree.

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There’s music in the wind and sky. Can you hear it? And there’s hope. Can you feel it? The boy called August Rush can. The music mysteriously draws him, penniless and alone, to New York City in a quest to find – somehow, someway – the parents separated from him years earlier. And along the way he may also find the musical genius hidden within him. Experience the magic of this rhapsodic epic of the heart starring Freddie Highmore (as August), Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard and Robin Williams. "I believe in music the way some people believe in fairy tales," August says. Open your heart and listen. You’ll believe, too.

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Night at the Museum (Widescreen Edition) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I thought this movie would mostly be for kids, but I think I laughed as much if not more than the younger folks around me. The CGI is good, the plot is neat, and Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Robin Williams deliver the goods. It was also a treat to see Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney in action again. Not to mention that Carla Gugino is a feast for the eyes. It's nice to watch a good film for the whole family once every so often. It makes you feel like a kid again, without a care in the world.

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Ben Stiller leads an all-star cast including Robin Williams and Dick Van Dyke in this hilarious blockbuster hit. When good-hearted dreamer Larry Daley (Stiller) is hired as night watchman at the Museum of Natural History, he soon discovers that an ancient curse brings all the exhibits to life after the sun sets. Suddenly, Larry finds himself face-to-face with a frisky T. rex skeleton, tiny armies of Romans and cowboys and a mischievous monkey who taunts him to the breaking point. But with the help of President Teddy Roosevelt (Williams), Larry may just figure out a way to control the chaos and become a hero in his son's eyes. Boasting jaw-dropping special effects and laugh-out-loud moments, Night at the Museum is your ticket to nonstop fun!

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Good Morning Vietnam (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)Many have tried to dismiss this film as nothing more than a comedic vehicle for Robin Williams. The concept of making light of the horrors of war, particularily Vietnam since it's still so recent in the minds of many turns alot of viewers off to the important potential lessons to be learned in this wonderfully insightful movie.
Based on the true life accounts of Air Force officer and D.J. Adrian Cronauer we get a birds' eye view into the strict and ridiculous bureaucracy that can at times reign over military policy and in effect hamper the morale and efforts of the American military.
Cronauer provided a much needed spontaneity to the air waves of Vietnam radio and brought however briefly to the American soldiers the contemporary music they wanted to hear. There is alot to laugh at in this film, what else could you expect with the likes of Robin Williams in the lead role. However there is much more going on than what first meets the eye. The concepts of acceptance, friendship, trust and love soon become entangled into the comedic elements which lead to the sad and poignant realization that cultural differences can't always be overcome by good intentions. A bittersweet truth so poignantly conveyed by the beautiful Trinh when rebuffing the romantic advances of Cronauer with the statement, "Vietnam ladies not friends."
This film will definitely make you laugh. It will also make you cry and even more importantly make you think. In the final analysis that's what it's all about. There are many wonderful performances in this movie complimenting Robin Williams amazing tour-de-force. My two favorites are Tung Than Tran as 'Phan' and Chintara Sukapatana as 'Trinh.'
Highly Recommended!!

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Academy Award(R)-winner Robin Williams shakes up 1965 Saigon in the role critics agree he was born to play -- irreverent, nonconformist deejay Adrian Cronauer. Imported by the Army for an early a.m. radio show, Cronauer blasts the formerly staid, sanitized airwaves with a constant barrage of rapid-fire humor and the hottest hits from back home. The G.I.s love him -- but the brass is up in arms! Riddled with sidesplitting comic bombshells and studded with hot '60s hits, the film depicts Cronauer's raucous Saigon adventures amid a world gone mad. GOOD MORNING VIETNAM is a direct hit -- the classic Robin Williams comedy!

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