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All reviews by user Date  Helpful Rating 4 out of 5 users found this helpful  If there's one lesson to be learned.Posted: 7/18/2004A review of A Cinderella Story by Kirby262 It's that fairy tales should not be remade into modern teen pop drivel that has trouble identifying whether it's a melodrama or a comedy. Hilary Duff is lovable enough but her teen pop image seems to cloud the image of seeing her as a social outcast not bound to have any hope whatsoever. In fact, it's so unconvincing that other "beauty-behind-the-ugliness" formulas like Sandra Bullock's Mrs. Congeniality and upcoming Halle Berry and DC-comic adaption, Catwoman seem believable.<br><br>As for the main love story, I couldn't tell (if you may rebuke me) if there ever was one. The chemistry between Hilarie Duff and Chad Michael Murray is almost non-existant. The "love story" also feels more like a ploy to drum up a satire, except it's not funny. But for those having an urge to see it and the optional one star I put, at least you can see Stilfer's mom, Jennifer Coolidge. Was this review helpful? Sign In 0 out of 4 users found this helpful  Astonishing and l-l-l-o-o-n-g-g.Posted: 7/19/2004A review of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by Kirby262 Finally, the first of the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy finally arrives and I'm here to view in all it's glory. The amazing tale of J.R.R. Tolkien is finally revisited in Peter Jackson's six year break from the cult horror genre after the mediocre, "The Frighteners". But wait, it doesn't fully recognize J.R.R. Tolkien's vision, it doesn't follow the story of the Hobbits more thoroughly, it uses conventional action heroes of regular size, and it's a long yet simple tale of swords and sorcery. There were alot of things I wanted to talk about concerning the film but since it was too long, I didn't feel the energy to type or have anything to sustain fresh power what was left of my fingers. I can forgive Peter Jackson's incoherent direction, but there were alot of things that were completely unforgivable. Was this review helpful? Sign In 1 out of 1 users found this helpful Vin Diesel makes a staggering comeback.Posted: 7/18/2004A review of The Chronicles of Riddick by Kirby262 David Twohy's incoherent and frenetic sequel to "Pitch Black" is finally here in all it's overload of CGI goodness. Vin Diesel reprises the character role of Richard B. Riddick as he constantly avoids bounty hunters, mercenaries, and what seems a half-living and half-dead race called the Necromongers. You thought the first impressions and the trailer of "The Chronicles of Riddick" had a significant impact on the blockbuster competition. No, shockingly it couldn't even take down "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" for the box office #1 spot.<br><br>What went wrong in Vin Diesel's third blockbuster hit? You guessed it, it's the plot. With David Twohy's major concern over visuals rather than what goes on the screenplay, the "epic" storyline seemed only like an excuse to show off the effects. David already proved himself in "Pitch Black" showing off a unique visual flair, and now he feels to make it monotonous.<br><br>Vin Diesel is the only one in the film showing life into the popular galactic misfit while Mr. Villain-R-Us, Colm Feore, is unrecognizable. Without the massively violent action sequences surrounding the movie, it would've been total trash. Was this review helpful? Sign In 0 out of 0 users found this helpful  A non-marvel brilliance.Hellboy, what is he? Where did he come from? Why is the national tabloids jumping all over this guy since the Roswell landings? What's with the big hand? Why is his skin red? Are those goggles on his forehead or something that looked sawed off? These are the type of questions asked by others who already gotten familiar with Marvel's line of superheroes and vigilantes. Guillermo Del Toro's second comic book adaption since "Blade II", is a impressive hybrid mix of action and horror. Those who are unfamiliar with Mike Mignola's Hellboy will not likely to care when the big red devil is smashing the most enduring and hated villains in comic book history (Hint: One of Europe's Axis enemies since WWII). Was this review helpful? Sign In 0 out of 8 users found this helpful  This is the hard part of trilogies.Posted: 7/19/2004A review of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by Kirby262 No matter how good and how much a trilogy delivers there's at some point a filmmaker's writer's block will come into effect and tiresome will rear it's ugly head. The last installment of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, is a prime example. No doubt it isn't disappointing (along with 11 Academy Awards) and it's powerful performances mark it's territory. The trouble is I noticed the film rehashed several scenes in order to fill up the 3 hour block. In trilogies, there's a certain rule in which the third movie always rewinds back to the past and drums up new conflicts with the old(Note: Star Wars, Die Hard, and The Godfather). But "The Return of the King" made me forget why "The Fellowship of the Ring" was made. Along with that, how long am I going to accept the characters in the film to become invulnerable in battles. The third film has one of the most tiresome battles I witnessed. The main goal of epic battles is that no matter how predictable it is, you have to create suspension and a feeling of loss or shift. "The Return of the King" has characters that can dodge arrows, run through bloody entrails of dead orcs, and grind an elephant's trunk without a single scratch or dirt. In conclusion, the movie did not win all those Academy Awards. It was the last two films itself that brought life unto the third despite the fact it hardly recognizes both of them. Was this review helpful? Sign In 0 out of 0 users found this helpful  The best comedy till "Anchorman".Posted: 7/19/2004A review of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story by Kirby262 Forget about the horrible and vapid "Envy" and witness Ben Stiller's best flamboyant performance since "Heavyweights". Once again he plays a fitness guru (not the same character as in "Heavyweights") but this time he heads a large conglomorate gym, Gologym (absence of the letter "l"). Repressing from his urges to consume junk food by performing assinine rituals you don't want to know, he also has plans to purchase and wipe out Vince Vaughn's bankrupt and disorganized debt up to it's eyeballs gym, Average Joes. In order to save the gym, Vince's character talks the entire members to play every bully's favorite sport, Dodgeball. It's uproarious entertainment. Was this review helpful? Sign In 1 out of 2 users found this helpful Unforgettable fantasy epicPosted: 7/19/2004A review of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by Kirby262 "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings" was met with some unfortunate problems, mainly with the Hobbit characters pushed to supporting characters. But since this is what the makers's decision, this is what I'll go with. The second installment evolves from the storyline from the original and becomes a rousing and an amazing swashbuckling adventure. Unlike the empty emotion of the original, "The Two Towers" tells a compelling story of friendship, trust, and betrayal concerning Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam's discovery of a schizophrenic mutant hobbit, Gollum. Who's futile persuit of the one ring to rule them all. Conflicts also arise between Sam (Sean Astin) and the Gollum and the Gollum and his split-personality during their quest. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf the White search for the Hobbits and defend the fortress of Helms Deep from Sauron's forces in a wonderful battle for the ages. Was this review helpful? Sign In 1 out of 2 users found this helpful Deus Ex's last request.Posted: 7/20/2004A review of The Matrix Revolutions by Kirby262 I didn't really see "The Matrix" as a trilogy. The original was a cyberpunk hybrid of sci-fi/action/martial arts. It was not only the best sci-fi films to date but a revolutionary look at special effects. But then The Wachowski Brothers took advantage of the success of the original and created two more sequels in 2003, "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions. Both of them so far were met with some criticisms concerning plot setbacks and convoluted storytelling but no doubt they're both compelling. "The Matrix Reloaded" was a staggering yet impressive second installment. "The Matrix Revolutions" concludes the franchise with such adrenaline and speed that marks the most "underrated" trilogies ever. The battle scenes is the main joy of the film and invents one of the best cliffhanging moments. But what did you expect? "The Matrix" franchise is a hardcore sci-fi epic/action anime film that doesn't really need to explain itself. Maybe it doesn't need to, maybe it's something for moviegoers to speculate for themselves. "The Matrix Revolutions" may've not gone out with a big bang, but a bang that doesn't warrant a whimper. Was this review helpful? Sign In 0 out of 0 users found this helpful It's just a superhero movie.Posted: 7/18/2004A review of Spider-Man 2 by Kirby262 Oh good lord! We have one of the best superhero movie ever to hit the big screen of this century. Sam Raimi has successfully improved all the mistakes like the uneven dialogue and staggering pacing of the original and brought a wonderful thing to the Marvel franchise. Oh, what am I saying? "Spider-Man 2" is still a superhero movie and as a superhero movie I do not want to give too much credit. <br><br>No doubt that this is the most amazing superhero adaption (and amazingly enough it successfully combines human story and special effects) but it feels like with all the hysteria, superhero franchise is being ^!@$ed out of all it's energy. Wasn't the point of superhero flicks is that they should not be recognized as the geeks that read them? That "nerdy" trends are being merged with pop culture, when it's an anti-culture? Was this review helpful? Sign In 0 out of 0 users found this helpful Unexpected action-packed triumph.Posted: 7/20/2004A review of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines by Kirby262 Many thought that James Cameron's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" marks the end of the cyber-action franchise that has served several mutual benefits to other films 12 years forward. There were speculations that the third will be made but unfortunately, James Cameron chose not be involved. This was a problem because before we finally took advantage of CGI effects into new heights, Cameron was the only man who knew how to effectively craft the franchise. But now in 2003, the long (yet pseudo) anticipated third installment of "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" is here but not with Cameron but with Jonathan Mostow (U-571, Breakdown). The film was met with lack of welcome from fans and critics because the second was so perfect it ruled out every possible idea and concept in sci-fi history. But do we really need to further explore the franchise's paradoxs and time possibilites? Does Arnold's T-800 character need to have deep human personality like Indiana Jones? No, this is a adrenaline-hardcore-action-packed explosion that improves upon the outdated action scenes in past films. Jonathan Mostow effectively recreates the story without dumbing it down. 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