Review Archive: Super High Me - Zodiac

Super High Me
Super High Me is a stoner's version of Super Size Me. Comedian(and stoner) Doug Benson decides to stop smoking pot for 30 days before embarking on a 30 day binge. The concept is interesting but the execution is a bit lacking. Benson seems to be a likable guy and is pretty funny. That helps him out only a little here because the movie, while amusing at times, just gets boring. Much like Super Size Me's McDonalds scenes, the pot smoking scenes here tend to become a bit too repetitive. We get it...he's smoking a ton of weed. Do we really need to see it over and over again?

Super High Me is only recommended for pro-legalized marijuana people and/or stoners. Other than that, you can skip it.


Superhero Movie
Superhero Movie is a spoof of, you guessed it, superhero movies. Coming after Epic Movie, Date Movie and Meet the Spartans, it actually shines in comparison.

With this type of movie, you're not watching it for the story or the acting. You're watching for the laughs. This flick provides fairly well in that regard. There are a few genuinely funny moments. I particularly enjoyed the scenes where Drake Bell's character has made his own costume and comes to the realization that he can neither see nor breathe and the scene where he and another hero try to share the same gargoyle to perch upon. VERY stupid comedy but I found myself laughing hysterically. I think being a comic book geek in my younger years may have helped me enjoy this a bit more than I should have.

If you're a comic geek or a fan of spoofs, you'll probably enjoy this as a rental. If you don't like spoofs, you're better off just passing this one up when you see it on the shelf.


The Tattooist
The Tattooist is the latest from Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures. It tells the story of a talented tattoo artist who steals a Samoan tattooing tool from a tattoo expo. Needless to say, this winds up being a very bad thing.

I'm fascinated by tattoos. I don't have any and probably never will but I enjoy seeing them. There's a ton of ink on display here. Cool stuff.

This is a pretty solid horror flick.The story is interesting as it delves into the rituals associated with Samoan tribal tattoos. There's not much gore on display but watching people die in a sea of tattoo ink is gruesome in its own way. The reason behind what's happening is rather cliche but the setting and circumstances are different enough to keep it interesting.

The Tattooist is worth a rental.


Teeth
Teeth is a movie I'd heard quite a bit about. I kept hearing about how cutting edge it was going to be and how it was going to be great. Well, don't believe the hype. In all honesty, I really found myself terribly bored with it. Perhaps I wasn't in the right state of mind when watching it but overall, I found it to be a terrible disappointment.

Skip it.


Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the follow-up to 1984's The Terminator. Original stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton return alongside new cast members Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick and Joe Morton.

T2 is one of the best sci-fi/action flicks out there. I remember seeing it at the theater when I was 14 and just being in awe the entire time. The effects were state of the art at that time and were mind-blowing. Even today, some 17 years later, they still hold up very well. The story here is solid and keeps your attention between all of the action set pieces. Speaking of action, those sequences are excellent. Talk about keeping you on the edge of your seat...some of these scenes still have that effect on me. The cast is solid with Schwarzenegger as the T-800 sent to save the life of John Connor, played by Edward Furlong. Furlong is the one weak link in the cast, IMO. He's annoying and whiny. And that's not just this role...that's pretty much all of his work. Hamilton is great as Sarah Connor. She worked hard training for the physicality of this role and it shows. Robert Patrick is solid as the T-1000, the newest model Terminator, sent back through time to kill John Connor. He's very effective and menacing here.

T2: Judgment Day is highly recommended.

Them (a.k.a. Ils)Them is best described in a single word...intense. From the opening sequence to the end credits some 70-odd minutes later, Them grabs on tight and doesn't let go. It keeps the suspense rolling throughout the duration making more and more curious as to what the hell is happening to our protagonists. This one is highly recommended.


There Will Be Blood
There's not much more I can say about There Will Be Blood that hasn't already been said countless times. So, I'll try to keep this brief and to the point. This is, hands down, one of the best movies I've ever seen. Everything about it is epic in nature. The acting is great with Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano really knocking it out of the park performance-wise. This is one of those movies that is long but it doesn't ever feel long or bloated.

There Will Be Blood deserves every bit of praise heaped upon it. It gets my highest possible recommendation.


Tightrope
Tightrope is one of those movies I always wanted to see when I was younger. For some reason, I never really got around to it. Tonight, I finally managed to sneak it in. In terms of Eastwood flicks, Tightrope is a bit of a disappointment to me. It didn't have the sense of humor I've come to expect from his movies of this particular era. This one just didn't do much for me.


Tooth and Nail
Tooth and Nail is another of the After Dark Horrorfest flicks for 2007. I'd heard a lot of bad things going into this one. Honestly, I don't see why this movie is getting such a bad rap. Personally, I thought it was entertaining as hell. The cast was pretty good, the gore was decent and the story was interesting. Personally, I just don't think there are enough cannibal movies out there now a days. This one is recommended.


Trading Places
This is another flick that I'd never seen until today. Trading Places comes from 1983, a time when Eddie Murphy was still extremely funny. Yes, years and years before he decided the only movies worth making were family movies, Eddie Murphy was exceptionally funny. That being said, this isn't one of his best pictures. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad movie but it's just not nearly as funny as I was expecting it to be. I actually think that Aykroyd makes this movie work. Watching his life get turned upside down and his reaction to all the things thrown at him got more laughs from me than Murphy did. I'd recommend this if you're looking for a decent 80's comedy. Also worth a look if you're interested in seeing Jamie Lee Curtis' chesticles.


Transporter 2
Transporter 2 is a hell of an action flick. From start to end, it's balls-to-the wall action and ass kicking. Jason Statham is awesome as Frank Martin, the titular "transporter". I'd say that he's probably one of the better action stars out today. His fights are waaaaay over the top but they're well choreographed and a ton of fun. The story here is decent enough. It's outshined by the action but I'm quite sure that's the intention on this one.

Transporter 2 is recommended.

True Romance
True Romance is one of a handful of movies that I can watch countless times and never get tired of. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it on VHS, back in the day.

Everything about this movie is great. The story is interesting and never drags or slows down. The action sequences are balls-to-the-wall, the scenes with Clarence and Alabama getting to know each other are great and there's a lot of humor to be found as well. The acting is excellent. Solid turns by all of the big names....Hopper, Oldman, Gandolfini, Walken, Pitt, Sizemore, and Chris Penn. Saul Rubinek and Bronson Pinchot are great as producer and assistant.The real highlights here are Slater and Arquette. Slater is probably at his best in this role. It's as if he makes the character a natural extension of himself and it really comes across well. I'm not a huge Patricia Arquette fan but I really love her in this. Her performance is great and appearance-wise, she's at her best in this one. If I ever encountered a gal like Alabama in real-life, I'd scoop her up and run away with her in an instant.

True Romance is highly recommended.


U.S. Marshals
U.S. Marshals is a decent flick. If it were a stand-alone movie, it would probably get a bit more acclaim. However, being the "sequel" to The Fugitive hurts this one quite a bit. The action is good and the leads are solid. The story is pretty predictable though and that hinders the movie from really rising above the norm.

U.S. Marshals is a decent watch if you stumble across it on cable. Aside from that, it's not worth spending much on.



Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet is the tale of two movies in one. One really good and one really weak. The good part is the action. The action sequences are all really well staged and very engaging. The director certainly knows his way around an action scene. The bad part is pretty much everything else. When there's a break in the action, the movie goes straight down hill. The dialogue is cheesy, the story really goes nowhere and without the excitement of all the gun and sword-play, the movie really becomes quite boring. Milla Jovovich is pretty damn sexy in this one. I like nothing more than a chick who can kick some ass. That part worked for me.

Ultraviolet is only worth checking out for Milla and the action sequences. Aside from that, you can skip it.


Unearthed
Unearthed was the worst of the After Dark Horrorfest movies for 2007. It started off okay but once the CGI monster appeared, it all spiraled downward quickly. The monster just looked silly and some of the CGI work looked as if it had been done by a 5 year old.

Unearthed is suggested for those who want to see an example of bad CGI. Other than those few people, I say skip it.


Untraceable
Untraceable is a solid little thriller. Some of the plot points require a crane to suspend your disbelief but it's definitely not a bad watch. The cast is pretty solid. Diane Lane is finally starting to look a bit long in the tooth though. My one minor complaint with this flick is that the killer is a bit too obvious just from looking at the cast list. He's revealed a bit too early in the movie. I feel his appearance should have been saved to add a little more drama to it.

This is recommended to thriller fans. If you like the genre, you should enjoy this one.


Vantage Point
Vantage Point is a pretty solid thriller. It tells of the assassination of the President of the United States from the view point of several witnesses. It's a bit gimmicky in that you will wind up seeing the same footage a few times but it all serves to further the story. In all honesty, I wasn't expecting much from this but the opening minutes sucked me in and refused to let me go. Ultimately, the whole thing is really interesting and intrigued me enough to keep my eyes glued to the screen for the duration.

Vantage Point is definitely worth checking out. Recommended.


Walk Hard
Walk Hard is a damn funny movie. It's not quite the balls-out laughfest I was expecting but I still laughed out loud pretty often during this one. Part of the fun was recognizing the celebrity cameos sprinkled throughout. This one gets bonus points for the appearance by the gorgeous Jenna Fischer. She's absolutely breathtaking.
*swoons*


WarGames: The Dead Code
WarGames: The Dead Code is the sequel to 1983's WarGames.

For a direct-to-video movie, WarGames: The Dead Code is not a bad movie. It's also not really a good movie. Everything about it just screams AVERAGE. The acting is alright, nothing special really. The story is extremely similar to the original. In fact, at points throughout the movie, this feels more like a remake than an actual sequel. It's entertaining but if you've seen the original, you've seen this.

This one might be worth a rental, but not much more. You're better off sticking with the original.


The Water Horse
I'm not really a big fan of "family" movies. I wasn't when I was growing up and I'm sure not one now. However, having a small child like I do, makes me have to sit through them from time to time. The Water Horse is the latest. I'm a fan of unexplained beasties so the story here is what held my interest. Seeing the origin, if you will, of the Loch Ness Monster was pretty fascinating stuff. The monster was pretty cool looking in all honesty....I didn't think it looked cheesy at all. If you're a cynic and/or jaded skip this one. If you're a fan of fantasy flicks or you've got a younger child at home, check this one out.


We Own the Night
We Own the Night is a decent movie. Solid cast but the story is a bit too cliche to really break free of the pack. Phoenix is excellent as Bobby, Wahlberg feels a bit underused and all Eva Mendes is really there to do is look pretty. Which she does a good job of in this flick.

Recommended if you've nothing better to do.


Wild Things 2
Wild Things 2 is the direct-to-video sequel to 1998's Wild Things starring Neve Campbell and Denise Richards. This one stars Susan Ward and Leila Arcieri. Notice the difference in star power?

This one is a pretty much a rehash of the original. You've got your plot twisting and turning, sometimes strictly for the sake of doing so. At least the original had a great cast to make the twists tolerable. This cast is alright but strictly b-level in comparison. The eye candy on display here is pretty good in Ward and Arcieri at least.

This is the type of flick that's worth a watch on late night cable. Other than that, it can be skipped.


Zodiac
Zodiac is an excellent movie. The subject matter is difficult because the real life Zodiac killer was never caught. Naturally, that's going to make the filmmakers unable to really have a definitive end to the movie. Fincher and company pulled it off though...in a big way. They manage to make the story so fascinating and engrossing that it doesn't really matter how they end it. The cast here is superb. Just about everyone turns in a solid performance with Gyllenhaal and Downey really standing out.

Zodiac is highly recommended.