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Added by youlikeme? on 30 Oct 2011 03:38
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imdb 1 star review

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People who added this item 1091 Average listal rating (760 ratings) 6.3 IMDB Rating 6.4
Death Race (2008)
Jason Statham plays one type of character, but he almost always plays it to perfection: the suave, stubbly, and sometimes smarmy would-be Bond from madcap B movies like "Crank" and "Ghosts of Mars." Casting him as the lead in any film brings certain expectations–basically, that our muscled mofo will deliver a smackdown to the badguys while delivering some catchy one-liners.

Paul W.S. Anderson is a director who makes one type of movie (granted, his "Mortal Kombat" is my only point of reference): the uber-rotten video game warm-over shot like something even more ADHD than a music video. His masturbatory editing makes the works of Michael Bay look patient and subtle by comparison.

So, after a year of being perpetually disappointed in Hollywood blockbusters and franchise revivals (oh, Indy, how could you?), "Death Race" has given me something worthy of hate, and deserving of the dishonor of being the worst film of 2008. When Statham is stripped of his predictable (yet consistent) charisma, someone has messed up something awful.

Inspired by the cult classic "Death Race 2000," this is a prime example of a remake done wrong, where ear-splitting sound and migraine-inducing camera moves make one feel trapped inside a two-hour earthquake. The action doesn't thrill, and the characters are developed through egregious one-liners and cliché events. In 2012, the economy has collapsed, and an American public (the upper-class only, I guess) eager to let off some steam finds their opiate in "Death Race," a pay-per-view event where prisoners condemned to die on Terminal Island vie for the ultimate prize: freedom. It's an old premise, but one that has been retooled to entertaining effect in other films.

Even lousier than the dialog and Anderson's attention-deficit technique is the characters, who are not only a catalog of bland stereotypes (Family Man framed for a crime he didn't commit; Stuttering Nerd; Hardened Old Sage; and the token Hip-Hop Styled Badass), but utterly fail to convince us for a second that they're hardened killing machines deserving of their sentence. As a result, the bloodshed that ensues is pedestrian and ineffectual (and even worse when played for ironic effect); while the outcome of "Death Race" is as predictable as you would expect, the total lack of B-movie charm (and fun) is simply unforgivable.

Stranded in this murk is Joan Allen, who, as the black-hearted warden Hennessy, seems to be channeling an androgynous cross between Louise Fletcher and Keanu Reeves, but is relegated to standing around watching monitors while delivering Anderson's subpar dialog. What should come across as icy, methodical menace (with maybe a bit of tongue-in-cheek irony) is instead sleepwalking boredom, proving that great actors cannot always salvage terrible scripts. When even the head villain is a cliché devoid of personality (to the point where her eventual fate elicits total indifference), you know you have messed up something awful.

For all its efforts to pummel on a miserably superficial level, "Death Race" left me feeling nothing–not empathy for the characters, not excitement at the alleged "action" (which is cut so rapidly it's next to impossible to tell what's happening, and where), just a void left unfilled by anything resembling experience. It's a waste of time and talent, plain and simple.
youlikeme?'s rating:
People who added this item 231 Average listal rating (160 ratings) 5.6 IMDB Rating 5.6
Death Race 2 (2010)
Firstly I'm a huge fan of Death Race 1... I thought it was great - no over acting, nice minimal amount of plot, great carnage levels.

Death Race 2 on the other hand? I read the reviews on this page to see if it was worth my time, and was honestly surprised to see good reviews, so I decided to watch it... (mistake) Low Budget, tragic acting, bad scenes, horrible script, overall: 1.5hrs of my life I'll never get back.

Even if they hired some big name actors, the script would still let this down - Possibly why they couldn't get any decent actors to get on board for this.

Complete flop - Please don't make the same mistake I made and waste your time.
People who added this item 1014 Average listal rating (663 ratings) 6.9 IMDB Rating 7.4
Opened in the UK today and the paper reviews ranged from awful to great, rarely have I seen such a difference of opinion, so for that reason I had to see it. There's much said about the difference between the US/UK sense of humour but personally I think, at least in TV terms, the US leaves us standing. Which is why I find it strange that people outside the UK seem to like this film. For the benefit of US viewers, most of the cast are top notch UK actors. You'll know that Frank Oz has made some funny films. But this so truly awful it made me angry. I only stayed with it because I read that, despite a slow start, it gathers momentum into a kind of Fawlty Towers farce/comedy of embarrassment. I was still waiting at the end. And you've rarely seem such bad wordless acting as the reaction to the eulogy. Its a shame that such a great character actor as Peter Vaughan (Uncle Alfie) is used for supposed laughs in such a demeaning way. I had the choice of Heartbreak Kid or this crap tonight, pretty sure I went the wrong way. And the ultimate sin, it makes the lovely Keeley Hawes look almost dowdy.
People who added this item 376 Average listal rating (245 ratings) 5.6 IMDB Rating 5.7
Why was this film remade? Why can't the Americans just let us have our comedies? Why do they have to steal all of our ideas? Why would James Marsden and Danny Glover degrade themselves in this movie? Why can't they try something original for a change? And when will Chris Rock realise that he's really not all that funny?

Please take my advice all avid film and comedy fans if anyone out there is interested in watching this film STOP!!!! Go out and find the original and watch that. I promise you it is so much better.

The British have a much more tactful way of creating comedy. We don't need to use short people jokes and sexual innuendo to get laughs. IT'S JUST SIMPLY BETTER
People who added this item 722 Average listal rating (363 ratings) 7.4 IMDB Rating 7.5
Biutiful (2010)
just came from the theater with the sensation of wasting my money and my time here. Being an admirer of the early work of Iñárritu I have to say that since "Babel" he is going down. This guy could be an excellent director, but he still has to demonstrate his skills as a scriptwriter. Maybe he needs Arriaga back. The script of this new movie is a complete fiasco; I still don't know what was the main idea of the movie. After the first 15 minutes I started to note that something was going wrong, half an hour later I was still waiting for something with substance, after an hour I gave up. The lack of focus on a central idea is the main feature of this story, and the characters are plain and uninteresting. The dialogues, by trying to follow the plot (or the lack of) are consequently vague and forgettable, even ridiculous. I think Iñárritu had just an idea and he added up a context or a background, but missed the real thing. It's like a collage of non credible situations and subplots disconnected from a central theme. This script is at amateur level. Any college student majoring in film could write a better movie. I really hope this great director don't follow the path of Shyamalan, letting his ego to take control instead of getting advice from the millions of screenwriters around him that can help him out. (Actually, I hope both go back and start doing awesome movies again someday). The fact that this movie has been praised by many critics is an insult to the common sens
People who added this item 1248 Average listal rating (835 ratings) 5.2 IMDB Rating 5.9
This movie is terrible. What a poor excuse with all of the talent involved. I am so glad that Adam Sandler and his friends had fun making this piece of garbage. Next time include a paying audience in on the joke. It would have been nice if one joke (were there any?) would have worked. Did I mention that not one joke worked? Adam Sandler claims that he co-wrote this mess, but we all know there was never a script. Adam just called up his SNL drinking buddies and said, "Hey, Let's take a vacation and film it for $80 million and charge people for it". Adam Sandler plays just a lazier version of himself. There is nothing he does in his movie that is amusing, but he did manage to crack himself up in nearly every scene. So at least he has that going for him. (I know that Adam's character stepped on the line and that is why he grew up to be a jerk.) I don't think anyone told Chris Rock that they were filming a movie until after it was completed. He looks befuddled in every scene. It is a shame that he is so bad in this trash when he was so good in Death At A Funeral. His acting in this movie is the real kiss of death. Kevin James has never ever been funny and so I expected nothing from him and he delivered a grand slam. Kevin spends almost half the movie inside a KFC box. That is how embarrassed he was. Dennis Dugan did a lazy job of directing(?) this "woodland waste". It's like he just set the camera down and let these 5 men try to act around it. I bet he spent most of his time trying to convince the stars how funny each scene was. He should be Razzy nominated. I will skip to the end of the movie because nothing really ever happened. Out of nowhere comes not even half-baked melodrama with each couple overcoming some stupid problem. Each issue is brought up and resolved within 5 minutes and then never mentioned again! Why bother even brining it up in the first place because no one cares in the slightest. The final basketball showdown is filmed as if the entire crew fell asleep. I've seen more tension in a Dora the Explorer episode. Sandler's final lesion is worthless and really doesn't make much sense when you think about everything that has happened before it. Sandler's family was due for a loss and the evil guy was due for a win. What??? The evil guy was a jerk to everyone in the movie. And besides how do you know he was due for a win you haven't been in town for a long time. You know nothing about his life. How in the world does that insignificant game change that much? No one in the audience is buying that ending Sandler. No one. The women characters in the movie do nothing of note, are interchangeable and look as bored as they audience watching these 5 idiots try and make the lamest stuff funny. I won't mention the women by name to spare them of unfair blame. And last but certainly not least (or very least) is the acting duo (?) of Spade and Schneider. They are so bad that they make the acting in Troll 2 look Oscar worthy. Both should have to give up their SAG cards for this. I want to vomit just thinking of their acting again. They are worse then amateurs. I think both of them must be hiding a dark secret of Sandlers; otherwise why are they here. I have an idea for Adam Sandler's next movie. Please call it "Train Wreck". This way when it is released no one will be surprised when it sucks.

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