Movie Review- Zelig

I really like Woody Allen, he's a great writer/director/actor. He's just as good as I expected he'd be in this movie. It's a very interesting concept, and it's executed wonderfully. The film is shot documentary-style, and revolves around a man from the late 1920's named Leonard Zelig, who has the strange chameleon-like ability to imitate those who surround him. If he spends enough time around doctors, he starts acting and talking like one, if he hangs around with guys with beards, he instantly grows a beard, and so on and so forth. This of course makes him a big celebrity. The film raises a lot of questions about individuality and conforming, and is very thought-provoking and well written. The cinematography is very interesting, the scenes that supposedly take place in the 1920's actually look and sound like they were filmed in the 1920's. There's also a good deal of stock footage from the 1920's that seamlessly blends in with the rest of the film, creating a very authentic documentary feel to it. The humor ranges a good bit, though, from subtle and witty dialog, to slapstick and a few visual jokes. Unfortunately, the the slapstick and visual humor, while still funny, seems out of place with the rest of the movie, and doesn't feel like it should be in a documentary. There's a good bit of parody of the culture of the time; Zelig becomes a marketing sensation and spawns a dance craze called "The Chameleon", among other things. The acting is really nice, Woody Allen in particular. He took a potentially silly character and made him strangely heartfelt. Overall, a very odd and inventive movie. The plot's a bit slow in places, much like real documentaries, but other than that, this is a great movie. Really recommended. 4/5

 IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086637/

Movie Review- The Man With Two Brains

I really like Steve Martin, he can be quite the funny guy at times. But this flick was lacking. The premise revolves around Steve Martin who plays a brain surgeon that falls in love with a disembodied brain's personality. This would be an interesting premise if the pacing had been a bit faster; nothing really interesting happens until about halfway through the movie, but given the sense of humor, it seems like the plot should have moved along a lot faster. I say this because the plot buildup doesn't really add to the story, there's some bit of character development, but it could have been handled a lot more quickly than it was.
But that being said, the movie can be quite funny at times, such as the scenes with the paper-thin laboratory, and the exchange between Steve Martin and Merv Griffin towards the end. Overall the film falls flat, mostly because the movie is all over the board with what it wants to do. For the most part, The Man With Two Brains is filled with slapstick humor, but there are elements of science fiction and romantic comedy that don't blend well together. Steve Martin is pretty decent in this role, though, and he makes the film a lot better than it could have been. All that aside, it's an okay movie at best, and it's not all that enjoyable. It has some funny moments, but overall it's just not that good of a movie. Not recommended. 3/5

IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085894/

Movie Review- Commando

Gee, what a cool movie. Not a great one, mind you, but a cool movie nonetheless. Commando stars the manliest man of manliness, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as John Matrix, a former war hero who has to rescue his daughter from terrorists. But essentially this is 90 minutes of physics-defying fistfights, car chases, and explosions. It's a crappy plot, but really fun to watch. Schwarzenegger gives his usual soulless and robotic performance, but he's just so gosh-darn cool, it's easy to look past his crummy acting. The pacing is fairly decent, and that's really the only positive quality about the film, but you shouldn't go in to an Arnold flick expecting something good.
The fight scenes are great, by the way, with some really creative uses of garden tools near the end. The dialog is average, but the one-liners are quite funny, albeit cheesy ("Let off some steam, Bennett"). There are plot-holes galore, and improbable feats of manliness (jumping from a moving plane and surviving without a scratch), but it's a good kind of mindless fun. I don't really have any problems with this movie, it's just a straight-up awesome and campy action movie. Highly recommended.
Quality: 2/5
Enjoyment: 5/5

IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088944/

Movie Review- Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Well, here's something you don't see everyday; a musical about a talking man-eating plant from outer space. But it's a horror-comedy, and the movie gets away with the ludicrous premise by being very, very funny. The cast is great here, which really helped make the movie. The screenplay is good too, it manages to be somewhat creepy despite the overall humorous tone of the film. The film works great as a musical, too, although it would have worked just as well without the singing. The art direction and set design is really nice, it manages to make a dreary setting quite aesthetically pleasing. The main attraction here, though, is Audrey II the man-eating plant. The puppetry and the puppet of the plant itself are both top-notch, and while a bit cartoony at times, are surprisingly convincing.
Rick Moranis isn't at his best here, but he's still a good fit for the role. Steve Martin's really creepy in this movie, surprisingly, and he plays a sadistic biker/dentist, and his performance is a nice change-up from his usual comedic self. There's a very creepy/hilarious scene between Steve Martin and Bill Murray, which serves very little to further the plot, but it's quite fun to watch. Bill Murray plays a masochistic dental patient, which is much to the annoyance of Steve Martin. Murray has a very demented air to him that was quite interesting to watch. The movie's score was really enjoyable, too, with a nice 50's love-ballad and rockabilly sound to it. Overall, a very silly and fun film to watch. Highly recommended. 5/5

IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091419/

Movie Review- Murder by Death

I've always enjoyed mystery and detective-based movies, and this one is a treat to watch. The script is wonderful, from the dialog, to the plot, everything about it works. The main characters are all different stereotypes of detectives, (The San Francisco gumshoe, the Belgian Inspector Clouseau type, etc.) but it's played for laughs, and it works quite well here. Peter Sellers is particularly funny as Sidney Wang, the Charlie Chan spoof. The plot revolves around 5 world-famous detectives and their accomplices who are invited to "A Dinner and a Murder". It's later revealed to the detectives that there will be a murder at midnight, and that whoever solves it will win one million dollars. The pacing here is great, as the actual murder doesn't occur until two-thirds of the way into the movie, and there's a lot of room to build up suspects as to who the murderer will be, before the murder has even happened. The humor here is very fitting with the overall tone of the movie, very well-written and witty humor, laced with the occasional sight gag at the hands of the blind butler played by Alec Guinness. My only complaint is that the ending wasn't as clear as it could have been, but I get the feeling that was an intentional parody of mystery movies with confusing endings. Overall, a very funny and enjoyable film. Highly recommended and it would make a great double-feature with Clue: The Movie. 5/5

IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074937/