Reviews by BAMF

Initial Thought: I could have sworn I saw this before. I can't really tell if I have or not. I honestly don't remember anything that happened. So I'm going to watch it again and see if it jogs my memory. It could have been just so bad my memory refuses to acknowledge this movie. The good thing is that it's fairly short.

Characters/Acting: Sequels without the original actors playing the same characters hardly ever work well. This does have a few decent actors though surprisingly like Mimi Rogers, Luiz Guzman, Rachel Nichols, and Shia LaBeouf. It does have Lin Shaye in it though which brings expectations even further down than expected. She is even a return actress although not sure if the character is the same. I thought the two main guys were slightly better than I expected. Thank goodness Lin Shaye only had one scene. Bob Saget was honestly the only funny thing about this whole movie. Shia LaBeouf was basically Louis from Even Stevens only a tad smarter. I wish there was more of Mimi Rogers here.

Story: Harry meets Lloyd and assembles a ragtag team for a high school experience unlike any other in this prequel to the hit comedy, Dumb and Dumber. That opening scene was just plain wrong. It was more disturbed than funny. It has a few okay moments, but I have to say the bathroom scene was actually pretty funny. The ending was pretty funny too.

Directing/Writing: Troy Miller takes this as both the writer and director. I loved Tenacious D and Jack Frost was pretty good in my opinion. This is the only time he has written a film though. The story was Robert Brener's idea. He doesn't have any other credits besides this. The Farrelly brothers obviously didn't care that their characters were spoiled here. They ended up making their very own subpar sequel.

Final Thought: So that was pretty dumb like expected. That wasn't in a fun way though. I really just couldn't take this seriously. This is one trilogy I never really liked in the first place. The humor is supposed to be dumb, but I don't particularly find that satisfying all the time. I mean I only considered the first one to be average at best. Anyways I wouldn't recommend anyone to explore these films.

Initial Thought: So here we have another uninspired cash grab threequel like Legally Blondes. This one isn't even a direct to DVD like that one. It's somehow even worse as a television production. Seriously how do they make these sequels? They make the people relatives of the beloved characters we know and then never even show those characters.

Characters/Acting: There is barely anyone I really recognize here. I hate that they tried to make the kid look like his dad with the hair. He just comes off looking ridiculous in a bad way. This kid just ended up being annoying rather than funny especially when he tried impersonating Jim Carrey. The only returning character here is Melissa Ventura who is played by a different actress. The characters here are even dumber than the original. At least Jim Carrey made stupid look good. The rich kid reminds me of a stuck up Richie Rich.

Story: The son of an eccentric detective steps into his father's shoes after his mother is wrongly arrested for stealing a baby panda. Seriously that's how they wrote off Jim Carrey's character. Just goes to show how much they didn't care. Wow they tried to throw in the "Don't tase me bro" meme to try and be cool with the kids of the year. The way they use it here is just ridiculous. Somebody only even gets tased once and it's off-screen in those scenes so it isn't even effective. The ending made me facepalm.

Directing/Writing: It took four people to write this script including the director. I can already tell this is not going to be an enjoyable watch. I can't believe Jack Bernstein allowed his character's name to be soiled like this. David M. Evans has pretty much gone downhill since The Sandlot. He allowed the creation of the horrible sequels and now he makes horrible sequels to somebody else's films. This is the only film I have seen from Jeff Sank and the Heimberg brothers. As none of them have really done anything before or since this. I can't imagine why that would be a surprise.

Final Thought: That was just plain horrible. I can't believe I made it all the way through. The acting was horrible. I hated that the first movies were referenced here. This was definitely the death of Ace Ventura. Do not see this! I don't even think kids will like this unless they are too young to think.

Initial Thought: Why the hell am I watching this you ask? Well I am asking myself the same damn question. Somehow I watched the previous two films. They were okay, but I was only there for Reese Witherspoon. This one doesn't have her, but it is apparently presented by her. I guess it's because I need to finish the trilogy to feel accomplished. Don't try this at home kids.

Characters/Acting: It does have a few fairly well known actors such as Christopher Cousins, Curtis Armstrong, and Bobby Campo. The acting is pretty awful so far. These girls have no skills whatsoever. Their real accents even come off as fake. It was hard to take any of the characters here seriously. Bobby Campo is ten years older than the Rosso sisters so seeing him romantically interested in an at the time 16 year old was a bit weird.

Story: Moving from England to California, the youngest cousins of Elle Woods must defend themselves when their schools reigning forces turn on the girls and try to frame them for a crime. This starts off quite horribly. The synopsis makes it sound much cooler than it actually is. Nothing of interest really even happens here. It even kind of feels like a knockoff Mean Girls with the whole Legally Blonde scenario thrown in towards the end. The ending didn't have anything going for it it either. In fact the best part was when I saw only the credits. Looks like there were a few deleted scenes thrown in throughout the credits. Nothing that seemed to catch any interest though.

Directing/Writing: Savage Steve Holland is known more for writing and directing television episodes. That really shows here as it feels like the modern crap I've switched through on the Disney channel or something. Which is weird because I actually enjoyed the shows he has been a part of like Even Stevens or Phil of the Future. Amanda Brown is still credited for Elle Woods even though she is only mentioned here. This is the only film I have seen by both Chad Gomez Creasey and Dara Resnik Creasey. Chad also wrote Sydney White which I didn't like very much.

Final Thought: This was far from good. It was like a bad Disney channel movie that nobody watched. It didn't have the charisma that the first one had. I wouldn't even consider the first one more than average. This though was just dreadful. It was painful to watch. I highly recommend avoiding this one. It's a waste of an hour and a half.

Initial Thought: I only somewhat liked the first film albeit only slightly above average. Somehow I ended up skipping this one and watching the third one. That was not so enjoyable. Anyways I figured I would go ahead and finish off the series by seeing what I missed.

Characters/Acting: This has a relatively good cast for a sequel that is rated pretty low. I mean we have Loretta Devine, Anson Mount, Anthony Anderson and Eva Mendes. I thought the killer's mask was pretty neat. I thought everything with the twin was just stupid. The acting isn't all that bad. I mean it's pretty much the only good thing about this. The characters just all suck and have nothing interesting to offer.

Story: Urban legend-style killings begin to occur on a movie set, in this non-sequel sequel to "Urban Legend". The whole mystery of this is good. You are constantly questioning your detective skills on who the killer is. After the first death scene the rest become so uninteresting. They almost feel like they are part of a bad 70s horror film. Only one scene after the first death was particularly gory when we see the dead bodies and rats go in and out of the base of one girl's neck. The twist was pretty ridiculous. I did like how they linked this with the first one. The ending was the best part of the whole movie.

Directing/Writing: John Ottman is mostly known for his music scores in well known films. As a director however he doesn't have really anything. It's based off the characters by Silvio Horta. He is mostly known for Ugly Betty and the first film in this trilogy. Paul Harris Boardman and Scott Derrickson have collaborated on several movies I've seen. Scott wrote and directed Sinister without Paul however. He is also only writing the sequel. Pretty much everything else they've done together. The only film I thought sucked was their Hellraiser sequel Inferno. I still need to see Exorcism of Emily Rose and Devil's Knot. These guys actually did even worse than Inferno. I swear they must not be particularly good at making sequels. Their original stories always end up praised. That doesn't seem to make much sense.

Final Thought: This was a waste of talent. It was boring and a bit convoluted. The way this ended probably would have made a better movie than the third one ended up being. Not that it's a necessary film, but Bloody Mary was pretty awful. Oddly enough Bloody Mary is still slightly better than this. After the first one this series just plain sucked. I wouldn't recommend the fans of anyone in this to watch it. I wouldn't even recommend horror fans to it.

Initial Thought: I love dogs and I enjoy a good war movie. I can't say I have ever seen a movie about both. This looked like a really interesting watch from the trailer. So when it came out I knew I would be checking it out.

Characters/Acting: Other than Lauren Graham I actually enjoy the cast here. Max should have a higher billing since he is the title character though. I hated the Tyler character so much. Such a piece of trash. I didn't care too much about the younger brother's storyline much at first, but he did grow on me. Max is definitely my favorite character and maybe even the best actor.

Story: A dog that helped soldiers in Afghanistan returns to the U.S. and is adopted by his handler's family after suffering a traumatic experience. Seeing a dog dealing with PTSD should be an interesting subject. This partially reminds me of The Guest with Dan Stevens. The action near the end is pretty intense which really outshines the boring majority of the movie. The ending was a bit cheesy.

Directing/Writing: Boaz Yakin is the director/co-writer here. This is the guy who directed Remember the Titans (which is one of my all time favorite inspirational sports films). He also wrote and directed Safe which was a pretty fun watch. His writing is a bit up and down with more ups than downs though. Sheldon Lettich who co-writes on the other hand is only really known for writing and or directing cheesy 90s action flicks usually starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. It is a strange mixture of talent behind the scenes here. I think if Sheldon Lettich wasn't involved this could have been much better. Instead like his action movies this ending up becoming a cliche.

Final Thought: This had potential to be a great story. Instead it's hindered by dog movie cliches and a mediocre main character. It's not a particularly bad movie, but it just wasn't as good as I was hoping. I'm sure it will be a good one time watch for dog lovers. For others I think it will just be a typical dog story. I would probably watch it again when I have kids.

Initial Thought: I loved the first one. It's one of my all time favorite kids movies growing up. Then they began to milk it with a part two which I was skeptical about. Lastly they made it a trilogy. This shouldn't have been anything past one film. So I reluctantly watch this only to finish the full story.

Characters/Acting: Only one original actor returns for this sequel which is kind of cool I suppose. Too bad we don't get James Earl Jones again. I assume some of the characters names are meant to allude to the original film. I don't see why Mike Vitar couldn't reprise his role. Danny Nucci is a bit over the top as the replacement for some unnecessary reason. The acting at times is pretty damn awful from these kids. A few of them were good though like Alexander Ludwig or Cainan Wiebe.

Story: Sucessful, arrogant baseball superstar Tommy "Santa" Santorelli travels back in time to 1976 and relives his boyhood days on the sandlot baseball team, and has the chance to this time choose friendship over glory. Seriously now science fiction is thrown into the mix? Well the plot synopsis is sort of misleading in a way. The humor is a bit more slapstick this time around which I didn't like all too much. I mean these movies are goofy, but I just didn't think it needed to be extra off the wall. I wish they didn't bother with the house if they weren't going to include James Earl Jones or a dog. There are a few decent moments, but the are clouded by how horribly cheesy all the kids stuff is. The ending was alright, but it would have been nicer to see everyone all grown up.

Directing/Writing: I'm surprised that David M. Evans and Robert Gunter allowed this to happen. I haven't seen anything by Keith Mitchell, but I have heard of his films. Allie Dvorin also worked with Keith Mitchell on one of his films. Other than that I don't know much about her. The director here is William Dear. He wrote the underrated Rocketeer movie. He also directed the Disney classic Angels in the Outfield which I loved. That is one outrageously underrated film in my opinion. Then comes the horrible Simon Says which he both wrote and directed. I really hope this isn't too horrible, but that might be expecting too much.

Final Thought: This really shouldn't have been a series. The first one is a classic. The second one was only half as good. This one is about half of that. It kind of reminded me of Little Rascals instead of a Sandlot film. Not the worst thing I have ever seen. This doesn't really do justice for the old fans though. It's more of a film for the younger crowd unfortunately. I really hope they don't try to milk another film into this. I don't recommend this.

Initial Thought: I guess I was pulled in by the familiar faces and an interesting concept. I do wish the twist was revealed in the movie and not the trailer though. Anyways I am watching this due to my curious bone.

Characters/Acting: It has an interesting selection of young Hollywood with Wes Bentley added into the mix. I really couldn't take Abigail Breslin seriously in her role here. It just seemed way too fabricated. I think it would have been perfect had her background not been spoiled in the trailer as well as the first half of the movie. I really didn't like Logan Huffman's character. He was just so annoying and way to cartoonish rather than creepy. The other three I think did a fair job.

Story: A pack of teenage boys choose the wrong girl to be the victim of their 'initiation'. I wish it didn't start the way it does. They really didn't care for making this have a cool twist. What's with all the bright lights shining in the woods? After the first death everything else just kind of sucked. I even predicted the exact order of who would die. That ending was just plain stupid!

Directing/Writing: I have never heard of Tyler Shields before this. He doesn't have much of a credit list either. It took three people to create the story and one to make the screenplay. All of whom I have never heard of. Only the screenwriter has another credit and it's one I haven't heard of. The writing here kind of sucks.

Final Thought: I was really hoping there would actually some kind of horror aspect here. It was an underwhelming disappointment. It's predictable and just plain boring. The only thing of positive note is the fairly decent acting. Everything else here was just dreadful. Do not even waste your time on this crap.

Initial Thought: I really enjoyed the first Ted film. After awhile I assumed this wasn't actually going to be made. Then to my surprise the trailer was released. From the trailer it didn't look as funny as the first one. I still could see the amusement and charm so I wanted to see it. Now I've finally had the opportunity to go and see it.

Characters/Acting: I'm a bit disappointed that Mila Kunis didn't return this time around. At least Mark Wahlberg and of course Seth MacFarlane return. It wouldn't make much sense otherwise. John's new love interest is played by Amanda Seyfried. Man this guy gets all the hotties. The cameos were great as usual. Seth MacFarlane always knows how to utilize them well. I prefer Mark Wahlberg in comedies. He seems much more at home here. Amanda Seyfried is just so adorable. It was good to see the old characters together again with the new additions.

Story: Newlywed couple Ted and Tami-Lynn want to have a baby, but in order to qualify to be a parent, Ted will have to prove he's a person in a court of law. It's almost a legitimate story except for the fact that Ted is a Teddy bear. The opening here reminded me a lot of the one from Family Guy. The cameo scenes were pretty hilarious. There is a scene that is pretty gross out, but the reactions to it made me laugh so hard. Some of the jokes here are pretty dark and twisted. I loved all the pop culture references from old to new. The Comic Con scene has to one of my favorites of the whole movie. I thought the ending was funny. Make sure to stay after the credits for a pretty hilarious short scene.

Directing/Writing: I've always enjoyed Seth MacFarlane's productions. He pushes the limits sometimes sure, but he really finds a way to get everyone to laugh. The only thing I've kind of noticed is that recent Family Guy episodes just haven't been what they used to be. Hopefully this won't be affected like that. Alec Sulkin who is a constant contributor to Seth MacFarlane's work returns here from the original Ted as well as Wellesley Wild. Every writer here is also an actor who plays a part. These guys really know how to make controversial subjects get laughs. They actually made a sequel that wasn't ridiculous.

Final Thought: This was actually a lot of fun. It's almost as funny as the first one. I wouldn't mind if they make a third one. Will have to wait and see. If you were a fan of part one I'm sure you will enjoy this one too. If not then I don't see what made you interested in reading this review.

Initial Thought: I really enjoyed the first one in this series. I remember only watching on of the trailers which didn't spoil anything nor really tell me what the story was. I wanted to see this when it first came out, but I didn't really have the time or money. To my surprise it's still in theaters around here so I decided to finally check it out.

Characters/Acting: Of course most of the actors who were in the first one who lived return again here. The new additions include Octavia Spencer, Jonny Weston, Naomi Watts, and Daniel Dae Kim. All of whom are excellent actors. It's too bad that they don't get all that much screen time here. I really liked some of the characters even more than when I watched the first film. I also thought the villains were a bit more intense.

Story: Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart with the help from others on her side. There were quite a few things that happened here I didn't see coming. This is riddled with plot twists and constant betrayals! I don't know if that was a good idea or just a bit all over the place. I thought the simulations were pretty cool more so than the first film. There are a few pretty intense and somewhat brutal action sequences for a young adult adaptation. I swear it even got a bit darker than it's predecessor. I definitely did not see that ending coming.

Directing/Writing: Robert Schwentke is sort of a slightly above director to a pretty entertaining one. Hopefully here he strays either toward the latter. It took three writers to adapt Veronica Roth's second story into one that apparently wanders wildly astray from the books. This is Brian Duffield's first credited work since Jane Got a Gun still hasn't been presented to the public. Akiva Goldsman is a pretty excellent scriptwriter if you forgive his mistake with Batman & Robin. Mark Bomback has yet to make a film I dislike. Everything I have seen of his has been excellent or fun.

Final Thought: This was fairly different to the first part. I think it was the atmosphere and the style of the story this time around. It still held my attention from start to finish. I can't wait to see how it all ends. This one itself almost felt like it should have been the final story though. I wonder with two more films how everything is going to play out. If you read the books know that this is said to veer off from that. This one caters to the movie fans and doesn't let spoilers happen by changing it up. I say check it out if you liked the first one. Just expect it to be a bit different this time around.

Initial Thought: I originally had this on my watched list and had it rated at the lowest point. Now I have finally decided to go ahead and watch it. Then I will give an actual rating. I will just watch it as it's own movie and not think about it within the actual series. If I do that I won't be pissed off watching this.

Characters/Acting: Well Tom Atkins is almost the only thing going for this film. There is also a cameo of Jamie Lee Curtis that I wasn't originally aware of until now. Some characters making the dumbest decisions and reactions. I wish there was a little bit more for the characters as I didn't really find any of them interesting. The acting was okay I suppose.

Story: A large Halloween mask-making company has plans to kill millions of American children with something sinister hidden in Halloween masks. That's actually kind of an amusing little plot if it were done correctly. There are so many unimpressive and ineffective jump scares. The first death scene was just plain dumb to me. Well it's hard to see this as a standalone when a scene sort of references the original film. I guess the Silver Shamrock commercials were about the creepiest thing about this whole thing. The twist was kind of lame and expected. Wow an ambiguous ending! Too bad I don't care what happened.

Directing/Writing: You know a film is a disappointment when two of the writers including John Carpenter wish to go uncredited for it. Carpenter being a legend you would think he would have known better than to try to change the series. I can't say that I've heard of Nigel Kneale or seen anything from him. Tommy Lee Wallace is decent when it came to the movie It. Everything else he does is a bit of a drag.

Final Thought: I found this to be extremely difficult to sit through. I kept doing other things than actually sitting down and watching it straight through. The deaths are pretty boring with only a very small few that caught my attention. The loud rise of music and jump scares were pointless and just plain ridiculous. I did like the haunting music though whenever it was playing normally. It's not an enjoyable watch as part of the Halloween series or even as it's own standalone film. It might have been better as a short film. Anyways this can be skipped as it has no relation to the actual series.