Reviews by Friends of Jimpoet2life

ChrisJarmick says "Re-boot of classic 1967 McGoohan Series flawed but worthwhile." about The Prisoner

ChrisJarmick — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:35:59 GMT

Subject: The Prisoner 2009. The good news: AMC's new reboot of the classic, influential Patrick McGoohan series: The Prisoner is pretty good. Episodes 1, 2 and 5 are very enjoyable. Ian McKellen has the right balance of sinister malevolence and fatherly authority to create a memorable villain. He's perhaps not having quite as much fun as we've seen him have in the X-MEN movies but mostly he strikes the right notes about as perfectly as any actor working together possibly could.

Jim Caviezel as Six only over-plays things for a few moments here and there but mostly captures the plight of a man who has lost everything fighting to understand what has happened to him and how he can win at this new strange and unfamiliar game he's been forced to play.

The look of the new Prisoner won't make you forget the picture perfect Village of the original, but the production design by Michael Pickwoaed and cinematic sense of Director Nick Hurran and his cinematographer get high marks. ...

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ChrisJarmick says "dull indie film stretches decent 10 minute idea to 70 minutes" about Film Geek

ChrisJarmick — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:25:01 GMT

Film Geek is a movie based on an idea that 20 years ago might have made a good 20 minute short movie or SNL comedy sketch. At 70 minutes, the 'cute' dated idea is stretched way too far and the film's couple of good ideas don't save the viewer from being bored and most likely annoyed with the execution.

Scotty Pelk (Melik Malkasian) is a movie fanatic who works at a video store (renting mostly VHS) who gives more information about movies then the customers ever ask him for. Some of the customers are annoyed, some are amused, but his manager is fed up with the complaints and fires him. He has a crush on his neighbor a good looking bikini wearing babe who isn't just wall paper. Scotty winds up getting a job in an Auto-Parts store and tries to function in the world outside of video stores with very little success until his movie web site is discovered by other film buffs and he becomes something of a local celebrity.

The writer director is James Westby and the film has technical...

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ChrisJarmick says "wide mix of musical styles, salsa, dance to opera = great album" about David Byrne - Grown Backward

ChrisJarmick — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:58:44 GMT

Only 2 of the 15 songs on Grown Backwards are opera--well David Byrne's skewed version of opera, with the help of Rufus Wainwright.

Grown Backwards is a pastiche of influences and styles that seem to be touched upon in this interesting hodge podge of an album that on this album includes music created by kitchen utensils, a vacuum cleaner, a theremin, classical string arrangements, South American and South African percussions and the inclusion of the Middle Eastern influenced Curtis Mayfield-like 2002 European Dance hit: Lazy (all 9 minutes and 35 glorious seconds of it).

If you're a Byrne fan, all you need to know is that this is nearly as strong an album as 'Look Into The Eyeball' was. It's a solid album and if you only like Byrne when he approximates Talking Head type music-there's 3 or 4 songs on this album for you too. If you don't mind Byrne's musical explorations then there are at least a dozen keepers on this album.

Which brings us back to opera. Byrne really does give us two songs...

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ChrisJarmick says "Murray & Boyle's performances make movie a winner" about Where the Buffalo Roam

ChrisJarmick — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:54:46 GMT

"You know, I hate to advocate drugs liquor, violence, or insanity to anyone--but in my case it's worked."
-- Bill Murray as Hunter S. Thompson

Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) is a relentlessly anarchistic meandering drunk of a movie, addicted to the spirit of Hunter S. Thompson and saved by superb performances by Bill Murray and Peter Boyle.

The movie is only amusing in fits and starts, but Thompson irreverent self is channeled by Murray and you can't take your eyes off of him. Ideas are picked up and frustratingly dropped, we start to get interest in what seems to be a story line and it's over. The comic pacing isn't even consistent with the last half of the movie all over the map and unsastifying. So many opportunities are squandered, so many possible funny scenes missing key ingredients or meaningful observations to score. You would think the whole thing was done on purpose since it is such a relentlessly 'almost' of a movie. The constant drug use seems to make Thompson more...

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ChrisJarmick says "Movies to make even manly men cry. Five hankie movies." about Best Movies top 5 Tear Jerkers to make you cry.

ChrisJarmick — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:49:02 GMT

Here are some movie that are sure to bring a tear or two or a whole flood to your eye. Powerful movies that will make even the most manly of men cry. No not Fried Green Tomatoes, or even Gone with the Wind.

5. Edward Scissorhands (1990) directed by Tim Burton)

A dark fairy tale about a lonely outsider who falls in love with a girl he cannot have. Johnny Depp imbues a rain forest of emotion in his mostly silent character, a mad scientist's creation an artist with scissors for hands left alone to fend for himself in a harsh cruel world.

4. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) directed by Jacques Demy

A love story that is told completely through song is what they call a three hanky film. It's about love and soulmates and how two beautiful people meet in France and fall in love and life is perfect-until he goes off to war, leaving behind his true love and the child he did not know he made. Years pass, they marry other people and then.... Well......

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ChrisJarmick says "unique look at a group of river raft guides over 20 years time " about Same River Twice Documentary

ChrisJarmick — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:48:29 GMT

The Same River Twice is a unique but rather static documentary focusing on 5 people who back in 1978 were part of a group of 17 River Rafting Guides who took a 6 week long river trip together. They often ran around stark naked as if they had formed a nudist commune. The film contrasts 16 m.m. footage from 1978, with footage shot 20 plus years later on digital video; youth to middle age; naked rebellion to societal conformity.

It is interesting, particularly because it's all done in a modified verite style. We don't get explanatory narration. No one is asked questions about how they have changed, what they miss about the past, their regrets of what they did. We learn some details about relationships then and relationships now, but in a piece meal fly on the wall fashion. Life goes on.

In a way that is refreshing. It forces you as the viewer to put everything into your perspective. How do you feel about what you are watching? Perhaps you know people like the ones you are watching, or perhaps...

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ChrisJarmick says "Warm, honest, engrossing, look inside King's mind & heart." about On Writing

ChrisJarmick — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:04:47 GMT

Drink and be filled up - Stephen King

On Writing is part memoir, part autobiography and part how to. King had about half this book finished on that fateful day on June 19th, 1999 when he went out for one of his customary walks in Maine near his home and was hit by a Van and nearly killed. He talks about this briefly toward the end of the book.

You probably noticed I wrote; 'he talks about this..." This is what King does in ON WRITING. He writes in an almost conversational voice, it is warm, genuine, and honest. The book is short and if you take your time you'll be finished in a bout 6 to 8 hours max. It's like having a very long leisurely cup of coffee with Stephen King as he reminisces about his past, shares some ideas and thoughts he has about writing including his life as a writer and his teaching of new writers.

If you've curious about how King's mind work, some of his personal struggles, his thoughts on what he does for a living and what he was reading...

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ChrisJarmick says "Right back to being a kid enjoying Christmas with a smile." about Alvin and the Chipmunks aka Ross Bagdasarian - Christmas with The Chipmunks Volume 1

ChrisJarmick — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:57:18 GMT

What's my favorite Christmas Album?

Let me explain....

I went through a period in my teens where I absolutely abhorred Christmas music and considered 90 percent of all Christmas music detestable schmaltz worthy of throwing up to. The Beach Boys? Bing Crosby and David Bowie doing Little Drummer Boy... are you insane?

A few years after I passed through my phase came Bruce Springsteen doing Santa Claus is Coming to Town which made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it. I mean what drugs was he on? Remember The Dead Kennedy's (punk band) Christmas classic? F. . . Christmas? Sometimes I wish THAT song would blare into the ears of those rude store parking lot drivers who ignore the rules of decency in their quest to find a half-way decent parking spot. Some will block aisles as the wait for up to five minutes for someone to unload their cart, get into the car, back up and drive away. Why? To save 50 or 100 steps?

Of course there's the driver who goes the wrong...

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ChrisJarmick says "compilation of Lennon interviews and old Tony Sheridan music; " about In My Life [Box] [Limited] by John Lennon

ChrisJarmick — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:43:30 GMT

Lennon in My Life is a collection of interviews and Beatle press conferences mixed with several excerpts from John Lennon's last interview sessions recorded in 1980 just as the album Double Fantasy was released.

The front cover of the cd promises that the 3 CD collection contains over three hours of music and interviews. BUYER BEWARE. There is approximately 113 minutes of total material (less than two hours) on the discs combined. The sound quality varies from good to poor. Usually you can hear what is going on without problems, but sound levels and quality vary from track to track and sometimes within the track itself.

This is a CD for Lennon collectors and Beatle fanatics. For most, you might enjoy listening to 90 percent of this material ONCE and 10 percent a few times. The music on this album are Tony Sheridan tracks dating back to the very early days of the Beatles when John Paul and George were the band for lead singer Tony Sheridan. You won't hear John...

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ChrisJarmick says "service, communication slow delivery issues lower rating." about DeepDiscount.com

ChrisJarmick — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:14:48 GMT

I used to be a regular customer of Deep Discount DVD. The prices were low, and the selection was good. Since I didn't have to pay tax or shipping, the prices used to be the best ones out there.

Saving a buck meant I put up with the sometimes slow delivery times and I would use other sites to figure out what I wanted to buy rather than try to figure out from their inconsistent listings what I wanted.

Then I discovered that Amazon prices were often very close to Deep Discounts. If you ordered at least $25 worth at Amazon you get free shipping and if paying the tax meant I paid a few more dollars for the DVDs well I would usually get what I ordered in a very timely fashion.

The other thing that changed is that I had a problem. I ordered a special edition of a DVD and I got the wrong edition. The item was mis-labeled on the site. I wrote many many emails and it took me several weeks before my emails were answered by a live breathing person and not a bot.

I also challenged...

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ChrisJarmick says "Somewhat interesting struggling student filmmaker Reality Show " about Documentary Series Film School IFC Reality Show

ChrisJarmick — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:33:44 GMT

Film School is a less sensational, lower budgeted reality television program than Project Greenlight was. It originally aired on the Independent film channel in the 2005/2006 season and was originally available only through Netflix in 2007. You can buy the DVD at Amazon and other places now. I got mine through the local public library.

There are 10 half hour episodes (on 3 DVD discs) that focus on 4 New York University Film School Students as they attempt to produce (raise money), film, edit and get their film into the very important New York University First Run Film Festival.

We follow 4 film students separately. They have almost no connection with each other; each working on their own film projects. Alrick is a late 20s black black student whose short film; The Adventures of SuperNigger has a political message and is in response to the brutal police shooting of Amadou Diallo (an unarmed black man who was shot over 40 times by the police). Leah; a 20 something conceptual...

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ChrisJarmick says "Worst of the Worst, No Fun Turkey Movies to Avoid Watching" about Worst Movies Bad Films Part 16 of 16

ChrisJarmick — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:42:13 GMT

Wrapping up my Worst of the Worst Movies series with this installment. These are movies that are worthless. These are movies that are not fun to watch, not fun to laugh at, they are just wastes of time, so avoid them. Whatever the cover promises, whoever is in the movie, avoid the temptation. If you start watching one and you consider turning it off... turn it off, it's a bad move.

Avoid these and watch something else.

Wheels of Terror (1990) Director: Christopher Cain

Joanna Cassidy stars in this rip-off of The Car. A supernaturally possessed black car is raping (yep) and killing little girls. So bus driver mom (Cassidy) with a bus load of kids goes after the car in the wilds of Arizona. It's ludicrous, awful and BORING.

When Lightning Strikes (1934) A cheap rip-off of Rin Tin Tin (which wasn't expensive to begin with) is Lightning the Wonder Dog. Lightning stops the owner of a lumber company from stealing his master's land. He runs a lot, barks a lot, swims and oh yes.. smokes...

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ChrisJarmick says "Simple, Convenient, Reliable, Inexpensive Grinder" about Mr. Coffee IDS55 Electric Blades Grinder

ChrisJarmick — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:57:45 GMT

The low-down on the Mr. Coffee brand Coffee Grinder.

Background

I'm a grind my own coffee, java snob kind of guy. I make my own blend from a few bags of beans I buy at Costco (to save money) mixing medium and dark roasts usually from Sumatra and Ethiopia that will then be made via a French Press and give me a good robust cup of coffee with some enjoyable citrus after-tastes.

I've had four different coffee grinders and tried several others over the years. I rarely grind more than one pot's worth of beans at a time, so I don't have much use for the grinders that allow you to grind several scoops of ground at once. I don't need pretty lights, or a reserve container the grounds are supposed to fall into so you can transfer it without spilling it to the coffee pot or French press. If I spill a few grounds, I'll clean it up.

Grinder Model IDS55 Experience

I've been using a basic Mr. Coffee Grinder for years. Inexpensive, easy to use, and it does the job. I bought a simple...

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ChrisJarmick says "Unique Website, exploring unique writing experiment" about 3:15 Poetry Experiment

ChrisJarmick — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:54:40 GMT

People who write regularly, professionally or just for fun, have contemplated their sources of inspiration, experimented with writing prompts and challenges and might have read a few books on the subject of writing as well.

Beyond the thinking and reading about writing inspirations, people have been conducting writing exercises and experiments for many years.

One such experiment began in 1993 and involved waking up from a deep sleep to force yourself to write something down on a piece of paper and then go back to sleep. The writings would not be edited or re-written, but observed and shared. How close to a subconscious or shared subconscious level of writing can someone get to?

Every night in August, several poets have been waking up at 3:15 a.m. in the morning to write something. The idea to do this was started in 1993. Since then, different versions and experiments have been tried. Since 1999 a group of writers who participated in the 3:15 a.m. experiment have been sharing...

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ChrisJarmick says "Best Movies Hitchcock, Peckinpah, Aldrich gems are highlights" about Classic Movies Best Movies TCM Vintage Movies Hitchcock, Westerns, Cult and Cummings

ChrisJarmick — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:39:08 GMT

Turner Classic Movies gives us 3 more Grace Kelly movies on Thursday November 12th. Then, on Friday the 13th the primetime focus is on Westerns with manly men going for the gold followed by a rare cult type movie that's probably worth checking out for baaad movie lovers. Saturday the 14th TCM gives us several movies starring 'Love that' Bob 'Dobie Gillis' Cummings.

On Thursday November 12 the spotlight is again on movies starring Grace Kelly,

We get three gems. First is the 1954 Hitchcock thriller that was originally in 3D starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings Dial M For Murder. It's a decent tale about a cheating husband who had a plan to frame his wife for murder. It's been re-made a couple of times and isn't considered Hitch's best but it's one you don't want to miss.

This is followed by one of the best Hitchcock movies ever made; 1954's Rear Window with James Stewart and Grace Kelly. I've told you to make sure and watch this several times in the past......

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ChrisJarmick says "The NOT good, the bad and the ugly. Worst of the Worst movies." about Worst Movies Bad Films Part 15 of 16

ChrisJarmick — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:36:13 GMT

Worst Movies Part 15 is brought to you as a public service. Hopefully by avoiding these time wasting blights on the cinema landscape you'll watch much better movies, read or book or spend quality time with your wife and family talking, playing cards, going for a long walk or making something together.

I've even included a bonus awful movie to tell you about.

Here's some more movies to avoid:

Thirsty Dead (1974) Another Philipine made psuedo jungle horror film about a young bride who can be young forever if only she would let the seemingly young king teach her about drinking blood and sacrificing virgins kind of thing. Problem is, it's all very dull.

Theodore Rex 1995

Whoopi Goldberg whose made many lousy movies considers this among her worst (perhaps topped by The Telephone). She plays a futuristic cop named Katie Coltrane who is assigned a new partner, an eight foot tall, three ton no longer extinct Tyrannosaurus Rex, who's closer to Barney than Jurassic Park. Stupid concept,...

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ChrisJarmick says "Awful Movies that are less fun than watching paint dry." about Worst Movies Bad Films Part 14

ChrisJarmick — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:20:14 GMT

Worst Movies the 14th part in a numbered series of 16. These are not the fun kind of worst movies. Those kind of movies I call baaad movies. These are worthless movies that offer so little to the viewer they will simply suck up your time and make you feel foolish for doing so. Some of these will insult your intelligence, some will appear to offer some good actors, subject matter or something else that might entice you to keep watching.

There are much better choices to make than any of these. Avoid them..

Striptease (1996) Director: Andrew Bergman
Starring: Demi Moore, Armand Assante, Burt Reynolds, Ving Rhames, Robert Patrick, Paul Guilfoyle, Rumer Willis, Frances Fisher

Single mom (Demi Moore) gets a job as a stripper to make money to fight her ex-husband for custody of their child. Burt Reynolds plays a horny congressman and Moore's real-life daughter, Rumer, is the little girl. It wasn't as campy as Showgirls and none of it was very interesting unless you wanted...

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ChrisJarmick says "Worst of the Worst Movies ; Stinkeroos to avoid." about Worst Movies, Bad Films Part 13 of 16

ChrisJarmick — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:39:55 GMT

Part 13 of the Worst Movies at your service. These are movies that are worthless wastes of time. If any of them offer a few minutes of entertainment, consider that there are many movies that you probably have not seen, that offer much more. Your investment of time has value...more value than any of these movies will return to you.

Avoid the following:

Shanghai Surprise (1986) Director: Jim Goddard
Starring: Sean Penn, Madonna, Paul Freeman, Richard Griffiths, Philip Sayer, Clyde Kusatsu, Kay Tong Lim

Madonna plays a missionary nurse in 1937 China who hires a dim-witted American fortune hunter (her then-real-life-husband, Sean Penn) to find a stash of stolen opium. She wants the drugs so she can help her patients and get out of China. There's no chemistry between Penn and Madonna and the pacing of the movie is awful, and the dialogue is terrible. George Harrison who was the executive producer of this film said working with the very spoiled Madonna and on this movie was the...

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ChrisJarmick says "Rotten, Lousy, Worthless movies to avoid." about Worst Movies, Bad Films Part 12 of 16

ChrisJarmick — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:08:09 GMT

Worst Movies Part 12. Here are several more movies to avoid. They might look like something worth watching but don't be fooled, these movies are a waste of time. Choose something else or read a book, instead. These are not worth your time.

The Postman (1997)
Director: Kevin Costner Starring: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams, James Russo, Daniel Von Bargen, Tom Petty, Scott Bairstow, Roberta Maxwell

Postman is a very very long movie that Costner directed himself. You'd think after Waterworld he would stay away from these post-apocalypse tales.. but no.. In this lousy film he's a survivor who passes himself off as a postman in order to give hope to the ravaged communities left alive in the world. Why didn't he give hope to movie audiences and not make this movie? Story has it, the project was falling apart until he signed onto it originally just to act in it, but then he took on directing the movie. Let's assume Costner had the best of intentions. ...

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ChrisJarmick says "Worst of the Worst Movies. The ones to avoid." about Worst Movies Bad Films Part 11

ChrisJarmick — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:27:31 GMT

Welcome to Part 11 of my round up of some of the Worst Films ever made. These are not the kind of bad films that are fun to watch. These are just terrible films possessing such little entertainment that in my opinion they are to be avoided.

There are so many better choices out there, I hope you’ll be able to avoid the movies I’ve listed here and you gain from my pain and suffering, avoiding the agony of wasted time for little to no reward. Most of these movies I saw in movie theaters sometimes at screenings or I watched them as part of an assignment for an article or essay or larger review I was working on. Most of these are not direct to video type movies. There have been some very good direct to video movies, but the percentage of good ones to worthwhile ones is pretty low; a little bit of research and you should be able to spare yourself disappointment.

Yet with all my experience and knowledge I will still make mistakes. Today, if a film does not impress or at...

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