Rottentomatoes.com is Full of Lies…Sort Of

July 17, 2008 - 5:15 pm , By Marc--Michigan State

Rottentomatoes.com is a marvelous website, but I recently found out that it may be lying to all of us. If you don’t know what this website does, I’ll give you a brief overview: It reports on movies that are currently playing in theatres around the U.S. by providing links to pictures, videos and plot summaries.

It also collects hundreds of reviews written in newspapers, magazines and on the internet and gives the movie a rating based on the number of positive reviews divided by the total (for those non-math majors, this is called a percentage). Any movie with a rating higher than 60 percent is said to be fresh and is probably worth seeing, anything under 60 percent is rotten. Read More »

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Semi-Pro Fakes the Funk

February 29, 2008 - 3:30 pm , By Josh - UMASS, Lowell

Semi Pro

Throw comedy everyman Will Ferrell into a zany project that deals with the rise and fall of a lovable idiot and the outcome will be golden - that seems to be the thought process behind Semi-Pro, Ferrell’s first official bomb (even if it does well in theaters, which it will).

In Semi-Pro Will plays Jackie Moon, a loud-mouthed Lothario who owns, coaches and plays for the Flint Tropics, an absolutely terrible ABA basketball team on the verge of losing what little audience and respect they have. Luckily for Moon, the NBA wants to absorb a few teams from the ABA, giving his squad a chance to hit the big time. Of course, his ego gets in the way, trotting out lavish (on a budget) half time shows where the team dresses up in Seahorse and Flamingo costumes while getting down to “Love Sexy,” Moon’s disco excursion that gave him his one and only hit.

Going to any length to get his team some recognition, Moon makes a questionable trade involving an important team player (no spoilers here!) for Monix (Woody Harrelson), the Washed Up Legend Out to Prove His Worth. Let us not forget to mention Clarence ‘Coffee’ Black (Andre Benjamin) the Competent and Honest Basketball Player Out to Make His Mama Proud. The stereotypes run amok in Semi-Pro, but that’s expected. The problem here is the lack of original comedy. Read More »

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The Heartbreak Kid: a Gross Miscalculation

October 5, 2007 - 3:00 pm , By Josh - UMASS, Lowell

The Heartbreak Kid

Ben Stiller is looking old these days. He looks and acts like he could be Jason Biggs‘ dad.

Even before seeing the Farrelly brothers’ latest romp, The Heartbreak Kid, I was a bit worried. The trailers depicted the flick to be a below-average attempt at updating the 1972 cult classic of the same name. Slapstick, teenage gross-outs and love - the Farrelly brothers have traveled down this road countless other times, and each one was better than this painfully-lacking retread.

Stiller, tired but game, plays Eddie Cantrow, a 40-year-old unmarried man (and sporting goods owner) who’s under the constant pressure of his eternal wingman Mac (Rob Corddry) and his father (Jerry Stiller, natch) to get hitched ASAP.

Cantrow, jaded and lonely, does exactly that: upon meeting the bubbly blonde Lila (Malin Akerman) he gets on the fast track to holy matrimony. As expected - and seen in the tell-tale trailer - things don’t work out between Cantrow and his mystery wife. Read More »

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Good Luck Chuck, You’re Gonna Need It

September 21, 2007 - 12:00 pm , By Josh - UMASS, Lowell

Good Luck Chuck - Jessica Alba, Dane Cook

I am completely baffled whenever I hear anybody say they find Dane Cook funny. Every time. Without fail. Am I being too critical or are the standards for comedy lower than ever?

What has Cook ever done that’s even remotely funny? He’s a third-rate Adam Sandler man-boy out to please vapid sorority chicks and pre-teen boys who haven’t learned how to use their cocks yet - and I guess that’s funny in itself (at his expense).

Tall-glass of Haterade aside, everybody deserves a second chance, and that’s what Good Luck Chuck is out to prove. Unfortunately for Cook, it fails miserably in every possible way.
Read More »

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