MIB 2: A Review

[FLMKR4EB]

I met my friend Jim, and his roommate with my bro to see Men In Black 2, the highly anticipated sequal to the awsome Sci Fi flick from 5 years ago.

Let me rant a bit. I hate theaters that a run by fools. 5min into the movie the lights came on, and stayed on for the next 15 min while the movie was running. Several people left to complain several times before the problem was corrected. What garbage. Projectionists should, no mater how busy they are, check their shows for problems, often. That way these situations are taken care of fast.

Ok, onto the screening.

The Trailers.
Awsome trailers. I'm really happy with the way the next Bond flick looks. I'm tired of Pierce, and the last two were quite forgettable, but with the reintigration of the classic Bond car, The Aston Martin, it could help to revive my interest and love for the super cool secret agent known as 007. I have'nt seen a Bond film that I truely loved since the days of Connery and Moore. Golden Eye was close, but still no cigar.
Two Towers, well enough said. Who isn't psyched for this movie?
T3, well the trailer gives absolutely nothing away other than the title Rise of the Machines. But did it excie me you say??? HELL YEAH. I think you all know where I will be July 2nd, 2003.
The rest of the Trailers were blase`.

THE SHORT
The short shown before MIB2 was so cute and fun. I loved it. The Animaniacs style cameos of SciFi character faves such as Yoda, Vader, The Alien, Ropbby the Robot, Lost In Space's Robot, and others, well I ate it up. Loved it. Wished there were more Star Wars cameo's. But it was really cute, a lot of fun, and the best part of the evening.

THE MOVIE

This was one of the movies I was personally anticipating, after the original was such a blast I didn't think there was a possibility of the MIB Crew screwing it up. BUT BOY THEY DID. This could possibly be the worst movie I see this summer. I can't think of many redeeming qualities of this film. I'll list them later, cause they are all gags and not worthy of a discussion.

First of all, J's character hasn't changed. Still arogant, yet now the best agent at MIB. But the second K is back, he acts like a punk ass fool of a rookie.

The plot makes no scence. There are parts that are hard to follow, and need a few seconds of catch up in order to know what's going on. But still it doesn't matter because THERE IS NO PURPOSE TO THIS MOVIE. When its over you realize that the adventure was pointless. The SUPER BADASS alien wasn't badass at all, just another alien bent on taking over/destroying the universe. The plot if forced in almost every aspect. Things come out of no where, LIKE the highly sought after object. It just appears in the plot from no where. K's rejoinging of the MIB is so fast and so forced. I mean, the movie is like 80 min long, it could have easily been 120 min, and rocked, but they squeaze info and moments into like 15 min, and get into the adventure by the time the movie is over. I'm highly dissapointed and offended by the porr quality of this movie. Tommy Lee Jones gives a performance worth watching, but isn't giving nearly enough screen time.
IT felt like a 80 min live action episode of the cartoon, which I hated as well. Rushed to fit a timeslot.
If you must see this, wait for Video/DVD. If you must see it in theaters, its not worthy of the big screen. Its only 1.85, not scope, so its not a big deal to watch on the television.

List of Good Things

1.Micheal Jackson Cameo
2.Martha Stewart Cameo
3.All the Jokes in the Trailer, cause hey, those are most of the good ones.
4.Frank the Dog
5.The Tiny Univerese that K nearly destroys.
6.The locker world.

Thats all folks...

Rating: C-
:x

[JonathanLB]

You must not see very many movies if a C- is the worst you'll give this summer.

Personally, I still gotta see Juwanna Mann, Scooby Doo, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, Hey Arnold, Country Bears, Blue Crush, and a lot of movies that could get anywhere from an F to maybe a C, lol.

First, obviously not all places are playing the same trailers. There certainly was no Bond trailer in front of my movie, nor was there a TTT trailer. We got a teaser for T3, a trailer for Blue Crush, and a trailer for Daredevil. I forget the others. They were obviously forgettable, hehe.

The short was pretty funny, but really random.

The movie itself was good, but it was a disappointment compared to the first. I gave the first one four stars because it was one of the most fun summer blockbusters in a long time. It was fresh, original, and very entertaining. The second, on the other hand, feels rehashed, way too slapstick, and just not funny enough.

It lost a lot of the magic of the original. It was a good movie, though. I thought it was pretty funny mostly and it was a fun movie, but still disappointing. It's a solid B movie, three stars.

[FLMKR4EB]

I rarely give Ds, and an F, well, I've only given ever given 2, maybe three movies Fs.

[JonathanLB]

Well there is something wrong with that picture. You should give each rating with a fair degree of consistency.

I mean, there are plenty of F's, but if you have managed to avoid seeing them, good for you, hehe. It's best to avoid them. :)

Four movies got F's this year alone: Crossroads, The Sweetest Thing (worst of the year), Jason X, and Ya-Ya Stupidhood.

A lot of movies got D ratings, though, way too many to count. Let's see, Super Troopers and Big Fat Liar immediately come to mind. Snow Dogs got a D+. Anything in the D range is just a 1 star rating, which is super common. I mean, lots of movies end up "earning" that distinction, hehe.

Fortunately there are usually far more A movies than F movies per year. I'd say maybe 8 F's per year, 15 A's. I've given 7 2002 releases A's so far this year. Not a bad year at all.

[FLMKR4EB]

Why is there something wrong with that. I love movies, I respect the craft greatly, that is why I don't use Stars. MIB2 would have gotten 1 star, but sincec I feel that I have to be fair to movies, and honest, and open I use a brawder spectrum to rate movies on. I rarely dismiss movies, there for I rarely give an F rating cause I can usually find some redeeming quality about a movie. I know people who gave Jason X an A, or Five Stars who know a ton about movies, a found it to be one of the best movie going experiences of this year, cause its so random and silly. These are filmmakers, and collegues of mine. I respect thier feelings, I don't think I'd give Jason X an A, but eveach person rates differently. So again, its hard for me to give a movie an F.

Movies I give Fs to
Glass Sheild
Volcano
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Batman and Robin

Here is an example of my persona rating system.
I hate the movie A Thin Red Line. I think it is worthless, and horrible. It doesn't work as a Drama, nor a War film. BUT, I respect it greatly because Malik is a visionary, who's style I don't relate to. The photography of the film is genius, its so beautiful. So, although I hate it, I'd never give it an F, I'd give it like a C- or an D+ because there is still a lot of worth to be found in it.

So, if you ask me, my rating system is just fine.

[CMJ]

Oh no...not another "Thin Red Line" basher. :p I'm the board's resident defender of that film. ;)

[FLMKR4EB]

Like I said, respect him, it's just not my movie. I tend to rant about it, and since I don't want to make a total ass of myself and alienate myslef, I'll just leave it at I hate it. I hope I don't alienate myself from such a respected board member as you for not liking it.

[CMJ]

LOL...I think I'm respected DESPITE the fact I like it. I remember we had several battles over this film a few years ago.....me vs. 100 others. ;)

Actually it was more like a handful of people vs. the majority, but I think the odds were like 12-1 against us. :) I don't mind...I KNOW it's not a film for everyone. Malick's most accessible film is "Badlands", and it's not even THAT accessible.

[ReaperFett]

I think it was 3 V the rest, but only about 2/3 of them were consistant posters :)

[FLMKR4EB]

Maybe opne day we'll have a civilized discussion where we each make our points. It would be good for me to have a civilized discussion about it. Everyone I've had is heated, I try to remain calm, but too many people start their attack as an attack and then slander other great war films in the process. Discussion good, slander bad.

[CMJ]

Not a bad idea. :) I think I had about the equvilant of a 2 page post on that movie a couple of years ago...before the time the archives came into effect seeing as I tried to find it but couldn't.

In my mind "Line" isn't a War movie per se though, more of a poetic, lyrical poem on man vs. man; man vs. nature; and man vs. himself. Yeah...so I'm being really high brow there, but that's how I see it. It's more philosophy than entertainment. It's one of the best films of all-time(IMHO)....but it's not one of the best war films ever, which I know must make no sense to the typical reader. :)

[FLMKR4EB]

I accept that. It is lyrical, it is definately visual poetry. That's how I define it myself. I like the fact you are educated on the film, or have at least taken time to think it through. Too many referr to it as drama, and argue it as such, then they compare it to other war films. I call people on that stuff, cause its grasping at straws.
If you like visual poetry let me suggest a film. Go find a 2.35 DVD copy of the greatest visual poetry film, BARAKA. By the time its over your mind will have melted. It is the quintessential Visual Poetry film, no dialogue, no words at all, just beauty. This movie I loved.
Also, check out Picnic at Hanging Rock, Directed by Peter Weir. Its part of the Criterion Collection. I hate it, but is a lot of visual poetry.
This suggestion isn't part of the debate, just you reminded me of Baraka by mentioning visual poetry. Its not for comparsion or anything, just if you like visual poetry.

[CMJ]

Well "Red Line" isn't just visual poetry...hell alot of the narration is akin to poetry too. ;) That film is straight philosophy. I mean there are multiple stories going on, don't get me wrong, but the film is more about "idea's" than anything.

I've heard of both "Baraka" and Weir's film. In fact I believe Ebert mentioned "Picnic" on an underrated classics show a few years ago. He also did a wierd film called "The Last Wave"(that was his flick wasn't it?) that was staright out bizarre. I did enjoy it inspite of it's wierdness though. ;)

As far as "Baraka" I do wanna catch that one of these days.

[FLMKR4EB]

I just saw Baraka in Scope at work on the big screen. And I was blown away when I borrowed the DVD from a coworker, but DAMN. After it was over I was just spent from exhaustion. It is so intense. Near the end I had a moment where I couldn't catch my breadth, it was so moving.
There is only one way to describe that film--CREATION, as if the earth was breathing, and each breath was creation.

[CMJ]

You saw it at work, huh? I believe you said you lived in Los Angeles, so that would lead me to believe you work at one of the art house theatres around here that show classic flicks(like the Egyptian for example). Am I correct?

If so, tell me where you're at and I'll make a point of meeting you. :p

[FLMKR4EB]

Nope, I live on the East Coast. Not in LA yet. I'm going out there next summer on an internship most likely. I work as a film inspector/projectionist in a private film archive, which I would prefer to not disclose for the sake of my employer. It is a private collection, and a great archive. We do a lot of lending and such. But we have several screening rooms, 2 warehouses, and other facilities. I do independant filmmaking on the east coast, with hopes of moving to LA to be pricise. My next film, entitled The Clown Who Couldn't Smile, goes into production in the spring, with dreams of Feastivals. I have a full crew, and amd in the process of attempting the clear music rights, as well as update the script. Its only a 10 min piece, 7min films have the best chances at Feastival acceptance.

[FLMKR4EB]

PS, saw Gone With The Wind this morning at work. LPP print from Technicolor. DON"T I SUCK!

AND TO RUB IT IN A TAD BIT MORE...

In May I viewed an original print of Star Wars, and not just any print. There were FIVE prints made of Star Wars in Technicolor!!! I've seen and handled it. It hasn't aged a day! I should know, since I've also handled, and viewed two original Eastman Color prints which have faded to red so badly. AND NO SE CRAP.

[CMJ]

Ahhh sorry, my mistake. :)

Well I wish you good luck, I'll probably be working for you some day. ;) I'm more trying to work my way up through the ranks at the moment(plus trying to write whenever I get the urge). I sure as hell aren't in a position to direct anything, though I have AD'd in the past...if you ever need a good one. ;)

[FLMKR4EB]

It would be my honor and pleasure to work with you.

[CMJ]

Man, don't be like that...I'm just an ordinary guy. I'm just looking for jobs right now...I'm hardly "anybody".

Even if I do plan on accepting a Best Screenplay Oscar someday. ;) I'm giving myself till the 100th Academy Awards, which is another 25 years from now. ;)

[CMJ]

Wow....GWTW & SW:ANH in technicolor. Holy crap...you do suck!!

I love the way films look in that format. The colors are so....vibrant.


BY THE WAY: Sorry the thread got hijacked, please anyone who saw MIB2 feel free to post your feelings here. :)

[FLMKR4EB]

Its great to know another person who can appreciate Technicolor. When they used to advertise NOW IN GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOR it was a big deal for a reason.

I have so many screenings coming up at work. Namely a Dr. Zhivago reprint in DTS. Plus my boss is looking into borrowing a 70mm print of Lawrence of Arabia.

IF ANYONE HERE EVER HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO A 70mm SCREENING OR FEASTIVAL-- GO!!!
I've seen Apocolypse Now in 70mm, its just incredible. The film gods have been kind to me, so I'll pass on any knowledge of this stuff that I can.

[CMJ]

70mm of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA?!?!?!?!

HOLY CRAP YOU LUCKY BASTARD!!!!!! :headbash

*Cough* Excuse me for yelling. I can't believe I didn't put that down on my score list. :\

"Lawrence" is SUCH an awesome movie, I can only imagine what it's like on the big screen....the colors....the desert....wow....

[JMK]

Just to let you know, (this goes for you too CMJ, once you have a movie put together) but Montreal has a pretty big film festival each year. I don't know how respected it is internationally, but I know someone who knows someone that made their own movie and got it screened in said festival. I could probably get in touch with that person and get her to set me up with the other person who made the film, and from there I could probably get the
name(s) of people that you would probably want to talk to if you wanted to get your film(s) screened there.

[Jedi Master Carr]

No problem CMJ, I am probably going to see it tomorrow, but with the comments so far I am not going to have expectations too high, I just hope that its fun, I will post comments about it after I see it.

[CMJ]

Hmmmmm thanks for the tip. Do they accept shorts as well(like the really low budget productions obviously)?

Like they say, this business is all about who you know. Or in this case....who I know that knows someone, that knows someone. ;) So like 3 degree's of seperation. :p

[JonathanLB]

Yeah, that reminds me...

You start an argument and you're like, "Dude, The Thin Red Line is almost as bad as Saving Private Ryan."

Then someone else is like, "WHAT are you talking about? Saving Private Ryan RULES! You are an idiot. If you want to get into bad war movies, go watch U-571, that movie is stupid and inaccurate."

Then you get another poster, "You are both idiots. SPR is one of the greatest war movies ever and U-571 is still a lot of fun. As for The Stupid Retarded Line, that movie blows chunks."

Then it just takes off until it went from a discussion of ONE movie to like an all-out war between 100 different films and their defenders/bashers, hehe :)

"So, if you ask me, my rating system is just fine."

Well your rating system works for you, so that's what is important, but if you are a film critic you need a more objective rating system that is not based on how much respect you for for film or for a director, but based on the merits of the movie you are reviewing, in your opinion of course. The four-star scale works perfectly, I think. Of course if you want to differentiate movies really accurately, then you go to a 100 point system and I can use that too. Generally, I first think of what a movie gets on my 100 point scale then I convert it to the star rating equivalent, which is easy for me.

As for "words describing ratings," it would be like:

4 -- excellent
3.5 -- very good
3 -- good
2.5 -- pretty good / above average
2 -- decent / fair / average / redeeming qualities, but overall not very enjoyable
1.5 -- pretty bad / below average
1 -- bad
0.5 -- very few redeeming qualities / VERY bad
0 -- horrible / among the worst movies of the year (or ever) / almost no redeeming qualities

Now, I rarely give 0 stars. Generally I figure I will give a movie anywhere from ONE star to THREE stars, but it has to work to get 3.5 or 4 and it has to work to get less than one. I'm not a mean critic. I don't give that many less-than-one-star ratings. In fact, I've only given about two ratings out of 200 that were 0.5 stars, because if I'm mad enough at a movie to give it 1/2 star, I'm generally mad enough to give it 0 stars. Amelie is the only film I can think of that got 1/2 star off the top of my head, but I thought there was another recently. I hated that stupid movie. The critics just loved that horrid thing.

I would agree that the experience I had seeing Jason X in theaters was one of the most memorable of the year because everyone was making fun of the movie DURING the screening and I just had a blast laughing. I have rarely laughed so hard at how awful a movie is. At the end I said, "BEST MOVIE EVER" loudly and everyone started laughing. It was just classic. I don't care, though, I'm not giving a movie FOUR STARS because it was the worst movie I've ever seen. Just because a movie is so bad it's funny does NOT mean it gets a good rating. Regardless of me laughing AT it, it's still a horrible, wretched waste of time. If you review it with any degree of objectivity whatsoever, you see horrible acting, cliched, awful dialogue, a lousy plot, very bad production values for the most part, just a stupid, cheesy film. It's trash. Nonetheless, it is like Jack Frost (the horror one, not the kiddie one), it's SO bad that it's actually funny. Nonetheless I think Jack Frost is quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen in my life.

[FLMKR4EB]

--Delete--

Pissing out flames.

Everyone should check out The best bootlegs in the world CD, its awsome

[JMK]

U-571 is an action movie, not to be taken in the same vein as SPR, and even TRL or Platoon etc...
I think the makers know that its inaccurate, but otherwise its a good movie.

[CMJ]

FLMKR4EB, Jonathan was just using that as an example. ;)

Kyle took the bait and started discussing war movies too. LOL...Oh brother. Please guys, this is gonna get into a pissing match if we don't nip it in the bud real quick. ;)

[FLMKR4EB]

Public Screenings, my opinion. THEY ARE AWSOME.
I've gotten a few shorts I've directed into public screenings. One a silent film I made, the other a 5 min piece, and they were well recieved. My films were among nearly 100 other films in each catagory. There was a pole after the screening so those of us with entries could gauge the audience, it was a written pole. Vote for your three faves. My 5 min film had the third most votes. So I've had great, great responses with screenings. My silent came in the Top 10, which was decent.
So, man do public screenings give you a great way to feel out your own work, esspecially if you Write, Direct, and Edit. You as the filmmaker know every facet of your film, good and bad, so screen films often to friends, strangers, etc. I carry a Comp Reel of my work and the work of my friends and associates to show off at random times. That way I can guage my work with any and all types of people.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well I saw it today, overall I enjoyed, but I had low expectations going in which could explain it too. I still think the first one is superior, but there were some things I liked about the movie
Tommy Lee Jones was the man, he was awesome did a much better job than Will Smith
Frank the dog, he had some of the best lines in the film
Jeebs, Tony Shalloub(sp) was really funny as Jeebs again, he had more screen time but still was a cameo.
Zed, Rip Torn had some funny lines but his part was too short IMO.

I have to agree about the screen time the movie needed another 20-30 minutes really to develop the characters and develop the plot better there were a lot of loose ends that should have been explained (like what happened to that two headed guy) and a few other elements of the plot seemed to be rushed. Still I enjoyed the film and that I guess is really what counts.

[CMJ]

I have yet to decide if I wanna see it. I'm pretty nuetral on the first one, so I don't have a huge hankering to see the sequel.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well this one is much different than the first one, so if you aren't dieing to go see it I suggest wait, see what other people thought of it first.

[Darth23]

The trailer didn't make me want to see it, and I liked the first one. Hearing about the running time makes me less likely to see it.

I was at Universal Studios in Orlando yesterday and today.. THey have Mib playing on five SCREENS, Spidey is still there, so is Juwanna Man, Bad Company and a few other middle aged (more than 2 weeks old) flops. Star Wars is no where to be seen.

THe funny thing is that I probably would have gone to see MiB2 there if they were simply playing AOTC there also. :p

[JediBoricua]

I have no knowledge about filmaking nor i think of myself as a critic, i'm just the normal guy who enjoys going to movie theathers and spending some quality time with friends/family etc. I think this is the first review I've ever written, it ain't that much of a review either, just my impression of what was the most dissapointing movie I have seen in a long time.

The movie begins with a cheap sci-fi show recounting a tale of the men in black. The whole movie felt cheap. The story had no cohesion whatsoever, details and backstories seem to have been glued together five minutes before shooting. Will Smith's character has not grown a bit since last time, and although he is the best agent, he is as childish and reckless as before. I did not bought how magically K remembered everything...ugh I could go on forever.

Frankly it felt as if the studio knew it was going to make a lot of money out of this and gave it their less effort.

[JMK]

Sheesh, where have we experienced that before with sequels?

[FLMKR4EB]

JediBoricua hit the nail on the head. Major Stinker.

[Jedi Master Leia Solo]

Saw it today with a friend.

I thought the movie was fun. I really like Jones & Smiths as actors.
The story was weak. The ending most definetly could have been better.

But..*shrugs* I did have fun even though there is DEFINETLY room for improvement here.

[CMJ]

I FINALLY saw this yesterday(along with "Spider-Man", more on that in another thread) and it was prettu standard. It had some funny parts and all, but I never really got into it. I thought the actors mailed in their perfomances for the most part(well I thought Smith was good) and the writing was overall weak.

Nonetheless this isn't an outright pan. It had some "fun" moments and the occasional clever line of dialogue. The first one was just "pretty good" in my book and this one wasn't nearly the film the original was.

I hesitantly give it 2 stars out of 4...but it's close to 1.5 out of 4.