This is topic My New Favorite Amazon Reviewer in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
 
This guy makes me want to delete every review I ever wrote and start over.
 
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
 
He gave high marks to Baby Geniuses... That movie looks so stupid, plus babies doing unnatural things squicks me out.
 
Posted by MattB (Member # 1116) on :
 
I admire the burning passion behind his antipathy to Peter Cetera. Everyone should have an irrationally chosen celebrity nemesis.
 
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
 
quote:
Like any child who grew up watching Adam West's Batman, I was instantly disappointed with Tim Burton's vision for the character. For me, Batman represents that shining beacon of hope to the hopeless, and he always seems concerned for the safety of others. At least, he used to. Sadly, it seems that Batman is gone, along with Robin, the Batboat, the Batpoles, the Batcopter, and classic villains like Egghead and Louie the Lilac.

In their place, we get a Batman who relies on gadgets more than brains, a Joker who hardly ever laughs, and fight scenes without the trademark "Pow"s and "Zap"s. It may have a decent story, but I'll always look at this big-budget bust as a missed opportunity.

Good god. Did he really want a "Zap" "Pow!" "Crash!" version of batman on the big screen? Oh the horror!

And anyone who leaves a review for a movie he hasn't even seen is a dill-hole. (Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
 
Posted by MattB (Member # 1116) on :
 
*whispers* I think he's being tongue in cheek. I mean, he criticized 'Police Academy' for its inaccuracy, and 'Animal House' for glorifying recklessness.
 
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
 
Well then...

Perhaps I should get my sense of humor checked out? Maybe when I am at the doctors' next...
 
Posted by Peter (Member # 4373) on :
 
I can't believe he crapped on Willy Wonka!!! That movie freakin rocks!!!!
 
Posted by MattB (Member # 1116) on :
 
And really, I'd pay to see a Batman movie with "Pow"s. And with Egghead. I loved that guy.
 
Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
 
Some samples:

From the negative review of Spinal Tap

quote:
I guess my real complaint is with the filmmakers, as I'm wondering why they chose to cover such a little-known group when there were perfectly acceptable alternatives: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Eddie Money, and/or Motorhead. Spinal Tap may have been an interesting story, but they're hardly a band worth making immortal through film.
From a negatvie review of Fellowship Of The Ring:

quote:
I tried to watch this acclaimed film from Director JRR Tolkein, but it was too visually static and flat. Perhaps Tolkein was too close to the project, having written the books and all - turning the films over to someone with a more discerning eye might have been a better move. Whatever it was, the film would still have not succeeded without a larger budget. I will definitely be missing the next two. Stick with the books, Mr. Tolkien.
From a negative review of Ágætis Byrjun:

quote:
I tried hard to love this album, but frankly, I couldn't. Sure, the music was beautiful, but I simply could NOT understand a word the singer sang. I even recorded it onto my computer and tried to play it backwards. No luck. I'm someone who loves lyrics, words, and the message they give us. How good a song would "I Love Candy" be without words? Or "Too Shy"? Exactly.

Needless to say, until the singer learns to annunciate, I'll be looking elsewhere.

From his positive review of the Easy Bake Oven:

quote:
One day, I decided to try the oven's magical powers on the perfect food, the ham-and-cheese Hot Pocket. Bad idea. After a few short minutes, my Pocket was a charred mess and the inside of the oven was coated with hot ham and cheese. It may sound delicious, but it was the final breath for my oven. It hasn't worked right since - now my guests complain that my tiny cookies and cakes "taste like meat".
His negative review of Spaced Invaders:

quote:
This "comedy" has all the laughs of Schindler's List. What is billed as a fun-filled extravaganza ends up an exercise in sheer horror, as we are forced to watch aliens descend on a hapless rural town. This movie is very scary and probably would have been even more so if I had possessed enough guts to watch the last half hour.

Horror fans only.

From the negative review of Gone With The Wind:

quote:
What I can't understand was the filmmakers' insistence on turning a nice period piece into an exploitation movie. I'm talking, of course, about the swearing by Clark Gable near the movie's end. Why? What was the point? Were the film's producers so dead set on pushing the envelope that they felt they had to degrade the movie in such a way? Imagine the Munchkins or Glenda from "The Wizard of Oz" saying such a thing. It's unimaginable.
Edit: Also, pretty much any post on this page.

[ June 15, 2005, 11:34 PM: Message edited by: docmagik ]
 
Posted by RoyHobbs (Member # 7594) on :
 
This is his 5-star review of DREAM STREET: LIVE
on DVD.


quote:
"It must have been quite a show, December 17, 2004
I'll always have several regrets in my life: dumping my high school sweetheart Shonda, buying Traitor Cetera's solo CDs after he left Chicago, and never seeing Dream Street live on stage. Sure, I had the CDs, the shirt, the posters. . .but it wasn't the same. It can never be the same.

We didn't know what we had at the time, but Jesse, Greg, Matt, Frankie, and Chris were something special together - something that doesn't come along that often. I wish we would have appreciated it more. However, even though Dream Street is no more, we still have this concert DVD to remind us of just how good they were.

Just look at the tracklisting - "Sugar Rush", "Jennifer Goodbye", "I Say Yeah", "Let's Get Funky Tonight" . . . and so many more great, great songs. It's amazing to see the group work the crowd, and bring joy into the hearts of everyone listening. It's as if they knew that history was being made. It's a good thing you can't wear out a DVD, because I have watched this one a lot - and you know what? That magic is there each and every time.

If you love good - no, great - music, and you want to catch a great group at their best, then by all means, get this DVD."


[ROFL]
 
Posted by RoyHobbs (Member # 7594) on :
 
I just read every single review this guy wrote...

Either he is one of the great comedic geniuses in America or he is so overbearingly stupid that it makes me wince.

I think that its the former.

Highly recommended!!
 
Posted by MattB (Member # 1116) on :
 
His review of Kill Bill:

Scooby Dooby Dumb!, March 30, 2004
Ridiculous updating of the classic cartoon destroys everything that makes Scooby and the gang special. I will NOT be watching the sequel.


That's kind of brilliant.
 
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
 
This guy is a master of trap irony - irony that does not give itself away, but instead leads you on and on, unsure of whether he means it.

This very ambiguity makes it FAR more fun for those who DO get it, because they know so many readers will misunderstand and think this guy really thinks Bread is the greatest group ever. Or they WILL get the irony, but then they'll be p***ed off because he trashed Bread so badly - only how can they complain, really, because he doesn't say a SINGLE BAD THING about them?

Thanks for letting us see this master of trap irony at work. And thanks also to you who revealed that you got sucked into the trap. It makes the rest of us feel SO cocky (as we pretend that WE weren't sucked in, no, not for a minute).
 
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
 
I particularly like his review of The Blair Witch Project:

quote:
For four years, this movie chilled me to the bone. It also sickened me, because I couldn't believe that someone would actually try and profit off someone's death. That seemed pretty low. It wasn't until 2003 that a friend of mine let me know this thing was a hoax. While I was relieved, I was also pretty angry.

If my anger seems misplaced to you, let me try and explain. If this is not a real documentary, what's the purpose of making it so poorly? Shaky video cameras - it looks like my Christmas videos. Do you think someone would pay me to watch those? "The Legend of Boggy Creek", which covers many of the same issues and is done in a semi-documentary style, is made with much higher production values, and as a result is much, much scarier. Watch it with the lights off if you don't believe me. Also, I can't get behind any horror movie that never shows its monster. How am I supposed to know what to be afraid of? A shaking tent? Stick figures?

I give it three stars for the idea and one star for the execution. I'm off to watch "Boggy Creek" again.

If you EVER, EVER get a chance to watch "The Legend of Boggy Creek," do so. The memory of it will never leave you. [Evil Laugh]

Has anyone else here seen it?
 
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
 
This guy has always been my favorite Amazon reviewer. He has a single-mindedness that is truly amazing. See if you can spot the trend in his reviews.

Skip the first three, if that helps.

[ June 16, 2005, 02:31 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
 
Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
 
There seems to be a deep undercurrent to his purple prose.
 
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
quote:
I take it to work now, and play it on my breaks (and - shhhh - occasionally during the day), and it really takes me away from the bland, generic walls of my cubicle and into a place where my soul, creativity, and drive are no longer being crushed by the iron wheels of a mid-sized corporation. I'm no longer feeling a drain on my very soul - when I play Classic Football Game 2, I'm alive again.

I agree, this guy is a genius! [ROFL]

Err... the first this guy , not the second one.
 
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
Okay, one more and then I'll stop, I promise!

quote:
Then one day, I came across the toughest jar of pickles I'd ever encountered. I'm talking the kind that will break a man's wrist if he's not careful! I must have spent thirty minutes with that jar, to no avail. I began to think I'd probably have to eat my sandwich sans pickles. Then, as if a lightbulb went off in my head, I thought of this machine. I ventured up to the attic and retrieved it. Within brief moments, I was chomping down on my sandwich - with those pickles, whose jar was short work for the JW200.

Now, I open no jars without the aid of this device. None. I even try to share the wealth with others, occasionally setting up a table at the grocery store to help old ladies with their assorted jellies, jams and the like. Sometimes people will even ask me if they can try the JW200 out. . .I usually say no, but I'll say it in such a way that it comes out like a joke and makes them laugh, which removes the awkwardness from the situation.

[ROFL]
 
Posted by Megachirops (Member # 4325) on :
 
Sounds like the same guy who writes Dr. Oxford

[Be warned, PWOT has some profanity and potentially offensive humor.]
 


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