Treydle's stats
- Review count108
- Helpfulness votes608
- First reviewNovember 10, 2011
- Last reviewJune 30, 2013
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- Average rating3.7
- Review comment count1
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- First review commentNovember 10, 2012
- Last review commentNovember 10, 2012
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![Kung Fu Panda 2 [DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3869/3869351_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
In this animated sequel, we rejoin Po (Jack Black) and the Furious Five in the routine rescue of a small village being stripped of any metal in their possession. While success appeared a forgone conclusion, something Po observes on an opponent leaves him dumbstruck and sends him flashing back to his childhood. Outraged by his combat failure, the Five and Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) inform him that he is not to join them in their duties.
Elsewhere, we learn that the party behind the plundering intends to use the metal for raw material in a weapon; a weapon that “stops kung fu”. Upon hearing that it was a panda that nearly thwarted the effort, he’s noticeably unnerved. The reason being that a soothsayer forcibly assisting him long ago told him that a panda would be his undoing. Meanwhile, Po has returned home to his father to unravel the mystery.
I don’t know if I was expecting a second film after the first one, and it would stand up on it’s own without one, but I enjoyed this sequel immensely. The origin story, the identity struggle, the final confrontation and most of the intervening events are highly entertaining. A worthy follow-up.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
![30 Minutes or Less [DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3794/3794435_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Someone straps a bomb to your chest and tells you that if you don’t rob a back and return with at least $100,000, they will detonate the bomb and kill you. What do you do? That question is put to Jessie Eisenberg in this film as he portrays a pizza delivery man who is certainly unhappy but far too much of a slacker to make any serious effort to change his circumstances.
Nick (Eisenberg) runs to his closest friend for help. Of course they have just had a falling out and Chet, a teacher, (played by stand-up comedian Aziz Ansari) is very surprised to see him. Even more so when he sees the explosive device and realizes his friend just brought a bomb to a school full of innocent children. Soon Chet agrees to help and the robbery becomes inevitable.
There has been a small degree of criticism for making a comedy film about circumstances which are eerily similar to those of another pizza delivery man in Pennsylvania. Of course, the man in that case was not an unwitting accomplice but was in fact in league with the robbers and simply believed the bomb was not real. Oddly enough, an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent bares an even more similar storyline and predates the Pennsylvania case and an episode of Bones that also contains a plot with many similar elements came and went with no such outrage.
That said, the film is a comedy and achieves it’s objectives with relative ease. Eisenberg is seen here with his usual mannerisms but without the intelligence he’s previously displayed in films such as The Social Network and Adventureland. Aziz Ansari is passable as the best friend and the would-be killers, played by comedian/actors Danny McBride and Nick Swardson are funny, though not particularly frightening without explosives. All in all, it’s a solid comedy, a good time, and not much else.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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2of 2voted this as helpful.
![Super 8 [DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3720/3720132_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
A factory accident in the small town of Lillian, Ohio leaves an emotionally distant man (Kyle Chandler) a widower and his son without the one parent he could relate to. At the reception in their home, Deputy Jackson Lamb (Chandler) ejects a man who showed up intoxicated and his son Joe (Joel Courtney) bears witness. In an effort to buy time so that he himself and his son can come to grips with the loss, Jackson tries to persuade Joe to go to baseball camp for the summer and, at the same time, disparages his friends whose interests include the production of monster films for one and explosive for another. As they are in the middle of one such film and Joe promised to help complete it, he declines the offer.
One night, he sneaks out of the house to joins his friends in filming a scene at a train station and they are all nearly killed when a train is derailed after a head-on collision with a speeding pickup. It is the collision and subsequent events that are the source for most of the film. The train belonged to the Air Force and before long, so does the crash site and most of the town as it is placed under a de facto martial law. Joe and Charles, the director of the film that brought them to the train station in first place, examine their footage and see something escaping the train.
Written and directed by J. J. Abrams of Lost fame and with Steven Spielberg co-producing, Super 8 is easily a step above efforts like Cloverfield and Artificial Intelligence while falling just short of films like E.T., Super 8 is a welcomed addition to the sci-fi genre and a great time to be had at the movies.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+5points
9of 13voted this as helpful.
![Warrior [DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3978/3978078_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
What happens when you have two separate underdogs fight each other in a winner-take-all competition? You end up hoping neither one of them will lose. That’s the situation in this thoroughly engrossing mixed martial arts film. Something I never thought I’d say after teen-filled drama Never Back Down released in 2008 that used unlicensed MMA bouts as a backdrop.
Brendan Conlon (played by Joel Edgerton) is a man who gave up fighting professionally for his wife Tess (played by Jennifer Morrison) with whom he now has two daughters. Tommy Riordan (played by Tom Hardy) left home with his mother to escape his father’s abuse and joined the Marines after she passed. Brendan (Edgerton) is now staring at a debt he can’t overcome thanks to his mortgage and goes back to professional fighting in the form of parking lot bouts with inexperienced opponents. And when a video of one of these bouts on the internet is seen by his boss (Kevin Dunn), the principal of the high school where he teaches science, the winner-take-all event is his only hope to avoid foreclosure and relocation. Tommy (Hardy), on the other hand, made a promise to the family of a fallen comrade and intends to keep it no matter what that might mean for his competitors. That includes Brendan who is only revealed to be Tommy’s brother well into the film.
I’m not really a fan of MMA. I had a passing interest in boxing at one time, watching it that is, but it passed. That said, a well-made film can make any sport, with the exception of curling, seem interesting. And while some may see the release of this film as being too soon after the critically-acclaimed 2010 Mark Wahlberg film The Fighter, or as some sort of Rocky rip-off, I see a well-made, well-acted, realistic film about two men determined to fulfill their obligations the best way they know how. In the ring. Not to mention the sympathetic performances put forth by Nick Nolte as the father of the two competitors and Jennifer Morrison as the suffering wife.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+19points
20of 21voted this as helpful.
![Strange Relations [DVD] [2001]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/5930/5930139_sa.jpg)
This comedy drama about a man who learns some surprising things about his family during a life crisis gets a spare presentation for its release on DVD. Strange Relations has been given a full-frame transfer to disc in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the audio, in English, has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo. No multiple language options have been included, but the dialogue is closed captioned in English. No bonus material has been added for this edition.
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
I'll admit, the plot is far-fetched. A man over forty years of age never suspected he was adopted and his parents never thought to tell him until after the father had died and the mother found out he'd been diagnosed with leukemia. While the basic components are standard TV Movie stuff, the script, the cast, and the performances elevate it to levels that are far superior most cable productions.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Crazy Stupid Love [DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3698/3698593_sa.jpg)
Must enter redemption code by expiration date to redeem UltraViolet offer. Does not include iTunes file.
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Cal Weaver (Steve Carrell) is happy in his marriage and dotes on his two children. Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling) is dedicated to the pursuit of one-night stands with beautiful women. And Hannah (Emma Stone) is a soon-to-be lawyer in love with a man who her best friend believes is beneath her but who Hannah (Stone) is genuinely hoping will propose. But Weaver (Carrell) is blindsided when his wife of more than 20 years, (played by Julianne Moore) confesses she’s been unfaithful and wants a divorce.
We soon find Cal Weaver living in an apartment spending an inordinate amount of time at a local pickup joint drinking heavily and repeatedly stating the particulars of his wife’s infidelity to the establishment’s clientele. This puts a serious crimp in Jacob’s evening and so he offers his advice and services as a life coach, of sorts. Meanwhile, he’s made several overtures to Hannah only to be rejected every time.
I’ll admit, there are few moments where the characters find themselves in situations so embarrassing, that I can’t bear to watch. That said, this is easily the best comedy I’ve seen this summer, and perhaps this year. Good premise, great characters, and amazing twists you do not see coming. Loved it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+4points
4of 4voted this as helpful.
![Water for Elephants [DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3697/3697655_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
The story of a Depression-era orphan with an all but completed study from a prestigious university, this film centers around Jacob Jankowski. First seen as an elderly man (Hal Holbrook) Jankowski was studying to become a veterinarian when his parents died in debt after exhausting their savings to pay his tuition. With no home or money to complete his studies, Jankowski (as a younger man played by Robert Pattinson) simply abandons his home, studies, and life in search of employment. This search ended when he hopped a train utilized by the Benzini Bros. traveling circus.
After a brief stint shoveling excrement, August Rosenbluth, the man in charge, hires him as Benzini Bros. own Cornell educated veterinarian. Rosenbluth is played by Christopher Waltz who soon proves to be just as evil as he was when he was playing an SS officer. His long-suffering wife is played by Reese Witherspoon who is the star of the big top with her equestrian act and with a similar elephant act. But when the act struggles to take shape in the beginning, Rosenbluth demonstrates the brutality lying beneath his charismatic show persona by viciously attacking the elephant. He later appears sickened by his actions, but Jacob is certain he’ll repeat them and determined to prevent that from happening.
In developing the act, Marlena (Witherspoon) and Jacob become attracted to each other. While trying to keep their relationship a secret, they’re eventually found out. This and other tensions arising from the shows continuing financial struggles eventually boil over in the form of an employee insurrection, the result of which was alluded to in earlier scenes with the older Jankowski.
Whether Titanic started it or simply solidified it, Leonardo DiCaprio became the dream of teenage girls everywhere thanks to the James Cameron opus. And, as a result of that and a genuine dislike for the story and the film, I have hated DiCaprio ever since. He’s made, for the most part, quality films ever since and I’m convinced he’s so not for his career but simply to annoy me. Others would argue he has no idea who I am, but I feel that’s immaterial.
Pattinson, thanks to the Twilight series, finds himself in a similar position. With this and Remember Me he seems intent on making quality films to annoy me. Witherspoon and Waltz, while demonstrating great range with these roles, are more than adequate. The story is engrossing, the scenery spectacular, and the ending is satisfying (though I understand the book version was far more dramatic). All in all, I’d call this a superior film.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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2of 2voted this as helpful.
![Horrible Bosses [DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3477/3477038_sa.jpg)
Must enter redemption code by expiration date to redeem UltraViolet offer. Does not include iTunes file.
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Nick, Dale, and Kurt are all years into their careers and have found themselves in an all-too-common situation. They hate their superiors. Nick (Jason Bateman) works for someone intent on keeping him under his boot till one of them dies or ruining his career should he ever decide to quit. Kurt (Jason Sudeikis), after his longtime boss, a man he genuinely liked and respected, dies, is working for his boss’s unqualified, obnoxious, drug-addicted son (Colin Farrell). Dale (Charlie Day) is a dental hygienist whose boss (Jennifer Anniston) is sexually harassing him in addition to molesting her anesthetized patients.
Drowning their sorrows, they all ruminate on the idea of how much better their lives would be if their bosses were dead. Next thing they know, they’re devising a master plan with the help of a “murder consultant” (Jamie Foxx) whose real first name is barely mentioned and whose nickname is an expletive. Saying anymore about the story would give away too much.
While the top-tier talent is relegated to the antagonists, Bateman, Farrell, and Sudeikis bring the most to the film, comedically. And the writers, one of whom has a near-forgettable role as a co-worker of Bateman’s character, should be congratulated. This is easily the best comedy of the summer. (8.2/10)
I would recommend this to a friend!
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2of 2voted this as helpful.
Treydle's Review Comments
![The Amazing Spider-Man [Includes Digital Copy] [DVD] [2012]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/6836/6836709_sa.jpg)
Overall
4 out of 5
4 out of 5Great superhero film
By Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Can you reboot a franchise that once held the record for largest opening weekend in history? Can you create something original using a character who was first introduced to the world in 1962?
Peter Parker, age 4, (played by Max Charles) is playing hide and seek one night when he discovers someone has broken into his father’s study. His father, Richard (played by Campbell Scott) sees this and takes some important papers, his wife Mary (played by Embeth Davidtz) and his son to the home of his Aunt May (played by Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (played by Martin Sheen). Peter is left in that home for his own safety and never sees his parents again. At least a decade later, Peter (played as a teenager by Andrew Garfield), is being bullied by an athlete named Flash Thompson (played by Chris Zylka) and has a crush on a student named Gwen Stacey (played by Emma Stone). When Peter returns home at the end of the day, bruised and beaten by Flash, he finds papers in his father’s briefcase that show he once worked with a man named Dr. Curt Connors (played by Rhys Ifans). Connors works at a company named Oscorp, so Peter disguises himself as an intern to gain access to the lab and, hopefully, Connors. Little did he know, the tour for new interns was led by Gwen Stacey. She knows immediately that the ID badge that Peter’s wearing belongs to someone else, but allows him to continue on the tour regardless. Peter sneaks away from the group and finds a lab filled with genetically-modified spiders that are producing biocable. As is often the case with people who bother animals for no reason, Peter gets bitten. Security eventually finds him and escorts him out of the building. While on the subway, he discovers that he gained far more than knowledge from his visit.
Now, I saw the 2002 Spider-Man film starring Tobey Maguire and the 2004 sequel. I liked it initially, but over time, I grew tired of it. I thought 2004’s Daredevil was a much better film, despite mixed reviews from moviegoers and critics. Not to mention, I believe Kirsten Dunst gave a less-than-stellar performance as Parker’s love interest, Mary Jane Watson. Not to mention the irony of having blonde Kirsten Dunst dye her hair red to play Mary Jane Watson and then having redhead Emma Stone dye her hair blonde to play Gwen Stacey. Forgetting all that for a second, this was a much better film than the one we got from Sam Raimi. Director Marc Webb and company have created something with a much darker, more serious tone, a better story, and a solid conclusion. I enjoyed this film very much.
Treydle
Saratoga Springs, NY
Answer
November 10, 2012
Not on Sony's payroll. Or anyone else's for that matter. As for Sam Raimi, I have great respect for his work as the writer/director of "Evil Dead 2", "Army of Darkness", and "The Hudsucker Proxy". The "Spider-Man" film series, on the other hand, turned webbing into something that just came along naturally with the spider bite and turned Mary Jane Watson into a damsel in constant distress who spoke in a whisper most of the time. Whether Dunst was chosen by Raimi or forced on him by the studio, I believe the film was worse as a result. As for having a pleasant day, while it has little if anything to do with you, that seems unlikely. At any rate, I appreciate you saying that you respect my opinion and find my comments well-written. Perhaps you could submit a question with regard to a film on which we are of like minds. To sum up, feel free to respond or not and thanks for the input.
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