And you know what? This is how I ended up rating them both on Netflix:
That's right, bitches. 4 stars for both. They're the same in my book and I admit that probably removes me from anyone's movie recommendation list.
But here's the deal ... "Penguins" is good. Don't get me wrong. But to me, it ended really abruptly. The young penguins jump into the water and that's the end. Am I twisted because I wanted to see some of them have to swim for their lives from the jaws of a waiting seal? Probably. But, I knew that it's something that happens. To me, the story of survival for these things just wasn't quite done yet. Some of them don't make it past that first jump. But, that wasn't in the film and it strangely left me feeling like the end of the movie was a bit rushed and a bit glorified. So, because that's how it ended up making me feel, it gets 4 stars instead of the full 5.
And Dukes of Hazzard ... Well, to be honest, it's not that bad. In fact, it's actually one of the most faithful TV-to-movie translations I think I've ever seen. Charlie's Angels and Starsky & Hutch were radically different. The Dukes, however, was pretty dead on. Insane car chases, exploding arrow-shooting, moonshine running, The General Lee, and freeze frame moments where goofy narration kicks in - all of it is actually done really faithfully to the original show.
And I'll admit it, I liked the show a lot when I was a kid. So, to me, it was like watching a pretty decent tribute to a show I remember fondly. Admittedly, the acting in the original show is much better (Jessica Simpson was really god awful). But I expected total crap and was pleasantly surprised. Giving it 3 stars seemed to say "I was neutral on this." And in the end, I wasn't. So, I gave it 4 stars. Believe me, I've seen much worse.
Anyway, feel free to never ask me for a movie recommendation. My feelings won't be hurt.
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1 comment:
Sadly, I feel the exact same way. I wasn't as revolted by Dukes as I thought I would be, even with the topless sorority girls and pot jokes. Although, I did unapologetically get up and take breaks from the movie, asking you to "just fill me in on what happens." ;)
And March of the Penguins was a great documentary. It was artistic and beautiful in some places (like penguin courtship -- seriously, that was SO sweet), but a little too Disney/safe/family-friendly in others (like when the big nasty bird of prey comes to eat up a baby penguin... no blood, no more penguin whining). It was a little ... Pearl Harbor-ish.
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Remember that movie? When all those soldiers were blown up and off the ship, followed by the bird's eye view of the dozens of soldiers floating in the water, their uniforms still patriotically crisp and white? Weird.
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Anyway, all in all, it made me feel a little bit bad that there are plenty of equally awesome documentaries shown on the Discovery Channel each month, and yet this particular one got all the attention.
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