Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Bruce Almighty

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 05-24-2003, 02:35 AM:

It's definitely no 'MASK' or 'Cable Guy', but it does have its moments.

Morgan Freeman is great, Jim Carrey and Jennifer Aniston are OK, but the plot just 'sucks'.

A couple scenes made me chuckle, but all in all, it's mediocre at best.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-24-2003, 06:39 AM:

I liked this more than Mask and Cable Guy! That being said, this is no Ace Ventura Pet Detective. The plot is completely predictable, just like all Hollywood films are, but there is enough humor along the way for an enjoyable 100 minutes.

(I kept wanting for Morgan Freeman to say "get busy living or get busy dying, that's God damn right" for some strange reason. [Big Grin]

)

Posted by Ron Lacheur (Member # 1126) on 05-24-2003, 04:22 PM:

Better than Cable Guy. I think Steve Oedekerk's contribution to the script really punched up the jokes alot.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-25-2003, 11:34 PM:

This is better than Cable Guy. I'm not a Jim Carey fan, but I enjoyed this. It won't win any awards, but one could do much worse than this for a fun evening out.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 05-26-2003, 12:43 AM:

Maybe I would have liked it better if I hadn't have missed the first two reels. I forgot I missed those.

Posted by Don Bruechert (Member # 1538) on 05-26-2003, 11:50 AM:

I don't especially care for Jim Carrey's style either, but I really enjoyed this movie. It was a good concept that I don't recall being done before (or for quite a while), and there were quite a few humorous moments in it where we laughed out loud. I could identify with some of the feelings in the movie as well, because some days things just don't go right, and I think the way he reacted was very similar to the way I would feel in the same circumstances. Morgan Freeman always spices up a movie, of course, and while I'm not really into the religion thing, it does have a message for those people who are always pissing and moaning about God and think they could do it better....

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 05-30-2003, 12:27 AM:

Attendance: 2003/05/29, Carmike 10, Huntsville, AL, Auditorium 1, THX/DTS, Flat

This movie exceeded my expectations. While I don't think it's Jim Carrey's best work, it's a good comedy and it had several scenes that made me laugh out loud. The rest of the audience enjoyed it too, with a good bit of laughter.

The test of how much I like a movie is after seeing it in the theatre, whether I want to see it again in the theatre, or whether I buy the DVD when it comes out. It doesn't quite hit the "want to see it again in theatres" mark, but it definitely hits the "will buy the DVD when it comes out" mark.

I've enjoyed nearly all of the Jim Carrey movies I've ever seen, and this one was no disappointment.

The presentation was marred by a DTS dropout problem every few seconds that started halfway through the movie. It wasn't just reel 3, but all reels thereafter. Most of the second half of the movie played in analog that had a distracting mild "talking under water" effect, as I mentioned in another thread about the DTS problem many are encountering with this movie.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 05-30-2003, 02:08 AM:

I liked this movie. During one scene in the movie I laughed myself to tears -so yes- I guess I liked it.
[Smile]

Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 05-30-2003, 03:39 AM:

This was by far my favorite Jim Carey movie...but with that being said, the only other one I liked was The Grinch.

There were many moments where I actually laughed out-loud and you really can't get me to do that too often...so, yeah I liked it! [Big Grin]

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 06-01-2003, 07:41 PM:

We just saw it and had fun with it.
Go see it for a throw away afternoon.

Posted by Brian Zeisler (Member # 1333) on 06-04-2003, 04:30 AM:

i havent seen it yet, but i hear that there is some phone number that people are calling that is given out during the movie that is supposed to be some direct line to god. any truth to this rumor???

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-04-2003, 09:42 AM:

Yes indeed it is true. I called up God just last night. It's toll-free too! Call 1-800-YOU-ARE-GULLIBLE
[Roll Eyes]

This is a movie review forum Brian.

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 06-05-2003, 04:08 PM:

The best part of this enjoyable romp is the scene with Steven Corell from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", when he is forced to "alter" his speech live on camera.

You could hear people gasping for breath from laughing too hard.

Dave

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 06-08-2003, 01:19 AM:

I am probably in the minority of people who actually think the Cable Guy is one of the better movies not only for Carrey but also for Mathew Broderick. Ben Stiller did a very good job directing that movie. Cable Guy has at least 3 sequences of pure genius compared to the typical Carrey movie which have funny scenes, but which are hardly funny for the entire sequence.
Personally, it is my favorite Carrey comedy and I hope Stiller and Carrey can get together on another movie.

Tom Shadyac,on the other hand, is one of the most annoying directors in Hollywood. I wanted that kid in Liar Liar to die and the director of that movie was Shadyac who really kills all the humor in his movies with over the top sappiness.

Bruce Almighty: The movie was OK, but it is more of a video rental. The movie never really approaches the energy of the trailer opening where Carrey lip synchs to that early 90s dance tune " ive got the power" or soemthing. The funnier moments are all shown in the trailer with the exception of Steven Correl's meltdown in the studio. The rest of the movie is just slow moving small town cliche ridden crap. A good cast was wasted. You would think they writers could think of funnier things that Carrey could do with his powers.

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 06-08-2003, 01:32 PM:

A hint of hostility there? [Mad]

Take a breather man [Eek!]

or get some [sleep]

, or you just might bust a nut or something, which could keep you from [sex]

.

I think regardless of the horrible shameful sweetness of this film, it still made UNgodly money [thumbsup]

.

Dave

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 06-13-2003, 07:17 PM:

AMC Hamilton, 6/8, 6:45 PM show. Hall #10, attendance ~60.

Tom Shadyac is the perfect director for this kind of movie. When he's on board he lets the star do his thing. The audience does the rest and tells everybody to see it. Patch Adams was a bitchin' disco time -- it wouldn't have worked had anyone other than Shadyac directed it.

Bruce Almighty is set up just like Patch Adams: Zany main character, a little sweetness on the inside, location for added flavor. Jennifer Aniston was good early but wimped out after halfway. Morgan Freeman was good all the way through.

Recommended for this weekend and all others as well.

Presentation: Image spot on with random negative dirt. Sound was excellent in SDDS [Big Grin]

Ah, the joy of seeing a movie at an AMC.

The first note of the Universal theme did get clipped because of the way the booth spliced the attached trailer (The Hulk).

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 06-14-2003, 07:56 PM:

Had to tech screen this the other night (opens next Thursday) as Buena Vista advised that 'somewhere' they believed there may be an Italian reel 5 in their batch of prints.

So, I did and must say that I don't always enjoy Carey's films (Me, Myself and Irene being the worst I've seen of his) I really did enjoy this one. It's obviously at its funniest when he's trying out his powers and seeing what he can do. Tends to falter in the third act as he 'redeems' himself but does end up recovering well.

Interesting note is that D.O.P. is Dean Semler, the Aussie who lensed Dances With Wolves and walked away with an Oscar for his effort. This one though (and it must be a director influence as Liar Liar had it too) looks like it is shot as a Seinfeld TV episode. In particular, any scene outside the apartment where Bruce is acting with the dog to get the dog to pee outside. The lighting is just unnatural and looks plain odd.

For me, I'll give it 3 out of 4. You could do a lot worse...just open the newspaper and point at any other film in release.

Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 06-30-2003, 02:38 PM:

[Smile]

Hehe

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3033576.stm

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 06-30-2003, 02:43 PM:

My favorite part was when he found out he didn't get the job and started taking off on that old woman like she was from Titanic. Thought I would fall out of my chair

Posted by Per Hauberg (Member # 529) on 06-30-2003, 07:06 PM:

quote:
Maybe I would have liked it better if I hadn't have missed the first two reels. I forgot I missed those.

Hopefully, You were not the man running the film.... [Big Grin]

Posted by Peter Berrett (Member # 672) on 06-30-2003, 10:01 PM:

Just an average comedy film. It doesn't really cover any new territory and the jokes and plot are reasonably predictable. Still, its not boring. A useful film on a weekend if you have nothing better to do.

Verdict: 6/10 stars

cheers Peter

Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 06-30-2003, 11:26 PM:

I believe someone wrote an instruction book a few years ago entitled "How To Make a Comedy Movie Starring Jim Carrey"

This film follows it practically to the letter.

But it's still funny. Very funny. Got more laughs out of it than some other "comedies" I've seen lately.

** 1/2 (Out of 4)

Presentation:
Regal People's Plaza 17
Picture: * (Platter scratches all the way through, focus porblems, dirt (very noticeable against white))
Sound: SR-D ***

Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 07-17-2003, 08:05 AM:

quote:
My favorite part was when he found out he didn't get the job and started taking off on that old woman like she was from Titanic. Thought I would fall out of my chair

Best use of a single F-word in a PG-13 movie ever!! [Smile]