No one's got time to read in-depth reviews of everything. '100 Word Reviews' is here so you can know just enough about everything to make an informed decision.
You'll find that all the reviews at '100 Word Reviews' are 100% accurate - on word count, that is - actual opinions may vary.
If you've got anything to say, or something you want me to review, just drop me a line at 100wordreviews.net@gmail.com
Much like ‘Transformers II’, ‘G.I. Joe’ is a movie that is much more entertaining than critics would lead you to believe. Sure it makes little to no sense to a rational viewer, with sinking icebergs, spontaneous underwater fires, and nanobots that previously only destroyed cancer cells but have been specifically engineered to destroy everything instead. But that’s not the point – there are also ninja fight scenes, experimental fighter planes, and some nice eye-candy for both the boys (with Rachel Nichols and Sienna Millar) and Channing Tatum for the girls. As far as popcorn entertainment goes, this is a solid player.
With a killer indie rock backing track, ‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist’ tells the story of awkward teenage sexual attraction on a New York City night. Michael Cera and Kat Dennings play their roles well, and the main issue with the movie seems to be how they’ve cut and re-arranged the sub-stories within Rachel Cohn and David Levithan’s novel of the same name. As a result, the film suffers from jolted pacing and a couple of scenes that leave you thinking, “Wait, what just happened then?” Aside from this, however, the film is quite a light and enjoyable theatrical romp.
So much for just keeping getting better. Now that we’ve hit the fourth season of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ you can really feel momentum slow down. The episodes start to drag in a manner than they’ve never done in previous seasons, and a couple of episodes have so little substance that they could have been a subplot in another episode. Sure, it must have been difficult dealing with pregnancies in both your female leads, but that really doesn’t excuse such degradation in writing quality. With less interruptions during creation of season five, let’s hope they get back on track.
While they do have the very best of intentions, the main problem with Rinaldo’s is that they need to train their staff. When queried as to the variety of dips on the antipasto entrée, we were informed they were “a bit of everything”; and whilst charming, I’m happy for you to tell me which part of the duck the dish uses, rather than pointing it out on your own body. Other issues, such as mains being brought out during entrée were quickly and adequately solved, and the food was great. Fresh produce and skilful preparation made for very nice dishes.
The selection of double-edge safety razors available in Australia isn’t huge, with the Premax being the best quality available at Shaver Shop. From what I’ve heard, it’s not great for beginners, and although I don’t have much to compare it to, I can certainly feel that it’s rather aggressive. It feels nice in the hands, though, and the weighting is great. The grip on the tip of the handle works well to force a light touch, that lets the heavy head of this three piece razor do all the work at the end. And the chrome finish looks very classy.
Here’s a case in point for managing expectations before you see a movie. I’d been told over and over again that ‘The Hangover’ was amazing, and one of the funniest movies for the past few years. Honestly, I actually did think it was reasonably funny – the characters are good, there were some memorable moments and quotes, and I like the idea of a bachelor party movie that doesn’t actually show the party. Despite this, I didn’t think it lived up to all the hype. For a similar class of humour, I’d watch something like ‘Super Troopers’ over this, any day.
Earlier than I’d like on a Sunday morning in September, I took part in my first proper running race. The Sri Chinmoy group puts on a variety of casual sporting competitions all around the world, including about a dozen races in Victoria. It’s a nice group of people, and the setup is easy to work out, even on your first run. I was a little surprised to realise that the “aid stations every 2.5K”, was just the one station that the laps kept running past, but the effect was the same. Oh, and sub-48mins for the 10K, if you’re interested.
There’s not much wrong with Sugo. The décor’s nice, with wooden tables, a clean kitchen opening onto the dining area, and chalkboards showing the wine list. The food’s the same, too. Great saganaki, tender marinated calamari (that could have used a few more spices in the marinade), fresh pasta with soft, shredded duck and mushrooms, and spring flavoured risotto with chicken, bacon and leek. Unfortunately, there’s not much that really stands out over a lot of other restaurants. I’m not disappointed that I tried it, but next time I’m looking for this kind of dinner, I won’t drive as far.
I have a feeling that as this film centres around relationships and a wedding, then it has to come under the banner of ‘chick-flick’. But don’t let that put you off. ‘I Love You, Man’ is quite a good movie. It’s the interactions between characters that makes this film so funny. Paul Rudd and Jason Segal have great timing, and their work with the supporting characters like J.K. Simmons’ unappreciative father, and Jon Favreau’s school-yard bully persona make for some stunning awkwardness. It’s a wholly likeable film, and worth suggesting when you’re girlfriend wants one of her types of movies.
It’s lucky that Top Gear started off as such a good show, because now that it’s getting a bit “samey”, it’s actually holding up well. Nothing was particularly different in season 13 (aside from a somewhat lacklustre faux-“revealing” of Michael Schumacher as The Stig in the first episode), but there were certainly highlights. Jay Leno is the pick of the guests, as he discusses his 150 cars, but just one wife. The challenges, on the other hand, start well (Clarkson shovelling coal in a replica ’49 steam train) but get more ridiculous and, unfortunately, more boring as the season progresses.
