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All About Steve, a review by Dragonfire

Since I tend to like Sandra Bullock, I decided to go see All About Steve even though I wasn't sure about it when I first saw previews.  I enjoyed the movie overall, but it isn't one for everyone.

Mary works constructing crossword puzzles for a newspaper, which is the perfect job for her since she loves the puzzles.  She knows all sorts of things that seem like useless trivia, but end up helping in various situations.  She had babble on about the things she knows, which turns some people off.  Some people even think she is crazy because of that.  She has moved back in with her parents temporally, and they set her up on a blind date with Steve, a cameraman for a news network.  Mary almost cancels the date, but she decides to go through with it and she is immediately attracted to Steve so much that she retreats to her room to adjust her outfit before they leave.  Once in the car, she pounces on him and while he is liking it at first, he quickly decides that she is nuts and fakes a call from work, saying he has to go to Boston to cover a story.  Mary believes they are starting a relationship and see takes an off hand comment he made literally and decides to follow him so they can be together.

This movie isn't going to appeal to everyone for a few reasons.  First of all, it is basically about a stalker, though she is more of a harmless stalker than a crazy dangerous stalker.  Second, there is some rather odd stuff going on and Mary herself is a bit odd even before she decides to chase after Steve.  Those things are going to turn some viewers off.  I did think the movie was entertaining.  There is a decent amount of humor, including several very funny moments that weren't in the trailers.  Some of the humor is a bit silly, which is another thing that will turn off some viewers. 

The movie might be considered a romantic comedy, but there really is only a tiny touch of romance to what is going on.  For me, the movie is just a comedy.  Most of the movie is focused on Mary chasing after Steve and the bizarre situations she ends up in.  I did like Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper in their parts.  Fans of the cast may find something enjoy.

I would give the movie 3.5 stars.

I did get a review up on Epinions.

All About Steve

(From All About Steve on September 13th, 2009)

Son of the Mask, a review by addicted2comics

The Plot: After wearing the Mask to a Halloween party, an aspiring cartoonist impregnates his wife, allowing the baby to have the power of the Mask. At the same time, Loki, Norse God of Mischief and creator of the Mask, comes after the baby to find the Mask himself.

My Thoughts: I heard other reviewers said they didn't like this movie. That it strayed too far away from what the Mask originally was. Though this is kinda out there, even for what began with a comic book, I'd have to disagree. The Mask, though originally portrayed as edgy and violent, is about what you've been hiding on the inside and the Mask releasing it. This movie did so, as a baby would come to it. In essence, the hard to swallow bit for the fans of the Mask, though they may not realize this is it, is the fact that there is a baby present, and what he is like inside is how he's gonna be, which would DEFINITELY not that violent!!

I have to say, I love the angle on Norse mythology. Odin, Loki, Boulder, and even Thor! (Heck, that's given me such an idea, I'm currently working on writing at crossover event at Marvel.com between Thor and the Mask!! ) Like anything, the existing legend gives it a base of reality to sink in. Like, what if this really happened? I know I wouldn't hesitate to put it on!!   

Some elements in the movie could use a little more help, though. Just the little inconsistencies, nothing major. Like, how did Tim fax his drawings when Alvy smashed it? How did Tim make his own cartoon when he was thrown out of the board meeting? How did the dog get his paws on the Mask at the end? (Ok, not so much that one, I know it's just for humor, but stay with me here! ) Like I said, nothing major, but I have an eye for the little things.

All in all, it's a great movie. Full of laughs, family values and all that. I'd say it's about a 4.5 out of 5 movie.

(From The Mask Marathon on July 11th, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

GTO: 1st Semester (1999/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 0 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

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Plot:
Meet Eikichi Onizuka, a 22-year-old virgin and ex-biker. He's crude, foul-mouthed, and has a hair-trigger temper. His goal: to be the Greatest High School Teacher in the World! Wait, what?!? GTO is the fan-favorite story of Onizuka, a former motorcycle gang member whose goal is to become a teacher to make a difference. Once he's got his foot in the school door...can he squeeze his big head through it?

Watch in awe as Onizuka pummels through his teacher training only to be faced with the mammoth task of actually landing a teaching position. With unusual circumstances on his side, he just might pull it off. Using his street smarts to deal with colleagues, students, and troublemakers, Onizuka finds that he has too many lessons to learn!


Great Teacher Onizuka
1.01 GTO - The Legend Begins
Writer: Tohru Fujisawa (Original Material By), Masashi Sogo (Writer)
Director: Noriyuki Abe, Naoyasu Hanyu
Cast: Japanese Voice Cast), Wataru Takagi (Eikichi Onizuka (voice)), Isshin Chiba (Ryuji Danma (voice)), Yuko Miyamura (Nanako Mizuki (voice)), Shinichiro Miki (Hidero Ohsawa (voice)), Kiyoyuki Yanada (Nanako's Father (voice)), Astuko Tanaka (Nanako's Mother (voice)), Emi Kobayashi (Takahama (voice)), Haruhi Terada (Momoi (voice)), Tomiko Orikasa (Mikan (voice)), Satohiko Nakajima (Homeroom Teacher (voice)), Kazuhiro Oguro (Punk in Class O (voice)), Kosuke Okano (Punk in Class O (voice)), Hisao Egawa (Punk in Class O (voice)), Kenji Hamada (Street Punk (voice)), Tomoki Yanagi (Student (voice)), Ayako Kawasumi (Young Wife (voice)), English Voice Cast), David Lucas (Eikichi Onizuka (voice)), Ron Allen (Ryuji Danma (voice)), Cindy Robinson (Nanako Mizuki (voice)), Ron Allen (Hidero Ohsawa (voice)), John Smallberries (Nanako's Father (voice)), Wendee Lee (Nanako's Mother (voice)), Wendee Lee (Takahama (voice)), Cindy Robinson (Momoi (voice)), Midge Mayes (Mikan (voice)), David Lucas (Homeroom Teacher (voice)), John Smallberries (Punk in Class O (voice)), David Lucas (Punk in Class O (voice)), Ron Allen (Punk in Class O (voice)), John Smallberries (Street Punk (voice)), Ron Allen (Student (voice)), Cindy Robinson (Young Wife (voice))

This anime is good. Though I prefer the live-action series. The anime follows the manga more closely though. Funnily it incoporates a few ideas the live-action series came up with.
The pilot episode is a double-length episode. It covers about the same story as the first live-action episode. Only here Onizuka starts out as a student teacher at another school which he finishes successfully in this episode. This means that the student that he helps here will not be part of the series after this episode. In the live-action version she was. She was his biggest supporter there.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 28th, 2011)