Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 19:47:38

The MisAdventures of Sharkbait and Lava-lamp

Hello Earth, Hello Earth. This is 'Fool' from the Planet Drool. Can you hear me? Let me tell you about this movie. I basically dove into it expecting the comedy of George Lopez under the fine direction of Robert Rodriguez. It didn't happen however, due to the fact that the movie was artificially pumped up with trailer promises and later deflated by a script that was probably reworked from something Roger Corman threw away outside the studio. To begin, am I the only person here on this planet who can see that the storyline is totally lifted from "THE NEVERENDING STORY"? Note the following similarities between this movie and Wolfgang Petersen's work: 1) Problems at school, 2) problems with home, 3) needs a book to escape reality, 4) ends up in dreamland where he meets familar people, and 5) finally saves dreamland (Planet Drool) from the darkness! This is not to mention that the ICE PRINCESS is dressed exactly the same in both movies. But let's not dwell on unoriginality - many a good picture have taken from tried and proven themes (although not so liberally taken) and made a go of it. What bites worst of all in this movie is the utter vacuum it creates in what I want to say is 'continuity' but which really is probably due to the missing pieces of the script. Excellent characters, great background, great foreground, nice sets (CGI), super intro, then the actors open their mouths and you get something similar to a 6th grade holiday play or a dialogue from a "CRITTER GITTERS" episode on a Saturday afternoon. Shock doesn't even begin to describe the feeling associated with this movie which is strickly a money-maker based on the Rodriguez name. As far as acting goes, Sharkboy seems to be the real killer in this production and the boy named Max (played by Cayden Boyd) is good too (very similar to the boy, Bastion, in The Never Ending Story). Lava Girl couldn't act her way out of a paper bag - but that failing hasn't stopped Mary-Kate and Ashley in their ventures. The parents and Lopez characters are so-so, given what they are forced to say. But, the real frenzy with this movie begins with the questionable use of the name "Sharkboy". It is also the name a semi-famous pro-Wrestler who has reportedly sued Rodriguez for copyright infringement. Basically, I am giving this movie 2 stars for its hi-tech special effects and 3-D output (if you like 3-D) which are a nice touch to an otherwise average kid's flick. But even my 10 year old son showed signs of weariness and complained that it tended to be a bit "weird", so these special effects are not everything. Save yourself the trouble and the money - watch Sharkboy wrestle on TV because you know that professional TV wrestling is real.The Fool from Planet Drool signing off, now.

2012-05-25 06:27:54

Yeeesh - kids only, please

I watched this last night with my 6 and 4 year old boys. It's pretty awful. Crummy acting, dumb dialog, silly plot. There's no reason for an adult to sit through this unless the kids insist that you stay there. All that said, my kids did enjoy it, even to the point of drawing pictures about it afterward, and my wife tells me they're watching it again today. So I have to say your small kids may enjoy it too, but my advice is for adults to leave the room.

Ted 2012-05-24 18:41:09

Good for its intended audience

My 4 year old son loves this movie. It's on the "On-demand" moviechannel here and he watches it at least twice a day.I've seen 80% of it and it's harmless fun (for kids his age certainly).There are lots of imaginative things in there (like the extensioncord/wire dogs). And the storyline is fine too. I agree with the personwho compared it to The Neverending Story. It was very strange and"silly" when it came out, but now it's a children's classic (evenparodied in Family Guy!)While it's not as good as Spy Kids 1 or 2, it's on the same level asSpy Kids 3. This move is not bad at all.

kitty snaio 2012-05-24 18:01:37

Good film entire family can watch

This movie was finally what I have been looking for. And the 3-D was good too. It was very clean good fun. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a nice clean family film. My kids (a boy and a girl) really liked it too and wanted to see it again.

Scott-101 2012-05-23 17:07:55

well, at least Robert Rodriguez's son was happy

Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D: Robert Rodriguez has got to be one ofthe coolest dads in the world. His inspiration for this movie was somedrawings that his son made about two imaginary superheroes. So we knowthat this movie is appealing to at least one person, the director'sson, but that doesn't make it that great for the rest of us. There'snot a whole lot to the story, but it has a couple things going for it:For one, I thought the George Lopez role was OK, he had a good line atthe end about how a good teacher learns from his students. Also,Sharkboy and Lava Girl have a sort of neat symbiotic relationship withtheir superpowers. Mostly, the film is about the 3-D gimmick, though,which is quite an experience at times, and enhances a few of theaction's more spine-tingling moments. Could it be better served as anamusement park ride than a 2-hour movie? That's the question to beasked

lfelty 2012-05-23 05:30:01

Great for Kids

My four year old daughter loves this movie. She now has shark teeth,but shoots lava and has pink hair like lava girl. She talks to lavagirl on the phone on a daily basis. She keeps telling me I need to takeher to see it again because it will be way too long until it comes outon DVD. It is the first movie I took her to that she actually stayed inher seat. No bathroom breaks, no switching seats, etc., that is one forthe record books for my daughter. I would recommend taking your kids tosee it. I actually did not mind sitting through this one either. It isvery imaginative and promotes using your imagination. I will buy it onDVD as soon as it comes out for my daughter.

2012-05-21 18:14:38

shark boy and lava girl 3-D

My daughter loves this movie and watches it at least 3 or 4 times a day.

2012-05-21 08:53:24

LOVE THIS MOVIE!

We have been watching this movie for years at my house and now we have another round of grandchildren that just started watching it - it is so fascinating to watch all the colors and action. Kids love it and so do I!

2012-05-20 23:29:44

COOL!

My brother has this for his PSP! It is a really cute movie my favrite charicter is (SHARKBOY) and (ICE PRINCESS). Amber Mazzola From Howell NJ

2012-05-20 08:57:12

only for kids!

This review is from: The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D also includes 2d version (DVD) my child is 5 and loves it,i've tried to watch it entirely....it's definitely only for kids!!!!

2012-05-19 23:15:45

Ummm...

A Kid's Review, This UMD IS the 3-d Version. It comes with 4 pairs of 3-d glasses.

David Nelson Certified Senior Health Coach 2012-05-19 09:40:26

Everyone on the Planet should see this! Why?

I must say this is probably the best and most important film for Kids (and adults that are too grown up), I've ever seen in my life.I am partial to any film that that demonstrates a context of "Heal my Enemy", see ****.com I've never seen a film bring that context to life.This film is filled with the kind of messages and contexts I WANT MY KIDS TO UNDERSTAND AND EMBRACE.Some of the acting isn't the best, but remember this was designed for kids - so it has the flow and energy of a video game. Most kids get bored during kid's movies, my 6 year old was tuned in for the entire duration.As an adult, yea, some stuff cheezey, but kids love Cheezey!!Our world needs a new Dream, kids need a new dream and if you can let yourself be a kid for the duration of this movie you may just find answers for your life, our country and our planet.The best film of the year. I hope it is recognized for the amazing kids film it is.Not perfect, but it gets an A+ because of it's messages and contexts are transformational. I hope hollywood produces more films of this message context which is beyond shoot-em up, war, good vs evil, and things, this is the first time that a different context has been introduced. Yea, some of it obvious for us adults. This film introduces powerfuls contexts that can change lives, that can change our communities, and our planet - if the principles are understood and applied.I'd say ages 6 on up. There is a lot of action, and it's not about care bears, has video game level themes (action/adventure) which may not be appropriate for pre-school kids, unless they are already introduced to "fight the bad guy" type gaming.If you didn't like the film, there probably is a message or two for you there.- David****.com ****.com ****.com (stop Corporate Corruption)

2012-05-18 08:41:25

Very pleased!

This review is from: The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) My son has been begging me to find this movie since he saw it on nick at night. To get it on blu-ray proved to be a bonus. He watches it every chance he gets and loves it.Thank you very much for making this available.

2012-05-17 22:24:28

Can't believe some of the negatives I am reading

My husband rented this film for our 3 year old daughter on PPV. I initially rolled my eyes, because it looked like a typical goofy movie to me. Incidently, I was NOT a fan of Spykids. As I sat down to watch this movie with my daughter, we were both captivated (we did not see it in 3D). The creativity that went into this film was amazing. I can honestly say it was enjoyable. BTW - Shark Boy & Lava Girl were supposed to "over-act". They were based on the superheros in Max's dream. They reminded me of the way hero's acted in the 50's, it was refreshing to see actually. Are we really so jaded as a society that we can't handle a little corny old fashioned super hero every now & then? Think Buzz lightyear, also based on those old super heros! Anyway, my daughter sat and watched the entire movie, and raved about it afterwards. I think this one will be a classic, we are definately buying it.

2012-05-15 02:48:47

Very Impressive, Especially For A Kid's Movie

I saw some of the most highly anticipated movies of this summer. "Batman Begins", "Fantastic Four", and, of course, "Star Wars: Episode III." Ironically, I didn't leave the theater after any of those movies, even "Star Wars", feeling as awestruck as I did after walking out of "Shark Boy and Lava Girl."Wait! I know what you're thinking. "I'd rather see Batman or Star Wars or the Fantastic Four." By all means, see those movies. You'll get your money's worth. Just don't overlook this movie as being some stupid kiddie movie. I went to see it with my little brother, and I was glad I did.Of course, the thing that distinguishes this movie from all the other summer films is the 3D part. Only the genius of Robert Rodriguez could resurrect 3D movie. When they were first invented, the 3D was to impress adults, and the plots were preposterous in order to accommodate objects hurtling out of the screen. It makes more sense to have a 3D kid's movie, where a preposterous plot is acceptable and where you'd expect random objects to fly at you. The 3D element is even better this time than in Rodriguez's last attempt, "Spy Kids 3D." The scenes seem to have actual depth and width and, from aerial shots, height. The 3D becomes more and more impressive as the movie progresses. All of the really good effects, those where you'd swear the object was actually floating just a couple of rows in front of you, are saved until the end. The movie also gives you more to think about than most summer movies, even without the 3D element. There's a Freudian theme about what causes dreams and how fantasy can affect reality. There's also a few messages about growing up kids can take home with them (along with their 3D glasses.)The movie has a lot in common with "Spy Kids 3D." There's a 3D prologue, a 2D introduction to the characters, a 3D alternate dimension that a child travels to, and a 3D villain that makes his way into the 2D world for a final showdown. This time, the villain becomes 2-dimensional in the 2D world, but it feels like you're still experiencing depth and width even after you take your 3D glasses off. "Spy Kids 3D" had Sylvester Stallone in multiple roles. "Shark Boy and Lava Girl" has George Lopez, who may lack the star power but not the talent. In his different roles he portrays alternately warmth, cold, villainy, and wisdom.

2012-05-14 16:42:02

terrible

You can't call it anything else but terrible. Once It got to the end of movie when Max discovers it's just a dream,it get's really stupid. The story is intresting,but gets way off at lots of parts. One,who thought of a brainstorm,that was stupid. Robert Rodriguez did terrible too. The acting was made out of poo. There's no bright colors because the bad guy wants "darkness". Don't see it,rent it or think about it. Dream about another dream like burn this movie up and buy a stick. Don't get this movie period.

2012-05-14 05:28:40

My son says thank you!

This movie is exactly what my three year old wanted. It has imagination, Super Heroes, Bad Guys and lots of laughs! Plus this is the first time my son got to see "3-D" thanks to the second disk (3-D version)and set of four "3-D" glasses that were included. Moderation keeps me from letting him watch it repeatedly everyday because he constantly asks to. This DVD set is good clean fun for the family.

sdoughman1 2012-05-13 14:29:14

" Horrible special effects and broken storyline..."

I recently just finished watching the movie "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava girl". I have sisters and I managed to catch the moviewith them while I was bored, and words can't describe how much I havecome to hate this movie.The movie involves a boy who's emotions inexplicably shift during themovie, a villain who clearly has George Lopez's face pasted in themiddle, and a little kid with a mow-hawk for a villain. The movie isalmost entirely shot in front of a green screen, and it shows.Sometimes the acting is poor and sometimes it isn't, and theenvironment looks so bad that it made me want to puke, especiallybecause the background rarely matched up with the actors. The layoutfor the entirely computer-generated world seemed to have been chosen atrandom by a pre-schooler. I won't reveal the ending, if a viewer canmake it that far, but it makes zero sense.The acting is sub-par, George Lopez wasn't meant to be a villain, or acomedian but that's my opinion. Shark boy and Lava girl do OK, but theytake themselves to seriously. The entire environment is to serious forit's own good. Most of the non-title characters did a poor job, and thevillain would hardly even qualify as bad, in a villain sense, not anacting sense. Some say that the 3-D version of the movie drained the color, and thatwould explain how the movie managed to be so colorful, but have such adull environment.The story-line is so broken down, twisted, and out of whack that by theend of the movie, you can hardly even describe what happens. I will tryto describe this to the best of my ability. There is a boy named Maxwho is obsessed with dreaming and creativity, and is scolded for it. Hewrites all of his dreams down in a little dream journal, which isvandalized by a bully named Linus. His teacher doesn't like him and oneday during school, Shark boy and Lava girl show up out of a tornado andare real somehow. They take him to the Planet Drool to help them saveit. They go on several adventures, with little continuity, eventuallytrying to save the world in time from Linus (clearly inspired by thebully as they are played by the same actor), as well as trying to finda purpose in Drool for an over-emotional Lava Girl. I won't reveal theend, but it's anti-climactic, and is really when the movie takes anose-dive into the trash-heap of poor movies.In short, the movie sucked, and my little sisters spent all of theirtime during the movie, either making fun of the poor green screening,or the main character Max. So this movie isn't for kids, it isn't foranybody because it sucked. The only reason to watch this abomination ofmankind, is the fact that Taylor Lautner is Shark boy. I am not aTwilight fan, but it's funny to see the kick-flipping actor at twelveyears old, kick flipping some really bad looking bad guys. That is theonly reason I gave this movie a two, that and George Lopez.

2012-05-11 16:22:27

Fun all around

Bought this for a picky child, who LOVED IT. Lots of fun for all to view as family. One doesnot need to use 3-D method, which gives me a headache. The 2-D version on DVD,was great.

Curious 2012-05-11 09:35:52

What's the big deal?

I'm sixteen years old. Overall, I liked the movie. Perhaps I'm tooeasily amused/pleased, maybe it was because I saw the movie in 2-Dfirst, and haven't seen the whole movie in 3-D; but I thoughteverything was pretty good.True, the 3-D animation wasn't up to par, and the plot was made forkids, but what else is there to really complain about? This movie isabout a boy and his dream becoming reality; what's wrong with the idea?Exuse me, but this is the first time I've heard of a boy dreaming ofSharkboy and Lavagirl and having them interact in real life; so I don'tunderstand claims of it being "un-original".The acting was great! I loved the kids (Taylor Lautner had sometalented moves, Taylor Dooley was very pretty, Cayden Boyd has greatpotential for more, and Jacob Davich was a great bully-turned-good.They all performed well; never awkward or out of character.) If someonecan give me an actual example of "poor acting" by the young actors,please let me know.The fact that the storyline was made up by Robert Rodriguez's sevenyear-old son, Racer Max, is ever better. He had some good ideas for itto be made into a big-screen movie. This film was made to entertainchildren and to encourage them to use their imaginations and continuedreaming. As Lavagirl so cleverly put, "Everything that is or was,began with a dream..." Successful doctors, police officers, and firemenhad their dream. Writers, actors, musical performers, and sportathletes had their dream. Even rich/stingy/old crab-apples had theirown dreams when they were children (despite whether or not they cametrue). Why stop dreaming just because you "grew up"? I am one who strongly believes in the imagination, dreams, fairy tales,and magic in general. Some may call me naive, but you know what? I likelife better this way. There is no scientific proof or otherwise thatdeclares that having "childhood fantasies", dreams, and an imaginationharms any part of life or lifestyle. Kids, teenagers, and adults thatmay laugh or shake their heads on believing in fantasies and dreams,only had their own smashed and have nothing else better to do than ruinothers.So I'm doing the "idiotic thing", and I'm encouraging kids, teenagers,and adults alike to go on dreaming and believing. You don't have to,but that's just my little advice I can attempt to offer anyone who iswilling to take it. If you are not into dreams, fantasies, imagination,and believing (even for a moment) in the "impossible", then DO NOTWATCH THIS MOVIE. It wasn't made for you, so don't waste your own time,money, and breath to watch the film and criticize about it later.