(2012-04-25 03:14:56)

Ship really does happen...

Jack Black is one of those actors/musicians that you either like somewhat or hate with a passion. There really is no middle ground. For me, Jack Black the actor will best be known for Be Kind Rewind, the Kung Fu Panda films, Saving Silverman, and High Fidelity while Jack Black the musician kind of lost his mojo after the first Tenacious D record (which is still a favorite amongst friends). Truth be told, Black seems to be at his best when he's not confined to the limits of family entertainment or at least has some room to stretch in a PG-13 environment. Gulliver's Travels actually feels like a Jack Black movie despite its family friendly rating, but that still can't save the fact that it's a fairly horrid experience overall.Gulliver (Black) works in the mail room and comes to the realization that he's not going anywhere in life. He finds himself on the way to The Bermuda Triangle after informing the office travel editor, Darcy Silverman (Amanda Peet), that he's this supremely gifted (plagiarized) writer. On his journey there, Gulliver wakes up on the island of Liliput which is filled with nothing but tiny people. As a giant amongst mere men, Gulliver sees this as a chance to start over and be the "big man" for once. He soon learns that the size of a person isn't always an accurate portrayal of how big they really are.For a movie being marketed towards children, it was kind of shocking what actually made it into the film. There's an entire conversation centered on the term, "lame ass," which is blurted several times throughout the entire two minute conversation. Can you remember the last time Mickey Mouse called Donald Duck a "dumb ass?" I sure can't (that "South Park" episode doesn't count). After a fire breaks out in Liliput, Gulliver thinks on his feet er...with his groin and puts out the fire by urinating on it as well as a handful of tiny people in the process. When all else fails, when you have a problem you're having a difficult time resolving, just piss on it as well as everyone around you. That's pretty much what you'll take away from the segment. And did they really squeeze the phrase, "skeet skeet," into a family movie? Really?! That's pretty insane. What's even more ludicrous is what the film followed that part of the conversation up with; "ship happens." It sure does, Gulliver. It sure does.You can probably accept the way the movie begins; mostly because it actually looks and feels like the way Jack Black wakes up every morning. Walking around without pants on, re-enacting Star Wars with action figures, and mixing coffee and creamer in the filter to make coffee all seem like something the Jack Black people have gone to see on-screen the past fifteen years would do. That's kind of the only good thing about Gulliver's Travels. It does feel like it's Jack Black approved and authenticated by the man himself, which it probably was since he also produced it. The movie is based on the Jonathan Swift novel of the same name, which was written in 1726. But the movie gives no on-screen credit to the novel and that should be the first sign that you should probably abandon ship before you even board.The bottom line is Gulliver's Travels isn't funny. Not even a little bit. It's just toilet humor and expensive special effects colliding together while Jack Black shoves his goofy antics down your throat. The guy passes out after he falls on his backside, which is honestly something I've never seen before this movie. While Black does look to be having fun in the role, it just doesn't translate very well. These tiny people build Gulliver a life size home in less than seven days, which doesn't seem very logical. Forcing Horatio (Jason Segel) to recite Prince's "Kiss" while trying to woo Princess Mary (Emily Blunt) probably should've been more entertaining than it was. Jack Black can sing. He has the talent and the ability, but he's one of those performers that's better heard rather than seen. Him singing "War" at the end of the movie really should've just played over the credits rather than be an in-movie, choreographed with tiny people music video. Was Emily Blunt being awful on purpose? She was just horrendous at times. Plus she dropped out of Iron Man 2 for this? Somebody explain that to me.Gulliver's Travels is more than likely just as bad as the unfortunate soul that actually sat through it told you it was, if not worse. Jack Black does try to carry the film the best that he can, but it all crumbles once he literally and figuratively urinates all over everything. Throw in a giant robot and Black's butt crack and it's immediately labeled as something you should probably never sit through. Ever. Although featuring some well done special effects, any little bit of good Gulliver's Travels once had is massively outweighed by bad acting, weak story points, and humor that's more disgusting than it needs to be.

Daniel M. Kimmel

(2012-04-24 14:13:52)

From the insipid script to Black's inability to convey a character with whom even the least grinchy among us might sympathize, it's just one wrong move after another.

(2012-04-23 03:50:58)

Fun Family Movie -- The Young Critics in My Home Loved It!

This review is from: Gulliver's Travels (Amazon Instant Video) When my two children (ages 9 and 10) saw the previews for this movie, they really wanted to see it. However, when I saw all the negative reviews, I wouldn't take them. Then when it came out on rental, I still was highly hesitant to rent it. However, I decided to give in to them last night, and I'm very glad I did. The movie is a really fun, perfect family flick that can even be sweet at times. As someone who frequently fears taking chances in life, I greatly appreciates the dilemmas of Jack Black's character. Further, I am floored that so many people find the scene with Gulliver putting out a fire with yes, his urine, so incredibly offensive! Sure, it's silly but how is it that people find that so offensive but movies that show flying body parts and sadistic violence to be worthy of 4 stars and Academy Award recognition? This movie is great for what it is -- a fun, light-hearted family flick. My children loved it so much that we are now watching it for the second night in a row! (considering that I recently purchased them many new movies, this says a lot that they only wanted to see this movie again!). I am going to purchase this movie, along with Yogi Bear (which, contrary to professional opinion, they also really enjoyed), and vow never to pay attention to a movie critic again!

Stella Papamichael

(2012-04-22 19:05:50)

Like Black, the story sags in the middle. Still, he's an irresistible force of nature.

(2012-04-19 12:37:41)

Uncalled for adult action in film not for kids to view. Not funny.

This review is from: Gulliver's Travels [Blu-ray 3D] (Blu-ray) Gullivers Travels Blu-ray 3D was bought to view time a honored title. Why they allowed the prime actor to urinate all over the little people is sickening. That should have been edited out. That completely distroyed the story content. As for 3D action it was fine. Adult humor is one thing but not jammed down young childrens minds.

(2012-04-19 02:46:06)

Gulliver's Travels

I am sorry to start by saying that `Gulliver's Travels' was quite a disappointing film.This follows Gulliver, played by Jack Black, after he gets lost at sea and wakes up in the land of Lilliput surrounded by people a fraction of his size. He uses his size and strength to assist them and becomes an integral part of their lives.The premise is sound enough, but the execution is sadly lacking. Jack Black plays the role as he has numerous roles before and you can see he isn't stretched or tested in any way. You can only watch so many film where he gurns and plays air guitar before it wears a bit thin. The rest of the cast, which includes some great British names, are all rather wooden and the dialogue is atrocious.Thankfully the effects are reasonable and this also has a decent soundtrack which helps redeem it. I guess this film is aimed more towards a child audience and they may well enjoy it more than my wife and I did. We were glad it was just under 90 minutes and whilst it isn't the worst film I've ever seen, it isn't a good film either. You can quite happily watch it and not be overly offended, but I'm guessing this isn't a film that warrants repeat viewings.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

Kyle Smith

(2012-04-15 20:08:33)

Black was already the world's biggest little kid, and he might be the only actor who could have made this movie such nimble fun. No matter how thin the concept, Black always manages to make it his own.

(2012-04-15 06:42:18)

Good funny movie!

This review is from: Gulliver's Travels (Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) I was really surprised by this movie. I originally rented it, because their was nothing that I really wanted to see, and I wanted to watch something with my boys(ages 5, 12, and 14). The movie is really goofy, but I found myself laughing a lot at its simple humor. It is one of my kids favorite comedies, and I really enjoyed it. I don't think anyone will be getting oscar performances, but if you want a good laugh and something you can watch with your kids, this is a great movie.

qfanatiq

(2012-04-14 13:14:28)

Self gratification for Jack Black again

This looked good. I was hoping for a silly, no brainer piece ofentertainment. Yeah, i got that, but i got it with a huge smack in theface of thanks for the cash advance.It is to me a massive self gratification exercise for Jack Black, hejust wants to cover those rock songs and double up on any earnings fromthe original score and from the selling for the film.There are SO many brilliant and fun adaptations of this story into filmand i urge you to see those instead. This slap stick approach isinsulting with its simplicity. It did not even hold the entertainmentof the younger members of the audience.I am struggling to write enough to be able to make sure no one wastesthere time or money on this feature in either the cinema or publicrelease in due course.

(2012-04-13 22:51:29)

Not worth the FORCED watch of previews

I was so frustrated with this DVD because I couldn't skip previews or even fast forward through them. This is abusive and intolerable--please do not support this movie or 20th Century Fox who released it this way.

TxMike

(2012-04-13 06:58:59)

Not a very good movie, however I was entertained the whole way.

Not every movie has to be "great", sometimes a dumb movie is just whatyou need to be entertained. That is exactly what this is.Produced by and starring Jack Black as Lemuel Gulliver, a mail-roomslacker with no ambition, he gets a break, an opportunity falls intohis lap, an assignment to go to an island in the Burmuda Triangle anddo a story.He is given the assignment by Amanda Peet as Darcy Silverman, someoneLemuel admired but was too shy to ask out.A "Gulliver" movie has to have a rare event occur to put theprotagonist into a land of Liliput, and it is a huge ocean vortex thatgets his boat. When he wakes up he is on a beach, surrounded by tinypeople, who had tied him down with rope. But being in the sand heescapes easily, and shows them he is not dangerous.The rest of the story involves a couple of issues. The princess (EmilyBlunt) is supposed to marry the general (Chris O'Dowd) but she doesn'tlove him. Her true love (Jason Segel as Horatio) has been imprisonedfor talking to her, so Lemuel has to help fix that. Also there isanother kingdom across the water and Lemuel has to help them defendLiliput.Most of the movie is, of course, slap-stick comedy. Some of it is justabsurd, but much of it is very funny. Overall I enjoyed it.

george.schmidt

(2012-04-12 16:26:52)

Disappointing comic adaptation of Jonathan Swift's satire this time tailored for Black

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS (2010) ** Jack Black, Amanda Peet, Jason Segel,Emily Blunt, Chris O'Dowd, Billy Connelly, TJ Miller. Disappointingcomic adaptation of Jonathan Swift's satire this time tailored to Blackas a slacker mail boy of a travel magazine who gets the opportunity toprove to his silent crush, editor Peet, he has what it takes to be awriter when she assigns him a piece set in the Bermuda Triangle and heis shipwrecked on the island of Lilliput where he is a giant amongstthe tiny populace and eventually becomes a folk hero. The lame scriptby Joe Stillman and Nicholas Stoller doesn't find the wonder andexcitement the novel did and the pedestrian direction by Rob Lettermansinks the fantasy premise into one mirthless sequence into the next.(SPOILER ALERT: while it does have one moment of personal joy inimagining Peet as a giantess would it have killed them to have her swapplaces with Black instead to give a fresh spin on this ?) PS: the 3-Dis practically absent and useless.

Joe Morgenstern

(2012-04-12 07:45:14)

What were they thinking? What were they smoking? What were they singing on the way to the bank?

(2012-04-12 04:11:54)

Disappointing Drivel

Here now is a prime example of a file where the writers seemed to havethrown all sense out the window and write something that is uttertripe. Being fond of some of Jack Blacks work I had thought to givethis a go and now I find myself thinking I could done somethingworthwhile instead with the hour and a half I wasted on this film.If you are expecting anything like the original then I'd pretty muchsay forget it. The story is of Jack Blacks character Gulliver who isgiven an assignment to go to the Bermuda Triangle and write a travelpiece and after his boat crashes finds himself in Lilliput. Herehowever the similarity end, what follows after is a shambles of ascript.If this is aimed at children then its setting a bad example and theonly humour (if that) is produced by toilet humour and wedgies. Thecharacter development was bad and in the end it was really just aplatform for Jack Black to do his silly moves. Its a shame as therewere British talents of note in this film but they all played secondfiddle to "Hey Look at me I'm Jack Black". Maybe the director shouldstick to creating animated films then making live movies because thishas got to go down as a failure.

Prince AJB

(2012-04-11 00:11:33)

A Modernized Version of a Classical Novel

Jack Black. Once we hear his name, we're familiar with it. His filmsare going to be comedic and bringing laughs to families with his actingand actions. He's just a person we truly love and as well is our herofor comedy films. After "Year One" last year, we are going to see himas a giant here, in 3D as Gulliver."Gulliver's Travels" is about a guy named Lemuel Gulliver who has agirlfriend named Darcy Silverman. After trying to impress her, Gulliverfinds himself being asked to travel to the Bermuda Triangle to write areport of some islands after mistakingly through several foolishactions telling his girlfriend that he is a writer. While on trip,hegets hit by several disastrous things in the sea and finds himself in aplace where he is considered a giant as the people living there arelittle tiny people.Different from the original novel, this adaptations has many additionsof course as it has been modernized. In the original novel, there's nogirl or any modern things like a Coke can, GPS and other things. Thenovel has a Gulliver who is more serious other than Jack Black whotakes things not seriously. The comedy of this movie is better suited for an older audience. Yes,there are some jokes that suits for all ages. But, about 50% of theminvolve mature themes such as relationships which would be some sort ofmeaningless to young kids. The 3D effects were a weak point in this film. Yes, it was in depthbut, it lacks the benefits of 3D such as things coming out of thescreen. Don't expect 3D effects as good as "Avatar" 'cause if you do,you'll be feeling disappointed.Let's sum this up now. "Gulliver's Travels" is perfect for families to spend their Christmastime. Oh yeah, don't forget you're going to see Scrat from "Ice Age" ashe appears in a short called "Scrat's Continental Crack-up". The comedyin this film is great although some are more mature-themed. But, it'sokay and the 3D is not really recommended but it's up to you to decide.Overall, "Gulliver's Travels" earns a 7!Thanks for reading my review on "Gulliver's Travels" and hope it'suseful.

jnguyen46117

(2012-04-10 14:27:42)

Gulliver's Travel: 6/10

The story about a guy who unintentionally traveled into a world oflittle people called Liliput. Here, Gulliver (Jack Black) discoveredthat these people think differently about him than back at where hecame from. Back in Mahanttan, Gulliver worked in a mailroom in awriting company and no one knows he exists, which is really typical fora movie like this. He had a long time crush on this girl who writestraveling articles. One day, he walked into her office ready to ask herout and predictably grabbed a packet for a traveling article whichrequires him to go to sea instead. While driving a boat to thedestination, Gulliver fell asleep and went off course into a dangerousspin-off. Astonishingly, Gulliver came out alive but was tied up by thelittle humans by the time he came to. The little humans thought he wasan enemy at first, but by the time the movie's middle appear, you'dalready guessed the ending.Jack Black did exactly what he was supposed to do, entertain theaudience no matter what it takes (even if showing half of his ass andpissing all over the place in a PG film). But the movie cannot dependon Jack Black to carry it, it needs a better story and a good,surprising ending. In my opinion, with all of Jack Black's childishhumor and fine special effects, the film was able to get some laughsout of me. Jack Black has got a charm with him every time he gives aperformance so that was enough for the film to pass the 50% mark. Eventhough the film somewhat entertained me, Gulliver's Travels did not dojustice to its source materials (books) and was too predictable thateven little kids can figure it out.

(2012-04-08 23:20:09)

A very lame movie

I never write reviews but I have to say this is a really lame movie. I loved Gulliver's travel's as book and I appreciate that you need to change the story, to give it modern spin so audiences of today can relate to it. But this movie was just lame. There are good light hearted movies and Jack Black's shenanigans can be hilarious in a proper context but this was neither. Do not waste your time watching this movie.

(2012-04-08 15:27:20)

Failed my expectations

Having read the reviews on here, I have seen a wide variety of complaints.What was my biggest complaint? The story itself. The focus is mainly in Lilliput - just a few minutes of the movie was in Brobdingnag, and there was NOTHING of Laputa or the talking horses or anything else. This took away from the story a lot, and trivialized it. Jack Black was funny, but the Lilliput story arc had so much useless filler added to it that it defeated the story - I wish the writing had been more faithful to the book.For a really great visual telling of Gulliver's Travels, try the one with Ted Danson. It was a made-for-TV movie series, but it actually did a pretty darned awesome job with Johnathan Swift's original tale and was creative and fun. Here it is.

Nell Minow

(2012-04-07 07:24:39)

The flaccid torpor of the script shows utter contempt for its audience in every line.

Sophie Ly

(2012-04-06 20:35:08)

Family-friendly and entertaining, Gulliver's Travels is lightly amusing but don't expect a mind-blowing affair.