How sad is this?

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

This may just be the most underrated movie of all time and I think it's comedy is on another level. The jokes are funny for the whole family and the acting is Oscar worthy. For those who disagree, that's okay but it shows me u have absolutely no class.

This atrocity had all the potential needed.The budget exceeded $45 million, the costumes were as close to their source material as they could get (Granted, Daphne's costume was inaccurate, but that was probably the best they could do.), and the original theme tune was used.Unfortunately, Matthew Lillard playing Shaggy for the first time is the only significant thing this movie has going for it as he was the only cast member who was even trying. It's a miracle he's improved on his pathetic performance in this flick.The rest comes off as dark, boring, and disturbingly offensive. Episode II of Star Wars was released the same year as this disaster, but that movie was better without question. It didn't have a guy going into a girl's body and saying joyfully, "I can look at myself naked." That line is so perverted that not only am I ashamed to think about it myself, but it also undeniably makes this movie at least 1 trillion worse than the Star Wars prequels put together.

So, before I go any further, this film is pretty stupid. The director, Raja Gosnell is best known for a bunch of pandering kid's films. The common approach that I hate with this branch of "kid's films" is that there's no attempt to intellectually challenge the kid audience. It's always cheesy lines, pointless slapstick, and jokes about farting or basic toilet humour. Kids deserve better than that, in my opinion.That being said, this movie is still a guilty pleasure of mine. It's incredibly over-the-top and full of energy, yet the dialogue and story lines are so childish. Apparently, early drafts of the script were meant to include more adult themes, such as addressing the fact that Shaggy is actually a stoner, and Velma a lesbian. The film actually goes the safer kid-friendly route, although they do leave in some questionable scenes such as when Fred's soul gets transferred into Daphne's body and "she" says the line, "I can look at myself naked", which is still jarring to me after I saw the film in the cinemas as a child. Another example is when we see smoke coming out of the Mystery Machine, alluding to Shaggy being a stoner, only to reveal that he's barbecuing.The film is harmless, really and most of the cast perform well. Matthew Lillard does a pitch perfect performance of Shaggy, Linda Cardellini's Velma is fairly accurate, Sarah Michelle Gellar's Daphne is done all right, even though with the inclusion of her apparently being a martial arts master, that it brought up a tonne of Buffy the Vampire Slayer parallels. The one weak link of the human protagonists is Fred, played by Freddie Prinze Jr. He comes across like a conceited tool throughout the film. Typical paint by numbers "leader." The story is pretty standard although it does go a bit off the rails by the end. As I said, it's a harmless film, that for the most part, the kids will enjoy, if they have the stomach for the CGI monsters.

I do my review of the SCOOBY-DOO live-action films with SCOOBY-DOO and then, SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED and then, I will do the reviews for the two prequels, SCOOBY-DOO: THE MYSTERY BEGINS and SCOOBY-DOO: THE CURSE OF THE LAKE MONSTER.Before I begin my review of the SCOOBY-DOO franchise, I'm going to tell a little bit of history, now, shall we begin? Development for a live-action treatment of Scooby-Doo began in 1994 by producer Charles Roven. Originally, the idea was to make a film with a much darker tone, essentially poking fun at the original cartoon series, much like the Brady Bunch Movie and was set to receive a PG-13 rating from the MPAA.Shaggy was set to be a stoner, Velma and Daphne had a side relationship and there were many references to drugs. Several rumors about these aspects in the original cartoon series were passed around by fans of the show and were to be incorporated into the live-action film.The plot revolves around the Mystery Incorporated, a group of four young adults: Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley and Norville "Shaggy" Rodgers and a dog named Scooby-Doo who solves mysteries. After a two-year disbandment, the group reunites to investigate a mystery on a popular horror resort called Spooky Island.The movie was not well received by critics, but it was enough to spawn a sequel released in 2004, and a telefilm prequel, aired on Cartoon Network on September 13, 2009.This movie is a really great film and critics did take this the wrong way, but they did like some of the things done right and some of the fans really liked this movie.The story is amazing and to the script writer's credit James Gunn, who directed Marvel's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and the film does stay true to the TV show. The Mystery Machine is really amazing and fantastic and if they changed it to different colors and it would have not been the van from Scooby-Doo that I know.The acting is just amazing. Freddie Prinze Jr. plays Fred Jones and he really does great in his performance. Sarah Michelle Gellar plays the role of Daphne Blake and she did really amazing and to this day, the two actors I just mentioned are married. Matthew Lillard pays the role of Shaggy Rogers and he is funny and over-the-top during this whole movie and it was really amazing. Linda Cardellini plays Velma Dinkley and she is really fantastic in her performance.Rowan Atkinson is Emile Mondavarious and he does a really great job. Isla Fisher plays the role of Mary Jane, Shaggy's love interest and she does a really great job as well. Neil Fanning provides the voice of Scooby-Doo and the CGI is really amazing on him and they made him look realistic.The music by David Newman is really cool and the visual effects are well done and it is spectacular to see how the creatures look on screen. The production and costume designs are really cool also and is fantastic.This film is just spectacular and overall, I love SCOOBY-DOO and it gets a 7 out of 10, because I really give this film an amazing rating.The DVD features on this film is amazing and you have an audio commentary by the director and producers, a commentary with the cast, a two-player game that is very challenging, deleted scenes with optional commentary and those deleted scenes should have been in the movie, the behind-the-scenes documentary is really amazing and fantastic and I think it gives you a damn good look into the making of a movie that I enjoy. There are also featurettes on the movie as well including The Mystery Van and Daphne's Fight Scene.There is also a music video by Outkast called "Land of A Million Drums" and that is so freaking cool as well as the soundtrack trailer for the movie's soundtrack.The DVD gets an 8 out of 10 and I have the sequel on the same DVD, but that is Disc Two, which is my next review.