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Batman Begins (2005)
Batman raises the bar.
OK...where do I begin? A little background i suppose would be good. I am fan of the first two bat flicks, the animated series, comics...etc. Batman is an awesome character and although the first two movies are a little quirky i didn't think any one would do batman any more justice than Burton. Along comes little known Christopher Nolan who manages to create Batman's world in vivid, epic splendor. This movie is an amazing ride from start to finish. Its Batman with nuance and depth like we've never seen before in any comic film adaptation. Batman is taken as seriously as a movie about a guy in a bat-suit can get and its AWESOME. Period. The movie begins and ends in what feels like seconds. The energy is at top level as you delve into this brutal vision of Gotham. Batman has never looked or sounded this good, hell, no comic movie has. No comic movie has brought you deeper into its title character as this movie and god bless Nolan for it. This movie has simply raised the bar for comic flicks. After the torture of star wars this movie has reminded me of what a big summer movie is supposed to be like. Fun, exciting, entertaining and involving.
p.S. it was nice to see Liam Neeson allowed to act again.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
More of the same...
If you like the first two then watch it. You get more of the same beautiful effects, plot less story, painful editing and mindless Decalogue. If you are like me, a fan of the originals and not these, don't waste your time. unless you want to say, hey i gave it a chance. I did just that, gave it a chance. I thought well if this one is OK then whatever, at least one is good. NO! Why oh why. I knew it would be more of the same and yet i went ahead and watched. I know why too, i love star wars, i love the universe, i love the space opera theatrics wrapped in a simple fairy tale like story. I gotta wonder what happened to all that? What happened to a little subtlety (sorry if i spelled that wrong) in story telling? What happened to telling a competent story altogether? Oh George...i dunno what to say.
I know, thanks for the first three. Even if what i'm thanking is that other people were there to keep your self-indulging money-pig ways in check!
Van Helsing (2004)
Ahhh...the summer is here peeps, turn off your brain and enjoy!
I'll begin with the good things about the movie. ... ...
Okay now to the bad. Where could i begin? You have a movie with three of the greatest monsters ever created and things some how go horribly wrong. If i may for a moment say that this movie should've been Castlevania the movie but i'm extremely glad it wasn't as it would've been an insult to the series of video games which had deeper, stronger plots than this thing. Its obnoxiously loud, makes no effort for a little character development and makes some horrible use of the aforementioned monsters, including some sorry excuses for CG. Luckily for Mr. Jackman that he has the XMen franchise to live off of and lucky for Kate Beckinsale that she is a hottie because neither of these two have offered much of anything else in any of their other movies and offer even less in this one(what is up with that accent Kate?). Van Helsing makes quick work of getting its characters into situations where they look cool and say cool things. Unfortunately they end up not looking so cool and saying things that are irritating. Its as if the characters know they are in a movie and know that they can't be stopped because the script says so!
I'll finish off with this last thing. I subject myself to all kinds of movies. I enjoy great, timeless dramas as much as do dumb summer fair so its not as if i'm a pretentious film student who can't turn off the brain and enjoy some eye candy. There is room for all kinds of films in my mind and neither is more or less important. Anywho, I DO NOT walk out of a movie for any reason, not even to pee. I'm there, i'm giving two hours of my time for the movie. This is my philosophy and for 20 plus years of movie watching i've NEVER once walked out. For Van Helsing i not only took a trip to the bathroom but i went for a cigarette too! I could care less about what was happening which is a sign that not one character was interesting. Not one character seemed genuine nor interesting. So welcome in the summer crop of Hollywood crap with open arms and blank stares, its going to be one long summer movie season!
Troy (2004)
YAWWWN...very long, very dull
Just got back from Troy and boy is my arse aching, my mind numb, my eyes tired and tummy full from a delicious movie theater hotdog. Troy had moments where it teetered between good and not-so-good. Unfortunately for me most of the time it fell flat on its face on the not-so-good side. Its sad really because i was so eager to embrace this movie being a fan of the story from which it came. I was eager to watch massive battles unfold in front of me with dazzling effects and for the love between Helen and Paris to convince me that all the bloodshed was worth it. None of this happened. The battles became fuzzy and lost in their grandness. The CG was decent but the directing was clunky, unfocused. This is weird for me to say since Wolfgang Peterson is a very capable director. Every good, solid director has a bad shoot. I can't say that i blame the actors for uninspired performances seeing how the dialogue is nasty bad. But i will say that Orlando Bloom was especially dull and to make matters worse he was playing opposite Kruger who is about as interesting as the wood used to build the Trojan horse. Overall this movie was greatly uninspired. It seemed to be more focused on trying to re-create emotions from the Lord of the Rings trilogy with its chorus humming loudly along. They just forgot that LOTTR took time to let you know and care about the characters. And getting back to the "love" story. You'd think that a movie based on the premise of a war that was started over the love of two people would really take the time and make the effort to make you feel as if these two were really in love. What i got was that Helen just wanted a way out and Paris just wanted the ultimate trophy wife. Very long, very dull and a total YAWWWN.
Night Flight (1981)
Answers Have Finally Come
For a long time I've talked about this show to friends and no one seemed to remember it. I felt like I was in some movie where everyone's mind had been erased and for some reason I was the only one left to remember this bizarre show. As a kid I'd stay up late, quietly as to not alert the parents, and I'd watch Tales From the Darkside and other strange shows. Then, really, really late at night one local channel began replaying episodes of Night Flight. My mind was blown and was never to be the same again. Night Flight was an amazing show, nothing like it before or ever since. As many comments have mentioned this is a show that will never exist again. It was a rare gem that slipped through the cracks during the 80s to enlighten the few who were lucky to catch it. It finally dawned on me to look up the show on IMDB. I wasn't surprised at all to find it and i was pleasantly surprised to find so many others who had witnessed this one of a kind late night feast for the mind.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Better than Episode One, But that's not saying much...
I must start off by saying that I am a huge Star Wars fan and contrary to many reviews that i have read i did not like Episode 2 entirely. It is above and beyond the shallow Episode One but that's not saying much. Episode 2 is almost equally as shallow filled with archetypes but no characters. Plug in formula plot. And so many special effects shots that you start to think that Lucas is making a cartoon with people in it. Add to this that the editing is done with a meat clever and Lucas has almost no clue how to direct and you get this new era of Star Wars. I'm not implying that the first three movies are works of perfection. They have their flaws like all movies but they do offer something that these two new efforts don't; a sense that these characters actually exist in this world. That they actually live and breathe day to day in this universe. I don't fault the actors in not bringing life to the characters as much as i fault the writing. The hammy dialogue doesn't sound like people talking but like people needing to say very little just to advance the plot which is necessary in order to show more effects.
As I mentioned before this was way above EP1 especially since Jar Jar is in only about 3 minutes and Anakin is now a less annoying teen. Still however i find that after watching the movie a few more times it really isn't that much different. Only on the surface. IT wows you at the end having you leave the theater with a smile. That's great, the first time. But watching the movie again, when the wows are not wows anymore and you realize that the movie is as empty as before. There are no characters to really cling to here. There is no real plot but something strung together that leads me to remember Lucas once saying that the effects served to tell the story more effectively and if you watch the original trilogy again that rings true. The effects tell their part intertwined with a better constructed plot. Now it seems that the story is here to serve the effects. Lucas seems obsessed with having digital shots all over, not realizing that digital effects can not do it all.
Bottom line: Watch it once and you'll be okay. Watch it again and you realize that you wasted your money. You could have just stayed home and watched the far superior original trilogy and used that money on far less expensive food and drinks.
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Boy, did i sure wish this was a re-release
I'm not going to get into any of the murky details of the film. I won't talk about the little amounts of acting because i blame that on the writing. I won't get into the details because, like i said, they are murky at best. This is a two hour effects powerhouse except that when you look under the hood for the engine you realize what's running the show is a bunch of monkeys.
THe movie fell short in too many areas for me and the cool monkey outfits and such could not overcome this. There were more plot holes than in a slice of Swiss cheese and each and every hole was a dark, endless one. Spinning you deeper into a vast array of nonsense and excuses to get Marki Mark to his next ordeal with the monkeys.
I would only recommend this movie to those who love completely mindless action movies and for big fans of Marky Mark walking around breathing heavy and doing nothing much else.
Other than that i would not recommend this to my worst enemy. It was a formulaic mess and a shameless attempt at using a classic story that has become part of our culture to make money and make the hollywood big-wigs smile a little wider and their wallets a little fatter.
Kudos to them because as i've read now that the movie grossed 70 million over the weekend. They made the perfect, mindless fodder that thousands of kids go screaming to the theaters to watch. They'll think the apes are cool and Marky Mark is cool and in the end that's all that matters. In the end Tim Burton, whom i once cherished as a director, will be regarded as a master mind. Why? Perhaps you should look under the hood and ask him yourself as he tosses your oil filter out and makes a bigger mess. "Hey Tim! Why not a 're-imagining' of 2001 next!"
The Shining (1980)
Its Kubrick...
The Shining is not an easy movie to watch. I will admit that. Its a Kubrick movie and its one at its best. As I wrote in my review for Eyes Wide Shut i state again that Kubrick movies are like a wine or beer, its an acquired taste and its a taste that some will completely fall in love with and some will never want to try again. I can sympathize with both sides as i was once not a fan of Kubrick. Some where along the line i acquired the taste and for me, its one i never want to lose. The Shining is a horror movie for disturbed people (a common trait among Kubrick fans). It does not offer anything easily as most Kubrick films are. For those who love (saturated, watered-down, formulaic) Scream and the like i offer this advise; Don't watch a Kubrick film. Period. Not the Shining, not any. Kubrick films are as far from Hollywood norm as can be and The Shining does not break from his vision. The Shining excels in his vision. He offers tight, long views of hallways, confining you, creating a sense of claustrophobia and a deep rooted fear. A real fear. His use of sound and color to creep into your psyche is infamous. Take for example how he shows Danny riding his Big Wheel around, constantly. In one such scene Danny rides on and off carpeting and wood floor and the repeated badgering of quiet, then loud, jogs your brain to wonder what is going on. He makes you start to think that something is coming from it and then...nothing. Later, you see Danny riding the Big Wheel again but unlike before Kubrick jogs your brain with the terrific image of the two girls. Then quick flashes to the horrors that occurred in the hotel before. For me, the constant use of the big wheel several times gives you the sense of being in that big wheel. Sitting there, peacefully like Danny, and then being confronted with a living nightmare.
As far as the acting goes Kubrick loves to draw out something different from his actors. All his films present very over-the-top performances from Alex in Clockwork to George C Scott in Dr. Strangelove, even to HAL ( i know he's not an actor) but Kubrick is an extremist and he shows you this with his lead actors and characters. He presents a minimalist, simple, dehumanized story with people out of their element and acting insanely. Most all his films offer this wild assortment of range within the confines of a man/woman.
I tend to think of Kubrick's work as filmed nightmares. They may not be your nightmares but nightmares never-the-less. He brings you into a story where people are being animals in one way or another. As Alex being a physical animal and Dave being an animal one step lower on the food chain to the Monolith (and a human's own creation in HAL). Full Metal Jacket speaks for itself in this regard showing how our own government creates (or tries to create) animals for war when you can't afford to have human emotion. Dr. Hartford in Eyes Wide Shut wants to be an animal when his wife tells him of her fantasies and he goes out on the hunt but comes up realizing what he really is, a human, and his wife, a human, with frailties and shortcomings.
In the end, since this is about the Shining and not Kubrick, i say you give the movie, on its own, not compared to the book a chance. Watch it with an open eye and don't wait for the typical. Don't expect a movie like Scream or even Halloween ( a horror masterpiece in its own right). The formula to Kubrick films and the Shining is that, as with life, there is no formula.
Beyond everything that i have said here, Kubrick's film is definitely better than the later TV movie.
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Okay...did i miss something?
**Contains Spoiler**
I thought that I'd seen one of the worse Kung Fu movies ever made and instead i come to read tons of reviews praising it. Did I miss something? The movie is decent compared to old 70's and 80's kung fu flicks, only it tried to provide some sort of plot that doesn't work in any sense. The characters seem to move about as if there was a great busing system and they toss in a lengthy back story about the young girl and the nomad only to never really use the nomad character again. The effects are no where near spectacular and i've seen better fight scenes a thousand times, again, in old Kung Fu movies.
Next, Wudan is supposed to be some sacred art but everyone can do it. And one lady learns it entirely from a book and then teaches it to another woman who apparently learned it well enough to keep up with the great swords man played by Chow Fat. Thats one very well written book, let me tell you. On top of that the little girl learns it on her spare time. I guess all that meditating isn't really needed is it. Just grab a copy of the book and when you can, slip in a couple of training sessions here and there and BAM! You can do Wudan too! Then, my biggest gripe, the story telling. The whole movie builds this sense that Chow and Jade Fox must fight and then they cheat you with that ending that takes five seconds. Chow is hit with a poison dart and knows he will die!!! The horror. Did anyone bother to think that maybe Jade Fox would have been smart enough to keep an antidote close to her in the slight chance that while making all ten thousand darts she may get pricked??? But no, so the little girl knows how to make it and decides to ride a horse (did anyone remember that she can essentially fly) to go get it and now, after everyone has seemingly been moving from place to place with no sign of travel time she takes an eternity to get the antidote. Just enough time for Chow and Michelle Yeoh to say what they have to say before he dies and she continues on with her life of never loving him. THEN! Which is the most bizarre moment, the little girl jumps off a bridge. Leaving Michelle Yeoh and the nomad guy. I guess they'll team up in the sequel.
The movie is, plain and simple, a typical kung fu movie with american production values, meaning a big budget. If you like Kung fu movies then knock yourself out, it was fun to watch. Otherwise go into the theater ready to read and try and figure out why...WHY they show the little girl, whose father is stabbed in the head, inviting the body guard guy in, seemingly for sex, and then never show her again(and the body guard guy basically fades away after that too). WHY there are scenes where the characters sound as if they are talking in modern tongue (i.e. Nomad guy to young girl, "i would have been here sooner but there was traffic???). WHY did Sony put up money for a movie that has been done better for way less money, hundreds of times.
P.S. I would like some one who really liked this movie to e-mail me and try to show me the light. Try and show me what i am missing because i have been really shocked to find people who really thought this movie as something special.
OVERALL A FOUR(4)
Thanks.
Toy Story 2 (1999)
If you liked the first one...
This is a simple one to comment on. Toy Story 2 is more of the same without the burdens that come with being more of the same. The animation has gone to new heights as expected. There are scenes in this film that appear as real as anything. specifically take a look at when "Al" is sleeping. The stubble on his chin and the cheat-O cheese on his fingers looks amazing. The story is simple but touching. The friendship between "Buzz," (Tim Allen) and "Woody," (Tom Hanks) has a great feel to it and the two voice actors interact well together. The humor is crisp and works on many levels and for those people who enjoy Star Wars there are references throughout to the Holy Trilogy.
Overall as good as the first. Very entertaining and amazing to watch if just for the animation.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Amazing.
If you want an example of what great, tight writing and well executed film making are watch, "The Sixth Sense." This is a haunting movie that stays with you, in the evil recesses of your mind. and just sits there for you to dwell upon. The writing in this movie is superb as it draws you in slowly and patiently letting you take in the scenes one at a time and then it hits you with a great ending that leaves you completely shocked. One of the best things about this film is its ability to be watched a second and a third time. You are compelled to test the film and its ending to see if you can come up with any mistakes or holes but there are none. This film is amazing. Add to all this some flawless filming. Good, consistent camera angles and movement that are paced just perfectly with the story. Its a movie with just the right tint of darkness. Bruce Willis is wonderful in this film displaying so much emotion and depth and Haley Joel Osment plays the tortured child to chilling perfection. You leave the theater wishing that kid the best in therapy! His performance puts him up there with Linda Blair! "The Sixth Sense," is way ahead of the pack as far as summer horror movies go. Not only that but it may the best movie that I've seen all year, both compelling and chilling. Loving and horrific.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Slightly overrated "horror" flick
I'm sort of glad that I had several friends of mine see this movie before I went to see. If I had walked in filled with the hype machines workings, such as this being as scary as the Exorcist, then I probably would have been very, very disappointed. However, I was told about the movie, its antics, its attempts at what I guess today is considered scary.
I liked the movie a lot and I understand what is was trying to do and it was a valid attempt but it didn't work for me. Trying to leave things to the imagination is fine but this movie is just plain vague. Anyone can make this type of movie especially more so when you have very little money. It was clever in its approach and again, I give it credit for what it attempted to do.
My major problem was the quality of the sound in the movie (After re-mixing was done by Artisan) which is pretty amazing for three "students" with basic equipment. Plus, the lighting within the house was pretty darn good for one cam-corder to provide. I mean that light even provided enough light for the hi 8 black and white to see very, very clearly.
Overall a good effort with a lot of promise and I would give the two creators a little more money to see what they can do. Knowing Hollywood they'll be given a 120 million dollar block buster. :0)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Slightly overrated "horror" flick
I'm sort of glad that I had several friends of mine see this movie before I went to see. If I had walked in filled with the hype machines workings, such as this being as scary as the Exorcist, then I probably would have been very, very disappointed. However, I was told about the movie, its antics, its attempts at what I guess today is considered scary.
I liked the movie a lot and I understand what is was trying to do and it was a valid attempt but it didn't work for me. Trying to leave things to the imagination is fine but this movie is just plain vague. Anyone can make this type of movie especially more so when you have very little money. It was clever in its approach and again, I give it credit for what it attempted to do.
My major problem was the quality of the sound in the movie (After re-mixing was done by Artisan) which is pretty amazing for three "students" with basic equipment. Plus, the lighting within the house was pretty darn good for one cam-corder to provide. I mean that light even provided enough light for the hi 8 black and white to see very, very clearly.
Overall a good effort with a lot of promise and I would give the two creators a little more money to see what they can do. Knowing Hollywood they'll be given a 120 million dollar block buster. :0)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
A deep, beautiful movie. Classic Kubrick.
WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN EYES WIDE SHUT
I'll start off by saying that "Eyes Wide Shut"(EWS) is a Stanely Kubrick movie. If you have not seen one of his films before do not start with this one as it is a very strange movie as compared to today's short attention span theater. Now that I have cleared that I can begin.
Where do you begin to talk about a movie that includes necrophilia, sex cults and orgies, prostitution, pedophilia and infidelity? I guess what I want to do is spoil the surprise and say that there is no infidelity.
The most interesting thing about Kubrick's final film is through all the hoopla over the sex people missed the fact that the story revolves around two people who care for each other. Alice admitting to Bill that she has sexual fantasies, not involving him, was a blow to his ego(As it would be to most men). He gets called away and gets involved in several sexual encounters. A lot of which parallel some of Alice's fantasies. He never strays from Alice and in the end, when he does go back to the prostitute, he gets "slapped" with with a helping dose of reality. Totally blown back by the fact that she is a victim of HIV. The movie is masked (as the people at the sex cult) in this "big sex flick" stereotype and that in itself is a joke by Kubrick. Nearly everyone went to see a "sex flick" and came out bewildered because it was not. It teases you(purposely) with taboos but the truth behind it is the relationship between Bill and Alice and a deep look into Bill's sense of his marriage and how that is rearranged and at the same time strengthened.
Kubrick is a master film maker but unfortunately, like a Picasso or a Poe his work is greatly misunderstood, even worse today where people are making Will Smith a millionaire because he can spew cheesy one liners in front of digital bugs all the mean time while some one decides that the faster the cut and the more funky angles you have the "cooler" the movie is. One amazing thing about Kubrick which today's people often talk about is that Kubrick is one of the few artists(Listening Lucas) that actually "kept it real," never straying from his vision and his own sense of style. In this modern era, where movies borrowed styles from MTv videos (Progress?) I welcome EWS with open arms.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
It's not perfect but...
It's not perfect this new installment of the Star Wars Universe but it is a fun movie and visually an incredible tour de force! I am not the first one to say that the writing could have been better, the direction more full of well, direction and the acting this time around won't garner any Oscars (Especially that truly unemotional last scene by Neeson) but as far as summer movies go I feel that this is head and shoulders above all the Will Smith's and Godzilla's in the world. This movie left you with plenty of wanting for more, yes, but that is part of its purpose. Knowing that he IS going to make three Lucas was not threatened to tell too much at once although maybe he could have. Remember this is just the beginning and just like the two sequels of the original trilogy do a lot for the original Star Wars so (I trust) will the next two sequels do for this film. The effects are unstoppable and flawless unlike other summer movies that claim the same but don't live up to it. Star Wars lived up to what Star Wars is; It's fun, food for the eyes that leave you very filled yet craving more. Only this meal will have to last you another two or so years before the great appetizers (trailers, toys books and rumors) start to gently tickle the palette and get everything geared again. What Star Wars brings to the screen that many other summer movies doesn't (i.e. M.I.B. Godzirra and ID:4) is such an incredible sense of realism, imagination and wonder. Its eye candy just like the rest of the crowd but it stands above and beyond because of its magic and yes, perhaps some of its magic today can be traced back to the original trilogy but I can assure that ten years from now when the children today are nearing there twenties or in there twenties (As I am) they'll remember Star Wars in far more detail than MIB or ID:4 and definitely Godzirra! If you can quickly name three sci-fi movies of the seventies then you are exempt from the previous comment. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride because the new Star Wars era has just begun. :0)