Reviews
The Ladies Man (2000)
This Ladies Man is a LOSER and a Scrub!
I was very disappointed in this movie. I thought it was silly and not too funny. It was only 90 minutes long but that seemed like an eternity. This skit is very funny on SNL but this movie was just plain dumb and not near as funny as I thought it was. Although Tim Meadows is supremely funny and talented, the script and storyline have alot to be desired.
Schindler's List (1993)
A Masterpiece, the second time around.
Believe it or not...I rented this movie back in 93 or 94 when it was first released, and didnt understand much of it and didnt even watch all of it. I turned it off out of boredom and confusion. At that time I knew nothing about WWII, nor did I really care.
Lately, I have been reading alot about WWII,Hitler,Himmler, and have been reading survivor stories from concentration camp survivors, particularly Auschwitz. I have also read many stories on the other concentration camps, and have come across many more stories of camp and ghetto survivors, and have read them all with sadness, but with interest. I have even had the pleasure of corresponding with an Auschwitz survivor and Schindlers List seems VERY realistic as to what actually happened in the camps and ghettos.
The movie is very easy to understand if you have basic knowledge of WWII and the holocaust. Liam Neeson plays Oskar Schindler, a NAZI businessman who wants to hire some camp jews as cheap slave labor to work for him (as many many companies did back then). These people that work for him are treated with a little respect and given decent working conditions. Soon many other Jews are depserate to work for him, as they realise that could mean they will not die in the camps. Oskar starts to get extremely irritated when he learns that the evil camp SS Amon Goeth (played by Ralph Fiennes) is killing many of his workers without good cause and wants the killings to stop. He then finds out that many of his workers will be sent to Auschwitz, where death is almost certain, unless something is done. He then uses his power and money to bribe many high ranking Nazi officials to bringing his workers to another country via train to have them work in a plant, where they will be saved from execution. Although he loses just about everything in the process, saving the lives of more than 1000 Jews proved worth it in the end, afterall, "You save one life...you save the world entire." I was surprised they even threw in a small role of the "Angel of Death", the evil Dr. Josef Mengele, who basically was responsible for the death of many many Jews, via the gas chamber, and his horrible, cruel,useless experiments. He was the one at Auschwitz who walked around determining who was fit to work, and who should die. If you were an older person, sick, weak,or had a small child, you were most likely sent to the gas chamber.
This is an outstanding movie and I'm very glad I rented it. I highly recommend it to everyone. Kudos to Steven Speilberg for this masterpiece.
Jakob the Liar (1999)
Even better than Life Is Beautiful
This movie is being compared to Life is Beautiful as both movies are set in Nazi war camps, and the stars of both movies try to make life in the camp as optimistic as possible. In this film, Robin Williams plays a serious role as Jakob, a jewish resident in a war camp in nazi occupied Poland. He overhears a radio report that the Russians are moving in, speculating that WWII should be over soon. He tells a few fellow jewish residents that he heard this radio report, to help bring some hope and optimism in the cold,dreary,nazi camp where many people are dying from the hands of german soldiers, and from suicides. This report causes much excitement amongst the jews and the news travels faster than Jakob imagined. He notices how this news lifted the spirits of many of the jews so he continues to make up bogus reports and gives everyone the impression that he does in fact have a radio, which he does not.
In the meantime, he is secretly taking care of a young girl in the camp and must try and keep the secret that he has no radio, from her as she is very much looking forward to getting out of the camp and seeing her parents again.
I really liked this movie. It was nice to see Robin Williams play a serious role. I give this movie 8/10.
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Hillary Swank is AMAZING
This was the most well deserved Oscar given to ANY actor for Mrs. Swank than I can remember. Her performance in this film was phenomenal. She even lived as a boy for 30 days before filming began and her dedication and hard work truly shows in this film.
Kimberly Peirce did an amazing job in developing the love story between Lana and Brandon/Teena. Great acting by everyone in this film. I could watch this movie over and over again.
9/10
Here on Earth (2000)
Josh Harnett's hair, the green hat, and this movie are all CHEESY!
Ok, I'm a chick and I didn't even enjoy this "chick flick".I went into this theatre not really expecting much and that is about what I got. What was supposed to me a touching, moving romance about 2 teens that fall in love was ruined by a really lousy script, so-so acting, and all together I didn't think the story was put together very well. How do all these girls find Josh Harnett attractive?? He has the worst most irritating hair of any actor. The bangs cut straight across and his hair sticks out in the back, and in this movie he was wearing a green baseball cap that didn't go with anything he was wearing. Bad wardrobe!!!
The movie is about 2 teenagers that fall in love. Kelley played by Chris Klein (a major HOTTIE) and Sam played by LeeLee Sobieski. Kelly is a spoiled rich kid who has to help rebuild the restraunt that Sam's family owns since he was involved in causing it to burn down. Even though Sam already has a boyfriend, Jasper-played by Josh Harnett, that doesn't stop Kelley from going after to her, much to the anger of Jasper. Sam finally ditches Jasper to fall in love with Kelley, even though her parents strongly disapprove of Kelley. She then finds out she has cancer but this doesn't get told to Kelley until about 3/4 into the movie and its sort of just dropped out of nowehere. This could have been a good movie but the terrible writing ruined it. It was very plain dialogue and there is not one memorable line that came from this movie. There are a couple parts in the film where lines just get blurted out of nowhere that have nothing to do with the scene. For instance when Sam is laying in bed ill from the cancer, her dad sits down to talk to her and out of nowhere says "I wish you hadn't met that Kelley kid." ??? Okay...so out of nowhere he says that. Then towards the end of the film, Kelley has to go back to live with his parents because the restaraunt is finished. So even though he is in love with Sam and she is ill, he just packs up and leaves??? He then comes to his senses and comes back but it was just silly. But this movie isn't a total disaster. It does have an awesome soundtrack and some nice scenery was shown in the film as well.
Overall I give it 4/10.
Mortal Thoughts (1991)
Very good movie with a twist.
I watched this movie one night on cable. I am happy to say that this movie was much better than I thought and as usual, Demi Moore is just awesome. Bruce Willis is also in this film but he playes her best friends abusive, drunk husband. The plot thickens when he is found dead. There is even a crazier twist at the end. Harvey Keitel was great as the detective investigating the murder. Overall I give this 8/10.
Reindeer Games (2000)
Could have been better
The 2 main actors in this film-Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron-who are my personal faves-should have made this movie absolutely outstanding. However there are numerous flaws in this film and it did fall a little short of my expectations.
1)Weak script. Not only is it weak it's just all out silly in some parts.
2) The plot lines, in general, with all the small twists was a little too far-fetched to be realistic.
3) Charlize Theron although a terrific actress and incredibly beautiful, seemed a little too overglamerous for the part. Somebody of her beauty and stature would not be writing a prison seeking romance from an inmate.
All in all..I would love to see Charlize Theron and Ben Affleck together in another film, hopefully of a little better quality. This is not a bad film to see overall, I just expected it to be better with all the talented actors in it. I would give this a 6 but since you get to see Ben Affleck's bare butt in it it gets a 7/10!!
Cruel Intentions (1999)
MUCH better than I thought! This movie is Twisted but GREAT!
This movie rocks!! I really regret not seeing this in the movie theatres. I think this movie is just awesome! You have got to appreciate the great acting by Ryan Phillippe to enjoy this movie even more. His acting,facial expressions, and tone of voice in certain scenes make this movie hilarious! He is SUCH a smart allek, womanizing jerk in this movie and he was perfect for the part! The storyline in this is pretty simple. Ryan Phillippe plays Sebastian and Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Kathryn-his stepsister. They are 2 rich, spoiled brats who make a bet on whether he can bed the headmasters daughter-a sweet virgin named Annette-played by Reese Witherspoon. If he beds her he gets to have his step sister Kathryn. If he fails then Kathryn gets his jag. These 2 are such stuck up,snobby jerks in this movie is makes this movie so funny! In the meantime, Kathryn is brewing up her own scandal,blackmailing and wreaking her own havoc with a girl called Cecile. Kathryn is mad at Cecile because Cecile is dating a guy that dumped her. So she figures its payback time! The drama starts to unfold when Sebastian actually starts to have feelings for Annette-something he has never experienced before-LOVE.
My favorite scenes in this movie is when Sebastian kisses Annette in the subway station atop of the escalator. I also liked the part when Sebastian walks in on Kathryn and Ronald!!
The ending was just the bomb as well. Although it was sad....the bitch in this movie got what she deserved.
I give this 9/10!!!
Witchboard (1986)
I like this movie
This movie shows you don't have to make a really expensive, high budget to make an entertaining movie.This was not lame or cheesy like most low budget thrillers. I liked the storyline and found this movie actually quite good. During the fight scene though towards the end with Tawny and the other actor as she is starting to become possessed, you can see the stuffing in her pants when he stabs her with the knife. The user comments on here are positive, I wonder why it only scores a 4.7?? I give this 8/10.
Fatal Attraction (1987)
Superb Film Very realistic.
Michael Douglas and Glenn Close are fantastic portraying lovers in this provocative thriller about marital infidelity. This is a chillingly realistic and believable story about a man that has an affair on his wife while she is out of town and gets in a little too far over his head. His mistress goes psycho once he tries to end the affair. What happens next is a desperate attempt for a man to try and keep his family together. The little girl who plays his daughter in this movie is so cute! When she witnesses her parents having a severe fight and shes holding her stuffed animal and petting it is a real tear jerker. This is overall one of my favorite movies of all time. I give it 8/10.
Eye of the Beholder (1999)
This movie SUCKED!!! HUGE disappointment
I expected more from this film being that Ewan MacGregor accepted a role in it. What a cinematic mess this movie was. He plays a detective following around a woman who is a serial killer of men. What a laughable storyline and the plot had so many holes in it we didn't really know what was going on the first half. It was just unrealistic. Like she is going to kill a man with the curtains wide open so everybody can look in, then walk outside naked and wash the blood off her in the rain? The little girl in the film was not useful..what was her point being in this movie? And the ending was absurd...we were left thinking "thats it?" This movie had an average rating of 7.0 on Friday after 60 votes and now I see its down to 5.0 after more people have seen it. Save your money on this one. Anyone who likes Ashley Judd or Ewan Macgregor will be greatly disappointed in this bomb. I rarely give movies 1/10 but this won barely gets that. 1/10!
Wild Things (1998)
Awesome movie with a twist!
This film was much better than I thought. If you can get past the provacative sex/3some scene in this movie you will enjoy this film as it is much wierder and filled with more plot twists than I thought. Denise Richards was awesome as the Rich bitch villan with Neve Campbell playing her trailer trash friend. Be sure to watch very carefully when Kevin Bacon steps out of the shower! And be sure to watch the movie all the way though..until the credits roll. It fills you in on what really happened in the movie. Extremely worth your time to watch and you'll probably want to see it again. 9/10.
Eye of the Beholder (1999)
This movie SUCKED!!! HUGE disappointment
I expected more from this film being that Ewan MacGregor accepted a role in it. What a cinematic mess this movie was. He plays a detective following around a woman who is a serial killer of men. What a laughable storyline and the plot had so many holes in it we didn't really know what was going on the first half. It was just unrealistic. Like she is going to kill a man with the curtains wide open so everybody can look in, then walk outside naked and wash the blood off her in the rain? The little girl in the film was not useful..what was her point being in this movie? And the ending was absurd...we were left thinking "thats it?" This movie had an average rating of 7.0 on Friday after 60 votes and now I see its down to 5.0 after more people have seen it. Save your money on this one. Anyone who likes Ashley Judd or Ewan Macgregor will be greatly disappointed in this bomb. I rarely give movies 1/10 but this won barely gets that. 1/10!
Brokedown Palace (1999)
Excellent movie! By far underrated
I hadn't even heard of this film when it was playing in the theatres. Someone at work suggested I see it and I'm glad I did. Claire Daines is terrific. The movie seemed very realistic as to what life is like in a prison in Taiwan. i liked the soundtrack as well. It's about time I see Lou Diamond Phillips in a good movie too. I would highly recommend this film to anyone. i give this an 8/10.
South Park (1997)
VERY Funny! One of the best cartoons ever!
I have been reading the comments on this show and I think the people who do not like this show are obviously very confused and there are a few things they do not understand.
1) South Park is not trying to be like the Simpsons. These 2 cartoons have NOTHING in common except for the fact that they are both animated. Thats it...nothing else. 2)The poor animation is obviously is done purposely. After all its not the animation that makes us laugh. It's all the crude jokes. This show is one of the highest rated on TV and the makers are making MILLIONS. Some of the most prestigious in Hollywood have made appearances on this show. Elton John,Jennifer Anniston,George Clooney,KORN,etc.. 3) The characters walking sideways are simply a trademark of the show. Kind of like the Simpsons ugly irritating cone shape heads and that annoying baby constantly sucking on that pacifier.
You have to appreciate the humor of this show. All the classic one-liners and I think the characters were all so well developed. Mr. Garrison is the funniest closet-case homo character on TV. And they have tried to make light of some very serious real-life situations. Assisted suicide, The depletion of the rainforests,spontanious combustion,beastiality....which is obviously a sick, but funny joke.
This is sort of like Howard Stern.....many people watch it for shock value...you are simply waiting to see what these little kids are going to do next. I watch it because its funnier than hell and very enjoyable.
Like Howard Stern...if you don't like it, then don't watch it.
In Living Color (1990)
One of the best comedies EVER
This show was truly a smorgasboard of talent. They pushed the limits and almost crossed the line with their raunchy,crude humor. That's what made this show so wonderful. They poke fun at EVERYBODY no matter what race. It's nice to see that some minorities can poke fun at their own stereotypes without getting so sensitive about the issue. Jim Carrey is a GENIUS. His roles as Fire Marshall Bill,Parnell the super nerdy dorky schoolboy , and the female beauty queen were hystical. And you cant forget Homie Clause and the 2 hoods who steal things then sell them on their own shopping network. I was sad to see this show get discontinued but I still constantly watch the reruns on FX.
La vita è bella (1997)
Very good movie but no masterpiece
I watched this movie these weekend shown in Italian with English subtitles. I'm still trying to decide whether it was worth the several Oscars it won. The storyline is simple. Guido,Dora and their young son Joshua are sent to a concentration camp because they are jewish. Guido tries to make light of what is a very horrific, nightmarish situation by heavily improvising to his young son by using humor that it is all just a game. The young boy that played the son was brilliant in the role-he is VERY talented. I didn't think the harsh reality of the camp was built up enough in this movie. If they would have put more detail into the horrible reality of the camp it would have made the movie better. Overall it was good and enjoyable. I give it 7/10.
Family Matters (1989)
One of the funniest shows ever
I really miss this show since it went off the air but I still try and catch reruns on TBS syndication. This show was just hilarious! All the characters in this show were so well developed. I loved Steve Urkel-he brought in so many laughs in this show. I also loved Carl's character-he played the role of a loving,devoted family guy superbly. Myra who was Urkels girlfriend was just cute as a button(Sadly she is deceased now). There were alot of touching scenes between Laura and Urkel when Urkel profusely expressed his love for her. My favorite episodes are when Urkel builds his lie detector machine and the episode where they all wind up at the drive through. Laura is fighting off the advances of her date and Urkel and Myra are in the car next to them. Great show that will be missed!
Dead Again (1991)
Excellent Movie!!!!
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. The storyline is so creative, truly making this an exciting movie to watch. Kenneth Branagh plays a private detective (Mike) who comes across a woman who has amnesia-she can't remember anything(played by Emma Thompson). He names her Grace but her real name is Amanda. She starts having flashbacks about a past life she supposedly lived as "Margaret" and her husband was Roman Strauss. Mike takes her to a hypnotist so she can reveal more of what she believes was her past life. What unfolds is pure drama,suspense, and a chilling story of what really happened between Margaret and Roman. Outstanding movie. I give this 8/10.
Married with Children (1987)
The Best, funniest sitcom EVER made. I'm sorry it's over!
This is truly American television at its best. I have never watched a sitcom where the characters are so well developed. Anybody who does not like this show is prude and boring, simple as that! Al Bundy plays the funniest Husband/Father on TV. His life is basically a joke. He sarcastically acts like he can't stand his wife and 2 kids(Kelly and Bud). He works as a shoe salesman and complains about his job, drives a beat up car, and fights with his neighbors Steve and Marcy. Steve is replaced later in the series by Ted McGinley who plays Jefferson. The script is so brilliant and the writers who helped create this show are to credit for the shows enormous success. The script is full of PG-13 rated raunchy humor and nonstop laughs.
I could probably name every episode as my fave and its really hard to break it down into just a few. All I can say is I'm truly disappointed Married With Children eventually got discontinued after over 10 seasons and I was very disappointed in the very last episode. All in all..Al Bundy is GOD! and I cant wait for a reunion episode.
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
An okay film that should have been better
I will give credit to Martin Scorsese. I thought the cast was incredible and the cinematography was amazing. Although I don't work in the EMT/Paramedic field, the film seemed pretty realistic as to what the life is like of a burned out paramedic. To the man who didn't like the film because it portrays all Paramedics as burned out washed out alcoholics, this movie did not do that. It simply portrayed one or two out of the many that were in desperate need of a career change. There were a few things in the movie I didn't like.
1/Plot hole-I thought Nicholas Cage's character actually quit the second time around. Next thing you know he's back at work the next day like nothing happened. Did he take his job back and just not let the viewing audience know??? 2/ Noel's character was overall very disrupting,annoying,and overemphasized. I was hoping that somebody would kill him after the first half hour into the movie. I realize the makers tried to portray that on certain shifts, paramedics see the same people over and over again they can't stand, but this was played out too much. 3/The whole scenes where Nicholas Cage's and Patricia Arquette's characters wind up at that drug house, just didn't seem to fit in. I would have liked to have seen some romance between the 2 characters built up more. All in all...I give this 6/10.
A Civil Action (1998)
VERY BORING....I was not impressed with this movie.
This is one of the few movies I have scene in a theater where I actually had trouble staying awake. This is one of the most boring, uneventful,predictable movies I have ever seen. This movie is proof that not some real life civil suits should be made into a movie, no matter how significant the case is. I kept waiting for some exciting court room drama to explode, but nope. It never happened! The movie moved at a snails pace all the way through. Rent this one on .99 Cents night at the video store. I give this movie 3/10.
Beloved (1998)
You either like this film or hate it. I liked it.
I watched this movie after having not read the book. It caught my interest after a movie review I read on it gave it 5 stars out of 5 stars. I thought there were some incredible moments in this film but I will warn to all who watch it...it is long and does start out kind of slow, but if you stay with it you should see what a bizarre and unique movie this was. This was by far alot more stranger than I thought. The beginning of the movie was a little hard to follow, thats why you have to really pay attention through the whole film. The movie starts to pick up when you actually find out who "Beloved" is( by they way the actress that played her was just incredible). The theme is creepy and unsettling. This is not your typical movie about slavery. After the movie ended and I figured out all the plot twists, I decided this was a very enjoyable film. I actually was a little confused at the ending. I won't give away the ending but I didn't think the pregnancy fit in the storyline to well. I overall give this 7/10.
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
Overall poor adaption of book
When I read this wonderful novel by Jacqueline Mitchard, the book was so compelling I got through the whole book in 3 days. I thought it was wonderful. So when this movie came out I was quite excited to see it, however I was overall disappointed with the film. I do give the makers an "A" for effort. It's tough to make a movie about a child that disappears, the family moves away to another state, and just happends to find their child years later living in the same neighborhood. Joshua Jackson played the part of the older brother with an attitude problem right down to a tee. I thought Michelle Pfeiffer played the role as the distraught mother excellent as well. But overall these fine performances to not make up for the poor film. The book hit some tender notes with me, like the part where Mrs. Cappadora is explaining the loss of a child, and having to choose amongst her children she said "It's like having to choose between your mind and your heart." I expected and was hoping the movie would leave me a bit emotional, but it didn't. This movie wasn't really sad,suspenseful, or overall, very entertaining. Rent this one on .99 cent night at the video store. I give this 5/10.
American History X (1998)
An excellent movie that is very realistic
I was super impressed with this movie. I thought the script and the realism of the movie was just brilliant. Ed Norton proved once again he is phenomenal actor. Anybody who doesn't like this movie because of the racial overtones, lighten up. You knew what this movie was about before you rented it didn't you?? Yes the movie is about racism. If you can think of a way to make a movie about racism without the characters being racist let us know ok??? Some excellent points were brought up in this movie 1) It is possible for somebody who once used to be a "skinhead" to want to turn their life around 2)"Affirmative Action is not fare and needs to be abolished 3)This movie makes people think twice about joining a huge organization like the skinheads. Just when you think they are your friends, they can turn into your worst enemy. This is an excellent film, highly recommended for somebody who wants to be taught a few lessons about life and who we choose as our friends. I give this movie 9/10. It was outstanding.