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Reviews
20 Dates (1998)
This is poop. Run away, run far away
It's not the fact the film maker is a hopeless loser.
It's not the fact the film maker is a cliche jerk of a man that contributes validity to male bashing.
It's not the shameless rip off of style, technique and humor (and poor at that) already been mastered by Michael Moore.
Its that this film started off as a great idea and ended up a hopeless waste of time and effort.
Don't even rent it. You will find yourself amused more by your carpet under the TV set.
p.s. Don't be fooled by the trailer.(I was) Who ever did that (it certainly wasn't the director of the film) knew what was good about this film, it's concept, and avoided the rest.
1 buck and that's for a gag on the French army. (out of 8)
Lea (1996)
Talk of melancholy and the infinite sadness...
I have never seen a sadder movie in my life. This is a tragic story of a very special person who lives the harshest existence film may have ever seen. This story is a genuine poem into itself. It feels like an old story because it is. It reminds us that woman have suffered this kind of abuse for thousands of years and still do today. Take a chance and go see it. There is some happiness in a strange and poetic way.
Bring some tissue and a sweater, this film is cold.
7 bucks out of 8
Festen (1998)
One messed up family...
A celebration of a father's 65th birthday brings the entire extended family to his hotel for the weekend. There are a handful of great characters in this film to tell a simple story of the most dysfunctional family I have seen on film in a long time. Its limited sets had most to do with budget, I'm sure, but the story is told well in its perimeters. The shooting style was like home films with unsteady cams rocking and jerking the grainy picture along, but it all seem appropriate.
There really isn't much more to say on this film. It is fun, and a little disturbing. I think it would suit an audience that liked the film "Happiness".
$5 (Out of 8)
Elizabeth (1998)
This movie makes me really wish we had a kick butt queen like that.
Back in the days when royalty actually meant something in the political spectrum, this story unfolds. Enter a simple woman, a distant relative to the ill fated queen, yet next in line to her throne. She's a commoner that creates much concern amongst the politically ambitious and sets the stage for a story of lies, deceit, love and tragedy.
The film stars the beautifully talented Cate Blanchette as Elizabeth. She must prove to England, the world, even herself, that Great Britain should be ruled not only by blood, but also by authority and compassion. The afore mentioned lacking and the latter in abundance.
Look for the subtle yet striking performance of Geoffrey Rush. His character adds a strong scenes of mystery and intrigue to the story. We are unsure if he covets the life of a king or of a loyal servant.
Although the love story dampens the legends of the "Virgin Queen" makes her vow of chastity almost laughable, I will still give this movie a better then average review because of its gorgeous production style, beautiful costumes and well researched locations and talent.
6 bucks. out of 8.
Pecker (1998)
Pecker left me laughing
Been `teabagged' lately? This and other crazy terms have been coined in John Waters latest wacky story called `Pecker' .
It is not the sugar addicted little sister or the Grandmother who is a few books short of a bible, it's not the slapstick comedy or good performances all round that make this a good movie. For that matter it isn't even the way they slam the art world. It's the way they say "screw off" to posers. Because in film today... ...that is rare.
$6 and toss an extra dime for the promotional teabag I got on the way out. (out of $8)
Very Bad Things (1998)
I wish I could say it was good.
I have always been a big fan of Christian Slater. I grew up with him. Enjoyed his success, and watched him grow as an actor. He has several top notch films in his CV; unfortunately, this is not one of them.
Although the situation the main characters find themselves in is funny (in a mental institution kind of way) it is boring.
A bunch of fun loving yuppie types go to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. When a hooker comes to the hotel room, one takes her for a quickie whilst the others wrestle and do coke. During the boink, buddy kills her (in the same fashion as 1998's "Clutch" I might add). Christian takes over the scene by killing the security guard and forcing the gang to cover up the homicides.
It's not funny, There is no tension, there is not dark humor, there is no believable characters and the situations are beyond credible.
Christian is not new to this genre of film. However, "Very Bad Things" doesn't even come close to "Heathers" or "True Romance". I would suggest renting those and wait for this one on video before seeing it. The big screen offers no significant plus to watching this film.
4 bucks (Out of 8)
What Dreams May Come (1998)
One of the nicest looking films I have ever seen.
On the surface this film may appear to be more sappy then a northern Ontario sugarbush in the spring, but give it time and keep your mind open. The premise is very solid: A soul-mated couple lose their family to a car wreck. The father soon dies and has to deal with his quilt from life in order to live out eternity in heaven with a clear conscience. A wrench is tossed in when his wife loses her mind and commits suicide taking her to hell. The man feels heaven isn't heaven unless he spends it with the women, so he sets out to bring her back.
The real conflict in this picture is not the obvious man versus environment, but, cleverly, because the man is in control of his environment, he is the environment, thus it is man versus himself.
Careful not to confuse time lines in this picture, there are no flashbacks. Time means nothing in heaven, memories are real-time, when he resolves issues in his so-called flashbacks, the issues are also resolved in heaven. Most of the reviews I have read to date missed this fact. They say there is too much time spent in flashbacks. Each of the flashbacks take place in extreme environments themselves so I believe that the flashbacks are real-time, he is reliving the past. Early in the film we are told that "in heaven, thought is real and matter is the illusion", therefore, if he is thinking it, it is real, and he has the ability to change it.
I think this film will go over the heads of a lot of the population, who, may mistake this for a cheesy love story. But scratch this away and you have a story that demands you explore yourself. It may leave you reflecting those places we keep putting off in ourselves that one day we may have to face, and asks us to decide if we have the character in us to face our darkest selves.
All this plus an art direction that is gorgeous to boot. Stunning imagery, breathtaking visions, mind-expanding special effects. One of the best looking pictures ever made.
1. See this film. 2. Make sure you see it on the big screen. 3. Bring a date.
8 bucks (out of 8)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
The Inevitable Comparison
The Inevitable Comparison of "The Thin Red Line" to "Saving Private Ryan" can be summed up like this...
"The Thin Red Line" is to "Saving Private Ryan" as "Full Metal Jacket" is to "Platoon"
All great films. All very different.
This movie is nothing short of brilliant. If you didn't like it, I can understand why. Often brilliance is dismissed as rubbish because nobody really expects it to be there. Don't be fooled, it is there. I have seen it twice now. There is nothing rubbish in this film. Like great writers and poets command example and metaphor to tell an idea, so too does this film to tell emotion and irony in extreme circumstance.
Nothing on the surface of this film matters. The narrative
exists twenty feet below the level we normally watch films at. And it lasts for days.
This film ranks with "Apocalypse Now", "Das Boot", "Platoon", "All Quiet on the Western Front", "Full Metal Jacket", "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Ran" as the best war films ever made.
Sorry, I will share no details on the film. Only to tell you that everybody from script, to production design, to music score, to acting, to direction, was right on the ball with this one.
My Pick for best film of the year Also my pick for top ten films of the 90's to date and top 20 films of all time.
$8 (out of $8)
see it twice, you won't regret it.
A Bug's Life (1998)
Technology does not replace story...
I studied film and animation in the post secondary level. I have been working as an animator and designer for the last few years. With my experience, I will honestly say the film had some good animation. Computer generated or not. But, animation does not replace story.
Story and animation is what PIXAR does best. Not here. Here we see another sugar coated Disney flick with no strong characters, no tension, and no timing.
It's insanely simple plot puts those Teletubbies to shame. There was about 10 too many main characters in the film and the design style was based around plastic molds for merchandising more than bugs for storytelling.
I am a big fan of PIXAR. Since I saw Luxo Jr. open "Basic Instinct" about 6 years ago, I have been pulling for them. When they landed the deal with Disney, I was ecstatic for both. Now Pixar had the distribution Disney could offer and Disney has the stories and characters Pixar can offer.
Never happened. Here we are 2 films into a 5 film contract with Disney and it is the worst animated film I have seen in years.
For God's Sakes Disney, Please, Please, spend a little more time on the script!
Fat sidekicks, villains that are evil for the sake of it and semi-liberated Barbie doll princesses are not good story crutches, let alone devises.
1 buck (and that's only because they spared us with no songs) out of 8
p.s., the only time PIXAR's talents showed up in this film was during the credits. Inspired, intelligent and funny. Too bad they sold out the first hour and a half of the film.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
The Inevitable Comparison
The Inevitable Comparison of "The Thin Red Line" to "Saving Private Ryan" can be summed up like this...
"The Thin Red Line" is to "Saving Private Ryan" as "Full Metal Jacket" is to "Platoon"
All great films. All very different.
This movie is nothing short of brilliant. If you didn't like it, I can understand why. Often brilliance is dismissed as rubbish because nobody really expects it to be there. Don't be fooled, it is there. I have seen it twice now. There is nothing rubbish in this film. Like great writers and poets command example and metaphor to tell an idea, so too does this film to tell emotion and irony in extreme circumstance.
Nothing on the surface of this film matters. The narrative
exists twenty feet below the level we normally watch films at. And it lasts for days.
This film ranks with "Apocalypse Now", "Das Boot", "Platoon", "All Quiet on the Western Front", "Full Metal Jacket", "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Ran" as the best war films ever made.
Sorry, I will share no details on the film. Only to tell you that everybody from script, to production design, to music score, to acting, to direction, was right on the ball with this one.
My Pick for best film of the year Also my pick for top ten films of the 90's to date and top 20 films of all time.
$8 (out of $8)
see it twice, you won't regret it.
Psycho (1998)
Again? Why?
Some call Psycho, Hitchcock's "Masterpiece". Why remake it? Why put a false ceiling on the Sistine Chapel?
Gus Van Sant put together a spectacular film. Like the original, we lived in suspense the entire picture. Like the original, we fell in lust with the female lead. Like the original, Norman was a strong, intriguing character, however unlike the original, it's not original.
Sure the film is great. It's easy to make a film when all the inspiration and the grind of creative pre-production was finished by a man 38 years before you shot. By a master of the medium no less. They had a finished script, a realtime, live action, staged, lighted and acted storyboard before the remake was even conceived of. Get a talented Director like VanSant, and actors like Vince Vaughan and Juliann Moore, how could you screw up? It's only a Xerox, and like a Xerox, you lose a generation of quality.
Van Sant has made some great films. He would have been better just to colour the old film and call it even. A real tribute to Hitchcock would be to outdo him... ...not copy him.
Psycho (1998) ____bucks (out of 8) I am not going to rate this fantastic film because I will not give credit to Gus Van Sant when Hitchcock's cast and crew deserve it. Believe me, rent the first one, then, if you feel you need too, watch the new one, but trust me, you will have already seen it.
Psycho (1960) 8 bucks (out of 8)
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
crash boom bang, zoink.
Lethal Weapon 4 Richard Donner 1998
Perhaps the most amazing thing about the fourth installment in the Lethal Weapon franchise is that it wasn't half bad.If you are looking for a solid plot or suburb acting then don't look here. However, if you are looking for mindless violence and lots of things that blow up real good, this maybe the summer movie for you.
One of the things that made the first movie (Lethal Weapon) such a success was the relationship between Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). Riggs' oneliner comebacks to Murtaugh's conservative suburban ways make for a few chuckles between all the explosions and car chases. This movie upholds that tradition but Murtaugh has loosed up with few one-liners himself.
The premise is simple, Riggs, Leo Getz (Joe Pesci, GoodFellas), and Murtaugh stumble onto a slave trade run by the Chinese Mafia. This is no good. So they will stop it. Simple eh? Toss in a couple subplot's, namely Murtaugh's daughter marring fellow cop Lee Butters (Chris Rock, HBO's Bring The Pain) behind his back. And of course the big question, will Riggs ever marry pregnant cop girlfriend Lorna Cole (Rene Russo, Get Shorty}?
The best part of the movie by far was it's villain Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li). Li preforms next to impossible feats of acrobatics and martial arts to give Mel and Danny a good licking. This was the first film in English for Li, and also marked the first in 25 films he plays the villain. Unlike many American action films, the camera was left with a wide angle and fewer cuts to show off Jet Li's martial arts abilities. Not the same for Mel and Danny's action scenes that are filled with jumpcuts and tracking cameras to hide their lack of raw talent. Perhaps they `are getting too old for this sh*t'.
$5 (out of $8)
Buffalo '66 (1998)
Buffalo 66 offers a raw, comically surreal, original story that leaves you both disgusted and intrigued with its characters and setting.
Buffalo 66 offers a raw, comically surreal, original story that leaves you both disgusted and intrigued with its characters and setting.
Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo, also co-wrote, scored and directed) enters the urban winter streets from a five year prison term with three things on his mind. First, and most urgent, he needs a place to pee. Second, he must convince his parents of a lie that he has been on a five-year government mission and happily married. Finally, he must kill the Buffalo Bills placekicker who's missed field goal placed Billy in a heap of trouble with a bookie (Mickey Rourke,White Sands). The bookie made him take a fall for a crime in order to redeem a gambling debt, hence the five year prison term.
As we are dashed on the head with all the stupid mistakes Billy has made to bring him to this point in his life, Gallo's skill and inventiveness as a film maker and actor introduces pungent flashbacks of Billy's childhood that were both heartbreaking and horrific. Christina Ricci (Ice Storm) played a very convincing Layla, the kidnapped victim Billy forces to play his wife for his parents (Anjelica Huston, Ben Gazzara). She doesn't seem to mind being a victim as she progressively falls in love with Billy and patiently returns his sanity.
There is a strong sense of Gallo's intimacy with Buffalo in the use of real locations throughout the movie. A incredibly convincing sequence was shot in Gallo's childhood home where Billy's highly dysfunctional family dwell. So convincing it leaves the question of how much of this abuse is actually autobiographical. Several superb technical sequences allow the movie,which is slow in spots, to stay alive in weird anticipation to what he will do next.
Buffalo 66 is a deep, dark and hip film that promises great things in the future from Vincent Gallo.
$7 (out of 8)