Yonhap S Reviews

The Mummy Returns (2001)

not bad, but first movie was better

[5/10 · 15 June 2001]

Well, this movie is entertaining the first time. But I got tired watching its second viewing. I'm surprised no one here mentioned about Evie's distant past and if that were so, Imhotep should have recognized her a lot better in the first movie.

I like the first movie better because it had much better character development and interaction. This sequel is confident of its characters and proceeds as the plot tells them to (which isn't much to begin with). At 2 hours, the movie is too long for what is a no-brainer adventure film.

rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000 Video)

Really bad

[2/10 · 27 November 2000]

This is a movie that is bad in every imaginable way. Sure we like to know what happened 12 years from the last movie, and it works on some level. But the new characters are just not interesting. Baby Melody is hideously horrible! Alas, while the logic that humans can't stay underwater forever is maintained, other basic physical logic are ignored. It's chilly if you don't have cold weather garments if you're in the Arctic. I don't know why most comments here Return of Jafar rates worse, I thought this one is more horrible.

Battlefield Earth (2000)

Not as bad as I imagined, but still terrible

[3/10 · 10 October 2000]

This movie is not as bad as I imagined it would be, but it certainly was not great. Terl teaching a human far more than necessary is painful to watch. As is the sight of cavemen flying Harriers. Some of the effects look neat, although at times, it looks like some indoor set much like the other bad movie, Soldier, was made on. I also got tired of the fade scene (reminiscent of Star Wars) that moves to the next act.

The action isn't earth-shattering climactic but nevertheless I must admit it was somewhat exciting. Some scenes like the a la Matrix firefight look cool, but you can't help but accuse the movie of copying other movies.

The worst part is the humans chanting "piece of cake" like a mantra. Harry Knowles explained well at the fallacy of using that phrase in a setting such as this movie. I frequent a movie forum, and I can't believe people would call this a soon-to-be classic 100% good sci-fi film. Gahh! Perish the thought.

The verdict: 1.5 of 5 stars.

Double Jeopardy (1999)

very contrived and problematic movie...

[5/10 · 29 July 2000]

Even though I'm not familiar with double jeopardy part of the US constitution, I kinda knew there's a hole with regards to killing someone in a West Coast state and killing the same person again in say New York or Lousiana. Everyone has seen the trailers, so it's no spoiler if I make this comment since it's also in the goofs section of this website. I also feel the trial of Libby, charged with murdering her husband, was contrived and very unconvincing. After having seen countless forensic shows, I think she could still have put up a better defense than as shown in the movie. Are those really her husband's blood? If what she did was stab her husband, where and how are the blood splatters developed? After all, mere motive alone is not enough to put a person in prison.

The verdict: 2.5 of 5 stars.

Beethoven (1992)

Awfully dumb villains

[5/10 · 29 June 2000]

I guess people who own big dogs will especially like this movie. It's charming at a certain level and painful to watch in some areas. Especially Charles Grodin maintaining Beethoven's body sanitation and the drool he must endure.

The villains are the dumbest of the bunch. If they really want to test their gun, I hear you can legally acquire a cadaver for that purpose. If not, it's still very easy to measure whatever "killing power" the gun has.

The verdict: 2.5 of 5 stars.

Snake Eyes (1998)

Even more disappointing when it's no longer unique

[5/10 · 26 April 2000]

With a very so so plot, the only thing left going for this movie is the long scene at the beginning where there's hardly a cut in the picture as Nicholas Cage's character moves from one area to another. That's it, after that, there's nothing left to hook the viewer. This gets even worse as I saw an episode of The X-Files. It's the episode where Mulder goes to the Bermuda Triangle. That episode was divided into several acts and each act is taken on a single take without cut. That was a very good episode. After watching that, this film just keeps going lower in my eyes.

The verdict: 2.5 of 5 stars.

The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999)

A funny way to make a documentary

[6/10 · 18 April 2000]

After watching The Blair Witch Project, I thought this one would at least be some blast. The movie is generally funny and the setup at the beginning was good. However, as we near the ending, the plot degenerates. I thought it would be better if Jenny got pregnant only after the wedding.

Overall, it was okay. Nothing to get excited too much, not a disappointment either.

The verdict: 3 of 5 stars.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Not scary, but interesting

[6/10 · 16 April 2000]

To get into this film, it's better that you understand what the filmmakers were aiming for. Fortunately, there's no one ramming down my throat hyping the movie. I've checked the Blair Witch website a little. It sure has lots of amazing details.

Anyway, onto the film itself. The first half hour of the movie is disorienting what with the shaky handheld cam shots. But this first half hour is essential to know the Blair Witch myth (wish I listened hard, heheh). Then the next hour is where the transformation of the kids from happy, to whining annoyance uttering the F word plenty of times, and ultimately fear.

I never got scared or made me think hard such as to lose sleep. What it is, is simply an interesting way of making a movie. That's it. The actors don't have much of a script to work with and so most of the scenes are ad libbed. And the story is constructed as a documentary. At the end, you feel that you want to know more, but since it's a "unfinished documentary" the end is naturally abrupt. This is one story best viewed on a TV screen IMO.

The verdict: 3 of 5 stars.

Killing Time (1998)

Appropriate title, interesting setup

[7/10 · 13 April 2000]

Forget the acting, the pace of the story, logic, and plotholes what makes this film interesting is the setup. The title Killing Time can go both ways: one that sounds like Time to Kill, or just wasting one's time away. Maria the Assassin is to kill a mob boss. The first place of her attack, the boss is not around and will be on the subway late afternoon. With nothing to do in the meantime, she's stays in the hotel to kill time.

The structure and setup of the plot is interesting. You will notice a translator tape being played and only later does it show its importance.

The verdict: 3.5 of 5 stars.

Lansky (1999 TV Movie)

terribly executed biofilm

[3/10 · 10 April 2000]

If done well, this would be a very interesting movie, but as it is, it's very marginal. The shift from his youth days, to his 30's and 1978 gets very confusing. There are times the issue of Meyer Lansky being Jewish is brought up in the film, but later it's simply forgotten. That's the scenes during his childhood and the 1978 scenes. Between that, nothing. All we see in the film is only about Lansky, but it would have been interesting to see what his friends and enemies think and mean about him. I'm losing faith in HBO movies.

The verdict: 1.5 of 5 stars.

Desert Heat (1999)

The movie goes nowhere

[3/10 · 7 April 2000]

Van Damme's character is bringing a motorcycle as a gift for his friend. Yeah, but what's he doing being drunk in the first place? Since this film is direct-to-video, the fight scenes truly left a lot to be desired. The best parts are those that involve the townsfolk. And that's the first half, but the latter half seems to go nowhere.

And what's with Juanito Beinte-Tres massaging Van Damme's calf???

The verdict: 1.5 of 5 stars.

The Astronaut's Wife (1999)

lack of concrete plot, just nifty atmosphere

[5/10 · 4 April 2000]

After watching this movie, one cannot help the feeling that what we've seen is all there is. Questions as to why there are twins or why Johnny Depp's character is obsessed with building a plane are unanswered. You can also guess who dies in the story. We also have a Dr. Ruth-like doctor (what in the heck?!). I also got annoyed at the "bad guys see everything" element (just like Arlington Road) here when Joe Morton and Charlize Theron were supposed to meet. If he's busy trying to build the plane, why is he just about everywhere in New York? I guess the problem is that the story just focuses on the character title only. However, there's so many other things going on in the story, and we really want to know why, we are just supposed to accept it. Duh.

The verdict: 2.5 of 5 stars.

Bound (1996)

Playful camerawork

[8/10 · 21 March 2000]

What can I say? The story may not be much, but the concept is something you don't see everyday. Two lesbian lovers conspire to steal money from the Mafia. What is amazing about the movie is the way the directors, the Wachowski Brothers, play with the camera. For one, the plot is hatching as we watch and listen to the two women's plan. It may be confusing at first, but you get the hang of it.

The verdict: 4 of 5 stars.

The Beast of War (1988)

certainly not the best, but it was sort of unique

[6/10 · 25 February 2000]

The Beast of War is not the best war film I've seen. But the fact that it's set during the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan and its David vs Goliath battle is what pleased me. The only other movie I know set during the Afghan conflict is the far more jingoistic Rambo III. The story as it goes on is rather predictable. Predictability in films or books is not what displeases audience anyway. What I enjoyed was that battle between a tank and a handful of fighters.

The verdict: 3 of 5 stars.

Anna and the King (1999)

Well paced story

[8/10 · 18 February 2000]

As far as romance and political intrigue goes, I say this is a pretty good movie. Chow Yun Fat makes his, I daresay, best performance in an American movie. Jodie Foster has to put up with a British accent and really gets to me. Even if Chow has difficulty with Thai, I wouldn't notice it. Anyway, as I watch the movie, it of course must touch on some points raised in previous incarnations of this story such as slavery. I can't help but think what the characters think of the Civil War raging in the US. The story is based after all on 1862. We only get a letter from Abraham Lincoln, and that's it. Through it all, it's the romantic tension between Anna Leonowens and King Mongkut that's the heart of the story. The pace of the story is fine and I never got bored.

The verdict: 4 of 5 stars.

Arlington Road (1999)

What a very disappointing ending...

[5/10 · 8 February 2000]

Arlington Road is one of those movies with a thoughtful setup but the flaws become all too apparent when you realize them. I managed to enjoy through most of the film but some flaws will easily strike you. Example, Faraday's plea to "raise the flag" when earlier in the film he's apparently bitter because in part due to the FBI "flag". And why does he continue teaching when he'll just always come so close to tears? No one would continue in a work like this if it only brings them pain. And then as Roger Ebert said, there's the redundant research via the old newspaper when Faraday's should have had all his info from the internet. Just so, the bad guy knows what he's up to.

The good parts about this movie? Well, the acting is generally good, but pretty much what can be expected of Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins. On the technical side, theres the scene as one imdb user noted where the conversations manages to switch from one side to the other.

I'm sure we are to root for Faraday, but the ending stinks. There's just nary even a small measure of victory for the good guys. Audiences hate this kind of tragic ending (although admittedly it was a surprising one). Two movies come to my mind after watching this: Seven and Fallen. In Seven, Brad Pitt didn't give a whit about the villain's moral standpoint. In Fallen, Denzel Washington at least did to Azazel what most others failed to do.

The verdict: 2.5 of 5 stars.

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Easily one of the best

[10/10 · 7 February 2000]

What else can I say about Toy Story 2? It touches upon our inner child, tells a wacky, funny, yet touching story. The inclusion of Barbie was pretty neat and a great victory for Pixar. I kind of felt that Transformers (the great toyline of the 80's) would be awesome to include albeit innappropriate (that's why there's Beast Wars).

There's more pop culture reference such as Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Godzilla (which was used plenty of times). I still like the first movie better, but as sequels go, this is truly excellent.

The verdict: 5 of 5 stars.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

Oh Almighty Bomb, Fallout be thy name....

[5/10 · 27 January 2000]

The sequel sure takes a huge downturn. Instead of continuing watching the journey of Taylor and Nova, we now have to watch through Brent's (astronaut sent to find Taylor and company). And so the process of discovery and shock is done all over again, and told in a shortcut fashion to less effect. There are some aspects of movie that's good like the chimp activists. Too bad Zira and Cornelius are not around much. I must say the gorilla general talks like John Wayne.

The thing with a race of mutant humans worshipping the atom bomb was silly, especially the mass scene. The control panels for the bomb remind me of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies. The ending sure sucks though.

The verdict: 2.5 of 5 stars.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Excellent sci-fi

[9/10 · 26 January 2000]

Although this movie shows its being dated, it's an excellent masterpiece up to now. You'll notice that the apes are in a caste system. The gorillas do the grunt work, chimps are benign and pretty much peaceful, and orangutangs appear to be in the higher order. There is the question as to why humans in the movie can't speak, but it's something even one of the sympathetic chimps wonder. The apes are afraid of him because he can speak and think for himself.

The tension in the story holds to the question how Taylor will survive in the ape colony. We sympathize his frustrations as he wish to be free and find answers as what truly happened. The ending may not come much of a surprise but it's still a powerful scene that it's probably entrenched in sci-fi movie history.

The verdict: 4.5 of 5 stars.

Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)

typical ok B-movie but with thoroughly disappointing ending

[5/10 · 24 January 2000]

Highly expecting this to be just a so-so sequel and not expect much, I was entertained to say the least. The story has Luc Deveraux supportive of the UniSol program despite his terrible experience in the last movie. This doesn't jibe well with the previous movie, not to mention it's a great occupational hazard for Luc as it usually involves being chased around by dead soldiers in field tests. Some scenes remind you of other movies, for example, the the scene where two people are discussing about pulling the plug on the UniSol project evokes 2001: A Space Odyssey. And the battle between Luc and SETH ended kinda like what happened in Demolition Man.

I need not mention that subplots like Luc's wife are introduced but dropped anyway. The ending really disappointed me as it, of course, involves the destruction of UniSols. It's not their second deaths that bugged me, it's the lack of an epilogue to let audience know it's over or what these characters think of the whole ridiculous situation.

The verdict: 2.5 of 5 stars.

For Richer or Poorer (1997)

Okay movie with cruel, unusual punishment

[6/10 · 16 January 2000]

The movie's main plot is nothing new. One or more jerk or losers flee from their problem and find refuge somewhere they never been to pretending to be something they're not. Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley do good performance here. They hide from the IRS by pretending to be long lost Amish cousins. The terrible, cruel and unusual punishment is having Tim Allen eat a casserole of lung, liver and kidney (Do Amish really cook that?). Something I can't forget now. Darn. Blech!

The verdict: 3 of 5 stars.

Houseguest (1995)

A funny movie... and oh! The Big Mac!

[8/10 · 16 January 2000]

After watching For Richer or Poorer, I'm reminded how much better I liked Houseguest. Even the first time this movie was made, the plot is nothing new, but Sinbad makes it wholesome and we can relate to him at some level as is with the other characters. His pretense at being a vegetarian is a great, humorous struggle for him. The ending featuring Sinbad and the late Phil Hartman singing the Christmas Burger Medley was great. Anything to remind me of that casserole scene in For Richer or Poorer.

The verdict: 4 of 5 stars.

End of Days (1999)

A wasted potential. Tsk!

[4/10 · 7 January 2000]

This could have easily been a very good Arnie film, but I, like my friends, felt that the film's potential was wasted with very poor direction. End of Days plays itself as a truly serious film yet the plot and its development doesn't allow us to take it seriously. The characters are all not very developed. I couldn't care Robin Tunney's situation of living for the past 20 years dreaming of making love with Satan. Arnold plays the kind of broken hero that usually suits Bruce Willis, and he plays it well, too bad the script degenerates and doesn't allow further exploration. The writers could have played up the Faustian deal some more by not making Arnie's character, who's supposed to have a lost faith in God, into a totally determined "say no" guy from the beginning. Instead some silly stuffs have to crop up and taken seriously (and executed ineffectively) like the truth about 666. Also plot developments happen and then never explained especially how is it that Thomas Aquinas could talk without his tongue. The climax is obviously shoe-horned so that it is faith that will eventually defeat the devil. Earlier in the movie, it is mentioned that the devil will choose a particular mortal to take over and only that mortal can impregnate Robin Tunney. The movie Armageddon also had huge gaping plotholes, but at least the movie was fun.

Gabriel Byrne's performance of Satan having a talk with Arnie is one of the highlights of the film. It was a good scene although it begs comparison with a similar (and better) scene found in The Devil's Advocate.

The verdict: 2 of 5 stars. I can't believe I enjoyed this less than Wild Wild West.

The Faculty (1998)

Excellent movie in a similar vein

[8/10 · 21 December 1999]

This movie was sort of a surprise to me since I never thought it'd be this good. Director Robert Rodriguez puts some nifty surprises. You can't get scared anymore with movies like these, but the adventure the teens go through was fun to watch. The movie is aware that it has its inspirations from Puppetmasters and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (I like the scene where they discuss about it). Movie enthusiasts who frequent the internet may recognize Harry Knowles. Robert Patrick (T2) as the coach was maniacal. I didn't recognize Famke Jannsen until the closing credits.

About the only thing that disturbs me is that the enemy is defeated by drug use. Oh boy, "You know it's bad for you, but you gotta do it."

The verdict: 4 of 5 stars.

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

Superb!

[8/10 · 18 December 1999]

This is one fun movie. I liked this far more than the dullard Entrapment. Brosnan and Russo's chemistry worked very well. Watch out for Russo in a killer see-through dress. Brosnan plays Thomas Crown somewhat much like his other role James Bond and I realized he gets past his legal limitation with regards to tuxedoes.

The verdict: 4 of 5 stars.