risen_feenix Reviews

Planet 51 (2009)

Who Is This Targeted At?

[5/10 · 1 December 2009]

I saw this movie with my two 4 year old nephews, and it was a tough job getting them to watch it all the way through. The humor and story were above their pay grade as 4 year-olds, so this was definitely meant for older kids.

The humor was based on a lot of cultural references that only adults could really appreciate, though I didn't laugh all that much. Groaned, yes, laughed…. not so much. If you're going to include dialogue that isn't going to make a lick of sense to the kiddies, at least try to get the humor a wee bit sophisticated for us adults. And the 4 year olds, and I think for many children, they had trouble wrapping their heads around the whole "who is the alien" part. I'm sure there's an age where this won't be a problem, but 4-6 ain't it.

It's been a few days since I saw it, so I can't really recall anything overly memorable about the film. A lot of clichés, general "the West is arrogant" theme throughout the story, and by the end we were all happy to get back in the car and put Wall-E in the DVD player.

Lost in Translation (2003)

Such a story with so few words.

[10/10 · 26 September 2003]

This film is not for those with ADHD or the like. Unless you can grasp the meaning in a glance, a smirk, a shrug, a sigh, you will likely find this terrible. Some will liken the film to Rushmore or the Royal Tannenbaums, but I find the similarities few. This film is about 20% comedy, 80% drama, but all of it masterfully done.

Somehow the Director, Sofia Coppola conveys a deep and interesting story with very little dialogue (I had no idea it was her until the ending credits... was I surprised). The dialogue is humorous, well written and honest, but it is rare. The visuals added to the scene, and I was amazed any director and cinematographer would go to the efforts that we see in "Lost In Translation".

This is not a flim that the everyday Joe or Jill will like, but I think we've found a sh*tload of oscar nominations here.

Wild Things (1998)

Surprisingly Good

[8/10 · 14 August 2003]

From the reviews I've read, this is clearly a love it or hate it type of film. I'm one of the "love it" crowd. I went into this movie with no preconceptions, and I'm glad I did.

There is a part of me that says "you can't give this 10 stars. You just can't". So I won't. But I loved this little gem. The last 1/2 hour of the movie had me bellowing out loud "damn", "sh*t" and "whoa". The twists and turns came out of nowhere, and were very plausible. This isn't some flick where there's a fantastic story that isn't believeable because of all the out-of-nowhere plot turns. This is solidly written, simple in it's way, but that simplicity is what makes for a truly good flick.

So the plot was 10. The acting was quite good. Hell, they had quite a cast signed on for this. The dog in me says "any movie with Denise Richards more-or-less topless and making out with Neve Campbell is a keeper, for sure". Visually, technically, aesthetically, I have no complaints.

I'm sorry for myself that I waited 5 years after this film was made to see it. It just looked so damned cheezy in the promos. Little did I know this was a great flick.

The Legend of Suriyothai (2001)

Hooray, It's Over

[2/10 · 8 July 2003]

When the movie finished, everybody cheered and left the theatre with great haste, laughing as they did. The film's ending was somber, not the kind that you cheer or laugh for, but the entire audience cheered because this rambling wreck was finished, and laughed at how ridiculous the last 2 1/2 hours of their lives were spent. I love indie and foreign film, but this was just terrible.

Expressionless acting, writing so dry it must have been pulled straight from a doctoral thesis on the subject, and a story that goes all sorts of different directions, but accomplishes nothing. Too many principal characters, some of whom (like the title character) disappear for an hour, other seemingly important characters suddenly are dropped from the plot for no reason, never to be seen or heard from again. Needlessly violent.

Positives: The cinematography was rather nice, though. Beautiful pictures of beautiful scenes. That's it though.

Don't bother. If you watch in the theatre, you'll be tempted to leave about 45 minutes into it. If you rent it, you'll stop the DVD long before you get to the finish. The ending battle scenes aren't worth the wait. I couldn't tell who was on who's side for any of them, so it was just a bunch of naked Southeast Asians hacking away at each other.

Nosferatu (1922)

Utterly Horrifying

[9/10 · 19 August 2002]

I saw this film one time as a child and it scared me so badly it took years to sleep with the light off. Even now, there's something about this silent film that chills me to my very soul when I look at this creature. Especially given this film's place in cinematic history, I truly feel it is a masterpiece, both of horror and of film.

Made (2001)

Could have been much better

[4/10 · 3 July 2002]

Vince Vaughn's character was so far beyond annoying, I had to stop myself from turning off the DVD. I know he was supposed to be annoying, but they beat you over the head with it. So much of this film failed to make any sense. They could have really made a much better movie out of this.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Hilarious

[9/10 · 6 June 2002]

I never stopped laughing. The humor in this film is universal, anyone will love it (I'm not Greek and I sure did). Well acted, well written, this movie should be doing a lot better in the theaters than it is. One of the funniest flicks I've seen in a long time.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Why is it so great?

[6/10 · 6 June 2002]

It's nice. It's somewhat clever. Just too formulaic with the "noble prisoners" struggling against the corrupt and evil prison system. It would be nice to see a movie that actually thought ILL of prisoners (as we should). Same aul, same aul.

That's the Way I Like It (1998)

Delightful Film

[8/10 · 8 February 2002]

On it's own this film is as good as anything Hollywood puts out. But if you understand the dynamic that exists between Asian traditions and Western Cultural influence, like there is in Singapore, that pushes the story over the edge into the realm of great film. Most Americans (I am one, Irish and Norwegian, but aware of the situation there) won't appreciate the subtleties and the subtext, but it IS wonderful.

Amélie (2001)

Cute Girl, Cute Film

[7/10 · 27 January 2002]

I went to see it 'cause I became infatuated with this Audrey Tautou, but I ended up being quite impressed with the lush visuals and amusingly clever story (and Ms. Tautou impressed me even more for her acting). Heavy on the romance, but it's bearable. The only problem with having to follow the subtitles, is that they probably led me to miss some of the many clever visuals. While my experience with French film is limited, I've never liked the ones I've seen. This film proves to be the exception so far.

Rules of Engagement (2000)

Utter Rubbish

[2/10 · 24 January 2002]

I couldn't get past the first 1/2 hour or so. The plot was not even remotely believable. "Let's make up a scenario that would NEVER EVER happen and make a serious film about it". Please. Jackson and Jones should have known better. This film was miles beneath them. 2 / 10 stars. Don't waste your time.

Black Hawk Down (2001)

Intense

[9/10 · 12 January 2002]

A definite must-see. Anyone who complains about the plot has a screw loose. This film's plot was written 8 years ago by 200 US servicemen and about 5,000 Somalis. Having read the book, this is an faithful recounting of what happened during those 18 hours. The battle scenes are intense, and the dialog, while someone called it "cliche", is poignant and dramatic when it needs to be. These men were in an intense battle, there was no time for deep conversations. The only complaint is that it was tough to figure out which character was which, and why we needed to know who they were. That, and a little more background into why the soldiers were so seemingly unprepared for this mission (that they had done this type of operation several times before, always without great incident, and that the US had recently carried out a rocket attack on Adid's clan leadership that killed 50 or so political figures, moderates included, and enraged the residents of that part of the city.). Other than that, this is a visceral view of what those soldiers went through that day, and what other US soldiers will have to go through if we ever get into this type of conflict again. 8.5/10.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Utter Disappointment... wait for video

[6/10 · 27 December 2001]

After viewing Jackson's effort, it is evident the LOTR Trilogy will never be successfully adapted to the screen. This adaptation features painful melodrama, terrible character development, swiss cheese-like plot, an irrelevant score, overly grotesque monsters, overused special effects, nauseating camera work. The list goes on and on, where do I stop? I think the pros vs. cons ratio is around 1:4. It was nice of Jackson to try, but he probably shouldn't have bothered.

I love(d) the books, and was mind-numbingly excited to see the film. I was expecting to be amazed, but ended up bored. When I wasn't bored, I was baffled and annoyed by unnecessary deviations from Tolkien's original work. I realize that adaptations need to be made translating a book to a movie, but many of Jackson's changes are simply gratuitous and do nothing to advance the plot or the characters. In fact, the deviations actually detract from the film.

For those who haven't read the books, I can only imagine that they left the theatre, scratching their head, mumbling "what the f*** was that all about? what was the point of this scene? what was the point of that scene?"

I guess I'm just more upset that the film comes NOWHERE near the level of hype it received. Never have I been more let down by a film. 6 or 7 out of 10.

PREDICTION: `Fellowship' will rake in lots of dough because of the hype, but the next two will not break even. I wonder if `Return of the King' (the last film) will even open on 1,000 screens. Come back to me in two years, and tell me I was wrong.

Atomic Dog (1998 TV Movie)

Could a movie be any worse?

[1/10 · 23 December 2001]

Uh, no. This is THE worst movie ever made. Why did they bother? I thought it was gonna be one of those silly cheesy movies, but it wasn't. It actually tried to be a serious movie. God awful. I can't believe I watched the whole thing.

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Gut-wrenching

[10/10 · 13 December 2001]

Cracks the top 5 films of my life, even if it was a semi-musical. I've never been so moved emotionally in all my life, with the exception of funerals of people close to me. While Bjork may struggle with the easy bits of acting, she absolutely NAILS the important stuff. Some say there's a political side to it, but I sure as hell didn't take it that way.