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WesTurner
Reviews
NetForce (1999)
Not as good as I'd hoped for...
The story started off well enough, but after just a bit, the FBI's NetForce started looking like a bunch of nerds playing in cyber-space. Trying to bust someone in a VR environment just wouldn't work. They TOLD the guy, and he just logged off! <sighs> Oh, well... then they went on to imply that the Internet was actually controllable... and could be shut off by someone attacking hardlines, satellites, or fiber optic lines... as if the users could actually tell what medium was being used for the transmission of their signals. <shakes his head> It could have been better, but I couldn't rate it too low, after all, it DID have a very good twist at the end (no spoiler here!), but even that part wasn't played out very well.
I hope to see more like it (but with better technical advice/support).
Hercules in New York (1970)
Make certain you see the ORIGINAL version
The first released version had all of Arnold's lines dubbed! Apparently they thought that his heavy accent wouldn't make it. The only version I've had the luck to see was the ORIGINAL with his voice. It's obvious that they knew he was to be dubbed out from the way he just (boringly) says his lines, no emotion, no feeling, just words.... of course it MIGHT be that he really WAS trying, but <shrug> he just wasn't an actor!
Obviously that's changed now! What a way to start a career, and am I glad he did it! All of his recent movies are GREAT. This one is a good one to see, if just to see really how far he's come!
Keep in mind the era, and don't laugh too hard at the fake fighting. :-)
Signs (2002)
Not what I expected (minor spoiler-info not in teasers)
Not at all expected from Mel Gibson, but nonetheless a good movie. The teasers didn't reveal enough (which is good) and I almost was expecting a boring time but was surprised at the experience. Very emotionally filled, and keep an eye on the bat.
Because I'm typically bull headed, I almost didn't get to enjoy the show at all. A piece of advice (for any movie): Get there early, OR exchange your ticket for the next showing! Being frustrated at getting a poor seat can just ruin your movie time. Focus on the movie, not the lousy seating! :-)
Signs gave a new viewpoint to an old story. Not to spoil anything but stepping back gave the impression of War of the Worlds: the aliens attack, but are repelled by simplicity, not technology... and remember NOTHING (at least in this movie) happens by coincidence!
The Time Machine (2002)
Enjoyable, but I'm going to have to go back to the book
A very enjoyable film. Good casting, too. In many of the earlier scenes, the professor is caught in a profile shot and, with his scrubby beard and jutting jaw line, seriously looks like a Neanderthal! Excellent irony!
This movie many have not done well at the box office because folks these days are not as well read. They seem to have been expecting some great NEW story, not realising that the film is based on a story that is just a tad over 100 years old (first written by H.G.Wells in 1895), though this time through it has an interesting twist on things. Instead of building a time machine to prove a mathematical point (that time is just like space) the effort is spurred on by a need to 'fix' the past.. to recover a lost love.
Unfortunately even THIS effort isn't handled very well. After saving her life once, only to lose her in a slightly different way, he gives up! If he were really so obsessed as to spend over four years building this thing, why would he quit after ONE failure?
Other than this new twist, the film differs from the book in that there is no return to the 'present' time. His philosophical bent on the search for science drives him to return, to present his arguments, to try to convince fellow scientists and contemporary thinkers, yet in the end realises that it is only HE that understands, and so, looking for further knowledge, heads out.. apparently to never return, though always in control.
Resident Evil (2002)
Scary? This was horror??
I suppose having not played the game, the movie was less than exciting for me. It was interesting, though I did note a few places where the characters seemed to act illogically or out of character. Overall an acceptable movie, though I would hesitate to put it in the Horror category.. more like Gory with waay too many jump scenes. There is a big difference twixt being scared (which I was looking forward to) and being startled (which is just a waste of time)!