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jlpicard
Reviews
CHiPs '99 (1998)
Better than you thought it would be
I just kind of ran into this movie one morning -- I'm a big cynic, and was never a big CHiPs fan, either -- but I found this movie quite engaging. It doesn't take itself too seriously and it's just plain fun.
Maximum Overdrive (1986)
It ain't -Citizen Kane- . . .
. . . but it's fun. I'm kind of shocked at all of the bad reviews I've seen here, what'd they expect?
No-one is going to confuse Stephen King with Stanley Kubrick, but I give King credit that he targeted a nice, easily-digestible short story as the basis for a movie (versus the more 'standard' 600-plus-page King epic that most other directors go for). The end result is just a fun movie for a rainy Saturday afternoon.
Intensity (1997)
Wow, was this ever...
'Intensity' is one of those rare instances where the movie was way better than the book. It's been years, but I still get chills remembering parts of this flick.
John C. McGinley gives the performance of a lifetime as Edgler Foreman Vess--in fact, if this movie had gotten wider distribution, it probably would have ended McGinley's career by typecasting him as Vess for the rest of his life.
Not for the weak-hearted--but if you ever get the chance, -watch this film-! I just wish it would come out on DVD.
American Beauty (1999)
A must-see if you're having a mid-life crisis
I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that the people who didn't care for this movie are those who've never had to deal with the kinds of issues Spacey's character is dealing with.
I'll be blunt: I'm going through sort of a mid-life crisis thing myself, right now, and wasn't real sure that it would be a good idea to see this movie.
But ya know what? In addition to moving me to the point of speechlessness, it also gave me hope and a new outlook on my personal situation...gawd, I can't tell you just how much I hate saying that a hollywood movie had a profound effect on me...but dammit, this one did!
So maybe it's not for everyone. But I consider it one of the best movies I've ever seen.
Merlin (1998)
Get it on DVD!
Not sure what additional praise I can heap on this film except to say that my wife (who is something of a nut on screen adaptations of the Arthur legend) likes it even better than _Excalibur_. It's truly difficult to believe this was a made-for-teevee movie, but it's a wonderful, beautiful film that successfully blends Arthur with _The Faery Queen_. It's now available on DVD, and it's proven to be one of the most-watched discs in our collection.