Apollo_11 Reviews

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

I'm just somewhat confused over all the hype...

[6/10 · 6 October 2004]

I'm a movie lover and I own 1000s of DVDs from all eras, so I like to think I have an eye for a really great movie... So why am I scratching my head after watching this and seeing over 49% of 12,000 voters giving this a 10? I just don't get it.

To be honest, I found the movie pretty average. It has some great acting by Winslet and Carrey and the soundtrack is quite enchanting. I suppose the storyline does touch the emotional nerves of anyone who has been in love and felt pain from it, but nothing I haven't seen done better in other (mostly "World Cinema") movies. The direction and style of the movie is nothing revolutionary (contradicting a point raised quite often here).

I was wondering was it something to do with the general reviews of the film? One trend I've found on IMDb is that the vast majority of people tend to echo what reviews have said about a film, even if they (deep down) don't feel that way themselves about it? I'm not sure, I tend not to read reviews until after I've watched a film.

I gave the film 6/10 as I was feeling generous. It really doesn't deserve anything more than this.

Just for Kicks (2003)

Umm... How did this film get made?

[2/10 · 29 September 2004]

Sydney J. Bartholomew Jr. should never be allowed to make another film again. How come people are giving budgets to people to make bad films when there are plenty of creative talented directors out there struggling to make their first feature?!

The only reason to buy/rent this film is if you think the Sprouse twins are too cute to pass on. Yes they are, and they don't disappoint here either. But trust me when I tell you, that is the only reason (and one other I'll mention in a moment)

The scenes are shabbily put together (everything looks rushed). They even used stills taken from the footage for coverage (UGH!). The music is crude with dialogue to match (this is little kid's entertainment?!)

A good director would have noticed Cole mouthing Dylan's lines in a number of the scenes and given him some coaching. If he didn't pick this up on set, it definitely should have been spotted in the dailies? Their double-takes in the scene with Cobi Jones' cameo were unbearable to watch. If I'd have been on set... Well, never mind! Two ADs too! Didn't they have a creative brain cell between them?

One little gem I spotted in all of this mess was a young actor, Tyler Hervey. Look out for him if you watch this movie. Character is "Mikey" and he plays an angry cop's kid. Got wonderful on-screen presence and would be wonderful to see him in a major role.

Anyway... Just for kicks gets 2/10.

The Son (2002)

Masterful & suspenseful, but not without its faults.

[8/10 · 12 September 2004]

I really enjoyed this movie. The suspense, the acting, the story.

Fate brings an unlikely couple together, and an even unlikelier outcome, but it works.

I was impressed with Morgan Marinne's performance and I was glad I didn't read about the plot of the film before I watched it. I think you need to see this film without prior knowledge of what it is about.

There are two things I didn't like about the movie. The first is the close camera quarters to the action. I don't mind it if it is used in conjunction with other, longer shots, but *all* the time can get a bit nauseating for the viewer.

The second failure, in my opinion, was the abrupt end. No third act to this film, I'm afraid. I found it disappointing that we never find out how the characters are resolved. It's fine to leave open-ended questions, but we had nothing to go on, not even a hint!

Overall though, I really recommend this film to movie-lovers. But if your cup of tea is restricted to Schwarzenegger action, or George Clooney eye-candy, steer well away.

7.2/10

Godsend (2004)

One of those movies that starts out great...

[6/10 · 17 August 2004]

You can imagine the scene. A screenwriter sits down with a brainstorming idea. So he starts writing it, tells a few people, what a fantastic idea. He writes a little more... Then he gets bored (or watches some Dario Argento film) and turns it from a great science fiction idea into a horror film. Urgh!

Cameron Bright puts in a good performance, chilling kid. Surprised to see DeNiro take this fairly limiting role, but maybe he needed another swimming pool...

In general, I actually quite liked the movie. Wonderful premise, I was just settling into it and then it takes a seriously wrong turn half way through. I don't think it so bad it deserves the sub 5.0 rating. I've seen far worse films get better ratings, but that's what the critics do to the general public I guess.

I'd say 5.8/10.

Operation Splitsville (1998)

90210... with 5th graders

[2/10 · 20 July 2004]

Let me start off by saying this is a truly awful film. If only they'd give that budget and crew to some of us desperate filmmakers out there who would have given something back 100 times better.

Some kids do talk about sex, yes even at that age. But there's no way they talk about it like they do in this film... Their conversation was way too mature (and crass) for their age group. Then again, maybe there was something in the water... At least that's where I thought it was going.

My biggest question is... What the hell was Christopher Lambert doing in this film? I think he needs to change his agent if he's being sent scripts of this caliber.

Some of it wasn't bad. You almost got the feeling it was a first time director and he was starting to get the cuts right toward the end (because much of it didn't gel together well at all because they didn't get enough/suitable coverage).

So what are the good points? I thought the lead kid who played James (David Berry) had the most talented performance (Too bad he hasn't done anything since). Jesse Littlejohn wasn't bad either. Most of the kids were like something out of The Little Rascals. The film quality is Hollywood (think they filmed it on Panavision). The soundtrack isn't bad, but feels somewhat dated for a film that was shot in the late 90s.

Strangely, I found it mildly entertaining... It is watchable, but some of it will make you cringe.

Dossier 51 (1978)

A brilliant piece of film making. Where's the DVD?

[7 July 2004]

Directed by veteran Michel Deville (perhaps best know to local audiences for 1988's La Lectrice), this well-mounted espionage thriller documents a foreign intelligence agency's attempts to entrap and "turn" a minor French diplomat. The unwitting victim (played by FranÙois Marthouret) is a closeted homosexual; a variety of surveillance devices are deployed against him in an effort to gather compromising material. Deville's unorthodox approach is to tell the film from the surreptitious point-of-view of the sinister spies; we in the audience become uncomfortable voyeurs and eavesdroppers, complicit in the accumulation of evidence against the helpless target.

A brilliant film, well made, and should be available on DVD. What a shame!

eXistenZ (1999)

Mindless claptrap. Good premise. Bad execution.

[3/10 · 2 July 2004]

eXistenZ is a movie that wants to be good because it has an exciting premise, albeit a theme that has been done to death - Virtual reality. However it fails miserably to deliver for a number of reasons, not least of which is a poor script.

As a filmmaker myself, I know all too well how much hard work goes into these things. You only have to look at the extras and watch all the work that goes into production design to realize this (which does happen to be the best contribution to eXistenZ, by the way). But just because a lot of hard work goes into something doesn't make it good.

Some comments on here marvel at Jude Law's performance in this, but I've seen a lot of his work and this is by far his most wooden. I almost had to cover my eyes when he stepped into the virtual reality world for the first time. He, with co-star Jennifer Jason Leigh, stumble around and converse like a couple of school kids. I grant Mr Law a reprieve solely due to the material he had to work with.

I can also deal with blood and gore reasonably well, I have no problem with it. But this movie seemed to relish in gore for gore's sake. I also found the many saliva-lubricated-fingers-into-bioports a bit sexually charged for this type of movie, particularly since Mr Law's tongue also gets a bit of action (and said bioport is only three or four inches above... Well, you can guess).

Perhaps it was a mistake watching this in the same evening as Pier Paolo Pasolini's Mamma Roma because I found eXistenZ somewhat lacking in that which draws me to a movie... Having a soul. eXistenZ appears to fumble along with no real aim or directive and there was nothing of substance about it because we didn't care about what happened to the characters in the VR world. I expected more from Cronenberg whose Fly and Naked Lunch seemed to have much more vision and credibility.

I do like your work, David, but you can do much better than this.

3/10

Mean Streets (1973)

An interesting debut picture, but nothing more.

[3/10 · 27 May 2004]

Let's face facts here. If Mr Scorsese hadn't gone to do masterful pieces like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, none of the comments here would be giving this film glowing praise.

Perhaps I was expecting too much when I sat down to watch Marty Scorsese's debut feature, but I found it difficult to sit through all 103 minutes and was becoming bored and restless after the first 20. What little plot there is doesn't appear to go anywhere fast and the relationships between the primary characters are not explored in any depth and don't advance at any point.

That being said, when I looked at the film from the point of view of Marty's first full-length feature film, you can see all the elements of what he perfects in those excellent films later on... From all the grit and ad lib dialogue in Raging Bull to the unconventional camera movement that we see in Taxi Driver, they all have their beginnings here in Mean Streets. But as you might expect for a debut feature, they're rather harsh and uneven here... Like an uncut diamond.

In summary, it's a curious piece if you're a die-hard fan of Scorsese and/or Bob De Niro and/or Keitel, or you're a filmmaker (like me) who wants to see how successful directors started out. But if you're a mainstream movie-goer, I doubt you'd be impressed with it.

Suspiria (1977)

Tame classical horror from an era long surpassed by more effective horrors.

[3/10 · 15 May 2004]

I watched this film on a projected 300" screen in the dark, to get the full effect. From the mixed reviews I've seen, it's obvious this film is like Marmite -- You either love it or hate it.

Unfortunately it did very little for me. I really wanted to like it, but I was 5-years-old when this movie came out and I've seen dozens, more recent horror pictures before I finally arrived at this one. As a result, I am only able to appreciate this as a classical piece of film art from the past as I'm unable to feel as entertained as I would watching the likes of, say, The Sixth Sense.

The pace is slow and fairly boring. The "guts and gore" elements are infrequent, unsophisticated and relatively tame (compared to recent material).

That being said, I was impressed with the cinematography -- Although the flamboyant use of theatrical colour could be interpreted as pretentious or magical depending on how you view the film.

Soundtrack was quite excellent in my view. The main theme of the xylophone/human "la la" duet is haunting, effective, original and memorable.

I recommend renting this movie first before buying.

3/10.

The Twilight Zone (1985–1989)

Fantastic Series. Why oh why not on DVD?

[5 May 2004]

I remember the "new" series of The Twilight Zone with much fondness. I grew up with them. I don't remember many films/TV programs from childhood, but one episode from this series stood out for me more than any other. It was called "The Burning Man" and it was the most eerie piece of film making I had ever witnessed as a kid. In fact it first inspired me to start film directing.

I know now that this short episode came from a book by Ray Bradbury, but it was the way the short film was shot that awe-inspired me. I seem to remember it featured a young Danny Cooksey as the kid. Had Piper Laurie in it too.

Please CBS, bring them out on DVD. (And do it proper with extra features!)

Where the River Runs Black (1986)

Mysterious, adventurous and thought provoking.

[8/10 · 29 December 1999]

I was fourteen years of age when I first saw this film. For me, the experience was magical. I didn't know what this film had that created an aura of mysteriousness and intrigue, but I remember seeing it again a few years later and looking everywhere to purchase a copy.

The young boy, Lazarus, has an affinity with the dolphins of the Amazon jungle and it is wonderfully captured in the screenplay. As young actors go, this boy is wonderful as Lazarus. His expressions are true to life and the scenes where he is brought from the wild to adapt to civilisation are naturally brought out. The scene where he is mischievous with his orphan friend under the water tap captures the magical experience of childhood.

The scene where his father rows quietly along the river makes you feel as if you're in the boat with him.

I think you need to watch this film two or three times to fully appreciate the story it is telling.