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Reviews
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Amazing Last Hour
This gets off to a zippy start with a great chase scene, then gets bogged down in love story. I know that the story needs to be developed, but this film just screeches to a halt when the action stops. I didn't find the scenes between Anakin and Amadala moving at all, because they both seem a bit wooden. There is a lot of character and story development in the first hour, and at times I found myself checking my watch. Just as I was about to write this off as another mediocre "Phantom Menace", it kicks into high gear for what I think is the most amazing hour of any Star Wars movie. Tons of action, astounding special effects and something that was missing from "PM" - scenes that actually make you cheer.
8 out of 10.
Just Before Dawn (1981)
Stylish Little Sleeper
This ranks with Black Christmas as one of the best unknown horror films out there. Sure its a little cheap looking and routine at times, but I think it delivers a lot of suspense and some really creepy atmosphere. The director stages some good foreground/background action that evokes Halloween or Alien. For what it is, a low budget indie horror film, its very good.
Spider-Man (2002)
Pretty Good
As usual, no over-hyped film can meet my expectations, but the more I think about "Spider-Man", the better I think it is.
First, the good points: The acting is good, the story is strong and the effects are great(though at first they seem a little fake). Once Spidey and the Green Goblin started fighting I was in heaven. The film also makes some good changes from the comic, like Pete not making the webshooters, and the pivotal scene with Uncle Ben is done more believably.
Now the bad points: Too much build-up. The film is more than half over before we see a fully-costumed Spider-Man. It seems like he's only in the last 45 minutes or so. Unfortunately, that's when the film really kicks into high gear, and it's too little too late. I enjoy a good story too, but like 1989's "Batman" we see too little of the hero. I hope the sequel will make up for it. If the film had another half hour or so of Spidey in action, it would have been great.
Overall, a good but not great comic adaptation. Better than Batman or the X-Men, but not as good as Superman. 8 out of 10.
Knightriders (1981)
Really surprised
The same person who turned me on to "Black Christmas" loaned me this little gem of a movie. It's highly original, well acted and written, and has some surprisingly good stuntwork. The story is great and there are some poignant scenes toward the end that just make you cheer. The ending is downbeat and uplifting at the same time. If you're looking for something enjoyably different in a movie, check this out.
Black Christmas (1974)
How come I'd never heard of this before?
A friend of mine recently introduced me to this film. I had never heard of it before, and I have to say that I was impressed. Well made, stylish and very suspenseful. The eye scene was especially creepy. I like the downer ending (although I do wish you found out more, like a little more background on the whole "Agnes" thing). My respect for "Halloween" dropped a bit after seeing this - it owes a lot to "Black Christmas". One of the best horror films ever made - unfortunately that's not saying all that much.
Gallipoli (1981)
Not what I thought, but very good
With the recent release of Blackhawk down and We Were Soldiers, I'm currently on a war film kick, so I decided to rent this. It wasn't what I expected in that there are no war scenes until the end, but it was all the more involving because you spend two hours getting to know these people before they meet their fate. The film is a great inditement of war and how it takes peoples personal hopes and dreams and smashes them into nothing.
This film also makes you aware of the huge advances in warfare technology and strategy that massively cut back the amount of life lost in battle. We no longer have to rely on the human wave theory to gain ground, and the horrifying lack of communication that plays a vital role in this film is no longer a relevant issue (hopefully). In this light, our current way of fighting - bombing from afar with scalpel precision - should not be seen as cowardly, but as intelligent and respectful of human life. Just like this film.
Paths of Glory (1957)
Wow
That such a film was made in 1957 is amazing. I've always liked Kubrick's films, and this one really showcases his talent at an early age. The battle scenes are still exciting and were likely ground-breaking at the time. The acting is powerful and the camera shots are, as usual for SK, really well-staged. Overall, one of the best war films I've seen. Still holds up well against the new round of war films that "Private Ryan" kicked off.
Escape from L.A. (1996)
Why, John, why?
Will somebody please tell me what John Carpenter was thinking when he made this piece of junk? I love Escape from NY, and looked forward to a sequel. I was stunned at how bad this film was when I saw it in the theater, and it still boggles my mind. Snake Plissken surfing down Santa Monica boulevard in front of a bad green screen? Cheesy animated helicopters that look like something out of a video game? A script that rehashed every plot point of the first film? Carpenter totally trashed anything he accomplished with EFNY by making this film, not to mention his already failing reputation.
Some people think that JC did made this film bad on purpose. I think they're giving him too much credit. First of all the films budget was 50 million dollars. That should have been fine, but 17 million went to Russel, JC and producer debra Hill. Now you've got a 33 million dollar movie, which is average for Hollywood. I think Carpenter got caught short on effects money and did the best he could with what was left. I can't see any reason why he would want to ruin the memory of the first film by making this a campy spoof on it. Money issues or not, the surfing scene is the worst one ever put to celluloid.
Well, I've vented enough. If you can't tell that I hate this movie...I hate this movie. The only good thing about it is that it makes Vampires and Ghosts of Mars seem like classics by comparison.
Collateral Damage (2002)
The fifth nail in the career coffin
Jingle All The Way...Batman & Robin...End of Days...Sixth Day...and now Collateral Damage. This may well be Arnold's worst film in the past ten years. Not since Last Action Hero have I come out of an Arnold film and been so disappointed. The film is badly shot, with weak and preposterous action scenes that made me wince in embarrassment. The opening fire scene is pointless and ends abruptly...the river scene is laughably fake...most of the fights are dull, and the end is head-slappingly stupid.
This will do nothing to resurrect his career and will end up as a low point on his resume. OK...maybe he isn't as big as he used to be, but he still has to be the top action guy out there. Where are the good scripts and the good directors?
Andrew Davis only made one good movie (the Fugitive) and that's because it was a good script with two great actors. Here he shows that he's still the guy who directed "Code of Silence" and "Above the Law". In fact, those movies are better.
Arnold has only made two good movies since T2 - "True Lies" and "Eraser" - and even they weren't top notch. Hopefully he reteams with Cameron or Verhoeven soon, or most of his fans won't be back.
Mad Max (1979)
See it on DVD
Like most people in the US, I had only seen this movie with the dubbed soundtrack. The DVD restores the original sound, and it makes a huge difference. The "old" version seems somewhat cheesy in that the voices are all overdone, like a bad kung fu movie. This version seems completely natural and makes the film seemless.
The picture quality is also first rate on the DVD. Director Miller makes great use of widescreen and those spectacular car crashes come across better than ever. If you've only seen this on TV or an old VHS rental, you should see it again. It's a whole different movie.
I would have given the old version a 6. The new one gets a 8.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Fell Prey to the Hype Yet Again
Once again, I hear nothing but great and wonderful things about a movie, and once again it's an undeniable disappointment. Such is the case with Lord of the Rings: "It's the second coming of Star Wars!!!" gushed the critics. "We couldn't believe the finished film when we saw it!" the actors salivated...well, there's no denying that this film has a leaden pace, with more than a few goofy moments and some badly shot(and sparse)action sequences.
Maybe it's just that I was so young when I saw films like Star wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, etc that they were so indelibly etched into my mind that I subconsciously hold them in higher regard than any movie has a right to held. Maybe I should go into every film and not expect anything...then it has to be somewhat good. What I have to do is stop believing every critic who is likely in the pocket of the studio, and every starry-eyed actor who thinks that because they're on screen, the film is wonderful.
Anyway, that said, LITR is not horrible. It's got excellent effects and visuals, very good acting and some clever scenes - it just doesn't inspire awe, like so many movies of my youth did (and still do). I can only assume the 9.5 rating came from fans of the books who know all the backstory and can fill in the gaps automatically.
I still want to see the sequels, but only to see if they improve upon this one.
7 out of 10.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Didn't Do Much for Me
Admittedly, I haven't read the books, but this film just didn't do much for me. The effects really weren't so great (the Quiddich scene looked alternately like a blue screen or a cartoon) and the overall story didn't thrill me. Even my wife wasn't overly impressed by it - and she loves the books.
I don't think this movie is getting the repeat business that they thought it would - it's falling off the charts fairly quickly. It defintely isn't a modern day "Wizard of Oz", as some critic gushed. I don't think the next one will do as well.
Speilberg may have brought some magic to this film, but Chris Columbus gives us another perfunctory, serviceable film that takes no risks at all. Merely OK.
Ghosts of Mars (2001)
Not as bad as I heard
I am a big JC fan, but most of his recent movies have taken repeat viewings for me to warm up to them, and some (Escape from LA) I will just never like.
This one, though, is pretty good. That is to say, it's the first JC film I've seen since "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" that didn't have any parts that made me cringe. There were no really bad special effects, no overdone scenes, and not too much bad dialogue...all things that have plagued JC of late. It's no masterpiece, mind you, but it does show some promise that JC isn't all washed up. The opening scenes are some of the most stylish and restrained that he has ever done, and his skill at using foreground and background action to create suspense is quite evident.
One thing he still isn't good at is big action scenes. JC has never been able to capture mass mayhem all that well, and when those types of scenes come up in GOM, the film falls a little flat. Unfortunately, this is mainly an action picture, so it's a big flaw.
Overall, though, I liked this movie. It's got a lot of scenes that remind me of "Assault on Precinct 13", "The Thing" & "Escape from NY" - though it can't measure up to any of those flicks.
On a JC scale, this is more or less on a par with "Vampires" - better than "Big Trouble" or "Prince of Darkness", but not as good as "They Live" or "Memoirs of an Invisible Man".
Escape from New York (1981)
There's Something About This Flick
There's something about this movie that I've loved since I was a little kid. I know it's not a great film in terms of writing and acting (although Kurt is the ultimate badass as Snake), but this is one of John Carpenter's most stylish and atmospheric films; the kind his fans love him for. It's got an intriguing plot, the opening shots showing the city skyline off in the distance are very impressive, and the special effects as a whole surpass the film's relatively small budget.
As usual, Carpenter did yet another memorable score for this one. It blends in perfectly with the mood of the film, and helps to pull you in.
The combination of interesting visuals, a compelling story and Kurt's awesome performance make this a film I can watch over and over. I've seen it probably 25 times since I was a kid, and I'll never get sick of it.
I wish John Carpenter would regain the vision and style he showed in early films like this one. Now he throws everything that made him great out the window and tries to makes these "kick ass" action pictures that just don't work. Namely Escape From L.A. (the worst sequel ever), Vampires and Ghosts of Mars.