ganstertrippin Reviews

Sexy Beast (2000)

The Greatest Performance Ever Captured On Film

[8 July 2004]

I've seen many a film. Not as many as some of the true movie buffs here on this site, but still, quite a few. And i have sat through some amazing performances. Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction, Sean Penn in Dead Man Walking, Bill Murray in Rushmore, Marlon Brando in Godfather, Meryl Streep in....everything. But this film has Ben Kingsley as Don Logan.

Firstly, this film is a very interesting experience. You can tell it's directed by Music Video director Jonathan Glazer, for all it's weird angles, and wonderful use of slow motion, (the barbeque flames comes to mind).

The story involves Gal (Ray Winston in an extremely good performance, as always) in retirement from the world of the London Underground. Until his former boss, Teddy (Ian McShane) to do a job, so he sends in Don (Ben Kingsley) to persuade him to do the job.

Visually this film is very good looking. The use of sound and music also adds to the experience. In the latter part of the movie, it almost feels like a dream. The story itself, is actually quite small, and moves over to show off wonderful visiuals. Like the flooding of the vault. And Ray Winston and the rest of the cast give great performances. But it is Ben Kingsley who has all the meat in this film.

My god, what a great performance. Whenever Don is on the screen, you shutup and watch. Your in fear of this character and you forget that you are watching a film at all. I felt gueniue fear that Don would just snap and begin hurting other characters that you care about. It's truely the best performance i have ever seen! Ben Kingsley, i take my hat off to you good sir.

If for any other reason, see this film to witness this great performance. The film itself is extremely good also. Go see it.

About Schmidt (2002)

Depressingly Real

[10/10 · 25 January 2003]

Wow this has really divided the users. What with the comments and all.

Well I went out to see this with very mixed opinions given to me. Half of everyone here was saying that it was generally uninteresting. However on the other hand Jack just won another award. And the critics seemed to love it aswell. And I also liked the makers former film Election. Very confusing indeed.

Well all I can truely say about About Schmidt, is that it is so damn depressingly real, it's like a holding a mirror up to John Q at the last chapter of his life. I say that for sure, the rest I am mixed about.

Well, Jack was good. Better than good. No other actor can emit emotions with simple facal expressions better than Jack. I really do hope he gets another Oscar, cause hell, he desevres it.

Kathy and the rest of the supporting cast are exceptional and gives the movie it true comedy element. Jack simply bounces off these guys, because they are pretty odd.

Those 3 things are all I'm positive on. The other things, not too sure.

Direction wise, a few little worries. The directors job is to get the actors to act well. And like I said the cast is pretty good. Telling Jack what to do, just seems wrong to me.

The approach of the film was good. No flashes inside Warren Schmidt's head, no "What Warren Schmidt wants right now to happen" sequences(OK just one but that doesn't honestly count). Just honest pictures. Just capturing the sad, angry mans life. It's a like doco really.

The script is where I'm all over the place. I like it for it's brutal honesty but i hate it at the same time. I, along with some users who posted negative comments, wanted something more from a film. I wanted to see ironic twists, off-beat moments, one-liners, anything!! I wanted Jack to say a funny line just like in 'As Good As It Gets'. But he doesn't. He stands and sits and walks, with nothin but a sad look on his face. Honestly, some people really do need more which does explain the upset comments. But in keeping the film honest, it is one of the best and most intelligent scripts ever. Just don't forget, it's more drama, just not 'American Beauty' drama. You understand what I'm saying?

But all in all, I would lying if I didn't say i hated this film. I actually thought that it is easily top 5 films of the year. I really did enjoy it in the end, speaking of ends this one has a really good one. Go see it.

Chicken Park (1994)

I Thought That This Was A Horrible Joke.

[22 January 2003]

Back In The Day, before i had the internet, we would often have conversations about what the worst film of all time was. One of the kids said that he had seen a send-up of Jurassic Park named Chicken Park. This kid was a notoriously bad liar so we just ignored him. As if a film like this would be made. I mean honestly.

Fast Forward to last week. After crusing around this site for a while, I remembered the Chicken Park story. So I typed it in and low and behold here it is. With all the information about it too. I decided to hunt this film down and give it a watch. The video rental stores never heard of it, for good reason. Then in a bargin bin box at Kmart, there it was for 2 bucks.

So why do i feel ripped off? ARGH! This film is the pit of all that is wrong with the nature of human beings. Why take a perfectly good film and decide instead of really cool dinosaurs , we replace them with god damn chickens?

And the "In" jokes are pitiful. Dr. Eggs? COME ON!!!!

This film is so bad that it makes Glitter look like The Godfather. Yuck, please don't watch this film. Let it remain a horrible joke to you. I think I'll go throw up.

Christmas Vacation (1989)

Probably The Best Christmas Film Ever

[4 December 2002]

It is a tradition in many houses now, to watch this film around the Christmas time. Our family has been doing it for years now and it was a pleasant surprise to learn that many other families do it as well.

This excellent satire series of the stress that a father (Chevy Chase) goes through to insure a fantastic holiday for his family. This time around it is the Christmas season. And the WHOLE gang is here. Mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts and of course Cousin Eddie. The Griswold household has to hold under the constant stress of the season with some completely hilarious moments including the sled ride, the green gutter ooze, and the tree!

Oh man, just thinking about this films moments makes me chuckle. Chevy Chase is excellent as the father trying to coup, and the rest of the cast is also very funny, very good. It is a very great comedy and it deserves to be part of our Christmas traditions. Maybe you should try it too.

The Pool (2001)

The Best Death Sequence Ever

[1 June 2002]

This film is hopeless. It has some of the shonkiest acting to date, the most plagiarised script ever and some of the worst filming techniques ever.

As I sat there slowly falling asleep, I noticed something happened. Something amazing. One of the girl characters decided to go on the waterslide again. Her boyfriend was p***ed because he just wanted to make out. So up she goes and, of course, while she is gone the boyfriend gets it from the un-scary, big-ass-knife wielding bad dude.

-=WAIT=- that's not the death scene.

The girl is now coming down the waterslide, having a great time, laughing all the way. Then she comes to the last stretch and she sees the small pool below the waterslide, full of blood. Now she is trying to stop and screaming for her life. THEN the big ass knife goes up through the slide. And she COLIDES STRAIGHT INTO THE KNIFE!!! Best Death Sequence Ever. Fantastic stuff. I was laughing so hard and I don't have much blood lust.

Oh well, it's a shame that this film sucks the big one.

True Lies (1994)

The Last Great Action Film

[8 March 2002]

James Cameron managed to make a sixteen truck loads of money from doing Titanic. Titanic managed to hypnotize people to see it over and over and over again. So he walked away with 11 oscars and a billion bucks and never looked back. But Mr. Cameron, what about us? What about your loyal fans who loved watching the terminator try to kill and protect John Conner? What about the mysterious under water affair of The Abyss (and Piranha II: The Spawning)? Well, it appears that James is willing to retire and settle into the easy life of television, while us fans watch great James Cameron action films over and over again.

Like this gem of a film, True Lies.

I couldn't be bothered explaining the whole film. So Arnold Schwarzenegger is a top spy. Working a case which involves nuclear weapons and terrorists, we learn that his wife, Jamie Lee Curtis, doesn't know that he is a spy. After a while she get into an affair, he finds out, then ,yadda yadda yadda, (spoiler) he saves the world from terror and gets the love of wife back.

I don't know how James Cameron does it, but he managed to make that little plot outline I just gave, be extremely interesting, fun, wild and fantastic entertainment.

I think what it is that he does, is make a situation that sounds completely unbelievable, and makes it believable. I just contradicted what I said, but its the truth. Plus he also has GOOD humor in his films, when he uses it. Just look at the way Arnold and Tom Arnold bounce off each other. Pretty cool.

Arnold is always cool as he can possibly be, which is pretty darn cool.

I think it's Jamie Lee Curtis who stands out though. Her performance of a woman being put into an unbelievable situation is both funny and true, I guess.

All in all, seeing as Mr. Cameron isn't planning on making anymore action films, I think I can safely say that this is the Last Great Action Film. Of course films like Saving Private Ryan could be considered an action film, but it doesn't have that interesting humor that a James Cameron film has. So thank you Mr. Cameron for this, your best film.

Futurama (1999– )

Why Futurama is better than The Simpsons

[25 February 2002]

This review will focus on the differences between Futurama and The Simpsons.

When I first started watching The Simpsons, and that was like 10 episodes a day, I thought there is nothing better to do. Schoolwork, friends, family were just things getting in the way of me watching The Simpsons. However now that I'm ten years older and have a little more knowledge about certain aspects of storytelling, humor and all in all fun, The Simpsons has lost everything that made it great.

The first season was nothing special, that's for sure. It was just another cartoon begging for attention. However it survived the pilot season, and went on to make its best season ever. This was great because it discussed problems that we could relate to, situations that seem realistic. And because it was a cartoon, it made it even greater.

Then it pumped out a 3rd, 4th season which were equally funny but starting to lose its realism. Then it changed for the worse in the 5th season. It began to make situations that wasn't possible for John Q. Citizen. Example: Homer (dumbest man on the planet) gets to go into space. It was here it started losing it all.

Luckily it realized this mistake and made fun of it in the Poochie episode. I thought there might be a chance for The Simpsons to return to form. However they just gave up and the series turned into a downward spiral into the ground and lost what it had.

A perfect example of how The Simpsons lost it would have to be with Homer. Beginning: he represented the average man. Little dumb, but stood by in what he believed in. Then he just went dumber and dumber and dumber so that no one could relate to him another. We didn't laugh with him, we laughed at him. Another downward spiral into the ground.

The series can't be blamed for this. For it was just looking for consistent series of events that people liked. Adults liked the earlier episodes because it represented life and gave it a humorous twist, the kiddies hated it because it made no sense to them. The kiddies like the loopy, making-no-logical-sense-at-all humor of the later episodes, the adults hated it because it made no sense. Trying to be funny to both generations is hard, and The Simpsons tried it best but couldn't do it. Although the newest episodes are starting to find it, its about 13 seasons too late.

But it now appears that The Simpsons was just a test, because Futurama, the new king of animation, has found it consistency.

Sure it borrowed some of its ideas from The Simpsons, but it matured into a series in about 3 episodes compared to 250 episodes.

Futurama did this with the much more interesting cast of characters it had and the humor which strikes anyone who watches it. The characters have much life and bounce because they are oddballs. Fry represents anyone who has wanted a second chance. But when he got it, he did what I thought he would do, which was sit in front of the new year 3000 model television. Too lazy to make a go of his life. Bender represents the black humor of Futurama. He is funny because he steals, gambles and swears without a care or worry in the world. Anyone who compares Homer with Bender is just doing it because they both don't have hair. They are exact opposites of each other. Leela represents the logical humor. She stares at her life realizing it is not all it is cracked up to be. She wants a better life but she herself is an oddball, because she is an alien with one eye.

The other characters are just as good but I cannot describe them here because I am running out of room. I think one of the reasons why Futurama is far better than The Simpsons is the way the characters play off each other. The family ties of The Simpsons become predicable, but when oddball vs. oddball erupts, no one knows the outcome.

But the main reason is definitely consistency in humor. The Simpsons has a slighty humorous joke about once every 8 seconds and a memorable quote once every 60 seconds. Futurama has a funny joke once every 7 seconds and memorable quote every 8 seconds. (BS results)

Anyway, all that crap aside, Futurama has done what The Simpsons tried to do. And because of the whole consistency thing, it makes Futurama a clear victor.

Oh, and the jokes are funnier in Futurama.

Fight Club (1999)

Rated R for disturbing and graphic depiction of violent anti-social behavior

[17 January 2002]

I chose that one line summary because, after seeing Fight Club and adding it to my personal top ten list, it made me laugh.

Why am I laughing at it? Well, because that sentence is right, and extremely wrong.

After seeing Fight Club, and more importantly understanding it, that sentence is more or less a stab in the back of what this film is saying. It's trying to scare away people with the thought that they might be infected by the films themes and teachings of Tyler Durden by calling it anti-social behavior. However the teachings of Tyler is something that has been staring in people's faces and try as you may you can't help but listen to him. And I was actually rooting for the revolution. For the person who hasn't seen it I won't go into that or mutter his teachings here.

Instead I'll just drone on about the visual style, the brilliant acting and flawless directing.

But first the story. Meet Jack (Edward Norton). Jack can't sleep, so from the advice of his doctor, he goes to testicular cancer meeting.

Here he meets Bob (Meat Loaf). Then, bla bla bla, meets the girl (Helena Bonham Carter), then finally he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), who manages to turn his life upside down. And his world keeps spinning right up till the twist ending that can be worked out, if you really watch the film.

That description of this film is pitiful. I haven't even mentioned the actual Fight Club, the flashes of porn and the messages of meaningless work and individualty being useless.

The acting is spot on, Eddie does a great job and this is probably his second best performance yet. But it's Brad Pitt who steals the show as the thought provoking Tyler. Once again, when I thought I figured Brad out he does an amazing film like this. As my friend said, "Man, he knows how to pick'em!"

The visual style of this film is unique to say the least. The extreme close-up of fridges, trashcans, look amazing. And the techniques like slow motion, flashbacks and rapid editing are done magificant. The visual style rivals that of Run Lola Run.

The script isn't all that exciting to read, so the director (David Fincher) had quite a job to do here. And he did it with style, which is what I like to see. And with this film he becomes, a great director.

So with all that said you should be renting the DVD as you read this. Word of warning : Don't watch it with director's comentry, he just talks about the lighting.

Fantasia 2000 (1999)

Fantastic, despite one short coming.

[16 January 2002]

I went into the massive IMAX theatre with high expectations. Being a fan of the original, I wanted to see what the guys and gals at Disney could do, now that they got there fancy computers and what-not. From the first frame I was interested but not completely into Fantasia/2000. But anyone can tell you that it takes time to get into these kind of films.

So an hour had passed, and I had watched triangles, whales, New York and Donald Duck. And I was just getting into Fantasia/2000 when suddenly the credits roll. I looked at my watch and worked out that the film only went for 75 minutes. And that is the only thing wrong with Fantasia/2000.

Fantasia (the original) was always thought of as a long film in my mind. But that was a good thing. Fantasia just kept the wonderful images coming with the thunderous music. The film engulfed everyone who saw and gives everyone I know a good impression. No one pre-warned me that Fantasia/2000 was only 75 minutes. So if your going to see it, or rent it, just remember that one fact.

However moving the time problem along, Fantasia/2000 is excellent, compelling, concert theatre at its best. It shows how far technology has come since 1940, and manages to showcase some of Disney's best work since The Lion King. And also it looks great on the IMAX screen. (I can't wait to see what Beauty and The Beat can do)

I would highly recommend Fantasia/2000 to anyone who is interested in Disney or Classical music.

Run Lola Run (1998)

Modern Masterpiece

[12 January 2002]

Run Lola Run. What a cool title.

It tells the tale of a young man, Manni, who one day was doing a job for crime boss. The job was just to deliver a bag of money to him with 100000 DM which roughly translates to $20000 or $25000 US. Unfortunatly Manni leaves the money on a train and is totally screwed unless he can get the money back in 20 minutes. So he calls his girlfriend, Lola (and no, she is not the girl from The Fifth Element), for help. From here the film follows Lola choosing three paths, each going for 20 minutes, to getting the money for Manni.

Run Lola Run is a wonderful study of how life consists of the paths we take. Some say there is no right and wrong paths to take in life, but Run Lola Run seems to illustrate that the right path is the best. Franka Potente (Lola) does a wonderful job and must have lost about 10 pounds for all the running she does in this film. But the real star here is Tom Tykwer (the director), who vison for this film is so fantastic and cool.

In terms of coolness, this has to be one of the coolest movies ever made. It contains black and white camera, animation, three or four different types of slow motion, fast motion and the most amazing still shots taken for a film which is enough to keep anyone interested. Plus this film is only 80 minutes long, but luckily it feels about 20 minutes longer than that.

After being one of the most talked about films of 1998, I would safely say that Run Lola Run has inspired a large number of film makers. Run Lola Run is a modern masterpiece and should pave the way for the future of films.

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

Bound to be remembered as one of the greatest films of all time

[10/10 · 19 December 2001]

Detail, is probably the best word to describe what Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring does. The wonderous thing of creating this world has been handled with extreme care and beauty. Of all the things I can call this film, the word is 'Best', as in best film this year, this decade, this century. Fellowship has set the bar of what is to be expected of films this century, which is gripping story, wonderous sets and CG and beautiful acting and grand directing. It'll be a long time before we see a film as good as this, so why are you still reading this? Go out to the movies and see this film 3-16 times. You wont be disappointed.