pksoze22 Reviews

Interstellar (2014)

At last True Science Fiction

[8/10 · 8 November 2014]

Lets be honest, Science Fiction has seen better days. Movies like 2001 and the Day the Earth Stood Still(non Keanu version) said something about who we were and where we were going. Now most Science Fiction movies mostly consist of alien invasions, or worse Sharknados.

However, Christopher Nolan does something unique, he attempts to create a film that actually makes you think. The movie is full of big ideas like Time Dilation, 5th dimensional beings, and the physics of going through a wormhole.

Still, at its score Interstellar is about the human condition. It is about an ex engineer and pilot named Cooper who has been grounded on a dying earth that needs farmers and not pilots. A world where the moon landing is shunned. It's a world that has become Anti- Science...with the notable holdout being Coopers daughter Murphy.

To make a long story short, Cooper is offered the chance to leave and save the planet by looking for habitable worlds. But in order to leave he will have to leave his daughter behind perhaps for decades. The image of Cooper driving off while his daughter is crying is one of the more powerful moments of the film.

The movie really takes off when Cooper and his crew try to find the perfect planet. The movie shows some the hazards of time distillation...as being on a planet for 3 hours could mean being away from earth for decades. In a sense time becomes the crews ultimate enemy though far from its only enemy.

It also emphasizes how lonely and scary space can truly be. This weakness of the human condition is also emphasized as much as any big idea.

Interstellar is the rare Science Fiction movie that actually challenges you to think about our place in this world. It makes you truly see the awe that is this universe. At the end it reminds us we are all on an adventure the Human Adventure.

Super Bowl XLII (2008 TV Special)

What the game is all about

[10/10 · 2 March 2008]

First let me admit my bias I am a Giants fan, so I would have loved this game if the Giants won 31-0. And honestly The Giants also played in an NFC championship game that was arguably better than this Super Bowl. However when we watch football movies they follow the formula of a plucky underdog team going on a run and overcoming odds to beat an invincible foe and winning the game on a miracle play. In real life it doesn't happen like that the 85 Bears, 89 49ers, and other unbeatable squads won. Yet that was the story of the 2007 NY Giants they followed the movie script.

The Giants faced a Patriots team that won 3 championships this decade and had a record of 18-0. The Giants were a team that was 10-6 and was the 5th seed in the NFC playoffs. Their starting QB was erratic & inconsistent, their star Defensive End almost retired, and their coach was on the hot seat. This was not a team that would defeat a dynasty.

However in one of the greatest runs of all time they would win 3 road games and beat NE. The drive at the end with all the clutch plays are what the NFL is about heart and desire. The NFL's favorite term is Any Given Sunday and the idea that on any given Sunday if you have enough guts,talent, and determination you can win.

In the end the team with the maligned quarterback, the despised head coach, and the special teamer playing wide receiver won the championship. This was not only a legendary because of who won but how they won.

Rocky Balboa (2006)

Rocky is Back

[8/10 · 28 December 2006]

As a Rocky fan this character has always been dear to my heart. When I was a kid Rocky IV was on & I loved the fights. As I grew older I began to appreciate the other movies and heart that went into the first two.

Now we get to Rocky Balboa.... a movie that puts Rocky in the ring 20 years after his epic clash with Drago.

We see Rocky as a somewhat successful older man who isn't quiet happy with his lot in life. The warrior burns within. When espn runs a computer simulation it gets people curious about Rocky again. And sure enough Rocky is back to where he was in part one... being offered a fight with the Heavyweight champion of the world while the world is in disbelief.

Many media pundits & fans in real life think the movie would be a joke & Stallone wisely uses that. He has commentators, the boxing commission, and even his son question his sanity for fighting at this age. And when we get to the fight his age isn't ignored. The champ makes Rocky look bad until Balboa gets a break & capitalizes on it.

The movie however isn't just about fighting its the end of an emotional journey with a man even cynics can grudgingly embrace. Rocky has become tempered with age but doesn't put up with the bs of our age. Rocky proves his critics wrong in & outside the ring and we all remember why we cared in the first place.

Hulk (2003)

Sometimes directors & movies don't match

[5/10 · 23 April 2005]

I am a fan of the character of the Hulk. Not only did I watch the Bill Bixby series but I collected the comics for years. I am also an Ang Lee fan I found the Ice Storm to be brilliant and enjoyed Crouching Tiger. So what could go wrong? Turns out plenty.

In the comics the origin was a guy saves a kid from a gamma bomb and the radiation makes him the Hulk. Well, in this movie its not that simple. There is no bomb it has been scrapped. And the gamma radiation is only a part of why he becomes the Hulk, the other part was his crazy dad experimented with him which interacted with the gamma rays. Then Bruce is adopted and is not even called Banner until midway through the movie. Does that sound jumbled and needlesly complicated? It does to me.

The actors do a good job with the exception of Nolte who is way over the top. Bana is OK as Banner and Connely is good as Betty. But the film suffers from pacing issues and spends way to much time before he Hulks out.

The movie actually shines when the Hulk appears but the needlesly complicated origin, an over the top performances by Nolte, and the glacial pace hurt the movie. I think Ang would have done better with a better script but sometimes certain types of directors can't make certain movies. I know I wouldn't want to see Von Trier's Superman no matter how talented he is.

Batman & Robin (1997)

Bad

[1/10 · 25 March 2005]

This movie came out my senior year in College. I had seen the previous three Bat films in the theater and found them entertaining. And to tell the truth I had seen the trailer for this movie and was really excited. I saw it the first day it came out.

So, I had no preconceived notions about this film. What I saw was the worst film I've ever seen. Look there are worse movies but they're mostly B movies and are expected to stink. I had no idea what to expect when I saw this but it wasn't certainly what I got.

The first bad sign was the one liner from Arnold "You're not sending me to the coolah", then the one liners kept coming with no real dialog. Then there was Uma camping it up to extremes not seen since the 60's series. Other bad things kept happening. Clooney not even adopting a Batman voice. Bane reduced to a stooge. The idiotic and pointless bike race. And finally the low point in film history the Bat Credit Card. When I saw that scene I flashed back to the first scene in Batman89 where Bat's is scaring the punk to death and nearly throws him off the roof. The Bat Credit Card was its opposite in every way. The minute I saw it my brain began to shut down.

This movie is insulting on a level I've never seen before. And Goldsman, Schumacher, and the cast should apologize for this unadulterated garbage.

If you haven't seen it DO NOT SEE IT.

Independence Day (1996)

Pretty Bad

[5/10 · 14 May 2003]

This movie was cheesy when I saw it as a kid and it remains so. I'm ignoring the political implications though and just judging it as a movie.

Problems

Bad Dialogue, 2 dimensional characters, and a mediocre plot

Others have already covered it...however if you make a movie and have the dog as the most interesting character you have problems.

I think Summer Blockbusters today like X-2 show you can tell interesting stories with great SFX. This movie despite the speeches and cliches has nobody interesting. It lacks characterization, heart, and genuine menace. I felt more menace in the first 10 minutes of Aliens than in this entire film.

Hopefully a sequel isn't made. I feel blockbusters have evolved for the better the past seven years. To make a movie of this caliber would just drag things down again.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Boring and Bad

[5/10 · 10 December 2002]

Unless you're a diehard Star Wars fan don't waste your time. The movie is nice to look at. But the acting is wooden and stale. And things just happen to characters that one really has no emotional attachment to. This may be mediocre as a Star Wars movie but as a regular movie its barely tolerable.