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le_wubster
Reviews
The First Power (1990)
A bit dated now but great stuff!
I've got to be honest here: I first saw this movie in my teens and loved it, so I might be a bit biased here, ignoring it's flaws. Just saw it again, over 10 years later, and I gotta say, while it didn't have the 'wow' effect it gave me before, It still holds up as a decent movie. This movie is fast paced and just crammed with awesome ideas that sometimes work, and sometimes could have been used more effectively.
What do we have?
- An insane serial killer - This guy just oozes evil, amazing bad guy.
- A very cute psychic - man did I have a crush on her!
- Plenty of mysterious happenings and scares (though not very scary for seasoned moviegoers)
- Cool action sequences. That ceiling fan scene is so awesome.
- Satanic superpowers. How is that not super cool?
- The pacing is great, with lots of interesting scenes.
- Nice touches of humor now and then.
So What could be better?
- The ending is a bit unsatisfying.
- Things could be bigger and more epic.
- While decent, Lou Diamond Philips could be replaced with many other actors, and there are more charismatic ones out there.
- Seeing it again, it wasn't that scary, but I remember that it was the first time. Could be scarier though, I guess.
- If you analyze things too much, there are lots of small plot holes.
This movie is like an older, more low budget version of 'End of Days' with Arnold Schwarzenegger (which I liked as well). If what I told you sounds interesting, this movie is a great way to spice up a boring Sunday evening!
The Dark Knight (2008)
Good, but what's with the mass hysteria?
Me and my buddies (aged about 28) just saw this movie yesterday. We love superhero movies so this one was anticipated greatly. Like many, when we heard of the casting we assumed it was going to suck and after the first trailer we started to suspect it might actually be gold.
And then... we certainly saw a very good movie, but nothing that could justify the ridiculously high average score right here on IMDb (9.5 as of now). We don't always agree but in this case, we all gave it a fat 8 out of 10.
Why not a 10, like all these teenagers and twenty-somethings seem to vote? Let me explain.
Personally I use my feelings a a grade meter. The best movies affect me so that when the credits roll, I need time to catch my breath. I need some to process the awesomeness/sadness/beauty/inspiration that I just saw. The best movies keep my in another world for some time, not wanting to leave.
While entertaining, this movie didn't do that for me. I just got up right away, saying: 'nice movie, what's next?'
Somewhat similar movies that I totally was affected by: V for Vendetta, Lord of the Rings, Spiderman 2, The Matrix. Maybe it's because these movies had heart.
The Dark Knight didn't really effect me in any way. Neither was it super-exciting or really creepy or anything like that. It was just good entertainment, nothing more. While spectacular, I didn't really feel for the characters.
What's great: - The main bad guys are what make this film. The Joker and even the other guy (no spoilers here) are very nice. - Some spectacular scenes. A few scenes with nice tension (especially later on in the movie). - sparse but nice glimpses into Bruce's playboy lifestyle. - very little CGI / noticeable blue-screen (in your face, Indy 4!) - quite realistic and believable atmosphere. - nice bat-gets though a bit far-fetched sometimes.
What could be better: - no convincing romance. - sad moments aren't very sad. - Batman himself was too over the top (the voice) (summarizing these arguments: acting could be better here and there) - the cinematography a bit bland at times (like with all Christopher Nolan movies). Not as smooth, stunning or atmospheric as some other directors pull off (Tim Burton and Sam Raimi for instance). - some thriller-scenes could have been more effective (script/direction-wise) to be really immersing. - emotion/character motivation doesn't come across that well (not talking about the joker, more about Bruce Wayne/Harvey Dent).
So why the mass adoration for this decent, but flawed movie? My guess: There already was some kind of hype surrounding director Christopher Nolan because of his 'arsy intellectual' past ('memento')... I felt the former batman movie was way overrated as well. Also Christian Bale can do no wrong for a lot of people. Then there's the Heath Ledger thing. He surprised all the people that suspected he was going to suck in the role, receiving much adoration all of a sudden, then goes out and die. Now the sympathy vote's off the charts. Right now this movie is #1 in the IMDb top charts, towering over everything else with a 9.5 - I wonder what people will think of this in a couple of years, when the hype is completely gone. Maybe IMDb will even start to sabotage democracy...
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Indy-'Light'. Not bad, but somewhat lacking for the old fans.
The Indiana Jones trilogy always have been some of my favorite movies. Of course I got excited when I heard that a new one was being made. Well aware that high expectations are real big movie-enjoyment killers, I tried not too expect too much. But.. I still had secretly hoped for that old fashioned movie-magnificence.
Then the trailer arrived. I more or less knew what to expect after that. An okay movie, somewhat lacking the Indy feel and quality. And that's exactly what we got.
The good: Cinematography, editing, lighting, set pieces, costumes; mostly top stuff. Likable actors. Plot idea alright. Some nice action moments. A few moments of Indy-nostalgia ('ta-tata- taaaa!'). The first 30-40 minutes were really promising.
The bad: Basically, this is Indy-'light' - Indy for kids. Gone are most of the scary stuff, the violence, the shock-moments, truly intimidating bad guys. And most things are too goofy/unbelievable. I know, the old movies were not exactly hyper-realistic either, but here everything's so crazy there's hardly any sense of danger to our heroes, like there was in the past.
And why is Marion smiling all the time? Facelift gone wrong or something? Sorry, Karen Allen, but i feel there's been some bad actor direction here and there and you're the biggest victim. About that, some of the dialog/acting/direction, especially in scenes with emotion, seemed off, and what could have been charming, empathy-inducing scenes, didn't really come across. Perhaps too much focus on the humor side of things again?
Last nitpick: one of my pet peeves - CGI: Too much, and often too fake. It seems to be a sign of the times. I recall a few scenes that really crossed into Jackson's 'King Kong' territory of over-the-top cgi-fakeness. That's not what they promised earlier...
Overall: Worth watching. Better than a lot of average action/adventure movies we've seen lately. Too bad it didn't reach greatness. Almost all of the Indy-ingredients are there, but there not on the same level as before. This Indy movie is last in line, but that's still on top of most other action/adventure stuff. I'll see it again, I'm sure.
Oh, and if you're a kid, and haven't seen that much (adventure) movies - you can add a star or two to my score. Go see!
Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road (2002)
This smart feel-good film just oozes creativity.
This movie was a really pleasant surprise for me. The script is really smart and lighthearted. A nice genre-blend with lots of crazy twists and turns.
The acting is very nice. No Oscar-winning performances (it's not that kind of film), but everybody is clearly enjoying being in this one. There are a lot of movie star cameos and everybody gets to shine. And we're talking about awesome guys like Michael J. Fox, Kurt Russell, Gary Oldman and Christopher Lloyd.
Special mention: James Marsden. He's really having fun all the way, and we have fun with him. It's nice to see a movie where it's not all trouble and hardships, but there's many moments where his big smile just adds to the feel-good factor. An often handsome but forgettable actor really shines here, just like he recently did being the scene-stealer in 'Enchanted'.
Very special mention: Chris Cooper (the mean neighbor from 'American beauty'). His character is awesome. I won't spoil things, just trust me on this. The movie is worth the rental or purchase for his scenes alone.
Well, go see! Lookat the IMDb rating and good reviews and hunt this one down. You'll want to see it more than once!