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Morgan-10
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Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
Style 10, Story 1
I was disappointed by this film. When I saw the trailers, I said to myself "nope, that's not going to be good". Then I read a couple of reviews by critics I generally see eye-to-eye with and thought maybe I should give it a go. I was with a split group, 1/2 wanted to see Sky Captain and the other 1/2 Garden State and I argued for Sky Captain and we held sway...
I wanted to like this movie, I embraced it for what I thought it was which was a throw back to old movies. Visually, it was very cool and though I could tell it was blue screen I didn't think that was a problem, for me it was the story. It didn't grip me at all and several of my friends laughed out loud when we shouldn't have. Gwenyth Paltrow is not my favourite but usually she can be charming. She was terrible! Worse, her character was annoying and I didn't want to see her succeed at anything, I wanted her slapped ( and I don't go for that kind of thing). Probably the best actor was Angelina Jolie and of late I didn't think I'd be saying that but she did well with her brief appearance. There was more chemistry between her and Jude Law that between Jude and Gwenyth for sure.
The flow through the movie was not very good and while some transitions were cool, others caused me to say "hey! what the...?". Tied to that is some, to me, glaring continuity issues. All in all it despite the interesting visual style the story did not grip me enough to enjoy the movie. Not campy enough to be truly campy and not a strong enough plot to carry it.
Style 10, Story 1 so 5/10
The Good Girl (2002)
Very interesting film, nice departure for Aniston
I quite enjoyed this movie. An interesting story that is certainly not your typical hollywood fare and that appeals to me. I thought Jennifer Aniston did an excellent job of portraying the small town girl who's in a dead end job, a lifeless marriage and sees her life floating uselessly along but unsure exactly what the heck to do about that. There were no weak performances, I really enjoyed John C. Reilly and Tim Blake Nelson and Jake Gyllenhaal was quite good as the angst ridden youth.
There are no heros in this movie and no villains. I sympathized for all the characters in some way (or pitied them). I also enjoyed the treatment of the infidelity, rather than guiding the viewer to support one side over the other we see both sides. No one is really the bad person, it's just poor choices, or is it even that? It's just life.
Coming from a small town I completely appreciated this film. 8/10
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
OK but Kubrick and Speilberg just don't quite mix
When I first saw the trailers for this movie I thought it was the last thing I'd want too see with it's 'his love is real, but he is not' line. Then I read a couple of reviews learned that it was originally Kubrick's baby and thought I would definitely have to give it a whirl.
It's a hard movie to rate. I didn't dislike it, but I thought it fell short (hard to do in a movie that is too long) somehow. I think the primary reason this wasn't a great movie is that Speilberg and Kubrick are just so different in their view of the world that they don't blend well on film.
The story is doesn't flow consistently and causes it to drag on in several part making me look at my watch (bad sign usually) and there are a couple of spots where you think it's over (and that would be OK) and it's not. While I like both directors, I wish Kubrick could have done this one solo (death does put a crink in your career), as Speilberg's underlying hope and human spirit touches detract from the story.
The acting is top notch, that kid Osment is very good and O'Connor also shone (except for a couple of over-the-top moments). The effects are fantastic and the created world is very impressive.
This movie in the hands of Kubrick alone (with that acting and special effects) would probably have been a 10/10 but the mixture of director vision(and the length) detracted from the film so I gave it a 7/10
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
Close but no cigar....
Well that was unfortunate. I thought Tomb Raider had a lot of potential but it failed to deliver. The biggest failing, as others have mentioned, is the script which is awful. Considering what they're given to work with the acting is pretty decent at least for Jolie and the lead bad guy. Jon Voigt is cheesy and the 'love' interest is boring. Because the script is bad it felt like they were just piecing action sequences together so they became ho-hum. I think part of it was the music. Action sequences really need energetic music to get you into it and I just didn't get that from TR.
I think if it had been more campy it could have been great but it was trying to be serious and the story was completely incapable of delivering that kind of quality.
I was with seven people and the reaction ranged from 'that was 2 hrs of my life I'll never get back' to 'it wasn't too bad, not as bad as Battlefield Earth' to 'the effects were cool'. These were given in roughly descending order by age.
I gave it a disappointed 5/10 as I was mildly entertained and it was slightly better than Battlefield Earth.
Enemy at the Gates (2001)
Almost great, but not quite
This movie was really close to great. It's hard to say exactly where it missed. The love story part was a tad too cheesy I think. The war scenes were fantastic, very well done. I was horrified when I was supposed to be. The truth of battle being a terrifying, confusing and dirty business was well done.
The acting was also quite good. Ed Harris in particular is very good as you might expect. I guess it must be something in the pacing as I looked at my watch twice, both times during the romantic bits. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually a sucker for romance but there was just something not quite right. My wife complained that Russians shouldn't sound British and maybe they shouldn't but at least nobody was trying (badly) to sound Russian which would bother me more.
All in all I could recommend this for the fighting/sniper scenes. It's decent but it's not great. 7/10
Tomcats (2001)
Perhaps I should be embarrassed....
but I laughed often throughout this movie. I knew full well it would be low brow but apparently a lot of people were confused and expected the English Patient or something. It's called Tomcats and is about a bunch of young womanizers for crying in the soup. Jerry O'Connell and Jake Busey are both quite good. Shannon Elizabeth is beautiful even if she can't act (I don't care).
You have to be in the right mood, go with a buddy or two, and you'll probably have a good time. Some parts seem over the top but nothing surprises me anymore. These guys have quite a bit to live up to if they're Farrelly prodigies but it was a funny movie.
The people who are complaining so hard about this movie probably don't even like this kind of movie in general so ignore them. Go on cheap night or rent it. 7/10
The Ladies Man (2000)
Surprisingly funny
This was a surprisingly humorous movie. The underlying plot (self realization love story) is a decent enough vehicle for Tim Meadows to deliver his shtick. Will Ferrell's character is also quite funny as are other supporting members.
I enjoyed Night at the Roxbury more than this but Superstar was far worse to compare it to other SNL skit-gone-movies. As a goofy, no-brainer comedy, 8 of 10, as a full fledged movie 4 of 10 so we'll settle for 6 of 10. You'll probably enjoy it if you like the skit and you like a bit of low brow humour.
Drowning Mona (2000)
Not fantastic but a decent quirky comedy
I enjoyed this film a fair amount. It definitely wasn't great but I did keep laughing. Lots of funny bits, that made me laugh out loud. Yes, this could have been better but I'm not exactly sure how. Perhaps the pacing was a bit off, that's what comes to mind. I think it's worth watching if you're interested in a quirky movie. Not as good as, but along the lines of Fargo.
7/10
Xing xing wang (1977)
So bad, I mean sooooo bad, it's good
This movie is terrible, I am not even moderately kidding. However, because it is so, so bad you have to see it. I laughed tonnes through the movie. Big guy in a gorilla suit, blonde jungle girl in an animal skin bikini with blue eye shadow, tonka trucks and other cheesy models, cheesy green screen scenes, blattant edits, lots of bad dialogue ('kill peking man, anyway you can') and a complete king kong rip-off.
I guarantee you'll laugh all the way through.
1/10 as a real movie 9/10 as a bad B movie
Shanghai Noon (2000)
Hilarious!
This movie was really fun. Owen Wilson was fantastic. He was the funniest side kick ever. His dialogue and delivery were perfect. Jackie Chan doesn't disappoint either. He's such an incredible athlete and his comic timing and delivery is getting better all the time. The fight scenes weren't as well directed as in his other movies. I, like others whose comments I've seen, prefer to watch kung fu action from more of a distance with less cutting but it was still exciting to watch.
As for the rest of the movie, the plot line was nothing new, nice and simple. Lucy Lui was good and even had her own action shots. Mostly this movie was fun, lots of good laugh out loud laughs. The action was good and the story moved everything along well enough. I'm sure you'll enjoy this movie.
Romeo Must Die (2000)
Entertaining
This movie seems to have received a lot of flack about the fight scenes being unrealistic and it's true they do ask you to forget about physics on occasion but really, it's OK. The fight scenes are very cartoon like, like in Black Mask, and I think that's what they were shooting for. I think the acting was well done, no one made me cringe except for Jet on occasion and the big guy was quite funny.
The soundtrack was great, lots of energy. The love story was almost non-existent but who really cares, it was cute enough and was only ever an excuse to do some butt kicking. I thought the action scenes were very good, even with the guy wire help, and there was lots of shooting stuff up too. I think Jet Li is an excellent martial artist (although I like Jackie Chan better)and the physics defying stuff is just his schtick. I had a good time at this movie and I think if you just want some action, you'll feel the same. I give it a 7/10.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
A really good movie
Wow, I finally saw this movie on video last night and it was great. The story-line was fantastic and the acting was also top notch. It had good suspense and just the right amount of creepiness. It had me right until the end. It's definitely the kind of movie you talk about after.
The Wrong Guy (1997)
Good but not great
I enjoyed this movie because it had some really funny scenes and I love Kids in the Hall. Unfortunately the sum of the parts is better than the whole. I find myself thinking about certain parts and laughing out loud but put all together and they were missing a little something. The plotline is hilarious at first but it gets a bit tired and the movie could have been about 1 hour long but Foley and Tilly are both funny and I did enjoy.
The Ninth Gate (1999)
Ummm... OK, that was different
What a peculiar movie. I thought the story was very interesting and I'd bet it's a good book. The visuals were good, neat castles, old books and the like. It did move a little too slowly in parts, such that it was hard to maintain the suspense I assume they were shooting for. Johnny Depp is a good actor but even he seemed a little stilted in spots. I thought Lena Olin was good and really the acting was done well for the most part. What did disappoint me was the ending which I won't give away other than to say I was left without closure and with too much 'Huh?'. I think they needed a bit more... something... earlier in the movie and the ending would have been better.
Dog Park (1998)
Cute, quirky but awkward
This was a cute and quirky movie for the most part. It was a bit slow through parts and felt somewhat awkward. I like Luke Wilson in general and I'm a Kids in the Hall fan so with Bruce McCulloch and Mark McKinney there was that element too. Definitely not a great movie but not a bad renter.
Reindeer Games (2000)
It blowed up real good
It was entertaining. The most redeeming qualities were that it was filmed in the town I live in (although, not really a promotion for our fair city) and has Charlize Theron in it.
Lots of violence, explosions, some steamy scenes. Reminds us that in Hollywood all cars that go off cliffs explode with great force. Plot's a bit much to swallow but in general this is a good show for a cheap night if you're craving action.
The Beach (2000)
Quite entertaining
I thought this was a pretty good movie. I'd heard that it had been panned by critics but I was entertained. The story was interesting and I thought Leo did a good job acting, as did the rest of the cast for the most part. It was very different from what I expected, I guess I really wasn't expecting anything. Certainly not a nicey. nicey film, quite violent, and the story dragged a little at times but worth a go for sure.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Creepy but interesting
I can't say that I enjoyed this movie, although I enjoyed parts of it. I gave it an 8/10 because it was well done and well acted. That being said, it was certainly creepy and disturbing. The problem with the movie in terms of mainstream is that while the acting is well done, none of the characters are likeable not to mention the story line is, I repeat, just plain creepy. If you like weird movies you'll probably appreciate this one even if you don't like it.
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
Very funny, very stupid but very funny!
I had a good time at this film. The story is predictable but you don't go to a movie like this for the story. Lots of good cheesy jokes, slapstick action and a little Matrix spoof for good measure. Go if you want to have fun, just don't have your expectations too high.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Good entertainment, great effects and a good set up for the series
I really enjoyed this movie. I am a huge Star Wars fan and was worried that my expectations were too high, especially since there have been many bad reviews. I decided to go with an open mind.
Sure, some of the acting was a bit stale and Jar Jar Binks gets tired fast. It wasn't jam packed with action either like some perhaps expected but that's OK because the story, as a foundation, didn't lend itself to tons of action. On the other hand the action they did have was absolutely fantastic!
Star Wars and Empire are still my favorite but this beat out Jedi easily. I thought it was a great set-up for the rest of the series. Go with an open mind and enjoy it.
Dragonslayer (1981)
Good fantasy/adventure movie, great dragon
This is one of my favorite fantasy/adventure movies. Maybe I was the right age when I watched it but I really enjoyed it. It has a good story and the best movie dragon. Better than the Dragonheart dragon and it was done in '81! Sure there's a little bit of cheese, with regards to the heroine, but gosh darn it I liked it.
The Mummy (1999)
Lots of fun to watch
I must say I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. Acting was ok, story predictable but the effects and sequences were great. It was very Raiders of the Lost Ark having similar scenes and similar humour stylings. Not a masterpiece but lots of fun to watch.