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Shiva 22
Reviews
Reign of Fire (2002)
More dragons less drama, please.
I went into this movie with fairly low expectations for the plot and high expectations for the special effects and the action. I was more than a little disappointed to find that the biggest conflict in the film was between Quinn and himself. Quinn (Christian Bale) turned out to be a very weak character: he wanted the dragons dead but was unwilling to do anything about it himself. Matthew McConaughey (Van Zan) is the flip side of the card, a tough anti-hero who has a singular purpose of destroying the dragons. Izabella Scorupco (as helicopter pilot Alex Jensen) is the glue that binds the two together, and she gives an emotional and convincing performance as Van Zan's sidekick. Alexander Siddig and Alice Krige put in appearances in bit parts. As for the rest of the cast, never have so many done so little for so long. Alex, Quinn, and Van Zan might as well have been the last three people on earth, and that might have been an interesting twist.
There are only two real dragon-fighting scenes. Mostly, it is just dragons torching unarmed civilians. It makes Jurassic Park (1993) look like a fair fight. It would have been nice to see someone else putting up a fight before the arrival of Van Zan.
Much of the setting was advanced by a Time magazine article and flashing headlines that showed 20 years of destruction in text and still photographs. They might as well have had someone walk across the screen with a sign that said "And Time Passes". The future was too bleak and desolate to dismiss the fall of mankind with a few flashed headlines. The "reign of fire" happened too easily, and it seems the entire human race caved in to the dragons just as Quinn did.
Other points (like "Where's the oxygen coming from?" and "How do the dragons metabolize ash?") go unanswered and would have been less nagging if the plot didn't drag quite so badly between the action scenes.
The General's Daughter (1999)
Graphic rape does not make this turkey a drama.
Is Travolta a cop or a soldier? Neither, in this poorly-paced misadventure from director Simon West. What promised to be the best military mystery since "Courage Under Fire" turned out to be nothing more than a pinball game, with Travolta and the completely superfluous Madeline Stowe bouncing from one officer to the next, each with an inexplicable need to confess all he knows to the investigators. Clues are regularly served up on silver platters, and the entire film is dragged along by the convenient action of minor characters.
The plot has more loose ends than a shag carpet--the first 20 minutes of the movie are spent on a plotline which abruptly ends and is not mentioned again. Travolta's witless antagonism of the local police chief serves no purpose other than to provide inappropriate comic relief at moments of high drama.
There are a few notable performances, particularly James Woods as Col. Moore. The only real suspense in the movie--as well as the only appropriate use of witty banter--comes during his interactions with the investigators.
Notably missing in the film is the strong sense of "death before dishonor" that is frequently referenced but never actually portrayed. This is at least in part due to the fact that Travolta spends half the movie in a rumpled suit trying to play Colombo, and only dons his ill-fitting uniform for the last few scenes to remind the viewer "oh, yeah, he's supposed to be in the military".
A Short Wait Between Trains (1998)
Powerful short film about post-WWII racism
This short feature really touched me. A group of Black soldiers just back from WWII in Italy are subjected to racism in a small town, not from the residents, but from white MPs guarding a group of Nazi POWs. While the bone fide war heroes are forced to eat lunch behind the restaurant, the Germans are treated like officers and gentlemen by the white soldiers who have never seen combat.
Altogether a tight and poignant film.
October Sky (1999)
A real winner.
I saw this in a sneak preview double feature with "Patch Adams", which paled in comparison to "October Sky".
This is easily the best movie I've seen in a year. Thoughtful, serious, but at the same time uplifting and fulfilling. It was such a refreshing change to see a movie deal with both a West Virginia coal town and science without winking at or belittling either one, or for that matter, making one seem any better or more worthwhile than the other.
Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a stunning performance as Homer Hickam, and the supporting cast captures the depth and detail of life in a mining town.