Reviews

This movie was excellent. I am 13 and loved it. I am the biggest Scream fan i know of in my small little town here. I loved Scary Movie because of its humor. not one part in the movie did i hear silence in the movie theatre. Not to mention, i had to go to 3 movie theatres just to see it at 10:30 at night. The first two were sold out that morning! This movie was expected to be good, and it was good. I loved it, i am going to add this one to our familys DVD collection!

It's a shame this movie came out in 1991. I think it probably could've done much MUCH better, if it were an 80's flick. The movie had that classic 80's soundtrack, and fashion nailed. And I'm an 80's kid... So I guess I just kind of clicked with this movie. I has seen segments from it once before many years ago on television, and I decided one day to pick it up for kicks at the video store. and I liked it. Corey Haim did a good job playing an overly energetic criminal mastermind. I don't know exactly why I liked this movie. But it's fun, although it did leave a lot of questions left unanswered (which is why a sequel was necessary, but some of those questions still weren't answered)... What happened to Honey? The girl who laid him? Did he not EVER think of her again? Did Nelson's parents get back together? What about Sam being broken out of prison? Did the police just NOT care, and never looked for him again? Anyways... I'm going to stop critiquing a movie that I like. And just tell you, if you haven't seen this movie... Rent it, or see if you catch it on USA or something...

There's a number of obvious reasons this movie is rated R. The fact that literally every other word, is an obscenity they weren't allowed to show on Television. The plot is actually a lot stronger than one would expect. And although the movie is quite vulgar, towards the end, a few morals are learned... You'll have to see it to know what I mean. I saw it with a group of 16 year olds, and we all loved it. The vulgarity is nothing new to teenagers, except that it's just placed so randomly, (you'll know what I mean if you see it), that it's hilarious, which will leave your kids singing the Terrence Phillip "Uncle F'er" song. It's hard to tell people not to see this, because it is honestly the funniest movie I have ever seen (and believe me, I've seen WAY TOO MANY movies, old and recent). But on the other hand... It's corruptive, and vulgar, and filled with anal sex jokes. Parents don't take your kids. Kids don't tell your parents, just Get a bum to buy your ticket (That's IF the movie theater asks for any ID).

If I could use one word to describe this movie, it would "Wow". Sarandon, Roberts, and Ed Harris, each deliver a powerful, and believable performance. The presentation of the film, and the way that it was filmed, was amazing.

However, if I could use one color to describe the movie, it would be a brownish-yellow. The movie seemed glazed, and bland. Half-way through, I kept imagining a semi-rotten banana. I don't know if this was a universal flaw, or maybe my movie theatre just sucks, but in the final scene, the Christmas scene. When the boy is going upstairs, the film jumps a bit (poor editing) and the glaze and yellow is lost, it becomes a grainy washed out blue, with no glaze, or shimmer, it appears to just be raw unedited footage (Did anyone else notice this?).

Other than that minor problem, I loved this movie. The makeup was fantastic, I spent nearly a half hour debating with myself, whether they used make-up in the beginning to make Sarandon look younger, or in the end to make her look older. I couldn't tell! I loved the interaction with the music, especially the sort of anthem to the movie. And the directing was amazing. The way Christopher Columbus had us debating every 5 minutes, over who was the better mother, and who was right and who was wrong.

This movie sends a powerful message, although it's not for everyone. I definitely recommend this to parents! It teaches us all about how to really love, and care for somebody. Stepmom, is a phenomenal film!

Samuel L. Jackson, and Kevin Spacey, at first the two seem to be an unlikely couple. It seems that Mr Jackson is more of an action/comedy man, while Mr Spacey appears more likely to star in a serious comedy, or serious drama, where you must use every extent of your brain to understand every extent of the film. That is what makes "The Negotiator" work so well. Jackson is not only the main character, but he gives us a breather when the conspiracy becomes too overwhelming to keep up with, whether it be making fun of the amateur negotiator Farley (Stephen Lee), or square dancing to "cotton eye joe" in a bar, 6 hours after rescuing a young girl from her father, early in the beginning of the film. Jackson presents us with a fun, enthusiastic, rash (but wise) character. While Spacey is the down to earth, "I wanna do my job", family man, who doesn't trust, or choose sides.

The young, but extremely talented, F. Gary Gray, does a phenomenal job, using an ominous office building, standing tall over the Chicago river, and then turning it all into the site of a superior motion picture. Gray uses a wonderful contrast of Light/Dark, High/Low, Good/Bad. The "good guys" (Jackson), are higher up, on the well lit, 20th floor of a government office building. While the bad guys have set up a command center, on a dim construction barge in the river. Gray does a nice job of using action, drama, suspense, and even a little mystery, to make the film come together. There are never too many bullets flying, or too few tears running. Trust plays a big part in the movie, representing how Danny Roman (Jackson) is like a caged rat, with the entire world against him. Gray does a nice job of keeping the movie away from the "Die Hard" look, he uses only "Flash Bang" grenades, and no C4. Although Chris Sabian (Spacey) can be compared to Sargeant Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) of "Die Hard" and there are many similarities in the film, such as the office building itself, and the 500 trigger happy police officers, encroaching the surroundings of the building.

Altogether, "The Negotiator" worked wonderfully. The excellent blend of blood/sweat/tears representing action/suspense/drama, along with a powerful musical score, and a superb cast. The Negotiator keeps you on the edge of your seat, and the tip of your brain, for the entire 140 minutes that it runs.

From the same comical genius that brought you "BRAINDEAD", and "THE FRIGHTENERS", comes, "BAD TASTE". Though obviously a low budget film, and fairly cheesy, you can't help but root for Derek (played by the director himself), and his bud's Barry, Ozzy, Frank, and Giles, as they take on the evil Lord Crumb, and his band of "3rd Class Aliens", that are attempting to take a town full of people... er... body parts, back to their homeplanet, where human flesh is considered a delicacy. The band of liberators, must take out the alien forces, and rescue Giles, before he's eaten alive. BAD TASTE, will leave a bad taste, in your mouth, from the disgusting (yet overly false) gore, and laughing your heart out. Definitely a must see, it's impossible to dislike (unless you're squeamish, or prejudice against the New Zealand folk). If you haven't seen it, RENT IT! What're you doing?! GO... NOW! You'll love it, I guarantee!