Reviews

Do you like the writing of J. D. Salinger (quiz kids) or Kurt Vonnegut (so it goes, so it goes)? Then you'll really like Magnolia.

If you don't, then you'll be one of the many that thinks it's too long. You'll walk out early, say the f-word several times, and leave a nasty review of Magnolia on IMDB about how Tom Cruise acted great in a bad movie.

Read over the other comments and you'll see how succesfull Troopers was in creating a modern commentary on American military.

There's plenty of action, flat characters, and Rambo dialogue. But that's the POINT. Verhoeoven wanted to create a movie that showed what war does to a superpower.

The best way to watch Starship Troopers is to see it with the commentary from the DVD. This movie is a well-layered political satire - not a teen action flick.

Yes, October Sky is worth seeing.

I'd give my take on the good points of this movie (of which there are many) but everyone else has already done this. So I'll tell you what I didn't like.

It seems to me as if the director/writer tried to make every moment soak with emotion and sentiment. This might be good, but it also makes it a little sappy and terribly predictable. At one point, I predicated word for word what the next lines were going to be. That's pretty bad.

In fact, October Sky is so busy trying to be inspiring that it acts like we already know the story. For example, why does Homer all of the sudden like rockets? Ok, so he saw Sputnik float across the sky. But so did everyone else. We never really find out exactly what his passion is with the sky. He looks up at space only three times in the entire movie. Anytime we have as dedicated and committed a character as Homer, we need to know why he is as dedicated and committed(Contact does a fantastic job of this).

Other questions: why is the principal so biased against Homer's rocketry? No one else in the town, save Homer's dad, is. And for some reason, after Homer sits down with Quentin, Quentin becomes everyone's best friend. Why? Homer isn't THAT cool in school.

October Sky is a great family movie for families. It's nice to see brains triumph over brawn. But I really wish they would've spent more time on the lure and the magic of space. Otherwise, rocketry might as well have been bridge building or car building.

You should already know, by reading all the comments, that Wing Commander is a horrible conversion of the games.

Game to movies have never really worked (the best of which was Mortal Kombat - or something). And likewise, movie-to-games haven't really done so hot either.

Why? It's easy. Those who can actually create substantial creative plots aren't making computer games. If they *could* then they'd be be creative making big bucks with movies.

I love computer games. But 90% of them are essentially movie-plot ripoffs and wanna-bes (ie. Duke Nukem = stereotypical action Stallone/Arnold, Laura Croft = Brit Indy with cones for breasts, Resident Evil = zombie b-movie). This works out ok for games because it's interactive. Who hasn't wanted to be Luke Skywalker/Starbuck, or Bruce Willis, or a Brit Indy with cones for breasts?

But unfortunately, when you take it to to the silver screen you lose the interactivity of the game which leaves very little substance and a lot of rehash.

Honestly, the makers of Wing Commander (movie) didn't have much to work with. All the good plotlines had already been taken by the interactive games (which are quite decent).

Not only that, but Chris Roberts was on this WWII kick or something. Doing retro-tech is cool and artsy in flicks like Gattaca but when you're doing an action film it doesn't work at all. DOes Roberts really think they'll still be firing torpedos, using sonar, and firing machine guns in the 24th century? Has Roberts been to a modern aircraft carrier lately? Did he *see* anyone loading steel balls into cannons or anyone raising the main sail?

I hope this teaches video game makers a lesson. Unless you've got a REALLY good idea, stay away from movies. Don't ruin for the next guy. I would think the failure of WC has ruined the chance that movies like Duke Nukem, Tomb Raider, and Resident Evil will be released anytime soon. Thank God.

In short, it's a movie. Save your hard-earned (or not so hard earned) dollars for "Tetris: The Motion Picture" later this year.

I picked this up at the video store because I was bored and couldn't find anything else to rent. I had no idea that it was produced and written by James Cameron until the credits rolled.

But by then I was already convinced that Strange Days was a brillant success at combining true science fiction (society's reaction to technology) and emotional contact.

The first 20 minutes aren't great. It seems fairly atypical until about midway through. Maybe that's why it never really hit big. But the end is an unpredictable ride of fantastic cinema that conveys the chaos that surrounds the year 2000.

It deals with several issues (race, addiction) intelligently and without getting sloppy or campy.

It *should* be a classic, but unfortunately will probably go down as an underdog that barks in the shadow of Titanic.

Ok. It's funny. But was it worth $7?

Not likely. Austin Powers I one was a play on British spy movies from the 60s-80s (predominately James Bond). It was the parody that made it truly funny, particulary for those who love British culture or spy movies.

The second turns Austin Powers away from a parody and into a cartoon character. I don't blame Myers, since it was unlikely that he was going to be able to make Austin Powers dolls of the first one. The new Austin Powers is more marketable, MTV-able, and catch-phrase-ian.

This doesn't make the Spy Who Shagged Me a failure. Undoubtably it will do what it was created to do: make money. And, I'm sure that the majority of moviegoers will associate more with AP2 than one.

The first movie had the feel of a sliced together, cheaply made, swiftly-edited spy movie. Myer's new creation is too sharp, glossy, and cartoonish.

My advice to those of you who loved Austin Powers before it was groovy to: stay away until the video release.

I write this as a warning to those who may be pondering whether or not to rent this "movie": don't.

I love Twilight Zone, and am a huge fan of Rod Serling. So I was rather excited when I saw on the video case of this movie at the video store that it had been written by Serling.

I turned it off after only 20 minutes. I find it extremely hard to believe that Serling could have written anything *close* to this movie. If he did, the Sci-Fi channel mutilated and amputated beyond recognition.

The scenes are disjointed, the effects are cheezy, and the acting pitiful. Pick up your fav Twilight Zone episode tape instead.