Reviews

I'll admit I went into this movie with modest expectations. I anticipated a shoot-em-up action flick. And I was not disappointed in any way. The action in this movie is very good. The sounds and sights are awe inspiring in some scenes.

What really got me in this movie was the ending. I won't give away any details, but I was pleasantly suprised by a very non-Hollywood ending. Admitiedly, the climax of the movie was a little tepid, but what happens after that was kind of suprising. It was not entirely positive. However, Terminator movies have always had somewhat melencholy endings. In T1, we had to watch Kyle die. And in T2, the Terminator gets lowered into lava. This movie has a similar sad point, but its a different kind of sad point. It does however, fit with the movie, making it seem that much more real.

I like aliens. I like thrillers. I like Mel Gibson (sometimes). I even like tender tales of men who have lost faith. But ramming all that together into a single movie makes for a muttled and often boring mess.

What killed this movie is the laughable aliens. These morons flew 90 light years to ransack our houses? Riiiiight.

The acting is fair, the tension is fair, the ending is flaky, the aliens are a joke, the whole story is of dubious interest.

Nevertheless, I will admit there are some pretty spooky moments. I was a bit freaked out from some scenes.

Its worth a DVD rental, but try to use a coupon and get this one free.

How in the hell did it make 200 some million. Cardboard characters, over-the-top acting, simplistic plot. This is an indie movie for people who don't like indie movies.

Not even worth a DVD rental. I'd shut this off even if it was running on cable at 3 am and I had insomnia from eating to many cookies.

Somebody happened to say "coolness" to me yesterday who was wearing this obnoxious shirt, and it made me instantly remember this show. I religiously watched this show in college. The first season is nothing short of pure genius. Absolutely helarious with irreverant characters, whacky plots, and some camera work that rivals the Cohen brothers in Raising Arizona.

Every now and then you can catch somebody on Ebay selling off the entire show on VHS. If you get a chance to see an episode, don't miss it. Its genuinely funny stuff.

However, beware the 3rd season. The show's popularity seemed to cause it troubles with the Studio Execs so they retooled the show in the 3rd season and killed off a lot of its charm. Most of the 3rd season episodes are booooooring standard sit-com fair.

Not being English, I came to this story mostly out of my love of the many Factory bands, but namely New Order. As probably one of New Order's more loyal American fans, I knew the Factory Record back story pretty well. An naturally, I was very happy to see it (somewhat) faithfully brought to the screen.

Before I level my one big criticism about the movie, I should say that Steve Coogan does an exceptionally good job as Tony Wilson. Having never met and seen very little of the real Wilson, my knowledge of was based mostly on the stories, rumors, and of course the "legend" of Factory's outrageous leader. In this way, Coogan fills in my perception of Wilson extremely well. His performance is spot on. His voice, manner, and delivery are quintessentially proper English but his words and thoughts are quintessentially a madman, indicative of the whole punk era.

Furthermore, Sean Harris does a frighteningly good Ian Curtis. There are times when it seemed like Harris had literally channeled the deceased poet's spirit. The scene where Curtis loses it on stage was tremendously well done. (Good to see that Bernard actually cared about Ian.)

Which gets me to my one large complaint about this movie. The first 60 minutes or so are fantastic. The exploration of Joy Division and its troubled Curtis are exceptionally well done. But after Curtis dies, so does the soul of the movie. The movie seems to divert off track. Which in my opinion was not only a cinematic mistake, but a historical one as well.

The second act gives an exceptional amount of time to the Happy Mondays. The Happy Mondays may have been a big player in Manchester - but hardly the size and force of Joy Division/New Order. Shaun Ryder is not a poet, he's a freak and a lunatic. The Happy Mondays had a brief moment of genius that was quickly swallowed up by their addictions. This pales in comparison to New Order's achievements, which had continuous moments of genius (until that horrible World in Motion song - sheesh).

Hence, the second act of 24 Hour Party People is a disappointment. Not merely because it loses steam and humor, but because it relegates New Order, to a secondary character. We never even see New Order after the 90 minute mark, and barely a mention of Barney, Hooky, Stephen Morris, or New Order's post-joy division addition - Gillian Gilbert. This is sad because the New Order story is really an integral part of Factory. And New Order is itself a remarkable story, if you consider that they lost their lead singer and reformed as an equally powerful band. Something that has almost never been done before.

However, I suspect that New Order's lack of presence in the picture says something in and of itself.

Despite the movies weak second act, it is still a very enjoyable look into the Manchester madness. Although I am an outsider (an American) who never got to be a part of the Manc scene. Manchester was the first time nerdy white boys, like myself, finally got the fame and attention they deserved. It proved that the white man can produce and generate a "tribal" sound in our post-industrial, post-modern, information-age sort of way. Where Jazz and soul may be the sound of the African-American experience, Factory Records and the Hacienda were the sound of nerdy white boys experience. Anger, resentment, love, loss, drugs - you name it - we made our feelings known. And to this day, nothing, even the numerous depressing American scenes, have captured the heart of intelligent alienated white boys like Manchester did.

All things being equal - I am happy to see the story make the light of day. I am happy to see the "spiritual root" of Manchester laid bare for the world to examine and of course - laugh at.

The Royal Tenenbaums was marketed as a quirky, comic look at a family of prodigies and geniuses. I found that this movie had the same fundamental problems that director Wes Anderson's other train wreck, Rushmore, had: an absurd and overwhelming sense of its own quirkiness. This movie begs you to acknowledge and marvel at its "strange" behavior.

I find this very annoying and somewhat pretentious. As if the Anderson, is so desperate for the fawning admiration of Cannes Festival attendees, that he made sure to slow down and point out all the "cool spots" in his work. Like a bad musician who replays his few moments of decent performance, over and over again.

What is additionally frustrating is that the actors all do a very good job. Gene Hackman is, as always, phenomenal. Even Gwyneth Paltrow, whom I usually dislike, embodies her role exceptionally well.

However, like Rushmore, the fine acting is cast inside a rather banal and ridiculous script. I didn't really care much about these people, and found most of them simply annoying. Moreover, we're told repeatedly what geniuses these people are, but we never see them actually behave like geniuses. We're expected to just accept them as such. I don't like that. If you're going to embody your characters with superpowers, you had better show them exercising them, at least once. As such, all we see is these geniuses spiraling into obsessive compulsive behavior and psychotic neurosis.

Furthermore, I did not find this movie very funny at all. The funniest character was Danny Glover and his nerdy, unsure of himself suitor of Ethiline Tenenbaum. The only scene that made me laugh was when Glover's character suddenly falls into a pit at an archaeological dig. It was a bright spot of simple, slapstick humor among a sea of pretentious grandstanding.

Ignore the reviews on this one. It's dumb. Save your money, go rent something good like Donnie Darko.

I see this movie and Office Space (1999) on the same continuum. Office Space was the "male" version of a "work movie." It expressed the tedium and stupidity of work life through three quirky, dorky, horny guys. It shows how many men view their work: absurd, tedious, and unfulfilling.

Clockwatchers does the same thing, but in a fundamentally different way. It is slower, more introspective, and conniving. It represents how many women view themselves at work: ignored, mistreated, and accused.

I find both these movies extremely satisfying and insightful, but for different reasons. Office space is a masterpiece of quirky humor, unidimensional characters, and a lose, very funny plot. It expresses what a lot of people feel about work - that its a big joke.

Clockwatchers shows the slow and destructive boredom that that burn through friendships and humiliate people. The characters are considerably more dimensional and real. Iris makes a very odd "hero" for a movie. She is extremely quiet, dismissive, and shy. Her complex relationships with her three work pals show that she can rise out of her shell to take action as well as sink deep into mistrust and anger.

If you are looking for a wham-bam laugh out loud work movie, go see Office Space. If you want something slower and more character oriented, see Clockwatchers. If you want the full spectrum, see them both side by side.

I keep getting suckered into watching these horrible Christian movies. I was tortured by Omega Code, and this one is no better.

Basically, if you're a Christian and need propaganda to feel good, you will love this movie. It is full of Christ-affirming propaganda.

If on the other hand you have an actual appreciation for good cinema, this is a horrible, horrrible movie. Apart from the illogical plot and pathetic effects, Michael Beihn and Michale York must really be starving for money. Neither of these guys is a bad actor, but their performance in this movie is truly awful. I got the sinking feeling half way through that neither of them really wanted to do this movie, but because TBN shook enough money in their face, they took it.

Save your money. Go to church. Avoid this low-rent crap.

As hacking/computer movies go, its hard to get the right mix of action and geeky computer fun. If hackers were depicted with any level of reality, nobody would watch the movie. Who wants to watch a bunch of fat, dorky kids huddled over a computer monitor eating Doritos?

So, I am completely willing to be lenient on a hacker movie, if it at least has some of the right elements mated to kick-ass action. This is what made the Matrix such a wonderful movie. It is also why Swordfish is so satisfying. It has technical glitches, but they are minor enough that only hardcore dorks would be offended. It has formula elements, but they aren't obtrusive.

It also has some genuinely exciting moments. There is an explosion scene in the early part of the movie that is extremely viscerally exciting and disturbing.

And as much as I loathe John Travolta for some of the abominable drek he has done (Battlefield Earth comes to mind) he is back on his game in this movie as a suave and slick spy/criminal/hacker...whatever.

There are a few good hacker in-jokes. The fact that one of the hackers last name is Torvalds, is a nice nod to our friend Linus Torvalds (inventor of Linux). There are some pokes at carnivore, the FBIs project to keep an eye on everybody. Fortunately, there are not too many of these to bog down a good story.

Oh, one last thing. Halle Barry, if you can't get over all the technical crap, you should have no problem enjoying the drop-dead gorgeous Halle Barry. There is a famous nude scene in this movie that is totally gratuitous - and totally pleasurable!

If you're looking for a good action movie with explosions, cool hacker dudes, and naked women - you can't beat Swordfish.

Okay, the first Planet of the Apes (PotA) was unique and interesting in its time. But, it surely was not worthy of a remake, revisioning, or regurgitation.

What is most disturbing about this movie is how slow and illogical it is. It plods along through scenes with very little energy. I kept thinking about how hot everybody must have been in those monkey outfits. There are points where Mark Walburg does the most illogical and pointless things. For example - why doesn't he ever talk! I mean if strange animals were locking me up AND they happened to also speak my language, I would make every effort to reason with them. But Mark just stands there .... duhhhh. When he finally gets a gun - which could flatten the apes does he protect it with his life - heck no. Another ape grabs it from him and breaks it.

And the woman with the overly red pouty lips. What the hell was she doing there other than looking pretty? Her role has no purpose whatsoever other than somebody who can receive the animalistic affections of Mark.

This is a pathetically bad movie. Worse than I even expected. I had real high hopes for this before it came out. I was really looking forward to seeing it. All I can say is I am happy I waited until it came out on video. I would have been really p***ed to have spent $10.00 to see this piece of crap.

I think the most revealing issue about this movie is how little time is devoted to these two wannabe CEOs actually talking about their company. They seem far more interested in themselves, their relationships, and their "space" than handling the day to day innerworkings of their company. The two main "characters" spend a lot more time talking than they do working.

This movie also reinforces the fundamental problem with the whole dot.com industry. People with no business skills were allowed to run companies when they clearly could not even manage their own lives. These two clowns should have never been allowed to run this company. They had no skills and it was readily apparent in every scene and every dramatic twist.

As a movie - its more interesting than entertaining. As a business owner, I was more disturbed and intrigued by this movie than I was entertained.

Naturally, I avoided this movie when it came out due to the utterly horrible reviews it got. As the movie faded, I kept meaning to see it just to see how horrible it really was. I figure anything that evokes such intense criticism must be worth at least seeing.

And my expectations were very much met. This is a truly awful movie. I like Sci-Fi, and I am usually quite forgiving of cheesy sci-fi movies. But this is a truly, deeply awful movie.

Of all the things that are most terrible, the kicker is the completely illogical plot. I mean, I can handle talking lizards and leaps of scientific fact - but this movie really expects you to be a complete moron. There are plot holes ... no, let me rephrase that ... there is no plot. Just losely connected slices of terrible acting and pointless exposition. Scenes that make absolutely no sense. Events that simple could not happen here in the 3rd dimension. I mean, there were points were even my dog was offended it was so stupid.

It is truly appalling what big name stars like John Travolta can get done just by sheer force of of their fame.

At a minimum, watch this movie just so you can see the lowest point possible in movie making.

I wanted to see Snatch when it came out in the theaters. I liked Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, another Guy Ritchie film. However, I never got around to seeing it. I was also very turned off by the hype, ala Ritche's engagement to Madonna. So I waited until it came out on DVD.

The movie is VERY derivitive. There are parts of it that are very Pulp Fiction-like, Fight Club-like, and even a Fish Called Wanda-like.

The movie tries very, very hard to be slick and stylish, often to the point of absurdity. It is very obvious that the people making this film were way more interested in being cool than being good.

Many of the plot points are also very predictable. I won't give any away, but it was blaringly obvious from scene to scene which two or three groups of people would cross each other's path.

However, the acting is good, there are some truly funny parts, and the ending is satisfying. Its a decent "B" movie.

I don't know why I got sucked into this movie. From the first few minutes I knew the entire plot and ending. I also found Winona Ryder to be increasingly more irritating. She is not that talented and she isn't even cute any longer.

The dramatic twists in this movie are so obvious you would have to be a complete moron to not see them coming.

Mostly, Winona Ryder's character doesn't seem all that mentally sick. Maybe in the 60s being depressed and wanting to die were grounds for instituionalization. But today - hell, half the people I know are like Ryder's character Susanna. Who the hell is happy with their life? Susanna just isn't a convincing patient. She doesn't seem all that sick and her hospital doesn't seem all that horrible. Hell, that hospital looked downright plush. Who wouldn't want to stay there?

Moreover, there is very little discussion of why Susanna is sick? Oh sure, she tried to kill herself - but so what. What about her parents, her life, her issues. All of this is glossed over so we can watch Angelina Jolie scream and say dirty words.

However, I must admit, I was taken with Angelina Jolie's performance. I don't know if it was Oscar-worthy, but it was very good. She embodied that character very well. Although, as others have suggested, it isn't difficult for Angelina Jolie to play a bad girl. She obviously is a bit of a brat in real life.

Its worth seeing for free or on a $1.50 rental. Don't pay full price for it.

I got suckered into seeing this movie by a friend. Gads, I was dying for Wing Commander II or the Special Edition of Battlefield Earth halfway through.

I could care less about the Christian hammering in the movie. On a purely cinematic level this movie is just pathetic hack work. Lame special effects, plot holes the size of the Almighty, horrible acting. It makes anything Joe Esterhas wrote look ingenious.

Kirk Cameron? Give me a break. This dork couldn't act his way out of a paper bag filled with deranged mice.

Christians are pounding everybody to see this movie. Honestly, if you want to know about God, spend your $7.00 on a copy of the Bible, Torah, Koran, or the ICHING and skip Left Behind.

This is one of those movies that were it not for the outstanding acting of one character, it would have quickly disappeared to 3 am showings on Cinemax. The movie itself is rather predictable and simplistic. However, Hillary Swank is truly outstanding. She must have spent months polishing this performance. It is truly amazing how she just becomes Brandon Teena. I honestly believed she was a he. Swank absolutely deserved her award for this role.

As for the rest of the movie - eh. Its okay. Nothing to write home about. The antagonists are rather predictable in their actions. I must admit, that the movie can be very frightening. I already knew what happened to Brandon...in a way that made it worse. I knew what was coming and almost didn't want to see it because I was so amazed and impressed with Swank's performance.

I really like Paul Verhoven movies. I think RoboCop and Starship Troopers are two of the greatest satires ever made.

Hollow Man is a blah Hollywood movie with a lot of Verhoven's style stripped out. However, the special effects are quite astounding. The scene where Kevin Bacon goes invisible is really, really cool.

Worth a look, but don't expect much. I hope Verhoven gets back to his style for the next movie.

Pulp Fiction is a good, well-acted movie that is way, way, way over hyped by its fans. The core of the movie, the blathering of Vincent and Jules is fun and enjoyable. Bruce Willis as a hot-headed boxer does an excellent job communicating his fear and desperation.

In the end, the movie's quirks and twists are merely to make a rather run-of-the-mill arthouse film seem more edgy. There is no question that this is a well made and fun movie. However it is not the amazing Second Coming of Christ as many Tarantinophiles would have us all believing. Many of the components are merely there to make us, the audience, gasp in horror or gaze in amazement. Do we REALLY need to watch John Travolta stick a needle in Uma Thurmond? Yeah, sure it was cool at the time but that coolness quickly wears off when you realize there is really nothing likeable about any of these people.

Unlike all the other Star Trek movies, ST2 really stands the test of time. Having watched it many times, it is amazing how well done the movie is. Shatner actually ACTS - and does an amazing job portraying and aging hero. If you haven't seen ST2 in a while, go rent it and just listen to the dialog.

I think people take this movie too seriously sometimes. Yes, Fight Club has some powerful messages about culture, society, work, identity, and abandonment. However, if you strip it all away - fight club is merely a simple tale about a guy finding himself. The look and feel of this movie is astounding. Every scene and movement has a Kubrick level of sophistication.

Fight Club is not for everybody. It also demands something of its audience. It is best to view this movie as a whole rather than its parts. Each part is weak in some way, but as a whole there is a powerful, visually stunning message that is not terribly complex, but still very intriguing.

This movie is basically 3 or 4 bad movies rammed into one incomprehensible mess. This story can't decide if it is about a soulful musician learning to deal with loss, or a needy ingenue looking for acting work, or some X-files type creepy guys and a glowing stone.

Although the movie has fine actors, none of them live up to their names or reputations. The acting is stilted, unemotionless, and trite.

The ending is a seriously big let down. Basically, the whole movie is nothing.

Avoid this and see something with some real depth about the afterlife, like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure II or such.

The narration is a bit flaky but this is a good tale of the rise of New Order. Probably only NO junkies will love it. Being a NO junkie myself, I absolutely enjoyed it. The background about Joy Division helps explain a lot. The interviews with NO are very funny considering how enigmatic the band members can be.