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Reviews
The Terminal (2004)
Impressive
I really had a hard time trying to figure out whether a movie set entirely in an airport terminal could really be worth the hype? But when I finally got around to seeing this movie, I was pretty impressed. Spielberg had pulled it off again. I have problems with the fictional country they invented just for this movie. Perhaps they should have just utilized some existing political situation. In cases, some actors clearly over acted and while that "medicine" scene was well written, the ending of it was not quite satisfying. A lot of other stuff will also not make much sense. But keep an open mind and go watch this movie and you'll be just as impressed as I was.
Stealth (2005)
Mostly garbage
Stealth may start off pretty good, with some accurate rendering of the aircraft carrier, the bringing of the conceptual switchblade aircraft to the big screen and some good and interesting ideas like the refueling blimp which eventually catches fire making for a spectacular scene. Unfortunately, the movie quickly degrades and becomes total garbage. It was so bad that I took a "break" and came back. They introduce some AI controlled drone which is initially bad and then becomes good for no apparent reason. The air combat sequences are not at all satisfying. A completely pointless waterfall scene with Biel has been included as fan service. Overall, this movie is best avoided unless you want a glimpse of some cool concepts but its not worth wasting time and money for.
Mortal Kombat (1995)
Not worth the VG
Although one can't expect video game movies to be great successes or even accurate versions of their virtual counterparts, this movie could have been much better, I feel. Thats not to say that it was a good movie in the first place. The only thing that stood out in this movie was the music which was used in some good sequences and scenes. The actors seem to know that they are put in an embarrassing situation and do their absolute best to look very serious in their roles and that is extremely noticeable. Rayden acts totally weird but is likable. There are a few good ideas and some of them even have an element of coolness. But the main thing, the fights, are crap. They should've got some real kung fu choreographers instead of the nonsense shown. The CGI is crap but the props are OK. If you're naive enough to not know the director's dangerous credentials, you may find this movie entertaining.
Blade II (2002)
Something to pass time with
Blade-2 is no where nearly as good as the original Blade movie and it seems to be a lesser effort in the first place. The storyline in this case is nothing unusual but the introduction of a bunch of new characters makes it pretty weird. As usual, there is non stop action and very fast, fluidic vampire ass kicking with little subtlety and plot. Abraham Whistler is also reintroduced, seems he survived being turned before shot and all, but in this movie, he is much more of a loser than in the previous. Snipes himself does'nt seem to respect him as much. There are a few original ideas (concerning action of course) and a few good moments but this movie isn't great. At the same time, its far from bad. 6.5/10 seems to be appropriate
Commando (1985)
Good 80s action flick
At the time, there really weren't too many movies like this, especially with such high production values. But be it the 80s and the 21st century, I don't think its fair to downplay the value of entertainment. We also don't get to see too many movie with this much action as delivered by Commando. It need not have been the most subtle and the most realistic movie but it did deliver what an action fan needed from start to finish. I can see that the Rambo movies similarly get whipped for no apparent reason. Commando does'nt just have non stop action but also some comedy and hilarious one liners. Commando is one of the action classics that needs to be remembered.
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)
Its good but very flawed.
While by itself, Tremors-3 may be an OK movie, it is nothing when compared to the original Tremors or even Tremors-2. There are the number of inevitable reasons that include the deletion of several of the previous cast and a not so fantastic storyline. Perhaps the biggest strength of the Tremors series was that the graboid was a animatronic/puppet which made it very realistic and threatening. However, in this movie, they've gone and used a lot of CGI for both the assblasters and the Graboids. The CGI looks terrible and so unconvincing that the fright value totally goes away and even a Tremors fan would be highly embarrassed. Lastly, this movie yet again fails to explain the origins of the Graboid.
Godzilla (1998)
Why the low rating?
Perhaps fans of the original were expecting a guy in a rubber suit to go destroying a toy city? This movie was actually quite good and pretty flawless when it came to the critical special effects area. Sure, its mostly popcorn fun and it has plenty of cheese but I'd like to ask people criticizing this movie about how many movies of the same scale (no pun intended) they've made? Godzilla itself was pretty realistic and the designer had done a good job. Broderick and his girlfriend were a bit annoying but tolerable. There are some dumb jokes to but all this is overshadowed by one fantastic effort at a movie which I would imagine, would be quite difficult to emulate from the Japanese version. All in all, I really could'nt ask more from this movie.
Rocky IV (1985)
Predictable but good
After seeing Rocky I, II and III, the fourth segment in the series must seem as a concept getting quite tired and running out of ideas. By this time, you will be able to effortlessly predict the results of the fights and the eventual outcome. Even so, Rocky IV proves to be an extremely enjoyable movie and in my opinion, by far the best movie from the Rocky series. Contributors to the quality of the movie include the song "Living in America" by James Brown and the good boxing effort by Dolph Ludgren. The writers have effectively utilized the cold war enmity to provide a somewhat provocative storyline, without actually vilifying the Russians at the same time. The ending in this movie, after the fight, was actually good.
Ghostbusters II (1989)
Worthy sequel
At the time of its release, Ghostbusters-2 may not have been an original production as its predecessor but it does not fail to impress at all. In fact, despite some stupid inconsistencies with the previous movies' storyline, I found this movie to be much more enjoyable and much better than the first movie, despite popular opinion. The biggest flaw was putting Janine and that short guy together and that was really stupid. Story, special effects and action wise, I think that this movie was slightly better than the original. Well actually, come to think about it, it was much better. Vigo also seemed to have more impact as a villain than Gozer who made a very short appearance in the first movie. Its too bad that this movie didn't receive the success that the first movie did.
Predator 2 (1990)
An excellent sequel
I can imagine that Predator-2 would not be as popular as the movie that preceded it but even so, there is absolutely nothing so bad in this movie to justify its extremely low rating. I guess that a lot of voters don't actually follow the Predator franchise. The director delivered exactly what a fan wanted with urban LA providing the sweaty, suspenseful atmosphere and background, loads of action and the Predator kicking ass. They've also introduced a new array of Predator weapons which don't seem out of place at all. The Predator related murders getting confused and mixed up with all the crime and gangster related violence in LA, was pure genius or at least a very good move. The opening sequence to reintroduce the Predator was amazing. This movie was extremely realistic and gory as well. It is too under-appreciated. To give you a clue of what type and kind of people did'nt like this movie - Paul Anderson was one of them who spoke out against this movie.
Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
UnderRated fun
This movie is so much good natured fun despite how much one criticizes the overuse of "getting hit on the head" sequences. Chris Farley does deliver a very impressive performance as the bumbling Great White Ninja but at no point is he ever annoying or over the top. The Japanese cast also gave a good account of themselves. Robin Shou was also integral to this movie and I appreciate his role in this movie much more than his terrible and embarrassing role in the Mortal Kombat movies. Overall, this movie is extremely funny and has some excellent music too. I'm also surprised so see that Nicollete Sheridan actually comes close to looking good in this movie, in stark contrast to what she looks like is desperate house wives.
Jurassic Park III (2001)
A few good moments and a nice setting
One really can't understand what the writers and directors were thinking when they planned JP-3? Were they really aiming for a semi-serious or I dare say, comedy, with the talking Raptors and the CGI Spinosaur and all? One should not go expecting anything as massive on the lines of Jurassic Park or the Lost world and the third part really does not compare to either of them. The effort itself has been one on a much smaller scale. The movie is completely devoid of story. As you expect, Sam Neil and a few others crash on the island and they have to escape. So they try and they do. Nothing unusual happens and there's no twist in the story. The ending is quite pathetic. But with some beautiful locations, a few great moments of suspense and plenty of dinos, this movie does not fail to entertain despite its inherent flaws.
Independence Day (1996)
Enjoyable
Its a popcorn movie. So what? Is there anything wrong with that? I don't quite see that as a reason to downplay something and give it a bad rating. Independence day did deliver what most movie goers wanted and that was a good time. It may be far from a gritty and realistic movie but with so many elements blended into it such as action, air combat, explosions, a huge star cast, a feel good story and totally awesome special effects, it has to be one of the best movie efforts ever made. Despite so much content, the viewer never gets saturated with too much and everything has a major part to play. The only bad thing is that the director got carried away by the success of this movie and went and made a crapfest called the day after tomorrow.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
A good work of cinema
I must admit that had I not been totally prepared for Quentin Tarantino's general formula for cinema, I may not have liked this movie so much. Having seen Kill Bill first, my expectations for his other movies was somewhat different and Pulp Fiction really did'nt work that well on me. With an open mind, this movie was found to be quite good, with some of the early dialog being boring and the few locations being too repetitive. However, as the movie progresses, it does slowly get better and better. The "ear" scene has been shot so well that it is disturbing. At this point in time, the psychology of the gangsters being analyzed wouldn't seem so original but it must have been for its time. As a low budget movie, it has been quite an achievement.
Boston Public (2000)
Really really excellent
Boston public, from its already highly reputed developers, does not fail to deliver. I can imagine that a non-American audience would find events presented in this series as quite shocking. The writing and acting is top notch. Theonly problem with the series is that it portrays the American schooling system has highly out of control and indisciplined, even though the staff themselves are shown to be highly professional and capable people working under immense pressure. That seems to be a move to make it a little more commercial. For the same purpose, we see too much sex and everyone is sleeping with each other in some controversial way or the other. The subject of sex is used extremely often, although it may not be such a bad thing. Towards the later seasons, the show seems to have run out of ideas and started deriving plots from current political situations such as the war on terrorism. Despite such unoriginality, this show is one of the best TV shows ever made.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Perfect
While I would'nt really want to go and try flaws in this movie, any attempt to do so would be really difficult besides the complaints that Tarantino ripped off somebody else. The formula has been perfect, to separate the story from the movie completely and set it aside for the sequel. But even after having done so, and having delivered non-stop bloody action, this movie really does not seem so commercial. Even when it comes to scenes with no action at all, the dialog is excellent and the sequences are gripping. Even if one imagines that Tarantino payed too much "homage" to others by using their ideas, the movie as an overall effort, comes out as highly original.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Almost flawless
This movie is quite a rarity when it comes to the success of comic book superheroes making their appearance on the big screen. Pre-90/95 efforts may have been quite good but the current 21st century efforts at making flashy versions of the classics have almost always been failures even though they had a few good things going for them. Not so in Spiderman's case. While the first movie itself was quite good, this sequel is almost flawless in terms of story, acting, action and special effects. The direction and screenplay are also very good and the cinematography is just unbelievable. There's little more to be said. Just go watch this movie if you have'nt done so already. You'll be impressed without doubt.
The Matrix (1999)
Not as good as the sequels, IMO
While I'm aware that there are a lot of people who feel that the first movie in the Matrix trilogy is the only good ones and that the next two were terrible, I must completely disagree. In my opinion, the most important thing about this movie is that it paved the way for the sequels. That means that this movie severely under-utilizes its own plot and concept and the same are only exploited as they should in the sequels. The real potential for insane action and the intriguing philosophy which actually does make 80% sense, barring the weird happenings which are not even explained properly, are only made use of in the sequels and not in this movie. Thus it is certainly unfair to downplay the sequels. The Matrix as a stand alone movie is quite good, but really not as good as it could have been and this has been fixed in the sequels.
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Just above average
If this film had released 20 years ago, it would have probably deserved a higher rating. What you get from viewing this is a well produced, well written although highly unoriginal movie carried on mostly by Woody Allen and his dialog, not to mention the rest of the cast. Problem is that it is really more unoriginal than previously mentioned and you'll be quite familiar with what all happens during the movie. The only difference would be some funny circumstances. The ending is quite anticlimactic and very disappointing where the villain gets caught so very easily without him nor the police actually doing anything at all. This movie is perhaps worth watching once on TV but I'm not too sure if one should spend money on it in the cinema.
AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
I'm afraid its very difficult to see any positives in this
Quite frankly, I believe that this movie should be in the IMDb bottom 100. It is really that bad. But with so many (suspect) votes, perhaps I should contemplate further to check out any possible positives that this movie has? Some of us like the Alien franchise so much that we would just force ourselves to suffer through this. What could the positives be? The SFX - Paul Anderson promised to not use CGI. He lied. Very bad CGI has been used in important scenes. The rest of scenes ie the Aliens with people in suites are quite convincing looking because they were done by the original SFX team. Despite that, the Aliens behave more like stray dogs and zoo animals than the monsters they are supposed to be. The results are quite embarrassing. The Predators also act like buffoons rather than stealthy killers. In one scene, the Predator runs like a ramp model.
Creativity....should not be confused with dreaming. A Pyramid buried under the Antarctic containing Aliens and all makes this a sort of fantasy film. The realistic horror is what made other Alien and Predator films stand out. With shoddy camera work, poor props and implementation, even the minimal allowance goes away.
Fight scenes...show the Alien tail held by strings and the Predator blades to bend like rubber. Admitedly, this is a very difficult scene to perfect but if you don't have a Cameron like talent, you should not even try. Ultimately, while it starts out good, it ends up like a wrestling match.
That about sums up any possible positives that this movie had and they were really, not positive at all. Everything else in this movie is really bad as other reviews have indicated. Be sure to check out the goofs section too. There are really too many.
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Yes it is offensive but...
...it is not a bad piece of cinema as many make it out to be. I put off reading the book just to experience the movie in its fullest form. While many people have put forth an argument that it is not as good as the book, I, who have not read it, found the movie quite decent. But coming back to the previous warning, yes, this movie can be quite offensive, especially to the Church. The Church and Christianity itself is painted explicitly in very negative light and I'm not talking about the Mary Magdaline controversy. So, if you are a bit sensitive, then I would advice you to not watch this movie. But as a piece of cinema, it has been quite well directed and produced. The acting and locations are quite good. It would be mild entertainer if you could ignore certain parts of it.