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lorddarkstorn
Reviews
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Completely misses the point!
It's been a while since I've read the book, and I may have forgotten many details, so I won't spend much time about how much movie differs from the book. It will suffice to say the story has been simplified enough. Valid reason would be that The Count of Monte Cristo is a rather long story which would have been impossible to fit in your average length film. That's not the qualm I have with the film. Cast is average, but not bad. I could live with that, too. I'm quite used by now to how Hollywood usually treats stories like this one.
The main reason I think this movie is bad enough to get 5/10* is that somehow the main point of it is missed. All the while during the film I was getting the feeling that the story is about love, and not revenge. That it's about how a hero will overcome all obstacles, no matter how big or difficult to be finally reunited with his true love. Revenge was moved somewhere in the background, relegated to secondary goal of Edmond Dantes. Now that is something that I have trouble accepting. I don't mind all those details I already mentioned during "hollywood-isation" of books, but I can't stand when they change the point, theme or motif of the book in order to appeal more to teenagers.
If you're a fan of the story of The Count of Monte Cristo you probably won't enjoy the film. If on the other hand you only want to watch an exciting movie and don't care about the book then you will find this film interesting.
Without a Clue (1988)
Brilliant film
This film has a rather basic comedy plot - Dr. Watson instead of Sherlock Homes is the one that actually solves cases, and he just uses Holmes as a front, for the public and the press. And Dr. Watson is about to attempt to solve the most difficult of cases, involving Holmes', or rather his in this universe, arch rival.
The end result is one of the best comedies I've ever seen. The script is good, the jokes are intelligent and witty, but this not what truly sets this film apart from many other comedies. It is the acting of two lead characters, Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine as Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes respectively. What would otherwise be a merely interesting new take on Sherlock Holmes adventures, it was raised to the level of brilliance by their performance. Truly two great actors of our time.
The humor is intelligent and sophisticated, as I've already pointed out. This is not a type of movie where you will at certain points laugh out loud (although I don't exclude that possibility - I did more than once) but rather it will keep the smile on your face for the entire time, and probably for quite some time after the end credits.
If you haven't seen this masterpiece, do yourself a favor and do it. It is well worth your time...
Luther (2003)
Interesting
I'm a bit of a history geek so I try to watch most of the movies that are set in a historical setting. Luther was, in the lack of a better word, interesting.
There's some fine camera work, acting,the works but it just can't get top marks. It was too modern. Dialogues, interactions, it's too much 20th century. Luther speaks like a modern professor at the university, his students look like a bunch of twenty year olds who can't keep attention during class because they think where they will go out Friday night and so on. You just can't get immersed in the movie because of that.
All in all, it's worth watching, but don't expect a masterpiece. 6/10*
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Realism is not an option
By far the worst film in the series, I'm amazed that it's rated so highly here on IMDb. True, it does have a lot of action but it goes overboard with it. OK, one could argue that all Die Hard films are a bit overboard with action but at least you didn't have to turn off your mind to watch those. You'll find more realism in Bugs Bunny cartoons. This film is sort of True Lies meets Rambo in that regard.
Apart from that, the cast is good. Willis, Olyphant and Long play their parts perfectly. It could be said that the cast is the only good point in the movie.
I don't wanna say that you shouldn't watch this film, it's decent if you need to kill two hours of your time, but it doesn't change the fact that the film is mediocre, especially compared to the other films in the series...