Reviews

Cold Mountain. Miramax's 83 million dollar bet. Harvey Weinstein put alot on the line for the gorgeous epic and ultimately the film just does not deliver. Now i am not saying this to stand against the waves or act differently simply to be noticed. I am being truly honest when I say that the movie is not very good. The scenery is beautiful and the actors look the part , however i could not excuse the ridiculous antics and look of Charlie Hunnam's character. Minghella shows that he has a direct idea in his intentions for the film however he clearly was lost character wise and ultimately his lack of character direction destroys the film. The film follows the implied love connection between a one emotioned Jude Law and an over accented Nicole Kidman. They both give awful performances and they simply show that even the most proven actors can do a bad job with meaningful material. Anyway the film follows Inman (Jude Law) as he makes his journey from the battlefields of the civil war, back to the love of his life, Kidman. Well the "love connection" shared between the two is flacid and poorly dealt with. It amazes me that two actors of such high caliber can do such a poor job despite the scenery that is meant to support their actions. The most valid reasoning behind my hate for Jude Law's performance is the fact that his character does not change or develop anywhere throughout the film. One would think that after the horrors of war, the triumph over such negative events would change a man for the better. However Jude Law maintains the same solemn look throughout the entire film. Its a pathetic and meaningless performance which could have been done better had the original choice of Tom Cruise landed the role. If you doubt me see The Last Samurai and your respect for Tom Cruise will return, he shows his sense of development and intelligence throughout that picture. The most demeaning quality of this film is its time. Now i realize that the runtime is acceptable and not neccesarily unbearable, however how can you watch a movie that is so utterly boring? By the end of the film i had forgotten most of the other supporting characters, with the exception of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Lucas Black, and Natalie Portman. The film is slow and boring ultimately. However slow is not always bad, The Last Samurai was long and slow but I loved it because it held the viewers interest. Hoffman is hilarious and Portam is moving and perhaps the reason i liked them so much is because they were bairly in the dam thing. Now i can be disagreed with by thousands but i maintain, the film sucks and i was very dissapointed, it is 2003's Gangs of New York, it garners respect for no dam reason. 6/10.

The Last Samurai tells the story of a soldier who has turned to a

life at the bottom of a bottle. After finding work training the troops

of Japan he finds himself living among the ranks of the samurai.

The samurai live by a code and their honor and dignity takes

priority over everything else. Algren comes to respect their ways

and soon starts to see their ideals as a more plausible cause

then the side he has been fighting with since the start.

Now I must admit how skeptical I was entering the movie theatre.

Tom Cruise has not been very impressive lately and Zwick had not

been behind the camera since his fiasco with the awful film "The

Siege". However this was familiar ground for Zwick with such

films as Glory and Courage Under Fire. So i gave him the benefit

of the doubt and I sat down.

I must say Mr. Cruise did not dissapoint. He turns in the most

intense and emotional performance he has given since, in my

opinion, Born on the Fourth of July. He molds a character who we

come to respect and understand despite his crude and often

obnoxious actions. He slowly transforms from a drunken and

scarred man, into the powerful and charismatic warrior who can

unite the honorable samurai. The romance between Taka and

Algren is done quite tastefully and we see her slowly come to

realize Algren's remorse for the life he took from her. Prior to his

capture he had been in a conflict with the samurai and had killed

her husband just before his capture.

The Last Samurai does what few epics can do. It stands alone.

The film is intelligent, witty and powerful. It has relationships

worth watching and battles worth seeing. Algren and the

charismatic leader of the samurai, Katsumoto, develop a

friendship of respect and understanding. All i can say about Ken

Watanabe is that hes incredible and he deserves fame near and

far.

Overall the Last Samurai develops a feeling of care and beauty

amidst the gorgeous scenery of Ancient Japan. I loved the film

and almost everything about, besides the miscast Mr. Connoly,

who did fine anyway. 9/10

I was up about 2 in the morning and as I channel surf on iO i

notice a title I recognize, Black cadillac. So i start to watch and

initially some glitches occur and I can tell this is a low budget film.

No matter it hooks me from the begining and next thing I know I'm

enthralled by the story.

The story follows two brothers and their friend as they find

themselves pursued by a mysterious black cadillac, after a series

of unfortunate events occur at a local bar. The story is a familiar

one and it is also full of cliches, the "different" friend and the

shrimpy brother. Its all good though cause the movie is actually

pretty well made. It overcomes the cliches and achieves what it

set out too. entertain. 7/10. good old popcorn fun, well directed

and kudos to the director for using every dollar to his advantage.

Oh and by the way watch the clips of the cars carefully. They use

the same clip segments countless times. Its pretty funny.

A Brittish gangster movie. The actors chew scenery and the

amazing locations help the mood achieve the tone it hopes for. Its

a dark and dreary tale told with a kinetic sense of energy. Despite

the lacking budget you feel like this is actually happening. Its

probably the performances that truly hold it together. Great small

role by Gerard Butler as the f**ing nuts supplier. Dempsey is

great as well and he plays the role as if its not even acting. Its just

Dempsey playing Dempsey.

Anyway. The film follows a man recently out of jail who gets back

in with his shady friends. his friend j immediately gets him

involved in a guns deal and as expected nothing is as it seems.

The movie is great and it just does well at what you expect. Well

made and likable characters. 7/10

Christopher Mcquarrie molds a film that is poignant and amazing

in its own particular way. Its a crime caper, its also a character

piece possessing its own twisted version of humour.

Mcquarrie is a man with a vision and he makes his presence

known by the fantastic acting and direction that is shown by this

fresh and hip movie. Ryan Phillipe shows some true acting chops

in this film and Benicio is wonderful again. Its a tour de force in

many aspects.

The film follows to petty thiefs who set out to make some easy

dough by kidnapping a surrogate woman. They get more then

they bargained for when the oil tycoon father sends hisgoons after

the boys. It just gets more and more interesting. Its a movie worth

seeing even if your not a huge crime caper fan. Loads of violence

though. 10/10. absolutely nothing I didnt like in the movie.

Empire Records follows the lives of several employees at a truly independent record store. They carreen in and out of each others lives and often with unbeknowst consequences.

The film is well made and has some touches only the great Allan Moyle could add. He does great with a teenage cast and directs them well. The camera work is fantastic and something I really enjoyed was the first person narratives that occured every now and then.

Great performances by anthony Lapaglia and maxwell caulfield. As the manager and burned out pop star respectively. The movie belongs to the youngsters though. Rory Cochrane, Renee' Zellwegger, Johnny Whitworth, Ethan embry as well as the fantastic Brendan Sexton III carry the movie in its entirety. Oh and of course Robin Tunney does a funny and poignant piece of acting as the punk rock chick.

Its just such an easy movie to enjoy. Theres nothing to hate about it. 8/10.

Where do I begin.Well first of all I have only heard negative things about this film they are wrong. Its a great drama with a heart to it unlike most gang films you would tend to see. Stephen Dorff is the Perfect gang leader as Leon and portrays his character with a sentimental ferosity which you dont see very often. Brad Renfro trys his best to keep up with an all star cast and falls short but not to short. The fights are incredibly well done they creep you out but make you also want to fight just like the Greasers and the socs in THE OUTSIDERS. A fun movie although not for everyone Any teenager will love the plot and connect with the characters. IGNORE THE CRITICS.

well i spent the last year watching whenever possible this 85 hour film if you can call it that. even if you dont call it a movie its nevertheless brilliant. ANY man who can film a movie of this magnitude deserves an oscar for best attempt. i heard that at some college kids sat and watched all day for a few days this movie which is just plain ridiculous without a real plot its just mindless babble (often hilarious,often no purpose) well never the less check it out next time u have 85 hours to your self