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Reviews
Doom (2005)
Don't judge the story because there isn't one
I went to see Doom for the same reason I saw S.W.A.T. which is just as a mindless waste of time with my mates. I knew that I wasn't going to be impressed about any plot twists, but who cares? This is not a movie that was made to do that so I won't judge it so. However, there is little left to compliment the film. I must admit, it was very clever to use the first person view borrowed from the game but this was actually a little disappointing. The camera was jerky, which is understandable but for a soldier, there was very little looking at the enemy. Throughout the whole movie, the camera angles were terrible; rarely focusing on the exciting parts and showing only split-second images of the action coupled by several minutes of a panicking woman who seemed totally incapable of thinking for a scientist. A little sexist, but The Rock is the real worry. He played his character perfectly, don't get me wrong, but his character was incredibly annoying. Given the characters were made super intelligent, it is a little strange how stupid they are. Given I went to see the action, there should have been more of it, rather than snippets followed by the survivors walking through the scene saying, "Dear me, whatever happened here?"
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Not to give it away but... Anakin becomes Darth Vader
Remember when Attack of the Clones came out and you were thinking, "I really wish Anakin would shut up and Yoda's fight have gone for longer."? In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin shut up and Yoda's fight went for longer. Even the small amounts of humour of the other movies are missing from the final (sort of) chapter of this epic piece. This is due to the pulling out all the stops and just showing the dark side weave its cruelty. It begins with the Clone Wars and they are dark, brutal and well portrayed. For the first time, a ship is shown entering an atmosphere and you'll think that looks more amazing than any other effect because you'll forget it isn't real. Suddenly, you are in a galaxy far far away, a long time ago. Speaks like this Yoda still does, but his fight with Darth Sidious is the coolest thing in Star Wars. Two masters each balancing the other perfectly, each incapable of defeating the other. It is so good, the cuts to Anakin and Obi-Wan having their own duel is, if anything, a little reliever from the suspense. Too many people hated this movie before it was made and many more suggest that, of course, "The originals were better." In the case of the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, this is somewhat true, but not for this movie. For the fanatical Star Wars fans, this is the movie they always wished for and any fan who doesn't like it is not in touch with the Force.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
This movie knows where its towel is
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of this movie: You may be hesitant to see this movie at all. After all, many people remain faithful to the radio series, read the books cover to cover a squillion times and think the TV series was alright. First, the bad news. Even putting aside the poor way Zaphod's two heads and three arms were portrayed, Sam Rockwell just isn't a Beeblebrox. Many of the jokes, including the popular entry on Vogons in the guide, were left uncompleted from the original stories and so weren't as funny. Now, the good news. Stephen Fry was the book. Really, he WAS the book. Martin Freeman did such a good job, that Arthur Dent could pass off as a real person. The Warwick Davis/Alan Rickman Marvin was simply tremendous and could not have been done better. Given that Douglas Adams himself wrote this script, this should appeal to the fans and the unhitch-hiked alike. See also, VOGONS, ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX and CUSTARD
Marking Time (2003)
Powerful Stuff
This is the greatest show ever. It portrays the real message refugees received from the majority of Australians when they tried to enter the country illegally and yet were sent away or locked up in detention (even the children; in fact, many are STILL there). The message is not forced in your face, it is subtle and allows room for your own opinion. Hal, the story's narrator, is like a lot of rural Australians: lazy, indifferent and a "light" user of drugs. The things he and his acquaintances get up to are another issue facing the youth of now. There are many messages lying in the story, yet none are overdone and all are very important, prophetic messages. There is humour at the appropriate times to bring up the mood a bit but by the end, you'll be in tears.
It would've taken John Doyle, of all things a popular comedian, a lot of guts to write this because it goes against the common opinion of an entire nation and was actually dismissed by many as mere fiction. The single problem with Marking Time is there are only four episodes.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Sadly, it would never have worked
If you, like so many others, had high expectations for the movie because of how good the books were, then you would have walked away disappointed. A book as popular as Harry Potter could never have been done to appeal to all its fans because so many will pick out every little mistake in the film that doesn't coincide with the book.
It was clearly difficult to compress the book into a movie-safe length and given that almost all who watch it will have read the books anyway, there wasn't too much left out. However, Daniel Radcliffe just doesn't work when playing Harry. Sure, he looks like him, but the way he speaks as if he's on his deathbed just isn't Harry. Likewise Emma Watson and Rupert Grint; their expression was far too over the top to seem real, despite the theme of the movie.
The worst of it all is that the movie had too many clichés to really stand out from the rest of the pack. It just wasn't magical.