Brenman33 Reviews

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (1995– )

Great sports reporting...

[16 January 2003]

I love this show. Bryant Gumbel and his team do an incredible job and present fascinating and relevant stories consistently, week to week. Things you never would have thought of. I watch whenever possible. Great job HBO, Bryant Gumbel, and the rest of the team.

Last Call with Carson Daly (2002–2019)

Good to see real, honest interviewing...

[27 July 2002]

Unlike these neanderthals who will put down this show simply because Carson Daly ALSO hosts TRL (for some reason they dislike HIM because the PEOPLE vote for music these 'critics' don't like), I prefer to be objective. This show is very good because Carson Daly is a good interviewer. The best interviewers aren't afraid to ask celebrities tough questions and questions that they don't expect. Daly does that time and time again on this show and that's why I love it. He speaks his mind...honesty...another good trait. All the while he remains objective and can easily hold a conversation with seemingly anyone. I credit Carson for that and it's no wonder why he got where he is today.

I just wish maybe he had more controversial guests on and were more confrontational like a Bill O'Reilly. No one seems to want to put celebs on the spot (Daly has many celeb friends himself), and we need someone outside of the entertainment industry that will come in and grille these people. But that's off the topic.

The best thing about the show is the variety of guests, it's not just musicians or actors. He's had music producers, writers, commentators, etc. Variety. Honesty. Good interviewing. Good show.

G.I. Jane (1997)

Underrated Ridley Scott military classic...

[8/10 · 6 January 2002]

I never understood where the hatred towards this film came from. It has great performances all around, including probably Demi Moore's finest (come back Demi!). It has excellent cinematography. Not a great script, but a very good one. And of course it has masterful direction by Ridley Scott, someone who is just being respected because of his masterpiece, GLADIATOR. People seem to dismiss military thrillers for some ungodly reason, and this is one of the best. It's time for Ridley to do a special edition DVD for this baby and show the world that this is one damned fine film. 8/10 ***1/2

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Not incredible.

[7/10 · 2 January 2002]

Good God, I don't get you people. This film was buried by it's hype long before it went nationwide after Christmas. It is NOT as good as RUSHMORE. Not not not. It is not "incredible", and it certainly is not "The best movie of the year". Yikes. Wes Anderson, while being a very GOOD director/writer, is not the greatest thing since Orson Welles. Just because we want someone to be great like that doesn't mean there exists such a person and we cannot label someone who is, I grant you, very original, that mantra when he clearly does not yet deserve it. We'll see what he can do outside of quirky dramedies. Moving on... This film is moving up to Memento-grade overrated status. Very very good movies that are being labeled "great" just because the majority of Hollywood movies have been disappointing. Enough guys.

Spy Game (2001)

Typically-great T-Scott thriller.

[8/10 · 21 November 2001]

This is one great ride. Tony Scott delivers as always with this stylish CIA thriller. A fantastic script combined with two great performances from Pitt and Redford make for great tension and constant watchability. Scott delivers his usual craftsmanship, combining excellent cinematography with dazzling visual flare. Great editing and a really good score as well by Harry Gregson-Williams. I'm a huge T-Scott fan and this is another fine addition to his collection. I'm just waiting for the day when he makes his masterpiece (or his second masterpiece...CRIMSON TIDE being the first of course). I recommend this film to anyone who loves a really good time at an action movie without having to leave your brain at the door. My rating- 93.

The Last Castle (2001)

One of the year's best...

[8/10 · 12 October 2001]

Rod Lurie is quickly climbing my list of favorite directors. After last year's great The Contender, he comes back just a year later with his best effort to date, THE LAST CASTLE. This film has no major flaws, which is rare, especially in a weak year like this one. Redford is excellent and powerful, hopefully a Best Actor contender. Gandolfini is also excellent, and should be a Supporting Actor nominee if the Academy wakes up for once. Anyway, this picture has just the right combination of great dialog, superior cinematography (Shelly Johnson), great scoring (Mr. Goldsmith), an incredibly effective action sequence at the end, and a large dose of patriotism added on top. This movie is coming out at just the right time and I was proud to get an advance look at it last night. I recommend this to everyone. It will make you smile for all the right reasons and make you proud. I gave it a 94 on my grading scale.

G.I. Jane (1997)

A vastly underrated film, great Ridley Scott...

[8/10 · 30 July 2001]

Ridley Scott, one of the world's top directors, made a great film in 1997 that got trashed by the critics, but Heaven knows why. I know...because critics are morons. This is a great military film, packed with tension, good dialog, excellent cinematography, and great performances. This is definitely worth seeing and I hope they do a special edition DVD in the near future. I give the film a 93 or an 8/10. Can't wait for Scott's next military-themed venture, 2002's BLACK HAWK DOWN. Ridley rules!

Any Given Sunday (1999)

The greatest sports film ever made.

[9/10 · 27 June 2001]

From one of Hollywood's best and most detail-heavy directors. This film features the best performance by an actor portraying a coach (the incredible Pacino), two of the best performances by athletes in film history (Lawrence Taylor and Jim Brown are incredible), one of the best speeches in film history (the "Inches" pregame monologue) and some of the best sports action ever captured on the screen. This is just a masterwork of the chaos that is professional football. Any Given Sunday shows you everything these guys do, and puts you right in their shoes. The excellent cinematography puts you in the middle of the action, but also gives you some beautiful wide shots. The use of music in the film is some of the best ever. There is music set to almost every scene and each is perfect for the emotion of that situation. You want to cheer during several games in the movie. Anyway, I don't want to ramble so there's my piece. I love this film. I gave it a 94 on my grading scale and it's one of the 5 Best of 1999. It's also vastly underrated and often (and inaccurately) labelled as merely a 2 hour and 40 minute music video. Wrong. It's simply the best.

The Animal (2001)

Rob Schneider needs to be forcefully retired...

[2/10 · 4 June 2001]

...for thinking THE ANIMAL was a worthy piece of his time. That's two strikes Schneider, DEUCE BIGALOW and now ANIMAL, two lame, unfunny, unoriginal, poorly made 'comedies'. Shame on you too, Adam Sandler, you're better than this. You don't have to produce all your friends' movies just to make a quick buck. Because you know you can't say "This is great material...I just had to be involved". Your films have gotten progressively worse as well. Anyway, Rob Schneider should not be allowed to topline a film...if this is all he can give us. Shameful that the studios release this drudge because it's a "sure" thing at the box office. God forbid they take their audience into account and show us some respect. You want our money? You need to earn it folks. By the way, I saw this for free. You didn't get mine. HAHAHA! By the way Ms. Haskell, that's enough acting alright? I felt like I was watching some made-for-tv-movie on Showtime. Boring acting. Lame script. Dumb idea. Only getting 4 laughs in a 90-minute film is not a good sign.

Gladiator (2000)

The best film of 2000, hands down.

[10/10 · 4 June 2001]

A film of incredible vision, brought to life by the best talent in all fields of filmmaking. The wonderful performances, the masterful cinematography, the god-like directing by Ridley Scott, and the best score of Hans Zimmer's career make this picture one for the ages. It was robbed of quite a few Oscars (Director, Score, Cinematography, Editing, Sound FX), but hey that's the silly Academy for ya. This is my #6 favorite film of all-time and I gave it a 96 on my rating scale. Now if only they'd give Ridley's brother Tony Scott a chance at such an epic...

Strength + Honor! Roma Victor!

Gladiator (2000)

An incredible Roman gladiator epic...

[10/10 · 1 May 2000]

...and the best film of 2000 thus far. Ridley Scott brings us the story of Maximus, fallen General of Rome and unwilling slave and gladiator. He fights because he must and for vengeance on those who betrayed him. I am so glad Hollywood is giving us these epic tales this summer (can't wait for THE PATRIOT in June) instead of the usual FX bonanzas. Here, the FX are used to bring ancient Rome to life with astounding quality and scope, great job by Mill Film. The cast is great (most likely Crowe's star-making turn) with Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, and Richard Harris. R.I.P. Oliver Reed, you were great in this one. An awe-inspiring score by Hans Zimmer with the help of Lisa Gerrard. If you know the score from THE INSIDER, you'll recognize her great work here. A great theme for the Battle of Germania early on. That in itself is a sight to behold. See this film and love it for it's grand scale, it's superior performances, it's action, bravado and intensity, and the sheer joy of seeing one of the best films you'll view this year. Hopefully, Oscar will recognize GLADIATOR's brilliance come next March. A hero has indeed risen. My grade: a 95 on The BiggieScale.

Varsity Blues (1999)

MTV takes a step in the right direction.

[7/10 · 16 January 1999]

Finally, after crap like Joe's Apartment and Dead Man on Campus, MTV has taken a step in the right direction with Varsity Blues. Many of the teeny-boppers are just going to see this because of James Van Der Beek, who I must admit it not as annoying as many other teen icons. There are some really good football scenes, and it is great to see that an excellent and experienced actor like Jon Voight was willing to take the role as coach Kilmer. A great performance indeed. This is a pretty good football movie with good insights into some teen issues, in this case, following your own dreams and not the expectations of the majority (parents, coaches). MTV has often disgraced the word "film", but finally, they can remove some of that dirt from their name. I give it an 86 on the BiggieScale.

Varsity Blues (1999)

The best MTV "Film" yet and a good football movie.

[7/10 · 11 January 1999]

MTV doesn't deserve to call their movies "films", because they are usually pointless wastes of time. Crap like Joe's Apartment and the stupid Dead Man on Campus had no appeal to me at all, and only the fact that Jon Voight was in this one did I check out Varsity Blues. As it turned out, MTV has finally taken a step in the right direction. This was a good football movie with several good characters. It was funny at times, and had a good lesson to teach about following your own dreams. Jon Voight was great as always as the obsessed coach, and Van Der Beek performed well in his first movie. He is not as annoying as many of the other teen idols, so I hope that he has a good career, which he should. Go see this movie for fun, for laughs or whatever. I give it an 86.

Lean on Me (1989)

Morgan Freeman is one of the best

[9/10 · 14 October 1998]

Freeman once again proves that he cannot give a poor performance. His portrayal of Joe Clark is impeccable and heartwarming. It is truly a great story about how one man can inspire those around him and make a change for the better, much like in Dead Poets Society with Robin Williams. Morgan Freeman is one of the best actors in Hollywood and my favorite.

Holy Man (1998)

One of the year's WORST

[1/10 · 10 October 1998]

Good god what a bad movie! What were Stephen Herek (Director of Mr. Holland's Opus), Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, and Kelly Preston thinking?!?!?! This movie is completely unfunny, the situations are ridiculous, and I can find no way to give it any compliment. I survived the endurance test of watching the entire movie, which is the only good I can get out of it. Do NOT see this movie if you are an Eddie Murphy fan. I'm not even going to go into the specifics as to why this movie was so bad, because it's not worth my time typing them.

A Night at the Roxbury (1998)

Good laughs, Wassup!

[7/10 · 7 October 1998]

I came into this movie knowing it wasn't going to be a classic, but I knew there would be lots of good laughs, and there were. Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan have great chemistry together on screen. It's worth the money, it's fun, go see it. A great spoof of Jerry Maguire at the end. Score!

What Dreams May Come (1998)

A bold perspective on the afterlife

[8/10 · 24 September 1998]

This was a great movie that gave us a look or better yet a 'vision' of what the afterlife may hold, both heaven and hell. The story is sad, but quite powerful. I won't give anything away, but you'll understand when you see it, and I do recommend seeing it. I think the greatest aspect of this movie was the special effects. They were beautiful, exotic, and mixed perfectly with the actors, mainly Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr. See this movie, it will make you think.

Last Action Hero (1993)

Under-rated and under-appreciated!

[8/10 · 23 September 1998]

This movie was very good! It is underrated, under-appreciated, and misunderstood. It makes fun of action movies with great savvy and humor. I can watch this over and over. Seeing Arnold make fun of the movies he helped make popular is just a real treat. Good movie, good fun.