Cajmere Reviews

The Matrix (1999)

Did someone say Total Recall? or Dark City?

[10/10 · 16 May 1999]

This is fun entertainment. I enjoyed watching the movie, not only for the F/X, but I wanted to know how the ending was going to turn out. The Matrix did its best to keep you in suspense, and it worked....but, I do believe that it could have done without the romance part. Some of the other comments have stated that they felt this movie left things unexplained....I for one didn't find anything that needed to be explained, I think the movie did a pretty good job in explaining something that is kind of tricky to explain.

The Matrix cleverly borrowed from other movies of this genre, i.e., Dark City and Total Recall, and it packaged it quite nicely with astounding special effects....to tell you the truth, I think The Gap commericals were instrumental in the freeze-frame-camera-motion effects. But, nevertheless, I would watch this movie twice..and to be honest with you, I think the writers made this movie a bit confusing so that people will see it twice, thereby increaseing the net profits of this movie....pretty clever!

One last note, If you enjoyed this movie, I suggest you rent Dark City.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Star Trek: Insignificance

[15 January 1999]

Nothing really is significant in this movie except the brilliant acting by all the cast members. I feel that they know their parts so well, it's believable to watch them.....BUT, I'm disappointed with Paramount.

I was displeased a little by this Star Trek movie. I was completely confused by the plot and did not care about the inhabitants of this planet, nor did I care for the new villains. If this is supposed to be a franchise [Star Trek]; I would suggest that Paramount include more of current and past stories into future Star Trek movies. There were no tie-ins to the previous Star Trek series, i.e. Deep Space Nine or Voyager. What about all the problems with the Dominion? What ever happened to the Romulans, what about the Romulan reunification that Spock was working on 7 years ago? Those are much stronger stories than what Star Trek: Insurrection had to serve up.

The best, by far of the Star Trek movies, were the "Wrath of Khan" and "The Undiscovered Country". Because each one of these movies stayed true to stories of past Star Trek episodes and you, as the audiance, cared for the characters because you understood the situations and problems surrounding the story.

Paramount needs to stay true with its target audience and not try to meet the demands of over-zealous, but, brilliant actors. I understand that Patrick Stewart had a lot of say in this movie.

Please Paramount give us something more solid instead of trying to put a weak film out every 2 or 3 years, that could best be seen on TV.

Can't Hardly Wait (1998)

If Today's Youth Are Like This, God Save The Future

[27 November 1998]

I was a teenager once and could not find one connection with the characters of 'Can't Hardly Wait'. I'm 27 years old and could not find anything worth waiting for about this movie. Every teenager in this movie was overly Stereotypical and not realistic. EVERYBODY WAS CLUELESS. Well, at least the movie 'Clueless' had depth. This movie was entirely too shallow. I know that today's youth is nothing like this movie would have you to believe.

Bordello of Blood (1996)

Bordello of Shame

[27 November 1998]

This movie is great if you don't have any sleeping medication. It will knock you out cold within the first ten minutes of viewing. Not a worthy successor to the First Tales from the Crypt movie.

Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)

W-o-r-t-h-l-e-s-s !!

[1/10 · 17 November 1998]

I'm sorry if I may offend some loyal fans of this series, but this film was a worthless piece of garbage. I've seen the other sequels and the first one was the better of them all. I could neither follow nor understand "Phantasm VI". The movie was such a cluster of unimaginative ideas. I thought this movie was a waste of time and effort. The dialogue was completely wack! Who say's 'blow me' in movies, anymore ?? I would rather have pepper or salt dashed in my eyes then to set and watch this film twice. God have mercy on our souls if there is another sequel to this mediocre sci-fi adventure. I do hope the writer and director of this dust-collector-of-a-movie go to Oblivion and never return!

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

Who or What is Micheal Myers ??

[8 November 1998]

I was too young to see the first Halloween, but I was about 10 years old when I saw Halloween 2. I never saw 3 - 6 except on video and they were horrible! I'm really glad that Jamie Lee 'DO-AS-SAY!' Curtis came back to revise her role as the true 'Scream' Queen. I wished there were more flash backs to Halloween 1 and 2 during H20. The movie was great in staying true to the original which the other sequels did not. The cinamatagraphy was the same has the first Halloween, but it was filmed a bit too dark in some areas. And the music was SUPER! The original re-work of the Halloween theme and the Scream theme played throughout H20. There were a couple of references to Scream in H20 (pay back from Scream's references to H20). Although I was disappointed in the amount of time this movie was made (only 80 minutes) but, I think it was due to some last minute casting changes during pre-production. I would have liked to have seen some more character development with Micheal Myers, I mean, why is he after Laurie after all these years. I even felt pity for him when he is pinned against a van with younger sister, Laurie, ax in hand ready to swing. Was I the only one that wanted the mask to come off and find out who Micheal Myers really is !! Is Michael some type of super-human or some type of Druid which Halloween 2 made reference to but didn't clearly explain it. I mean, it'd be perfect because Laurie's sister was killed when she was 17, then Michael tried to kill Laurie when she was 17, and then he comes back after 20 years to get her son who is 17. Do you see a pattern? I think that could have played more in the plot. I thought Halloween 1 was wittier than H20, but H20 was a good sequel. But overall it's a fun movie to watch. Especially, the Scream type opening with the nurse from Halloween 1 and 2 (thankx Kevin Williamson).

Set It Off (1996)

POWER, MONEY, RESPECT....

[10/10 · 8 November 1998]

This is a very powerful film from beginning to end. This movie takes you on a roller-coster ride with four women who each have their unfair share of hard-knocks. Cleo's climatic car-scene ending was pure adrenaline rush! Although not as funny, this movie could easily stand-up to any of Quentin Tarantino's movies. The actress performance was superb, especially, Queen Latifia playing a hard-nosed lesbian. This movie also has a message; fast money goes fast. So kids don't do this at home.

Halloween (1978)

Childhood Nostalgia

[3 November 1998]

Oh the memories! I was 9 years old when I first saw this movie on HBO with my younger cousin and older brother....it was about 1980. It was so creepy. When the movie went off me and my cousin were too scaried to go to bed so we stayed up until the infamous "Night Tracks" went off on TBS (REMEMBER NIGHT TRACKS??). The 'Halloween' Movie Theme stayed with me for years. Everytime I hear the theme I think back to when I was a kid. I would often dread when my parents would go out on the weekends and let my older brother babysit me. I just knew that Micheal Myers would know that my parents were not home and kill me. In my opinion, a movie should stay with you long after the movie is over. That's what 'Halloween' did for me. Each Halloween night, I remember back to 1978, when 'Halloween' came out. I think of the young scared child that I was and how good the first 'Halloween'movie really was!

Disturbing Behavior (1998)

Disturbing movie

[3/10 · 18 October 1998]

I went to this movie not knowing what to expect and left the movie theater upset. This movie is badly written and very predictable. Hello?? Didn't anyone read that crazy doctor's creditals before he came to that school?? His daughter was left in in a mental hospital because of one of his experiments, and on the subject of being unbelievable, what kind of mental institution let's their patients run around like crazy animals in a creepy and unsanitary hospital?? I'm sure that place would have been shut down years ago if they got inspected by the State. But on a positive note the acting was nicely done, but the overall movie was destined for disaster. Rating wise, I give this movie a 3, but if it were a str8 to video movie, I'd give it a 9.5 (This movie sure is better than Texas Chainsaw: Generations) If you haven't seen this movie don't waste your time on movie, it's better to see it on video.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Been There Done That; Can you say 'Prom Night' with a hook?

[6/10 · 18 October 1998]

I own this video and I'm a very big fan of Kevin Willamson, but this movie really needed more fleshing out. I thought the killer was very reminiscent of Candyman because of the hook. I really enjoy Kevin's chase scenes, but the movie just dosen't stand-up to what I had expected after 'Scream'. I thought this movie was more serious than 'Scream but it lacked a solid plot. For example, what happened to the crabs and the body in the trunk of Hewitt's car? And why did the killer bump-off the kid in the fishing yard. If he was left to live it would have appeared that he was the killer, but for some unknown reason he was killed off. Kevin is a cleaver writer esp. when he borrows from such movies as Halloween, compare the chase scene with Sarah Michelle Gellar running to the store from the walking killer Fisherman, and she can't get in because the door is locked, it is the same scene where young Jamie Lee Curtis is running from a walking/stalking Micheal Myers in the first Halloween...Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it but I expected way more from Kevin Williamson.

The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Nice but not original; can you say 'Rosemary's Baby?'

[7/10 · 18 October 1998]

This movie was an interesting movie to watch. I thought the acting and the cinamatagrapy were super...but, this movie lacked originality. This movie is a combination of 'The Firm', 'The Omen' and 'Rosemary's Baby' (and it borrows heavily from the 1968 classic 'Rosemary's Baby')--like the part when the Reeve's wife changes her look to please her husband, so does Rosemary, and the part where the wife goes crazy because no one believes what is going on with her, so does Rosemary, and the part where Reeves almost sells out to the devil's firm, so too does Rosemary's husband; except he sells out to a satanic cult. Nevertheless, 'Devils Ad' is worth watching twice, esp. the part where the lady is changing dresses and she changes into something else!

Boogie Nights (1997)

Boogie Wonderland

[18 October 1998]

I own this movie and I enjoy it. Everyone was believable in their roles, esp. Mark Wahlberg. I liked the character development in this movie. Everyone had there little demons and forces working against them; but in the end, everyone gets back on track. Great sound track too.

Scream (1996)

Scream vs Halloween vs Prom Night

[10/10 · 18 October 1998]

Before Kevin Williamson came along I was avoiding horror movies like the plague because of the lack of originality the later 80's slasher movies had, i.e. Nightmare on Elm St. 2-4, and Halloween 3-6. The whole genre was becoming tired and over-used. Kevin's 'Scream' was what the genre really needed. I think that Williamson's clever add-ons from 'Halloween' and 'Prom Night' are delightfully on-point, i.e. remember when young Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) tells Tommy and Lendsey to go to the McCensey's and call the police because of the killer, now, remember Cassey Becker's father tell her mother to go to the McCensey's to call the police because someone has killed their daughter. And remember when Tatum gets stuck in the garage while trying to flee from the killer, remember the girl in 'Halloween' trying to climb out of the window from the washroom and she gets stuck. Oh, and remember the principal Mr. Himbry expelling the kids and remember the Mr. Himbry from 'Prom Night' (also starring Jamie Lee Curtis) expelling kids from his school. In a nutshell, the humor is very hidden with in the plot of 'Scream' and Kevin Williamson did a great job writing this movie. But, if you haven't seen 'Halloween' or 'Prom Night' in a while rent them and see for yourself.

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

Alice, Sweet Alice

[9/10 · 18 October 1998]

This movie is full of surprises. I had no idea that the sitcom 'Alice' was based on this movie. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The dialogue in this movie was very over the top considering this movie was made in 1973. I didn't know that a very young Jodie Foster was in this movie as the wisecracking tom-boy getting high on ripple. I give this movie an 8 out of 10.