ALS-2 Reviews

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

wait for the extended edition DVD (possible spoilers)

[6/10 · 18 December 2003]

I know I'm in the EXTREME minority, but I was very disappointed

with this movie, largely because I cared about (loved, actually!)

characters other than Sam, Frodo, Gollum and Gandalf. I am

absolutely in love with the character of Faramir, for example, and

felt completely cheated by the way his character was treated in this

movie. If Peter Jackson ultimately wasn't going to allow us to see

any happiness or reward come to the very deserving and

perpetually abused Faramir, why didn't he just eliminate the

character completely from the trilogy? The same could be said for

Eomer, who had one memorable line and that was about it.

Eowyn, another character I love, appeared on screen quite a bit to

suffer emotionally (and actually had a nice heroic scene), but then

we are denied the chance to see her find happiness at last! I won't

even discuss the anticlimactic let-down that constituted the

"resolution" of the Saruman story.

Sure, I care about Sam and Frodo, but there were a lot of other

characters we love who deserved to have some closure -- or even

to appear! As far as I'm concerned, the *real* "Return of the King"

doesn't come out until the extended edition appears and we get a

little more than Sam and Frodo.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Eerie, inspiring and masterful!

[10/10 · 11 April 2000]

This is one of those movies (like "The Usual Suspects") that you should see twice. Since the ending was revealed to me before I ever saw it, the first time I saw it was like the second time. As much as I enjoyed it from that perspective, I only can imagine what a pleasure it would be to see this movie without knowing the ending! (So see it and then make a solemn vow *never* to reveal any of its secrets to your friends who haven't seen it yet!)

The child was spellbinding. I truly wish he and Michael Clarke Duncan of "The Green Mile" had been co-winners of the Oscar for supporting actor, even though no one can convince me that Haley Joel Osment was a *supporting* actor. He was the most critical element of the movie and carried it off better than many, many, many adult actors.

Comments on "The Sixth Sense" are difficult because so much of the movie's brilliance lies in its final few minutes. The only thing to say is that this movie is thoroughly enjoyable, and I went into it with a skeptical, it-can't-be-as-good-as-they-say attitude. I was wrong. It can. And it is!

Susan's Plan (1998)

Did somebody owe a lot of favors?

[11 April 2000]

This movie was one of the most disjointed, strange, contrived, hard-to-follow (and not really worth the effort) movies I've ever seen. There were so many holes. For example, we are told that Adrian Paul's character was bad and we're supposed to believe his death would not be a tremendous loss. But why? We have no idea why he "deserves to die" other than the fact that his ex-wife stands to gain a lot of money (of which she has plenty, anyway)! And if I had to see one more scene of gratuitous sex, I think I may have become violently ill.

This supposedly is a comedy. Ha, ha. It's more like a strange hallucination without the prerequisite of medication. Many scenes seem completely pointless, and many others seem to be designed solely because somebody promised somebody that he/she could be in the movie and a minor cameo had to be created. (Example: Michael Biehn's character's cousin. If anyone can explain why that character was necessary, I'll give him/her a dollar -- and that's nearly one-fourth of the total amount I wasted renting this movie!)

It will be a very cold day in a notoriously hot place before I feel compelled to waste a couple of hours on this one again.

The Green Mile (1999)

Wonderful!

[10/10 · 11 April 2000]

Not many movies get me into the full-price theater twice, but this one did. "The Green Mile" is a beautifully spiritual story, and the cast is phenomenal. Michael Clarke Duncan was fantastic, and it's hard to believe that neither he nor Haley Joel Osment of "Sixth Sense" won the Academy Award! (It's equally hard to believe that Doug Hutchison did not get nominated for his incredible job as Percy.)

After I saw the movie twice, I listened to the unabridged book on tape and gained a deeper appreciation for the amazing performances by these actors. The characters that Stephen King wrote *were* the characters on the big screen. I cannot say enough about what a spectacular job they all did!

This movie exposes you to the worst the human race has to offer -- the most unbelievable horror, cruelty and depravity -- but also shows the highest potential that humans can achieve. Don't let the length of this movie scare you away -- every minute is critical and perfect! There are a lot of movies out there that last less than two hours but feel like two days. This one is more than three hours, but it's almost heartbreaking to see it end.

The 13th Warrior (1999)

Yuck!

[2/10 · 11 April 2000]

Sometimes blood and gore are essential to the plot (for example, "Sleepy Hollow"). Sometimes they cannot be essential to the plot because there isn't really one. Unfortunately, the latter is my impression of this long, bloody, brutal, boring movie.

To be fair, the three friends with whom I saw this movie loved it. A couple of them have purchased the video or DVD. I cannot for the life of me figure out why. Perhaps if your goal is to see a head ripped completely off of a torso you can overlook the absence of things such as plot and compelling characters. Maybe it won't bother you that there are so many things that cross the line of believability (and not even in fun or imaginative ways). Maybe you won't care that this movie has the **world's most unnecessary** "romance" (and I use the term loosely) ever or that what you think is supposed to be a major obstacle to our "heroes" vanishes without a trace. If these things don't bother you and you don't mind seeing people act like animals (my apologies to real animals everywhere), then this may be just the thing for you! I just simply don't get it. The only nice thing I can say about this movie is that the horses and scenery were beautiful.

I ended up viewing the movie the way I used to watch the demolition derbies we sometimes saw when I was a kid: I chose my favorite character and rooted for him to make it through "the derby" unscathed.

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

should have been called "Rene Russo Naked"

[3/10 · 29 December 1999]

I am sure I'm in the minority (I know I am among my friends), but I found this movie long, boring and gratuitous. The fact that the role played by DENIS LEARY is the most likable character (the only other time I liked him at all was in "A Bug's Life"!) speaks volumes. Rene Russo's character was irritating beyond belief and Thomas Crowne himself was flat and stereotypical. To say he was two-dimensional may be a little generous. (No, the scenes with his psychiatrist did NOT help make him real.)

With the exception of two wonderful scenes (both involving the museum caper and NOT involving Rene Russo), this movie made me wish I were at home watching televised golf.

Cadence (1990)

an unforgettable movie with a fantastic story and great acting!

[10/10 · 4 January 1999]

More than any of his other movies that I have seen (even "Wall Street" and "Platoon"), "Cadence" makes me hope that Charlie Sheen will not throw away his talent. He does a remarkable job in this movie, which is even more impressive because everyone else does a terrific job too! (Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Beach...) This movie didn't last long in the theaters, which is a real shame, because too many people missed it! It has a timeless, touching message of brotherhood, acceptance and friendship, which it conveys through an interesting story and very engaging characters. Overall, it's serious, and even disturbing at times, but it has enough humor and light moments to give you hope and a good feeling at the end. The dream about being white and the prison-yard basketball game are two wonderful and memorable scenes, and you never will hear the song "Chain Gang" quite the same way again! I love this movie! I hope you will, too!

Eight Men Out (1988)

a wonderful look at how power, greed and money can ruin a great thing

[10/10 · 4 January 1999]

"Eight Men Out" is one of the best baseball movies (and a very fine movie, period!) I ever have seen and does a great job of showing how something like the Black Sox scandal could happen. The relevance of this story (about, most of all, the disappointment and anger that come when heroes fall and when people are lied to) never diminishes; under the right (or should I say "wrong"?) conditions, this same thing could happen today. We only hope that it doesn't. Although everyone in the cast is fantastic, my favorite performance is John Cusack's. The mystique and legend of Shoeless Joe Jackson take a back seat in this movie to Buck Weaver and his undying devotion to baseball. The scene in which Buck tells the young boys about connecting with the sweet spot of the ball, when "you feel you could live forever," is magic to anyone who loves the game. So is this movie.