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Bengoshi
Reviews
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
See this movie
Eyes Wide Shut is definitely a Kubrick movie. Definitely entertaining. Always interesting. Sometimes a little odd. At one point I remember thinking to myself, "this is a 2 1/2 hour movie, there must be a lot more left." The the movie ended. That is a good thing, I was rapt at attention the whole time. The music was a perfect accompanyment to the film. See this movie.
Brokedown Palace (1999)
Like a cockroach in the ear, annoying and unnecessary
Brokedown Palace reminds me a lot of Midnight Express, except Midnight Express was a good movie. Claire Daines (Romeo + Juliet) stars as the girl who is always getting her best friend played by Kate Beckinsale (Last Days of Disco) in trouble. The script really hits the fan when she convinces her friend to take a trip to Thailand rather than Hawaii after high school graduation.
Every time I go to Southeast Asia there is a highly publicized story about two foreign girls caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of the country. The story is always the same, some really cool guy asked them to take a bag for him and they had no idea what was in it until the cops hauled them away. So I had a mild premonition as to the plot of this movie, when a dashing young Aussie saved the girls from embarrassment after they tried to get free drinks at a posh hotel by giving a phony room number.
The bulk of the movie focuses on the trials and tribulations of two heroines who claim that they did not know they were smuggling between four and six kilos of heroin (depending on which scene you are watching) in a backpack, and the strain that is placed on their friendship by a little thing like a 33 year prison sentence.
The movie has its moments, but ultimately fails because every time it starts to get believable or good something is thrown in that just makes the whole thing seem silly. The plot has so many holes you could drive a mule train through it. There are only three things worth seeing in this movie: 1. A good shot of the Golden Palace (very impressive), 2. Beckinsale tasting a surprisingly spicy Thai dish, and 3. Beckinsale in an half-shirt.
Wait for HBO.
The Castle (1997)
A good, feel-good film
I had no idea what to expect, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. All aspects of the movie are well done, and who cares if it's predictable -- it is still funny. In fact, this movie has some of the best courtroom scenes I have ever seen!
Forces of Nature (1999)
Trite
Ugh. The plot had more holes than my ratty old t-shirt. Even Maura Tierney couldn't save this movie. Even with my disbelief suspended, I couldn't believe the premise. If you want a funny series of mishaps while travelling which lead to a "buddy" relationship see Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. If you want romance, see something else. Some of the special effects were lame (Ben & Sandra run through the rain, but don't get wet) some were good -- the final scene in the eye of the storm, but hokey. Don't waste your time.
Entrapment (1999)
OK
Alas, Sean Connery is old. He plays a 60 year old, and looks considerably older. That being said he is still Sean Connery, and will be cooler at 90 than just about anyone else at 30. One of the best things that a heist movie can show is the level of preparation the characters go through before pulling off their caper, and this movie spent an enjoyable amount of time on that aspect -- providing some shots of Ms. Zeta-Jones that were worth the price of admission. In the end, they lost the mystique of the cat burglar and opted for an action-adventure cop-out ending. And the final heist was trite. [See Superman 3 and Office Space]. Overall - enjoyable, and about as good as you can expect from Hollywood.