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Reviews
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Enchanting
I came away from Star Trek: Insurrection enchanted. The humour was spot-on, the whole movie was filled with a sense of fun, and I've never seen Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) so relaxed in front of a camera!
From the very opening of the movie I was enchanted, it was like I was a kid again and I was watching something quite magical. The music and the visual effects complimented this mood perfectly. It was romantic, funny, and suffered only in that it needed a B-plot.
But I didn't care that some of the plot stumbled a bit, it was a wholly feel-good movie that I would happily see again and again. This is Star Trek grown up, and yet also wonderfully child-like. I expected to see the name "Disney" pop-up at the end, instead -- "Paramount Pictures".
If you've never seen a Star Trek movie before, watch this one.
Scream 2 (1997)
A few shocks but lacked a good mystery
Some sequels require you to see the original movie before you really understand what the sequel is all about. Well, I saw Scream about a year ago, and I still didn't follow some of Scream 2.
This movie (like the original) did not live up to its name. It didn't make me scream. Yes there were scares, and I found myself at times shouting "Don't do it!" to these stupid college girls who seem to lack common sense in the face of impending death.
Despite the plot being obviously focused for screams and laughs only and nothing more intelligent, this film did have me gripped. But I still believe Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson need to learn an important lesson. The more credible the story, the more frightening it's going to be.
As with the original, the end of the movie was a let-down. Revealing the identity of the serial killers in a classic "I'm now going to explain exactly why I've been killing everybody" scenario smothers the atmosphere so carefully crafted. Whatever happened to mystery and suspense?
Mimic (1997)
Creepy, but seen it all before
If you've seen Alien and Aliens you'll come away from Mimic saying "Well, it's certainly a mimic - I've seen it all before!". If you're new to the "sexy woman vs. ugly monster" genre you'll probably get quite a few thrills from this movie. Not that it's jumpy, it creeps up on you, with a few surprise scares.
The film has a very eerie quality about it, and a lot of parallels with Aliens. But I'm afraid to say, Aliens does it better.
Mira Sorvino provides a very convincing performance of Susan, adding a lot of credibility to the movie. Even after it goes downhill (literally!) down into the old subways and sewers, re-enacting the "chasing monsters around dark tunnels" scenes that Aliens fans will be so familiar with. However, Mira added a femininity and weakness to this kind of role that Sigourney Weaver never managed to achieve. And I liked it!
There were some other good performances in the movie, including the bugs themselves! (The special effects were noteably excellent). However, despite its promising and stylish start it ran out of steam before the end.
Dad Savage (1998)
Ran out of twists
Dad Savage held all the cards for a classic movie, but threw them away too quickly.
The cast was strong, the script was tight, the flashbacks were clever, and the atmosphere was gritty. There were some chilling moments, and it's a movie I'd like to see a second time because it was quite complicated and intricate too.
But the element of surprise was lost, because it ran out of plot twists too soon and left us watching the rest of the film unfold in a predictable way.
If you enjoy raw and rough films, or if you want to see Patrick Stewart in an uglier role than the shining captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, Dad Savage will hold entertainment value for you.
But it's not quite up to par with the likes of "Shallow Grave".