NomadBoy Reviews

A Wind Named Amnesia (1990 Video)

An impressive anime

[9/10 · 19 November 2000]

It takes a good Japanese animation to impress me. And this is one of my favorites.

A strange amnesia has swept over the entire world. People have forgotten who they are, how to speak, how to do anything of their past lives. Chaos runs all over. But a young man tries to figure out what the mystery is, and along the way, we see some touches of lessons in humanity.

Some people who watch this movie, however, may think to deep in to it, and think that it's trying to send out all kinds of social messages and not understand that that's not what films like this are made for. Look at the premise, understand it's basic value, and enjoy the film. Thats what it was meant for. To dissect it means your over-thinking it.

Very different from the average action anime, I recommend this not only to the anime fan, but to the casual viewer as well.

Romeo Must Die (2000)

S l o w action movie

[1/10 · 23 March 2000]

Jet Li has proven his flexibility with playing the bad guy (Lethal Weapon 4)and nice guy (Black Mask) and he hasn't done too bad. Usually, you know who you are when you go see this martial artist in an action movie, but there really is no excuse for this so-so movie. There was much less action then usual. What action there is is good, you get to see the clever but unoriginal moves that include an X-ray of what happens to the bad guys. But it is hampered by the boring dialogue and seemingly forced love story line that never goes anywhere! I found myself looking at the watch at some of the scenes where yap yap was happening, because it was getting too predictable. Delroy Lindo, who plays the part of the American mob boss, steals every scene that he's in, but he can't save this movie. And though Jet Li is good, he can not compare to the antics of Jacki Chan, and because of the some of the fake speed motion tricks of the camera in some of the scenes, you'll never be able to compare him to Bruce Lee(where SFX was never used) Wait to rent the DVD and then just skip to the action scenes. Or, if you want more of Jet Li in better form, rent out Black Mask, or about a dozen of his other movies if you could find them.

Bicentennial Man (1999)

Sweet, but long sci-fi

[7/10 · 22 December 1999]

After watching this film, I was not surprised how many mixed feelings there were with the group I went with. (Kind of like the mixed reviews here in Imdb) Some hated it, to the point of wanting to leave in the middle of the movie, others loved it. So here's what I take from that. If you love tearjerker, manipulative, syrup-saturated movies, you'll probably like BM. That's not saying it's bad, I liked it because it touched on some very deep issues that just went over some critic's head... Based on Isaac Asimov's short story, Robin Williams plays a robot named Andrew in the near future who manages to become very different. He grows human-like personality, he tries to find out what a joke is and why something is funny, he learns to make wooden carvings, but yet most of the people around him are more robotic then him, with the exception of some of the members of his loving family. And he soon learns the pain of being immortal. The issue of people judging others by their differences, growing old and dying, mixed marriages, even slavery is felt in this movie. Williams does a fine job as our lead character, as does Sam Neill and Embeth Davidtz. But the movie does drag on a bit longer then it should have, so some younger viewers got bored. (and so did some older viewers) Since it's aimed as a family film, it's 131 minutes could have had a half hour trimming. And although there is your usual Robin Williams humor, the movie is not really a comedy. It's still worth seeing if you have time, just remember that you're going to get fed a lot of talk and feeling about humanity and show of emotion that may be a bit too much.

Man on the Moon (1999)

A wild, funny, eccentric, moronic, silly, good-natured look at Andy Kauffman

[9/10 · 22 December 1999]

Only seeing Andy Kaufman on the old TV show Taxi, I never understood why people loved him so. He was funny, yes, but what was the big thing about him? After I saw this movie, however, I just had to look up more info him, and sure enough, the movie was very true to life! Andy's antics of playing a joke on the audience was very real, and yes he did wrestle woman, and yes he did manage to get a lot of people very upset. He was however a comedian that was way ahead of his time. Or perhaps Andy defies time.

Jim Carrey plays Andy so well, it's scary. Using Danny Devito as his agent was a stroke of genius. Even Courtney Love is good as Andy's sweetheart. There are times that the movie isn't funny. But that's the point. Andy didn't consider himself a comedian. It shows how completely original he was, how you should never expect the expected with him. Even if you never liked Andy, then see this film for Jim Carrey. And you if you don't like Jim Carrey (shame on you!) Then see it for the way ABC and it's execs get abused.

Europa Europa (1990)

One of the best films I have seen

[10/10 · 21 December 1999]

Europa Europa is the kind of film I like to rent out to show a friend how good foreign films can be. Viewing this film repeatedly, I see different things that Agnieszka Holland, the director and writer, was trying to focus on. As a true story,( though exaggerated) young Solomon Perel goes through a series of events in W.W.II. Since he knows good German, he manages to fool the Germans into thinking he was not Jewish. From going to a Hitler Jugend school, to being next to German Nazis who would not hesitate to kill him if they found out, the tension you get for Solly is unnerving. Yet, the movie has a great sense of humor throughout, amid the fact that the gloom of death hangs in many of the scenes. Good looking Marco Hofschneider plays the part of Solomon extremely well. His wit and intelligence, as well as his beliefs is a force that is stronger then anything the Germans say or do in the holocaust. Truly a magnificent movie. If you have never seen a foreign film, start with this one. You will not be disappointed. Keep watching through the very end and you will see the real Solomon Perel!