jimjba Reviews

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Lame, wooden dialogue and pathetic acting by Anakin actor

[3/10 · 3 January 2003]

Unbelievable in such a big budget movie to have such wooden dialogue and bad acting, especially by the young man who plays Anakin. I broke out laughing several times during the movie at how artificial and stilted the dialogue and acting was. You can see better at most high school plays, heck, elementary school plays. The pathetic acting and dialogue ruined anything that might have passed for a plot. This would be poor quality as a production for television, never mind a movie. How can such a big-budget movie have such awful screenplay and direction?

Having said that, Natalie Portman did a decent job as Amadala despite the scriptwriters, and some of the other actors had moments of respectability, so I'd think this was a "director" problem. You can't cover up poor directing with special effects anymore. George Lucas certainly has the money to hire a good director and screenwriters, so that future future Star Wars movies stand out for something other than their lame, artifical dialogue and wooden acting.

The Bone Collector (1999)

Dark, suspenseful thriller worth seeing

[7 July 2001]

Denzel Washington plays a former cop who is injured in the line of duty and becomes a crime scene investigator and expert witness in the service of law firms. Angelina Jolie plays a cop who is struggling to find a place within a male-dominated police culture, and shows a talent for crime scene investigation, which Denzel's character immediately recognizes and appreciates, since he is bedridden and physically unable to go to most crime scenes. She is reluctant to get involved, but does wind up grudgingly serving as his eyes and ears as they try to follow clues left by a serial killer who gives clues about his next victims and taunts them and the police.

While Denzel's character is almost too brilliant to be believable, if you can overlook that you should thoroughly enjoy this movie. Denzel and Angelina, together with cops of varying competence, try to follow the clues given to them by the serial killer, who gives them clues before the killing actually occurs.

Most people who enjoy a dark, suspenseful movie (such as Silence of the Lambs) should thoroughly enjoy this movie.