Change Your Image
#1 Gracie
Reviews
How to Look Good Naked (2008)
A Nice Show with a Positive Message
I watched the first episode on Lifetime's website and I must say that this is a very nice show and a welcome departure from the Extreme Makeover shows and their ilk. Rather than take a woman who is unhappy with herself and render her unrecognizable, host Carson Kressley provides pep talks and tips to merely flatter the woman's look rather than change it; the most dramatic change to the woman's look was a haircut and some highlights. The show also features interesting facts and statistics about women and body image in America at the bottom of the screen throughout the show. While it would be nice to not be so reliant on the male gaze - one of the show's features is having the woman's picture posted on the side of a building, and then Carson and the woman asking (often male) passers-by whether or not she looks good naked - it is a small criticism, and the woman seemed more confident in her appearance even without the aid of onlookers. All in all a nice show, one that is fun to watch and makes you feel good.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
A Scenic, Adventurous, And Long Drive
Have you ever gone on a really long road trip? You're seated in a car, not going anywhere for awhile until you reach the end of your destination. The route you take has beautiful imagery that pleases your eyes, and is an enjoyable ride. However, no matter how pretty the trip is, you can't deny that the trip is long. Hours and hours of seemingly crawling on the road, and no amount of imagery can decrease your desire for the trip to be over and for you to be freed from your car seat.
This, my friends, was my experience of watching "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring".
For a great and captivating story, I would've expected to like the film more. Set in the mythical village of the shire, Gandolph the Grey (Ian McKellan) has come to the village to meet up with some of his old friends, including Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Bilbo (I love that name) Baggins (Ian Holm). When Gandolph meets with Bilbo, though, he discovers that Bilbo has a dark and powerful ring in his possession; one created by the dark lord Sauron that has a power of however wears it, making them greedy and power-hungry, to say the least. When Bilbo leaves the Shire, he leaves the ring to Frodo, meaning Frodo is the one who must get rid of the ring as well. This begins an epic (and do I mean epic) quest to destroy the ring, where Frodo and his friends embark on many dangers and setbacks. Halfway into the journey, they meet up with Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas Greenleaf (Orlando Bloom), Boromir (Sean Bean) and Gimli (John Rhys Davis), and together they all form the fellowship of the ring, a group determined to, as a team, destroy Frodo's ring.
The drive was scenic thanks to the beautiful cinematography. I was spellbound by the imagery and camera work from the first spin of the spool to the last. The landscapes and places in the movie were pretty, let alone the angles and motions of the cameras in certain scenes. And the special effects blew all other movies this year out of the water. I see this movie getting many cinematography-related awards come Oscar time.
The acting was enjoyable as well. Everybody did a good job. Elijah Wood was a tad too twitch at times, but that's okay--the times he wasn't (which outnumbered the times he was by a great number) made up for it. If anybody gets nominated for an Oscar in this film though, it'll be Ian McKellan as Gandolph. My attention was fully on the screen whenever he was speaking...or just there.
But oh, the length of the drive! The poor pacing of this film killed my glowering review that I had planned on writing during the first hour. The movie dragged mercilessly, and it gave me the feeling that I'd never leave the movie theater. It moved well during the first hour, but then it started crawling from the celluloid spool and left me exhausted. I understand the a movie based on such a tome of a book is bound to be long, but the length of the film wasn't the problem I had. Plenty of movies I enjoy have clocked in at long lengths. But the long movies I enjoyed rolled smoothly and...this is the big one...didn't feel like their lengths. It actually felt like I was watching a three hour movie, and that left me winded and desperate to leave the theater.
I wanted to like this movie. I wanted my review to be nothing but brimming with praise. I wanted it to be the best film of 2001 (so far). But long drives can take the good, glowing feelings out of anybody. It was a good drive, but not one I'd want to take again anytime soon.
8/10, B+
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Fun, Laughter-Inducing Film
Steven Soderbergh is really beginning to impress me. Being a relatively new fan of his, he caught my eye by punching out two Oscar-nominated films in the year 2000 alone. And showing his versatility, he takes a break from those films and creates a popcorn movie for us, "Ocean's Eleven". But he pulls off something with "Ocean's Eleven" that can rarely be achieved: making a popcorn movie that's excellent and well-crafted.
"Ocean's Eleven" begins in New Jersey, where Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is being questioned to see whether he should be allowed parole. He of course is given the parole (how would this movie have even had a story if he hadn't been granted it?) and immediately after he leaves the slammer, he begins his next heist: robbing three casinos in Las Vegas, which are all owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who is currently keeping Danny's ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts) company.
He talks to an old acquaintance named Frank (Bernie Mac) about the whereabouts of his old pal Rusty (Brad Pitt), and is directed to Hollywood, where he finds Rusty getting a paycheck by teaching various young Hollywood actors (led by a very funny Topher Grace and including Holly Marie Combs, Joshua Jackson, Shane West and Barry Watson) how to play poker. He talks to Rusty about his heist plans, and they both decide they need to assemble a crew. They acquire the aid of eleven criminals, and as a team, plan the biggest heist yet that Danny has put together.
This movie was great from the first cell of celluloid to the last. The story was good and the script made the story even better. The lines were believable and never failed to have me rolling in my seat.
The movie was paced well; I didn't feel like I was watching a 117 minute movie. The plot rolls smoothly and takes it's time, making Danny's planning as well as the actual heist move at a good and believable pace. We don't have five minutes of planning and two hours of the heist, or vice versa. Each section of the movie has enough time to breath.
The acting was great as well, which is what you can expect with a cast like this. George Clooney put in a great performance as Danny Ocean; he represented the character really well and let you understand his motives and backgrounds. Brad Pitt also did an excellent job as Rusty; he was often stealing scenes from George Clooney and the rest of the eleven. Everyone that was in George Clooney's assembled team did an excellent job as well, especially Elliot Gould as the millionaire, Casey Affleck and Scott Caan as the drivers and masters of disguises, and Don Cheadle as a British bomber. And Julia Roberts did a good job as Danny's bitter ex-wife--you could almost feel the ice when she would bicker with Danny and retort at his remarks.
It's rare that a movie meant to not be an artistic one can have great cinematography, but "Ocean's Eleven" has accomplished that feat. There are some great shots taken during a scene where the guys are trying to escape from a building but also trying to save Linus (Matt Damon) as well--lots of "underneath of the runner" shots. And the angling used during some of the scenes throughout the heist looked very pretty.
"Ocean's Eleven" was a great movie to watch. Not a masterpiece or anything, but it wasn't supposed to be a masterpiece. It was supposed to be a fun movie. And that's what I got: a fun movie. Only this fun movie had a bonus for it's audiences: being crafted well.
10/10, A
From Hell (2001)
Sleek, Stylish, but at Times Familiar Thriller
You enter a world where the sky is dark, and the streets of cobblestone match. The streets are crawling with late-night walkers and hookers at work. A streak of murder has been striking these prostitutes, with their bodies being slashed and their organs being removed. You have entered the world of "From Hell", a decently crafted thriller about Jack the Ripper.
Set in 1888 London, prostitute Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) and her friends (also prostitutes, of course) aren't exactly in the best of the times. Their boss is demanding a pay of 4 pounds a week, and in a much bigger problem, a mysterious killer, who the residents merely call Jack the Ripper, is sweeping through the streets of London, slashing specific prostitutes in a pattern. The police force, along with working on the case themselves, decide to call on the help of Detective Fred Abberline (Johnny Depp), an opium-addict who, while under the influence, sees visions of how prostitutes will be murdered by Jack the Ripper...and which prostitute is next (insert suspense music here).
This was not your typical hack 'em up, kill everyone, gore and blood all over the place movie. Yes, the movie had lots of gore (this movie is NOT for sensitive stomachs) and lots of blood, but it also contained substance amidst all the killings and violence. Many (too many) thrillers rely on slashing and murder and gore to support the movie fully, without containing a story, but "From Hell" provided a good script, a good and followable story, and...well, the filler needed to make a good movie a good movie.
The one thing I would've preferred to be left from the story were the cliche`s. The script contained familiar territory that I've seen before, many times. The best example I can give without spoiling anything is the distinguishing of Mary Kelly from the rest of her prostitute friends. The movie took the tired route of making Mary Kelly prettier, well-kept, wearing makeup, and well-dressed, while her friends...well, looked like poor streetwalkers: no makeup, tattered dresses, etc. I'm tired of movies making the lead girl look more well-bred than her friends, because it seems unrealistic. Why not just make Mary Kelly actually look like a prostitute, and not like a rich, pretty girl who finds herself amongst a bunch of lesser-looking friends? Or if Mary Kelly looks like this, why not make her friends look the same? It might seem more realistic this way.
The pacing in the movie was good, but the movie dragged. The movie actually felt like it was two hours long, and that was a little exhausting. Don't think I have a short attention span-I've been able to sit through movies like "Traffic", "Magnolia", and "AI", all of which are longer than "From Hell", and I didn't have any trouble doing so. Those movies didn't feel like their lengths, and "From Hell" did.
The acting was good. Johnny Depp delivered a great performance as Detective Abberline, making his character believable. I wouldn't say Oscar-caliber, but performances don't have to be Oscar-worthy to be good. Heather Graham was pretty good too-at times she seemed a little wooden, and I think her character would've been more believable if she seemed more scared about Jack the Ripper. I knew she was concerned, but she sometimes seemed too mello about her life being in danger, like, "Oh, well, Jack the Ripper is sweeping through London and killing my friends, and I may be next...la dee da dee da!"
The movie was cinematically brilliant. The murder scenes were well-filmed; one murder was seen as merely darkness with slashes of light being the only thing seen. The best moments cinematically were during Detective Abberline's Opium dreams-you can't even go into description about how great they really were.
Overall the movie was very chic and very enjoyable. Take away the cliche`s, and make the movie move quicker, and it would've received those two extra points from me.
8/10, B+
The Others (2001)
Nothing Other Than Great
Is this Nicole Kidman's year or what? First she stars in the dazzling, cinematic spectacle that is "Moulin Rouge". Then she takes a turn and releases the "The Sixth Sense" for summer 2001, "The Others".
"The Others" takes place in 1945. Grace (Nicole Kidman), a widow and single-mother, lives in a secluded home with her two children, Anne (Alakia Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley). She is forced to live in darkness, for her children have a severe allergy that causes them to break out and blister when exposed to mass amounts of light. All is going well, but soon, Grace begins to learn the she, her children, and her servants are not alone in her house. Grace becomes determined to find out who the intruders are...and drive them out to regain her home.
This movie was just beautiful. The story was sharp and original. It wasn't just some cliche`d haunted house movie with spooky sounds and bumps and creaks in dark rooms, with boring ghosts that you seen any old day. The story used the idea of the haunted house, and twisted the story to make "The Others" into an original, creative, and new telling of the famous tale. This practice of taking and creating is what made "The Sixth Sense" so remarkable, and therefore makes this movie great as well.
The acting was just as great. Not only is this Nicole Kidman's year for her movies, but for her acting as well. She has managed to give Oscar-caliber performance in two movies for this year alone. She convincingly plays the strict but caring mother, who is torn between the logic of the beliefs she grew up on and the apparent happenings in her house. You almost forget that she is acting. Alakia Mann and James Bently also deliver key performances as well. In fact, there wasn't one cast member that let me down.
"The Others" was also cinematically beautiful. The dark tones on the movie set the perfect mood for this movie's theme, giving regular scenes the right amount of light and sinister scenes the deserved amount of darkness and horror. The camera angling and positions also wonderfully gave the "oomph" needed to make the scenes be seen in the proper mood.
A well-crafted dramatic thriller, "The Others" is a must-see for thriller-lovers and movie-lovers alike. While not quite up to "The Sixth Sense"'s calibur, the movie is still a must-see.
9/10, A-
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Gold "Scorpion"
Woody Allen has done it again. "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion", his newest film, is wonderfully funny, greatly acted, and overall superb.
The story takes place in New York, 1940. Detective CW Briggs (Woody Allen) is up in arms because Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt), a new worker at his company, is set on changing the company. And not only that, but they cannot get along for the life of them. One evening, while many members of the company are at a party, Volton (David Ogden Stiers), a magician, hypnotizes Betty Ann and CW with a jade scorpion to make them act as if they're in love. The power of his hypnosis is triggered by a special word for each of the two. When they snap out of it, they go home like nothing's happened. However, since they are still under his "curse", Voltan uses his power to command CW and Betty Ann to steal jewels for him, and because they are being hypnotized, they don't even remember what they did by the next morning. But yet another problem breaks through: whenever one is hypnotized and the other is with them, the hypnotized one is in love with the other! All this leads to a quirky adventure to discover just who is stealing the Kensington jewels.
This movie was enjoyable from beginning to end. I laughed the entire way through. Woody certainly knows how to write a funny script, even after all these years. And his stories rule too. Sure, the age gap between CW and some of the girls that loved him was a bit great, but that could be believable. I mean, look at Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, or Celine Dion and her husband.
The acting was wonderful. I don't even need to bother talking about how great Woody was; you know he was great. Helen Hunt also shined, like always. Dan Akroyd as CW's boss and Betty Ann's lover Chris MacGruder was also great, and Charlize Theron was wonderful as Laura Kensington.
This film was also good in keeping with the times. I hate it when movies set in historical times get lazy and don't try very hard to stay historically accurate. But "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" gave a very realistic portrayal of the '40s.
Basically, you can almost never go wrong with Woody Allen. "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" was the funniest movie I've seen this year, not to mention one of the best films of 2001.
Legally Blonde (2001)
Legally Fun
Legally Blonde, when you see the previews, looks like it's going to be another lame teeny-bopper movie that Hollywood punches out thinking that all teens will love it (which they don't, I know), when in reality it has a lame script, an even lamer cast, and an audience that wonders how this film ever got green-lighted. But that is not the case (no pun intended) for the quirky and funny Legally Blonde.
The story begins in California, where Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is living on top-she's President of her sorority, majoring in fashion design, has lots of friends, and has a boyfriend, Warner (Matthew Davis II), who she loves dearly. But then Warner dumps her, saying that if he's going to be a senator when he's 30, he needs a girl that's "more serious". So Warner leaves for Harvard and leaves Elle with a broken heart. Not wanting to just let Warner leave her grasp, she applies for Harvard to prove she in fact is serious. But when she gets to the school, she has some problems: not only are the classes tough, but she has to deal with Warner's snobby fiancee` Vivian (Selma Blair), aka "the brunette".
This was one of those few teen movies that was actually good. The jokes were funny, the story was good, and the acting was good. Reese Witherspoon was excellent as the smart but valley-girlish Elle Woods, and Selma Blair nailed the cold snobbiness of preppy Vivian.
It was a good story, but not 100%. One word: predictability. I was guessing things in the movie that would then happen an hour later. Of course, this being a teen movie, that's to be expected. Not all teen movies can be THAT good. But still a good script.
All in all, it was fun. That's the best way to sum up "Legally Blonde": fun. A good way to spend my Saturday.
8/10, B+
America's Sweethearts (2001)
Not 100% Sugar; More Like a Sweetart
America's Sweethearts is a sort of behind-the-scenes look at how Hollywood is affected by the public eye, and was a good movie in my eyes. But not all of it was so sweet.
The story follows the antics of a publicist named Leo (Billy Crystal) who wants his job back. But the only way he'll get it back is by promising to make it seem as if America's favorite couple-Eddie and Gwen (John Cusack and Catherine Zeta-Jones)-are back together. The truth, though, is that Gwen has dumped Eddie for a Spanish guy named Hector (Hank Azaria). Leo still attempts to make this work by trying to get them to appear in love right before their new movie comes out, but things get further complicated not only by Gwen's ignorance, but the fact that feelings are building between Eddie and Gwen's assistant and sister, Kiki (Julia Roberts).
With a cast like this, you know the acting was great. Crystal, Cusack, Roberts, Zeta-Jones, all great. My personal favorite amongst the four main stars was Catherine Zeta-Jones. Her performance as a stuck-up diva-like actress was fantastic. My other favorite was Hank Azaria as Hector. While not in the movie a lot, he was very funny and stole most of the scenes he was in.
However, this movie wasn't pure candy. Sometimes, scenes and lines didn't use the humor potential they had. Also, the ending-which I won't give away, don't worry!-was very abrupt and left me somewhat unsatisfied. I could also talk about it's predictability, but I think the trailers were more to blame than the movie itself.
All in all, it was a light comedy that was a good way to pass the afternoon. 7/10, B
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Spectacular Spectacular!
Moulin Rouge, a musical set in turn-of-the-century Paris, is eye candy, artistic, magnificent, funny, heart-breaking, and great all rolled into one reel of celluloid.
The story takes place in 1899, in Paris France. Young poet Christian (Ewan McGregor) comes to Paris in hopes to find inspiration for his writing and inspiration for love. While in Paris, he meets four strange characters who decide to try to get him to be the head writer of a play being worked on called "Spectacular Spectacular", to be shown at the ever famous night club Moulin Rouge. So these men take Christian there and arrange a meeting between Christian and Satine (Nicole Kidman), the star dancer of the club and aspiring actress who longs for a better life than being a dancing hooker (well, who wouldn't?). However, the arrangement was made by deceivement-Satine was supposed to meet with The Duke (Richard Roxburgh), who wants to turn the night club into a theater and who also lusts for Satine. Anyway, during the meeting between Christian and Satine, Christian falls in love with Satine and although she's afraid to admit it, she falls in love with him too. But this love is forbidden-see, Satine is forbidden by Moulin Rouge's owner to ever fall in love. And also, The Duke wants Satine to himself. All of these facts cause Christian and Satine's romance to must be a secret. So basically, the movie follows the story of their romance and the construction of the play for Moulin Rouge.
This movie was beautiful. Baz Luhrman worked excellently with this film. The cinematic work was breathtaking-even the opening 20th Century Fox fanfare was creative, what with an orchestra leader leading the "players" of the fanfare. Great! And the symbolism of just how great Moulin Rouge seemed was excellent-outside of the club, it was dreary, gray, and dark. But inside it was bright and colorful. Very well done.
The acting was just as great. Nicole Kidman gave a really good performance as Satine-you were able to believe that Satine wasn't very happy with her lifestyle. Ewan McGregor was also magnificent, giving his best. I thought he was the best actor in this movie. All of the acting was great.
I loved the songs! Some people might've thought that using snips of current songs was annoying, but I thought it was very well done. My favorite mix was the clash of Lady Marmalade and Smells Like Teen Spirit.
The movie had a way of drawing all of the audience members. This is one of the only movies I've seen that the audience responded to other than laughter-saying things like "Oooooooh!", etc.
Very very very well made. This is a movie I'll never forget and a movie that art moviegoers and popcorn moviegoers can enjoy with equal amounts of likeness. Best movie made in 2001 I've seen so far. 10/10, A
Pearl Harbor (2001)
More of a Firecracker Pop Than An Explosion
Like a bomb, Pearl Harbor had a lot of potential. From the first movie trailer to the endless promotion, it kept building and building to that moment where it can break loose and explode into a fantastic movie, lighting up the big screen. But when that moment came, it merely let loose some crackles that fireworks would make and not the explosion it was very capable of.
The movie begins in Tennessee, 1923. Friends Danny (Josh Hartnett, although this is a younger version of Danny first seen) and Rafe (Ben Affleck, with the same situation) are best friends and aspiring pilots. When the years pass, they've acquired their dream and are now pilots for the military. Soon, Rafe, by order of General Dolittle (Alec Baldwin), is shipped to fight in England, much to the distress of army nurse and Rafe's girlfriend Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale). But in America, Danny, Evelyn, and other army members are shipped to safety in Pearl Harbor (resulting in dramatic irony for us, since we know exactly how "safe" Pearl Harbor really is). Rafe's plane crashes during a fight, resulting in news to Danny, Evelyn, and other friends that Rafe is dead. But after a few months of grieving, Evelyn and Danny develop a love for each other, only to find out later that Rafe is actually alive and coming back to Pearl Harbor, making their romance a part of a love triangle.
Cinematically, this movie was brilliant. The war sequence far into the movie was very compelling and awesome to watch. And one scene I thought was a little overlooked amongst all the publicity was the scenes in the hospital prior to the Pearl Harbor bombing. The blurriness and shaking seen was a great way to show the stress in that hospital.
The acting was great too. Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett really showed us the strength of their acting muscles. Kate Beckinsale also made a very good first impression on me and I hope she'll get some more projects in the future. My personal favorite was Cuba Gooding Jr. as real military hero Dori Miller, a cook who took on fighting the Japanese during the Pearl Harbor attack.
However, the dialogue was something that really bothered me in this movie. It had so many cliche'd lines, especially in exchanges of love. I'm not saying that in order to have a good script, you need great, dramatic, poetic lines. I mean, not every screenwriter is a poet or a classic author. It's just that where corny lines were placed, a much better line could've been used. One big example is when Evelyn and Danny are about to make love behind some curtains. Danny is over Evelyn, and you can almost feel their passion. It seems like it's going to be so romantic. But then, Danny speaks his sentence of love, romance, and passion..."My heart's pounding." That's it. See what I mean? That was one of many scenes where the dialogue's potential was totally wasted.
This movie could've been spectacular. And it was good. Great, even. Better than I had begun to think, what with new views of the movie surfacing. But it could've been so much more, and that's the only thing that disappointed me.
7/10, B-
Shrek (2001)
Cleverness + Originality + Hilarity x 2 = SHREK!
I just got back from seeing the movie Shrek and let me tell you, it lives up to it's hype (which is good, 'cause I hate getting pumped for movies and being let down).
The story begins in the swamp of Shrek the Ogre (Mike Meyers), who doesn't want anything to do with anybody-he's extremely solitude. Why? Because he can't stand how whenever people see him, they only see a big, ugly monster and they don't see what he is inside. But soon he meets someone who insists on being buddies with him-Donkey (Eddie Murphy), the talking donkey, who refuses to leave Shrek be. Shrek just wants to get on with his life like normal...without Donkey...but that doesn't exactly work out when suddenly his swamp is littered with all sorts of Fairy Tale creatures, who were banished to there because of an eviction notice from Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). So Shrek makes a deal with Lord Farquaad that if he'll give him back his land, Shrek will go and get the sleeping Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her tower trap to be Lord Farquaad's bride. Shrek and Donkey go on their journey, retrieve Princess Fiona, and therefore begin a trip back to the kingdom that they'll never forget.
This is one of the most original animated movies I've seen in quite some time. They story was very clever and never confused you. It also had a couple of good plot twists that didn't screw up the movie's flow or seem out of place. Good work.
Mike Meyers did a wonderful job voicing Shrek. His accent was believably Scottish and he was able to maintain the accent smoothly. Eddie Murphy is always great when he does voice-overs. Cameron Diaz also did a good job of making smooth transitions between Princess Fiona's many emotions. And John Lithgow had the evil yet funny Lord thing down perfect.
The animation was wonderful. All of the scenery was well done and the characters were drawn well. This is the best computer animated flick since the Toy Story series.
10/10
The Exorcist (1973)
Horrifying...In The Most Wonderful Way
I popped "The Exorcist" into my VCR with the lights off and a bowl of popcorn in my hand. I took it out of my VCR with the lights on and my eyes wide. That's how much fear that this excellent thriller poured into my veins, chilling my blood.
The movie begins in Iraq, where two archaeologists find some ancient structures that symbolize evil. The story then takes us to our setting: the home of movie star Chris MacNeil (excellently played by Ellen Burstyn) and her daughter Ragen (Linda Blair). Things seem to be running well for Chris and Ragen, but suddenly, strange things begin in Ragen. During her doctor appointment, she curses and screams at the doctors. Soon, she's shaking violently in bed, doing vulgar things with a cross, bleeding, scarring, yelling obscene things at her mother, and so on. The doctors say it's nerves. Chris thinks, after speaking with someone, that it's possession, leading her to call the help of a depressed priest named Damien Karras (Jason Miller).
This is one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. Any scene containing the aftermath of Ragen's "problem" had my heart racing and my eyes bugging. And the special effects were incredible-maybe not as good as recent movie effects, but certainly great for a movie from 1973. I couldn't believe it was made in 1973-maybe 1978, or 1976 even, but not 1973.
The acting was great too. The best performances in the movie were those of Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn-they both gave great passion in their roles and made you feel for their characters. Jason Miller also did an exceptional job as Damien. Acting was great all around.
The only thing was that it moved a little too slow sometimes. The majority of the time I was watching intently. But sometimes...like at the very beginning...I'd be intently bored.
Never-the-less, this movie is a classic and certainly one of my favorites. 8/10
The Mummy Returns (2001)
Returning With Better Effects But Mediocre Story
I just "returned" (ha ha) from the movies this evening from seeing "The Mummy Returns". And while I loved it, I was also a bit disappointed.
The story begins with a narrator explaining the legend of the Scorpion King (The Rock), and in turn begins with a magnificent battle scene. After the legend, we are taken to the current time where Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evie (Rachel Weisz) are touring the tomb in which Evie finds the mystical bracelet of the Scorpion King. However, a group of bad guys and a reincarnated version of Im-Ho-Tep's (Arnold Vosloo) mistress Anck-Su-Namun (Patricia Valezquaz) are also after that very bracelet to use in their plot to bring back Im-Ho-Tep, raise the Scorpion King's powerful armies from the dead, and take over the world (bwa ha ha!-kidding). They succeed in stealing the safe in which the bracelet was kept, but are foiled when they discover the bracelet isn't there, on account of it being on the wrist of Evie and Rick's kid, Alex (Freddie Boath). So they steal the kid, leading Rick and Evie into another wild adventure dealing with ancient curses and evil mummies in order to save both their son and the world from destruction.
This movie was spell bounding cinematically. Beautiful and breath-taking special effects in almost all of the scenes! You saw some of The Matrix effects used in some of the fight scenes. And the sound effects have certainly improved from the last film. It was amazing to watch.
But it stumbled upon one problem, and that problem can be best explained by one of my mottos for movies: a movie can't live on special effects alone. Between the action/fight sequences...well, the story was weak. It never really interested or impressed me whenever there was no effects. Now, I'm not one of those people that need lots of awesome effects to keep me entertained. It's just that the screenplay/story needed more work when it couldn't rely on movie magic to help it survive.
The acting was okay. I thought Rachel Weisz was somewhat weak in her performance. Brendan Fraser did an alright job, as did pretty much all of the actors. The one I really liked though was whoever played Izzy, Rick's assistant. Any no-effects scene he was in was instantly wonderful. He deserved a bigger role, and I think they should make a movie out of Rick and Izzy's pre-Mummy adventures. I'd pay to see that!
Overall, the movie was fun summer entertainment. While weak in some areas, I thought it was very fun to watch and a good way to spend a Friday night in the summer. I give it a 7/10
Dead Poets Society (1989)
One of the Greatest Movies I've Ever Seen
I took this movie off of my grandmother's hands to own without ever having watched it before, so of course, I was a bit suspicious when I popped this into my VCR last night. My suspicions soon melted and I found myself captivated with one of the most extraordinary movies I've ever seen.
Robin Williams portrays new English teacher John Keating. He's not like the other teachers, who simply lecture information. He displays his lessons through charm, spite, and action, encouraging his students to "Cease the day! Make your lives extraordinary!" He tries to encourage free thinking among his students when the other teachers try to shoot that down.
He especially garners the interest of Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), a free spirit who's held down by the rules and hardness of his father (Kurtwood Smith), Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), who lives somewhat in the shadow of his brother and has a timid, shy streak, Knox Overstreet (Josh Charles), the rebel of the group, and their friends. When they find that Mr. Keating was once in a mysterious club, called The Dead Poets Society, they decide to resurrect this club among themselves. This club, Mr. Keating, and their friendship arouse unknown talents and creativity from inside.
This movie was great in every possible way. Robin Williams once again showed us his versatility playing fun-loving but serious at heart John Keating. My personal favorite was Robert Sean Leonard, who perfectly displayed for this movie's audience the ambition and spirit that Neil had within, but which would immediately go into hiding when he'd be intimidated by his father. All of the teenagers were excellent in this movie.
The camera work was beautiful. The turns, the angles, everything just made you get into the story. The musical score had the same effect. Whatever emotion was supposed to be making up the scene, you felt it when that score was played.
This is Peter Weir's masterpiece at the moment. Truly a great film. This has successfully made my top 2 (at #2). 10 out of 10. How this film lost at the Academy Awards, I'll never know.
The Target Shoots First (2000)
Great Documentary of a Working Rookie
I really enjoyed this film when Chris Wilcha presented this movie to me and my class recently. It was a creative concept, well shot, and succeeded in finding what it was going for. Special kudos to Chris for editing that much footage into about an hour and a half long movie. ****, 10/10
Gladiator (2000)
A Great Film...But Not As Good As Awards Make It To Be
I watched "Gladiator" last night to see if it deserved to win over "Traffic" at the Golden Globes. And while I still think "Traffic" is better, "Gladiator" still proved to be a really good film. However, I don't think it was the best film of the year.
The story begins in wartime b/w Rome and Germania. Maximus (Russel Crowe) is the general of the Roman army, and he leads them into battle. To sum it up, they kick major Germanian army booty in a really bloody battle (if you are intensely disturbed and grossed out at this point, don't continue watching the film). Anyway, the Emperor of Rome currently is all proud of Maximus, and it turns out he really admires Maximus after his good work all these years, which, of course, sparks intense jealousy from an already "bad dude" Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the current emperor's son. So when Commodus becomes Emperor, he orders Maximus to be killed. But Maximus dodges being killed, returns home to find his family dead, and then while wandering around lost, he's picked up by some salesmen and is held as a slave. He's then sold as a gladiator. The rest of the story chronicles him being a gladiator that sort of teaches Rome with his fighting and rebellious ways to be more powerful than the Emperor...which Commodus isn't too happy about.
This was a better movie than I thought it would be. The story was good: it was creative, pretty, touching, and interesting all rolled together.
The acting was exceptional. Russel Crowe captured the intensity of Maximus' feelings and displayed them well for the audience to intake. Connie Nielsen was convincing as Commodus' sister. But the best performance in the whole movie was Joaquin Phoenix as the nasty Emperor of Rome, Commodus Caesar. He gave his character an evil that was seen through coyness and nastiness, both blended to give Commodus that bad guy touch that really makes you fear and hate him...and yet he seems so innocent at times. The only other time I've seen a performance like that is when Topher Grace played slimeball Seth Abrams in "Traffic".
I loved the cinematic artwork in this movie, namely seen during the first battle in the story. The camera dissolves and movement were all used to just make you say, "Wow!" throughout the whole movie. I also liked the color usage: blues for outside scenes at the beginning battle, brownish oranges for inside, brightness in the gladiator arena, and darkness surrounding the Emperor. These techniques managed to turn a summer popcorn movie into a piece of art that can be appreciated through many movie goer's eyes.
This film is definitely in my top 5 of 2000. While I personally think "Traffic" is the best film of the year, I won't ask, "How much money was under the table?" if this movie wins the prize.
I give it an 8/10, being it was a little overly long. Length wasn't the problem; after all, "Traffic" was 147 minutes and I loved every minute. But unlike "Traffic", "Gladiator" got really boring at times and I found myself looking at my VCR clock a little too constantly.
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Fantastic Film of 2000, But Not The Film of 2000
I saw this movie last night and I must say, this was an excellent movie. It wasn't one of those movies that was all special effects and no story. I was really pleased. However, I don't think it was the best film of the year.
The story begins where Chow Yun Fat (some of the movie names are hard to remember) is telling Michelle Yeoh how he's giving the Green Destiny (a really nifty sword that's extremely powerful) to Sir Te, who lives in Peking. So Michelle takes it to Sir Te and meets Governor Yu's daughter, Jen, who is about to marry by arrangement, not by choice, which she's not too happy about. But then the Green Destiny is stolen by one of Jade Fox's (she's a criminal that a lot of people are after) assistants, and now Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh are trying to get it back while also dealing with Jen and her rebellious ways.
The story was good, and so was the dialogue. But it's not worthy of any screenplay awards or anything. It wasn't really good at keying with you like the dialogue in films like "Traffic" or other emotional tappers.
The acting was great. Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and the players of Jen, Sir Te, and Jade Fox all gave great performances. My personal favorite was Lo, Jen's secret lover. While he didn't have the biggest role, he added some comic relief to the movie and the actor who portrayed him gave Lo a sense of charm and politeness behind his somewhat "rebel" ways.
This was a cinematic beauty. The special effects were breathtaking, the music was wonderful, and the camera placements were well-done. It ranks up there on my list of cinematic greats, along with films like "Traffic" and "Psycho".
This was certainly one of the year's best. But it lacked the "oomph" that would qualify this movie for Best Picture. My personal pick for best film is still "Traffic". But this film is definitely a close second.
9/10, mainly because the beginning was a little slow.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Okay, But Not All It's Cracked Up To Be
To Kill A Mockingbird, both as a book and a movie, has been hailed as a classic, a masterpiece, etc. I personally don't see what the big hoopla is.
It seems that the movie is trying to be deep, trying to be artistic...and while a bit deep with the whole storyline of Tom's trial, in reality, that's all it did-try.
They story is set in Maycomb County, Alabama, in the midst of the Great Depression. It follows the life of Scout Finch, a little girl growing up in that county. Basically, it's about what's going on with the town and what's going on with Scout and her family throughout her growth, leading to different "storylines" of events that happens to Scout and the rest of the Finch's.
Probably the only storyline I really appreciated was the story of Tom Robinson's trial. Atticus (Scout's father) was defending Tom in a rape case, and since Tom was black, this was taboo in Maycomb. This story really showed unfairness and how cruel prejudice and hate can be. Maybe if the movie was only centered around that story instead of throwing in aspects like Boo Radley, Dill, and others, I would consider calling this movie a classic.
I also might've enjoyed it more if they had had a different main character. I personally couldn't stand Scout. I understand that she was supposed to be an innocent, unknowing little girl, but she came off as an annoying, loud, obnoxious brat that I wanted to slap throughout the entire movie. Maybe if it had been from Atticus' point of view, or Jem's, or just ANYONE aside from Scout, I might've enjoyed the movie more.
The cinematic work was pretty good, but not extremely artistic. It's a far cry from the fantastic cinematic elements of films such as "Traffic" and "Psycho". While it had some good angle work and good lighting techniques, it wasn't really a great film in the cinematic field. To be fair, though, I suppose that that's not what the movie was going for.
I give it a 3/10. The story involving the trial was beautiful, there was some good acting (Gregory Peck, to give an example-although I don't think his performance was Oscar worthy)...but it was such a long way off from all it was said to be, it just turned out to be an overrated bore.
Traffic (2000)
One of, if not the, best films I've seen
I just saw "Traffic" today and after reading both good and bad reviews, I was a little suspicious of how much I'd enjoy this movie. Well, I loved it. There was never a boring moment in the entire film, and I was captivated from beginning to end.
The plot, in a nutshell, is how drugs affect everyone and all of our lives, from informants (Benicio Del Toro) to drug czars (Michael Douglas) to house wives (Catherine Zeta-Jones) to High School prep students (Erika Christiansen, Topher Grace): cops Javier and Monolo (Del Toro and I think Miguel Ferrer) are caught in a drug corruption, Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), on the verge of becoming the nation's new drug czar, has just discovered that his daughter Caroline (Erika Christiansen) has a serious drug problem, and Helena Ayala (Catherine Zeta-Jones) must do her best to protect her family when her husband (Steven Bauer) is arrested by the DEA, no matter what she has to do.
This cast was incredible. Michael Douglas did a very impressive job, as did Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Miguel Ferrer. Don Cheadle and Luiz Guzman added much comic relief as two joking DEA agents keeping an eye on Helena and her family. This is the first time I've seen Erika Christiansen perform, and she made a very good first impression-she had the ability to make you feel sad for her character. And after watching Topher Grace play nice boy Eric on That '70s Show, I was very impressed with how well he played the role of scuzzball Seth Abrams, who gets Caroline hooked on drugs in the first place.
While some people might've been annoyed w/ the jerky camera movements (Soderbergh used a handheld camera), I found it great, since it seemed to give the movie a realistic feel. I also like the color coordination of each place: in the first part of the movie, it would say on the bottom where the story would move to. But after awhile, they no longer needed to do that-you just had to see which color was being used and you'd know where the movie was now. Very, very well done!
This movie deserves Best Picture. I loved it, and definitely want to see it again!
The Family Man (2000)
Good for a laugh, not good for 8 bucks
I saw The Family Man this past weekend. It was a funny and cute movie. I enjoyed it, but I kinda wished I could've enjoyed the movie at Blockbuster for less moolah.
The best part of the film was Don Cheadle as Cash, who sends Jack (Nicholas Cage) to "a glimpse" of what his life could've been like. He was funny, and never overracted his lines. The other actors and actresses were good also, but not as good as Cheadle. Nicholas cage proved he can do more than action movies...and well, I was a little disappointed in Tea` Leoni though. All of these web sites, etc. were talking about how great she was. And well...while she was good, she wasn't any greater than any other actress I've seen. I guess you could say she was average.
The movie had some really funny and touching moments, but it also got boring. This movie is worth waiting for Pay-Per-View or Blockbuster; I wouldn't advice you to pay a movie ticket price for this film.
That '70s Show (1998)
The funniest, most original show on TV!
OMG, this has to be the funniest show on TV! I've been a devoted watcher since Day One, and will continue to be for...well, EVER! The plot-lines aren't cliche'd and keep me laughing each week. The actors are great also. Topher Grace gives an A+ performance each week as Eric Forman (not to mention he's the hottest thing I've ever seen!). The others are great too! Everyone should at least give this show a chance; it's so awesome!