nkfilms Reviews

Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out (2006)

Not at all what it should have been.

[4/10 · 19 May 2008]

I have quite a few problems with this documentary, being a huge fan of The Police. (Own "Message in a Box", saw them live in 2007, I'm totally influenced by them in my own music...) This was a major letdown. Here's the problem.

Copeland is a terrible narrator, half the film he's mumbling on and has such little charisma for narrating a documentary. The quality of his super8 camera is brutal, and that in itself wouldn't be so bad, but the WHOLE documentary is basically told with this super8 grainy, look.

It doesn't capture the actual soul of what the Police were. It basically follows 79-84, as if it were just, "Oh then we got a track on the charts, then we went to a concert, then we did some traveling, oh then we did some more shows, now we're big, then we released a couple albums, then a few more shows, now it's over." The only sense of conflict in the band you will get in the WHOLE documentary is the following quips.

Stewart: I'm starting to hate this band.

Sting: Stewart... I blame you for all my problems.

--- That's it. This is the so called band that had it's drummer break the lead singers ribs, get into fistfights, and downright hate each other, but at the same time record some of the greatest rock music ever. It basically is something slapped together, with some old footage, called a Police DOCUMENTARY and it just, has no thread. Nothing, I can only say, SOME (but little), of the documentary was okay, and had a couple cool things going for it, some interesting little parts to it, but way to little to even make this a repeat viewing.

If you're a die hard police fan, it's only an hour, and you might get a chuckle, and a "Oh cool.", but believe me, for the 5 minutes of total time where you're interested, there's another 60 of boring crap. Why can't Martin Scorsese do a Police documentary?

The Plague Dogs (1982)

Once I saw this, I went upstairs, hugged my dog and silently wept for a few minutes.

[8/10 · 28 November 2006]

I am not someone who usually cries during a movie. I can probably only count it on one hand, let's see... Shindlers List... The Green Mile... The Shawshank Redemption... Road to Perdition... The Plague Dogs makes it five. You might ask yourself, is this a kind of movie that tugs at the heart strings? No, but it will tug at your soul. I say that with full confidence that I'm not going over board on this one.

The Plague Dogs follows two canines Rowf and Snitter. Whom have been held captive at a research facility being cruelly tested on... these tests include brain surgery, and swimming endurance (where Rowf is put into a tank too see how long takes for him to tire out and potentially drown), other tests aren't depicted, however they show one dog dead in his cell with patches of missing hair (I assume it was introduced to a chemical agent). As fate would have it, an employee working there doesn't lock the cell door properly and the two protagonists break out, and go on the run from the "White Coats".

I don't want to go much further with plot because if you have read these posts on IMDb I'm sure that everyone else has said it already.

The film is fantastic, the message is so honest and tragic, and I am having a difficult time writing this. I am deleting so much of this and rewriting it on the spot because I don't want this review to be something that isn't from my heart. I really don't want to spoil anything so I'm just going to cut it short... if you want to watch a great tragedy, one that won't try to force the tears on you, The Plague Dogs is the one... That is probably why I feel so strongly about it... it doesn't jam any over the top music and animation that would make you emotional, what you are going to feel is something from within you, it will be how YOU feel, and no matter what it will be honest.

I must warn you, if you have kids it might give them serious nightmares, and for the older more mature viewer... if you love animals this might hurt you just the same... but in my opinion it is a message that just had to be said. I feel for this movie so strongly it is almost difficult for me too see it again...

Make of it what you will.

Blast from the Past (1999)

I blame the pacing and chemistry. Not a great script. *partial spoiler*

[5/10 · 3 September 2006]

I love Alicia Silverstone, I own "Excess Baggage", "The Crush", "Scorched", and soon "Batman and Robin" (not because it's good, merely for comedic value, believe me) here was my problem.

The movie begins with Adam in the bomb shelter, being born, etc. Basically everything that happens up to 35 years later, they show lots of stuff: Adam learning different languages, learning to box, dancing, lots of stuff. My first suggestion would have been to cut a few minutes off the beginning, I know that sounds nuts but hear me out. There was a lot of stuff that didn't really need to be there, it was about half an hour until Adam finally meets Eve. So we follow this lost puppy without an opposite for a while, it actually is tough to call because a lot of the beginning was necessary, a few minutes less would have made it better. I'm sorry but it really did drag a bit.

The second problem, Eve, Alicia is generally a very sweet, quirky, cute girl. In this she was for lack of a better word: a complete bitch. So here we have this guy, trying to find a woman and the character that was written in this instance is offering him nothing but contempt, which is what I found very unsettling considering what this movie was aiming for.

She does eventually warm up too him... when the movie is ALMOST over. So let me just recap this for you readers, We spend 30 minutes building up Adam as a character, have about 30 minutes of a character that treats him pretty badly, then we have maybe 15 minutes of sweetening, they remain off screen for another 15 minutes, then it ends. I felt a little ripped off. There were no moments of any closure for this relationship, I'm not joking, if he'd stare at her it would be "STOP STARING AT ME!", yes, it's funny, but it hurts the characters relationship believability.

It not being as ROMANTIC as some would like wouldn't have been a problem if the subject matter would have been a little lighter hearted, I mean, we have a family down in a shelter for 35 years, you can't help but feel sorry for this guy. Then he gets harped on for a majority of the movie, then all of a sudden, a REALIZATION of LOVE? I just didn't buy it, the two had only known each other for a couple days... okay... same went for Excess Baggage, but at least with EB we SAW the connections being made earlier than the 80 minute mark, I believed the characters feelings in Excess Baggage, I really did. This one just didn't do it I'm afraid.

The points go for some sweet moments, a funny fight scene, Dave Foley was really good and gets 3 points alone, and the soundtrack was pretty cool. Overall, if you really want a light hearted comedy with some really sweet moments,you can't go wrong with Excess Baggage or Scorched. Or this either really, depending on what you're looking for.

The Crush (1993)

People who aren't Alicia fans may slag this. Fatal Attraction with a fourteen year old.

[6/10 · 11 July 2006]

I bought this today in a previously enjoyed bin at Blockbuster. It set me back five bucks, so I figured since I like Alicia, this would be worthwhile for my guilty pleasure collection I've been building up over the years (Included in that collection is Excess Baggage, the film that made me get a huge crush on Alicia). Considering the money spent, this is great popcorn. When buying this I expected a pseudo update of Fatal Attraction, which in so many words, was. (spare me if I offend some for making that comparison) The Crush is a campy, but dark story. Alicia plays a very convincing 14 year old obsessive compulsive psychopathic teenager who is experiencing love. I really thought she did well, I know she has limitations - but it's a totally unbiased opinion. You'd never expect the girl from Clueless to say such lines like "Hey Nick, ever do a virgin?" - She portrays this very sexual presence, which works.

My problem with the film is I guess I've sort of marked myself as a fan of the Alicia who plays sweet characters, so it's kind of a knock back. Other than that - If not taken seriously it would make a good film to throw on if you like Alicia, if not, could still be a decent thriller movie to watch with a couple beers or if you just want to throw on a guilty pleasure. It's campy, it's got some corn, but you gotta love it sometimes.

Click (2006)

Unlikable male lead, bad jokes, and undeveloped characters make "Click" a misclick.

[3/10 · 2 July 2006]

I saw this with some friends of mine not expecting much... I knew this wasn't going to be Chinatown or anything... but this was really bad.

For the most part, I blame Adam Sandler. Sandler has become periodically less funny every movie starting with Happy Gilmore. He's lost his boyish charm, he looks older, but his personality is essentially the same, so watching him becomes a real chore.

They have all the Sandler classics in this - nut kicking, fart jokes, sex jokes, the whole shabang. It falls short because the context is just... weak. His wife (Beckinsale) is one of the hottest women I've ever seen on screen. Which is what made little sense, she was such a lovable soul, his kids were very sweet and cute, he had a good job... What was the problem? His character was such a jerk. There was no REASON for this guy to be such a tightwad, or become one as was suggested in the film. One scene had his wife basically throwing herself at him for sex, but wanted a back rub first... he insisted he go back to his paperwork, so he used the remote to speed up the process. This is what I'm talking about - I don't care how much of a tightwad I am, my lovely loving wife who isn't in the wrong throughout the whole movie asks me for sex, I gladly accept and spend time with her... I mean - not even his unlikable character can be the excuse for this...

The other problem is like most comedies, you need that low point to build up the the happy ending... this was trying so hard to be depressing (which I must admit was at some points) that you almost forget you are watching a comedy... Sandler trying to act is a little embarrassing, he's not the worst out there... but he is really unnatural throughout a lot of the teary moments.

All that considered, the soundtrack isn't bad, a lot of the time I was happy to hear a tune I hadn't heard in a while, or one that I really love.

My advice - seriously, rent Happy Gilmore or Billy Madison for the 100th time and fire up the DVD player, you'll thank me for it.

Traffic (2000)

Who can deny this powerful statement?

[10/10 · 16 April 2006]

I'm not going to give an outline and waste time, because if you are reading this I'm sure you have already read a bunch. Let me just say this film is brilliant, and I don't use that term very often.

Benicio Del Toro, if there is any way this guy can turn in a BAD performance, I'd be surprised. He is so natural, so human, which is why he rightfully so earned his Best Supporting Actor Oscar - The rest of the cast is great as well.

The script is solid - one of the best stories I've ever seen on film. It's so deep, ironic, depressing, and sinicle but on a stranger side, almost hopeful. The film has a stunning, and honest message about the drug trade in the world. It's an "unbeatable market-force", but we can't stop fighting it, can we? This film should have won best picture in my opinion, Gladiator is great... but Traffic was much better.

10/10

Excess Baggage (1997)

Excess Baggage - A crash course in fun, laughs, and adventure.

[7/10 · 25 March 2006]

You know, it never ceases to amaze me how movies can be totally blacklisted by the critics to the point of it being absolutely ridiculous and unfair: Excess Baggage was victim to this. It was a bomb, however I feel it was really taken the wrong way.

Silverstone plays a very cute spoiled rich girl who just wants some attention from her father, so she fakes a kidnapping, then locks herself in her own car. Del Toro plays an accomplished and stylish car thief... well, I think you can figure out what happens next.

My thoughts of the film are this - I'm a sucker for cute comedy's with adventurous story lines, and that's what this is. The acting isn't bad, Silverstone is believable and Del Toro is always great. The chemistry on screen is just fantastic. Accompinied by a good soundtrack, and a sexy Silverstone romancing cool Benicio really makes this movie a can't miss. Even if it's something to watch with a girlfriend or boyfriend. It's one of those films from the 90's that just makes you want to go back. If you are reading this and deciding to make it a date movie, it has everything a good date movie has. Rent it tonight!

Léon: The Professional (1994)

I didn't think I'd find a better movie about a hit-man than Grosse Pointe Blank... but I did in spades.

[10/10 · 27 October 2005]

This film is the story of a very smart and calculating professional killer named Leon (Jean Reno) who ends up with a burden in his arms, a twelve year old girl named Matilda (Natalie Portman). Matilda's fate is almost met when a very crooked DEA Agent Stansfield (Gary Oldman) murders her family while she is out buying milk - Leon saves her life and teaches her the trade of "cleaning". I bought this film before I had even seen it. I did this because of the fantastic reviews it got, and having a real respect for Gary Oldman. When I fired it up the first time... it all suddenly made sense.

The real story behind Leon isn't the gun play, (which is still fantastic) but the relationship between mature well mannered Leon and sexually inexperienced and unsure, but outgoing Matilda. The chemistry between the two on screen is just fantastic, as Leon starts to come to terms with himself that he really is in love with Matilda. Pedhophila is an issue in this film (though is never shown) and is understandable why some people find it to be a hard pill to swallow (maybe not for Oldman)... but for me, this film is like taking a trip down a road of rocky revenge, heartbreaking tragedy, breathtaking style and substance to die for. See Leon today.