Reviews

First of all, there's a lot of councel meeting with boring speeches by men and women in flowing robes. That is one of the most overused Sci-fi scenes in movies. "The enemy is coming! But we should wait for word from the Enterprise... er.... Neo!"

Neo fights Agent Smith then remembers he can fly... why didn't he do that in the first place?

The 2nd overused Sci-Fi scene: Living underground in a Mad Max, Blade Runner world. And what's with the rave party after the political speech? It would have been cool if they were worshiping a bomb too!

And having Anthony Zerbe in it made me chuckle. I heard they wanted Connery, but he turned them down. At least Zerbe's a good guy, but man this is one B-movie actor that never goes away! Remember him in "KISS Meets The Phantom?" or how about "The Omega Man?" Come to think about it, the Omega Man looks kind of like this movie.

I know geeks love the Matrix (you're not a computer geek but really a superhero out to save the world! That's the dream of every fat loser computer geek.) But this movie even abandons that idea. It's just a action movie with very cool special effects. It's about as deep as one of those bad "Star Trek" films. How about a Sci-Fi film where the lighting is good everywhere? Why is the future dank?

Instead everyone runs around in the dark with sunglasses (why? did all those Lasek procedures go bad? Maybe that's the message of the film... in the future invest in the Sunglass Hut. You'll make a fourtune.) and gives great speeches. If the Machines were really coming to kill all humans, do you think there would be so much in fighting? I don't. They'd do everything and anything to stop them.

I hope, God I hope, they tack on a wedding at the end of the last one... and eat Solent Green at the reception. This is a classic bad 70's flick.

Some great visuals in this ultra low budget picture (the kind of movie the guys from American Movie might make!) that make this film worth while. There are some bad acting jobs but for the most part it's involving and at times even disturbing. Check out the ghoul in the car window.

Dream-like dark film about a man driven to murder. Aside from the soundtrack and the lack of southern accents, this movie shines. A great b-movie with great visuals. Check out star Dane Clark goes eye to eye with a racoon, realizing they're both trapped with no escape. The film's not for everyone, but if you like b&w film noir you should dig this one up.

This is a forgotten classic. It's funny, moving and old fashioned. Add the fact that it's chock full of stars and you have one fun movie to watch. Edward G. Robinson is a standout as a bum trying to make good. If you like old movies, try to hunt this one down.

Strangers is a great movie and a must for students of suspense cinema. But - and it's a big But - the ending is horrible. It's just plain stupid. Without giving it away, what happened just wouldn't happen in any sort of reality. See it anyway. It's a fun ride until the e-ticket at the end...

I was surprised to see Lena Olin in the film. I was even more surprised to see she had such a small part in the film! She was a leading lady not long ago, now she seems to be disappearing. What a waste of such a great talent.

The effects were great, but the acting was wooden and the plot was way too serious. I was bored out of my mind through most of it. And I love the old Star Wars movies. The fun seems to be gone. No Chewie and the droids reduced to cameos made it even harder for me to enjoy.

Mamet loves the elaborate confidence game and it shows in the Spanish Prisoner. With this movie and his other con-man film, "House of Games," Mamet proves he knows how to entertain. I got the same feeling watching "The Spanish Prisoner" as an adult as I did watching magic tricks on tv as a kid. It's great fun watching these movies over again. If you're looking for a good double feature, this would be one.

The best thing about this believable, and interesting, bio of a drug addicted TV writer is the supporting performance of Maria Bello. She's destined to be quite a movie star. The screen lit up whenever she showed up.