Change Your Image
Mac-Daddy
Reviews
Gangs of New York (2002)
I'd rather be gutted by 'The butcher'...
...than sit through that again.
*SPOILER WARNING FOLLOWS*
The most ancient and simplest of plots, avenging a slain father, ruined by a self-indulgent, tedious and wandering script.
Amsterdam's actions are inexplicable, ignoring the myriad of opportunities he has to exact revenge before his badly telegraphed and failed attempt.
Corny, crude and cumbersome.
1/10. I want those 168 minutes of my life back.
Road to Perdition (2002)
Proof of the increasing value of trailers
It certainly sucked in me. What a great trailer for a woeful film.
It's a fantastic premise for a film but the story and its telling are flat, predictable and uninspiring.
The treatment at the hands of Mendes is self-indulgent and heavy-handed. Certainly there's some fantastic cinematography and performances that are at times quite engaging, but ultimately the melodramatic score simply underlines a plodding 117 minutes.
It seems to have been designed to win Oscars, not tell an incredible story in an incredible way: and the end result of this back-to-front approach borders on condescension.
A point each for Hanks, Newman and great work from Hoechlin. Not much else really - 3/10.
American Psycho (2000)
!!SPOILER!! Tired formula. Tired movie.
A desperate and psychotic man caught up in a materialistic world. Hardly the most original or unique proposition for a movie. But wait, he's a vicious killer? Ok, now you've got a little more of my attention. But I sit through what is essentially a fairly boring (though often unintentionally amusing) movie, only to be told he didn't really do all those things? That he is, after all, just a stressed out Wall St exec dreaming of killing? What a waste of time. Despite the poor vehicle, Christian puts in a good performance as Bateman. His 1 point bumps the movie total up to 1 out of 5.
Blade II (2002)
SOUPED UP SEQUEL
Consider the original 'Blade' movie as a Vampire, and think of the sequel as a Reaper: better, stronger, faster. Let's be honest here, Blade II isn't going to win any script awards. But the visual feast it provides is spectacular. I struggle to remember better fight choreography, ever. Wesley's obviously been training his ass off. The art direction is spectacular. The pace is near relentless. And the soundtrack rocks. See it on the bigscreen. 8/10.
Mean Machine (2001)
Did we leave any cliches out? I think not.
Another review on this page describes this movie as 'recommendable if you want to escape for 90 minutes.' I can only say wish I had escaped the cinema before the 90 minutes was up. Completely predictable, full of cliches and old gags, frustratingly stopstart use of music. There is NOTHING in this movie you haven't seen before. Even if you haven't seen the original. 1/10 (half a point for each of the two laughs I had.)
Behind Enemy Lines (2001)
Shame the script doesn't match the FX
Hey, no argument hear about the action scenes, they're spectacular. But the logic flaws throughout are staggering. The fact that he's a top gun pilot and carries on like a spoilt schoolgirl was my first problem. When in a tight situation his military training seemingly deserts him and he acts like a scared citizen. And a lesson from Evasion 101: when you're being closely pursued by an army, don't sit on top of a mountain where you're beautifully silhouetted for snipers, no matter how good an opportunity you may provide for cinematographers. The premium moment in this movie's descent from action to comedy came when Wilson's character radioes in to report that he is at the designated pick-up location. When he comes under fire and begins to move, Hackman's character orders his crew to get a fix on his position! The same position they told him to be at! It's one more flaw in a long series. 3 points for sfx. None for everything else. 3/10.