Change Your Image
j_a_s_p_e_r
Reviews
Chyornaya Molniya (2009)
My title would be a spoiler because of what this movie really is
I would have liked to title my review "A direct point-for-point plot copy of Spider-Man 2002"
I've seen Spider-Man many times and I know the story inside and out. It did not take long to see that the movie "borrowed heavily" on the plot points. I found it shameless to the extent that they didn't even bother to add original arcs, but rather forced the plot development exactly the same. Sometimes keeping the main plot drivers seem awkward with the other changes and don't fit quite right.
That does not mean you can't have fun with this film. Finding all the similarities and to see what substitutions were made and guessing what the next one would be, can be entertaining.
Children of Men (2006)
Not as good as expected.
I love sci-fi. Good sci-fi. This is not sci-fi, it's a war drama (to be shelved next to Full Metal Jacket) First let me tell you what I liked about the movie. The world is extremely well presented as desperate, morbid and hopeless. The contrast of the hope of a single baby is equally well presented and will make a grown man cry. And even I, a grown man, cried. It contains some of the most gut wrenching scenes of warfare turned into the most beautiful thing I have seen on film.
Too bad one or two scenes do not make a movie (at least for me).
Now for why I rated the movie so low. The story of Children of Men was nearly completely revealed in the trailers. There is virtually no character development, the story is pretty straight forward, and yet unbelievable at the same time. When I say "unbelievable" I mean several convergences of character paths were so improbably that, if it weren't for the intensity of the scenes, they would be exposed for what they are : "deus ex machina" story patches.
Moreover, the story is preachy about its anti-war, anti-immigration reform stance and makes it quite clear that if a disastrous, hopeless situation occurs those things would send mankind over the brink. It presents the terrorists not as the "good guys", but rather the "not so bad guys". Imagery from Abu Ghraib were directly duplicated and used in the background of some scenes.
A note on the DVD release: The extra interviews with the extreme left wing activists really rubbed me the wrong way and their simplistic view of the world didn't even measure up to the complexity posed by the film.
Runaway Jury (2003)
Politically loaded courtroom thriller
Runaway Jury is about the manipulation of a jury in a high profile gun control court case. I found the movie entertaining and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I did not like the slanted views of gun control being shoved down my throat.
I won't quite go as far as calling this "'Bowling for Columbine' for the Masses", but chances are that if you are in favor of gun control that you will find this movie more entertaining and enjoyable than I did.
I wish the movie would have been about some other court case where there at least could be a balanced view and maybe more balanced villains. Unlike multi dimensional villains, the Fitch character was portrayed as pure evil and was not believable. Also the portrayal of the 'good ol' boys' of the gun companies was stereotypical and laughable (complete with the smoke-filled, wood paneled, trophy room).
Again not bad, but an excellent example of why politics should be kept out of entertainment.
Big Fish (2003)
Loved it, but makes me wish I read the book first.
I loved Big Fish.
This is a father-and-son movie, about the distance that often exists between a father and a son. In this case the distance is caused by the father's tall tales.
The story is simple: The father is dying and the son is sifting through these tall tales in a search of who his father really is. The main themes about a fish that outgrows its pond is repeated throughout the movie and makes me wish I read the book first.
For some reason the movie reminded me of "O Brother Where Art Thou?", but I consider Big Fish to be a slightly better movie.
La cité des enfants perdus (1995)
More-than-Half-Decent Movie, but it has its flaws.
[ Note: I watched this movie in the original French and to be balanced I also watched it with the horrible English dubbing. (:)) denotes humor that will be understood once you have seen the movie ]
This movie has been compared to Amelie, Brazil and even Dark City. It can only dream (:)) of obtaining the greatness of the first two. It is somewhat better than Dark City, but I don't see any way to compare them except for the Cyclopes being similar to the men in black suits.
The City of Lost Children has a few huge flaws: choppy editing that really annoyed me, overacting that drove me nuts, eye (:)) candy that is too syrupy for my taste.
I was entertained and the story is very interesting and brings up quite a bit of pondering, but it leaves many subplots flawed, uncompleted and improbable - even in the context of the fantasy world. (Skip to the end of the paragraph if you don't what to hear the list of flawed sub-plots) The Cyclops order - where are they from, and if they have a new world vision to promote why do they sell out for improved vision and hearing. The killer fleas - How do they know who to attack? The octopus lady - Inhaling smoke into one mouth exhales through another, come on! Lets not violate the laws of physics.
I found this movie just a little bit better than OK. 7/10. Rather go watch Brazil, Amelie or 12 Monkeys.
Donnie Darko (2001)
Not Bad, Almost great.
(This review is for the DVD version of the movie.)
Possible Spoilers (references movies with similar plots)
I just saw Donnie Darko on DVD after blockbuster.com recommended it. I guess it was because I rated 12 Monkeys and Rushmore pretty high. Unfortunately this move did not quite measure op to my expectations and I expected to be blown away as with 12 Monkeys, but I just said "Ahhh.. I think I get it. Let me think about this..."
The DVD extras revealed a different interpretation than I had and more Richard Kelly's (the writer/director) personal vision. The commentary on the movie reveals that he wanted to leave the audience with a more open interpretation. The book of the character Roberta Sparrow is very hard to read (letters are blurry) on the DVD, but provides the most insight.
This is not a bad movie, but it could have been a lot better, I can't put my finger on what is missing. The director creates a great atmosphere and makes you fear and love Donnie at the same time. The fear-love opposites theme is ridiculed in the movie by Donnie Darko.
The good: Music. Effects. Atmosphere. Smart story and interesting story line.
The bad: Language. Unnecessary and excessively bad language. This took down the movie a notch or two in my opinion.
The ugly: The rabbit costume
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
There is no solution
(1/10) I am sure that Mr. Lynch has left no solution to this film, but rather the feeling of the solution. You leave the film feeling like you somewhat understand, but you will never completely understand it. I hated this film. The acting was as bad as it gets. The dialog was annoying and dragged at many places. Furthermore the film invaded my sleep for 3 nights in a row. It is haunting, but it is garbage. Rather go and rent Memento.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
The Emperor is wearing a clown suit!
I've never been a Kubrick fan, he moves too slow and he bores me. This movie is no exception. I did not find this movie funny. Granted there are a few laughs, but mostly they are close to the end of the film. No, let me phrase that stronger : A lot of the film is not funny by any stretch of my imagination. Don't waste your time with this movie, it is undeserving of the reputation it has received.
This movie falls in the same category of humor as Repo Man. I think a lot of the humor was time-sensitive and has been lost over time. Maybe I'm too young to appreciate it. I feel I have to be the boy that yells "The emperor wears no clothes", but that would not be fair... he is wearing a clown suit
The Omega Code (1999)
Christian Exploitation
I'm ashamed that some people might think this is a Christian movie. I saw it just because a friend lend me the video and urged me to watch it. Its not that bad - the camera work and sound was not too badly done. What I do have against this movie is that it is an exploitation of the Christian faith for capital gains. Very little biblical fact went into the movie and I guess it could have just as well have been another '7th Seal' or 'End of Days'.
Limbo (1999)
This movie leaves you in Limbo
I somewhat liked the start of the movie for dropping you in the middle of so many peoples' lives in a limbo state. But then the movie changes direction and becomes a whole different movie (remember Full Metal Jacket?), it focuses just on three characters and finally it ends by leaving you in perfect limbo - the type of ending I didn't want.
I hated it...I'm sorry. Even though the film probably achieved what it set out to achieved I felt cheated in the end almost the same feeling I had when I finished the computer game Myst.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Its a trip
You are the junkie!
Terry tries to give you the mind of a junkie, the fun, confusion, terror, paranoia and insanity. It's not that its badly done, I just don't want it. Thank you.
I tried to fit the pieces of the story together like Raoul Duke at the end of the movie and just like him there are things we will never be able to fit together to get the truth.
Its good but I HATE it.
Repo Man (1984)
Sub-B Grade
"The funniest movie of all time! You HAVE to see it"
I was bored to death by this movie. Sure it has a few funny spots, but overall its just plain BAD. Is it popular because its this bad or is the joke to recommend it to all your friends as "the funniest movie ever". I tried to watch it a second but my opinion of it just dropped lower.
The acting is OK, but the script and dialogue is pathetic, but hey go watch it - it is after all the "funniest movie ever".
Did I screw with your mind? Maybe this is why people love this movie because it screws with your mind, but only if you let it.
12 Monkeys (1995)
This already happened.
It took some time for that line to sink in; as well as the tagline "The future is history".
No other movie has ever shown a concept of time travel as complex as this one. It almost blew my mind trying to assimilate it.
Brilliant. IMHO The best SciFi Movie ever made - Even better than "Blade Runner" or "The Matrix".