Reviews

First of all, let me say that I watch tons of movies and I am generally very picky about them, more so than even most critics. However, I enjoyed this film when most people seem to hate it with a passion. I have to echo the statements of some of the other reviewers by saying that you will not like this movie if you don't like Stephen King. Now, I haven't read the book this was based on, but I have read several King novels and this movie seemed to reflect his style like few of his other movies have. The dialogue must have been taken verbatim from the book, because it has Stephen King written all over it. I think the reason this movie wasn't well received was that most people just wouldn't like King's weird fantasy/sci-fi stories. Not all of his books are straight horror/thriller like the Shining & Cujo or drama like Green Mile/The Body (Stand By Me). I find I enjoy King's stranger novels, but you have to forgive the fact that they are extremely campy. Anyone that reads best seller novels knows that a certain level of camp and melodrama appears that movies avoid. This time, the movie's creators decided to go all-out with the campy dialogue and bizarre imagery. To everyone who complained that the book was better than the movie, sure they changed stuff, but this can't be a worse translation than Peter Jackson's versions of the Lord of the Rings books, which I have heard many people complain about. They had barely over 2 hours to do a very long novel, you just can't expect everything from the novel to end up in the movie! In closing, I will admit that maybe this is a movie that only Stephen King fans will like (including those who don't know they are fans yet), but it really carried King's trademarks like no other movie I've seen based on his work.

Well, this is the third Amenabar film I've had the pleasure of seeing, and I have to say it didn't disappoint. It's basically a whodunit, and you will end up suspecting every single character in the movie by the end. Because of this, you are surprised when you find out who did it, but not THAT surprised... but it was still effective. In summary: definately keeps you guessing and quite suspenseful, but not quite as intriguing as The Others or Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes). My rating: 7/10.

Well, I've seen most of Kurosawa's major works now, and though I really like Yojimbo, I don't rank it among his best. In fact, I really enjoyed his movies that, yes, were NOT about samurai! Hakuchi (The Idiot) and Tengoku To Jigoku (High And Low) I thought were both better than this one, but I'm not putting down Yojimbo at all. It was a very nice watch in terms of both plot and style, and of course spectacular direction by Kurosawa and acting by Mifune. I also enjoyed the way this movie really seemed like a Western, as this movie was both influenced by past Westerns and influenced future Westerns. Very nice flow to the film. All in all, well worth you time. My rating: 7.5/10.

Well, I wasn't expecting much from this movie seeing as it is a lower-budget production. It had the problems one would expect: poor direction, including lots of unnecessary slow motion shots and cheap looking camera techniques. It really cheapened the movie and detracted from the viewing experience. If you've seen Behind Enemy Lines, you know how bad direction can ruin a movie like this one. Besides that, the plot was passable, acting was fine (maybe a little overacting by D'Onofrio) and the pace was good, so it wasn't a total loss. The ending was a bit confused - on the one hand, they didn't want to have a totally predictable ending, but on the other hand, the ending made it look like the script writers were arguing over what should happen and made an unsound compromise. They really could have done a lot better, first and foremost by firing the director, but the short story this was based on (by a true genius, Philip K. Dick) was really fantastic and a movie based on it had potential. My rating: 4/10.

Watching this movie again, I had mixed feelings about it. Some scenes really stand out as great while others I could do without. The director and cinemtographer should be commended, they produced some incredible effects especially considering the year this came out and the genre of the movie. However, the gratuitous nudity and gore somewhat cheapen the film, though I guess I can forgive them for it. All in all, this movie is definately worth watching, and fans of action/fantasy will probably love it. Like I said, some of the action scenes are very memorable and are what made this movie stand out to begin with. My rating: 7/10.

This movie combines one of my favorite directors, Akira Kurosawa, and one of my favorite authors, Ed McBain, and it's a match made in heaven. This movie is suspenseful throughout and the wonderful direction and acting keep you glued to the screen. Although I haven't read the book this was based on, the movie does relay McBain's style very well. The movie is not only a moral story of a man's decision, but also a great detective story showing all the aspects of a police investigation. Very slow paced and methodical, and it works out wonderfully that way. My rating: 8/10.

While I was watching this movie, I was shocked at how unfunny it is. I have absolutely no idea why this movie is classified as a comedy. It doesn't have any jokes in it. I'm not saying that it doesn't have anything funny in it, lots of comedies don't have anything funny in them. I'm saying, IT HAS NO JOKES IN IT. There are a few gags here and there, but they are the kind of thing that would only have been remotely funny if you had been there. Sort of like when your 6 month old child calls your cat a dog, kind of funny if you're there, but if you saw it in a movie you wouldn't exactly be slapping your knee. Possibly the most pointless movie I have ever seen, and it just went on and on. My rating: 2/10.