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Nomasain
Reviews
In the Shadows (2001)
Entertaining
This one reminds me of "that thing you do!". Fun to watch, romantic, not to complicated and entertaining. This DVD is a keeper.
I got this DVD for free and didn't read the cover, so I didn't have any expectations. (I can only recommend this; don't read the backside of the DVD before seeing the movie...Let it surprise you) The story line was OK, despite a bit predictable.
I'm not familiar with the mob, so a hit-man becoming friends with his mark (and daughter) sounds plausible to me. Modine wasn't there to kill Caan immediately; he had to wait until "the big boss" arrived. Leaving plenty time for bonding. Things went a bit to smooth for my liking, almost like a fairy tale. But I don't expect a movie to be real life footage. And there was enough violence to make sure it wasn't a fairy tale...
Cuba had a minor role. He had to act like he was acting, which isn't easy, so it looked a bit unnatural, like it should. James Caan was perfectly casted, great actor.
Joey Lauren Adams and Mathew Modine weren't type casted, which I prefer. In real life we can't always judge books by their covers either. Reminding me of Tom Hanks in "Road to Perdition"....
World Trade Center (2006)
horrible event, horrible movie
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
(World Trade Center is a "LADDER 49" rip-off. The latter wins hands down and is a very good movie; watch it instead.)
There's a decent tension build-up in the beginning with a fair amount of action, only to be followed by an utterly boring second half. It suddenly changes into a family drama; I was actually waiting for Shelley Long to pop up.
If the the time-span between the plane-crashes and the collapses was a bit longer, there would be an opportunity to enlighten the frustrations the NYPD and FD faced during their rescue attempts. Instead nothing happened, making this one very hard to sit out. Perhaps my expectations were too high, maybe the budget was to low. Probably neither: This film was never mend to entertain us....
Casino Royale (2006)
Wonderful marketing
Magnificent how they made us believe this one was worth watching. Yet it's barely interesting. The biggest mistake made was the modern day setting. It is supposed to be a prequel! ***SPOILERS AHEAD*** In the fifties, when Fleming wrote this one, I could have been forgiving towards the absence of gadgets and loose women (No female theme song either). But then again, how would they be able to sell their nowadays Fords and Sony's? It's a real challenge to create an interesting movie, based on a 50 year old book. This shows. For instance, James and Vesper show off their I.Q. during their first encounter in a train, by knowing details about each others upbringing at first glance. But later on, James falls for the simplest poker trick in the book. Also, their stereotype male and female character are old-fashioned; not 2006. And the storyline is quite predictable. Some scenes are way to long, and some crucial ones are way to short. Vesper sized him up for the tux? Good enough for S,M,L,XL and XXL, not for tailor-made. I'll bet she used the Sony Vaio to check the MI6-site. What about the reanimation scene after the drowning? Obvious they used a real stiff. No water sprouting out, or any movement of her chest at all, when he tried to restart her circulation and giving her mouth to mouth. (He didn't even try; it might take up to 30 minutes, not seconds...) Today we know how Indiana Jones got his whip, and where his scar comes from. We should have learned why James likes his drink "stirred, not shaken" in this movie. But I guess the latter is nitpicking, it just should have played in the late 50's. (and with a storyline written before and not while filming.) It's still entertaining enough to get it on a budget DVD next year, but not better than my English....