Reviews

I had read many of the critics reviews prior to seeing this. My expectations were set very high based on that. I was expecting a blade runner, the thing, pick a sci-fi classic, and it was supposed to rank with those. Unfortunately, this didn't quite make it in my mind. It was a good movie. The lead actor did a very good job. The CGI and special effects were excellent, and the story line was overall good. But for some reason, the one thing that the movie failed to do was to get me emotionally involved. I don't know why. It could have been the format of the film which had a lot of news clip type coverage. Heck, Starship Troopers had that but it was very good in a quirky way. I'm just having a hard time putting my finger on it. I also had trouble suspending disbelief at times and thought that parts of the movie were too implausible to buy into. I know a lot of people have raved about it. This may just be a case of some people not liking vanilla ice cream. I wouldn't discourage someone from seeing it. I just think it was a bit of a letdown.

I liked many aspects of the movie..Anita Briem was very likable and I have always liked Brendan Frasier. I thought the special effects were very good, and a lot of the 3D effects were a lot of fun. More than once, I wanted to reach out in front of me and grab something coming off the screen. The bad part, was that the plot was just plain silly. It tried to stay glued together like National Treasure, which was also far fetched, but it never really quite made it. While I realize this was an action/adventure movie, some of the sequences were just too outlandish to garner any believability. The original made in the late 50's had a greater impact on me than this one did. But to balance out this critique, it was an enjoyable movie and I don't regret seeing it in 3D. I just think that with a little more effort, it could have gone from a lightweight yet entertaining movie, to a really strong blockbuster.

I'm not a big fan of remakes in general. This movie was a very stylish and seductive remake of the original. I think this is possibly, my favorite pierce brosnan movie. Rene Russo did a superb job of being strong, sexy and vulnerable at the same time. It was an interesting blend of being sort of a guy flick, but sort of a gal flick at the same time. Without giving any spoilers, I would best describe this movie as one big long seduction. Normally, a plot like that could get tedious, but this was very well done and engaging throughout. This is also not the typical type of movie that I like, but it was so well done, and intellectually stimulating, that I really enjoyed it.

This is one of those films that got hammered by the critics, and some people that have seen it just flat out didn't like it. For my wife and I, it was a very different story. We both believed Waterworld was OK to good (even though the critics lambasted it as one of the worst movies ever made) and we thought that this movie was very good! I'm just wondering if KC did something to peeve off the critics and academy because this was certainly a much better film than any of them would acknowledge. It's probably OK that critics didn't like it though because lately it seems that critics fawn and gush over ultra-liberal crap that makes me want to projectile vomit into their collective fanny packs. If a movie isn't some over the top far-left fantasy, they generally will either pan it, or blowtorch it into ashes immediately upon release as they did with this one. This movie was apolitical. While it takes place in post-apocalyptic America, it had much more to do with being a study in fundamental human nature than trying to make a statement based on current events. We thought the camera work, scenery, acting and overall production quality was very high. Some might think it was a little too over the top Kevin Costner on Kevin Costner, but I think his performance in this movie was rather sublime. It really confuses me how a relatively thoughtful and well crafted movie like this one can get instantly relegated to the trash heap, but idiotic pablum like 'My unwed teen sister is knocked up' gets 10 thumbs up.

Anyway..judge for yourself. We watched it several times over the years because it was good.

I haven't seen this for many years, but it is one of the treasured memories of my youth. I found it to be magical in the same way the the Wizard of Oz was magic. Sure, the sets etc, can't match the over CGI'd mega budget monstrosities they make today, but it was still capable of transporting me to that mysterious town and make me feel as if I was really there. Anybody that would rip apart the set for this movie should be ashamed. This was made half a century ago where raw talent and imagination were what made a movie. Not some over bloated, digitized, mind numbingly stupid movie typical of what Hollywood produces today. I challenge you to show me an actor today that could sing, dance, and act to the level Gene Kelly could. Most actors today just cuss a lot get busted for drugs. Kelly was nothing short of a timeless master of his craft.

I really didn't have any expectations one way or another about this movie. All the critics raved..the marketing machine hyped it, etc..so I really wasn't expecting much. We put it on at home and the movie captured me very early on, and didn't let me go until the very end. It was a simple movie really, one about a father's unwaivering love for his son, and absolute refusal to give up. It was also all about not blaming others for your misfortune, but doing something about it and improving your own life through your own efforts for the sake of your family and yourself. This was by far my favorite performance from Will Smith. It was a radical departure from his usual smart-alec tough guy role, and was very deep and human. Being a father of 4, and having struggled at many points in my life, I found it deeply touching and could relate to it on an extraordinary number of levels. Well done Mr. Smith. Truly a wonderful movie.

I hate doing spoilers so I'm not going to talk about the plot except to say that the principle goal of the movie is to explain why hannibal is a stark raving loony, and it does a great job of that. If you don't feel at least a twinge of compassion for him after seeing this movie, then you need to get your feelometer tweaked. Maybe get e-metered or something. I thought this was going to be a totally lame cash grab that was trying to milk the franchise to death. After watching for a while, I started to feel as if this movie stood up very well on it's own merit. My wife and I were drawn in, and really got into it without being totally grossed out unlike the other movie where he was feeding the other guy his own brains. The subject matter was very dark, but it wasn't quite as creepy as the first one with 'it puts the lotion on the skin'. I liked it. My wife liked it. Not the best movie ever made, but it greatly exceeded our expectations. It had a much different tempo than the first one, and in some ways I thought it was better in that they did a great job of re-creating the time period that this movie takes place in.

I think that the character that Daniel Day Lewis portrayed was a masterful piece of acting, and perhaps one of the best dramatic performances I have ever see on the big screen. How versatile is this guy anyway? He can play an Indian, a Brit, and an 19th century scoundrel, as well as a handicapped person. I thought the movie itself was very good from a cinematic standpoint but a little slow at times. Unlike some of the reviews, I thought Cameron Diaz did a really good job in this. I was very underwhelmed by Leo DiCaprio's performance. It came off kind of stiff and uninspired. So..to summarize, I think DDL should have gotten at least a best actor recommended for this. The movie overall was good to very good, Cameron was very good and Leo was a little flat.

I didn't have high expectations here. It was on cable, and relatively unknown. This wasn't a great movie, but it was good. I thought the character development was done well, the acting was good, and the plot was well, er, OK. I guess this was based on a short story, so it must have been troubling to develop this into a full length (almost) feature film. We used the familyometer on this one. My wife gave it a pass within 5 minutes, but my daughter and I gave it a shot. She really liked it, I liked it, and it didn't grab my wife at all. There was a very funny scene which I won't give details on which involved a scene where a Russian was commenting on all things American. He made obscure connections between several recognizable names in our culture, and really did a hack job of it, but it was one of the lighter moments. The heavier moments were dark, and sad. I would recommend seeing it. If you make it past the first 10 minutes, you will probably enjoy it as I did.

I'm not going to give away any secrets here. I'll just talk in generalities. I thought it was pretty faithful to the original movie both in plot and charm. The first 5 minutes or so, I was thinking to myself, gosh this is starting out like Ghost busters II!. Then, it started to roll and roll it did. If you are a fan of the Indiana Jones series, it was similar to the 2nd of that franchise. It's really hard for a sequel to make the same impact as the first one, and this movie fell a little short in that all of the things that were likable in the first one were present in the second, but it wasn't new anymore. Ed Harris gives his usual solid performance, and all of the principal characters of the first movie are there in the 2nd with one or two pleasant additions. I dare to hope for National Treasure 3!!. If they do it right, it will make a nice box set.

OK..I put this up there with a few other Marvel based movies that were beyond dumb but entertaining. This is sort of like daredevil which was a lame, but entertaining movie but Ghost Rider has a really cool hog. I'm not going to do any spoilers because there really isn't any major plot element to spoil. It's just your basic good vs evil, love story, action movie. I really thought that Raquel Alessi was quite fetching in this!! Might I say this again, I thought Raquel Alessi was really quite fetching in this!!. They had pretty good special effects and it was fun to watch overall, but not what I would call memorable. I don't know how much mr. Cage made from this, but if it was more than a mill or two, it was probably too much.

We went to see this last night. After all of the horrific reviews, I was expecting a real P.O.S. I was pleasantly surprised. While not to say it was an AWESOME movie or anything. It was good Sci Fi fun. I get irritated when a lot of movie buffs are looking for every film to be a Gone with the Wind or something. This was just a fun, smooth, entertaining production. I've never been a real fan of Nicole kidman, but I must say, she was quite fetching in this movie. If you are looking for the 50's version of War of the Worlds..The forbidden planet..John Carpenter's the THING...etc..it doesn't qualify. If you are looking for a fun Sci Fi Thriller to watch, it does the job.

I am a Clint fan..this was one of my favorites. Not a red carpet Oscar type flick...even better. One that is enjoyable to watch and leaves you feeling good when it is over. It's been a long time since I've seen it. I have seen it several times. The chemistry between Clint and Sondra is pretty noticeable. Living in Texas, I can say that in many ways it touches upon the nature of things here, the way friends stick together, and the overall feeling of kinship that exists between people from all walks of life. So, if you want to kick back and watch a hoot of a little movie, this is it. After watching it, you may just find out how many people you have touched in your life without realizing it.

Sorry to disagree with so many people. I really thought it was just OK. I think that they had the makings of a very funny, and witty film with some good social commentary, but denigrated the whole thing with a bunch of really sick-nasty low brow humor. It's really somewhat depressing that people think that a comedy can only be successful if it includes all sorts of deviant sexual behavior and junior high school locker room gross out stuff. The critics call all of this crap "ground breaking" and "edgy" and "pushing the envelope". I just call it a cheap substitute for intelligent humor. Can't think of another really good Joke?? Throw in some gay-anal stuff instead. Oh well. I'd give it 1 thumb up you know where.

OK..picture yourself with a battleship sized Hoover vacuum cleaner and you suck up all of the B and C actors on the planet into one cheesy movie. That would have to be SUPERVOLCANO. Perhaps if you were a vulcanologist, you would look past the horrible script and acting, and find the theoretical possibility of the event somewhat compelling, and be able to sit through it entranced with the science of it. For the rest of the human race, I can only say that it was laughably inept. I could almost see the director holding up queue cards behind the camera saying.."OK..BACK TO THE POUTY LOOK". I wont even attempt to give spoilers. There really is nothing to spoil. It's sort of Twister meets Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. SO, unless you are really fascinated with the prospect of Yosemite blowing up a wreaking havoc on the good old US of A, I'd give it a pass.

I had fairly low expectations for this movie. Russel Crowe seems to be trying hard to join the weirdo Hollywood film star clique these days. This movie was surprisingly good though. I never had the emotional attachment to it that I got with gladiator, but it was well acted. The story was a little choppy in spots, but overall it flowed good. I don't consider this a spoiler..if you are into sailing, and sailboats, this is a very interesting movie from a technical standpoint. If you've ever considered sailing off into the sunset for adventure, this movie will feed that part of your psyche. Really not a bad job at all. I might actually buy this one to get my sailing fix when I can't leave the lazy boy.