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sander_linssen
Reviews
Cold Mountain (2003)
One Step from perfection...
First, the only other movies/series that show the hell and emotion of the Civil War are 'North and South' and 'Gettysburg'.
When it comes to Cold Mountain there is one huge flaw. A couple is in love. But when I look at the moments that Law and Kidman share together they miss a certain chemistry. I am not saying that they act poor. In fact they act superb!
Zellweger's role was certainly worth an Oscar. Many might think that her acting is overacted. Like she is screaming for attention like: Look at me I am acting!. Sorry but I disagree. Her role gives a lot of life to the movie.
The rest of the movie is just what I call perfect but because of that one huge flaw it feels like eternal incomplete...
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Why this movie failed...
I can start by saying I liked or didn't like this movie. Well lets keep that for the end.
There is no denying that 'Kingdom of Heaven' failed in theaters. But why did it fail? Why are so many critics negative?
Lets start with the cast. The cast is great. Even Orlando Bloom. But most people think different about his acting. Why? 1. Bloom is being overrated at everything. Some people will dislike him for that. And even start to hate him, so they want to bring him down. Even if this is his best performance till now. 2. Maybe some people are jealous at success. Or the feeling that their girlfriend thinks Orlando is the "Better man" in bed than their partner. 3. I can keep going on like this about Orlando, but I know most still dislike him. My own opinion about him in Kingdom of Heaven: Good enough to lead...
Another problem are the holes in the plot. Why are they there? Simple, this is not the movie with all scenes that were filmed. The extended KoH 4disc DVD edition will be 220 minutes long. So if you hated the gaps. Wait for this edition to come. Thats all I can say about that.
History, is the subject I love! I read about it all the time. I don't have to tell that KoH is inaccurate to history. And many people still hate history when it is altered in an easy story to understand. And still they say: How boring! All they talk about is God an Alah. Well sorry guys but our history is mainly shaped by belief and religion.
The music score, is just great! Worth an Oscar if you ask me. I think 60% likes the music and 40% dislikes hit. This also gives a point why people dislike KoH.
The effects. Also worth an Oscar. The action is great. I don't have anything to ad to this.
Well I could keep going on and waste my time to convince certain people to think different about this movie. But what is the point? After all you said it yourself already the movie sucked right? I just told you why you think it sucks.
In the end KoH contains an important lesson and comes out as an movie with a better story than Gladiator. Just wait for the 4 disc DVD edition. This one will rock you away.
War of the Worlds (2005)
Tighten it for DVD
First of all this is the best invasion flick there is...
Okay I don't want to be Mister nay say, but there is just one thing that gave me a bad feeling after seeing this movie. The acting, oh it was just fine. Tom Cruise did quite a good job, but who really impressed me was Dakota Fanning.
The special effects are great, the music score was excellent. The scenes, damn what a terrific work. Spielberg's unexpected surprise moments had certainly given their impact. Those moments made me think of surprise scenes like in Indiana Jones. So thats a good thing.
Well the content of the movie. The plot, the story, now there we have the problem. There is no real strong plot. I don't care that there isn't much explaining about the aliens. Cause which doctor would be able to do a thorough scan on them right? But the missing of a good story, like about why they invade earth is a big disappointment.
So Spielberg do me and all the other people who have mostly positive feelings about this movie, bring out a Director's Cut or Extended, Revised version of this movie on DVD. Make sure it has a strong plot.
So folks if he does this, I think we have an great movie. But until now I can only say it is the best invasion flick that needs tightening in the plot.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Did it made the promised goal?
Well in one word yes. The goal was to make a LotR game that would be true to the movies and they did a great job. The levels are well recognized from the movie architecture. Even the characters movements have been taken from the movie into the game. Butt now for some fine details.
You start the game, and well well the THX logo appears. This means you will have a nice listening pleasure waiting up ahead. And its true, the sound/music is terrific. Just think of it, you playing with you're favi character and the tension moves up with the well known music from Howard Shore. Great hah?!! :-) When it comes to the graphics I must say that except from a incident with a low frame rate on the PS2 and NGC its all well done. Even though some details are made of low quality graphics they do give a life feel to the surroundings.
Voiceacting? One word. Superb! The gameplay is nice, not excellent but its higher difficulty than "The Two Towers" game makes it more fun. Interactive elements. Such as throwing spears, pouring boiling oil over enemies give an extra feel of freedom. It will take you at least 10 hours to complete all levels for the first time. So you won't be bored soon cause.....
The cinematics give extra variety and when you finish the game you get three characters, plus extra bonuses after finishing a mission.
Has the game got flaws? Yes one big one, the camera angles are sometimes a pain in the ass. But don't let that ruin the fun cause this war has just begun!!! :-)
North and South (1985)
Glory on DVD in Europe
Even for a 17 year old student who loves history and caught glimpses of emotion and excitement in his childhood years of this series, its coming to DVD was a blessing for all time. North and South truly is a series about friendship,love,honor... you name your own list of feelings you get from watching this series. I can still remember the first time I caught a glimpse of this series on TV when I was about 8 years old. I though wow this looks exciting. To bad I never had the chance to see book one and two on TV in the Netherlands. When book three was broad-casted as a late evening series in the Netherlands in the summer of 2004 I just knew I had to see the other two series. To most people book three was a big disappointment as far as I know. Well since I have seen book one on DVD, I must say that until now it is the best of the entire 3 books. To all youngsters who just watch the fancy movies like The Patriot "Oh America for freedom" there is a more realistic view to see for them here.....
The Four Feathers (2002)
Underrated
I have seen the older versions, and to be honest they aren't better then this modern version. The two minus points this movie gets are the somewhat bad acting in some scenes. Ledger and Hudson are the reason for this. They act so weak at certain points that it made my mouth fall open. Come on... this movie is directed by the same director as Elizabeth. So that was a bit of a disappointment. A miss-cast I do not often forgive. But Bentley comes to save the day. He was very good in American Beauty and he made this movie more believable too. The story is still very good, it sticks good to the original. The action and special effects are a nice addition. Perphaps it is just because Iam 17 that I like this movie more then the older versions. But I have seen them and they aren't better. It is too bad that this movie is not well known around the world. Cause a life lesson is always good...