My site is just getting started, and I plan to improve it a whole lot....but right now I am only going to have a few reviews...
The Fly -8- I waited way to long to buy this movie! I picked it up at Wal-Mart on an impulse and strangely I was not upset with my purchase. Although I knew the plot (thanks to The Simpsons) I still thoroughly enjoyed this flick. It has Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) as the main character "Brundle" and co-stars Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise) . It is probably considered a science fiction film, although it does have some pretty gross scenes in it...such as the dissolving of limbs. It also has some very funny parts. Jeff Goldblum is excellent and absolutely hilarious, but in a subtle way. I think this is now my favorite horror-like film. Some pretty cool effects, fantastic idea. Haven't seen the original though:(
Minority Report -6- I watched this movie with a group of people, so I couldn't really pay a lot of attention to it. It stars Tom Cruise and is directed by Spielberg. Although it wasn't the best movie I still thought this movie was somewhat interesting, the idea of solving crimes before they happened was captivating. Some bits of the movie were far-fetched, even for 2050 or whatever year it takes place in. The pre-cogs were a bit confusing as to their origin and such. The movie was rather long as well, but i've seen worse.
Aliens -7- Directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver. Excellent sequel to Alien with much better effects, action, suspence etc. It does have some repeats from the original film, but that is unavoidable. There are also many new elements such as the queen alien-thing and such. I have only seen the special edition which has 17 extra minutes of footage, bringing the film to a total of 2 hours 34 minutes. Quite long for a horror film, but it manages to hold the viewers attention well for that entire length....unlike many movies. The film is very intense compared to the first film, and very well directed by James Cameron. The best installment of the Alien series.
The Deer Hunter -6- This is a 1978 film by Michael Cimino starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Maryl Streep, and some other guys. For some reason everyone loves this film. It stole 5 oscars and got many nominations. I dont understand why. The first hour is probably about the most boring part of a movie I have ever seen. You see the characters in their hometown, working, then partying. Through this the viewer is supposed to learn about the characters and care for them...it does neither. The only good parts of the film are the war scenes, and especially the russian roulette scenes. They are very intense. The film is supposed to be an "in -depth examination" of the affects of the Vietnam War, and it might be, if it was explained or shown what was going on. It makes little sense, but people love latching onto crappy films and giving them a "deeper" meaning. The only good thing this movie did was increase Christopher Walken's popularity, allowing him the opportunity to be in quality films such as The Dead Zone, Batman Returns, Pulp Fiction, etc.
The Puppet Masters -4- This is the 1994 movie version of a classic sci-fi novel by Robert A. Heinlein starring Donald Sutherland (Space Cowboys). Basically it sucks. Although it is full of action and their is always something going on, it lacks explanation. The viewer has a hard time understanding why things are going on. These strange aliens start attaching themselves to peoples backs and taking total control of them, but the movie never explains why. My other major qualm is that when aliens start taking over people nobody seems suprised at all. They act as though it is an everyday occurance. I know when an alien spaceship landed in my back yard, and a strange stingray-shaped alien shot forth its tenticle at me I was completely and utterly dumbfounded. I was expecting more from this movie.
Riding The Bullet -7- This is a 2004 movie adaptation of Stephen King's short story Riding the Bullet. The movie stars Jonathan Jackson and David Arquette and focuses on a young mans trip from college to see his mother who just had a stroke. It has some pretty creepy parts, but it isn't very scary. The movie is relatively good throughout, but the ending is definately the best part. The purpose (which is accomplished well) is to make the viewer appreciate life. Very interesting and somewhat original story. Everyone rides the bullet.
Eagles Farewell 1 Tour (Live from Melbourne) -9- I realize this isn't a movie as such, but I felt that I should review it anyway. If you have seen Hell Freezes Over and didn't think it was that great (as I did) perhaps you will enjoy this concert. I thought it was great. They played the majority of their Eagles hits, plus songs from the members solo careers. The video and sound quality is great. You can tell they have spent much time preparing for this concert, it is well done. If you are a dedicated Eagles fan or just a moderate one like me, you should definately buy this or rent it. They have aged pretty well and their music is still great today. Song listing includes: (Disc One) The Long Run, New Kid in Town, Wasted Time, Wasted Time (reprise), Peaceful Easy Feeling, I Can't Tell You Why, One of These Nights, One Day at A Time, Lyin' Eyes, The Boys of Summer, In the City, Already Gone, Silent Spring(intro), Tequila Sunrise, Love Will Keep us Alive, No More Cloudy Days, Hole in the World, Take it to the Limit, You Belong to the City, Walk Away, Sunset Grill (Disc Two) Life's Been Good, Dirty Laundry, Funk #49, Heartache Tonight, Life in the Fast Lane, Hotel California, Rocky Mountain Way, All She Wants to do is Dance, Take it Easy, Desperado and some interviews. 2005
Needful Things -6- My opinion of this movie was probably scewed by the fact that I read the book right before watching the movie. The book is so intricate and detailed that the movie seems almost a joke. There are slews of things left out from the movie. But I must review it as a movie...so...I thought it was alright. I thought that once all hell breaks loose, the chaos is shown very well. Max Von Sydow (Minority Report) seemed a good pick for Leland Gaunt, as he is somewhat creepy, and acts even creepier. If I had not read tho book I feel like I would have been confused at which characters were which. It is alright, but could have been much better. 1993
Ace Ventura When Nature Calls -5- Although the back cover of this 1997 film states that this is "Jim Carey's best yet" I tend to disagree with this statement. Personally I thought that Dumb and Dumber was 10 times better than this film. This film has some funny parts, but I expected more. Most of the movie was Jim Carey just acting over-the-top. Some parts were stupid enough that they were funny (like the monster truck at the end and some other things), but a lot of the humor I didn't really think was funny; just retarded. I also did not think the story was that great; at least compared to other funny movies. Watch Dumb and Dumber instead.
Highlander -6- This film stars Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, directed by Russell Mulcahy and is supposed to be some great modern classic. Although it is not too bad, and in fact has some interesting parts, what it lacks is reason. I did not understand what exactly the purpose of this game is they are killing each other for. My only complaint with this movie is its lack of explanation. If it weren't for that this movie would have been really awesome. I like Nash's flashbacks to his yonger days (when he was maybe 30 instead of 500 years old), they make the story much better. 1986. Spawned three sequals, they probably don't make any sense either.
The Creature From The Black Lagoon -6- This movie is alright. It is a classic 1954 film which changed the genre forever. The idea for the movie is pretty good, and the creature's link with evolution is cool. It does have some problems though. Mainly it is just really sillly at some points, like whenever the moster attacks someone it just looks funny. The music is way over the top whenever the viewer sees the monste, and for some reason the woman is always the one who spots it; then she screams. Overall, it wasn't too bad though.
Dirty Harry -7- 1971 Clint Eastwood film about a San Francisco cop who has to deal with a crazy murderer. The "Scorpio" has killed several people and will kill more unless the city pays him money. Has some pretty good action sequences. I felt that the movie was boring at a few places but not too many. My favorite part was when a bank robbery is going on and Eastwood saves the day. He shoots several bank robbers all while chewing his food. I thought it was pretty funny. The most memorable thing from this movie is the quote "Ah Ah, I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?". Pretty cool.
Poltergeist II -5- 1986 sequel to (you guessed it) Poltergeist. The film does have a few cool scenes like the tequila worm that takes over the father's body. The evil preacher guy is very creepy (which is the point). Nothing else was very good. Somehow the spirits followed the family from their old house to their grama's house. There is a strange indian guy who tries to ward away the spirits. It doesn't make a lot of sense. The short spirit woman returns. It was mildly entertaining, sometimes boring though. Falls far short of the first film.
Willard -6- This is a 2003 remake of a film from the early 70's. It is probably one of the strangest films i have ever seen. The main character bonds with rats, and is able to control them. It is very weird but it is also rather interesting. I believe the main character (played by Crispin Glover) was great for the role. He is able to capture the mood of the movie pretty well. Although it is a horror film it isn't too gory like most modern horror films. (It isn't very scary anyways).
Creepshow II -5- Unlike the first film directed by George A. Romero, this one was directed by MIchael Gornick: perhaps influencing the quality of it. This movie consists of three short film segments; Ol' Chief WoodenHead, The Raft, and The Hitchhiker. This film sucked compared to the first one: the stories weren't as interesting, funny or as well transposed to film. I only recall reading one of the stories that being The Raft which is in Stephen King's Skeleton Crew. It was a pretty good story, but the adaptation in this movie was somewhat silly. The other two stories were alright, I guess. The best of segement was probably The Raft only because the story it came from was so good. Just watch the first one.
Nightbreed -5- This 1990 film was based on the Clive Barker story Cabal in the book Cabal. I was not very impressed by it, expecially after reading the story. Many of the monsters were pretty cool and the Buttonface mask in the movie was exactly as I imagined it would be. I thought the Babette creature was an excellent representation as well. I thought the ending, though somewhat different from the book, was pretty interesting. Alright. Interesting that the somewhat famous horrorish director David Cronenberg played Decker in the film.
Dracula 2000 -7- Another Dracula film. Although the film is called "Wes Craven Presents"..., Wes Craven was only the exectutive Producer. The film was directed by Patrick Lussier. Although the movie was not quite as good as Bram Stoker's Dracula (which is probably the best vampire movie ever), it is still really cool. It has several changes from the classic Dracula story, but they are for the better. Van Helsing has been keeping Dracula's body and injecting himself with Dracula's blood in order to prolong his life. Van Helsing is searching for a way to kill Dracula through all these years. It turns out that Van Helsing's daughter has been infected with Dracula's blood from birth, and for some reason Dracula has to be with her. The best part of the film is towards the end, when you find out who Dracula used to be in his previous life. I was suprised yet amazed at how cool of a connection it was. All the Dracula myths such as the silver and the cross stuff made sense. Great film.
Desperation - 6 - This is a 2006 made for tv movie based on the King novel. It seemed a bit dull an uninteresting compared to the book, and the story seems like a hard one to transfer to film. Still, I thought they did as good of a job as can be expected. The acting seemed to be pretty good. I really liked Steven Weber and Anabeth Gish's performances. Not as bad as Cujo, not as good as Pet Sematary.
Band of Brothers -9- This is an awesome 2001, 10-part mini-series based on the 506th airborne division's E company during World War Two. It is based on a famous Stephen Ambrose novel. This is definately one of the best, most stunning, moving and disturbing shows ever. The acting is fantastic by all. It was really interesting and greatly increased my understanding and appreciation of World War Two. It seems to be really realistic as well. Some scenes are extremely disturbing and others are very sad. An excellent mini series. Catch it.
Little Shop of Horrors - 7 - This is the 1986 musical/comedy/sci-fi classic. Although I am generally not a fan of musicals I thought this one was alright, simply because it was meant to be funny. I really liked Steve Martin's dentist character since it was hilarious, and the singing plant. So are the actors actually singing this or are they singing to other peoples singing? If they are singing then it's really funny that Rick Moranis sings. Anyways this is probably my favorite musical except for perhaps the Sound of Music.
The Rookie (1990) - 7 - This was a pretty cool film starring Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen as policemen trying to bring down shop-shop opperations. It was a very entertaining film with lots of action and gun fights (of course). I felt that the combination of Eastwood and Sheen was not only interesting, but it worked well. Sheen is a rookie cop who gets paired with Eastwood after his partner gets killed. I liked watching Sheen kick some ass. Directed by Eastwood.
City Heat - 5 - This was an alright film starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. Eastwood plays a police lieutenant and Reynolds plays a somewhat silly detective. This movie takes place in Kansas City in 1933 where a mob war is taking place. Nothing special.
The Enforcer - 7 - This is the third Dirty Harry film where Clint Eastwood's character uses some unusual methods to stop a hostage standoff and gets sent back to the personel department. After terrorists rob a warehouse full of weapons and kill several officer, Harry gets his job back except with a new partner. This time a woman. This film was not quite as funny as the first one, but in turn it is also not as boring. It was still a good film in my opinion.
Sudden Impact - 5 - This is the fourth Dirty Harry film. I found it kinda dull. The storyline was interesting enough, but I just enjoyed the other films more. I found the ending someone out of character for Harry. Mediocre.
Solaris - 6 - Stars George Clooney. He loses his wife after a bitter fight. He is later required to investigate some strage happenings about a spaceship. What he discovers is pretty much the only interesting thing in the movie. It seems to be very original. The rest of the movie is just kinda boring, and the viewer never fully understands what is really going on.
Predator - 7 - Lots of asskicking by Schwarzenegger. The CIA hires him and his crew to investigate some strange happenings somewhere in Central America. At first it seems like some millitants went wild, but actually there is an ancient and unseen enemy hunting these men.
Alien Vs. Predator - 7 - 2004 sequel to the above movie. Pretty good action and such. The best part is that you learn about the history of the aliens and predators with relation to ancient societies on earth. I found that part very interesting. Fun.
The Brood - 6 - Mediocre 1979 film by David Cronenburg. I was honestly expecting more after watching The Fly. It did have some interesting concepts such as Psychoplasmics. The idea is that mental problems can be solved by giving them a physical output. It is kinda cheesy but it does have some fun parts. It also has several disturbing and graphic scenes ...if you're into that sort of thing. Watch The Fly or the Dead Zone instead.
Sphere - 7 - Movie version of the Michael Crichton novel. It was very straight to the point; no filler. I felt as though it should have a litle more description of what was going on. At some places I felt a bit lost. Overall the acting seemed to be realistic and I love the story.
Natural Born Killers - 7 - 1994 directed by Oliver Stone. It stars Woody Harrelson. A very strange film about a couple who goes on a murderous rampage a la Bonnie and Clyde. Very violent and graphic. It is a very surreal film. It feels as though it was not only written by Tarantino but directed as well. I felt as though it dragged on a bit too long but overall a good film.