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Tompson
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Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Mr. Tarantino owes a lot to Sergio Leone
Not a secret to anyone, Inglorious Basterds sure is full of references to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The visit in the beginning, the close-ups, music + a whole host of small details show the admiration of the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone by Tarantino. All you are missing are the faces of Clint Eastwood of the 60's & Gian Maria Volonte as the ultimate bad guy.
Very nice overall, although the (English) dialogue is a bit modern for the WWII. Despite all the "homages" the movie sure is original. It requires multiple viewings but as a good movie should, it reveals new dimensions when viewed again .... and again ... and again. And yes, Christoph Waltz should get the Oscar nomination for what he delivers. Amazing!
AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
Something like this is hard to rate
Being a die-hard fan of both Alien and Predator movies, the prospect of combining both in the same movie is very alluring. While the sheer charisma of the Predator creatures (created originally by Jim and John Thompson) carries a long way, there are multiple reasons why this film does not reach the final distance. The biggest flaw in my opinion is the running time of 90 minutes. There is simply no way you can completely deliver the story successfully in that time without compromising the available potential of it.
Paul W.S. Anderson, the director, takes (voluntary or forced) disturbing shortcuts too many times. Particularly, the pacing in the sequence where the Italian archaeologist explains with his lightning speed interpretation of the ancient wall-markings the history of predator-alien-ancient civilizations on earth is just lousy. That is just one example of not-so-great pacing of the film. I liked Anderson's Resident Evil because of its straight-forward style that does not spell everything out for you -- action that trusts audience's wits at least to some extent. AVP needs to spell out everything so that nobody misses a thing. Admittedly, the Italian guy is the one explaining everything (and BTW, there are such people in real life as well), still it manages to destroy the joy of figuring things out yourself.
I have heard reports of studio pressure to modify the end product quite a lot (less visible violence & gore to get a PG-13 rating, at least). I am hoping that the real thing will be released on DVD sometime in the future as I also witnessed very good action sequences and suspense in the movie. Many reviews complain the lack of character development in AVP, but that is a minor concern in my opinion - humans play the third fiddle in this one anyway.
A low seven is the verdict. Hope to see the dir.cut some day for higher ratings.
Bad Boys II (2003)
Bad Taste, Needless Violence & Pompous Directing
Bad Boys II is waste of money in all senses of the expression. Wasting money from production point of view for something as stupid as BB II is just incredible. The movie is full of spinning camera angles in about 97,6% of the time. C'mon Mr. Bay, the effect of the circling camera works about once in a 90 min movie if well placed. It is not cool at all when used three times (in slow motion) for every 90 seconds all the way.
The dialogue -- well, what dialogue?? Does anyone use the word starting with 'mother' in every single sentence in real life? Mr. Smith and Mr.Lawrence do. The bud chemistry that sort of worked in BB I, is nowhere to be seen in this one. Moving on to the comedy side?? Well, I laughed once for 'Marsupial', enough said.
And then the violence. Do we need to see all those bodies created and handled in imaginable ways for humor's sake. I don't know may people who get amused seeing dead corpses decapitated on the freeway. Obviously, Mr.Smith and Mr.Lawrence see that as an appropriate spot for throwing a catchy one-liner as the excellent script defines. BTW, can't recognized actors use own judgment and refuse to deliver the worst stupidities. Obviously not. SPOILER AHEAD: "So, let's attack Cuba just the two of us... Wait, there are twenty volunteers coming along, thank God. Nothing can stop us now".
As I realize, BB II made well at the box office, which means that we'll see this sort of "entertainment" in the future as well. Too late to change that, but whatever you do, don't buy the DVD. Show that a consumer can have a say of things to come. Don't waste your money, please.
*** 1 out of 10 ***
The Gift (2000)
As intense as it gets
The level of acting and intensity of the key scenes are something that very rarely comes by. The supernatural aspect is brilliantly disguised by excellent performances of the cast and a well-written STORY, not a series of individual acts. The gift proves that a script for a good thriller is not built on an implausible plot twist. Before the ending, this story has totally established itself already and the 'whodunnit' is just sugar on top. Top three of the year, IMO.