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Dr.Jolly
Reviews
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Good finish, should've been one movie
While I've read that Tarantino had no intentions of breaking the movie into two at the start, I'm sure he's not too upset at the reward of being #1 in the box office twice for the same film.
The ending took where Volume 1 leaves off and runs with it. This film is not as action packed. Despite my love of Tarantino's work with dialogue, there are times when the talking seems to go on too long.
Nevertheless, excellent work from Thurman and Carradine. Daryl Hannah played a role I didn't think she had in her and Madsen delivers his typical performance.
This film is for Tarantino fans only. I fear those outside our group wont get it.
Eye of the Beholder (1999)
In My Eye, A Piece Of Crap.
It seems that McGregor may have to wait forever before he hits it big. While a good actor, he fails, yet again, in getting himself into a good movie (save for Episode 1: The Phantom Menace). I love Ashley Judd and she is excellent in the role of a sexy, bitchy, suductive murderer. Sadly, the movie really doesn't follow a plot. Its confusing on why the private eye would drop his life and follow this woman (Judd is gorgeous, but not that wonderful). The mirage of the private eye's daughter is really stupid and you sense a connection between K.D.Lang and McGregor, but it is never explained. On a good note, Patrick Bergin plays a really surprising excellent performance as the blind lover of Judd. Overall, the movie was an utter disappointment. It lacked action, plot, and Judd has gotten nude in better films. I give it a 3 based on the acting.
Random Hearts (1999)
Can I Have My 2 Hours and 15 Minutes Back?
I have found the worst movie Harrison Ford has ever been in. What the hell was this movie about. Who gives a s**t about the main characters. Thomas and Ford both did a fine job acting, but I just didn't care about them. To make this neverending movie be worse was that it didn't even have a good ending. No excitement, no nudity, no real action, and originality without any point. I gave it a 2, because of the acting.
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
The teen-bopper's "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"
Renting this movie, I was expecting the typical nutcase/heart warmer and that about sums it up. Ryder has once again failed to take over the movie and keeps her name on my list of underachievers in Hollywood. Jolie takes over as psycho-Lisa and while the rest of the characters are believable, you don't really get to learn about any of them except Daisy, who is out of the joint before the halfway point. I still don't understand the relationship between Susanna(Ryder) and her parents. "Don't worry mom/dad, I'll just forget that you led me to the nuthouse and didn't even drop me off, but paid a taxi". For a self-rightous woman, Susanna gave in pretty easily into signing the papers getting her into the clinic. Overall, the movie was alright, but didn't seem to want to find an ending. Plus, the ending seems to be done quickly and actually becomes only the 2nd in what could be 3 different endings in the movie. That was cool in Waynes World, but not here. 5 out of 10.
Pump Up the Volume (1990)
The soundtrack is the only plus .
When I think of all the teen flicks during the early 90's, one that will stick in my head as an example of how this decade tried so hard to recreate the 80's teen classics, is Pump Up The Volume. This movie was a sad attempt in trying to create a teen-flick with a message and turned out to be a really bad mix of Good Morning Vietnam, Lean On Me, and MacGiver all roled into one. Slater shows little of the acting potential that he supposedly has and you quickly find why Samantha Mathis joined Mary Stuart Masterson and Molly Ringwold in that "where did they go? list". Considering that I'm an actual disc jockey, I can say that most of what you've seen in this movie, while remotely possible, isn't in reality. Plus, I'm having a real tough time believing in the school getting away with what it has been doing. Please, allow Slater to leave this movie as a forgotten step in his superstar-in-the-making process that seems to never end. The upside to the movie is the soundtrack that has the universally heard Concrete Blonde song, which never appears in the movie, sadly. This flick barely got a 3 out of a 10.
Go (1999)
A "Pulp Fiction" with teen idols. Who would have thunk it?
Go is the type of movie that is interesting the first time you see it, but lacks any substance to make it really stand out. It's a neatly done copy of the Pulp Fiction cut-up of the story, but lacks the acting and script writing that made Pulp Fiction incredible. Still, the list of teen-idol actors/actresses do a surprisingly good job and giving the viewer a fun and humorous jaunt into the dark and cynical world that the Baby Boom's generation belives it's children actually live in. While most of the stories are far-fetched and have a lot realistic flaws, you're able to ignore them with the negative, yet stylish humor that keeps you interested in what will happen next. Basically, I think this movie has a chance to become a cult-classic (in vein with the Breakfast Club), where the movie will continue to be an example of a good teen flick, but the actors/actresses in it will be forgotten. This is still the best teen flick I've seen since Clueless. I give it a 7 out of 10.
Patch Adams (1998)
Fun movie, but lacks any of Williams' destinct capabilities.
Patch Adams is a decent movie with a the type of fun(but factual)acting that bio-picks are, when done by Robin Williams. The only problem with this one, is that for anyone who has seen Dead Poets Society or Good Morning Vietnam, knows that Williams is much more capable than this. To me,it seemed like the director held Williams at bay or Williams didn't try so hard, because their was none of the destinct wackiness that drives people to watch Williams. I also have a lot of doubts on the facts displayed in the movie. Due to the fact that I had never heard of Dr. Hunter before viewing this movie, it seems doubtful that his medical practice is as incredible as the movie would like you to think. It also doen't do a very good job at showcasing both sides of the argument (which is a key to the success of a bio-pick). The movie is enjoyable to watch, but I've seen Williams do way better. I gave it a 6 out of 10.
Angus (1995)
A predictable, yet somewhat interesting dork vs popular movie.
There is nothing really special about this movie that would make it stand out from the hundreds of movies that deal with a fat kid in high school. All the predictable and unrealistic stuff happens (smart,stays mentally stable, and the hot girl ends up liking him). What kept me in the movie was the genius decision of having George C. Scott in this movie. His protrayal of the grandfather was the kind of typical Scott display that gave the movie it's best scenes. As soon as he leaves the movie, the fate of this flick being in the forgotten category arrives. It's also kind of funny to see VanDerBeek in an "evil" role before he goes into teenage soap opera stardom. I gave it a 4 out of 10.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
One of the all-time greatest comedies.
Blazing Saddles is Mel Brooks' masterpiece and is arguably the greatest comedy ever (in terms of script writting) The casting is incredible. Cleavon Little plays the awesome "black sherrif), Gene Wilder is always good, and the inclusions of Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Slim Pickens, and Alex Karras is a thing of genius. This is an almost non-stop riot of dark humor and messing with all that sucks about westerns. It's almost impossible to forget some of the scenes in this movie (there are at least 3-5 scenes that are classic from this flick). The only thing that keeps this movie from being my favorite comedy is the fact that a lot of the jokes start to get overplayed and the ending isn't done to it's fullest potential (both of which are normal Brooks' faults. In a fantastic collection of Brooks-made comedies, this is by far his best. I gave it an 8 out of 10.
Bottle Rocket (1996)
A different kind of feel-good movie.
This was the most original feel-good movie that I've seen in quite some time. Bottle Rocket is a nice flick for anyone who is a big fan of good dialogue and satire. When watching this movie, I got the feeling that I was watching some sort of improvisation exercise at a drama class. While Luke Wilson gives a decent performance in the lead role, it's Owen Wilson who I was highly impressed with. His role as Dignun was a character who seemed to be missing some bricks in the building, but had an interesting form of intelligence that became appealing. While the movie is really enjoyable for a while, the satire starts to become too much. It's hard to not keep from having a strong desire to ask yourself why you're watching this movie. Like in most feel-good movies, it's hard to keep rooting for a character who continuously has bad luck. James Caan is an excellent addition to this movie and gives it a badly needed jump start 2/3 the way through, but by that time, you pretty much don't care about the movie anymore. I gave it a 6 out of 10.
The General's Daughter (1999)
John Travolta heads a good movie that brings the most questions towards the military since Full Metal Jacket.
John Travolta leads an all-star cast in a movie that truly goes at the heart of one of Hollywood's most popular arguments (Does national defense come before someone's rights). I have never read the book, but I'm sure it is better than the movie. Regardless, Travolta is excellent as the military detective who is assigned to find out who murdered and possibly raped the general's daughter. The plot is built very well at the beginning and you actually get a sense of who the victim was before she is killed, which is something that is usually ignored. Madeline Stowe plays the rape specialist who chooses to help Travolta in the case. The movie does an interesting thing with Stowe's character, by surprising you a third into the movie by revealing that she is already connected to Travolta. Cromwell and Woods do an excellent job with their military parts and soon the mystery begins to build. Movies have become to predictable as of late, but this was an exception. I was completely thrown off and the ending is not exactly what you would suspect.
The movie does have a few disappointments. Stowe is a proven actress in the past, but she shows none of the unique talent that she possessed in past movies like 12 Monkeys. Timothy Hutton continues to amaze me by how he only does well in unpopular films, because once again, with a big time movie, Hutton fails to make any impact. Overall, the plot is good and mystery lovers should like it. Travolta continues a streak of good roles that just seem to never end. Overall, I gave it a 7 out of 10.
Armageddon (1998)
A pretty good movie, until they take off into space.
You've got a disaster movie about an asteroid coming straight to Earth and a possibility of killing all human kind. Than you put Bruce Willis in the starring role and cast a wide collection of colorful supporting characters. With all this, it would be impossible to make a boring movie. In fact, this was beginning to be the best disaster movie since the Poseidan Adventure, but then they took off into space and this movie went all to hell. Bruce Willis basically plays himself as the best oil driller on Earth and is called up to destroy the asteroid heading to the Earth. Of course, Willis needs his crew to get the job done. Ben Affleck is a good young actor, but he needs to choose better roles, because all he does in this movie is place himself as a teen idol stud and not a promising actor. I think Liv Tyler is highly overrated not only in looks, but also abilities. Consider that Tyler was out-acted by Alicia Silverstone in the Aerosmith videos, that is very sad.Thankfully, led by Will Patton and Steve Buscemi, the rest of the crew is wonderful and sets this movie off with a bang during an excellent first half of the movie, showing them training and pulling off non-stop comedy and intelligent dialogue. But like I said before, than they had to take off. As soon as you see space in this film, it takes a huge nose dive. At this point, Billy Bob Thornton gains a big chunk of control in this movie and that isn't good. Thornton did a great job in Sling Blade, but since that he has virtually done a terrible job in anything since and this is no exception. The whole space mission is hobbled through the fact that too much happens with questionable possibilities. Buscemi goes AWOL, but somehow becomes a hero. Than you have to see Willis meet his fatal ending. It really sucks to see Willis die in anything. Plus, was it just me who notices that there space outfits change colors all the time while they're up in space? I don't know what they were thinking when they did the last hour or so of this film, but it seems like there were two directors and screen writers on this film. This movie is headed into history as being a great disaster film and turns into just a fun movie to watch for a while. Bruckheimer has yet to find anything as good as Top Gun still. I give this movie a 6 out of 10.
12 Angry Men (1997)
One of the best cable-made movies I've ever seen.
I have to admit that I've never seen the original 1957 movie and so I don't know how this remake compares to it, but I'm sure it did it proud. 12 Angry Men is a movie that is completely built off the acting of it's characters, because there is no action, no graphics, just dialogue and plot. 12 jurors have to decide on the outcome of the trial of a young boy who is accused of stabbing his own father. 11 of the jurors are convinced that he is guilty, while 1 of the jurors (Jack Lemmon) isn't sure that he is guilty and refuses to vote guilty because of his uncertainty. Basically, this is a story that screams out for the need of justice in U.S., the way it was meant to be. Coming after the O.J. Trial, this is a great example of what's wrong with the justice system today. Jack Lemmon is the liberalistic juror who takes a stand against the other 11 jurists and tries to make them realize that they can't be certain that the boy is guilty. While there are 12 jurors, basically the story revolves around 3 men and there completely different viewpoints. Lemmon's main opponent is George C. Scott who is a flaming conservative from the 19th Century. Scott is always great as the convincing, "down to Earth" type who believes in quick and ground breaking actions. Due to experiences with his own lost son, he feels it to be his duty to make sure this kid pays. The 3rd view in this film is portrayed by Mykelti Williamson as the "Black Panther-type" African-American who still is convinced that the "White Man" is out to destroy his race. Williamson deserved an Academy nomination as "Bubba" in Forest Gump and continues to be the most underrated black actor in Hollywood. Williamson does an excellent job with his loud and radical violent views and not only scares the other jurors, but shocks the viewer too. Not to take anything away from the other jurors. The casting for this movie is great and includes many familiar actors like Tony Danza, Edward James Olmos, Courtney B. Vance, and Hume Cronyn along others. A great plot, a great cast, and a great flow of debating issues makes this a damn good movie for those who love intellectual thrillers. Due to it being a remake, I can't give it anything for originality and intellectual thrillers aren't exactly eye-openers or nonstop excitement, so I gave the movie an 8 ot of 10.
Jack Frost (1997)
A Killer Snowman!!! What an awesome and funny idea.
Before I comment about this movie, you should realize that when I saw this movie, I expected the typical crap, horror, B-movie and just wanted to have fun. Jack Frost is one that not only delivers but is actually one of the best that I've seen in a long time. Scott McDonald is great as Jack Frost, in fact I think he has a future in being psychopaths in big time movies if ever given the chance. McDonald is a serial killer who becomes a snowman through some stupid accidental mix of ridiculous elements. As soon as that snowman starts moving around and killing people, though, you will find it hard not to laugh. The lines that are said are completely retarded but really funny. The fact that the rest of the cast completely over-acts just adds to stupidity of the film, but it's stupidity is it's genius. The scene where the snowman is with the teenage girl is truly classic in B-movie, horror film fashion. I truly hope there is a sequel and I'll be right there to watch it on whatever cable channel does it. Of course it's only fun to watch the first few times and it's not exactly a good work of motion picture technology, but I just like to see snowmen kill people. I gave it a 7 out of 10, this is a great movie for dates and couples in the late hours.
Outbreak (1995)
The book (The Hot Zone) was way better.
Outbreak is a movie that bases itself lightly on The Hot Zone, which was a best seller about the outbreak of the Abolla Virus in the Southeastern area of the U.S. The Strength of the movie lies in the intellectual conflicts between Dustin Hoffman and Donald Sutherland. Hoffman is an excellent actor and pulls off a great job as a military doctor/scientist/colonel who tries to cure the infected residents of a small western town. Sutherland surprises me with his best role in years as the Colonel in charge with containing the disease in the town and keep it from spreading. Of course, the military have investments in this disease that help the nation's defense, so Sutherland has other plans for the town than Hoffman. Due to the realistic probability of this problem, the ideas and opinions of both Hoffman and Sutherland bring about a great debate and good dialogue scenes. Sadly, that is about all this film is worth. The story is quite predictable and throws no surprises. The script writer did a poor job of including the supporting characters, which in this case was even worse because they wasted the abilities of Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. I like Cuba Gooding Jr., but he still continues to play the same Cardinals receiver from Jerry Maguire every chance he gets. I've always thought that Rene Russo got roles because of her looks and this movie only keeps me in that belief, as she continues to be an average actress who does nothing but disrupt the character who she is romantically tied to. If you're with company and like to debate for fun, this could be a nice movie to watch with friends at home, but basically this film never reaches its full potential. I give it a 6 out of 10.
Speed (1994)
A perfect example on how special effects have become more important than plot.
When I first saw Speed in the theaters, I thought it was average at best. Then I saw it about every other day on cable and I've found that this it is even worse than I originally thought. The only good thing to come out of this movie is that it put Keanu Reeves on a top list of Hollywood actors and enabled him to do great movies like Devil's Advocate and The Matrix. This movie is totally based on the materialistic wants of today's young audience and completely ignored realistic plots or even a plot at all along with down-playing the abilities of Jeff Daniels and Dennis Hopper. I did a report in school on the 51 things in Speed that couldn't possibly happen in real life and in fact, the whole plot by Hopper is impossible at the beginning. When Reeves receives that phone call, he could've easily phoned the bus services in L.A. and had them call the victimized bus before it reached 50 miles an hour. Even without all that, the fact that Reeves made halfway across L.A. in 10 or so minutes is bulls**t, just ask anyone who lives there. Reeves does ok, but shows nothing of what he's capable with in the future, which makes it even more surprising when he does those future movies. This movie is what made Sandra Bullock and why I don't know. She's not gorgeous and she has little acting ability. Any cute girl with a little wit could've played the part. Dennis Hopper has the best role in the movie and does as good as he can with the lousy script he has. Hopper remains one of the least used talents in Hollywood. Why is Jeff Daniels in this movie? Daniels was in this movie for no reason accept to get his name in there. What a sad waste of talent. None of the bus passengers show anything accept average abilities and when the bitchy lady dies halfway through, I feel bad because I'm happy about it. This movie has a few neat scenes and is ok to sit through the first time. Hopper and Reeves are enough to watch for a while, anyway. I give this movie a 3 out of 10. It is probably the most overrated movie in the 1990's.
The Matrix (1999)
The most action packed SciFi film since Terminator 2.
If you asked me what my opinion of Keanu Reeves was five years ago, I would've told you that he sucks. Now, thanks to the Devil's Advocate and now The Matrix, I think he's one of the most exciting actors in Hollywood. The Matrix is an incredible movie that will please all science fiction fans along with action movie addicts. The best part of all is the fact that it also happens to be a great story that never drags and keeps you saying, DAMN!!! Reeves does an excellent job as a computer hacker who finds out that he is the "chosen one" to free all human kind. Laurence Fishburn delivers as his mentor and whoever made those sunglasses for him to wear, deserves an oscar nomination in costume design. Hugo Weaving is also a big part of this movie's success, playing a brilliant Agent Smith and is the coolest looking federal agent that I've seen in a long time. The action is non-stop and the martial arts escapades are brilliantly done. The story reminded me of the scare in the Terminator. In fact, that may be the only flaw in the movie is that the script seems to be a slight rip-off of the Terminator series and Dark City, both of which were better movies. Still, I very much recommend this movie, because it is the best movie that I have seen in 1999. I give it a 9 out of 10.
Dark City (1998)
Possibly the best science fiction movie since Terminator 2.
This movie is truly incredible. Alex Proyas had already gained much appraisal for The Crow, a movie that I didn't like, so I doubted all the hype for this one when it came out (boy was I surprised). This was right up with Saving Private Ryan last year as the best movie in 1998. In fact, this movie was so good that it spawned off two 1999 summer movies that were also loosely based off of multiple universes (The Matrix and The Thirteenth Floor). If you aren't a typical fan of science fiction, this movie may need to be watched more than once to get the full affect (like in 12 Monkeys). Rufus Sewell does an excellent job as the lead role, but in most cases, anybody probably could have played the role. Kiefer Sutherland is always excellent and shows no difference with his role as the mad-doctor type. Jennifer Connelly is barely noticed and is merely an attractive woman playing a transparent role. William Hurt remains the most boring actor in Hollywood, but doesn't have enough lines to bring the movie down. The real point is that it would be truly impossible to knock this movie down. The graphics are incredible and are balanced with the best background construction since Dick Tracy. The darkness is constant but brings the dark beauty that is so cool in this movie. While the story is great and is very unique, it may be very hard for many to truly understand the movie at a first setting. This may explain why many viewers complained of boredom in the theater. Dark City was just truly awesome and should be viewed by any science fiction buff or movie watcher. This movie has a chance to be a rental classic. I gave it a perfect 10 out of 10.
Save Me (1994)
Unless you have a strong desire to see Lysette Anthony nude, rent something else.
I saw this movie on a movie channel not too long ago in the middle of the night. It's a B movie with a different twist. Lysette Anthony plays a beautiful woman who suffers from multiple personality disorders. Her problem isn't to hard for her to handle, until her normal self pursues Harry Hamlin. As she dates Hamlin, her evil identity appears randomly and constantly seduces Hamlin. In case you're wondering where you've seen the lovely British actress, Anthony has been the evil blond in Look Who's Talking Now, and had supporting roles in Dr.Jekyl and Ms. Hyde, along with Dracula (Dead And Loving It). Hamlin and Ironside (who plays Anthony's shrink) are from L.A. Law fame. The movie has a good story to go with, but begins to stray away from the plot and dive more into the sex. Before you know it, Hamlin and Anthony are having sex every five minutes, and soon, the movie becomes another Cinemax romp fest. Being male, I did enjoy seeing the naked Anthony a few times, but visual stimulus can only last so long. Hamlin and Ironside are TV actors, which means they are stuck in character roles (in this case as lawyers which is even worse). Overall, if you flip over to the channel playing this one and catch Anthony nude, you're lucky, because it's the only reason to watch this one. I give it a 3 out of 10.
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
The most dangerous and cunning comedy that I've seen in years.
After you see this movie, I guarantee that you will leave the theater, speechless, for a while. South Park delivers a comedy that holds no limits and explodes in a violent assault on every race, creed, group, sex, or affiliation and doesn't give in, ever. If you are somebody who is easily hurt when hearing constant bashing of minorities and foreigners or if you are offended by the use of foul language, don't see this movie. For the rest of the public though, this is the best comedy that I've seen in a long time. Like any other South Park episode, the movie has an elaborate story that is completely bizarre and impossible, but believable enough to enjoy. Unlike the television show though, this movie holds no limits on cussing and cleanliness, along with the fact that it is a musical. Unless you are a very uptight individual, the movie will make you laugh until your ribs hurt and then you will laugh some more. I've always felt that I knew dirty comedy, but there were sexual bashes in this movie that I didn't even understand. This is truly an excellent work of comedy in its darkest form. The fact that Trey Parker and Matt Stone used this movie as a way to get back at the stupid MPAA is even better. Well I congratulate Parker and Stone, because this movie was incredible and made me a much bigger fan of the series. Better than Austin Powers and Big Daddy, if you're a fan of cutting-edge comedy, South Park is your summer ticket. I give it a 9 out of 10.
Big Daddy (1999)
After a disappointing Waterboy, Sandler brings himself back up to par.
It seemed to me that Sandler may have lost his touch. After Happy Gilmore, Sandler's movies started to go down hill. The Wedding Singer was a very good movie, but had little of the constant fratboy humor that Sandler is so good at. The Waterboy was awful and continued his fall from comedy prominence. Big Daddy is Sandler's funniest movie since Happy Gilmore and has proved that Sandler has not given up on the idea of making a good plot along with complete silliness. Sandler does a fine job in the movie and continues giving the audience all it can handle in laughter, but he still continues to do nothing but play himself. Joey Lauren Adams comes to the wide screen audience as a much more mature woman than her past roles in Chasing Amy and Biodome, but she is given little chance to shine and her part could have been played by anybody. As always, the guest appearances are great. John Stewart does a pleasant job, considering he must play a serious role. Rob Schneider shines as the delivery guy and basically does the best acting in the entire movie. If you were like me and spent much of the movie trying to figure out where you saw the "Hooters" girl from in your past, her name is Leslie Mann and she played Matthew Broderick's love interest in the Cable Guy. Overall, if you're a Sandler fan and have enjoyed his past work, this will please you. The story is well given and the movie keeps on a good pace. Like any other Sandler movie, the occasional "What the hell...." and strange ending are all there and you will be constantly laughing. Sadly though, Sandler has still been unable to catch the frat boy magic of Happy Gilmore or Billy Madison. I give it a 6 out of 10.
Wild Wild West (1999)
A fun film that doesn't use its full acting potential. I give it a 6.
The movie contains too much acting talent to be a flop. Will Smith does a fine job portraying Jim West and you hardly realize that he is an African-American playing a Caucasian role. While Smith is always fun to watch, he is still hard to believe as an action hero and his jokes are rarely anything more than cute. Kevin Kline is a truly gifted actor who is too good to play second fiddle to Smith and expresses this every time they are together. Kenneth Branagh plays a good villain, but his jokes are also very lame. Any attractive female could play Salma Hayek's role and she doesn't stand a chance at being noticed in this film. The Story is fun and believable, except for Smith's intrusion into Branagh's hideout as an African belly dancer. The real strength of the movie lies with the cool contraptions and gadgets that appear everywhere. The supporting characters are also very cool (General Bloodbath McGrath and Pres. Ulysses S. Grant) are very well played. Overall, it wasn't a disapointment, but not much better than Independence Day or Men In Black (Smith's other summer blockbusters). Sadly, if you don't see it in the theater, you'll hurt yourself, because this movie will die off on the boob tube's lack of expressing full technological graphics.