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Amanda-45
Reviews
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
Just... Yeah.
Listen folks, this is a bad movie. I'm talking BAD. B-A-D. However, I do agree with whomever posted the fact that seeing this movie makes you appreciate how good The Exorcist truly was. What it also does, unfortunately, is make you realize that the people of today have stopped making films. They just make movies now.
It's painfully difficult to review this flick without drawing comparisons to The Exorcist, you know, being that it's a prequel and all and wouldn't have a foot to stand on had the other film never been made, but I'll try. If The Exorcist had never been made, this would still be a bad movie. It clearly wants to evoke a number of emotions in its audience yet manages to fail at every turn. The gruesome incidences throughout would be a hundred times more horrifying if we actually cared about any of the characters, but we don't, because the filmmakers chose to make this an action movie with an exorcism at the end as opposed to a character revealing, thought-provoking film. Father Merrin is played as an action hero. His backstory is revealed in a mess of cheap flashbacks that are excruciating to watch because they consistently conclude with cliffhangers that are MEANT to make you want to know more, but instead just offend you at the blatant storytelling of it all. In fact, almost every scene ends with a cliffhanger. And almost every scene contains some dramatic shot of a flame or a puff of smoke that is really only there to create ambience but doesn't because it's so flipping obvious what they were trying to do. Let me put it this way: In one scene, the young priest leaves the room, closes the door, and in the mirror we see the cross on the wall has flipped over. Then the camera zooms in on the inverted cross, just in case we missed it. A film that could stand on its own two feet would not have needed to zoom in on that cross. It would have trusted those in the audience to see it and process the information. The Beginning is all about manipulating the people in the theater. It pretends to be deep and intellectual but is actually just a big mess. If a movie wants to be nothing but popcorn entertainment and fluffy, that's fine by me. It's when the movie uses every popcorn entertainment cliche and expects to be something else that offends me.
To the filmmakers: ...No, try again.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Still Stunned
When the ending credits for AI started rolling, I turned to my family and said "That was weird!" I've been known to say that about a movie on occasion, but this time, when I said it, I had tears streaming down my face. I left the movie theater two hours ago and for the life of me I still can't figure out exactly what it was about this movie that touched me and made the waterworks show up. I haven't cried during a film in a very long time. A.I. was such an incredible piece of work, I'm surprised at the number of negative reviews it has received. I can understand the negativity however, because human beings have a tendency to dislike that which they can't understand. We also have the tendency, unfortunately, to pass things off as brilliance if we don't understand them as well. So, where does that leave us? With our own opinions. I enjoyed this film. I found it to be incredibly well-made and acted. And, as I mentioned before, it touched me somehow. This movie definitely had three distinct parts to it, all of which could have stood on their own. With each segment, I found myself forcing my mind to suspend disbelief more and more. While I found some things difficult to stomach (especially in the final portion), I still left the theater in awe of everything I had just witnessed. In the words of a friend of mine, this is a movie that everyone needs to see once, whether they like it or not. See it if you haven't.
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Never Stopped!
I saw this movie last night with a friend. It was a movie I wasn't very interested in seeing, but, as cliche and trite as the dialogue was, I still managed to spend a rather enjoyable two hours sitting in a movie theater while watching it. The action scenes were, well, great. There were plenty of cars and fast-paced scenes to keep me interested, I hardly noticed the stupid plot until the movie was over and I was given time to reflect. There are some movies that I watch and can barely stomach what the actors are saying, so I gag in my chair for most of the film. That did not happen this time. By all means, be critical of this movie after you see it, but not during. It will take all the fun away! Just go along for the ride, and I dare you to find time to stop and think.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Loved it.
I went into this movie with mixed emotions. I saw the trailer for the first time a while ago and knew I HAD to see it as soon as it came out. As time went on, I discovered that it was actually a musical and that they would be using modern-type songs. At that point, I was severely concerned for the well-being of the filmmakers, but I still hadn't seen the movie, so I couldn't exactly pass judgement. About a week ago, I finally broke down and saw it. I went into it knowing I was going to be completely weirded out, but I didn't know I was going to laugh as much as I did. What a wonderful movie. It's such a great mix of humor, romance, action, music, and COLOR! OH, the COLORS! I don't think there is anything about this movie that I was disappointed with. Mind you, Moulin Rouge is not a movie for everyone. After checking out the reviews here, it's plain to see that people either loved it or hated it, in general. I am one of those who LOVED it. It's a movie that will stay with me for a long time. If you still have yet to see it, however, SEE IT IN THE THEATERS, if at all possible. This kind of brilliance deserves to be viewed on the big screen, I fear a small screen will not be able to do it justice.
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)
Watch it on MUTE
Okay, so the plot is cliched and the dialogue is stupid, but you can't deny the fact that this movie is visually beautiful. It was filmed very well, and that more than makes up for the script. The costumes are wonderful, the cinematography and art direction are fabulous, and the actors are pure eye-candy. If you're a prude about movies actually having a point, press mute on your remote control and make up your own story as you go along. You're left with the same impression AND you don't have to stomach the dialogue.
The Mummy Returns (2001)
I laughed my head off
I find it hilarious that people actually expected this film to have some sort of redeeming value greater than that of the first Mummy. Why should it? All the filmmakers did with Mummy Returns was cash in on what worked in the first movie. There was more of everything: more heros, more villians, more effects, more mummys, more locations, and enough plot twists to sink the Titanic twice. Still, it was all in good fun. I laughed my head off at the cheesy dialogue the actors were forced to say, as well as at a lot of the situations. Maybe the things I laughed at weren't intentionally funny, but the movie still left me highly entertained, and well worth the hour and a half i spent in line for it. I was disappointed, however, in the cop-out wall of water effect. If the movie makers were going to cash in on the sand from the first movie, they could have at least made it visually believeable. It worked when it was sand. It was simply annoying as water. The scorpion king climax also left something to be desired... CG people have yet to be perfected. Other than that, the movie contained everything I expected: cheese, cheese, and more cheese. I went into it knowing I wasn't going to discover the meaning of life just by watching the movie, and wasn't disappointed in that respect at all. It makes for a nice start to the summer of the sequel. Let's hope it's not all downhill from here, there are a lot more to come.
Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1998)
BRILLIANT!
So I'm at home, flipping channels one night, and I come across this man wearing heels and makeup, standing in front of a colored background on HBO. Naturally, I did a double-take and decided I'd watch for a little while. I didn't change the channel until he was finished, it was so incredibly hilarious. The next time it was on, I made sure to tape it so I could watch it over and over again, and it has remained one of my favorite things to watch. During the first couple of minutes, you can tell that the audience isn't quite sure what to think, but he quickly wins them over with his incredible humor and wit. While many stand-up comedians mesh together in my brain, Eddie Izzard stands out as one of the best. His style is incredibly refreshing, and it is nice to hear jokes about things like history and puberty when most comedians stick to current events. His show stayed with me afterwards. I went to Italy over the summer, and all I could think about while I was there was how "Italians are always on scooters going 'CIAO...'" 10 out of 10. See it. You won't regret it.
Gladiator (2000)
good, but...
I just saw this movie for the first time last night. I liked it. I thought it was filmed beautifully, but I can't say that I agree with other people saying it's the best film of the year. I felt like there was something missing... as I read some of the reviews here I think I can say that character development was kind of at a loss. This movie came so close to being great but it missed something. Naturally, compared to some of the other flops that came out this year, it's a really good movie. I just didn't feel fulfilled at the end. Sometimes, movies are supposed to make you feel that way, but I don't think Gladiator was supposed to make its viewers leave the theater going "Huh?" Still, it was a great effort, but if it wins any sort of best picture award this year, I'm going to wonder if that's the best we could do... 8 out of 10
Pitch Black (2000)
Not wonderful. At all. Not by any stretch of the word.
Halfway through this movie, my dad turned to me and said "Hey, this is a lot like Alien." Yeah. The two films are alike. Except Alien was actually scary. This movie boasts to be frightening. No. No, it wasn't. Special effects films seem to be getting so much easier to make nowadays, even the big planet and "monster thingies" didn't impress me. You spend the first half an hour just trying to figure out what the heck is going on and why the scenes are so choppy, and once you finally figure it out, you might as well stop there. There is no point to this movie. It's just another sci fi flick. When it was finally over, my dad and I stared at the screen for about 5 seconds before he pressed REW and I went into my room to finish my homework. It left us with nothing to discuss. We both went "Okay. So it's over now," and went about our business. If you get a kick out of movies like this, I'd recommend it. See it only if you're willing to waste nearly 2 hours staring at a screen. And staring. And staring. 5 out of 10.
The House of the Spirits (1993)
Eh.
I just rented this movie. I wanted to see what they had done with the novel I just had to read for school (which was wonderful, by the way). I kept trying to look at it as a plain old movie and not of something completely condensing the book, and I found that I just couldn't. If I were to look at it as just a movie, I'd say that it was pretty boring. I don't know what it was, but Meryl Streep and Winona Ryder didn't seem to fit in their parts. Granted, they're both great actresses, but I think I was picturing them completely differently in my mind when reading the novel. All in all, it wasn't an awful film, but it could have been much better. 5 out of 10.
X-Men (2000)
Better than I thought it would be
I saw this movie this afternoon. While waiting in line, I was surprised at all of the different people waiting along with me. Old, young, guys, and girls. I am not a reader of the comic book, so I went into it kind of blind to the whole X-Men phenomenon, but I don't think that made me enjoy the movie any less. It, to my surprise, was very well-done, with a great caliber of actors and special effects. It wasn't too long at all, if anything, it could have been a little longer. Regardless, I am looking forward to the many sequels I am sure this will have. Heck, I'd pay money just to see that incredible Hugh Jackman beating up the bad guys again and again. 8.5 out of 10.
The Green Mile (1999)
WOW!!!!
I read the book before-hand and I couldn't put it down. I was very anxious to see the film and was not disappointed at all. It was like watching the book... 95% of the dialogue came straight out of there. Everybody who was in it did a superb job (from tom hanks right down to that all-too-important mouse), and the movie was exactly what i had pictured while reading. It didn't seem like a 3 hour+ movie, i was stuck to my chair. I can offer some advice when you go to see it: make sure you've got plenty to drink. Even though i knew the story, i refused to get up at all during the whole movie. parts of it were difficult to watch, but i couldn't take my eyes off of the screen. It was just awesome.