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Reviews
La guerra dei robot (1978)
Riveting!
Wow, where do I begin? From the very beginning of this movie I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. We're introduced to the main characters very early on, and the short 30 second scene here is more than enough to make you care about what happens to these characters. The movie wastes no time after this and gets right down to the action, including a brilliant kidnapping scene that sets up the main story.
The robots are amazing! Not since Robby the Robot have we seen the likes of these guys! They are amazingly efficient at the start, but once they encounter our heroes, this changes dramatically. Laser gun battles, hand to hand combat with innovative laser-swords and amazing special effects in general will have you at the edge of your seat. The space battles are particularly amazing; we're treated to views of the participants' heads and an occasional bright flash of light while laser noises and the like enhance the suspense.
I don't want to give too much away here, as I feel the element of surprise is part of what makes this movie work so well. The combination of revolutionary special effects, remarkable cinematography, and a riveting story that the actors simply took and ran off with make for one of the science fiction blockbusters of the decade!
Near Death (2004)
Never mind my $3, I just want my 10 minutes back
Yes, that's how far I got into this movie before I thought to myself, "What on earth am I doing? I could be watching stoplights change!" And yes folks, I can say, without even a hint of sarcasm, that I would prefer to watch a stoplight change for 85 minutes than any of this "film".
As most of the other reviewers have already mentioned, the acting was on a par with that typically found in a 4th grade Christmas pageant. The special effects... well what can I say about those? I've seen more convincing special effects in soap operas and more realistic gore in comic books.
Some horrifically bad movies are fun to watch just because it's fun to laugh at how bad they are. For some reason, this one falls flat in that department, just as it does in every other. I can not think of any reason to watch this movie.
In the Pink of the Night (1969)
One of the funniest episodes
From the very beginning of this short, the humor is pure genius. That having been said, I must point out that there are really two distinct types of P.P. cartoons, those with dialogue and those without. I tend to prefer the ones without. This particular short is one of those. P.P's expressions say so much more than any dialogue can. I won't give the story away, but I'll just say that P.P's methods of dealing with his situation are simply hilarious. In most of these cartoons, either P.P. has something or someone getting on his nerves and we watch as he attempts to subdue the thing/person, or P.P. himself is the one getting on someone else's nerves. The former is the case in this particular short. All I can say is, get the 5-disc DVD set, it's well worth the price for 124 of these hilarious cartoons; over 9 hours worth! If you loved these cartoons half as much as I did, you won't regret it!
Act Without Words II (2001)
Two distinct personalities.... same existence
Possible spoilers.... as is the case with ANY Beckett review! Beckett's play "Act Without Words II", while of course being related to "Act Without Words I" in some respects, is an entirely different play, in that there are now TWO mimes. In this second installment, the surroundings have been all but eliminated, and all attention is paid solely to the mime. The two mimes lead extraordinarily different existances.... one extremely somber, that mood aided with the slow and deadpan piano piece, the other extremely upbeat, again, with a fast and melodic piano medley. The former seems sluggish, as if it is a pain to simply exist, where the latter is ridiculously upbeat and organized, so much so that he must check his clock every few seconds... the ultimate point of this play, as it has been interpreted by ME, is that in the end, we all end up the same, regardless of whether or not we were sad, boring, time-oblivious carrot munchers, or immensely anxious, exciting, time-conscious spastics. Having not seen the play live, I can only comment on the film. The 'prod' was an interesting touch, acting almost as an on-screen director. Anyhow, it was a very short film, I believe under 20 minutes, and very interesting, and so it gets 8/10.
Pep Squad (1998)
Maybe next time
Balderson's first effort was obviously a first effort. I must admit that I think the version of this film I saw was a pre-release, being that I saw it sometime in '97 or perhaps earlier. The acting in this film was inconsistent, some scenes being quite believable and others not even close. This is understandable given that this film was most of the cast's first. The plot in this film is not even close to realistic. Again, understandable for the same reasons. When I met Steve and some of the other members of the cast and crew during filming (I used to live in Manhattan, KS, near where it was filmed), they were all genuinely excited about the project, but it was obvious they were not seasoned actors and crew members. I didn't like this film, but must concede that it was a valiant first effort. I look forward to Balderson's next film with Dennis Hopper!
Twister (1996)
Two good points!
There were 2 good things about this movie: If I ever need to inflict pain and misery upon an enemy I can send them a copy of this film, and if I ever want to make myself sick (for the purposes of calling into work or whatever!) I can rent this monstrosity and watch 5 minutes of it.
People say it has wonderful special effects, and even this point I must disagree with. If you have ever been in or near a real twister, you will notice that it is an entirely different scene than what you see in this film. A real twister, if it was even twice as far away from you as it was these people in this film, would instill nothing less than sheer TERROR in everyone involved. Sheer terror meaning: there would be no bickering about "Dorothy" or "the other scientists" or "divorce papers". These special effects did not do justice to the ambience of a real twister, and the acting was reminiscent of my 3rd grade Christmas play. I won't even bother mentioning the ridiculous 'plot'. This film is in my top 5 worst films (Hollywood productions) ever made.
Jan De Bont: What's the matter with you?? Even an action movie needs to have REASONABLE chemistry between actors... and the dialogue in Twister reminds me of the ridiculous dialogue in another equally horrible flick: "Speed".. And sequels are bad enough as it is, but a sequel to "Speed"????????!!!!!!???? I'm glad I have not seen it... I would be forever scarred if I had.
Schindler's List (1993)
Spielberg's Best
This film, is without a doubt, Spielberg's best work to date. This film captures the horrors of war like no other film before it has. The fact that is centers around the suffering of civilians rather than the military singles this film out from others in the genre.
Filming it in black and white was ingenius for several reasons. First, it makes the film look much like a documentary, thus increasing the realism, and at the same time creating more sympathy for the people in these dire situations. Secondly, I believe the film would be far too graphic in full color. I was also very impressed with the unique use of color in a select few scenes (the little girl with the red coat).
I must admit that this is one of only a handful of movies (and when I say handful, I mean 2 or 3) that actually brought tears to my eyes. This film gripped me like no other. I recommend this movie to anyone who would like to see a reasonably accurate, but not overly graphic depiction of life in World War II Poland.
9/10
Police Squad! (1982)
Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln!!
Endlessly Hilarious! I taped the first 5 shows years and years ago, and every so often I go back and watch them, and still they are as funny as they were the first time. In fact, there are so many sight gags and whatnot, that you will miss a lot of them the first few times you watch the shows! I see something new every time!! Absolutely hilarious, even more so than the films. Several of the gags are used repeatedly ("Cigarette? Yes it is", or the midget cop who is the intercom), but still manage to be funny each time. Too bad they didn't have Johnny the shoeshine guy in the movies. I wish I had the 6th show!!!
Highly recommended if you liked the Naked Gun or Airplane movies.