Change Your Image
lexingtone
Reviews
Kikujirô no natsu (1999)
Touching? Sometimes. Helarious? Often!
I have to say, I think I missed the point to this great film sometimes. It is the tale of a young boy, Masao, searching for his mother who is accompanied by a nameless stranger. Okay.
Good enough - but there are some HELARIOUS moments in this movie. I nearly died laughing during the 'blind man' impersonation. My goodness - check this movie out for that one scene.. There are other classic moments also (those of us who've seen it, what could be funnier than the alien? Or that swimming scene at the hotel pool? LMAO LMAO).
I'm sorry to all the fans who see this soley as the heart-warming tale of Masao, but I personally would recommend it simply on its comic appeal. Fantastic!
Enchantment (1948)
Truly is enchanting.
One of the most memorable and beautiful love stories I have ever seen - and I've seen a few! It follows the life and loves of Lark, a girl who loses her parents quite young and is sent to live with a new family. She quickly befriends brothers Pehlum and Rollo while fights to gain the approval of her new sister. As she ages, she and Rollo fall in love... And that's all I shall reveal!
Don't be deturred by the fact it's in black and white. The acting is first rate, the story truly unique and captivating. Catch it if you have the chance but be prepared to have some tissues handy; especially at the end! :)
Ned Kelly (2003)
Not as bad as you might think.
It's true that there was a lot of hype regarding this release of the classic Australian tale of our icon bushranger. And not all of that hype was good. The movie received a lot of criticism for its portrayal of Ned Kelly - in short, a martyr. I have to agree that there were some aspects of the film's "historic" portrayal that were not to my liking. The whole romance with Julia never happened, and I find that it was almost useless to the movie and plot and in fact did little more than to slow it down a lot.
Having said that, the scenery and soundtrack are beautiful. Visually, Ned Kelly is a beautiful film to watch. The acting is superb and Orlando Bloom was surprisingly brilliant (I say this having only seen his work in the fantastic LOTR Trilogy). I think his character, Joe Byrne, is one of the major saving points for this film.
See it. Rate it for yourself. I don't believe Ned Kelly deserves a 10, but it is definitely better than the IMDB average may have you believe. 7/10.
Sudden Impact (1983)
Swell.
Having never seen the original Dirty Harry, I judged this movie on a clean slate. And I must say, I quite enjoyed it. Sure, some of the acting by Sondre Locke made me a little squeemish - but hey, it was the 80's. But even if you can't get past her (and I almost couldn't) or her revenge killings (which seemed a little.. overdone ;P), it's worth it just for Dirty Harry. Or at the very least, the bull dog he affectionately names 'MeatHead' :P
7/10.
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Not much to say. Really.
'The Matrix' would have to be one of the most revolutionary movies of our time. Its special effects alone have paved the way for future films and its original concepts were intriguing and engrossing. How do you top a film like that? Quite simply, I don't think you can.
Okay, so the Matrix Reloaded isn't what I expected. I had purposefully prepared myself for it to be a little worse than the first. I WASN'T expecting this.
Sure, the effects were as brilliant as ever, but I can't help feeling that it was really lacking something. The entire story was very hard to follow. Some points are made in extreme detail yet other crucial factors are not spoken of (or perhaps they were and just got drowned out in the continual and overdone monologues?). The fight sequences are superb, but the slow-motioned martial arts really started to draw on my nerves. Neo's "superman" abilities also were far too corny. Perhaps they were done this way on purpose? And am I the only that feels like the whole Xion rave party/love scene was totally unnecessary? That ten minutes would have been better spent on... ANYTHING else.
In it's favour, I must say that the Twins scenes are fantastic. I don't have enough praise for the short time these characters are in the film. Excellent. Hugo Weaving, as always, is excellent as Agent Smith. His character's dry humour made the movie a lot more enjoyable.
I found it very hard to sit through the Matrix Reloaded. It just seemed to drag on and on to me. For all it's worth, it's still a great movie. Visually, it is stunning. On another level though, I couldn't stand it. I know fans will be disappointed with my opinion of this film.
See it and make your own decision. I know my friends and I are all hotly divided. 5 out of 10.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Light-hearted comedy at its best.
I managed to see this haphazourdly as the Late Movie one Friday. I have to admit, I'm usually not a fan of Steve Martin's strand of comedy (sorry fans :(), but I quite liked Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. The characters were interesting, the story-line quite unique and the humour consistently funny. I loved the character of Ruprecht (apologies for spelling) but also Martin's over-the-top performance as the troubled soldier. The constant tug-of-war between Caine's debanoir conman and Martin's cheesy overdone con were really terrific. Don't be hesitant. I admit it's not a flick I wouldn't usually see either, but it was fantastic none-the-less. 8 out of 10 :)