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melliott-7
Reviews
Battlefield Earth (2000)
How many scenes are from other films, how many absurdities can you find, how much can you laugh?
Even though I rated this a '1' (because IMDb doesn't have a '0'!), this film is a MUST HAVE for anyone with a DVD collection! Why, you ask?; because it is BY FAR the worst film ever made! But, 6-to-8 year old boys probably think it's the BEST FILM ever made too! Seriously, no, make that 'comically', this film is so bad, it's worth watching several times, just to give one perspective on how bad a film serious money (~$44 million!) can make! The next time I watch the film, I'm going to keep a pen and paper handy to write down everything, every scene, every effect, etc. which is a flagrant take from another, more well-known film. I bet there are AT LEAST a couple of dozen scenes, etc. that are direct, unabashed, unoriginal copies from other films. Most famous are the shoot-em up scenes in 'The Matrix'; yep, this film has got one which is exactly the same. Also, the scenes in the first Star Wars with fighters going down in the Death Star 'canyon'; yep, this film has a copy of these scenes! Also, these 'aliens' in the film look exactly like 'Klingons' from Star Trek films! How's that for originality? Oh yea, another scene where a good guy, with a NUCLEAR BOMB, beams to the alien home planet and destroys it is EXACTLY the same as the climax of the first STARGATE film! Plus, dozens of other examples straight from other films, I'm sure. Worth a watch, or two! And, be prepared to laugh!!! But, you might want to have a pen and paper handy.... ;-)
The Blind Side (2009)
EASILY the Best Movie of 2009!!!
Watching the first 10 minutes or so, I almost got up and left. The beginning of the movie just seemed to be an unbelievable fantasy. Good thing I didn't! Bottom line, this movie is EASILY the best movie I've seen this year, and I've seen A LOT! I've never been much of a Sandra Bullock fan, but she deserves to win every acting award one can get, and I'm sure she'll get a lot for this performance! I've now seen it three times, and will probably see it a few more before the DVD comes out, which we will surely buy! Most amazing of all, this is based on a true story! WOW!!! Highly, highly, highly recommended, and be sure and have your handkerchief or Kleenex tissues with you! SEE IT, you won't be sorry!!!
2012 (2009)
Leave your logic at the door.....
OK flick. It's worth the (matinee) ticket price for the CG special effects which were very, very good. However, the story line will stretch your imagination.... a lot! That's why I recommend that all 'adults' leave their rational thinking, and logic, at the theater door. (My daughter saw it too, and at 16, she recognized too many 'logic' flaws to make it a believable movie.) Not one to see again, but may, when it comes out on DVD, mainly to watch the special effects. The heroes and heroines should have died a thousand times, but somehow they all (mostly) made it through. Teenagers, 15 and under will love it, those older will find it a long stretch...! Don't waste your time; watch it on DVD and save your money!
The Truman Show (1998)
A GREAT Film, totally ignored by the critics and Oscars!!!
OK. I watched this film when it first came out in 1998. At the time, I thought it was a very good film with undoubtedly the best performance by an actor that I'd ever seen, at the time, by none other than Mr. Jim Carrey. I was never a big fan of this guy until 'The Truman Show'. His performance alone is worth the price of a rental! Only the recent performance by Sharlto Copley in 'District 9' is somewhat better than Mr. Carrey's. Over the years since it was released, 'The Truman Show' has become more relevant, and far more potent and personal. I watched it again a couple of nights ago, and was shocked, realizing while watching the film, at how our current television programs have been overrun with 'reality' shows and 'entertainment reality' shows. With what may be divine foresight, Mr. Peter Weir and his crew created 'The Truman Show' which depicts our 'reality show' at its far extreme. If you haven't seen this, and are a 'reality show' fan, then watch this movie, and prepare to be shaken. A tie for my number 2 spot with 'The Green Mile', behind the number one film of all time 'The Shawshank Redemption'. And like 'Shawshank', I strongly believe that this film's list of admirers will continue to grow such that it will be, someday, in the 'IMDB's Top 250' where it so rightfully belongs! Heck, it should be in the 'Top 10'!
Knowing (2009)
Very good until the last quarter
I'm a big Nicholas Cage fan. His performance in this movie is up to his usual very high standards. The special effects are impeccable. Character development is very good. The BIG negative which keeps this flick from being an 8 or higher is the script for the last quarter. Too similar to Close Encounters of the Third Kind for me and others I've talked to. And NO ONE feels good where the hero, the heroine, and the Earth are all completely destroyed in the end. One feels the remorse of totally useless loss of the players and the planet. Most folks can't fault a flick if the hero or heroine dies for a glorious cause, such as Bruce Willis in Armageddon. Also, the very last scene is a little too hokey, although I'm sure a lot of Christians will recognize the parable. Wait to rent the DVD and save your money!
Danny Deckchair (2003)
Based on a true story! (Yes, TRUE!)
This film is loosely based on the July 2, 1982 flight of Larry Walters, 'Lawnchair Larry'. Most that know of it think that Larry's flight in a lawn chair, aided by 45 weather balloons, to an altitude of 11,000 to 16,000 feet is an 'urban legend', but it really indeed happened. There were scores of witnesses including two airline pilots who reported the sighting to the air traffic controllers at local airport. He actually was fined by the FAA on several charges, all of which are really hilarious when you read the story. Get on the Internet and read about the flight and Larry's life because the facts of what really happened are more inspiring than this movie!
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Best Movie ever made, "Ain't No Doubt About It...."!
One of those very rare movies, that even though you may have it on DVD or tape, you'll still stop and watch the WHOLE movie to the very end if you find it playing while 'channel surfing'. I, like everyone else I know, found out about this movie from someone else; I did not see this at the movies. So, I rented it and was (like everyone else apparently) blown away by this true cinematic masterpiece. Over the past ten years my wife and I have probably seen the movie a couple of dozen times each. If someone out there needs a 'pick-me-up' movie' (we ALL do sometimes!), then this is YOUR movie. It's always guaranteed to always remind one that "Hope is a Good Thing...."