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thedarkjedi
Reviews
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
The best one yet!
There are NO SPOILERS in this. Apologies for my limited vocabulary...
I just saw this film this morning and was really impressed. It is infinitely better than the Phantom Mishap and I highly recommend it. It is definitely a film for more mature people this time (no stupid kids stuff!), with hardly any cringe-worthy material and only a little bit of Jar-Jar. The whole thing is a masterpiece (although it only really gets up to pace in the second half) and George Lucas has really done well this time. There is a lot more action in this one and the plot is beginning to come together nicely. I cannot wait for Number 3 ...
Comparisons to Empire Strikes Back will be made, as this one is very dark compared to Episode 1, but this is definitely a Good Thing. Get down that cinema now and watch this excellent film!
10/10
Young Guns II (1990)
So much better than its rating says
This film is far superior to the first part and I can't get enough of it. The actors are likeable and work very well as an ensemble, the action and story are very immersive and the score (by Alan Silvestri) is simply awesome. (The music on Young Guns is totally different, very inferior, and does not help to accentuate emotions at all.) On this note: anyone who says that Jon Bon Jovi did the music for this film is very mistaken. He wrote a couple of songs that appear on the end credits (and an album that was *inspired by* the movie) but Silvestri is the one who created one of the best movie scores I've heard, which is nearly as good as his Back to the Future music. (Shame it isn't available to buy anywhere.)
Now back to the film. It's both entertaining and moving, and also very funny and I highly recommend it. Like a previous commenter said, there's no need to see the first film as this one stands on its own very well and totally surpasses its predecessor. 8/10.
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
Worst horror film of the last ten years!
I would say "spoiler-alert", but there's nothing to spoil here.
The story is just stupid (there are so many plot holes), it's not at all original (see the early X-Files episodes with the Tooms character) or scary (apart from maybe in the first twenty minutes in the House of Pain) and the end was the biggest let down since ... [you fill in this gap with something especially disappointing you've experienced recently]. I must admit, I was a little bored with the Sixth Sense near the end and I forgave the entire film (and gave it 9) after the revelation, so I didn't want to write off Jeepers Crappers until it finished, and was actually expecting a really good ending, since FFC was involved. Needless to say, I was very shocked when the creature just b**gered off with Darry and the film's pace dropped like something very heavy and then ended about five minutes later.
I don't know why Coppola admitted to being involved in this pile of steaming cow dung. I thought Scary Movie 2 was bad, but it definitely bettered this one. Anyone who can't see The Blair Witch Project is infinitely superior to this rubbish needs their lungs and eyes removed.
Do not see this! It does not even have so-bad-it's-good value (e.g. Batman and Robin). 1/10.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
An audio-visual spectacular
This is definitely not my kind of film, but that didn't stop me having a great time watching it; I enjoyed every minute of this wonderful creation. The songs are well-performed and just right for this kind of thing (I bought the soundtrack for my girlfriend and can't stop playing it and singing to her), the costumes were equally good and Baz's directing style made for a film experience like no other I've witnessed.
Anyone who thinks Titanic was a great love story (or that it wasn't!), should definitely try this one, and they'll see two troubled lovers (much like in Romeo & Juliet) who not only have chemistry, but fantastic singing voices. Come What May, you have to see this!
Definitely one I'll be getting on DVD! 9/10.
Galaxy Quest (1999)
The Three Amigos in space (but not as good)
Even before seeing Galaxy Quest, reviews and trailers highlighted the similarity between this film and The Three Amigos (1986) - look it up for more details. Both hinge on an identical plot core: the characters some out-of-work actors used to play are believed to be real and unknowingly become part of helping a bunch of subjugated people/aliens. Anyway, I figured I might as well see it because it was supposedly very good. How disappointed I was.
The characters are shallow and predictable, the plot is shallow and predictable, the visual effects are dated and, most importantly, the jokes are fairly average. Unless you are a Trekkie, then I doubt you could possibly find much of this funny or entertaining. The only truly funny parts came from the character called Guy, who was not a real member of the Galaxy Quest crew, but aspired to be.
I understand this film is aimed at a wide audience, but it is more of a satire than a spoof and so younger audiences won't recognize the subtle humor anyway. As for older audiences, they really should know better.
Finally, recommending Star Wars alongside this film is just plain stupidity. There is no similarity between the two in any way (except the obvious outerspace setting). Just uttering the two in the same breath should mean instant death in a Trash Compactor.
EDtv (1999)
Similar to Truman Show yes, but also completely different
When I first saw the trailers for this film, I immediately thought "Hey, they've just ripped-off that brilliant Jim Carrey film!". Maybe I was right. But after seeing EdTV, I have to say that the only similarity is that both of the lead characters are on TV 24 hours a day. Their differences are plentiful:
Truman doesn't know he's on TV. Ed does. Ed plays to the camera, Truman doesn't know it's there.
Truman is a celebrity at the start of the film and doesn't know it. Ed becomes a celebrity and knows about it.
Truman's world is completely fabricated. All his friends and relatives are actors and everything exists in a gigantic studio. Ed's world is the real world. We see the affect of celebrity on his friends and family. Real people can meet Ed and influence the show.
Truman has no relatives. Ed's relatives influence the story heavily (especially his brother and parents).
The message from the Truman Show is unclear. The message from EdTV is plain and simple - you can turn anyone into a real celebrity, if you treat them like one. There are other messages as well - watch the film and find out.
There are yet more differences, but hopefully I've shown that there are enough that these two films can be classed as different. I recommend that everyone see them both, because they are both very good.