Tommy N Reviews

Patriot (2015–2018)

Just binged it!!!!!

[10/10 · 24 February 2017]

Another Amazon Prime Hit!!!!! Dark, fun ,mysterious, quirky fun!

There is not a single character in this that doesn't have some edge of suspicion!

I can't hardly wait for season 2. Don't make us wait as long as we did after the pilot!

The Illusionist (2006)

The Name of the movie gives it away

[7/10 · 4 September 2006]

*****SPOILERS****** Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a movie from a major studio that wasn't a remake. How refreshing and thought provoking!

But honestly, 10 minutes, 13 minutes tops, I just knew what was going to happen, even before the scene where the two are originally separated.

The acting is as expected, top notch. The story fresh and interesting. The title? Well, it gives the entire movie away. It really does spoil it if you think about it!

Someone posted in the goof section about the locket and jewel in the stable, well I thought he same thing! How many weeks must have went by when he went back to the stables to go look for more clues? I can only imagine how bad that stable must have smelled of horse pee-pee!

Still the movie was somewhat entertaining, but also somewhat over-rated on it's IMDb score of 7.6. Honestly, it's a 7 tops if not lower.

Size 'Em Up (2001)

Va Va Va Voom!

[28 October 2004]

A rather strange but eclectic tale. I would wager a guess that the purpose of adding the Lesbian content would be that in addition to educating that breasts being not only milk delivery devices, also not only arouse the male libido, but also the female.

That being.....

This short is about Breasts. Big huge honking headlights from the Kalihara that we all want to embrace and suckle.

BIG BOUNCERS, BOOBIES, TITANIC TITAWILLOWS....ALL NATURALE' AND NOT CUSTOM BUILT!

Thats what this film is about.

I like it!

Entropy (I) (1999)

A REALLY GOOD MOVIE

[8/10 · 26 August 2003]

It's refreshing to see a movie like this get made instead of some of the farces we seeing studio heads giving the green light to, today. Kudos to those who both greenlighted it and who made it.

Entropy had it all for me because it was funny, tragic (funny tragic) and dramatic. I felt good throughout the movie and I actually don't know why I didn't know more about it or Phil Joanou. I blame this on the modern day movie machine not being able to properly promote movies that are both creative and eye catching. The scenes from New York's waterfront are in bold and contrasting colors, and it enlivened me further during a recent visit there. Joanou did the right thing film makers are supposed to do, he inspired us to see more into life and art and be entertained in the process. Such is the personal story that is being told in Entropy. After all, I don't think there is a single soul out there that hasn't felt some sort of incident or disaster in our romantic lives, and can't look back at it and laugh at in jest. We are not the most perfect of people, us humans, and all the better we can share the experience!

I give Entropy an "8" just because it was so entertaining and visual, and while there will be many that will call this plainly over-rating, I don't care, I just really enjoyed the movie and could watch it again and again.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Phenominal Dr.

[9/10 · 17 May 2003]

Rather then try to sit here for a couple of hours trying to figure out this movie any further, spending even more time building a website dedicated to expressing my thoughts on what exactly the movie means, I'm just going to say the following few things:

1-Never have I ever felt more like a deer caught in the headlight, and I think this is exactly what David Lynch intended.

2-There is little doubt in my mind that all of the characters must have had a blast trying to act all of these parts out, let alone try to remain true to the characters, while being directed by what is surely one of modern film's greatest film makers.

3-The sets for some of the scenes are all too classic LA kitsch. I love seeing some of these odd apartments and old film theaters that they come-up with. Its totally refreshing.

See the movie-Don't try to anaylize it-Just be blwon away by all of it. This movie is intended to rock the very being of your inner-soul. Just let it happen. It will not be out of your mind for days, if not months.

By far and away, the best movie of 2001. All the more reason for it to not win the Oscar.

Vanilla Sky (2001)

Battlefield Vanilla?

[1/10 · 17 December 2001]

First, I'm a huge fan of Cameron Crowe's movies and thought that the retrospective "Almost Famous" was just a sign for even better things to come.

I was wrong.

Vanilla Sky is a perfect example of just how desperate Hollywood is for a suitable movie script. Unfortunately, they are using an ultra-talented film maker to display this dreck of a script.

Cameron Crowe, if you are reading this, get back to the golden path you jumped off of too quickly. Get back to the characters that were enjoyable to watch, observe and like.

Don't get me wrong, the acting was phenominal, but what was lacking was the COMMON SENSE to avoid listening to Tom Cruise's beliefs of Scientology being evoked in the script. It smacked of the John Travolta/Stinker of the Year-Battlefield Earth which tried to do the same and wasted a great cast while doing it.

Yes, the main character needed to be "cleansed" of all of the nasty money and beautiful women that were ruining his life, and start anew. I felt like the entire movie was a audit of the main characters life. The only thing missing was two cans attached to E-meter for the audience to hold on to.

I'm going to go now and plug in Citizen Kane into the DVD. Now that is a movie, and hopefully it will make me forget of the nine hard earned dollars I just wasted.

Tortilla Soup (2001)

Don't believe the user ratings. This movie is quite enjoyable.

[8/10 · 15 September 2001]

Other then one bad rating, I can't believe that anyone could dislike this movie. I intend to write an email to IMDB to investigate and make sure there isn't some sort of mistake here. Usually the ratings are more accurate then this.

I would also like to compliment the rest of the reviews which seem to be getting not only better, more accurate. Maybe we are all becoming better afficinados as well as writers!

Now on to my take!

Being a fan of Eat Drink Man and Woman, I was lagging inspiration to go see "just" another remake, but in truth I was quite taken by how great this movie works. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact I live and grew up in the Los Angeles area and how well the mvie portrays the characters as well as the food! This being as my best friends own a certain LA famoso Mexican eatery and whose lives are just as interesting as eccentric as these characters in this movie.

How great it is to go see a movie that not only entertains, but must have had a reasonable for Hollywood standards--budget that was spent entirely on food! Just delicious looking stuff!

As far as acting, it is a delight to see the talented Hector Elizondo finally get his due. Forget the silly awards that only showcase commercial viability. Hector surpasses them here quite nicely.

As someone accurately measured, it is nice to see Raquel Welch in a role that was perfectly cast for her both visually and in character with her natural persona.

Now on to the real fun stuff!

Jaquline Obradors, Elizabeth Pena, and Tamara Mello are just a delight to see on screen. What happens here is a spacing of characters to cover diverse generations. Pena's character, obviously a child born in the 60's, Obradors' from the 70's and Mello's of the 80's. Despite the flaws and eccentrics of each of their characters, they still are the family unit, even going to the length of still residing at home despite there differing lives. The greatness here is the depiction of a well-rounded family despite all of the minute flaws that really do enjoy one another. (LOVE!)

What a great change from the head bashing action movies that seem to be green-lighted from anyone wanting to make a profit. The movie has a character and a class that just like it's predecessor maintains a decency about modern film-making, and that it isn't all smoke, mirrors and computer graphics.

You will all have to excuse me now, I have to go eat!

(Yes, I just did return from seeing this movie!)

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

What Is Happening To Hollywood?

[9 July 2001]

***News Flash***

This just in. (Sound of the teletype in the background)

In a wild turn of events, major Hollywood studio green-lights the remake of the Keanu Reeves/Gary Busey classic, "Point Break."

The action packed feature will this time take a slight turn from the beach to the asphalt where hot and chewy hunks Vin Diesel and Paul Walker team-up or for a better word, search for the Zen of street racing in the streets of Los Angeles County......

What a sad turn of events.

Has our society stopped so low as to accept such pithy film production to the point of remakes of movies that really didn't work the first time?

Don't get me wrong, the flair for the dramatic was quite impressive in Point Break's sky diving scene over Lake Mead, but other then that, it was just another movie of little substance and content. While the acting in F & the F is good, as is the direction, it all comes down to the content. From an artistic standpoint, why was this movie even being made?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

And lots of them.

***Note to myself*** Properly discpline myself for going to see this movie by sticking hot needles into my eyes. Hopefully it will be worth the lesson of wasting $8.50.

***Side note*** I saved myself by purchasing "Best In Show" and will put off the hot needles for a later date. Most likely Jurassic Park III.

Cast Away (2000)

Simply beautiful cinema

[9/10 · 8 May 2001]

There is little doubt in my mind that people would just rag on this movie. However, Bob Zemeckis's film-making talent just got even better, and he didn't need his usual plethora of special effects to depict the movie. (He in fact used them, but much more subtlely)

The beauty of this movie is the ending. I real life, it could only end this way and it was film making magic. One thing comes to mind--the winged logo that kept Hank's character going throughout his trials and trevails. (there were lots of things that madfe him keep going, Wilson, a picture of Helen Hunt, etc.) Little did he know, even in search of the packages rightful receipient that another life far removed from the one with Helen Hunt or alone on the island was on the horizon. It's depicts fate, the human heart, and more then anything, hope.

Tom Hanks once again has turned in a performance of a lifetime and while many will feel that he lost out to a Richard Burton's ghost-like performance by Russell Crowe, this years awards which was severely criticized beforehand for the lack of quality, It sure produced some great and epic movies. Gladiator, Traffic, and Castaway not withstanding.

As a movie enthusiast, I can only look even more forward to the future. We have now entered into a Golden Age of Film that may be looked on in years forthcoming as monumental. Certainly Castaway has helped in this cause.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

O Brothers, Thank You

[10/10 · 5 January 2001]

Brilliant.

How can a one make a movie that is not an original story, yet make it entirely original?

I cannot believe people that negatively review creative filmmaking (Almost a non-existence in Hollywood) and tear this film to pieces. While the postives far outweigh the negatives, the Coen Brothers are an aquired taste that I have had since seeing Blood Simple years ago. Yes, I am a fan. I own all of their movies, and each is getting better and better.

While many will see similarities in George Clooney's performance to Nicolas Cage's H.I. McDonough from Raising Arizona. The two are still fresh characters that don't brandish action and suspenseful characters and gimmicky plot to carry them. John Goodman's Cyclops role is reminiscent of his character in Barton Fink. Even the brilliance of capturing the era was very reminiscent of Miller's Crossing, but in the end is a movie that stands very much on it's own, not unlike Fargo.

What singles out this performace and is without doubt the film's best character is the music. Has there been a more astute soundtrack to depict a movie to it fullest in the last ten years? While not a fan of Satuday Night Fever, needless to say what the music did for that film. I think the closest comparison could be 2001 a Space Odyssey or maybe the Godfather.

I can only hope that this trend of filmmaking continues for many years to come, making the experience of cinema the art form it should be.

Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–2024)

This might be the most brilliant TV show ever.

[20 November 2000]

After missing Larry David's much heralded HBO Special which was the pilot for this masterpiece, on premiere night I was treated with a show that seems to be a bit of Seinfield and Larry Sanders, or maybe even more.

While many won't get the premise, being much in-tune with inside Hollywood humor and personalities, Curb Your Enthusiasm takes us inside, past the backstage to the actual lifestyles of an "A-list" celebrity and shows exactly how they tick-Fear, paranoia, and maybe, just maybe the inner-workings of a creative genius like Larry David.

It's clearly evident who the mastermind of Seinfeld was after watching it. Everyone of those Seinfeld characters are parts of Larry David's personality and just like Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show, I can hardly wait to see each episode over and over and over.

This show shouldn't be labled a "10" it's much to brilliant for that. Try "A+" with a 210 I.Q.

Bounce (2000)

Overating a movie

[4/10 · 20 November 2000]

Seeing how many have seem to accidentely hit the "10" button way too many times on this somewhat sporatic movie, I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they don't know much about movies and that they are more fans of Paltrow and Affleck. I don't blame you, because I too think they make a great movie couple, but lets just hope that the next movie can be much, much better then this frail attempt.

The story is not unlike that emotional turkey of a movie starring Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas which failed even worse. All of this leaves the viewer dealing with the emotional wreck of having to live on without a loved one that perished in a horrible plane crash.

Do viewers go to these movies just to see the devastation of what a air-related crash could be like? If so, then that is very unfortunate when there are movies of much more praise that never can seem to get made because they lack shock factor.

Roos handles this plane crash much better then the audience no doubt anticipated. A simple loud noise with Tony Goldwyn's eyes opening wide for a split second. Somehow I wish the movie could have sustained this same panache or handling.

Paltrow starts of showing the dramatic flowing side of here that makes her the brilliant star that she is. Affleck seems to be playing the same character he does in all of his movies, but he, if any can get away with it. He is now of the star power that can simply walk on to a movie set and get into character with little problem.

Paltrow even shows a knack for great humor with the "I'm 10 days off the gum" schtick and it leaves you hoping for more, unfortunately this movie sems to lose it's audience at the editors table.

The movie is well connected to it's various facts that happen throughout the movie, but it jumps or "bounces" through it's story line. Could this have been Roos quest? If it was, he bounced the movie into an oblivious emotional mess which leaves the movie afficiando hoping for another run of Paltrow's humor and great looks.

Sadly it doesn't come and in the end the real hero of the movie is Affleck's assistant who seems to be the only person who really has a clue to whatever anyone is feeling. His story is one of experience and road wear. He is a survivor and can live to tell about it.

JAG (1995–2005)

The Best In Television

[2 October 2000]

Love the show, characters, and look forward to every episode's different dramas that unfold.

Why did they remove Tracey Needham from the cast?

Great actress and dynamite babe. Quite obviously, her character also rates high on my list. Don Bellessario, HOW ABOUT BRINGING HER BACK!!!!! Or at least a few guest appearances! :)

Also, David James Elliot's real life wife has been a terrific addition to the cast and storyline.

I can hardly wait for every Tuesday night @ 8:00PM! Keep up the good work!

The Southern California location "shoots" are terrific.

The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)

Moose and Squirrel strike back

[9/10 · 30 June 2000]

This is the part where I would normally go into a serious film mode to describe a movie. Not here.

Thoroughly enjoyed every minute and wished it didn't have to end.

An absolute must for anyone who ever watched the original.

Revolution (1985)

A screenplay filled with inaccuracies

[2 June 2000]

Having just returned from Philadelphia a week ago and and seeing a lot of sites from our Nations history, I was filled in amazement how much I thought I knew that I really didn't.

The whole time I kept remembering this movie and the miscast of Al Pacino as the main character. It's not that Al couldn't pull it off, it's just there weren't many Italians fighting the war for our independence!

Still, Being a huge fan of Hugh Hudson, I can't help to think that this movie had some accuracy-It didn't.

And that is the biggest fault of the production. Using the English country side for filming was not proper. For one, the hills of Pennsylvania are as green as any. These landscapes in the film look to be from the deepest barren parts of North Yorkshire near the moors. And if you haven't been on the moors, you have to try and visualize a cold and damp barren but very fertile land where the elements have won over the years and no man cares to farm or live.

There is another very gross error and that is concerning Valley Forge. In the movie we are treated with a portrayal of the Battle of Valley Forge, only in real life, there was NO battle! Valley Forge was an encampment where at the beginning of our fight for independence we camped and trained our soldiers during a very cold and dreary winter. There was little food, (Which in the movie, it shows several scenes as if the were doing OK) very little room for one to shelter themselves away from the cold and other elements (Al Pacino and his characters son. "Ned" had their own cozzy little bungalow which was ripe for a Al and Natasha love scene which never got to happen)And very long and hard hours of training. (We didn't get to see Al getting his feet dirty in that department did we?)

In the end, give Hudson a big thumbs up for cinematography, but he should have nailed that anyway, he's great at it. So why then wasn't a little more time spent on coming up with a better screenplay?

It is probably better left said forgotten like this movie has become since it was released in 1985.

Random Hearts (1999)

A dark sound-track that pretty much epitomizes the film

[3/10 · 29 April 2000]

Dark, dreary and boring.

What has happened to Sydney Pollack?

My take is that this once good director has become a dinosaur in modern times. He clearly hasn't produced or directed anything in a long time, and I'm including the Talented Mr. Ripley in this. (Sense and Sensibility is the last good one for me, but that was largely due to Emma Thompson)

Always one to use a big name male star in all of his films, Random Hearts goes by the same Pollock formula by casting Harison Ford as the deeply driven, morose, detective who is on a crusade to find out why his wife was having an affair with another man, in which he doesn't find out about it until after her tragic death in a horrific plane crash with her paramour (Peter Coyote) at her side.

In true Pollack fashion of grabbing an actress of the moment, Kristin Scott Thomas plays a Congresswoman/wife of Peter Coyote who also has no knowledge of her husband's indiscreetions and is both appalled and shocked at Ford's insistence that their late spouses were involved and in true detective fashion, they should investigate further.

What this movie is trying to reveal is that behind every happy marriage is a dark side of wanting to feel young and alive while still maintaining a regular monogamy with their spouse. What it sadly does is show nothing more then the dark sides of the betrayed survivors and they're indiscretion in what should be their time of grief.

One has to wonder if Pollack's reasoning for making this film was to come to grips with an indiscretion of his own or the loss of a loved one who may have betrayed him. It clearly just doesn't come over very well in film and the story is just plain depressing.

The bright spots to the film are the accurate portrayal of a airliner crash scene and the dismal task of survivors having to identify their loved one's remains. This film's defining moment is when both of the deceased are displayed on a small video screen with a tragic waste of life-look on their faces. Sadly, this film is just like this scene. It should be properly buried as soon as possible.

The Insider (1999)

Game, Set, Match-Best movie of the year

[9/10 · 20 February 2000]

Michael Mann has enamored me how one can go from the ultra cheesy Miami Vice to the big screen with movies like the very underated Manhunter, The Last of the Mohicans, The heart stopping Heat, and now the gutwrenching Insider.

So accurate in portraying an even that can be considered a black eye for the Black Eye and corporate America. I didn't want this movie to end, I wanted it to keep on going deeper and deeper into the lies that Corporate America has bestowed upon us in an effort to line their pockets and influence the youth of the future. I'm not ready for a revolution yet, but I will say that if someone passes on this movie because they don't want to see Al Pacino just walk through another role is very wrong. To me, he was Lowell Bergmann and not some Mafia kingpin, miscast football coach or even worse yet, the Devil.

Would someone please tell me where Rip Torn was in this movie? It's either I was so completely enamored wit the rest of the performances and I missed some clever make-up, but I didn't see him!

Russell Crowe, has acheived a success now that will catpult him to the top of his profession. While Kevin Spacey's performance in American Beauty will not be topped for the Academy Award, There will be bigger and bigger things for this great actor. Blindfold yourself and tell me if you can tell the difference between his and Mel Gibson's voice.

Megaforce (1982)

So bad even Barry Bostwick has to wince in pain

[1/10 · 6 November 1999]

This is without doubt the worst movie I have ever seen in my life.

So fitting for Hal Needham.

At least with Plan Nine from Outerspace there was humor rather it was intentional or not.

Henry Silva rates as one of the worst actors of our time and this performace equals his appearence in Steven Segal's debut "Above the Law."

"Come on Toscani, my sleeping beauty!"

As Dan Ackroyd used to say when performing his role of Leonard Pimpf Garnel of Bad Playhouse, "Now wasn't this just absolutely bad????"

Under the Lighthouse Dancing (1997)

Wonderful film

[17 August 1999]

Enjoyed the film very much, especially its locales.

While the movie does deal with life's one unmistakable experience-death, it makes ardent strides to respect this life and the wonderful paradise we call the Planet Earth.

It really is a sort of "Buddy" film, only there are six buddies in the film, three men and three women. This of course creates a sort of sexual energy between three of the six, but they all truly love each other very much.

I wish we could have to deal with more great movies like this that leave one walking away very inspired.

The Sopranos (1999–2007)

HBO TV Series are generally a knockout

[10/10 · 6 April 1999]

It probably isn't fair that I have got to see the majority of all the interesting reviews on the Sopranos and then get to add what people have forgotten, but oh well.......

From a standpoint of acting, how could any actor fail with these characters? Each one mesmerizing and intense in their pursuits of life. Tony Soprano-while a mob "Capo" and suffering from mental illness, still sees his life in front of him and knows what has to be done to survive. Each of his men, you see their lives virtually from the inside like the truest form of voyerism. It definitely brings out a sort "nosey" side in each and every viewer, and I include myself in this!

While some above don't care for Bracco, I have to say this is the freshest role she has had in years since Good Fellas. She is the side of Tony that makes him listen to reason, that makes him decent, that offers him respite when dealing with his human emotions that he has failed to feel for so long, if ever. She is simply put, his savior. (Not speaking in religious tones)

But the knockout performance here is without doubt, Edie Falco. To see her prison guard role in the other acclaimed HBO series, "Oz" and then see her as Livia is the ultimate compliment for any actor or actress. She has transcended the boundries of a recognizable actress, something only actresses like Merle Streep can get away with. A sort of chameleon quality to transcend roles. But as I have mentioned before, with a characters a strong as these, how can any actor fail?

Livia's strength is in her daily affirmation of faith in herself. She is a survivor, as she hopes her husband and family will be survivors. She is prepared for the worst because she knows the hazards of her husband's business, yet knows the lifestyle she has is more then most women from Jersey. She is wise if not wiser and more street savvy then Tony himself.

All in all, the biggest crime from the Soprano Family is that we the viewer have to wait until January 2000 to see the next season. This in my opinion is the worst thing about the HBO series. It was what brought The Larry Sanders Show, Sex and the City, Dream On, and others back down to earth in popularity and eventually killed them. Too much space in between seasons and very sporadic. Until then, I will watch the reruns with the hope that this gap in programming is filled.

Rushmore (1998)

Woody Allen @15

[8/10 · 21 February 1999]

I feel this movie may be getting a little to much praise here. It was somewhat enjoyable, but for the most part I seem to see a lot of praise from a performance by Bill Murray that was less then special.

Seeing Murray from the beginniing of his career, to actually seeing this movie tonight and then as I write this very minute seeing his less then special performance on Satuday Night Live..... How far can a career sink?

With Murray, I think he has more of a career left, but it wasn't displayed in Rushmore. I just don't see praise coming from this performance like he should have received as Larry Darrow in "the Razor's Edge" a movie with a great story and great characters.

Rushmore's characters were interesting, there psyche's all screwed up from the travels of life, but seeing a young boy at 15 in this scenario is just a little too unbelievable. As was the funding for some of these school plays that seemed to be the more enjoyable part of the movie. A public school play with helicopters and dynamite? What was next, DeNiro and Pacino making small cameos in these creative high school productions? Maybe even a little special effects from Digital Domain?

Max's chacter had to be some what influenced by Woody Allen, but not to detract from the performances, all held their own amicablly.

It would be hard to watch this movie again, But it would be much better seeing some of Murray's other brilliant and hilarious performances that seem to be almost ad lib. There's not many actors that can have that talent and be funny at the same time.