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Sidius
Reviews
Toy Story 2 (1999)
More Toys, More Story, More Fun
(In this review I will attempt to not divulge any plot points about this fabulous movie so I will be very brief)
John Lasseter has outdone himself again. Bettering what is perhaps one of the greatest animated titles of all time (Toy Story) is no easy feat but the creative geniuses at Pixar have done so marvelously.
Toy Story 2 is not only a stronger film visually than the original but is more enjoyable structurally as well. The characters (old characters along with a cast of new characters) are even richer than in the original movie and as the story progresses the mixture of humor and heartfelt emotion hits home powerfully.
I have not felt so giddy with excitement while viewing a movie in a long time. At the end of this movie and well after the credits had finished rolling I still had the silliest grin plastered across my face.
It would be a huge injustice if I did not strongly recommend this movie as a must see for everyone. In an age where great comedic films are hard to come by Toy Story 2 does a fantastic job and after viewing instantly made it into my top ten list of the year.
Grade: A+
Fight Club (1999)
Fincher at his best
Going in to this film I had no real idea what to expect of this movie as I purposely avoided reading all reviews of the movie where the plot was revealed or discussed. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw.
This is not a film with excessive violence without context as some critics would like to have us believe. Among other things the film makes a none too subtle comment about the fabric that make up our human existence and the fact that sometimes pain is the only aspect of life that seems real to any of us.
Instead of condoning the behaviours in the film the director (in what is perhaps Fincher's best work) continually emphasizes the relationship between what the characters are feeling and what the characters are doing. We see vividly the conflict within Edward Norton's character as the film progresses and we are effectively drawn into the movie taking each turn with him.
The pacing of the movie is maintained superbly throughout and together with the direction, cinematography, and dialogue serve to create a movie packed with enough surprise to entice any true movie fan.
The acting throughout is excellent with excellent performances by Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Meatloaf. All of the actors turn in performances worthy of comparison to their best work to date.
I truly hope that the greatness of this movie is not sullied by over analysis of it's violent content (Natural Born Killers certainly was) as it reaches into far deeper realms than the surface would immediately suggest.
Rating: A
Body Shots (1999)
What was this film trying to do??
Note: This review may reveal some plot points of the film
If you have a sadistic affinity for really bad movies then Body Shots is definitely the movie for you. This film attempts to be a raunchier Swingers for sex and the club scene and fails miserably at doing so.
As a funny take on the single life the movie might have put up a fighting chance but in repeatedly trying to be taken seriously the movie falls flat on its face. The entire package is worse than most adult movies I've seen and many instances I found my self wondering if that was what I was actually watching.
The basic premise (seriously) is as follows: Characters hang out together, go clubbing and have sex.The characters make comments in ramblingly nonsensical summations to the audience throughout the film in an attempt to dispel their ridiculously oversexed take on the meaning of life and then suddenly and without reason we become trapped in an after school special on date rape.
A cast including such up and comers as Tara Reid (American Pie) and Ron Brewington (Swingers and Office Space) could have provided redemption and though the acting was stellar throughout it was unbelievably wasted as no actor no matter how talented could have saved this story.
There is no comparison between Swingers or Go and Body Shots. The former represents film-making at it's best while the latter film-making at it's absolute worst.
Overall Rating: F (a generous offer)