dcastor Reviews

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Great One

[9/10 · 18 December 2002]

I considered The Fellowship of the Ring to be one of the greatest movies ever. This one is better!

The scenery is marvelous, the animations great, and the story superb. This episode strays further from the books when it comes to the unfolding of events, but I feel that it stays closer in atmosphere and realism; the nazgûls are now the fear-inspiring creatures they should be. Gollum, excellently implemented, even becomes more realistic then I remember him from the books, not to mention other attempts to portray him. His schizophrenic monologues are among the highlights of the movie.

The major drawback is once again the apparent incapability of the dark-side creatures. Aragorn with fellows can ride back and forth among them unhurt, while the Uruk-Hai fall in large numbers just for being nearby. Though I enjoy many of the jokes made at Gimli's expense, this still is another thing I partly dislike. Gimli sure is no clown in the books.

I rate the movie 9/10 (my highest so far).

While You Were Sleeping (1995)

Lollipop movie - sweet and funny

[8/10 · 11 April 2001]

If going into a coma would lead to waking up engaged to a loveable woman like Lucy (Sandra Bullock), I would go searching for an accident right away.

This movie is a sweet romantic film, based on misunderstandings, yet avoiding being embarrassing. The main character, Lucy, is a lonely, dreaming romantic, with whom I can easily relate. The Callaghan family, which she is suddenly and rapidly becoming a part of, is portrayed as the very opposite, though in a warm and loving manner. Maybe that is what appeals most to me in this movie; the romantic dream becomes a wish for a caring environment rather than for a perfect life.

Watching this movie, one may find it unrealistic that a person as likeable as Lucy would ever need to be lonely, but the truth is that there are lots of real people just as likeable and just as lonely. This movie may give some hope.

Conspiracy Theory (1997)

Atmosphere beats plot.

[7/10 · 26 May 2000]

When renting the Conspiracy Theory, I had a one and a half year old kid with me in the video store. While desperately trying to stop him from reaching for every accessible piece of candy, choosing a movie was really just a matter of finding an eye-catching box as fast as possible. The faces of Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts did the job, and I was not to be disappointed.

The story of an obviously mad taxi driver, Gibson, trying to get a well situated beautiful woman, Roberts, to share his conception of the American government as being just about based on far-reaching conspiracies is, though intriguing, hardly convincing. This lack of credibility in the story is however well compensated by the lead actors; if the incredible plot would actually unfold in real life, Gibson and Roberts would definitely be there. This movie is definitely worth watching, not for its story-line which tries, but fails, to surprise, but for the charming atmosphere around the main characters, peaking with their short visit to Jerry's (Gibson's) apartment. I award it seven pleasant and rather humorous stars!

Feeling Minnesota (1996)

Road Movie Crash

[3/10 · 27 March 2000]

Feeling Minnesota is not really a road movie, but that's still the best categorization I can generate. A road movie does not primarily depend on a great story line, and since the plot of this movie is truly pathetic, it does fulfil that description. To be interesting, such a movie must rely entirely on moving and intriguing characters, and on the chemistry between them. Unfortunately the staff of Feeling Minnesota fails utterly in producing this excitement.

The initializing presentation of the characters is unsatisfying and confusing; I can, for example, not figure out whether Jjaks (Keanu Reeves) did grow up in the house of his mother and brother or not. It is said, by his mother (Tuesday Weld), that he must live with his father, but nothing in the film suggests that it ever happens. The same goes for the rest of the characters - I never get to know them. They appear irrational, and no real explanation is given to why they do so.

The bottom line is that I leave the movie without any feelings for the characters, except dullness and perhaps a tiny kick of attraction for the cute Cameron Diaz.