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alexander.stroeck
Reviews
Cabin Fever (2002)
This is truly a bad waste of time!
I comment very seldom on movies at the IMDb, but I tell you folks: Believe all the bad reviews you find in here! This movie is so badly written and contains so many dull predictable scenes - the longer you watch it the more you start asking yourself: Where is the suspense? Will there be any scary scenes? Why do all the characters act in the most stupid way to find a solution for a problem? Shame on me that, I believed the qoutes on the DVD-Box: "This is the future of horror movies! (Quentin Tarantino).
I fell in this trap and bought the piece for a nice horror movie evening as I do it once in a while. But I didn't see a bigger crap since months. Spare your money and keep off.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
war kitsch
The thin red line of seriousness.
After all these enthusiastic comments I feel the necessity to
support the viewers who disliked this movie. I'm mid 30 and I've
seen a whole lot of action - and especially war films. But sorry
guys - this was a real stinker. I was looking forward for Sean Penn
and John Cusack, but they all spoke these badly written dialogs of
significance and unbelievable importance. Was is meant as
serious poetry comes to me as sticky kitschy attempts to produce
"the other", the sensitive war movie. The music supports this -
sorry- cheapness. Well, understand me right: From early
black/white to arthouse and from John Woo to Woody Allen - I like
a big range of films. I'm a friend of looong epic movies and I do not
need hammer action at all to call a good movie a good movie, but I
need more than 5 or 6 good written scenes to fill such a long film
with REAL drama. As some guys mentioned before, I too could not
care much for the characters - although the acting was fine as
expected (Koteas! Nolte! Penn). It's badly written (perfect for enemies of meaningful off-voices!). But
it's up to you to give it a try anyway. Do NOT expect a classic
masterpiece (like Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket). 6/10
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
no story - just vidoe game promotion
Can you hear my sigh? 1) Matrix had all the potential. With a little more intelligence in storytelling this state of the art & style movie could have been the younger brother of masterpieces like Blade Runner or Alien. I cared for the characters and I enjoyed all the speed and the eye candy. This first one had a story to tell. 2) Matrix Reloaded still has this stylish green/grey/black look and the more than usual styled costumes. And receive my respect for the highway scenes and the scenes around Miss Bellucci and her guy (these scenes deliver the rare humour and oneliners of the movie). Fine. But to be honest: Did YOU realy care for anyone in this movie? What about those faceless and lost crowd of beauties dancing in the middle of the earth (Zion)? They laid a portion of pathos over it and lost all the impact of the powerful soundtrack in part 1! Why didn't they spent one of those billions for FX just in a clever screenplay? Aren't you seeking for something MORE in a movie - guys, whats wrong with a thrilling story inbetween all those playstation levels they offered to us viewers? Well after all this one is only slightly better than the truely terrible Star Wars 2 (Hey! - and I'm still a huge SciFi fan!). Of course we'll all watch part three - just to know how it ends. But the magic of part one is truely gone.
L'ultimo cacciatore (1980)
Believe me folks - It REALLY deserves it's 4.4 rating
Although I'm a fan of the war movie genre I hardly could get through this. This movie has 20 minutes of good, believable and tense scenes - the rest is really cheap and not even entertaining. I trusted some of the reviews here and bought the DVD unfortunately. Do not waste your money on this one - see the real A.N.Redux instead. ... not to mention the STRANGE soundtrack (No - you will NOT love it)!
Die Another Day (2002)
It's just a number - but disappointing
I've seen this movie at the opening weekend in L.A. and it was obviously a big hit for the mostly younger audience. In fact I still think, that this one was only done for the american market for theatre visitors under 25. The whole "Iceland-chapter" shows more nonsense than every other Bond I´ve seen before. But the most embarrassing scene of this film is Brosnan's (second) surf ride after he was cut off the ice wall by the satelite. I have no words for this tasteless idea. To keep it short: One good oneliner and a fine sword fighting scene doesn't provide enough material for another clever Bond movie. This is unfortunately just a waste of the realy fine actors in a plotless but - well - watchable action movie. After the realy bad Star Wars II I quit being a Jedi - now I think about leaving the MI6. Cheap script+tasteless direction: 5/10
Reindeer Games (2000)
Ben Affleck is the wrong guy for this genre
A nice movie of the master John Frankenheimer that will entertain you action lovers out there. But I think that casting Mr Affleck was a mistake that made some scenes more unbelievable that they would be with a tougher guy. Anyway: 7/10
Crackerjack (1994)
Stupid dialog - excellent Plummer
If you like the gifted Kinski and the excellent Christopher Plummer you can give this piece a (one) chance. Bang! Plummer deserves all the praise for his portrait of a real baddie with a clever and cynical mind. But do not expect to much brain of this B-picture.
The Tailor of Panama (2001)
Action lovers: Let this be your lesson
I´m a dedicated fan of good action movies, because there is
quality in every genre. But this little gem does not need any car
chases or else to be convincing. Fine one liners and excellent
clever characters make this a very watchable and sometimes
cynical movie. Good book, good actors, a little to less Jamie. Anyway: A clear 8/10 on my list
The Highwayman (2000)
Worth a look
Thanks for the synchronisation! I watched a fast and funny piece of hardboiled gangster movie and I enjoyed especially the performances of Boyd Banks and Laura Harris. Unfortunately the film looses a little bit of its suspense and the script gets weaker.
Anyway - a good watch if you like tough gangster movies with a portion of violence.
Joan of Arc (1999)
Well done Mr. Besson
This movie manages to handle a religious theme without being to
moralizing or kitschy. The acting is first rate and the
cinematography is state of the art. If you can stand some rude
knight fights and powerful battle scenery, then come and enjoy this
well done movie. I especially enjoyed Dustin Hoffmanns
appearance as the dry commentator and mirror of Joan's pure
conscience. 8/10
We're No Angels (1989)
A permanent smile anyway
Although this is a below average DeNiro performance I enjoyed the movie. DeNiro is a jewel even if he stucks a little in some wooden stereotype comedy gestures. Still it's a very good 6/10 - I smiled most of the time.
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)
a real peak of trash
As a real fan of Tremors 1 I made the mistake to trust all the good reviews on this site. But believe me guys: This one has nothing to offer (well - except a realy strange resurection scene). Unfortunately I bought the DVD. Don´t even rent it even if you feel greedy on a monster movie - watch Tremors No. 1 instead or get "Octalus" or whatever else there is on the shelve.
Armageddon (1998)
Can anybody please stop the cutter?
Speaking about the skills of dirctors: A few days ago I watched
Kubrick's masterpiece 2001 again and enjoyed his loooong and
slow camerawork showing the beauty of his tableaus and
locations. Well, THIS here is the other end of the candle: Although
the photography is pretious and the effects are alright I couldn´t
enjoy most of the story. I´m often a very hectic person myself, but
why do these filmmakers think a movie gets better if they cut
EVERY SCENE after two seconds? This might work for the MTV
music-videos (from where "they" might have got their inspiration)
but here it ruins the film. I'd love to give this movie an 8/10, but they
cutted it down to an angry 4 with their cheap cutting talents. No
thanks.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
How superficial stories can get
Should I see this more positive? Realy? Well, I don´t think so.
I had high expectations (because I definitely liked Episode I and
the 3 others). This movie has been put in the TOP 250 of the imdb-
I hardly can believe it (well I do - You have to be realistic about the
power of marketing hypes). I´ve been a Star Wars fan since my childhood and a SciFi fan in
general. To me this movie marks a turning point that shows what
the misuse of special effects can do with movies. They serve you
fruits and meat and vegetables and hamburgers with ice cream at
the same time and its all very colorful but tasteless all together. Mr
Lucas must have a huge hubris to forget to engage a REAL
DIRECTOR and at least a second actor (next to the wasted Sam L.
Jackson) who has a form of personality. You need good actors
(like Alec Guiness or - well - Harrison Ford) to keep such a story
convincingly together. The so called script just misused the actors
in a really stupid prudish love story and has not a single one liner
to make you laugh. Instead of that we get a video game mixed with every cliché Mr
Lucas could find. I do not want to be a Jedi Knight anymore.
Roma (1972)
Yes-This is art (Don´t be affraid!)
This portrait of the maestros italien universe is pure art of cinematographie. The autostrada-takes are some of the best "without words" sequences one can see in a movie - and the rest is pure eye- and brain candy as well! 100 percent recommended (4/4).
Search and Destroy (1995)
Highly recommended for the strange taste
This is surely one of the funniest comedies I´ve ever seen - especially in terms of strange characters. Walken is over the top here - and the others follow. You will hear unbelievable weired dialoges with grip and power. Those who compared this movie to Mr. Scorseses "After Hours" are right! You feel Scorseses guiding hand (-producer) behind the scenes. Well-said enough-watch it if you want to enter a new universe of fun!
The 13th Warrior (1999)
See Gladiator instead
Like other watchers in this comment listing I have to say that this movie is horrible underwritten. No interesting story, no substance, plot holes.... Of course it offers another excellent and charming Banderas performance - and thats why I watched it to the end. But why do those filmmakers put so much money in a production and spent it on a book worth just a buck (sorry Michael). This is not a big epic story, but anyway I gave it a 6/10 for Banderas and -well-I wasn´t realy bored-nothing more.
Der Totmacher (1995)
Could be a great theatre piece as well!
George realy did a perfect job in this! Based on the historical examination script they deliver a film that comes very close to your stomach. Some people I know couldn´t stand it and turned it off and some turned the video off, because they were bored. Try it yourself! This is absolutely an about average view on the so popular subject "serial killer". I watched it late at night with 100 percent thrill and interest.
The Enemy Below (1957)
Much to idealized and heroic unfortunately
Although I´m a faithful submarine-movie fan, I realy had problems with this. Mitchum and Juergens are two of my favourite actors and I couldn´t wait to see this movie. They served me fine performances with their unique personality of course, but especially the ending has been much too heroic from my point of view. (spoilers) Not my taste: The two goodhearted captains in the end see their boats sink and both loose everything but stand together at last with respect and dignity. Oh come on! Do they think our fathers needed this as cold comfort after this cruel war maybe? This is served with march-music as side order. Could have been a 8/10 but with this attitude it looks to dated for me (See Das Boot again instead).
Max & Jeremie (1992)
Noiret shines again
This is for you, If you like the elegant french-style assassin. The very fine Philippe Noiret shows us again a great performance spiced with his typical humour. The film shows interesting aspects of the relations between an old policeman (Marielle) and Noiret as the more or less souvereign retired killer. If you look only for the usual Lambert-Action movie then you are served better with his other movies. This one is - well- calm and slower paced. Lambert is good here as the foolish young man. The character development very believable although they keep a surprise until the end. I liked it (7/10).
Inside Out (1975)
Couldn´t be much better
This gangster movie in cold war-Berlin really has a fast paced and clever plot. You can enjoy this pre-mission impossible film although not all the tricks of uncomparable Telly are believable. Great acting and tight dialogues make this a fine film-evening from start to end.
The Vanishing (1993)
Can´t they just stop talking?
Trust the other comments on this movie and do not watch this remake. I had high hopes because of the cast where you have Bridges and Sutherland. But all my sorrows for casting Bullock and Travis have been pure truth. How can anybody write so many brainless dialoges? This movie will make you scratch your head because of the dull Rita character and the (thank you) undeveloped Diane character. Its ***/**** for both Sutherland and Bridges but not even * for the ladies. Sorry.
Ratchet (1996)
A sleeper
Not every boring movie is a film noir. This one has not the style and cinematography to be honored as film noir! Not very persuasive actors try to have inteligent dialoges. At least the german version is far under my expectations. Could have been much better- sorry: 4/10
The Killer Elite (1975)
Huge disappointment
It´s unbelievable. You have here those first rate actors like Duvall and Caan and one of the finest thriller directors in cinema-history, but after a while you want to turn out the video. The locations are o.k. (the shipyard!) and the actors try to catch your interest. Anyway: Nothing remarkable happens to move the plot (?) forward. Believe those comments on this site: Avoid this movie.
Mobsters (1991)
Not worth watching it
Unfortunately I can´t recommend this movie although it has Mr Quinn and Christian Slater in the cast. They deliver a good job-but the dialogues and the story are so wooden and bad-the cast just can save this mediocre story-telling. I saw it with three friends and they all asked me to stop the (uncut) tape after one hour. They were right: This is a bad gangster movie-realy!