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Reviews
Children of Men (2006)
Great Move but with a typical Hollywood cop out.
You've seen the advertisements so you know the basics. Women mysteriously stopped having children. Some time before this Theo (Clive Owen) and Julian (Julianne Moore) lost their only child to an illness. The movie is about a number of things but of course the preciousness of life. How much more poignant would the story have been had Theo and Julian aborted the child rather than his death be due to illness? But of course, no matter how much the Hollywood clique rails against state sanctioned violence (executions, war, 'police actions' etc..) no criticism of abortion is ever to be found.
Aside from this criticism, its dystopian vision is unsettling and intriguing. Well cast and well acted. I have only bothered to see 8 movies in the theater this year but this is clearly the best. I do not understand why the release is so limited, it was a real pain to hunt down and travel to the only theater in the DC area showing it.
Rolie Polie Olie: The Great Defender of Fun (2002)
Great for goods, tolerable for adults
If my 2 1/2 yo daughter had her way just about the only thing that would appear on the TV is a continual loop of "Rolie Polie Olie: The Great Defender of Fun" with occasional breaks to show the other Rolie story about the baby bots ("Great Baby Bot Chase"?).
She really gets caught up in the story. Gloomius Maximus seems to be a sufficiently nasty character without making her too scared. I was amazed to read here that James Woods is the voice for Gloomius, never would have guessed. There is enough visual depth and occasional odd tid bits that a parent will note to make it somewhat interesting the first time through.
He's Gloomius Maximus Meanest man in the universe Gloomius Maximus He feels better when You feel WORSE!
The Tick (2001)
Marvelous program
A marvelous program but it didn't follow ANY of the standard formulas for television comedies. This being the case the network could not be bothered to give the audience a chance to find the program. A funny silly and offbeat comedy in the best tradition of the Monty Python show. It is a shame that such an unusual show could not make it, I was hoping that some cable channel would pick it up but that was not to be.
Dog Soldiers (2002)
Great Werewolf Movie
Dont watch this film looking for insight into the human condition, a revelation of the depths of love or the angst of parents as their child becomes an adult.
If you want to see soldiers take on some werewolves then do not miss it.
Couple problems with it tho. SPOILERS !!!!!!
1) Why didnt the soldiers wonder where the heck that cow came from? It drops out of the sky and scares them and they dont even look up.
2) Why did the woman take so long to change into a werewolf herself?
3) Why did the soldiers spread around all through the house? Why didnt they just hole up in a couple of the rooms so they could concentrte their firepower? Bad tactics, guess thats why they were not in the special ops group.
Barb Wire (1996)
A modern Casablanca
This movie will never be a classic but I believe it to be much better than most people seem to believe. The plot parallels Casablanca in a Sci-Fi kinda way and is a lot of fun. Pamela's acting does leave something to be desired, but, the character doesnt really demand the emotive ability of Bette Davis either.
This is a nice rental movie
Knockaround Guys (2001)
Horrid Tripe
Uninspired acting, flat script, stereotyped one dimensional characters. The first 63 votes here 23 of them were 10s, the movie studio MUST be stuffing the box here. The reason this movie sat on the studio shelves for two years is because it stinks. The only reason this pathetic piece of pablum is being released at all is to take advantage of Vin Diesel's recent popularity.
Reign of Fire (2002)
Good Flick, annoying problems tho
Comments here have spoilers.
The "angels" were cool, would have been much cooler if we had a chance to see them be successful. Only time they are used, they die. Makes em seem stupid, not cool.
Why didnt they just put weapons on the dang helicopter?
Anyone with an ounce of tactical sense knew exactly what was going to happen to the convoy as it headed into London and got bunched up. One sweep and the dragon wipes out just about everyone. As soon as I saw the column like that I knew it was going to happen. The troops get out of the trucks and what do they do? Like a bunch of idiots they stand next to the convoy rather than spread out. These dragons wipe out human civilization and Van Zan cant figure out that his convoy can get toasted?
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Wooden Acting
For those who care about the Star Wars extended universe the are lots of nice bits and pieces to keep you entertained. The story seems excessively drawn out and a bit strained. Why would Senator Amidala fall for the petulant and pouting Anakin? Because she has to for the story line. For all their wisdom the Jedi Council fails to see what is really needed here -- Anakin needs a good smack in the pants. Obi-Wan has the parenting skills of Homer Simpson. Anakin = Bart Simpson with a Light Saber.
The Score (2001)
So so movie
An OK movie for De Niro and Norton fans.
****SPOILER ALERT****
De Niro never looses. Getting into the vault area was suspenseful but the technique used to breach the impregnable safe was a bit of let down.