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Reviews
Coach Carter (2005)
Good Message. Bad Movie (SPOILERS)
I guess this movie is a tragedy, but not in the sense it was intended. The real tragedy in this movie is not losing in the playoffs but the abortion of the child. First off, I'm pro-choice-but there was absolutely no point in aborting the child in this film. The two lovers finally come up with a way to support the kid...and she goes and aborts it. What message is that trying to send?
I know it's just a movie, but there were several supposedly "tense" scenes that I had to restrain myself from bursting into laughter.
Scene #1-The drug dealer dies. And this is a tragedy why? I'm supposed to feel sorry for this person that get's gunned down when he's only been on the screen for five minutes and has made the impression of a very disreputable and unlikeable person. I guess I should feel sorry for worm or whatever his name is...but doesn't his cousin's death remove that unhealthy element in worm's life?
Scene #2- Worm's supposedly heartwarming monologue that was never really developed in the movie. I get the fact the he had inner conflict throughout the movie, I just never really seemed to care. And during his little diatribe in the gym (with the desks, etc.) I kept wondering: When did this solid F student, ex-drug dealer become a philosopher? Did he look up every word he's saying in the dictionary 5 minutes before coach Carter enters the gym? why doesn't the audience see that so it makes more sense?
Basically the movie boils down to this-it has a good message, Samuel L. Jackson is good, not great, but if you want a truly uplifting movie about inner city kids escaping the slums-I'd suggest you rent "Stand and Deliver".
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
I guess I just don't get it(possible spoilers)
Do you have to be a film student to enjoy this movie? I will be the first to admit that the movie shows exceptional directorial skills. However, The film lacks one thing that I consider crucial for a great movie-plot. Let me get this straight. Uma Thurman's character was shot on her wedding day by "Bill" and presumed dead. However, she survives and goes on a mission to kill those that were involved in her attempted assassination. Now, to me-this sounds like the plot for a B-action flick. I understand that he's paying homage or whatnot, but does that make it a great movie? When I first walked out of the film, I thought it was a spoof. Another element I found extremely lacking that was prevalent in Tarantino's previous films was dialogue. Pulp Fiction is one of the most quotable movies I've ever seen which makes it incredibly cool. The dialogue in Kill Bill is cheesy and overdone (paying homage to old samurai movies again?). There was very little done to make me identify with the main character, and there was absolutely no way I could contain my laughter when the volcano of blood shot out of the recently decapitated body. I am not posting this to offend anyone that enjoyed this movie. I seriously want to know what it was that I missed that makes this movie so awesome.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
To those of you who think this movie is overrated...
I've heard alot of people say this movie is overrated, but none of them seem to remember to give a comparison. If this movie is undeserving of its status as one of the best movies ever, then what movie is better? I'd really like someone to supply an alternative so I could rip their choice apart and show them exactly why it's not as good.
Black Knight (2001)
(spoiler) arguably the worst movie I have ever seen.
This is my first time to comment on a movie. I often vote on movies without commenting on them afterwards, but I felt that this movie deserved special consideration. Pardon the vulgarity, but the movie sucked. It lacked any sense of plot or theme. Correction, the plot and theme aspects of this movie were so underdeveloped as to seem nonexistant.
Now, I enjoy toilet humor as much as the next man. I must confess that Dumb and Dumber is one of my favorite comedies. The "jokes" in "Black Knight" contained no wit or originality. In fact, the funniest part to me was the ending where he meets the lady in present day, which was supposed to be serious. The pickup line he gave bordered on hillarity, but wasn't meant to be humorous. If a negative score were an option, I'd choose -3 to be the score of this movie. If I had actually paid to see it, I'd want my money back, not to mention the time I wasted watching it.
Memento (2000)
Expectation is everything
I don't care what movie you're watching, if you're expecting it to be an amazing life-changing experience, 99% of the time you will be disappointed. In my experience it is the movies that you've never heard of and get dragged to see by friends or significant others that have the best results.
I watched this movie having never seen any previews for it (I doubt many people did see previews considering the circumstances). I walked out of the movie theatre stunned. In contrast, after reading many IMDB reviews concerning Citizen Kane I rushed out to rent it only to be disappointed because I set my expectations too high.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
If you were disappointed with the lack of character development(SPOILERS)
buy the Extended version DVD. There are so many additional scenes that were cut for the theatre version. These scenes provide valuable background information. Also, one thing that bugged me about the first version was that nothing was said about the re-forging of Aragorn's sword. As those who have read the book know, this is semi-vital information in the latter books. This omission in the original version, like many others is taken care of in the Extended DVD.
The Patriot (2000)
a piece of garbage
I'll be very brief about my opinions of this film. It is a historically inaccurate, biased, cliché-infested, formulaic piece of @#$% (use your imagination). Sorry Brits, not all of us americans are ignorant to the facts concerning The American Revolution.
12 Angry Men (1957)
Simply amazing
I watched this movie with very high expectations, and it lived up to every expectation. I had already seen the TV version starring Jack Lemmon as Juror # 8 which I enjoyed. This movie was much better. The acting spectacular. Every character turns in a top notch performance, and Lee J. Cobb is spectacular. Very similar to the TV adaptation, but different in the execution of the picture. I was highly impressed.
9/10
Event Horizon (1997)
Scariest movie I have seen
I will be the first to admit that I'm not really a horror fan. Most of my horror experience has included Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street rentals as well as the ridiculous "90's teen horror flicks"(Scream, etc.). I am probably average when it comes to my sensitivity to suspense, but this movie terrified me. I watched it for the first time with my brother at the theatre. We walked out of the theatre and to his car, and we drove 20 minutes before speaking. Since the first viewing, I have watched Event Horizon several times with friends, and I still get chills watching specific scenes. The movie was gory, but not overly so. I think that it added to the shock effect of the movie. They could have done a better job with the ending, but it was definitely passable. All in all, it was an excellent horror flick.
Goodfellas (1990)
Good movie, but did not live up to the hype
The best thing about the movie: Joe Pesci was simply amazing. I thought it was a good movie, but the ending left me somewhat unsatisfied. I would put it in my top 5 gangster movies, but I don't think it even comes close to "The Godfather" or even "A Bronx Tale" as far as mafia movies are concerned.
The Patriot (2000)
a piece of garbage
I'll be very brief about my opinions of this film. It is a historically inaccurate, biased, cliché-infested, formulaic piece of @#$% (use your imagination). Sorry Brits, not all of us americans are ignorant to the facts concerning The American Revolution.
Hart's War (2002)
Entertaining movie, but easily forgettable
The movie was entertaining throughout with several interesting plot twists. However, The plot seemed somewhat contrived. It almost seemed as if the writer wanted to create the most captivating situation possible. What are the most trilling stories? War? Prison? Trial by Jury? Racial conflicts? This movie has them all. "Hey, let's make a movie about one of the most infamous and pivotal war in recent history. And just to make things even more interesting, the story will take place in a Nazi prison camp. And just to make things even MORE exciting let's throw in a Military Trial. To top things off, let's throw a racial conflict into the plot." It worked for the most part. The movie was very enjoyable except for a few nagging points. The first thing that really irritates me is the willingness of the Nazi Colonel to go along with the whole Trial. Now, I was not in WWII, nor any other war for that matter, but it seems a little suspicious that the leader of a prison camp would allow any power to be taken from him and given to the prisoners. This just screams stupidity. Also, there is the minor "coincidence" that both Ltd. Hart and the Colonel both went to Yale. I'm not saying that it is impossible, but highly improbable. The last is the little plot twist at the end. I'm not going to give it away, but it reeked of selfless sacrifice that is all warm and fuzzy, but it seemed completely unrealistic.
The movie was for the most part an edge-of-your seat thriller, but It is by no means a classic movie, nor even a classic war movie.
rating: 6/10
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
To those of you who think this movie is overrated...
I've heard alot of people say this movie is overrated, but none of them seem to remember to give a comparison. If this movie is undeserving of its status as one of the best movies ever, then what movie is better? I'd really like someone to supply an alternative so I could rip their choice apart and show them exactly why it's not as good.
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Good film, Top 10 war movies of all time.
This was excellently directed. I must say that Ridley Scott gets my nod for best Director. However, I don't think it's the best movie of the year. The Acting wasn't legendary, but definitely good enough for the action packed movie. The only problem I had with the story line is that I thought it was somewhat over-dramatized. It was in places overly patriotic. I'll use a comparison to Saving Private Ryan. SPR was a patriotic movie, but Spielberg did not concentrate on patriotism as his main motif. He also displayed cowardice in SPR which is a common element in war. In Black Hawk Down, there was no element of cowardice which I think provides a slightly unrealistic view of the event. I was very surprised by the level of acting by Josh Hartnett. I haven't been a fan of his previous work, but he actually did rather well in Black Hawk Down. I'd give the movie an 8/10 - not Saving Private Ryan quality, but better than Apocalypse Now.
Black Knight (2001)
(spoiler) arguably the worst movie I have ever seen.
This is my first time to comment on a movie. I often vote on movies without commenting on them afterwards, but I felt that this movie deserved special consideration. Pardon the vulgarity, but the movie sucked. It lacked any sense of plot or theme. Correction, the plot and theme aspects of this movie were so underdeveloped as to seem nonexistant.
Now, I enjoy toilet humor as much as the next man. I must confess that Dumb and Dumber is one of my favorite comedies. The "jokes" in "Black Knight" contained no wit or originality. In fact, the funniest part to me was the ending where he meets the lady in present day, which was supposed to be serious. The pickup line he gave bordered on hillarity, but wasn't meant to be humorous. If a negative score were an option, I'd choose -3 to be the score of this movie. If I had actually paid to see it, I'd want my money back, not to mention the time I wasted watching it.