Change Your Image
khristal23
Reviews
In Good Company (2004)
Wonderful!
This movie really had substance, and that surprised me. From the previews, I was mainly expecting a snappy comedy with a bunch of good one-liners that had a pretty predictable ending. I was pretty much wrong.
This movie was a good comedy, but it was a heartfelt comedy. Unlike a lot of comedies, I felt that it was really trying to send an important message. It certainly made me think about things after it was over. It makes you ask yourself, am I doing something with my life that I feel is worthwhile and important? Or am I in a dead end job that means nothing to me and basically just pays the bills? I know a lot of people don't have a choice and have to do what they can just to pay the bills, whether they hate it or not, such as myself, but this movie left me thinking about what could I do to remedy that situation.
And although things don't end up the way you are expecting them to, you're not left feeling disappointed by it. I really liked all the characters and felt it was interesting because here you have Topher Grace and Dennis Quaid, who are basically at odds with each other throughout the film, yet you can so clearly see both sides and understand exactly why each is behaving the way they are. It makes it impossible to look at either of them as the villain. That really impressed me because most of the time it's all just black and white in movies. Here's the good guy, here's the bad guy. But both of these guys are good and bad, and each of their actions are having a negative effect upon the other. It just made them seem much more human, and I could easily relate to both of them. The love story between Topher Grace and Scarlett Johannsen was incredibly sweet, and realistic. They were two people who clearly cared about each other, but were each at different places in their lives and were trying hard to have a relationship in spite of all that.
This movie was a joy to watch. I would recommend this to anyone.
Very Bad Things (1998)
Bad
I did not like this movie. It was very disturbing, and just left a bad taste in my mouth. I am not someone who normally gets offended/disturbed by violence and gore. I'm a huge Tarantino fan. Most of the time I'm able to just take it for what it is: a movie. But I had no sympathy for any of these characters, nor could I bring myself to like any of them. Not even a little bit. It was trying to be funny, but failed miserably. Everyone in the movie just came off as annoying, and their actions were completely unrealistic. I realize that this is to be expected to a certain extent, seeing as how this is a movie, but come on! I guess I can see how this movie might appeal to some people, but it didn't to me. I can't imagine what kind of person could actually sit back and say this was a cinematic work of art. It was DISGUSTING. And not in a good way.
The Big Chill (1983)
I was not impressed . . .
I was very disappointed by this movie. It did not meet the expectations I had for it based on what other people told me about it. It is basically the story of these college friends who have lost touch since they've been out in the real world. They have had kids, divorces, etc., since they last saw each other. They are brought together again by the tragic death of one of their friends, a member of this group that we never get to know because he is dead as soon as the film starts. They all stay together in the same house for the weekend and talk and talk about life, death, love, etc. They listen to old records. After the weekend is over, they go home. Big deal. The main problem I have with this movie is that there is nothing really going on. It's not really about anything. So, therefore I can't bring myself to feel much sympathy for these people, or even begin to like them or care one way or the other what happens to them because I don't feel like I get to know them. They all have this history with each other which we know nothing of and don't get to know much of. It was a real letdown. So be warned: If you didn't like Sideways or Reality Bites, you will not like this movie. It is the Sideways and the Reality Bites of the 80's. They even do the camcorder thing just like in Reality Bites. The only movie where I appreciated that was Blair Witch. I know I've probably ticked off a lot of Big Chill fans, who will say that I just didn't get it or whatever. I got it. And I was bored to tears.
Harvard Man (2001)
Was pretty disappointed . . .
I have owned this movie for quite some time, mainly because SMG is in it and I'm a big fan of BTVS, but I had never gotten around to watching it until last night. I have to say, I was pretty disappointed. I mean, I'm supposed to feel sorry for this guy? He's shamelessly sleeping with two women at the same time, and getting tripped out on LSD. What do I care if he gets out of his mess? He's not a good guy, in spite of the fact that the movie half-heartedly attempts to make him seem so, since he is trying to get money together for his parents to replace their home, which got blown away by a tornado. Here's a quick summary: This guy is going to Harvard, and plays basketball for them. He is sleeping with SMG's character, whose father is a big time mobster. He is also sleeping with Joey Lauren Adams' character, who happens to be one of his teachers. His parent's home gets blown away by a tornado. He wants to help them replace it, so he asks SMG to ask her father for the money. She says he can have the money if he promises to fix a basketball game that has been bet on, so even more money can be won. The FBI gets wind of this, and try to cause a lot of trouble for SMG and her father. They attempt to get this guy to turn them in. The FBI team (a boy and a girl who his other girlfriend happens to be having regular threesomes with) let his other girlfriend know what's going on, and she tries to get him out of it. While all this chaos is going on, this guy is totally tripped out on LSD, hearing voices, hallucinating, etc. Pretty ridiculous. So, basically, my main problem with this movie was that I didn't like any of these characters. None of them seemed like good people, like anyone that I would care much one way or the other what happened to them. No sympathy for anyone. So, I was actually sitting through the whole movie, hoping it would be over soon because I was tired of watching it. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The only good point: I thought Sarah Michelle Gellar did a good job with her part. She was very believable. I didn't think of her as Buffy once during this movie.