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Reviews
Babylon A.D. (2008)
What a completely worthless crap-fest of a movie!
Let me explain this as briefly as possible. No story, no viable characters, lousy action scenes and choppy camera work, not one single loose end is tied up in the movie. In fact, the movie ends with roughly 20 unanswered questions and not a single character developed into anything meaningful. Don't get me wrong, I like Vin Diesel's movies in the past but this garbage was beyond terrible. It is an insult to the mind. The basic premise of the story is never clearly explained. We never even remotely understand the girl, let alone the Nun who looks over her. Vin's character is a complete mystery with no substance and the character of Gorsky, well that's the definition of superfluous. Also, what is the deal with the "mom" and her religious cult and it's reasons for... Another dead end. Why does the girl have the ability to avoid being hurt in an explosion? Is she super smart, clairvoyant, able to use her mind to control objects, space and time. What is the deal with this movie. This is just a piece of trash. Don't waste your time.
Mystic River (2003)
What a pile of crap
2 Academy Awards ?!? = The Academy Award is a joke anymore! This movie stinks worse than a rotting corpse. I couldn't believe how bad it was.
Terrible story, boring acting, unbelievable stereotyped characters, it crawls at a snails pace, the ending is as anti-climactic as it comes, and worst of all - no moral to the story. Nothing to glean. What a pile of crap.
Whoever told Sean Penn he could act? Tim Robbins should be ashamed of his performance in this compared to Shawshank, and Kevin Bacon...was there ever a more "do nothing" actor - please...
To be clear, I don't have a problem with the topics in the movie although isn't the topic of child molestation as the defining characteristic of a character's psyche, just a little stale and and way over-used? Can't we get something new?
I have a problem with this movie in the fact that it is one giant stereotype, filled with comical and stupid characters, doing absolutely mindless things and behaving in ways that are so out of touch with reality it's not even funny.
What a waste of time. I avoided this movie for 5 years. Should have trusted my instincts!
This Is My Father (1998)
A beautiful movie with excellent character acting.
Oh my God, I'm on a roll with these obscure movies I never heard of. Somebody please tell me how these movies had little if any press yet are so good.
This gem takes place in both the modern day and back in Ireland in the late 1930's. It is a story of where one man came from. Who his father was and how he was connected to his mother.
Gorgeous cinematography and solid acting make this a must see! Once again, it caters to my love of movies about people with flavor, zest, zeal and the bittersweet truths of life.
Give it a watch, you'll be glad you did.
Dancing at Lughnasa (1998)
What a magnificent sleeper!
Ask yourself something... How many movies have you seen where all of the principal characters are women. Not too many I bet.
This movie is a gem and definitely worth seeing.
Takes place in rural Ireland in 1936 and consists of the dynamics and interpersonal relations of a group of 5 sisters, 1 brother, 1 son and a mostly absentee father.
Outstanding cinematography, wonderful screenplay, good solid flavorful characters (even the few minor male roles - Michael Gambon steals the show every time he appears) and the cast ensemble just blends effortlessly.
I would venture to bet that the people who didn't care for this movie, didn't like it because it isn't a happy "Joy-Joy" ending; In fact, it repeatedly lifts you up and takes you down again running the whole range of powerful emotions. Welcome to Life 101 ladies and gentleman! Life has it's bittersweet moments which give it meaning and substance.
If you value character development and portrayal, then you'll love this movie just like I did.
Un tè con Mussolini (1999)
I love this movie. Definitely worth seeing.
I wish I could give this movie a "10" but I can't. I'm not exactly sure why but to me, it's a solid "9".
The characters in this movie are engrossing and distinctively human. One cannot help but fall in love with the Scorpioni and their individual quirks.
Cher, as usual adds her own distinctive flair to the mix and I cannot envision any other actress playing her role. She was perfect.
There are so many aspects to this movie to enjoy. So many emotions. Joy, pain, sorrow, love, hope, reconciliation, admiration, pride, selflessness...so many.
It's a great movie worth watching. Enjoy.
House of Sand and Fog (2003)
Good movie, bad movie title...
I admit being a fan of Ben Kingsley ever since Gandhi. I just like the actor and wanted to see this film for quite some time. However, from the description on the DVD case and the photos on the box front, I was always turned off from renting it. I guess it is true, we do judge books (and DVD's) by their covers sometimes.
Ah, thank goodness for my public library where I could get it for free.
This was a surprise. A good movie with a wonderful and convincing performance by Academy Award winner, Sir Ben Kingsley. He brings good solid flavor to all of his roles and his performance was further enhanced by the great portrayal of his wife by Shohreh Aghdashloo.
However, Jennifer Connelly was as bland and boring as usual. I didn't feel the least bit sorry for her character in this movie. She just seemed to be wallowing through it. Too bad. What a wasted opportunity.
The movie is not a great movie for me but a good movie. Worth a watch for sure.
Yi yi (2000)
Umm, I don't get it.
As a lover of foreign cinema for it's very different approach to movie making than Hollywood, I was excited about seeing this film. Unfortunately, the reality of seeing this 3 hours film was unable to live up to my expectations.
First off, the film is WAY WAY WAY to long. 3 hours long. This leads to it's grinding pace. I had no idea it was this long, but while suffering through the film, I found myself asking "when does this end" more than once. Not a good sign for me.
Next, if the character development had been more significant or the characters more interesting, then I am sure I would have liked it. The main characters to me were transparent, contrived, and acted badly.
Oh well, you can't like them all.
Waterproof (2000)
Powerful...I cannot believe I found it at the library. Lucky Me!
First off...nobody I know of is more anti-religion establishment than I. With that said, anybody who derides this movie because of it's characters and their religious faith, is a complete moron. This movie was never about religion, it's about people.
In my lifetime, I have seen few movies which strike me right to the core but this one is one of the top 3. Period.
The acting was outstanding and the character development and portrayal was top notch.
In today's never ending onslaught of movies of wise asses, tough guys, two bit harlots and losers of every kind, this is a movie about PEOPLE. Real, believable, wonderfully complex and flawed people; People you yourself would like to know.
So, if your tired of the shoot 'em ups and the Tom Cruise drivel, the sci-fi where you have to be tripping on acid just to be able to follow the story, or the teenager toilet humor movies, and really want to enjoy a movie that has the depth and substance of a great book but only in 90 minutes, then this is the movie to watch.
Keep an open mind...you'll be handsomely rewarded for it. I loved it.
Salmer fra kjøkkenet (2003)
Delightfully subtle, sublime, and very funny.
Slow? Did I actually read that some commentators here called this "slow"? Oh, I'm sorry. It's not the usual American movie with characters cursing and being obnoxious, nor does it have something crashing or blowing up every 15 seconds.
What this movie does have is the human equation.
Given the basis for the story, a Swedish researcher trying to further the "scientific" study of kitchen movements of the single male, and the resulting actions of the old Norwegian homeowner, this movie is quite refreshing and a pure delight to watch.
I love stories which unfold, just like real life, and this one does a great job of it.
Simple pleasures and common human interactions dominate this film and bring it its distinctive charm.
Relax for a few moments and let yourself be just a simple human for the length of this film. You'll thank yourself later for it.
Watch it because it's a winner!
The Green Mile (1999)
Without a doubt, the greatest movie ever recorded on film...
Today I watched The Green Mile for the second time in my life.
If you haven't watched this film yet, you don't know what perfection in cinema is about.
This is a story about the good and bad which is inside all of us, and how it comes to the surface in the most extraordinary ways.
All of the actors in this movie, all of them, deliver stunning performances of what is without a doubt, the most perfectly written screenplay I have ever seen.
The cinematography, the soundtrack, the lighting and effects are all spectacular and I cannot say enough good about this film. Easily a 10+.
Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan have a chemistry unlike any other you have ever seen in a film and they bring their characters to life in the most profound way. I only wish I could shake all of their hands and thank them for this gem! See it, then see if you don't feel exactly the same way I did. I'm willing to bet you will.
Xi zao (1999)
The simple life is truly the best life...
Another outstanding foreign film which thoroughly trounces the never-ending crop of crud emanating from Hollywood! This is a story of life and living. No, definitely not the perfect little life so often depicted in the totally artificial Hollywood movies but rather, the real life complete with real characters each with strengths and weaknesses just like real people in our lives and ourselves.
The dynamics of all of these lives, intertwined within the walls of this bathhouse, and particularly its aged owner, are magnificent, heart touching and highly thought provoking.
Sit back, relax, and be carried away into the simple and beautiful life. There is real wisdom to be learned in this movie if you only open yourself up to it.
You will not be disappointed.
Ba wang bie ji (1993)
Stunned yet again...
Lately, I've been watching a great number of foreign films and I must say something. Hollywood...you suck.
This is a MASTERPIECE. Unbelievable acting, cinematography, costumes, plot, continuity, the whole thing start to finish.
Sure, it has subtitles, but 2 minutes into it, and I didn't even realize I was reading them as I was so engrossed with the movie it was effortless to me.
So many people already have given the "Reader's Digest" version of this movie, but honestly, and I am a real hard to please kind of movie person, if you haven't seen this movie, do it.
If you are like me, you'll probably watch it again right after you finished it the first time. I did!
Paragraph 175 (2000)
Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.
If you are gay, lesbian, or simply sympathetic to the lives and struggles of gays and lesbians, you must watch this film.
It is the story of gays and although briefly, lesbians, during the early Pre-WWII years and also during the war.
Although I had heard of the "pink triangle" used by the Nazi's during the war, I had never heard any information about victims of Nazi persecution against homosexuals. Ever. Until now I was in the dark.
I shall forever be grateful to the producers, director, and survivors who shared their deeply personal stories, each unique, yet all with a common thread; one of having survived as homosexuals and lesbians during the Nazi era in Germany.
The stories are real, the people are real, and the emotions which are displayed and which will be brought forth in you, are real. It is impossible to be a human being, and not be struck deep inside by the faces and stories of these people.
Remarkably, even some of the survivors eventually became members of the German Army during the war themselves, so in no means is this a whitewashed film nor is it seen only through rose colored glasses.
This is documentary cinema at its very finest. Emotional, insightful, raw, and human in every sense of the word.
Do not miss this film!
Harold and Maude (1971)
Movie-making the way it should be.
After hearing various references to this movie throughout my life I finally rented it this weekend. I thought that something fresh was needed given the never-ending crop of crap emanating from Hollywood for the last several years.
Getting to the point...I loved it. I loved it so much, I immediately watched it again. (I hadn't done something like that since I was a small kid in the public movie theater).
If you haven't seen this movie, and you are not one of the current loud-mouthed individuals in the world who has a terminal case of cranium-rectal insertion, you'll love it! Take 91 minutes and do your mind a favor...set it free and enjoy the ride! Bravo! P.S. Hollywood...Hands off! Any attempt to remake this movie would only ruin it.
White Noise (2005)
What a poorly written and acted piece of trash...
It's no wonder Hollywood is continuing to crash and burn with utter garbage like this...
Take a great premise plot, decent actors, and minimal special effects, complete with the hopeful promise of a brilliant psychological mind twister, and then ruin it completely with underdeveloped characters, mind numbing dialogs, superfluous actors, characters and events then top it all off with the absolute worst wrap in a movie I have ever seen. Man did these guys blow it. Did you run out of budget and had to whip together a cheap ending? It sure shows! If I had to rename this movie, it would be titled NON-SEQUITOR.
Don't waste your time, your money, your energy. What junk!