Reviews

5 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
Swept Away (1974)
Are we all just puppets of society?
13 May 2002
Warning: Spoilers
A totally compelling story of two totally disparate people (rich vs. poor, capitalist vs. communist, helpless vs. capable, male vs. female) put into a life and death situation, and the love that develops when the barriers that society had put between them evaporate.

25 years after it was made, this movie still has lots to say and says it with a great script, solid acting, and lush location shooting. The message of the movie is as valid today as it was then.

There is a sort of "rape" scene, which may offend the politically correct... but then again, what doesn't offend these people?

My favorite line is from the rape scene, as a matter of fact. The sexual tension has mounted between the two principal characters who are stranded together on an island and the final barrier between them is about to come tumbling down. As the beautiful but hapless woman (whose makeup enhanced looks are now starting to fade in the harsh environment) puts up some token resistance, the dirty little Sicilian sailor slaps her and says, "Shut up and let me f**k you while you still look good!" It's a classic.

One last thing... the idiot factory that is modern Hollywood is releasing a re-make of sorts of this movie... starring Madonna. Please see the original before this suck-fest of a remake comes out and tarnishes this beautiful movie's legacy.
10 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
The weed of crime bears bitter fruit...
4 December 2000
This is a movie that I caught on cable that I'd never heard of when it was in mainstream theatrical release. It proved to be a gem, a real solid effort by all involved, from the screenwriter, director, and actors.

Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine give a fine performance as two-bit jewel thieves, but it's Jennifer Lopez that really blew me away as the mistress of Nicholson... this girl can flat-out act! Few women in this era of Hollywood can light up the screen like Lopez.

No, this movie isn't academy award material, and won't make anyone's top 10 or even top 20 list of all time, but it was a fun and well-done character study and is above-average fare for home video viewing. Fans of Nicholson and Caine won't be disappointed!
1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Kate Capshaw almost wrecks Indy!
23 January 2000
The second of the Indiana Jones movies suffers from a trifecta of problems. First, is the "Sophomore Curse" in that the movie had to live up to the legacy of the first of the series... a daunting task if ever there was one!

Secondly, this installment of the series just lacks a coherent story and script. The jokes seem more forced, the characters more cardboard, and the the action sequences a little too much over the top, as if to compensate for the movies other failings.

Lastly, and most importantly, is the very bad casting of Kate Capshaw (soon to be known as Mrs. Stephen Spielberg) as Indy's romantic interest. There is ZERO screen chemistry here, and Kate Capshaw has to be perhaps the worst actress of this generation (Sondra Locke is perhaps the worst from the prior generation). You just know that the ONLY reason she got this role was her association with Spielberg. Every scene with her in it just doesn't feel right... and she's in just about every scene.

Not a terrible movie... but it could have been so much better. As it stands, it's a forgettable bit of fluff that could be left out of the Indiana Jones boxed set with no loss.
3 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
A Ripping Good Cold War Yarn
11 December 1999
This movie is a FAR better and more believable story than any of the cold-war James Bond pictures of the same period. All of the actors involved here are at the top of their game, especially Rock Hudson, who portrays a nuclear submarine captain as if he was born to it.

A very believable story, well acted, with lots of action sequences interspersed with tightly-delivered dialog. Ice Station Zebra moves along at a crisp pace, and builds to a gripping climax.

This movie is NOT to be missed if you like nuclear submarines, cold-war epics, or just well-acted and written movies in general.
70 out of 98 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Who Cares?
17 February 1999
If I'm to like a movie, I need to care about the lead characters and what happens to them. In this waste-pod of a film, I found myself hoping that they would all die in the end. None of the characters are people that you'd ever want to meet, they all made me sick. If not for a few nude scenes, I would have given this wretched movie a 1.
7 out of 22 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed