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Chris-448
Reviews
Trigger Happy TV (2000)
Genius!
This is probably one of the funniest TV shows ever made. Trigger Happy TV, fronted by the irrepressible Dom Joly, is a programme based loosely on Candid Camera. The show is a series of sketches that focus on those little irritating things in life (mobile phones, fishermen, traffic wardens) by blowing them out of all proportion. Trigger Happy is so irreverent, so insanely unique, that you're absolutely guaranteed to laugh. What's more, the whole thing is wrapped up by a delightful "sad-rock" soundtrack which, unlike canned laughter, makes you just laugh even harder. Look out for the park-bench secret agent, the educated punk, and the door-to-door Grim Reaper in particular! Fantastic.
Weakest Link (2000)
Gripping Stuff!
The Weakest Link oddly manages to be successful despite the fact that it is a decidedly low-budget, daytime TV quiz show. There is in-built cut-throat competition between the contestants that often results in amusing bust-ups or vain egotism, and, like "Millionaire," there is a good feel of at-home playability. The only downside is the jackpot, which, at a measly £10,000, makes you wonder what all the fuss is about. In reality, the only reason why this is not just another run-of-the-mill boring game show is Anne Robinson, the presenter. She is so cruel towards the contestants that she was recently named the Meanest Person on British TV; her cutting, demoralising comments once brought a contestant to tears. Her catchphrase, which she utters whenever the weakest link (ie: the worst contestant) is voted off the show, should go down in the annals of gameshow history: "You are the weakest link. Goodbye."
Snatch (2000)
Snatch This Movie!
Quite how this movie will fare internationally is uncertain, especially because many of its most prosperous jokes rely heavily on the more absurd pronounciations of cockney slang and incomprehensible drawl. But having overcome these minor problems, as well as the traditional stereotyping of the cockneys, Irish and Americans (among others), the film is wholly enjoyable.
Most impressive for a relatively low-budget movie such as this were the camera effects and the soundtrack. Director Guy Ritchie is such a master of the former that some of his more contrived camera angles and movements were alone enough to invoke laughter. Many of the jokes are in fact derived from the excellent script, which was in part written by Ritchie himself, although some of the humour originates from the brilliant acting.
There will of course be some who complain that "Snatch" degrades cinema, inciting audiences to laugh at violence. But it is only because the movie is so involving and evocative that the audience feels morally secure enough to cheer on, and laugh with, the gangsters on screen. The most promising thing about this film is that Guy Ritchie has proved himself to be a more than capable director, and not just a one-hit wonder (his previous movie, "Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (1998)," was also critically acclaimed).
The US has always been quite reluctant in its uptake of foreign movies, especially those as alien as "Snatch." But this movie is so funny, and its plot is so clever, that it is well worth seeing, even if you are American. I'd pay $10 to see this any day. 9 out of 10.
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
The behemoth of average action movies
This movie was one of the most hyped of the year, so perhaps that was why, on leaving the cinema, I was considering how appalling it was. The acting was reasonably convincing, which probably threw the whole saga an enormous lifeline, but the plot and stunts were ridiculous. Director John Woo slowed every stunt down to slow-motion, which was annoying the first time and inane from then on. Woo did bring some memorable set-pieces to the movie that will probably be spoofed time and time again, but these gains were bombed out of the water by the most ridiculous script I have ever seen.
The plot was lifted straight out of a Bond movie, except that this film had none of what makes James Bond such an engrossing action hero. Dramatic stunts are supposed to astound the audience, not make them mutter, "yeah right," under their breath. Why did the whole story revolve around face masks (a rip off of "Face/Off," surely?). Why does the IMF have to shoot missiles at Cruise while he's scaling cliffs? Why does a truck, after smashing into and destroying a car, keep on driving? Why is one of Cruise's assistants prevented from escaping from a bomb because some small wires gnaw at his coat? Why does Cruise wait so long to destroy the last sample of Crimera? I was laughing at this film because, despite its gloss and its questionable Bond-by-numbers format, its essence (perhaps apart from the rock-esque soundtrack) was farcical.
To be fair to M:I-2, the actors were pretty much top-notch. Cruise obviously fitted the role well seeing as the whole movie seemed to be made for him, but Dougray Scott and newcomer Thandie Newton (who was, sadly, reduced to portraying a stereotypical "damsel in distress") were both excellent. Sir Anthony Hopkins added his unique talent too, and grabbed the best line in the movie: when Cruise complains that Naya is untrained and shouldn't go with him on his mission, Hopkins replies, "To go to bed with a man and lie to him? She's a woman; she's got all the training she needs." But the characters managed at least to interact with one another, which counts for a lot in action movies were it is usually only the most muscular or robotic actors who are allowed in.
So, some fine actors let down by miserable direction and some appalling goofs and plot holes as large as the Black Hole of Calcutta. That is what "Mission: Impossible 2" is. This movie is worth seeing simply because of what it is, but if you're looking for something with sophistication, humour and a touch of class, don't bother. This only manages a feeble 4 out of 10.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
First Action Hero
Admittedly, Arnold Schwarzenegger is not the greatest actor and James Cameron is not the most subtle director, but in this movie, both factors were completely irrelevant. Arnie is, of course, best remembered for his reprisal of the role of the Terminator, and perhaps this is because it is the only role in which he can pass himself off as a decent actor. Nonetheless, he is entirely convincing throughout, his robotic grit and painless determination underlined by the omnipresent special effects. With the possible exception of "Jurassic Park," the special effects unleashed in T2 are unsurpassed in modern cinema; they are so ubiquitous within this movie that they sucked up almost half of the enormous $200m budget.
The weak link is undoubtedly the lamentably poor acting ability of Edward Furlong as John, although many of the other actors are so convincing that Cameron was able to gloss over the failure pretty successfully. Cameron's ex-wife, Linda Hamilton, plays an entirely different Sarah Connor in the sequel; there is more brutal and emotionless determination than before, which I thought was a realistic portrayal of a woman trapped in a cross-time battle to avert the end of the world. Top marks to the casting managers, who found little-known actor Robert Patrick for the part of the TX1000. His on-screen presence alone exudes a sense of menace, and this is remarkable considering he has very little dialogue.
Unlike many other sequels, this was better than the original. Its plot wasn't so unbelievable as to make it sound like it was written solely to make more money. It is unique for an action movie because of its feasible plot, its quality acting and its ability to maintain the attention of its audience with its series of unpredictable twists and sheer suspense. 8 out of 10.
Final Destination (2000)
Appalling, Abysmal, Ridiculous, Pathetic...
This movie has to be the most disappointing of the year. I don't understand how people have claimed that it is even remotely original or interesting. The entire film is packed to the brim with the traditional "horror-movie" cliches, such as the curtains blowing in the wind and the strikes of lightning occurring every time something bad is about to happen. Not only that, but each death becomes more and more predictable as the film progresses, and by the time Billy was randomly decapitated by a piece of metal sent flying by a train, I was just laughing. The only commendable aspect of the whole saga was that the enemy, Death, was never visible, although whenever he was about to strike, there would be a lamentably stereotypical shadow cast across the room. Not even the plane crash was remotely scary, and the actors showed very little emotion about the fact that 50 of their classmates had just been killed in a mile-high fireball. Several killings were unbelievably improbable, such as Todd's "suicide" in the bath, Terry's collision with the bus (which I cannot believe nobody saw coming), and the electrocution and train scenes, where, amazingly, Alex manages to cheat Death. For a film which was supposed to promote the idea that Death is unavoidable, "Final Destination" has an abysmally happy ending. The cherry on the cake though, was seeing Tony Todd in cameo role as the morgue attendant who tells Alex, "I'll be seeing you soon." Worth seeing so that you can spend a couple of hours mocking every aspect, but this movie can't really score more than a 4.
End of Days (1999)
Arnie struggles in a serious role.
Months before the UK release of "End of Days," my friend and I agreed that one of Arnie's puns (of which he has had so many throughout his "illustrious" film career) would be to tell Satan to go to Hell. After such abominable failures as "Jingle All The Way" and "Junior" (remember - "I don't know if it is a boy or a girl, so I will just call it Junior!"), Schwarzenegger marks a brilliant return to form, albeit without the lame jokes and the bulging biceps. He seems to have made an about-turn in his approach to making films, although to some extent it is sad to see the Arnie of old leaving - he seems incapable of handling serious roles because of his inane stupidity and sheer size. Still, in the short-term, this particular film was pretty good - SFX were startling in places, Gabriel Bryne was brilliantly casted as the Devil, and the whole set up was consequently infinitely better than Arnie's last incarnation, "Eraser."
Eraser (1996)
Arnie returns to form?
As usual, Arnie exceeds himself in terms of his own sheer stupidity. He can't act, can't speak English and certainly hasn't retained any of the brute strength on show in his earlier movies. But Eraser was, along with many of Schwarzenegger's recent movies, strangely enjoyable despite the abundance of flaws. The SFX were appalling and Arnie cut back on his "humorous" puns (the best one here was when he shot a crocodile and proclaimed, "You're luggage!"), but he has always held his own in his movies, probably because of his sheer size. If you're looking for a plausible action movie, then this isn't for you. If, however, you like the clichéd way in which Arnie emerges from every explosion he undergoes wielding two turbo machine guns and yelling, "I'll be back" in his distinctive Austrian accent, you'd love it.
Fierce Creatures (1997)
Better than A Fish Called Wanda...
A Fish Called Wanda seems to pale into insignificance in the presence of this far superior remake-cum-sequel. The dialogue is always amusing, and Kevin Kline uses his brilliant comic timing to rival the longstanding comic genius that is John Cleese. There are several running jokes too, such as the one involving Rolo's apparently bizarre sexual habits, and these serve the film's comic effect tremendously. Kline plays a similar character to the one he adopted in Wanda - a self-obsessed loser with no moral purpose; meanwhile, Cleese reprises a role similar to his infamous portrayal of the inept Basil Fawlty. There were really only two weak links - the ridiculously lamentable jokes to which Michael Palin and Robbie Corbett were subjected. Palin was a one-joke character ("The Man Who Can't Stop Talking", and Corbett was his usual irritatingly small self. True, this film could have been much better, but looking at most of the other so-called "comedies" around these days, it looks as if Fierce Creatures may have pulled the trump card.
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Mike Myers Mark II
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me does for badly-made sequels what the original Austin Powers did for spoofs on James Bond. The jokes in Austin Powers 2 are merely rehashed creations of the original - the movie is littered with the same old gags of Dr. Evil's "zip it," lines such as, "Yeah baby, yeah!" and a newer, updated version of Dr Evil's Big Boy space hideout, now in the shape of a phallic penis. There were, of course, some hilarious scenes, mostly involving the new characters of Scottish henchman Fat Bastard and his stool. This movie made $54m in its first week of US release, as audiences quickly snapped up tickets in the mistaken belief that it would be even funnier than the original, but as soon as they realised that in fact, this movie was less funny than, to quote Powers, "Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day," it soon bombed out of the charts. Still, the film will go down in history as a roaring success, and though it does have more appeal to Americans than to me, a Brit, I still don't see how any person would pay to see funny one-only jokes retold to them over and over again. Anyway, Myers should be happy - the money generated from commercial plugs from the movie (Starbucks Coffee & Virgin Atlantic) should alone tide him over for years to come. And I fear that that was the whole point in this movie - unlike the first, it was made to make money, not to make people laugh. I will have one fond memory of this movie though - the sight of an Austin-sponsored Virgin "Shagatlantic" billboard on a recent trip to New York. It read, "London to New York. Five times a day baby, yeah!"
Notting Hill (1999)
The Best Movie Ever?
Notting Hill is one of those few sequel movies that is actually BETTER than its original. Living in Britain, I remember well the hype that surrounded the launch of Four Weddings (it was labelled "The Rebirth of British Cinema), but this movie was by far and away better. Many films nowadays are labelled "romantic comedies" - but most of the time, they're either not funny or they're not romantic (take "You've Got Mail", for example). Notting Hill was a true romantic comedy - very funny and perfectly romantic, without becoming too corny.
Hugh Grant fits Richard Curtis's script brilliantly - those "uhhs" and "ummms" that litter his speech make the film twice as funny - just listen to that little squeal he gives out before resorting to pretending he's a journalist from House & Hound magazine. Julia Roberts shines marvellously too - a pretty good insight into the life of a movie star. And whoever it is who plays Hugh Grant's flatmate Spike - it was an hilarious performance - my favourite line was, "well chosen pair of briefs, if I must say".
The day after seeing the film, I woke up and actually wanted there to be a real-life saga unfolding in the media about an ordinary man in the street & a movie star - and thats what I now think makes a real film. One where you actually want it to come true. This is real entertainment.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Brilliant, brilliant film
This has to be one of the best, if not the best, movie I have ever seen. Combining the masterful acting skills of Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, Frank Darabont blends empathy with brutal physical and emotional violence to the best possible effects. The chemistry between Robbins and Freeman is wonderful, whilst clinical, precise and realistic writing from Stephen King ensures that this is one of the most worthy candidates for Movie of the Decade. If you only ever see one movie for the next 10 years, see this one.