Reviews

Since I enrolled in International Cinema at my university, I've had the opportunity to see classic foreign films in the theatre, and it's really opened me up to the genre. I'd have to say that this movie (Shoeshine, in English) struck me as one of the most powerful I've seen yet, a sad, bleak commentary on children's lives in postwar Italy. Shoeshine dealswith a pair of children living on the street, best friends who shine shoes for a living and whose greatest dream is to buy a horse, something they could actually take care of and call their own. Pasquale, the older boy, and Giuseppe, the younger, are drawn into a situation they don't quite understand the weight of. Not knowing that the Italian society is chaotic after the war (when children under ten years old are put into prison for crimes like vagrancy), Pasquale and Giuseppe are coerced into doing a favor for Giuseppe's brother, Attilio Filipucci -- they are to bring and sell smuggled American blankets to a lady fortune-teller for the Filipucci family's profit.

Without warning, police appear at the fortune-teller's house, and question her. The boys are paid not to say anything, and are paid just enough to pool their money and buy the horse. Unfortunately, the fortune-teller has the boys taken from the street and into police custody, where, though claiming not to know anything, are fingerprinted and thrown into a juvenile prison. The prison and events that occur in it force the best friends apart, and the previously light-hearted story turns ugly. The boys' environment corrupts them, and innocence is quickly lost.

Directed by the famous Vittorio De Sica, and with Cesare Zavattini doing his trademark poetic screenplay, Shoeshine definitely deserves its place as one of the first foreign films to with the Oscar of the same name. The Neo-realist De Sica does include some comic relief in the movie, and it's not all serious and depressing... The line from Giuseppe to Pasquale as they're walking up a flight of stairs, "Elevators sure are great," and Pasquale's answer of "Yes, I slept in one for quite a while," is one example.

To say any more would give away the story, and you simply must experience this classic for yourselves. My rating: 9/10.

First of all, I would like to say to all the people who absolutely hated this movie and gave it a 1 out of 10, YOU HAVE NO VISION. Whoever you are... you have no creativity, and your mind is about as open as the gate to Area 51. But then again, we're all entitled to our own opinions, right? ;)

This movie broke all the rules. Those who went to see it expecting chainsaws and gore or things suddenly leaping out at people are in for a surprise. I'm not saying movies like the Alien series or Scream, etc., aren't good... Blair Witch just has a completely different way of scaring you. The movie starts out humorous, with three film students setting off to research and report on a legend in a small town, and slowly grows more ominous with each passing minute. If you are actually willing to really WATCH this movie (and not immediately brush it off because of its initial appearance), you'll end up feeling more subtly disturbed afterwards than you may have thought upon going in. Most of my friends, people that have pretty much seen everything, well.... Let's just say that the average psychological disturbance for them was at least 2 days without any sleep. Same for me. The person I went with is rarely scared by anything, and he was white as a sheet during the last half of the movie (I was afraid to drive home alone after it, too!). There were a few days at work where everyone was grouchy and miserable from lack of sleep (most of us had seen it around the same time), but it was a GOOD lack of sleep... ;)

So there. I've either convinced you into seeing it for its genius or scared you into NEVER seeing it (sorry)... And if I say any more, I'll totally ruin it for you!

Blair Witch should at least receive an award for Original Screenplay this year, if nothing else. Good luck Mr. Myrick and Mr. Sanchez, thanks for the adrenaline-filled ride! (10/10)

First of all, I would like to say to all the people who absolutely hated this movie and gave it a 1 out of 10, YOU HAVE NO VISION. Whoever you are... you have no creativity, and your mind is about as open as the gate to Area 51. But then again, we're all entitled to our own opinions, right? ;)

This movie broke all the rules. Those who went to see it expecting chainsaws and gore or things suddenly leaping out at people are in for a surprise. I'm not saying movies like the Alien series or Scream, etc., aren't good... Blair Witch just has a completely different way of scaring you. The movie starts out humorous, with three film students setting off to research and report on a legend in a small town, and slowly grows more ominous with each passing minute. If you are actually willing to really WATCH this movie (and not immediately brush it off because of its initial appearance), you'll end up feeling more subtly disturbed afterwards than you may have thought upon going in. Most of my friends, people that have pretty much seen everything, well.... Let's just say that the average psychological disturbance for them was at least 2 days without any sleep. Same for me. The person I went with is rarely scared by anything, and he was white as a sheet during the last half of the movie (I was afraid to drive home alone after it, too!). There were a few days at work where everyone was grouchy and miserable from lack of sleep (most of us had seen it around the same time), but it was a GOOD lack of sleep... ;)

So there. I've either convinced you into seeing it for its genius or scared you into NEVER seeing it (sorry)... And if I say any more, I'll totally ruin it for you!

Blair Witch should at least receive an award for Original Screenplay this year, if nothing else. Good luck Mr. Myrick and Mr. Sanchez, thanks for the adrenaline-filled ride! (10/10)

I recently saw this movie after many of my friends and acquaintances showered it with compliments. Keep in mind that this is after I've already seen Blair Witch, which was incredible (not to mention terrifying).

The Sixth Sense's shining star (say that 5 times fast) was Haley Joel Osment, who played a leading role as Cole Sear. This young actor is BRILLIANT. It always gets me when certain children can grasp the rules of the stage so easily. I was stunned by his incredible performance as the troubled boy, Cole Sear, who "sees dead people" and who is passed off as schizophrenic or delusional. He can trust no psychologist, and his paranoia has many reasons.

An award-winning psychologist, however, slowly wins this boy's trust. Bruce Willis, playing Dr. Malcolm Crowe, actually surprised me in the nature of his performance. Yes, we all know Bruce Willis as the blood-and-grime-streaked action hero-- but in The Sixth Sense, he is uncharacteristically good as this very caring psychologist, who is marred by a terrible tragedy. (I cannot reveal what this is or I'd spoil an important part of the movie.)

Malcolm is so dedicated to his work as a child psychologist that he begins to forget about spending time with his wife, and having a life of his own again. This may seem trite and overdone in most movies, but is a serious problem in real life and is portrayed fairly well here. Cole must convince Malcolm to help him (believing Malcolm is the only one who will be able to rid him of the ghosts) but this forces Dr. Crowe to decide between his work with Cole... or his own family.

M. Night Shyamalan did well with the plot in that it hasn't been done much before, but the movie absolutely did not succeed in being scary (if that was his intent). It was so utterly obvious when something frightening was going to happen, because the music would increase in volume up until the event for somewhere around a whole minute. It wasn't even FUNNY, like in Scream. I do usually like James Newton Howard's scores; ER, The Fugitive and Flatliners are wonderful, but I guess it's not really his fault he had to do some of the things he did in Sixth Sense.

This blatant, failed attempt at suspense totally brought my rating of this movie down, just because it was so overdone. There were a few tear-jerking minutes in the movie, and the ending was actually a little surprising (the ONLY suspenseful part in the movie). There's a big "yeah, right" factor in certain parts as well, think about it if you've seen the movie. Overall though, I'd say it was a fairly good movie, especially because of young Mr. Osment. He is destined for great things... I'd rate this movie a 7 out of 10.

For a movie it thought would be shallow and made for popular culture, Young Guns II really surprised me. ALL the actors were GREAT in this movie. I especially loved Lou Diamond Phillips and Kiefer Sutherland (of course). Emilio Estevez was wonderful and for once I didn't hate Christian Slater. Also, as a fan of Ferris Bueller, you have to love Alan Ruck, even though he doesn't have a huge part in Young Guns II. I saw the first movie, and it was okay, but I seem to get into and feel for the characters much more in the sequel--they have more depth and there's not as many, so you can focus more on the important relationships. Not to mention a core musical identity of my era named Jon Bon Jovi, who did the theme song (which had some awesome lyrics). Alan Sylvestri did the rest of the score, and I always love his music, too. I ended up buying Young Guns II because it's hard to get through it without tearing up. The tragedy of Billy the Kid is told well in the movie, and if the screenplay had just been a little less choppy, I would have given the movie a 9. I'll have to go for an 8 on this one, but see it anyway, the actors are definitely the highlights of Young Guns II.

Hmmm.... Since I love Kiefer Sutherland so much, my review might be a little biased. He was, however, pretty good in Flatliners. A wonderful idea for a movie, and a great gothic-type thriller. Sutherland's guilt and fright at the return of boy he taunted terribly when he was young (I'll try not to give away the rest) seemed genuine, especially since he seems drawn more often than not to act characters that are a**holes (there was really no other way to put it). As a young medical school student, his research into life after death draws his friends into dangerous situations and a great finale. The medical school did seem a little sub-standard, though, I will admit. Kevin Bacon is great in Flatliners, as is one of my favorite sarcastic actors, Oliver Platt. William Baldwin's also a cutie and did okay, and though I'm not a Julia Roberts fan, so did she. The plot will draw you in and keep you on the edge of your seat, and there's an interesting dark atmosphere pervaded by a lot of red and blue for emotional impact. A good movie.. I'd give it at least an 8 out of 10

You know, I try to say something good about almost every movie, as most things can't be all bad. Well, the one good thing I can say about this movie (from an artist's point of view) is that the visual effects were very well done and stunning. But that's it. Pieces of plot were dangled in front of you to give you a reason to keep watching, and they didn't try very hard. I love Robin Williams in almost everything I've seen him in, but this movie was the COMPLETE opposite of his usual characters. Such a thing is not usually bad... except in this case. Tragedy after tragedy was heaped upon him and his wife (Annabella Sciorra), and I usually LOVE depressing movies! WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, however, had pretty much no comic relief. If I had to describe the theatric experience, I would have to say it was like I was squashed in my seat by a ten-ton weight (which was suddenly lifted when the movie was over).

Now, I received free tickets to see this movie, and my friends, who I had used them for, were MAD at me afterwards for wasting their time with WHAT DREAMS MAY COME. How sad....

Cuba Gooding Jr. played a good character in the movie, but the dialogue assigned to him was abominable. The glimpse of hell was interesting and actually frightened me for a short period of time, and I don't believe in heaven or hell. Good artistic license, but otherwise not a very good movie. I give it a 3

This wonderful movie can only fall in the category of my childhood favorites, between The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Legend, the short-lived Tolkien movies and perhaps Flight of the Navigator (all great 80's fantasies). I LOVE this movie and have to watch it at least every 6 months for fun. When I was small, how I longed to have Falcor be MY friend (sorry if that sounded a little sickly sweet), and to experience Fantasia for myself. It is directed toward a younger audience, so if you didn't see it before around 11 years old, it may be too late now (unless you don't care and love any fantasy movie). This is a movie that still gives me chills at the serious parts (but I'm also a sucker for 80's fantasies) and if I'm depressed, can sometimes make me cry. Personally, I never had the chance to read the book, but I've heard it's wonderful (it's just too bad the movie only made up the first half). I still want to make an Auryn symbol sometime in my metals class! It definitely deserves at least a 9

This movie should have been called Paranoia Incorporated... THE GAME was an incredibly intense psychological thriller, one that keeps you guessing at what's real and what's not. Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas), a wealthy investment banker but a miserable human being, receives a gift from his brother Conrad (Sean Penn) on his birthday ("for the man who has everything"). The "game" that Van Orton becomes involved in consumes every aspect of his life and quickly starts to become nightmarish.

Sparingly advertised or critiqued, this movie was very underrated, and was absolutely the best mystery/thriller I have ever seen. At once you think you know everything that is happening and that is going to happen... but you're in for quite a surprise. The reality of THE GAME changes over and over and you are put in Van Orton's place as you try to figure out what's really going on. I give this movie 9 out of 10. I bought this movie as well, and even though I know what the story is, I still like to imagine what I would do in each situation (plus, if I've invited someone over to watch it for the first time, I love to see their reaction as their predictions are repeatedly dashed to pieces). The ending is nervewracking and insane (in a good way, of course), you will be shocked by it. This is also my favorite movie starring Michael Douglas, he is wonderful in it, and all the other characters are believable and well acted. David Fincher has done well with this movie as a successor to Alien 3 and Se7en, he is the paranoia king!

John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in an eerie hotel, naked and in the bathtub, with no memories and blood on his forehead. (I couldn't imagine a more strange and frightening experience.) The ring of the hotel phone breaks the silence-- a strange man on the other end tells him he must leave because there are people looking for him. Many events such as this one unfold in Dark City, where "man has no past... and humanity has no future".

Dark City has been passed over by so many critics it's depressing. I think that it should at least have been up for "original screenplay" or SOMETHING at the Oscars to reward Alex Proyas for his fantastic vision. I fail to see why so many people label this movie "noir" like it's BAD or something. Being dark and twisted is not a crime, and despite some other people's comments, this movie is NOT just for the trenchcoat-wearing masses (or if it is, maybe the rest of you can learn something from Goths). If you like sci-fi, dark plots and having reality be so well distorted that you don't realize it IS, so you will love Dark City. (People who have seen the Matrix BEFORE this movie MUST see it, it is very similar in these three respects).

I gave it a 9 out of 10 ONLY because I thought the ending fight scene was a bit weak. Great for a fight scene, but because the rest of the movie focuses on John Murdoch's quest to discover his past and the eerie, ominous happenings in the city, the climax seemed hastily thrown together, as if the crew all of a sudden remembered they had a deadline to meet and could no longer continue the plot in the previous fashion.

The visuals in this movie were absolutely stunning. The effects were NOT used to substitute for the plot, like other movies such as Starship Troopers, Lost in Space and Alien: Resurrection. They were used only as needed and were breathtaking. The editing is NOT as choppy as is rumored, it only lends to the power of the movie. There are some heart-stopping images in Dark City. Watch for the Strangers' clock, views of the city and John's memories.

Proyas takes ideas and ambience from many other movies but integrates them all neatly into Dark City. Gotham City is clearly seen as is Metropolis and other influences such as Ed Hopper's "Nighthawks" dominate in the diner scenes. The forty-ish era (yet strangely futuristic) city is known to be populated, and yet it is ominously empty (hence one of Hopper's main themes, isolation in large cities). (It's especially quiet at midnight, hehehehe... ;D ) This 40's era ambience together with the sci-fi fantasy undercurrent makes for a very interesting feeling while watching.

I'm happy that Kiefer Sutherland, Richard O'Brien (of Rocky Horror fame) and William Hurt agreed to do this movie, it gave Dark City just that much more validation in the USA (I wish things weren't like this, but they are). Kiefer Sutherland is absolutely wonderful and convincing as the doctor/scientist Dr.Schreber, and Rufus Sewell is a properly confused yet determined John Murdoch. Many critics say that William Hurt's character, the detective, and Jennifer Connelly's Emma Murdoch could have used a little more development, but I think part of the point of Dark City was that you don't really know who people are (not to mention yourself). Richard O'Brien and his character's whole race creep me out every time I see the movie, but he's especially frightening and a strange character. I had to resist the urge to talk like a Stranger after seeing the movie a few times.

Trevor Jones, one of my favorite movie composers, did the score for Dark City, and I must say it's very apropo. The deep, bass vocals and frantic themes are some of my favorite aspects, but "Memories of Shell Beach" is a haunting, beautiful song as well. Some of my other favorite scores by him are the Dark Crystal and Last of the Mohicans.

Altogether, I think Alex Proyas had a stroke of genius in the making of this movie. One of the most original dark sci-fi movies I've seen in a long time. It deserves its place with the Matrix, 12 Monkeys and others, pioneers in a field so changed (usually for the worse) since Star Wars and since earlier sci-fi classics. I hope these won't be the last of a (dare I say it?) dying race of movies that have true creativity and originality.

Despite all the negative reactions from the critics when this movie was released, I think that Hook was one of the most interesting and beautiful movies that Steven Spielberg has ever made. I know, I know, why in the world would I think that? After all, he's made so many other more "meaningful" movies. This is how most pretentious, stuck-up nerf-herding critics respond to Hook. However, this just means that these people have absolutely no connection with their inner child. These are the same people who hate Jar-Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I in his entirety (but that's a different story). Never-neverland was a wonderful, fresh new fantasy land, and even though its inhabitants may not be what one expects, I believe the changes were for the good and showed that people can still have an ounce of creativity within them. The relationship between Rufio and Peter (Robin Williams) was at first angering and then heart-wrenching. My favorite part is when the Lost Boys finally realize that Peter really is THE Peter Pan (despite his lawyerhood) and when John Williams' music takes your heart and makes it truly soar to great heights. This is also one of John Williams' better scores. Also, Charlie Korsmo's (playing Jack Banning) acting was superb for someone who was still quite young. I don't know what movie the critics saw. I guess they just are too jaded nowadays to appreciate this comedic and emotional story on childhood.