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Warcraft (2016)
just boring
As a long time Warcraft player (WC1, WC2, WC3, WoW, HearthStone) I have to say this movie is just plain boring. I know the Warcraft background lore but I was expecting a quality movie. Instead it seems the viewer constantly gets Warcraft lore thrown at him at a rapid pace just for the sake of it, there is zero to no character evolving. It feels like a very long high quality Blizzard trailer, not like an actual movie.
For people unfamiliar with the Warcraft lore this must be a really boring film.
I couldn't help myself with comparing the film with Lord of the Rings at some points due to both being fantasy movies with a strong story on an epic scale. What LOTR achieves and WarCraft fails at miserably though is telling that story in an interesting way.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
one of the most boring movies i've seen in recent years
This has got to be one of the most boring movies I've seen in recent years. So slow , so dull, so uninteresting as a whole. I think the main problem with this film is just the continuously boring atmosphere in the movie. I didn't recall hearing any musical score, instead you have to listen to boring, old, decaying voices of actors like Tommy Lee Jones.
I kept hanging in there watching it until the very end, hoping it would become any better since it won so many Oscars, but alas, it did not get any better at all.
In retrospect, I can see that the movie got a high rating here on IMDb so I guess it's just me. But I seriously didn't enjoy this movie at all.
Planet Earth (2006)
Excellent documentary about our planet and some of its inhabitants
I recently bought an internal Blu-Ray drive for my PC and stumbled upon Planet Earth while looking for some potential titles to buy. Since the box got a lot of positive reviews and it was priced quite cheap, I decided to buy it. I already own hundreds of DVD titles but apart from An Inconvenient Truth, none of them are documentaries.
Watching the first few chapters of Planet Earth reminded me about my childhood some 2 decades ago and how much I loved watching nature documentaries on TV back then. But in those 2 decades that interest had been completely submerged and made room for the usual teenage & adolescent stuff like parties, a busy job, TV series, movies, video games and what not. Watching Planet Earth at first felt surrealistic, like a big step out of 21st century day-to-day reality as we have known it. But then you suddenly realize that the visuals of Planet Earth ARE in fact the day-to-day reality and our daily life is what is out of place here. A bit of an eye-opener to say at least...
Without going much into detail, Planet Earth comes in 11 episodes of each roughly 45 minutes playtime. The first episode (named From Pole To Pole) is more like an overview of what is to be expected from the series, the other 10 episodes then more focus on specific aspects of our planet like deep oceans, rain forests, caves, etc. For each episode multiple locations across multiple continents are visited as well, which gives a very brief but interesting overview of the subject, and without becoming boring like so many documentaries do.
Each episode is accompanied by some great music and is wonderfully narrated by David Attenborough, at least in the UK version of the BD set. When buying localized versions of the BD set, make sure Attenborough's narration is still on it as well. My mother-tongue is Dutch but I had no problems understanding David Attenborough while I had English subtitles on (by lack of Dutch subtitles on the UK BD). Also on the Dutch localized BD the video is actually more compressed which results in a loss of image quality. So be aware what version you buy and do some research first! Also in regards to extras, the DVD set and some localized BDs have the Planet Earth Diaries (Making Of) where the UK BD release doesn't have it. Older 4-disc BD releases also don't have the 2 bonus episodes about Desert Lions and Snow Leopards, the newer 5-disc releases do have them. Then there is also another extra that appears on some releases and which is called Planet Earth - The Future and consists of 3 episodes but after some researching I'm not even sure on which releases it can be found.
I have watched all the content on the BDs in a single weekend and I was just stunned by the beauty of some places on our planet which haven't been 'poluted' yet by mankind. And after finishing the last disc I already wanted to watch the first one again, the series is that good. It's actually the filming in different locations for the same subject that gives Planet Earth a very high re-watch score, compared to other documents that focus more on a single topic and tend to get too boring for multiple views.
What I also loved so much about Planet Earth is that for most episodes, you don't see any sign of humans or human civilization at all, but only footage of our planet and its wildlife accompanied by some great music and Attenborough's voice. That also contributed to making this documentary so great for me. Had they started interviewing local population for example, that surely would have made it a bit less enjoyable for me.
My score of 10/10 is for Planet Earth as a documentary without linking it to any platform release. When I look at my UK 5-disc Blu-Ray edition then I would rate it 8/10 for a BD release. On the pro side you have the fact that a lot of scenes are shot with full HD cameras and are absolutely stunning. Also the audio track with Attenborough's narration and the music is great. I also liked the 2 extra episodes about Desert Lions and Snow Leopards. And of course, unlike some localized versions, the image quality isn't further reduced. But on the con side, the Planet Earth Diaries as well as the Planet Earth Future episodes are missing as extras on this release. I fail to understand why they didn't release a version that included all extras together in one package, since especially the Diaries are very interesting. They show what the camera teams all had to go through before they could shoot their 'perfect shots'. Then also, while most images are shot with full HD cameras, some scenes like infra-red night scenes are not full HD.
A small note I want to add about the 'gore' in Planet Earth since I saw some people complain about how the series too often shows how one animal is killing and eating another one. Well, I experienced exactly the opposite! Yes you often see one animal chase another animal but if it manages to catch it (which certainly isn't always the case) you rarely see any blood in those scenes. Usually the footage stops when the predator has stopped a fleeing prey, well before any blood is seen. I also wouldn't like to see one animal eat another one in full gore visuals but I think with Planet Earth they managed to find the perfect balance between showing how cruel nature can be and prevent people to be loathed by blood and gore.
Swordfish (2001)
Really great action movie
I honestly don't quite understand why this film got so many bad reviews. I got it on DVD I think about a year ago and saw it 3 times since and I still love it. The film has 3 great actors in it. I simply love John Travolta as the macho bad guy, if you liked him in Broken Arrow you'll like him here again. Halle Barry no doubt is one of the cutest actresses around and she plays her role of a sexy seducer perfectly. And finally Hugh Jackman is really well casted as the main character.
What I like about Swordfish in particular compared to other action movies is this high-tech macho bad guy atmosphere that hangs around during the entire movie (the film's 'high tech' techno music certainly adding up to this). It might not have as much explosions as another action film but it has a unique atmosphere. Especially in the first half of the film this comes out beautifully. The action scenes near the end with the bus were a bit over the top if you ask me, but apart from that this film is truly great.
I gave it a well deserved 9/10 rating.
I, Robot (2004)
Very good film !
Watched this film yesterday on the big screen and I really enjoyed it a lot. I really do enjoy Will Smith in these roles, although Enemy of the State still remains by far my favorite Smith movie. I Robot was progressing really fast paced if you ask me, I liked that. There weren't any slow moving scenes in there where you start yawning and wish the plot moved on a bit. One thing that slightly annoyed me was the beginning of the film :
/sarcasm on
I wasn't sure if the film already started or if I was watching a stretched out commercial for an Audi TT 2 prototype.
/sarcasm off
I'd rate it at least 8/10, perhaps even 9/10.
Enemy at the Gates (2001)
Good film, 8/10
Not a bad film but the people that dislike this movie prolly expected too much of a war movie. Enemy at the Gates isn't a war movie though, it's a battle between a Russian and a German sniper which is placed at the WWII Stalingrad background. The film could have taken place at any war any place for that matter.
Best actor in the film was in my opinion Ed Harris, I totally loved him in his role of Major König. For the rest the 3 main actors aren't doing too bad either but they surely don't compare to Ed Harris.
Film has a decent amount of gore in it. At the end of the film I think I'd seen enough headshots but hey, what to expect about a sniper film. :) I did buy it on DVD though and IMO is worth the purchase if you like the genre.
I gave it a rating of 8/10.
Swordfish (2001)
Really great action movie
I honestly don't quite understand why this film got so many bad reviews. I got it on DVD I think about a year ago and saw it 3 times since and I still love it. The film has 3 great actors in it. I simply love John Travolta as the macho bad guy, if you liked him in Broken Arrow you'll like him here again. Halle Barry no doubt is one of the cutest actresses around and she plays her role of a sexy seducer perfectly. And finally Hugh Jackman is really well casted as the main character.
What I like about Swordfish in particular compared to other action movies is this high-tech macho bad guy atmosphere that hangs around during the entire movie (the film's 'high tech' techno music certainly adding up to this). It might not have as much explosions as another action film but it has a unique atmosphere. Especially in the first half of the film this comes out beautifully. The action scenes near the end with the bus were a bit over the top if you ask me, but apart from that this film is truly great.
I gave it a well deserved 9/10 rating.
Something's Gotta Give (2003)
I think this is a great film for it's genre
This is only the second "romance comedy" I watched in theatres (What Woman Want being the first) and the genre doesn't interest me that much since I'm more a fan of thriller & drama. I saw Something's Gotta Give yesterday though (my friends picked it out) and I must say I did enjoy the entire film and it didn't bore me a single moment. I really like Jack Nicholson as an actor and he was performing very well if you ask me. This was also the first Diane Keaton film for me and I liked her in the film as well.
I don't plan to buy it on DVD when it gets out but nevertheless, it gets my 8 out of 10 score.
Unbreakable (2000)
Extremely boring movie
I didn't like this film from the first 5 minutes until the very last minute. I felt like I was watching a really cheap low budget TV movie with a pathetic storyline. I liked The 6th Sense a lot, even bought it on DVD, but I don't understand how people can even compare the 2 films with each other. Or is it just because Bruce Willis plays in both?
Crimson Tide (1995)
disappointing
I like submarine movies a lot, in fact I have 4 of them on DVD and I'm watching them very short after each other for the best comparison. I already voted 9/10 for U-571 a week ago which I thought was a really great movie. Now Crimson Tide is a big disappointment compared to U-571 and I only gave it 6/10. Watching U-571 for the second time on DVD made it only get better, for Crimson Tide multiple views make the film worse.
The other two submarine movies I have are still pending: Das Boot - The Director's Cut and The Hunt For Red October.
U-571 (2000)
Great submarine movie!
Being a fan of submarine movies I've seen the two biggest classic flicks in the genre which are of course The Hunt For Red October and Das Boot. A couple of years ago I've also watched Crimson Tide which left me with a rather sour impression of Hollywood sub movies of the nineties. Well, I didn't have my hopes up too high for this one which probably explains why I enjoyed it so much.
U-571 IMO doesn't copy Das Boot or Red October but tells it's own story (very well done by the way) with a few of nowadays flavors added. The movie scores very high on the special effects and sound department but also the reconstructed subs and locations used in the beginning of the movie were excellent chosen. The cast and acting were very good as well for a movie like this (Bill Paxton most worth noting). Now were there any historical flaws in the movie? I didn't note any of them and I have seen my fair share of WWII movies.
All things together this is a very well done and thrilling submarine action movie if you ask me. I never watched it on the big screen but bought the DVD when it came out here in Europe a few months ago. Today I watched the movie for the second time and I even enjoyed it more than the first time. Rating: 9/10.
Alien Resurrection (1997)
My thoughts on all Alien movies (spoiler alert)
I recently bought all 4 DVDs of the Alien films at a great bargain price (all 4 separately, even cheaper than buying the entire Alien DVD Collection at once). I had already seen Aliens and Alien 3 very long time ago (vagely remembering some pieces) but now watched all 4 films in the right order. I'll write my conclusion in the comments of this film because it's the latest installment in the Alien franchise. Here are my thoughts.
Alien. I think this film is both great and mediocre. Great because it's the first film and thus was able to start developing the great alien story line (which it did great, I only regret the cocoon scene explaining the alien life cycle was deleted). Also because it has a nice dark atmosphere throughout the entire film and feels the most scary of all movies. The film was also mediocre because it has a lot of flaws in it. For example after this guy (forgot name) had a facehugger on him for a few days, the facehugger is mysteriously gone. What happens next is that all crew are happily sitting together joining their meal, laughing, breading the same air as if the most normal thing happened the passed days. I mean, WTF?, do they not have quarantine rules or something? Also in the beginning of the movie quarantine restrictions seem to only be laughed away. As the story enfolds, you can understand that from the android but not the other crew members. I was constantly thinking "omg, this can't be happening". To me the entire crew felt more like an amature team of space explorers to me which is one of the main reasons the film never drew me into the story line. Rating: 7/10.
Aliens. This movie picks up on the story very well. Also the contrast with the first one (faced paced action Sci-Fi thriller versus a very slow and dark horror movie) is superb. I really liked the casting on the marine team as well. Action and special effects are far superior here as in the other movies. This one is definately a classic. Rating: 9/10.
Alien3. While a lot of fans seemed to find this film horrible I have to say I liked it. Just like the second one but in lesser extend it picks up on the storyline (although I have a few questions about the egg and 2 facehuggers on board and didn't like the instant death of Higgs and Newt either). For the rest this film was great IMO. Most people describe this one as a drama / tragedy film which I agree upon. What I enjoyed most was the part where they wanted to capture the Alien later in the film. Especially the chases through the alien bug-eye view were great. Very well shot. Also the decision to make Ripley die in the end of the film was great. If they would have got some super doctors to put her into surgury and remove the alien from her chest it would have been a joke. Rating: 8/10.
Alien Resurrection. Well here I agree with most of you to say the film should never have been made. The first three movies fitted together very well (the Alien trilogy where Ripley dies at the end of the 3rd film) so any director to even think making a 4th film should better come up with a great storyline. This is where it all went wrong. While the first three films picked up the story very good the fourth seems to not even belong in there. The idea of having Ripley resurrected on its own is something I don't like much but it's also built into the storyline the most aweful way. Heck, for all I care they could just as well have invented time travel and go back to the beginning of Alien3. Beam me up Scotty! If they so badly wanted to make a fourth film after all it would have been better to have an all new cast in there with a new main character. Also the aliens in Alien Resurrection looked way to slimey and at some points even reminded me about Jurassic Park (which the other three never did). The casted crew here is in no way comparable to the Marine crew in Aliens, Winona Rider's character is the only one that at least has some depth. Also the entire story around the newborn humanoid alien at the end of the film is discusting. Weaver's acting is the worse of all films, special effects are not half as good as in the second film which is more than 10 years older. The first had a great dark atmosphere, the second one was the action movie of the series, the third one the dramatic film but this here? I'd say it's a shame it even belongs in the Alien series. Rating: 4/10
Future. For the future I hope they make a new movie because seeing with what miserable story Alien Resurrection left us is horrible. With the games Aliens Vs. Predator and AvP2 being quite popular I even heard some rumors an Aliens Vs. Predator movie could be made. Well, while I don't immediately like the idea to cross these movies I think with a decent story it could actually be worth it. But I certainly hope we don't need to see anyone of the survivors from Alien Resurrection in there. Weaver's character is completely ruined thanks to Alien Resurrection. Develloping Rider's character could be interesting but heck, she could just as well be dumped for somebody else.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Worst film I've ever seen. (spoiler alert)
I never saw this film and because all you people gave it such great comments I decided to buy the DVD a few days ago. Well, I just watched it and here are my two cents.
1. Way too violent. Not only torchering a cop for fun, cutting his ear off, but also shooting a one-eared man from the ugly side is just plain horrible. I thought this was supposed to be a ganster film, not some over-blooded piece of horror junk. Shocking at the least!
2. Way too long conversations. Sometimes it seems as if the film isn't going any further. For example when Mr.White is explaining how Mr.Blonde killed those innocent people at the jewelry store he goes like "bam, bam, bam, bam, bam" with a 2 second pauze in between. Then Mr. Blonde is repeating it all again and adds some irrelevant comment as well. Also the final shootout scene where everyone is lying nearly dead on the ground is way too long. At these times I'm thinking "gees, what is the point of all this?"
3. Not enough locations. More then half the film is in this storage building. Well, if I want fixed backgrounds I'll go watch a play in a theatre somewhere. In a film I want different sets & locations.
4. Way too much of the "F"-word is in this film. For you guys that might sound cool and the first 5 minutes it might even be cool but an entire film of swearing and cussing, gees. If I want to hear such language I'll play a Limp Bizkit album.
Overall: I was EXTREMELY disappointed in this film and out of the 64 DVD's I own I honestly consider this one to be the worse film I own. And that's even of a series including movies like Titanic, go figure.
To summarize the film in three words I'd say: bloody boring swearing.
IMDB rating 1/10.
my 2 cents
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Well I for one enjoyed this movie big time.
So many negative comments I just have to add mine. I loved this film, it's one of the best action movies I ever saw. Indeed the story is simplistic and indeed it's mainly a one-man show instead of a team operation but that doesn't take away this film includes a lot of stunning action scenes. From the cliff hanging to the car chase (way too short but man I love that Audi TT Roadster :p), from the shootout at BioInc (or what was the name of that company) to the action at the island. The bike chase, that man-to-man fight at the end, ... John Woo did it this time... and BIG. Best action film he did IMO.
One more word about the slow motion action scenes. Man, I just love that. It looks very similar to those sequences from The Matrix but who gives a damn.
If you want a team-based Mission Impossible film with a twisted plot you might be disappointed but if you enjoy an incredible (and unrealistic at times - but who cares) action film then MI2 is exactly what you need.
I rated it 10/10 BTW, looking at it as a pure action film.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Stunning back then, mediocre right now.
I was nailed to the ground when I first saw this movie on the big screen. But now almost 8 years later I find it nothing more than a mediocre film: the special effects and sound quality are still very nice but what a poor story and poor acting it includes (Jeff Goldblum being the exception). I recently bought the 2 Jurassic movies on DVD, also to get my total of 5 "Columbia DVD points" to get Erin Brockovich for free. :) Well, me wonders now if it wouldn't have been better to just buy Erin Brockovich and leave Jurassic Park and The Lost World for what they are. Ooh well, I assume both disks will be of some entertainment for my kids in the future. Rating: 7/10.
PS 1 - I agree on the jerky children. PS 2 - I'll probably go see Jurassic Park III in theatres anyway. :)
U.S. Marshals (1998)
Good sequel
I believe U.S. Marshals is a good sequel to The Fugitive. The action is there again with a stunning plane crash in the first quarter of the movie and some nice gunshot scenes in the middle. This time Wesley Snipes makes a great fugitive as well and Tommy Lee Jones returns as the U.S. Marshal who can get to chase him. One thing that disappointed me was the ending because I would have expected some more action there. Nevertheless I enjoyed watching it a lot and gave it a 8/10 rating. Personally I liked the Fugitive a bit more but U.S. Marshals makes for a good follow up. If you liked the original then I think you will like this one as well. The DVD version has a lot of behind the scenes info on the plane crash as well.
The Faculty (1998)
big disappointment for me
*** WARNING - SPOILER AHEAD ***
I rented The Faculty today and I must say I had high expectations after reading the description on the rental box. But the movie turned out to be a big disappointment. The whole idea of alien teachers getting after their students was good IMO but that was about it. The acting was poor mediocre, even bad in some moments and the way they came up with the idea that there is a Queen alien is ridiculous. In that other movie (Body Snatchers) killing the Queen would lead to destroying all alien beings and they say "hey... it must be the same here." I didn't buy that once.
For some scary entertainment I would recommend Scream 1 & 2 or I know what you did last summer & I still know what you did last summer. Those movies were a lot better and had a much nicer plot twist and acting. If you like the alien stuff more than the horror then I would recommend Men In Black which is also a lot better than The Faculty.
I rated the movie 3/10. If it wasn't for this beautiful brunette's appearance it would even be 1/10.
Enemy of the State (1998)
Whoah, great surprise
Enemy Of The State is a great movie. I rented the VHS today with the intention to get a mediocre action movie but I was pleasantly surprised. I never liked Gene Hackman's acting much but I think he performed one of his best in this movie. Will Smith on the contrary felt a bit misplaced in this role. He truly shined in Bad Boys which is in my top 3 favorite movies of all time but here he didn't seem to fit in much. Thumps up as well for the woman who acted Smith's wife in this movie. The scene where she and Smith were arguing was very well done. And last but not least John Voight was a great bad guy as usual but he will never be as good again (at least for me) as his performance of the blind man in U Turn. That was truly superb.
As for the rest of Enemy o/t State I really liked the way the movie evolved towards the end. I must have thought about 3 or 4 times "this is it, they're going to get the bad guys and the movie is over" but something unexpected always happened and made the movie go on. Something I've never seen in a Hollywood action movie before which I can only applaud for.
Also the guy who played the character that gets killed in the very beginning of the movie is a great actor. I just can't find or remember his name but I've seen him in a lot of other movies. It does surprise me however that he signed to play such a small role in this movie since he's among the big stars in Hollywood.
All things together the movie was a great enjoyment. I rated it 8/10 which is certainly not bad on my action movie scale. A recommendation for every fan of the action or thriller genre.
Titanic (1997)
Best movie ever? Perhaps.
I like Titanic a lot and for me personally it's among the best movies ever. I saw it in theatres back in 1998 and now recently bought the DVD. I must say I'm not much a fan of Romantic movies but what I like so much in here is everything about the ship Titanic itself. From the first scenes underwater in the present time until the sinking itself near the end of the movie. Also the first day Titanic set sail and the engine rooms are shown are great to watch. Many times, even during the sinking, they have the camera moving around the ship so great that it really looks like the real thing. But the best part in special effects no doubt starts with the breaking of the first mast, until the ship goes down under completely. A good recommendation for all Titanic buffs and romantic souls. I rated it 10/10 which makes it my 4th favorite DVD title after Ronin, Bad Boys and Rob Roy.
The Second World War in Colour (1999)
Probably the best documentary about World War II
"The Second World War in Colour" or simply "Colour of War" as it is released here in Belgium is a very good documentary about WWII and how it affected life around the world between 1940 and 1945. The entire documentary is a collection of authentic images, all in colour, of which a lot have been previously unreleased. Some images can be quite shocking at times and no doubt leave you with a bitter impression on how horrible war can be. The commentator also reads out a lot of letters or diary fragments from people who lived or died during World War II. Knowing this, you might think that the documentary in a whole would loose coherence but it's quite the opposite because even though "Colour of War" is mainly a collection of authentic images and letters it felt like everything fitted together very well.
About all the major events which happened during the period 1936-1945 are included. For example the German invansion in Poland and France, the bombing of London, Pearl Harbor, the confrontation between the American fleet and the German U-boats, Stalingrad, the American invasions of the Japanese islands, D-day, the Holocaust, Japanese Kamikazes, Hiroshima, ... it's all there.
I recommend this documentary to everyone who is interested in WWII or to people who would like to know some historical background information on movies like "Saving Private Ryan" or "Das Boot".
Rob Roy (1995)
A well deserved 9/10
Rob Roy is an excellent movie. The story is good and all actors seem to fit in their roles very well. Jessica Lange, Tim Roth, Liam Neeson and a lot of side-actors all gave a magnificent performance. But probably the best actor in the whole movie are the Scottish highlands. You just got to love nature itself when you see movies like this.
Why not a 10/10 you might guess? Well it's the part of me that likes to see big battles like in Braveheart or siege weapons like in The Messenger that holds back that last point. If that's what you're looking for you won't be pleased with Roy Roy but for a good story in 18th Century Scotland this movie is perfect. I enjoyed it a lot.
Ronin (1998)
It's a pity I can't rate 11/10 because Ronin deserves it all the way!
A small introduction. Heat with Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer is one of my all-time favorite action thrillers and I was looking in the IMDB for some other good movies of the same kind. So I stumbled upon Ronin and read the comments by you all. I thought that if it was half as good as Heat it would have been satisfying and so after viewing the trailer I bought the DVD yesterday. Today I watched the movie and I'd have to say Ronin can't really be compared with Heat. But it turned out it's 200% as good as Heat and now Ronin is by far the best action movie I've ever seen.
Now comes the part where I say what I like about the movie but I don't really know where to start. :) There is so much I like about it but I'll try anyway. The cast, acting and character relations are superb. The action is great, the music is great, the car chases are great, the gunshot scenes are great, the filming locations are the best and the camera positions are awesome. That sums it about up. :)
A lot of you seem to talk about nothing else than the car chase. I agree it's the best chase I've ever seen but this movie is so much more than just a car chase. It has a really great plot to start with. And the relationship between De Niro and Reno is really terrific. So for whoever is considering renting or buying this movie but starts having second thoughts that it's all about a single car chase... don't let that mislead you. Ronin is simply the best action thriller I've ever seen, perhaps even the best movie in all categories. I should be able to rate it 11/10 because it's truly near-perfect. And the fact that this is an action movie in France instead of another one in New York makes it all the better.
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
The most funny action movie I ever saw
OK, the movie is old but I loved it back then and now bought the DVD. The Last Boyscout is the most funny action movie I ever saw. Bruce Willis is great in here, playing that lowlife detective that doesn't seem to care about anything but a good smoke. Also Willis' daughter Darian in the movie is quite fun because of the language she uses. Great movie, a must see IMO if you like a good action-humor combination.
Heat (1995)
Best gangster film I've ever seen.
This must be the best gangster movie I've ever seen (bought the DVD today). A big part of it reminds me of the old Miami Vice series. The atmosphere, the music, the women, ... But Heat even goes a little further with better action scenes. Instead of mostly filming the good guys Heat seems to divide that 50-50. Kinda weird because in the beginning you don't know whether you should look at the police as the good guys or the gangsters, really terrific! What I liked most was that particular gunshot scene after De Niro & Co robbed the bank. It is simply the best gunshot scene I've seen until today. Only negative comment I could say about Heat is that the movie is a bit too long, even if it doesn't get boring a single time. And maybe a little more action scenes would not have hurt. I rated it 9/10.
The 13th Warrior (1999)
Well worth watching!
I really like historical movies like Braveheart and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. So I was expecting a lot from The 13th Warrior.
The battles in The Messenger are the best ones I've ever seen in a historical movie and The 13th Warrior doesn't come close to beating that. There are no castles or trebuchets but it's for the best IMO! The Vikings lived in the early medieval ages, long time before all the castles were erected. And that's also how this film feels.
The 13th Warrior includes a beautiful built village that feels like it came right out of 7th Century Norway. Everything is made out of wood and it's surrounded by these beautiful pine trees which make it all look very realistic. And that is also what I liked most about this film. Add some nice looking Viking longboats to that and you've got the picture I think. The battles were OK, not bad but just OK. The acting was done very good as well and the costumes looked terrific.
Only thing that I found below mediocre was the storyline. I think the movie would have been a lot better if it was more based on historical facts and covered the Viking raids or something. I really like Viking history and would love to see a movie based on some of their conquers. This movie seemed more like a heroic fairy tale where the good guys come to the rescue and get rid of the bad guys. But still I found the film amusing to watch and would recommend it to anyone who at least has the slightest interest in medieval movies. Only the longboats, the village and the costumes make it more than worth watching. Too bad it's such a short movie (98 minutes on VHS here in Belgium).