Reviews

I had generally high hopes for "S.W.A.T." at first. It seemed like a good flick, and I am a good fan of both Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Ferrel. The movie had a good cast, and nice cinematography, however those elements were hampered by the poor dialogue and unrealistic violence.

The plot: A team of S.W.A.T. police are forced to escort an international criminal to high security after he makes a 100 million dollar offer to anyone who can get him out of prison. Although he could easily be bluffing, local gangs decide to believe him and do their best to get him free by use of guns and other deadly weapons. The plot doesn't really begin until 45 minutes within the movie, after an unnecessary amount of training scenes and poor, badly scripted dialogue. It disappointed me to see the difference in dialogue between Colin Farrell in this movie and "Phonebooth" (Farrell was superb in that).

The movie contains a lack of realisticness in its violence as well. Hardly any blood is present. I laugh at the scene where a police bus driver is shot point blank in the skull, and we see bullet go through the window supposedly having had come out the back of his head, and yet not a drop of blood is seen. How realistic. I believe the filmmakers were a little too conservative in fear of the movie getting an R-rating.

Overall, "S.W.A.T." was a little too slow and poorly scripted for my tastes. Cool guns, nice cinematography, however the lack of everything else unfortunately leaves "S.W.A.T." a step behind in the art of cop/action films.

* out of a million *s. Bio-Dome is so bad a movie that I refuse to waste my time by writing any more than a paragraph on it. I just think I had to express my hate to this movie, because it truly is horrible. Pauly Shore deserves those "Razzie" awards or whatever they are for Worst Actor, because he proves his lack of any trace of acting in this. The movie, which is accompanied every five minutes by a different punk rock song that sucks, is complete trash. You don't need know any more. Avoid it. It's a "Bio-Hazard" to any person who watches movies. Made me puke. Blech. PAULY SHORE SUCKS! AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

I would like to start out by saying that I am a hardcore, die-hard junkie of Lord of the Rings. I've watched both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers at least fifty times (combined). I continuously think about the movies where ever I am, and I dream...yes, dream about them also. This may seem a little strange and dramatic coming from a male, but these movies are just so damn good. I must warn you that my review may seem a little biased, but its only because I'm so obsessed with these films.

I can honestly say that I've been waiting for December 17th (ROTK opening day) ever since I saw the Fellowship of the Ring. This may seem unfair to some, considering I've never read the books (though I am in the process), that I am obsessed with these films. However, I think anyone who hasn't read the books has just as much potential for liking these movies than someone who has read them. Even if you don't like fantasy at all, I believe these movies can immediately draw you in. The beautiful vast setting, Howard Shore's fantastic score, and the adventurous plot of the films are absolutely magnificent. Every aspect of The Lord of the Rings, in my mind, is perfect.

The time where I felt most excited was when I bought The Two Towers theatrical DVD and saw The Return of the King preview on it. That preview literally gave me goosebumps....seeing Frodo's expressions as he tries to climb up the mountain, the battle, the setting...it made me want to see it right then. But I knew I'd have to wait another month. From November 25 to December 17 I was so anxious that I found myself ALWAYS thinking about Return of the King and how good it was going to be.

And damn, was it good. Before Two Towers even came out on DVD, I was sending e-mails to my friends asking if they wanted to go with me to Return of the King opening night. By the time December 17 came around, I had gathered up a group of about 10 friends, all Lord of the Rings fans. We went into the theater, took up one whole role, and didn't say a word the entire time. I became totally immersed in the film as soon as it started. I had been waiting for that moment for over a year, and it was finally here.

The Return of the King is a grandly-made movie in every aspect. The acting was awesome from all the characters, and the settings were once again totally sweet. I was a tiny bit disappointed at the lack of great music, but I can't blame Howard Shore. I know composers who couldn't accomplish half of what he did for Fellowship alone in a lifetime of music making. Fellowship of the Ring earns my best music award, but the new music in Return of the King was also very good. Some old themes from the first two movies pop up once and a while in the film, including a faster, altered version of the Rohan theme. The Minas Tirith and overall theme of the movie was the best score of the film.

The acting in this movie is better than both the first movies, that's for sure. Wood and Astin's performances as Frodo and Sam are astonishingly well acted, especially for actors as young as they are. Elijah Wood's depiction of Frodo's gradual deterioration are astounding, and Sam's reaction to Frodo's suffering is also brilliant. Girls and sensitive guys be warned: the film is heavy and will make you cry. I had to try hard to hold back tears within the last 45 minutes of the film.

The battle of Minis Tirith is quite different than the battle of Helm's Deep from The Two Towers. In Return of the King, the battle lasts for about two thirds of the film instead of about a fourth, and begins much earlier in the film. There are 200,000+ orcs in this film's battle, and they've bought some "technological advances" that help them in battle. Seeing this movie gives you the combined power of both the emotions of the characters and the intensity of the battles (just as the first two did).

The theatrical release of The Return of the King is much longer than that of the first two films, but with good reason. Just when you think the movie's over, there is more to be explained. The ending of Return of the King is almost a fifth of the movie itself because it ends on so many levels. It's also very powerful. The ending of The Fellowship of the Ring was one of the best endings I have ever seen. It shows how the journey of the Fellowship is nowhere near complete, and gets you psyched up for the next film. The ending of The Two Towers was a slight disappointment, as it just left me hanging and wasn't as complete as Fellowship's ending. The Return of the King's ending, however, is quite different than the endings of the other films in that IT ENDS. Everything is explained and everything is ended. This was the major cause of my sadness leaving the theater, knowing that it was over. I had been looking forward to it for so very long, and now it was over. Part of me is happy, because it was such a great series of films, but part of me is sad, because I don't want it to end. That's what made the Return of the King's ending so powerful to me, but as Peter Jackson said: everybody is affected in a different way. The Return of the King's ending was indeed powerful, as well as the rest of the film. I strongly encourage anyone to see it. Now I must wait another 11 months for the Return of the King Extended Edition...then I can see even more.

"For Frodo...."

How can an action movie have so little action? The entire movie, except maybe 20 minutes, was all talk. I found this unnecessary, considering the fact that all the talk led to nowhere. That brings me to another factor that ruins the moive. There is a huge lack of plot. The movie seems to move way too fast paced. The chinese girl's acting was absolutely terrible, and whoever played the transporter also had pretty bad acting skills. This movie had several considerable flaws and plot holes. The most annoying part of it is the ending. I was all prepared for a really good action scene and it just stopped. Then I was disappointed. By all costs, avoid this film. Rent The Matrix. Rent Gladiator. Anything but this crap. For those of you who like guns, be prepared for a disappoinment. There were about 2 minutes of guns in the whole film. The rest was talk and some badly coordinated fight scenes. In all, The Transporter deserves nothing more than a 1/10, which is what it received from me.

This expansion pack not only adds new items, but also adds more skins, furnishings for homes, and most of all the ability to go downtown to restaurants and shops. There are over 40 new interactions in Hot Date, and each is seperated into its own category (i.e., there are 7 different kisses in the kiss category). Sims are a lot more social in Hot Date. Hot Date is a great expansion and is definitely for people who want to develop their relationships in the game. 9/10.

If you're going to see this movie for the first time, see it in the theater, because it is much more powerful with the surround sound (the good sound effects add to it also) just as with any war movie. Black Hawk Down ranks up with other movies such as Saving Private Ryan and Platoon, however those wars would decades ago, when in fact this film takes place in recent 1993, when most of us were still alive. The film is based on a very closely related story with true characters and plot. Ridley Scott, one of my most favorite directors, again shows his great talent in Black Hawk Down by going to the limits to make the movie real, and it is very real. I've heard from many magazine articles praising this movie that it is the most realistic war movie out there. It goes deep into you and makes you think how bad war really is. The majority of the soldiers that were sent on the relief mission to Somalia were young and many had never gone into battle before. The film captures the true emotion of these young men when they realize within an hour how bad and unexpectedly bloody a war or special op can get. Hans Zimmer composes yet another great score (he worked with director Ridley Scott on Gladiator also). I am now reading the book, which is just as engrossing as the film, if not more. The thing about this war film was that it is a story of modern war, not WWII or Vietnam or any wars before that. It is also different in a way because these soldiers were sitting ducks and were attacked without warning, so it shows some of the realistic reactions of the soldiers when this occurs like in no other war movie. The film also is focused on one single overnight battle, not several battles as in other war films. Although this may seem to get boring after a while, the film is full of action. If you are looking for impressive special effects and gore and are turning away from this movie believing that the fact that only a little more than a dozen americans were killed decreases its gore, don't. You get plenty of effects and blood in this movie, just as much as all the other war dramas. The actors did a great job in adding to the film's realistic value by showing a variety of emotions during the surprise battle--anger, sadness, and fright. This is quite possibly the greatest war movie out there right now, and I highly recommend it. 9/10

I borrowed this movie on DVD, but I wish I had seen it in the theater for it would have been a lot more fun and powerful there. Despite this, Gladiator is one of the most powerful and moving films I've ever seen. The plot goes so smooth together, as well as the acting and the terrific musical score. Director Ridley Scott puts all effort into making this film an epic, and he does just that. I'd have to say that anyone who likes Ridley Scott (I sure do) should see this. It is a lot like Ridley's other movies (Black Hawk Down was also amazing). If you can stand a little bit--well, ok a LOT of blood and gore, then you should see this. Russell Crowe shows an excellent performance like no other. I don't think there's one bad movie that Ridley Scott has made or that Russell Crowe has acted in. The fact that the brutal battles involving innocent slaves in this film actually happened in real life centuries ago makes it even more interesting and powerful. Emperor Commodus is a truely evil and life-like villian who shows a lot of his wits in attempts to get his revenge against Maximus.

Ridley Scott went to many different locations to shoot this film to make it real, and he does. The film is set in Rome, and it looks just like it. You feel as if you are there in the crowd, hearing them cheer and cheer to see the death. To some of you, this may sound a little barbaric, and believe me the film is VERY barbaric and brutual, however it teaches a very strong lesson of what happens when an economy turns as violent as Rome was. Ridley Scott goes to many lengths to make this movie real, because even though the characters are fictitious, all of this really did happen. Innocent people had to go through brutual fighting while thousands of people cheered for either their death or the enemy's death. If you were an inexperienced fighter, chances are you would get killed. But the strange thing is that Rome LOVED this. People came from all over to see these fights and to see the blood that was shed, that is why you can't blame the characters in this film for being so forlorn and saddened the whole time. The film itself is very dark. The theme is dark and the ending is dark. From beginning to end there is excessive violence (for those action movie-goers, this is a movie for you). But if the violence is concerning you, don't let it. The special effects make the movie great, but it's the acting and storyline that make it spectacular. HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED for anyone who wants a good time. Definitely makes you think. ***** out of *****.

I am one of the many people that saw this movie without reading the book first, and I must say that if this movie is good, then the book must be unbelieveably excellent. I immediately began reading Fellowship of the Ring after seeing this movie because I had heard that the book was better than the movie, and the movie entertained me more than pretty much any other movie I'd ever seen (except for maybe The Shawshank Redemption and Gladiator). I look forward to reading the entire 3 books of the Lord of the Rings because anything better than the movie is sure to amuse me. I also want to have my own opinion on whether the movie was loyal to the book.

Another thing I want to say about this movie was the acting. All of the main characters (Frodo, Gandalf, Strider, etc.) had superb acting in all of the situations. They did great jobs in difficult positions (Frodo, for example, being just a regular hobbit with no supernatural powers goes on this adventure and takes it like someone like him really would.) I really hope to see this movie again soon so I can re-view some of the acting done by the cast and see if it lives up to their personalities and characteristics that evolve throughout the film (although one thing that makes me ponder is why everyone could think that such a golf-ball eyed actor like Frodo could be so hot). Also, no one has to worry about the other films having different characters, for they made all 3 movies at once and are still working on the third one I believe.

I would be able to make this comment a lot more detailed if I had read the book first, for I just now started reading it, but hopefully someone who is reading this is searching for someone's opinion who hasn't read the novel. I believe that this movie is closer to perfection than you can get, and defenitely deserves the top 250 #1 rank that it has. After seeing the film, you get a feeling that tells you that it was very moving and definitely worth seeing, or at least I did (don't be discouraged by the fact that it is 3 hours long). I never even considered reading fantasy because it sounded too boring to me. I was always amused by science fiction, but this movie totally convinced me to reconsider going for fantasy, and I'm glad it did for I would never have had the guts to read what people are calling one of the best books ever or see the number one movie of all time. Highly reccommended. 10/10.

I had heard a lot about this game long before I got it, but I hardly ever had the chance to go to a store and buy it and when I tried I couldn't find it anywhere. I finally found the Rogue Spear Platinum Pack which contained both Rogue Spear and Urban Operations (the mission pack that also adds a lot of custom options in the game). The platinum pack was $50, but man was it worth it. One reason why I might have been so excited about this game was the advertisement on television I saw for it. The first time I heard of the game was from the TV, and that one ad convinced me that this was a great game--and just the right type for me. So, several months later, without yet having the first Rainbow Six game, I bought the Rogue Spear Platinum Pack. When I first played the game I was amazed at how realistic the sound fx, graphics, and all-around theme of the game were, and it still amazes me now. This game has several different types of missions, which I also like, for I favor variety, especially in these types of games. Some types of missions would include recon (not being able to be seen by terrorists and still be able to complete mission objectives), assault (regular missions where the objective is to kill all the terrorists), and hostage rescue. The mission pack Urban Operations even adds more variety to the game, allowing you to customize missions by controlling how many terrorists are in the level using "terrorist hunt" mode. This is a great game, and nowhere is anything taken to literally or too unrealistic. 10/10

It seemed a little slow at first, but near the middle I was beginning to realize that this film was one of the best and most creative action movies ever made. All the actors were great. It took me, however, several times seeing it over and over until I fully understood what the Matrix was. This film kept me squirming in my seat the whole way through. I've seen many action films, but this one is my favorite. The CGI was very impressive, along with all the other special effects. But all the action wasn't the only thing that had me interested. The setting, acting, and script were all close to perfect. Keanu Reeves, being one of my favorite actors, did a great job as Neo. Laurence Fishburne also did a great job. All the main characters had unique attitudes and personalities. I give this movie a 9 out of 10.

I've seen this movie multiple times and I laugh over and over and over still. I must say that for my whole life I've been looking for a movie like this, and when I saw it I was completely satisfied. The kind of humor portrayed in this movie is under the exact category that I love. I never knew that such a semi-serious actor like Jeff Daniels could be so stupid, and it amazed me on how well he played the part. This movie is so ridiculously unintelligent and unrealistic, but that is exactly what makes it so hilarious. I laughed more during this movie than I usually laugh in a month. My side hurt terribly at the end and I couldn't get it to stop.

One of the scenes that really got my attention was quite possibly the stupidest scene of the film, at that would be the resteraunt scene that Lloyd imagines. This particular scene (along with the ones that followed) was so stupid that it made me feel like I didn't know why I was watching this "trash", but it was amazingly funny. Another scene that grabs me is the burger/pepper scene, particularly at the end when Lloyd uses the phrase "check, please" (that line was so perfectly placed that I still laugh when I think about it).

This movie amused me more than any other movie. It is literally the most hilarious film I have ever seen, but I wouldn't recommend it to the easily offended type. However, if you're the kind of insane person like me who just likes to watch movies for the fun of it and doesn't really think about the main ideas, you'll love this film. ***** out of *****.

This was a great film. Ever since I heard of Survivor I was hoping a film like this would be made so I could really see how creative someone could be being lost on an uncharted island. The idea of Wilson the volleyball was also very creative. This is an excellent drama, and Tom Hanks played an extremely well-acted role. I know that I would never be up to gaining weight, then losing a lot (Tom Hanks did that in this film as well as "Philadelphia".) Cast Away is one of my favorite films, and it amazes me every time I watch it. It has a perfect setting, plot, and shows many different creative ways that an unexperienced man could survive on an island. ****1/2 out of *****.

This film is one of Disney's best movies. Denzel Washington's performance was great, as well as Will Patton's. It was a great drama movie, and I got a lot more than I expected when I watched it. The acting was superb, along with the dialogue. This film teaches people how blacks and whites can easily get along if they listen to each other and respect each other. It's emotional at times, but humorous at others. The music was very well composed, also. This film follows a true story decades back when blacks and whites avoided eachother. It taught me, and I'm sure it can teach a great deal of other people, to look at black people in a different way and realize that they are really not different from us at all.

I saw the Sixth Sense in a small theater with my friend, and was very surprised at what I saw. This film taught me that a scary movie doesn't have to be gory and extremely violent to be scary. Frankly, I believe that The Sixth Sense is scarier than many other horror films with killers. Haley Joel Osment's performance as Cole was amazing for a child actor, and Bruce Willis' role was also fantastic. I love scary movies, and this particular one comes down as one of the best I've seen. Everything about it is unique and dramatic; the acting, script, and atmosphere were all perfect for the movie's subject.

Another aspect of this film that makes it enjoyable is the clues it gives throughout the movie. I love thrillers like this that give various hints about the movie throughout to see if you can figure out the outcome of the next event. The director did a great job of giving out hints that caught the viewer's eye (most of them I didn't catch when I saw it at the theater, but when I rented it and watched it again I could spot some). Many twists are also spread in the movie that lead to the ending (which was a shock, even though I kind of guessed it half way through).

Before I saw this movie, I had heard of it and thought it would freak me out. However, it didn't really. Instead, it amazed me. I never imagined that such a genuine film like this could be made. A few moments of the movie did startle me, however, which made it a little more fun. I like this movie more than other horror films because, instead of a gut-wrenching movie to scare and shock you, this one just moves through you, and makes you take into consideration the feelings of the characters instead of watching them all die one by one.

Another addition to the movie that makes it genuine is the music. I don't know who composed it, but it was terrific. It came in at the most appropriate and dramatic parts of the movie, where it was needed most. This movie would have been about 30% less scarier if the music wasn't so good.

I suggest for anyone to see this film (if they can take some slight shocks). It will amaze you a lot more than scare you. It is simply the best thriller movie I have ever seen, because it concentrates on the feelings of the characters instead of blood and guts.

I went to see Planet of the Apes and got just what I expected. Tim Burton could do a lot better than this, but it wasn't terrible. The apes looked pretty good, and the movie was full of twists, which made it more fun. The ending surprised me, but I don't plan to see any sequel. This is an average film--not to good, not too bad--but I would suggest waiting for it to come out on video. The acting of the apes was good, as well as most of the human characters. After a while, however, it became a little boring seeing people fly through the air over and over again. ** out of ****.

Nothing beats the first Jurassic Park movie, but this one came fairly close. It was a little bit more humorous than the first two, but not as quite exciting (it's hard to decide if The Lost World is better than this or not, but I still go with the first Jurassic Park as my favorite). One thing I'd like to point out is that the spinosaur was kind of cheesy--nothing beats T-Rex. I saw this in the theater and wasn't completely satisfied, but I didn't waste my time either. I wish they would have stuck with the old raptors instead of the new ugly ones, also. I own the first two films, but I'll have to put some thought into buying the third one before I do. I guess no one really beats Steven Speilberg.

I rented this movie on a Wednesday night, hoping for a great movie, but what I saw was a pure waste of what could have been a great flick. The dialogue was terrible, and the characters didn't seem to care about anything. It's really sad that someone can get great actors like the ones in this movie and put them in such a terrible film. The movie was boring, and gave itself away way too many times. I love snakes, and I hate to see a crappy movie about them. The acting was also crappy--I frankly hoped that every actor would die, because neither of them give the viewer any reason to care about them. The snake killed every one of the people in the same way (maybe it caught them differently, but it always wrapped around and swallowed them in the same way) and there was hardly and blood or gore when the snake attacked. I once asked someone about this movie, and they explained it very vaguely, but I wished I had asked more so I didn't waste my money on this garbage. One of the most horrifying things about this film is the bad special effects. It would have been better if they just didn't show the snakes' body. The only good part about the film was the regurgitation of Jon Voight's body.

I have seen this movie repeatedly and still think it's one of the greatest. It keeps you excited through the whole film and has more suspense than most other movies I've seen before. The special effects were great, as well as the plot. This is one of Campbell's greatest movies yet.

I cannot believe how stupid this movie is. The first to Problem Childs were okay, but this one was REALLY bad. There was no plot whatsoever, and the dialogue was unbelievably terrible. Ok, so Junior's being driven home by his dad after paralyzing his teacher. His dad says, "There's been a lot of accidents lately," and Junior says, "It's that time of year," and gives a retarded chuckle, then realizes his dad is mad, so he says "So you don't like me anymore"?!!!??!!!!!! That was the lamest thing I had ever seen in a movie. It's obvious the scriptwriter took no time into making the script make sense. I give this movie a 0, but if I could give it less I would say -1,000.

This movie was terrible! The first and second Problem Childs were OK, but this one was just unbelieveable. There was no plot whatsoever--the only good part about it was Gilbert Gottfried. Ok, so Juniors driving in his car after paralyzing his teacher, and his dad says "There's been a lot of accidents lately," and he says "It's that time of year" and gives that retarted chuckle?!! How dumb is that?! Or when he uses a chainsaw to cut a tree and make it fall on Scoutmaster Phlim and push him into the ground--I laughed my head off on how stupid and un-funny that looked. The makers of this movie obviously took no time into making the script of this make sense--It's unbelievable.