Reviews

This is obviously an attempt to exploit the Columbine tragedy, and it's clumsy to boot. The acting by the Killers is God-awful. When they go into the shower together for a make out session (teenage boys to boot, I want to throw up) it looks like they are waiting for someone to give them the signal to go ahead and do it. The killings are even worse. The people running around don't have a look of terror, or even make any noise. They look like amateurs that can barely keep their eyes of the camera. The black kid that wanders down the hall with fires, gunshots and kids running around him until the killers get him ... what the f*** was that?!?!? The only thing interesting was the way scenes were approached from multiple angles and multiple character views, but that's only a brief distraction. It's cruel to say because most of the actors are teenagers, but the acting is awful. And again, it exploits Columbine instead of making an artistic statement about it. If Van Zant made money on this piece of garbage, he should donate it to the victims or the victims families of Columbine.

Yes it's a Fast Times wannabe, but it's still decent entertainment.

Some of the comedy parts are really funny. The scene when the three guys visit the Spanish lady is hilarious, with a little flamenco music in the background. The reaction when her sailor husband comes home is a riot. The guys' exploits in dealing with crabs are funny as well when they try to "drown them" and when they visit the pharmacist.

The abortion scene is a Fast Times ripoff too, but it does do a good job of capturing the terror of the situation. You really feel for what Karen is going through, and for Gary in his mad scramble for cash to pay for the abortion and accommodating her recovery.

The ending is painful to watch, but refreshingly realistic. First-time viewers will not be prepared for it and it will be a shock.

There is a decent eye-candy for guys with young girls and the milf Spanish lady, but heterosexual guys will probably want to skip the penis-measuring competition.

Underrated soundtrack too. Check out early, early U2(!), The Cars in their prime and an appropriate tearjerker song by James Ingram for the surprise ending.

Some people will hate it and it is somewhat dated, but those who like teen flicks or grew up in the early 80s should like it.

This film can be broke down for each location the group of four goes to.

Ohio: 5 (on a scale of 1 to 10). The "Scotty Doesn't Know" song is funny (nice cameo by Matt Damon!!) and so is Jenny's frustration about being treated like a guy. Guys who like unnecessary nudity will love this part. Scotty's little brother doesn't work. They try to make him like Stifler's brother in American Pie 1 and 2.

England: 4. The soccer Hooligans are only moderately funny. The song routine doesn't work.

France: 2. The Robot fight doesn't work and feels forced. The only funny things are the newspaper and stopping in the long line for the Louvre to check out the pretty girl.

The train: 1. The Italian sexual predator is not funny at all.

French seaside: 6. Brief, but funny. What they find at the nude beach is on the mark. Warning or something to look forward to: there is a ton of male nudity

Amsterdam: 3 1/2. What happens to Cooper at the sex shop gets laughs. What happens to the rest of the group isn't funny at all. Disappointing considering how funny it could have been.

Bratslava: 6. What the locals do with what money our heroes have is unrealistic, but it gets laughs. The fairy is O.K. at the club, but the reaction by Scotty and Cooper to what the twins do is priceless. The goofy guy in love with America (Stop! Hammer Time!) is O.K., but his presence is too brief.

Germany: 2. Brief and unfunny. What the German kid does doesn't work.

Italy: 5. The goofing off at the Vatican has its moments, especially what the crowd thinks happened to the Pope.

Overall: 4. A disappointment. Jacob Pitts, Michelle Trachtenberg and Travis Webster have talent, but there isn't enough good material. It also feels like a lot was cut out to make this a 90-minute flick. I guess I'll need to raid the extras for missing stuff. Only see it if you don't mind a cheap rental.

3 out of 10 stars

This is the worst of the Rocky films, edging out IV. At least IV has interesting fights and good scenery of Russia while Rocky was training.

The Balboas losing their money is can be tolerated and so can Rocky being punch-drunk. But having Adrian take her old job back at the pet shop when she's used to luxury? Having the crowd cheer, 'Rocky!'during Tommy Gunn's fights? Flashback scenes with the long-dead Mickey? The Don King-like character is too much too (except for the good, 'Hit me and I'll sue' line). The bad lines just keep coming. Whatever gibberish Don King's contender said to Rocky when he was fresh off the plane from Russia. Paulie after they found out they're broke, "I need alcohol." I don't think alcoholics say that!! "He took my room!" Rocky's son. Not surprisingly, his acting career was brief. "One more round." Rocky and Mickey.

On a positive note, Tommy Gunn wasn't horrible, but then again, I don't think he was acting. I think he was playing himself. In that case, that's from the Roseanne school of 'acting' and he did a bad job too.

I'm still on hypnosis to pretend that the series stopped at III.

Tarantino's ego knows no bounds. Having it trumpeted as his fourth film is a huge turn off. I don't remember Spielberg or Kubrick counting how many films they have made.

I assume the scorecard is ... Reservoir Dogs Pulp Fiction Jackie Brown Kill Bill

A classic (Pulp), a great work (Dogs) and an O.K. film (Jackie).

What about From Dusk to Dawn? I thought he was proud of that too, until it was released and got ripped. Surely he has been in other projects too after he left the video store.

Tarantino, count Academy nominations, wins and I guess money. Don't keep score on how many films you've made.

8 out of 10

Maybe I just don't get it, but I thought Magnolia was a very, good film, and another solid piece of work by Paul Thomas Anderson. However, I'm in the minority in that I can't score it above an eight. Tom Cruise was outstanding, which goes against the grain because I think he's an overrated actor. He does shine here, showing versatility from his alpha-male speaker to tension during his interview. Also giving top-notch performances (in no particular order) are Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Melora Walters, Jeremy Blackman and William H. Macy. I especially liked the chemistry between Reilly and Walters. Yet the movie can drag at times. I thought some of the dialog between Jason Robards Jr. and Philip Seymour Hoffman slowed the movie down, although the movie was quick for fitting on two VHS cassettes (the movie rental place was out of DVDs at the time!) What irked me was it felt like I was force-fed Aimee Mann. Her version of "One" playing at the beginning of the film while the characters was just irritating. I can't stand milquetoast remakes of old songs, and they plopped one in. It felt like neighbors making too much noise when you're ... well ... trying to watch a movie! I also felt that the scene where the actors were singing along to one of her songs was forced and unnecessary. Mann has been a critics darling for years, yet she can't make more than minor waves to the public since she was in Til Tuesday! Obviously the powers that be for this film are in the former category. Still, overall solid work. Anderson hits a triple after a home run with Boogie Nights. Reilly and Walters should work together again.

Easily one of the best movies of the 80s and a terrific, albeit warped, love story. It's actually heartwrenching with two lost people finding each other and falling in love. It's also a dead-on portrayal of the highs and lows of drug abuse, especially the lows. You can almost not say enough about the acting of Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. You sense that they got physically involved with their roles. Check out their pale appearances, weight loss and bruises. You really feel for both of them as they try and try to get off heroin and can't. The end of the movie, when Nancy screams that they'll never get well, is hard to take. The music part of the movie is top notch as well. The covers of I'm Not Your Stepping Stone, God Save the Queen and Pretty Vacant are on the money. Kudos to Andrew Schofield as Johnny Rotten and David Hayman as Malcolm McLaren. It's a decent look of how they were away from their over-the-top public personalities. There's even humor interjected throughout the movie (my favorite is McLaren faking his hand was a gun to scare off thugs beating up Sid, then firing off a fake bullet). The music in the film - Sex Pistols covers or otherwise - is outstanding and truly mirrors the emotions. The fantasy sequences are terrific, especially when Sid covers Frank Sinatra's "My Way," hilariously the worst cover of that song ever. There are flaws in the movie, but they're minimal and not worth mentioning. It's just a shame that Webb's career hasn't taken off since. Sadly, I can't remember a memorable role from her since Twins. From the potential she appeared to have, she deserved a career similar to Oldman's. If you don't mind sad endings, and if you're an American that can have a little patience through the English accents, this is a solid, solid film.

If you like Escape from New York and haven't seen Escape from L.A., don't bother. My memories of Escape from New York (a rating of 8) have been polluted. The plot is exactly the same, even bringing back, 'You're poisoned and have 36 hours to live,' crap. None of the supporting characters are memorable, except for an interesting appearance by Pam Grier. Snake is still cool and he does pull an occasional comedy bit (When this can drops, draw!) and is a decent action hero, but I felt like I wasted two hours of my life after watching this.

When I saw a preview of this movie in the theatres, people booed, therefore making an accurate review before it was released. It's no surprise that Lorraine Gary hasn't been seen in movies since. In the simplest terms, she sucks. While I'm thinking about it, she sucked in Jaws and Jaws II, but not bad enough to derail a classic (9.5 out of 10) and an O.K. sequel (6 out of 10). This was just an excuse for more gore as well. The opening kill, when a policeman gets his arm bit off is not terror, it's just buckets of blood, which is only entertaining for grade-school kids. The last scene, when Jaws is shocked out of the water and roars, is beyond belief. I didn't know sharks made noises out of water! I saw that this movie is in the bottom 100 of all-time. The imdb voters hit this one on the head.

This movie could have been so much better, especially considering the talent. Larenz Tate's portrayal of Frankie Lymon was not good, especially in musical performances. He doesn't lip sync well and his stage mannerisms are Larenz Tate, when he should have been Frankie Lymon. The portrayal of the women as a bunch of gold diggers has Hollywood written all over it. The powers that be obviously pushed it, but it only made the characters more unrealistic. The positives of the movie were Miguel Nunez's portrayal of Little Richard, and the cameo of Little Richard himself. Lela Rochon is eye candy, as usual, even in a conservative role. It's too bad that the talents of Halle Berry and Vivica A. Fox were wasted. The whole Frankie Lymon saga was fascinating in real life. Too bad this film was a wasted opportunity.

I still shudder to think about how bad this movie was, and that was 18 years ago. Maybe The Wizard of Oz set an impossible standard or I just don't get the Oz stories after The Wizard of Oz, but even Showgirls wasn't this bad. By the way Fairuza Balk has been a bad actor her whole life.