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Reviews
The China Syndrome (1979)
So life like it feels like news
As long as you don't mind paying a little more attention than you normally might for other films, this is one of the best "thrillers" you'll ever see. The film portrays an incident that might occur in real life; nothing in it seems fictional at all, in fact. It also portrays how people might react in real life.
In fact, it portrays these so well that is seems like real life. Combine that with the lack of a soundtrack, and you've almost got the best news-like movie you've ever seen. Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon are particularly good in this late-seventies masterpiece, evoking concern on her end and genuine tragic pity on his end. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers.
World Trade Center (2006)
Closest thing I've ever come to a tear-jerker
I don't cry at movies. Never have, and I doubt I ever will. This movie was no different, but you can bet I was on the verge of getting the sniffles. This film doesn't have an omniscient view of the tragedy we all know too well, but rather focuses on individual views, making it seem much more realistic and as if you're actually there. For example, the trapped officers don't even know the buildings have collapsed because, hello, they're been pinned by rubble for hours on end, terrified. The pain on the screen becomes your pain, both when Nicholas Cage is being crushed by several tons of cement but also when his wife bursts into tears while she waits in a nearby hospital. Every American should see this film.
Paycheck (2003)
Thumbs up!
I saw this in the theatre twice; once with my family, once with my girlfriend at the time. I almost never see a film twice in the theatres, so that's a good indication this movie is worth it. Years later, I bought the DVD and I think I've seen that at least three times as well. It has one of those plots that's confusing at first, but everything comes together amazingly in the end. Also, it has some of the best action sequences I've seen; I attribute that to John Woo. While it's been criticized that it's a knockoff of The Bourne Identity, I think it's mostly original and it remains one of my favorite action/mystery movies I've ever seen.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997)
I'd like to personally apologize to Jules Verne
Quite possibly one of the cheapest and worse movies of all time, comparable only to Journey to the Center of the Earth (1988). Hmm both remakes of Jules Verne novels. Could there be a connection? With the staggering number of times these movies have been remade, it's quite possible that all opportunities for originality are lost. Also, it's a TV movie; need I say more? Hallmark is known for it's portrayal of human emotion, so I thought that at the very least that would be good. But no. Acting is cliché, the set is terrible, and the plot is same ol, same ol. When will someone make a good remake of a Jules Verne novel again?
Silent Hill (2006)
Game to movie... can it be done?
Usually I am extremely skeptical of a game that's turned into a movie. Quite often the elements of a game are completely different because they involve player interaction while movies are a much more passive form of entertainment.
However, Silent Hill has always been a very cinematic game, both in the way the sets were designed so artfully in the games and also because of the extended FMV sequences trademark to the series. Because of these details, putting it into a good movie was easier.
Not that the cast and crew didn't work hard. Silent Hill retained the good old horror feeling we all felt when we bashed away our first dog or ran from our first nurse enemy in the game. The including of darkness and the fog everywhere was very well done, keeping us in a perpetual world of change.
The creatures are gruesome, but not gross. You want to look at them, at their twisted fate of being stuck in this hellish world. The actors inside the suits performed well, too. The scene where the nurses block the path was so well choreographed I had to rewind it and watch it a second time.
While there are some minor changes made to the characters and the nature of the cult, Silent Hill is amazingly close to the game plot-wise. You can tell that the script was well-researched.
All in all, Silent Hill is a good movie made from a good game series. The next time you're at Blockbuster, pick up a copy.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
A Movie that Gets Better with Time
When I first sat down to watch this, I was skeptical that I'd find it enjoyable. My initial suspicions were confirmed when I saw the Whos with those EXTREMELY annoying upturned noses. It drove me crazy. Plus, the little girl's triangle-shaped hair made me want to take a lawn mower or machete or just something to it to make it go away.
But once I got past that, I learned to appreciate the humor Jim Carrey delivers as the Grinch. While the movie is heavily reliant on pun-like jokes, there is a lot of visual humor that I found myself laughing out loud at.
Plus, if you like surrealistic humor, this movie is definitely for you. It's wild and unpredictable in that nature.
Basically, a movie that I thought would be painful to watch turned out to be very good, exactly what you need if you just want to laugh without thinking very hard. I know I liked it.
Cabin by the Lake (2000)
How do you make a good movie about a bad movie? You Can't.
I have never seen such injustice as that put on film in "Cabin by the Lake." It truly depresses me to know that this was approved by an executive anywhere.
I'd like to begin with Stanley. There's so much to say about him. He's supposed to be some sort of psychotic killer from the first movie, a man who kills women and puts them in his "underwater garden," a.k.a. the lake by his cabin.
Well, in this movie, he's graduated to killing various other people, such as editors, directors, and pretty much so anyone else that gets in his way.
One of his disputes is that when he wrote the movie "Cabin by the Lake," his script was edited out of a form likable by him. The people talk about how bad his characters are, but I see almost a tongue-and-cheek joke. Virtually every character in "Cabin by the Lake" is introduced almost without purpose.
I know it's just a movie, but I find a lot of aspects hard to believe. How can Stanley so easily murder people, yet he himself is invincible? He survives several hair-ripping fights, smashing into a tree in a car, and being electrocuted in a bathtub. How? I suppose it's supposed to be part of the creepy aspect of the movie, but it sounds to me like a cheap way to keep the only character central to the pathetic plot on screen until the end.
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Why does everyone find this so funny?
I can't help but cringe when people write reviews such as "I loved this movie. It totally rocked!" Well, it doesn't take a brain the size of a martian to realize that this movie is not the great satire it's cracked up to be.
First of all, the characters were completely static, save a few. By the end, Burton effectively kills off any character I was remotely interested in.
Also, I can't help but wonder if this movie is just a stupid scheme to boast 1996 special effects. Past the first half, there is NOTHING plot-wise that takes half a brain to synthesize. In the beginning, at least there was some discussion on the aliens' bodies and why they were hostile towards doves, but those questions never got answered or even fueled.
Lastly, this movie cannot hope to illustrate any morals or hidden messages. If it's supposed to be funny when you see a human being vaporized as he clings to his dying wife's hand, then someone here has a problem. Is it Tim Burton? The bone-headed producer that approved it? Or is it with us audience members?
If humans can laugh at other humans being murdered by child-like visitors from space, then maybe we really do deserve to be vaporized. After you, Burton.