Movie Reviews - G
Gandhi: I do have a lot of respect for the man... This movie was done well. Of course, people always destroy what is great in society. Gandhi was assassinated like so many others. It's enough to make me really bitter... especially with religious wackos.
The Game: It was an OK film. Of course by the end, I was really getting sick of the continuous plot twists... ok, just tell me what the hell is going on. It was a little hard to believe, but it was enjoyable.
Game of Death: Bruce Lee's death was tragic. He had so much more living to do. I'd love to see what Bruce would be doing these days if he was still around. He was just starting to work on this movie when he died. He'd only filmed a few "test scenes", and those are shown in all their glory at the end. The rest of this "movie" is utterly awful. The story is completely different than what Bruce had intended. If you rent this, do yourself a favor and forward to the end, don't even bother with the rest of it.
The Gangs of New York: A really rich and stylish film. It didn't matter too much that there were a couple plot-holes and things which happened "for no reason". I didn't find it overly-violent either. Yes, it was violent, but they didn't present the violence as the "focus" of the various scenes.
Gattaca: I was impressed with this one. It was stylish without being "too stylish", it was smart and it was believable. One may not think it believable, but what if we could create "optimal" children? I think our innate sense of competition would eventually take over. This movie may not be as far fetched as one might think. It was interesting how this movie stayed away from the "big picture" aspects of this future society. That was probably a good thing too since it would have detracted from the story.
Ghost: Sorry to sound a bit like some kind of sexist pig, but Demi Moore was a babe in this movie. As for the rest of it? it actually worked for me. I liked the way it de-mystified the whole ghost thing (you know, setting rules and regulations and all...)
Ghostbusters: It was dumb, but I guess I liked it.
Ghostbusters II: It was dumb, and I didn't like it.
Ghost World: Have you ever seen those silly beer ads that end with the quote "true", like the ad has shown something you're nodding your head to? Screw those ads, this movie was "true". Any film that features songs by the Buzzcocks and Skip James is just beyond true. I especially liked the ending... because nothing ever is truly resolved.
Giant: Boy do they have problems. How could a man's son want to go to harvard and be a doctor? the bastard, I'd disown him! Then there's the question... should I sell the plane? am I really getting enough use out of it? It's a little hard to feel sorry for any of the characters in this movie. Society sure has changed. I did find the movie to be quite entertaining as a comedy. James Dean does a great falling-down-drunk scene near the end (that was pretty funny). And the score? "I've been workin' on the railroad"? What could be funnier than that?
Girl Interrupted: I was really impressed with this. I was expecting a lot more cliches (sorry, I don't have an accent mark for the e). I think this is the best movie Winona Ryder has ever done (well, except for Heathers, but that was a long time ago). In the end, the funniest thing is that... the therapy works, sort-of.
Girl With a Pearl Earing: A very interesting period movie inspired by a famous painting. I liked the way the story & characters were well balanced, and not cliche... what I mean is that every possible plot line is not brought to it's most dramatic conclusion, and the characters are able to control their emotional (i.e. sexual) impulses. But, we're still left with an engaging & passionate movie.
Gladiator: Based on the one-line reviews I'd read and the previews I'd seen, I thought this would be your typical hack & slash, overblown, poorly acted thriller. It was much better than I expected. The plot was intelligently thought-out and executed. In the end it was much like "Bravehart goes to Rome". That's not a bad thing though - if you liked Bravehart, you'll probably like this movie.
Glory: It's hard to take a "story within a story" and make it a compelling drama. Glory did a decent job though. The big story was the Civil War, the story within was about the first all-black regiment to kick butt. Or... get their butt kicked... That raises an interesting question, are they "heroes" because they were slaughtered? or are they just poor discarded souls?
The Gods Must be Crazy: What a delightful movie. I especially loved the sped-up sequences and physical humor. It's so rare to see that in the movies. Life can get pretty crazy, sometimes we need to step back and figure out what's really important. How did we get like this?
God Grew Tired of Us: Everyone should see this movie. It is raw inspiration.
Godzilla: Yes, I actually paid to see this. it's about what I expected: monster destroys city, people kill monster. it has a good mix of all the usual Hollywood movie crap - a love angle, an annoying politician, a smart character that nobody will listen to, etc. there is nothing original about any part of this movie (even the camera angles were borrowed from somewhere). I'm getting a little sick of computer animated creatures too. even though the special effects were good, they didn't break any new ground. the whole movie could have been a lot better... but I was expecting it to be pretty dumb, so I wasn't disappointed. I just didn't have anything better to do that day.
The Golden Compass: Movies based on books like this often have the same problem. They're trying to bring an imaginary world to life... and since the book is both much richer and more vague than the screen, it's just hard to get right. Half the movie is taken up by trying to explain the characters, and the other half is gadgetry without context. Really the only way to do a movie like this right is like they did with Lord of the Rings - just go completely over-the-top, and make it super long. But, you need a real epic text for that to work. Anyway, this movie was fun to watch for the effects and such, but I really had the feeling that I was being shortchanged somehow.
Goldfinger: James bond kills a megalomaniac.
Goodfellas: Do you think I'm a funny guy?
Good Morning Vietnam: There are some good and funny bits in this, but the whole anti-war message was eye-rolling... I mean, he's a DJ for god sakes... does every Vietnam movie have to make the same point?
Good Will Hunting: I think my favorite scene in this movie was the first time that the Robin William's character 'gives it' to Will. I've never heard the "you don't know everything kid" speech done so well... I guess that's cause the kid does "know everything"... except what can't be learned in books. I think this movie really says that we all have something to learn. Just think, if you ever reached that point where you did know everything there was to know, what would be the point anymore? What would you do? I think the actual character of Will wasn't important, it was the development of that character which was most interesting. I could take the more cynical approach and just mark this one off as another "abused kid overcomes his problems", but I think this movie is better than that. (I would like to know if the actual math problems were real though)
The Goonies: I have to wonder - how long does it take to reset that door-opening mechanism? Talk about completely impractical.
Gosford Park: It's just fascinating to watch snobs and their servants. This movie makes you feel like a peeping tom - relegated to inadequate glimpses of the central activity. I liked the way there were few "plot bits" in the movie - (e.g. action or dialog that exists only to move the plot along). For the first hour of the movie, I had absolutely no idea what was going on, or who was who - nothing is explained to the audience. That makes the movie a real puzzle - not only are you curious to know who did the murder, but simply "who is who"... A good deal of credit goes to Robert Altman for paying attention to the detail in the movie - it didn't feel like a movie at all, rather a window to a lost world - the directing, acting, and general style were that good.
Grease: See this movie only once. Additional viewings will cause serious irreparable harm. You'll find yourself endlessly humming "Better Shape Up..." to the other inmates in the asylum. Serious drugs will be required to clear your head, and before long, you'll become a grinning, drooling mess. Consider yourself warned.
Great Balls of Fire: Yes, he sure did have great balls of fire. I guess the world just wasn't ready for hillbilly romance back then. If this happened today, he'd just sell even more records.
The Great Outdoors: Suburbanites in the woods... la di da...
Greed: I really wanted to punch that old rich guy, what a frickin jerk. I also wanted to punch all those pathetic fools trying to get his money. I also wanted to punch Michael J Fox. In fact, the only person I didn't feel like punching was Olivia D'Abo.
The Green Mile: A decent movie that had a hard time going somewhere. They did an excellent job creating a mood and building characters, but then it was almost like they didn't know what to do next.... Ummm, let's make the guy a magical, mystical being that can cure diseases! I think it would have been a better movie if the Tom Hanks character just discovered that the big guy was innocent, and struggled with "what to do". Instead, they turned a really good movie into an OK one.
Gremlins: Hey, I just had a great marketing idea - evil furbies! Who says they have to be cute? (wait a second... maybe they already ARE evil...)
Grey Lady Down: Action movies have come a long way.
Grey Gardens:Did this really happen? An unbelievable believable slice of life. Ever wonder what would happen to someone completely removed from reality, and left to live in a world of their own making? Ever wonder what's happening in that creaky old mansion up the road with the overgrown hedge?
Grinch: Sad and stupid. This was written at such a low level, a dog might think it beneath him. The thing which made the original Grinch so appealing was that everything was in verse. This movie threw all that out the window. They should have put the verse back in and got Tim Burton to direct. There were all kinds of dumb things inserted to make this movie longer (and cater to Jim Carrey's ego), unfortunately, that means you have to watch it... well, you don't HAVE to, you could be smart and skip it.
Groundhog Day: Excellent. What would you do if this happened to you? Stuck in the same day over and over for an eternity? You'd go a little bananas... Who's better at going bananas than Bill Murray?
Grumpy Old Men: This could have been a good movie, but instead it was barely average. They could have thought of some other "crises" than "a beautiful woman moves in next door".