Movie Reviews - J
Jackie Brown: Story of a lady who's time has finally come. I love how Jackie is portrayed as so "average", yet deep down she isn't average at all. My favorite scene? when Bridget Fonda gets whacked in the parking lot.
Jaws: Despite the best of efforts, the shark looks fake. But, that doesn't really matter. It was a great movie anyway - man battling the elements of nature - human nature, inner nature, and mother nature.
Jaws 2: A silly attempt to cash in on the original. The only thing I cared about was: "What crazy scheme will they use to kill the shark this time?". Ahhh! power cable, good one.
Jaws 3D: This is how it goes: the first movie is a classic and makes tons of money. So, "they" decide to make a sequel. It's crap, but everyone goes to see it anyway since the first one was so good. Since the second movie made so much money, "they" figure that they can make another sequel. But, by this time the public has caught on. The third sequel is crap too, and it flops. Thus ends the cycle... or does it?
Jaws 4: Somebody figures that they can make one more really cheap movie. There should be enough die-hard fans to turn a profit. But the key is, the investment in the movie has to be really small. Jaws 1,2,3,4 is a perfect example of this series of events. Jaws 4 was so bad it was laughable. The shark follows the family to Florida? Is this a comedy? What began as a real work of art (the original) finally fizzled and faded away with Jaws 4. It's a shame that this movie even has "Jaws" in the title.
Jabberwocky: A very strange movie. Most people forget about this one & the links to Monty Python... I'm not sure how many links there are actually, Terry Gilliam directed it, and I think a couple of Pythoners were in it. Everyone is afraid of the evil Jabberwocky, but nobody really knows what it is. I only saw this movie once, and I remember being confused. I think I'll have to rent it again someday.
James and the Giant Peach: A very interesting film (loved the animation) - a very imaginative story.
Jefferson in Paris: An OK movie, but a terrible portrayal of Jefferson. He deserves a lot better. We do now know that Jefferson was indeed boofing Sally Hemmings to the tune of at least a few kids (or do we? It could have easily been his brother or cousin, etc.). He was a complicated guy. I have to wonder though, would it be better to be the master's mistress or just another random slave? (of course it'd probably be better to be free, but that option didn't arise). Anyway, I hope that somebody makes a real good movie about Jefferson's life, and maybe his relationship with John Adams. I hope it's just a matter of time.
The Jerk: Oh, I'm picking out a thermos for you....! This movie has so much classic material it's sick. Steve Martin in his zany prime. The wild and crazy guy triumphs. One thing I never understood though, the title. The Jerk? Navin isn't really much of a Jerk. An idiot maybe, a dork perhaps, possibly even a weirdo, but a Jerk? No.
Jerry Maguire: You complete me? Yes I rolled my eyes at that one. But, nevertheless this was a decent movie. One major flaw though, Jerry is only able to persuade ONE of his clients to stick with him? Gimmie a break! A sports agent is a one-on-one relationship, it doesn't matter what "company" the agent is working for. Plus, Jerry would probably have enough money to retire on 5 times over, what the hell is this crap about him teetering on the edge?
Jesus Camp: Do these people realize how insane they are? And they're reproducing! I just felt so sorry for these kids... it was like watching child molestation in slow motion. These people give Jesus a bad name, where in the bible does it say you have to close your mind and be an idiot?
The Jewel of the Nile: Corny. I guess the figured the Romancing the Stone cast had a couple more good hours of movieness left in them, I'm not so sure about that.
Joe vs. the Volcano: The key to making Meg Ryan "not as cute"? Put her in disguise. She's not a bad actor actually. I liked this movie, many people have never seen it even though it stars a couple of the biggest stars in Hollywood. It's just on the other side of reality, perhaps the way the world would be if Christo was god.
Johnny Dangerously: Definitive mobster spoof. But not a spoof of mobster movies, or even real mobsters, a spoof of the "cartoon image" mobsters. The glorified Al Capone type, who doesn't really kill anyone... except a few other bad guys. There's enough material here to keep anyone entertained from start to finish. When is Joe Piscipo gonna make a comeback? He is cancer-free last I heard...?
Jumanji: Kind of dumb, but kids seem to enjoy it.
Jurassic Park: I first saw this movie in the theater on opening weekend. I got there late and had to sit in the front, way on the side of the theater. It sucked, I watched the whole thing at a 60 degree angle. I couldn't tell what the hell was going on. It kind of ruined the movie for me, since the best part was watching the dinosaurs come to life. I've seen it since then and it was good. I wish I could have seen it through the eyes of an 8-year-old though, that would be something!
Jurassic Park III: So, just exactly how many of these islands are there? How many top secrect super secret programs did the original company have? The first movie was good because they made the story almost believable & the movie was based around that story. #3 is just an action movie... the "dinosaurs" might as well have been aliens or vampires or mutant insects... As an action movie it was decent, but nothing I hadn't seen over and over in other movies. I thought the whole "birdcage thing" was pretty silly too.
The Juror: Something about this movie bothered me... it was like the Demi Moore character wasn't a "real" person. They should have spent more time developing her character's personal life. It was hard to sympathize with her since we really didn't get to know her too well. An interesting movie, but it could have been done a lot better.