ET go home! I dunno… I have to admit I liked it. Heck, it’s good for what it is.
Author Archives: jley4
Awakenings
Sometimes, when he doesn’t completely overact, Robin Williams does a decent job. he did a decent job in this one. It was a really unique story – and a true one to boot. What would you do if you woke up tomorrow and it was 30 years later?… and you discover that you might not wake up tomorrow?
Austin Powers III
I lauged a lot at this movie. It didn’t really take itself seriously, and that’s why it worked. It was like a parody of itself while it was happening. I thought the Austin Powers character had run its course after the second movie, but this one shows it still has some life. I hope there isn’t a #4 though… I think it’s really done now.
Austin Powers II
Do I make you horny? Not as good as the original, but worth a view. It didn’t add a lot to the original, most of the ideas were just borrowed. But still, it was fun.
Austin Powers
Ya Baby! Mike Myers is a genius… I had my doubts, but this came out of nowhere and was completely original and amazing. The opening scene is one of my all time favorites.
Atanajurat (The Fast Runner)
Part documentary, part mythology, all real! A movie about Inuits by Inuits… so you know it’s at least their version of the truth (not some over-glamorized version told by some well-wishing out-lander). It’s just amazing to see people exist & thrive in this environment. More than once, I thought to myself, “these people are nuts!”… and that was in reaction to their every day reality. Possibly the most impressive thing about this movie is just how well it was made. It’s reassuring to know that these people, who are about as far as possible from any motion picture industry, could pull-off such an amazing film.
Aswang
You’d think that anyone would have enough common sense to NOT make a movie this dumb. I mean, even if you really wanted to make a cheesy Philippino-vampire flick, you’d at least include a plot that made sense, and characters who acted like people actually behave. Is it that hard? Is that too much to ask for? Didn’t anyone raise their hand and say, “hey, this is really dumb, but if we just change a few simple things, it won’t be quite as dumb…”. I guess not.
The Assassination of Jesse James
Can a movie that’s more style than substance actually work? Yes, I think so… There is enough substance here to keep the balance, and although the style sometimes goes over the edge (things like selective/tilt focus and such), the movie was very watchable. The pace was a bit slow, but I didn’t m ind. The main character – the guy doing the assassinating – was really bothersome at first, but he kind of grew on me. As for Brad Pitt? Something troubles me about him, but I’ll have to say that I’ve liked most of the stuff he’s done.
As Good as it Gets
Not quite. Although it was pretty good. There’s just something about the May-December romance that doesn’t seem right though. Jack Nicholson’s character is a creep – no matter how much money he has. Basically, this movie says that money can buy people. If Jack Nicholson was a regular nice guy (not even neurotic) and had no money, there’s no way Helen Hunt’s character would go for him… even if he was really charming and witty. Plus, we find that money can also buy health – what was that about? We never find out just what was wrong with the kid. Despite those flaws, I still liked the movie. It kept me entertained for a couple hours, and there was a lot of good acting from virtually every actor.
Army of Darkness
I just plain didn’t get it. This movie is supposed to be a cult classic, but could someone tell me why? Usually cult classics have some unique aspect or endearing character. Nothing made this movie stand out. It was just boring crap. It’s been done before by scores of other movies… and done better! Sorry to all you AOD fans out there, but I have to be honest!
Armageddon
This movie really really sucked. I wish I could find a more colorful adjective, but this movie doesn’t deserve one. It wasn’t even really a movie either… more like a 2 hour Aerosmith video. (I think Aerosmith sucks too, so it’s no small wonder that I didn’t like this movie.) There was not one camera shot in this movie which lasted more than 5 seconds! Don’t believe me? Try to find one. The editor of this movie must have been on crack, cocaine, crystal meth and coffee all at once! I just about got a headache watching it. On top of the frenzied editing, the story and the characters were just plain unbelievably dumb. I don’t know how this movie did better than Deep Impact. Oh… wait… money, special effects, explosions, big names, hot chicks, hunky guys, stupid one-liner jokes, a zillion-dollar marketing blitz, and a thorough understanding of the stupidity and gullibility of the average American. The science of this movie didn’t come close to passing my “suspension of disbelief” filter either, but I won’t even get into that.
The Apostle
Some really good acting in this movie. One man’s struggle to find meaning in his faith. He has the gift of “preacherhood”, but is that enough to save him? This movie really makes you think about the divinity of religion – is he a good guy or a bad guy? What’s the difference?
Apollo 13
No surprises here. Spacemen come through. I guess NASA used to be the pinnacle of creative science. Now, they’re just really good at spending money.
Apocalypto
I’ve been waiting for this movie for a long time. Not apocalypto in particular, but a big hollywood treatment of pre-columbian america… anywhere. There are lots of possible stories there, I think it’s just hard to make a movie that audiences will connect with on a personal level. So, the next best thing is to give it the action thriller treatment. When Apocalypto is at its best, it’s simply stunning, but when it’s at its worst, it’s camp (can we say leopard wrestling?).
Apocalypse Now
Heart of Darkness in Vietnam. Superbly filmed. Yet another movie telling us how war sucks. Apparently the making of this movie was a good movie in itself… I never saw it though. If you’re depressed, drunk, and feeling hopeless see this movie – remember, things could be worse.
Antz
An epic story which takes on such issues as slavery, class struggle, communism, genocide, and the importance of free will. The hero (who is so insignificant that his name is nothing more than the letter “z”) rises from the masses of oppressed workers and seduces the entrenched monarchy with a sample of ‘insectopia’. He is hunted down by a fascist dictator who tries to create a pure race by exterminating the weakest members of the society. Throughout the movie, there are ruthless battles, passionate romances, senseless deaths, and wretched souls who eat crap. In the end, the entire population rises from ‘underground’ and becomes enlightened.
Antonia’s Line
Life story movies like this are difficult things to execute. This one was executed well. It was true without being predictable, and ordinary while being extraordinarly watchable.
Angels and Insects
There should be a category of movie called “warped”. It’s one of my favorite movie categories, this one fits right in there. It’s a really neat film – well filmed, well written and well acted. There was a lot of neat metaphor stuff going on too – and not “overdone” metaphor stuff either. The plot? an entomologist moves-in with a “high society” English family, and becomes a victim of the family secret.
Amistad
The story was probably done about as well as it could have been done… it was probably more dramatic than the actual historic event. I loved “whatshisname” in the lead role – great job! It was really interesting, but almost suffers from taking itself too seriously. (yes, that means I liked it)
An American Werewolf in Paris
Skip it.
An American Werewolf in London
OK
American Splendor
What does this guy have to complain about? at least his life is interesting enough for people to pay money to learn about it. When are they going to do a movie about me? Who’d pay to see that one?… Scene1: Jonathan sits at his computer, writing movie reviews that may someday be read by 1 or 2 people…
American Psycho
A real interesting movie. By the end I wasn’t sure if he was psycho because he did all these horrible things, or if he was psycho simply because he thought he did all these horrible things. That brings up an interesting question – who is less sane, the person who falsely believes he’s insane or the person who falsely belives he’s sane? Well, this movie does definitely have its moments. There’s some unknown factor that keeps it from being an awesome movie, but it is worth a look. There seems to have been a lot of these “normal guy has a break with reality” movies lately.
American Pie
As long as there continue to be horny American teenagers, there will continue to be movies about them. This one is the latest in a long series of such movies that probably began quite innocently with Beach Blanket Bingo or something. The plot?: Teenage boys try to score. Need I say more?
American Beauty
I just finished watching this about 15 minutes ago. It’s always nice to write about a movie that’s still fresh in my mind. I found this to be a very positive and optimistic movie. No, I’m not kidding. In the end, there was beauty in everything, you just have to look for it. Even things that are outwardly horrible or wrong or disgusting can be beautiful if seen in the right light. When you discover this, you achieve a real sense of inner peace. Anyway, that’s what the movie meant to me.
I just finished watching this about 15 minutes ago. It’s always nice to write about a movie that’s still fresh in my mind. I found this to be a very positive and optimistic movie. No, I’m not kidding. In the end, there was beauty in everything, you just have to look for it. Even things that are outwardly horrible or wrong or disgusting can be beautiful if seen in the right light. When you discover this, you achieve a real sense of inner peace. Anyway, that’s what the movie meant to me.