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| Author |
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| 25 new of 241 responses total. |
mcnally
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response 54 of 241:
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Oct 10 03:42 UTC 1999 |
Earlier this week I saw, and was impressed by (not totally sure I "liked")
"Three Kings"
Basic plot summary -- just after the Desert Storm cease-fire, four American
servicemen serving in the gulf take a map from a captured Iraqi soldier.
Deducing that the map shows the location of valuables looted from Kuwait,
the four decide to "liberate" some of the loot for themselves.
Sounds like a by-now standard caper-movie in a war-movie setting, right?
Well, there's more to it than that.. When things don't go exactly as
planned (do things ever go exactly as planned?) the protagonists are
quickly caught up in a situation for which they are totally unprepared
(in any number of ways.)
What's good about this film is the very fresh viewpoint it brings to a
very tired genre, and the surprisingly effective moral ambiguity that
suffuses every character's actions.
Viewers should be aware that the movie contains disturbing scenes of
graphic violence which, due to the fact that the movie doesn't break
down neatly into "good guys vs. bad guys" are made even more disturbing.
It also has a weak ending -- or perhaps it has a normal ending but has
such a strong beginning that the ending nevertheless feels like a cop-out..
Anyway, highly recommended to those who can take the violence.
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omni
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response 55 of 241:
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Oct 10 06:49 UTC 1999 |
I found a new sleeping aid-- Titanic. 30 minutes and you're out like a
light.
I *was* prepared to watch Titanic on HBO, since I had been avoiding it like
the plague until now. I flipped it on, started to get fascinated by the diving
tech and then WHAM! It turned slow and boring. I woke up 2 hours later
wondering what the hell happened. I decided that it was better to go upstairs
and take a bath.
Tonight's feature was a little better. The Bedford Incident with Richard
Widmark as a tightly wound, haunted captain of a frigate who is hunting a
Russian sub. Good performances by Martin Balsam, and Sidney Portier, as well
as a very young Donald Sutherland and James MacArthur. As an extra added bonus
was an appearance by Wally Cox, who gave a yet another stellar, steady
performance as a young sonarman. I won't spoil the ending, but it is a good
suspense flick. Black and White, made in 1965.
4 stars.
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bdh2
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response 56 of 241:
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Oct 10 07:18 UTC 1999 |
_The Spanish Prisoner_ Maybe I am just a conditioned fan of Mahmet's
films but this one was way kewl. I know/knew enough about his style to
predict many of the plot twists as we watched but it was still very much
enjoyable to watch how the plot played out. Well worth the 7.99 OSCOS's
pre-viewed video price for the VHS cassete. It is just so kewl. We
know its a 'con job' because we know his films, but we don't 'know' what
the 'conjob' is until----well....Besides, you know the character actors
he likes to use. (Here are some new ones sure to show up in future
offerings) About the only complaint I have about the film is I still
want to know what 'the process' is. Is it a synthetic gasoline (from a
much earlier film involving George C. Scott)? Is it a 'wonderdrug'? We
never find out. And his awsome touch of throwing in that 'cameo'
appearance of a well known actor of his films who is in fact NOT who we
see him as is blissfully well done. I woulda payed full price to see it
in a movie theater and still woulda bought the video. ITs still not
_The Usual Suspects_ type of quality, but it is damn close.
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bdh2
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response 57 of 241:
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Oct 10 07:26 UTC 1999 |
re#55: Second the praise for _The Bedford Incident_. A well done flick
of how WW-III just might happen. Very very realistic at the time and
yet today. Things have not changed all that much and it is the
technology portrayed in the film that is the actual very real threat
that is 'wargamed' today in the 'War Colleges' even though the cast may
be slightly different. Well worth the rent or buy.
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drewmike
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response 58 of 241:
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Oct 10 19:36 UTC 1999 |
I saw "Crash" last night. (Yeah, Independent Film Channel. That's just what
you want to be showing people who can't sleep.)
The short version: Until I saw "Crash", I always thought that no matter how
bad the movie was, it could be redeemed by a scene of Holly Hunter and Rosanna
Arquette getting extrafriendly with each other.
Okay, I was wrong.
The version that puts any of my film classes to work: "Crash" seemed to be
a softporn movie that had aspirations of psychological drama (the desier to
return to zero blah blah.) Or maybe it was the other way around. In either
case, it took itself way too seriously, and at any given moment was always
too much of both and not enough of either. Now if they had really gone all
out and played it for camp, I might have enjoyed it more.
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jazz
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response 59 of 241:
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Oct 10 21:27 UTC 1999 |
It's better if you've read the novel, Erik. Overall, I didn't think
the novel (which is about as coherent as Burroughs' _Naked Lunch_) would
translate well to film, and it didn't.
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remmers
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response 60 of 241:
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Oct 11 00:38 UTC 1999 |
Re resp:56 - I liked "The Spanish Prisoner" a lot too. But what was the
"cameo appearance" you refer to?
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md
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response 61 of 241:
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Oct 11 11:57 UTC 1999 |
THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR (B) -- The guy at Blockbuster
said it was a very good movie that got blown away
at the box office by The Matrix. It turns out to
have a somewhat similar premise to The Matrix (the
world as computer program) but a much more complicated
plot and relatively little action or special effects.
I'm not quite sure it all holds together, but it was
fun watching the filmmakers try. The real action,
if you could call it that, takes place in the year
2024, but until almost the very end you think it's
alternating between real 1999 and virtual 1937.
Toward the end, as you sort out all the rabbit-holes-
within-rabbit holes, you can find, if you think about
it, the perfect solution to the heroine's dilemma.
The only problem is you might've fallen asleep by then.
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otaking
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response 62 of 241:
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Oct 11 15:03 UTC 1999 |
Re #55: I'd hate to spoil the ending of Titanic for you, but the boat sank.
Ok, now that I've got that old joke out of my system...
Re #58: I actually liked Crash. It was the best unintentional comedy of the
year.
I can't remember if I gave a review of Jacob's Ladder, so here goes...
Jacob's Ladder (A-/B+) - I really liked this movie when I first saw it in
1990. Until I saw it in the Michigan Theater last Thursday, I didn't know if
it had any "staying power." In other words, would I still think it was a good
movie. I was not disappointed. I could enjoy the movie more as the
protagonist's personal journey than a horror film. (I'm trying to avoid
spoiling the film for those of you who haven't seen it, so don't read the rest
of this review until you watch it.)
SPOILER ALERT
After the movie, the script writer came out and talked about the movie. He
explained that the film was his adaptation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
Jacob Singer made the journey in his mind through various Bardos as he sought
a way to understand his death. Once he could do that, he could let go of his
former life and go on to whatever lay beyond. After the writer explained that,
the movie made a lot more sense.
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jazz
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response 63 of 241:
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Oct 11 15:10 UTC 1999 |
The white light at the end, presumably, would be the pure womb of a
good rebirth, if I'm recalling my Bardo Thodol correctly.
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otaking
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response 64 of 241:
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Oct 11 16:56 UTC 1999 |
I don't know the specifics, but that makes senses to me.
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flem
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response 65 of 241:
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Oct 11 21:07 UTC 1999 |
I remember seeing the previews for Crash and thinking that it looked
like the worst premise for a film I had ever seen. But then, I thought
nearly the same thing about The Sixth Sense. For which, by the way,
the previews are even worse spoilers than I had suspected. For a movie
that was really very good, it would have been at least 50% better, I
think, had I not seen the previews.
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scott
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response 66 of 241:
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Oct 11 21:43 UTC 1999 |
Damn, I really need to see "Sixth Sense" one of these days. It seems to be
strongly resisting a 2nd run / Fox Village showing.
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otaking
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response 67 of 241:
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Oct 12 14:36 UTC 1999 |
Yeah, I'm waiting for it to hit FOx Village too.
Is anyone else waiting to see Fight Club?
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mooncat
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response 68 of 241:
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Oct 12 15:16 UTC 1999 |
I'm not sure about that one... It could be interesting...
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danr
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response 69 of 241:
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Oct 12 16:35 UTC 1999 |
I was waiting to see "Eyes Wide Shut" at the Fox, but it was only there for a
week or two, and I missed it. Some movies come and go very quickly there.
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otaking
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response 70 of 241:
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Oct 12 17:07 UTC 1999 |
It's a shame. I thought it was very good. It would've been great, but I didn't
like Nicole Kidman's acting.
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bdh2
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response 71 of 241:
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Oct 13 04:51 UTC 1999 |
(re#60: The guy with the key to the box next to the ferry is *not* a
actor fave of Mahmet's from previous films. I do not believe for a
moment that the striking resemblance is an 'accident')
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polvo
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response 72 of 241:
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Oct 13 17:05 UTC 1999 |
Eyes Wide shut WAS great
Even if you didn't like Nicole Kidman, she's not in the movie a whole
hell of a lot. That movie is one of the most beautiful things I've
ever had the pleasure of seeing. The soundtrack, oh god the sountrack!
How creepy is that?! Easily Kubrick's best since "ClockWork Orange"
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otaking
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response 73 of 241:
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Oct 13 19:31 UTC 1999 |
Oh, I agree. If the movie focused on Nicole Kidman instead of Tom Cruise, I
would've hated the movie. He did an excellent performance. The movie was
absolutely mesmerizing. As for the soundtrack, I rushed out the next day to
buy it. Kubrick's choices for classical music were brilliant. The Chris Isaak
song was wonderful.
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flem
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response 74 of 241:
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Oct 14 02:24 UTC 1999 |
Aside: I attended a looong meeting at work today about operating room
software, and one of the examples that kept coming up of things that
should be documented was "Eyes taped shut". People kept saying that all
day, and every single time I did a doubletake. :)
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other
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response 75 of 241:
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Oct 14 19:59 UTC 1999 |
the doctor's eyes, or the nurses'?
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mary
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response 76 of 241:
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Oct 15 10:40 UTC 1999 |
One of the most common complications of a general anesthetic
is corneal abrasion. Taping is an easy way to prevent it.
Residents, on the other hand, frequently need to have their
eyes taped open.
"American Beauty" is a stunningly perfect film. Bravo to
the writer, director and the incredible ensemble cast.
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remmers
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response 77 of 241:
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Oct 15 17:01 UTC 1999 |
Yes. Kudos also to the State Theater (where we saw it) for upgrading
their projection and sound system so as to make seeing a film there
a pleasurable experience, at long last.
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aruba
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response 78 of 241:
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Oct 15 17:05 UTC 1999 |
Hey, that's good news.
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