Johnnee Reviews

Death Becomes Her (1992)

A hilarious black comedy

[10 January 1999]

Though it's not a movie for everyone, I thought "Death Becomes Her" was hilarious. If you're expecting something in-depth or dramatic, avoid this one at all costs.

I thought it was great because it was totally original and unique, and has amazing special effects. Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn are perfect as the two warring women, and Bruce Willis ditches his super-hero type as the geeky undertaker.

See this one if you dare: you'll either really enjoy it or totally detest it.

Buried Alive (1990 TV Movie)

Run of the mill revenge flick

[3/10 · 7 December 1998]

Though it's better than most made-for-TV movies, "Buried Alive" is nothing more than a run-of-the-mill revenge tale. There are so many plot holes in this one, it makes you wonder why the screenwriters didn't go through a series of re-writes. The ending has a nice twist to it, but it's hardly believable.

The acting by Jennifer Jason Leigh is terrific, as always, but Tim Matheson hams it up with cheesy one-liners that reminds one of Jack Nicholson in "The Shining". Don't bother with this one.

Frances (1982)

A disturbing and gripping character study.

[10/10 · 6 December 1998]

When you see a glamorous movie star on the silver screen, you immediately picture them having a glamorous life with no flaws or problems whatsoever. The film "Frances" proves that that is definitely not true.

Jessica Lange is excellent as Frances Farmer, the movie star from the 1930s who constantly wants to live life her own way. She becomes a big star until all the weight of being a star (publicity, bossy agents, the media) falls down hard on her, causing her to have a nervous breakdown. Eventually, she is wrongfully declared criminally insane and thrown into a mental institution.

The movie is glitzy and glamourous at one point, and turns disturbing and realistically gritty at the next. Lange gives her best performance here, which was nominated for an Oscar. In the end we realize that she wasn't crazy, she was just trying to be herself. It makes the viewer sympathize with movie stars, for the stuff they have to be put through. A fascinating movie.

What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)

One of the best films of 1993

[2 December 1998]

What's Love Got To Do With It is a gut-wrenching, excellent film that features one of the decade's most solid lead performances. Angela Bassett is excellent as Tina Turner, she does the best performance of a real life singer since Sissy Spacek won an Oscar for playing Loretta Lynn.

Many think that the movie is only about Ike and Tina Turner, but it's about so much more. It's about a woman's strength to sacrifice the life she built with a man she thought she loved to save her own life. One of the best films of 1993.

The Hills Have Eyes Part II (1984)

Don't be fooled -- the worst Wes Craven movie ever.

[3 November 1998]

Only one year after hitting the big time with "A Nightmare on Elm Street", writer-director Wes Craven decided to make a sequel to one of his early efforts, the classic "The Hills Have Eyes". You'd think that the years of experience would make the sequel better -- but you'd be thinking wrong. A horrible sequel that lacks plot, thrills, and sense. I mean -- the first half of the movie is filled with flashbacks from the first film while the surviving characters reminisce on what happened. That's fine, but a GERMAN SHEPHERD having a flashback as well? Avoid this one at all costs, it's indescribably bad, not even in a good way.

Sophie's Choice (1982)

Probably the best Oscar-winning performance ever.

[3 November 1998]

If the Oscars were to take every Best Actress winner ever -- from Janet Gaynor to Helen Hunt -- Meryl Streep would definitely have a good shot at winning against them. She gives a spellbinding, totally believable performance as Sophie, a timid Polish woman who befriends Stingo (Peter MacNicol), while she tells him of her tortured past in a concentration camp. As always, she does her foreign accent without fault, and puts her all in her performance, better than she's ever done. The movie itself is very good, too -- it may drag at times (at 2 1/2 hours), but definitely worth a look.

Tourist Trap (1979)

If you like cheap slasher flicks, this one's not too bad.

[8/10 · 24 October 1998]

"Tourist Trap" is one of those cheap teens-get-killed flicks that came out shortly after "Halloween", but it's still not bad. Maybe because I saw it when I was just a kid, when KISS videos used to scare the crap out of me. Chuck Connors makes a pretty good villain (as usual), though the other actors are pretty crummy. For die-hard horror fans only, or people stuck babysitting bratty kids who want to make them watch something that'll give them nightmares for weeks. (It won't give YOU nightmares, though).

Heathers (1988)

One of my all time faves...

[10/10 · 15 August 1998]

The first time I saw Heathers was when I was in high school, and I wasn't the most popular kid there. I was never savagely beaten up or teased beyond control, but I had my share of high school troubles. When I saw the movie, it hit me like a brick -- I thought it was excellent! It truly is a movie every teenager should see (except for teenagers who have the mental capability to actually ACT OUT some of the plot elements in the movie). I heard that a sequel may be in the making, which would be a pity if they made it because it would NEVER surpass the original.

The Big Lebowski (1998)

A satisfying disappointment...

[14 August 1998]

I didn't care much for "The Big Lebowski". I found that there was so much going on at the same time that the Coen brothers weren't sure what to do the material they've created. It wasn't an awful film -- it was enjoyable - - but that was because of the colorful characters and the excellent performances.

"The Big Lebowski" isn't even comparable to the Coen brothers' last film, the excellent "Fargo", this one's more like their past film "Raising Arizona". This one definitely won't sweep the Oscars, though the performances of Julianne Moore and John Goodman could easily be considered for Supporting nods.