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Reviews
Mission to Mars (2000)
What's the bug deal?
Aside from the fact that this film is incredibly cheesy and stupid and almost brainless, I did in fact find it to be quite entertaining. Of course, I was half-asleep at the time and having a rather boring day, so to me probably just about anything would have been entertaining. Or maybe it was just the Coke and popcorn that made me happy. Or the movie theater environment. Who knows...
American Beauty (1999)
One of the the best films I have ever seen.
American Beauty has surpassed my expectations tenfold. Lucky I wasn't sure what to expect (a luxury only too rare nowadays), so I literally sat at the edge of my seat, completely engulfed, for the entire two plus hours. Kevin Spacey gives a brilliant performance! It has been so long since I have seen a really good movie. I will definitely see it again! As a side note, I got my hands on the real script and though the story is essentially the same, it provided a rather unusual twist as bookends in a courtroom. It was a good read, but the movie was a little less melodramatic than the script and therefore (in my opinion) better.
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Ya gotta love the romance!
While not the perfect film, Shakespeare in love does have some of the best original Shakespeare-ian dialog that I have heard since, well, since Shakespeare. If nothing else, this film is actually an interesting yet classic love story with the twist that Will is living out the life of his most famous work as he writes it. When I saw it the first time, I thought it was just okay, but upon subsequent viewings, it just got better and better; probably because of the excellent script and particularly the dialog. Sure, Shakespeare in Love is by no means original (far from it) but it is a clever take on a classic story and classic formula... and even funny at moments, too!
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
All right, enough is enough!
Okay, I'll admit it - I gave into the hype. I stood in line for four straight hours in order to get tickets opening day. I should have known better; I wasn't even a huge fan of the original three films. But GEEZ! Couldn't Mr. Lucas, producer of the great Indiana Jones entities among other things have come up with something BETTER??? I mean, R2D2 and C3PO had NO place in this film. They were just there to appease certain Pez candy dispenser collecting freaks in the audience (you know who you are). The costumes were not clever, though one could tell they were trying so desperately to be. I'll admit the special effects and sound were good, but there simply were too many special effects and not enough substance!
Believe it or not, I though Jar Jar Binks was perhaps the most entertaining creature in the film, even though his "how rude" saying annoyed me; especially after Stephanie Tanner so vastly over-used it in the Full House television show.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
One of my All-Time Favorites!
This is the apex of all Kubrickian films. While it moves tremendously slow plotwise, there is so much going on within the picture that one almost needs that slow-moving storyline to be able to comprehend and grasp the sheer magnitude of it all. Kudos to Kubrick as usual (wherever you are!).
Tommy Tucker's Tooth (1922)
Walt Disney's First!
This was the first short ever by Walt Disney, and one of the few things that he directed (he was mostly a producer). The quality is very poor, compared to the modern days of Pocahontas and Tarzan, but it still has that innocent touch that makes all of Disney's productions magical.
Baby Geniuses (1999)
One of the WORST Movies Ever Made
"Plan 9 From Outer Space" was a bad movie, indeed, but at least it was fun to watch and fun to laugh at. "Baby Geniuses" was so gosh darn awful that I felt squeamish the entire time, waiting for the film to be finished... no, I wasn't just bored, I was also infuriated that such a film was even made!! I am insulted that Hollywood as sunk so low as to put this piece of garbage out for the rest of us to see.. I'm so glad that Entertainment Weekly gave it an F... though there's not a grade low enough to describe this stupid, insultingly dumb trash!!!