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John-196
Reviews
East Is East (1999)
Amazingly great despite
Small-time films like this, from another country that speaks English with a difficult accent, are often so difficult to understand that much of the meaning is lost.
This film, even with coarse accents, is still great. The acting is fantastic, the story riveting, and everything seems so REAL. Both the Pakistani husband and the English wife play their parts achingly well.
This film would have been a 10 with just slightly better sound. See it.
Beautiful People (1999)
What is it with the sound?
I had to lower my rating of this movie to a 4 due to the terrible sound track. I'm pretty sure it was not a problem with me or the tape, because some actors and the sound track sounded great. But most of the actors voices were distorted or garbled beyond recognition, especially for non-brits.
There are plenty of cute little twists that would make this an enjoyable movie - ending up in Bosnia by mistake is great - but much of the humor was lost in the sound.
Breakfast of Champions (1999)
Intense!
What did so many people miss? Granted, I have read many of Vonnegut's books, but I am not a huge fan. And the mood of this movie is NOT the mood from his books.
BoC is intense. The action keeps moving at both the physical/plot level and the psychological level. Most of the characters brains seem ready to explode - only Dwayne's brain from "external" causes. BoC used a lot of big time actors because the whole movie depends on the actors' abilities to portray this pressure.
Not a movie for everyone. Not a brainless, relaxing, romantic comedy. But surely more entertaining than the voting and critics show. Rent it if you like movies that make your head hurt from the complexity.
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Disparaging
This movie only has two things going for it - a great concept and Sigourney Weaver's body. I was so bored I kept busy wishing for more views of her. The screenwriting should have been a lot more creative, and the cast should have been told to put some real energy into their acting. A dud.
The Castle (1997)
Very intense, for a funny movie
We really enjoyed this movie. It was very amusing, although not uproariously funny. The very strange aspect was that I got a headache from concentrating so hard on it. Every word that comes out of the characters' mouths (in a thick Australian accent) seems critical and precious - not to be missed. Definitely worth seeing, especially if you like "off-beat" comedies.
American Pie (1999)
Another bunch of dopey teenage guys trying to score
When will kids, especially teenage girls, get tired of this genre? Plot synopsis: 4 guys try to get laid by playmates posing as high school girls.
Chicks - Wake up. Your sex is being degraded by these movies. The females have no personality, and are only there as an object for the guys to try to score with.
The Mummy (1999)
What did the critics see in this?
The critics said "Camp." I just say stupid. And poor acting! But that's okay, because most of the dialog was not really worth the ferric oxide it's recorded on.
Ten years ago, the special effects would have been amazing, but now I've seen all that.
Rachel W. is pretty good (though vapid) looking, and that's about the most positive thing I, a male, can say about the movie. It bored me so much I had to take two evenings to see it all.
So - don't believe the critics, believe the IMDB voting. This film is not worth it.
Ta'm e guilass (1997)
It just goes on and on
Critics and reviewers exclaimed how artsy this movie is. I guess I missed the point. I found it rather tedious. There are more "Huh?"s in the dialog than any other movie. The lead, who is supposedly sorely depressed, looks more bored than anything else. See this film at a coffee house. It will help keep you awake, and the artsy people will be an appreciative audience.
My Dinner with Andre (1981)
Might be an interesting book
See Morlock's comments. He has it right. This movie is just a video recording of a very long dinner conversation between a self-absorbed second-rate philosopher and his "straight man."
Being a non-philosopher myself, I started purposely noticing whether there was anything "cinematic" going on in this film. I could not find anything. There seems to be no reason this could not have been a tape recording or book, except that perhaps too many people might have found it too tedious to stay with. My whole family decided to go to bed (early) before the end.
The only acting comes in momentary glimpses of the expressions that the waiter makes. Shawn makes no pretense of acting when reading his lines. Andre just talks, seemingly endlessly.
Wrongfully Accused (1998)
Much better than critics said!
While no masterpiece, this movie was certainly worth the rental fee. It is classic Nielsen/Proft, with enough fresh ideas thrown in to keep it from looking like all the others before.
Is it stupid? Sure! Is it funny? Sure! It is just what one expects - some (very) light entertainment.