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Evergreen (2004)
Boring, slow, and transparent.
I saw this movie at a screening at a local AMC theater - they were at the time considering whether or not to pick up the movie and show it at some places in their chain and randomly invited people to come and see it. I was selected and brought a friend of mine.
I didn't have any idea what to expect so went in with an open mind. The premise of the movie was interesting and showed promise, but the characters were all complete clichés and had no depth. I blame the writing of the script because the actors did a decent job with what they were given to work with. The way the story carried out was just slow, slow, slow! All of the conflict felt manufactured and not real. The plot development just didn't work in my opinion. There was just no reason for me to actually care about anyone involved in the movie.
The main plot involving the girl and her "rebelleous side" could have been lifted out of a bad "Svaed By The Bell" episode it was so shallow. The subplot involving the mom and her new boyfriend, for example, felt completely fake and contrived.
I feel bad writing such a bad review of this movie but the fact is it just isn't good. I respect the fact that the writer really put a lot into making this movie (she was at the theater and we got to talk to her afterwards) and made it this far, but it just isn't worth seeing. I have seen many independent films that I wish would have been promoted by AMC at arthouses that never made it and they were thinking of giving THIS film a shot at the big time? Give me a break!
Check the user ratings - currently 4.5/10. That says it all IMO.
* 1/2 out of ****
Gerry (2002)
I want two hours of my life back!
I can't believe that all the comments that have appeared here so far were so overwhelmingly positive regarding this movie. From where I am sitting, Gus Van Sant simply doesn't "get it" with this experiment in filmmaking. Is this movie supposed to be some sort of joke? Two guys (Casey Affleck and Matt Damon) get lost in the desert. That's pretty much the whole movie. If the point of the movie was to show how beautiful the desert was, or how hopeless life becomes when you get lost, I could have watched the Discovery Channel and saved myself the time. The only conflict I could identify (man vs. nature) was incredibly weak and aside from that there was no storyline. I'm sure that there are a lot of people out there that will simply say I don't "get it". I feel like two hours of my life was stolen from me that I will never get back thanks to this movie. If this is supposed to be an example of a good movie, I don't think that I WANT to "get it".
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Pretty Scary!!!
This movie took a while to really get going. I suppose it's understandable that a certain amount of background information is necessary to get rolling on a movie like this, but be forewarned: you might find the first hour or so a little boring! (I certainly did...) That said, overall it's a damn good movie. The suspense building up to the ending is nothing short of intense. You are witness to the deterioration of these film students lost in the woods as they get more and more desperate to find their way back to civilization and an unknown presence that appears to be hunting them. The background information on the movie is fairly compelling, I saw a special on the Sci-Fi channel after I watched the movie that made it more interesting. It is very hard not to ultimately get drawn into this movie after the boring sections. You will be very surprised at the ending. You will also not want to be in the woods at night for a long time. If you don't catch this one in the theater, it's a definite rental for sure!!
Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1995)
A big, steaming, pile of...
This movie is probably the worst movie I have ever seen (I thought that until I saw "fear & loathing in las vegas" which makes it a dead even tie for 'worst movie of all time'). The acting was horrible, the story made absolutely no sense, and about 90% of the audience left before the ending. See the first "lawnmower man" but AVOID this piece of CRAP!!!!
The Haunting (1999)
An Average film
This film was just plain okay. It was not great but it wasn't bad either, it was just average... Problems with it were that it took too long to get started. The plot seemed somewhat frivilous. It felt a little too cliche. Once you got into the legitimately scary parts it was fairly intense, but by that time I honestly could almost not care less. This movie had a lot of potential I think. The previews let on that it would be a tremendously scary movie, but what you got was a movie that drags on in places and took too long to get going in the first place.
The Compleat Al (1985)
I'll never forget
I will never forget when I saw this title in the video store way back when. I was always a big Weird Al fan and when I saw this video I rented and watched it. I was too young to appreciate all of Al's subtle humor and satire at the time but I remember it much later when I was old enough to understand what I was watching. If you are an "Al" fan, especially of his earlier work, you will thoroughly enjoy this film. It is done in the MTV-esque "Rockumentary" style and tells a true (but sometimes exaggerated) tale of how Al got to be where he was in 1985. You will love it if you like his brand of humor and, more importantly, his music.
Ed and His Dead Mother (1993)
I don't know why...
I don't know why, but I liked this movie. It's one of Steve Buscemi's few leading roles in a movie and I like him as an actor, but my enjoyment of this film went beyond that. I've only seen it on TV a few times (was this ever actually released in theaters?) but I enjoyed it. It has a quirky humor to it and a rather odd storyline. If you ever see this on TV on a Sunday afternoon, watch it.
Real Genius (1985)
A classic from the 80s
One of Val Kilmer's first movies, this classic 80s comedy has all the elements of a cult classic. This is one of the most quotable movies I have ever seen and is a very, very funny film. I enjoyed every actor's performance and the storyline was actually very well done. Throw in a bunch of 80s classic songs and some hilarious scenes and you have yourself a great movie. If you have never seen this movie, rent it now!!!
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
Awesome Film
The show started getting stale, but the movie really brought the excitement and cleverness of the first few episodes (as seen on Comedy Central) back to me. This film was amazingly funny and clever. There was layer upon layer of satire, often so subtle that you might miss much of it the first time you see it due to the fact that you will be laughing to hard to notice. There are Star Wars, Peanuts, Ross Perot parodies just to name a few. If you are easily offended you will dismiss this movie outright and not see it for what it is: a beautifully done parody.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Good but not great
I started out on this movie with an 8 out of 10 rating but after I saw it two more times I am sorry to say that I now have it at a 6. I found it to be good overall but most of the exhilaration of a new "Star Wars" after 20 years wore off after I saw the movie again. The story was good overall but had some problems (I don't want to get into a rabid Star Wars debate so I'll spare you). There was a decent amount of action too, and the special effects (in particular the pod race) set a new standard for high quality. My biggest problem in this story was character development. It's been my experience that most of the people that disagree with me on that point have read the books. I am sure that to those of you who have read the books would probably agree, but I feel like Lucas was trying to do too much with this story and didn't have enough time to develop everyone fully. That leads me to my conclusion: I firmly believe that Star Wars, Episode 2 will be a 10 out of 10 movie. The stage has been set for some great storyline, which was part of the reason I felt Episode 1 was lacking -- it had to set up the storyline for the entire Star Wars dynasty.
Wild Wild West (1999)
Not that great...
First off I'd like to say that I did not watch the original TV show so I am judging this movie as a "stand alone" film since I have no frame of reference. I thought it was an okay movie, but not more than that. Will Smith is a good actor and he has his moments, but this was DEFINITELY no "Men In Black". I thought the story was decent enough, but it all seemed to drag on. I can't say much more than that I was just generally not impressed overall with the movie.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Horrible. Utterly Horrible.
Was there something I didn't get? Besides the fact that I didn't read the book (but people who did seem to hate this movie too), my only regret is not leaving the movie early. My two friends begged me to leave about 30 minutes into the movie but I kept saying "no, I think it'll get better". It didn't. If you want to go see a movie about drugs, go see Permanent Midnight (which I didn't like that much but at least IT MADE SENSE). This movie was complete and utter crap. It did not have any kind of plot or storyline that made any kind of sense. Perhaps I should have read the book?
Doin' Time on Planet Earth (1988)
Had its moments
I have to disagree with the previous review of this movie; I thought it was okay. I saw it once or twice on cable a few years ago and was amused. The lounge singer, for example, I found to be funny (The "Stop in the name of love" scene was a riot) and the other characters in the movie were equally out there. This is one of those movies you can't take too seriously. I'm not saying it's a great movie, but you have to look at as an off the wall comedy.
Moving Violations (1985)
A good movie...
Good comedy starring John Murray (undoubtably Bill's brother) and Jennifer Tilly (you can't go wrong with her either, go see the ridiculously underrated comedy "Bride of Chucky" for more laughs). I've seen this movie many times on cable and would watch it whenever it came on. I rated it a 7 out of 10.
Bride of Chucky (1998)
Don't judge this one by its name.
This movie was both extremely clever and funny. Every time I tell this to someone they give me a blank stare, but none of them have seen this movie. I understand why people would pass this one by but folks -- DON'T! It's nothing like the other Childs' Play movies which were good in their own right, but this one is different. Different in a positively excellent way. I saw this movie expecting to be bored but was amazed at how funny it was. It is not a horror film. In fact, I don't think it's an accident that it turned out to be a comedy, I firmly believe that they intended this to be a comedy/horror film (with emphasis on the comedy) right from the start. I am also a Jennifer Tilly fan, and getting an eyeful of her was nice but she also really made the perfect "bride of chucky". At any rate I would highly recommend this one to anyone looking for some brilliant satire that also has an open mind. Don't judge this one, folks, you will be surprised.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
It's no Saving Private Ryan
Maybe you're not supposed to compare the two movies but it's hard not to since they were released within a few months of one another. There was far, far, far too much soliloquy and narrative in this movie. I think the characters' emotions were well summarized by their acting but a few less dream sequences, flashbacks, etc. would have done this hard-to-follow movie well. Nothing in particular tied this movie together. I felt the filmmakers were trying to insult my intelligence by telling me about the "horrors of war" this way, rather than Saving Private Ryan's letting you experience the "horrors of war" and letting you draw your own conclusions. The audience isn't stupid. The acting was good overall but the story really sucked. And what was with all those pointless cameos? (esp. George Clooney's 2 or so lines of speech at the end) Overall I voted a 1 on this movie. There was just nothing good about it. Why do films like this have to be released in pairs (a la Dante's Peak / Volcano, ad infinitum)?