Pelakh Reviews

The Kite Runner (2007)

Powerful film

[9/10 · 17 October 2008]

I have not read the book, and therefore cannot comment on how faithful the film is to the original text. It was, however, a very powerful portrayal of the devastation wrought upon Afghanistan by two decades of war and religious extremism.

Even though the climactic rescue and confrontation with childhood villain seems a bit contrived (I mean, what are the odds, right?), most of the films rings true. It is easy to admire the father and the young Hassan, and even relate to the struggles of Amir as he finally grows a backbone.

Strongly recommended - 9/10.

The Last Mimzy (2007)

Mangled plot is not faithful to the original short story

[2/10 · 7 September 2007]

The movie diverges sharply from the short story by Henry Kuttner, and falls prey to every single ET-based cliché, complete with floating objects and overzealous FBI agents, ancient Tibetan prophecies, etc.

The original story was more akin to "Childhood's End", whereas the writers decided that every movie must have good guys and bad guys, and a crisis and a phony car chase. This results in a story that feels forced and fake, without any flow or sense. At many times I felt that items were "pasted on" in failed attempts to create humor or tension, but they were silly.

Give this one a miss.

Syriana (2005)

Brilliant and complex, definitely a film for adults

[9/10 · 19 December 2005]

"Syriana" is a disturbing and thought-provoking movie, with a must-see relevancy to current events. While the writing has a definite political bias, the facts presented regarding oil politics, American involvement in the Middle East, and the importance of economic hardships in Islamic fanaticism allow the viewers to form their own opinions.

The subplots are many and intertwined, but all of them fit together well, and do not feel superfluous (with the possible exception of Matt Damon, who seems underused here). George Clooney is fantastic, delivering a captivating and very believable performance, and Alexander Siddig is wonderful as Nasir.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Great book ruthlessly slashed by movie adaptation

[7/10 · 20 June 2004]

I am a very big fan of the HP books, and I greatly enjoyed the first 2 movies because they were so close to the source. However, 'Azkaban', the screenwriter and director chose to remove HUGE chunks of the plot, which rendered much of the movie unclear to anyone who has not read the book. They also chose to insert some much unneeded slapstick (Harry gets plastered on bus window, Hermione gets flung by tree) instead of the far superior humor already provided by JKR. I would have happily lost all the 'new material' to get back the scene where Ron and Harry are working on their Trellawny homework. I know filmmakers are trying to put their own touch on the movie, but this is not the place to get creative.

The Muse (1999)

Humourless whine

[3/10 · 4 August 2003]

Albert Brooks spends two hours whining and feeling sorry for himself, and noone else helps this script. Various semi-celebrities walk in and out of the scenes, for no reason at all - it seems the director was grabbing whoever was walking by to fill in the time. Skip it.

The Wonderful World of Disney: Annie (1999) Season 3, Episode 5

Cumming and Bates are superb

[8/10 · 3 June 2003]

Since this movie does not really introduce anything new, and even removes some of the good bits from previous versions (the wonderful take on over-commercialization in the radio show, etc), it is up to the performers to rise to the challenge to make it memorable. Kathy Bates and Alan Cumming are SUPERB as the villainous Ms Hennigan and Rooster, and the movie lights up whenever they are on the screen. The obligatory "nice" characters (Annie, Warbucks, etc) are not exceptional, but move the story along.

Men in Black II (2002)

A pale shadow of the first one

[6/10 · 26 May 2003]

Since I did not bother to go watch MIB II in the theater, and just got the DVD out of the library, I watched my tape of the first movie as a refresher beforehand. This was probably a mistake, as it underlined what a severe decline the sequel was. With the exception of a few funny moments (the worm scene in the beginning was pretty good), most of the jokes seemed forced, as if someone attempted to recycle the humor in the first movie, without success. Let's hope that there is not a 3rd movie in the works (I can see it now, straight to video starring Damon Wayans and Tom Arnold *shudder*).

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Very well done!

[10/10 · 15 November 2002]

I am a huge fan of the books, as is my older daughter, and we both enjoyed the movie extremely much. I believe it captured the book even closer than the first movie, and all the actors have really fallen into their roles perfectly. Columbus does an admirable job pruning the book into the time alloted, and I did not walk away feeling anything was missing, as the few small omissions were not essential to the plot. Branagh was great, and I was hoping he would retain more of the great dialogue he had in the book. I hope that Prisoner of Azkaban, which is probably my favorite of the first four books, is accomplished as well as the this one.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Almost perfect

[9/10 · 16 November 2001]

I had extremely high expectations for this movie, and it met almost all of them. The only thing that slightly marred this otherwise excellent adaption was the absence of the potion challenge in the final sequence, and it dropped my rating from 10 to 9, since I felt it was one of Hermione's defining moments. However, the rest of the movie was spectacular - superb acting (Rickman, Smith, Coltrane - too many to mention, really), good pacing in the direction. But the main thing that struck me, an avid reader of Rowling, is that everything looked RIGHT - never once did I see something in the movie that conflicted with how I imagined the book. For this, Columbus and crew should be greatly commended. I cannot wait until the Chamber of Secrets.

The Road to El Dorado (2000)

A pleasure to watch

[10/10 · 21 July 2001]

How refreshing to find a good animated movie coming from somewhere other than Disney! DreamWorks produced a great effort here. My wife and I, as well as my 10-year old and my 4-year old enjoyed this movie. The music (by Elton John and Tim Rice) is great, and the musical numbers do not feel forced, the way they do in some animated features, but actually advance the story.

Shrek (2001)

Reuse and Recycle is not a motto for film

[8/10 · 29 May 2001]

While I enjoyed Shrek, and was definitely laughing out loud in several spots, there were several annoying details that marred my experience. One "ass" joke was sufficient, and the second one felt forced. And in almost every scene the director/writer felt the need to reuse pieces of other movies. It was cute to a point, especially where the reference was modified to enhance its humor (the princess singing with the bird was excellent). But reusing Beauty and the Beast at the end and the Matrix for the fighting scene was unnecessary. Plus the "D'ye think he's compensating for something" jokes (also used twice) confused my 10 year old, and were not needed in a movie targeted for the whole family. BTW, the skewering of DisneyWorld was brilliant, but I think Katzenberg took his grudge a little too far, attempting to make fun of every animated Disney feature in under 100 minutes. Overall, it was a good movie, and I think the sweet spot of the target audience is at about 15. The graphics are gorgeous, the pacing is fast, and the humor is non stop.

The Wonderful World of Disney: A Knight in Camelot (1998) Season 2, Episode 6

Whoopi, pick a better script

[5/10 · 14 May 2001]

I love Whoopi Goldberg, but this script was beneath her. It was cliche from start to finish, and it had a finale that made no sense at all, just an easy out for the writers, if they could be called that. I must say that my 10-year old daughter laughed throughout this film, and enjoyed it immensely. I guess since that is the target audience of the film, it hits the mark. However, all viewers above the age of 12 might want to give it a miss.

Dead Husbands (1998 TV Movie)

Occasionally funny

[7/10 · 3 January 2000]

This movie has some funny moments in it, especially the murder scenes, which strive to be comical. The supporting characters are the only ones worth watching here, as John Ritter just looks befuddled and pained the entire movie, and Sheridan delivers the most awful performance I have seen in a long time. Overall, the premise is cute but the implementation could have been a lot better.

Mother (II) (1996)

Too-sweet ending ruins good movie

[7/10 · 3 January 2000]

I enjoyed this movie a lot, and if not for the "They lived happily ever after" ending, it would have merited an 8. But after watching this wonderfully neurotic family for the entire movie, seeing all problems just melt away is too disappointing. Both Brooks and Reynolds are great. The boyhood room restoration sequence was excellent just for the 70s flashback value. Worth watching, 7 out of 10.