This film is basically a self-indulgent early 70s "rugged American white male" fantasy story that tries too hard to be a classic and fails. Overacting everywhere, but Blake is good. Lots of boring dialogue filler and poor characters and a plot that tries to go in too many directions. The large middle part of this film meanders so much and has so much overacting that it was hard to watch. It seems like the director was trying too hard to make a film that would be an "American classic," but fails. However, the cinematography is excellent with beautiful, expansive desert shots and striking visuals. After slogging through the muddled, overacted first 4/5 of the film, the hyped-up ending was predictable (for me, anyway) and overrated. No wonder this movie has mostly been forgotten.
Reviews
4 Reviews
One on One
(1977)
Average 70s sports flick with a couple of unlikeable characters
6 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
"One on One" is an average 70s sports flick with a couple of unlikeable characters that spoiled the film for me. While Henry is certainly likable in his quest to overcome academic and athletic adversity at college, I found nothing redeeming in the Janet (his tutor) and Malcolm (Janet's boyfriend) characters.
What makes Janet & Malcolm unlikeable? Janet is intellectually arrogant, condescending, and insulting toward Henry, and thinks herself way more intelligent than she really is. But her boyfriend Malcolm was twice as arrogantly "intellectual" and insulting than her toward Henry. They act like they think they're Ivy League students (or even more intelligent than Ivy League students), yet they're at a low-ranked college in the West. What a laugh. What gave them the right to treat anyone the way they treated Henry? The worst was the scene where they team up to insult Henry's intelligence. I felt sorry for Henry because of the treatment he had to endure from Janet & Malcolm.
Or was it common for "above average intelligence but nothing special" college kids in the 70s to act as arrogant, insulting and condescending as Janet & Malcolm did in this movie? Yeah, Malcolm's a professor, but my point stands. I'm wondering why they were written in the script to be as insulting and condescending as they were.
Other than those 2 characters, the film was a decent way to spend a couple hours on an afternoon, and it's a somewhat interesting view into 1970s college athletics.
What makes Janet & Malcolm unlikeable? Janet is intellectually arrogant, condescending, and insulting toward Henry, and thinks herself way more intelligent than she really is. But her boyfriend Malcolm was twice as arrogantly "intellectual" and insulting than her toward Henry. They act like they think they're Ivy League students (or even more intelligent than Ivy League students), yet they're at a low-ranked college in the West. What a laugh. What gave them the right to treat anyone the way they treated Henry? The worst was the scene where they team up to insult Henry's intelligence. I felt sorry for Henry because of the treatment he had to endure from Janet & Malcolm.
Or was it common for "above average intelligence but nothing special" college kids in the 70s to act as arrogant, insulting and condescending as Janet & Malcolm did in this movie? Yeah, Malcolm's a professor, but my point stands. I'm wondering why they were written in the script to be as insulting and condescending as they were.
Other than those 2 characters, the film was a decent way to spend a couple hours on an afternoon, and it's a somewhat interesting view into 1970s college athletics.
House on Haunted Hill
(1999)
Worst film this year
7 December 1999
Worst movie I've seen this year. It's not scary, entertaining, or engaging, but yet another entry into the "glamor horror" genre of late-90s horror flicks. I gave this film a 2 because I leave the 1s for the truly horrible films with absolutely nothing to offer. At least this one had a few lame special effects (but come on, a giant computer-generated dust bunny?).
The Blair Witch Project
(1999)
very chilling movie!!
1 August 1999
I saw "The Blair Witch Project" in Memphis yesterday, and let me tell you, you have to see this!! It is one of the creepiest movies ever made. The final 30 seconds of the movie is the best part, and it is one of the best endings I have ever seen in a movie, and definitely the best in a horror movie. The final scene is so creepy, it makes me scared just thinking about it. It's a totally original movie (well, almost). The atmosphere of the movie reminds me of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", which, by the way, is my favorite horror movie. The movie has a lot of profanity in it, but it is worth watching again just to see the ending again. To fully understand the ending, you have to understand the stories at the beginning. I was actually scared last night before I went to bed, and it's been a long time since I was that scared after a movie.
I went into this movie thinking it was a true story, and I think this is the best way to approach the movie. I had a unique, unsettling experience unlike any I've had in watching a movie before. A warning: this movie will not work for you unless you use a lot of imagination during and after the movie.
After the movie, you are not likely to say, "Wow, that was a really scary movie." It is in the hours that follow after the movie when you think about the ending and the rest of the movie when the horror really sets in. This is no "Scream", "Halloween", or "Friday the 13th." It is a refreshing turn for the better for the horror genre after a recent raft of hip teen horror flicks like "Scream", "I Know What you did", and "Carrie 2".
Just don't turn the lights off when you get home.
I went into this movie thinking it was a true story, and I think this is the best way to approach the movie. I had a unique, unsettling experience unlike any I've had in watching a movie before. A warning: this movie will not work for you unless you use a lot of imagination during and after the movie.
After the movie, you are not likely to say, "Wow, that was a really scary movie." It is in the hours that follow after the movie when you think about the ending and the rest of the movie when the horror really sets in. This is no "Scream", "Halloween", or "Friday the 13th." It is a refreshing turn for the better for the horror genre after a recent raft of hip teen horror flicks like "Scream", "I Know What you did", and "Carrie 2".
Just don't turn the lights off when you get home.
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