Suzie True Reviews

Something's Gotta Give (2003)

Jack Nicholson is amazing

[18 December 2003]

Jack's performance was so varied and interesting, and his persona did not infiltrate into the character. To see Jack cry - oh, my god! Personally, methinks an Oscar or Globe nomination would be deserved here. More interesting a performance than in As Good As It Gets.

Diane Keaton is a little bland next to him or annoying but everyone together is entertaining. Amanda Peet is whatever. The hot babes in the beginning sequence were fun. Keanu is simple but a charmer. He's the dessert after dinner.

Nothing fancy about the direction/cinematography. Pretty bare-bones. The story isn't terribly imaginative, but definitely a fun film, a bit more emotionally charged than most romantic comedies.

St. Elmo's Fire (1985)

Excellent comic dialogue, great performances

[9/10 · 13 August 2003]

The first time I saw this film was August 13, 2003. This was a surprisingly wonderful film that was impressively shot, lit, acted and written. I don't know why so many people have a problem with this film. Each character has complexity and flaws. None of them are cookie-cutter likeable. You have to almost struggle to like them, but relate, you do. Feel for them, you do.

This is a film about dreams and reality, being lost in the freedom of post-graduate existence. It pulls the viewer in many directions but brings the story home in the end.

Mature, immature, hilarious, heart-breaking, redeeming. 9/10 stars

My Flesh and Blood (2003)

Beautiful, evocative, and tragic

[10/10 · 11 March 2003]

It helps to have such great screen presences. The mother, Susan is a great center for the story and for the audience's benefit. Perhaps with the existing footage shot over the year-and-a-half, there could be a series made out of this. I would like to see more of some of the children who were not featured very much due to reasonable constraints.

Woven in inspiring, dramatic, comedic and tragic scenes, this is a powerful piece of film. And you can't help coming out of it full of hope, sadness, and understanding. This movie is a celebration of life at its physical roughest and as deep a love as imaginable.

Happy Here and Now (2002)

A great premise with recklessly poor commitment

[4/10 · 11 March 2003]

There is great potential in the premise and some of the characters, but no commitment to an engrossing story. The main character is as flacid as one comes, and it's mostly not the actress's fault. There is no delivery of any coherent message in each of the subplots that is taped together with scotch tape (no offense to 3M), And any direction each story goes in ends up in not only a dead end but a colorless, bland cosmos.

Not recommended for even those who go to movies to hallucinate. Unless you need some extra sleep. - A sleeper, in the literal sense.

Gangs of New York (2002)

An ambitious film, flawed but breathtaking

[8/10 · 19 January 2003]

While watching, I was riveted by the scenes, the violence, the costumes. Yes, Bill the Butcher did become rather exaggerated, but a delightfully wicked character with such a wide variety of mannerisms and facial expressions. I thought Di Caprio's character did pale in comparison, but that is mostly the fault of the writing and partially the fault of the rest. If he is a man of few words, then make his inner struggle more apparent on screen, make his pain evident. Yet he seemed like an intelligent character, so give him more lines. Simple solution to white splace.

Then there was that problem with his motivation - it got lost 2/3 through the film. The cliched plot was actually acceptable against the backdrop of such a melee of things going on, but it could have been more unique. I did think the Diaz subplot kind of unnecessary. Was the point to get aroused and horrified at the same time and then feel guilty about it later? Don't know.

Worth watching, however, just to see on screen a depiction of events that never sunk in in history class, and feel emotions associated with it. There were no heroes in this film. That is the point.

Original Sin (2001)

Passionate, engrossing, powerful

[10/10 · 19 August 2001]

The acting was superb. Banderas is at his best, commanding our sympathies, and Jolie is as versatile as she is complex. The motivations were strong, except for one fairly big one, but I so enjoyed this film I'll let that one slide. Even if one could argue that certain plot sequences were predictable, I didn't care. I still was intrigued at how the mains' emotions would show up on screen. The cinematography was captivating as well.

Cast Away (2000)

A lackluster bore

[2/10 · 4 January 2001]

At times I felt as desperate as Hanks' character to get out of the movie theater. I checked my watch no fewer than six times. The attempts at literary symbolism were glaringly obvious, although not well-executed. There was some suspense with no surprises. Perhaps the book is worth reading, but I would not recommend viewing this film.

The Sight (2000 TV Movie)

High-quality acting, good plot

[8/10 · 9 November 2000]

The acting was quite good, especially that of Andrew McCarthy.

The consistently filtered lighting got annoying after awhile - I longed for a single bright color, and some of the other effects were overused, but the cinematography did appear unique.

As all thrillers do (including The Sixth Sense), it had some holes in the plot, but during the viewing, they weren't really noticeable. All in all, I believe this was worthy of being made and seen.

Smack the Pony (1999–2017)

Clever, seemingly big-budget - shot on film

[29 September 2000]

I like the shot-on-film look, especially for many of their sketches which are "realistic." They seem to shoot in a variety of locations, and the actors are quite versatile. Also note that this is not "British humor", which I don't always get. I just caught this on Bravo (9/29/00).

Remington Steele (1982–1987)

A clever classic

[19 September 2000]

The 007 films are no doubt fun, but their attempts at comedy (which are admittedly not their focal point) are sad compared to the physical comedic ability and the facial expressions Brosnan exhibited on "Remington Steele." And Zimbalist was a great co-lead, as opposed to in other shows, where the female played second string. I believe this show's premise would still work today, tweaked a bit to satisfy those people still fighting for that one amendment - what was it? The main things that wouldn't work would be the hairstyles and the clothing - but those will probably come back in a decade or two. At any rate, this show is a classic.

The Matrix (1999)

Fabulous, brilliant, flawless

[10 November 1999]

I'm pissed I missed this in the theaters (due to my own misguided cynicism about recent sci-fi movies). I am flabbergasted by the words uttered in this film, amazed at the visual effects. Just everything came together in this film, even wardrobe. What is even more amazing is that this film was made for $63 mil. What a bargain.

Looking forward to future films from these writers/directors. Fabulous. Tremendous. I feel the testosterone kicking up a storm within. Give me more film!

Celebrity (1998)

Unwatchable

[2 November 1999]

Luckily I saw this on DVD and could skip to the next scenes after I ambitiously suffered through the first 30 minutes. I felt very much like this was made simply to satisfy an ego, and hey, if that's the point, good for Woody. And I kept hoping color would magically appear somewhere, whether in the dialogue or action or hairdo, I didn't care. Something. In short, it sucked.

The MatchMaker (1997)

Pleasurable, intelligent and beautifully written/performed

[9/10 · 28 July 1999]

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It has a credible (in terms of dialogue) story, with wonderful acting all around, and is well put together. I am saddened by the fact that it blew through the theaters, but glad to have caught it on video.