mrsweeneytodd Reviews

Gladiator (2000)

Terrible(possible spoilers)

[1 June 2000]

Not surprisingly, Hollywood shoots with another bit budget epic and completely misses the mark. Although one would expect a gladiator film to be full of glorious visual battles and lacking in the dialogue department, Gladiator attempts to fulfill both categories and fails in both. Abstract, quick-paced action sequences blur the carnage and altogether glorify what is in fact not so glorious - "et in decorum est" is easily applicable to this film. While the view may be invigorating to masculine action-seekers, it is not accurate and certainly a bit biased.The dialogue, which appears at times to be a combination of average Spartacus spurns and Hamlet analogies(towards the end they "bear him like a soldier") borders on clumsy. The acting consists of a great deal of brooding and dramatic pauses, which after being used consistantly seem to drown out any dramatic plausibility. Perhaps had the screenplay been constructed with more flow and rhythm to it the actors would not be left standing with so many awkward pauses, but substance is exchanged for overly-wrought portrayals. Overall, a typical Hollywood yarn lacking any innovative touches. I was more excited watching Mission Impossible 2.

Summer of Sam (1999)

Worst movie of 1999(spoilers)

[1/10 · 16 May 2000]

I truly believe this was, despite its bad reviews, still the most overrated movie of 1999 and among the worst movies I've ever seen. I'd love to see some sort of organization devote a roasting to this movie, like MST 3000, just for independent directors who attempt to make it with mainstream hash. For those who call this "Spike Lee's Greatest Film"(shudder), please defend the Italian stereotypes. Or the dog disrupting the flow of the movie to talk to us, which had me in laughing fits for five minutes. Or the dead end sign(wow, blatant symbolism at its lowest). Or Spike Lee's self-indulgence with his role commenting on current attitudes. Or leading an audience to believe that the movie would focus on social trends within a sporadic and absurd time and instead making the movie into the glorification of a serial killer blowing people's brains out over and over again. This movie is only valuable to make fun of, and should be shown to every college film student so they will never attempt anything closely resembling it.

Runaway Bride (1999)

Movies like this make me hate romantic comedy

[15 May 2000]

Wow...I'm still speechless at how pathetic and predictable this movie was. And that's months later! I recently saw Erin Brockovich, which is exactly the kind of movie Julia Roberts should working on instead of the same old hum-drum bull included in this movie. Let's review some of the "finer points" which made me cringe in terror. The small-town characters - oh, they're local yokels, how cute! Don't we love them? GOD NO! They're the same hicks we see in every single romantic comedy since the dawn of time! And I saved a section for one of them -

The Old Lady - aw, she's really old, so anything she says is funny, especially if it concerns SEX! Haha, I love laughing at stereotypes. How condescending can a movie be? To get that "mature" laugh out of its intellectual audiences, we have an old lady talk about(of all things!) sex...wow, great innovation, maybe we should stick Jim Carrey in the sequel. Predictable much? - yeah, I know, they'll wind up together, but could the plot twists be anymore formulated? Laughter? - I didn't laugh. At all. Maybe I'm too cynical for this world, but isn't the point of a romantic comedy to stimulate the mind and enlighten us with innovative comedy while at the same time stirring us to question relationships and life in general? Save your money folks, go see something truly humorous, like a Woody Allen film or something. Let us never see Pretty Woman 3.

French Kiss (1995)

Err?(small spoilers)

[9/10 · 28 April 2000]

I am shocked this movie has such a low rating on this database, and I do consider a 6.4 low for this movie. This is probably the greatest romantic comedy of the 90's! I watch this movie over and over again and never get tired of it, and I HATE romantic comedies, besides those starring Audrey Hepburn(Sabrina and Breakfast at Tiffany's). Kevin Kline is absolutely fantastic as the "dirty Frenchman" (forgive my American stereotype) and Meg Ryan is as cute and adorable as ever. The humor is nonstop and quite witty(I especially love when she gets the eifel tower statue and says it reminded her of him - hilarious stuff!) This movie does not fall into that banal, overdone romantic-comedy trap with the ever-so funny sidekicks and two overly likeable protagonists destined for each other. The humor is focused on the actions of these two unlikely companions set against an unusually entertaining(for a romantic comedy)storyline of theft and lost love. They are both faulted individuals who find self-fulfillment in each other's existence. And you still like them for all their peccadillos. I hope everyone gets a chance to see this movie, it is one of the classics of the 90's.

Psycho (1960)

Hitchcock: True Cinematic Genius(spoilers)

[10/10 · 28 April 2000]

My mother always used to complain about this movie, it being the one suspense/horror film she actually went to. The shower scene tormented her dreams for a long period of time. I am very glad that she never actually gave me the details of the movie, as I was able to enjoy it without anything spoiled. From the point of the unknowing 90's viewer, this movie still holds up superbly, and becomes even more amazing if enough Hitchcock documentaries are watched. I find a couple of things are overlooked though. The greatest scene in my opinion is not the shower scene(although having the billed star die halfway through the film is incredible). It is the conversation between in the hotel room with the stuffed birds in the background. Subtle with so many distinct ironies and fantastic underplayed acting, mixed with the eerieness of that background creates maybe my second favorite scene in film(the first being the ending stairwell scene from Vertigo) Perhaps what creeped me out the most was the visual of that lonely forgotten house atop the hill, definitely embued with some unknown prescence that the audience cannot quite put their finger on. Like all stellar pieces of film or theater, there is a great deal of humor despite the premise of the work. The most amazing part of this film is its implication on cinema as a whole - the disturbing material inspired countless psychological thrillers and changed film forever. Although none will be able to match this movie for the sake of pure cinematic beauty, that's where the genius of Hitchcock comes into play. He is probably the single greatest director of our time(sorry Kubrick), despite many nowadays not being able to enjoy what they consider "dated" films. *Sigh*

Erin Brockovich (2000)

Pleasantly Shocked(spoilers)

[9/10 · 25 April 2000]

Small town and Julia Roberts playing another likeable, all-American yokel - hmm, this seems like a familiar formula. And of course this is going to wind up being a hokey, humdrum, merely average movie just like Runaway Bride, right? Nope, not even close. Actually, it's probably the best mainstream movie to come down the pipe this year. In fact, it plays off of Julia Roberts' image as this particular type of character, as the movie is all about appearances and the fallacy of catering to those images. Julia prances around in EXTREMELY tight-fitting clothing while shouting sporadic obscenities, but despite this characterization, she is a wonderful and caring human being that you have to root for deep within your soul, even if you haven't liked a single one of her other films and practically despised her previous acting attempts(like myself). This is an apparently ordinary person acting in an extraordinary fashion, bettering the lives of hundreds of people without having the audience question her integrity - Roberts is completely believable and lovable. If you have ever been presented with the complexities of modern life, or seen others experience it and marvel at how they do it, you will cheer for Erin Brockovich. 9/10

Vertigo (1958)

Personal doesn't even describe(spoilers)

[10/10 · 25 April 2000]

To start out, I am fascinated with this movie. I love Hitchcock, and everything he has contributed to cinema, but something about this film transcends what he has contributed. I have read the critiques of those who dislike it, and I can totally understand. This is not Hitchcock's normal standard, it's not the edge of your seat thriller(well, not all of it), and the pace is dogged at points. But when I sit back and watch this, I cannot help but sit back and be entranced by the pure beauty of this film. The bridge shot, the redwoods, the revolving kiss, all are incredible, lasting images. The delicately provocative and yet eerily haunting music is unforgettable. And like these ideas, the theme of being haunted, plagued by some phantom ideal such as mislaid love that emcompasses every moment of your life, the obsession and self-mutilation that everyone endures because of it - every romantic can sympathize with these themes. One thing that is often overlooked is the depth of Stewart's character, and the emotional heights which he is more afraid to fall from than tangible heights in his own life. And when he DOES fall, and he realizes to what depths he has been tricked, he snaps, not realizing that Novak's character has as well fallen with him. His depravity and obsession with the truth at the end as they climb the stairs is one of the greatest scenes in film - he overcomes his actual fear of heights and confronts his emotional downfall, just as the the personification of both his previous weaknesses and what helped him to overcome them. The final image of Stewart standing atop that tower, the shadow of death tolling the bell as he looks down upon what he has lost to his vertigo, is so disturbing and haunting that it brings me to tears every time I watch it. This is my favorite movie of all time, not simply because of any one specific element, but because it inspires in me something unexplainable, like looking at a painting or listening to poetry, only one-hundred times more potent. I hope in another forty years the greatness of this film will be truly recognized by everyone, but if not, I'll still be watching it.

Sabrina (1995)

Please...

[23 April 2000]

Many critiques on this site suppose that it is somehow superior to the original. I am not sure how this can hold up. While Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear are fine actors in their own right, comparing them to the coupling of Bogart and Holden is ridiculous. Just because a movie is OLD does not make it better, but if it is impeccably filmed and acted superbly, what is the point in redoing it to inferior standards? I suggest that the state of movie-making has in fact declined, as the art form has given way to popular sentiment, over-the-top portrayals of characters, and remakes which attempt to market themselves on previous successful attempts. To say that someone who repainted a Michaelangelo has made it somewhat made it better because painting has "evolved" is equally as stupid as saying any remake improves. And while Audrey Hepburn is not the world's finest actress, she has a unique cinematic quality which cannot be imitated or reproduced, much like her co-stars in this film. Please Hollywood, stop reproducing classics simply because there is a drought of originality and screenplays. Try rereleasing these classics so the public can see movies as they were meant to be viewed.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

A Journey Beyond Imagination

[10/10 · 22 April 2000]

The versatility of Stanley Kubrick still amazes me. Each time I watch one of his movies, I feel as if I'm being taken on some epic journey, regardless of the subject matter. And while The Shining, Barry Lyndon, Full Metal Jacket, and A Clockwork Orange all fly far beyond their various genres, 2001 is without a doubt the most incredible single film work I have ever seen. Very few movies leave enough to the imagination, acting as narratives from which you derive a precise opinion concerning whatever subject matter. 2001 is beyond explanation, exactly what it means to film and a universal viewpoint cannot be expressed. So many topics, evolution, the infinite beyond, the perils of technology, the cycle of life, resurrection, the future of mankind - and that's just thematically. As a movie it's flawless, despite complaints about its pace(not enough action for some apparently). The music ranges from space ballet to unearthly eerieness, the special effects changed film, and it has my favorite villain, man's own technology gone awry, HAL. I don't think there will ever be a movie quite like 2001, and that it stands as a shining example of what film ought to be. 10/10 (but deserving of higher)

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)

Hilarious

[7/10 · 20 April 2000]

The only unfortunate thing about this movie was that I actually found myself listening to the plotline of This Island Earth from time to time. Now, I suppose it isn't all that bad of a movie in the first place, but any movie can be subjected to this kind of ridicule, it's all in perspective. What interested me was the range of humor here, from low level jokes (still humorous) to allusions to other movies such as Casablanca (and still more subtle ones). I have never seen one episode of the show, but this one had me on the floor at several points, and now I have an idea of how to handle a movie like "Bats" the next time I go see it. I hope there will be more of these(although I doubt it will happen), since it was just a tad short, but oh well, still great - 7/10