jmakinen Reviews

The Book of Fate (2003)

strange brew

[5/10 · 29 December 2003]

There are different episodes with one central character, or his reincarnations.. the guy is supposed to save the world with the book of fate. Now, as the previous commentator noted, the movie is pretty much awful. It could have been put together a whole lot nicer, as the effects and some of the scenes and makeup is nicely done. What I personally see as the biggest tragedy in all of this is that Finland has never produced anything quite like The Book of Fate, and maybe the guys tried too much to fit everything there and in the end all future financing for similar movies will be withdrawn. Which is a pity.

With more proficiency, it could have been shown all around the world. Veteran actors and the guy playing the reincarnation man as well as his eternal girlfriend do their job adequately, but the bottom line is, seems like the overall story just remains obscure and doesn't engage the viewer enough.

Plus you can't dazzle the audience by offering them inferior copies of Matrix, Dracula or Unforgiven all spliced together.. simply doesn't work.

Feardotcom (2002)

Horrific slideshow, terrible movie

[2/10 · 30 June 2003]

Rented this because wife said she heard it's good. Boy, what a mistake.. Simply put, the plot is not very innovative, and basically the whole movie is a big slideshow of horrible events without any real tension or mystery. TOTAL waste of money. Avoid this at all costs =)

Dog Soldiers (2002)

Delightful werewolf horror with some new tricks

[8/10 · 17 April 2003]

This must be one of the best werewolf movies I ever saw and definitely the best in a long long time. The dialogue is sharp, and there were a couple of tricks I don't remember having encountered before - such as when somebody kicks one of the wolfies in the jaw and a tooth is catapulted to the nearby wall where it sticks like a thrown knife ;o) Ok admittedly not a top movie, but still very well made all in all.

Poolhall Junkies (2002)

worth watching and excellent if you play too

[9/10 · 11 June 2002]

Christopher Walken happens to be one of my favourites, and it was a nice surprise to see him in this film - but even without his charismatic acting, it would surely have been worth the time. Excellent showing of the game at it's brilliant best, it is also pretty funny, mostly believable (even tho a couple of times the hustling was made a bit too easy) and has more depth than Color of Money or the old one which had Minnesota Fats in it.. forgot the name of that one.

I'd double rate this film 9-10 for pool players, 7-9 for others.

Oh and the guy playing the hustler is a nice find, hope to see him in some other new films too.

Serpico (1973)

Al Pacino delightfully versatile

[9/10 · 22 February 2001]

Having seen most of Pacino's films, I still think this is the best ever. Not yet stuck to his usual latter day "hoo-haa"-mannerisms, he shows many sides of himself, and I very much like the character he's playing here. Serpico reminds me of one of my childhood friends - alternately irresistible, irrepressible and irritating, anarchistic in a healthy way.. all in all, the realistic aspect of the movie is all fine and good, but doesn't matter so much to me. Definitely a movie to see.

Event Horizon (1997)

creepy, depressing, gloomy, definitely good horror!

[9/10 · 25 December 2000]

I guess I'm one of the people outraged by some comments on this and other similar movies.. I found this movie to be one of the best horror movies I've seen. I watch most types of movies, but I never even try to compare them with the original book, and neither am I very interested in how logical or realistic the plot is.. as long as the movie succeeds in creating some strong feelings, it usually means it's a good one. And rarely have I seen something such as this.. Event Horizon is addictive, intense, creepy and gloomy. Sam Neill is great, even if he is over-acting like some people have commented. Definitely NOT a film for the faint of heart, but not too gory in my book either.