Heist involves two groups of conniving thieves trying to cooperate with each other in Gene Hackman's last "big job", and how the plan falls apart because of all the back-stabbing, double-crossing and double-double-crossing among the characters. The movie was just okay. I left the theater wondering why anyone thought that was a story worth making -- I didn't care about any of the characters at all, and they ended up pretty much killing each other. The only interesting part was watching how Gene Hackman's character would always have a backup plan, and a backup plan to the backup plan, just in case the people he was working with couldn't be trusted.
Reviews
6 Reviews
The Tailor of Panama
(2001)
Zzzzz...
31 March 2001
For me to pan any movie with Jamie Lee Curtis in it says a lot about the movie. I'm not going to say a lot about The Tailor of Panama, though, other than recommend you avoid it. Three of our group who went to see it fell snoring asleep at one point in the film or another. One person genuinely liked it. It's very slow-moving, drab and just plain boring. The plot is silly enough to not even warrant a discussion. Just skip it.
The Green Mile
(1999)
A must-see
4 March 2001
If you ever saw Ellen Burstyn in Resurrection, you'll be reminded of it in The Green Mile. Stories about the ability to heal others with a touch can be very compelling, especially when mixed with the resulting misunderstandings and hatred that forms in society around those powers.
Tom Hanks turns in one of his best performances in this movie. Michael Clarke Duncan's performance is nothing short of amazing, and is integral in making this such a powerful film. Yes, it's a long movie, but I felt very satisfied that the complete story had been told by the time it ended. You won't be short-changed by this one -- you'll know what eventually happened to all of the characters.
I liked the way the central story was told as a flashback from sixty years ago. There are some very tough characters and some brutally graphic scenes of electrocution, but they help to enforce the strength of the story and the importance of its message. Nothing you wouldn't expect from a film about death row.
All in all, this is a must-see movie, one you won't forget.
Tom Hanks turns in one of his best performances in this movie. Michael Clarke Duncan's performance is nothing short of amazing, and is integral in making this such a powerful film. Yes, it's a long movie, but I felt very satisfied that the complete story had been told by the time it ended. You won't be short-changed by this one -- you'll know what eventually happened to all of the characters.
I liked the way the central story was told as a flashback from sixty years ago. There are some very tough characters and some brutally graphic scenes of electrocution, but they help to enforce the strength of the story and the importance of its message. Nothing you wouldn't expect from a film about death row.
All in all, this is a must-see movie, one you won't forget.
China Moon
(1994)
A good way to spend two hours
4 March 2001
China Moon was unexpectedly good. Whodunits usually aren't my favorites, but this one held my interest. The story has enough going for it to make for a solid mystery. Even though you know who killed whom, you're left second-guessing yourself as to motives and alliances until the very end.
There are enough twists and turns to keep you off-balance, but without the story confusion that often accompanies that kind of plot complexity. A surprise final scene provides a satisfying closure. The murder and resulting forensics are on the bloody side, but it's not out of place in the story line. Harris and Stowe turn in believable performances, making for an overall rating of 7 out of 10 stars.
There are enough twists and turns to keep you off-balance, but without the story confusion that often accompanies that kind of plot complexity. A surprise final scene provides a satisfying closure. The murder and resulting forensics are on the bloody side, but it's not out of place in the story line. Harris and Stowe turn in believable performances, making for an overall rating of 7 out of 10 stars.
The Wedding Planner
(2001)
Easy on the eyes
1 March 2001
Jennifer Lopez (who knew she could act?) plays the consummate professional wedding planner -- she's the best in the business and arranges all the most elegant affairs, but she herself hasn't had a date in six years. She gets into a situation and her life is saved by Matthew McConaughey (he played Jodie Foster's fling, in "Contact"), and they end up on the verge of falling in love, when they both discover she's the wedding planner for his upcoming wedding to somebody else. Light-hearted and well-done, it's a familiar story with a few twists of its own, and keeps you interested throughout. Basically a nice, fun story that's done well.
3000 Miles to Graceland
(2001)
Strictly for the MTV crowd
26 February 2001
This movie is so bad, it can't even live down to its apparent ambition of being the worst movie ever made. There are worse, but not many. For those who never got the Elvis craze, this film will make no sense at all. For Elvis fans, this film will make no sense at all either. I have no idea why the whole Elvis theme was even in the movie. In fact, I have no idea why the movie itself was made.
There are a lot of recognizable and talented actors in the story, but their performances are pathetically weak, and their characters are all despicable. The plot is ridiculous: a gang of robbers dressing up in Elvis costumes to rob money from a Las Vegas casino. The rest of the movie is nothing but blood and guns, as they all turn against each other. You end up wishing all the characters would just kill each other off at the first opportunity to get it over with, but it drags on forever before you find out if they really will.
The whole movie is filmed with the attention span of a never-ending music video, which gets really annoying after the first 30 seconds. Jumpy edits throughout, loud music that has nothing to do with Elvis or anything else, you get the picture: don't see the picture.
There are a lot of recognizable and talented actors in the story, but their performances are pathetically weak, and their characters are all despicable. The plot is ridiculous: a gang of robbers dressing up in Elvis costumes to rob money from a Las Vegas casino. The rest of the movie is nothing but blood and guns, as they all turn against each other. You end up wishing all the characters would just kill each other off at the first opportunity to get it over with, but it drags on forever before you find out if they really will.
The whole movie is filmed with the attention span of a never-ending music video, which gets really annoying after the first 30 seconds. Jumpy edits throughout, loud music that has nothing to do with Elvis or anything else, you get the picture: don't see the picture.
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