Hollywood Titan Reviews

Anna and the King (1999)

Anna rules the King's heart and wins over the audience in this visual masterpiece

[22 October 2001]

Let the magic of romance and the beauty of Siam sweep and take you away to a world where the king rules the land and a teacher rules the king's heart. There are only two other movies I would consider to be worthy of masterpiece status: "Saving Private Ryan" and "Titanic." Now a third can be added to this list: "Anna And The King." "Anna and The King" is a true masterpiece that is filled with heart & soul, a beautful setting and superb performances.

I was very impressed with the performance of Chow-Yun Fat because he made the transition from action star to dramatic actor flawlessly. Fat showed his versatility in playing a king. Fat pulled off this role with perfection. He made it so easy for me to enjoy this movie because of his screen presence and believability of the performance as well as the chemistry between Anna and the King.

This masterpiece can not be completed without the performance Jodie Foster turned in. Foster delivers the type of performance worthy of an oscar. She once again has established herself among the elite that have the special gift of natural talent.

Foster and Fat come together beautifully to bring the true story of the romance of Anna Leonowens and King Momokut. The chemistry can be felt from a distance and it works from the first minute they come together. I knew Foster and Fat were compatible; however, I failed to realize how much until I viewed the movie.

"Anna and The King" is visually stunning in so many ways with beautiful settings such as the palace. Also, the costumes are well-made and suited the movie perfectly. "Anna & The King" will take you on a journey that will touch, warm and fill your heart with spirit only a motion picture masterpiece can bring.

The Beach (I) (2000)

Do not swim in these waters

[22 October 2001]

With the release of Leonardo DiCaprio's latest film, "The Beach," I 'am confident in saying his success with "Titanic" was only a one time deal. DiCaprio's brightly lit star has dimmed dramatically after the success of "Titanic."

"The Beach" is so bad, I feel sorry for Leo because this is most likely his best chance to prove whether or not his role as Jack Dawson was a fluke or he really is talented. It surrounds three people who discover a beach so secretive that the natives will kill for its privacy and secrecy.

Only one positive came out in "The Beach" and her name is Virginie Leyoden. She is a fresh face to Hollywood who contains enough talent to fill a gymnasium. With her role in "The Beach," this actress solidifies herself as one of the most talented and beautiful newcomers to hit Hollywood since the arrival Monica Potter. Charm, charisma, presence and style were qualities that Leyoden brings to the table and makes "The Beach" a halfway decent film to watch.

I appreciate the attempt the writers make with bringing an otherwise good plot to this film. If the plot can determine the outcome of a movie, "The Beach" would be a winner in my book; however, that is not the case and the cast failed to follow through.

"The Beach" was extremely slow, overacted and poorly written. I felt like leaving the room because I was yawning so much. A good attempt, but an awful outcome. It is unfortunate that this film wastes a beautiful setting and the time of good actors; however, there is always room for improvement next time.

Die Hard (1988)

John McClane terminates all other action heroes

[22 October 2001]

Prepare yourselves for one of the most action packed thrill rides starring one of the best action stars in Hollywood. Bruce Willis is stirring up trouble for the bad guys in "Die Hard." In the first of three awesome films, he stars as Lt. John McClane, a New York police officer, who has been invited to the wrong Christmas party.

This is an action film for future actors and directors to watch and use as a model because it describes what an action film should contain. I have seen many action films in my life, but this ranks at the top of my list because it has all the right components. Action packed sequences, explosions, special effects and most of all superb performances with excellent dialogue.

"Die Hard" is a movie I will not soon forget because the story is so well crafted. Though there are no twists or curves thrown at the audience, the audience can be assured they will be treated to two hours of non-stop action from beginning to end.

"Die Hard" did not only produce great action and explosions but future stars as well. I am talking about Clarence Gilyard Jr. who now stars in Walker, Texas Ranger and Reginald VelJohnson who starred in the series Family Matters. These two actors were pivotal to this film in their respective roles.

Two other names to keep in mind while thinking of key performers are Bonnie Bedelia and Alan Rickman. I was blown away when I saw the impact they had on this film. It is as if they came in and said 'Okay boys, watch out I'm taking over." They certainly did that; however, nobody could have done better than the impact performer himself Bruce Willis.

On a scale of 1-10; "Die Hard" is given a 100 by yours truly. My only regret would be that the movie ended. I wish there was more to see in this film. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE "DIE HARD" AGAIN.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

An artificial dud

[16 September 2001]

There was nothing intelligent about this artificial movie. One point most movie critics and I agree on with this movie, "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" is unlike any other Steven Spielberg because he has not directed a film this awful in a very long time.

I was shocked to see such a wonderful concept and premise wasted with a story I saw just a few years ago with the release of "Bicentennial Man." Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards and William Hurt give their best effort in their respective roles; however, nobody could save the movie from the disastrous script the cast was given by the writers.

I have always maintained that bigger is not always better. In the movie that Spielberg inherited following the death of Stanley Kubrick, this statement seems to be true. There has been a tremendous amount of hype surrounding "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" because it was supposed to be directed by Kubrick. "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" have taught me two very important lessons: never believe the hype of a film and always go with your instincts when deciding whether the movie was good or bad.

Spielberg has a knack for turning movies into magic when directing films, so it came as a shock to me when I realized "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" is a film without emotion, structure and intelligence. It took me 20 minutes to tell myself this was a disappointment because all of the excitement and joy drained the life out of the movie leaving Spielberg to rely on the special effects to save the rest of "A.I. Artificial Intelligence."

Osment follows his breakthrough role in "The Sixth Sense" as David, an eleven-year old android who takes an emotional journey to see if the love he gives his family is returned. Under the direction of Professor Hobby, played by Hurt, David is part of an experiment to create android children for families to love. Robards and O'Connor play parents who take David. Osment will become a huge superstar in Hollywood, but with his role as David, he won't accomplish this achievement.

Hurt, Robards and O'Connor were among the only bright spots in "A.I. Artificial Intelligence." Their roles were the light I was looking for in the dark world of this movie. These three actors were responsible for bringing integrity, honesty and genuine emotion. It is refreshing to see actors bring characteristics like this to a role because it truly shows the range of talent they possess; however, "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" was the wrong decision for them to make as well intentioned the movie planned to be.

The biggest problem I had with "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" was the urgency to care about David or any of the other characters in the film. For example, Gigolo Joe, played by Law, had no reason to be placed in a film like this because he didn't fit in with the storyline. Furthermore, there was no pizzazz or flash that stood out and made a statement that this is the film to see. One thing I have noticed with awful films was the endings were always better than the previous 120 minutes. This is true with "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" because the most interesting scene came at the end. "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" never seemed to get on track with one major theme. For example, it jumped from storyline to storyline without clear and complete explanation. I reached my tolerance limit early on in the movie, so when the movie was over; I was relieved and couldn't wait to get home.

Despite my hatred for "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," I must give Spielberg credit for bringing some enjoyment to the film. For example, Hurt's role as Professor Hobby stood out because he was the only actor that seemed to be genuine to the role, roles as mother and father put Robards and O'Connor on my favorites list, promising premise surrounding the film as well as the start and finish of the film were the only aspects of the movie that stood out from the rest of the movie.

"A.I. Artificial Intelligence" contains heart and spirit and I can understand how people may enjoy this movie; however, Spielberg failed to capitalize on the golden opportunity handed to him by Kubrick, "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" is a shallow and empty movie, which was made several years ago with Robin Williams. With their heart and spirit misplaced, my only advice about "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" is watch at your own risk because it may not be anything you hoped it would be.