Reviews

31 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
Not a good sequel to part one
31 August 2003
This movie is kind of dull. Firday part 2 starts off incoherently with deformed Jason showing up in anytown USA to kill the lead character. A kid even skate boards by him with no reaction, missing out on an opportunity that is taken advantage of in Halloween. Jason also seemingly goes through several costume shifts and at one point looks like he's got the sleeve of a blue business shirt. The killings are not as grotesque and disturbing as in part 1, which is somewhat welcome. The squeaky sound track is really creepy.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
The original and best psycho mom
31 August 2003
The first in the Friday the 13th series is, in a word, uncomfortable. I saw the movie uncut for the first time yesterday and I was unprepared for the really graphic stuff that had been cut out of other versions I had seen. The deaths are all the more shocking because the pace is a dead fish. The movie pretty much expires about an hour in but drags on until the conclusion. Betsy Palmer is priceless in a frighteningly real performance that will leave you smacking yourself in the head and screaming for the exits (if it was still in the theater.) The kids who get creamed range from really annoying to really sexy to Kevin Bacon level. This movie is incredibly subtle in it's brutality and uses great use of paralyzing music like in Halloween. In it's own way, a great flick because it's graphic stuff is really disturbing and actually very original in the genre.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Halloween (1978)
Actually seems tedious as time goes on
31 August 2003
Halloween is a movie that is not aging well with me but it is a great movie and a classic because it mixes deeply disturbing elements in a great technical package. The style is tremendous, with Michael Myers sandblasting an imprint in the heads of many viewers (including me.) The pace seems dead but the ominous presence of Myers, mixed with the moody music, fills the screen even when he is not in it. Jaime Lee stumbles around and the supporting victims include people like PJ Soles. The killings are brutal but not gory, thus increasing the appreciation and they are tremendously well spaced. The elements of the chase are also manipulated brilliantly. Donald Pleasance acts like Myer's alter ego, a boogeyman who stalks the object of his obsession. Stalk, slash and kill? Yes. But with a heart.
0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
This movie is very funny
24 August 2003
This is a funny movie. The subtlety that marks the earlier Brooks masterpieces Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein is non-existent but it's still really funny. Peter MacNicol is unquestionably the movie's driving force as Renfield. The paper cut sequence and the coffin sliding sequence are very funny. The moment where MacNicol screams more effeminately then Lysette Anthony could ever dream of is inspired and the difference is hilarious. The sequence with Nielsen and the usherette is a great comedy bit with an all-time great reaction by Nielsen. Leslie Nielsen, the ultimate slapstick champion of the last decade, is an obvious choice to play the ultimate Prince of Darkness. He's good but not great. Harvey Korman lends his legendary comedic presence but doesn't have anything to do as dottering old Seward. Steven Weber was much better in the TV show, Wings, then he is here but his sequence in the coffin where he spikes Lucy is gut busting. Amy Yasbeck is pretty much the same as she was in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Lysette Anthony is a natural as Lucy. Brooks, himself, adds his own brand of lunacy as Van Helsing. The ballroom sequence is funny and the ending is a bit disappointing. Dracula: Dead and Loving It is far from Young Frankenstein as a work of art but it is very funny nonetheless.
1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Killing Zoe (1993)
Awful
24 August 2003
Just a flat out bad movie. The plot is that a bunch of youngish, disturbed and retarded Frenchmen, an Englishman and an American (Eric Stoltz) try to rob a bank and it gets messed up. Truely, the plot is just an empty void. There is no purpose, fun, hope, joy, human drama, intensity or anything else to this movie so it's just graphically violent and serially vulgar to compensate. When in doubt, swear a lot, do a lot of drugs and shoot everybody is the movie's motto. Stoltz and Julie Delpy meow to each earlier in the movie in bed and it's an interesting sequence. The personality of the unfocused and clogged up gang leader is also intriguing in spots. Nothing else is here but drugs, lunacy and "rusty knife" perversion. Another in the long series of Eric Stoltz black hole movies. Quentin Tarantino is associated with this movie and it seems all Tarantino ever wanted to do was rob banks and be a hitman of some kind as that is the subject of virtually ever movie he has ever done.
0 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Crazy, manic fun
24 August 2003
A very interesting mix of stuff here. Samuel L. Jackson is a tremendous natural comedian and definitely needs to do more comedies. Emilio Estevez stumbles through his role with a boyish charm. Estevez has that same aggressive, "in the dark" personality that he displayed in Men at Work. Kathy Ireland pokes fun at herself, opens up her sexuality and is completely overwhelming in the role. William Shatner is inspired as the snitty General Morters. Tremendous star power in the supporting roles helps bring the movie home. Classically inept, as all of these movies are.
2 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Despicable
24 August 2003
So much for stalk and kill. When is a Friday the 13th movie not a Friday the 13th movie? When it is this sickening crap. The problems here are too many to list but I'll try. Jason meets a SWAT team in the intro, which is cool and a long overdue plot point. The spirit of Jason possesses the coroner, which begins hilariously by a heart eating sequence. Creighton Duke, played by Steven Williams, knows stuff about Jason but we don't know why and we never find out. He just sort of shows up places. Jason pops in and out of people and kills other people. The problem is that fans of the series want to see Jason killing people, not a roly poly cop, a black coroner, etc. In that way, they did not learn from the complaining of the series' fans after the part 5 debacle. The sexual violations in the plot, imagery, tone, and mood in this movie are too many to name and the director's cut is worse, especially a scene where Erin Gray's corpse is, uh, occupied. The attempted violation of a baby should have had this movie banned. The violence is reprehensible in the regular version and obscenely unwatchable in the director's cut. Machetes in the gut are bad enough. The violence here is completely violating and blatantly obvious. There are other problems. There is name talent here and it sinks the concept for those people are real actors. The Friday the 13th series is a stalk and slash concept with zero acting. Even the actors who became some bodies, like Kevin Bacon, were no bodies in their Friday roles. The talent on hand brings back memories of name roles and the throwaway nature of the idea sinks. The recognized faces also act well, while others don't act at all, and there is little middle ground. Three camp counselors are killed...by the coroner. Kane Hodder as Jason only gets to show up for a few minutes. I felt molested after I watched this.
0 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Awfully hilarious and just plain awful
24 August 2003
This isn't really even a movie more then it's a dumping ground for slapstick routines and refreshing silliness. I am a big fan of slapstick routines so I like this movie, even though it is technically horrid. The tone is depressing film noir era stuff which is great fun in low doses. Armand Assante gets his crack to make a fool of himself at least once in a career and he's a naturally funny guy. Sean Young plays the hyper feminine moll babe with some really nice intensity. Kate Nelligan is really hot as the murdering wife and Christopher McDonald lightens the load with some twinkish hilarity. Sheilyn Fenn is miscast as the mousy, admiring, love sick chick who falls in love with Assante's bumbling Ned Ravine. Not much is mousy about Miss Fenn. The scene where she has the beer hat on is hilarious and one of the best in the movie. The courtroom sequence is made by the greatest announcer in baseball history, Bob Uecker. There is some really funny stuff here and the movie sticks it's neck out to mock itself, which is admirable. A non-movie that's great to watch once.
1 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
The worst movie in history
23 August 2003
Hardcore pornography only wishes that it was this detestable. The movie starts out stylishly and with some great camers shots. From there it deteriorates into oblivion. I would analyze the "action" but it wouldn't be accepted at this site because there is no action other then beastiality, child molestation and other eroticism passing as art. Dracula being the "good guy" is an interesting concept but this movie spits vomit on the idea. Anthony Hopkins has some nice lines but does nothing. Some synonyms: Awful, dreadful, sickening, repulsive, decaying, elusive, apocalyptic, grotesque. The baby eating sequence and the horse killing sequence sink this garbage alone. Worthless. Manos: The Hands of Fate move over. This is the bottom rung.
0 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Judge Dredd (1995)
Absolutely nothing original but shockingly good
22 August 2003
I'll preface this by saying that I have never read the Judge Dredd comic. That being said, I bashed this movie when my friends and I watched first watched it back in 1995 in the theater. I am now throughly eating my words. This thing is amazingly good and entertaining throwaway cheese. There is zero originality here. This is Blade Runner meets Demolition Man meets Texas Chainsaw massacre meets Superman 2 meets Star Wars Trilogy. This movie is almost a replica of Demolition Man but is tons more fun. Stallone, like in Demolition Man, plays a supercop. He's accused of a crime he didn't commit and is punished, like in Demolition Man. There are other parallels along the way. He meets a Texas Chainsaw Massacre family in his exile, with an android member who looks suspiciously like Terry Bradshaw. Armand Assante is really great as the villain, Diane Lane excels in a role that doesn't fit her and Rob Schneider is stunningly endearing as the third wheel in a party of two. Max Von Sydow and Jurgen Prochnow add their talents to give the movie a seasoned flavor. Stallone's intro is pathetic but he excels along the way. The digital effects also work themselves into the story very well. I'm stunned at how good this thing is upon reviewing it.
70 out of 103 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Disappointing, overrated but still good
15 August 2003
After the deep impact of Star Wars and the greatest in the genre that I have seen in Empire, Return of the Jedi is a major disappoinment but hardly a bad film. The opener in Jabba's palace is excellent but the middle act is rather boring. I won't beat up the poor Ewoks anymore then they already have been beaten up but I must also be counted in the "this was a big mistake" department. Seeing Wookies (the original idea) throwing Stormtroopers around would have been the battle to end them all but we don't get it. Indeed the presence of the Ewoks symbolize the major problem of the movie, it's utter lack of seriousness in many places. After the near apocalyptic feel of Empire, this is just too much of a letdown. On the positive side, the battle between Luke and Vader is great, symbolic and intense and the space battle is still the coolest and best overall space fight sequence I have ever seen. It's the major joy of this film and it delivers BIG TIME. Overall a major let down because the Endor sequence is just too hokey. The rest is largely overblown because the Endor sequence occupies too much of the middle. Still beats Episode One and Two by a mile.
0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Still the greatest Sci-fi movie I have ever seen
15 August 2003
I will admit that I have missed the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I will also admit that I fell asleep after 45 minutes of 2001: A Space Odyssey before I turned it off. That being said, this is still (by far) the best sci-fi movie I have ever seen. The slower, more methodical and more pleasing pace that was missing in Star Wars is on full display here and not one second of this movie stinks. From the rugged and thrilling intro on Hoth to the awesome space pursuit of the Milennium Falcon to the wonderous Cloud City and all points in between, Empire has drama and heart that many sci-fi movies tend to lack. Harrison Ford as Han Solo steals the show with an incredibly romantic performance and the other actors get great chances to stretch. The plot is deep but also very wide open at the same time with rest periods that Star Wars lacks. The same gripping intensity from Star Wars is still onhand however. The visuals are beyond stunning and run the gamut. Indeed the movie feels like it lasts years instead of hours. The cosmic drama continues between Luke and Vader while the other characters fill in the rest of the pieces. Yoda is possibly the most beloved character in film history while Darth Vader is one of the most reviled. Incredible and the best in the genre that I have seen. Maybe I'll give 2001 another shot when I'm not so tired.
0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Incredibly emotional, incredibly intense, incredible action
15 August 2003
The original trilogy has been an institution to many a kid, me included. The story of a young boy named Luke Skywalker who finds his destiny as the leader of a cause has been done to death forever and a day. Star Wars is the ultimate thrill ride, a feast for the senses. The characters are timeless, charming, deep and emotional. The plot mixes religion, mysticism, politics, human drama, etc on a vast scale and can be considered the ultimate film battle of good and evil. Star Wars never lets up from beginning to end and has a deadly seriousness to it. One of the best mixes of effects, shock, emotion and intensity ever put on film. Essentially a reproduction of old movie serials, updated for the times with a space opera format.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Worse then Africa Screams
11 August 2003
In my rewatching of the Abbott and Costello series that I loved in my youth, this is by far the worst of the series that I have rewatched. The problem is not in the subject material. The problem is in the script, the execution and the performances. Abbott and Costello have never been more bland and the songs from the Manhatten Hillbilly take up seemingly half of the movie's length. The song about a half an hour in goes on forever. The old granny is fun but isn't allowed to do enough. The "courtship" between Costello and the 14 year old hillbilly girl is ghoulish. Bud Abbott is non-existent and the hillbilly clans do nothing whatsoever. There are a few chuckles and nothing more. The opener and the conclusion are awful. On the bright side, Glenn Strange is great here and Costello's duel with the witch is funny. Costello's "christening" is a gut buster. But that's it. Has a little of the same flavor as The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap but isn't in the same league, much less the same ballpark.
8 out of 18 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Keys to Tulsa (1997)
A vacuum
8 August 2003
The worst movie of all time? It's on the VERY short list. This is the most lifeless, souless, plotless mess that I have ever witnessed and isn't remotely as fun as any bad Ed Wood movie. Eric Stoltz, looking like Bridgette Fonda's twin sister, er brother, laughingly fakes his way through this as some kind of stud. Defying all laws of science, Stoltz "attracts" every woman that he comes up to. Michael Rooker portrays somebody, possibly a Southern stereotype but I have yet to see anyone who looks or acts like this while I've lived in the South. This movies's problem, other then the terrible acting, the lifeless characters and the dead story, is that it knows nothing about places like Tulsa, Oklahoma, yet portrays them with a seriousness that makes you believe that they live there. We find out what the "plot" is about an hour and a half into the movie. It has something to do with white people being evil. The problem is that there is not one black person in the entire movie (other then a waiter with a five second part) and the story is being told by rich, white actors so there is ZERO credibility and is completely insulting. Until the "plot" unfolds an hour and a half into the movie, people stumble around and don't do much of anything. On top of that, there are very few moments to fast forward through. Beyond awful. On the positive side, I did use to like the moody "Keys to Tulsa" theme until I realized that it was depressing. Oh yeah, James Spader is in this and James Spader is cool. That's it.
4 out of 13 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Terrible
8 August 2003
Maybe the worst of the Abbott and Costello movies. I don't think that Universal did this movie and it really shows. The comedy team goes to Africa on a safari because some diamond hunters think that Costello can draw the map to it's location for them or seomthing like that. He really can't and trouble ensues. Bud Abbott dyfunctionally stumbles around this movie with diamond fever and Costello follows him like he's looking for his mother. The usual safari picture stereotypes and action are onhand, such as the typical fights with crocodiles and lions. Clyde Beatty and Frank Buck are onhand for the sold purpose of being onhand and the Baer brothers boringly play themselves. Hillary Brooke is beautiful and engaging but she is on an island here. The sets are cheap and the pivture quality is lousy. A depressing Abbott and Costello experience and one that they probably wish that they had never done.
3 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Duck Soup (1933)
Genius
6 August 2003
Some Marx brothers movies can be difficult to stomach as some of the jokes are eccentric or of the period. Some of the musical routines in those movies are also diversions and I just fast forward through them. Duck Soup is the best the team ever did. Everything clicks, mostly due to the script, as the brothers work magnificently well within it's confines. As head of a country, Groucho is in the role that he was made for and Chico and Harpo are sharp as nails. Groucho's interplays with Trentino are inspired and much less crazy then the real thing. The mirror scene is one of the best comedy bits ever, the war dance is extremely bizarre and the final battle is riotous. The best Marx brothers script makes this the best Marx brothers movie.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
If you can survive this, you can survive anything
5 August 2003
This movie is so lathered in addicition, brutality, dysfunction, pain and genuine horror that I may check myself into rehab just watching and listening to it. There is an excellent chance that this movie is genius but it's so skewed that it's a real challenge to interpret and most won't be able to stand it. I must admit that I didn't see the TV show so that makes the challenge harder still. The movie starts out with a pointless (though hilarious) segment with Chris Issaks and Kiefer Sutherland playing FBI agents on the trail of the murderer of a young woman named Theresa Banks. Not much happens, other then Issaks disappearing. There are some really cool, weird moments along the way though. The real twisted material is in the second program which details the sad and tragic life of Laura Palmer leading up to her death. The storyline is the rape of Laura Palmer, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc. The relationships are depraved, the sexuality is depraved, the politics are depraved and the layout is brutal. Ray Wise, as Leland Palmer, is as repulsive a character as I've seen in film and the "Canadian" group that Laura hangs out with isn't far off. On the positive front, this may be the greatest movie in the history of mankind for promoting communication between family members, or anyone else for that matter. Watch it once, write down your thoughts and, whatever your problems are, talk about them. This is not one of those movies you want to carry in your subconscious.
4 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
One of their best
5 August 2003
This is one of my favorite Abbott and Costello movies and one of their best. There really isn't that much interplay between Abbott and Costello, despite the basics, as Marjorie Main consumes (or inhales) a lot of the attention. The classic and time consuming routines are also few and far between. The script is one of the tightest in the team's movies and there aren't really any dead spots. The supporting characters are very strong and Abbott and Costello don't have to scene steal to be effective. The plot is thus: Abbott and Costello come to Wagon Gap and shoot off a gun to make a statement. A man falls dead and, faster then you can say "railroad", Costello is made the sole supporter of the dead man's family. Marjorie Main plays the less then weeping widow. She's actually a very talented comedian, her gruff, manly demeanor aside. The townsfolk are seedy vigilantes and provide a hostile setting. The humor is great, with some great, subtle lines and a very funny routine where Costello gets smacked with paint while painting a fence. The best plot twist is Costello being named sheriff because no one will touch him (much less shoot him) as they would have to provide for the gruff and nagging Main. The typical hurricane ending is less chaotic and more pleasing then the regular. A lot of fun and one of my favorite Abbott and Costello movies.
8 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
A glowing tribute and satire of professional wrestling
3 August 2003
This movie is pretty much a combination of Abbott and Costello meet the Invisible Man and Lost in Alaska. A sheik/professional wrestler leaves the camp of Bud and Lou to return to his native Africa. Bud and Lou, on the verge of losing $5,000, follow him to try and bring him back. They get duped into joining the French foreign legion in the area and deal with a french spy and a traitor in the legion. For a former long time pro wrestling fanatic like me, this movie makes me laugh, mostly because I used to take wrestling so seriously. The intro is great, especially Bud Abbott, who shows passion that he would only show periodically in the team's later years. The chemistry is good in the scenes in Africa until the boys join the legion when the movie stalls slightly. There is a funny bit with Costello manning a machine gun and a hilarious miscounting scene that is the best bit in the film. Some great pro wrestling nonsense and a chaotic ending finish the film. This is one of the Abbott and Costello flicks that I missed seeing in my youth. Other then the wrestling bits and some really beautiful women, Abbott and Costello and their routines carry this one.
5 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Tombstone (1993)
Consistently excellent
2 August 2003
Tombstone is a thrill ride with feeling, a good enough script, inspiring music and one of the best casts ever assembled in motion pictures. Kurt Russell plays the sensitive Wyatt Earp. Val Kilmer is the movie's life force with a snitty peformance as the homicidal Doc Holliday. The rest of the cast is New York Yankees deep, with even the bit roles manned by people like Billy Zane, Thomas Haden Church, Michael Rooker and Jason Priestley. Sam Elliott is great in everything that I've seen him in and his gruffness helps steady the movie until the end resolution. Dana Delaney plays the free spirit. The villains are loaded with Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn and Stephen Lang. Even Moses, himself, Charleton Heston makes a cameo. The script is relatively wide open, which is a no-brainer with the talent onhand. What the script has is a nice sense of timing, set up and pacing. The music is dynamic and is really moving, especially in times of trouble. The movie is also pretty historically accurate in many places and doesn't mutilate the concept too badly overall. This story is truly so much larger then normal life that other fascinating tidbits were left out (such as the true story of Earp's card game with Behan when he won the Oriental Saloon.) Earp is the movie's crusader, Holliday and Ringo play the cosmic dance. Watch this movie for it's passion.
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Flimsy to non-existant horror, great comedy
1 August 2003
Army of Darkness is essentially a hardcore comedy with horror elements. It doesn't seem to be a mainstream deal but, if it were, little boys all over the place would be watching this. Bruce Campbell makes a very unappealing hero and he's not engaging whatsoever but he's got charisma in spades and so we watch him without paying much attention to him. The plot is a one trick pony. Ash is sent back in time and must retrieve the book of the dead to make it back. The "primitives" that he aligns himself with need it too. Ash messes up (hilariously) and the army of the dead awakes. The skeletons attack Ash and his buddies, led by Ash's evil twin that split from him in an earlier scene. There's nothing scary about this movie but the comedy is A+ if you like Three Stooges' style slapstick. As I stated earlier, this is a little boys dream movie.
2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
For the trouble, the worst sci-fi movie I have ever seen
31 July 2003
Thank God they don't make movies like this anymore. Not even Wesley Snipes can save this baby. This is the most pathetically deluded and politically unfocused piece of dog flop (MST3K line) I have ever seen. It is so aggressively manic-depressive that it makes one go running (or sprinting) for the aspirin. Stallone is terrible as John Spartan. His persona is more frozen out of the ice then in it. Sandra Bullock is weak in her role but it was probably written that way so it's no biggee. The humor is pathetic and the acting is abysmal. Denis Leary is annoying and his "degenerates are right" attitude permeates the movie with pitiful childishness. Nigel Hawthorne is snitty and charismatic and makes a good "villian," although he really isn't much of one. That is part of this movie's problem is that it seems to be trying to send the message that deterioration is good and should be accepted by all and those that oppose it are "a** holes. In a way, it can be argued that Demolition Man was one of the first major whines of the Bill Clinton era, where irresponsibility was "good." The only thing about this movie that isn't a reject is Wesley Snipes. Snipes is incredibly charismatic as Simon Phoenix. I would say that he steals the show but that would be asking too much from this mess. Future Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura gets to kill somebody and the Hollywood delusion of models beating up big football player size guys continues when Sandra Bullock "beats up" a big Hawaiian dude. Childish, whining, crying and in need of detox, this movie had a chance with it's political message that the poor need to eat but wrapped it in a message that social irresponsibility is the way to do it. Too bad.
1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Se7en (1995)
The most overrated movie of the 1990's
30 July 2003
After watching Seven, I wish that I had the quiet peace of reading about Jack the Ripper or the Zodiac killer. In short, Seven is a grotesque dumping ground of sadism that is packaged brilliantly, thanks to some solid writing and an all star cast. If Morgan Freeman weren't onhand, this movie would have been forgotten long ago as it's perversion is too mentally ill and mind numbing to contemplate. His performance adds a slim philosophy of hope to the movie and his presence domiantes even though he is supposed to be in the "mentor" role. The rest looks like it was shot through the bottom of a urine specimen. The death of the gluttony victim repulses the audience and the death of "Victor" molests the audience. Brad Pitt is a dynamic dude (pro wrestling lifers will read into that one) and his charisma crackles. Gwentyth Paltrow has nothing to do other then be a plot point. Kevin Spacey looks more then comfortable (as usual) playing the lunatic and his introduction in the police station is an all-time great. Seven's problem is that it's message is pathetic. The world sucks. OOOOHHH!! Haven't heard (or seen) that one before. The acting is great, the dialogue works (until Morgan Freeman starts talking about aliens flying out of John Doe's head) and some of the visuals are tremendous. Other then that, I put this movie in my "rusty knife" category.
2 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Put it back on the big screen
30 July 2003
Mysterious Island is a very political movie as it progresses, which is a sign of the times as opposed to the very traditional Journey to the Center of the Earth which was released just two years earlier. While Journey to the Center of the Earth was absolutely magical, Mysterious Island is explosive and dynamic. The magic is on hand, with wondrous shots and music to go along with the island's flora and fauna. The movie is also extremely charismatic. Michael Craig is too good to be true as the lead, Captain Cyrus Harding, but he has a hard edge that gets respect. The supporting players, especially Gary Merrill and Percy Herbert, more then pull their weight. Merrill's role reminds me a little of Dr. Smith from Lost in Space, and Percy Herbert is a gas as Pentcroft. Neb's character is treated like one of the gang, although I believe that Union regiments in the Civil War were either all white or all black so it is somewhat unrealistic. Indeed, how the character's mix together for the good of all is a hallmark of the movie. The strengthening of Michael Callan's character seems to be a major plot point but it gets lost along the way and is moot when Nemo shows up. Beth Rogan is sexy as Elena and the Lady Mary Faichild character ( I can't remember the actresses' name) shoots the movie full of musky, female intensity. The special effects are brilliant and (I hate to keep harping on it) blow away the "movie within a movie" digital nonsense of today. The bees are worth the price of admission alone and the movements of the crab are top notch. When Nemo arrives, the movie gets so political that I feel that I'm back in college. Herbert Lom is a little too snitty for me as Nemo but he's a cool guy and is great in other things so I accept him. The music is absolutely awesome and is one of my favorite musical scores of all time. A grossly underrated movie overall that is clearly meant to manipulate at the end. Along with Journey to the Center of the Earth, this movie would look incredible back on the big screen.
44 out of 53 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
An error has occured. Please try again.

Recently Viewed