stephie-12 Reviews

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

Best sequel!!!

[10/10 · 25 October 2004]

I loved Pitch Black (and Vin Diesel!!) so I was greatly looking forward to Chronicles of Riddick. However, it surpassed even my expectations. Vin Diesel reprises his role as Richard Riddick, this time to battle the Necromongers, a religious cult lead by the all powerful Lord Marshall. The film starts five years after Pitch Black ended, with Riddick living on a remote ice planet, pursued by bounty hunters. The storyline is incredibly slick, effortlessly moving Riddick from this hostile environment to the Planet Helion, to meeting up again with Jack, the girl from Pitch Black (now known as Kyra) and on to challenge the Necromongers.

David Twohy's directing is spot on, and Peter Cheung's effects enable you to actually feel drawn into the environments. Riddick's main adversaries amongst the Necromongers are Lord Vaako (Karl Urban), a career soldier/believer and Lady Vaako (Thandie Newton), his scheming wife (similarities to Lady Macbeth!!). However the main enemy is the Lord Marshall, played magnificently by Colm Feore. As well as the Necromongers, Riddick also has to face desperate environmental conditions.

The only weak spot in the entire movie is the character of Kyra. They obviously wanted a female who was Riddick's equal as far as murdering people is concerned, but unfortunately it comes across totally wrong.

Vin Diesel puts in his usual masterful performance, making this film incredibly watchable again and again.

The Ref (1994)

Inspired!

[8/10 · 29 February 2004]

Tired of those sickly Christmas films where everything is wonderful? Then this movie is for you! Starring Kevin Spacey and Denis Leary, the plot centres around a thief, Gus (Denis Leary) who takes a warring couple, Lloyd and Caroline (Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis) hostage. The movie begins with Lloyd and Caroline at marriage guidance, bickering, bringing up old arguments and asking the counsellor who is right. After they leave they are taking hostage by Gus, taken back to their house and tied up while he waits for his alcoholic partner to get transport for him. Despite the presence of Gus and his gun, they continue to argue the entire time, which irritates him. Because this is set on Christmas Eve, Lloyd's family turn up. The mother and sister-in-law are completely awful, which winds Gus up more. The Christmas Eve meal, which has a unique theme, is hysterically funny. All of the main characters are wonderfully acted, particularly by Spacey and Leary. Watch this movie!

The West Wing (1999–2006)

Fascinating drama

[26 February 2004]

I got into this series by accident and I am SO glad I did! Martin Sheen plays President Josiah Bartlett, and the storylines surround his administration and the staff members who run it, including Rob Lowe and John Spencer. This is gripping stuff! Instead of being stand-alone stories, there are threads of story which run throughout each individual season. The best way of watching this is on DVD, several episodes in a row, to appreciate the full impact. This is one of the most intelligent TV series I have ever seen, with a fascinating insight into the inner workings of the American political system. An interest in politics is an advantage, for this reason. Some episodes are inspiring, with Martin Sheen making stirring speeches and making difficult decisions, sometimes at odds with his conscience and beliefs. Amazing!

Jurassic Park (1993)

Groundbreaking!

[10/10 · 26 February 2004]

This was obviously the most sophisticated portrayal of dinosaurs at the time, and it doesn't age a bit. Sam Neill plays Dr Alan Grant, a paleontologist who is persuaded to check out Richard Attenborough's new theme park, only to find that he has managed to clone dinosaurs. There is plenty of action, and the dinos look so real as to be positively scary! Sam Neill puts in his usual incredibly brilliant performance, and you can really believe he is acting with the creatures! Jeff Goldblum as usual seems to play himself, as Professor Ian Malcolm, an expert in chaos theory who is convinced the park is a bad idea. The cast are amazing, the effects are amazing, this whole movie is amazing. It doesn't get any better than this!

Blake's 7 (1978–1981)

Wonderfully cheesy!

[26 February 2004]

This is quite simply the coolest sci-fi series of all time. It is easy to laugh at the sets and effects in these days of CGI, but it was good entertaining fun when it came out. Gareth Thomas played the Blake of the title, who whizzed round the universe with his crew of outlaws, trying to avoid the Federation. The leader of the Federation, Servalan, was a strong, scary woman who thought nothing of stabbing her allies in the back. In contrast to series such as Doctor Who, the female cast members werent just "screamers" - they all had their own specific and useful skills, such as Cally (Jan Chappell) who had psychic powers and Jenna (Sally Knyvette), an expert pilot. Watching it now brings back many memories, but it does stand up even now. Inspired!

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Loved it!

[9/10 · 22 February 2004]

This movie is adrenalin charged from the very beginning. The plot centres around an undercover cop,Brian, who has to investigate a number of hijacks. To do this, he must get to know the chief suspect, Dominic Torretto (a stellar performance by the magnificent Vin Diesel) and his group of street racers who buy Japanese cars and spend thousands of dollars converting them into racing machines. As well as being a street racer, Dom also runs a store and a garage. His gang includes his girlfriend Lettie, younger sister Mia and friends Vince, Leon and Jessie. Brian is drawn deeper into the glamourous world, falling for Mia and discovering a respect for Dom, which conflicts with his objectivity.

Rob Cohen does an amazing job of directing this movie, even making a Hitchcock-esque cameo as a pizza delivery guy. The film is very well acted, particularly by Vin Diesel, who manages to portray the two sided character of the carefree street-racer with the responsible older brother who looks out for Mia and the rest of his team. His performance is by far the best of the entire film. Apparently the character of Lettie was not in the original story and unfortunately this shows. Michelle Rodriguez pouts and sneers her way through the film, and her character has no real depth. This is the only low point in a truly brilliant film.

Knockaround Guys (2001)

Dark gangster movie

[7/10 · 22 February 2004]

Surprisingly, this film has been largely ignored by many people. The plot centres around a group of guys whose fathers are gangsters, and who feel that they don't fit in with the crooked or the straight world. It is about them trying to carve a niche for themselves. Benny Chains (Dennis Hopper) and Teddy Deserve (John Malkovich) are the gangsters who employ Matty (Barry Pepper), Benny's son and Teddy's nephew, to do menial jobs around their organisation. Matty's friend Taylor (Vin Diesel) is also employed as a hard man to collect money from their various ventures. In an attempt to show his father that he is worth something, Matty persuades them to allow his friend Marbles (Seth Green, an unreliable cocaine addict, to collect money for them, as he has his own plane. The money then goes missing, forcing Matty, Taylor, et al, to try to find the money before Benny and Teddy find out.

The best performances in this movie are by John Malkovich who, as always, brings a mixture of menace, sensuality and humour to the role, and Vin Diesel, as a surprisingly sensitive hard man.

This is not a light or funny film, but it is brilliant and underrated.

Pitch Black (2000)

Best sci-fi movie ever!

[10/10 · 22 February 2004]

This movie is about the crew of a spaceship who crash land onto a strange bright planet with three suns. Among the passengers is convicted serial killer, Richard Riddick (Vin Diesel), and his nemesis, Johns (Cole Hauser). While the survivors of the wreck are getting their bearings, an eclipse of all three suns happens. Shortly afterwards, scary creatures begin to appear and start to pick off the crew members one by one. During the eclipse, Riddick comes into his own, as his eyeballs have been surgically shined, giving him night vision. The crew have to rely on him to try to get them to safety.

This is a very stylish film, with the colour of the sky changing scene by scene, giving it a very strange look. Vin Diesel is brilliant as Riddick, truly menacing but forced to help people who otherwise would only see him as a threat. There is also an underlying humour in his performance as well, which adds another dimension to the character. This is the sort of role that Vin excels in, the anti-hero, whos character is not as one-dimensional as first appears. I can imagine no-one else in this role, it could have been written specifically for him.

Roll on Chronicles of Riddick!

Con Air (1997)

Amazing action flick

[10/10 · 31 January 2004]

This film goes beyond the usual boundaries of an action film. The ensemble cast is brilliant. Nicholas Cage and John Cusack play the ex army ranger turned paroled prisoner and FIB agent respectively who have to find a way of working together when psycho Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom takes over a plane of prisoners who are being transferred to a maximum security unit. Cyrus is played brilliantly by the menacing John Malkovich, and he makes the character appear truly evil, down to his cold eyes. This is the sort of role he excels at.

There is also an appearance by Steve Buscemi as the Marietta Mangler, a serial killer who first appears in the film strapped to a chair with a mask, a la Hannibal Lecter.

Nicholas Cage is also good as a very honourable guy who just wants to get home to his wife and child, but not at the expense of his fellow prisoners.

This film is worth watching many times - its entertaining, sometimes funny and altogether brilliant!

Airheads (1994)

Hysterical!

[9/10 · 31 January 2004]

This film is one of the funniest ever. Adam Sandler, Brendan Fraser and Steve Buscemi are three incredibly dense would-be rock stars who break into a radio station with a water pistol to get their tape played and try to obtain a record deal. the stunt causes a lot of media attention, and cheering crowds gather outside the station. This is not an intellectual film, but it is very funny with all three of the main cast playing very different characters. Brendan Fraser is honourable, Adam Sandler is so dumb he attracts women who feel a bit sorry for him and Steve Buscemi is his older brother who brandishes the gun. If you want an hour and a half of pure light entertainment, watch this!

xXx (2002)

Best film of the year!

[10/10 · 26 November 2003]

Although this movie has been described as similar to James Bond, it is much more than that. Vin Diesel is extreme sports athlete Xander Cage, pressed into the service of his country by Agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L Jackson). The movie is a perfect vehicle to allow Vin Diesel to demonstrate his considerable acting talents. The role plays on his ability to make you truly believe that he is capable of performing the incredible stunts. He is not afraid of being shown as flawed though, and to allow other characters to be more knowledgeable. The bad guy, Yorgi, who is the leader of a group of ex Russian soldiers called Anarchy 99, is played by the wonderfully sinister Marton Csokas whose agenda is slightly different from the usual Bond villains. There is no preamble - the movie goes straight into the action. The rock music soundtrack helps make this movie the best one of the decade so far!

Boiler Room (2000)

Very impressed

[10/10 · 26 November 2003]

Although Giovanni Ribisi is the main character, Seth, one of the most outstanding performances is by Vin Diesel as Chris. In Boiler Room he shows that he is more than muscle as he acts his pants off! If you like Wall Street, you will love this - there is even a tribute to it in the movie. An intelligent movie dealing with the desire to get rich quick, regardless of the consequences. A must see!