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el_pieablo
Reviews
Gothika (2003)
Waste of my time
Watching this movie its not hard to see why Ms Berry's star is already starting to wane. The movie starts well enough and its always good to see Downey Jr in roles, but the film is just so full of plot holes that it gets harder and harder to believe what is going on, plus also at the end of the movie you will be asking yourself a massive WHAT?
Halle Berry walks around the movie with a constant look of boredom and seems to be phoning the role in, Bernard Hill looks as if he just wants to get back to New Zealand to do Return of the King and Charles S Dutton is just not believable as Berry husband.
This is a bad movie and is only remotely watchable due to Robert Downey Jr's performance.
I'll give this a 1 out of 10 and thats being generous
Monster (2003)
Good acting but why?
Having seen this movie for the first time recently a few things came through my mind. Firstly the acting performances. Christina Ricci and Bruce Dern were superb in their respective roles but i was disappointed by Charlize Theron's role. OK sure looked like the women and maybe got the killers mannerisms down to a T, but i just felt that it was lacking something.
Also, i thought that the movie was trying to get us, the viewer, to sympathize with Aileen Wuoros plight, playing sad music during killing and in the end, but lets not forgot that the women was a serial killer and thus why should be sympathies with her? We don't care about Charles Manson, Peter Sutcliffe or Dr Harold Shipman(when he was alive) and they were all serial killers? Should they get a big budget movie made about them, then we will all be like "the system failed them, blah, blah, blah".
Overall the movie was full of good performances but the attempted sympathy attraction ruined it for me.
I would give it a 3 out of 5
Haunted (1995)
Hauntingly beautiful
For a while one of my older friends was always raving on about this movie and being a sceptic I frequently ignored his requests. Staying in student accomadation with my friend and this movie happened to come on late night television he demanded that we watch it, he had bought the beer so I said yes.
At first glance this movie starts a bit slow with Aidan Quinn's character, David, reminising bout the death of his sister 20 years before, which he blames himself for. David returns from the first World War, and gets a job lecturing in Cambridge plus he also acts on debunking fake paranormal activity.
Its on the strength of this that he is contacted by a Nanny of a manor house in English countryside, asking for him to come to the house to prove that she is not crazy. David heads to the manor home and when he gets their he is entrahlled by the beauty of Christine(Kate Beckinsale), daughter of the manor house, and her two rather eccentric brothers. David then starts to ask questions....
A number of things in this movie deserve the two thumbs up from me. Firstly the locations. The 1920's setting is perfect for this movie, lending the proceedings a certain reminisanct quality and a magical sense of things gone by. The locations are beautiful, ranging from the manor house to the surrounding countryside, every thing the camera touches leaves you speechless(I live in Scotland were we are surrounded by beautiful countryside and his movie at this effect on me). Secondly the acting. Aidan Quinn and Kate Beckinsale both are brilliant in their roles as protagonist and love interest and its easy to see why Ms Beckinsale to close to cracking Hollywood. The brothers lend a slightly sinister air to what would just be a standard love story. Thirdly the tight direction. Lewis Gilbert keep things taut and tends to use quick cuts to emphasise the action and long shots which, in my opinion, highlights the inner struggle of David. Also John Geilgiud appears in a strong supporting role as the village doctor, putting in a typical good performance.
I only have a few quibbles concerning this fantastic movie. Firstly the movie seems a bit slow to start with, but then builds up about half an hour into it. Also I felt that nudity wasn't really required in this movie, there was no need for breast shots, who cares? Similary one of the sub-plots seems to fall by the wayside towards the end, with David showing disgust one moment but forgetting about the incident shortly later.
Overall i really enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to all movie fans, who then can look towards Bruce Willis and Nicole Kidman movies of similar ilk and still say 'original'.
A Better Way to Die (2000)
Highly Enjoyable
Scott Wiper. Scott Wiper... The name doesn't ring a bell does it? Neither did it to me. I was browsing my friends DVD collection and came across this little gem. On asking him what was it like he said just watch it and see. So I did and found it highly enjoyable.
Scott Wiper is a young actor, writer, producer, director and has gathered himself a cast that would be at the top of any hollywood directors wish list. Joe Pantaliano, Lou Diamond Phillips, Natasha Henstridge and Andre Braugher. All involved in this movie are showing the acting talents that they are capable and are clearly having fun and this fun exerts itself over the viewer.
Scott Wiper is Boomer, a chicago cop, who becomes disenchanted with the big city life after a bust. He embarks on a road trip to get to former girlfriend, who still loves him, in the picturesque village of Cedar Falls. Then all hell breaks loss...
This film is notable for a few things. Wiper as lead actor, writer, and director, Joe Pantaliano in a typically strong performance as a bizarre one-armed detective named Flash, and how wiper has managed to create a movie that looks big budget on an obviously low budget. The fantastic locals and the brilliant action scenes hint at a director who could accomplish big things given the time and the money.
At times i was thinking that Boomer's day couldn't get any worse but this helps us in feeling more sympathetic towards him in his quest to get home.
Finally i highly enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to any self respecting fan of the action genre. A definate winner 8.5!