jorgepedro-18183 Reviews

Basic Instinct (1992)

Watch it for Sharon only

[20 September 2019]

Paul Verhoevan's Basic Instinct is a controversial and hugely popular film which catapulted Sharon Stone to the A list. This is a raunchy sex film with A listers and a big budget. Whether or not the film works depends largely on expectations. If you're looking for an intelligent thriller with real characters, Basic Instinct will seem like a fraud. If, on the other hand, you don't care whether the story makes sense and all you're in search of are cheap thrills and naked bodies, the movie delivers. Of course if you want to see the film- see it for Sharon Stone. Basic Instinct didn't launch Sharon Stone's career, but it catapulted her to the next level. Stone gambled that, by showing everything she would end up on the fast track. It worked. Stone became a hot commodity, although it's worth noting that only the films in which she had nude scenes met with box office success. Her ability as an actress became eclipsed by her physical attributes.

Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)

Watch it for cars and explosions and leave the thinking button off.

[16 January 2019]

Starring Nicholas Cage, Angelina Jolie and a host of other punts Gone in sixty seconds is exhilarating- but for only about 15 minutes. A car chase has to be really something if wants to impact the audience(think Bullit, To live and die in LA) and when the whole premise of a film is based on car chases that is bound to disappoint even if it were directed by a top filmmaker. Gone In 60 Seconds has a slick look but no soul. The characters are paper thin and tearing at the edges, the actors do little more than recite their lines, and the numerous action sequences are aimed squarely at teenage boys. One wonders if car crashes and explosions have replaced the sight of naked women in the average 13-year old male's wet dreams. Gone In 60 Seconds delivers what it advertises - lots of cars (they easily upstage the actors), a souped-up music score, slick production values, and a fair number of generic action sequences. Everything is overdone to the point of being ludicrous.

American Beauty (1999)

A mainstream film that is artsy.

[17 December 2018]

American Beauty was a huge success upon release(especially critically) and its easy to see why. American Beauty doesn't trailblaze a path into hitherto untouched cinematic territory, but its presentation of vivid characters in interesting situations makes the story seem fresh. In part because it's not a complete downer and in part because it doesn't cheat the audience, American Beauty is emotionally satisfying. There's a sense of poignancy at the end, but also the feeling that we have been on an incredible trip through the lives and souls of three perfectly-realized characters. In a year that boasts few truly memorable motion pictures, Mendes can stake a claim alongside the likes of Kubrick and Egoyan as one whose cinematic vision both challenges and entertains.

The Art of War (2000)

A somewhat underrated Wesley Snipes movie.

[21 October 2018]

The Art of War, a somewhat pretentiously slick and stylish thriller is a nice action film from the first year of the new millennium. Grafting current events onto that old stand-by plot device, the accused innocent man, and adding lots of gratuitously arty cinematography, Duguay has come up with a film that manages to be diverting - provided, of course, you don't think too deeply about the plot. When the film works, it's because of the tight pacing and expertly choreographed action scenes. The "surprise" twists in the plot are nothing of the sort - anyone who doesn't expect the return from the dead of one character and the betrayal by another hasn't seen many of these movies. This is a good Wesley Snipes film, rather forgotten.

The Art of War (2000)

A somewhat underrated Wesley Snipes movie.

[21 October 2018]

He Art of War, a somewhat pretentiously slick and stylish thriller is a nice action film from the first year of the new millennium. Grafting current events onto that old stand-by plot device, the accused innocent man, and adding lots of gratuitously arty cinematography, Duguay has come up with a film that manages to be diverting - provided, of course, you don't think too deeply about the plot. When the film works, it's because of the tight pacing and expertly choreographed action scenes. The "surprise" twists in the plot are nothing of the sort - anyone who doesn't expect the return from the dead of one character and the betrayal by another hasn't seen many of these movies. This is a good Wesley Snipes film, rather forgotten.

The Matrix (1999)

The Red Pill/Blue Pill metaphor started here.

[22 July 2018]

The Matrix has become a staple of pop culture with endless spoofs and outright rip offs but on its own this is a great science fiction film filled with amazing action sequences, great production design and some of the earliest use of CGI. Keanu Reeves is Neo- our archetypical hero who is sucked into a world from which he will never go back to normalcy. The Wachowski's really hit the ballpark with The Matrix and it stunned the world upon release. Laurence Fishburne, Carrie Ann Moss and others look cool in black spandex and even cooler with their fight moves but beneath all this are many underlying themes which have been studied intensely. The Matrix needs to be watched by anyone who likes good films.