JB-48 Reviews

Stepmom (1998)

Moving drama with a great performance by Julia Roberts

[7/10 · 10 January 1999]

I waited a good three weeks after Stepmom premiered before I seen it. The previews made it seem a bit to sickeningly sweet. Well, after seeing the movie, I have to report that it is sickeningly sweet. But, I liked it anyway.

The story predictably tugs at all the right heartstrings. Not only does it milk the stepmother situation for all it's worth, but it also throws in a terminal disease for good measure.

What saves this movie from mediocrity are the characters and the performances.

Everyone is appealing. Ed Harris does his typical class act job. Although for the most part, his job seems to be just staying out of the way of the two female leads. The two female leads do a wonderful job. Julia Roberts brings beauty and humor to her role. Susan Sarandon brings dignity and class to hers. They make a good match.

The actors playing the kids are exceptional. Jena Malone, as the daughter/ step-daughter does a particularly wonderful job. There are moments in the movie where you'd like to slap her, and there are others where your heart really goes out to her.

This type of movie is not generally the kind of movie I'd go for. Normally I like car chases and aliens. But, this sweet little movie was able to hold my interest and occasionally have me feel for the characters.

A small winner. 7 out of 10.

The Faculty (1998)

An excellent hybrid of genres

[8/10 · 27 December 1998]

I liked this movie. Seeing the movie, you can recognize a lot of different inspirations that, in and of themselves, aren't terribly original. It's the way the film decides to piece together bits of other movies that makes it completely original and refreshing.

One of the inspirations is the "Breakfast Club" . Its influence lies in the make-up of the kids (a jock, a nerd, an outsider, a princess, etc.) who bond together over unusual circumstances.

Other influences include "Body Snatchers" and "Puppet Masters". Their influence lies in the basic plot of the movie- people are being replaced (or influenced) by creatures from another planet.

Additional influences include just about every horror movie ever made, with elements of sci-fi thrown in.

All the above elements are mixed together in an entertaining, original mix that kept me interested throughout the entire movie.

The special effects are quite good. I was actually taken quite by surprise because the commercials and previews don't really give you any indication that there will be any significant special effects.

The casting is also quite good. Although the majority of the cast was unfamiliar to me, I enjoyed all of their performances. There is a high quotient of attractive young females in this movie that appealed to me as a male moviegoer.

All in all, I enjoyed this movie, and I intend to see it again.

My score: 8 out of 10.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

A watchable Star Trek movie

[8/10 · 13 December 1998]

First, I shall admit to everyone reading this that I am a Star Trek fan. I'm not a geek who knows every single line of dialogue ever spoken by any character, but I have seen every movie and probably every single episode of every incarnation of the show. So I'm a pretty big fan.

That having been said, I think this movie could really only be enjoyed by a Star Trek fan. Every time a Star Trek movie comes out, I hear an interview where the producers promise that they "make a good movie first and make a good Trek movie second". And almost every time, they're wrong.

For Trek fans, this is a good movie.

This is the ninth Star Trek film, and the odd-numbered films are traditionally among the least well received. This movie does break that tradition; however, there really are no stand-out scenes and the plot seems like it could have been written for an episode of the television show. The story doesn't seem really worthy to have warranted big-screen treatment.

It's great to see all the cast together again. I love how the presence of Worf (the Klingon) is explained. (For non-fans, the character of Worf was part of the crew on the television show, but has since been reassigned to Deep Space Nine, one of the Star Trek shows currently on the air. This constantly poses the problem of explaining how come Worf is on board the Enterprise when he's not a part of their crew.) Picard see's Worf and asks him "Worf. What the hell are you doing here?" As Worf starts to explain, other characters start talking and you never hear exactly what his reasons were for being there.

One of the enjoyable facets of the movie (for a Trek fan) was the fact that Deep Space Nine was mentioned (several times) and the threat of the Dominion was mentioned (several times).

There were some good special effects. There were some humorous moments. The only real embarrassingly bad moment was Worf, Picard, and Data singing an old Gilbert & Sullivan song.

In case you're wondering how this stacks up in my opinion of all the other Star Trek films, I rank them in this order:

"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"

"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"

"Star Trek VI: The Final Frontier"

"Star Trek - First Contact"

"Star Trek III: The Search for Spock"

"Star Trek - Insurrection"

"Star Trek - Generations"

"Star Trek V: The Final Frontier"

"Star Trek - The Motion Picture"

I rate this movie a 8 out of 10.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

One of the best horror films ever.

[10/10 · 10 December 1998]

This is a terrific, truly original horror movie.

I consider myself a fan of all the "Nightmare on Elm Street" films, but this movie is, along with part 3, the finest the series has to offer.

There is much to recommend about this movie.

First of all, this movie treated the killer (Freddy Krueger) with respect. As the series wore on, each successive film played him more and more for laughs. But, in this movie, he's a force to be reckoned with.

Besides that, the concept is truly unique - a sociopathic child killer who can enter into your dreams. If he kills you in your dreams, you're dead for real.

The movie is shot in a very eerie, dark style which adds to the suspense. The performances are all enjoyable.

Overall, I highly recommend this movie if you like horror films at all.

I rate this a 10 out of 10.

The Amy Fisher Story (1993 TV Movie)

The best Amy Fisher of all is Drew Barrymore

[9 December 1998]

Amy Fisher had her fifteen minutes of fame as the "Long Island Lolita" who shot her lover's wife. So lurid a tale was this, that all three major networks rushed a television movie into production. Two of the movies even aired on the same night. Of the three movies, this is the finest.

Drew Barrymore, after her memorable roles as a child actor, but before her recent string of movies as an angel of purity, excelled at sluttiness. And sluttiness is the key attribute necessary to portray Ms. Fisher.

The story sticks close to the headlines, is enjoyably lurid and Drew Barrymore is excellent.

I recommend this movie to all fans of Drew Barrymore and to anyone wanting to see an enjoyable dramatization of Long Island's most infamous affair.

Psycho (1998)

Not bad, worth a look

[6 December 1998]

First of all, I'm not a great big fan of the original. So I don't consider it a sacrilege to think that this remake could possibly be better than the original.

The one thing that both the original and the remake have against them is that since the movies big surprises are part of pop culture, I already knew them by the time I had seen the movie.

To be honest, one of the motivating factors for me to see this movie was all the talk of the nudity added to the film. As an admirer of Anne Heche, I was particularly looking forward to the shower scene. The shower scene was extremely well done, but for those of you who might be checking it out for the nudity, don't bother. What they show doesn't make it at all worth while.

I admired the unwavering faithfulness to the original film (with a few exceptions- the most notable of which is that I don't recall Anthony Perkins' Norman to have been shown masturbating at any point in the original. Vince Vaughn's Norman is heard to be masturbating as he's spying on Anne Heche.)

There were other aspects of the movie I liked as well. The performances were all uniformly good. The music score is masterful and well-used. The use of color is actually a good addition to the movie. The shower scene initially appears in a kind-of washed out color, reminiscent of black and white. The Bates Motel is as moodily and ominously present in color as it was in black and white.

My biggest complaint about the movie is that there was absolutely no surprise in it. Even though I enjoyed it, it seemed somewhat weird to have paid five bucks for a movie where I knew every single thing that would happen.

My final verdict: I rate it a 7 out of a possible 10.

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

Wonderful for fans of Jennifer Love Hewitt & cheesy horror movies

[8/10 · 6 December 1998]

First of all, I should state that my review of the movie is definitely biased by two factors: 1) I am a big Jennifer Love Hewitt fan. She could star in a two hour movie that consisted entirely of her sitting in a rocking chair and reading the Wall Street Journal, and I would see it on opening day and love it. The other factor is: 2) I love cheesy horror movies. The cheesier, the better.

On those two counts, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer shines. It's not a great movie, not by a long shot. I don't think anyone expects it to be a great movie. It's not even as good as the original. But, I don't think to many people expect a sequel to be better than the original, anyway.

The movie has a stylish opening in a church confessional that provides an excellent means of re-capping the events of the first film, and provides a unique setting for a confrontation between the fisherman and Julie, the film's protagonist.

When the above sequence turns out to be a dream, a clever throw-away line is spoken by a would-be admirer of Julie. He asked Julie if she had the dream about the shower again. And in doing so, explained away the last scene in the original as being a dream, and not merely a forgotten plot point.

The rest of the scenes in Julie's college town are a fine, quick introduction to the core ensemble of the film.

The movie falters somewhat once it gets to its island getaway. It falters because of the introduction of a dearth of uninteresting, outright annoying characters. There is a fatso-druggie character whose death I was hoping for from the very first scene he was in. There was also a stupid red-herring character of a vodoo practitioner. His death, too, was a welcome one. The list could go on and on.

But that is really my only complaint about this movie. I have to say that Jennifer Love Hewitt's scene on the tanning bed was the highlight not only of this film, but of every movie I've seen this year. But that's just hormones talking.

Mekhi Phifer was a particular stand-out in this movie. He got most of the good lines and was the character I most identified with.

Brandy, I expected to be annoying; however, she was perfectly fine in her role as Julie's friend.

The biggest lost opportunity this movie had was the fact that it didn't really explain what happened to the fisherman's hand at the end of the first film. He didn't mention that it had been cut off in his final confrontation with Julie. And he didn't explain exactly how he went about attaching the hook as a sort-of prosthetic hand.

Overall, I clearly loved this movie. But I would recommend it really only to fans of Jennifer Love Hewitt or cheesy horror movies.

My rating: a 8.5 out of 10.

p.s. (the original was a 10 out of 10)

Enemy of the State (1998)

A time-filler

[6 December 1998]

I generally like Will Smith, but the previews for this movie generally didn't grab me. That was, not until I heard the excellent tag line from one of the previews - "It's not paranoia... if they're really after you." For some reason that line clicked in my head and I decided to see this movie.

The movie was what I would describe as a time-filler. Nothing more and nothing less. But, there are worse ways to spend two hours of your time.

The highlight of the movie would definitely have to be the cast. Will Smith plays his usual character, with maybe slightly more depth than usual. Gene Hackman is, of course, a masterful veteran performer. It's great to see Lisa Bonet again, even in a minor role. Seth Green and Jaime Kennedy also contribute small but memorable performances. And, it was really cool to see Jason Robards in the opening scene.

As far as "techno-thrillers" go, this wasn't too bad. The technology aspects of the film didn't choke the life out of it, as those elements typically seem to do in most films of this type. The action isn't quite as involving or spectacular as I was hoping for, but it does keep things moving along.

All in all, I don't think anyone will be kicking themselves if they wait for a video release of this movie. Or, for that matter, the network television premiere. See this only if you've seen everything else and just want to kill time for a couple of hours.

My rating: a 6-1/2 out of 10.

Home Fries (1998)

Avoid this nasty movie

[6 December 1998]

I suppose what I'm about to say is a "catch-22". I don't like the preview trailers of movies that give away every single twist and turn of a movie. However, after seeing this movie, I have to say that I'm not exactly fond of a preview trailer that has you expecting a movie completely different from the one you wind up seeing.

The previews for this movie have you expecting a sweet, charming romantic comedy; instead you get a dark so-called comedy with a focus on murder.

It's a shame the movie is so dark, really, because the stars are appealing. Drew Barrymore is wonderful, as usual. She seems committed to re-inventing herself into a charming innocent, with this role following her angel of purity roles in "Ever After" and "The Wedding Singer". One more sweet role like this and she may just make me forget all about "Poison Ivy" and "The Amy Fisher Story".

Luke Wilson, as her love interest, is a very engaging, low-key performer. My only previous experience with him was on a episode of the "X-Files" where he played a goofy small-town sheriff. I look forward to seeing Luke in other, better, roles.

Jake Busey, the spittin' image of his father Gary, does a fine job with a one-note character.

Having noted all the above performers, let me say that their performances were the only thing I enjoyed about this movie. The mean-spiritedness of the plot may have been an easier pill to swallow if it had been acknowledged in any of the previews.

I consider myself a fan of Drew Barrymore, but even as a fan of hers I cannot recommend this movie.

My rating: a 4 out of 10.