Change Your Image
Monique-13
Reviews
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2001 as the beginning of a journey
I doubt that I will ever forget the day I first saw this film. The year was 1989 and I was 9 years old. I had come to the United States from Russia just two and a half months earlier and I was staying with an American cousin. Her son happened to be a big sci-fi buff and he introduced me to the legendary Kubrick masterpiece that he owned a copy of. I still recall the effect the film had on me. It was chilling, mind-boggling and altogether unforgettable. I have since seen it many times since I didn't know enough English to fully appreciate it in 1989. But not one viewing has equaled that first one in importance, relevance and ability to inspire awe. This is the film that helped me to discover Kubrick. This is the film that made me interested in the art of filmmaking. And above all, this is the film that incited my love for science fiction. The impact of 2001 was so overpowering that I was soon watching Star Trek, Star Wars and any other sci-fi material I could find. Thus began my journey into the unknown, the mythical, the unproven and the untested. And the catalyst for that journey was 2001: A Space Odyssey. Now, with the recent death of its amazing director, I again look back on that day in 1989 and realize how important it was to me and how important it probably is to many others.
Sphere (1998)
What a letdown...
I'd read and heard that this movie is sub-par, but I still expected more. I thought, with Dustin Hoffman and Samuel L. Jackson how bad could it be? Notice that I don't mention Sharon Stone, because I thought she was SO out of place in this film. What were the casting directors thinking? But anyway, I thought with such great actors, the movie couldn't be too bad. But I again learned what it is to have good actors and crappy direction or whatever it was that was crappy. I completely agree with the people who said that it lacked suspense. I remember reading the book and being glued to my chair, not being able to put it down. The movie, on the contrary, made me yawn. It seemed so rushed for some reason. There seemed to be such great stuff in the book that wasn't used and so the movie seemed rushed and choppy. There were some great shots though and some good editing at parts. Like the scene where Dustin Hoffman sees that all the cabinets in the galley are filled with copies of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. That was a great, great scene and there needed to be more like it! The whole movie just seemed flat and a poor adaptation of an amazing novel. To see a good one, try The Andromeda Strain. It's an oldie, but a goodie.