jstu9 Reviews

Bottoms (2023)

Over The Top Satire, Absolute Awesome Fun

[8/10 · 17 November 2023]

This is an over the top farce. Think Airplane. Think The Naked Gun. Some satire too. It did take me a second to get my mind in that mindset since I did not know that going in, I knew it was a comedy but I didn't realize the level of silliness and ridiculousness it has.

I laughed throughout the movie. I very well see myself improving my current rating of 8 to something higher on subsequent viewings. I wouldn't be surprised if this reaches a 10.

The plot is kinda Booksmart meets Fight Club, but the plot and story are really just second fiddle to the silly jokes and amazing characters.

I've skimmed through some of the other reviews on here and it clearly doesn't click for everyone. Everyone doesn't seem to get it. But just know going in this is NOT in any way a serious movie, it might throw some plot points and story points to further the story along, but remember this is a farce.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)

Slow but mesmerizing

[8/10 · 5 September 2004]

The movie is very slow and very deliberate. It tells the tale of primarily two people (master and pupil) in a little hut on a small lake. And it is broken down into 5 chapters, each jumping about 10-15 years between chapters.

It is just a simple story, master slowly teaching his pupil. Teaching one principle at a time as the master and student grow older.

It took me a few minutes to get into the mood and pace of the movie, and actually start liking what I was seeing. But I think after seeing the simple story of the first "Spring" segment, it caught my attention and made me interested in what was to come.

I, Robot (2004)

Good popcorn movie

[7/10 · 22 July 2004]

Entering this movie, I had pretty low expectations since most of the big summer blockbuster movies often are pretty weak efforts. Also, I felt like I had already seen the movie since I'd seen the trailers for this movie about 5000 times. So, I already felt like I knew the plot of the movie.

But, I enjoyed it. It won't be on anybody's Top 10 list of best movies of the year, but it works for the exact reason alot of people go to see a movie. For two hours of entertainment. It was an enjoyable 2 hours.

The movie isn't perfect and I'm sure people can comment upon the weaknesses of the movie. And there are some. But all in all, I was able to suspend disbelief in this movie and enjoy the movie.

Before Sunset (2004)

Really liked it

[9/10 · 2 July 2004]

I really loved the first movie when i first saw it when it came out nearly 10 years ago. It was one of those movies that no one has ever seen or heard of, or at least seemingly. So, when I saw the poster and then the trailer for the sequel, I was excited. You don't get the chance to see sequels to movies like this very often.

So, this was one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year for me. I just saw a sneak preview of it yesterday and it works on exactly the same levels that the first one did. It is simply just these two people walking the streets of Paris (Before Sunrise was Vienna iirc) talking, talking about life, romance, people, love, relationships. The movie relies on acting and dialogue. Aside from the views of Paris, there isn't much more to it.

And I loved it. It was a wonderful movie.

And I love movies that rely on acting and dialog to make them work. I saw another Ethan Hawke movie recently, "Tape" which follows the same principles. "Death and the Maiden" was another one that I loved for the same reason. "Glengarry Glen Ross" yet another.

Dogville (2003)

Stripped down and amazing story

[9/10 · 14 May 2004]

I knew next to nothing about this movie going in aside from the basic premise of Nicole Kidman's character going to a small town. And that it was considered a very good movie. That's about it.

Usually, i want to know nothing about a movie that I have decided i want to see. In other words, i don't want to know what happens in the movie before I actually see it. That's the cool part about seeing older or foreign movies since many times I will know little about them aside from basic plot.

Now, here, i kinda wish I had known how this movie would be filmed, since for the first 15 minutes of the movie, I kept wondering if i had stepped into auditions for the movie or had walked into the filmed play version of the movie. I can't recall seeing any other movie filmed like this. It really shows how important cinematography and sets are to a movie. Not much.

Because this was an amazing story. This 3 hour movie felt like it was 80 minutes (As an aside, i just saw a 80 minute movie and it felt like 3 hours). It is an interesting and fascinating tale about human nature, as explored in this chalk-lined town set in some soundstage. It almost felt like a filmed "book on tape." I feel like I just read a book.

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

Another QT gem

[9/10 · 18 April 2004]

It took me a couple days to figure out where Vol 2 would rate in the Tarantino universe. I'd rate Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and both Kill Bill's as 10's on this site but... I would consider Kill Bill Vol 1 about the same in quality to Reservoir Dogs, whereas Vol 2 is similar to Pulp Fiction. Since I think Reservoir Dogs is better than Pulp Fiction, I then also think Vol 1 is better than Vol 2. But it is just fun to split hairs like this, since all 4 are great.

But Vol 2 is a splendid movie, completely different in style to Vol 1, but just as great. It was just one of those movies that I wished would never end. It is one of those few great movies where I didn't want each scene to end because it was so interesting and memorable.

It's just fun to see a director at the top of his game, and it is amazing how a director can make 5 movies (well 4 if you count Kill Bill as 1 movie) and have 4 of them be instant classics.

Last Man Running (2003)

Documentary? Drama?

[8/10 · 5 April 2004]

I saw this film at the Phoenix Film Festival but unfortunately I was watching another movie right before it and missed the first couple minutes of the movie, and also any comments the director made before it began.

So, I saw this movie as documentary. It was filmed like a documentary, it was shot like a documentary, and the people seemed completely real. Only afterwards during the Q & A did I realize that this was a drama, or maybe a mock documentary. It appears that the lead actors were... well actors playing a role. Though, of course, most of it was drawn from within. But there was an outline of a story beforehand.

This film was just interesting. I think about half way through the movie was when I realized how good this film was. The lead (Rick Gomez) did a great job.

In truth, I still don't know exactly was *real* and what wasn't. For example, I two leads (Rick and Jenny) did get married though I presume that the melodrama in the movie was not real. I think. I'm not even sure. Amy Redford (Robert's daughter) did a really good job as the "fixer" of other girl's boyfriends and hence, I assume all of that was story. But it was interesting because these actors would interact with non-actors while they were in character.

All in all, a very interesting film.

New World Order (2002)

Nice Spiraling Conspiracy Story

[9/10 · 5 April 2004]

I saw this at the Phoenix Film Festival and was my personal favorite (of the ones I saw). The two leads (Lauren Fox and Thomas Jay Ryan) were memorably good in this to the point where I would start to look for other movies from those two actors.

The story revolves around Eris and her study of conspiracies from silly ones to ones that are more believable.

It took me a few minutes to get into the movie because the print wasn't the best, and the director said that the movie was in the process of being put on film, so i would like to see it again. But the story was quite mesmerizing in how Eris (Lauren Fox) studies these conspiracies, gets involved with these conspiracy theorists from this bookshop, and spirals downward almost into insanity as she starts to see these conspiracies and becomes paranoid in the process.

Crying Foul (2004 TV Movie)

Very Interesting Tale of Bonds #73

[8/10 · 2 April 2004]

I just saw the feature length version of this film ("Up For Grabs") at the Phoenix Film Festival. It is a really interesting and humorous tale of these two grown men who fight over ownership of this baseball. Adding to the entire silliness of this situation are the various funny and interesting characters and witnesses and people surrounding this story.

The movie opens with the actual footage from the Keppel Tape (which shows Barry Bonds' 73rd homerun and the mad fight for the baseball. It then goes and gives some background on Bonds' attempt at breaking the record and telling the stories of the people who caught Roger Maris' 61st home run, McGwire's 70th and Bonds' #70 and #71.

Then the unfolding of this fight over the possession of this baseball. The first time director weaves the tale really well. Most of the tale revolves around Alex Popov, the man who caught the baseball and lost it in the mad scramble. Less time is spent with Patrick Hayashi (the man who found the ball) but that is due more to him not wanting to talk to the director.

The film starts off slanted towards Popov and his claim but gives both sides of the story fairly and ultimately the journey of the story leads to the belief that the ball should have just been shared equally. And that is the ultimate verdict.

It is a very interesting contrast between Popov and Hayashi. Popov is an extrovert, hungry for media exposure, ready to fight what he thinks is right. I almost came to dislike Popov. Hayashi is the introvert and he was cautious in his involvement in the film.

I really enjoyed the documentary. I would think any baseball fan, any fan of human interest stories, a slice of life type story would be interested in this comedy and saga about this $4 baseball.

Le divorce (2003)

Yawn

[3/10 · 22 January 2004]

I just watched the movie and only until I came on here did I realize this movie was supposed to be a comedy. That is funny which this movie never was.

This is just another one of those uninteresting movies. It had potential to do something with several potentially interesting storylines but the makers of the movie never made them interesting.

Spider (2002)

Snore

[2/10 · 4 January 2004]

Probably one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. I was hoping it would end within 10 minutes of starting. The movie is essentially 2 hours of Ralph Fiennes looking nuts and mumbling. That's it.

In retrospect, I can see that the story was actually quite interesting and the story did perk up when the story with Gabriel Byrne/Miranda Richardson and the boy evolved. The themes and ideas of the story may have been interesting if I had been interested in the story at that point,

But watching the main part of the movie was watching paint dry. The movie never grabbed me into this world or into the story. And I was grateful when the credits finally rolled.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Tarantino Returns!

[10/10 · 10 October 2003]

I was entranced with Tarantino the first time I saw "Reservoir Dogs," and that movie is one of my 5 or 10 favorite movies. Then "Pulp Fiction" showed everyone else what kind of movie maker this guy is. "Jackie Brown" was fine but nothing special.

In "True Romance" (which Tarantino scripted), the lead character praises a big movie guy about his movies being "MOVIES". And "Kill Bill" is exactly that. It's a MOVIE.

It's cool. It's style. It's kinetic. It's a great achievement of film of a movie maker at the top of his game.

Very few movies actually reach a level of going beyond the "typical" style of a movie. And that's what Tarantino can create. He creates a universe, a world where anything he puts up on screen works.

This is easily the best movie of 2003.

Blood Work (2002)

Decent with unbelievable ending

[7/10 · 1 September 2003]

I found the first 3/4 of this movie actually pretty solid. I quite enjoyed it. Though much of it is quite predictable, I found myself interested in the film... until the end.

It's just the complete unbelievability of the ending that ruined the movie for me. I won't put spoilers here, but I just shook my head on some of the scenes...

The Life of David Gale (2003)

Entertaining Flick

[8/10 · 1 September 2003]

I just watched the movie and skimmed through some of the comments/reviews of the film.

If you take the movie as a movie with a message, a movie with deep philosophical death penalty meaning and depth, then I can see and understand that it doesn't work as that.

But if you want an interesting, well-made, very watchable good thriller, this fits the bill.

I had heard bad reviews of this movie when it came out and basically avoided because of that. But I rented it based on a recommendation, and I'm glad I did. I gave it 8/10 and I think that is about right.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Interesting

[7/10 · 15 July 2002]

This is an interesting movie. Without the first two hours, the last half hour makes no sense, and without the last half hour, the first two hours is rather bizarre. Seen as a film, putting the two parts together makes an interesting movie.

But, the first two hours never drew me into the movie. I was never intrigued by the characters though it kept me interested enough to continue watching. Though in truth there are a few excellent scenes (such as in Silencio and the audition scene). Oddly enough, i remember thinking at one point the lead actress (Naomi Watts) was either a really BAD actress or a really GOOD one. Halfway through I figured she was quite bad... until I saw the rest of the movie in which it is obvious she is very good.

The Others (2001)

If you are interested in seeing this film, stop reading the reviews and watch it

[9/10 · 25 October 2001]

This is the best movie of 2001 in my opinion.

It's a spooky film. I can't call it a horror film, though that's probably where it will be placed. It is just spooky. And that is the most refreshing and wonderful thing about this movie. I was always uneasy about what would happen next. I knew something was going on but couldn't figure out what it was.

If you've read the reviews of this movie, you probably already know much more about it than you should. And that was to my benefit. I watched this cold. I hadn't heard much about it aside from the fact it was a scary movie with Nicole Kidman. I checked one place and it gave it a 4 star review, then I checked here and it was around 8.1. I specifically did not read another word about the movie. Glad I didn't.

Very few films make me feel good to be a movie fan. Maybe a few every year are just excellent. This is one of those.

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Bad, Really Bad

[1/10 · 25 October 2001]

This was a bad movie. I thought "The Haunting" and "Wild Wild West" were bad but this was worse.

It's another movie that just tries to make a movie with computer special effects without even trying to make any sense out of anything. This is a movie you must leave your brain at the door. Most of it is completely ridiculous and cliche filled.

I wasn't expecting much but I thought I might be entertained for 2 hours. I thought the original did that for 2/3 of its length before turning ridiculous at the end. I'm not quite sure why I continued to watch this movie -- maybe its like looking at a car wreck on the side of the road.

The Mexican (2001)

Entertaining to watch, but dumb

[6/10 · 24 September 2001]

This is just a dumb movie that I enjoyed when I watched it. But as soon as it ended, I feel like I completely forgot about it. I'd call it a dumb date movie that will entertain for the hour and a half or 2 hours that's it is on, but it is quite unrealistic and silly. Leave your brain behind.

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Quite bad

[2/10 · 24 April 2001]

I had heard good things about this movie and especially the performance by Bjork. It was just horrible. I was never interested in the story, never interested in the characters. There was a artistic reason for the musical scenes to pop up from time to time but it was just laughably bad when they started to happen. I can't believe I watched the whole thing. I was happy about the ending.

X-Men (2000)

Decent start, lousy ending

[3/10 · 27 December 2000]

The movie started promising with attempts at character development of Wolverine, Magneto, and Rogue. I accepted the comic book-ishness of it as fun stuff. Then it just turned into another typical Hollywood action movie. It started to drag halfway through. Typical silly subplots occurred plus it was rather predictable.

The Bone Collector (1999)

ok but predictable, cliche-ish

[6/10 · 5 November 1999]

The Bone Collector is a pretty good movie. Both Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie are very good in this film.

But it is fairly predictable. And the worst aspect of the movie was the unbelievably cliche-ish character of Captain Cheney just annoyed me alot. How many times do we need to see the boss take our "hero" off the case, act like an idiot, and be completely against our "hero". I thought movies were starting to get away from this amazingly dumb cliche by making the "boss" character more realistic. This movie brings the jerk boss back.

**spoiler below**

I was hoping that the captain's actions were done for a reason, i.e that the captain was the killer. At least that would give his actions credibility, but alas, that isn't the case.

The Postman (1997)

It straddles the line between good and bad

[7/10 · 27 October 1999]

For me, this movie really showed the difference between a good movie and a bad one. I sensed this "line" like no other movie I've seen. So I can understand someone giving a good review of this or a terrible review. I believed in the story enough to enjoy the movie but I was teetering on the "line" several times.

Field of Dreams (1989)

Magical

[9/10 · 1 August 1999]

Field of Dreams is a movie of pure joy. Of pure magic. It is the greatest of the baseball movies ever made.

I have a hard time expressing the quality of this movie. It is a father-son movie with a good script, acting, score etc. But it is much more than that. It's a movie that gets me every time I see it. Sometimes I forget about its quality, but all I need to do is pop it in the VCR again to remind myself.

The Haunting (1999)

Interesting premise, lousy movie

[2/10 · 23 July 1999]

I liked the premise of the movie. A study of fear in an old spooky house gone wrong. I was expecting a scary or spooky movie and it was neither. The premise of the movie was never studied. It turned into more of a silly mystery story than anything. Only Lili Taylor's character was even used in the movie while ignoring the others. It spiraled into a typical Hollywood overblown blow everything up movie. The special effects were *way* overdone and were very distracting.