Change Your Image
Filmfan-31
Reviews
Dreamcatcher (2003)
NO BOUNCE NO PLAY
Roughly a week before the movie was released, I read a pretty good book called Dreamcatcher. I seen a movie of the same title, but with little to no resemblence. I think its enough to say I want my money back.
8 Mile (2002)
Crossroads it is NOT
Of course I knew who eminem was before seeing this movie, who doesn't? And yes, I heard the talk that this movie was simply another crossroads, a way for the movie studio to make money by putting out a picture featuring a top music star. The only difference? This movie is based loosely on Eminem's life, while crossroads...well, any movie with Britney Spears as a valedictorian can't start good or get any better. Anyways, this movie really suprised me to the fact that it's better than I expected. Eminem is actually a pretty decent actor, and a person who might not have known anything about his life before this movie might gain some insight into the person behind the music, something people rarely try to understand before judging him. Other than that, go see this movie and decide for yourself. If you don't like it, at least have a good reason. Too many people already discredit Eminem just because of who he is and what he says, they don't look through the act to the person. After all, look how he treats his daughter, he's a heck of a lot better than most of the deadbeats out there today.
Donnie Darko (2001)
Amazingly Perfect
Never before have I seen a movie that brings together a story as perfect as this. Amazingly, this movie runs deeper than any other I've seen before, commenting on the social status of society along with the degradation of the school system, sublimation of people away from heritage and into pop culture, and the effects of the family structure, not to mention theory of time travel. My words alone, however can't justify the amazing complexion of this film, you just have to see it for yourself.
National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002)
Don't expect too much
This is yet another movie trying to capitalize off the gross-out factor among young adolescent males. The only thing that really surprised me about this movie is Ryan Renolds ability to carry a movie by himself, as Tara Reid has proven herself once again to be a terrible actress. There is maybe one or two really funny parts in this movie, the rest just comes off as immature sexual jokes. Overall, the good parts don't outweigh the bad, and I wouldn't give it more than three or four stars. Wait for it to come out on rental, which shouldn't be too long.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Leaves you with a funny feeling
As I was reading through most of the other reviews listed on IMDB, most of them dealt with the fact that this movie was about drugs and addictions. Personally, I don't feel this was the directors intention, and I wouldn't consider this as much of a drugs movie, as it is more of a full-scale drama about the loss of hope. The plot revolves around four people, Sarah, Harry, Marion, and Tyrone, who each have their own sense of innocence and each have personal dreams about their futures at the beginning of the movie. The three youth have already experimented with drugs and their addictions only strengthen as the movie moves along, making the relationships more tense and the dreams further away. The older Sarah is especially a touching character, as she doesn't learn she is taking speed until she is addicted, eventually becoming a slave to the pills and becoming what Harry had warned her about. Aronofsky put together a perfect compilation of scenes for the climax at the end of the film and capped it all off with the final Tappy Tibbons scene that just left me feeling so empty I was ready to cry. I would recommend this movie to anyone and will stand behind it in any discussion.
Jack Frost (1997)
Love it or hate it, but don't take it seriously
I don't see why a lot of people don't like this film. Seriously, for a B-level movie with no-name actors (except Shannon Elizabeth), this is not that bad of a movie. Sure, there might not be any plot, or acting, or anything else that makes a good movie, but once again, this isn't supposed to be a great movie, it's just supposed to make more money than it took to produce, which should be equal to about three rentals.
One of the quirks about this movie that make it original and entertaining is the fact that the killer is a snowman! Love it or hate it, it's an original idea and a good one at that. Now, add to the fact that the killer is not only a snowman, but a bad*** snowman who spouts off one-liners whenever possible and is actually humurous. Check this movie out for the holidays, you might actually be surprised at how good of a bad movie it is. Besides, how many times can you watch the reruns of "It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Story" without getting bored?
Don't Say a Word (2001)
Pretty good flick
I hadn't seen much for previews of this movie until my friends described it to me as we were driving to the theater. To be honest, I was pretty surprised at how good it was. The movie mixes together mystery, suspense and drama very well and holds together a plot that thins at times, but overall stays together nicely. The story revolves around a man who works as a psychologist to understand a number that is needed by thieves who kidnap his daughter. The plot gets very involved and keeps attention throughout the entire movie. Overall, "Don't Say a Word" isn't a masterpiece of any kind, but it won't leave you feeling like you've been cheated either. For me, it was definitely worth it.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Leaves you with a funny feeling
As I was reading through most of the other reviews listed on IMDB, most of them dealt with the fact that this movie was about drugs and addictions. Personally, I don't feel this was the directors intention, and I wouldn't consider this as much of a drugs movie, as it is more of a full-scale drama about the loss of hope. The plot revolves around four people, Sarah, Harry, Marion, and Tyrone, who each have their own sense of innocence and each have personal dreams about their futures at the beginning of the movie. The three youth have already experimented with drugs and their addictions only strengthen as the movie moves along, making the relationships more tense and the dreams further away. The older Sarah is especially a touching character, as she doesn't learn she is taking speed until she is addicted, eventually becoming a slave to the pills and becoming what Harry had warned her about. Aronofsky put together a perfect compilation of scenes for the climax at the end of the film and capped it all off with the final Tappy Tibbons scene that just left me feeling so empty I was ready to cry. I would recommend this movie to anyone and will stand behind it in any discussion.
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
WORST MOVIE EVER!
**SPOILERS** Just as a forewarning to my comments, this movie is easily one of the worst I have ever seen. EVER! I went through as much pain as any of the characters who bit the big one in this flick. As I came to imdb.com to complain about this terrible monstrosity of a movie, I realized that right there on the main details page was a comment of, "Terrific, sharp and surprising". The only surprise I witnessed was the ratio of people who walked out to the number of people I thought were going to walk out. Sharp? About as sharp as a dull, dull pencil. The characters engage in long, endless drones of conversation ABOUT NOTHING AT ALL! At various points in the movie I wished they would be killed instantaneously because they were extremely annoying. Plot, anyone? Nope, none at all. Plot hole? Now, we're talking about the whole movie, which turned out to be one big plot hole. *SPOILERS AHEAD* The church burned down supposedly, but there they are at the end, in the basement again. And where did the bad guy come from? Why only the twenty third summer for only twenty-three days? Where did the van come from, why is it so fast? Why did I not walk out of this movie? What the hell is the killer supposed to be? Why can the killer be run over to deformation, not to mention being blown away by a double-barrel shotgun, but handguns do nothing? Why was it necessary to sew the bodies together? Why, oh why, did I pay eight bucks for this? Please do not waste your money on this terrible, terrible example of how bad cinema gets. I could complain for hours on end, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who hated this movie.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Stupid. Utterly Stupid.
There is no point to this movie, that I am convinced. Two druggies got to las vegas, tripping the whole time. The film revolves around this fact, and to be honest it comes out terrible. There are a few funny parts, but they are few and far between. The only way anyone should see this movie is if they find it lying on the street, thrown out by some other poor soul that actually bought/rented it. 1/2 start out of 10. Two thumbs down.
Bowfinger (1999)
Hilarious
Very funny movie about a director who tries to do a movie on a very limited budget. He tries to enlist Murphy, who doesn't even look twice at the script. With nothing else left, the director still tries to film the movie, only without letting Murphy know he's being filmed. All of the humor from here on is directed towards the fact that Murphy has no clue what is happening around him. this movie has no slow parts, and that is what I like about it. There's a lot of humor in it, and the characters are easily understood. The plot isn't too deep, just around the basic fact of Murphy not understanding what's going on around him. Overall, this movie is very enjoyable. Eight stars out of ten.