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mitch-86
Reviews
Split Second (1999)
Great acting but tedious, nevertheless
I won't describe the story, as that has been done elsewhere. We are great Clive Owen fans, and when our Netflix recommended the movie, we were intrigued.
No wonder we had never heard of this "movie", because it was a BBC Television movie back in 1992. Hence, the poor production values, grainy image , jerky camera work and poor sound.
But, you don't really mind the mechanics, because the story itself will put you to sleep. It's an interesting human story, but not at all compelling, and there is hardly any ending. You don't really care for the characters as their lives are as boring as your life watching this tedious movie. Save the two hours and do something to make the time more worthwhile.
Solyaris (1972)
167 minutes of arthouse hell
This is a horrible movie. I didn't like it, my wife didn't like it and I don't think many in the audience liked it.
It may have meanings on many levels, but on the level of entertainment, it does not show us the goods. It is SLOOOOOOOOOOW. How about 10 minutes of film devoted to characters driving on the freeways of Moscow (which actually was a Japanese freeway because you can see billboards in Japanese--guess Moscow in 1971 did not look modern enough). 10 minutes that has nothing to do with the movie. The movie starts with the film showing reeds under water flowing with the current. Even this scene, which should last a minute or two lasted almost 10 minutes of no dialog, and you don't have a clue what is going on. I may be dull or dense, but I need some stimulation in the opening of a movie to get me interested. This director is not interested in getting you hooked on the film. He obviously had no constraints on how much film he could expose, edit, or show on the big screen.
The LA Times review compared this space film with the effects of 2001. On a scale of 1 to 100 (where 2001 was a hundred (for its time)), Solaris would rate a 10. There is a very simple space scene, a very simple rocket take off, and that is about it for special effects. There is a view of the Solaris Ocean, but looks more like water spiraling down a drain.
There may be lots of subliminal stories going on here, but this movie is sure not compelling or interesting to me (could you guess by this time?). My wife felt like she was watching a David Lynch film as there were unexplained dwarfs, incomplete and poorly executed plot, and just not a lot of story making sense. I sure hope George Clooney can jazz this movie up, because the originial director sure didn't.
The Muse (1999)
I rated this movie "awful", and I like insider movies
Normally, I like insider type movies, and did enjoy some of the cameo appearances of movie directors.
However, I found the Albert Brooks character too whiney and predictable. He jumps at the idea of a Muse and potential salvation way too quickly, as if he has read the script ahead of time. Sharon Stone played a spoiled brat, and did not provide any inspiration to a character 500 other actresses could have played the same way in 500 other movies with spoiled brats. Andie McDowell's character accepted the story of a Muse vs an affair way too quickly with too little proof. I know my wife wouldn't so easily accept another woman, and then let her sleep in my bed too!
The dialog was boring, not inspired as some have said of Albert Brooks' abilities, the soundtrack was grating (did not fit the scenes well at all), and the casting less than ideal. Albert could have used a real MUSE for this story.