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Reviews
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Shame on Spielberg
This movie is as bad as films with too big budgets and too stupid plots go. The story is fairly original about a robotic boy who has "real" feelings of love and wants to be loved by his adopted mother.
However, after a fairly good start it gets from acceptable to tedious over to absolutely pathetic. You can for fun use the time until this 2'30'' movie is finally over to count the times the boy shouts "MOM!" over and over. The question remains how an acclaimed film maker as Spielberg can use his time like this.
I don't know what Kubrick/Spielberg wanted to show us with this movie, and I suspect neither did/do they. The fact that some of the audience was leaving the theater when I saw it and that everyone came out laughing about how incredibly bad it was should tell anyone not to see this crappy film.
American Pie 2 (2001)
How to ruin a great opportunity
This movie succeeds in only one thing; they manage to get everybody (and I mean everybody) back for this high school reunion. For the rest of it, well, one might have hoped that Hollywood could finally stop doing what they have already done to far too many successful films- just throw in more of the same in the sequel.
This movie does exactly what Police Academy, Scream, Godfather etc. etc. sequels did and this is really sad as they surely had a chance to follow up the last film better than this.
Don't see it if you have seen the first installment, you will get bored to death by the endless references to every single funny scene from it and by the lame attempts to repeat it. However, this time without a clear plot or any feel-good morals ("it's not just about sex").
It goes without saying that the soundtrack is a pale comparison to the first film too.
Heat (1995)
As good as they get
As crime movies go, this is the best I have seen so far and I have seen a few. What could look like the typical police movie really hides the classic masterpiece of the genre.
Pacino (the street smart and clearly obsessed detective) and de Niro (the ultra-professional robber) enroll in a three hour long cat and mouse game that not only takes full advantage of these (and other) superb actors, but also gives you a lot to think about regarding who is good/bad and what we do with our lives.
If you haven't already, see it. It is a film almost everyone loves.
Dark Angel: Pilot (2000)
Without both talent and action
Wow, here it finally is; the action "movie" without action. In a real low-budget setting (don't miss the hilarious flying saucers flying by a few times) of a future Seattle we find a no-brain hardbody seeking to avenge her childhood.
There is nothing even remotely original or interesting about the plot and the actors' performance is only rivalled in stupidity by the attempts to steal from other movies, mainly "Matrix" without having the money to do it right. Yes, we do get to see some running on walls and slow motion shoot-outs (45 secs approx.) but these scenes are about as cool as the stupid hardbody's attempts at making jokes about male incompetence now and then.
And, yes, we are also served a number of leads that lead absolutely nowhere, as if the script was thought-out by the previously unseen cast while shooting the scenes.
Believe me, it is as bad as it possibly can get. In fact, it doesn't deserve to be taken seriously, but perhaps I can make some of you not rent it and save your money.
Blow (2001)
Good movie with very questionable morals
If you want the story about real life criminals trying to score played out by some of the best actors this is what you get in this movie. You get Californian surf and smoke culture of the late sixties as well as a long review of the introduction of cocaine in the all-too-willing American society of the eighties. You also get to see a Johnny Depp in different sizes and forms and lots of good music and other well-placed actors doing what they do best.
However, even if the movie is very good and entertaining perhaps we get more than a typical high-budget film normally serves you. What we also, sadly, get is the story of a money-mad drug trafficker leaning on saying to us all "oh poor guy he just doesn't get a break from anybody" (including his too angry mother and mean Feds). I mean no-one could have possibly contributed to the script but the bad guy himself.
I should think a big cocaine trafficker is a pretty mean fella with blood on each hand, but in this movie he is all too nice and pleasant. They don't even stop at (indirectly) criticizing his poor daughter in writing on the screen.
Still, it's well worth the money.