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mrdudekinns
Reviews
Lantana (2001)
love and betrayal
the story of how ppl's lives are affected by love and betrayal. this interesting film set in sydney is a complex emotional drama during a couple of days. the dead body at the start sets the sombre tone of the film, and with the assistance of the music catches your attention and draw's you in. the particulars of the affairs and murder would be to hard and long to explain and lessen the impact of the movie!
the intelligent scrpit causes this film to rise above the average hollywood crap , it brings a thoughtfulness missing in a lot of movies! the script would be nothing with out the delivery and for me geoffrey rush shines amongst the excellant cast!
i was kept guessing till the end of the film who was having an affair with who and who killed who, which is rare as too many films bore me or if good enough captivates me and i dont try to figure them out! it is rare to see a film that has the dialogue above action and even rises above cliche's.
8
Men in Black II (2002)
smith + sonnenfeld arggggggggghhhhhhhh
men in black hit the cinem's in 97 to both critical and commercial acclaim! quite rightly , taking on the old mis-matched couple , jones as the old and experienced agent k and smith as the new hot headed youngster agent j! the original was a parody of 50 alien invasion movies and worked well with its shrap wit and slick graphics!
we start with j(smith) neautralyzing his new partner, which is a particularly nice machine which wipes a persons memory, and k(jones) working for the post office in some very scary socks! soon thanks to the intervention of the multi snake-headed alien shapeshifter serleena (the sultry lara flynn boyle) k and j are brought back together to reprise the chemistry of the original. the film is very much the same as the original, except it isnt as fresh and isnt as funny, it is like an identikit movie. i cant really rememeber laughing out loud at this movie, the odd chuckle was raised but if the film would have gone on for longer than its poorly 88 mins, i would have become bored!
undoubtedley the men in black will be back , at what cost to its stars and the original?
5
Made (2001)
made me bored
this film was recommended to me by a friend so at that point i should have known i wasnt going to like it, it happens a lot!
faverau and vaughan play there characters very well, its just i dont like or care about them! the only person i liked was peter faulk , was amazing to see him swear! he was funny , which was about the only person in this supposed comedy!
to be honest the film failed to inspire me, i didnt find in gratingly bad enough to really go to town on it, hence why the short one.
2
The Abduction Club (2002)
did someone abduct the good cut?
the idea behind the film is a good one at that, but the film isnt. an interesting premise is predictably translated with not even any enjoyable young cast unable to sell it. the film is below average which if trying something new would gain respect for being daring , but it was unorignal, never breathing life into an old tale. i would at least like to someone try something new even if they fail it would make a change!
4
Bad Company (2002)
original as a dead fish
*may contain spoilers*
the premise is tried and tested and has been done a million times before and a lot better. anthony hopkins experienced cia officer must recruit the hustling young chris rock to save the world. the classic mis-matched pairing , one old one young, one experienced one a rookie, one disciplined one loud mouthed.
anthony hopkins looks almost asleep in this movie which is below his level of acting , he looks bored and not really that interested , yet still manages to ooze class from time to time! his performance slightly reminds me of his charachter in mi-2. yet less energetic and less believable. a lot of actors could have done better if the placed more effort , alot more effort into the role!
rock is after failing abysmally in down to earth actually makes me laugh in this film and has a few lines, one or two worth rememeber and using for future use! having seen his live show , his films have left me dissapointed. in this you see some of what made rock a star in the first place, but not enough of it! the comedy is lacking and when present is predictable of the genre. i like chris rock and want to see him in the roles where his talents will shine but this movie is not this, he is a comedian not james bond! the love story was cringe worthy , i wanted to throw things at the screen , someone from the lucas school of love stories.
the baddies look like the have come straight from a james bond movie of badness! cliched and predictable, and not very menacing! the rest of the support cast drift into the background chris rocks love interest is lacking in believability!
overall , the films never strays from it genre cliches and never rises above them, far from the bid show of class from hopkins and the odd comedic moment from rock, the film fails to shine.
6/10
Resident Evil (2002)
what were you expecting kubrick?
*may contacin spoilers*
a group of commando's enter a secret underground labarotary complex to find out why the super advanced computer has killed all the employee's! milla jovovich leads the commando's after waking up with amnesia and with possibly the secret as to what has happened!
the film starts with an introduction of the umbrella corportion and basically how big and bad and evil it is! this along with stealing of what we later learn is a virus and an anti virus, and the subsequent killing of all the ppl in the complex leads us to the conclusion that the sh** has hit the fan.
the path of computer games to film has never been an easy one from super mario bro's to the recent tomb raider , they have never matched the quialty and commercial success of there origins! in choosing a director who brought us the cross over of the game mortal kombat , a collective groan is genreally heard, things may not be as first perceived as anderson also has event horizon to his credantials , which scared the bejesus out of me.
like tomb raider, the lead star , here jovovich, is the main reason to watch the film. always willing to play the strong female lead , she brings believability to a role which a lesser actress would have failed in . starting from amnesiac and afriad to in control and kicking butt, she carries the film on her slim physique.
michelle rodriguez reminds me of vasquez from aliens but fails to live up to the standard set from camerons masterpiece! the rest of the cast are predictable cannon fodder which the never rise above or even breathe life into there roles!
if you hadnt already figured out the computer wasnt behind the killings then what movie where you watching , the shutting down of the red queen releases the zombies and the trouble starts for the commando's. the zombies woor terrible , the costume department must be ashamed of themselves if there was one! they looked straight out of a b-movie not a hollywood production!
the overall blame for the movie lays with paul anderson director and writer, his films lacks any sense of dread or menace! we are never scared nor shocked. it is predictable and plodding, the twists are sign posted only those alseep could miss them! the effects could have been done a lot better , i beleive the director isnt to blame on this, with the budget he had this is all i can see hi being able to bring off and trying to use it as best as he can , either that or he is saluting the b-movies of a bygone age!
possibly second time lucky?
6/10
Scooby-Doo (2002)
shaggy rules
this film is aimed more at children , so at the age of 20 i think i am little old for it! if you have a sense of homour and/or if u can suspend your disbelief you may get some enjoyment out of this film.
the film is a fair enough re-make of the cartoon but the spirit of the original is not remade on the screen, the friendship seems forced and poorly acted! the deeper meaning of good versus evil and friendship survives is all very nice for a childrens film , it is also lumbered with it when trying to convert adults!
gellar, prinze,cardellini and atkinson do well enough if there parts but dont really set the screen alight! fred is too egotistical, velam too bitchy and daphne too stuck up!
matthew lilard was born to play shaggy if any person was to play apart this was his! he is shaggy , he looks like him acts like him , talks like him and embodies the spirit of him! he provides most of the laughs in this film and steals it from it's more famous stars!
scooby is well scooby , just costs a lot more to put him on screen! scooby and shaggy caused a slight case of nostalgia when appearing on screen together! which is a good sign
in the end the film is a average enough with shaggy and scooby stealing the show. there is room for improvement and hopefully for the sake of my childhood memories they will improve.
6/10
Murder by Numbers (2002)
numbers not really adding up to much
the film relies on your belief that bullock could play an edgy detective! if you do than you may take some enjoyment out of this, if not then the film is going to fall flat! i could believe jodie foster in silence of a lamb but bullock just doesnt wash with me, she appears to clean cut, make up too well done, a mere shadow of the forementioned foster! ben chaplin character just seems so bland! so boring, fans of the tv show 'game on' would be so dissapointed that a fun guy could come across so vanilla!
the killers ironically save this film, micheal pitt portrays his typical tortured soul. he plays it so seemingly effortless yet it is also hard to see him play another role!
this is the first film i have seen ryan gosling in and hopefully not his last, he steals the show from this vehicle for bullock. for such a young actor he portrays a wide ranging ability. he is beleivable no matter wether he is slyly talking to the cops or cracking under pressure! just like his charachter is the fuel for the murder he is the fuel of the film.
overall it is lacking in suspense and thrills. the acting is subdued except for the young stars particulalry gosling .
the number is 6.