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The Last Samurai (2003)
A masterpiece
This epic movie deserves it's place among the best dramas ever made.
After the introduction I loved every minute from the point Nathan arrives in Japan until the end.
This is truly Tom's best performance and it is the best movie he was ever part of.
Sometimes the story was very foreseeable but that was not avoidable since that was a part of it. The movie has a moving story, great scenery, men who find their destiny and their inner peace.
It's been years since the last and only time I cried in a movie (Boromir's death in The Fellowship of the Ring). This movie did it again - and therefore this must truly be a masterpiece in it's genre.
A very big surprise since Hollywood-dramas tend to get on my nerves due to their schmaltz-excesses.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Swashbuckling at its best
Truly one of the best movies this summer. After the pirate-franchise was dead for so long it's really refreshing to witness its revival.
Although there are many differences between this and the older pirate-flicks (more action, more funny situations and humor, undead, disney-production, etc.) it still gains a top spot among the best.
There was not a minute I felt bored, Johnny Depp's performance was outstanding and completely new and unexpected - but still fitted perfectly. The more or less predictable ending (a bit trashy but fitting) might be the unique weak part of the film.
The worldwide success is justified in every aspect. This movie truly earned the crown of this summer.
Treasure Planet (2002)
Great entertainment
I love pirate-flicks and I loved Treasure Island. Therefore Treasure Planet was an obvious choice.
And I was not disappointed. Although there are at least two major scientific flaws every two minutes... I didn't care. Come on! This is a cartoon, not a lesson. Even despite the obvious CGI-effects and the anticipated story-twists it was nonetheless thoroughly entertaining - from the first to the last minute. I didn't expect that and so it took me until now until I got to watch it on DVD.
I gave it 9 out of 10! It was the best cartoon since Shrek and on the same level as Ice Age - only aimed at a different audience.
Curiosity & the Cat (1999)
dark, different but not very entertaining
Don't be mislead by the short description on the back of the DVD.
The movie is dark and unconventional but too long and sometimes boring. The few scenes containing sex a lifeless (OK, the first is intentional) and there aren't any BDSM scenes (a few seconds of a hand-cuffed girl do not count). The German FSK 18 rating relates certainly to the few scenes of violence.
The technical aspects (camera, choreography, etc.) are well done but they don't compensate for the boring moments.
At least they included "Stapelfahrer Klaus" which is really worth watching.
28 Days Later... (2002)
Nice zombie-flick with too much plot-holes
Nice movie with untouched potential.
All in all it was entertaining and it could have been very good if there weren't so much stupid activities.
The zombies are brought in quite good - there's tension and some very good ideas (like the test-zombie in the backyard). But I was constantly reminded that the story was following specific orders - the script was omnipresent (the tunnel, walking away alone, the absence of guns, sending a zombie to help rescuing his friends, etc.).
I gave it 6 out of 10, although it had potential of 8.
In the end I think that Resident Evil was and is much better.
Track (1999)
good story, average acting, bad synchronisation
Although this is a German movie it was filmed in English - and I advise anybody to watch in it English and NOT in German. The synchro is as good as in any cheap porno - the actors sound bored and as if they wanted to finish their job as quickly as possible; also the sound quality is pretty bad.
The acting is bearable, not bad, just as good as I expected - but the story is great.
After an introduction to the story which is a bit too stretched but after some time it gets on and on, always turning unexpectedly in another direction.
The plot is cold and violent but remains believable. It can be summarized in a few words:
two corrupt police officers get involved with another corrupt officer and plan to blackmail 3M$. Everything is planned but also everybody has a plan on his own and eventually everything turns out to be a bit different than they expected...
I think this movie is more like Wild Things than Tarantino-style, only with more blood than in Wild Things. Besides the technical sound aspect and the slow beginning the only thing I disliked was the ending.
I gave it 7/10.
The Core (2003)
A nice and entertaining adventure.
First I watched the trailer and it promised a descent adventure-flick. Then I read various comments... and they made me shiver. But between the lines I got the feeling that watching this movie would be the right decision.
And I wasn't disappointed.
I think most of you know what it is all about and I can omit the summary of the 'story'.
Anybody should be aware of the fact that this movie was surely never meant to be serious and sometimes just pretends to be. It's all about a great adventure of venturing to the earth's core - awaking memories of Jules Verne. Certainly nobody had, at that time, seriously expected people thousands of miles under the ocean, walking through caverns to the middle of the earth or to be shot to the moon with big cannons...
As in Star Trek they make something up which sounds cool and (at most times) fit into the story but not in our scientific point of view. Especially as a scientist I laughed out loud at various points when they talk scientific nonsense or pretend to be serious. But even including the predictability, all this doesn't diminish the entertaining potential of this film - it is certainly not a comedy but with more self-mockery than Armageddon, which is a good sign.
If you know what to expect you won't be disappointed. I give it 7 out of 10.
Heaven (2002)
An interesting emotional film - and certainly good.
Although the movie has some flaws (you'll recognize them when you watch the movie) and is somewhat slow paced, the film is refreshing. It is obvious that this is an european film, showing typical german and polish influences (not surprising since the director Tom Tykwer is german and the writers were polish).
Cate shows a great performance, Ribisi is good but limited by his character's unchanging expression.
This is a film about emotions, about love and not about moral - that is very important to remember, otherwise it would be quite disappointing.
I gave it a good 8, nearly 9. The world needs more films like this one and this film certainly should have gotten more attention from the public.