senninha70 Reviews

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

I'm still not fully recovered

[1/10 · 10 October 2002]

When I was about 12 years old, my father rented this movie and we watched it when I was at his house on a Saturday night. I'm still scarred. I was a kid from a small Indiana town where everyone was white, conservative and boring. Also, I was just entering puberty. To see Tim Curry dressed like a woman, to see all the horrifying images in this movie has scarred me for life. I'm 25 now, I have never re-watched this movie, but I remember the Saturday at my father's house where my pre-pubescent views of the world fell away to a twistedness that I'm still coming to grips with.

The Untouchables (1987)

Were we watching the same movie?

[4/10 · 6 August 2002]

I don't understand how on earth this movie gets a 7.8 rating. It's terrible! I've always been interested in Capone and the gangsters of the 30's, but this movie has the worst direction I've ever seen. It's pretty... they did a good job with the cars, outfits, locations, etc., but the dialogue is laughable and the way the story was crafted left nothing to suspense. I understand that they had limits because it was an account of a true story, but they still could have told us certain things and saved some things for later. The way the little mousy guy kept referring to his tax problems... we all know that's how they brought him down, but they gave that away in the first 20 minutes! And the music... terrible! I actually perked up when I saw Ennio Morricone's name at the beginning because I loved his work in "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". But the director never used it to build suspense. They didn't build any dramatic scenes with it, and when they did, he used all the wrong music.

I am terribly disappointed with this movie. I want my two hours of life back. I've seen better documentaries on the Discovery Channel, and if I really want to learn anything, I'll take one of the tours here in Chicago.

Driven (2001)

Man, I wanted this movie to be good...

[1/10 · 26 July 2002]

As a big auto racing fan, CART in particular, I awaited this movie since the mid-90's when it was discussed as a Formula One movie. However, Formula One wouldn't allow the access that it did for Grand Prix in 1966, so the director defaulted to the North American CART series. CART allowed unprecedented access to its venues, races, paddock, announcers, drivers, sponsors, etc. But this movie fails in that it is nothing more than an auto racing cliché. As a fan, it's hard to rebuff the blood sport aspect of the sport to those who are not fans. The crashes are incredibly unrealistic, some of the tracks are non-existent and the drivers are paper thin. The scene near the swimming pool with the blonde vixen doing some sort of goofy water aerobics is pathetic. The part where Jimmy Bly steals a car (that happens to be filled with fuel indoors and doesn't need an external starter to run) and drives it through the Chicago streets with Stalone in tow is just ridiculous. And to they get arrested or even prosecuted for this action? No, they just are forced to convey one of the stupidest dialogues in the history of racing movies.

The CART series is in serious trouble in real life. A movie about the excitement of the series, the strategy, the action and the pageantry of racing could have boosted the series back to national respectability. However, this movie just hinders its descent into oblivion with the Can-Am series. It could have been so much more.

My Fair Lady (1964)

I hate that I like this movie

[8/10 · 15 July 2002]

When I was in middle school, I was in choir class. When we had a substitute, we watched musicals. I've seen them all. "Oklahoma", "The Sound of Music", "Mary Poppins" and "My Fair Lady". Of these classics, the only one I actually remember and like 13 years later is "My Fair Lady". I don't know if it's because I've seen it a dozen times or because Eliza is so pretty and likeable or because Henry's change before your very eyes is so dramatic. Whatever the reason, I love this movie, and it's the only movie made before I was born that I particularly enjoy.

Best in Show (2000)

Know what to expect ahead of time!

[5/10 · 28 June 2002]

I rented this flick on the advice of a friend. I didn't even read the back of the case, so I had no idea what I was in for. After having watched it all the way through, I liked it. However, I almost turned it off after the 30 minute open "mocumentary". I decided that I hated all of these people and didn't care about the movie's plot. I'm glad I finished it. It was very funny overall and the beginning wasn't so bad once I got past it.

High Fidelity (2000)

What an excellent movie!

[10/10 · 28 June 2002]

I absolutely love this movie. John Cusak is the best, and I have always liked the movies where he does "asides" to the camera. "One Crazy Summer" comes to mind. Jack Black is excellent, and I get the feeling that his part in this movie is very close to his actual character. It's a love story, a comedy, a well researched music-movie and it all takes place in my beautiful city of Chicago.