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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)
Enjoyable, but a letdown for fans
12/21/2005
** WARNING!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!! PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET!!**
... Still with me?
Good.
Well, I am not ashamed to admit that I was (and remain) a huge fan of the original "Power Rangers". When I learned they were doing a movie, I thought it'd be so cool to see. But when three of the original Rangers left (including my favorite - Jason, the Red Ranger), I admit I was hesitant. Then I saw the movie and remembered enjoying it. But the movie was, and remains, a disappointment.
Here's the plot: after participating in a skydiving event to save the observatory that afternoon (... wha'?!?), with Ryan's Comet passing by Earth in two days, the Rangers go off rollerblading while a construction site unearths a purple egg buried deep in the ground under a spooky-looking lid (even if it seems, like, only ten feet deep when it's buried). When a worker tries to touch the egg and is electrocuted, the Rangers are summoned to the Command Center by their mentor, Zordon, and the robotic Alpha 5 and are warned that in the egg is Ivan Ooze, a dangerous, evil morphological being.
Well, that night, the evil enemies of the Rangers (Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, Goldar and a new character Mordant) find Ivan's egg, knock out the guards watching it, open the egg and release Ivan Ooze. To repay Zedd for freeing him, Ivan agrees to take down Zordon and his legacy, including the Rangers. When the Rangers arrive (though I'm not sure why they arrive so many hours later that night to find the egg), they find it open and Ivan free. Ivan sends his Ooze monsters to fight the Rangers, who morph into their colorful costumes to stop them, and Ivan flees to the Command Center. The Rangers are successful defeating Ivan's Ooze henchmen, but lose their powers and have to run to the Command Center, just in time to find it destroyed and Zordon lying in the remains of his time warp chamber, dying.
With the last power left in the controls, Alpha sends the Rangers to find the Great Power on planet Phaedos to get their powers back and again power the Command Center to restore Zordon's tube and save his life. Ivan goes to see Rita and Zedd after his rampage and traps Zedd and Rita in a snow globe, taking over as evil leader. He sends Tengu Warrior birds to stop the Rangers, but a female (and oddly scantily clad) warrior Dulcea comes to the Rangers' aid by driving them off and showing them the way to the Great Power. While Dulcea helps them get their new Ninjetti suits of animal spirits, Ivan brainwashes the parents of Angel Grove into helping rebuild his two evil Zords. Now, the Rangers must face threats on the way to the temple in order to go back, stop Ivan and save Zordon. Oh, come on - this is a kid's movie! Of course he lives! That's why it's called a HAPPY ending!
Well, for the good parts we have the cool cameo of Dulcea (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick), great sets, impressive metal-plated Power Ranger costumes (from designer Joseph Porro) and three of the original Rangers - my favorite female Ranger ever, Kimberly, the Pink Ranger (Amy Jo Johnson); Billy, the Blue Ranger (David Yost); and Tommy, the White Ranger (Jason David Frank). The music by Graeme Revell also works well, giving a rather magical - and surprisingly beautiful - score to the movie.
For the bad, we have the new Rangers - Aisha, the Yellow Ranger, Aisha (Karen Ashley); Adam, the Black Ranger (Johnny Yong Bosch); and Rocky, the Red Ranger (Steven Cardenas). They're all right with their roles, but they can be annoying and are definitely not as interesting (or cool) as the original Yellow, Black and Red Rangers. We also have a weak plot, very fake-looking (and lame) computer generated Zords that make you wish for live-action Zords of guys in rubber suits, little character development, a tragic under-use of seeing the Rangers in their costumes and an awful villain, Ivan Ooze (Paul Freeman).
Freeman's over-the-top performance is too ridiculous to take him as a powerful threat seriously, despite having moments of cool powers and moments of being evil. He makes corny jokes, bosses around Goldar and Mordant for most of the movie and has two lame evil Zords, called - I kid you not - the Scorpitron and Hornitor (how did that name get approved?!?). He also gets one lousy and weak fight, where he molds with a Zord and fights the Ninja Falcon Megazord in space. And his defeat is awful - he easily overpowers the Rangers' Ninja Falcon Megazord, but is quickly defeated by a kick to the groin and knocked into - surprise! - Ryan's comet (which is oddly a meteor) and explodes. Ugh.
I love the original "Power Rangers" and always will, but the movie itself disappoints as much as it entertains. Had they had a better script, the original three Rangers included, more character development and more of the Rangers in their costumes, it may have turned out better. But to this day, I will still pop my tape into the VCR and watch it. And every time it ends, I still smile after watching it.
The Wolf Man (1941)
One of the best, under-appreciated horror movies ever
10/20/2005
WARNING! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE, PLEASE DON'T READ IT!
Still with me? Good.
Many people I know say that, of the classic Universal monster movies, that movies such as Bela Lugosi's "Dracula", the original Boris Karloff "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein" are the best of the classic monster movies. I must politely say that they're missing out one of the best horror movies from the 1940s: "The Wolf Man".
The story seems simple enough: after being away in California for eighteen years, Larry Talbot (the great Lon Chaney Jr.) returns home to learn to eventually take over the family estate, currently handled by his father Sir John (Claude Rains). While back in his hometown, Larry falls for Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers), the daughter of a shop owner and engaged to a member of Talbot's estate, Frank Andrews (Patrick Knowles). After buying a silver-topped walking cane from Gwen in the shop, Larry accompanies her and her friend Jenny (Fay Helm) to get their fortunes told by a band of visiting Gypsies.
Unfortunately, the fortune teller Bela (Lugosi) turns into a werewolf, murders Jenny and attacks Larry when he comes to help. Larry is bitten by the wolf before he kills it, only to have his wound heal the next morning and learn he's suspected of killing Bela with his cane by the police the next morning. While attending a festival the night after Bela's funeral, Bela's mother Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) warns him he's been given the curse of the werewolf by her late son's bite and gives Larry a silver pentagram charm to keep from changing into the beast within him. Larry instead gives the charm to Gwen to keep her safe, but when the moon rises, Larry changes into the Wolf Man and starts murdering any who comes in his path. But when Gwen is his next target, Larry must find a way to get away to keep from hurting those he loves - which may just cost him his life.
Of the pros, the cast works very well with their roles. While Lugosi, Ouspenskaya, Ankers and Rains highlight the supporting roles, it is - naturally - Chaney who gives the best performance. Unlike other monsters, Chaney's Talbot is kind-hearted man who turns into a creature against his will and happens to sever people's jugular veins by biting their necks. You gain sympathy for Talbot in the movie and his character became popular enough to be resurrected and appear in four other films following this.
The writing is brilliant, balancing character development with the scares and chills the movie gives off. The sets work fairly well and the musical score (done by the uncredited team of Charles Previn, Hans Salter and Frank Skinner) works well, setting the right moods for the scenes. The music is often beautiful, including a nice pulsing sound like a musical heartbeat when Larry first finds himself changing into a wolf, or heartbreaking, such as the theme heard when Maleva visits Bela at his coffin or when Sir John learns the identity of the wolf he's stopped.
On the negative side, though, we get some rather puzzling aspects. If Maleva had a charm to keep a person from becoming a werewolf, why didn't she give it to her own son Bela? Or, if she got it later, when and did she get it? Why does Bela even meet Jenny and tell her fortune shortly before he becomes a werewolf? How exactly did Maleva know how to return Larry from a werewolf back to human for a short time when she finds the Wolf Man and, again, not do it to Bela? And how do werewolves manage to dress themselves, anyway? Larry, wears an undershirt when he changes into a werewolf, but suddenly is wearing a dark shirt when he first becomes the Wolf Man. Oy.
Still, despite the flaws, "The Wolf Man" is one of the best horror movies, or movies in general, that Universal has ever done. It may not be a perfect movie, but it's a certainly excellent nevertheless.
Street Fighter (1994)
The most underrated video game movie ever
9/20/2005
WARNING! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS MOVIE YET, PLEASE DON'T READ THIS REVIEW!
Still with me? Good.
"Street Fighter" is based off of the video game series of the same name, though it is more popularly known for "Street Fighter II" with its vast assortment of heroes and villains. The movie features the same characters from the game and three from another Street Fighter game. Instead of a World Warrior tournament of fighters like in the game, the movie focuses on General M. Bison (the late, talented Raul Julia) wanting world domination in pure James Bond villain style, with a vast secret hideout and dozens of henchmen. Bison has taken 63 hostages and demands 20 billion dollars to be given to him in three days for their return. Bison is also working on a super-soldier program (isn't that Captain America territory?), in which Dr. Dhalsim (Roshan Seth) is unwillingly mutating Guile's captured friend, Carlos Blanka (Robert Mammone), into a green-skinned, orange-haired man-beast (think orange Don King hair on the Hulk, but not as strong or muscular).
The Allied Forces are fighting Bison's troops and Colonel William Guile (Jean-Claude Van Damme, whose last name you still can't say out loud without muttering unintentional profanity), Bison's long-time nemesis, is determined to get them back. Guile makes a deal with two arrested smugglers, Ken Masters (Damian Chapa) and Ryu Hoshi (Byron Mann), to join the gang of Bison's main henchman, Victor Sagat (Wes Studi), to find Bison's hideout in exchange for their freedom and passports back home. The problem is, reporter and martial arts expert Chun Li Zang (Ming-Na Wen) is after Bison for murdering her father. Chun Li takes her film crew and fellow fighters, Balrog (Grand L. Bush) and Edmond Honda (Peter Tuiasosopo), to follow Ken and Ryu.
At Bison's fortress, Chun Li, Balrog and Honda are captured while the homing device Ken and Ryu have lead Guile to the hideout. With the aid of Cammy (Kylie Minogue), T-Hawk (Gregg Rainwater) and his soldiers, Guile invades the fortress and helps his friends save the hostages, while taking down Bison and his forces.
Well, except for Honda being a Hawaiian sumo, Balrog being a hero instead of one of Bison's evil henchmen, Zangief (Andrew Bryniarski) being a villain instead of a hero, Sagat not being a 7 foot tall tough fighter like the game, and other various changes, the actors do mostly resemble the video game characters and their looks. The movie actually improves on Ryu and Ken by making them more relatable. In the game, Ken is a wealthy, vicious and arrogant fighter, while Ryu has forsaken everything else in his life to perfect his fighting skills. In the movie, Ryu and Ken are the buddy team you see in every action film, but here it works. The two steal from criminals by selling them weapons that turn out to be bogus. Ryu is a straight-man with a conscience and will to help others without thought of profit, while Ken wants to be rich and has a wondering eye for good-looking single ladies.
The cast works well, particularly Minogue as Cammy, Van-Damme as Guile, Jay Tavare as Sagat's helper Vega, Wen as Chun Li, Studi as Sagat, Chapa as Ken, Mann as Ryu and, best of all, Julia as Bison. Bryniarski also does great as the not-so-smart, yet good hearted henchman Zangief who turns good by the end and he has the best laugh-out-loud moments (like when he realizes Dee Jay works for the evil Bison because of the paycheck, Zangief asks, "You got paid?").
The action works well and the fight scenes work well, especially Ken VS. Sagat, Ryu VS. Vega and Bison VS. Guile. But curiously, most don't have many memorable fights except with guards (like Balrog and Cammy), which is a shame, since so many opportunities for fights don't happen in the film. For example, Chun Li has a brief fight and awesome fight with Bison, but she doesn't fight any other villains except for Bison guards. Others, like Dhalsim, don't fight at all. And while it's nice to try and have an origin for Blanka, he's not as feral or muscular (or cool) as he is in the game, nor does he have any memorable fights, except in quick glimpses with - you guessed it, Bison guards.
Also, none of the characters have any special powers like in the game. It's a shame things like Ryu's fireball (which only happens in a brief flash of light in the fight against Vega), Ken's flaming fist when he uses his Dragon Punch move and Dhalsim's fire breath are all absent.
If you watch after the end credits, the film has an ending that sets up for a sequel (which, right now, is reportedly in the works). No matter what the public (or Street Fighter fans) think, I actually liked this film. It has good action, nice humor and good characterization. Is it disappointing? Sure. But is it good nonetheless? Of course.
Sutorîto faitâ II gekijô-ban (1994)
An action packed, though weak take on the franchise
9/20/2005
WARNING! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS FILM, THEN PLEASE DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING REVIEW!
Still with me? Good.
Let me just say "Street Fighter 2" has always been one of the greatest video games I have ever played. Ever. To me, it is even better than the Mortal Kombat franchise. But whenever the Street Fighters get TV shows or films, there always has to be something wrong with it.
"Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie" has a pretty good story idea going for it and good action. Lots of it. I mean, the film even opens with a fight between Ryu and Sagat! It's quite nice, too, with shots of a crack of lightning in the night sky and the wind blowing on the grassy ground in between footage of kicks and punches between the fighters. Ryu soon gets the upper hand, literally, by doing the famous "Dragon Punch" that knocks Sagat down. Sagat gets mad. Blue electricity comes out of nowhere and to Ryu's hands. Sagat charges at Ryu, roaring in anger. Ryu makes a "Hadouken" fireball with the electricity and tosses it at Sagat. Needless to say, the fight's over.
Later, after an assassination with a brainwashed Cammy (who, while she is a very cool character, has a brief cameo), Chun Li of Interpol reveals the evil Shadowlaw organization is brainwashing fighters into doing their bidding. Chun Li works with Guile of the U.S. Special Forces on finding Bison, though he's not too happy with it at first. The head of Shadowlaw, M. Bison, wants to find Ryu because of his impressive fighting level (over 3,000!) and because he beat his main henchman, Sagat. The problem: Ryu travels all over the place to test his skills and can't be found.
Bison isn't happy with Guile and Chun Li messing with his plans, so he later sends one of his other henchmen, Vega, to kill her at her home. Chun Li wins, but is badly hurt from the fight. Meanwhile, Ryu's old friend and former fellow student, Ken Masters, is waiting for his rematch with Ryu to test his skills. Ken is wealthy, has a lovely fiancée - and becomes Bison's target to replace Ryu. Elsewhere, after witnessing a fight with Dhalsim, Ryu befriends sumo Edmond Honda and stays with him for a while. Guile eventually finds Ryu and tells him of Ken's abduction. Bison arrives with his other henchman, Balrog (don't worry, he's the last one), and a brainwashed Ken. Balrog fights Honda and Balrog loses. Guile takes on Bison, but loses. Ryu fights his brainwashed friend, snaps him out of Bison's control and, after Ryu takes on Bison alone at first, a wounded Ken returns to help Ryu in the last fight.
However, despite cool fights and a wonderful, often beautiful musical score, the movie has a lot of weak points. The non-stop action is fun, but since the PG-13 version clocks in at 94 minutes, it's a short movie, which means short fights. Lots of them. And also lots of cameos of the characters from the game. But we don't even find out how they learned their fantastic fighting moves and powers! And most characters get little back story, if any.
For example, Sagat is a cool, tough evil fighter, but he gets one lousy fight. There are cameos from some of the coolest characters in the game, but they get brief fights and no explanation of how they learned their powers or where they come from. And while the brief fights can be cool, but most are just annoying, like the Zangief and Blanka fight. The characters are mentioned by name and share a brief fight, which ends when Blanka electrocutes Zangief in an unintentionally comical manner, but that's all we see of the characters and know of them. Other cool things that should have been further explored in the plot, though, are merely mentioned and briefly shown - such as the death of Chun Li's father from Bison's hand and Bison taunting Guile with how he killed his partner. But they don't get into the common hatred Guile and Chun Li have to Bison. Heck, Guile doesn't care much for Chun Li till she nearly dies fighting Vega.
Speaking of deaths, we don't know if any characters die in the film! Vega seemingly dies after the fight with Chun Li. Bison sends Sagat to kill him, if he isn't dead already, and Cammy, who has been in custody with no memory after the assassination. Zangief could be killed after being shocked by Blanka. But since most characters get cameos and underdeveloped roles, we don't know what's going on here. And don't even get me started on the corny ending.
This film is no Street Fighter 2. Heck, it's not even "Street Fighter". Some may have hated it, but I prefer the live action version over this film. Why? Because underdeveloped character development, brief lame fights and a weak story doesn't excuse the fact this is film, while good and entertaining, is certainly no Street Fighter 2.
Waxwork (1988)
My all-time favorite horror movie
WARNING! THIS REVIEW INCLUDES MAJOR SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM, PLEASE DON'T READ THIS REVIEW!
Still with me? Good. "Waxwork" is, quite frankly, my favorite horror film ever. It has a clever, original story, memorable monsters and the lovely, talented Deborah Foreman as the leading lady. Really, what else could you possibly need in a film?
The plot starts out simply enough: six college seniors get invited to attend a late-night showing of the exhibits in a new waxworks building. But the characters in each of the displays are much more lifelike than they seem and when you step past the railing into the displays, you're taken into an illusionary world where the characters live, breathe... and kill.
Pretty creepy, huh?
Among the main cast members are Zach Galligan as Mark, Foreman as Sarah, David Warner as the Waxwork's owner Mr. David Lincoln, Dana Ashbrook as Tony, Michelle Johnson as Mark's ex-girlfriend China, Miles O'Keeffe as Count Dracula (or, as he's known as in this film, "The Count"), John Rhys-Davies as a werewolf, J. Kenneth Campbell as the Marquis de Sade and Patrick Macnee as Sir Wilfred, Mark's godfather. While Ashbrook and Macnee give good performances with their roles, it is Foreman and Warner who give the best performances. Galligan, though, gives as good wooden acting as any actor in the modern day "Star Wars" prequel films.
Among the many good moments in the film, we get a few good one-liners in the mostly serious horror flick, good acting, a clever plot, likable characters and a truly frightening, though brief, black-and-white sequence with zombies! The musical score by Roger Bellon is also especially impressive for such a B-budgeted horror movie (particularly the main theme and the Mark and Sarah theme which is heard twice, when Mark is with Sarah outside her apartment and then when Mark takes Sarah's hand in the de Sade exhibit and leaves the display with her).
Of the bad parts, we get some less-than-impressive cardboard sets, a werewolf that looks like a Muppet on steroids, lipstick-looking lashes on Sarah's back when she is whipped in the Marquis display (and the mentioned injuries curiously disappear when she leaves the display) and plot holes big enough to drive cars through. For example, the Marquis display hypnotizes Sarah when she stares at it and steps inside of it, but the others do not get hypnotized by their displays. Also, some gore is unnecessary (do we really need to see a hunter being torn in half by a werewolf?).
Still, despite its flaws, "Waxwork" is a wonderful horror film that scares as much as it entertains. It may not be that scary by today's standards, but it goes well with popcorn and soda. So, dim the lights (if you dare) and enjoy watching this fine, lesser-known horror film.
Would you like a closer look?
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Officially the greatest movie I have ever seen (spoilers included)
6/20/2005
Warning! This review contains major spoilers! If you haven't seen the film yet, then please don't read the review!
...
Still with me? Good.
After seeing "Spider-Man" in 2002, I honestly thought I'd never see a better movie. It had action and adventure, yes, but "Spider-Man" also had a clever story, good humor, wonderful performances and, above all, heart. I thought the sequel wouldn't match the first.
I was wrong - "Spider-Man 2" does what I never thought it would: surpass the original.
"Spider-Man 2" is one of the few movies I can watch over and over and never get tired of seeing. That, my friends, is a rare honor for any movie. Each time I watch it, it's still as fun and action-packed, and the humor still makes me laugh out loud each time. It also bases itself close to the comics, by expanding the story into a new, more realistic direction than the first film.
You see, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire, perfectly portraying the dual roles of Parker and his wall-crawling alter-ego) has problems since becoming Spider-Man just a little over two years ago. Peter gave up his true love, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst, in a somewhat smaller role than in the first film, but gives a wonderful performance) to spare her of the dangers of dating a superhero, only to have her become engaged to astronaut John Jameson (Daniel Gillies). His Aunt May (Rosemary Harris, who is wonderful in her bigger role) has financial problems with her home. Peter has financial problems by leaving his apartment he shared with his friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco, who starts to slip to the dark side), and now lives in a small apartment.
Harry, who now lives in his late father's home and runs his company of OsCorp, has Peter meet his idol - Doctor Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina, who perfectly plays the role as Spidey's best foe yet - and one of the best movie villains ever!) - and the two later watch Octavius give a demonstration on fusion with his four, artificial-intelligence programmed tentacles. The experiment goes awry, bonding the tentacles to Octavius' body permanently and becomes known as Doctor Octopus, or Doc Ock.
Peter, meanwhile, is so bummed out over losing Mary Jane that his powers start to fade and act psychologically - when he's happy, he swings fine, but if he's down, his web-shooters clog up. Unaware it's an identity crisis, Peter even dumps his costume and gives up life as Spider-Man. But when Octavius kidnaps Mary Jane and almost destroys New York when his new, enlarged fusion machine is built, you know Peter's retirement won't last.
The only flaw of the movie, though, is the number of people who find Spider-Man without his mask off (I don't wanna spoil it, but thankfully at the end, Spidey's identity is in safe hands - with the exception for one person). But so what? The movie works perfectly, you can ignore and/or forgive the flaws!
Peter and Mary Jane's relationship is even better the second time around, Doc Ock is a much better and complex villain than Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (who cameos in the film - but how you'll have to see), and the fight scenes will leave you breathless. The train sequence alone is a major highlight of the film, from the Doc Ock/Spider-Man fight to Spidey saving the passengers (and later thanked by them). Everything about this film works wonderfully, from the cinematography and acting to action and music. The music by Danny Elfman is even better this time around, especially the entire train sequence and Spidey's talk to Mary Jane in a web near the end. The acting mixed with the music by Elfman will bring you close to tears.
The humor also works well, particularly by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), Spidey's boss and John's father.
Returning director Sam Raimi and writer Alvin Sargent outdo themselves with a smarter, more exciting, more moving sequel. And the ending screams "Sequel!" in exciting, better new ways than the first film.
As the headline of the Daily Bugle reads about Spider-Man at one point, "He's back!" And audiences I'm sure are glad to see Spidey's return in this incredible sequel.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
The best film I've seen of 2003
7/21/2003
WARNING!! WARNING!! MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS DISCUSSED HERE! DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET!!
Still with me? Good.
"Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" is not only my favorite film of the "Terminator" trilogy, but it's also the best film I've seen of this year so far!
We all know the "Terminator" story: John Connor is the leader of the human resistance in the year 2029, helping people fight against the deadly machines that try to wipe out humanity after they take over on August 29th, 1997. Connor ultimately destroys the machines, but before he does, the machines send robots back in time to kill Connor before he can become humanity's savior.
In the first film, a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was sent back in time to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) before she gives birth to John (later his date of birth revealed to be the year 1985), but it fails.
"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" took place in 1991, where a 10-year-old John (what? If he's 10, shouldn't it have happened in 1995?) is almost killed by a T-1000 robot (Robert Patrick), but it fails when another Terminator (again, Schwarzenegger, re-programmed to protect John and becomes a father figure to him) helps the Connors apparently stop SkyNet, stops the T-1000 and later lets Sarah help it "self-terminate."
The film revolves around 23-year-old John Connor (Nick Stahl), who wanders from place to place and wishes not to be found, for fear that the machines of the future-yet-to-come will try and kill him.
Guess what? He's right.
Judgment Day wasn't stopped. It was only delayed.
The Terminatrix, or T-X (Kristanna Loken), is sent back in time to kill Connor. Since Connor has no connections by an address or phone number, the T-X instead starts to kill his future lieutenants in the war to come one by one. Two of the TX's targets are veterinarian Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) and her father (David Andrews), who has a key role in the activation of SkyNet, the sentient program of the future machines. Kate is particularly important - she shares a past with John, and a future (turns out she becomes his wife, his second in command and the mother of his kids).
Later, the Terminator (again, again played Schwarzenegger) arrives in our time after it is re-programmed by Kate to protect her and John in this time (hope you understood all that). Anyway, the Terminator eventually finds them and tries to save them from the T-X, but it also must be careful around the new, deadlier T-X, who can destroy and control other machines as well.
The fight scenes and visual effects are nicely done, and cast itself does a good job with their roles. Schwarzenegger, Danes and Stahl give great performances, especially since Danes goes through the most in the film - she loses her father and fiancée, Scott (Mark Famiglietti), to the T-X and does a nice job in the scenes where she's with John. She even takes out a machine with a machine gun while trying to stop the machines (to which John admits, "You remind me of my mother.")
Even Loken makes the T-X out to be a worthy foe of the Terminator (though she lacks the creepiness factor of Patrick's T-1000 from "T2").
What I especially liked was the lack of gore than what the first two films had (though it has its gross-factor moments, like when the T-X punches her hand through a cop's chest), and the humor. For example: the Terminator arrives in our time naked and arrives at a strip club on ladies' night. He tells a male stripper in a leather jacket outfit to "take off his clothes" so he can wear them. When the stripper says, "Talk to the hand," the Terminator grabs his wrist, nearly breaking it in his grip as he does, and puts the hand to his lips as he says, "Now."
There's even a nice cameo by Earl Boen as Dr. Silberman, and the plot twists are a nice touch (the Terminator Kate sent back to protect her and John in this film reveals the future Kate does so only after it kills John in the future).
But nothing beats the shocking twist ending, when John and Kate learn the grim truth about SkyNet.
Anyway, there one, confusing flaw that keeps this film from being perfect. John is 23 in this film, and as mentioned before, he was even born in 1985 and was 13 when he last met the Terminator in "T2". The film also says Hamilton's Sarah Connor was diagnosed with leukemia after the events of "T2", given six months to live but she fought it for 3 years to make sure that on August 29th, 1997, Judgment Day (the day the machines took over) never happened (add to the fact that if "T2" WAS set in 1995, that Sarah would've died in 1998 or so, over a year after Judgment Day's date, and you have more confusion).
The time-line doesn't make sense. Had it been done correctly, John would've been about 7 in 1992, 13 in 1998 (one year after the original date Judgment Day would have occurred on) and 19 in 2003. It's best to forget the timeline, and if you're new to the "Terminator" movies, then this gripe may not bother you so much.
Still, despite the fact that I found other films this summer to be either EXTREMELY disappointing ("Hulk" and "X2") or just down-right awful ("Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Pirates of the Caribbean"), "T3" was a welcome surprise for me.
I yearn to see a "T4", in the hopes that Arnold's famous quote of "I'll be back" lives up to its promise.
Hulk (2003)
The best Marvel Comics based film of '03 could've been better
Warning! Warning! This review is spoiler heavy! If you haven't seen the film, don't read this review!
Still with me? Good. Here's my review...
We all know the deal of the Hulk, mainly due to the 1970's Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno series: "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." This isn't like the '70's series, and that's both a good and bad thing.
Dr. Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) is adopted by Mr. (not seen) and Mrs. Krenzler after his birth parents are thought dead when he's only 4 years old. The truth is more darker. After being bombarded by nano-meds and gamma radiation while saving his assistant, Harper (Kevin Rankin), in a lab, Bruce later learns of his real last name from his alive-and-well psycho father, Dr. David Banner (Nick Nolte, who earns most of the praise on the part of the film's live-action actors -- and looks eerily like his drunk driving mug shot to a tee). David tells Bruce he's unique and that he passed on a genetic imperfection to Bruce after he tried experiments on himself, which enabled him to survive the accident.
And by "unique", I mean that Bruce turns from repressed scientist to a 15-foot, green-skinned man-monster with a knack for mood swings and smashing things up real good.
Bruce finds comfort and support of his new condition with his co-worker and on-again, off-again love interest, Dr. Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly, who is as talented as an actress as she is charming and beautiful).
But he's also hounded by three people -- his dad, David, who has some gamma-irradiated dogs to help his cause; Glenn Talbot (Josh Lucas), who wants to not only steal away Betty from Bruce and exploit the good doctor's research, but harness the Hulk's genetic power as well; and finally, Betty's own father, General Ross (perfectly played by Sam Elliott). General Ross locked away Bruce's dad when David murdered his wife and tried to kill Bruce, and wants to stop the Hulk's rampages -- at any cost. He also doesn't want Bruce to be anywhere near his daughter, either.
And when David Banner uses gamma rays on himself to become powerful in his own right, with the ability to mimic anything he touches (a la Crusher Creel/the Absorbing Man, a Hulk villain from the comics), but with no green, the Hulk winds up fighting his own dad in a duel to the death (gee, guess who wins?).
Anyway, the C.G.I. (computer generated image) Hulk isn't very effective and Lou Ferrigno did a better job when he played the Hulk. The C.G.I. looks fair, which is the one thing I usually criticize about a film, whether leaping away 3 miles in a single jump, pounding a tank in a fight sequence or his tender facial expressions when seen smitten with Betty. But the C.G.I. Hulk looks like a Playstation character (and he gets a mere two lines in the film -- "Puny human" in a dream sequence and "Take it all!" in the final fight).
However, the Hulk isn't a good Marvel film as, say, Fox's first "X-Men" or Columbia's "Spider-Man" films. This psychodrama isn't for everyone to watch and enjoy (granted, that's the premise of the Hulk in the comics, but two hours and fifteen minutes worth?). Its violence and disturbing images (like a seeing a frog exploding in a lab trial) isn't suitable for some to watch. It also isn't appropriate for kids, parents (like when Hulk makes a "Hulk-dog" explode into green powder from a punch in one of Hulk's berserker rages -- it IS rated PG-13 for a reason). And the film's "what the heck?!?" cliffhanger ending makes you wonder not only how certain characters got to where they are, but why they chose to end the film like that.
And brief partial nudity, my foot -- you see ALL of Banner's bare rear as he staggers to Betty's car after the Hulk-dogs fight.
The look is also confusing because of its comic book-like panels. It's cool in concept, but seeing multiple images of the same sequence can come off confusing, and some still images (like the death of a main character during an explosion) of shocking moments can come off unintentionally comical.
And even the music by my favorite composer, Danny Elfman, could've been better. However, to be fair, Elfman was hired less than two months before the film's release to do the music, so I'll count it up as a default complaint due to rushed time. Still, some of the woman's vocals during some of the score not only distracts Elfman's good music, but the tone of the film as well. It's like Ang Lee hired Elfman if only he could have some "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"-like themes to it.
Also, in the comics, Bruce's full name is Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, but he's called Bruce. The "Robert" part of his name is M.I.A. in the film. And he doesn't start off as a gray-skinned behemoth when he first turns into the Hulk after the gamma rays exposure, like in the comics (in the second issue of the "Hulk" comic, Hulk gets his emerald skin due to exposure by cosmic rays, if I recall correctly).
Still, despite nit-picks, "Hulk" is one of the best films I've seen this year, and is head and shoulders -- literally -- above this year's other two Marvel films, February's "Daredevil" and the debut of "X2" this May, both by rival company Fox.
While I yearn to see the sequel, I hope to see a better, more clever, action-packed and more appropriate "Hulk 2".
'Nuff said.
X2 (2003)
HAD HIGHER "X"-PECTATIONS FOR THE SEQUEL
5/9/2003
WARNING!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM YET!!
Still with me? Good.
"X2" is one of the best superhero movies ever, but it's not as good as the first film from three years earlier. Whereas "X-Men" had a better story, better music (I missed Michael Kamen's music in this, even if John Ottman had moments of great music in "X2") and a chance to get to know the characters, "X2" does not.
We're automatically thrown into the action with the sequel with an attack on President McKenna (Cotter Smith) by the later-revealed-to-be-brainwashed blue-skinned, teleporting mutant Nightcrawler (played by Alan Cumming). But the film has no recap of what happened in the last film, despite some mentions of previous events in the first film. Like when Cyclops (the under-used but cool-to-watch scene stealer character is played again by James Marsden) tells his fiancee, Dr. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen, back again with a MUCH bigger role) she's been different ever since Liberty Island (an event from the first film), but if you never saw the first film, these kind of examples make you wonder what the characters are even talking about.
For those of you who've never seen the first "X-Men" film from 2000 or know the characters from the Marvel Comics series, you WON'T understand what "X2" is about at all. It's sad, but true. And the fact we have at LEAST 20 characters vying for screentime doesn't help.
We have the X-team team divided into different plots that connect together eventually: An attack on the Westchester X-Mansion by Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox, nicely playing an evil role) causes the students to flee and Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, again rightfully playing the lead role just as cool as before and with berserker rage to spare) helps the "junior" X-Men flee to the Boston home of Iceman (Shawn Ashmore, back again in a larger and cooler - excuse the pun - role) with Iceman's girlfriend Rogue (the underused but cool Anna Paquin, back for the sequel) and the Anakin Skywalker like member of the group, the hot-tempered Pyro (nicely played by Aaron Stanford, though his Australian character has no accent in this film).
Storm (Halle Berry, who has a bigger role as well) and Jean recruiting Nightcrawler to the team after an encounter with him at a Boston church.
Meanwhile we have Cyclops and the X-team's founder Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart, sadly with a minimal role in this) visiting Xavier's ex-friend and X-Men enemy Magneto (the wonderfully enjoyable Sir Ian McKellen, back again in another memorable turn as Magneto) in his plastic prison, before Xavier and Cyclops are abducted by Stryker's assistant Yuriko Oyama/Deathstryke (Kelly Hu, with no character background whatsoever but has a knack for kicking the stuffing out of male X-Men members).
Cyclops is brainwashed while Stryker uses the wheelchair-bound mutant Jason 143 (Michael Reid Mackay, better known as the Mummy in "The Monster Squad" and Antonio Diego, the man who becomes Bane in "Batman and Robin") to trick Xavier into using Stryker's own version of Cerebro (why I won't give away).
Even Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, slinking around in all her prosthetically covered, blue-skinned glory) gets a bigger -- and better -- role as she returns for this film, by helping supply something necessary into breaking Magneto out of his plastic cell.
But come on! The film has too much forced humor, whether it's regarding mutant powers or Mystique extending her middle finger to Stryker after she exits by sliding away into another part of his hideout. The plot could've been a bit better, especially since so many characters get lost in the shuffle (especially Deathstryke, Xavier, Rogue, and, above all others, Cyclops). And while the cameos are a nice touch (like the perfectly-cast but Russian-accent less Daniel Cudmore as the metal-skinned Colossus in the X-Mansion, or Steve Bacic as Dr. Henry McCoy as he talks to a "Dr. Sebastian Shaw" on a TV set in a bar sequence), they're either not mentioned by name or are too brief, leaving some moviegoers easily confused.
The biggest disappointment is that some characters still don't get the chance to strut their stuff or remain underdeveloped. Xavier has moments where he shows his powers, but he's not given much else to do. Cyclops has like, what, fifteen minutes or so on-screen in the two-hour plus film? But when he is on-screen, Cyclops steals the show, whether it's his fight scenes with his eyebeams or the moving mourning scene while in the X-Jet (I won't spoil what happens for those who haven't seen it yet).
And even poor Rogue STILL does NOT have her comic counterpart's powers (flight, super-strength and invulnerability), only her draining-the-thoughts-and-powers-of-others-by-skin-to-skin-contact power, which she only uses like three times in the whole film. You'd think they'd at least try to incorporate some of it into the second (especially since Fox promised in a 2000 interview she'd get her new powers in the second film), but doesn't.
However, it does have its good points. The costumes, make-up, visual effects and sound are better. The cast that DOES get explored give great performances (especially Janssen's turn as Jean Grey and Cumming's memorable turn as Nightcrawler, which are tied for the second best performances only to Jackman's Wolverine). And the ending practically screams "sequel!" (fingers crossed, especially since the likes of Daniel Cudmore, Famke Janssen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Aaron Stanford, Shawn Ashmore, Patrick Stewart and even Kelly Hu have signed on for a third film). Heck, even Bruce Davison returned in this film as Senator Robert Kelly (but how, you'll have to see).
This is the sequel that could have been. It's full of eye-candy and cool fight scenes (especially Deathstryke versus Wolverine). But an under-developed story, too many characters mixed with under-used characters, and a lack of a better musical score do not a film make. I even missed Sabretooth (Tyler Mane) and Toad (Ray Park), who were Magneto's other two Brotherhood of Mutants henchmen from the first film, who are not in this. They were contracted to return, but since they had so many characters already, maybe it's best they weren't in this film.
But still, at least "Spider-Man" delivered action, story, character development AND great music.
Where's "X3" when you need it?
X-Men (2000)
THE SECOND BEST FILM EVER AND BETTER THAN "X2"!!!
5/9/2003
PLEASE NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM!!!
Still with me? Good.
I decided to review this film now, because, even though it's been three years since it was released, it seemed appropriate with the recent release of its current sequel now in theaters, "X2".
"X2" was big on effects, but its predecessor, the 2000 film "X-Men", is better because it was big on character development and an easier-to-follow plot. People will say "X2" is better: don't believe them. There's no forced humor, there's a better representation of its cast (not as cluttered as it was in "X2") and the music, done by Michael Kamen in this film, is better than the music John Ottman did for "X2".
Kamen's music in particular is under-appreciated. It has action and heroic tones, but also softer and emotional ones as well (just hear "Logan and Rogue", a.k.a. the song heard when Wolverine revives Rogue on the torch of the Statue of Liberty - it's arguably one of the best samples of musical score I have ever heard).
Anyway, the plot is simple enough. The team of X-Men (consisting of Patrick Stewart as the telepathic wheelchair-bound founder Professor Xavier; the under-used James Marsden as Scott Summers/Cyclops, the team's visor-clad field leader who fires heatless energy beams from his eyes; Famke Janssen as Cyclops' fiancee, the telepathic and telekinetic Dr. Jean Grey; and the under-used Halle Berry as the weather-controlling Ororo Munroe/Storm) come to the aid of two fellow mutants.
The two mutants the X-Men meet, mind you, are a 17-year-old runaway named Marie/Rogue (the under-used, but lovely and talented Anna Paquin), who drains the memories and powers of others by skin-to-skin contact, and the fast-healing but gruff Canadian named Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, who pulls off the lead role perfectly). The X-Men encounter the duo after a mutant named Victor Creed/Sabretooth (Tyler Mane) attacks them in Canada, so they bring Rogue and Logan to their mansion-sized school to keep them safe.
You see, Sabretooth works for the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Xavier's former friend and current enemy Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen, who is one of the best performers in this film). The blue-skinned, shape-shifting Raven Darkholme/Mystique (the VERY under-used Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, complete with only one line of dialogue in the whole film) and the green-skinned, slimy, long-tongued Toad (Ray Park, bouncing around with evil glee) round out the Brotherhood roster.
You see, Magneto has a machine he uses to mutate humans into mutants. To test it out, he mutates the mutant-hating Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davison), the man who wants to administrate the Mutant Registration Act that would identify mutants' names and powers to the public. But the machine also drains the powers and life-force from its occupant (re: Magneto), so the Brotherhood abduct Rogue and plan to use her to power the machine from the torch of the Statue of Liberty, thus mutating every human in New York into mutants. But when the X-Men learn the machine kills humans several hours after it mutates them (Kelly dies by dissolving into a watery glob), the X-Men must save Rogue and stop the Brotherhood.
Got all that? Good. Now comes the praise.
Stewart, Paquin, McKellen, Janssen, Marsden and especially Jackman are the reasons for watching this film for their performances alone, aside from their cool moments demonstrating their mutant powers. The film also incorporates the famed rivalry of Cyclops and Wolverine over Jean Grey's affections from the comics perfectly, and the on-screen time between McKellen and Stewart is just wonderful. But the bond between Jackman's Wolverine and Paquin's Rogue is arguably the best part of the film, which is handled VERY nicely (something "X2", sadly, neglects to do). Their on-screen time makes the film work better, showing a perfect relationship between two very different individuals.
And keep your eyes out for a special cameo (no, not "X-Men" co-creator Stan Lee as a hot dog vendor, but good guess): look at the Statue of Liberty's head to see a certain blurred, but visible web-spinner swinging away while Wolverine is seen being blown up by Storm's hurricane to the Liberty Torch (I guess 20th Century Fox, not Columbia Pictures, actually had the first live-action, silver-screen appearance of Spider-Man in a movie). If you slow-motion it, you'll see it better.
But there are cons to "X-Men":
Some characters - like Storm, Cyclops and even Xavier - are underused. They don't even have back-stories (the only ones with any real back-stories are Rogue, a young Magneto at a Nazi concentration camp in the 1940s, and Logan getting the metal alloy called adamantium surgically bonded to his skeleton and the nine-inch-long claws that emerge from the knuckles of his hands).
The film never explains how Magneto knew of Rogue or of her powers, or even how he knew she and Logan were even in Canada. Then again, it doesn't explain how Sabretooth knew of Logan, either.
The film also isn't suitable for kids, because of the violence, language and sensuality. Just because the kids can see the cartoon series or comics, it doesn't mean the film version (or "X2") is appropriate for kids to see (it IS rated PG-13, after all).
And at 1 hour, 35 minutes (not including the nearly 10-minutes worth of end credits), the film is too short for such a cool action movie.
Regardless, "X-Men" is still the second best film I've ever seen, comic book based or otherwise (2002's "Spider-Man" is the current best film I've EVER seen -- EVER!!!).
Now go on and see this film. You'll be glad you did.
Excelsior!
Spider-Man (2002)
BEST FILM... EVER!!!
WARNING: PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!
"Spider-Man" isn't just the best comic-book based film ever... it's the best FILM ever.
I know it seems odd to say that about a comic book based film, but I stand by my statement. "Spider-Man" has the right amount of story, humor (and when it does show up, it isn't forced) and, above all else, heart.
Tobey Maguire gives the best performance of the cast as 17-year-old high school student Peter Parker, who eventually becomes the web-spinning Spider-Man after a bite from an escaped genetically-designed super spider during a field trip to Columbia University's Science Department. His relationships with the rest of the cast work beautifully, from his heart-to-heart talks with his Aunt May (played by Rosemary Harris) or with the woman he's loved since she moved next door to him at age 6, Mary Jane Watson (the gorgeous and talented Kirsten Dunst).
Visually - in terms of art-direction, costumes, etc. - the film is dazzling, with great performances from the cast - especially James Franco as Peter's troubled friend Harry Osborn, J.K. Simmons as the underused publisher of the Daily Bugle newspaper, J. Jonah Jameson, Cliff Robertson as Peter's Uncle Ben, and even Willem Dafoe, who plays Norman Osborn/the evil Green Goblin, Harry's father and Peter's/Spider-Man's worst enemy.
The sound is great, and the musical score by Danny Elfman has some of the best themes to ever come out of his career (among such other memorable scores by Elfman like "Edward Scissorhands" and "Batman").
However, no film is perfect. Despite some editing flaws, the worst fact about "Spider-Man" is that it isn't for kids. The violence and language see to that. When I saw this film in the theatres 22 times (you read right -- 22!!!), I noticed kids crying during some of the fight scenes or the scene where the Goblin crashes into Aunt May's home (or even just scenes showing the Goblin in general) scared the little kiddies so bad that several parents took their young ones out of the theatres. Just because "Spider-Man" is based on a comic character who has been seen in various cartoon series for children, it doesn't mean the FILM version is appropriate. It IS PG-13 for a reason.
Nevertheless, "Spider-Man" delivers it all and more, with memorable performances, some of the music beautiful and heroic musical score from Danny Elfman's career, a good story, a good moral and, best of all, 2 hours of web-spinning excitement.
That, and an upside-down smooch between Spider-Man and Mary Jane in the pouring rain.
'Nuff said, indeed.