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Reviews
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
fab
I can't see why there's been so much bad press about Nemesis on here and in the papers, I think it's a fabulous film which hasn't been given the rightful plaudits it deserves. The so called "myth" about all even numbered Star Trek movies being the best, in my opinion, is certainly carried on here. I have all the movies on tape and again in my own opinion, it ranks up there at the top. So what if it's got a tacky resemblance to Wrath of Kahn, so what if it's got clíched jokes, it's Star Trek and that's all that matters.
The battle scenes themselves are awesome, for some of you who complain about too much CGI, then would you rather it have been the same effects as in the original Star Trek films? (no disrespect to them). Star Trek is undying and moves with the times, if anything, it compliments the movie even better. Okay, so I admit it, the storyline could've been better thought out in certain aspects, it left too much unanswered (SPOILER: Like Shinzon and Troi in a mind meld sort of thing) however, the outlying story is faultless (Romulans - about time we saw them - attempting to destroy the Federation through Picard's clone) if not slightly far fetched. But to counter that I say "what's Star Trek without far fetched situations"? Furthermore, i love a film with plenty of poetic dialogue and in Patrick Stewart there's a former Shakespearean actor who delivers these lines to perfection, even Data gets in on the act. Marvellous.
I won't go into any further detail without really dipping into more and more spoilers which would be unfair. However, i really can't see a problem in this movie, a must for all Trekkie's like me indefinitely, and if you're not a Trekkie, see it for yourself; it's really not all that bad despite what people say. Furthermore, from what we hear from higher sources, it's the last movie with the TNG cast and so you owe it to yourselves to see it.
8.5/10
Ali (2001)
very moving and believable
I love a good biography film and Ali is at times masterful in many ways and portrays all the parts of Muhammed Ali, not just the dazzling boxing life he led which is often used above his deep inner anguish at the prejudice in America.
Will Smith is the only person in my opinion who could've played Muhammed, you can tell that he really wanted to play the part just by looking at his actions throughout the movie; it's deeply obvious that he's studied Muhammed in depth and this worked wonders on screen. While the fight scenes are not on the same level as perhaps the Rocky films this should not be downplayed as they're excellently executed with a beautiful blend of action, excellent music and banter between Ali and also between Ali and his own mind.
Overall i'm glad that this movie didn't focus on Ali's boxing career, moreover i'm glad that it highlighted his personal life, it's trials and tribulations and it's anguish at the events going on around him. Certain scenes like Ali running through the shanty towns of Kinshasa really evoke Ali's feelings for the oppression around him and how he's become a hero of freedom and independence to them. It truly is remarkable. My only quaam with the film is that it is in certain places slightly vague in it's descriptions of characters. For example, if a person (how this could happen, i do not know) had never heard of Ali or his story then they would be mystified at some of the characters because little is explained or highlighted about some characters throughout the film. This is as expected however, because the makers clearly had the idea that everyone watching would have a vague idea of who each person is, i mean, how could you not in a sense?
But other than that, a great film and an accurate biography. Well done, I recommend it!
Event Horizon (1997)
poor, very poor despite some pretty sweet SFX
I'm a big fan of the sci-fi genre but this film is just woefully poor. To give it credit, it started out positively but apart from some sweet special effects it just diminished into so much half chewed fish. It was a movie that was made for a "B-Rate" actor not the likes of Lawrence Fishburne. Even Morpheous himself looked un-at-ease with his corageous captain role. To be honest, the gore was just tooooooo graphic. I can tolerate gore in fits and spurts so to speak but it was just too graphic. For me, hanging someone horizontally on meat hooks and then slicing their inerds out while they're still alive is just too much. And to think.....the great Michael Kamen of Metallica did the music to it!
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
A brilliant trip through the eyes of a stoned journalist and his lawyer
When I first saw this film I have to admit that I thought it was mediocre and ill-thought it. However, I now wish I'd never said those embarrassing words because I've come to realise that Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas is a truly fantastic film and is one of my undoubted favorites - everything in it is marvelous and visibly well thought out.
To begin with, the slapstick attitude and incredibly whacky and wiiiiide camera angles show that this film is a comedy - a great comedy at that. However, what people often fail to realise is that underneath all the cliché's and well thought out jokes there is actually a serious message that drugs can and will mess you up. I don't want to sound like an anti-drugs activist because I'm writing to offer an objective opinion, but this is genuinely the message that the film evokes. Also, let us not forget that this film is modeled on a true story on the accounts of writer Hunter S Thompson himself and a few directing differences aside this film is exactly like the book; whity, informative, watchable hundreds of times, enjoyable and thought provoking.
In my opinion Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro put in two absolutely faultless lead displays showing imaginative and well thought out acting considering the drug induced circumstances of their roles. I cannot fault them for their displays of quite literally crazyness when they're stoned and how they go about in a drug users world whilst trying to get their work done at the same time. To be honest, the acting as a whole is faultless save a few minor poor displays by mediocre characters who, thankfully, only have bit parts.
Despite it's relatively slapstick front, the script is extremely mature with vocabulary well beyond the expectancy of two stoners conducting a savage burn on Las Vegas and as such, people who can appreciate an excellent script can literally fall in love with this script - it's that good despite the obvious profanity, which let's face it, is almost expected these days.
Fear and Loathing shows maturity beyond its years with excellent acting and comes complete with a masterful script, brilliant screenplay with super wide angles and dimensions which leave you begging for more. I can watch this film countless times and still notice something in the background that I hadn't noticed before often relating to political issues of the time and or just basically a sly joke at something; a move which is hard to pull off in the industry. I truly believe that Fear and Loathing is a hugely under-rated film and i highly recommend it to anybody with an open mind. To sum up - a great trip =)
Goodfellas (1990)
Among Scorsese's best and a true classic
Goodfellas is without a doubt one of the best gangster films of all time, if not THE best. I find it hard to watch a gangster movie without likening and comparing it to Goodfellas in more than one fashion; ranging from script, musical score, acting and screenplay - and most of the time I have to admit, none of them come near to Goodfellas.
You couldn't have picked a better director than Scorsese to do this film and his exquisite and rightly respected directing skills are on full show as he transforms this age-old cliché genre into a real classic film where the audience is captivated from start to finish. The acting is superb and Liotta as Henry Hill puts in possibly his lifetime best performance and with Joe Pesci as his side-kick you've got an extremely talented actor who never fails to either make you laugh (whut, am I a clown?) or make you despise him (the first scene) at the click of a finger; magic - in a word. To be honest, there are talented actors left, right and center in Goodfellas.
The script itself is masterful in picking up the story halfway through the movie before jetting back to the "proper" starting point of a film to show you what's happened up to the point where the film picks up. It's sort of hard to follow and pleasantly surprising when you see it first time but becomes crystal clear towards the end and when you watch it again it all makes full and complete sense.
My only quam with Goodfellas is that in places it is often drawn out and the film itself is very long, however, don't let this deduct from the film's brilliance as is seen from The Godfather movies. Goodfellas is a beautifully directed and acted masterpiece and as with all gangster movies, the language and extremely explicit and gory violence comes at a thick and fast pace. However, the fact that Goodfellas is high up in the top 250 movies is testament to this film's true brilliance.
Certainly one for the collection and certainly one worth respect. 10/10
Metallica: S&M (2000)
Fantastic - a word synonymous with Metallica
Okay, so Metallica are my all-time favorite band and therefore I'm obviously going to offer a biased opinion, right? Wrong. Granted, this audio video extravaganza couples the greatest heavy metal band of all time with an accomplished, internationally recognized orchestra and manages to surprisingly produce a sound which is breathtaking at times. However, I can't help but think that the Orchestra's sound sometimes encroaches on the traditional 'Tallica sound of pounding riffs and fantastic vocals which often leaves you cursing at Kaymen for getting in the way. However, Kaymen is evidently masterful in his own element and this is indeed a credit to him and his team.
However, this is but a mere blotch on the paper as the orchestra and 'Tallica blend almost perfectly at times; most notably in "Master of Puppets" which gives the song a new edge, the orchestra filling in the sound gaps while at the same time giving the right background sound to the quite frankly sublime solo's by James and Kirk. The whole performance is faultless by all members plus the orchestra. One thing I find disappointing though, is the apparent lax attitude of "fans" the further back the camera's went, how could they not clap and shout and throw the horns over such a brilliant performance.
Needless to say for a die-hard Metallica fan like myself this is an absolute must for the collection. But, for a non Metallica fan but nevertheless an appreciator of the genre, this is still a thoroughly entertaining watch and i cannot recommend it more.
Rock on Metallica, Rock on
9/10
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Put simply, a marvellous film and a must see
To say this film is a masterpiece is perhaps a little generous, however, it is not far off. The Big Lebowski is a tribute to the real people out there; people trying to get through life exerting the shortest amount of effort necessary whilst drifting in and out of trouble. I think this sums up the film perfectly. I've watched this film so many times and I still can't find anything wrong with it.
The acting is sublime, Jeff Bridges is at his comic best and with John Goodman and Steve Buscemi as support there's always going to be laughter and suspense. The script is faultless; each person blends into the script with effortless precision resulting in a feeling that the actors really ARE the people they're playing which makes it all the more better because you feel their joy, their anguish and their feelings of the often baffling but wonderfully written events happening around them.
Not only is the acting sublime, aswell as the script and directing, but the musical score is so good you think that the songs were written especially for the film with them evoking a feeling of lazyness, a feeling of laid back carefree attitudes which in a way is what the film is all about. In essence, as a whole; acting, script, directing and music, this is the ultimate feel good buddy film and is an absolute must, a real modern classic work of film-making and shouldn't be missed. I feel it must be watched from start to finish though, without any breaks, to fully grasp the magnitude of this film.
10/10. - splendid, one for the collection.
When Saturday Comes (1996)
Watchable, but not memorable
Despite myself being an avid fan of the predominant obsession held by Sean Bean in the film which should've given me leverage to compliment this film, I can't say it encapsulated my attention and imagination to the levels of quality that I've come to expect from a film through years of maturity and film studying.
From the outset, you could tell the dialogue was poor (despite myself speaking in the same accents) and not even the great Pete Postlethwaite could salvage this film from it's inevitable trip to the "could've been" and perhaps "should've been" pile. This is sad because the age-old story line of "young, poor bloke with a dream hits it big and becomes a star" has often produced such outstanding films, one British film following this genre when recalled to memory is "The Full Monty" which managed to achieve this better than When Saturday Comes though only with limited international success. However, this film is not all bad, there are some (rarely) memorable scenes and Bean himself puts in a sure-footed and confident performance which would later win him parts in Goldeneye and more prominently, Lord of The Rings.
Although it pains me to say it, this film is hardly a classic, but more of a film which had the makings of a good movie which were sadly missed through poor directing and poor dialogue although the acting (from most) was stout and confident.
Clerks (1994)
Showing a film can be brilliant without a big budget
Clerks is fantastic. No other word for it other than superlatives. Evidently from the outset, with the black and white contrasts and shoddy camera work, you could be forgiven for thinking "oh no, not another poor misguided attempt at hitting the big-time" but oh, how you would've been wrong if you'd switched off there and then.
Kevin Smith utilizes his artistic, comedy and scriptical genius to an extent that shows you really can have a funny, whity and intelligent film which deals with mature issues in a slapstick motif which still gets the message across (the chewing gum promoter guy at the beginning as an example) and genuinely gives you the feeling that these guys know what they're doing. And by god, they're doing it well. Kevin Smith as Silent Bob and Jason Mewes as Jay are without a doubt the most rudest combo in movie history. But this only suffices to make them more watchable as the stuff they say actually has importance and relevance of moral and political issues which in today's society seem to be all-conquering. This isn't just some immature film littered with profanity and sexual innuendo (although it does play a major part), it is genuinely a film of maturity beyond its years with fantastic dialogue and intricate and numerous sub-plots which show that the need for big budgets is not all-important in today's modern movie business.
I've always said that if Clerks had had a huge budget that it would've been one of the best films ever made and one which would be well known for its improviso methods and personal feelings from multiple angles of different issues which are predominant in today's society. Kevin Smith is one of the un-sung and un-noticed gems of today's directing world and has shown he is more than capable of mixing with the big boys.
Clerks is a must-see, and a must-see over and over again for there's always a sub-plot and a meaning to discover that you never noticed when watching it before. Quality film despite often "woody" acting which can simply be put down to inexperience - just look at the camera work :-)
10/10
Meet the Feebles (1989)
Surprisingly funny after an uncertain start
For the first five minutes I wondered why I was watching this film; a corny opening song coupled with over-active puppetry created a sort of don't blink or you'll miss something thought which didn't seem appealing. However, I couldn't have been any more wrong. Meet The Feebles was no mere puppet movie, the artistic and comedy stylings of director Peter Jackson coupled with fantastic dialogue and story-lines made for a nonstop ride of laughter, bewilderment and humorous shock; especially at the amount of profanity and puppet sex.
With an overweight psychopathic hippo, a bumbling shy hedgehog, a porn directing Rat, a crack addict frog and a devious drug baron producer - how could this not be funny? To be fair it's a rip-off of certain Muppets movies but that does not take away the cutting edge that there is actually a story to the film and not just a moronic rip-off or snipe at other films. It has no need for expensive SFX as it uses whit and style to portray a message that "puppet movies don't have to be the bane of a movie-lover, just a part of a person which never grew up".
To think Peter Jackson went on to direct the Lord of The Rings films is a testament to his abilities to sling together a slapstick comedy like this which keeps you laughing and giggling throughout to a sensible and downright amazing film such as LOTR. Don't let the violence put you off this film (especially at the end) because this is a thoroughly entertaining film.