sandle_wood_ Reviews

Jackass: The Movie (2002)

Oh my! ***SPOILERS***

[8 November 2002]

I worried and worried on the way home from this film.....what is wrong with me, a 42 year old executive assistant/mother to a 20 year old, that I would find this movie even REMOTELY funny....but I have to admit - I did! I haven't laughed so hard and for such a prolonged period of time in years!

My life is busy, stressful, there's bills to pay, a house to clean, groceries to buy, dinners to cook, animals, husband-types and kids to feed, gardens to weed.....got the picture? Jackass was mindless (literally!), stupid, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out there fun. I will agree that not everyone should see this - it is seriously immature. But come on! Imagine walking into a hardware store, dropping your drawers and.....maybe it's the shock value that makes it so hilarious. The fact that very - VERY - few of us would EVER have the guts (or even desire?!) to pole vault into a canal with a dead cat floating in it or snort wasabi (I need a pick me up!). And the ceiling fan jump! What the heck was that???!!!! Priceless!

extremely immature, extemely disgusting in places, extremely mindless, and extemely funny!

As has been said, if you don't care about plot, if you don't want to have to think and if you have a slightly (!) twisted sense of humour go and see it!

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

It paints a perfect picture.....

[8 November 2002]

This movie deserved kudos if for no other reason than it brings a terrible illness into the limelight....

I loved it. It gives a true depiction of what schizophrenia is all about. I happened to be in a relationship with someone who is paranoid schizophrenic and couldn't believe how true-to-life it was. It was disturbing enough that I wept non stop.....it was my life, right up there on the screen....I am so thankful that some of the myths have been corrected with A Beautiful Mind. Schizophrenia does not mean you have a split personality, it does not necessarily make you a dangerous "freak". It is a horrible burden for the afflicted as well as those around them and this film showed that pain and agony. Russell Crowe was great, he gave a stunning performance - truly believable.

I will not comment about lighting or direction or script or any of the technical stuff. I will only say that if you want to gain some insight into what it's like to be or live with a person who has this horrendous illness watch A Beautiful Mind.

Queen of the Damned (2002)

Anne Rice must have been away on holiday when they made this....

[7 November 2002]

I've seen some bad book to movie scenarios but this takes the cake! There was NOTHING redeeming in this film! Now, on the Queen of the Damned website the director or screenwriter (or someone) says that we "should expect some changes from the novel". SOME changes?????? I've read not just the book but the Vampire Chronicles 3 or 4 times through and had a hard time keeping up with this adaptation. I cannot imagine how someone without a good Lestat background could possibly understand what was going on! Why in the name of heaven they chose to make this particular book into a film is completely beyond me. There is SO much background that you really need to have in order to understand what is happening! It's an extremely detailed story. The characters in the move were all one dimensional (and that's being kind). The characters in the novel have such depth. Perhaps my loyalty to the written word is way out of kilter but good grief - it was nothing short of butchery. I couldn't believe it. What was Anne Rice thinking....???????

Anyway, if you've read the book(s) I say give it a miss (although, having read the books you'll probably be the only one to even get a GLIMPSE of what is actually transpiring). If you haven't read the book(s) and are in the mood for a tacky, mindless bit of "time well wasted" - go for it.

P.S. for all of you who really did like the film, I'm sorry, I know my views are really strong but....man....what a mess......

The Mission (1986)

Words alone are not enough......

[10/10 · 6 November 2002]

I have read the other comments and am stunned by people who view The Mission in a negative light. It feels as though you are attacking a loved one - perhaps because this movie IS a loved one to me. Never, ever have I felt so deeply about a film. I don't have any idea where to begin checking off the pro's: cinematography? stupendous acting? heart-breaking subject matter? moving soundtrack? I don't think it's possible to do that with The Mission - one needs to absorb it as a whole. An entire masterpiece.

I was one of the fortunate ones to see this movie in a theatre back in the 80's - we were visiting friends in another city and, for lack of anything better to do that evening, decided to see this film. To say I was moved would be such an understatement as to be ridiculous. It is the saddest commentary on what horrors have been perpetrated in the name of God....

I have seen this movie several times since then and own it now but I am always very careful whom I see it with and when I see it. You need to have a block of time set aside when you can completely immerse yourself in this film. Unplug the phone, put the kids to bed, make sure the dog doesn't have to go out. If you don't pay attention - from the very beginning to right after the credits - you will miss something important. Prepare yourself emotionally for The Mission. Step into it, live it, let it speak to you. Feel the struggle of all involved.

I love this movie. infinity out of 10

The Exorcist (1973)

Cannot begin to explain how it frightened me!

[31 October 2002]

Before I even saw this movie it terrified me. I remember hearing a radio commercial one time (Regan's voice) - couldn't sleep for a couple of weeks. I finally saw it around 1976, actually I DIDN"T see it because I had my hands over my eyes through most of the movie. But I think HEARING it made it even worse....I heard those voices and noises in my nightmares for YEARS after. I slept with a Bible for weeks. I actually watched it around 1979 or so and was frightened senseless. I saw it again a couple of years ago and have to say it still gives me the creeps. IF you are a person who believes in God and Satan this movie will, or at least SHOULD scare you silly because it attacks the very core of what we believe. It is terrifying....I saw this movie when I was 16 years old, I'm now 42 and I would have to say it's the movie that influenced me most with regards to how I think and what I believe.

Beyond my own personal feelings though...how can you say it isn't fightening, scary or at least creepy? Can you ever listen to Tubular Bells without thinking of it???? See a long stairway outside and not ponder.....The feel was perfect, the subtley in the beginning really set the mood. 10 out of 10 out of 10.