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allan_the_poet
Reviews
Young Guns II (1990)
One goof in the film
The second Young Guns film is good. There's good humor, action and even some drama. My favorite line from the film is when Billy hands Doc his gun after the latter says, "Let's finish the game." That is definitely one of the best lines in any Western I've ever seen and I've seen quite a few. I wanted to post my comment because there is one major goof in the film. In a scene towards the end of the first Young Guns movie, Billy has a conversation with Pat Garrett (played by Patrick Wayne in that film). In that scene, Pat tells Billy that "they're asking him to run for sheriff" to which Billy replies, "Well, I'm asking you to run...that way before I take your stinkin' hide down like I did Brady's." But the second film opens with Pat (played by Bill Petersen) as a member of Billy's gang! In Young Guns II, Pat isn't offered the position of sheriff until halfway through the film and Billy doesn't find out that Garrett is the new sheriff from Pat himself but from a newspaper clipping! That's a serious lack of continuity.
Monster (2003)
No. No. No....Not more ludicrous liberal propaganda!
First off, as far as Miss Theron's performance in this film goes, there is no argument. Charlize is simply incredible and although I thought Naomi Watts deserved the Oscar, I can live with the Academy's decision. But awards aside, let's consider the film. The film is a docudrama about the life of Aileen Wuornos, a hitchhiking prostitute who became an infamous highway serial killer. The film was produced by Theron because she wanted no studio interference with the project. Her bravado in this regard is admirable, as is her courage in selecting such a daring part so early in her career. Her honest attempt at portraying Aileen is without question a thing of beauty to behold. What is NOT beautiful, is the message the film attempts to try to get across. Contrary, to Roger Ebert's opinion (incidentally Ebert remains one of my favorite film critics) the film attempts to persuade the viewer that Miss Wuornos was an unloved, desperate, confused and mistreated street hooker who was pushed into her horrid actions by an alienated, uncaring society. Certainly, IF Charlize Theron's Aileen and the real life Aileen are the same person, then yes, I would agree with this. However, having done a good deal of research on the REAL Aileen Wuornos, I realized that the film leaves out important details to manipulate its audience.
Rookie director Patty Jenkins chose to emphasize Aileen's wild and wacky relationship with her lesbian lover, incorrectly called Shelby in the film and portrayed by Christina Ricci. Aileen's real lover's name was Tyria Moore. She was freckled-faced and red headed. The writers have obviously made deliberate changes to avoid a lawsuit since she's still alive! But back to the missed details of the film. The film leaves out the fact that Wuornos often beat her ex-husband with his cane when he wouldn't give her money. It leaves out the fact that she propelled a billiards ball into a bartender's temple when she was in one of her angry moods. It leaves out the fact that she once held up a convenience store at gunpoint while dressed in a bikini. Those are some of the facts the film leaves out. But let's consider what the film covers about Wuornos. The main problem is the overemphasis on Aileen's lesbian lover. The love scenes are long and sometimes unnecessary.
Also, Jenkins shows us only three of the six (possibly seven murders) committed by Wuornos. In two of the three murders, Aileen is shown as defending herself. Actually, she herself claimed that she was only raped and sodomized by Richard Malloy, her first victim. She admitted to cold-bloodedly killing the six others. (Of course she changed her stories between self-defense and murder many times throughout her arrest, trial and incarceration). The biggest flaw of the film is its failure to show any flashbacks about Wuorno's traumatic childhood which was complicated, intriguing and sad. Overall, Ricci and Theron were outstanding performers in the piece and Jenkins certainly is a promising newcomer, but the suggestion of the film that Wuornos was a victim of circumstance is unacceptable. The families of the victims were horrified by this film and if you know a few basic facts about the real Aileen Wuornos, you will be too.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Gwyneth is hot in this film!!! Wowee
The Royal Tenenbaums is a good film...no its a great film when looked at in retrospect. One is reminded of the latter day comedies of James Stewart and Henry Fonda (E.g. Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation). The patriach part in this film goes to Gene Hackman, a two time Oscar winner and a powerhouse of a thespian. Hackman's part is critical and his experience guides him to play the bits with enough humor, nastiness and weakness to pull it off. Angelica Huston is brilliant as well, as Hackman's estranged wife. Ben Stiller and the Wilson brothers are also nice fits in the piece as well. The show stealer is of course the gorgeous Gwyneth Paltrow. Not always known as a giving actress, the beautiful blonde goes to lengths I thought she'd never venture into (I won't give it away...but there's one scene in this film in which Debbie does Dallas comes more to mind than Jane Austen's Emma). Anyway, even though I'm extremely attracted to Paltrow in this film, all the performers are A rate and the film delivers on the comedic and dramatic levels, not an easy thing to do in a Hollywood piece. Heck of a film.
Written by Allan the genius
American History X (1998)
Powerful and unforgettable.
Undoubtedly the talented and brilliant Ed Norton's finest performance. Norton is cast as the brutal, unsentimental skinhead Derek Vinyard. The film is told from two separate yet somewhat parallel stories. Half of it in film noir black and white flashbacks and the other half in color. The color portions center on Derek and his younger brother, Danny played honestly and superbly by Ed Furlong. The latter on Derek and his metamorphosis into the psychotic white supremacist. Without question, Norton's strong, central performance shines through in the film both as the incorrigible skinhead and as the reformed realist. There was large controversy surrounding the film's original release. Director Kaye wanted his name removed entirely from the credits because Norton had re-edited the film considerably from Kaye's original piece. Be that as it may, the film remains a masterpiece about urban racial conflicts, wars and prejudice. Norton and Kaye's film is honest, shocking, often brutal and always engaging. A must-see for teenagers and parents of teenagers alike.
Picture Perfect (1997)
Jen's hot...that's all that mattered.
Picture Perfect is the story about the girl who hires a guy because she wants a guy who doesn't want any girl that's not attached. Jay Mohr gets to play the hired dunce. Kevin Bacon plays the cool dude who only digs chicks who have beaus. Of course, Jennifer Aniston gets to play the girl in the middle. Well, so the story unfolds. Unfortunately for us, we don't really care about the characters because face it, even if Aniston and Bacon are in their corporate office, our real lives just might be more interesting. After all, the office gossip is sure more entertaining when its REAL rather than fictitious as here portrayed. But the film has some appeal. Mohr is a nice fit as Aniston's "fake" boyfriend until we begin to wonder, is she really that cruel after all? Well...Jennifer Aniston is a babe. And even if this and Object weren't prizes, its fun watching a hot brod for two hours on a screen rather than having to endure the not funny Carrot Top and Norm MacDonald. That's this reporter's view anerhow.
Witchboard III: The Possession (1995)
Don't bother!
The one line that is most memorable in this retarded film was when our protagonist meets an odd old man who is standing on the edge of the window in his apartment. The old guy looks at our hero, smiles, then says, "See you in the funnies, kid." After which he proceeds to jump headlong down a dozen stories. This movie was so bad my friends and I couldn't even finish watching it. The first Witchboard is a horror classic but this sequel is as bad a movie that any mortal can possibly make.