rene2030 Reviews

The Jackal (1997)

This film deserves a more honest look

[6/10 · 26 January 2012]

Yeah, I know, it is so easy to bash this film as so many of you have done.

It's a thriller that doesn't stand out in it's genre, pretty easy to watch but not more than that. It has a high profile cast including Bruce Willis, Richard Gere and a couple of very very decent actors slash actresses like J.K. Simmons, Diane Venora and so on, so nothing wrong with that. A more than decent director in Michael Caton-Jones, who does his best with the material he's got and doing a good job at it. Sadly he has to work with a script that has potholes the size of Hummers H3 in it, so it's easy to see why this film doesn't work the way it's supposed to.

but!!!! If you have read some of the novels written by Robert Ludlum (may God rest his soul) you will have picked up some of the vibe he has put in most of his novels, putting the Jason Bourne Trilogy upfront. And just to be clear about it, I'm not talking about the miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain and also not even mentioning the Matt Damon movies (although those were really cool) but the original novels as Mr. Ludlum intended them to be. If you have these novels in the back of your head and are a fan of them you will find this movie pretty enjoyable to watch although the execution of this movie has some problems in staying believable.

It is in general a pretty normal thriller with (Í'm sorry to say) some mayor flaws. But I can't escape the feeling that the script (allthough adapted from an apparent classic of which I haven't yet had the pleasure of watching) was written in the mindset of an all-out genius Robert Ludlum-vibe, which I picked up on immediately and enjoyed very much.

The Abyss (1989)

Wow!

[10/10 · 19 March 2006]

Me and my friends wanted to go and see "Back To The Future, Part III", but when we arrived at the movie theatre there was a discouraging queue. Having had bad experiences with this ("sold out" sign in front of our noses after having stood in line for 30 minutes) we decided to check out the other theatre in town to see what was playing there. It appeared to be "The Abyss". Half of our group hadn't heard of it, but some (me included) had seen 1 or 2 teaser trailers (the one with the "alien water column spy cam") and managed to persuade the rest to go in and see it. Three hours later we came out.....

The only expression which comes near to make clear how impressed we were was "Wow!" (in the Keanu Reeves quotation)

The storyline is ridiculous and if you take this kind of thing serious, then simply don't watch this. Depth records are crushed, aliens telling the world that they should stop their nuclear threats, and so on). But James Cameron manages to tell it with heart, pace and tension. The acting is great; the oil rig crew (led by an always amazing Ed Harris) is portrayed well, Michael Biehn gives you the creeps as psychopatic marine, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio fits her parts always perfectly. And the special effects are well worth the Oscar that was given for it. (hey, we're talking 1990 here)

Sometime afterwards I learned how this movie was made and what kind of trouble Cameron and crew ran into while making it. Knowing that background it made me appreciate "The Abyss" even more, so I simply can't do anything else that give it a 10/10. Great Job James! You have probably created one of my top-5 all-time favorites.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Way Too Many Too's In Here

[1/10 · 19 March 2006]

Steven Spielberg wants to make memorable movies. Well.. he succeeded again! Only this time I'm being a bit cynical.

Normally Steven grants me heaps of enjoyment with the larger part of his curriculum but with A.I. he really missed just about every chance to make something out of it. He wanted to create a modern fairytale, but if this one was told to me as bedtime story I would have had nightmares.

For me there are too many "too's" here: too long too boring too much aimed at tear-jerking too much showing off know-how on the technical side too much overacting by Haley Joel Osment who single-handedly kills the entire movie too unbelievable too much sidetracking from the story and I can go on like this for half an hour.... The only reason I still give it 1 out of 10 is that visually it is really good (which is only sticking out because the rest is so bad)

Getting back to Haley Joel Osment (who in my opinion is the biggest reason for my disliking this flick) Haley Joel Osment is a very good actor; "The Sixth Sense" being a mayor breakthrough, and to give another example, I really enjoyed him in "Secondhand Lions". The problems with H.J. is that HE KNOWS he's a good actor. This gets in his way as I think that he wants to show everyone how good he is (it's probably his youth). In "A.I." this leads to overacting which in my case has led to a lot of toilet visits... and stomach emptying.

Sorry y'all, but that's my verdict.

Bandidas (2006)

simply enjoyable

[7/10 · 18 March 2006]

This is simply enjoyable to watch which is all the more an accomplishment as it has a lot against it. The mayor downside being that all through the movie you have the feeling that you have seen this all before. The setting, humor and interaction does remind you of "The Mask Of Zorro" (best example being the horse). The storyline is not that interesting and gives you the idea that it has just been written to create the setting and atmosphere. The acting is also no Oscar material but is very adequate. So it doesn't quite sound like a must see movie.

Then why should you see this one? I can't put my finger on it but somehow the whole package seems to work. Of course as a healthy guy I have to say that Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz as main attractions do raise my interest. Furthermore Steve Zahn has always had my sympathy as he always seems to be able to be much more than likable in the parts he plays. And finally, the directors come up with one or two original gags and camera shots that at least I hadn't seen before.

This is not Oscar material, but if you want to spend a comfortable hour and a half watching a movie this one will suit you fine.