Nash, TN Official Movie Reviews Thread: 2004

sorry wrong thread

 

I give it 2-1/2 out of 4 for content & 3-1/2 out of 4 for entertainment value. I do admit that I liked the Mummy movies better.

"didn't catch the part about Dracula's reflection...how'd they explain that? "


They discovered it in that room in the castle with the map of Transylvania. According to "Van Helsing", to Dracula, they aren't mirrors at all, they are gateways to his castle therefore he doesn't see his reflection, but his home. However, this totally contradicts all other versions, as it seems like he can't stand to look at mirrors.

I thought the costume Ball full of vampires was really cool. Did anyone notice that only Anna had a reflection. Not only did Dracula NOT have one, but neither did anyone in the whole room. I knew at that point IT WAS A TRAP.

 

We liked Van Helsing, I was suprised - and dissappointed- that there was this family bringing their kids to it, looked to be 6- 9 year olds, on a monday night- 9:40 showing at that! Some people have no sense, we did not get out until midnight, and while it's not the most gory movie, it was mature in content.
Like I said, the movie was good, the costumes cool, and the effects awesome. But it did lack a little in plot/storyline, I would have liked a little more depth to the character of Van Helsing, it was not enought in my opinion that he simply kick butt.
James thinks it's weird that I pointed out Hugh Jackman's perfectly white tooth hollywood smile in a movie set waaayyyy back- he says only I would pick on that! (though someone at work said Van Helsing was a Dr... anyone confirm that? Still, no teeth bleach than!)

 

You should've seen Tears of the Sun. Apparently the medical supplies sent to Nigeria included some Crest White Strips. You can tell which "natives" were actually American actors when they smiled.

 

Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban seems to be getting favorable reviews so far. Here is one that I thought sums it up pretty well:

Running Time: 2:16

Rated PG
for frightening moments,
creature violence and mild language.

(Warning- Minor Spoilers)
THE OPENING
This my friends, is what a Harry Potter film is supposed to look like. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was far superior to the two films that preceded it in every manner possible.

THE STORY
It's year three at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry's year starts on a scary note as he accidentally (on purpose) blows up his aunt into a large balloon, and is forced to run away. After he is picked up by the Knight Bus, he arrives at Hogwarts with the news that one Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban prison, and is looking for Harry. Entering Hogwarts as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is Remus Lupin, who has some secrets of his own. He takes Harry under his wing, and helps him learn a charm that will protect Harry from the Dementors that patrol Hogwarts, looking for Sirius. Sirius was a friend of Harry's parents when they were in school, and he betrayed them and revealed their whereabouts to Lord Voldemort. Now, he's escaped and is looking to track down Harry, and finish what he started. But there is more to this story than meets the eye.

As I've said twice before while reviewing the first two films of the series, I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I've read all the books numerous times, and Prisoner of Azkaban is arguably the best of the bunch. When the first movie came out, while I enjoyed it, I felt something was lacking. It was too straightforward, too bland. Entertaining, absolutely, but not thrilling. It never gave me the feeling I got when I read the books. But director Alfonso Cuarón, taking over the reigns from Chris Columbus, changed all of that. He has created a film that will stand the test of time, and make all Potter fans worldwide exclaim; "Now that's how it's supposed to be done!" From the very opening shot of the film you could tell this one was going to be different.

Let's start with the look of the movie. The first two films had a bright, happy look about them, and only turned dark in more serious scenes. Cuarón decided to make the movie dark to begin with, and the serious scenes were even murkier and scarier. The camera work was something I noticed. Columbus kept movement to a minimum, preferring to use set shots and letting the actors dictate many of the scenes. Cuarón made the camera part of the scene, weaving in and out of places and making the viewer feel more a part of the film. The entire look and feel of the film was one of being on edge, as if something could possibly happen at any moment. Not only did this make the film visually more entertaining, it kept up with the spirit of the book. In book three, Harry learns more about his past and is starting to become more and more angry with what happened. In the first two books, he was still learning about being a wizard, and coming to grips with his past and his destiny. Now, in Prisoner of Azkaban, he knows who he is, and what the future will bring him, and frankly, it's pissing him off. But the best thing is, even though the film was darker in tone, the humor was ten times that of the previous films.

With the specter of the person that betrayed his parents hanging over Harry, as well as the Dementors running amok trying to kill him, the storyline of the movie is very serious. Yet, there is a ton of humor in the movie. There are little things that take the tension away, many of them dealing with the Whomping Willow. But more importantly, the dialogue was sharper and funnier than in the past. Whether that has to do with writer Steve Kloves settling in to his duties as the resident Harry Potter scribe, or the actors getting better, or the change of directors, I don't know, but the dialogue was much tighter and wittier and at times downright hilarious. All the characters ha

 

I'll go ahead and post a review for The Chronicles of Riddick, even though there is a thread for it..
Great effects, cool costumes, decent story, really good fight scenes- they incorporated a few fighting styles and of course, cool weapons. I liked that it was not a complicated, have to think about it storyline- very streightfoward. I might not say it will go down as a really great film, but good entertainment nonetheless. I heard it may be one of three films. More Vin for me!

 

Stay tuned for More Chronicles of Riddick and Even More Chronicles of Riddick!

 

I saw SPIDER-MAN 2 along w/ Dylan last night & all I have to say is AWESOME!. Its a little slow in the beginning, but when it picks up, its almost full throttle until the very end. Like Clark Kent in Superman 2, Peter Parker has a dilema, to have a real normal life & be able to have some of what he wants for himself, namely a job, an education, and of course Mary Jane or to be Spider-man and be the hero only to sacrifice his own pursuit of happiness. In Spider-man 2, we get to see the down-side to being Spidey. To top that off our favorite webslinger is having some problems with his abilities due to his mental dilema.

Doc Ock is one of the better villains. Like Norman Osborne (Green Goblin) he was a decent man before a dangerous lab experiment transformed him into a villain. However, his real desire is for his fusion science project which would revolutionize the energy business by being able to harness the power of the sun for free (or less expensive) energy. Harry is still seeking revenge on Spider-man for his father's death and becomes obsessed by his quest for revenge. There is even a scene that lets us know what we can expect to seein Spider-man 3.

There is great action, intrigue, & a real spirit to Spider-man 2 that exceeds even its predecessor. I will definitely be seeing this movie again!

 

Once again Scott and I have split on Spiderman (we're like Ebert & Roper).

This movie is being marketed as 'the story continues' but the problem is that it is NOT. Scott said it himself, it is slow to start. The reason is because they have to take the time to set up the rest of the movie. Didnt Raimi and the writers think there was going to be a sequal. The overall story-arch is a little weak in my opinion. Not enough to tie the 2 movies togehter. I am using X-Men and Superman as my models. Those sequal were awesome because there was a storyarch that was larger than 1 movie. But as it is now Spiderman looks like it took a page from the Batman sequals.

BUT this was an improvment over S1. I LOVED the train sceen.
A few other points I didnt like:
1) I wanted to see more of a confrontation between Peter and Harry after the unmasking.
2) I thought the demise of Doc Ock was a little weak.
3) I wanted to see more with John Jameson. I had read a rumor that he was going to be set up as the villin for S3. Maybe they will do the set up in S3 and he will be the villan in S4.

 

Maybe they will do the set up in S3 and he will be the villan in S4.

I hope there is a Spidey 4. Dunst said on Letterman the other night that there would be only 3. Hopefully, she doesn't know what she's talking about.

Hmmm.. maybe what she means is that she is only signed on for 3. Hmmm.... maybe they'll get a stronger actress for MJ.

 

JJJ was by far my favorite character in the movie. He was hilarious!

Secretary: Sir, your wife is on the phone. She says she lost her checkbook.
JJJ: Best news I've heard all week!

The bit where he's talking about the caviar and trying to talk his wife into cheese & crackers and cocktail weenies is pretty funny, too.

Everyone catch the Bruce Campbell cameo (those of us who weren't in the bathroom at that exact moment)? I can only hope he's signed for Spiderman 3, too.

A great movie -- one of the best I've seen in a while, and better than the original Spidey, IMO.

 

Where was Bruce Campbell? I missed him.
Then again if you blinked you could have missed Stan Lee too.

 

Bruce Campbell was the usher that wouldn't let Peter Parker into the theater when he arrived late.

 

Guys, the thread title says "reviews": if you're gonna post spoilers "demise of Doc Oct", then you need to give warning.

 

Guys, the thread title says "reviews": if you're gonna post spoilers "demise of Doc Oct", then you need to give warning.

Telling us that the movie's supervillain has a demise is hardly a spoiler. Giving details of the demise would be.

 

Your both right. Still, I will be more careful in the future.
Campbell was the usher. Of course I saw him, I just wasnt thinking

 

Speaking of Bruce Campbell, anybody seen that Bubba Ho-Tep movie? Man, what a piece of crap! It took me three tries just to watch it because I kept falling asleep.

 

I, Robot

Inspired by Issac Asimov's book, this film tells about the danger of technology in Chicago in 2035. The new NS-5 robots are about to be distributed when one of the scientists working on the project (James Cromwell) is found dead at the HQ of US Robitics. Suspicions abound on if it was sucicide or murder. Could a robot have violated the "3 Rules" and me the murderer? Only a man who has always had misgivings about robots, Chicago PD Detective Spooner (Will Smith), can solve the case. The lovely Bridget Moynahan plays Dr. Calvin, a former co-worker of the victim who assists Det. Spooner in the case. It's a real tense action/mystery/light drama film.

Side notes: When the NS-5's are deployed I couldn't help but think of the battle droids from TPM. The delivery trucks even look like MBT tanks. For the SG-1 fans out there, the robots even move like the replicators in some scenes.

NAD saw this film in THX and you could really tell it. This film far exceeded my expectations (thought it be like A.I. or a watered-down Minority Repot). This is one film worth seeing on the big screen.

3.5 out of 4 stars!

 

I, Robot is "inspired by" Isaac Asimov's work.

Basically, this movie started from a spec script called "Hardwired" by Jeff Vintar and was going to be directed by Brian Singer ("X-Men"). Vintar also wrote "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within". At some point, Hillary Seitz ("Insomnia") and Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind") did re-writes and tied in Asimov's 3 laws and title.

Basically, the movie is not based on anything in Asimov's works other than the 3 laws.

 

Basically, the movie is not based on anything in Asimov's works other than the 3 laws.

And the Dr. Calvin character.

 

Bourne Supremacy

I saw the Bourne Identity on its release only because another movie was sold out. I don't recall liking it very much. I had a pass to a sneak preview, so I saw the follow-up last night.

I liked this one a lot better. You really need to have seen the first movie to have an understanding of what is happening in this movie, or at least during the early stages.

The first movie ends with Jason Bourne, a former CIA operative with amnesia, escaping from the CIA in Paris (and Europe) with a young woman who becomes his love interest. He tells the CIA that if they come after him again, he will come after them.

This movie begins with someone planting a Bourne fingerprint at a crime scene and then trying to kill Bourne. Bourne then goes after the CIA. In the end, all of the loose ends seem to be tied up as he remembers the information that they want to kill him over and those responsible are exposed. The only loose end might be how he ended up left for dead in the water at the beginning of the first film.

Nevertheless, there is a third book in this series. My only problem was with the intentionally shaky camera work during fight scenes and car chases that may be nauseating to some.

One plus for this movie is the strong roles for women. The person heading the search for Bourne is played by Joan Allen and Julia Stiles returns from the first movie with a more prominent role.

Often in action movies, the only woman is a love interest of one of the main characters. More recently, you might have a strong woman who can fight, but often she would be the lone female character like Keira Knightly in King Arthur or Pirates of the Carribean.

 

I, Robot is "inspired by" Isaac Asimov's work.

Actually, I think they used the term "suggested by." In other words, the title is the same.

 

I thought it was inspired by the Alan Parsons Project...

 

I thought it was inspired by the Alan Parsons Project...

"Don't Answer Me"

 

I thought it was inspired by The Animatrix.