Nash, TN Official Movie Reviews Thread: 2003

Went to the Sneak Peek of "Red Dragon" on Tuesday.I thought it was very good.If anyone's read the book,it's VERY close to being almost page for page(in most respects).It's very "S.O.T.L"ish.Much better than "Hannibal".Well rounded cast,well acted,very few lags in the flow.Leaps and bounds better than the 80's version "Manhunter".

 

For those of you like me who love just about all John Williams' music, you can listen to the entire soundtrack of Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets by clicking HERE This music is provided by REAL PLAYER & AOL. You don't need AOL to listen to it though. It is streaming & cannot by saved to my knowledge. It's just for your listening pleasure & of course to get you to buy the soundtrack at CDNow. You can purchase the soundtrack on November 12th, 3 days before the "Official"theatrical release & the same day that the Episode II DVD comes out. So you can pick up the Harry Potter Soundtrack when you buy ATTACK OF THE CLONES.

It's actually more of the same, but it has some new melodies that are quite nice. It also has some of that action type music that I thought sounded a little like Raiders of the Lost Ark.

 

I picked up a pretty cool DVD Saturday. I'm a big fan of Elvira Mistress of the Dark. Her latest B-Movie feature is "Elvira's Haunted Hills". This movie is loosely based on "The Pit & the Pendulem" with classic Elvira humor. All scenes and cinematography are purposely filmed like the old B-movies.
If your not familiar with Elvira's cheesy humor, rent this first. I bought it sight unseen and loved it.
Also picked up Scooby-Doo on DVD for the kids. This one's safe for all ages. the CGI animation interacting with live action works almost flawlessly. Velma looks pretty good. She gives Buffy, er, I mean Daphne a run for her money.
Keep in mind when you see Scooby-Doo, if you are expecting more than a movie geared for 3-10 yr olds, remember, Scooby-Doo was a cartoon geared for 3-10 yr olds.
The 3rd installment of Austin Powers (Goldmember) was a real rape of time and money, even on IMAX. No plot (as usual), recycled jokes and gags, basically an hour and a half of piss and penis jokes. Don't bother renting this one, just watch "The Spy who Shagged Me", twice.

 

I just caught the new Trailer for DareDevil. It is sure to please with a cast consisting of Ben Aflek, the gal from Alias & Michael Clark Duncan as the King Pin. I would love to see a Spider-man meets Daredevil movie as in the comic books, but I doubt it will ever pan out. Anyway, here is the link to the trailer

DAREDEVIL TRAILER

 

Star Trek: Nemesis:

Disappointing. ST:N was a combination of "Wrath of Khan", AOTC, and had Dr. Evil for a villain (all he needed was a hairless cat and the chance to say "friggin' idiots"). It was a horrible way for the cast to end their Star Trek movie careers. Other problems I had (which contain spoilers, highlight if you wish):

What happened to the SEVEN FRIGGIN' FEDERATION SHIPS waiting for Picard on the other side of that Nebula? Did any of the Captains think to check on him when he didn't come out the other side? And why not have B4 whistle "Pop Goes the Weasel" at the end? It would have been a much more clever tie to the series premiere than the song he was trying to sing.

I'm not a big fan of Harry Knowles, but his review had some valid points.

 

I totally agree. I generally like the ST films but this has to be my least favorite. It's been touted as an "all-out action film"....so why did I almost fall asleep? As Homer Simpson would say: "Booooooooooo-ringgggggggg!"

 

The new X-MEN2 MOVIE trailer is NOW available on line. Looks interesting. I think I saw Beast in there, but very briefly.

Edit: It wasn't Beast. It was Nightcrawler that I saw. And, NO, that isn't Ray Park, but another actor.

 

The new T3 movie trailer is now available on line.

In my opinion, after viewing the trailer, it looks like a poor attempt to keep the franchise alive. I was not impressed, especially with the new TX terminator who looks like Alyssa Milano. Also, I didn't recognize 1 actor from the original 2 terminators except for Arnold. No wonder Cameron & Linda Hamilton opted to bow out of this one. I'm predicting a grand opening at the box office just because it's "The Terminator", but after the word gets out that it pales in comparison to the other two, it will suffer in attendance.

 

Just thought I would revive this thread with my Daredevil review:

While I still think I liked Spider-man better, Daredevil is not without it's merit. I would liken him more to Batman in mentallity, as far as being predominantly vengeance driven early in his super hero career. However, unlike Batman, Daredevil has heightened abilities although his achiles heel seems to be loud sounds, especially large bells. Jennifer Garner was hot as usual, but I hoped to see more of her character. We shall see if she shows up in any sequel installments. Michael Clark Duncan was excellent as the King Pin, but he didn't have much screen time either. Parts of the story were a little cheezy, but overall I give it a 2 thumbs up. Also, make sure you stay around after the credits start, as there is a little bit of humor showing bullseye.

On another note, I just found out that the Lord of the Rings TTT DVD will be released in June, 2 months earlier than TFOR was released. It will also contain footage and making of info for TROK. Also, as with TFOR, there will be a 4-disc Extended Edition for TTT coming in November. No word was given in regards to another bookends boxed set, but they still may do something special. To me, it wasn't worth the extra money especially given that the National Geographic Video according to those who reviewed it, would have made J.R.R. Tolkien roll over in his grave. According to the reviews I read, National Geographic gave their own spin on his life and many a Tolkien fans were not happy with their tree-hugging portrayal of him and his Mythical world of Middle Earth.

AND on another DVD note. If you have been itching to buy the Alien DVD Legacy boxed set, DON'T! Fox confirmed earlier rumors in the X-men 1.5 DVD that they will be releasing a 9 disc boxed set September 1st, 2003 that will include the Director's cut of both Aliens & Alien 3. I sure hope the Director's cut of Alien 3 is better than the original version, because it sucked big time.

I almost wish somebody would come out with Alien 5 that would pick-up where Aliens left off and attribute Alien 3 & 4 to incoherant dreams by Ripley while in hypersleep. They could attribute the dreams to a malfunction caused by damage from the Alien Queen while she was on board. This led to Oxygen deprevation (of the screen writers & moguls at Fox)resulting in these rediculous dreams (movies). Ripley wakes up to find Hicks & Newt by her side only to realize that they all have aged in real time due to the malfunction. Ten years have passed and Hicks wounds have all healed and Newt is now a vibrant young woman now scantily clothed due to her outgrowing her 9 year old sized outfit (played by non other than Sarah Michelle Gellar). They were awakened because the ships proximatey warning went off. Their space craft is picked up by another elite military team on their way to the Aliens home world as several previous teams have made their way to LV 421 and deciphered the code left by the derelict space craft which in fact gives a warning to stay away from a planet located at "X" coordinates. The eggs that were on that ship were all destroyed by the radiation fallout fron the blast of the command center, but the ship remained in tact. The Company has sent them to bring back a live Alien for their bio-weapons division because they are bunch of morons that never learn and want to die... yadda yadda yadda.

Gee, perhpas I should write the book and try to sell it to FOX I wish! I just don't see them negating two of their movies, but ya never know. That radical approach just might save the franchise, because as it stands right now, only core fans would even attend an Alien 5 because 3 & 4 were total crap. Most people have seen Alien & Aliens, but stayed away from the last two due to the scathing reviews they received. They could then work in the Predator vs Alien scenario somehow and revive the horror/ science fiction genre. But, what do a bunch of bankers know about making movies. Not much, just ask GL. Universal & a couple of other mov

 

Harry Knowles provided a litte preview into the script of THE HULK HERE. I am encouraged by his review, of which I didn't feel "Spoiled", after seeing the Hulk trailer. I personally thought the trailer looked like a page right out of the old Saturday morning cartoons, but according to Harry is not even close to what the movie is about. I also felt the Hulk looked a bit like Shrek in the trailers. In order for the story to be believable and moving, the Hulk needs to go the way of Gollum in CG creatures, and not Shrek, of which I think they are unfortunately leaning towards. As far as the story goes, here is a quote from the article:

"they?ve screened the film for Universal?s executives as it is right now, and there was silence in the room for several minutes. They were stunned. This has far more beauty and poetry and poignancy and soul than we were expecting from the property. Avi told me that visually, that Ang has taken specific moments and panels from the history of the Hulk and given them a moving life he never really dreamt of. This is a film of loud moments, large moments, quiet ones and little ones. There are human beings in this movie trapped in a tragedy beyond their control. With forces that they can?t command. It has the potential to be a truly great film, not just a great comic book movie. In a strange way, it felt a bit like STARMAN to me? not sure why, it isn?t that story, but it had that sort of weight to it.
And that trailer? you haven?t seen anything yet. Really. You?ve seen nothing thus far. "

Very Interesting stuff!

 

I did a little research on the reasoning behind Hulk's "look" in this film, and I believe it is because the producer wanted him to have that "comic feel" to it. I remember reading through old Hulk comics, and seeing how gargantuous he was. Case in point: Some of us will compare this Hulk against the T.V. series, when in reality the T.V. series was nothing like the comic book. Most of the new Super Hero movies are taking the comic book approach, so that's probably why this one is no different. :shrugs:

I see where some people are coming from though. It'll just take a few moments for my eyes to adjust to his new look. I think it'll be a kick-arse movie though.

 

I want to see how they explain him having jeans in one take as David Banner and purple pants in the next as the Hulk. I wonder if they will have super-sized phone booths for him to change in. Just call 1-800-THE-HULK! SAVE A PAIR OF PANTS OR TWO

 

Went and saw About Schmidt last night, mainly because there was nothing else to see plus I'd heard good things about it. All lies. The best way to revue this movie is to remove the c, m and d from the title. Save yo money. Unless you wanna see Kathy Bates nekkid

 

You mean that's not why you went in the first place?

I'm wanting to see that new Bruce Willis movie, "Tears of the Sun. It looks interesting. As far as movie reviews go, take them with a grain of salt. They're mostly politically motivated anyway. Just watch, all the movie critics will come out bashing this movie because Bruce Willis is a "known conservative" and supporter of President Bush. In fact, after he filmed this movie he called President Bush and asked to be able to join the armed forces, but alas the cut-off age to join is 34 and BW is a tad older than that.

I'm also looking forward to seeing "Dream Catcher". The book was excellent and is more liken to the X-Files than any Steven King book I've ever read. Sci-fi buffs will love it, if its in keeping with the book.

 

Never heard of About Shmidt....Have to agree that Tears of the Sun looks good though.

 

I just came back from watching "Tears of the Sun" and have to say that it was mostly good. The last action scene was pretty intense and kept me on the edge of my seat. However, there is some pretty gruesome acts of violence committed against the indiginous people living in Nigeria by a psycho rebel faction that are pretty hard to watch. This is not a movie for the young or the faint of heart. Bruce Willis did a great job with his character portrayl. Overall, I would give this movie 2-1/2 stars. Its definitely not a movie I would watch again or even purchase on DVD, but its better than many movies I've seen in the last 6 months.

I loved the quote at the end:

-"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"

Aint that the truth.

"

 

One upcoming movie that I will anxiously be awaiting and was not aware was being filmed until I saw the trailer attached to The Core_is TIMELINE. The novel was written by Michael Chrichton. IF it is a genuine adaptation from the book, and not a butchered Hollywoodized version, as in Congo, Sphere, and even Jurrassic Park, it will be fantastic. This is a book, in my opinion and the opinion of a few people whom I loaned it too, was meant for the big screen. The only actor I recognized from it was the blond guy who was in Varsity Blues & the Fast & the Furious.

Also, on another couple of possible upcoming movies, Halle Berry, aka Storm from X-men is reportedly days away from signing a deal for the Catwoman franchize. I just don't think she can be sassy enough & have a dark side that is believable like Michelle Pfeifer did, but I guess we shall see. However, I'm not near as concerned about that as I am about who is reported to be the front runner to play Ironman. Are you ready?! Are you sitting down?! Here it is:

LEONARD DI"CRAP"IO!!! AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!

He is reportedly the Directors first pick, which doesn't say much for the director IMO. Fortunately, he hasn't even talked with Di"Crap"io yet, so this is all mute, until those talks begin. However, I bet Stan Lee is going to go ape-**** if this happens. Leonerdo is too young, too wimpy, and an Over-actor if I've ever seen one. I wasn't big on Tom Cruise being considered for the role, but next to Di"Crap"io that would be a God send. If he gets the part, the comic book fans are not going to be happy to say the least.

EW had an article about 6 months back asking if "Superheros could save Hollywood". I'm beginning to wonder if the Superheros can be saved FROM Hollywood. After seeing the Incredible Shrek, er I mean, HULK preview, I'm beginning to wonder if X-men & Spider-man are going to be the only comicbook franchises to survive. Although I thought Daredevil was decent, it doesn't measure up to Spider-man. Big names in a mediochre film DON'T make a doomed franchise survive more than one sequel, unless the approach changes or they get a better director. Batman is a prime example of what big-name actors, poor story lines with a wrotten director Schumacher) can do to a franchise. Not even the Terminator could save it. IT WON'T BE BACK!!! And before you say "Batman year One", evidenty according to inside sources, it may never see the light of day (or dark of night). But, as long as it has a superhero attached to it, or until movie audiences quit biting, you can be rest assured that these will be big openers at the box office opening weekend. If anything, the kids will go. I know one thing. If Leonerdo gets picked for Ironman, that will be one superhero movie that I will gladly forego. Unfortunatley, there will be plenty of little teenage girls that would gladly take my place. I say, "Have at it".

 

im still waiting for "bluntman and chronic" to come out on video.hahahaha

really though,since ive had kids going to the movies has been extremely difficult.it seems easier to plan a weekend away then dropping them off for 3 hours.ive also been surprised that as much of a critic as i am i seem to enjoy most every movie i see.i guess im easy to please for the most part.some people complain and tear the movies apart,i do too,but i still may like them.

oddly enough i havent seen any movies coming out that make me want to go see them.the last movie i really wanted to see was two towers.i never got to see it in theaters but have watched it since *winkwink*.

as far as comic movies go,i dont read comics but i assume there arent many "top" franchises left.i know there are hundreds of comic lines but wont they stop at the top handful?and once those are done in the next few years,what next?
and can anything be saved from hollywood?they can make movies on any subject anywhere anytime.and it still amazes me the crap they churn out.i still dont know who they are making the movies for.when AOTC came out it was obvious it was made for the general public and not the millions of fans that made this franchise what it is.where the superman fans upset in the late 70's when that movie came out?what about the first batman movie?where hardcore fans mad or did they like it?what about spiderman?
it seems that something has changed over the last few years.as the effects got better the stories got worse.
and sequels,forget it.those things might as well get flushed because they are crap too.xmen 2 looks promising but we'll soon find out.the jurassic park frianchise hit the fan with the 3rd installment.
and ive noticed that this battle for the ultimate movie ending has gotten out of control.the end of JP1 was awesome and the 2nd was ok,the 3rd left me wondering who wrote this junk.spiderman was the same way.i really liked the first half of the movie then all of a sudden it went a different direction.i really liked the first half and couldnt stand the 2nd half.again,due to a crappy big ending attempt.
ive found myself lately enjoying movies more and complaining more.i finally saw "the others" a few weeks ago.i really liked that movie.i didnt suspect the ending until it smacked me in the face.i like those kinds,where you think you know whats going on.
the hulk will tell us if the comic book fad will usher on or it will be stopped dead in its tracks.we'll find out soon enough

thats enough for now,

cya
skip

 

I have to agree that Shumacher totally ruined Batman. With a different director, those last might have been salvageable even with the cast. (Ok, maybe not Val Kilmer)

I'm always against a drastic change to an established character. While never reading Daredevil, except maybe a stray 1 or 2 of my dad's old ones, I was aware they had made a bid change to Kingpin.I would be against Berry as Catwoman, except I have heard that Catwoman will not be Selina Kyle. DiCapprio? They're still letting him make films?

 

Where to start. Well this is a SW board so..
Yes AOTC was made for the general public. But the general public IS the millions of fans. We (on this board) are "SuperFans". We alone do not messure in the millons. I always make the same point with collectors. Hasbro doesnt make toys for the collector.

Skip - I too enjoy just about every movie I see. That is at least the first time I see it. I even gave the last Batman flick a good review the day after I saw it. It only took one more (attempted) viewing to expose it for the piece of crap that it was. Anyway isnt that one of the hallmarks of a great movie. You never get tired of it no matter how many times you see it.

You made another good point too Skip. The first hour of X-Men and Spiderman were awesome. The second hour was garbage. They took all the effort to get the charaters right then they put on the Hollywood ending. Unfortunatly there doesnt seem to be anyreason for Hollywood to alter the trend. They put out bad movie all the time. At least some of these comics get only a half bad movie.

Take the comic-reading-critics with a grain of salt. They usualy complain about how the movie are not true to the comics. BUT comics are are often not true to the comics. They are different series of same character/s all the time. So think of the movies as a new series.
Still, I am curious what they had to say about Superman. I concider Superman 1 & 2 to be the best comic movie of all time (yes they are one movie).

JP2 shouldnt even have bore the name JP. There is a book JP2 but it was totaly ignored. Which would have been so bad if they had at least has a good story of their own but...
JP3 wasnt very good but it was still 10x better than JP2.

I liked "The Others". It was very similar to Signs. In respect to the fact that they were both slow movies. But the payoff was well worth it.

Well, thats it for now.

 

Weird. I guess I don't understand what you guys mean by the second halves of X-Men and Spiderman being garbage. I thought those movies were awesome through to the end. How else did you want the finales of these movies? Just curious. ?

 

I agree Jay. I didn't think the last halves of either of those movies stunk. In fact, in Spider-man it wasn't until the last half that we really got into the thick of the conflict between Spider-man & the Green Goblin. Everything before that was backstory. In X-men they were basically thwarting Magnetos scheme to turn the U.N. delegation into a bunch of mutants, which we are shown would kill them. This would be seen as a premptive attack on humans by mutants, which would of course launch an all out war. Of course, those of you that have any knowledge of the story already know that this war is inevitable and will begin in X-men 2. Without an arch nemesis to fight & defeat, what's the purpose of a superhero movie? Even Superman had climactic endings. It is what almost ANYBODY who goes to these movies expects. Even STAR WARS has had climactic endings in every movie, save for ESB. However, I guess the battle between Luke & Vader & the Escape from Cloud City could be seen as "climactic", but not necessarily in the traditional sense. This is probably one of the main reasons that so many STAR WARS fans tote ESB as being the best of the franchise as it broke with traditional Hollywood motifs & ended on a somewhat down note.

However, there is a big difference between a "climactic ending" and an overly dramactic ending. The latter metaphorically speaking, asks if you would like more cheese with that? This is where the director didn't know when to stop adding things in to the movie. Some audiences will love it, but more discriminate audiences will be turned off. It all depends greatly on "your own point of view."

 

I never have understood why so many liked ESB the best. It's the one film of the OT that cannot stand on it's own. Being the middle of a trilogy, it has no begining or end of it's own, it only moves the plot along to set up ROTJ. Also, the reasons stated above, the departure of is typically expected, the ending on a sour note, the good guys getting their butts handed to them and running for their lives.

ROTJ has a weakness in the fact that if you haven't seen the first 2, you're gonna be kind of lost, but you do get the big payoff at the end with a difinitive ending.

With the Prequel trilogy, we have a highly intricate plot that is wrapped around actors lost in greenscreen hell with visual effects that seem to be done "just to see if we can do it." Visual effects should enhance the plot, not BE the plot.

 

If you want to get a good laugh, go see Head of State starring Chris Rock. It's not gonna win any Oscars, but it's really funny. Classic Chris Rock. Plus it's my big-screen debute (I was an extra). Of course you have to look really hard, but I'm in there. Just wait til the DVD comes out...

 

The Matrix Reloaded

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

All I have to say is WOW! Amazing special effects. The fight scene in the park, I thought, went a little long. The dialogue between Neo and The Architect was a litte baffling. I think I need to see it a few more times to fully understand it.

I have my theories on how Neo was capable of stopping the sentinels at the end. It was actually a theory I had back when I saw the first Matrix. I won't mention here unless someone really wants to know, because I think it could be devastating to those who are spoiler free.

All in all, I think the script was immaculate. I felt they hit the spot through and through. Again, some of the fight scenes were a little drawn out and could have been shorter.

I think this movie is really gearing up for the conclusion. I don't think I have ever wanted to see the next movie so bad since I saw BTTF II in the theaters.

I give it 9 out of 10 stars.