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jimmyd1975
Reviews
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
GIVE DEBRA MESSING MORE WORK, HOLLYWOOD!!!
Okay, the general consensus of the audience I screened this with was dazed, with a hint of confusion over what they had seen. Some people were saying they liked it, a few hated it. But one thing about the movie was clear. DEBRA MESSING should've been in it more!! That girl rocks in so many ways; I hope Hollywood was paying attention. "Grace Adler" isn't all she can do, that's for sure. My opinion of the movie is this: it has it's thrills, but there were way too many exposition scenes and it slowed the movie down to a crawl. I hate it when a character who has lots of information the lead needs chooses to reveal it bit by bit. For God's sake, just tell him everything you know! Dragging it out drags down the movie. Still, the final twenty minutes was a great payoff, Laura Linney proves once again that by gracing a screen she can make you fall in love with her, and I am dying to know about the real story behind this eery tale. Personally, I give this movie a solid B+. If you like X Files, then this movie is for you. If you are one who finds that show intolerable to follow, you might want to skip this one. The story structure is similar. But all in all, I liked it.
The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000)
A nice, life-affirming film
Timothy Olyphant is so wonderful here. His talents as an actor seem endless, as he effortlessly sums up the average, non-stereotypical gay male in America. It's quite a departure from his rugged, smoldering, and twisted characters Hollywood has offered him in the past. It's a good film, and if you're gay, it's a great film. I wish mainstream America had this as an example of gay life, instead of that trashy Queer as Folk, every week on television. It's honest and sincere, with solid performances from good actors who obviously believed in the work they were doing. Great job, guys and gals! Now if only there were a sequel, or better yet a weekly cable series, chronicling the continuing story of Olyphant's character, starring Timothy of course. This film is an example of how "real" you can portray a gay person's life, without the rampant drug use, casual sex, and scenes of ridiculousness those Showtime scriptwriters conjure up on their "cutting edge" version of my identity.
Sand (2000)
Ugghh. No. Don't bother.
Normally I don't review movies I stopped watching halfway through, but this one is an exception because I watched it in fastforward til the end. I'll say this: Good casting all around, wonderful visual shots of the beach, cliffs, etc. But that's all this movie has to offer. Dull, dull, dull. C'mon scriptwriter, doesn't Tyler have a second memory of his mother?? Why put us through the same shots over and over again?? Do you wanna know why I rented this movie? Because Michael Vartan (Never Been Kissed) was on the cover, and that guy is HOT!! But c'mon Mike, if you're gonna star in a low budget drama/action film and do your usual puppy dog/ smoldering hunk-o-man thing you always do, could you at least have taken off your shirt, even once?? If you're going to do a boring, poorly written beach film, then at least give your female/gay male fans a reason to want to see it. And Mr. Screenwriter, if you're gonna have a good cast working your material, give them something to work with. I mean really. The first half was so DULL I stopped caring altogether. This was a movie where the lead guy was a Montgomery Clift protagonist/ good guy because that's who he is without explanation, and the bad guys are bad just because. It's like the movie was filmed without a script and the director said, "Okay, actors. Be yourselves, and ACTION!" Michael Vartan stood around with nothing to say, looking longingly into the distance, the redneck brothers slugged each other and playfought because that's what rednecks are supposed to do, and Denis Leary tried to say his lines real fast so as to make himself sound witty. The director needed to challenge his actors and the script needed to challenge the production. Routine with stock performances from good actors from better films, this moviegoer gives this film a big fat F. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along, move along.....
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
A Mixed Review
Okay. First I'll agree with everyone that the psychic was kind of unnecessary and yes, the kids made stupid decisions. But if they didn't do dumb things, the movie couldn't continue and less people would die; that's how a horror movie works. The two leads did a very good job with the material- especially Justin Long, who I'm sure is destined for stardom. I read scathing reviews about this movie before going to see it and still loved it. I'm not a big fan of gore, and at least it is used in artistic moderation here. I jumped and screamed in my seat due to some fantastic direction. Sound, rhythm, and pacing were used effectively here. Some people complain that the creature wasn't scary enough, looked fake, etc. and should've kept us from seeing too much of him. Well, I could agree with that but those same people were the ones whining that you couldn't see anything in The Blair Witch Project. There's rhyme and reason for everything, folks. SPOILER AHEAD: DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT!!! What bothered me about this movie was what I thought to be a sense of sexual assault that the creature bestows his victims. In one scene he's sniffing someone's underwear and "liking it", he smelled and tasted his victims, and even licks the inside of their mouths. Worse happens in this direction. I despised the final scene because what I saw was a person who got treated in ways like this and was stripped nude, completely dehumanized, tortured, mutilated, and treated like a "plaything". Yes, it's a creature and not a human but I wonder how someone who has been sexually assaulted or molested before would respond to this? I guess you can say that for lots of horror movie villains, so maybe it's unfair to point fingers, but these elements are used so blatantly here. The ending did give us something original and non-typical, and I can appreciate the artistic bravery in that. Overall, I thought the movie was very scary and entertaining and I hope Justin Long's career flourishes. I just REALLY hated the ending.
The Brotherhood (2001)
Teen Vamp Movie, Low Budget Style
I'm guilty of renting low budget horror films for a good laugh or a cheap scare, but you'd have to be an actor to appreciate how funny this one is. The actors were all novices, the story needed work (lotsa plotholes) and the director was a bit too fond of the closeup. This film had the terrifying depth of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Dawson's Creek episode, or a shampoo commercial. At least it raised one pressing question: is it true, or mere folklore, that by becoming a vampire you also get to become a super-duper underwear model? Ante up, Devon, I'm in, man!!! I won't grade this one, it wouldn't be fair. If you like a movie full of pretty people (the few girls were hot, I was envious of the guys, even the "ugly" one, that's Hollywood for ya), like a mostly nonviolent vampire movie, or are an avid Abercrombie& Fitch catalog collector, you'll like this movie.
Scary Movie 2 (2001)
NO SEQUEL, WE WERE PROMISED! ALAS....
Okay, I was bored last saturday and wanted to see a movie. I was in the mood for a cheap laugh, so I went and saw this one. Whoah, is it bad. It's not as though I were expecting much, and indeed the first fifteen or so minutes were pretty funny, but after that it was one tiresome trip. A few of the actors were good, especially the girl who got knifed to death in the movie theatre in the first one, but somebody in Hollywood needs to tell the Wayans clan that not EVERY member of their family has the talent to be in a film. Painfully obvious. Speaking of acting, Tori Spelling was in this one. Normally I give her more credit than the average moviegoing critic, but she was terrible. She has an outrageous scene that could've been the film's funniest, if she'd displayed any of the comic timing she had in "Trick". Also, the director didn't allow her much, so it's not entirely her fault. I don't normally show compassion for one of Hollywood's privelidged children, but if there was ever an actress who had to PROVE herself worthy, Tori's the one. Keep trying, Tori. I support you. To sum up this movie, potty humor (bowel movements, body abnormalities, maturbation, vomit, kinky sex), not to mention jibes at gays and human deformities (I know someone with a deformed hand, IT'S NOT AMUSING, JUST CRUEL!) does not a funny movie make. I score this one a big fat F.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
What's all the griping about?
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** I must ask moviegoers, what's all the griping about? If you can accept a movie for what it is, and not for what you want it to be, then you should like this movie. I was enthralled by the cinematography, set design, and special effects that enriched the film without deterring from the story. I made a comparison to these attributes to the ones in Star Wars: Phantom Menace. The George Lucas production didn't know how to use their technology to effectively tell the story. This one did. I was blown away, hands down. When I go to a movie, I don't try to dissect it, I just try to experience the story and feel the heart of the characters. Oh sure, watching SCary Movie is a totally different experience altogether, but as a small time actor, I tend to appreciate a terrific performance, which this film was not short of. Haley Joel Osment, Frances O'Connor, and Jude Law were exemplary. In fact, everything was fantastic except for one thing, and it's what everybody's crying about. WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD No one likes the ending, and yeah I thought it was kinda weird, but you have to understand that you've watched David's journey for, in the time span of the film, a very long time and I felt he deserved to see his quest through to the end. I cared too much about his character and that poor little bear to leave them where they were when you thought the movie was ending. It simply was unsatisfying to watch a characters odyssey for an entire film and not see it completed, and I believe that if it HAD ended there, everyone would be complaining about that, too. I know I would have. This film may not be for the filmgoer looking for a laugh and a good time, but it nevertheless is phenomenal and is worth seeing. I fully believe that the many successes that make up this film outweigh the flaws and that it will be remembered as a masterpiece in years to come. And for the actors involved, if any of you are reading this, I deeply appreciate the fine work you have done, and I hope you are proud of yourselves.
Hannibal (2001)
HANNIBAL, rated R????
I did not enjoy this film. I felt the writing was less than that of it's predecessor, and that it resorted to cheap, blatant gore to try to "win" the audience instead. I'm not a puritanical bleeding heart, but one scene was the most de-humanizing thing ever put on film, and it got an R??? Go rent SCREAM and listen to the director's commentary and see what they had to remove from their film to get an R rating, and then ask yourself if HANNIBAL's rating is fair to the rest of the industry. I don't normally pay attention to ratings, but I assumed that it being the sequel to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS that I had better make sure it didn't get an NC-17, because if it had I'd have known I should probably not go see it. My verdict? If you like slow-paced gore and Anthony Hopkins shooting cannibalistic zingers, go see it. If you are even the slightest bit queasy, or don't generally like slasher films, stay away.