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mhalvorson
Reviews
Dude, Where's My Car? (2000)
Funnier than it had a right to be
What a stupid, mindless, cliche'd, juvenile film!
It worked though. Laughed out loud a lot and it didn't rely on bodily functions as much as many other cheap laugh films that have come out recently. The funniest bits were actually the sight gags or the stoner dialogue.
Solid seven for mindless enjoyment.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
A breath of fresh air
When this came out it was a breath of fresh air. A new, relatively unknown comedian carrying a comedy by force of personality alone. sure the plot was crap and some of the jokes a bit tired, but there hadn't been a really good attempt to simply make people laugh their ass off for ages.
For the uninitiated, look at Jim Carrey before he tried to become a real actor and enjoy the ride.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Adrenalin overload
What a full on final hour! This was real edge-of-your seat stuff and to be honest I will have to go again to take it all in.
This was great action cinema. I found the contrast in pace of the three threads of the story quite good in terms of keeping your interest, otherwise the tone of the film would have been too frantic.
***spoilers***
Good bits.
Gollum - what a great job was done on Smeagol! There will be no best supporting actor nomination, but it should be acknowledged as a major step forward in use of technology while maintaining the emotional quality of the acting. The nasty, pathetic, tragic nature of this character was perfectly shown and the split personality dialogue was brilliant.
Action - none better. Was a bit much for my wife but I loved it.
Comedy - needed to break up the mood. Gimli lights up a small part of the gloom (second movies in trilogies seem to always be the darkest).
Bad bits.
Not many and frankly I feel that it's a bit picky, but I thought the nobility and tragedy involved in the Ents was not brought out as well as it might have been.
Different bits.
There has been enough said about the movie vs book changes so far so I'll keep it brief.
There was enough battle without the wargs, which were merely an excuse for Liv Tyler and Hugo Weaving to get screen time via a dream sequence. I can see the need, but it was a distraction.
Elves at Helm's Deep. Basically this appears to have occurred to try and balance that fact that the elves had been painted as letting the poor humans do all the work to this point. Fair enough. Also, we needed a character to kill off, as Tolkien didn't really see the need for anyone to die in most of his trilogy, which is a bit silly in what is basically pages and pages of fight and flight. Fair enough again.
Can't wait for number three.
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
Thoughtful and well acted
I saw this for the second time the other night and I thought, "this is actually pretty good!" The golf is average, but Matt Damon and Will Smith perform very well, and the spiritual side of it was more interesting than I remember the first time. Different.
The Matrix (1999)
Blew me away
The best thing I could say about this film is that in the theater when it was over my wife and I just looked at each other, grinned and started talking at a million miles an hour. Not many movies can give you that completely blown away feeling.
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Best of the lot (so far)
This was the best of them. Darker in tone, more exciting in general. The best acting of the three. The introduction of Yoda (probably the best actor in the movie). Darth Vader's revelation. Han and Leia's relationship. The list goes on. This one has made Star Wars itself more fabulous by adding to the scope and granduer of the story. Made Return of the Jedi into a bit of an anti climax.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Good for what it was
When looking at this film you have to remember the target audience of this and of the originals. Boys in their teens who buy games and action figures.
Think about it. Most of those people who loved Star Wars (me included) saw it as a child or teenager. We did not need the complex story lines, clever dialogue or first rate acting. We needed a simple story with an epic theme where we could pretend we were the main character.
Same with Episode 1. For all the hype, it is an adventure story about a boy (so kids can identify with him) and some cool guys with light sabers who get to fight a lot and race and run and .......
So the 12 year olds who loved Star Wars are now adults who need more depth and quality of story and acting than simply special effects and a funny walking cartoon character. Therefore they feel let down because it doesn't match the memories.
That's how I felt. It was ok but it could have been any kids adventure story. Therefore I felt robbed because I was expecting something great. Second time on DVD it was much, much better, because I had worked out on what level to enjoy it.
So I'll go and Episode II not expecting anything great, but knowing that kids will love it.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
What a film!
What a film!
No doubt about it. If you've read the books you are at an advantage (unless you consider them some sort of holy relic and can't get past that to actually enjoy the film for itself). I think knowing the characters and story pretty intimately allows you to effectively "fill in the blanks" where the films let you down in terms of taking the time to flesh out characters and relationships or where it jumps from one set piece to the next.
Having said that I went with someone sho has never read a fantasy book let alone LOTR and she loved it. Go figure.
I thought it was as good as anything I've seen in a long time, but it is virtually impossible for those who loved the books to review the film as a stand alone piece.
****MINOR SPOILERS****
Viggo M was perfect. Ian M was pretty damn good too but Sean Bean was my pick. It's a good story that can make you cry over a character that failed the test and betrayed the fellowship.
I think it mostly hit the mark in terms of what to edit from Tolkien's work. Let's face it, Bombadil was a side trip. Glorifindel was irrelevant. Thank God they cut the songs.
The only aspect that annoyed me was the over-the-top portrayal of Galadriel, leaving her a much less sympathetic character. She is not the wicked witch of the west! But it's a minor point. As a whole I sat transfixed for three hours and then snuck back again a few days later. After a month I'm still getting shivers thinking of it (YOU SHALL NOT PASS - great in the book, just as good on film).
The cinematography, special effects, etc was all superb. The fight scenes were very jumpy so the detail were hard to capture ... but that sounds to me like what it must be like in a battle.
I suppose a comment re greatest of all time is in order since it has polarised opinion so much ... Who cares? Noone will ever convince anyone else to have the same opinion as themselves so give it up. How can you compare a fantasy three film epic to a prison drama (Shawshank Redemption) or a mafia film (Godfather) or anything else?
9 for me and can't wait for The Two Towers.