Atriol35 Reviews

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

A must SEE!

[9/10 · 12 June 2004]

This movie is jammed with action and unreal special effects. I don't know how they captured the unique and foreboding terrains the warriors sprinted across.

Ignore the mostly bad reviews and see for yourself- this is an adrenaline soaked amazing work. Vin Diesel is the only actor who could fully convince audiences as the supremely cocky and supernaturally gifted killer Riddick. I don't understand how far off base and patently ignorant reviewers can be. One sad case slammed Riddick because the combatants occasionally used battle axes.

OK, that convinced me.

It's a dark foreboding grimy kick in the teeth and won't disappoint action movie fans.

Go see this on the big screen. The DVD experience at home won't do the movie justice!

Mixed Nuts (1994)

Stunningly Mind-Bogglingly Inept

[1/10 · 11 August 2002]

I had the misfortune of seeing this movie on video a couple of years ago and I am haunted still. I just sat there with my mouth agape at how it could ever get past anyone's editing desk with approval.

It was a series of unconnected jangly direly unfunny scenes that grew more and more annoying until I reached the hour mark and sprinted to remove the offending offal from my vcr and smash it with a hammer.

The parts I did see left me asking the question, "how could this happen?" Normally Steve Martin is quite funny and even has taste in scripts. Tom Hanks' wife Rita Wilson was also in this- which begged the question of why our generation's Jimmy Stewart would let his wife near such inane tripe.

Please, I beg anyone considering Mixed Nuts as even a .49 cent rental to instead spend that money on rock salt or q-tips or pet rocks or something more useful than this.

I PRAY whomever was responsible for this fiasco is so shamed that they propose its use in film schools as explicitly what never to do with a movie. It bottom-feeds in that ignoble rubbish bin along with "House Guest" and "What about Bob" as worst comedies in film history.

Signs (2002)

Terrific Entertainment

[9/10 · 10 August 2002]

(Some spoilers) Signs is one of the first movies in a long time where I glanced at my watch not to calculate when the mess might end; instead it was to rue my fascination's end approaching all too quickly. I was listening like the husband nudged by groggy wife with "did you hear that noise"-- the entire movie. I felt Shyamalan's grip as an artist- not deigning-down to me with the avant-garde but using commonplace sensations like fleeting visions and noises half-heard. I'm sure this engrosses an audience of sentients more than explosions and special-effects. All that and surprisingly generous dollops of laugh out loud funny dialogue make this a must-see event. Topped off by an audience-rousing splat of slugging brother's bat to alien's head, I wouldn't have changed one thing. Those who complain about the pacing can re-watch Fast and Furious for the 37th time but for me this was edge of my seat thrilling entertainment. It delivered that ephemeral magic most movies can't muster. Don't ever stop making movies M Night.