towelie2002 Reviews

Office Space (1999)

One Of The Greatest Films Ever Made!

[10/10 · 9 February 2004]

I honestly don't think there's enough good things to say about Office Space. It has everything a great film needs: A great story, great acting, great jokes, great soundtrack, great everything! Hell, we even get to like the characters, as with most films no one cares. Even though this is a comedy, it actually deals with a very big issue: disillusionment. And most comedies of this type don't do that sort of thing.

The disillusioned Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) has an office job at Innitech that he really hates to the point where he confesses that everyday is the worse day of this life because of it. He has two disillusioned friends there: Michael Bolton (David Herman), who gets a lot of harassment due to him having the same name as the singer, and Samir (Ajay Naidu), an Indian immigrant who just wants to keep his job. Two other men who work with them are Tom (Richard Riehle), a man who wants to make a `Jump To Conclusions Mat' to get rich, and Milton (Stephen Root), a mumbling man who can't stand up for himself. Their boss is the evil Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole), who makes them work on the weekend and torments everyone, especially Milton. Peter loves Joanna (Jennifer Aniston), a waitress at a restaurant he often goes to that he loves, but can't ask her out due to having no confidence and a pushy girlfriend named Anne (Alexandra Wentworth). After being hypnotized by a hypnotist that dies before he can complete the process, Peter gains all the confidence he needs to decide to not quit his job, but just not to go, ask Joanna out and leave Anne. But surprisingly, instead of getting fired, he gets promoted, while his hardworking friends get fired. After this, they decide to get their revenge by putting a computer virus in Innitech's computers to slowly make millions, but it goes horribly wrong.

I love this movie. I really do. Even when I first show the trailer for this in cinema about 5 or 6 years ago when I was about 11 years old I thought it'd be a good movie, and how right was I? Beyond 100% right! All the actors do a great job in this, especially Ron Livingston, who should've got a lot of acclaim for this film. I honestly hope his career becomes really successful someday. I also loved Peter's neighbor Lawrence (Diedrich Bader), who is hilarious. There are other great comedies out there, like Wayne's World (1992) and Joe Dirt (2001), but this is just movie magic! Director Mike Judge is a comic genius! Who thought that the toilet humour of Beavis and Butthead could be beaten by office humour? I hope everyone involved in this film continues to make great films like this.

Oh, and just before I finish this review, I have to say one thing. Even though I love this film to death, I honestly hope they don't make a sequel. This is just one of those rare films that are perfect, and I don't want an inferior sequel(s) to ruin this. A sequel should only be done if it's just as funny (if funnier) than this. And besides, the plot has no where to go, so they should leave this alone. The best way I can sum this film up: A brilliant classic!

Rating: 5/5!!!

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Not Fantastic, But Very Interesting And Original

[11 January 2004]

Eyes Wide Shut was Stanley Kubrick's last film, and having seen it, I have to say he left with a unique, original and interesting film. I've only seen 4 of his films (2001, Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket and this) and I think that FMJ is still his best film, but this is still worth seeing.

Doctor William Harford (Tom Cruise) becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter after his wife Alice (Nicole Kidman) admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met and chastising William for dishonesty in not admitting to his own fantasies. This sets him off into unfulfilled encounters with a dead patient's daughter and a hooker. But when he visits a nightclub, where a pianist friend Nick Nightingale (Todd Field) is playing, he learns about a secret sexual group and decides to attend one of their congregations. However, he quickly learns he is in well over his head and finds he and his family is threatened.

Cruise and Kidman are good in this, and Kubrick brings a very dark view suggesting that powerful people are involved in orgies (that's what I think anyway). Even a man they knew well was involved. They kind of state the obvious in the dialog often, but it's forgivable. Some people think the whole thing was William's dream, but I think it was all real. The 1st time I saw this, I thought it was rubbish, but I watched it again and thought it was good. It's not fantastic, but worth watching.

Rating: 3/5

The Evening Star (1996)

Better Than The Original

[31 December 2003]

As I said in the comment box above, this is better than the original, which was Terms Of Endearment (1983). A lot of people think that this is inferior to the original. But this, unlike most sequels, brings much more insight into the characters and everything else in the story, and is more interesting. Rosie only had 2 scenes in the original, but is in most of this!

This is continuing the story of Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) in her latter years. After the death of her daughter Emma, Aurora struggled to keep her family together, but has one grandson named Tommy (George Horton) in jail who hates her, a rebellious granddaughter named Melanie (Juliette Lewis) who moves to Los Angeles with her unfaithful boyfriend Bruce (Scott Wolf), and another grandson named Teddy (Mackenzie Astin) living just above the poverty line. Aurora's maid Rosie (Marion Ross) tricks Aurora to see a psychiatrist named Jerry (Bill Paxton), who's 40-something years her junior. As their relationship builds, her friends are getting concerned about it and her dead daughter's friend Patsy (Miranda Richardson) decides to ruin it.

As I said before, this film brings much more insight than the original. You get to realize how much of the tragedy of this 1st film is Patsy's fault, since she `corrupted' Emma and Aurora, after many years of knowing each other, finally confronts her about it, which I guess brings some justice to Aurora. Juliette Lewis gives a good performance (as always) in this film. If you liked her work here, then you'll love her work in Natural Born Killers (1994). Even Jack Nicholson's small role in this (which is only about 10 minutes) is nice to see. And you get to know towards the later part of the film how the `Aurora Greenway Saga' ends. If you're a fan of the original, then you should watch this, but just like the original, it's not a great film, but worth watching.

Rating: 3/5

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Pretty Good Adventure/Mystery/Fantasy Detective Story

[29 November 2003]

This is a well-done film greatly made by 3 brilliant filmmakers: Steven Spielberg (Producer), Barry Levinson (Director), and Chris Columbus (Writer). After watching this, it's obvious to see what parts belong to each of them. Spielberg: Fun and imaginative, as he did as a producer with Gremlins (1984), Back To The Future trilogy (1985-90) and as a director with Hook (1991), which is a childhood favourite of mine. Levinson: A soul, a human feel, fantastic acting and direction, which definitely shows in his other (and better) films Good Morning Vietnam (1987) and Rain Man (1988). Columbus: A harsh British school, everyone loves the main character, has a rival, both bumbling male and a smart female as his best friends, and a mystery concerning the main characters.

Sherlock Holmes (Nicholas Rowe) and Dr. Watson (Alan Cox) meet as teenage boys in an English Boarding school. Holmes is known for his detective abilities (even as a teenager), impressing his classmates with his abilities. When they discover a plot to murder a series of British businessmen by an Egyptian cult, they move to stop it.

You can see a lot of this was used in Columbus' excellent Harry Potter films and Spielberg obviously let them copy the murdering cult from his film Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom (1984), but they're done so well, who cares?. Levinson gives the film a very human feel. And the performances were great. Levinson's work and the acting work very well together, especially in at least one scene, where the boys at eating dinner and are talking about their futures, when a boy asks Holmes `What do you want to be when you grow up?', Holmes is looking out the window at his girlfriend and only love (ever) Elizabeth (Sophie Ward) and replies `I don't want to be alone.' That is the most human part of the story, which shows that even though Holmes is a complicated person, he does have a heart and that Elizabeth is the most important thing in his life.

The film itself is exciting and the `four teams' (Spielberg, Levinson, Columbus and the actors) work brilliantly together. They should make more films together. The Harry Potter films show that Columbus is also a great director as well as a writer. Not the greatest film I've ever seen, but still very good. It's pure fun and brilliance in one, which is fun for both kids and adults.

Rating: 4/5

Fat Pizza (2003)

Both my 2nd favourite Aussie film and 4th favourite comedy ever!

[21 November 2003]

Fat Pizza is a fantastic film, which is both my 2nd favourite Australian film and my 4th favourite comedy of all time! This is so politically incorrect that it's the key to its success. This film takes the p*ss out of everyone and leaves no exceptions, like wogs, Aussies, Asians, illegal immigrants, disabled people, street gangs, police, the government, druggies, religion, celebrities, terrorism, rappers, homosexuals, transvestites and anyone else I didn't mention.

In this film, Paulie (Paul Fenech, who also co-wrote, produced and directed this masterpiece) has a lot on his plate. He has to organize Bobo's (Johnny Boxer), his boss, wedding with his mail-order bride Ling Chow (I can't find her real name), keep his mates, rapper Sleek The Elite (Paul Naked), Habib (Tahir Bilgic, who also co-wrote this), Aussie druggie Davo Dinkum (Jabba from Channel [V]) and Rocky `The Lebanese Rambo' (couldn't find his name either) out of trouble and stay away from killer clowns from a rival fast food chain (obviously spoofing McDonalds). There is also a rival pizza shop run by from Indian people called `Phat Pizza', which they know ripped them off and spy on them.

The film is beyond worthy to the TV series, which is the best out of the film spin-offs of TV series such as South Park, Beavis & Butthead and Ali G. The addition of the new character Davo is great and is probably now the funniest character in the series, which is also nice to the see a `token Aussie' in it. The performances are great and most are so over-the-top that it's genius. It's so funny that you pretty laugh every minute of the film and the soundtrack is awesome and perfectly fits to the theme of the film. It's a crime that the TV series Pizza was banned from SBS! Let's hope this wonderful team of comedians keep making both the series and possible sequels to this wonderful film.

Rating: 5/5!!!

Legionnaire (1998)

Great Van Damme Film!

[13 November 2003]

As I said in my comment above, this is a great Jean Claude Vam Damme film, which he also co-wrote. This proves that he can actually act, and not just be a muscle-bound man who kills everyone. The battle scenes are epic-like, the acting top-notch and the script brilliantly done.

Legionnaire is set in the 1920s France about Alain (Jean Claude Van Damme), a boxer who was payed by the French mafia to lose a fight, but he breaks his promise and tries to flee the country with his much-loved girlfriend, but that plan goes wrong, so he's forced to join the French Legion and fight rebels in Morroco. There he meets makes three men he befriends: Luther (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), an African-American man trying to have a better life, Guido (Daniel Caltagirone) a Spainish man trying to prove his bravery to marry his girlfriend, and Mackintosh (Nicholas Farrell) a British man trying to redeem himself. They're under the command of Steinkampf (Steven Berkoff), their commander who will do anything to win. They go to battle with the local rebels, which is hell. Not only this, but mafia hitmen also join the Legion to kill Alain.

This is a seriously underrated Van Damme film and is surely his best work. It's a crime that this didn't make it into the cinemas and get all the acclaim it deserves, yet pieces of shit like My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) get in and it's a massive hit. This is a classic from start to finish, even it's brilliant (perhaps corny to some) ending. I hope Van Damme keeps making these types of films and continues showing his true acting ability. Slyvester Stallone was thought to have not much acting ability, but he made Copland (1997), which got him a lot of acclaim. Perhaps one day people will finally see this and let him back into show business.

Rating: 5/5

A Time to Kill (1996)

Very Good Court Thriller

[7 November 2003]

A Time To Kill is a very good court thriller and is the best John Grisholm adaption I've seen. Probably one of the best court films ever made, in the likes of A Few Good Men (1992), which is also a very good court thriller. Those 2 films also have 2 other things in common: they both have heaps of famous actors in it and both have Kiefer Sutherland in it. This is one of the 4 films Joel Schumaccher (director) and Kiefer have made together, including The Lost Boys (1987), Phone Booth (2003) and Flatliners (1990).

The film is about 2 white racist thugs who rape a young black girl and they are killed by her father Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson). Then there's a major courtcase about it, about weather Carl should be given the death penalty. Jake Tyler Brigance (Matthew McConauggey) and Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock) are lawyers try to defend him, and Rufus Buckley(Kevin Spacey) is a lawyer who wants to put him on the death penalty for his own publicity. All the locals (mainly the black ones) want Carl to live, but Freddie Lee Cobb (Kiefer Sutherland), who was a friend of the 2 thugs, wants Carl dead, so he calls on nearby Ku Klux Klan members to kill Carl and his lawyers. Not only this, but Jake is worried about the safety of his family from the KKK and he starts getting attracted to Ellen.

Thrillers are definately Joel Schumaccher's high point as a director, as he proved in 8MM (1999) and Phone Booth (2003). The all star cast make this a treat for the audience, as well as the darkness to the story. This film not only has a good story, but deals with issues like the death penalty, racism, adultery, trust and family. This is a very good film not to be missed.

Rating: 4/5

The Next Karate Kid (1994)

Unnessercary Sequel

[28 October 2003]

Karate Kid 1, 2 and 3 are good films, even by today's standards. But they really shouldn't have made The Next Karate Kid. This really was one big disapointment. Well the hell did they make this? Obviously, they only made it because they knew it'd make good money. Pat Morita should be ashamed of himself for making this horrible sequel. Surely he must've known that this ruined the original trilogy, which is why he probably has no career now (or at least a good one). And Hilary Swank is no match for Ralph Macchio. I figure if they were going to make a 4th Karate Kid, they should've made it about Daniel and Miyagi, not the annoying Julie! Oh well. At least I still have the fond memories of the originals and try to forget this horrible sequel.

The story is that at a commemoration for Japanese soldiers fighting in the US Army during World War II, Miyagi (Pat Morita) meets the widow of his commanding officer. He gets to know her granddaugther Julie (HIlary Swank), an angry teenager who doesn't get along with anyone and is still upset about the death of her parents from an accident. Miyagi decides to teach her karate and help her out, both in school and life. And there's another karate gang that bully Julie and eventually they take it too far, so Julie and Miyagi have to do battle with them.

The performances are fine, but this movie wasn't nessercary at all. It's a shame that this didn't continue the story of Daniel and Miyagi, but I guess that story didn't really have anywhere to go since Daniel was grown up by then (even if they did, he'd be more like a "Karate Man" and that'd probably be crap too), so they changed it to focus on Julie instead. Miyagi and Julie sort of mix together, but not in the way that Daniel and Miyagi did. I wouldn't say this is one of the worst movies ever (films like My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) would be in that department), but it's far from being the best either.

Rating: 2/5

Hannibal (2001)

Underrated Film And Better Than Silence Of The Lambs

[23 October 2003]

Hannibal was the a much anticipated film of 2001 and many couldn't wait to see it since it's the sequel to the overrated Silence Of The Lambs (1991). They saw it and thought it was crap. I disagree. I think it's better than Lambs. This ain't a classic, but it's seriously underrated. I even read a review of this, which got no stars at all!

The story is set 10 years after Hannibal (Anthony Hopkins) escapes the mental hospital, and he now currently hides in Italy. Agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore) is still looking for Hannibal after failing a case that ended in disaster. She has a lead on Hannibal, but Mason Verger (Gary Oldman), Hannibal's only surviving and deformed victim, follows Clarice's lead and convinces corrupt Italian cop Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi (Giancarlo Giannini) to capture Hannibal for him.

The acting in this is very good and Ridley Scott gives Hannibal Lector a more savage view than Jonathan Demme did in Lambs. I haven't seen Red Dragon (2002) yet, but this will probably still be the best out of the trilogy. Ray Liotta gives a good performance as the cop harrasing Clarice and is the victim of the famous "brain scene". Lambs is more disturbing than this, but you should give this one a go to and remember that it's a different story, so don't expect a repeat of Lambs.

Rating: 3/5

Heaven's Burning (1997)

Best Australia Film Ever!

[23 October 2003]

This definately the best Australian film ever made! Heaven's Burning is a truly amazing film. Russell Crowe's best film. Even better than the overrated Gladiator (2000).

This brillant film tells the story of a recent young Japanese bride (Youki Kudoh) who runs away from her husband (Kenji Isomura) to be with her boyfriend who never shows up. As she goes to bank to get money, the bank is robbed by a gang of criminals, who's driver is Colin (Russell Crowe). Colin kills the gang as they try to kill her. So they're on the run from the criminals family and her husband, who are all trying to kill them. And as they go on, they fall in love.

Even thought it may be corny they fall in love, but it is so brilliantly done, it doesn't matter. All the acting in this was amazing. The film is brilliant from start to finish. If you can see this film DO IT!!!!!!!

Rating: 5/5!!!

The Lost Boys (1987)

Good '80s/Comedy/Horror Film

[7/10 · 23 October 2003]

The Lost Boys is a good '80s film. It has the best of both worlds. One moment, you're looking at all the killings, next your laughing yourself silly. This is another good teaming of Kiefer Sutherland and Joel Schmacher, who teamed up for the even better films A Time To Kill (1996) and Phone Booth (2003). They also teamed up for Flatliners (1990), but I haven't seen it yet.

This film tells the tale of a family, a mother and 2 sons, who move to Santa Carla with their weird, but funny grandfather (Barnard Hughes). The oldest son Michael (Jason Patric) has a crush on Star (Jami Gertz), so he tries to fit in with the gang she hangs out with, which is led by David (Kiefer Sutherland). But when David offers Michael a drink, it turns out to be vampire blood, which transforms Michael into a vampire. He seeks help from his brother Sam (Corey Haim) and the Frog Brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander) to stop him from completely transforming and kill the vampires.

The Lost Boys is a very funny horror film. The Grandfather is just a crack up, especially in the garage scene. And when Sam is singing in the bath. Funny as. This isn't a favourite of mine, but it's definately worth watching.

Rating: 3/5

Wayne's World 2 (1993)

Excellent Sequel

[19 October 2003]

Wayne's World 2 is a very funny film. I have this on video and I watched it earlier today, and I constintly quote this film, same with the original.

This sequel sees Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) one year after the original film, where Wayne dreams that Jim Morrison tells him to put on a rock concert in Aurora, which he ends up calling 'Wanyestock'. He tries really hard to get the bands together, but it proves to be very difficult. Not only that, but he suspects that his rocker girlfriend Cassandra (Tia Carrere) is having an affair with her producer (Christopher Walken).

This is an excellent sequel to Wayne's World (my 3rd favourite comedy), but this isn't as funny as the original nor does it have the same 'sprit'. All the performances in this are great, even Christopher Walken, who appeared in the halarious Joe Dirt (my favourite comedy ever!). Even though the original is better and doesn't rank in my top 5 favourite comedies, this is definately still worth a look.

Rating: 4/5

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Solid War Film. Kubrick's Best Work.

[19 October 2003]

Stanley Kubrick directed this Vietnam War film. It's a solid film that doesn't get boring and is suprisingly funny, thanks to R. Lee Ermey. It's a good thing I was able to see this film, because I thought Kubrick was a horrible film maker who made Eyes Wide Shut and the average Clockwork Orange. But this made me realise it was just those two films.

Full Metal Jacket follows a squad of soldiers (Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio and more) training for the Vietnam War under the very scrict and very funny drill instructor (R. Lee Ermey, who was a real drill instructor many years ago). It shows how these normal men become savage killers without a care. Then halfway through the film, they end up in Vietnam where they do constint battle with the North Vietnamese soldiers.

The performances in this are really good, especially R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D'Onofrio who did a fantastic job as a soldier who went crazy from all the brutality of training. It may not be as good as other Vietnam War films, such as Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter or Platoon, but it's still good. I even think that this film copied Platoon, since it was made a year later and the poster of FMJ is very similar to Platoon's original poster, where they have soldier helmets with writing on it. But like I said, it's still good.

Rating: 3/5

Wayne's World (1992)

My 3rd Favourite Comedy Ever!

[14 October 2003]

Wayne's World is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen (my third favourite comedy) and is also one of my favourite movies. I have this movie on DVD and the special features just make it even better. My friend and I constantly quote this movie!

Mike Myers and Dana Carvey are excellent as Wayne and Garth who have a public access TV show, who are offered to make it a primetime hit with the help of shady TV executive Benjamin (Rob Lowe). All the jokes in this are really funny, especially the scene about selling out (one of the funniest scenes in all the movies I've seen).

It also shows one of Lara Flynn Boyle's earlier roles as Wayne's ex-girlfriend. If you can see this movie, DO IT!!!!

Rating: 5/5!!!

That '80s Show (2002)

Awesome And Faithful At The Same Time!!!

[26 September 2003]

This show is really funny! And what makes it even better is that it captures the real sprit of the '80s. I was born in the '80s and I've been interested in them for a while, so this is perfect! The actors and the scripts are halarious! Shame they cancelled it.(

Unbreakable (2000)

One Of My Favourites!

[6 July 2003]

Unbreakable is one of the best films I've ever seen! Bruce Willis is just fantastic as David Dunn, a man who is the sole survivor of a massive train crash, who Samuel L. Jackson as handicapped comic book obsessive Elijah Price (who also puts up a great performance) believes Dunn is a superhero with extraordinary powers. This is definitely M. Night Shyamalan's best film to date, which is better than both Signs and Sixth Sense, which were also good. It's such a shame that it was a flop in the cinema.

*SPOILER!!!*

The way the twist at the end of the movie was done was just fantastic!! The first time I watched this, I was shocked to find out that Elijah Price was responsible for all the "accidents" that had been happening. There definitely should be more films with these kinds of impact endings. This movie is just unmissable! I recommend this movie to everyone, especially people who like movies about superheroes or "a zero to hero" type story.

Rating: 5/5!!!

Sixteen Candles (1984)

A True 80s Flick

[6 July 2003]

Molly Ringwald is very convincing as Sam, the recently turned 16 year old who her parents have forgotten her birthday. Anthony Michael Hall is also pretty funny as Farmer Ted (The Geek). Long Duk Dong had his moments, but he wasn't that funny (sometimes the jokes were just racist). I was fortunate to have seen this film 4 days after I turned 16 and I can easily identify with some of the issues Sam goes through, even though our situations are different, like I'm a boy and in the year 2003.

*SPOILER!*

Even though I found the ending corny and unrealistic (even the concept of Jake falling in love with Sam overnight is unrealistic), this is one of those 80s films that makes me think "I should've been a teenager in the 80s." In two words: Good Fun. Rating:4/5