jay50 Reviews

Crazy/Beautiful (2001)

Why cant they make more films like this?

[24 August 2003]

I'm not saying its up there with the Greats, but this film tackles an

important issue head on. Dunst plays Nicole Oakley, the rich white

daughter of a congress man who rebels against every rule there

is. Hernandez (yummy) plays Carlos Nunez, a poor Latino who

dreams of being a pilot. In a role-reversal, it is Nicole who is living

on the wrong side of the tracks, while Carlos is the straight A

student who takes a two hour bus to school and back. After

landing Carlos into detention, him and Nicole begin to fall in love.

Will their relationship last when others are hoping it wont? In the

style of a modern day Romeo and Juliet (without the dying part), i

thought this film was excellent, and have watched it over and over.

Okay, admittedly sometimes it was just to see Jay Hernandez cos

he is gorgeous and a lovely actor, but i feel their should be more

awareness about mixed race relationships so it becomes less of

a problem.

Great film, 9/10

Sleepers (1996)

See this film because...

[21 August 2003]

1960's Hell's Kitchen. 4 boys, Lorenzo, Tommy, John and Micheal

are enjoying the summer heat. Though as the narrator's voice

introduces the opening scene, we find that this seemingly normal

day will be 'the day that changed their lives forever' A harmless

prank goes wrong when the 4 boys accidentally drop a hotdog

stand down a subway, killing an old man. My heart strings pulled

when i realised the boys lives were ruined. What followed? 18

months in a correctional facility called the Wilkensons Home for

Boys. The scenes that follow are pure torture as we see the boys

being subjected to physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Kevin

Bacon puts in a chilling performance as Sean Nokes, the guard

who's supposed to be looking after the boys, while really he is

torturing and humiliating them. The young actors in this part of the

film put in excellent performance and truly outshined the older

actors such as Jason Patric and Billy crudup who played the

boys grown up.The boys swear to never talk of the pain they went

through, until one day two of the boys cross paths with Nokes

(Bacon) in a Hell's Kitchen bar and they shoot him. Personally i did

not enjoy the courtroom scenes in the last section but i thought the

first half was excellent. My favourite actor De Niro is touching as

the boys neighbourhood priest who sticks by them and supports

them, even though he does not find out the torture they went

through until the end. A great film based on the novel by Lorenzo

Carcaterra. 9/10

Now and Then (1995)

Stand By Me for Girls

[20 August 2003]

This is a cult classic girl movie and i still watch it today. Although I did not enjoy the 'Now' version of the film, where the four girls are grown up and re-uniting, mostly because i feel the characters dont really like eachother anymore, i loved watching the 'then' part with the four girls growing up in 1970's USA. The excellent soundtrack just adds to the uplifting feeling of this film. Watch as we follow Christina Richie and friends growing up through fun times (Devon Sawa getting his clothes stolen) and bad times (Richie finding out how her mum died). Look for an early performance from Brendan Frasier as a soldier back from war, and Thora Birch before she got all serious! Excellent film.

The Little Rascals (1994)

Excellent!

[20 August 2003]

I can not believe some of the peoples comments about this movie being stupid. What did you expect from a kids movie, to come out of it feeling inspired? No, it's just a happy-go-lucky kids movie which i can proudly say i have watched over and over again to this day! And one user commented 'How do the kids expect to marry women in the future, with a Woman Haters club' ? Oh my god, get over yourself! Although i haven't seen the original to this, i can praise this version as a feel good film.

The basic plot is about Spanky and Alfalfa, childhood friends, who have a group called the 'He-man Women Haters club' with their other pals Porky, Buckwheat, Froggy and so on. Though Secretly, Alfalfa loves girls and has a girlfriend,Darla, who he one day has lunch with in the Boys club! When the boys find out Alfalfa lied, they ruin his lunch with Darla (Kitty Litter sandwiches and so-called grape juice!). Unfortunately and accidentally, the clubhouse burns on fire, and the boys must enter a go kart race to win money to fund repairs for their clubhouse! An excellent movie whatever other people say! 9/10 and im sticking to it!

Angus (1995)

An underappreciated kid comedy

[17 July 2003]

This film is great for people of all ages. Angus Bathune plays the underdog in this comedy about an unpopular fat kid who loves science. Growing up with his biggest enemy Rick (Van der beek), Angus continues to resent the fact that Rick is the most popular guy in school with the most popular girl -and Angus's biggest crush- Melissa on his arm. This is a lovely comedy and i'm proud to say, it brought a tear to my eye. A simple comedy about the geek that wins the girl, I give Angus 4 out of 5.

Crossroads (I) (2002)

An the Oscar for Best Actress......

[16 July 2003]

An the Oscar for Best actress... is not a line we might consider hearing when we think of Britney Spears acting debut. However, i some how managed to end up watching this movie twice. Maybe it was the fascinating an alluring plotline....no. Or perhaps it was the realistic, and believable acting of Britney and her co-stars...no. In the end it comes down to our fascination with singer's acting and actor's singing, we always want to see what their like in vice versa roles. So watch Crossroads if your looking for some meanless fun on a rainy sunday, but not if your looking for an Oscar winning performance!