Change Your Image
earlgreyi
Reviews
Thirteen Days (2000)
Costner's character ruins it
Costner's character is completely unbelieveable. The character comes off as showing almost no respect for the presidency, instead the president appears to be practically a puppet in his hands. It reeks of vanity from Costner's side.
While there were three major sides involved - USA, Soviet Union and Cuba - even though Thirteen Days is 2.5 hours long the Soviet and the Cuban side of the story is never shown, the movie focuses exclusively on the US. What motivated the Soviet and Cuban leadership? How did they react during the crisis? Surely it would have been interesting to get a glimpse of that.
In the end Thirteen Days is part documentary - with the usual liberties taken with regard to the truth - and part propaganda. Quite silly considering that the cold war has been over for a long time now.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
A sociopath prison warden, sadistic guard as well as cuddly and misunderstood inmates.
Shawshank Redemption is overrated. It's a decent, above average film, but by no means a great film.
The inmates are pretty much likeable, while the warden and his pet guard are monsters. Also as Freeman's character says: "You know that everybody in here's innocent?" As the story develops you feel like he is right, the only criminals are the ones guarding the prisoners.
This is a sentimental piece made to stir the emotions, but not to stir them too much. Just enough to make the viewer feel there is injustice in the world but that in the end everything ends well and justice surely comes to he who waits 20 years or so for it.
The Shawshank Redemption is, as I said, a decent film, possibly among the top five films of 1994. IMO the best films of 1994 are Pulp Fiction and Léon.
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
"I guess we're not 0, 1 and 1 anymore"
Heartbreak Ridge is a bad film. There are cliches stacked on cliches. The only depth I could find was how the elite unit was depicted as demoralized and slack. I took this to be a symbol of USA at the time. The films message would be that USA had allowed itself to go sloppy and now was the time to do something about it and resume it's journey along the path to predestined glory and of course world dominance.
This film has one quote that is so funny it is gut wrenching: "I guess we're not 0, 1 and 1 anymore" (reference to Vietnam and Korea). Was going to war with the small island of Grenada (population today: 93,000) a way to get even with the world for losing in Vietnam (and not winning in Korea)? Makes you wonder, doesn't it? :)
A Tale of Two Bunnies (2000)
Forgettable
What's the point of this film? It's totally forgettable. Unless you have a serious bunny fetish, look elsewhere. So the bunnies had a merit/demerit list. No chewing gum in front of the customers. Are we supposed to find that interesting?
Masters of the Universe (1987)
Courtney Cox
So Courtney Cox has a role here. That fact upgrades this horrid piece of dung to a 2 out of 10. The whole thing looks as if a couple of high school kids had made it while skipping school. Can you believe they actually made this? Yes, perhaps you can when you see that Golan-Globus were responsible.
Gridlock'd (1997)
Solid film with the two stars perfectly cast.
The mixing in of the past into the present makes me think of Pulp Fiction. Of course Tim Roth, excellent again, might have pushed my thoughts that way unconsciously.
There is a scene involving a pocketknife - to avoid spoiling your fun I won't say more - at the very end of the film which had me rolling around laughing with tears in my eyes.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Insulting the intelligence of moviegoers and Star Wars lovers.
The story fails to create or maintain any interest.
Considering the amount of money put into a film like this it will have something to "wow" you with and indeed looking at the scenery, the costumes and some special effects is worth something. That's it though. The acting is horrid, but it's hard to blame them too much because of the wooden and uninspiring script they were given.
The Phantom Menace is an insult to the fine Star Wars tradition of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
Eye for an Eye (1996)
Sally Field goes criminally insane. We've seen it before.
Kiefer Sutherland plays a villain pretty well but here he isn't given room to give a dimensional portrayal. Sally Field plays the mother who lets rage turn her into a criminal. The director and/or the writer wants to make us think it's ok to take the law into your own hands and murder people as long as you have a god reason. There have been made quite a few films on this premise. If you are feeling like some "kill the bad guys because they are pure evil and deserve to die" then see an old Charles Bronson film instead. This one is no good unless you're a die hard Sally Field fan.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
A modern classic - perfect 10.
Possibly the best film of the 90's.
It has great acting, great lines and a storytelling that is tight and exciting. John Travolta is cooler than ever before and Quentin Tarantino achieved godhood with this film. :)
A must see!