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Great beginning, less than okay as a whole   on March 17, 2006 - 11:53 AM PST   of The Core (2003)   What got me really interested in this movie was the beginning. In the first scene (I think) a man going into a meeting just drops dead. Camera pans outside and you see other people have also just dropped dead. Flash to a later scene and birds have gone all crazy flying into windows, people, etc. By then, I've invested a good 30 minutes into the movie and want to watch the whole darn thing. I got pretty much what I expected. So, 6 lucky folks have to drill down to the core and set off some nukes to get the outer (liquid) core spinning so that we keep our magnetic field, and the aurora borealis stays in the borealis, and cosmic rays don't kill us. Of course, we've only drilled a few miles, so we have to introduce some new hidden technology (what a coincidence!) that can drill thousands of miles. And we also introduce a substance called "unobtanium" just to make the plot extra cheesy. So, anyway, we drill, we drill, we drill. Some stuff happens, some people die (no surprise or spoiler). Special Effects are okay. You are kept somewhat interested in the plot. Cast isn't anything special. Token black guy, token "is it love" subplot, token arrogant expert (a famous geophysicist in this case... famous geophysicist?). If you don't expect much, you get a little bit less than what you expect, but you don't feel like you've wasted 90 minutes. Except this movie is 130 minutes; it went a little longer than it shoulda. Oh and the DJ Qualls character just didn't "fit". He was badly used in this movie. 5/10: I saw this movie Sunday night while ironing. Having nothing else to do, it did it's job of filling the time. Definitely better sci-fi out there, and definitely worse sci-fi out there. Why SciFi channel chooses to air most of the latter is a mystery.

Losing the spirit of the show   on October 19, 2005 - 10:52 AM PDT   of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Season 2 (Disc 1 of 3) (2004) 3 out of 3 members found this review helpful   This DVD of Bullshit covered 4 topics PETA: P&T take on PETA, starting with a group protesting an animal care clinic that also puts animals to sleep, and ends with a very ironic twist. They made some interesting points, but the story seemed to meander and go off topic (for example, they brought in Ted "The Nuge" Nugent to shoot some bows and talk about how a discussion of not eating meat "made no sense to him"). Penn was in full profanity form, but what's missing -- in contrast to the first season -- is how they make the other side seem so ridiculous. 7/10 for this episode. Safety Hysteria: Again, some good points about how we've gotten so scared of germs and some of the silly steps we've taken to feel safer. I wish they made a clearer connection between our fears and how people benefit and fuel our fears. 6/10. The Business of Love: What I thought was the weakest link, this episode tries to make fun of all the love self help, such as the "Men are from Mars" type books. They jokingly stressed that we're actually both from Earth, but I think they miss the point that men and women are different, and we have to realize that. I *think* their basic gripe is how there's all these people trying to get money out of fixing people up and keeping people together. And, to an extent, I agree, but I don't think they were all too clear in what they were trying to prove. 5/10. War on Drugs: Here, they discuss the war on drugs (particularly marijuana). They show how pot can be medicinal for some, but that the gov't refuses to allow it, although a choice few do get medical marijuana from the federal gov't. They discuss how alcohol and tobacco are far more dangerous and bring in doctors to stress there hasn't been one death directly from using pot. They show the silliness of the "gateway drug" argument. But they missed the discussion of pot usage and crime (or lack thereof) and only touch on the cost it takes to imprison users. They also really didn't make the connection between the gang crimes during prohibition and the gang crimes with the current drug war. It's still their best episode in the DVD, but lacking. 7/10 I pretty much side with them on all these topics, to varying degrees. Unfortunately, they've forgotten the spirit of the show. Instead, Penn swears alot and makes fun of the people they show (and not in a way that strengthens their point, they just make fun of them). I want to like the episodes, but I just feel they don't do enough to make their case. Contrast this with their first season and you'll see what I mean. The first season was really more about uncovering the bullshit, but this DVD seems to be more about entertainment. 6/10 -- interesting, sometimes funny, but I think they're losing the spirit of what Bullshit was initially about.

The gift that you exchange the next day   on September 30, 2005 - 4:04 PM PDT   of The Gift (2000) 1 out of 1 members found this review helpful   Cate Blanchett stars as some country girl who can read minds by looking at Zener cards. Now, here's my first problem. Unless I'm missing something, these are cards used for scientifically testing ESP. It was distractring that she was using them for tarot cards. But anyway, her clientele include a woman abused by her husband (the wife played Hillary Swank, after "The Next Karate Kid" role and before "Million Dollar Baby", which I guess says you don't learn crap from Mr Miyagi) and a crazed hickish mechanic played by Giovanni Ribisi. Now, Ribisi is great in the role, but then again, he's played this role before. Seems like he ALWAYS plays this role. It's basically the role he played as lightning boy in The X-files except he has no superpower and there's not Agent Scully. Anyway, Blanchett's kid gets into a fight and she meets the soon to be married Greg Kinnear, her son's teacher. His fiancee is the "I'm pretty, but that's about it" Katie Holmes. Now, I haven't seen much of her, but the stuff I've seen her in is pretty mediocre. In fact, her best role is the one she's now, making Tom Cruise act like a moron in front of Oprah and a live studio audience. Most of the acting was pretty pedestrian, IMO. Only Ribisi's stood out. Well, actually, there was one other surprisingly good actor -- Keanu Reaves. I kid you not. He plays the abusive husband smacking around Hillary Swank, shooting squirells, smacking kids with caps, and generally being a prick. It's not a hard role, but this is Neo we're talking about. Any non-"whoa" role is Oscar calibur for him. So, here's the deal, Katie Holmes gets killed, and Blanchet sees her dead body someplace. She tells the cops, who think she's a wacko. But then it turns our her visions are true. Now they believe her. But, of course, they don't even think that, uh, maybe she's an accomplice somehow... There's a trial and someone gets convicted (duh, guess who), but wait, only like an hour has passed so there's obviously going to be some twist. Really, most of the movie writes itself after the first few minutes. Wrong person is accused, there's like 2 or 3 people who could be the murderer, but you don't know who. Eh, but you do find out at the end. Then course, at the very end, it finishes with a big twist that, I guess, is supposed to have you dropping your jaw. It did for me... in yawning format. This has been a pretty harsh review and really, the movie isn't that bad. Problem is, there's just enough annoying stuff that I ended up focusing on it. I'm usually not a nitpick, but in this case, that's all I did. 5/10 -- I suppose you could enjoy it, but I didn't.

Sure, go ahead and rent it   on September 28, 2005 - 12:53 PM PDT   of Dragonfly (2002) 1 out of 1 members found this review helpful   Dragonfly is one of those movies that really doesn't disappoint, but isn't really great either. Perfect rental movie. Kevin Costner stars as Joe Darrow in a non baseball, non post apocalypse roll as a doctor whose wife (an oncologist) is killed while helping out in South America. Well, after she dies, weird stuff starts happening. The kids she cared for at the hospital (in the US) are being contacted by her. She wants to tell Joe something, but what? Well, that's what the movie is about. Her kids keep drawing what looks like a squiggly cross. What is it? What is she trying to tell her? If she can communicate that, why not communicate more... does God have some sort of "you can only channel some mysterious symbol". And why pick something so esoteric? Still, it's the kind of movie you enjoy while on the ride, and it doesn't disappoint. You get pretty much what you'd expect. There is one particular startling scene, but it's not just a horror movie. 6/10. You could do better, but if you just wanna rent something supernatural, this should be fine.

First season was better...   on August 4, 2005 - 3:04 PM PDT   of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Season 2 (Disc 2 of 3) (2004) 1 out of 1 members found this review helpful   I found this show thru greencine (since I don't have Showtime) and eagerly waited renting the first season. It did not disappoint. Taking some popular topics (Feng Shui, speaking with the dead, alternative medicine, "environmental hysteria", etc) BS! dissects the topics. At the very least, they show some major BS in these topics, at best they show them to be complete BS. Ironically, some of the best fodder for their arguments are the proponents themselves. One memorable scene was getting people to sign the anti-DHMO (di-hydro monoxide) campaign at an enviro-rally. Sure, it's probably biased to make for the best TV, but it still makes a good point that much of this is BS. Anyway, that's my review of the first season. The second season -- well this DVD at least, doesn't have the same bite as the first. Their arguments seemed weaker, thought still making some valid points. In this DVD, they cover recycling, profanity, yoga/new age, fountain of youth. I thought the yoga/new age episode was the best. 6/10... still some good stuff, but not as good at the first season.

disappointing   on July 13, 2005 - 10:49 AM PDT   of Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) 3 out of 4 members found this review helpful   I had a better title, but I see "manfarang" took it. I wanted to like this movie and recommend it as there is a dearth of movies with Asian male leading roles. Sure, you got your Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, but, hey, do you see a trend there? Unfortunately, as the movie went on, I just got more and more disappointed. BLT is a story about a group of high school Asian guys about to transition to college. High School is a breeze; they have the good grades, they follow the "guidelines to a good college" perfectly, taking the right extracirricular activities, studying for the SATs, etc. But all of a sudden, they decide to take part in increasingly dangerous crimes (starting with making cheat sheets, moving to drugs, theft). That was my biggest problem with the movie. These kids, who seem to do everything they can to secure their future in a great college, would all of a sudden turn to crime. The reason for this isn't clear, if there is a reason at all. I don't think there was. If that's not enough, enter the mysterious Steve. rich, smart, Ivy League college destined, but basically a weirdo who pushes his girlfriend Stephanie to the lead character, Ben. He then has another plan never fully explained, but hey, he's Steve, and I guess we should expect that. I think there is a good story about kids like this, and BLT tried to tell one, but went overboard. 6/10. PS. Listen for the Dust Brothers "Fight Club" type score... or is it just me? I could have sworn some background music were variants of the Fight Club soundtrack.

Why can't there be more SciFi like this?   on June 15, 2005 - 11:28 AM PDT   of Primer (2003) 5 out of 6 members found this review helpful   So, you're watching the latest crapfest movie on SciFi Channel and you're wondering "Gee, it seems like I can count the number of good scifi movies on one hand and still have enough fingers left over to hold chopsticks" Then, along comes a movie like this that blows you away (well, it did for me!). Made for under 10k (I think), Primer is about a group of inventors looking to make the next big thing. Two of them stumble onto how to build a time machine. Interesting throughout, a bit confusing at the end (you really have to focus on the movie!), Primer is part scifi movie, part friendship movie, and how that friendship and trust are tested. The two characters act like real people in extraordinary circumstances. This is the kind of movie that makes the bold assumption that scifi doesn't always have to be about special effects and makes the even more bold assumption that their audience can think. 8/10. Somewhat confusing in parts, but still a very interesting movie.

A good cop drama/comedy with a great climax   on June 14, 2005 - 11:48 PM PDT   of Memories of Murder (1990) 6 out of 6 members found this review helpful   Movies like this are the reason why I watch a movie completely, even if I don't care for how it starts. Based on a still unresoved set of murders, Memories of Murder follow two rural cops and one cop from the big city. The rural cops seem like idiots, beating victims instead of working the case. Soon, the city cop is making all the right moves, finding the patterns of the killer, inching closer to finding the actual killer. At this point, it would have made for a nice, but pedestrian whodunit muder mystery. But the last 30 minutes of the movie turned this into so much more than that. Not to give much away, but there's so much sadness, so much tension, and in the last scene especially, you understand that those "memories of murder" are painful, haunting memories that you can really never shake off when you were neck deep in the investigation. I admit that I was a bit bored halfway through the movie. They tried to play the silly bungling cops card which, for me, grew tiresome quick. So, if you rent this movie and find yourself feeling the same way, all I can say is watch until the end and I don't think you'll be disappointed. 7/10 overall. 6/10 for the first two-thirds of the movie, then an 8-9/10 for the last third. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for something that doesn't follow the typical formula.

Good, then starts to yawnify at the end   on April 9, 2005 - 10:48 PM PDT   of Heaven (2002) 2 out of 3 members found this review helpful   I know, yawnify isn't a word. Philippa (the "hauntingly beautiful" Blanchett, if that term makes sense to anyone else) is a had-it-up-to-here teacher and decided to bomb a drug dealer. But, things don't go as planned. She's caught and sent to prison. While being interrogated, they tell her that her bomb killed innocent people, and not the intended target, and she just breaks down (in a really touching scene, I thought). Filippo (Ribisi) plays an interpreter who falls in love with her and decides to help. The tension builds in the beginning and midpoint. It starts to get dull after the midpoint. There is one very touching scene with Filippo and his father, and a memorable train scene -- beautiful cinematography. The end scene is... strange. Beautiful in one sense, silly in another. I guess it ties things together, but not to my liking. Still, I enjoyed the movie. 7/10.

(yawn).... nothing new   on March 12, 2005 - 9:58 PM PST   of Postmortem (1998) 1 out of 1 members found this review helpful   Charlie Sheen (... excuse me, Charles Sheen), plays some burnt out detective who settles down in Scotland (I think). Well, some guy thinks it'll be neat to fax an obituary of his intended victim. So, Sheen goes and helps the cops, who -- gosh! -- can't figure out how to draw a straight line without his help. The usual stuff happens. They think they have him, but wait, they don't. They almost catch him due to some amazing insight by Sheen's character. Some tragic stuff happens to a good friend/companion/lover (I don't want to spoil, hence being ambiguous). Climactic scene with protagonist and antagonist. The movie offered nothing special, nothing novel. They didn't dig into Sheen's character, and marginally dealt with the killer's character. No explanation of why he even bothered to fax in his murders. Bottom line, almost average movie, so, why not watch something average instead, or above average like, Insomnia. As for this movie, 4/10 for me.

Interesting... but untimately dull   on March 6, 2005 - 6:51 PM PST   of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) 2 out of 3 members found this review helpful   Basically, this is a murder story in a town with eccentric characters. The problem is, in one instance, it's a murder trail, and in another instance, it's an elongated sub-plot with one of these characters. The weirdness comes out of nowhere, hangs around for a bit, contribues little (other than saying, "hey, this is weird") then is dropped. I felt like I was watching two movies, either of which might have been good, but meshed together, didn't work for me. And the ending kept going on and on... 5/10 overall, with spots of 7/10. Could have worked as a law drama, or a quirky comedy, but not as both.

Started off good, but ultimately disappointing   on February 8, 2005 - 5:18 PM PST   of Long Dream (2000) 2 out of 2 members found this review helpful   Starting off like a twilight episode, this is a story about a man who has dreams that "seem" longer and longer. A night's sleep seems like 2 days in the dream world, then a month, a year, 10 years, etc. If he could dream infinitely, what happens? The long dreams start to change the person mentally and physically. From there, however, the story meanders, has a subplot about a girl, waxes philosophic ("if one dreams forever, does one live forever" -- things to that effect), but never really does anything. In the end, some stuff happens (don't want to give spoilers) and you're left scratching your head wondering what happened. 5/10. Starts off nice, loses its way in the middle, and ends with a whimper.

Wow, pretty good   on November 19, 2004 - 4:08 PM PST   of The Hire (2001) 5 out of 5 members found this review helpful   A compilation of 8 short movies ~10 minutes each, The Hire starts off pretty lame (IMO) and gets better. Each directed by a different director but all starring Clive Owen as "The Hire". My favorites are "The Chosen", "The Follow", "The Star", "The Powder Keg". My favorite of those is easily "The Star". Directed by Guy Ritchie and with a surprise guest star (geez... guess who), this one is the only real comedy as The Driver is made to take a superdiva on "the ride of her life". I know, it's a cliched term, but it fits the movie -- literally. 2 movies disappointed me (The Hostage, Beat The Devil) and I feel most who see this will not like every short, but I also feel that most will like at least a few of the shorts. Yes, most of the movies are basically an extended commercial for BMW (except the last movie, strangely) but they also work. The car chases are great and, of the shorts I enjoyed, the plot was interesting. If you don't see them all, I highly recommend seeing "The Star". Funny, lots of action, and a different style of acting for Owen. I saw this one a few times before returning the DVD. This short is about an 8 or 9. The other movies range from 5-8. So, all in all, about a 7.

Bad and good depending on POV   on November 13, 2004 - 2:01 AM PST   of Ichi the Killer (2001) 2 out of 6 members found this review helpful   I guess you can rate a movie in two ways: how much you enjoy it or how good of a movie it is within its genre. As a violent flick, maybe this movie is an 7-8, but in terms of personal feelings, it's a 4. Lots of sick scenes, some plot. But, like porn, the plot is there just to string along the 'moneyscenes'. In that, it delivers, but I need something more in order to enjoy the movie. Oh, I was watching this movie and my female roommate watched a few minutes of it. She just happened to watch a scene at that particular moment that made her get up, walk away and call me a sick bastard. (minor spoiler: the 'nipple abuse' scene)

Someone explain this movie to me?!?!   on November 13, 2004 - 1:52 AM PST   of Eraserhead (1977) 4 out of 12 members found this review helpful   Mulholland Drive is one of my favorite movies of all time. I loved the fact that, under all the weirdness, there is a theme to the movie. But Eraserhead? I don't think a better example of "WTF" exists, at least in my mind. So, usually, reviews give a summary of the movie. Good luck. I have no idea what happened. Some guy with bad hair, a baby-chicken thing, sperm, a guy pulling levers. This is a plea more than anything. If someone can explain this movie, please, please do! I'll give it another try, only because I loved Mulholland Drive so much, but I definitely need "Cliff's Notes" for this one.

Disturbing, but so good...   on February 16, 2004 - 11:16 PM PST   of Heavenly Creatures (1994) 5 out of 7 members found this review helpful   You knew what was going to happen. They show it in the beginning. You can see the relationship of the two girls going a bit far. Yet you still don't believe it when it does happen. The climactic scene was jaw dropping. Two girls, Pauline and Juliet, form a bond and escape to a mutually created fantasy world called Borovnia filled with life sized clay figurines that the two created. These are intelligent girls, and the term 'soulmates' isn't more appropriate than it is with them. But their friendship is disturbing to their parents and soon the parents are wondering if there's a sexual relationship going on. Maybe the two should be separated... (spoilers -- if you can call them that -- follow) I don't know if I'm supposed to feel remorse for these two girls, but I do. This is based on a true story and the girls were jailed for killing Pauline's mom and later released but never allowed to see each other again. This was a strong friendship, maybe love, and to tear apart two friends so close in their teenage years was bound to have a traumatic experience. And, without hindsight and life experience, it can "make sense" to kill the person they believed was an obstacle to their being together. These were kids, with kid emotions, that made a very adult mistake. But their friendship was real and the type that doesn't come around often. It's a shame that they were driven apart in the first place. None of this would have happened if they were together, and that's all they wanted. This is a movie that sticks in my mind and gets better (and more sad) the more I think about it. Most movies are forgotten after a few days, some stick around for weeks. I have a feeling this movie will still be in my mind years later. -Mark

Watch the movie before reading (or listening to) the book   on February 16, 2004 - 10:52 PM PST   of Hearts in Atlantis (2001) 1 out of 2 members found this review helpful   I have about an hour long commute each way everyday and listen to audiobooks to pass the time. If anyone has a long commute, I highly recommend this. Fiction works better than non-fiction. Anyway, the book contains 5 stories linked by characters. It's mostly the first story that the movie is made out of. In the book, the first story is easily the best. King paints a real "I feel as if I know him" Bobby Garfield as a kid turning 11, still living in the uncomplicated halcyon days of youth before life starts to get difficult. He befriends an old man, Ted Brautigan who is a bit creepy and mysterious, but also caring, especially to the fatherless Bobby. Ted also has special powers, it seems. What makes the book such a joy to read (or, in my case, listen to) is the way King paints the characters, be it Bobby's relation with Ted, or his mother and their strained relationship, or his friends-maybe-more relationship with Carol Gerber. The characters feel real. The plot development is slow, but not wasted. Each scene contributes something to Bobby or his relationship with the other characters. The movie skims over this to make a story. The characters don't feel like real characters, only pawns of the plot. The story feels hurried. The "low men" aren't nearly as mysterious as in the book. The movie isn't as rich or intricate as the book. There are some things I liked better in the movie than in the book. It makes me wonder if, had I seen the movie before listening to the audiobook, would I have enjoyed the movie more?

I loved this movie   on January 27, 2004 - 11:36 PM PST   of Il Mare (2000) 10 out of 11 members found this review helpful   Han Sung-hyun has just bought a home by the sea. He calls the place "Il Mare". While settling in, he checks his mailbox and finds a letter from a woman named Kim Eun-ju asking for her mail to be forwarded. He writes back to her saying there must be some mistake as he is the first person to live in the house. They keep exchanging letters and soon they form a close friendship as penpals. Oh yeah, it turns out he's living in 1997 and she's living in 1999. The mailbox in front of the house allows things to be sent to each other. Il Mare is a romance story with a "touch of fantasy" that allows for some interesting situations. For example, Kim loses her portable tape player in 1998 and asks Han to retrieve it and send it to her (using the mailbox). In another scene, he tries to meet her, but she doesn't recognize him because it's 1998 and she hasn't corresponded with him yet. Some of the scenes do feel a bit cheesy, some of the lines are cliched (one line will definitely stick out and get a groan from some). But the general feeling of the story is like a warm blanket. The romance is there, but yet you also feel that maybe they're time-crossed lovers, destined not to be together. I thought the climax was emotional and the ending fitting to this type of movie. PS: Ji-hyun Jun (she plays Kim Eun-ju) is so cute, it's painful. (character/actor names taken from IMDB)

My favorite of Guest's recent parody movies   on November 25, 2003 - 10:45 PM PST   of Waiting for Guffman (1996) 4 out of 4 members found this review helpful   I've seen Guest's last three parody movies "Best In Show", "A Mighty Wind", and "Waiting for Guffman" and this movie is my favorite of the three. It's basically about the small town of Blaine holding a play for the town celebration. An off-off-off broadway 'celebrity', Corky St. Clair, is in charge of the play and gets various townmembers to participate. None of them are very good; most of them are very bad, including Corky himself. Yet there is such a strong feeling among the actors that they are in the presence of theatric genius. You see the expected stuff: bad signing, bad acting all rolled into one bad play that everyone in town loves, but is beyond lame. Maybe not beyond, but pushing the envelope. Now, I didn't like "Best in Show". I thought characters were quirky more than anything else, but not necessarily funny. "A Mighty Wind" was almost too good and you felt almost like it was an actual documentary. "Waiting for Guffman" walked that thin line of parody, where falling on one side makes it too subtle to enjoy, and falling the other way makes it too blatant. There are signs of talent in the actors, but you still see the lameness in them. You feel for the characters, but still laugh at their perspective. The townspeople are like lovable goofs. They created a play that, if you were to watch, you would nod your head in vicarious shame, yet still tell them afterwards that they were great because you knew they put their god-darned hearts and souls into it.

Great rental, but not worth a buy...   on November 12, 2003 - 10:36 PM PST   of Identity (2003) 3 out of 4 members found this review helpful   Identity is a great rental that starts off nice and mysterious, then gets more mysterious by the minute. Great atmosphere, great pacing. A big plot twist takes place in the middle of the movie and you're left not knowing what to think. It's a great gimmick that's nicely explained (maybe not fully) and worth renting. The first viewing is a roller coaster ride of twists. The second allows for hindsight perspective. And maybe the third viewing allows for some deeper analysis. But after that, you're left with a story that exists to confuse and payoff at the end. Well worth seeing, but not a movie I could return to over and over.

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