boberck Reviews

Relative Evil (2001)

Strong and depressing

[25 August 2002]

I saw the movie at the Chicago premier. I have to agree with zooeyfan. Extremely powerful amazing performances. Jennifer Tilly is poisonous. Ethan Embry is menacing. Jonathan Tucker is excellent. The cinematography is quite good. But what a bunch of dysfunctional characters, and what a sad movie!

U.S. Marshals (1998)

Gets better toward the end

[7/10 · 29 December 2000]

If you can tolerate Gerard's smugness, and get through the slow beginning, the movie rewards you with a lot of action, intrigue, and chases. Of course, we know how it is going to end, but that's okay because this is an action film, not a mystery. The actors do a good job, but Downey Jr. plays it a little too stiffly.

Kissing a Fool (1998)

Not romantic and not funny

[4/10 · 29 December 2000]

Implausible and boring, with distracting and unnecessary profanity. Bonnie Hunt's talent was totally wasted. Maybe the film would have worked if a different set of actors had been cast. It was really quite unpleasant to watch them going through the motions, and not caring about them at all.

RocketMan (1997)

What a waste...

[29 December 2000]

I enjoy funny movies where the nerdy loser ends up to be the winner. Unfortunately, this movie neither funny nor inspiring. Harland Williams is miscast (he was excellent in other movies), and little in the movie makes much sense. For a film like this to work the hero needs to have redeeming traits, but the Randall character is always trying to blame mishaps on others. So it is not a good film for children either.

Cool Runnings (1993)

Call me sentimental...

[8/10 · 29 December 2000]

...but I really liked this warm little movie. Sure, the plot is cliche and the movie is corny, but they put together a delightful assortment of characters and used a novel setting to make it a lot of fun. Candy is a bit weak at times, but the other actors are superb with their characters. You also rarely get to hear Jamaican accents. One of my favorites.

How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale (2000 TV Movie)

A fun farce

[7/10 · 27 December 2000]

Why anyone would bill it as a Christmas movie is beyond me. It's just a fun and silly farce about three guys trying to snag one or more rich wives. The actors are reasonably well matched to the characters that they play, and there is the usual assortment of hijinks.

Crimson Tide (1995)

A great film for...adolescent boys

[26 November 2000]

Despite great acting, I didn't like this film very much because it is so cartoonish and predictable. We've seen it all before and we see it all coming: a cautious Washington pitted against the trigger-happy Hackman. The characters mouth overly dramatic platitudes. Technical and military accuracy is discarded in favor of ridiculous plot devices. Lots of torpedos and spraying water offer visual excitement. Lots of purple lighting sets the mood. At least it isn't as bad bad as any of the madman-with-nuclear-bomb-threatens-to-blow-up-the-city movies. I just wish they had put more substance into this action movie.

The Green Mile (1999)

Simple and cliche...but overwhelmingly powerful

[30 January 2000]

I went to Green Mile prepared to be cynical. Instead, I left in awe. The reason is simple: I have a weakness for Twilight-Zone-type morality plays which invoke myth and simple sentimentality. The plot is not original; a character performs a few supernatural feats of healing, complete with bursting light bulbs. What sets Green Mile apart is that enormous competence of production, acting, directing, and music. TGM is not meant to be a serious look at any social issue. The main setting in a prison in the early part of the 20th century is mere window dressing. The magical character is a huge black man. Again, that is mere window dressing. In fact, all the characters are stereotypes, practically archetypes, and we all know who is good and who is bad. But the movie is so strong, it pulls the strings so effectively, it crafts almost every scene with such perfection, that it simply steamrolls its way over these objections and one is left mesmerized at the end. I expect that serious film critics will find the plot much too cliche for their tastes. But us novice critics are in awe of this example of the power of movie making. And I expect the normal movie-going public will be swept off its feet.