Seven-6 Reviews

The Evil Dead (1981)

Fantastic Low-Budget Horror Movie

[11 July 1999]

I am an aspiring film student, so I can appreciate fully what the filmmakers had to go through in order to make this film.

Raimi does have an arresting visual style. Using the camera as the evil force was a relative new thing I would imagine in the early eighties when this came out. The beginning of this film is, I think, the only time where you see the evil force skimming across the landscape like a phantom. The story could have been better, as the plot had been used by so many bad horror films before it. The one thing this film had was a great moody forboding to it. The low budget forced Raimi into using the camera to scare people most of the time. This same low budget also gave Raimi the "freedom" to do lots of quirky things with the camera, such as when Ash comes out of the cellar towards the end and the camera not only shows the view from straight above, but also shows a view from below. Another good example is when Bruce is looking down in the basement nearer to the beginning and the camera, instead of looking down at what they are seeing, looks up at them from the attic. What this does is not only give the viewer something to continuously occupy their minds, but also serves to point out to the mind of the viewer the fact that the evil (the house) was all around Ash. I loved the way Raimi just seemed to want to play with the camera for effect. I do not think many filmmakers seem to want to just play with the camera and the point of view. There were few drawn out shots, which makes for a better paced film.

What the story lacked in depth Raimi made up for not just in camera style, but also in his ability to know that the audience needed for this film. This is a very kinetic film, a lot of movement. Some for no other reason than to show a different view of the surroundings. In the end, I think Raimi and Campbell are the two biggest reasons to view this movie.

The ending is also very good.

Jackie Brown (1997)

Good second attempt for Tarantino.

[30 June 1999]

This is a really good film, let me just start that way. I think that, for everyone who liked Pulp Fiction's story telling and the way the film went about it, without a three-act screenplay, then this is the film you will enjoy. I agree with the one other person who I read, this film does not have any of the flash of Pulp Fiction. It does not have the flashy, catchy soundtrack that Pulp Fiction had, nor does it have the great lighting that made me think the sets were a little hot.

What Jackie Brown does have, though, is some very good dialogue. Not surprising considering this WAS a Elmore Leonard book with Tarantino doing the scripting. Both men have quite a talent for what they do. It is also clear, I think someone already brought this up, that Tarantino loves what he does, sometimes a little too much. Some of the shots could have been either edited out or trimmed a little, but, hey, some people might like it this way. I would have edited out some things, though.

Watch the movie, though, and get out of it what YOU can.

The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

Great acting and story telling.

[30 June 1999]

This a good movie and one which has gone down as just that.

The story is not particularly original and there were times which I could guess what would happen next, but the acting job more than made up for that in my book. I could never get Jeff's performance in the Vanishing out of my head until this movie. He did a great job in this one. Beau was also very good.

The one person who I must make a special note of is, or course, Ms. Pfeiffer. She simply blew me away. The piano scene is near legendary now. She is a VERY talented actress and I am glad she is getting everything she deserves now. She is sexy and talented, two traits which do not often go together. I love her and watch most movies she is in because she is talented and immense fun to watch onscreen.

I think I am biased, though, but, hey, everyone needs some actress/actor that they love to watch.

The Matrix (1999)

DO NOT MISS THIS MOVIE!!

[8 April 1999]

This is one of the very few films ever released that I have seen twice (and I will probably see it again). I do not see where people say there is little story here. Just watch it and you will see it has a great story. Parts of the movie may be taken off others, but, in this movie, the things that were done before are done with such style that I do not think people would mind that the filmmakers used them. The whole movie has this style that just exudes from it. This movie ranks up there with Terminator 2 in terms of overall effects and story to me.

Now I am no big time reviewer, so I probably cannot judge most things they can, but I do know what I, as a serious sci-fi and action, like and this definitely is in that pot.

GO SEE IT!

8MM (1999)

Great Film about Underside of Life!

[5 March 1999]

I really enjoyed this movie. I enjoyed the fact that this was not some kind of gloosied up Hollywoodized version of Andrew Kevin Walker's script, but it was a no-holds-barred reality that won't sit well with the squeamish. This type of movie does not get made all the time, unfortunately, but it should. Not since Seven, written by Walker as well I might add, has a movie dealt with this much gruesomeness without glossing it over.

I think this film deserves much more acclaim than it is getting. I agree with most people in the fact that this movie is about acting and filmmaking. Joel Schumacher is a filmmaker, not just a director. He has his own, fairly unique style. I loved almost every movie Andrew Kevin Walker has done and this is no exception!

Elizabeth (1998)

Worthy of the Praise!!

[10/10 · 26 February 1999]

This movie took my breathe away.

Elizabeth is a grandiose movie, made the way all historical pictures should be. It has a great gothic feel to it, which only serves to height it over-all impact. The opening scene is very powerful, as is all the visual links with religion to Elizabeth, like when she is first imprisoned and she is shown through the crossed window with her ladies-in-waiting. I have been told that a number of other actresses were asked to play this role, but I do not think anyone of them could have pulled this role off as well as Cate Blanchett, with exception being Kate Winslet.

I applaud the Academy for giving a nomination to Elizabeth, but I find it rather unsettling that the director received no nomination of his own.

The one big problem I did find with this movie is that it plays out, especially towards the end, like a bit of a Mafia film or a Godfather movie, with all the evil enemies of England being killed for the safety of the monarch. Walsingham seems to me to be a bit too Machiavellian in his methods as does the last half hour of the film.

I did enjoy this film thoroughly as a experience in the way I would want to view a film, but I do not see the reason for all the historical license the filmmakers took. Oh well.