stillers Reviews

Mission: Impossible II (2000)

Action films should have action.

[2/10 · 30 May 2000]

The periods of overcranked pseudo-action scenes serve only to prolong the torture that is this movie. I wonder if they paid enough to John Woo to compensate him for the damage to his reputation this movie will cause.

Bad guys driving a Ford Focus...come on.

Scrapbook (1999)

Funny, touching, emotional debut effort

[9/10 · 8 March 1999]

I saw this movie at the San Jose film festival, Cinequest, and found it to be an excellent debut for Kurt Kuenne.

It's the story of two brothers. The younger brother, Curt, lives in the shadow of the older brother. Curt finally begins to become his own man, when he is betrayed by his brother and starts to go down a dark path.

Everyone I talked to, from teenagers to senior citizens, identified with what the characters went through, and Kuenne directed the young cast excellently. Justin Urich (nephew of Robert Urich) plays with a great depth, and made the audience really feel for Curt's plight.

Kuenne may be a rising star, with his talent for comedy, emotional writing, and spectacular direction. He also wrote the fantastic score and edited the movie.

The writing could have been tighter, but as a first feature it shows great promise for everyone involved.