bones-35 Reviews

The Father Who Moves Mountains (2021)

A contextual character study

[6/10 · 25 September 2021]

This movie explores the characters - their motivations, flaws and faults, against the backstory of their children going missing in the mountains.

Loyalty, connections, stubbornness, grief, are all displayed.

You may not sympathize with the characters, but you can empathize with - what would you do?

Prince Valiant (1997)

Unfortunate...

[4/10 · 16 October 2006]

This movie was an unfortunate waste of time, money and talent. It has all the ingredients for great entertainment. A clear hero, beautiful princess, chivalry, castles etc.. The props and costumes department obviously put a lot of effort in the movie and it looks great.

Unfortunately this movie is hobbled by a brain-dead script. The story-line is non-sensical. The dialogue is really bad and the acting shows it. There are lines that just cannot be delivered with a straight face and some of the dialogue and plot-twists are just corny.

Watching this movie was an agonizing experience, not to be repeated.

*** spoilers start here **** Why did the writers have to combine Excalibur with Nordic elements, add Chinese fireworks and a middle-eastern harem? It just doesn't make sense. If the writers had stayed true to the real Prince Valliant stories in the comics, they would have created a much better story line without having to mutilate a variety of the popular legends out there.

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Wasted Opportunity

[8/10 · 25 October 2004]

This movie has so much going for it, people speaking their native languages (or at least creating the impression of), wonderful scenery, attention to daily life detail (teeth, hair, roughness of cloth) and some great visual shots. The story, well loved by many, well know by most is compelling.

However,the choices Mel Gibson makes in dishing out an orthodox view on 'the Passion' detract from the overall experience. The way Christ is bullied, beaten and humiliated might be correct, but the amount of blood he looses in the process is unrealistic. Nobody of human flesh could sustain that amount of injury and still walk, let alone carry a cross. Unless Mr Gibson's point is to show that Christ wasn't from human flesh most of the gore was over the top and detracted from the movie.

In regards to the question of the portrayal of the jews in this movie, I think that Mr Gibson portrayed an establishment vs renegade point of view and therefore places the blame squarely at the feet of the establishment. That the establishment is Jewish is a fact of the story, but the actions are those of men with a vested interest in keeping the balance of power. I saw no derogatory portrayal of the jews as a people. The best analogy I can give is to compare the portrayal of the council members with the Spanish inquisition. Their actions reflect poorly on them as men, but should not be used to judge a religion.

All in all, I feel that if Mr Gibson had chosen to listen to modern day church scholars on the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth, he would have made an equally powerful movie, without the firestorm of religious fervour surrounding it.

8/10 overall impression, points subtracted for excessive use of repetition and visual theatrics.

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

Filling, but not nourishing

[8/10 · 15 May 2003]

The Matrix Reloaded: a collection of breathtaking action sequences, connected together by a rambling story line, poor character development and silly dialogue. The movie is certainly amusing and exciting, but it lacks the freshness of the first installment and certainly lacks a coherent story line. Part of the charm of the first Matrix was the small group of people involved, now there are many more characters and the significance of many is lost in the little screen time they get.

Watch it as you would eat a big mac, filling at first, but soon you'll be hungry again.

8/10 (primarily because of the special effects)

2010 (1984)

After reading the book it truly disappoints....

[5/10 · 29 July 2001]

The Space Odyssey books are a joy to read, even though they are more than ten years old. 2001 is a wonderful movie to watch, even now.... this film however is a true disappointment. The inclusion of the cold war crap makes it a somber product of the eighties, immediately spoiling it... The great mix of personalities in the book is not reflected in the casting, and the ending is something you can only suffer through.

In all, another occasion where the script writer/studios take liberties with a good book at their peril. The consequence will be that this film will probably be remembered more for it's portrayal of a somber 80's cold war feeling than for the SF movie it tries to be....