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Reviews
She's All That (1999)
Is that all?
This movie is as bad as I first thought it would be, the only good thing is Rachael Leigh Cook that, like in "Tangled", made a movie that is a complete waste of time. Ok, she started her career with this movie, before that she was hardly known in Hollywood but the story is more than awful, I know why the director hasn't made any other film yet. Although being very bad the film has it's moments, like the mixing of the school and the pool at the beginning, and the program "Real World L.A." being broadcasted with the character of the movie, but that isn't enough, there are a lot of things bad explained, want examples? Why no one liked Laney before - except the fat one - but she gets 46% of the votes?, why the bad guys who spoiled the pizza were forced to eat it, weren't they two against one? Of course, worst than that is: why is Sarah Michelle Gellar at that school and wasn't nominated to be prom queen? I think that Freddie Prinze Jr. enjoyed making it or he wouldn't be also in "Boys and Girls" another as bad as this one.
The only good think I can say about the movie is that I've discovered that Rachael Leigh Cook (who is fabulous is AntiTrust, a must see computer movie) is left-handed like me.
Ricochet River (2001)
A pretty good film
When I started watching this movie on TV I thought that it was an ordinary film with anything special on it, after ten minutes I've changed my mind and started watching it very carefully. I thought it was a story about a native-american like "Un indien dans la ville" (imdb reference: 0111543) but it turned out to be a very interesting story about society and the best ways to survive to a small village's monotony.
The best detail about this movie is that Kate Hudson acts in a role totally different to the only other she played until this movie, after that she acted again with her co-workers from "Desert Blue" in the famous "200 cigarettes", and in "About Adam" and "Gossip" (this one is a bad movie with a good script) and then she became one of the most famous actress in the world, well "almost famous". In "Desert Blue" (which I also recommend) she is a movie star trapped in a village in the middle of the desert and learns how wonderful that place can be (with some more explosions), here she is a small village girl who likes rafting and wants to get away from her home village as soon as possible.
There is also a criminal to punish, and salmons to protect, with a lot of romance in the middle and an important lesson about the respect for the other races and species.
See it if possible, It's worth it!
Showtime (2002)
Deep breath three times and... it's SHOWTIME!!!
A very well made comedy with two of the best comic actors of the last years: Robert de Niro, proved again that he can easily change genres like drama and comedy, as vilan, hero or anti-hero (his last movies chronologically: "Analyze This", "Rocky & Bullwinkle", "Men of Honor", "Meet the Parents", "15 Minutes", "The Score" and "Showtime") and be great in all of then
Eddie Murphy, although is voice is still deeply connected with The Donkey, shows that can perform in his performance and unfortunately the best scene is probably the beginning when he is talking about his Irish childhood (but his speech about the uncle is also very comic)
Rene Russo is back to screen with Robert de Niro (in a movie 4 times better than the previous one), in a role similar with her Catherine Banning from "Thomas Crown Affair" but to small for her to show all her talent
The movie criticizes all the reality shows that are proliferating around the world, overall is very good and one of the best in it's kind (a lot of people still think that the best policial comedy is "Rush Hour") I think that it deserves to be seen, it doesn't do anything besides all that is expected from it: entertain and better than any reality show.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Nothing beautiful to see
Honestly I can't understand what the Academy saw of so special in this movie and in it's director, personally I think that it shouldn't even be on the nominees for the statuette.
The only detail I really liked in the script was when he realizes that he really has a problem because of the LITTLE girl, but anyway that isn't enough to make a good movie, there are bad (but really bad) films with better stories and the only part that could save it from mediocrity is the totally predictable scene of pen offering to the great minds.
Well, I hope the next movie from Ron Howard to be better than this because worse it's very hard!
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Finally, the best!!
This movie is really good, it has some of the best special effects I've ever seen in a movie and the story (although the book is much better) is great. The only problem of "The Lord of the Rings" cinematographical trilogy is that screentime is never enough to tell everything, and in this particular case it has destroyed all the beauty of the original story. It's hard to make a large film to the general audience and originally the maximum time was only two and a half hours!!! happily the movie has three and it should have even more! The movie compared with the book is scarier but not greater, some of the best parts of the book had to be cut and the movie lost a lot with that. Happily the director knows how to transmit fear and also, in some scenes shows things that don't need to be told but help to brief the movie and also connect the three movies.
Let's hope that after this great hit the people start to see that New Zealand has some of the best director's in the world, and also of the best movies.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The only thing a man wouldn't do for his country
I've seen the movie on TV yesterday and I remembered to write my opinion about it. This film is (as everybody know) a master-piece, it's about the true feelings of soldiers. I think that the story is mainly based in visual effects like the jungle, the wonderful beaches and waterfalls but above all this story has a great script based in one of Pierre Boulle's master-pieces. In the movie we can see some great dilemmas such as Joyce's doubt about his ability to kill when needed; Saito's respect for Nicholson vs. wish to complete the bridge (and avoid hara-kiri); the final scene when Nicholson understands what I has done to his compatriots and then even death he completes their mission. I thing that no one can forget this story but if that happens, it will came back in a flash anytime someone starts whistling Bogey.
American Pie 2 (2001)
The Pie is getting better
This piece of pie is getting sweeter but unfortunatelly although it's a great movie, it's still a teen movie and it can't be understood by the general public as it should. The movie is in very aspects equal to the first (why changing??) and most important than having the same kind of jokes, it has the same cast and for a cast with this size its very hard! They re-hired a lot of actors and some of them had created a career (Shannon Elizabeth, Sean William Scott, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari and Tara Reid) but this is a thankfulness for the boost that AP has given to their career, almost all nowadays' teen stars were on that movie.
Let's hope that someone will have a great ideia for keeping doing pies for some more years, if they don't mess a lot because this story can be easily spoiled if they try to force the sequel. This second pie is very tasty and the ending, like in the first, makes the sequel possible but not predictable.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Kubrick is back!
This pinocchio based story was one of the most touching I've ever seen. Haley Joel Osment finally made a film that will put him in History, the only bad aspect of his career is that he always "sees dead people" (Sixth Sense) or dies (Pay It Forward) or is immortal (A.I.) but at least he is one of the greatest actors nowadays although he is still a bit short :). This Spielberg's movie has a personal touch of Kubrick, it may be 2001's influence but for me science-fiction only now, with this movie, has returned to it's golden age, I hope that others of Kubrick's great projects are placed on screen, the public always likes it and it´s money well invested 'cause it always comes back.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
The greatest musical of the 21th century!!!
This movie is simply amazing, I think that Baz Luhrmann finally made the great film everyone was waiting after Romeo+Juliet. With this movie I was transported to one century ago, my only thought was to live the Bohemian life, and the only thing I would change in this master-piece would be to add another music in one of the scenes but now I can't even remember what music that was!!! I hope this movie to be an Oscar winner in all the musical categories. I'm starting to love histories when love (sadly) doesn't win.
Desert Blue (1998)
Christina Ricci blasts all!
I've recently seen this movie on TV and I remembered to comment it for IMDb. The movie has a good story and is very well conducted by this Morgan Freeman, the cast is also great: Christina Ricci and some brothers of great stars (Richmond Arquette is one of the Arquette Brother, Casey Affleck, younger brother of Ben Affleck) that also act great, although not as well as they expert brothers and sisters. Kate Hudson's character, Skye, is very interesting and she had a great start and she liked her teammates so much that she (she meet Casey Affleck and Christina Ricci again in "200 cigarettes"). The funniest scenes of the movies are the blasts, and the most touching is the water running in the end. This movie may be forgotten in a couple of years, but I know that everyone that as an almost impossible dream like the sea in the desert will remember this story after achieving that dream.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)
Junk Movie
I only saw this movie because I was with a colleague that wanted to see it. We went to the previous one 'cause it was the only that we haven't seen at that time. We went to this to see if it was really better than BWP and it was. It seemed that the first was only a bate to take us to this, it is the reason of existence for this and for all Blair Witches to come. This film is a imitation of others, but a bad imitation. The mistery around the witch and the cepticism and all that atmosphere of horror is made with demons in "The Irrefutable Truth about Demons", the references to video and comparitions with movie, have been made in all "Scream"s the Blair Witch phenomenon, was created in the net, its supposed to attract people to the site, to the place and above that, to the theatre, this movie is clearly fiction, it lost the "magical" spell, it didn't had the power of the Witch. The blockbuster effect will be lost, before the fifth movie.
The Price of Milk (2000)
The best from New Zealand
NZ and Australia always had some good directors and actors, in the 90's we've seen some great movies from the middle of the Pacific Ocean such as "Braindead", "The Ugly", "Once Were Warriors" and it's sequel "What Becames of the Broken Hearted", from this director "Topless Women Talk about their Lives" with Danielle Cormack that also was in the Australian "Siam Sunset" and in "Channelling Baby". "The Price of Milk" is, along with "The Irrefutable Truth" about Demons an introduction to the new cinema from outside the great markets (or should I say market?). This movie is "a modern fairy-tale" that tells the strange love story of two normal persons that almost lose their mental sanity while trying not to lose their love (and their cows and the blanket). It's a hard movie, not very easy to understand for normal people, but very appreciated by the critics. I recommended this movie to almost everybody I knew that know how to appreciate a movie. And I also recommend it to all of you. And get ready... Peter Jackson and Karl Urban will be back in Lord of the Rings!
Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
Dafoe at his best
Finally a good movie about movies. That kind of films is been very used but this is a master piece, as the director said it's a tribute to Murnau. In the movie a director goes against all rules and risks the mental sanity of his team (and his own) to do the best and most realistic film of german history. Dafoe after doing some big and little parts in several important movies (such as "eXistenZ", "The English Patient", "Speed 2", "American Psycho", the old "Platoon" and the recent "Spider-Man") in this monstruous part he's perfect, I thought they had used a real vamp in the set. I saw the other movies nominated to the secondary actor's Oscar and Dafoe was better than any other. The best acting I've ever seen in a secondary actor.
Charlie's Angels (2000)
My opinion
The movie is a very strange comedy, Compared with the series it's worse but nowadays, according with the expected audience, it was perfect. I saw it twice and didn't want to see the expected sequel because Charlie wasn't enigmatic enough. By the way I know they are planning a sequel because of that look of Dylan on the beach. She is the most strange character of the entire story.