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Reviews
Ladyhawke (1985)
Heroes come in all sorts of packages...
The story for this movie is pretty straight-forward, so I'm not going to spend much time on the plot.
I first watched this movie when I was quite young-probably shortly after it was released (which would put me at 7 or 8 years of age). I have fond memories of watching this movie, it wasn't too scary or difficult to follow. My fondness for the film grew over the years (when my girlish crush on a young Matthew Broderick became a teenaged crush on the handsome Rutger Hauer). One thing that never bothered me was the music. I never really noticed it during the fight sequences. Then a friend of mine pointed it out a few years ago and now whenever I watch the movie I remember her unkind comments about the choice of music and laugh out loud. I'm only mentioning this because I checked other people's reviews of this film and a majority of them are about the music.
For those Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer fans out there, a word of warning: this really is Matthew Broderick's film. And for those who want to see plenty of Michelle, she has even less screen time than Hauer. That said; Pfeiffer is still luminous, Hauer dashing and Broderick hilarious. He delivers some real zingers in this movie: "Not on the life of my mother-even if I knew who she was!" He proves that you don't have to be big and strong to be a hero.
This movie is equal parts fantasy, adventure, romance and comedy. Please, please try to overlook the blaring musical sequences-even now I don't find them that awful, but I've always been one to focus on horrible dialogue rather than horrible music.
These characters are supposed to be French and I've heard some harsh comments about no one speaking French or with a French accent. Well, that never bothered me either. Did Kevin Costner speak with an English accent in "Prince of Thieves"? What about Jude Law in "Enemy at the Gates"-he was supposed to be Russian. I think having these actors speak in fake French accents would've been a mistake. Nope, for me, this film is just perfect as is (okay, I concede: the music could be changed).
If you're looking for a fun (and sometimes funny) ride check out this movie!
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Candidate (2002)
why'd ABC pass on it?
I've seen every episode of this new USA series and I'm wondering why a major network passed on it. Especially now, when ABC needs all the help it can get. Of course I might be wrong about which network it was that didn't pick it up, but I'm pretty sure it was the alphabet.
The show does have some faults. As one viewer pointed out, there isn't a lot of suspense, we all know Monk will solve the crime. But we don't watch to see IF he solves it; we watch to see HOW he does it. It's the same premise that kept viewers coming back to Murder, She Wrote for twelve seasons. As Monk, Tony Shaloub is not only hilarious, but also brings depth and sadness to his portrayal as an OCD sufferer (brought on by the unsolved murder of his wife). As his nurse, Bitty Schram is also hilarious. My favorite line so far was, "get in the car! I won't let you drive until hell freezes over, no, ya know what? Even if hell froze over I still wouldn't let you drive, because I wouldn't want you to drive on the ice!". I agree with the viewer who called Cpt. Stottlemeyer's assistant a "dunce." Yeah, we get the point that Monk is smarter than everyone else, but the producers don't have to make those people idiots. However, I do like the way the series shows that while Monk is an amazing detective, he's almost like a child. He can't function without the help of Sharona and even then he still has trouble just "living." One example of this occurred in the first episode. Monk was chasing a suspect and had to climb a ladder. He's deathly afraid of heights, among other things, and he freezes. The suspect climbs over Monk and makes his escape, while Monk tries to recite the Miranda Rights. After the incident Monk is embarassed, mortified and ashamed. Especially after being reamed out by his old captain. No, this show isn't perfect, but it's great summer viewing-hey, I'd even watch it during the regular tv season. Give it a try!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
good adaptation!
When I first heard that they were making this into a movie I groaned, how on earth could a movie be anywhere near as good as the book? I really didn't want to see it, but my dad (yes my dad!) wanted to go so I went with. I was pleasantly surprised, the movie was delightful.
For the most part the casting was good (2 grievances: I pictured Prof. McGonagall to be fortyish-so I thought Maggie Smith was a little old for the part-she did a fine job though; and Rickman wasn't quite how I'd pictured Snape). The cinematography and scenery were beautiful. Like a lot of fans of the books I was pointing out things that were different or had been left out, but the changes didn't hurt the movie. The movie didn't really drag at all, in fact when we were leaving the theatre I looked at my watch and couldn't believe that it had been over 2 hours. Nowadays movies run about 90 minutes, but I honestly couldn't tell it was a longer movie.
Seeing the movie made me want to re-read the books and I did so. Hopefully those who haven't already read them will want to once they've seen the film. And the books aren't just for kids (especially the last one which has several scenes that deal with torture and murder, among other things). I'm in my twenties and my dad is almost sixty and we both thoroughly enjoyed the books and he even enjoyed the movie more than I. Go see it (with or without your kids!).
Porky's II: The Next Day (1983)
the best one of the trilogy
I thought that this was the best movie of the Porky's trilogy. The best scene in all the movies is the graveyard scene and this movie has it. If you're looking for some deep intellectual stuff, stay away from this movie and the other two. But, if you're in the mood for good (unclean) fun try this movie. It's hilarious. And all those people out there who say women don't like this movie are wrong! I'm a young women and I loved this film when I was a teenager, plus I used to watch it with my brother and (get this) my mom. If you're offended by: foul language, nudity and sexual humor don't watch this movie! If you ignore this warning and watch it anyway don't complain that the characters said the "f word" too much or that everyone was obsessed with sex, 'cuz that's what it's about folks!
Pillow Talk (1959)
good fun!
I first watched this movie when I was 12 or so and I loved it! It's a funny movie from Hollywood's glory days. Rock Hudson and Doris Day made excellent sparring partners and Tony Randall was also very good. I've seen this movie several times and it never gets old. It's also a good movie that you shouldn't be afraid to watch in front of your kids. It's a harmless romantic comedy where you can just sit down and enjoy yourself for an hour and a half or so. Good, clean fun!
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
not the greatest, but a good film
I know a lot of people have been saying how long they were waiting for this to come out and how disappointed they were, well of course they were disappointed! I saw this movie in the theatre and I wasn't disappointed, want to know why? Because I didn't listen to all the hype. Because I expected it to not be as good as the original. This film was basically 20 years in the making, that's some build-up. I think even if Lucas had written an incredible script, hired the greatest actors in the world, and done everything else "right" there would've still been disappointment.
I grew up with Star Wars but I, unlike other fans, wasn't insulted by this movie, I liked it. I didn't find Jar Jar annoying, I found him odd and a little hard to understand at times, but he wasn't as horrible as people are saying. I like special effects as long as the movie isn't solely about them, and this one wasn't. True, Qui-Gonn was never mentioned in the first 3 movies, but his addition helped the story along. Obi-Wan told Luke that he felt he was ready to train Luke's father, but it turned out he wasn't. This movie helped to show that. Obi-Wan wasn't even done with his training, yet he helps Anakin. Yeah, that whole Amidala/Padme thing was kind of confusing, but every script has flaws. My major gripe with the movie was the casting of Jake Lloyd as Anakin. Sure he's cute and everything, but I went into this movie knowing that the role was going to be recast. That was the beauty of the first 3, everyone came back. Even for this one Ian McDiarmid came back as Palpatine. It's gonna be kind of weird when the queen has aged just a couple of years and Anakin turns from this little towhead into this hunky young guy. Maybe it's the force or something. All in all a good film.