alba500 Reviews

White House Down (2013)

This is a really bad movie

[1/10 · 2 July 2013]

This film is so bad that Jay Leno could us it in his monologue "how bad is it?" Well its not bad, its terrible. I wasted $11 and two hours of my life on this miserable excuse for a movie. The left wing propaganda is nauseating. The Obama like president is saccharine sweet and great in every way. He reminds me of some old propaganda movies about Lenin back in the day when I was growing up in Socialist Poland. But this is not all. The plot is naive and at times borders on ridiculous. Characters are flat and wooden. The viewer does not care about them. In fact viewer is just concern about when the end of this movie will come so that he can get out of the theater. Do not waste time and money on this movie.

Looking Over: The Edge of Love (2008 Video)

good script poor director

[28 February 2010]

Great story. World War two, men love women, then they go to war and the war changes them. There are people from your childhood that you remember as part of your romantic dreams. You go through life with the infatuation of these youthful dreams. One day something happens and the reality of who the person that you loved hits you in the face. Great romantic story. Good actors but... Well, you have to know how to tell it. The director clearly is not up to the task. In the end the film is just a disappointment. Too bad. The interactions are bad, stilted, unreal. The emotions that these characters should display are not there. Instead the viewer get a fare of strange scenes that do not add up at all. The two female friends, huh , friends do not interact like this. Dylan, there are persons like this, egocentric, in love with themselves, but...Dylan is not really shown as such. Dylan is just a distant caricature of that person that he should have been. I think some talented director should pick up this great story and do it again the way it should have been done.

Avatar (2009)

character development, dialog, story all weak or non existent. Good graphics

[4/10 · 23 December 2009]

Graphics is what saves this huge production. The rest of the movie is pretty bad. The story is the same old formula done so many times. Good natives and bad modern technology guys. Spare me HUH! The politically correct references are crude and many. Yes, we heard it all many a times and every time we are supposed to be impressed of how innovative and observant the director is. Iraq and Afghanistan are the wars of American oppression to steal oil from the peaceful natives. The hints are very "in your face". The whole thing stinks and worse of all it gets boring after the first hour. Character development, Cameron fails miserably. Dialogues are flat and predictable. The whole ting is predictable. Saving grace is the computer generated graphics and fancy battle scenes. Imagine how many good movies could be made with the $300 Million that was wasted on this dog.

The Holy Land (2001)

Simply great and important film

[10/10 · 5 July 2009]

No point retelling the plot. The plot is not that important. This film shows true life. Warts and all. The director is not trying to take sides (Arab or Jew), he is not trying to lecture anybody. He just shows a snapshot of life in Israel. He is showing interaction between different people of different backgrounds. The actors are not very known, but all play very well. Acting is superb and the action is completely unpredictable. It is not a "Hollywood" movie so do not expect a typical formula with a happy end. This is a must see important film.

PS: Somebody complained in here about kids used as suicide bombers. In fact this does happen. I remember in the press about a year ago they caught a 13 year old boy all rigged up with bombs at a border crossing. There were hundreds of suicide bombings and attempted bombings. Whether this ruins somebody comfortable theory of this conflict or not, this is the fact of life.

Stuart Saves His Family (1995)

Great movie

[10/10 · 28 August 2007]

This is one of best comedies of all times. The psychology of the main character is very incisive and realistic. However it is put in a grotesque context. Other characters are also very true to life or rather caricatures of certain types of people. The brother and the father of the main character seem to bring up the politically correct goofiness and dorkines of Al Franken. The Mother cuts also a very real and yet exaggerated person. The plot flows well and the whole dysfunctional family is funny and sad at the same time. The friends of Al Franken are also funny in their pseudo psychological babble and pretense. I find this film to be so good that I have bought the DVD.

Syriana (2005)

More of the same

[5/10 · 17 December 2005]

Not an ounce of originality in this movie. An evil US corporation, bent on making money (incredible) is taking advantage of poor natives and keeps them down. The natives are decent and honest people, but the multinational corporation will not let them be. It is just taking advantage and manipulates its government. Uff! And the Hollywood is surprised that people do not go to the movies any more. But the filming is nice, the shoots are good and the actors play well. In fact there is a lot of big names in this movie and Amanda Peet is great to look at. All in all what a waste of talent to do another "propaganda" movie that exposes the evil multinational corporation and evil capitalist system. The understanding of the Muslim culture is naive beyond belief. In this movie, the Arabs think exactly like the people in LA, except that they wear white robes.

Shopgirl (2005)

Excellent

[10/10 · 20 November 2005]

Very honest relationship drama. Full of passion and honesty. There are people and there are situations like in this movie. I for one have been in some of the situations like in this movie and watching this picture let me relate to it. Hollywod knows well how to work the camera and how to snap great shots but what ruins most of Hollywood movies is flat and formula type script. Most of the time I watch a movie and after first twenty minutes I can tell how the story will develop, who is the good guy and who is the villain. In Shopgirl there is no predictability, it is like a true life story where you can not tell what the ending will be like. I recommend this move to any movie goer. You will not be disappointed.

Edges of the Lord (2001)

The greatest movie ever

[10/10 · 24 April 2005]

It has been a long time since I saw a movie this great and this moving. The very unorthodox movie about the Holacoust. This is better than Shindlers List. It is a movie about growing up during the Nazi genocide of Jews. Brilliant! The performance of the character Tolo is beyond anything imaginable. The corruption of the polish peasants and the horror of it all. The horror is not just for the sake of horror. It corrupts the soul of the villagers and it refines the character of some of them like Tolo. Haley Joel Osment also gives one of his greatest performances. His conversion during the German occupation is so deep and so unexpected. It is also very probable and very convincing and yet dramatic.

The Last Samurai (2003)

Great Movie, I would give it a 10 but Cruz a bit weak to carry such powerfull role.

[9/10 · 7 December 2003]

This is a movie about the noble past and the merciless new. Nations like people have to modernize so that they do not fall behind. This movie captures it very well. The 19 century Japan has transformed itself from a backward country into a modern world class power.

My only complaint is too much political correctness (the old is good and noble and the new is all cynical and bad) and Mr. Cruz barely fits into a role of a tough and gruff warrior.

The photography is breathtaking, the story well written and the clash of the two cultures in the same country is well captured.

25th Hour (2002)

Excellent movie

[10/10 · 13 January 2003]

There is NO character development . . . NONE. There is NO plot development .. . NONE. And this is the greatness of this film. No need to develop characters. Just glimpse at life of some people. You will recognize them all the same. There is no moral in the story. Only a story is told. If it touched you like it did me, then this is art.

Possession (2002)

Wonderfull story showing that love is timeless.

[10/10 · 17 August 2002]

Wonderful story showing that love is timeless. Modern love story Paltrow and Eckhart) mirror another love story from the times of Victorian England. The settings are different but the passions and challenges are the same now as back then. This is a search for what defines real love and what that fleeting and powerful feeling is. Real art brings out emotions that define us as humans, that separates us from the physical and puts in another dimension; dimension of humanity and human spirit. This movie is clearly real art.

Edges of the Lord (2001)

The greatest movie ever

[10/10 · 18 July 2002]

This is meant to be a movie about the atrocities of war, but in fact this movie is about the pains of adolescence. It is about growing up. It is about how the terrible circumstances around the kids, influence their growing up and becoming adults. Why this movie is not brought to the USA ? Instead of this masterpiece, people in California must watch garbage like Men in Black II. This movie is acted beautifully, the script is wonderful and moving beyond belief and the filming is great. Please ! show this great movie to the American public

Men in Black II (2002)

A very bad movie

[1/10 · 18 July 2002]

Booring........ and not funny. Goes on and on and puts you to sleep. This movie is less than 90 minutes long but feels like it goes on forever. The gags are flat, the story is just stupid, the whole thing is hopeless. Why this movie is such a box office success ?? Beats me.

Edges of the Lord (2001)

Best movie I have seen in a long time.

[10/10 · 14 April 2002]

The plot is excellent. The story like it really was. I have heard so much about these times and how people behaved under extreme stress. This movie is so truthful to the real life. Some people are monsters and some are saints and often you can not tell who is who till they face the challenge of their lives. This movie is also about growing up, about the childhood torments and tribulations. It has some dreamlike qualities and the aspect of horror. The movie looks into the human soul, asks a lot of questions and answers only some of them. Well, an excellent experience. Everybody should see this great film. PS: I noticed that a Hollywood sugary run of the mill production "Panic Room" scored almost as high as this great artistic movie (7.5 to 7.8). This is hard for me to explain. I gave Panic Room a rating of 5 and Edges of the Lord 10.

Lost in Space (1998)

Hopeless movie.

[1/10 · 14 April 2002]

Why would any director put his name on a production like this. This movie is as boring and stupid as you can get. Why did I go see this hopeless attempt at a sci fi movie. The script is flat and without any sense the actors play poorly and even the shooting is substandard. All in all save your money and go see something else.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Way overrated

[5/10 · 14 April 2002]

I, know I know, I am supposed to like this movie. Well, I do not see much in here. A silly storyline with good filming. The heros go from one difficulty to another and each one they manage to overcome with great effort and skill. What is the purpose of it all, how can I relate to this whole story. I do not! I do not care if the heros come out alive and on top of that the movie is so predictable. You know that the good guys will come out on top.

Panic Room (2002)

Ok thriller but nothing new

[5/10 · 13 April 2002]

The movie is OK, but at the end it falls apart. In the last 10 minutes it degenerates into mushy melodrama, naive and sugar coated. One robber is very sensitive and saves good guys from other "bad" robber. The director can not help himself not to fall into attempt to scare the public. The robber that has fallen three floors, comes back to life and attacs the good guys. Scary scary , well shall I say stupid stupid.