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TheCheesyOne
Reviews
Love Actually (2003)
For what it was, not bad.
Whomever called this movie a cute date movie is pretty much right on the money. The acting is stellar, but how can it not be? The story lines, yes plural, in fact, very much so, are underdevelopped for the most part, and just hard to follow. This didn't stop Love Actually from being a pretty cute movie, and this coming from a die hard horror fan. It seemed cliché though, almost contrived to have all these different, interconnected love stories end up so well. Oddly enough, the only part that really struck a chord with me for no apparent reason was the storyline with Jamie the writer striking up a romance with Aurelia the cleaning lady. When they learned English/Portuguese for each other, it was really...well, cute, but just a tad cringeworthy. The weird gratuitous sex scenes weren't really offensive per se, just slightly unnecessary. The film would have definitely worked without that story line, from which I can't even remember the characters' names. The ten year old with girl problems going to his grieving stepfather for advice was *very* cliché, to the point of groaning whenever they came on screen, since I'm such a nice critic. Hugh Grant was good as the newly elected Prime Minister. Well, Hugh Grant is always good, but he was really good in this one, and the small part he had alongside Thornton was well done indeed. His romance with Nathalie, and especially that kiss at the end was perfect. All in all, there were some story lines and some actors that this film would have done fine without: The sex scene stand ins and I guess the burnt out pop singer/manager thing we could have done without. Alan Rickman was great though, and whoever played Billy Mack was very Keith Richards-ish. This has been another useless review of another weird romantic comedy. Cheers.
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
Excellent, moving documentary
Michael Moore makes a very strong point in this, his third documentary. The news footage, and archival footage, especially from Baghdad is powerful, a frightening image of the controversy surrounding 9/11 that Moore conveys extremely well. Going around the Capitol and asking pro-war members of Congress to enlist their children, in my opinion, was a stroke of brilliance. This may seem a bit tongue in cheek to almost solicit around Capitol Hill, but it certainly proved a point. Another very moving part of Fahrenheit 9/11 was the woman in Flint who had lost her son in the war, and who went to Washington. Her reading the last letter her son sent her was extremely moving, almost tear-jerking for some in the theatre, and again, helped Mr Moore to prove his point. Fahrenheit 9/11 was all in all better than Bowling for Columbine. An amazing movie, and this is coming from a Canadian. ****/*****
Feardotcom (2002)
Just...bad.
I saw this movie on the basis of it being the same premise (approximately) as The Ring, one of my favourite movies. This, however, was completely non sensical. It seems like this was about as bad as Darkness Falls. The acting really wasn't very good, and even the parts that were supposed to be scary weren't. Why is the website feardotcom.com? Wouldn't it make more sense for it to be fear.com? Guess not. The producers of this probably didn't think much about that though, they might have been too busy trying to find better actors. I'm sorry to say, but this really wasn't worth the five bucks to rent it. I give it 1 star. Fear Dot Com definitely deserves its spot on the bottom 100. Well earned.
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Overrated
Rosemary's Baby, as much as it was an interesting film, was still highly overrated. It seemed like it was going to be amazing, but the only part that was even slightly disturbing was the end. The score was mediocre and although the acting wasn't bad, I didn't find myself at all drawn into the universe of Rosemary's Baby. It was probably scarier in the seventies, but my generation, having been desensitized by violence and gratuitous special effects, doesn't all in all seem to like films like this. It wasn't terrible. It just wasn't very good. I would have thought Ruth Gordon would have saved this movie, however, but despite her great acting, this just didn't do it for me That's my two cents...6/10
I Am the Cheese (1983)
Truly Awful *possible spoilers*
I hate to say it, but this movie is possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. If I hadn't read the book and done an in depth analysis for school on the book, I would have not had a clue what was going on. Not only was the acting dry and the dialogue weak at best, the score was terrible, and the ending made no sense. This movie really did not do the book justice. The low budget showed, and it lacked the certain something that Robert Cormier's books have. Adam Farmer's character was played so dryly that half the time, I had no idea what was going on, and what scene they were butchering. Dr. Brint was not...Dr. Brint-ish, and the ending threw me off completely. Call me dumb, but the only acting I thought was decent was on the part of Edna. "He's taking something, I think he's on drugs!!" Teehee. Avoid this movie at all costs, and don't ignore people's warnings on how truly awful this is.
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
Fell apart in the last 30 minutes, this was nothing special.
This movie was quite predictable, though it looked good in the theatres. I basically went to see it because of Catherine Zeta Jones, but even she didn't exactly save this movie. It tried too hard to be sentimental, but funny, and I found it to be really sappy from about the last 30 minutes or so. The only funny part was Clooney in a kilt, and of course Cedric the Entertainer. He was great, as always. Billy Bob Thornton was not bad as the Texan oil tycoon, though I found him a bit annoying. That was the point though... Clooney's speech to NOMAN was just not great. Lackluster, even. It didn't add much to the movie. All in all, it looked good in the previews, but in the end...not so much. 4/10
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Kutcher can act?! Hmm...
I'll admit right now that the only reason I decided to see this movie was because I wanted to make fun of Ashton Kutcher in a serious role. His acting wasn't actually that bad. As for the rest of the movie, it was good. There were a couple of plot holes, like in almost any time-travel movie, but Melora Walters really stole the show as Evan Treborn's mother. Wow, that woman can act! All in all, not a bad movie. The plot is slightly lacking though, so 7/10.
Mystic River (2003)
Not your average mystery movie, but still great!
***minor spoilers ahread*** I just saw this movie yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised with Clint Eastwood's direction. The movie was amazingly well made, with what I found to be great camera work, and wonderful actors. Sean Penn and Marcia Gay Harding stood out as the great actors that they are. The movie really made me want to read the book, something that few novel-adapted movies can do for me, and I was absolutely amazed at how they pulled off the strange twist ending. The movie was also free of plotholes, something I was grateful for, given that mystery movies are normally a little confusing. Mystic River kept me on the edge of my seat, and I give it 9/10.
La grande vadrouille (1966)
Great movie!
This was a hilarious movie, I'd imagine even for people who don't speak French. Louis de Funes was great, and the whole movies if definitely one I'm going to see again, just for the sheer fun of it! Bottom line: hilarious, 8/10
Session 9 (2001)
Brilliant Film, and genuinely creepy
Wow! I just saw this, on a countdown for new years, and I was extremely surprised. Not only does the suspense, not to mention creepiness build up subtly during the film, the characters' interaction is great, and the whole premise of this movie was one that really leaves a spine chilling feeling after watching it, I know I'm still shaking. *possible spoilers* The whole part about Mary Hobbs was really scary. Almost "Samara-scary" actually. Brilliant movie all in all, I give it 8/10.
The Calling (2000)
Very Rosemary's Baby-ish but not too bad.
This was definitely not as bad as I thought it would be. The acting was a little dry, I guess, but the kid who played Dylan was definitely creepy. There was a lot of symbolism, or maybe I was just making some up to make the movie seem more profound, but the raven part was pretty cool, and plus, the raven is also a Carrie thing... Heh, so all in all, this wasn't so bad, and it reminded me of Rosemary's Baby, what with the devil's child and all. I gave it 4/10.
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Wow! Not half as bad as I thought!
For some reason, my English teacher is on a R+J movie kick, so we watched this in class as well as the 68 version. This is really a bit of an odd idea for Romeo and Juliet, with the modern setting, but it really worked well! This was actually better than the 68 one, in my opinion. The acting is quite good, the nurse was again, hilarious (teehee), the "friar" was slightly odd... but all in all, this really isn't a bad movie! ***/*****
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Hmmm....
The only thing I truly liked about this movie was the nurse. She was absolutely hilarious, I really don't know why, but I laughed everytime she was onscreen. Go figure. The acting aside from that was terrible, and I laughed through the whole movie! This is a poor excuse for Shakespeare, as it was WAY too cheesy (tee hee). I didn't find this appealing, but that may have had something to do with watching it in English class. Bottom line: see Shakespeare in Love instead... 4/10.
Darkness Falls (2003)
Darkness Falls down a deep hole, never to be seen again!
Blech! Not only was this movie boring, the plot pointless and the actors lacking, what was with " Evil toothfairy! Run!!" Come on. The beginning is sorta cool, with the narrated parts, but then it just goes downhill. I was expecting to not be able to sleep, what with the Don't Peek stuff being said every 6 seconds, but really, all I wanted to do was go home and watch a good movie. Avoid this like the plague!
Carrie (1976)
A classic
This is one of my favourite movies, though I'm not sure why. I read the book and the movie isn't really the same, yet I think that Piper Laurie conveys the character of Margaret White very convincingly! Even though Stephen King regards this as not one of his best works, it will still remain a classic horror movie. Rating 9/10
The Ring (2002)
Disturbing...
I saw this movie when I was 12 and it scared the hell out of me! I thought that it was quite well made, with more symbolism than you can normally find in a recent horror movie... One of the most prominant reasons for me liking this movie a lot is the fact the Gore Verbinsky had the ability to make us scared of something not normally scary, like a TV or a tree. All in all, very freaky and disturbing movie. I give it 8/10... See it alone.
The Others (2001)
I loved this movie!
I watched this twice in two days. I thought that this would be really scary, but what I got was a very suspenseful movie with great acting by Nicole Kidman (Grace) and Alakina Mann (Ann). The 3 servants were perfect in their role and even if some people say that the ending was known all along, I didn't catch it until the end... call me stupid if you want :)Nicole Kidman was great, and conveyed the message of being exhausted, frustrated and lonely very well... I even felt sympathy for her, as I do most of the "evil" people in horror/suspense movies. Don't know why exactly, but this movie is very high on my list!
Carrie (1976)
A classic
This is one of my favourite movies, though I'm not sure why. I read the book and the movie isn't really the same, yet I think that Piper Laurie conveys the character of Margaret White very convincingly! Even though Stephen King regards this as not one of his best works, it will still remain a classic horror movie. Rating 9/10