gooeysmoo Reviews

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

Not a bad film, but not on par with the first two

[5/10 · 17 December 2008]

The Matrix was a sci-fi masterpiece and a groundbreaking film in its own right. It had a terrific story, a solid script and memorable characters, and it still managed to be thoroughly entertaining. The Matrix Reloaded was a step down from the first film, but was still entertaining and the acting was still very good, especially by Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith.

The Matrix Revolutions continues right after where the Matrix Reloaded left off and follows the characters as they prepare for the final battle for Zion and as Neo prepares for the ultimate showdown with Agent Smith.

The best part of this film is definitely the visuals. Reloaded had the best visuals out of all the films, in my humble opinion, but Revolutions is not too far behind in the looks department. The battle for Zion looks magnificent. The fights in the Matrix, especially the first fight in the Merovingian's club and the final battle against Smith, are all very well choreographed and look and sound great. The soundtrack is also quite good. The film does manage to entertain and you won't find yourself bored very often.

The downsides however, lie with the story and the script, the latter being the worst of the two. The script in this one is filled with cheesy one liners and monologues that will have you rolling your eyes (especially the "War is Over" monologue by the annoying kid. Kill me now, please...). We are introduced to characters that we are supposed to feel sorry for and be attached to when something bad happens, but these characters are given hardly any back story or introduction, so when they're finally killed off, we don't really give a rats ass.

The story is also a mess. In this film the plot spins all over the place and unless you've taken the time to carefully analyze the story, you'll be wondering just what the hell is going on. There are also several scenes that are ultimately pointless and try to be intelligent but just end up being redundant. The train station scene at the beginning is confusing and tries to hard to be smart, but eventually just ends up leaving the viewer scratching his head.

The acting, for the most part, is quite solid. Keanu Reeves delivers the usual wooden performance, but he still manages to be convincing in some scenes, but in others he seems to lack emotion. Laurence Fishburne and Carry Ann Moss deliver solid performances as usual and do a good job in this film. Hugo Weaving is terribly underused and only appears in a few scenes, but he still delivers one of the stronger performances in the film. Sadley, Gloria Stuart, the woman who played the Oracle, passed away before Revolutions was filmed, and instead was replaced by the fairly flat and boring actress, Mary Stuart. Jada Pinkett Smith is OK, and the rest of the supporting cast is a mixed bag. Lambert Wilson (The Merovingian) and Monica Belucci (Persephone), are also terribly underused and only appear in one scene, which destroys any chance of character development these characters could have had. They were interesting and I would have liked to know more about them. Collin Chau as Seraph also gives a good performance.

The film in its own right is not a bad film and is on par with other sci-fi blockbusters with lots of CGI. It's big, loud, epic and gorgeous to look at (especially on Blu-Ray), but lacks the substance and heart the first two films had.

Alien 3 (1992)

Abysmal

[1/10 · 29 October 2008]

As someone who enjoyed both Ridley Scott's original and James Cameron's excellent sequel, the disappointment I felt with this horrible abortion of a film is almost tiring. Not only did it ruin a series which could have been one of the best Sci-Fi trilogies ever made (The Matrix suffered the same fate), it took everything that made Aliens great and threw it out the window.

Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, who is now even more of a man, and even her performance can't save the film. The film makes its biggest mistake at the very beginning, by killing off Hicks (Michael Biehn) and Newt (Carrie Henn), effectively alienating the audience before the film even starts. Nice work there guys. They could have at least given a good explanation for their deaths, but instead give us the worst plot hole ever conceived and expect us to swallow it.

There are no characters in this film you can root for, like the first two films, they're all a bunch of evangelical criminals who haven't had sex in years. The plot is inconsistent, the script is shoddy and the special effects are laughably atrocious. The film was made six years after Aliens, and it looks worse.

Although David Fincher has smartened up ever since he made this turkey (Seven and Fight Club are two of my favorite films), this will always be a blemish on his resume. Avoid this film at all costs, unless you're hobby is wasting money. Don't even bother downloading it either, you can save that space on your computer for something worth while.

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

A major disappointment

[3/10 · 18 May 2007]

I, like many others, had been anticipating this movie since the first trailer came out. I guess we weren't wrong in anticipating this movie, since it looked amazing. I loved the first two films and I got my tickets right away. I walked in the theater on opening night, only to come out feeling like I had just wasted my money, which is never a good feeling.

The movie was very poor. I actually felt like walking out after Peter Parker started dancing. The script was the equivalent of something you'd find in a cheesy Michael Bay action movie, it was almost groan worthy. The movie tried to be too over-dramatic and came out as a rushed mess.

The biggest fault was with the villains. Venom seemed as though he was squeezed into the film to make more money. Sandman appeared for all of 10 minutes before disappearing. Venom was in the movie for all of 5 minutes. After the final fight, I was realized that this movie was just a rushed cash cow and nothing more.

If you were a fan of the first two, I suggest you stick with them. This movie is a gigantic mess and is just a very bad movie. Whoever wrote the script should be shot. The movie's only saving grace was it's special effects, but since the movie had hardly any action, it's not enough to warrant a view in the theater.

The Incredibles (2004)

Great!

[10/10 · 14 December 2004]

I really enjoyed the movie. Pixar is one of the very few companies that seem to never make a flop. The film has a great script, plot, characters and animation. It is also a tad more serious than other Pixar films and includes some violence, such as corpses of superheroes, people getting sucked in to plane engines and giant robots. It also has more real life issues, such as troubles with the family and law suites and isn't very peachy like other Disney films. I also liked how the characters weren't tanned, slim, muscular characters. Elastigirl wasn't a thin, ditzy girl and Mr. Incredible did not have rippling muscles, which really added to the realism of the film. Other characters such as Frozone, Edna Mode, Violet, Dash and Syndrome are also unique and humorous characters. The film has enough comedy to keep it going, but it also knows when to be serious as well.

I think this film would be better suited for children 10 and over, since it may be too frightening for younger ones. Take your family to see this film and not the snooze fest that is known as the Polar Express (which will probably creep your kids out more than this film will)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Proof that Disney can still create good movies

[2 November 2004]

Disney seemed to be going down the tubes lately, with Atlantis and Home on the Range, but this movie is a masterpiece. If it wasn't for this movie, Johnny Depp wouldn't be as famous as he is today. Every scene with him or Geoffery Rush is brilliant. The movie is very crisp and the shots of the islands are breathtaking. Definitely a movie worth picking up at Blockbuster or even better, buying ( I don't buy DVDs often but this was one of them). The characters are thought out very well and plot is excellent. The script is one of the main stars of the film itself, every line that seems to come out of Sparrow or Barbossa's mouth or any of the other cast is original. If you like action films you'll love this, if you like comedy you'll love this, actually, this movie is great for everyone (except small kids, who may get frightened by the skeleton scenes). 10/10

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

One of the better Disaster Films

[10/10 · 16 July 2004]

This is most likely Mr. Emmerich's best film so far. The plot and science may be a bit "off" but generally it's an enjoyable film. Disaster films aren't Pulp Fiction or The Godfather, in fact, every disaster movie ever created is below the 7.0 rating on this site. The movie here isn't boring and has some very suspenseful scenes. And there is plenty of disaster. Most movie today use CGI and slop it in to their films, and it looks really realistic. However, this film is a completely different story. The effects in this film are most likely the best I've ever scene, only Jurassic Park and some parts in LOTR beat what this movie has to offer. The special effects alone are well worth going to the theater. Tornadoes destroying L.A and a giant tidal wave rushing in to the streets of New York has never been done better. You can tell they spent quite a bit of time on the Special Effects. This movie isn't Top 250 material, but it's not bad either, and the characters aren't stupid, brainless idiots either (i.e Armageddon). I recommend you see it.