eagleknight98 Reviews

The Shield (2002–2008)

The best show .... ever

[9/10 · 29 May 2007]

this is one of the best TV shows that i have ever watched. no super heroes non-sense, no graphics, just good old great script, acting and a wonderful story.

now, if you are one of those kids who are used to your hero flying and punching through walls.... nope.... don't watch this. it is as realistic as it can be, contains lots of adult themes and violence. even the camera view is made in such a way to make you, subconsciously, be the "eye of the watcher". it was a little irritating for the first few minutes, but then you will get over it with the immense story and acting.

it is about politics around the American-Mexican borders. corruption, betrayal, drugs... you name it. all of this is put in a twisted story that will never...ever.. bore the viewer.

the cast is awesome. i just cant believe how convincing all of them are. they do such a great job in being the character they are presenting. and their style never change. the make up, their weight, their hair style. everything and everyone are intertwined in a magnificent story.

two things you have to keep in mind if you are going to watch this series: 1. watch the series from the start, episode one, season one, or you will never understand it and end up hating it. 2. don't skip an episode. you will miss a lot of things.

highly recommended.

Apocalypto (2006)

Rise Mel, Rise!

[9/10 · 11 December 2006]

this is one of the movies that will make such an impression on you, that you ll never forget it for the rest of your life.

if we divide the movie into four quarters, the first two felt like the "passion of the Christ". the third quarter felt like "brave heart" and the last was basically "the predator".

combined, the movie was a wonder. it takes you in almost immediately. character development is phenomenal and i could catch a glitch in the direction or cinematography. (mind you that i have watched it only once).

Mel had put a great effort into creating a real world, he virtually built the civilization all over again. perfection in this movie reached the smallest of things, including beautifully detailed tattoos and accessories.

the cast did a great job, very convincing, especially when they don't talk !! what annoyed me most was reading the subtitles instead of purely enjoying the scenery. and i must say, there were some times were i wondered why am i watching this movie.

finally, the movie is perfect in every way. it has a very good message, and absolutely worth watching in the cinema. i hope a very good blue ray of this movie will be available by mid next year.

The Prestige (2006)

What a movie!!! Just Excellent

[10/10 · 2 November 2006]

Oh where do i begin! I knew this is a good movie. I knew it is gonna be tricky. So i watched tentatively from the start, and i just couldn't blink or exhale. This is one good movie and definitely worth the money to watch.

The story is unique, different and very interesting. Not only about magic and complicated tricks. It is also about the complex human emotions that are beautifully portrayed by a great cast. Acting form each individual was very convincing. There were few moments when camera movement was a little irritating and unstable, but all in all.. close to perfect.

In short, the movie is interesting and is like nothing i have seen before. It is definitely worth watching in the cinema... may be twice. And it is definitely worth buy the DVD. I hope they will make a presentable box set for this great movie.

American Dreamz (2006)

Silly depiction of today's situation

[5/10 · 21 July 2006]

i could hardly watch this movie. i know that many critics didn't like it for some reason or another. but since i was bored to death, i decided to watch this picture. and i am glad i did.

it is a silly movie. obviously not an Oscar winner. but it was meant to be that way, as to reflect the silly situation that our current life is revolving around! this movie is, funny, and has a lot, i mean a lot, of deep messages that might be masked by the silly acting of the cast in a genius way.

every one did great. the acting and the cast was more than convincing and they sent the message straight.

over all: well, i would watch this movie, once, on a DVD when it comes out. not worth watching in the cinema or owning the DVD.

Superman Returns (2006)

What A Great Return!!

[8/10 · 30 June 2006]

i was very afraid of watching this movie at first. i thought this one is gonna be one of those wannabes! but i have to thank Bryan Singer and his very creative and rather interesting way of putting things into the eye of the viewers.

to make things clear, this movie isn't about superman kicking lex Luther's ass. it is much deeper, way more humane than any other movie that i have watched recently. it is more serious, but still entertaining. looks into superman in a different angle. watching this movie felt like living a day or two in superman's life.

Bryan Singer's choice of the cast is genius. superman almost feels like Christopher reeve. Lois lain, beautiful, bald, and .... what can i say... a woman.... and finally, Kevin spacey... i really liked his character. he wasn't as crazy (or childish) as Gene Hackman. he was more formed and genuine.

it is good that they respected the laws of physics in this movie. and i would like it even more if they have keep doing so, or may be more, in all comic-to-movie pictures.

all in all; the movie is fantastic in every way. don't expect a remake of the classics. this movie leaps into a new era. a more humane, loving, and dramatic era. it is slow at times, yet it roller coaster into breath taking rides.

absolutely worth watching in the cinema... may be twice! and a must must have DVD... i hope a blue ray DVD or something.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Good, yet devastating movie!

[7/10 · 27 May 2006]

i went to the cinema today with a mood for action, graphics, and lots of fun. i got lots of the former.... and non of the latter. i had no idea of what is coming and i was in it for a real real shock!

movie's pace was rapid and captivating. there was no abstract or words of wisdom there... may be a sentence or two to quote, but that is it. some jokes were embedded here and there.... but i just couldn't laugh. fights ended quickly.... and things moved fast, in a direction i would have never anticipated.

the new director did reasonably well in maintaining emotions and attitude of most characters from part one and two. however, i really didn't like the rapid and blurry movement of the camera in action sequences. there wasn't much of choreographed fights.... and no true duels.

the make up was fantastic....everyone looked exactly like the comics especially beast. the cast did well, Logan glittered, as expected, and was the spine for this movie.

all in all; this movie was nice, worth watching in the cinema and the DVD is a must have. i believe that it should have been a little longer though to give more weight to the main characters in the finale.

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

A Very Entertaining Treasure Hunt

[8/10 · 26 May 2006]

i went to the movie with an open mind... ready to enjoy a movie... definitely not through the religious aspect... but rather through the brain teaser angle.... i was mainly worried about skipping important parts of the novel to make a 2hours plus movie.... but it was all well done...

ron haward did a great job depicting the excitement, and the action. not much of fast... and always annoying, camera movements. there were many parts were camera rotations really reminded me of beautiful mind...especially when solving a puzzle... nevertheless, they were very appropriate... and probably unavoidable.

tom hanks and everyone else did a great job embodying the novel characters.

it did feel a bit lengthy 20 min before the end.. for 5 minutes or so... other than that... the movie is all action and racing..

all in all.... it is a movie worth watching in the cinema... once though... and there aren't many graphics and very-special effects... so some can wait for the DVD.. if they can!! and it is definitely worth owning the DVD...

finally... it is so unfortunate that there are ones who gave a rating of 1... i am sure they didn't watch the movie... at least not with their mind open!! and i was so tempted to give the movie 10 to bring up the level.... but i'd still keep it fair.

King Kong (2005)

Spectacular

[8/10 · 17 December 2005]

peter, you have done it again.

i have never believed that a remake of king Kong can be worth watching, come on, that beast going on top of a building and roaring, again... we have all seen that before.... or at least read about it! Yet, this was an amazing work of art, a feast for the eye.

directing; simply.... great. the camera speaks in every movement. the angles chosen satisfy your eyes with beautiful scenery. close ups of the beauty and/or the beast makes u see the world in their eyes and convey there emotions straight to your eager heart.

cast; all of them did a great job. when i first learned about the cast of this movie, i really wondered why did peter choose Adrien Brody and jack black??!! then after i watched the movie, i have come to realize that it was a very smart choice. Peter actually did not choose heroes with dashing and handsome looks because the main character and the hero in this movie is Kong himself. thus peter did not choose someone too good looking that might drift our attention to their part of the movie. yet still, jack black acted amazingly well in a suitable personality for the role. and felt real good to see Adrien Brody running towards danger this time, instead of running away from it !

music of this movie was very entertaining and definitely matched your breath in every scene.

graphics; needless to say... fabulous. well what do expect from the lord of the graphics. Very convincing and thrilling. and they took so much care of Kong that one will end up seeing that ugly beast as a wonderful and caring ..... gentleman !!

the movie did feel long a bit, especially to those who didn't appreciate/enjoy camera movements and artistic shots.

overall; this movie is definitely worth watching in the cinema, once! and i will definitely buy the DVD when it comes out. i think this movie will do very well the box office, yet it will never beat the titanic as the highest grossing movie in history.

Big Fish (2003)

A delightful tale from a modest man's imagination

[9/10 · 5 September 2005]

where to begin, and where to start....

This movie deals with a simple life story of a simple man with an extraordinary imagination..... an imagination that sheds a warm ray of light to our ordinary day-to-day life to make it .... colorful.... wonderful... beautiful... rejubilant ... and worth living. It also deals with a common conflict between a man and his growing son.... put together with simple, yet very meaningful, abstract to make a marvelous 2hrs movie.

The director, Tim Burton. This man's mind is full of fantasy and imagination that he can accurately depict in his pictures. One will get drawn into the story, virtually, from the first minute.... till the last. The camera shots and the angels taken takes you right into the movie and makes you live the story with the actors. Not to forget the slow, but never boring, pace in Tim's pictures that gives you time to relax psychologically and absorb the story more.

The cast; they all did a great job, and delivered to the standard of Tim's imagination. Their facial expressions, their tone of voice, their complexion and their accent... all fit together in harmony and synchrony beyond any other movie.

The music; as perfect as the cast. It provided the movie its dream-like pace.... and bestowed upon my heart a calm rhythm.

In short... a great movie, so worth watching... and definitely worth owning.

Rumbling Hearts (2003–2004)

The slowest thing I have ever watched since I watched a golf game in slow motion!

[26 July 2005]

this anime is, shortly, about a mentally immature male who can hardly make a decision in his life. thus, causing emotional, and physical, damage to the people surrounding him.

i watched this anime with great anticipation, as it is highly rated in most site. Unfortunately, my expectations weren't met.

The story, to begin with, is extremely mushy. The first episode fails to make the viewer eager for more. I actually completed the series 3 months after watching the first episode. Adding to that, the story development is really, really slow and boring at times with excessive drama. It also contains scenes of mild nudity that (although i liked it) were very distracting at times. those short lived scenes did take the platonic flow of the story into an impulsive, and childish behavior. Perhaps i would have enjoyed the anime more if i was 11yrs old!

Nevertheless, this anime is rich with beautiful drawings, and fairly detailed shadowing. Character development was fair, since most characters reached a plateau from 3rd episode on.

The anime is a good attempt to make a nice, normal-being, Japanese cartoon, that made it to the top without the need of superpowers or swords :) and... it has a very satisfying end (and that is rare in anime)

Overall; definitely worth watching. Worth renting, not buying. Not worth watching twice.

Throne of Blood (1957)

Come on.... Its a Kurosawa!

[7/10 · 17 July 2005]

A nice classic from the legendary director Kurosawa, who had never let me down with his movies. And this is no exception.

Its a story about ambition, blended with loyalty, contaminated with betrayal that is vented by guilt. All this was portrayed in two good friends whose fate is about to change .... by an evil will.

It is one of those ghost stories with a noble message that your grandma used to recite for you before going to sleep! Mifune did a nice job being on the dark side ... yet his moments of guilt do co-inside with the nice young man that we knew in Seven Samurai.

Perhapse what makes this movie a classic is the story itself, less on the direction or the very negligible battle scenes.

Overall: It is another movie that is absolutely worth watching .. Only Once!

When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2002)

Fantastic....and i rarely say that !

[8/10 · 16 July 2005]

This movie is about an honest samurai who lived in an era of change in the Japanese tradition. Limitied by his clan's rights on him, he had to make a choice of scarifying his honor, or his family.

Those few lines were put in a captivating sequence and outstanding act. The director, along with his cast, managed to meta-morph a humble story into an epic that made, even the infrequent fans of Japanese movies, tied to their seats. Not because of CGI or sound effects, rather, it was for the mere character and story development.

There was about 15 minutes towards the ending where the story was stretched thin with some prolonged scenes. Nevertheless, this movie was packed with selfless love and courage.

If haven't seen this movie, it is time to impress yourself. Just make sure that you have some idea about Japanese culture and history.

Samurai Fiction (1998)

A hilarious movie

[7/10 · 11 July 2005]

I watched this movie, anticipating a reincarnation of Kurosawa samurai movies... Boy i was in for a surprise. This movie is funny, lite on the heart and soul, with a good message. I am a samurai fanatic, so i was disappointed initially, then I started to laugh once i realized that this is another "samurai champloo" kind of thing.

Story line was funny, yet it successfully preserves the honor and moral of the samurai. There where few moments of incongruent affect cosed by funny stunts mixed with death (talk about a killing joke eh!).

I liked the music of the movie especially the opening theme, however, i don't think samurai sword fights go well with hard metal rock guitars, even in a funny setting.

All the actors did a great job conveying their message.

The director and the editor had some fabulous shots that make me eager to watch more of their work.

Overall, the movie is worth watching and one would enjoy it a lot if he/she has a good background in Japanese culture and their humble beliefs.

Ran (1985)

Not The Best

[7/10 · 7 July 2005]

Needless to say that the mere fact that this movie is directed by Kurasawa gives this movie five stars. Yet, I was really hoping for an intelligent twist in this story.... a great battle tactics, unfortunately that wasn't the case. The story simply deals with a tyrant dictator who raged war against many people, perhaps some were innocent,and now it is his time to pay back. The acting is good.... yet less impressive that other Kurasawa movies. I just couldn't love, hate or admire any of the characters. The camera tells the story in a beautiful way but sometimes it is just too far away to tell who is who.... one can only know by the color code if the banner! The battle scenes were magnificent, and even though too short lived, were the most interesting part of the movie. Overall, It is still worth the 2hrs and 40 min. Yet this movie doesn't stand out as the old ones did.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

What is the hype for?!!

[4/10 · 26 June 2005]

I watched the movie with great expectations. It was given good reviews by many people and is still one of the top ten in the box office. What for??? First of all, if you watch the trailer... you have already learned the whole story and seen the most exciting parts of the movie! Then there comes approx. 120 min of the same thing over and over. Acting wise... well i have to say both did a good job, but nothing new... i mean, from Angelina perspective, it was like watching Tomb Raiders III!!! Having said that, the movie had some rare fun moments, and a lot of exaggerated action. Perhapse if the movie was made with different cast, no one would've bothered to watch it. Overall, this movie is worth watching on DVD on a very-boring Friday night.

Fullmetal Alchemist (2003–2004)

Top , non-Miyazaki, Anime

[9/10 · 26 June 2005]

This anime is about two gifted brothers who are intelligent, kind and ambitious. They live in a world where Alchemy, and subsequently Alchemist, is the law of the world (vs. science in ours). With alchemy, one can do wonders... repair broken items....change physical properties of a matter...etc. However, alchemy is bound to one rule....one cant take (or make) a thing without giving something in return. With this simple rule, the two brothers go in a maze of exciting adventures, meeting wonderful characters and even sometimes, respectable enemies. The anime is 51 episodes long, which might seem a little too long initially, yet fortunately...each and every episode will tie you to your seat and make you crave for more. Story line is good, a mix of brotherhood, friendship, love, humanity and (like any other anime) the effect of war on people, not to forget the hilarious moments this anime is mined with. Character development is excellent. Drawing is top notch and music is entertaining. Unfortunately, this anime is not concluded after 51 episodes. The movie, and hopefully the conclusion, is to be release 23rd July 2005. This anime is worth every second....a must see.

Future Boy Conan (1978)

A classic

[26 June 2005]

This is one of the first Miyazaki's. He made it in 1978. Was originally released in Italian then dubbed to Japanese. Future boy Conan is a story about a boy and his grand father who were the only survivors of the third world war. Apparently, there were more survivors who did not learn the lesson of preserving life. The anime is not about super beings or the supernatural. It is about ordinary people with ordinary powers driven by pure feelings of goodwill and platonic love. Miyazaki engraved his name in history and in the heart of generations to come with this anime. He gave life to those characters who live in our heart as people we know and learn from. The story line is superb. The characters are lovely. The drawing is magnificent for a 1978 anime. What else are you waiting for....don't miss this anime.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

A bit less than anticipated

[8/10 · 25 June 2005]

I guess I will start my short review by saying that I am a huge fan of Miyazaki since the 70's that is why I rushed to watch this movie. The movie, in short, is about a girl with low self esteem and poor self image. It is also about a selfish, egoistic and pampered boy who is too indulged with his beauty sometimes. Then fate brings those two, along with a lot of marvelous characters, together in a motivating, breathtaking adventure where each and everyone learns there weakness and strength through the other. Perhaps i was a little biased with the last two lines, because that is how i hoped it would be... The story line is somewhat weak, and if you watch it once, might look purposeless. The animation was great, but less than what he has achieved in Spirited Away. The English dubbing was good, yet weak when it comes to the fire spirit and the heroin. Overall: The movie is worth watching once in the cinema. And it is definitely worth getting the DVD to add it to the Miyazaki collection and to pay attention to those minor, yet powerful, details that one can never catch from watching the movie once.

Batman Begins (2005)

The Best

[8/10 · 22 June 2005]

Alriqht. When i first saw the teaser/trailer, i thought to myself...oh dear... another silly comic movie. I watched it last week 'cos i didn't have any thing else to do...and guess what.... i was there for a big surprise. The story, though repeated, was put into a more respectable perspective. The characters were solid. The villains were real evil.. not just a masked actor with a manic laugh ! All actors did well. Morgan freeman was a great addition to the movie cast. Mr. Bale did a pretty good job conveying the dark part of Bruce, but i wish he was a little more muscular. Katie Holmes was too baby-like...not the typical "hot" girls of the batman comics. I really appreciate the effort taken by the director and producers to FINALLY make a magnificent comic adaptation. I hope that this is a start to a new era of mature, wise, thrilling and fun comic movies. A MUST SEE.