recent product reviews
Dreams (1990)
Very colorful, and the effects are OK (although outdone by higher-budget productions like What Dreams May Come). Excruciatingly slow. I guess a movie about dreams doesn’t have narrative responsibility.
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Eight Men Out (1988)
Sayles creates a very literary, scripted film with stock characters. A bit long, but the subject matter is well-storied and the movie covered everything that I suppose it needed to. Nice cast, but Strathairn would have made a better Shoeless Joe. Not everyone could play, so the baseball action was…
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28 Days Later… (2002)
A scary movie and interesting social comment. Just the right amount of humanity and hope to make it fulfilling. Boyle’s style keeps us engaged, setting the mood with music and scaring us with jarring, high-speed photography. Interesting shots and well-used effects throughout. The empty London shots are amazing. Murphy and…
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Old School (2003)
Another classic in the tradition of college frat movies like Animal House and PCU. Phillips’ timing is pretty good. Ferrell is funny, and Wilson is showing us that he’s a talented guy. Piven is miscast, I think. You’d expect a TV guy like Kilborn to be a decent actor, but…
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The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
Probably the most stylistic and witty animation since The Wall, but the story’s a bit long and silly, and the characters are mere caricatures, so it’s hard to take things seriously.
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Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
The story doesn’t substantiate its length. Not enough happens. We’re more wrapped up with the intricacies and vocabulary of seamanship than we are with plot. The characters are not well-developed, couldn’t keep the names straight. Crowe doesn’t do it for me. There’s always something about him that’s a bit reclusive…
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The Last Samurai (2003)
A cross between Braveheart, Dances With Wolves, and Zwick’s own Last of the Mohicans. Zwick’s best, and probably Cruise’s best, too. Nice to see him as a weary, older man. I love the fact that he’s a bit understated, only speaking when he has to. It’s a very appealing quality…
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Big Fish (2003)
A touching story peppered by a few moments that I didn’t really get, but the moral of the film, that stories make people immortal, is a good one. Another Burton film about characters on the fringe. Good young/old casting, and great accents by predominantly English actors. Some of Burton’s favorites…
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I'm a photographer, web developer, travel enthusiast, and movie buff living in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.In the summer of 1993, I started writing reviews for every movie I saw and haven't looked back. I'm up to 2,373 reviews now. This makes me cool or a complete dork, depending on your perspective.
Some of these reviews contain spoilers, so if that bothers you, don't read!
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