Tim-120 Reviews

Luna (1979)

A very odd and disturbing movie

[30 December 1998]

This was an odd movie that I am still not quite sure how to evaluate. The first time I saw it I was merely disgusted. The second time, I got more out of it, but I am not certain that it was worth the effort. Despite some good, and risky, performances, the story simply does not hold together well. By the end of the movie, it is very hard to care about any of the characters or the plot, despite the undeniable beauty of the film. Give it a try if you are in the mood for something different, but don't expect too much.

Medium Cool (1969)

An interesting movie with some noticeable flaws.

[8/10 · 30 December 1998]

This was an interesting movie that was perhaps too ambitious. The movie is really two different movie with different goals crammed together into one production. There is a fairly standard love story coupled with scenes of the violence around the Chicago DNC. The connection between the two stories is fairly tenuous. Having said that, the movie is still very good and is definitely worth watching.

Starship Troopers (1997)

The worst adaptation ever made!

[1/10 · 9 December 1998]

Starship Troopers is quite possibly the worst adaptation ever made. If Verhoeven felt that this movie was necessary, a very poor decision, couldn't he have least given it a different title instead of making us think that we might see an adaptation worthy of the novel. Perhaps the worst thing about this movie is the way that Verhoeven so badly misread the original text. To be honest, I am not sure that he had ever seen the original text or he would have made a different, better movie. I had high hopes for this movie since Starship Troopers is one of the few Heinlein novels amenable to an adaptation to the screen. Unfortunately what I got was this puerile and juvenile piece of cinematic trash. Even the special effects, which aren't as good as I had heard, do not make this movie worthwhile. Avoid this one like the plague.

Destination Moon (1950)

Dated, but fun

[9 December 1998]

This is a very dated but very fun film. While the plot is thin and the acting is fairly bad, this movie is worth the time simply because of the effort taken to make the special effects as technically correct as the art allowed at that time. Chesley Bonestell's astronomical paintings in the film are incredible and are worth the price of admission by themselves.