Well, I just came back from seeing this film and I must say, it sucked. It's just another teen "slasher" film to follow in the "Scream" tradition: a bunch of dumb teenagers played by no-name actors and actresses get slashed in various, grotesque ways. Is that all Hollywood can think of anymore? This movie just makes me want to watch "Halloween" or "The Exorcist" even more. Those films are what true terror is all about. It also saddens me that James Wong, and the rest of his crew had to exploit a very sad and tragic disaster that was TWA Flight 800 in order to make this movie a "hit", and if people can't see that the first 20 minutes of the movie were based on that disaster, open your eyes. Avoid this mess at all costs. Don't waste your money.
Reviews
65 Reviews
A tale of possession, not dreaming
11 March 2000
"A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge" was released in 1985. It features an all new cast and Robert Englund back as Freddy Krueger. Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton) moves into 1428 Elm Street (Nancy Thompson's old house), where he starts having awful dreams about Freddy. It seems Krueger wants to possess Jesse in order to kill again. Right here is where the film goes WRONG. The whole idea of the original is the fact that Freddy kills his victims while they are sleeping, and that if he is brought out into the real world he'll die. This film totally contradicts what the first film was about (which is why Wes Craven didn't want anything to do with it). Now don't get me wrong, the special effects are great, and the acting is pretty good too, especially from Patton and Kim Myers as Lisa, Jesse's love interest, but I think the thing that really ruined this film was the plot, plus Freddy doesn't use his glove to kill, but knives coming from his fingers. The music is also different. Although this film does expand on the plot of the first film, with many references to it, the next film actually continues from where the first film ends, and Freddy is actually still scary in this before he started becoming goofy.
Good storyline, great acting
20 January 2000
"Star Trek III: The Search For Spock" was released in 1984 and begins with the USS Enterprise returning to spacedock for repairs after the battle with Khan. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew are trying to keep busy in dealing with the death of Spock, while his son David (Merritt Butrick) and Lt. Saavick (Robin Curtis, replacing Kirstie Alley) are reassigned to the USS Grisson and explore the newly created Genesis Planet. Admiral Kirk gets a surprise visit from Spock's father, Sarek (Mark Lenard) and learns of his "katra", or living spirit, that was planted in McCoy. Kirk disobeys orders from the Starfleet Commander, steals the Enterprise and travels to the Genesis Planet to retrieve Spock's body and return his katra. This film is great. It is not as good as TWOK but it has it's moments, especially when the Enterprise is blown to bits and we watch Kirk and his crew see it disintegrate, you sort of feel for him, his ship for all of those years, gone. Christopher Lloyd is terrific as Commander Kruge, who wants the secret of Genesis for the Klingon's own personal use. He is a nasty villian and is my second favorite in the series, he is ruthless. Leonard Nimoy only makes a cameo appearance at the end when he "lives" again. You see a lot more of him in TVH. This film is a great film which levels off the suspense, action and drama which made the it's predcessor so great. Rent it today!
Fantastic, the best film in the series
17 January 2000
"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" was released in 1982 and was a sequel to the original series episode, "Space Seed". Totally ignoring the events of the previous picture, this one creates an interesting plot featuring a planet creating device called "Genesis" and the return of Khan Noonien Singh, whom Captain Kirk exiled to planet Ceti Alpha V fifteen years earlier. Captain Clark Terrell and First Officer Pavel Checkov from the USS Reliant, land on Ceti Alpha V, which they thought was planet VI, to seek out a test site for Genesis. They encounter Khan (Ricardo Montalban) and his genetic supermen and are brainwashed by some gross creatures that Khan put in their ears. He takes over the Reliant and seeks out the USS Enterprise, which is now an Academy training vessel, on a run with a group of trainees. The rest of the film is non-stop action as a cat and mouse game is played with the Reliant and the Enterprise, Kirk and Khan exchange words, and a battle in the Mutara Nebula. The rest of the original cast is here along with Kirstie Alley as Lt. Saavick. Ricardo Montalban is way over the top as Khan, which makes the film all the better. Everyone seems to have emotion in this one (which is put to the test at the end of the film), they have better uniforms, the Enterprise is no longer pastel-heaven and there is a significant amount of action in this to please the viewer. This is the best film in the series and it is VERY emotional at the end, but he will return...
It's not as bad if you can get past the slow parts
17 January 2000
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was the first of nine films in the series and was released in 1979, ten years after the original series went bust. It reunites Captain/Admiral Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and the rest of the crew to fight a huge machine named V'Ger. The newly refitted USS Enterprise (which is my favorite of all six ships to appear in the series) is sent out to investigate this machine cloud V'Ger after three Klingon ships are destroyed by it. Mostly the movie consists of shot after shot of the Enterprise crew wide-eyed as they are pulled into the cloud trying to figure out a way to stop it. It's all special effects and little story, with the climax having Kirk and company find out V'Ger is the space probe Voyager 6, which drifted into this cloud and immersed itself with great energy. The movie does have good points though. For one, the shots of the new Enterprise are fantastic, it gives the viewer a chance to see this sleek ship from what it looked like in the original series. The wormhole sequence was a good special effects shot as well as the ending, which V'Ger "explodes". Compared with it's sequels, the acting in this one seems stiff. No emotions from anyone, they gawk at that cloud for at least 45 minutes worth of film and Kirk just seems like a jerk in this, very egotistical. Also, those pajama uniforms and pastel colors are awful, and I am glad they made the switch to those other ones in the later films. The music, I think, is the best of the series. It really relates to the events in the film and the main title was used in "The Next Generation" series. To sum, ST: TMP has it's up and down points, more the latter, and if you can tolerate slowness and some bad acting, then this the film for you.
Mommie Dearest
(1981)
NO WIRE HANGERS...EVER!!!
25 December 1999
Well after seeing this film, in certainly made me think twice about Joan Crawford. Based on the book of the same name by her adopted daughter Christina, the film chronicles the life of the actress as she struggles with her personal career and rebellious daughter. I absolutely love this movie, Faye Dunaway does such an over-the-top performance of Joan that you have to love her. She adopted 4 kids but only the two (Christina and Christopher) were shown. She tied the kids to their beds, made them eat raw meat, abused Christina by cutting off all of her hair and hitting her with wire hangers and soap boxes, forcing them to do ridiculous chores (Tina! Fetch me the axe!), and even leaving them out of her will completely. The film is acted horribly, with only Dunaway being awesome. I mean come on, how many times can you see an actress go completely nuts over wire hangers? Diana Scarwid who plays the older Tina looks bored here, and all of the other actors look even more bored than her. No doubt this film is a BAD film, but it's so bad that it's great. I would tell anyone to rent this to either A.) get a good laugh or B.) See Faye Dunaway try to choke Diana Scarwid. B+
Alien: Resurrection
(1997)
Nice touch up on the "Alien" series
16 December 1999
"Alien: Resurrection" is the last (so far) of the "Alien" series started in 1979. It breaks new ground with new characters and a new Ellen Ripley. 200 years after she killed herself on Fiorina 161, the United Systems Military has acquired her blood samples and cloned her in order to get the alien queen she was carrying at the time of her death. They use the queen to lay her eggs and the crew of the "Betty" brings in a shipment of people cryogenically frozen to use for the facehuggers. The aliens are born but soon all hell breaks loose and they break loose. Ripley, who is now a half human/half alien because of the DNA mix of the cloning, teams up with the crew of the "Betty" in order to stop the aliens before they head to Earth. The film is an improvement over "Alien 3" but still doesn't deliver the punch that we got from the first two films. There is action in this however, including a great underwater scene and the gore in here is plentiful (this is by far the goriest entry in the series). The characters aren't that well developed, all except for Ripley, who is sarcastic and developed a Groucho Marx-like one-liner syndrome. Also added is this hideous newborn creature that thinks Ripley is it's momma or something like that.
Alien 3
(1992)
3 times the swearing...
13 December 1999
"Alien 3" is considered to be the darkest out of all 4 films. It picks up where "Aliens" left off and focuses on Ripley's (Sigourney Weaver) troubles with her best friend, the xenomorph, who she has a special connection with this time around. After the assault against the aliens on LV-426, Ripley, the little girl Newt, Corporal Hicks and Bishop the Android are on their way home, but an egg has been planted on the Sulaco (presumably by the Queen before her death) and the facehugger that emerges from it starts a fire. Ripley and her companions get ejected into an EEV, which crash lands on Fiorina 161, a barren planet inhabited by murderers and rapists who now turn to God. Hicks, Newt and Bishop die, which leaves Ripley all alone waiting to be rescued. When some inmates start disappearing, Ripley fears an alien has landed on the planet with her and she was right. With limited weapons, she teams up with the convicts to kill it. She also has to make a life or death decision because of her very special connection to the alien species as well. This film was a HUGE turn around from the previous film, it is dark and slow moving, the survivors are killed in the first 5 minutes and Ripley has a shaved head. The convicts were annoying and they must have spewed the F-word at least 100 times throughout the whole movie. The alien was also different from the others, it ran on all 4 legs and it protected Ripley. This is a good entry in the series, but it is my least favorite.
Back to the Future Part II
(1989)
Very clever sequel
3 December 1999
"Back to the Future, Part II" manages to outdo it's predecessor in every way. Better acting, better effects, better storyline. It picks up directly where the original leaves off. This time, Marty, Doc Brown and Marty's girlfriend, Jennifer, travel to the year 2015 in order to prevent certain disasters with Marty's kids. While in the future, Marty buys a sports almanac (50 years of sports statistics 1950-2000) which he wants to take back to 1985 with the hopes of winning a lot of money. Unfortunately, old Biff Tannen manages to grab the book after Doc Brown throws it away, and steals the Delorean to take it to the future (or the past?) Marty, Doc and Jennifer arrive in 1985 again only to find it has been tampered with, and their little town of Hill Valley has become a bigtime war zone. Seems Biff was the cause of it, as he won a huge amount of money in his early years which caused him to become a millionaire tycoon. Marty investigates and him and Doc need to go back to 1955 in order to repair the damage done to 1985! (I hope you get it so far) In 1955, Marty tracks down young Biff this time in order to get the almanac and destroy it so the normal timeline can be restored. He also has to be careful not to run into his other "self", because he is in 1955 on the same day that he goes back to the future in the original movie. Well, this movie certainly is clever, no doubt about that, but it isn't at all lighthearted as the original, it is a dark movie, especially when the action shifts to the alternate 1985. For a movie that in reality, takes place 4 years after the first movie, it pulls off the continuity nicely. The acting is great, especially by Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox. Elizabeth Shue replaces Claudia Wells as Jennifer and Crispin Glover is only in scenes from the original movie. This is definitely the best movie of the series, balancing action, humor and darkness equally.
Not bad, but not good either
23 November 1999
"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is a PREQUEL to "Raiders of the Lost Ark", taking place a year before the original movie. In this adventure, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), lounge singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) and Short Round (Ke Huy Kwan) arrive in India to help a small village recover stolen stones, called Shankara, and to rescue their kidnapped kids. They fight against the Thuggee Cult and it's leader, the evil Mola Ram (Amish Puri). This movie is filled with action, more action than the original film, but it's loaded with extreme violence (i.e. a man's heart getting pulled out of his chest) and gross out gags (bugs, bugs and more bugs). The plot is different from "Raiders" which is a good thing, since it didn't copy the plot. The acting could have been MUCH better though. Kate Capshaw is a terrible replacement for the awesome Karen Allen. She is whiney, annoying, and just there. She really has no connection to the story, she was just stuck in there for comic relief and it didn't work. Harrison Ford is great, again and the little kid isn't that bad either. The Nazis are replaced by the Thuggee cult, they seem to be more evil and sinister, considering that the leader pulls out a man's heart. All in all, this is a good flick, but it might be a little too violent for younger kids.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1981)
Marvelous piece of film making, Best of the trilogy
23 November 1999
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" is a groundbreaking film filled with action, suspense, romance, and more. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant, the chest which held the Ten Commandments, before the Nazis get their hands on it. Seems Hitler wants to use it for personal power. Also tagging along for the ride is Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who is Indy's old flame. This film is fantastic, I have watched it so many times and I never get tired of it. The plot is great, the characters are well developed, and the action is quite extreme, which is good for this kind of movie. The best sequence is when the Nazis open the Ark and get the surprise of their life, literally. Followed by two sequels which don't even compare to this one.
Live and Let Die
(1973)
The New James Bond...Roger Moore.
17 November 1999
"Live and Let Die" was released in 1973 and featured Roger Moore in his debut as 007, taking over the role from Sean Connery. The plot has James Bond investigating the island diplomat Dr. Kananga (Yaphet Kotto), who the CIA suspects of having a connection with Mr. Big, a popular drug dealer, and the murders of three British and American agents on his island of San Monique. It seems that Mr. Big and Kananga are the same, he plans to smuggle heroin into the U.S. to distribute freely and boost the number of users to drive rival drug sellers out of the business. Dr. Kananga also uses the beautiful Solitare (Jane Seymour) as his own personal psychic and has a weird assortment of henchmen that TRY to kill Bond.
Roger Moore does quite a good job for his first role in the 007 role. He has a dry sense of humor and he brings his own style to the Bond character, not trying to imitate Connery in any way. Yaphet Kotto does well as the villain Kananga, but his death scene is absolutely hysterical, I don't know if the filmmakers were just using that as a humorous touch to the film, but it is pretty ludicrous. Jane Seymour is astonishing as Solitare, she is one of the better Bond girls to grace the screen, she is beautiful and sensitive as well.
This is the only Bond film that is extremely dated. With Bond being called names like "Mother", "Honkey", "Baby", the huge hairdos, the clothing, the music, the cars. When you see this film you KNOW it's from the 70's, not that there is anything wrong with that. This film is definitely superior from it's predecessor, "Diamonds Are Forever" and it's successor, "The Man With The Golden Gun". Second best of the Roger Moore era.
Roger Moore does quite a good job for his first role in the 007 role. He has a dry sense of humor and he brings his own style to the Bond character, not trying to imitate Connery in any way. Yaphet Kotto does well as the villain Kananga, but his death scene is absolutely hysterical, I don't know if the filmmakers were just using that as a humorous touch to the film, but it is pretty ludicrous. Jane Seymour is astonishing as Solitare, she is one of the better Bond girls to grace the screen, she is beautiful and sensitive as well.
This is the only Bond film that is extremely dated. With Bond being called names like "Mother", "Honkey", "Baby", the huge hairdos, the clothing, the music, the cars. When you see this film you KNOW it's from the 70's, not that there is anything wrong with that. This film is definitely superior from it's predecessor, "Diamonds Are Forever" and it's successor, "The Man With The Golden Gun". Second best of the Roger Moore era.
Licence to Kill
(1989)
Licence to Suck...
6 November 1999
"Licence to Kill" is the most violent and serious of the series to date. This is also the last film that stars Timothy Dalton (thank god). James Bond resigns from Her Majesty's Secret Service after he finds out drug lord, Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), feeds his friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison, reprising his role from Live and Let Die) to a great white shark and kills his new wife. The plot has something to do with drugs and smuggling, I think. I don't know, this film is so laced with violence that it shadows the actual plot. Let's see, Sanchez throws a henchman into a decompression chamber and makes his head explode, he guns down tons of people, he whips his girlfriend, Lupe (Talisa Soto) and the list goes on. Bond also romances Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell), a BLAND Bond girl. She doesn't even seem interested in him, but it's the Tim Dalton Bond and he exhibits from what the previous comment said, zero charisma. Thank god the next film in the series, Goldeneye, makes up for this mess by introducing a new Bond and tones down the violence eneough so that the plot actually works. The only thing about this entry is that it has a great theme song sung by Gladys Knight. For die hard Bond fans only.
It's pretty much a comedy but I thought it was good
20 September 1999
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" is, considered by many, the worst of the entire series. I could agree up to a certain point, with Freddy acting like a complete comedian instead of a scary dream stalker. Some of the sequences though are awesome, like when Freddy drives the bus in the beginning laughing like a complete idiot and shouting, "NO screamin while the bus is in motion!" I also like the video game sequence too. The scene where Freddy is really enjoying scraping his blades on the chalkboard makes me laugh everytime. The ending was lame though, I mean, how could his daughter slam a pipe bomb into his chest, just like that? It doesn't make very much sense. 3D effects were cheesy too. The characters are ok. Lisa Zane doesn't do that bad of a job playing Maggie, Freddy's daughter. I also like Lezlie Deane's character Tracy, she is a tough cookie! I would rank this film about 4th in the series behind 1,3 and 7. It's definitely better than 2,4 and 5. Rent this if you want some cheap laughs.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
(1984)
What a classic horror film
20 September 1999
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" was released in 1984 and introduced Fred Krueger in his darker times. Story focuses on Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) and her friends Tina (Amanda Wyss), Glen (Johnny Depp, in his first starring role) and Rod (Nick Corri), who are having nightmares about a burned man in a red and green sweater and dirty fedora who wears razors on his right hand. He was a child murderer freed on a technicality. The parents of the murdered kids got together, tracked him down and burned him to death. He returned in the dreams of their other kids to kill them, to make them pay for what they did to him. Each of the teens gets killed by Freddy until Nancy is left, in which she enters his world to carry him into the real world, so he can die. This film is very scary, disregard any of the other ones, focus on this one. The acting is great, especially by Langenkamp, she puts on a pretty crazy performance. Freddy is also SCARY, he isn't a comedian who throws out one liners like they are going out of style, and he is always lurking in the shadows too. Rent this one and Wes Craven's New Nightmare for a good night of horror.
The Blair Witch Project
(1999)
A second comment...
5 September 1999
I have been reading some more reviews about this movie and about the people saying how this is the "scariest movie they have EVER seen". Number one, they don't know real horror. If you want real horror, watch "The Exorcist", "Psycho" and "Halloween". Now THOSE are scary films. This is nothing more than a vomit-inducing, swearing free for all.
Why? Oh why?
4 September 1999
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is the WORST entry in the series and quite possibly one of the WORST movies ever made. The plot: Superman (Christopher Reeve) wants to rid the world of nuclear weapons while Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) breaks out of prison and creates Nuclearman (Mark Pillow) to kill the Man of Steel. While making a point to get rid of nuclear weapons is terrific, the movie is an absolute mess. Ok, let's see. First, the special effects. You think that special effects would get better in 1987, WRONG. When Superman and Nuclearman fly, they look like paper dolls pasted onto the screen, the only thing that moves are the capes. I never knew special effects can be THAT shoddy. Worst f/x, when Superman rebuilds the Great Wall of China. Second, acting, with the exception of Chris Reeve, Gene Hackman and Margot Kidder, the acting is horrendous, especially by Jon Cryer, who plays Lenny Luthor and Mark Pillow, the infamous Nuclearman. I mean, you just have to laugh when Mark Pillow growls and howls up in the air. Third, the situations. Why doesn't Mariel Hemmingway explode when she is taken up into space? What happened to her after she is taken back to Earth by Superman? She is never seen again after that. Why doesn't Superman put the moon back in place? Why does Lex Luthor have hair? I thought he wore a toupee. What happened to the little kid who was against nuclear weapons? He was never seen again either. Where did Superman get that huge net to capture all of the missles? There are more holes in this plot than in a piece of Swiss cheese. Which is also what this movie is: CHEESY. If you love the Superman movies though, I would buy this just to complete the collection and nothing more. Only watch it if you want to finish the Superman story.
Superman III
(1983)
Some humor, but the awe is gone
4 September 1999
Superman III is a so-so entry in the series, and while it is extremely better than Part IV, it doesn't measure up to the wonder and awe of Superman I and II. There is like one main plot and 2 little subplots. First the main plot: Corporate tycoon Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn) uses computer genius Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) to get rid of Superman (Christopher Reeve) so he can take over the world with his company. Little subplot: Clark Kent attends his Smallville class reunion and reunites with his old crush, Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole). After Superman gets exposed to a fake chunk of Kryptonite laced with tar, he turns evil and splits apart, and a battle of good vs. evil erupts in a junkyard. There is also a fight between a super-computer too. I don't know, this is what I got out of it. This film relies to much in slapstick comedy too much. Richard Pryor is ok, some of his bits are funny. Gene Hackman's "Lex Luthor" is nowhere in this film, so the audience is treated to Robert Vaughn's "Ross Webster" and his 2 henchwomen: baby sister Vera (Annie Ross) and Loreli (Pamela Stevenson). Annie Ross is ugly and scary, Pamela Stevenson is ditzy and annoying. The bit with the super-computer is retarded, the computer game with missiles sounds like the original Pac-Man for Atari and Margot Kidder, who was essentially a very MAJOR character in I and II, is reduced to a 5 minute cameo in the beginning and the end, although I do like Annette O'Toole's performance better. This is an ok entry in the series, for die-hard fans only.
Superman II
(1980)
Superior than the original
1 September 1999
"Superman II" is the best movie out of the series with the best acting, best lines, and best scenes. The special effects also outshine the ones in the original film. Part II picks up about a day or so after the original ends. Clark Kent/Superman (Christopher Reeve) has saved California from utter destruction and goes back to being a normal reporter at the "Planet". Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) arrives in Paris to cover a story about terrorists planning to blow up the city using a hydrogen bomb on the Eiffel Tower. Naturally, Lois gets into some trouble but Superman comes to save the day, he gets the elevator with the hydrogen bomb in it and throws it out into space where it explodes, but The Phantom Zone passes through our system at the same time and when it hits the shockwave of the explosion, it cracks releasing the three criminals imprisoned in the beginning of the original. Once they arrive on Earth, they create total destruction as General Zod (Terence Stamp) and his two followers Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O'Holloran) try to establish a New Order. While all of this destruction is going on, Lois Lane accidentally finds out Clark Kent is one with Superman, and he ends up sacrificing his powers for her, and Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) breaks out of prison and joins forces with General Zod to help them destroy Superman. I have to say, this film is awesome! The fight scene between Superman and the PZ-3 is fantastic, with some of the best special effects I have seen in a movie. I loved the interaction between Zod, Ursa and Non and there are some funny scenes with Lois and Clark. Gene Hackman once again was terrific reprising his role as Lex Luthor, although he was shadowed as a minor villian to Zod. I have no negative thoughts about the performances, Jackie Cooper and Marc McClure return as well as Susannah York as Lara, Kal-El's mother, Valerie Perrine as Eve Tessmacher and Ned Beatty as Luthor's sidekick, Otis. An extremely wonderful movie which should be watched with the original or even more than just because everything in this movie is perfect.
Superman
(1978)
Fantastic
1 September 1999
"Superman: The Movie" is a great piece of film. It was released in 1978 and was based on the comic strip created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster. The story begins on the planet Krypton, where Jor-El (Marlon Brando) sentences 3 criminals to The Phantom Zone, where they are cast off the planet, destined to float through space for all eternity. The story then shifts to Jor-El's prediction that Krypton will explode within 30 days, none of the council members believe him so he sends his son Kal-El to planet Earth, just in the nick of time before Krypton explodes into a billion pieces. While on Earth, he is raised by Jonathan Kent (Glenn Ford) and his wife, Martha (Phyllis Thaxter). After Jonathan died, he discovered the green crystal that Jor-El put on his ship, and it "told" him to travel to the North Pole, where it created the Fortress of Solitude. After talking to Jor-El in the Fortress for 12 years(!) he dons his cape for the first time and travels to Metropolis, where he works at the Daily Planet as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent. He meets Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), Perry White (Jackie Cooper), Jimmy Olson (Marc McClure) while flying around the city taking care of criminals, cats stuck in trees and other usual happenings. Meanwhile, archvillian Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) is creating a plot to destroy California using two nuclear missles so that he could build his own properties. He is aided by bumbling Otis (Ned Beatty) and Eve Tessmacher (Valerie Perrine). There are some awesome sequences in this film, the earthquake, and the "Can You Read My Mind?" sequence are some good ones, there is also a great sequence in the beginning where the origins of the "Phantom Zone-3" as I would like to call them came about. Performances are outstanding. Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor is the best, also Christopher Reeve's dual role is perfect too. Margot Kidder does a good job as Lois Lane, you really feel her love for Superman. That love definitely expands in Part II. This is my second favorite out of the series, only second to, of course, Superman II. Watch this and the second film for the COMPLETE story. Watch III and IV for a good laugh.
2010
(1984)
This is a good film, but adds to the confusion
25 August 1999
"2010: The Year We Make Contact" doesn't even live up to "2001" but it is a good sequel, and although it doesn't explain EVERYTHING that happened in the previous film, it does make some interesting observations as to why HAL malfunctioned. The story picks up 9 years after Dave Bowman disappeared, HAL-9000 killed the "Discovery" crew and the mysterious monolith was found. Dr. Heywood Floyd (Roy Scheider, taking over the role from William Sylvester) is no longer chairman of the NCA (National Council of Astronautics), he has been blamed for what happened back in 2001. Seems the Russians and Americans hate each other and are on the brink of a nuclear war. While all of this is going on, the abandoned spaceship "Discovery" is being pulled and pushed from it's orbit around Jupiter. This leads a team of Russians and Americans out to Jupiter to investigate. Once there, they enter the Discovery and reactivate HAL (voiced again by Douglas Rain). Seems that the reason HAL went haywire was because Dr. Floyd kept the secret of the monolith and of most of the mission from Commanders Bowman and Poole, but for HAL, when he felt threatened, he ended up retaliating by killing off the crew cause he couldn't let anything get in the way of the mission (this is what I got out of it, although I could be wrong). As the mission continues, Jupiter ends up with a huge black spot on it's surface where millions of monoliths are appearing. Dr. Floyd is visited by a ghost? of Dave Bowman's different forms telling him to leave Jupiter in 2 days before they are all killed, well, naturally they all agree and end up leaving before Jupiter explodes creating another sun. I was totally lost by this point. This film is SO Much different from 2001. No extended space shots, no classical music, no Pan Am space planes, no explanation of the monolith, no explanation of what Dave Bowman was, no nothing. The only thing I got out of it was why HAL malfunctioned. My favorite scene was when Dr. Chandra reactivated HAL, kind of brings back memories of when Dave disconnects him while he is singing "Daisy". 2010 would have been a better film if it didn't try to overexplain 2001, but the performances are great and Keir Dullea makes a little cameo appearance (I swear he didn't age at all). If you want to know some of what happened in 2001, rent this film, if not, don't watch it. Plain and simple as that.
2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968)
Best sci-fi film I have ever seen
25 August 1999
2001: A Space Odyssey is the best sci-fi movie I have ever seen. From Strauss' "Thus Spake Zarathustra" to the HAL-9000 computer to Bowman's weird trip through the star gate, this film is perfect. It starts out at "The Dawn of Man", where we first get a glimpse of those apes that we developed from. We also get our first glimpse of the huge black slab known as the monolith. Well, as soon as the apes touch it, they became hunters and killers, something from which they weren't before. The monolith somehow gave them the knowledge to kill and hunt so they can evolve. Although these scenes are long (around 25 minutes), they are very well set up and keeps the viewer's attention, well, those who didn't fall asleep yet anyway. Fast forward 4 million years to 1999. A second monolith is found on the moon near the crater Tycho and a team led by Dr. Haywood Floyd (William Sylvester) sets out to investigate it. While they gather for pictures, an ear piercing sound emerged from the monolith heading straight for Jupiter. Forward a year and a half to 2001. The spaceship "Discovery", with it's commander David Bowman (Keir Dullea), co-pilot Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood), 3 hibernating scientists and central computer HAL-9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain) is on it's way to Jupiter on the orders of Dr. Floyd to find out what they can about the monolith and what is actually near there. Kubrick stretches out these scenes so much that we can actually be on the Discovery and feel for the 2 commanders as the boredom eventually sets in. Dave draws pictures of the hibernating scientists, Frank plays chess and relaxes, the sleep, eat, run parts of the ship and talk to HAL, that is about all they can do considering that HAL runs mostly all of the ship's systems. After Dave and Frank notice the "mistake" HAL makes, things start to kick in. The decide to disconnect him but HAL strikes back, killing Frank outside the ship by disconnecting his air supply, and then shutting off the life support systems of the 3 hibernating scientists while Dave sets off to rescue Frank (who is already dead). Then, to make matters worse, HAL won't let Dave in the ship! Dave, after some quick thinking, finally gets in the ship and disconnects HAL. Now, after this, we are treated to the stunning "star gate" sequence, where Dave goes to investigate giant, floating monolith over Jupiter. I have to say, I think this is the scariest part of the film, seeing all of those colors and shapes and objects flying around, sends chills up my back. After that sequence, Dave ends up in a hotel room, visibly shaken from the encounter, where he grows old, older, on his deathbed and then, turned into a child, reborn so to say. This film leaves so many questions unanswered and that is what Kubrick wanted. I mean, what was the monolith? Who sent it? What REALLY happened to Dave Bowman? Why did HAL malfunction? These questions are meant to be answered in "2010" and they aren't, making the whole story seem more confusing. People who watch this film will either like it (because of the questions being presented and the philosophical meaning of it) or hate it (it's too slow, boring, dull and there is no dialogue), either way, this film ranks up there as Kubrick's best work and no matter how many times I watch this film, it amazes me more and more and more.
Jaws
(1975)
Absolute Entertainment!
23 August 1999
Jaws was the first feature film debut of Steven Spielberg (not counting his TV movie "Duel") and the only film that he was actually involved in despite the other sequels. A 25 foot great white shark ends up swimming around the small resort town of Amity and attacks (and eats) tourists during the around the 4th of July. The local police chief, Brody (Roy Schieder), calls in shark expert Hooper (Richard Dreyfus) and fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) to hunt down the shark and the three set out to the ocean to hopefully get rid of it. The performances are great. Scheider, Dreyfus and Shaw deliver perfect performances but the main character is "Bruce" the shark, who chomps up a woman, a little boy and another guy in some disturbing sequences. Along with other performances from Lorraine Gary (who appeared in 2 other sequels) and Murray Hamilton, Jaws is a great motion picture! Just don't watch it if you plan on going in the ocean anytime soon!
Over the Top
(1987)
Whatta Bland Movie
22 August 1999
Over The Top is such a bland movie. If they wanted to make a movie about one of the most boring sports out there, then this would be it. Sly Stallone stars as Lincoln Hawk who tries to patch up things with his son by entering a Las Vegas armwrestling match. One word to sum it up: Yawn.
Jaws 2
(1978)
A Notch Up from the Original
20 August 1999
Jaws 2, I think, is a better film than the original Jaws. The plot is fairly simple: 4 years after a great white shark attacked people on the small resort island of Amity, a new shark has appeared and Chief Brody has trouble convincing the townspeople that it's there. Most of the cast from the original has returned except for Shaw and Dreyfuss, and the music is, again, excellent. The scenes with the shark are fantastic, especially when it's attacking the kids in the sailboats. Very suspenseful. There is also less gore than in the original. I also like the death by electrocution, very original, I never saw a shark burned to death...until I saw this movie! Anyway, this is a great film, so if you haven't seen it rent it, you may like it.
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