The Duck-2 Reviews

Spin the Bottle (1999)

Solid New York Twenty-something Tale

[6/10 · 18 June 2003]

"Spin the Bottle" is a New York indie feature about three guys and their respective experiences with love. Sam is a gregarious womanizer in search of "The One," who he thinks might just be the French student Eva, while Cole has been agonizing over his ex-girlfriend Devon for a long time, and Zach longs for true love with Hannah. Over the course of a weekend, the three guys make decisions that will affect their lives and relationships with three respective women.

This movie is a solid piece of work all the way around: writing, directing, cinematography, and even acting. The dialogue is crisp, witty, and heartfelt, and the actors portray vulnerability and sweetness as twenty-something New Yorkers. The story strays into sappy territory at points, but manages mercifully to avoid a perfect ending.

"Spin the Bottle" is more worthwhile than many vacuous Hollywood flicks, and the unknown actors give us a chance to really appreciate the story.

K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)

In a sea of forgettable fluff, this movie rises above typical Hollywood and achieves something special

[9/10 · 4 January 2003]

I wasn't expecting to be enthralled when I went to this movie (it was husband's choice movie night), but after the first five minutes of the film, I was thoroughly hooked. I came out of the theater feeling like I'd actually seen one of the first above-average movies of the year.

In this movie, Harrison Ford plays a 1960s Soviet sub captain who is brought in to command the Soviet navy's new nuclear submarine after the original captain (Liam Neeson) is removed from the position for political reasons. Neeson stays on the ship as second in command, and Ford is forced to contend with the crew's loyalty to Neeson. Problems plague the submarine before it even leaves drydock, leading the men to begin calling it "The Widowmaker."

This movie isn't told from an American point of view, and doesn't restrict itself to American ideals. The drama is played out without being biased by Hollywood notions of hero vs. villain or a formulaic plot. It really seems like this movie was true to the historic event it was based on.

The characters were portrayed well by everyone in the cast, including Harrison Ford, who plays against type. Ford turns out a really good performance as the domineering captain and manages to escape his celebrity and really descend into the character. I actually forgot I was watching a Harrison Ford movie. Liam Neeson is solid as well, and the crewmembers without exception turn out convincing performances.

Director Kathryn Bigelow delivers a strong and well done movie with "K-19: The Widowmaker". In a sea of forgettable fluff, this movie rises above typical Hollywood and achieves something special.

Entangled (1993)

What an embarrassing web they've weaved

[1/10 · 22 May 2000]

"Entangled" attempted to be a cryptic mystery, but instead achieved "what the heck is going on" status. Punctuated by nudity and sex scenes, one gets the feeling that someone added the "storyline" AFTER they conceived the great idea to film a softcore porn flick.

Characters are thin, motivations are thinner, and you never actually get the full story.

Since there aren't any other comments for this movie, I'll give a brief synopsis: American author wakes up hysterical in the hospital, fully covered in casts and bandages. Flashbacks ensue, and we learn that he has written one previous novel that was killed by the critics, his lover is a french supermodel who is up to something fishy, and he has just finished his second novel, which he eventually enters in a literary contest under temporarily anonymous authorship. Somehow he ends up mangled in the hospital, but how? We spend the rest of the miserable movie wondering not that, but, why do we care?

During the course of the movie, we find out about murder, deception, lust, power plays, double crossings, greed, and betrayal. Sounds interesting, but don't be tricked. It is forced, but worse, completely unlikely and highly contrived; the plot twists are not intriguing, but banal. A murky movie does not a mystery make.

Judd Nelson is completely pretentious and uncharismatic. He appears to have some intellect, but doesn't really lend believability to his lines (did he really understand some of the words he said?). Also, he can play the bandaged, mangled, be-stitched gimp to perfection, but the lover of a supermodel? I don't believe it.

Why did Pierce Brosnan agree to do this movie? I know it was in his pre-007, post-Remington Steele days when he wasn't too hot a commodity, but this was truly an awful script, and his role was farcical.

> Run. Run far away from this movie, before you waste 90 minutes of your precious time getting Entangled.

The Haunting (1999)

Some movies are just made bad

[6/10 · 26 July 1999]

The trailers for this movie were great -- very scary, very foreboding, didn't tell too much. Frankly, I didn't know if I could stand to see the movie -- it just looked too scary. I was thinking: psychological thriller, mind games. But when I read the pre-screening reports of audience members "laughing where they weren't supposed to", I knew I could see it. Nay, I knew I HAD to see it. As promised, there were some funny, not scary, moments. And, there were a few cheap shocks. And the house (who is, after all, the main character) was elaborate and spooky, from the vine-covered chained front gate, to the eerie towers and turrets, to the frighteningly dark bedrooms.

Unfortunately, the movie took a turn for the cheesy with Lili Taylor's declaration: "She's my great-great-great Grandmother" and her "Home is where the heart is" and, (my favorite) "I'm not afraid of you, Grandpa!".

I would have been happy if the characters remained unrelated to the specter... I would have settled for them merely being SCARED of the phantasm. I wasn't looking for a family reunion.

But, the movie was gorgeous, really great sets & location, cool special effects, good actors (although I really hated Liam Neeson in this movie).

It's worth seeing. I gave it a 6 out of 10 (ten being "Shawshank Redemption").

Election (1999)

I walked out

[1/10 · 17 May 1999]

As much as I would have loved to see the rest of this movie, it was so graphic that I left. I recommend "Rushmore" -- and I would never let anyone I loved into the theatre to see "Election". Call me puritanical, but I just don't see the need to portray EVERY sexual situation under the sun on film.

I won't call it bad, since I didn't stay for the second half. I will call it disgusting.

Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

I own Princess Bride. I will not own this movie.

[6/10 · 19 March 1999]

Decent, although I wasn't overly inspired. Drew Barrymore's acting was passable, I still haven't decided whether or not to like her. Anjelica Huston was wonderful to watch -- very expressive and funny. I appreciated all the other actors, many of whom have appeared in only a few other movies. Marguerite (Megan Dodds) was deliciously conniving, the like of which I've only seen in "North and South" with Terri Garber as Ashton Maine.

Funny twist: Leonardo da Vinci as the fairy godmother.

I own Princess Bride. I will not own this movie. But, it was worth renting when my husband was gone.

Heavy (1995)

I wanted more from this movie

[4/10 · 12 February 1999]

Static they entered the movie, and static they remained. I wanted Victor to change, to learn, to metamorphose, to do something... to go to the Culinary Academy.

Tensely quiet, this film lacked motion, although there were plenty of daring wordless "pensive" moments. (Actor Vince uttered barely 100 words the entire movie).

Tyler did a nice job...