Change Your Image
blueraft
Reviews
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
This is IT!
I've got plenty to say about the movie(this post will be long I'm sure)
well, I was very very happy with the movie, but I'll start with the negatives (SPOILERS HERE):
- I wanted Rivendell and Lorien to be happy places. Where was the singing and the feasting? I don't think they captured the fact that the elves are both joyful and somber.
- I thought the wizard duel was a bit much, and the whole telepathy thing with Sarumen making the snow fall was completely fabricated. Gandalf's escape was great though.
- We all miss Tom Bombadil :(
- We weren't given the impression that the Council took all that long. In the book, it went on for hours. I think it would have been more effective if they used the camera/editing to indicate time passing.
- I thought Galadriel was a little too mysterious and creepy, and the part where she got all special-effected about the Ring was also an overstatement. Arwen also seemed a bit too otherworldly, but the language part was cool.
I know the second two points are matters of interpretation, and certainly work better in a movie context, so they are forgivable. All those points are really minor complaints, and anyone who hasn't read the books wouldn't notice at all.
NOW for the good stuff. I had a big stupid grin on my face for the first hour of the movie. The opening sequence with the war and Isildur was absolutely stunning.
A professor of mine was hoping that the director would capture the friendship between the hobbits, as this is a very important theme in the stories. I think he should be happy. From the second that Frodo runs to hug Gandalf for the first time, I knew that the warmth was there. Frodo and the other hobbits, including Bilbo, had great chemistry on screen, and that was carried through to the very end when Sam goes after Frodo to follow him.
Gandalf, Boromir, Bilbo, Aragorn and Frodo were the best acted characters IMO. Legolas and Gimli were badass. Other characters like Sam, Merry and Pippen will be developed further in the next too movies, so if they seemed flat, it's because the story isn't finished. For the material, everyone did an incredible job.
Rivendell was gorgeous. I literally wanted the movie to stay there longer just so I could look at it. Same with Lorien and the Shire. I was amazed at the hugeness of Moria. I was terrified at the Balrog, and ugliness of Isengard and Mordor. The cinematography around Isengard and the networks of orcs underground was phenomenal.
For every one thing they did wrong, they did a hundred things right. I'm so glad that a movie I've dreamed about since I was twelve has finally come to be.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
most skeptics are missing the point!
ok. Yes, there were lots of cliches. But they were put together beautifully. The "love conquers all" theme juxtaposed against a story about doomed lovers captured both the romantic spirit of the era and the sadness you feel when those ideals aren't fulfilled. As for the pop songs, I thought they were done in such a way that if you lived in a hole and didn't recognize any of them, you would think they fit in perfectly. Maybe it is a little anachronistic, but THIS IS NOT A CONVENTIONAL MUSICAL! Yes, there is TONS of eye candy and some scenes that will blow your mind. I won't repeat what's already been said about it. When I saw this movie with three of my friends who have very different tastes, all four of us were in awe of everything walking out. None of us really care for musicals that much. But this film is an experience. Don't pass it by.
Judgment (2001)
another example of bad Christian art.
first I'd like to say that I am a firm believer in Christ and his Gospel, and I respect these Christians for TRYING to make a decent film. I also love to laugh at bad movies. With this said, I can honestly say that this movie was HILARIOUSLY AWFUL! Every character with the exception of the lawyer and maybe Hannah or whoever was as flat as if they'd been run over by a steamroller. The arguing about the resurrection part of the courtroom sounded like a plug from a book by Josh McDowell. The Antichrist guy just looked like some frumpy dude with alot of regalia. It was never explained why this was the Greatest Trial In History or whatever - it looked like just another Christian being persecuted. The part about the baby killing could have turned out to be interesting if the lawyer had used the evidence, but that was completely abandoned and left us scratching our heads as to why it was included in the first place. The ending was abrupt and just as unsatisfying as the rest of the movie (do they all die? do they get away? will there be a sequel? who knows???)
The best (or worst) thing about this film was the almighty MR T. Everything he said was barked in familiar Mr. T fashion, which increacesed the hilarious rating of this movie to "over the roof." His role as the Christian who wants to act too fast instead of sitting around and "waiting on God" was perfect for him, but like someone else said, he is the exact same person as he is on the A Team.
Christian filmmakers, if you're reading this, PLEASE, PLEASE make good movies. The last thing we need is another bad Christian movie. Good movies include original plots, characters with depth, well written scripts, put together in a way that is not formulaic, contrived, or cliched. Characters are not just props to plug your message into. The message needs to come through in the whole story, which is told by the lighting, the soundtrack, the camera, the dialogue, and just about every other aspect. In "Judgement," the message came may have come through, but the story didn't.
The Ninth Gate (1999)
the absolute worst movie I have paid money to see
I am not kidding. My friend and I were shocked that we managed to sit through the whole thing. No sympathetic characters, a slow moving, uninteresting plot (c'mon, we're following a BOOKDEALER around Europe), vague supernatural intrigue, an ending that makes absolutely no sense at all. . . this movie has every element that would make for a great episode of MST3K (if only it were ten years older). A most unredeemable waste of a dollar. Stay far away from this film.
The Touch of Satan (1971)
hahahahaha
wonderfully horrible movie, and as always Mike, Crow and Servo make it even more excruciatingly fun. Who could forget the endless pauses, "this is where the fish lives," the sweaty walnut farming dad, and "zah!" Yet mysteries still remain- who are the two middle-aged adults who live with Melissa if she's really over 100 years old? Why is the Devil named Gorgo? This movie is definitely MIST worthy.
Office Space (1999)
brilliant!
Mike Judge has come a long way from Beavis and Butthead. This movie was wonderful and almost as twisted as reality itself. The whimpering Milton who always gets picked on is sympathetic but still fun to imitate. The all-too-realistic, passively obnoxious Lumbarg makes such an unlikeable boss. The fax machine smashing scene filmed a-la Rodney King is absolutely to die for. And the ending is perfect. For witty, light-hearted entertainment that will make you want to quit your job, check this out.