tdao360 Reviews

Unbreakable (2000)

better than sixth sense - but not for everyone

[10/10 · 30 July 2001]

Yes, it is better than sixth sense in my opinion. I enjoyed Sixth Sense very much, but realize that a HUGE part of what made the movie was the ending.

However, the ending is not what makes Unbreakable shine. Anybody who was hoping for this to be another Sixth Sense would be disappointed. I commend M. Night Shalamayan for not doing a rehash, when he could've just done so.

**spoiler***

Yes, every comic book fan automatically enjoyed it. And yes, I am a comic book reader. Quite frankly, they have captivating stories that stretch the imagination. And this is Unbreakable. The story is a quest for self-discovery in both the hero and the villain. It is a story about finding what your true worth and true potential is in life - not just about David Dunn finding out he has powers.

A must to enjoy this movie is to accept it's slow, deliberate pace. Remember, Dunn's life is slow and plodding. The movie's pace picks up as Dunn's life does. Makes you FEEL his agony during it's slow beginning, and FEEL his self-worth as the moview picks up it's pace. Oh yeah, you need to be able to let your imagination fly. Chances are, if you didn't like this movie, you aren't able to do that.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

beautiful

[10/10 · 30 July 2001]

This movie is beautiful. In every single way. From the cinematography, to the score, to the acting, to the fights, and the costumes. WOW.

First off, if you plan on renting the DVD, it starts off dubbed. WATCH IT IN IT'S ORIGINAL MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES!!!! I have no idea why they programmed the DVD's default to have dubbed English, I suppose it's the same reason why this movie began playing only in art houses for a month before Sony Classics found they had a goldmine in their hands. Then again, Life Is Beautiful was released in English in the 2nd release, so I shouldn't be surprised.

This is a romantic fantasy epic with martial-arts action interwined within. Yes, it is a love story fantasy movie first, martial-arts movie second. While the story is a bit simplistic, it is grand and powerful. Chow Yun Fat does an amazing job, as he did in Anna and The King (even if I didn't like that movie much). and of course the fight scenes are incredible. This movie is just beautiful.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Brutal, honest, and a must see movie

[10/10 · 30 July 2001]

This ranks up there as one of the three most powerful movies I have ever seen in my lifetime (Full Metal Jacket and Grave of The Fireflies being the other two). This movie shows the brutal honest side of addiction and over-indulgence. Not just drugs, although it heavily shows drug addiction. Also shows how one addiction can lead to another and how damaging it can be for you. I watched this alone, and felt so stunned afterwards, I had to call a friend just to calm my nerves. Seriously, this is a brutal (one more time) BRUTAL film. The acting is wonderful - Ellyn Burnstyn and Jenniffer Connely are just wonderful in this movie, and Marlon Wayons was such a shocker in a serious role. Everyone must watch it, for it's entertainment value, and more importantly, it's educational value. But it leaves chills down your spine for it's honesty and unforgiving lessons.

Planet of the Apes (2001)

SPOILER ALERT - interpretation of the ending

[9/10 · 30 July 2001]

************SPOILER ALERT******************

This is my interpretation of some of the events about the movie that people have argued about here.

Go to the next review if you don't want to know what happens in the movie!

First off, I don't believe that Leo (Wahlberg) ever goes to the future. Sure you see the year in the ship fly up, but I still don't believe he went into the future. I believe he actually goes into the distant past, on Earth. Why else would there be humans (and monkeys, as noted in one conversation) on that planet? All the humans on the ship were killed by Zemos. It's too hokey to think there are humans on another planet. By the time Marky Mark gets there, the humans will have learned the English language that the apes had been speaking all this time, thanks to the brain enhancements the ship scientists had been making to the apes.

At the end, Leo goes back to the present-time of the movie (2100something, I don't remember) and lands on Earth, as the monitor on his ship stated. He never notices he landed on Earth the first time, because he was going after Alpha Pod, and was busy trying to land safely, etc. And in one scene in the beginning, the people in the Obeuron start getting the signals on their monitors that are showing all the events of Earth's past - hence, giving Thade and his future generations, the idea to construct things like the Lincoln Memorial and cop cars, etc (ok, it's strectching a bit, but it still works).

So basically, if Leo didn't chase after the chimp, thus having the crew chase after him and crash land on ancient Earth, and if humans weren't trying to manipulate the Apes' brains chemically, the Apes would not have evolved, and in the end they would not have taken over the Earth.

The movie, especially the ending, which I thought was a little silly, but still satisfied me, makes a lot of sense when you think that he actually never did go into the future in the first place, but the past instead.

Which brings this movie to the same lesson that the original one did: Humans are always F-ing themselves over....

Oh yeah, I gave it a 9 out of 10.