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Reviews
Alexander (2004)
how Alexander conquered the known world while facing different phases in his life
Finally I saw this movie! After all that talking and controversy about it, I became more and more curious about what this talking all about. I must say that I've seen better epic movies ... even Troy was better! However I give this movie a 7 out of 10 ... It's not that bad but it could have been done much better. Firstly: I cannot understand why there was all that talking about Alexander's sexuality and the 'gay scenes' that there were supposed to be. There wasn't a big deal really! It's true that there is a lot of flirting between guys but only one kiss was seen in the movie that of Alexander (Farrell) kissing a young male dancer. The sex scene with Alexander's wife was by far more explicit when compared. I think and agree that the movie is historically accurate and that Alexander was bisexual. Sexuality was not an issue at those days so men were more free to do whatever they wanted to. Homosexuality was not a taboo!!! I admire Farrell for taking such roles ... it wasn't the first time that we saw him as a bisexual (A home a the end of the world). He is known to be some kind of a playboy so pretending to be the opposite in movies might be hard and it shows good acting. Acting means showing feelings that you don't really feel, and I think that Farrell and Leto did a great job. The acting of all of them was convincing enough and I think we had some of the greatest performances when compared with their past roles. Jolie was sexy (as always) and she really delivered. Her acting was great as did Hopkins and Kilmer. But flaws are not missing in this movie! Too different accents, Jolie is almost as old as Farrell and she played his mother, Farrell's hair, Leto's excessive make-up (too much eye liner)!!! The fight scenes were great but at first I couldn't understand who was killing who and who was winning ... it wasn't clear at all ... there was so much confusion! And the last thing ... I didn't really fell in love with the characters as we all did in Gladiator! This movie is kind of 'dry' in some aspects. I'm sure it could have been a masterpiece but it has certain things that are really missing. The movie starts with old Ptolomy (Hopkins) narrating the events of Alexander. At first we see the warrior as a young boy which became an obsession to a mother who is a snake fanatic (Jolie), who was also a crazy and cunning woman who desperately wanted her son to become a powerful king, than we meet the king (Kilmer) who was a beast and a drunk who slept with God knows how many women, there was nothing human in him. The movie than focuses on the different relationships of Alexander with his mother, the king, his best friend and lover (Leto), his soldiers when he becomes king after the murder of king philip. We see an Alexander who faces war and its bloody side, the glory of conquering the known world, marriage with a woman he doesn't really love (his true and only love was Hephaistion (Leto)) and betrayal.
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
a man with a sad childhood who falls in love with the star of the theater but cannot have what he wants, meanwhile he 'haunts' the theater.
I do not really like musicals but i liked 'Evita', I LOVED 'Moulin rouge', I respected 'Chicago' but 'The phantom' was a bit boring for me. I find that this musical is too campy for me ... there is too much pink ... it's really not for us guys to watch. I mean, I watched it because i love going to the cinema but I really recommend to the male movie lovers to rent it on DVD ... or something. It is filled with opera (VERY CAMPY), and it's not really entertaining. I did not even like the music! The only thing I liked was the end in which the theater goes on fire ... I liked that scene ... really! Everybody knows the story of the 'phantom' that 'haunts' the theater in old Paris and who falls in love with the star of the theater ... there's nothing new to watch and you don't really get to 'love' the characters. The stuff that the phantom does to the actors to frighten them is not that bad but not too evil either, and the way they are portrayed in the movie seemed abit clichéd and expected! even though i liked the scene in which a dead body hanged in the middle of the everybody during a performance. I think it is amazing to watch in a real theater but boring to watch on the big screen! It seemed to me that the movie was not made to show talents but simply to make money ... there was no 'soul' in it! The acting did not impress me much but they've got GREAT voices! I recommend this movie to the opera lovers ... the rest rent it!
A Home at the End of the World (2004)
a boy who struggles with misfortunes that happened in his childhood and in his teens. he will grow up to discover that life is not that simple.
I must say that this was maybe the best colin farrell performance so far. This movie is EXTREEMLY real; it depicts a boy who is willing to grow up, a boy who faces horrible things in his childhood, a boy who is broth up by foster parents, a boy who falls in love, a confused boy who only wants to love and be loved in return. Based on the real American life in the 70s and 80s, he misses his mother and he finds a parent figure in his best friend's mother. He misses his brother and he finds a friend with which he will share a phase in his life, he will find a brother and a lover in him both broth by the death of his family. Via his friend he will find another love that for a while will give him happiness that he truly deserves. He is capable of doing anything BUT he is not able to stay alone which is his greatest fear of all. This movie shows how a person can be deeply effected by early experiences in life, it shows how love can change everything or how it can confuse us in a way that we cannot understand. This movie shows us the psychology of a boy that ended up in love with two different persons at the same time, one of them was the mother of his child and the other was dying of AIDS. He chose to never leave anyone alone because he knew what it felt like ...
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
much better sequel
This movie rocks! Non stop action from beginning till end, amazing special effects and Yovovich looks stunning as always. The music works well and the fight scenes are great; there is some cool kung fu fighting going on and they make the actors look like heroes. But there is one thing that i did not really like about this film. The acting of some of the actors was not convincing enough and certain special effects did not amaze me at all; those red monsters in the cathedral were ridiculous. The movie is based on the game which I never played but I am pretty sure that the game fans will love this movie. Yovovich is one of the most beautiful actors/models and in the movie she gives a very close resemblance to the main character in the game. The theme and the plot of the movie is based on infected humans turned to zombies. But I'm really fed up of watching zombie movies this year (Dawn of the dead). This film was only worth for the fight scenes i.e. the whole film, and the actress! ... the rest could have been done a bit better I guess.
Ying xiong (2002)
ancient china which the then king tried to unify as one country but politics has its own enemies
A near masterpiece! Amazingly directed and acted! Beautiful scenes and fight technique to die for! This movie is filled with glorious ancient Chinese culture, it shows values of friendship and of love that nowadays are almost completely lost. I liked 'crouching tiger hidden dragon' and the two 'kill bill' because i love and fully respect Asian cultures and I love that type of fighting. But when I saw 'Hero' (which was very worth watching on the big screen), it was another story because there is non stop action, you'll get to love the characters and respect the sacrifices that they had to face for the love of their own country and for the love for other people. This is maybe the most original movie I've ever seen; the directing is simply astonishing!!! Some people did not want their king to unify China and so many plans has been done to kill the king. At first we will be taught that the warrior without name 'Hero' killed the assassin that was supposed to kill the king but the story changes and we will learn all the intrigues that are present in the story. Everyone should watch this movie ... those who do not like such fight scenes shall still watch it to remember values now lost.
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
'it is as it was' (the pope)
as everybody knows, there has been SO many controversy regarding this movie; all humanity crucified Christ! not just the Jews or the Romans. in this movie Gibson showed his amazing talent: directing. the acting and the directing of this movie is superb, the music is great. everyone was like arguing because there were too many blood and too many violence. but i think that nowadays, we need to know what Christ had to go through because of us... our sins. Gibson gave us a clear picture of what happened 2000 years ago at that time. we need to have clear visions to understand.
what Gibson should have done is to spend a little bit more on this movie because certain scenes seem a bit fake ... as in ... there are certain scenes which seems small level not big screen level. here i'm talking about the buildings and temples that were present in the movie. anyway ... the rest was immaculate! this is a must see movie. its not just for those who believe in Christ but to everybody. i think this movie should win an academy award for best director (gibson), make-up and actor (caviezel). it deserves it!