Leon-24 Reviews

Mortal Kombat: Conquest (1998–1999)

Hit and miss

[3 February 1999]

You know, when I first saw this show, I thought it was terrible. But then, for some reason, I kept watching it. I guess I'm just starved for kung-fu fighting, but don't really like watching Martial Law, too much.

Some of the fight scenes I saw were kind of bad, but some of the more recent episodes I saw showcased some excellent sequences. The acting and dialogue here will always be on the "not so great" level. But I guess it's only TV. As for story? Well, there doesn't seem to be much of a story. It's just 1) people are trying to kill Kung Lao 2)they have a fight 3) then we talk to Rayden at the end. And that's enough for me.

The Thin Red Line (1998)

subtly intense

[18 January 1999]

Let me just say that I enjoyed the film immensely. I can understand people not liking it. The movie is long. Plot, storyline and characters were hard to grasp at times. However, I'd describe the movie as subtle, rather than dragging or confusing. I think it all has to do with expectations. It is not an action film. And it is not Saving Private Ryan (which I didn't really like too much, btw). But I think if you take it for what it is, you'll find it's very good. I've been agitated by boredom in movies before, expecting something to happen. But somehow in this movie I was strangely relaxed with the pacing.

There are 2 things about the film that I think are unquestionable, though. The visuals are stunning. It's hard not to notice. Another, and in my mind equally as impressive, was the soundtrack. I thought the acting and dialogue was very good, too. With all these things, I was locked into the movie from the beginning.

There were only 2 points where concentration was broken. One - half an hour till the end, power in the whole building went out. ! Slightly distracting. Two - I caught myself thinking, "Hey, that's Vinny Barbarino."

Anyway, I thought the movie was great. Definitely a better way to spend 3 hours rather than watching that piece of crap Titanic.

Air Force One (1997)

unbelievable, but fun.

[7/10 · 15 January 1999]

In the face of a hijacked plane, would the President of the US take it upon himself to personally eliminate all the bad guys? In real life, No, but so what? I have to say that I was rather entertained by it all.

Well, I guess there's not too much here by way of originality or reality. But for me it was just fun to watch President Ford go through everything. I think he did a fine job, and Gary Oldman has got to be one of the best actors around. But actually, by way of acting, I thought that this was it for this film. The rest of the cast seemed a little miscast, corny, out of place, stiff, or all of the above.

The family bit at the end was small, but for me, effective. Maybe I'm just a softy. And then all the parts about defending the President - seems like an honorable thing to do, and we're led to believe that Harrison is a man worth honoring. Just makes you wonder if it feels the same in real life.

Here's something fun - watch the movie on DVD with the director's commentary. You'll find out some bits of information, like that fact that the real Air Force One has a bulletproof hull, so all that shooting in the airplane could really happen.

The Siege (1998)

2 hours of 'eh'

[3/10 · 31 December 1998]

The end of this movie left me with a rather deflated feeling. I can't say that this movie was really bad - bad movies make you want to puke while watching it. This movie was fairly watchable, but it was only after the movie was over that I felt like puking. The story here doesn't amount to much, and is confusing at best. The closing of this movie is horrible. Bruce Willis was a joke. Denzel turns in an okay performance - he can't help having tons of charisma; he just can't pick good movies.

Enemy of the State (1998)

I'm scared to type this...

[7/10 · 31 December 1998]

They might be watching!@!@!@!

I found this movie to be thoroughly enjoyable. The computers and gadgets were pretty cool (although at times a bit outrageous) and I found the dialogue to be rather witty. Probably Will Smith's best role yet, though that's not saying much compared to Bad Boys. Gene Hackman is great, too.

Was that Oz from Buffy as a computer geek?

Mr. Bruckheimer continues to make films that are heavily male-oriented, which is fine with me. I was slighty disappointed with Con-Air and Armaggedon, but I think you'll enjoy this one.

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

not much to see here

[4/10 · 30 December 1998]

I had resisted seeing this movie for awhile. But there were 5 of us, and 4 hadn't seen it. How often does that happen? So we rented it.

Have you seen the other Lethal Weapons? Then you've seen this one. They're all the same. Which is why I didn't really want to see this film. But there's the added dimension of Chris Rock and Jet Li. They were okay. I had heard a lot about Jet Li, but came away slightly underwhelmed.

Some good action scenes in this film, but that's all. And, hey, am I the only one who thinks Riggs' clowning around is getting a bit tiresome? I was actually rooting for Jet Li to whoop his butt in the end.

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

Smart action film

[6/10 · 30 December 1998]

I had seen it before, and liked it. Just saw it again, and I liked it some more. If I recall correctly, this film didn't do too well in theaters, but I'm not sure why. It's got some great action and Samuel L. Jackson. What more could you ask for? Ok, well, the story is just okay - the whole government trained assassin is kind of common, but I thought the amnesia angle was fairly clever. Some parts of the story were hokey, and the villains weren't much to talk about. But, still, very entertaining film. And I wouldn't mind giving Geena Davis a long kiss goodnight.

Blade (1998)

just barely cuts it

[6/10 · 23 December 1998]

This movie is not for everyone, but if you're into some mindless action, this movie just might be for you. It's based on a comic book character, and the movie kind of plays like a comic book. But it's got plenty of style. There's something cool about watching some martial arts set to rave music (e.g. Mortal Kombat, another mindlessly fun movie).

Some complaints - most of the 'bad' vampires I found pretty annoying. And sunblock? C'mon. Some of the lines and posturing in this movie is ridiculous - but if you don't take it too seriously it's good for a laugh.

One other thing - I saw Wesley Snipes on the Letterman show when he was promoting the movie, and he came out in full Blade uniform (sans his pigstick). I thought that was pretty funny.