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Matt-186
Reviews
Wild Things (1998)
Twistier than something very twisty
Although this film plotted along at quite a slow rate for much of the film, with Denise Richard's breasts seemingly acting as the majority of the plot, once it reached its climax it certainly knew how to grab the viewer by the throat.
The extra angles on the story which were revealed certainly caught me out first time round and made up for the ordinary bulk of the film.
Bill Murray was just excellent. He was superbly cast and added to the humour element. A good film, worth watching, but only to see how it finishes.
Carnival of Souls (1998)
The worst film I have ever seen
This was awful. Simply awful.
The script writers seemed to be terrified to create any action and consistently, and frustratingly, moved away from the plot as soon as any interest occur.
Nothing happened. It began, and ended. As does this review. A waste of time.
The Faculty (1998)
Silly and disappointing
Oh what a shame! With such a promising cast and a plot with possibilities there should have been scope for such a great film.
To begin with it seemed good. A bit of intrigue and slight tension. But oh how quickly it fell to Earth with a bang!! Mass hysteria all round, both on and in front of the screen, with typically daft screams etc.
I'm afraid this film dropped in my estimation as soon as the effects started to get (over) used. A shame.
Species (1995)
The action makes up for it!!!
This started of as a promising story line and did not end in disappointment. Shame about the middle.
Lots of unnecessary sex turned this film into any other typical Hollywood movie, however the effects were at times stunning and Ben Kingsley puts in yet another grand performance.
Passenger 57 (1992)
Was this played back-to-front?
Oh dear Wesley. What have you gone and done now?!
This has to be one of the most over-the-top, jumbled, and quite frankly pointless films I have seen in at least a week!!
Snipes gets to show off his kick-boxing skills but there is no suspense, the end is too transparent and at times the plot seemed to be having a sit down whilst the under used list of decent actors plodded around the screen.
It was amusing to see Liz Hurley completely miscast though!!
Prelude to a Kiss (1992)
Good to laugh at, not with.
Oh dear. What a disappointment this proved to be.
The plot had the potential to make this film almost watchable, but they approached it in such a politically correct, timid way that you could see where it was leading from beginning to end. Meg Ryan was as dizzy as ever and Alec Baldwin got more annoying as the film progressed.
I don't think I shall be watching this again in a hurry.
Legion (1998)
Promising cast which failed to deliver
This film potentially offered many great things. Terry Farrell is a great actress in any condition, however the plot was just too wafer thin even for her. The suspense only really began to build up towards the end, by which time my interest had already jumped out of the window. The idea of an ultimate legion is hardly original and the cheap sets and poor effects only made this film more disappointing. A shame as it could have been so much better.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
A sound addition to the series
Well, I had hoped to be writing a gushing review of the latest Trek film after watching it, but in truth I'm really not sure what to make of it. I don't doubt that after its 5th or so showing I'll love it, but my initial reaction was Ho Hum'. It certainly left us all wanting more, basically because it didn't really end well, but Star Trek isn't exactly famed for its amazing finishes, is it? (See any ST:Voyager episode for proof).
In essence Insurrection was made in the true Star Trek tradition; Rodenberry's hope for a greater future and the betterment of man, plenty of humour al la The Voyage Home at times even slapstick - and many action plots like Frake's created in First Contact.
F. Murray Abraham is an excellent addition to the regular cast as the baddie' Raufo. Garbed in a costume which can only politely be described as ridiculous, it was his acting which shone out for me, as well as the forever Oscar-denied Stewart of course!! Riker loses his beard halfway through is that a hint that something bad is looming? (1st series ST:TNG). Anthony Zerbe (Shark-owning bloke in The Living Daylights) is not bad either as the misguided Starfleet Admiral.
It was quite clear that Industrial Light and Magic were too busy doing The Phantom Menace' as there was a new style to the SFX. I thought the space shots were a bit too smooth, except the impressive Riker manoeuvre, which cost slightly more than tugging at the bottom of your tunic. However, the Son'a tagging devices on the Baku planet made up for it.
As always, Jerry Goldsmith wrote an excellent musical score which matched the mood of the film throughout. The opening theme was a gentle tune introducing us to the Planet Bak'u over the credits. Much more effective than the usual fanfare over stars nonsense.
Once again Crusher hardly features and Brent Spiner is underused.
All in all I guess Insurrection was quite good it dragged on a bit but in the end it stayed true to the Star Trek tradition and was fun to watch. Let's just hope it's not the last .
Blade (1998)
Best film I've seen in a while
Wow!!!
Not what I expected at all. The comic book action style was retained to its full potential with special effects galore adding to the atmosphere.
Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff were both excellent in their respective roles, with Snipes acting convincingly.
As this is a topic which has been flogged - or bitten - to death, it was refreshing to see the Vampire tale taken from a different perspective. Certainly not "Interview with a Vampire", but I somehow suspect Norrington had no intention of it being so.
Enemy of the State (1998)
Big brother is watching you instead of the film
Oh dear. What a waste of what threatened to be such an intriguing plot.
In what must be loosely termed as 'Will Smith's first serious role', it was the veteran skills of Byrne, Voight, and Hackman that kept this pathetic picture moving. Smith was only used for his 'cheeky chappy grin and stammer', which we could all go to see on the 'Fresh Prince'.
Perhaps I missed something, but it took the second screening before I understood why they ended up having a 'Reservoir Dogs' style shoot up at the end.
Possibly the new cure for insomniac - this promised so much and delivered so little.
Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
Possibly the best of the series to date
Although there has been much stick of this film as being more of the same, for me it does it with bells on.
For starters, Doug Bradley pulls of his best performance as Pinhead without question. He delivers his lines with conviction. Rimmer is a strong addition to the story line, and I hope the next film creates a connection between her and the toy maker.
The effects were impressive considering the budget. Spacial shots were created with much detail, and the dog scared the wits out of me!!
All round as a film it was the exact length, the suspense was maintained throughout, and it retained the horror of Clive Barker's original masterpiece.
Shame its not available to buy on video in the UK.
Star Trek: Voyager: Caretaker (1995)
It could only get better!!!
As a pilot, Caretaker works reasonably well. Each new character is introduced adequately and also familar settings and characters are thrown in to support the plot.
Introducing the Kazon's was always going to be a bad move. However, the Neelix/Kes relationship was strong from the very start, and Mulgrew convinces as a new captain.
As he does throughout the series, the Doctor provided the humour elements which have become a trademark of ST: Voyager over the years. Its a shame Chakotay had to replace the demised 1st officer as he looked just right for the part.
Caretaker does not however grip you like the pilots for the other three Trek series', and although I think as a whole ST: Voyager outshines the lot of them put together, this TV movie demonstrates how they had to scrape away the mud before reaching the gold.