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Reviews
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
What a gorgeous film.
I just finished watching it on TV, it was shown minus the commercials too, so that was excellent.
The film is so incredibly real. Although it is black and white, this is the closest thing you are going to get to that period of time. More so than most modern period pieces, I feel. Most modern period pieces are so full of special effects, unbelievable characters and situations that push the boundaries of suspension of belief too far, and most importantly, often overlong running times, that you do not find yourself engrossed in the film as much as you should.
This is not the case here. Oh, by golly no! When you see this film, you not only behold spectacles of rich and of splendour, of dense halls, candlelit niches of magic in all it's purest...foggy waters, great barges, and damp cabins that force you to breath in the salty winds of the sea. Oh no, you go back in time. You go on a highly pleasant outing back in time to dwell for a little while--in the realm of dreams.
Fallen (2007)
This guy is no Peter Jackson.
A). My ears are bleeding.
B). My eyes are bleeding.
C). My dog nearly had an aneurysm.
D). It was more clichéd than the first films to start the clichés, and was more cheesy than the cheeseburger that I buy from Burger King-and by the looks of it, was made for a price less than that same cheesy cheeseburger. My cheeseburger and this film: congratulations on your engagement! You'll be great together. You're both as crap as each other.
BOTTOM LINE: I was disappointed(no, really?).
Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)
Wow.
No words can describe it. Incredible.
All "movie fans" HAVE to see this, to keep watching movies, IMHO. If you can't even spare 2 seconds to watch the film that started the modern medias you cherish dearly today, or if you do watch it and do not even like it, with all due respect, never allow yourself to watch a film ever again.
And you'd better run on here and give it a 10 out of 10 rating, because if you like movies(everyone does) it is YOUR obligation.
Now, on a humorous note, a brief summary(gonna be hard to do this, after all it has such a long running length): Out in the garden of the Whitley family house in Oakwood Grange Road, Roundhay, a suburb of Leeds, Yorkshire was a family. A most peculiar family, if you ask me. For a frame, all is happy.
Then at the end of the epic First Act, an entire second into the picture(a whole second! Eek!"), we are confronted with a horrid conflict: our leading lady struggles to turn her legs as to turn around. After two frames of a long saga that is the Second Act, she soon looks upon the people around her, laughs, and remembers once again the ancient art of walking. Act Two has finished, Act Three dawns. For this entire couple of frames, we see the man that had been distracting her from walking all along about to pass her by...MWWUUUHHHAAAAHHHHA......
Hehe! It's brilliant. Something so simple has become so influential. Le Prince would never have thought once what these animated strips of film would become later on...if only he could see film now. Would he like the Kingdom of Hollywood, or scream in terror upon learning what evil it has become?
Menace (2002)
This film needs more attention.
I love it.
It shows a level of artistic direction and emotion that is rare for such a film of it's budget and made-for-TV.
The actors are superb.
I just think this needs more of a chance. It needs better distribution, in my humble opinion.
You wait, in 20 or 30 years this will be looked up to as a classic.
It is wonderful.
Please, I want you to see it.
Just see it - give it the chance it needs!
I think that it is a very good film, and is almost too good for TV.
The color tones, the sets, the story, the drama. All of it intertwining to leave you gasping in awe at it's underrated beauty.
Please! Just watch it whenever you can!
Give it a chance!
You'll thank me later.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
A Heartbreaking, Yet Dazzling Picture
This is by far one of the greatest, most touching Motion Pictures ever made. I can't say much without giving spoilers away, but I can say that everyone should go and see this at the theaters. Don't wait for this to come out on DVD, because it is absolutely amazing at the Movie Theater. But, if you haven't thought of it already, take a whole heap of tissues along, because I forgot to and my shirt was soaking wet from all the tears by the end of it! And yes, I'm a guy, and I was bawling my head off!!! But I won't say what makes you cry, because I don't want to give away any spoilers in this review, and I would have to make a list of what will make your tear-up - there's just that many things in this movie that will make you cry. I was welling-up when it started, LOL!
This is by far more Oscar-worthy than 'The Dark Knight', and even though that is an awesome movie, it just didn't strike any cords with me like this one did. And God! It will definitely be winning an Oscar for Sound-Mixing, I can tell you that much!
I won't say anything else, except just go and see it NOW!!!
King Kong (1933)
My bond with this picture is 'made out of chrome steel'!
This motion picture is by far the greatest picture ever made - that's not just an opinion, that's a fact! Peter Jackson should rot in hell for his atrocious remake. Fancy making Carl Denham a bad guy in his version. Hello! The original's characterization of Denham was based on Cooper himself. But then again, we all know that Peter Jackson thinks of Cooper as rivalry, it's scattered in little hints all through his "movie".
But anyway, let's just concentrate on this film. The Special Photographic Effects? God could not have done better, and he made Dinosaurs hundreds of millions of years ago in the first place! These effects were a landmark at the time, and still are. I think that if this movie had been made in modern days just as is, it could have easily won the Oscar for Best Special Effects over all the CGI jargon by far. They're that good.
The acting? Superb. People always complain about the acting of that period, but I love it and I wish that today's actors and actresses could act that well. Every single word was filled with emotion, drama and rising tension. And boy, Fay Wray was a stunner. God bless Miss Wray, and her paralyzing and chillingly high-pitched scream! The story? Marvelously clever and intelligently witty. Perfect timing, too. It takes you up on it's wings, and flies straight onto Skull Mountain Island, introduces Kong with a quick professionalism to die for, and we get straight off that island and into New York where we discover the fate of Kong.
The entire Motion Picture? It would take years to type all of my emotions for this film. But one thing is for certain, my bond with this picture really is 'made out of chrome steel'!
The Ten Commandments (2005)
Grand! An outstanding achievement for television!
Truly, this is the most grand made-for-television production ever made. It is made on a true epic scale of Biblical proportions. Filled with many spectacular riveting scenes, and eye-catching visual effects, this tells the Biblical tale of Moses like no other. What people have to know, is that this version is NOT a remake of the original DeMille masterpiece. This is a knew imagining of the inspired story, which took place 3,500 years ago. It is a RENEWING of this tale, to the modern generation. Most younger viewers these days would fall asleep through the 1956 version if they watched it now. There was a particular style of Acting, Production, and Direction back then, glitziness, and that was the only form of film allowed in Hollywood. The characters' personal lives were not even thought of to be explored. They had no personality, they were just people on the screen, that you spent a few hours staring at. But since the late 70s, early 80s, THEIR lives jumped out of the screen, and into YOUR lives. You felt sorry for them, mourned for them, shared they joy and happiness. This miniseries really used that personality technique. Never before had I understood the lives of these monumental figures as I do now after watching this.
Well-known actors such as Dougray Scott(Ever After), Naveen Andrews(Lost), Omar Sharif(Lawrence of Arabia), Mia Maestro(Alias), Paul Rhys(From Hell), and an array of many other stellar talents, not to mention 20,000 local Morroccan extras, battle the many tough characters and personalities of the Biblical story of the Exodus. Padma Lakshmi was also a superb pick for drop-dead-gorgeous Princess Bithia, Moses' adoptive mother, Matthew Sim was a top pick for the Demon-Possessed Soothsayer and his notable line "Bring down every horse and it's rider!", Karim Saleh was great as Joshua, Susan Lynch was a lovely Miriam, Linus Roache was a bold Aaron, and Richard O'Brien had a great guest appearance as the Tutor.
Acting was not the miniseries' only strong point, of course. The Cinematography was breathtaking, exploring the great beauty of Ouarzazate, Morrocco, which seems very similar to the Holy land. Robert Dornhelm's Direction was fabulous, Robert Halmi Sr.'s Production was extremely worth all the possible turmoil producing can be, and the script by Ron Hutchinson made this miniseries possible, and enjoyable. Without his great script, there would be no film, we have to remember that, and he did a very good job at it.
The costumes by Ann Hollowood made you feel like you had traveled back in time, the make-up by 9 talented artists was very down-and-dirty, as it would have been, the emotional score by Randy Edelman was splendid, and the sets were first-class. But what was truly grand, were the Visual Effects and the CGI animation, that re-created the Burning Bush, the Ten Plagues, the Parting of the Sea, the purification of the bitter waters, Mount Sinai, and the giving of the Holy Laws, it is surprising that only 5 people were on the FX team.
Filled with drama, suspense, action-packed war scenes, spectacular miracles, and amazing talent, The Ten Commandments two part 2006 miniseries is the most Biblically and Historically accurate version ever made, and I will cherish it in my home. Watch it with the Bible on your lap, or the Koran, or the Jewish Midrash, and you'll see accuracy also. Television and RHI Entertainment has finally hit Adulthood.
Moses (1995)
Really good, but lacking something
I have this on DVD, and I love it. I used to watch it all the time, until I bought The Ten Commandments miniseries, but I will have to watch it again sometime! This film is really good, it has a lot of accuracy, a touching yet dramatic screenplay, and it is a powerful epic production. Some special effects are great, and it has a great spiritual touch to it. I love it! I get emotional at the end when Moses dies, especially with the music, and the Israelites mourning. I am getting tears right now. Yet unfortunately it lacks something that takes two points away from my vote, making it 8 out of ten. One point was taken away in the matter of special effects. In The Bible book of Exodus chapter 9 verse 23 it says that Moses stretched up his rod towards the heavens and thunder hail were sent from God with fire running down to Earth. In this film, you see hail and thunder, but where is the fire? And what about the parting of the sea. Look at those piddling little walls of water! And you don't even see the sea part like in all the other versions! All these special effects could have been done so good by CGI! And the other point was taken because of how much it includes from the Biblical text. Where is the war of Amalekites and the sweetening of the waters at Marah? They should have included Moses getting nursed by his real mother Jochebed too! Anyway, I still recommend this, buy it, and the whole family will love it! Just make sure little kids don't see it, because it has a violent scene!
The Ten Commandments (1923)
The Ten Commandments 1923 accuracy statistics and how much it covers
Like the new miniseries and the 1956 masterpiece, the 1923, when it covers from the Bible, only takes text from one book out of four books on Moses' life, the book of Exodus. However, it only covers a tiny bit of Exodus as it goes to modern times halfway through the film, and it explains (silently) the meaning of God's laws. What it does cover from the Torah, though, is very accurate. Very accurate, until the actual giving of The Ten Commandments! Accurate with the other scenes on releasing the slaves and parting the sea, but when it gets to the scene that makes the title, it is horrible! Miriam performs ADULTERY on the Golden calf, not only idolatry, but ADULTERY, when I believe she didn't really get involved with the Golden calf anyway! Anyone who has read the book of Numbers knows how Miriam turns against Moses' wife and judges her for her nationality, well hows this, instead, the writers made her turn into a leper for worshiping the Golden calf! Wrong place, wrong story! They must be pathetic writers I tell you! Another thing, if you want to know how the Israelites were really punished from the idolatry at the Golden calf, think slaughter with swords like the Bible says, not getting swallowed by the Earth like the film makers made it! If you want to see them get swallowed by the Earth, look in Numbers, where they question Moses' leadership, and the Earth swallows them up, and it is called the swallowing of Korah! This happens in the 1956 one too! Wrong place Mr. DeMille! I give two stars for how much this film covers, and three stars for how accurate it is. Although inaccurate, still watch it, just don't take it seriously!
The Ten Commandments (1956)
A True Blockbuster!
This film seemed a bit to glitzy for my liking at first. The way they spoke and acted got a bit annoying. Then I saw the parting of the Red sea. I was trembling, and crying, and I had a great case of goosebumps. I am Christian, so I believe in it, but I never had understood the parting of the Red sea to be that spectacular. I never was able to picture this monumental event in my mind, until I saw that! So I watched the rest, and said to myself, "I'll get this one out from the video library again!" So I did! I did not find it as annoying that time. So I got it again, and again and again! Then I found it cheap at a K-Mart store, so I bought it! I LOVE this film!!! It is film making at it's best! First I found only the splitting of the sea amazing. Now I find the whole movie amazing! Chuck Heston really performed amazingly in this film! And Yul Brynner was the toughest portrayal of Rameses the great in any biblical film to this day! Please! Give this one a try! If you aren't religious at all, you'll still love this great, great film! Go Mr. Heston!