nprata Reviews

Blood Money (IV) (2017)

Weak

[3/10 · 30 December 2017]

I got the impression people were trying to make a good film and perhaps the director has a bright future ahead, The actors need some more seasoning (except for Cusack, whom I couldn't help but feel bad for, seeing him in this turkey).The end product was underdone. Unsympathetic characters and a banal script conspired to induce yawns.

Public Enemies (2009)

Not very good

[4/10 · 5 July 2009]

This movie is shallow and empty with only occasional bits to recommend it.

It's hard to make either Depp or Dillinger boring, but somehow Mann (Or the writers? Or both?) managed to do so. Dillinger was a real smart alec, charge forward, live wire--which is mostly not Depp's portrayal of him. And a lot of really amazing details of the true story were left out, for some reason, so much less impressive invented ones could be interjected.

Dillinger's wasn't the only characterization that needed work, either. There is almost nothing to hang your hat on regarding the other gangsters. As well,the cinematography, which many have raved about, is pretty average.

I like Tommy Guns as much as the next guy, but that wasn't enough to salvage the movie for me. Mann can do, and has done, better.

The Warren Oates film is a far better work.

A History of Violence (2005)

Strictly Average

[5/10 · 22 March 2006]

Sure the blood is fun, but the writing and direction need help. Ex: OK, "Tom Stall" is an "ex gangster"--where did he learn the Steven Seagal moves? Was he a Navy Seal, or something? Ex #2: We establish a crop of (pretty good) bad guys, then kill them off early in the movie. After Ed Harris is dead, there is no emotional impact to the Hurt character, whom we never really get to know, etc. An action movie without a satisfactory antagonist is, well, unsatisfactory. Ex#3: Are we to assume everything is hunky dory after Tom comes home? The Feds aren't going to be interested in the corpse trail? (The remaining gangsters won't, either?) Or is Tom happy to put his family in further jeopardy?

Thirteen Days (2000)

Solid film

[29 January 2004]

This film tries to stick to the facts, and usually gets it right, but ultimately cuts JFK way too much slack. All history buffs would do well to remember that JFK got elected by running to Nixon's right (JFK coined the term "missile gap"). Also, Kruschev himself was quoted as saying that JFK's unimpressive demeanor when they met made him feel that JFK was a man who could be pushed around. High honors to Stephen Culp...shoulda won an Oscar.

American Beauty (1999)

Self important and stylized...

[13 November 2003]

By no means a bad movie, AB is nevertheless a film that suffers from it's own self awareness. One cannot help but feel preached at much of the time which, at least for me, grew wearisome. The stereotypes are irksome, as well. This movie joins the long list of "Oscar winners" that were not the best picture of their year.

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Blasphemy (?)

[11 September 2003]

"The Deer Hunter" is a movie made watchable by excellent actors at the top of their games, nothing more. Director Cimino was subsequently revealed as a fraud by the truly horrible pictures he trotted out as encores. DH's faults are many; let me elaborate.

ROULETTE: Even when I saw it as a kid in 1978 I remember wondering if Russian Roulette was the national pastime of Viet Nam. It wasn't. No vets I've talked to, or seen on the tube, have ever heard of our soldiers being subjected to this torture (though I've heard of far worse stuff). Being such a central issue to the movie, one would hope it had some basis in fact.

AUTHENTICITY: DH doesn't have it. Why are all the actors speaking with New York accents? To non Americans, let me assure you that accents from western Pennsylvania (where I hail from) are as different from NY as London to Northumbria. How did the Rocky Mountains get to Pennsylvania? Why are a bunch of 35 year olds enlisting in the army when the avg age of Vietnam era privates was 19? Steelworkers from around Pittsburgh drink Iron City beer, not Rolling Rock (which was a "ladies' beer"). Exactly how long is Nick making a living playing roulette, by the way? Are we really to believe that these folks sang "God Bless America" after the funeral? Some of the actors involved thought the singing was a bad touch...and they were right. The movie has some virtues, but is generally a failure.

Open Range (2003)

B+ effort

[22 August 2003]

Starts deliberately, builds well on strong characterization and snappy (for a drawling western!) dialogue. Denoument goes on way, way too long, with protracted "final" shootout scene that lacks narrative drive. "Feel good" ending a bit contrived. Overall a good effort. Costner's best movie in some time and his best performance, well, ever.

Reds (1981)

For the love of God...

[28 July 2003]

I went out and rented this flat snoozefest after watching Beatty's "Biography" on A&E last week, thinking I might have missed something when I saw it 20 years ago. That anyone can still take Soviet sympathizers with anything but a large grain of salt is incredible. How unfortunate that the folks who bankrolled and concocted this valentine to the revolution never got a chance to live in the USSR.

Political carping aside, the movie suffers from the worst thing possible for a film--It is boring. Oh, well. Since when did a film have to be good to win an Oscar?

Moment by Moment (1978)

Cruel and Unusual punishment.

[13 July 2003]

I caught this stink bomb a couple of months ago and watched out of morbid fascination. It really, Really sucks. I can't believe it didn't sink Travolta's career. He should've had his head examined for playing this crappy part. Fortunately, he rebounded and made much better films. I only watched it b/c I'd read about how horrible it is. Lame dialogue and a completely unsexy atmosphere make this more painful than drinking Drano.

A magazine recently posed the question about "Moment by Moment": "Ever wonder what might make you kill yourself? How about two hours of a young John Travolta prancing around in his tighty whiteys, repeatedly banging (what could pass for) his mother?" Well, the magazine was close to correct.

When Trumpets Fade (1998 TV Movie)

OK, made for TV sorta experience

[11 May 2003]

This movie has its moments but is generally hamstrung by a low budget. The musical score is terribly inappropriate at times, too. The script is solid but some important historical details are omitted (i.e. what Huertgen Forest really looks like, how soldiers were practiced in standing upright during shellings to prevent exposing most of their body, just how many thousands of men "broke", etc.) Overall, pretty solid fare that doesn't quite capture the claustraphopic "green hell" of Huertgen or the overall attitudes of WWII soldiers.

Get Carter (1971)

Worth the trip.

[20 April 2003]

This movies is far better than that shoddy Stallone remake. Caine shows a side that's creepy and cold even by today's jaded standards. The movie's atmosphere and dialogue are quite good, too. Some of the violence is dated and not as upsetting as it should be, but hey, the movie is over thirty years old. Try to NOT watch it on BBC TV as it was crammed full of commercials that injured the dramatic flow.

On Deadly Ground (1994)

One of the funniest movies ever.

[30 March 2003]

I've long wondered what would happen if anyone gave a guy like Seagal a chance to step behind the camera. I Wonder no longer! Steve's surehanded direction and plethora of other talents are on full display in what has to be one of the most important movies of our, or any other, time. Lose yourself in "On Deadly Ground's" intriguing plot, fine acting and astonishing dialogue.

And in the off chance that you miss the "message", you get a subtly effective indoctrination at the end of the reel. This film is truly a marvel and demands to be seen. Go down to your local video store, walk to the "Seagal--spurned masterpieces and direct to video" wing and unearth this treasure. You won't be disappointed!

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

This movie is junk.

[30 March 2003]

Really, what a waste of time. Enough has been made of Costner's atrocious English accent (was he even trying?) but not enough made about the yawn-inducing boredom present in this film. The "action" scenes are weak, the plot is ludicrous, and somehow the direction managed to make even Alan Rickman uninteresting. (Love those uniform, white cloaks the bad guys are wearing, though! Chic!)

On top of the technical flaws, the historical ones are worse. Morgan Freeman's black African "Moor" in the holy land is suspect...but not as suspect as his tattoos. He would have carried a "cross hilt" sword at that point in history (scimitars having not yet taken over Islamic armies) and, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD--a lecture from a Moslem about the treatment of women?!

Note to one of the previous reviewers about Americans doing English accents: Keanu Reeves is Canadian, so please don't blame us.

The Hunted (2003)

Gets worse the more I think of it...

[17 March 2003]

**SPOILERS**

I was very anxious to see this movie. The scuttlebutt implied it was very good, it had great actors, etc. And the first hour of the film is really quite good. Action, action, action. Interesting loose ends. A point trying to be made.

Then it jumps the tracks in incredible fashion and "resolves" in about 20 minutes leaving the viewer confused and unsatisfied. It was almost as though the producers ran out of money and had to tie things up immediately. Even worse, most of the interesting threads are left dangling. Why didn't LT respond to the letters, by the way? And are we really to believe that Hallam (or anyone) could smelt a knife in about four minutes from an open wooden fire (while hundreds of people are in the vicinity looking for him!!)? The worst part is that none of the stupid stuff in the film had to happen--it was not part of the movie's deep logic.

I hope Friedkin is as upset over this film as many in the audience must be.

Flash Gordon (1980)

Don't be to hard on Flash. (Well, maybe he'd like that)

[2 March 2003]

Those who criticize this film for all its flaws...are exactly correct. But it's still a good movie! If one wants to veg out and watch a live action cartoon with over-the-top villains and an absolutely delectable Ornella Muti, here's your ticket.

P.S. The movie was not meant to be taken seriously.

Grease (1978)

Teenybop

[2 March 2003]

Sure, I was one of the kids that loved this film in '78, but I grew up. The quality of performances is all over the map, but the writing is subpar. The actors are far too old for their parts and the film has a horrid moral stance. "Grease is the word" only if you wish to teach your daughters to "put out" in order to keep their oversexed, teen idiot boyfriends happy.

The Life of David Gale (2003)

Come on...

[21 February 2003]

This movie is neither groundbreaking nor clever. It is occasionally effective (due to good actors) but is generally heavy-handed. It's "message" is so Hollywood hamfisted it will almost certainly be in Oscar contention. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

A wonderful, trendsetting film, but...

[10 February 2003]

The writing s***s. It does. The dialog is stilted, corny and moldy. "I thought I recognized your fouls stench" "Who's more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows" etc. The characters have little depth (except what the actors brought to them). The "ideas" are real lowest common denominator stuff. "The Empire". "The Force". "The Dark Side of the Force". Ouch.

And the "Science" doesn't make a lick of sense. Space battles that take place at distances which would be conservative in WWI? And why can't the stormtroopers shoot straight? They can't seem to hit anything more than 6 feet away (But remember Ben saying "only stormtroopers shoot so precisely":) Why do they bother to wear armor that doesn't do anything?

Mr. Lucas, shame on you for some of the lines! "It made the Kessel run in 2 parsecs"...a parsec is a measure of space, not of time.

All that said, I still love the film. It's a part of my childhood.

The Wicker Man (1973)

Damn Fine Film

[4 February 2003]

Not too much to add that hasn't been said before, but the "turn the heat up slowly" aspect (pun?) really adds to the movie. Great, creepy, otherworldly feel accentuates a solid drama. And to think we had to wait 30 years for Chris Lee to be in another great film! See "The Wicker Man"--you won't regret it. Wish I had written the screenplay.

K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)

Okay.

[29 December 2002]

Not the sort of film to watch time and again, but an okay movie about an interesting story. Vividly brings to the fore the criminal cupidity of Communism and how it was mercilessly inflicted upon the poor Russian servicemen (and other Europeans).

Dances with Wolves (1990)

It's open season on whitey...

[29 December 2002]

I'll save you the time it takes to watch this film. White = bad. I don't know if Costner simply took at face value what his "Native advisors" were telling him, but he should've done more homework. (Were there any Pawnee advisors on this film, by the way?) Some of the period details are right on, many are not. Books such as "Death on Horseback" will give a much better idea of the "frontier" at this time. Costner's hamfisted, cliched direction not only obscures many facts about the pacification on the "west" (both pro and con from the "white" point of view) but does so in WAY too many frames. To think that this bloated, slow, snoozefest beat out "Goodfellas" for best picture! Good thing, too, that he happened to stumble across a good looking white girl with a nice feminist name! "Stands with a fist"...(groan.)

Little Big Man (1970)

I love this movie, but...

[29 December 2002]

Let's be fair here. Why is it that only "native" peoples can refer to themselves as "Human beings" (Actually, many native tribes' names for themselves ran along similar lines) Such a bold title would be xenophobic and "racist" if done by whites, but is ok if done by anyone else. Also, Custer WAS an idiot and borderline madman, but the depiction of him riding into the Indian camp with the intention of wiping out women and children is incorrect and libelious. Custer found that wounded troopers were being scalped and mutilated by the natives...which is when the indiscriminate shooting started. The friendly native folk were reknowned for their adherence to torture and mutilation, by the way.

And how many times does Hollywood "discover" the "good native peoples" anyway? Was it here? Dances with wolves? The honorable Indians from 50's films? Tonto?

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

The first casualty of war movies is truth...

[16 December 2002]

Funny how really damning war films of the military (particularly US military) don't generate much furor.

I saw Kovic, Stone and a Marine officer on a talk show shortly after this came out and the officer shredded the other two with a dangerous weapon--the truth. Almost everything truly disturbing about the story, right down to Kovic accidentally killing an American, were revealed as bosh. But at least Stone smiled and offered slimy retractions like "I'll have to go check my sources".

Another Vietnam War movie which has been excoriated by the media (We Were Soldiers) turns out to be far more accurate to actual facts than this film. Go figure.

Black Hawk Down (2001)

Breathless

[15 December 2002]

That pretty much says it. If this is what real combat is like--ouch! Hopefully it will make folks less willing to engage in warfare. Best part of BHD--it prompted that review/lecture from the South African gent. Jeepers, let's defer to S.A.'s moral primacy and spotless history before making another State Dept decision!

G.I. Jane (1997)

Junk.

[15 December 2002]

This movie proves one thing--that film makers frequently have but a nodding acquaintance with reality. The producers should issue an apology to the SEALs for their offensive cartoon image of our most dedicated warriors and their training. It's almost amazing to see the difference in timbre between the reviews of this movie (on IMDB) and those of films dedicated to true military events. UGH!