jakob__haeger Reviews

From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999 Video)

Horrible

[1/10 · 19 August 2003]

When I saw Quentin Tarantino`s and Robert Rodriguez`s From Dusk Till Dawn I was around 12 years old. And even today I think that that movie is one off the coolest ever made.

But in 1999 I rented From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money, Directed by Scott Spiegel and written by Scott Spiegel and Actor/writer Duane Withaker.

The first film is so cool because the first half is a gangster film, and then it just changes into a vampire film. This sequel also tries to do the same thing. But it fails.

The original had George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Danny Trejo, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis and Salma Hayek. The most knows actor in this film is Robert Patrick from The X-files. Also the crew is nothing like the original. Tarantino and Rodriguez is Exec. porudcers, but nothing more. The man at the helm is Spiegel most known for....well nothing.

The SFX? THERE IS NO SFX. I mean the blood is so bad in the film, the could just as well used red paint.

The direction is some of the worst I`ve ever seen. The camera angels is so f***ed up. They have placed the camera inside the mouth off a vamp. The script is so bad that I laugh out loud. Some of the dialouge is so bad, it coould be of been written by a ten year old.

I mean really what can you expect from a film where the main cast consists of Robert patrick and Raimond Cruz?

0/5 - Stay away!!!!!!!!

Aliens (1986)

To put it in one word: Amazing!

[10/10 · 19 August 2003]

This films is amazing. It is easily one off the best films ever made. It has it all.

This is the sequel to Alien(1979). The planet from the first film, named Lv-436, has been colonised but humans who are there too make the air breathable. But one day a family discovers an alien ship and when they go inside they bring back aliens...

The film starts with Ellen Ripley in her ship, wich has floated away far in to space, being found by another ship. They bring her back to a large space station above earth. But when she wakes up she gets a shock: she has been a sleep for 57 years. In 57 years a lot of things has happend, among that her daughter has died.

Ripley is forced too sit through long meating with 'important' people. They blaim her for the loss of their ship(wich she destroyed in Alien). But then contact is lost with LV-426. She is convinced too go too the planet as an expert, though she will go there with marine soldiers.

As the soldiers and ripley land on the planet, all hell breaks loose...

This film is easily one of the best sci-fiction and action film ever made. The action is very good and very cool.

It is writen and driected by James Cameron, the man who did The Terminator and other films. The script is very good and the characters are very well written. Every single one of them is interesting in their own way.

There is Ripley, wich we know from the first film.

There is Dwayne Hicks, a bad-ass soldier who always stays cool and never panics. This role is played by Michael Biehn, wich plays the part very good.

There is Hudson, a soldier who we in the begining things is a very bad-ass soildier. He talks about how he will kich ass and all, but when he faces the aliens he shows another side. Bill Paxton is AMAZING in this role.

Vasques, a female soldier. She is a really cool character, who also always stays cool. She is played by Janette Goldstein, who is a very good actress and it is a shame that she doesn't got more roles these days.

These are sme of the characters who are very interesting but there are more.

James Cameron does a good job directing this one. This is, in my opinion, the best Alien movie. This one is maybe the best Cameron film(a tie between T2 and this one), it is Amazing. I really recomend this one. 10/10.

Jurassic Park III (2001)

An ok sequel, but nothing more.

[15 July 2003]

This is the third film in the Jurassic Park franchise.

In 1993 the first Jurassic Park hit theaters worldwide and it became one off the higest grossing films in history. That one was directed by Steven Spielberg and it was, to say it in one word, Amasing. It was a landmark in film history.

Since that one did as well as it did at the box office and it was also well recived(won three oscars)it was given that a sequel had to be done. And it was, in 1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park came out. It, also did amazingly good at the box office though was not near as criticly acclaimed as the first one(it did accualy receive one oscar nomination for best sound).

And in 2001 we all went to see the third installment in the series. Jurassic Park 3.

This film starts with Eric Kirby and Ben Hildebrand going parasailing near Isla Sorna(Site-B). But, when they are in mid air a Dinosaur attacks the boat underneath and they are helpless. They manage to cut themselfs free, but only to glide in over the dino filled island...

Dr. Grant(Sam Neil) is still in paleontolegy. He is trying to raise fundings to his projects, but without any biggers successes. Then one day Amanda and Paul Kirby(Tea Leoni and William H. Macy) contacts him. They give him and offer to come with them as their guide when they are going to fly over Isla Sorna. since they offer him a fat pay check he gomes a long, with him comes Billy Brennan, his partner. Once they are flying over the island they land the plane, someting Alan does not like.

After that it all goes to hell. People dies and all hell breaks lose. Alan also finds out that Eric is Amandas and Pauls son.

So, what did I like about this film? The acting from Sam Neil and William H. Macy was very good. Teo Leoni on the other hand;no. Alessandro Nivola did ok as well, the same with Trevor Morgan and Michael Jeter, but those who stood out were Macy and Neil.

I like the story. They go back to the 'civilians trapped on the island' concept, with I think is way better that what they had in The Lost World('militarys trapped on island').

This one is directed by Jeo Johnston, the man behind Jumaji and October Sky. I think that some people think that this one is not as good as the first two only because Steven Spielberg not directd it. Joe Johnston has done a good job directing this one in my opinion.

What bothered me? The script. It sucked. Some bad dialouge. They were doing rewrites on the set, and it was not a writter who did it, it was the actors(Macy and Neil). That is NOT supposed to happen.(They also started to shot without a complete script). There is to MUCH action in this one, it starts off right away. In JP1 they spend like 40 m to build up the characters and then the action kicks off. In this, BAMM, like that. We do know Sams character from the first one but there are several other new ones that we know nothing about.

This film is also way to short(81 m) for that much action. It is like the writers have only one thought in their heads, and that is action, action and action. Sure, a film like this needs action, the first one had it and the second one had alots off it. But this one is only 83 minutes long and it has like 7 or 8 action sequenses.

I did like the dino fight. really cool. it looks so real. The 'bird cage' sequence is also pretty good but then the other ones are, well, not that good.

And the raptors in this one are smart. Yes, smart. "Smarter than primates". Ok. Maybe they were, I'm no expert or nothing but in this film they set trappes for the persons. They talk to eachother. call for help. Gimme a break!

And there is one weird thing in this film, and the end when the guy stands on the beach. Why the heck is he standing there? Why? Maybe it is supposed to be funny, I don't know. And the a second later there are marines on the beach and helicopters in the air. Later when they fly off the island we also see ships, three of them if I am not mistaken. Now How the **** does Elle Sattler, a nobody, manage to call the military and convinse them to go there to save Alan and the others? Not only that, earlier in the film, Paul Kirby say that the embassy had told them to 'forget it' or something like that. Then, the marines are AMERICAN, pretty fast americans too. They manage, in only a few hours, to assemble the soldiers, send out the ships and sail to the island. Not that likley to me.

So in concluding, it is an OK sequel to an OK sequel to a masterpiece. Good acting, great dinoes -- bad script and pretty lame ending.

6.5/10