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3/10
"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced."
19 May 2005
I have always been a huge Star Wars fan. I've seen "the Holy Trilogy" scores, if not hundreds of times, I've read the books, I've bought the toys, I even played the card game. All of these things make me not only a geek, but a person whose soul was crushed when he saw Episode III. I can't possibly convey to you using words my disappointment and horror as a reaction to this film. Harrison Ford's old quote to George Lucas, "You can write this s***, but we can't say it!" doesn't come close to embodying the sheer awfulness of the script. There is melodrama that is laughable, and comedy that just fails on every level. Lucas has squandered a great cast and elicited some of the worst performances in cinematic history (no hyperbole), and even Samuel L. Jackson was bad. The action and CGI are amazing, but they are the only redeeming features of the movie, and there is not enough of them to make it worth sitting through two and a half hours of Lucas' offensively horrendous dialogue.

The story that every single one of us knows before we walk into the theater unfolds at such an awkward pace, that you almost feel like you're watching that one nerdy kid from high school fail to climb the gym rope. The character's levels of intelligence and skill change throughout the film to fit the needs of the plot. The Jedi who we have come to know and love are invincible when fighting the droids, but are timorous cowards when confronted by Sith or real soldiers. Anakin is stupid, and for someone who seems to have such a deep understanding of something like the Force, he seems to have an awfully hard time connecting events, judging a situation, and even telling friend from foe. This isn't helped by the fact that Hayden Christensen gives a performance that would have gotten him booed off of the stage in a high school play.

The dialogue is bad. And by bad, I don't mean punny or evil, I mean that it's poorly written crap. This is, of course, to be expected since Episode's I and II had similar problems, but the sheer quantity dialogue ranging in quality from bad to atrocious is astounding, and you can only stand so much of it. Some of the actors, like Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid, relish the hamminess of their lines and pour their heart and soul into them with mixed results. Other actors, like Jackson, seem confused as to how they got talked into actually having these words come out of their mouths while the cameras were rolling, and their performances are just bad. Finally, there is Cristensen and Portman, who are both fine young actors (Portman far better than Christensen), but whose performances are deplorable beyond description.

The movie ended up being awful, despite being wonderfully fun to look at and having great special effects and battle. I am crushed that it was so, but I must say that I saw what I saw when I saw it!
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9/10
A film masterpiece
26 June 2004
Fahrenheit 9/11 is a mix of political satire, witty comedy, and documentary all rolled up into one. It is Michael Moore's love child; a living testament to his hatred of the Bush administration. It opens with Gore's victory celebration on the evening of November 4th, 2000. You see Ben Affleck and "that taxi driver guy" as a background to a jubilant Al Gore and a somewhat vacant Tipper. Then, suddenly you hear a voice over, Moore of course, asking you whether this is all a dream. He proceeds to tell the tragedy that unfolded on that fateful night and the following weeks and months of clashing news reporters and weighted, somewhat suspicious court decisions. He tells of the folly of the Florida debacle and the terrifying actions and effects of the Bush administration.

Now this was a great film. It was emotional, it was well written, it was sprinkled with intelligent humor and terrifying pictures of war. It is a masterpiece of cinema. But it is not your standard documentary. Things that are presented as facts are sometimes opinions and half truths. Moore has done a brilliant job of splicing together facts that support his views and leaving out all the rest. There is a point where he shows clips of Baghdad before the war. There are children frolicking in the streets, weddings happening, old men laughing in a restaurant. But where are the torture scenes? Where are the effects of Hussein's oppressive rule? I mean, I know Iraq wasn't full of shiny, happy people. Saddam Hussein is a bad guy, and he was oppressive. There is another point where Moore makes fun of the "Coalition of the Willing" (which is laughable), but he conveniently leaves out the larger more respectable countries, like England and Spain. Moore has created a great piece of film and a great piece of propaganda, but it's not the whole truth.

I totally agree with everything this film stands for. I am a far left democrat and I believe that Bush is one of the worst leaders in the history of this or any other country. But I will admit that this is not everything that is out there. Everything said in the film is correct. It's all the truth, with opinions here and there. But it is not the WHOLE truth. So it should be taken with a grain of salt.

Overall, this was a brilliant film. It was well made and it won the hearts of the audience (except for those who didn't agree with the film), and it even won the Palm D'or, the highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival. I highly recommend it. I give the film a 92 out of 100.

Well, go out and see it. Please. And educate yourself about the surrounding issues, too
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10/10
Great Cult Film.
22 March 2004
This is one of the best and most underrated movies I have ever seen. This is a brilliant black comedy with great social commentary on racism and classism. I loved it the first time I saw it, and it held up when I bought it on DVD. This is definitely worth the time it takes to watch it, and you will find yourself quoting the movie later. The "Beer . . . on the Rocks" quote is my personal favorite, but the card trick is a close second. Have fun with this little known, early John Sayles Masterpiece.
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4/10
a waste of time
18 March 2004
I have enjoyed Shyamalan's other efforts, but this movie was horrible. Cow dung. One of the biggest wastes of time I ever experienced, and that includes my environmental science class from high school.

This movie was not only stupid and a waste of Bruce Willis' talent, but it was also insulting to the viewers intelligence. There are holes in the plot large enough to move troops through which are covered up by silly lines and ghosts. This movie is an over produced monstrosity which should be avoided at all costs. If this movie is hailed as a classic after I'm gone from this world, I'll be rolling in my grave.
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10/10
Brilliant and Incredibly depressing film
18 March 2004
Warning: Spoilers
***MINOR SPOILERS***

This is, without a doubt, a brilliant film. It was well scripted, well acted, well directed, and there are few, if any, flaws. The only problem I have with this film is how depressing it is. I was shell shocked after I had watched it. I didn't know what to think. The first part of the movie was a comedy through and through. I watched it the entire time with almost an air of smugness. The first part was nothing compared to the second though. The end is what makes this a brilliant and thought provoking film. My smugness disappeared in the last twenty minutes. Though the ending is ultimately uplifting with the fate of Chief, the events surrounding it are horrifying and depressing. I wholeheartedly recommend this movie, but I also recommend that you prepare yourself for something other than a comedy.

PS. Does anyone know why Louise Fletcher won best actress? She was just not that good.
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