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It is a murder mystery --sort of-- and even if you think you've figured
it out, trust me, you haven't figured it ALL out. The secret of this
film is the layers and the depths it goes to to create a story that
is far more than it appears to be. Everything works, and there are a
few moments that ascend into pure brilliance. The only thing keeping
this from getting top marks is the sound. There were a few sections
where I couldn't hear the dialog and I found that frustrating. So you've
been warned, try and sit by a speaker.
Overall Score = A
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Strange flick. Funny, yet surprisingly sad in ways that really catch
you off guard. Best use of flashbacks since Wayne's World. I'm KIDDING.
Please tell me you knew that was a joke. Okay, seriously, I don't like
half the people in this (Gwenyth, Ben Stiller), but the director knew
what to do with them and it works. Not for everyone, but if your sense
of humor runs towards the avante guard, you should walk away satisfied.
Overall Score = B+
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Wow! Big Wow! Huge, momumental, awe inspiring WOW! Better than anything
I'd anticipated. Virtual perfection, demonstrates why this story defined
the whole genre for the last 50 years. And now they've done it justice
on film. If you are over the age of 12, go see it. No excuses now.
Overall Score = A+
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I really liked the book and I really liked the movie. I thought they
did a good job of casting. Maybe the little girl who plays Hermione
is a bit too cute, but apart from that, they seamlessly wove their way
into my mind's eye for this series. The special effects were very good.
I hope they work out the bugs with the Quidditch matches, that was the
one area that fell way short in my opinion - very jerky and blurry.
Will probably look aweful on television. Hardest thing is going to be
waiting a whole year for the next installment. I read that Kenneth Branaugh's
been cast as Lockhart. That is a shame because he is one of my favorite
actors and that's got to be my least favorite character in the series
so far. But if anyone can do something with it, Kenny can.
Overall Score = A
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This is the type of film that you just love while you're watching,
but then walk away wondering where it all went. After hours and hours
of trying to make sense of it, I finally concluded that it wasn't suppose
to make sense. That's fine in and of itself, but it would have been
helpful if they'd have clued me in EARLIER so I wouldn't have worried
about it so much. In spite of that I liked it, it explored some interesting
ideas and left me with some hauntingly disturbing images.
Overall Score = B-
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It is just getting creepy watcing Woody Allen seduce young women. And
it wasn't much better when his main competition was Dan Akroyd, but
it did make it believable when the seducee tried to jump out of a window.
There were a few laughs, but it just didn't have the punch I've come
to expect from this kind of an ensemble. I don't even think I'd recommend
this as a rental.
Overall Score = F+
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I wanted
a comedy, I got a comedy - no complaints. The animation was good, they
had some problem with the faces, probably why Toy Story avoided people.
Loved some of the jabs at Disney, and the parody of "The Dating Game"
was just brilliant. Lots of fun, good matinee fodder.
Overall Score = B
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A.I. is
a beautiful but flawed movie. The idea is great, but it collapses under
the weight of its own internal logic. The performance of Haley Joel Osmont
is the one thing that rises from the ashes and takes flight. And for the
record, those things at the end are ROBOTS, not aliens. If I'm wrong and
they are suppose to be aliens, please lower the score by one full grade.
Overall Score = B+
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It is a
cruel trick that really good reviews are often less entertaining to read
than bad ones, so despite the fact that Memento is a shockingly brilliant
film, I'm afraid this review will be a bit dull. The film's foundation
is a very elaborate trick - but it works, and leaves us with a movie that
is just shy of perfect. It is a psychological thriller with an emotion
impact that literally left the audience gasping. I'd give it an A+, but
I'm afraid that I'm jinxing myself so that nothing better will ever come
along, so......
Overall Score = A
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If you
can survive the first 15 minutes you'll be just fine. The director obviously
discovered this cool special effect of zooming in and out of computer
generated landscapes, and he's so in love with it he has to do it for
the first 5 minutes of the movie, but then it goes down to once every
30 seconds, then once every 5 minutes, etc. For a minute there I was seriously
wishing I'd taken a Dramamine before I walked in the theater. This movie
has redefined the phrase "over the top." The use of plot, glitter, music,
glitter, costumes, oh, and did I mention the glitter? Bonus points for
integrating Indian pop music into the score, negative points for the extended
overuse of one particular overdone love song.
Overall Score = C+
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Classic
summer fun with nonstop, and we really do mean NONSTOP action. Plus side,
good girl-on-girl catfight with sassy Egyptian weapons (now that Xena
is over they must have got a discount on stacks of leftover props), the
kid wasn't toooooooo annoying, and everyone seem to have these nifty tattoos.
On the down side, Brandon Fraiser never took his shirt off, and apparently
eternal love doesn't last forever. They should have read the fine print,
it actually is "Forever or 5,000 years, which ever comes first." For most
of us it isn't an issue.
Overall Score = B-
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The only
reason to see this movie is for Sean Connery. As some kind of bizarre
in-joke, they pulled out every ancient "James Bond" face shot
of him and put it in the movie. An old dust jacket here, on a portrait
there, kind of funny really. Connery just ate up his scenes, even the
ones that were terribly written, and basically made this whole movie.
The "star," one Robert Brown (don't worry, you'll never hear
about him again), didn't even try to act. Truly pathetic. Bonus points
awarded for not trying to give hints as to how to write and for not portraying
a writer as a chain-smoking-drunken-savant in a bathrobe.
Overall Score = C+
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If we close
our eyes we can imagine how far this film could have gone we can see how
much restraint was demonstrated by all participants. Lots of nudity was
present, although perhaps not in the context I'd prefer (power play vs.
pleasure play). Kaufman managed to avoid his overty preachy style, this
film gets up on the free speech soap box but in some fairly subdued ways.
Lost some points for the predictable killing of characters that enjoy
pleasure. Can we keep our fingers crossed that someday Hollywood will
lose this Calvinistic requirement?
Overall score = B+
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