ebert_jr

Damsel was Netflix's redemption, with strong female lead and nary a hint of woke bs! Classic story telling. Perfect for young viewers and beautiful sets, cgi, great acting and solid story. I loved every second.

The story was simple, yes, but it was the execution and attention to detail that matters here... Characters were classic antagonist and protagonist leads, with dragon mythos and a Shakespearen feel. The castle and background geography contributed to a realistic story landscape that fused drama with place and purpose. I can't wait to have my daughters watch this film, at its heart it's a young person's movie.

What made me like this film the most was the idea that an intelligent human like civilization was advanced 65 million years ago - most Sci fi takes place in the future or in a time independent context. This film I thought was really thought provoking in that it showed essentially humans from 65 million years ago crashing on Earth, dealing with the elements and animals of the time while struggling to get home. It was tantalizing thinking about such an event happening here so long ago, with such strong personalities and spirt only to lose evidence of it due to the dinosaur killing asteroid which "coincidentally" hit near their crash location.

I love the vibe and feel this give me thinking about their escape and return trip and how all this happened so long before humans came to be and how those strong personalities and their friendship and the love for family are all gone now but existed then.

Many things to critique in this film but I choose to focus on what I liked.

I was blown away by thr acting of the lead female. She as really good. People say it was unrealistic but there are really wild tales of survival sea and some of them are fantastic but true. In that light, I had no trouble accepting the premise and details as presented. The vibe of the film, the despair, the dread, and her acting... Wow her acting, were really enjoyable - yet another really fine Spanish female lead. I even thought that score was good. Yes, there were some parts that I thought could have been done differently but every weakness in the film was just so overshadowed by the acting that I didn't care muh. I couldn't help but think of people who are trafficked or migrants being shuttled from south America.

Good grief talk about how to go out with a dud. Season four us completely boring and moves at a snails pace, with characters you don't care about and a plot that fails to engage or hold ones attention. What a disappointment. The main stars are back and dial in steady and decent performances but the story line is completely uninteresting and is like a cold bowl of soup, looks good from a distance but disappoints. And the more you have the more you're reminded about how bad it is. The first season three seaons were worth watching, but not this one. I guess they knew this was it and didn't care..

Spoilers.

Yes, the plot isn't original but the execution and realism are done very well. The main character is gutsy, gritty and you just can't help but worry about her survival. I liked the dark, dreary setting and I particularly liked the meth cook that rescues her. Despite the business he was in, and his cousins, he had was a decent human being, stuck doing drugs since he was 14 with no other life experience. No car. Jsut a trailer. He was by himself for so long and had the chance to step out of his lonely existence and rescue this girl. They were both more intelligent than their accenets would lead one to initially assess. That helped them form a trust bond. He sacrified himself, and he knew it would come to that - he said he was ready to leave, but he didnt' say where - he meant leave this world. His redemption from a live of meth lab work was sacrificing himsefl to see her escape.

Acting - 8 Plot Originality - 5 Set location and realism - 10 Themes of survival and rising above evil/sacrifice - 10

33/4 - 8.x.

This is become one of my all-time favorite anthologies and streaming series ever and I rank it right up there with the likes of Breaking Bad The Sopranos everything else although it's impossible to compare any of these truly because they're so distinct and that also describes the sinner. Each episode focuses on the main character a detective who who seems to walk a fine line between the real and the Paranormal and always seems to be attracted to the most difficult cases and the most interesting ones like opposite charges attracting one another. There are so many themes and sub themes to this series especially including the concepts of religion life death suicide this is just an amazing series and I can't even begin to write a proper review without spending a lot of time but please give it a try.

Features a great story premise, great guest acting, and we see Mulder and Scully's acting fully develop and mature in this episode - season 1 featured some spotty acting especially on David's part but by this episode, our two main leads fully embrace and mature their characters that later be the foundation for future seasons

The score is also amazing in this episode, and the music perfect synced with the tension. Probably one of the best scores I cna recall in any X Files episode.

The story premise is presented and framed in a engaging and creative way and the tension and story pacing are fantastic and riveting.

I don't get why some critics at the time gave it marginal reviews but I would bet they would change their minds upon a revisit to the episode.

A cut above the usual formulaic horror yarn, but not that far removed from its plot. This film failed to fascinate through hackneyed "psychological" tension between catty PMS'ing rock chicks who seem to be wearing an "easy kill" sign on their heads from the moment a line is dropped into the cave. 'The Descent' also failed to deliver seriously scary moments, even though it threw quite a few number of cheap false scare moments into the mix. This is mostly a "girls night out fright date" film, the "let's stay up and bake muffins, and watch Descent! Yay! kinda film".

'The Descent' also begs the question, if you had a "beef" with a cheating friend and both of you were fleeing flesh eating, cave dwelling humanoids, and your chances of survival were hanging in the balance, would you stop to have it out, or would you help each other to escape, then have it out? Apparently the female mind rules the day here. It's not wonder the film, therefore, has no happy ending.

On the plus side, credit goes to the creature's creators, set design and other technical merits (probably all created by males). 'The Descent' isn't total garbage, there's some things to like about it, including the Filipina chic playing tough-girl "Juno", but it's fairly forgettable.

This Bruckheimer gem quickly dispels with the necessary and gratuitous distillation of cracker jack movie physics to explain things to us (how many times are we going to get the folded up piece of paper demo for how to travel thru time?). It's basically soda pop scifi to enable yet another formulaic Denzel-chasing-the-bad-guys movie.

Once Denzel becomes suspicious of the incredible technology, the experts (who look like rejects from the cast of Rent) give him the standard 30 second Hollywood distillation of how the technology works. Denzel gets this news of the century, and somehow it doesn't phase him at all (maybe because he can't believe it either). Granted, he's wrapped up in solving a terrorist plot, but still, one has to wonder how that somehow would not cause at least a wee bit of shock and awe.

Some other things observed:

-Denzel very quickly piecing together the underlying secrets of the technology he's witnessing

-Denzel figuring out that shining a laser pen pointer into the projector screen actually gets sent to the past.

-Denzel actually carrying a laser pointer around in his front pocket. Is this SOP for an ATF agent? I dunno, maybe it is.

-Light from Denzel's laser pointer can go through a display/screen yet anything else has to go through a separate huge machine, including Denzel, who throws himself at this task without pause.

-Said time machine / teleporter would constitute an earth shattering news (let alone being able to see a real-time feed of the past).

-This huge machine existing somewhere in the New Orleans area yet nobody has found it (despite huge electrical power grid failures due to it and scores of army personnel hanging around)

-A doughy, pudgy faced Val Kilmer having a short, meaningless, throw away role in this film, essentially there to collect a paycheck.

-The "bad guy" seems to have some knowledge of a conspiracy involving the government and its technology to affect or alter the past/future, yet neither this or the character are really developed.

-The female victim somehow falls in love with Denzel in a NY minute, I guess for thanks and payback for rescuing her.

I'm starting to think that all Denzel's roles of late are the same guy. Great talent, but it's like everything he does is a variation on the same theme, sort of like Tommy Lee Jones spat of films where he's chasing someone, somewhere.

The last 15 minutes of this film are good. It's just too bad the rest couldn't be. Then again, it's Bruckheimer folks, and that unfortunately says it all.

If I had to judge of sfx alone, I'd say the film was great, but the level of gore towards the latter half of the movie was a huge turn off. I thought the film could have achieved its story/plot without these scenes. The "butch" female cop character...weird and distracting. What was that all about? Did the film break any new ground in the horror genre? I don't think so, it's not original, I've seen the basic premise countless times. The ending was a let down, as was the trip to see the "dark one", or whatever. Pretty looking film, great sets and visuals, but just gross, and not worth the time. The FAQ for this film, posted elsewhere, is so bloated with self importance, its funny. Ooh, they didn't die, but they aren't exactly alive...oh, OK. Psssst.

Obviously catering to the younger audiences, Hostile has some teaser scenes that appear to be over-the-top but are nothing. The plot, you see coming a mile away, and you know exactly who is going to survive and who is going to help who escape. Sets look just like any number of recent horror movies, e.g. Saw (which is in a different league than this movie). One or two gratuitous, non sexy sex scenes with some decent looking women, a couple of suggestive torture scenes and a whole lot of redundant boiler plate plot in between.

This was a big disappointment. I would have thought something with QT's name on it would have been better, but this one simply doesn't measure up.

You've seen plenty of movies featuring lots of action but little character development and dialogue. This is just the other side of the coin: plenty of focus on characters while the alien invasion is a background task. Great special effects are a diversion from a Spielbergian soap opera about a divorced part-time father and his kids, especially the son (who looks almost as old as dad) who rediscover their love for one another while giant metal alien guided machines emerge from the earth and sizzle people with death rays and poop out human blood. Despite a strong focus on the son and his apparent desperation to become a man by throwing himself into harms way, little is really served by the father-son angst, nor does the viewer care really at any level. Cruise's acting in this one goes from great, to mediocre to overacting and back to great, sometimes all within minutes.

The best part about this film, apart from its obviously expectations-met sfx, is Tim Robbins brief role as a mental case hiding out in his basement. Robbins is just great in anything he does, and this one is no exception. In fact, I wanted to see and learn more about Robbins character than the aliens outside, scooping up people and pooping out their blood.

The original film version had so much more character and heartfelt drama. I think Spielberg's come a long, long way in his career and unfortunately, I think I like his older stuff much better.

One last thing, I'm tired of today's generation of action movies where any scene using sfx features a gloomy, or dimly lit background, whether outdoors or inside.

Violence that might seem exploitive in other films just seemed so right in this picture. And, there's just so much to like about 'Man on Fire', that I think its weaknesses are easily forgotten. It's strengths, like the acting by Washington and Dakota, are superb. For a young child, Dakota comes across with an amazingly mature and intelligent screen presence well beyond her years. Even her voice seems to belong to a older actress. It's actually a bit bizarre on second thought. Denzel is just great in this. He doesn't have a lot of lines it seems but does connect the story with the viewer in almost every scene, often with just his expression.

At first, I wasn't sure I liked the directive style by Scott, which in parts reminded me of the way music videos are shot. But the film grew on me until I actually started making mental notes about certain scenes and some nice artistic touches. Some scenes give certain sequences a sort of hazy air about them, where time passes quickly (even for movie time) resulting in an overlapping of sequences where one seems to fade out while the next comes into view, hanging around longer. This interesting technique just underscores the internal struggle Denzel's character goes through. He is the textbook textbook antihero I think, he drinks, he coldly murders "the bad guys" (and there are plenty of them in Mexico it would seem) after wringing information out of them. There is rarely mercy shown, and his acts would make Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry blush. There were moments when I felt Washington just seemed too nice and looked to handsome for any of this to be believable, not even a scowl on his face as he pulls triggers left and right. In the end, what he brings to the picture is allowing the audience to get inside his character's head to make a connection or bond. Understanding what he's trying to accomplish is easy, together these helps propel viewers through the violence, and we relish, maybe squint, but believe it deserved. The ending was a bit Hollywood, but who cares, he's a 'man on fire'.

Rod Steiger is a hilarious Latino mob boss, dropping lines like "Ju think I'm going to..and Ju know whaddd?" James Woods here is at his over-acting best; screeching and hollering out his lines as he chases Sly's trail around Miami. And then there's Sly and Sharon Stone. She is as hot as he sounds dumb...like as in fresh from the Rocky film ring, post fight, drooling, monotone line reading, dumb. But, his character is an explosive expert who, as Stone points out, can "shape his charge" and, "direct" his "explosions". Hot hot hot. If Sharon Stone weighed in at about 200 lbs, this movie would be unwatchable, but it is Sharon Stone, and the rest of the cast seem to have fun doing what they're doing, I say it's a good diversion if you have absolutely nothing to do with your time.

Had no idea what this movie was about, never read the comic series and wasn't aware of who the director was. I was pleasantly surprised though at how well made and entertaining this film is. The Nazi-paranormal linkup premise is great fun, and there is still plenty of life left in that premise even with the various movies and video games that have already capitalized on it. The special effects are stunning but controlled - the film doesn't hit you over the head with them at every turn. When they are unleashed, the sfx are just beautiful, and the set designs very meticulously crafted and lighting is exceptional. There are many scenes that use a kind of yellowish filter for effect and in the beginning sequence during WWII is shot will a a silvery-green look, somewhat like Saving Private Ryan, but with added unique coloration. The acting is actually engaging and the Hell Boy character humorously written. Overall, a really nice surprising gem.

Like Stanley, this is yet another Disney creation that is fantastic. Take the theme music for example - great music actually! Then, JoJo, which is a sweet loveable clown that is very interactive with her viewers, asking them to participate in lessons on everything from exercise to just about anything kids like. Jojo's circus has a cool look to it, lots of colors, high quality animation that looks like "claymation", and based on not just Jojo but her extended family and friends within a clown town. This show continually strives to get kids to not only learn but actively particpate in the "lesson" for each show. I love the show's opening theme, and I wasn't surprised when I heard that it's covered by at least one well known rock band.

This show is great, with an interesting premise - a smart fish that teaches his young owner science through the "great big book of everything" (or something like that!), which makes any science subject spring to life in 3-D. The fish humorously has an English accent and is a very brainy fish, which makes the whole setup pretty cute. Plus he's got a nice dry sense of humor. The shows theme is also very neat. The animation is simple but effective and seeing Stanley trying to get the creatures discussed back into the book before his parents open the door is great. This is one of those shows that help you spend precious quality time with your kids.

This is a terrible, poorly acted, contrived, instant-coffee like, shallow, dimwitted, dull, one-dimensional piece of summer fluff. But strangely, if you check your IQ in at the door and think about all the terrible things happening in the world, really think hard about them, two normally unfunny and 2nd-rate actors dressing up like "white chics" can be sort of funny at times. The handful of silly though occasionally funny scenes in this movie employ the lowest common denominator type of humor popular in schools across the land, including the beloved and timeless..."farting". Scenes progress from one to the next in paint by numbers version of comic movie making with the expected and mostly tired racial stereotypes tapped. The film isn't racist, but of course there'd be no way a film with two white guys dressing up as black girls, acting, say, "ghetto", would ever fly. A double standard? Yes, but it's been open season on uptight "honkey" culture since "white men can't jump", and sometimes deservedly so. However, most "white chics" would never identify or be accepted by the upper class elite portrayed in the film, whether they're from the East Hamptons, or anywhere else, so 'White Chics' also aims it comic sights on the much more acceptable and welcomed sendup of the rich, albeit rich white people. Some of the funnier moments include the big football player (black) who falls for one of the "white chics", thinking she's that rare combination of white girl with a "black girl booty". Those scenes were among the few that really had some potential to generate some serious laughs, but apart from a one or two, the opportunity was mostly missed.

The end of the film is even more canned than the rest, and pretty much unravels whatever potential it had built up in earlier to reveal its expected slim core. The film is one dimensional comedy, built on one joke: disguise black guys as white girls, uses well played out racial stereotypes, and familiar jabs at the rich. However, farting is timeless.

Spoilers...

The crew of an underwater research lab fall victim to a mysterious genetic mutation after two of its members drink a tainted bottle of liquor taken from a russian shipwreck. One by one, the crew are "contaminated" when they encounter the ever mutating monster derived from improperly disposed of bodies of the original two infected crew members. Once a member of the crew is attacked, they become part of the monster.

Perhaps ironically, the film itself is a bit of a hybrid mutation, borrowing story elements from the Alien film and its genre, as well as "The Thing", especially John Carpenter's version. Like Alien, the creature stalks those inside the underwater complex through its maze of dimly lit, high-tech looking corridors, crawl spaces and labs. When the crew learns of a bogus cover story about their supposed deaths in the news, they realize the corporation they work for has lied to them about a rescue (the good doctor has supplied them with enough info) and struggle to survive while look for a way out.

The characters are believable enough, especially Richard Crenna who does a good job playing the role of crew doctor who begins to unravel what's going on. The creature effects are very well done and they're shown just enough (until the laughably predictable ending with its [intentionally?] humorous borrowing from Jaws ) to build terror. There is a sub-genre of underwater movies just like this one, but for some reason none seem as tightly wound and enjoyable as Leviathan. Perhaps because of the cast (and there are two beautiful actresses in this one) or the sfx, none linger in the mind like this one did. A fun rental for a rainy day.

underrated drama featuring anthony quinn as a mexican drug lord married to a lady half his age and desperate for love and attention (quinn is too wrapped up in his business and political dealings to pay her the attention, and father the child, she craves). Enter Costner, golden-boy American and x-pilot, three good qualities to have if you should find yourself in Puerto Vallarta Mexico, and with good friends in high places, even better. of course she'll fall for him. of course he'll steal her from his drug lord friend quinn, and there will be payback. the ending was formula but it was balanced by very nice scenery and interesting supporting characters who help costner find his lover. sad ending, good scenery, nice music.

Forsythe is my favorite supporting actor out there, even roles like this one he just shines through. He's so good, it's almost funny given the context. Whether it's this, or his bad guy role in Out For Justice, the man is just totally into his work and energized, a real pleasure to watch. I love the scene where he tells the bad guy that he looks like "a little snow angel" when he's covered in cocaine, or when Forsythe is downstairs in the basement waiting for the bad guys and he's doing the Indian war dance around the drugs. Berrigner is ok for this, but plays it too straight. What works well are the guys that know how to have fun with the role, like Forsythe.

I felt sorry for Norma and her sad, twisted fantasy with Holden trapped in that world to make a buck. Obviously, a time before depression meds, otherwise there may have been hope for old Norma, or at least something to keep her chilled out. Sunset Blvd. reminded me of a long twilight zone episode, but with better direction, sets, and more drama. Can't help but think the picture is overrated though. So what, the film talks about the "true Hollywood", but is that such a revelation? One need not go to Hollywood to see people getting screwed over, forgotten, passed on and otherwise exploited. Picture quality on DVD looked stunning even in black and white.

On one level, it's a charming reminder of how different life was in idealized 50's America. On the other hand, this show today comes across as so over the top corny, so patently bizarre, I can no longer tell if I'm watching a satire on LITB or the real thing. It doesn't matter though, this show can be just as humorous as MadTV or SNL.

What is the viewer supposed to feel? Ok, two people that are lonely because they're in a "strange" place and culture with no common frame of reference - except each others loneliness. And we feel sympathy for them, we understand why "Yale grad" Johannson can't relate to a ditzy blonde American actress her husband introduces her to, why she feels isolated from her husband-photographer who seems to care more about his work and who he shoots than in his wife, we understand Murray is in a mid-life crisis of sorts, alienated from his home life, past his prime acting days and finding himself doing Japanese TV commercials about Whisky, directed by guys who he barely understands. Two strangers, in the night, at a bar, not even trying for stimulating conversation but just recognizing the common denominators in their sadness. They bond, go out, they dance, sing, and drink for a night or two. They come home. Look out, things are getting deep, or are they? Sounds like a story that happens all the time actually. And of course, this being an intellectual relationship, there ain't gonna be no sex here! Oh no, that'd be too low-brow, and what the heck, Murray's nobody's idea of a hunk anyway and too old for Johannson by any stretch of the imagination (none).

Ok, maybe I don't "get it"...hopefully it's not another one of those "you have to get it" type movies, because usually the folks who "get it" can't even agree on why they do get it (but there's always safety in numbers I suppose) or can't put it into words. I have to admit, the ending was emotional, but it's not enough in my opinion to rocket this film up into "top 100" films of all times, or whatever some might be suggesting. It's just not that deep, sorry. In fact, the only thing that saved film this film from being an exercise in boredom is the talented and beautiful Scarlett Johansson, and the backdrop of the hustle and bustle of Japanese city life, which is cool to watch on its own. And I do give Murray a lot of credit for involving himself in films like this, and encouraging younger film producers, directors, etc, to do their own stuff.

Overall this film is worth seeing if, like me, you like watching interesting movie set locations, or if you're a fan of Scarlett Johannson.

I liked "Friday", but can't stand his role in this Rush Hour series. Who's he supposed to be, an Eddie Murphy, a Chris Rock, maybe a hybrid...Eddie Rock, or Chris Murphy? Maybe he's supposed to be a watered down Jerry Lewis meets Martin Lawrence. The only way Hollywood seems to be able to write an African American role in a black-white buddy-buddy cop comedy is to use very tired, worn out cliched stereotypes of a jive-talking black guy who immitates a white guy immitating a black guy. And Hollywood knows the only way to exploit all of that and simultaneously poke fun at Chan's ethnicity is to use two minorities. The two of them sort of cancel out any claims of racial insensitivity that would most certainly result if it was a white guy putting on a jive-talking accent and poking fun at Chan's foreign accent and "inscrutable" mind. Tucker hasn't found a new nitch in this genre, he hasn't tapped into an original approach and method like Murphy did in the 80s or Lawrence did in the 90s. He's just the jive-talking "J.J" from "Good Times" and that, sadly, passes for funny and original (at least enough so that Rush Hour can be spun out into a trilogy).

Chan, as always, is great, bringing his original brand of comedy-martial arts combo to this otherwise very annoying Tucker vehicle.