Lary9 Reviews

Penny Dreadful (2014–2016)

Better the second time around...

[9/10 · 16 May 2020]

I've decided to binge rewatch "Penny Dreadful" S.1, 2 & 3 (2014-16) to reorient myself & prepare for the new "P.D.City of Angels" (plot unrelated) season 2020, which is, like its older cousin, wow-level good. Eva Green's performance in S.1 is among the best I 've ever seen. OMG! She is so incredibly talented. It helps that she has a screenplay to match her growing virtuosity. A "must watch", this sustained anthological feast of reimagined classic tales of the grand guinol is intelligent, near flawless and will definitely delight artistically demanding adults.

God's Not Dead 2 (2016)

Another Christian Persecution Strawman Movie For The Faithful To Knock Down

[2/10 · 2 August 2016]

Firstly, I'm an atheist. I was raised a devout Episcopalian but I often refer to myself as a secular humanist & non-believer but raised with culturally Christian views. Having said that, I noticed right away at the scene in the history class that nothing Melissa Hart said actually violated any hard & fast 1stAMD separation issues. She was within her rights to share those historical facts. She responded to a question in a history class about historically specific correlations between traditions in non-violent protest and passive resistance. Maybe she could have omitted the lengthy scripture quote from the Gospel---but a sound argument could be made that even that was academically relevant too. So...IMHO it was quite relevant and legal. Remember...I'm not a "believer". No school board would take this complaint seriously. I actually think that the ACLU might have defended Melissa Hart!!! It's obvious that the movie makers are trying to unfairly demonize the "freedom from religion" crowd (a rapidly growing demographic BTW) as fanatically unreasonable and angry. In fact, I've found that the exact opposite is usually true. Just research the landmark Kitzmiller vs Dover School board case. As to the ongoing portrayal of atheists and liberal religious types throughout the film, it's an inartfully constructed "straw man" set up for the express purpose of getting easily knocked down. Poor Christians! They have a Biblical persecution complex and are happiest when they can imagine being burned at the stake by the ACLU and a shouting, un-Churched mob of pagan non-believers! Wait 'til you see how they depict the ACLU lawyers as basely motivated by notoriety, power politics and publicity. Not very good...and not persuasive. I think most people can see through this bit of evangelical agitprop whether religious or non-religious.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

An Under-celebrated Sci-Fi-Horror Classic...who knew in 1978?

[8/10 · 20 November 2015]

What do these people all have in common? Donald Sutherland ... Brooke Adams Jeff Goldblum Veronica Cartwright Leonard Nimoy Kevin McCarthy They all had roles in one of the most underrated sci-fi/horror films of all time. It's a pleasure to revisit it every time---and that has been often. 7.4/10.0 on IMDb and I concur. Notably, this 1978 remake of this 1956 classic, unfolds with almost ~zero~ soundtrack music to garnish the scenes or the dialogue. Occasionally some orchestral trumpets blare to accompany forthcoming shocks. I won't bore you with a plot synopsis. Who hasn't seen one of the versions of it? It's an iconic grandparent to many sci-fi offspring over the past 3 decades. BTW; just an aside...a young Jeff Goldblum has already begun to carve out his specialty niche in 'Snatchers-2'; e.g; the fast-talking eccentric whose free associating dialogue keeps the film moving at a brisk pace... (yet with no particular goal in mind.) Goldblum has this particular 'shtick' patented...reacting to scenes like they were Rorschach inkblots is a colorful additive. Alba's Real Science Ratings give it an acceptable RSR...i.e; it's realistic except for stretches the "MacGuffin" (the body snatching pods.)

The Woman (I) (2011)

A mad Australian country lawyer seems normal but...

[8/10 · 3 November 2015]

When a deliciously mad Australian country lawyer, with all the appearance of being "normal", captures and attempts to "civilize" a feral member of a violent clan that has roamed the northeast coast for years, much latent, longstanding family dysfunction erupts. Incredulously outrageous mayhem soon ensues. Only Australia could have produced this dark, multi-layered film with so much targeted irony. The title carries a well-deserved 6.1/10.0 on I.M.Db...but the brief synopsis fails to fully describe its twisted content. I found it thoroughly diverting & sometimes grizzly through its 100 minutes. Warning! It's tough at times for those with weaker constitutions.

White God (2014)

About Trust, Rejection & Alienation---Both Human & Canine

[7/10 · 12 September 2015]

I agree this was hard to watch but based upon its description, I was expecting a different movie altogether. I read most of the other reviews and was surprised to find that no one mentioned the important secondary story of the young 13 y/o girl, Lili, who was struggling with trust & intimacy issues. It was the same struggle that Nagen, the dog, was enduring. Both felt distrusting; both needed love and intimacy. I was fascinated by their parallel journeys and how Lili was so passionately committed to finding Hagen. It was as if she and Hagen were connected at the soul. The father had issues but I could see he was wounded and struggling too--- against his own sense of rejection. I'm sure he didn't know how to love. The scenes with the dog fighting were unbearable. I cringe inside just to imagine how disfigured a man's spirit must be to participate in these spectacles of gore and sadism. I agree, Hagen was the star but I thought Lili did a grand job too. She had an obvious talent for music. I wonder what the connection between the trumpet in the bathroom that quieted Hagen down was all about. I'll have to watch this again...it has all kinds of interesting thematic sidebars. It's clear the filmmaker had more than just a movie about the horrors of dog fight abuse in mind. That was just the leitmotif for all the varied themes within an excellent film. I strongly recommend for all these reasons. Hope this contributed some added POVs on this title. BTW: I too must ask...why "White God"?

The Timber (2015)

Frustratingly incomprehensible...presumptuously pretentious

[3/10 · 10 July 2015]

Frustratingly incomprehensible. Meh. I don't know why young directors like long, pretentious pauses between phrases in the dialogue. Even more puzzling is why actors of the cell phone & video generation mumble & slur their lines inaudibly with affected Brando- like breathiness. Why is it de rigueur these days to shoot quick unexpected of camera cut sequences of puzzling esoteric views that resemble a Georgia O'Keeffe landscape? After 30 minutes of this kind of desultory visual rambling, one grows catatonic relative to what trickiness will come next...the eyes widen and pinwheel...the mind numbs & wanders off... But it's all damn irritating for those of us who actually expected a good tale, well-told. (All these sophomoric devices seemingly serve to cover up the lack of a good script and the absence of a worthwhile story.) This soporific "western" resembles a film school project more than a work meant for human consumption. Presumptuously pretentious, "The Timber" fails at almost every level that I've come to expect of film, except the yawn quotient.

Reign (2013–2017)

Like serialized beach reading from Teen Beat magazine...

[2/10 · 17 June 2015]

I settled in for something akin to 'The Tudors' (SHO). Within 15 mins I found myself immersed in a fraudulent historical world. A bevy of teen beauty queens with flawless skin and strangely modish dress surround a brunette Mary (brunette?). Contempo rockish music pipes & drums out loudly (reminiscent of the canceled Starz series 'Camelot') as mangled 17th century British history begins to unfurl. Then it hits me! Check the production company! This can't be BBC. It wasn't... CBS Television Studios. Truly horrid. Before it was 33% done, I switched off episode 1,(which was trimmed to a 42 minute hour to accommodate American commercial breaks). Don't waste your time if you actually expect historical drama, which unbelievably, is how it's misidentified.

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

A laugh a minute...

[1/10 · 24 May 2015]

This movie was incredibly bad. It was literally an insufferably amateurish attempt at lurid, psycho-sexploitation cinema. For 1976, it was so anachronistic that it had the feel of a 50s B-movie. It featured Ben Johnson in a wooden role and the character of a local bumbling deputy, who was supposed to be comic relief, but his buffoonery was inserted so awkwardly that it simply added more pitiful misery to the town's overall effort. A truly horrible film...yet somehow, like a train wreck, I couldn't seem to stop watching as I prepared for the next ridiculous encounter with an inept, helpless screaming prom queen. Afterthought: where were all the guns? Texarkana...and no one had a gun until 4/5ths of the film was done?

The Phoenix Rises (2012)

Only A Sense of Duty Compels Me...

[2/10 · 24 October 2013]

Only a sense of duty compels me to waste more time on this review. A few others have written comments so well expressed and so on-the- money that I must include some quotable lines:

~Viktor Vedmak (realvedmak) from Canada~ "Whoever made this should either stop making movies or stop doing drugs." "This entire movie is basically extended torture scene." "It really would not surprise me if somebody prone to seizures got one from attempt to watch this crap."

~Robo E from Australia~ "The Acting - OMG, Really what were they thinking. My speak n tell could do a better job."

~mike-ryan455 from United States~ "Amazingly boring mixed with nerve jangling audio!" "You think I am making this up? I wish I were. This one hurt my eyes and my brain. It even hurt my ears with amazingly clanging, jangling noise they called music."

Thanks guys. Your comments not only gave me insight but validation of my own post-viewing impression---(as well as a good laugh-out- loud.) Here's what can add:

1. The screenplay had language, which was meant to support a plot involving hi-tech climate warfare, ominous networks & computer chips, was so awful & sleep-inducing, it sounded like it was transcribed from technical conference meetings at a plumbers' convention---but with substitutions of computer hardware lingo to give it some authenticity.

2. The audio was was an experience worse than the American surge in Iraq--- from the Iraqi side. Also, as the climate attack got underway, loud noises like static discharges, but pumped up in volume, would unrelentingly pop & hiss. Re: Video effects=> Every 2-3 minutes, I'm guessing because of the electromagnetic nature of the attack, the video would be disrupted with electrical interference across the screen like a loud static smear... (this silly audio/video effect was obviously added in post-production editing) It hurt both my eyes, my ears and my sci-fi quality standards.

#3. To sum it up, like the others said, the acting was non-existent. The screenplay was wooden like a used parts manual. But, the female lead Catalina Soto-Aguilar, a newcomer to me, was lovely eye candy... (now you know why I watched it to the end.) So thanks for all the humorous LMAO comments. It seems we agree.

Dinotasia (2012)

Best Pop-Science CGI Dino Tale Ever

[8/10 · 23 May 2013]

In the style of Walking With Dinosaurs, et al, Dinotasia presents a credible CGI depicted speculation of how dinosaur habitation on earth might have played out. Having some experience in the subject, I delighted in the sound paleontology and the accurate prehistory depicted. Some license was taken to infuse a little anthropomorphic appeal into the tale and, consequently, it was like I had a front row seat on a beautifully animated diorama of the age. Starting from the late Permian, it spans the Triassic and Jurassic and on through the early & late Cretaceous periods. Vignettes though they were, I was transfixed by the mini-stories of various dinosaur characters, followed as they struggled to hunt, reproduce, adapt and survive. I found myself even cheering-on several protagonist Tyrannosaurus Rexes, heroes until the end of the late Cretaceous at 65 Ma.

Was it entertainment? Sure. I always have liked Werner Herzog, who narrated the film, though sparsely. Most of it required no narrative but his thick German accent was not distracting to my accustomed ear when it emerged from the soundtrack music...which was terrific too. I recommend it wholeheartedly for pretty much any age group.

Super 8 (2011)

Better Second Time around

[7/10 · 26 August 2012]

This got better on the second viewing. Gotta feeling it may keep improving. Although on its surface a sci-fi film, it has warm, satisfying character development reminiscent of "Stand By Me". Elle Fanning turns in a performance with remarkable depth. It has a clever role-within-role device in the movie when, acting in an amateur video shot by her peers, she delivers in an amateur acting role within her role of "Alice" that surprises everyone with its unexpected skill. I was equally encouraged by her talent.

The story is plausible and full... the characters are fleshed out nicely...it has just enough quirky balance between sci-fi creature feature and coming-of- age story to deliver the goods. Spielberg is involved somehow...not sure how...but it shows.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Yawn.

[1/10 · 26 June 2012]

I am solidly in the minority here. This film was tediously self-indulgent. I fought sleep. I wondered through most of it why the principle actors signed on to do it. Perhaps it's just one of those films that had wonderful potential on paper. Maybe after the final cut from the editors and director, the story and dialogue just got in the way of some private pretentious vision of the filmmaker. It had all the potential to be a great film. IMHO the director's art house cinema muse got in the way. Is this enough lines of text to pan this turkey? No? OK. How about now? Still not enough? Unbelievable! IMDb is guilty of the same sin this movie is---compulsory long-windedness.

Texas Killing Fields (2011)

I call it "marlonizing" after Brando...

[8/10 · 31 May 2012]

Texas Killing Fields grabbed me by the cojones and held on, in spite of its flaws and frequently frustrating failure, as another reviewer said, "to connect the dots" of the story line. As a consequence, I was busy trying to make sense of all the dangling plot-ganglia. I even was wondering if it was valid to critique Worthington's incomprehensible generic southern accent---maybe it was just me. I couldn't understand half of what Worthington was saying. He elided his lines so horribly. (My daughter and I call it "marlonizing" after Brando.) As a movie lover and proactive cinema consumer, one of my pet peeves is actors who mumble through their lines, thinking they're method acting ...and yet the net result is a mangling of intelligibility for the audience. To offer you a summary... I found this gritty film both exciting and repelling...noir-ish... stylized... and having set the film values bar high, well worth the effort. Kudos to Magic City's Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Chloë Grace Moretz on terrific performances.

Higher Ground (2011)

A cathartic, ambiguous denouement...a passport to higher ground

[8/10 · 13 May 2012]

Higher Ground is a story about an honest search for faith in a fearful, posturing world. It is an unpretentious film. It is also Vera Farmiga's directorial debut and it showcases her signature style. She displays astonishing depths, carrying roles with integrity and intelligence. I've always noted that she has an atypical screen glamor that grows in its unfurling. In fact, it's a special beauty but it fits a needed niche. If you have ever walked the path of faith, honestly questing, be prepared for a cathartic, ambiguous denouement that may take you to higher ground. I enthusiastically recommend this soft, sad but lovely journey by cinema.

Silent Tongue (1993)

Shakespeare On The Great Plains

[6/10 · 28 June 2011]

To call this quirky, brooding film a western is a failure of imagination since it is nothing less than a classical tragedy, a sort of Hamlet set in the American west circa 1875. "Silent Tongue" is a Sam Sheppard film with a stout cast and ambitious themes. It is helped toward that end by the venerable talents of Alan Bates as a drunken Irish thespian and snake oil salesman (what a great archetype) along with Richard Harris as the desperate father of a young man lost in madness from grieving the death of his Indian wife. It does not hurt that the screenplay's characters sometimes speak with the cadence and tone of formal 17th Century English mixed with a touch of cowboy colloquy. It helps even more that there are murderous ghosts and allusions to suicide. After about 30 minutes of trying to get a peg to hang my movie genre hat on, I was left with a question. "WTF is going on here?" That is why eventually I gave up and accepted it for what it was--a Shakespearian western. Aside from that, its a slow stroll with lots of dramatic flourishes and an unexpected touch of Grand Guignol. Dermott Mulroney and River Phoenix are evident in support. Native American actress Sheila Tousey is absolutely terrific. Watch it but in the right mood.

Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner: Theatrical Cut

[9/10 · 25 January 2011]

This gorgeous Ridley Scott original is a science fiction tone poem with an introductory taste of the visual mastery soon to come out of this fine arts trained filmmaker's POV. I don't think that I have ever seen a more authentic work of art on film. He ushered in a new genre of science fiction film noir with this film as well as with 'Alien', both characterized by a new formulation of visual atmospherics that was dubbed "psychoytronic". Blade Runner: Theatrical Cut; 1982.

Xtra: Ridley On History I have liked Ridley Scott since Blade Runner and I remember him saying that he liked to "reimagine" history wherever there were gaps in the historic record or in the story myth (as in the case with Robin Hood). He did it admirably in 'Kingdom of Heaven', in '1492: Conquest of Paradise' and most notably in 'Gladiator'. Ridley likes history but he's not timid about filling in gaps on the storyboard with his own imagination. I don't mind and I especially liked Robin Hood because of it.

Scooby-Doo (2002)

Pass the Scooby-snacks and the espresso! I'm nodding...

[2/10 · 17 June 2002]

I have seen too many "Scooby-Doo" episodes on TV, (although under coercion from a sadistic pre-schooler who routinely threatens to whine at me with extreme prejudice if I don't recant and pass the remote), and I confess that I just don't get it. I don't even get the "Scooby Goes Hollywood" where old 60s & 70s celebrities appear as cartoon caricatures of themselves; just plain-famous folks caught in another impossibly dull Scooby-Shaggy episode against assorted pseudo-monsters. But, my 6-year-old loves it! He doesn't care an iota if Kurosawa didn't direct it! Now, a few asides are needed here… I have been to Universal Studios, Florida and applauded Doug Funny and `The Rugrats!' on stage. I actually went to a `Barney the Dinosaur' live concert and howled like a teenage "In Sync" fan when Old Barn came rolling out with his purple pot belly in gleeful kinesis! I have even enthusiastically interacted with Steve & Blue for clues… but this `Scooby-Doo' thing lacks anything remotely redeemable. I loathe the show's time slot…I become perceptibly stressed with hives before `Scooby-Doo' marathons on the Cartoon Channel, usually a Sunday event, which inevitably conflicts with Yankee-Red Sox games. The social relations among the ‘Scooby' Five, not to be confused with the Scottsboro 5, are void of any allegory or depth. The dog and his cohorts are rendered in a flat, two-dimensional graphic style reminiscent of `Steamboat Willie.' The animation is without depth or perspective, and the characters move around on perfectly still budget-friendly backgrounds…yech! The characters (Shaggy, Daphne, Velma and Fred) bring matching personas to their screen presence. And, Scooby has apparently evaded the evolutionary lottery of natural selection, which mandates that a palette, tongue and convoluted cerebral cortex are required for language acquisition! Scooby speaks, inexplicably, in limited English but with an annoying & incomprehensible `r-r-r-r-u-f-f' sound prefixing every utterance. Of course, only Shaggy and my son can understand this coded canine verbal-slaw. OK…so I get the Scooby-thing…it's pure silly nonsense played for yucks! I get the Scooby Snack-thing…the dog is always hungry! I even accept that Scooby must never hump the guest star's leg, although my son occasionally springs a pre-school woody for Daphne Blake…certainly a fertile topic for father-son dialogues about the male 'willy' and its various purposes. Regardless of this concealed erotic bonus feature, it still is an all time low achievement from the predictably banal imaginations of Hanna & Barbera. You will recall that they were also the creators of…'The Flintstones', another ‘one-trick-pony', flat animation series with the effect of a `pie-in-the-face' to any National Hope in growing a generation prepared to catch the Japanese in math & science! (Certainly, paleontology has a slight chance here from the splash benefits of the current cultural swell of 'dinophilia'. Also, a note here of apology to `Jay', my sushi-guru who won't even whisper his true ‘Sino-nymn' for fear that I will lingually disfigure it… Jay, buddy, I know you guys have limited access to archeological digs around Osaka, et.al. Nothing personal. I don't even hold Hondas & `Dragonball Z' against you guys! OK? Keep that great ‘California Roll' coming...it's pure art.) But, Lord! Deliver us from the purveyors of the bland, vacuous cartoon series that repeats and repeats and repeats…then mercifully dies…and resurrects 10 years later on 24-hour cable TV! (I'm praying that a ‘round the clock `Scooby-Doo Network' does not rise up from the ashes!) But, wait! There's more! This fetid, animated pabulum is miraculously resuscitated at the brink of expiration as a full-length feature film intended to collect the box office proceeds that should've been paid originally to a hired assassin to put the whole dreary project team ‘asleep'…humanely. Oh well. I could be wrong. Maybe `Scooby-Doo' is really the charming, diverting visual poem that my son assures me that it is…twice daily... and twice that again on Sunday. After all, he is Daphne-obsessed and worse things could happen at 6.

Black Knight (2001)

So nauseating I needed to put my head between my knees.

[1/10 · 17 June 2002]

If there's one type of film that simultaneously bores and infuriates, it is this "one trick pony" type where the entire script is the same joke over and over and over and over and over. I don't care what the trailers and the "making-of" said about the meticulous historical research that went into the medieval settings and costumes (balderdash), it still sucked. I hope that Martin Lawrence will find his true vocation soon. He does not act. He has failed to even make me chuckle once. Of course, I'm a Dennis Miller guy...I could be wrong. Note: Unbelievably, IMDb recommends "Braveheart" too if you liked "The Black Knight"! Well, so much for the accuracy of IMDb's "Also Recommends..."

American Buffalo (1996)

Warning! David Mamet films can cause depression in lab animals.

[8/10 · 1 June 2002]

I remember driving through New Providence, New Jersey with my family in the fall of 1963 as a 16-year-old expatriate from the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. We were relocating to this community because the über-corporation that had employed my father as a labor relations lawyer, transferred him. On that day, riding in the backseat of our two-tone ghastly green, pre-Iacoca Dodge, I caught my first glimpse of the dark side of unrealized human potential. This jarring insight triggered a shifting of my youthful of my 'Happy Days' Weltanschauung and has remained in my memory with a stark, persisting resonance for over 40 years. In fact, the benign hypocrisy I associate with this memory, probably laid the cornerstone of my assault on society's most sacred cows as a student later in the '60s. On the street corner, stood an older man of indeterminate age with raggedy clothing, needing a shave and being more toothless than not. He was waving a cane wrapped in shredded newspapers and grinning idiotically at all that passed. I recall vividly how incongruous and puzzling this scene was to my young mind. I asked my parents who is this man what is he doing why is he like that? They responded nervously and, I thought, rather inadequately. I don't remember how they explained it, but I was perceptive enough to know that: a) they didn't really know b) they didn't want to know and, more importantly, c) he represented something that repelled them and stirred their deepest insecurities as adults. Now, as an adult, I know about homelessness and alcoholism about shattered dreams and failure. I understand the fears that all adults have about the interconnectedness of social, economic and emotional life and its fundamental frailty. We all hope to create meaning and security for ourselves. The old man was an irksome anthem to all the 'crazy old uncles' in the attic, untethered to established melodies and outrageously adrift from convention a poster boy for the well known adage, 'There but for fortune go you or I.'

'American Buffalo' with Dustin Hoffman (Teach) and Dennis Franz (Don) are two guys in a junk shop planning a theft of a coin collection. The plot involves a rare 'buffalo' nickel and plotting about a totally speculative coin collection that they plan to rob. Pathetically, this collection may not even exist. The heist never takes place. All that does happen is a descent slowly into a world of plans and paranoia, more plans, contentiousness and self-delusion brought to us byyou guessed it.the dark side; the side of handguns without permits, the side where transient hotels are euphemisms for 'flop houses', and everybody seems to be aimlessly strolling toward that street corner in my childhood memories, each with their own cane & newspaper flag. In spite of all their pugnacious, animated posturing, it's just another glimpse of those same insecurities that challenge and motivate us all. It's why we all work so hard on 'Maggie's Farm.' The dialogue is the 'thing.' It is tangential and circuitous. It seems to lead nowhere. One senses that these are routine exchanges. The Franz character emits an occasional spark of redemptive compassion, but Hoffman plays a man consumed by the code of the 'streets' and he harangues Franz for being so weak. This is a brave and challenging play put to the silver screen but I'm guessing that its dialogue-dense script would better engage on stage. Howeverbear this caveat in mind, afterall David Mamet wrote it. This film is a sad and stressful 'black tie' film of the interior and requires a companion mood to suit the color. I was left feeling raw and hollowed out by the poverty and folly of human endeavor. The viewer should dress their affect accordingly.

@Lary9

Mexico City (2000)

Under-rated, taut and engaging thriller with moody cinematography...

[28 April 2002]

I almost didn't rent this one because the pre-visit to Blockbuster and the checks on IMdB indicated that this "new release" was only a 2 star offering. Now...sometimes I'm in the mood for low budget, brooding atmospherics with "indie-like" cinematography and no big stars that challenge my expectations and engage my unabated interest. Sometimes I'm in the mood for DeNiro playing Boris Badanov in Rocky & Bullwinkle (although not too often...once every year or two, maybe.) I enthusiastically recommend this sleeper. It hit me just right with its realistic mood, the gritty shots of Mexico City's underbelly, the briskly developing plot (not too knotty for head scratching but not a formula telegram either) and I love seeing totally unknown actors act their asses off in a promotionally sleepy but alert screenplay! Jorge Robles [Pedro, the taxi driver with a moral compass on point throughout] was superb. Stacy Edwards was thoroughly believable as Mitch and I cheered as she emerged from her cocoon of bereavement into an 'in-your-face-Ninja-warrior' woman who just wouldn't stay down for the count. Robert Patrick was OK but a bit wooden, as he always is in this type of G-man on a wire role, but maybe that's what G-men really act like after all. Kudos to it; it's worth the watch. (Do Not Be Deterred by the center-weighted 2 star average rating of the masses.)

@Lary9

Unbreakable (2000)

Vastly Overrated

[5/10 · 29 June 2001]

Doesn't anyone know a boring movie when they see one anymore? Is this the beginning of a Bruce Willis/M. Night Shyamalan formula coalition? Creepy stuff...Willis befuddled; frowning and shuffling through the dungeons & dragons of supernatural forces. "X-Men" meets "Ghandi". Marvel Comics and former Jedi Knight Samuel Jackson? Give me something to hang my reality check hat on will ya? Jumpin' Jesus Palomino (sic Gary Busey) will this guy Shyamalan team up with Glaxo and market a new non-pharmacological sleeping pill in the form of a DVD? Please spare me a trilogy, M. Night. And whatever you do don't do a baseball movie. Yawn. Lights out. Naptime. Wait a minute! What was that? A sound!!! Did I see something in the mirror? My face looks like my grandfather's and when was the last time I cut my fingernails? Are they really growing? I can't recall ever using a nail clipper! My fingernails are NOT growing & I see live, phony people. I can see their aura...they are everywhere...at the market...at the bank...especially at the bank.

@Lary9

Girlfight (2000)

Michelle Rodriguez really lit up the screen.

[8/10 · 4 April 2001]

It remains to be seen if Michelle Rodriguez is a "one trick pony" or another Rosie Perez/Jennifer Lopez. I was initially doubtful that this was my kind of movie, but I was drawn in by the compelling character of Diana. During the film, she transforms from an unremarkable, even marginally homely Latina from Brooklyn into a tour d' force of irresistible sexuality, complex intelligence and moral courage. I'm a sucker for smart women with a strong moral compass. Michelle Rodriquez lights up the screen. If she was an initial offering, I'd advise all my friends to buy!

@Lary9

Run Lola Run (1998)

Wow!

[9/10 · 23 October 2000]

I saw this film without any prior reconnaissance, (thorough reconnaissance being a neurotic habit of mine dating back to poor potty training), I clicked on this flick on 1:00AM pay-per-view. I'm not sure what I saw but it was non-stop. I saw three versions of a story with events tempered by 256 different variations on luck and synchronicity. I saw a redheaded pixie with soulful youth ignite the screen...of course I fell in love with Franka Potente (she reminded me so much of my former dream-lover Leeloo in "The Fifth Element".) All this glittering experimentation interlaced with high color animations and cut aways to other realities and timelines kept me on edge throughout. A whirling panorama of bankers, botched illegal dealings, guns, money and ticking Hitchcockian clocks made an irresistible mix. It had a limited script and a very simple plot, which was nice since I understand spoken German about as well as my dog. I was charmed by this frantic, deliriously delicious feast! But then I was charmed by "Pulp Fiction." Did I mention my tastes run a bit noir-ish? Man, what a rush! I need to think about this one a bit more to sort out my feelings and thoughts...maybe see it again with Timothy Leary to get a clearer perspective.

@Lary9

Judas Kiss (1998)

Intelligence with pace

[8/10 · 7 October 2000]

Thirty pieces of silver and a kiss for luck. This one was another totally unexpected gem. Usually, I'm not even a suspense/thriller fan. This satisfying 100 minutes has more twists than a boardwalk pretzel. It has titillating erotic romance, reminiscent of "Body Heat" in more ways than one; it has cops and crime; political intrigue and just a dash of daytime soap. It has just the right touch of gritty violence that any professional "by-the-numbers" crime job must employ. Emma Thompson, (FBI AIC), delivers her role with grace and humor and gets my vote for best fake southern accent by a Limey. Alan Rickman, (local cop), who always seems to steal the show, is excellent but not overbearing. They work well as a pair. Lots of plot misdirection that never gets out of control and gets coherently reconnected at film's end. And who is this awesome woman, Carla Gugino? I want her to bear my children. Carla, if you're out there, let's do lunch.

@Lary9

Ride with the Devil (I) (1999)

Very Pleasantly Surprised

[9/10 · 21 July 2000]

I really loved this film, Ride With The Devil. Let me add that I was totally unprepared for the impact this film had upon me as I had virtually no prior knowledge of it. The moody cinematography was splendid and rich...like dark chocolate. And I especially loved the dialogue which was exceptional in that it was so relaxed and yet crackled with intelligence. It was authentic in that it was accurate in phrasing and slang usage from the American English of the time and place. (I have read and heard many soldiers' Civil War diaries.) Also, you can't help but notice that the mini-balls from the battle scenes' guns actually whizzed and zipped, cutting into tree branches and thudding into dirt. This was a truly beautiful film, in spite of its admittedly sad theme. The performances were all outstanding with Jewel surprising me. All told, if you are a Civil War buff and a film lover, see this movie...see it on DVD if possible as the surround sound is awesome for the action scenes.

@Lary9