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CigarsAndPars
Reviews
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Outstanding!
Mulholland Dr. is one of my favorite movies of all time. So far, at least in my opinion, it is clearly the best American drama of the 21st century. It may very well be the best drama of the 21st century, challenged only by such masterpieces as "City Of God" and "Ying Xiong" (a.k.a. "Hero"). I strongly believe that it should have won an Oscar for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director and should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography and Best Sound. The movie is beautifully filmed and looks mesmerizing, so I sort of understand the people who love it despite not understanding the plot even after repeated viewings (although I still have to learn how to stop rolling my eyes).
Tomcats (2001)
Laugh fest
If you are a politically correct nerd or a raging feminist, don't bother watching this movie. This is not for you. Go watch "Some like it hot" or something like that. It is obvious that no critic would write anything positive about this movie even if he peed in his pants laughing. They would just get hurt in today's politically correct climate and they know it. I realize that a lot of people here have never attended a decent party and had zero to one partners in their life, but that doesn't mean that others shouldn't have a good time watching comedies like this. My wife and I had a great time watching this movie. 10/10.
Red Planet (2000)
Cliches after cliches after cliches after cliches...
This is a horrible, horrible movie. Not only totally predictable and unoriginal, but boring beyond imagination as well. The acting is lethargic, too, but it comes as no surprise. It is pretty much impossible to do anything with a super weak script and directing. I never thought I would say this, but acting and storywise it is far more entertaining to watch Battlefield Earth. Yes, Red Planet is THAT bad!
Technically the movie is very good, i.e. it has GREAT sound, picture and CGI, but even that cannot save it from a 1/10 rating. Rent only if you want to bore yourself to tears.
Stalin (1992)
One of the best movies ever
This movie is just superb in every respect. It is an outstanding, chilling portrayal of one of the biggest mass murderers of all time. Robert Duvall gives his best performance ever, which is amazing, considering the stellar acting by the international cast. I simply cannot imagine another cast that could be any better or even nearly as good as this one. If you like historical drama, you will love this one.
Haunted (1995)
Surprise! It's great!
I am no fan of ghost stories and I watched this movie almost by accident. What a great surprise! Not only the acting was good but the story was moving very smoothly, too, and it turned out to be a pretty good one (truth be said it was a tad bumpy near the end, though). If you are a male, you will probably appreciate the charming Kate Beckinsale, at least I loved her in this movie. :) I will buy this movie as soon as it comes out on DVD for sure. That's quite a statement from a guy who ranks ghost movies pretty low, wouldn't you say?
Ravenous (1999)
Very intense
This is an excellent movie from start to finish. I cannot remember the last time a movie made me feel so intense and anxious as this one. Gut wrenching, partly due to the great score. Get the DVD, it has many extras including 3 audio commentaries (what's wrong with Fox, I am not used to loaded releases from them :)).
Pi (1998)
Artsy-fartsy garbage at its worst
I can't believe how badly people can be suckered with pseudo-scientific buzzwords and the fake grandiose look into the human mind. Everything in this movie is fake. It may look deep art if you know nothing about about mathematics or science in general. However, this is pure trash, masquerading as 'high art'. I kept rolling my eyes throughout this movie, which makes Armageddon look like a scientific paper. It completely lost credibility in the first 15 minutes, then went downhill. Yeah, one could say, but this is not about science. Well, it uses science to prove that the idiotic idea of numbers-god-madness thing is a possibility. What an awful, appalling, manipulative piece-of-youknowwhat! Here is the recipe for movies like this:
1. Take a premise which 99% of the people won't understand 2. Add a cup of religious fear and/or belief 3. Add a cup of medical condition (mental, if possible) 4. Mix them all together until you get an unrecognizable mess which looks and smells like youknowwhat. 5. Bake it a little (but leave it half-baked). 6. Serve it black and white, grainy so that it looks exotic. Some people will eat it up thinking that it is a rare gourmet treat. It will give them an opportunity to show everyone that they are special, so they will rave about it. (Most will hate it but will join the praising, just to not look 'the stupid, who didn't get it'.) 7. Cash in the awards. (Warning: It's a gamble. You may get a bad rap - see Doom Generation).
There are a few movies I hate with a passion. This one tops them all. Too bad I cannot give a negative number in the IMDb voting. Although I haven't seen it, I can tell you that I'd rather watch "Manos, the Hands of Fate" ten times instead of "Pi" once, even though the former got a 2.1 average from over 1,000 people.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
WAAAAY OVER-HYPED...
If I had to describe this movie in one word, I would say: Flat. Boredom interrupted by a few good lines. People calling it the 'funniest movie ever' should watch some really funny movies like 'The Party', 'Take the Money and Run', 'Play It Again, Sam', 'Airplane 1/2', 'Naked Gun' series, etc. Then come back and tell me where Austin Powers really belongs. This movie would have been a great one if it was shortened to 10 minutes. All in all, it is below average at best. Very much like Wayne's World 1/2 - all good punchlines fit nicely in the trailer. Duh.
Valmont (1989)
Exceptional
Excellent performances, cinematography and directing. It is a shame that this movie is hardly known and the infinitely inferior Dangerous Liaisons got all the publicity and Oscars. A real treat. Kudos to Milos Forman and the cast! Ten stars all the way.