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Mullen
Reviews
Stolen Heart (1998)
One of best films at Valleyfest
I recently saw Stolen Heart at an independent film festival and was amazed at its quality - both technically and in the script. The director said that its rights were recently bought by HBO so the whole world can see how good it is. I only wish that all major production films were as good as this lowly $200,000 independent one.
Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
Gene Siskel was right in picking it as Movie of the Year
First off, this movie is not a kids' movie. Many critics have accused Babe: Pig in the City of being too dark and violent for children. Let's remember that George Miller also filmed the three Mad Max films - what did you expect?
This film is a masterpiece - it has a story that may seem simple but is full of symbolism; it is full of amazing special effects and animatronics; and it has incredible compositions and film directing.
The special effects have improved considerably since the first film. In fact, one scene involves over 300 talking animals! The goldfish were very convincing and the cute little cat is adorable.
The filming of this movie was incredible. No one can forget the shot of his silhouette as he looks out the stain-glass window at his owner. Or the shot of Polonious holding the goldfish in the center of the room.
In no way can the first Babe movie and its sequel be compared. The two are entirely different. And though the story may seem childish, the film has so many sub-plots that can teach us a lot. The one that stands out the most to me is Polonious and his "Godfather"-like role. He strives so hard to be human, and when he accepts the fact that he is a monkey he comes the closer to being human then he had ever been. So many people today need to accept who they are in order to become what they want.
Don't quickly dismiss this film as one for children. Give it a chance and you will be rewarded.
The Crucible (1996)
I'd rather read the book
The movie is good, no doubt about that, but only because the story is so good. The film had no spectacular cinematography or editing and the acting was not the best either. I must admit that this may be Winona Ryder's best performance yet.
Basically, to sum it up - I'd rather read the book. In the book you can get the same great story and imagine the superb action and cinematography that the movie lacks.
Albino Alligator (1996)
Spacey's directorial debut is a dead one
Kevin Spacey is very talented, but unfortunately directing is not his forte. I had high expectations about the film before I rented it and maybe that is why I disliked it so much. I admire Spacey's attempt at making a film that takes place mostly in one small setting, but it's not the attempt that counts. I found the film dull, boring, and stretched out. The acting was nothing spectacular. Gary Sinise has done much better, especially since he is conscious in most of his other films. Skeet Ulrich was disappointing, but this was one of his first films (I did get a kick out of how young and chubby this Scream star looked). The only thing that impressed me about this film was the one shot of the car wreck from above. The center line of the road was perfectly centered and the camera moved on along the line and past the wreck. However, that shot was very "Usual Suspects"ish and my guess is Spacey got the idea from that earlier film of his (which is very good mind you). If you want to see a fabulous film that takes place in one small setting, watch Hitchcock's Lifeboat. Maybe Spacey should have watched it before filming this.