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Jamie-86
Reviews
Blade II (2002)
More of the same, but better
SLIGHT SPOILERS
Blade II is a better film than its predecessor, though not much. That is to say, it is another gore-drenched helping of vampire slaying, except with more, or better, of everything. There's more blood, more fighting, a better villain, a better script and a better pace.
As befitting a more well-plotted film, much of the action is transferred to suitably Gothic European locations. But this is no James Bond movie. Blade is enlisted to lead a group of vicious individuals known as the Blood Pack, vampires themselves who have been organised to hunt down the carrier of a deadly virus, who looks suspiciously like a member of Bros. The tension of the story is that these mercenaries have also been trained to hunt Blade who until now has been their worst enemy. The edge of the film is based on the lack of trust between the two.
Beginning with a blistering action-packed start, the film keeps the tempo up well, in the typical Hollywood fashion which makes sure that no-one in the audience has time to bother thinking about what's going on. The flaws however do not manage to hide themselves in the torrent of blood and guts. Kris Kristofferson is as wooden as before and the half-hearted romance that develops is totally superfluous, meaning that its supposedly emotional climax is just daft.
Still great, fast-paced nonsense for anyone fancying a huge hit of adrenaline with a little hint of blood at the edge.
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Beyond awful
Every summer, we expect one of the awaited blockbusters to be a turkey. Be it The Avengers of M:I-2, it helps maintain the balance. However, with Pearl Harbor something has gone seriously wrong.
The opening sequences are a reasonably engaging mix of humour and romance, but it soon becomes clear that director Bay is quite content with the sheer shallowness of his leading characters to build his action framework over them. Big mistake. The total lack of sympathy that Affleck, Beckinsale and Hartnett evoke means that you really don't care if any of them get blown to bits.
These are all reasonably standard summer blockbuster mistakes. In the characterisation department it always appears that the scriptwriter has been out making the tea. But what really grates is its sheer, irritating patriotism. The Americans are seen as a saintly race who it seems were attacked totally out of the blue by the Japanese, who according to the film are just plain evil. Every time we see them, the sinister movie pipes up and we see them rubbing their hands together with glee as they plot the attack. It is truly insulting. The rest of the film is unceasing flag-waving and propaganda, with the basic message that the war was won solely because of the Americans. And that whole, trivial Nuclear Holocaust thingy is not-so subtly deleted from the narrative, in order to ensure that the Americans come out looking like the good guys and the sole saviours of the free world. It is quite frankly laughable.
The effects are the thing, of course, and for a moment you actually believe that you haven't wasted your ticket fare. But even that becomes very samey after a while and you realise that you have been sat there for one and a half hours, your left buttock is about to drop off, and you're still only halfway through.
American Beauty (1999)
A real experience
This movie fully deserves the classic status it has achieved. It is the kind of experience that reaffirms your belief in the art of movie-making. From the first scene director Sam Mendes demonstrates that he has total control over all the characters and all the elements of the story.
The story centres around nobody Lester Burnham (the always magnificent Kevin Spacey) who is ridiculously bored with his life. Expendable in his job and ignored by his family he proceeds to have a midlife crisis which affects all around him. He develops a crush on his daughter's friend (Mena Suvari, playing the nymphet role to perfection) and starts changing his life to follow his dreams.
The film manages the almost impossible task of displaying true humour and then ending with an emotional note but you can't see the join. "American Beauty" is a finely crafted piece of cinema and it fully deserves to sweep the board at the Oscars.
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Everything you could ask for
We Bond fans aren't greedy. All we ask is for a bit of pure, daft escapism to make our sad little lives pleasurable. And this is what you get from this film.
The plot is of course fairly routine. Psychopathic terminally ill villain Renard (French for "fox") played by Robert Carlyle is out to steal a nuclear weapon and it is Bond's job to stop him and protect the beautiful Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) as well. As it is, he soon falls for her and then becomes embroiled in a typical world-threatening plot.
But that is all neither here nor there. It is the marvellous action set pieces where the budget has been spent. And they are breath-taking. As usual, the opening sequence is the most blinding as 007 chases a female killer across the Thames in a high-powered boat around the Millennium Dome.
The film has its sentimentality though. It would seem that Q (Desmond Llewellyn) may have bowed out, and R (John Cleese) seems a poor replacement. But on the whole, this is Bond at his best: sexist, misogynist and as fun as ever.
American Pie (1999)
Not quite a laugh-a-minute
WARNING SPOILERS...This film is compulsively watchable but the laughs are fewer than you might expect, but when they do come they are huge. The jokes are as immature as the film's protagonists; a rather milky glass of beer, for example. But there is something strangely endearing about the characters as they each discover sex and its implications and that maybe it isn't such a fine conquest at all. The actors don't have to try hard to be funny when they face us with their problems (premature ejaculation, a rather bad case of the squirts) but in the end it is nice to see what becomes of them as they finally get what is coming to them.
It is juvenile, there is no doubt, but it is hard not to come out with a daft smile on your face, knowing you have seen something so frank and blatant, it couldn't possibly be made up.
Ally McBeal (1997)
Utterly unmissable
This show is terrific in every aspect. The performances from Calista Flockhart, Greg Germann and above all Peter MacNicol (as well as every other actor in it) absolutely sparkle and the writing is super sharp and addresses some very interesting viewpoints. But it is a character led show and Ally's angst and phobias are totally endearing so you become addicted in moments. Not to be missed!
Scum (1979)
Truly disturbing
Be warned that you should go into this film with your guard up. By the time the final scene has faded quietly out, you will probably be in a state of shock.
The film details life in a Borstal institution and the violence and racial hatred that runs rampant through both the prisoners and their wardens. There is nothing cheery here at all and that is precisely the point. Director Alan Clarke deliberately films with a documentary style and it is this realism that makes the film so shattering. Scenes of sexual and racial abuse are placed in front of the camera and no raw nerve is spared the touch of the film.
It should be shown to youngsters as a reason not to turn to crime.
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
Enjoyable, but no surprises
WARNING: A few spoilers
In this age where Shakespeare's plays are filmed with a modern or contemporary twist, a straight adaptation like this one is brave at best. But, this being one of the Bard's best-loved works, with shining dialogue and winning characters, it is very entertaining.
The casting is a good start with Calista Flockhart perfectly cast as, you wouldn't believe it, a lovelorn romantic chasing after her dream man. Rupert Everett and Michelle Pfeiffer are also superb, but Kevin Kline takes the trophy for his appearance in the traditionally hilarious final play-within-a-play scene.
Anyone feeling romantic should go and see this film, it is the perfect date movie and a sure sign that old Shakey's work is still as fresh as it ever was.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
More than a movie
Sometimes, very rarely, a film comes along that blows itself off celluloid and straight into the mind. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN begins in a way that leaves the viewer gasping, as we see the D-Day landings in all of their hideous glory. The opening battle scene is one of the most raw and frightening sequences ever captured on film as we are spared nothing from the battlefield.
The rest of the film is spent with the examination of the effect of war on the psyches of the men involved; how the cling to memories of home for survival and the way they band together in order to keep each other alive.
The performances are terrific, but it is the superb direction by Spielberg from Rodat's emotive script that really makes the story. He got the Best Director award, but how the film was overlooked as Best Picture at the Oscars by a daft bit of fluff like SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE boggles the mind.
I urge you to see this movie, but be aware that it goes beyond a story on screen and will leave you touched inside and thankful for the peace that exists for most of us today.