I was in the mood for something light-hearted, and usually that means that I'll laugh at even the most ridiculous of films. This abomination, however, ended up leaving me feeling like I'd just had all trace of joy sucked out of me. It's hard to describe just how unfunny it is, suffice to say that it never even raised a smile, let alone a laugh. The set pieces in the film are so forced it makes you cringe, and they are so obvious that you see the punchline coming a long, long time before it happens. The acting is pretty dreadful, but only to be expected with such weak dialogue. Maybe it seemed good on paper as it attracted a good set of names for the lead roles, but obviously the director had no concept of comic timing, pacing, or excitement. Think of the most cringe-worthy unfunny moments that you've seen in the most mediocre comedies that you've come across. Put them all into a single film and call it "Gone Fishin'". One of the worst films I've ever seen.
Reviews
8 Reviews
The Matrix Revolutions
(2003)
Success breeds 'yes' men.
3 April 2004
The Matrix:Reloaded was good. Not as good as I would have liked, but good nevertheless. Revolutions was unfortunately many degrees below that standard. The feeling I got throughout the entire film was that the Wachowski's had the phrase "wouldn't it be cool if..." on their minds, and due to the success of the first film, nobody would stand up to them and say that, well, actually, it would be pretty cheesy. There are so many scenes that are just awful cliched nonsense. I hope that in ten years time, as happened with the Highlander series, somebody will come along and pretend that these original sequels never existed and create some new ones following on from the first film.
Too many characters with too little substance. Scenes based on effects instead of story, characters based on ability rather than being interesting. A pile of rubbish really.
Too many characters with too little substance. Scenes based on effects instead of story, characters based on ability rather than being interesting. A pile of rubbish really.
Bruce Almighty
(2003)
Not quite of the usual Carey standard
25 May 2003
This was good; I enjoyed it. But it wasn't good enough. This is the first film from Jim Carey that has been worse than I expected. Previously Jim Carey's films have seemed a bit cheesy from the trailers but the films have turned out really well. This one was the other way around.
Although morality is difficult to avoid with such a strong religious theme, the film got too moral too soon. I don't really mind having a religious theme, but this presented with a detriment to the comedy. Not enough fun was had with Bruce's new powers, and as a result, the funniest part of the whole film ended up being the out-takes during the credits.
A good film, but not great.
Although morality is difficult to avoid with such a strong religious theme, the film got too moral too soon. I don't really mind having a religious theme, but this presented with a detriment to the comedy. Not enough fun was had with Bruce's new powers, and as a result, the funniest part of the whole film ended up being the out-takes during the credits.
A good film, but not great.
Ice Age
(2002)
Stunning animation, great story
25 May 2003
Probably the best animated feature film I've seen. The animation is astounding. The expression of the characters through their movement and faces is amazing. Definitely the best out of everything I've seen before. So realistic. It's the subtlety that does it.
The story is a relatively straight-forward adventure/return to home type thing. What makes this stand above other films of this type is the interaction between the characters. Using animals means that they can be physically very different from one another alongside their personality differences, and this works very well indeed. There's some great humour in there and some really touching moments as the main characters overcome their differences and bond into their herd.
I really can't fault it. I'd recommend it to anybody. I just hope that they make a sequel.
The story is a relatively straight-forward adventure/return to home type thing. What makes this stand above other films of this type is the interaction between the characters. Using animals means that they can be physically very different from one another alongside their personality differences, and this works very well indeed. There's some great humour in there and some really touching moments as the main characters overcome their differences and bond into their herd.
I really can't fault it. I'd recommend it to anybody. I just hope that they make a sequel.
Amateurish unoriginal light drama
13 May 2003
So I'm on a plane across the atlantic. I'd never heard of this film. The write-up in the in-flight magazine made it sounds quite good so I watched it. I was very disappointed. It was just awful. There were only two good things in it: Alun Armstrong, and the way that Ewan McGregor really looked like he was playing the bass. The rest of the acting was dreadful, but I expect this was largely down to the clumsy script. Almost every scene is rigid - there is not a moment when you forget that these people are actors. The storyline is incredibly thin, the characters are very one-dimensional, the direction is sometimes like a student film.
On an eleven hour flight, I actually felt like I wasted an hour and a half of my time watching this film.
On an eleven hour flight, I actually felt like I wasted an hour and a half of my time watching this film.
Dark, atmospheric, intelligent series.
16 December 2002
This is far more Blade Runner than Total Recall. It bears very little relation to its namesake Arnie film. However, I would say that it is also far superior. It has to be said that David Hume, the main character, is a bit on the stereotypical side for this type of affair. However, this weakness is more than made up for by Karl Pruner's portrayal of his partner Farve. The series as a whole has a great suspenseful ongoing story with many twists and clever sub-plots, while fitting in good independent stories to each episode. I was expecting cheesy TV sci-fi, but instead found an original, engrossing series that is by far the best thing I've seen in quite some time.
Terrible, but consequently worth seeing
13 December 2001
Usual ridiculous "Confessions" affair with some pretty funny moments.
Definitely worth seeing for the *incredible* look-alike of Liam Gallagher (singer from UK-band Oasis) on guitar in the band. This alone made me laugh more than the rest of the film. Seriously, it *is* him.
This film also turned a Japanese female into a big fan of Robin Askwith and the Confessions films, so there must be something good in it.
Definitely worth seeing for the *incredible* look-alike of Liam Gallagher (singer from UK-band Oasis) on guitar in the band. This alone made me laugh more than the rest of the film. Seriously, it *is* him.
This film also turned a Japanese female into a big fan of Robin Askwith and the Confessions films, so there must be something good in it.
Caligula
(1979)
Beyond the controversy lies a good film
6 February 2000
This film, as with all, has good points and bad points.
In general, I feel that the good ones far outweigh the bad.
The film simply gives the story of the rise and death of Emperor Caligula in a very straight-forward manner. Indeed, it can be seen as shocking, but I think that this is a side-effect of it's desire to be realistic, rather than a deliberate act on the part of the film-makers.
The cinematography and camera work is awful. The huge sets seem at times almost claustrophobic which is an absolute crime considering the magnificence of them. There is also too much emphasis on Caligula himself, to the detriment of revealing some important traits in other characters, making them seem somewhat shallow at times.
The sex scenes are very well placed within the context of the film. I thought that only two scenes stood out as being unnecessarily overt, but for the most part, the explicitness is on the fringe of the focus of each scene, while also playing a major part in the atmosphere.
Never once did I feel that any dialogue was out of place, nor did the acting strike me as being bad.
By far the biggest problem with this film is the fact that the sexual content is widely advertised and therefore anticipated before viewing. This may cause people to focus dominantly on those scenes without really looking at the film as a whole. For me, it enhanced the film. Not in a particularly titillating way, but in the fact that there was no compromise during scenes of sexual acts. Roman orgies are regarded to have been extremely opulent and promiscuous - I found it refreshing to see one as it may have actually been rather than lots of fully-clothed laughing fat men pouring red wine over their faces and eating grapes while draped with female automatons.
In summary, Caligula definitely has it's place in film history due to it's controversy, but if you look beyond that controversy, you should find a rather good film which neatly tells the story of how power can turn someone into a madman.
In general, I feel that the good ones far outweigh the bad.
The film simply gives the story of the rise and death of Emperor Caligula in a very straight-forward manner. Indeed, it can be seen as shocking, but I think that this is a side-effect of it's desire to be realistic, rather than a deliberate act on the part of the film-makers.
The cinematography and camera work is awful. The huge sets seem at times almost claustrophobic which is an absolute crime considering the magnificence of them. There is also too much emphasis on Caligula himself, to the detriment of revealing some important traits in other characters, making them seem somewhat shallow at times.
The sex scenes are very well placed within the context of the film. I thought that only two scenes stood out as being unnecessarily overt, but for the most part, the explicitness is on the fringe of the focus of each scene, while also playing a major part in the atmosphere.
Never once did I feel that any dialogue was out of place, nor did the acting strike me as being bad.
By far the biggest problem with this film is the fact that the sexual content is widely advertised and therefore anticipated before viewing. This may cause people to focus dominantly on those scenes without really looking at the film as a whole. For me, it enhanced the film. Not in a particularly titillating way, but in the fact that there was no compromise during scenes of sexual acts. Roman orgies are regarded to have been extremely opulent and promiscuous - I found it refreshing to see one as it may have actually been rather than lots of fully-clothed laughing fat men pouring red wine over their faces and eating grapes while draped with female automatons.
In summary, Caligula definitely has it's place in film history due to it's controversy, but if you look beyond that controversy, you should find a rather good film which neatly tells the story of how power can turn someone into a madman.
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