diver110 Reviews

Shall We Dance? (2004)

Acceptable Romantic Comedy

[6/10 · 25 October 2004]

If you are like my girl friend and like romantic comedies, you won't be disappointed by this movie. Don't be scared off by the low IMDb rating. It is a perfectly okay movie, albeit one that is not going to win any academy awards. If there is a weak spot in the movie, it is Richard Gere. He can often be very good, as in Chicago, or the movie where he played an Irish rebel (I forget the name). But I never can quite buy him, when he tried to play an ordinary Joe as he does in this movie. But the rest of the cast is very good and very believable. Jennifer Lopes does a great job. She does some very sexy dance scenes. I wish Susan Sarandon had a bigger part, she is very believable.

The Whole Ten Yards (2004)

Okay Comedy

[7/10 · 31 August 2004]

This movie has gotten hammered IMDB review-wise (it gets better reviews on Netflix). I am not sure why. I tend to be critical of comedies, but I thought this movie was okay, on par with the first one. There were a lot of genuinely funny moments. It was not a great movie, but if you are in the mood for a comedy, I would not be afraid to rent this one. Bruce Willis did his usual fine job. I laughed out loud more than once. The guy who played to godfather type was funny too. Mathew Perry was about the same as in the first movie. The two female leads were not as developed, but seemed okay. The one who played Perry's wife was perhaps a little too pretty for the part, but seemed to be an okay actress.

Spartan (2004)

Fair action movie

[6/10 · 22 June 2004]

This could have been a good movie, but it never quite comes together. None of the characters are really developed and there are some improbable plot twists. Van Kilmer is not a strong enough actor to carry the movie, and no one else gets enough screen time to compensate. They made next to no use of John Macy, perhaps the only really good actor in the movie (though it's hard to tell given the minimal development---to be fair, the girl was not bad either). Still, the movie had its moments. While some plot twists were improbable, there were a number of twists and that helped hold my interest. If you like action movies, you won't be deeply satisfied, but most likely you won't be deeply disappointed either. Good rental. I gave it a 6.

S.W.A.T. (2003)

Never Came Together

[5/10 · 23 April 2004]

This was closer to a TV show masquerading as a movie. The characters were never really developed. With the exception of Sam Jackson, you never really liked the heroes or disliked the villians that much. When the very predictable ending occured, I almost wished the villians had won. I attribute this more to the directing than the quality of the actors. Colin Farrel definitely has good screen presence, but I never got a good sense of his character. The French bad guy, Olivier Martinex, I think could have been a really good bad guy if they had developed him more. As it was, I almost hoped he got away. He struck me as someone with good screen presence and talent, however. The whole movie felt like a wasted opportunity.

CQ (2001)

Need to like the genre

[5/10 · 27 September 2003]

This is one of those movies where you really need to like the genre to sit through it. I don't and didn't. It often tries too hard to be funny. If you like dreamy, psychological type movies, though, you may well like it. I gave it a 5.

Waking Up in Reno (2002)

Very funny and intelligent movie

[8/10 · 26 July 2003]

I am amazed that the average reviews given by web site participants is not much higher. I thought this movie was very funny. It was a comedy with a lot of intelligence and underlying honesty, not your typical mindless shtick, and *very* worth watching. I gave it an 8.

The Other Side of Heaven (2001)

Great movie for Mormans, others beware

[5/10 · 21 July 2003]

If you are a Morman or possibly a fundamentalist Christian, you will like this movie. Most others, even those with a spiritual focus, will likely find it heavy handed. Much of the acting is only fair. The high ratings this movie gets from IMDb members is probably skewed because most of the people who watch this movie are probably Mormans. I could not sit through the whole thing. My girl friend did, but did not like it either.

Analyze That (2002)

Very funny movie

[8/10 · 21 June 2003]

I am surprised the response on this board (based on the ratings at least) to this movie has been so tepid. I thought the movie was very funny and significantly funnier than the first one. If you want to laugh a lot, watch this movie.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Over-rated

[6/10 · 17 February 2003]

I can't believe how highly this movie has been rated. For me it was little more than a martial arts melodrama and often quite silly. I usually agree with the IMDb ratings, not this time. I would only recommend it if there is nothing better to rent (or you are snowed in and desperate as we have been in Baltimore).