adamp-6 Reviews

The Princess and the Warrior (2000)

It actually made me (gasp!) think about it.

[9/10 · 8 March 2002]

Like most of the folks submitting comments on this movie, I saw "Run Lola Run" (or "Lola Rennt", if you prefer), enjoyed it immensely, and eagerly awaited the next bit of celluloid from Tom Tykwer. I snatched up "The Princess & The Warrior" the second it hit the "new releases" shelf at my local video renting megastore, took it home, and watched it immediately (okay, I waited a couple of hours, but you get the point).

Man, this movie is frustratingly good. A bit worrisome at first, what with all the "insane asylum" stuff, but it abandons the cliches and does something fairly original. But still, it's frustrating in that the pacing's much slower than "Lola", and you keep expecting it to rev up. Finally, as the movie comes to a close and you realize it's not ever going to get hyper like its predecessor, you start to think about it on its own merits. And that's when you realize it's a worthy piece of cinema.

And am I the only one that got weirded out about how real the tracheotomy looked?

Flirting with Disaster (1996)

Zaniness, thy name is "Flirting with Disaster".

[8/10 · 8 March 2002]

So, I just saw "Three Kings" last week, and that got me interested in other David O. Russell movies. My friend happens to own this particular DVD, so he loaned it to me with the strict warning that it's nothing like "Three Kings".

So I gave it a rip, and I laughed quite a bit. There's a comment somewhere on here that says you shouldn't see this movie by yourself, but rather with a large contingent of people as to elevate the laughter possibilities. I'd say that's good advice, since I saw it by myself in the waning hours of the night, and I only laughed a few times.

It's one of those things where you can acknowledge mentally that something's funny, even hilarious, but it's late in the evening, and the kids and your wife are asleep, and you're just so comfortable on the couch that mustering an audible laugh is more difficult. Make sense?

With that said, I did muster a few laughs that would register on the "audible" scale, whereas if I were in the theater, I would be, as they say, busting a gut.

Finally, a zany, screwball comedy worth watching.

The Princess Diaries (2001)

sigh...

[4/10 · 4 March 2002]

Well, we had a big snowfall this weekend, so my wife and I decided to rent some movies to pass the time... unfortunately, she really, really wanted to see "The Princess Diaries".

A bit of back story: about a month ago we were watching "The Sound of Music" when the subject of Julie Andrews movies came up. And of course, since Miss Andrews appears in "The Princess Diaries", that came up, too. My wife wanted me to go out and rent it, but I narrowly convinced her that we wouldn't have enough time to watch it. I just let the subject drop, hoping she'd forget about it. And then this cursed snowstorm hit.

Anyway, back to this particular story. We also rented "Elmo in Grouchland" for our 3-year-old daughter. And after having seen both films in the same day, I can honestly say "Elmo" is the better picture. And I fell asleep while watching it.

Yes, sleep is definitely preferable to viewing "The Princess Diaries". The only thing that redeems this movie is the fact that Julie Andrews and Hector Elizondo are in it. But if you're subjected to this movie by your "Mary Poppins"-loving wife, just close your eyes and succumb to the bliss of sleep. You won't miss a thing.

Hamlet (2000)

A pleasant surprise

[9/10 · 4 March 2002]

Just happened to snatch up this DVD the other day, and I was pleasantly surprised at the latest adaptation of this famous play. Ethan Hawke did a remarkable job as the troubled "prince" (boy, it was nice to see someone play Hamlet who's actually close to the age Hamlet is supposed to be), and Julia Stiles was understatedly good as Ophelia.

Still, since I've seen and read the play many times, I wonder if that gave me an unfair advantage in watching this version of it. It is, after all, under 2 hours long, which means much of the subtext of the original has been excised, and I wonder if the Hamlet-deprived people of the world would understand this particular foray into the story.

That aside, it's still an admirable job at making Shakespeare hip again, though one should really balance this version with a viewing of Kenneth Branagh's complete retelling from 1996.

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)

Elmo stretched to 70+ minutes is not necessarily a good thing.

[6/10 · 4 March 2002]

Ah, Elmo.

My daughter loves the little monster, which is some sort of toddler prerequisite these days. Anyway, I decided to rent this movie to give her a little treat, and she loved the dickens out of it.

I, on the other hand...

Well, I can't say I didn't like it, necessarily. The production values are pretty decent, and muppets look a lot better when shot on film instead of the video they use for "Sesame Street". But hearing Elmo's voice for the length of a feature film just gets to be a bit much. It's much better when contained to the 20-minute "Elmo's World" segment on the show.

Thankfully, the film does provide a few breaks from Elmo's squeaking, including a joyously evil song from Mandy Patinkin and a fairly boring one from Vanessa Williams.

But don't expect anything of Pixar quality as far as the screenplay goes. This one is geared only for kids, and the laughs for adults are few and far between. And since it's only for kids, and my daughter loved it, I have to say it succeeded in its mission.

Cinderella (1950)

I guess Disney really, really, REALLY needs money.

[8/10 · 4 March 2002]

We watched this on "The Wonderful World of Disney" on ABC last night, and I came to the conclusion that things must be tighter there at "the Mouse" than usual.

Since this movie only runs 74 minutes, and they had to pad it out to 2 hours of broadcast television time, they had, and I'm not making this up, commercial breaks that lasted 6 to 7 minutes. And during these commercial breaks, they had another advertisement in the guise of a "TV show" hosted by the oh-so-annoying Kelly Rippa that loudly proclaimed the magical wonders of "Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True".

Again and again, break after break, Disney took time out of the real movie to tell us, the loyal viewers, that we needed to get a copy of the sequel. Thank you, Disney, for doing us the service of creating a sequel to your beloved gem of a movie.

Anyway, all this commercialism and cash-register-ringing made it a difficult task to get into the actual movie of "Cinderella", because by the time the commercials were over, I had forgotten where the story had left off.

But of course, the original "Cinderella" still maintains its magic, and the story is still a good one, though we've all seen it countless times. It's a shame they had to cheapen it with all the marketing for what looks to be a lame follow-up.

Don't Say a Word (2001)

zzzzzzzzz... oh, I'm sorry, was I sleeping?

[5/10 · 1 March 2002]

If you view the DVD of "Don't Say a Word", you'll notice a feature entitled "Producer School", in which the Kopelsons, producers of the film, talk with great importance about their role in bringing the movie to the screen and how they developed the project over a period of 12 years to get it just right.

12 years? 12 *years*? It took 12 years to carefully craft *this* screenplay? It plays like a rough draft that was written in about 2 weeks, in which all the ideas of pacing and characters were lifted directly from one of those "how to write a screenplay" books -- bland, ordinary, and predictable.

Now at first, it tries to fool you into thinking it's going to be more ambitious than it is, but guess again. If you think you know where it's heading, you're probably right.

That said, visually it gets the job done, and Michael Douglas plays his standard role as only he can. I wonder if he makes movies like these so he can maintain his A-list status while still appearing in good movies like "Wonder Boys" and "Traffic".

A POSSIBLY SPOILING FOOTNOTE: Also on the DVD, there's a special feature listed wherein different actors give "scene-specific commentary". This is somewhat of a falsehood, because the actors don't really talk about anything that's happening in the scene that plays... it's really just them talking about the experience of making the movie. So if you're expecting any insight from Michael Douglas on how he played a certain scene, forget it.

Three Kings (1999)

I waited too long, but it finally paid off

[9/10 · 1 March 2002]

I wanted to see "Three Kings" when it hit the theaters way back in '99. Unfortunately, "Fight Club" and "American Beauty" came out at the same time, and since my free time is very limited, I had to pick and choose my movie-watching very carefully.

Being a David Fincher fan, I saw "Fight Club" first, then because "American Beauty" was getting loads of Oscar buzz, I saw it. Once I finally had time to see "Three Kings", it was gone.

So I waited and waited and waited, then eventually forgot about it until my friend loaned me the DVD. And now I wish I'd ditched "American Beauty" and seen "Three Kings" instead. What a marvelous piece of filmmaking.

I notice a lot of people are saying that it can't decide what it wants to be -- that it plays with too many genres. Since when is that a bad thing? Many of the best films are the ones that interweave good aspects from many genres to create something unique -- like "Three Kings". It pretty much defies description, and its unpredictability is especially welcome.

And whenever David O. Russell comes out with another movie, I'm definitely putting it at the top of my "see it in the theater" list.

Chillicothe (1999)

laughing from the start.

[8/10 · 11 February 2002]

I saw a rough cut of this here sucker, and from the moment that jogger guy with the army socks and the powder blue workout suit appeared in the opening credits, I was a-chucklin' and a-chortlin'. Sure, we don't see Jogger Guy again (heck, he's not even credited on the IMDb), but his presence is a good omen for the rest of the movie.

Oh yeah, there's some good dialogue in it as well, especially if you're into pop culture references (which I am) and you live or have lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma (which I do). Although, the city's not as bad as Wade says it is. Consider it artistic license on his part, I guess.

It's a good li'l indie flick, and you shan't be going awry if you decide to pick it up. If you can find it, that is.

Fight Club (1999)

something I've noticed people aren't discussing.

[10/10 · 11 February 2002]

A lot of words have been spoken/ written/ transmitted about "Fight Club" and its messages about men who haven't entirely grown up and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah, but I haven't seen (yet) anyone tackle this movie from a religious standpoint.

First, let me say "Fight Club" is a brilliant movie, and I considered it the best movie of 1999 (I'm sure that means just tons to everyone). But here's why the movie spoke to me -- it seems to me that the filmmakers, whether consciously or not, are saying that people who grow up with no moral or spiritual compass to guide them will eventually be morally and spiritually bankrupt.

Tyler even says this in one of the scenes (something along the lines of "our fathers are our role models for God. And if they left us, what does that say about God?"). Pow. Tyler believes God's no longer in the picture, so he can do whatever the heck he wants.

Tyler represents people who've grown up with no belief in God or any sort of values system that He handed down, and that lack of belief is ultimately what leads to his extreme behavior. But the statement of the movie is that people like Tyler are to be pitied, not revered.

Universal Soldier (1992)

I knew it was in trouble when I recognized the Profiler.

[2/10 · 11 February 2002]

So, the other day, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I had some laundry to fold. I clicked on the TV to find something to fold to, and came across "Universal Soldier" just as it was starting.

What a perfect movie for laundry-folding. You can look down, grab some socks, put them together, ball them up, look up, and you haven't missed a shred of plot or character development. Because there isn't any.

This movie follows action/ sci-fi formula so well that you could probably go to the laundry room, pull out whatever's in the dryer, then load it with wet clothes fresh from the washer, then load that with soiled garments, come back, and *still* be ahead of the film in the logic department.

For those wondering, I did manage to get all my laundry done, so un-gripping was "Universal Soldier".

The Sound of Music (1965)

What to say, what to say...

[9/10 · 11 February 2002]

I hadn't seen "The Sound of Music" in years, but my wife wanted to watch it the other night, so we threw it on. I'd forgotten how good it is.

First, I hold a negative bias toward most musicals. Yes, there are exceptions ("Moulin Rouge", "Beauty & the Beast" for example), but most of the time I just get annoyed when the filmmakers stop the story for a little song-and-dance routine, then crank it back up when the musical number's over.

My recollection of "The Sound of Music" was simply of the songs -- but I'd completely forgotten how well the songs work in the narrative. Instead of halting the flow of the story, they actually help carry it along. A pleasant surprise.

And I'd forgotten, too, how well the film steers clear of syrupy cornball territory -- something that could've easily mired it, especially when you consider the time period in which it was made. I appreciated the honesty of it, and the lack of melodrama and overacting you so often find in the films of yesteryear.

The only drawback -- man, I can't stand it when Liesl goes "wheeeeee!" once Rolf runs out of the little gazebo after he's stolen a kiss from her. The punk.

What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)

surprise, surprise.

[8/10 · 7 February 2002]

Much has been made of this movie and Angela Bassett's amazing performance in it. So, after seeing a preview for it in front of our recently-rented copy of "Strictly Ballroom", my wife and I were reminded of it and decided to check it out and see if lived up to the hype.

We were expecting a rather rote interpretation of a singer's climb to stardom. What we got instead was a harrowing, engaging, cautionary tale that's not just about Tina Turner's rise to the top, but is also a chilling indictment of spousal abuse.

Surprising, to say the least. Since we'd gone in thinking "What's Love Got to Do with It" is simply a charming film starring an actress who's giving her best Tina Turner imitation, we were hardly ready for the emotional impact this movie has.

I hope any man who's ever beaten his wife, or who's even ever thought of it, sees this movie. And any woman who's currently in an abusive relationship should definitely see it -- if only to help them get out.

Tigerland (2000)

I just wish they wouldn't've philosophized so darn much.

[7/10 · 6 February 2002]

My neighbor just got a DVD player for Christmas, and already he has more DVDs than I do. Anyway, I was at his house the other day flipping through his selections when I saw he had "Tigerland". I pointed it out.

"Yeah, I haven't seen that one yet," he says, "I just picked it up because I was at Tigerland back when I went to Vietnam." He told me some stories about it, so it piqued my interest in the film.

From what I can tell, based on my neighbor's stories, "Tigerland" is a pretty accurate depiction of what went on in that training ground. And while the film is sticking with the story, it's pretty good.

But then there are all these side trails in which Bozz and Paxton discuss war philosophy and how it's so wrong and blah blah blah. All they needed was a pulpit and a gospel choir to *really* get their point across.

These tangential asides are the only thing bogging the movie down and preventing it from becoming a really good film. Cinematically, it packs a visual punch, although the handheld camera got to be a bit much.

Oh, and if you really, really, *really* like to listen to men swear in ways you've never dreamed, throw on "Tigerland" for a real treat.

Unforgiven (1992)

I started it too late for my own good.

[9/10 · 5 February 2002]

You know those movies that you start watching late at night, expecting to turn them off mid-way through so you can go to bed, but they're so intriguing you wind up staying up into the wee hours of the night to finish watching them because you couldn't bear going to sleep with the thought of this movie laying in your DVD player unfinished?

"Unforgiven" is one of those movies.

Somber, meditative, and almost plodding, "Unforgiven" had me fighting to keep my eyes open -- not because it's boring, but because I just... had... to finish... it. I'm glad I did, too. It's a breath of fresh air from the usual rah-rah Western as it tackles serious topics seriously.

But boy am I sleepy while writing this comment.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Am I missing something?

[6/10 · 4 February 2002]

Oh, the glorious reviews that have gushed forth for "A Beautiful Mind". The IMDb user comments section is brimming with praise; people are calling this the best movie of the year. Heck, it even won the Golden Globe for Outstanding Dramatic Motion Picture.

Have these people seen "Memento"? Or "Moulin Rouge"? Or "The Royal Tenenbaums"? Why is "A Beautiful Mind", a fairly standard film, receiving all these accolades?

Unfortunately, I have the feeling that my thoughts on "A Beautiful Mind" are probably skewed from all the wonderful press and praise it received before I viewed it (sadly, the same thing happened with "Gladiator"). I was expecting some elegant masterpiece, but instead got a movie that, while it features good acting, is still a slave to Hollywood convention.

(insert spoilers warning here)

Okay, so we start off with John Nash at Princeton, and we have all the classic high school/ college elements -- the socially outcast main character, the bully with the chip on his shoulder who's got it in for the main character, the wisecracking-yet-all-knowing roommate, the stern authority figure, the problem that can't be solved but suddenly is given a solution thanks to an unrelated real world situation, etc. And it just went on from there. More convention on top of convention.

A lot of critics are praising this movie for being a good big budget film that came from a major studio. Since when do we grade possible Oscar contenders on a curve? Formula is formula, regardless of who's selling it. It's sad, too, because this could've been one of those "small treasures" kinds of movies, had the hype machine not gotten so squarely behind it.

Memento (2000)

watch it early so you can see something else afterward.

[10/10 · 31 January 2002]

I saw "Memento" in the early afternoon, a fact for which I am thankful. Why? Because it then proceeded to dominate the majority of my thoughts for the rest of the day. That night I lay in bed, tossing and turning, my mind trying to wrap itself around the story, and I absolutely could not GO TO SLEEP!

I finally just gave up on sleep, got up around midnight, and watched "Election" to cleanse my palate. Then I went back to bed and starting contemplating "Memento" AGAIN. Finally, out of sheer exhaustion, I went to sleep.

This is a movie that gets in your head and will not get out until you figure it all out. And that can only be done with extensive internet research. Reading "Memento Mori", the short story upon which the movie is "based" helped, too.

"Memento" is nothing short of a phenomenon. And a brilliant one at that.

Joe Dirt (2001)

The biggest shock? I actually laughed.

[5/10 · 23 January 2002]

So, I saw the publicity for "Joe Dirt", and I thought to myself "whew, that looks like a stinker". But I had several friends go see it and tell me it was funny, so I checked it out, and I was surprised.

Yes, it's stupid. No, there's not really much of a plot. But some of the gags work, especially if you (like me) live in Oklahoma or some other part of the Midwest and are used to seeing people like Joe. When he rattles off all those firecracker names -- that's just movie magic, folks.

I wish they would've gotten someone other than Dennis Miller for the 'shock jock', though. His painful mugging for the camera and line delivery that almost comes with an elbow to the ribs was just too much for me. Oh well.

But other than that, there were some great redneck nuances that made this here landlocked fella appreciate the film.

Strictly Ballroom (1992)

A grand entertainment.

[8/10 · 23 January 2002]

"Moulin Rouge" has officially been established as one of my favorite movies of all time, so that made me want to see Baz Luhrmann's initial directorial effort, "Strictly Ballroom", which is essentially "Moulin Rouge"-lite. Almost as colorful, but much more easygoing, to the point of a PG-rating. Plus, it's not chock full o' the angst that bogged down "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet". It's just plain fun.

I especially love how everyone takes ballroom dancing so darn seriously in the movie. When Scott pulls out his own moves at the beginning and they just flip out -- it's a good sign of things to come.

And boy howdy is there some nifty dancing in it.

The Pledge (I) (2001)

Spoileriffic!

[8/10 · 22 January 2002]

When "The Pledge" came out in theatres, my friend told me it was the best movie he'd seen in a long, long time and that I owed it to myself to go check it out. I didn't. But I finally saw it on DVD, and it is a good movie, but it's not the best thing in the world, either.

Jack Nicholson -- man, is this guy amazing. It's sad "The Pledge" had to come out so early in the year, because if it had come out in November or December, all the Oscar buzz would be for him. And it would've helped out Robin Wright Penn, who undergoes an amazing transformation to look like a white trash waitress, not one of those Hollywoodized-type white trash gals. Like Nicholson, she too is quite, quite amazing.

But I have a problem with the story (this is the part where the spoilers happen), namely, I don't buy the whole underlying premise of the movie (i.e. the "pledge" of the film's title). Here's a guy who's a grizzled homicide detective -- he's seen probably hundreds of murders over his career -- what the heck is it about this one that makes him so obsessed with it? People will argue that it's because he promised on his eternal soul, but I disagree.

There's nothing in the film to suggest that Detective Black is a God-fearing man (in fact, if memory serves me correctly, he even says he isn't), so why should he care if he promised on his eternal soul. I understand that he'd want to find the real killer and that he would buck the system to do it, but to go as far as he did (putting out a kid as live bait, essentially) -- it just doesn't ring true to me. Sorry.

Other than that, though, I thought it was a darn fine film, and worth your time, should you be so inclined to check it out.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

I watched in open-mouthed amazement. Or something like that.

[10/10 · 22 January 2002]

This was one of those movies that was so surrounded in controversy over its rating that I initially avoided it. But finally, curiosity got the best of me and I checked it out.

Boy, am I glad I did.

Because as brutal as it is, "Requiem for a Dream" is still a masterpiece of filmmaking. Yes, it is frank with its subject matter, in the kind of way that makes critics use words like "honest" and "unblinking". And that frankness adds to the impact of the overall film. When you consider the muck these characters drag themselves through in order to quell their own appetites -- that's powerful stuff.

But even more powerful is the style in which the story is told. It's a unique and often objective representation of the lifestyle portrayed, and it is nothing short of masterful. I've now seen this movie 3 times in 5 days, and I can honestly say I'm blown away.

Man, am I glad I never did drugs.

Strictly Ballroom (1992)

What fun.

[8/10 · 22 January 2002]

I just picked this one up a week or so ago. Now that "Moulin Rouge" has been established as one of my favorite films, I wanted to see what Mr. Luhrmann had done previously.

And oh, what fun this movie is. It's all so deliciously gaudy and overdone you can't help but love it. And it doesn't have the angst factor that bogged down "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet". Instead, it's more of a cockeyed absurdity that gives "Strictly Ballroom" its charm.

Plus, there's some really cool dancing in it, too. Really cool. These kids have moves, that's for sure.

The Red Violin (1998)

It's hard to invest emotion when the main character is a violin.

[8/10 · 21 January 2002]

(this comment contains possible spoilers; read at your own risk)

This is one of those films I'd heard a lot of good buzz about, both while it was in theatres and when it came out on video. I've picked it up several times at the rental store, then subsequently put it back to get something else. But finally, the time had come for me to view "The Red Violin".

And it's pretty good. More intriguing from the idea aspect than from the actual execution of the film. I like the idea of following this violin throughout the ages and seeing what hands it touches on its way to the auction block, but I didn't really care for any of the people who got the darn thing.

The Austrian music teacher? He's a jerk. The long-haired English virtuoso? A jerk on a much grander scale. Those gypsies? All really good violin players, but not on screen long enough to care. The Chinese girl? She was the most sympathetic of the characters, but by that point of the movie I was really hoping it would wrap up soon.

Also, it didn't help that I figured out the "secret" of the red violin at the very beginning of the movie.

But I appreciate the scope of the film, and the style with which its told. It's still a good film, but completely unengaging emotionally. Probably it's suffering from the "Batman" syndrome, in which it was hyped so much to me that when I actually saw the movie, there was no way it could live up to my expectations.

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Was that Paul Walker or Keanu Reeves?

[5/10 · 16 January 2002]

Boy, Paul Walker sounds JUST LIKE Keanu Reeves. I kept thinking of "Point Break" the whole time I watched this movie, expecting Detective Brian to ask his superiors "So you're saying the ex-presidents are surfers?"

I distinctly remember seeing the trailer for this movie in front of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and for the first few seconds after seeing Vin Diesel, I was excited about it, but by the end of the trailer, I was a little worried. So I finally picked this one up at the ol' rental store on DVD and gave it a whirl.

Not bad. Not good, but not bad.

Vin Diesel gives a good performance, and I guess you could say Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez do, too, given their limited roles. But Paul Walker -- what are casting directors thinking when he walks in to audition? This guy is bad -- plain bad -- and he brings the movie down, down, down.

But silly me, talking about the performances of the actors, when this movie is plainly about the performances of the vehicles. And perform they do. All the driving stuff is pretty fun in a campy sort of way; I especially like the way the different cars tend to drive in some sort of formation, as if they were the Blue Angels or something. All the racing parts balance against Paul Walker's terrible delivery of his lines to bring the movie up to an acceptable level.

The Wonderful World of Disney: Annie (1999) Season 3, Episode 5

Surprisingly superior to the 1982 version.

[7/10 · 16 January 2002]

Since this was a TV production my wife goaded me into renting for our daughter, I had pretty low hopes for it, especially since it was a remake of a well-loved classic motion picture. But I was shocked and amazed when I wound up enjoying it more than the previous version.

(I guess the following could be viewed as containing spoilers, so consider yourself warned) For starters, this one feels much more like a stage play in which the inclusion of songs makes a little more sense. Kathy Bates' version of Mrs. Hannigan is sober, and more clothed, which will make parents more grateful. and they got rid of that ridiculous chase sequence, opting for a more low-key ending that takes place entirely in the Warbucks home. Thankfully.

Everything that I didn't like about the original movie has been removed, making this a much stronger film. Heck, I even get a little choked up at the end. And that's coming from a 20-something cynical guy. So take that for what it's worth.