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wolf1282
Reviews
Legendary Nights: The Tale of Pryor: Arguello (2003)
Some glaring inaccuracies.
I'm a diehard boxing fan. Pryor/Arguello I is one of the best fights ever. Overall, HBO did a great job with the Legendary Nights series, but some of the things said in this episode floored me. For instance, one person interviewed said that "the Spanish official" was scoring all the rounds for Arguello. Whoops...the referee was from South Africa. The judges were from Japan and Denmark. What the heck was this guy talking about? I mean, Denmark and Spain are both in Europe, but that's about as close to accurate as this interviewee was. It was also stated in the episode that, going into the 14th round, Pryor had to KO Arguello to win. Whoops...Pryor was up 127-124 on two cards, and Arguello was up 127-125 on the third. In other words, it was Arguello who needed a KO (or two 10-8 rounds) to win. HBO should've cut that stuff; factual inaccuracies like that stain great documentaries, which the Legendary Nights series overall certainly is.
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Not perfect, but clearly good.
Having read Tom Clancy's book, I noticed many differences with the movie (Cortez and Moira die in the movie, there is only one covert team in the movie instead of four in the book, Ritter is portrayed much more despicably in the movie, etc). I did not have a problem with most of these; the lone exception involved the death of Dan Murray in the movie. The only problem: In Clancy's later works, he becomes FBI Director Murray. So, who will conduct the seance for the next movie? Also, a language problem occurs in the film. Before I get to that, now is a good time for me to point out the show-stealers of the film, the bad guys. Yes, Harrison Ford turns in a quality performance, but Joaquim de Almeida (Cortez) and Miguel Sandoval (Ernesto Escobedo, the drug lord) are 100% believable, Escobedo as a reckless, scared bully and Cortez as a smooth-talking double-crosser who will eliminate anyone in his way. Now, on to the language problem: At the beginning of the movie, Cortez and Escobedo speak to each other in Spanish. Then, inexplicably, they resort to English for the rest of the movie. Even the guards at Escobedo's gate speak to each other in English when Ryan comes to see Escobedo. Cortez, when he yells to Escobedo's men that Ryan has killed Escobedo (it was Cortez's bodyguard), speaks to Escobedo's men in English. Message to the director: There are subtitles. You used them at the beginning of the movie. You should have continued this usage. Overall, though, the film is well-done, and I watch it whenever I catch it on television.
The Late Shift (1996)
And I thought comedy was harmless...
***SPOILERS*** This film depicts the brutal bloodbath caused by the retirement of Johnny Carson to determine who would succeed him. The impersonations of David Letterman and Jay Leno are performed in a satisfactory way by John Michael Higgins and Daniel Roebuck, though the performances weren't great. Reni Santoni is the best-performing of the "execs" (he plays John Agoglia of NBC), and Warren Littlefield (played by Bob Baliban) is a close second. I was shocked at the way in which Littlefield eagerly discussed dumping Johnny Carson. This was Johnny Carson! This scene evinces the cut-throat, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of television. Kathy Bates delivered the best performance of the film as Jay's agent, Helen Kushnick. Another commenter asserted that Leno was portrayed as a simpleton in the film. I respectfully disagree. The relationship with Kushnick bordered on something akin to domestic violence. She orders him around, and, when he rebels against her at the end, she tries to play the sympathy card (mentioning her dead husband and son); however, when Jay terminates their relationship, she turns violent again, screaming "Don't you leave me, you two-faced bastard!" before smashing a picture on the floor. Overall, the movie is hilarious, and I wish that it were shown more often.
Noise (2004)
Full of sound and fury signifying a lot less than it could have.
A commenter above, Blackwallnut, hit the nail on the head. Ally Sheedy turns in a terrific performance as a neurotic neighbor, and she even comes off as frightening in her last scene. Giancarlo Esposito also does a fine job portraying Hank, the helpful shopkeeper. The problem with the film, however, is the lead--Trish Goff. I thought half the time that she sounded Australian, and, for the most part, her performance lacked emotion. Even when she provided some, it seemed strained and contrived. I also found the British lady with the filthy mouth to be tiresome after a while. With another actress, I suspect we'd have seen a better project. I don't think you can blame the director--unless he cast the lead, of course.
Seed of Chucky (2004)
This should have been aborted.
I loved the 3 Child's Play films, and "Bride of Chucky" was magnificent; therefore, I turned this on with high expectations. The result, however, was a nonsensical collection of mishmash. First off, why did Glenn/Glenda have an English accent? How did England fit in here? Also, as another commenter pointed out, the celebrity spoofing (especially Jennifer Tilly) is getting ridiculous in general and just didn't work for this film. I hope that, if we're treated to another Chuck film, we get a "Bride, " not a "Seed". I think, however, that we've gotten all we can out of the "Chucky" series. What will be next: "Mother of Chucky"? I'm giving it a "2" (even though it's more deserving of a "1") out of my gratitude for the 4 other terrific films in this series.
Brokedown Palace (1999)
Well-done drama.
I like films that don't provide the typical "happy ending," and that's my main reason for my liking of this movie. Alice Marano (Danes) and her best friend Darlene (Beckinsale) are arrested in Thailand for narcotics smuggling after a tip anonymously phoned in to the Thai authorities. The film does a solid job of keeping viewers guessing as to whether (or which) of the girls was involved, and Bill Pullman is perfect as their sleazy lawyer. Jacqueline Kim turns in a terrific performance as his more kind, magnanimous wife, Yon, who is also an attorney. I wish the girls had been abused more in the prison, as another commenter has suggested, as I've heard that Thai prisons can be quite brutal. Where this film grabs me, however, is its ending. Alice subjects herself to a sentence of 96 years in total so that Darlene can be pardoned, and we (the viewers) realize that they are both innocent. Any film that defies my expectation of the ending wins extra points with me, and this well-acted drama is certainly deserving.
Rage and Honor II (1993)
An outrage and a dishonor.
***SPOILERS*** Let's start with the "good" of this film--the serviceable acting of Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton. The rest of the acting is awful (this isn't aided by the atrocious script). The worst culprit is the villain, Buntao, the head of an Asian crime syndicate (played by Frans Tumbuan). I was laughing my head off as he was expressing his "fury" over having lost a bunch of money; horrid performance. Patrick Muldoon isn't much better, and his "it's a hostile takeover" line (that's the remainder of the title of this film) was delivered about as badly as one could do it. There are no other main characters, but no other actor/actress distinguished him/herself in this film. We next come to the plot. This should tell you all you need to know: In the original "Rage and Honor," Cynthia Rothrock, who plays Chris Fairchild, was a teacher in the inner city. Now, she's a C.I.A. agent (or was it some other governmental agency--sorry, but this film was so bad that I don't even remember). Hmmm...I can imagine what that C.I.A. application process was like. Interviewer: What past job experience do you have? Chris: I was a teacher. Interviewer: Okay; you're hired! I only give it a "2" because of some decent acting and a nice plot twist at the end (though we know that Tommy (Muldoon), the secret villain, will be caught).
Scandal: Sin in the City (2001)
Sinfully pathetic...
Oh, where to begin? Sex scenes: This film is loaded with them, and, if that's all you like in a film, "Sin in the City" is your cup of tea. I, however, like a little substance, and this film is woeful in that regard. The acting is crap--and that's being diplomatic. The main character (Jarod Carey) is laughably awful; I was cracking up at his "confrontation" with the mobster at the end of the film. The only thing worse than the acting was the plot. The jumpiness of it was comical; for instance, Tim LeRoy (Carey) was being blackmailed by an anonymous individual, who, he later learns, is the cop with whom he'd fornicated in a jail cell. That takes up (the sex and the blackmail) a good portion of the film, and it's tied to nothing in the rest of the movie. Just one example of many as to why this is about as bad as it gets.
Amnesia (1997)
Above-average black comedy.
I caught this film the other night on one of the cable channels (Showtime, I think), and, though it has some bad points, it's solid overall. ***POSSIBLE SPOILERS*** The main problem with the film is Sally Kirkland, a great actress who fails to convince here in a comedic role. Her scene with Paul (Nicholas Walker) in which she calls him her "Romeo to my Juliet" and her "Marc Anthony to my Cleopatra" is poorly done. Her repeating of "douchebag b*tch" as she shoots at Dara Tomanovich is also strange. On to the okay--Tomanovich. She doesn't perform badly, but she doesn't set me on fire, either. Her scenes of supposed "outrage" (like when she learns of the $1 million insurance policy) don't convince, but her performance is serviceable. Then, we get to the good: Nicholas Walker. He isn't supposed to engender sympathy, and he sure doesn't! The scenes in which he tries (like his defending his wife after Tomanovich's desire for said wife to die) are unconvincing and turn a potentially very good performance in to a good one. The son (Vincent Berry) also is good, but he needed more emotion in his performance. And, now, on to the very good--Savage and Sheedy. Savage's portrayal is beautifully disgusting, and I'd have liked to have seen more of him, while Sheedy is convincing and sympathetic as the conned wife who finally has had enough. One thing: How does a minister get a $1 mil insurance policy? Overall, fairly well done.