u2bme102 Reviews

The Jar (1984)

yeah it was pretty bad

[4/10 · 8 September 2008]

Hello, this is Paul who was in the Jar, and many thanks to those of you who actually saw this movie.

I have to agree, it was one of the worst movies ever made, but because I was in it, I had to give it a 4.

Okay, my acting was horrible, but in my defense, most of the movie was shot in one take. We shot the movie in two stretches of two weeks. If you look closely, you will notice my hair is longer in some scenes than in others. One stretch was shot in the fall, when my hair was longer, and the other stretch was shot in the spring, when my hair was shorter. Then we did some pickup shots later in the summer.

We hardly rehearsed any scenes at all.

All I can say is, we did our best with what we had.

If I remember correctly, the movie was shot on a budget of about $200,000.

Oh - yup, we dubbed all of the dialog. We would shoot from 5 or 6 am until it got dark, then go to the sound studio and dub until 1 or 2 am, then get up and shoot the next day.

The director decided he didn't want the 60 hz signal so he could sync the recorded voices to the film, so he and his assistant ended up cutting little pieces of tape and splicing them together to at least try to make the sound match the movie.

In Bruce's defense (the director) he was a decent photographer. I think he and the script writer had a vision of what they wanted the movie to be. If I remember correctly, they were trying to portray various incidents of inhumanity and how inhumanity could pass from one person to the next.

So if any of you know of sci fi cons where they would like commentary on what some consider to be the worst film ever made, send me an e-mail.

In Bruges (2008)

Not as good as I had hoped

[6/10 · 11 May 2008]

I had high hopes for this movie. Roeper and Whoever made it sound as though it was one of the best movies of the year, and hilarious.

It was pretty good, but it was not great, and I don't know exactly why.

It had a few laughs, but it was not a comedy.

Two hit men go to Bruges (pronounced Brooj) after a hit. The person who hired them sends them there, supposedly for a little r & r after a hit. One of the hit men, played by Brendan Gleeson, soaks in the history. The other, played by Collin Farrell, is bored to tears, until he meets a local woman. She has an ex-boyfriend. She also deals drugs to a movie cast and crew, who are filming in Bruges.

We don't know why the hit men (well, actually, the hit man - Farrell was the hit man, Gleeson was the person who recruited him) were hired to do the job, or why the hit was commissioned, but this was not important anyway. Ralph Fiennes plays the guy who called for the hit.

oh - there's also the hostess of the hotel (or was it a b & b) where Farrell and Gleason are staying in Bruges. She's pregnant.

I'm not going to say too much more, because to do so would give away too much of the plot.

The acting was fine. Gleeson especially shines. Ralph Fiennes is properly menacing. Farrell does a pretty good job as a novice hit man. The women are fine, although they really aren't given much to do with their parts.

The movie was entertaining, and it held my interest, and it was a nice change of pace from a Hollywood story, but I can't highly recommend the movie.

It was worth the price of a matinée, plus a medium popcorn and soda.

Doomsday (I) (2008)

Spoilers ahead - This movie is a piece of garbage!

[1/10 · 20 March 2008]

I didn't think a movie could be as bad as Dungeon Siege or Dragon Siege or whatever it was called, but I was wrong. I'm going to give lots of spoilers, so no one is ever tempted ever to watch this stinker.

There were only five people in the theater when I saw this movie, and for good reason.

It kind of wanted to be a Mad Max sort of movie but it's just a mish mash of crap.

It has a great cast - Rhona Mitra and Bob Hoskins - but what a waste! It starts okay - a deadly virus outbreak in Glasgow Scotland (those darn Scots!) causes those darn British (those darn Brits) to build a wall all the way around Scotland so no one gets in or out. 30 years later (or maybe it was 29 years later) the virus is discovered in England. Lo and behold, satellite images show (are you ready?) PEOPLE ALIVE IN Scotland!! Naturally, the good Prime Minister of England (played by Dr. Bashir, Alexander Siddig) wants to send a small team into Scotland to find out why some survived. He asks Bob Hoskins to find someone to lead the team. You think maybe he'll choose Rhona Mitra, who was separated from her mother in an evacuation of Scotland and wants back in so she can look for her mother? In the meantime, we are treated to fingers graphically being cut off in closing doors, a rabbit graphically being blown to pieces by an automated guard tower, the graphic sight of the leftovers of a road kill cow, people being graphically beheaded, another one gets graphically barbecued and a piece of his flesh is offered to Rhona Mitra, who by now has been captured by the survivors in Scotland, and other gross bits. One of the other prisoners is the sister of the leader of the gang of survivors, and they are both the children of Malcolm McDowell, who plays a scientist who survived the virus. As it turns out, science had nothing to do with the survival. It was all natural selection.

oh yeah - I forgot to mention - the good PM gets splatted with infected blood, so he graphically commits suicide.

Anyway, Rhona Mitra and some of the guys in her team - the vehicles in which they travel to Scotland are super armored impregnable forces but somehow a rock manages to shatter a windshield of one of the vehicles - so some of them are captured by Malcolm McDowell - and they get thrown in his prison - oh Malcolm tortures his own daughter - and Malcolm lives in a castle and they all dress in medieval garb - oh why go on? We have no idea where anyone gets gas, or electricity, or food, or medicine ...

Avoid this movie! Save your money!

Starting Out in the Evening (2007)

A page turner of a movie!

[10/10 · 5 January 2008]

Unlike many movies, I found myself continually wanting to know what happens next. I was not watching a movie, so much as seeing the writing process examined, explored, and enacted on the screen. The director doesn't mind taking his time to allow events to develop and unfold, and he takes us along with him. Music is used sparingly and effectively - he has faith in his actors and his material. The attention to detail was wonderful - Leonard Schiller wearing shirts and ties many many years old, using spoons and tea cups from another era, sitting on a couch from the 40's, reading by lamps with pleated shades, walls and cupboards painted many times over, using a typewriter (hearing the clack clack of the keys was music), contrasted by Heather's tic tic on her laptop, her messy bed in the background, typing by a stylish modern lamp. Lauren Ambrose was the perfect counterpoint to Frank Langella, and the subplot with Lili Taylor as Ariel Schiller and Adrian Lester was touching and effective. At all times, the actors were perfect. They should all win Oscars, but they won't. Please don't be fooled by the paltry box office take of $600,000 - this movie is worthy of box office 100 times what it took in.

Anyone with a love of writing, good acting, and wonderful direction should see this movie. Even having Schilling's body begin to fail him rings true, and is not played for pathos.

All in all, one of the most enjoyable movie experiences of 2007.

The Night Listener (2006)

Very well done! POSSIBLE SPOILER

[9/10 · 4 August 2006]

I enjoyed The Night Listener very much. It's one of the better movies of the summer.

Robin Williams gives one of his best performances. In fact, the entire cast was very good. All played just the right notes for their characters - not too much and not too little. Sandra Oh adds a wonderful comic touch. Toni Collette is great as the Mom, and never goes over the top. Everyone is very believable.

It's a short movie, just under an hour and a half. I noticed the general release version is nine minutes shorter than the Sundance version. I wonder if some of the more disturbing images were cut from the movie.

The director told a story and did it in straightforward fashion, which is a refreshing change from many directors these days who seem to think their job is to impress the audience rather than tell a story and tell it well.

Do not be sucker punched by the previews and ads. It is not a Hitchcockian thriller. See The Night Listener because you want to see a good story told well. If you go expecting Hitchcock you will be disappointed.

My only complaint with the movie was the ending. The director could have left a little more to the audience's imagination, but this is a minor quibble.

Lady in the Water (2006)

A Terrific Movie! The best of the summer flicks CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS

[9/10 · 20 July 2006]

I saw this tonight at a preview. It is the best of the summer flicks so far, and would be the best movie of the year if not for United 93.

From the previews, I was not expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised.

The movie is based on a bedtime story M. Knight Shyamalan made up for his daughters. M enjoys telling modern fairy tales, and this one is a doozy! (note - there is no twist ending) This is his strongest movie since Sixth Sense. I enjoyed Unbreakable and Signs (I didn't see The Village), but neither movie lived up to Sixth Sense. This one didn't either, but only missed by a little.

During several scenes, the entire audience (and the theater was packed) was completely silent, with the exception of a crying infant whose parents mistakenly brought to the theater. This should give you an idea of the involvement of the audience in the movie.

I'm not going to tell you anything about the plot, because I would not want to give anything away.

I found the fairy tale to be contrived, but the way in which M let the story unfold was terrific! In addition, he knows a sense of humor will help along a movie, and several of the scenes (including the very first scene) had the audience laughing out loud! M put himself in the movie in a part which left me wondering if he has had visions of his own future. He was quite good. In fact, the entire cast was terrific, and included outstanding actors such as Tovah Feldshuh, Sarita Choudury, Cindy Cheung, Bob Balaban, and Mary Beth Hurt, among others. oh, and Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of Ron Howard.

Lady in the Water was definitely worth the price of admission plus a large popcorn and medium soda. I would have given it a large soda if M had left a little to the imagination at the end of the movie.

Wordplay (2006)

A terrific little movie!

[9/10 · 22 June 2006]

I saw a preview of Word Play. From some of the PR, I thought it was some sort of thriller, but actually it was a documentary about people who do the New York Times crossword puzzle (well actually crossword puzzles in general but the NYT puzzle seems to be the creme de la creme). and it turned out to be a thriller of sorts! This was a very good movie! Anyone who has ever pulled their hair out over some of the clues in the NYT crossword will enjoy this movie, and be impressed by the puzzle solvers.

Jon Stewart is on hand to provide comic relief.

The movie covers just about everything you ever (or never) wanted to know about crossword puzzles, including bits of history and how the puzzles are made.

The central theme of the movie is a crossword puzzle convention and competition. We go behind the scenes and meet Will Shortz, the NYT crossword puzzle editor, along with several of the contestants and crossword puzzle writers.

who'da thunk Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart, the Indigo Girls, Mike Mussina (pitcher with the Yankees), and Ken Burns (documentary film maker) would share a love of the NYT crossword? This was a very enjoyable movie, and well worth the price of admission.

12 and Holding (2005)

Almost an excellent movie

[9/10 · 14 June 2006]

12 and Holding was wonderful. The direction was some of the sharpest I've ever seen, allowing us to experience the story without having it shoved down our throats. The characters were terrifically drawn, showing the way 12 year olds commit acts without considering consequences. They have a goal, they do whatever they think is necessary to achieve the goal, they do not consider what might happen as a result of the action - this is true to life. Even the parents are seen from the point of view of the kids, namely as non-understanding grown-ups, not necessarily adversaries but not allies either, yet adults in the audience completely understood and related to the actions of the parents.

speaking of the audience - it is rare to have a packed audience totally silent, as was the preview audience in attendance when I saw the movie. In fact, total silence happened many times during the movie, as did collective gasps.

which begs the question - why do I call it an almost excellent movie? One very important pivotal plot development simply did not ring true for me. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER ALERT!!! I did not believe the young girl would steal a gun.

This was unfortunate. On the one hand, this did not spoil the movie for me and I would highly recommend the movie. On the other hand, I wish this particular plot element had not been included. The director and script writer could have found other ways to arrive at the gun's plot element. In fact, it would have been more effective to have a different plot element other than the gun, which surprised no one in the audience.

Otherwise, the movie was excellent.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

see it if you must but only if you must - POSSIBLE SPOILERS

[5/10 · 14 June 2006]

I saw this at a sneak preview. If you like adrenalin fueled racing sequences, this movie is for you.

If you like a movie with terrific dialogue, great performances, and social responsibility, skip it.

most of the dialogue seemed to be taken from junior high school blogs on myspace - 'you and me are alike' - 'you have to find your place in the world' - these aren't exact quotes, but you get the general drift.

In the first two FAF's, we had undercover cops working to right wrongs. In this one, it's simply a kid with angst and then lots of kids in Japan with angst and they get out their angst by racing and wrecking hot expensive cars through the streets of Tokyo with absolutely no regard for anyone else on the road or pedestrians or destruction of property or threatening the lives of bystanders.

I fear we will have a repeat of reckless driving as was inspired by the first two FAF's.

this movie was worth the price of admission, which for me was nothing since it was a free preview.

The Omen (2006)

Surprisingly good!

[9/10 · 5 June 2006]

I saw a sneak preview of The Omen tonight. At first, I couldn't tell if it was going to be a spoof of the original or if it was going to be a serious remake. Audience members were laughing at parts which were supposed to be serious.

and then ...

the entire audience jumped.

and a little while later jumped again.

by the end of the movie, the audience was cheering and totally wrapped up in the movie.

The director did a great job of pulling us in.

Does everyone already know the basic plot? If not, I think it's best if I don't say anything about the plot, so I don't give away anything.

Mia Farrow was great in her role as Damien's nanny. Julia Stiles was the one who was unintentionally funny at the beginning of the movie, or maybe it was intentional, because she ended up pulling off the role quite well.

but the movie belonged to Liev Schreiber. He wisely did not try to do the same as Gregory Peck, and was excellent in the role.

It's worth seeing. Be forewarned - the movie is much more graphic than the original, so don't take the kids.

District B13 (2004)

It's never boring! POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!

[8/10 · 31 May 2006]

It's too bad they didn't outfit the movie theater seats with seat belts, because this movie could have used them.

So the plot is somewhat sparse. It's Paris, in the year 2010, and district B13 is so ridden with crime and drugs, it's been walled off and separated from the rest of the city. One of the residents doesn't like all the crime. He does what he can do change the culture in B13, so it can become peaceful and lawful once again.

oops ... the drug-lord has unbelievable power within B13, even to the point of driving the last police outposts out of the district.

will our hero, who has been thrown in jail, rescue his sister from the drug-lord? Will he become partners with a cop? All of this is little more than a wonderful excuse for enough martial arts action to satisfy the most die-hard Chuck Norris fan and incredible stunts I can only describe as ballet on buildings.

This movie is worth seeing. It's a great summer movie! (warning - don't take the kids!!)

United 93 (2006)

The best movie of the past several years

[10/10 · 26 May 2006]

United 93 is not perfect. I can quibble with the acting and directing, but why bother? This movie grabbed me from the first frame and totally involved me until the last credit rolled and the house lights came up.

Everyone should see this movie.

It's not too early to see it. If anything, it was cathartic and healing.

I can't believe Napoleon Dynamite and My Big Fat Greek Wedding played for over a year, while audiences seem to be overlooking this excellent movie.

The people on the flight are not presented as either heroes or villains. We do not have Darth Vader and Luke, Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. We simply have people, which makes everything more real - the terrorists are truly terrifying, and the people on the flight are truly heroic.

See this movie!!

If it does not win Best Picture of 2006, then there is no justice.

Winter Passing (2005)

Spoilers!! Boring movie, but some good performances

[4/10 · 16 March 2006]

I saw Winter Passing at a preview.

Zooey Deschanel gives a solid performance as Reese Holden, as do Ed Harris (as writer Don Holden, her father) and Amelia Warner (as Shelley, a former student of Holden's), but when the biggest gasp from the audience comes from Rachel Dratch's appearance (as an MC at open mike night at a local bar) you know the movie is in trouble. There's nothing wrong with Rachel Dratch, but she shouldn't be the biggest source of excitement in the movie.

I found the movie to be very boring and unbelievable. I didn't buy Reese's journey from self-destructive, sex crazed coke user at the beginning of the movie to loving daughter at the end.

I absolutely did not buy Will Ferrell's character. He plays Corbit, a former guitarist for a Christian rock band, Punching Pilate. We are supposed to believe he just showed up on the couch one day, and Ed Harris didn't call the cops but rather invited him in. huh?? We don't even know why Ferrell's character wanted to be on Harris' couch. He did get some laughs from the audience, but I found the comedy to be extremely forced.

Some of the dialogue is quite good, however it often rings untrue, especially with the Reese character. I know of no one who talks the way she does sometimes.

For someone who didn't care enough about her mother to attend her mother's funeral, she sure gets upset about her the circumstances around her mother's death.

I must admit, I heard several sniffles from other audience members, so apparently the movie had an effect on some people.

Syriana (2005)

I fell asleep **POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!**

[3/10 · 12 December 2005]

The first time I saw Syriana, I fell asleep. Halfway through the movie, the person I was with leaned over and asked if it made any sense (this was before I fell asleep), and I had to honestly answer it didn't.

I thought I should give it another try, so I saw it again. This time, I didn't fall asleep, and I understood what was going on, but I realized it simply was not a good movie. It was a good story, but the director gave us no time to learn who the characters were, what they were doing, and what their connections were with each other, with the notable exception of the Matt Damon character's family. Even they weren't fully realized characters, however.

The scenes are too short, and the director over-uses the shaky/choppy pseudo-documentary style of camera work which drives me crazy. I can understand the use in certain instances, such as when the characters are walking, but he even used it while shooting a meeting in a board room, where everyone is seated and there is no logical reason for using this annoying technique. I realize this may be a personal preference issue on my part. The director also gives us far too many close ups, denying us the ability to see body language which is all too important in a movie such as this.

The story was good, but the movie was not.

The best scene in the movie was when Matt Damon's character's son jumped into a swimming pool. When he emerged from under the water, the look on the boy's face was priceless.

Walk the Line (2005)

Not a great movie

[3/10 · 22 November 2005]

SPOILER ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVIE!! Walk the Line started out great, with Cash getting ready to perform in Folsom Prison and a palpable sense of growing excitement. Unfortunately, this was the climax of the movie.

Reese Witherspoon shines every time she's on screen. She oozes charisma. Some have complained about her singing, but I thought she was fine. Then again, I'm not a June Carter fan. Unfortunately, while Joaquin Phoenix did a great cardboard cutout of Cash, aping the looks and the moves, he has none of the charisma. He has no spark. The actor who played Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Payne) blew Phoenix off the stage and the screen.

Overlooked in all the undeserved hype about Joaquin Phoenix were excellent jobs by Shelby Lynne as Cash's mom and Robert Patrick as his Dad. Especially impressive was Lynne. She did more simply with a look than all of Phoenix's hysterics combined.

Ginnifer Goodwin also turned in a great performance as Vivian Cash, Johnny's first wife.

Walk the Line was not a bad movie. It's just easily forgettable, boring, and joyless.