pekjr4 Reviews

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

Fun, but not exciting

[6/10 · 4 July 2007]

Thank God Bruce Willis can act and is credible(still) as an action star. I was disappointed with the movie for a few reasons: 1. Not as "smart" as the first and third installments-more of a formula flick. Think "True Lies" more than "Die Hard." 2. Bad Guy-- ZERO charisma or screen presence when compared to, say, Alan Rickman or Jeremy Irons. Couldn't really hate him. 3. Suspension of disbelief-- In the past, we saw McClane get beat up, drag himself around and still win-- and we could squint and believe. There is one scene in here where the watcher can tell that someone thought they had to add just one more thing to make it exciting-- and instead made it totally unbelievable. No spoilers, but you will know. (and the scene is a cliché' anyway). Fun, no points.

The Legend of Zorro (2005)

light, but in today's movie climate, entertaining

[7/10 · 3 November 2005]

I actually got to see this movie a month ago at the sneak preview in Denver. I got there relatively late so I sat very close to the screen. Now that my eyes have stopped bleeding... Nice little flick. Not too serious, nowhere near any historical accuracy, but a lot of fun. Especially for kids from 10-16. Antonio Banderas has a great sense of timing for comedy, and Catherine Zeta Jones was gorgeous as usual without any real depth in her part. She did get to have some nice action scenes, however. The biggest surprise and bonus was the young actor who portrayed Zorro's son. Adrian Alonso was fantastic. This actor will do well and I certainly hope he gets some good parts down the road. Overall, again, light, not very powerful. A great family movie with some fun action and good scenery(Zeta-Jones). Probably the best thing to see until Harry Potter comes out.

War of the Worlds (2005)

War of the boring...

[2/10 · 23 July 2005]

The only reason that I give this film any stars at all is that the special effects are great. The action, the aliens, the tripods, all look real. Nothing was cartoonish or fakish. However, a movie can't be saved by its looks. Tom Cruise plays, for once, not Tom Cruise. Instead he plays a boorish and unintelligent Tom Cruise. No panache, no style. Not enough attention is payed to Miranda Otto, who was so riveting in "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King". The kids are irritation personified. It's as if Spielberg wanted to show the world how an invasion affected a stereotype of the common family. If this is the common family, we're in trouble. A father who doesn't deliver the necessary skills to his children, or give them expectations to achieve; kids who don't pay attention to authority figures; a crazy Tim Robbins whose character's actions, and final outcome, are pointless to moving us through the story. There wasn't enough horror in this flick. Here we have a filmmaker who has redefined what can be done with film, i.e "Jaws" and "Schindler's List", who has a chance to do it yet again with a classic story of alien invasion, to truly scare us and make us think, and instead, we get tripe. No spoiling here unless I'm not opaque enough, but there is such a cop out, a deus ex machina, in the end of the movie that my impression was that Spielberg mistakenly assumed that the movie was horrific enough for the viewer to that point. I thought "The War of the Worlds" was too long and focused on people we can't really care about because their characters were developed in the wrong directions.

Batman Begins (2005)

Whoa Baby

[9/10 · 23 July 2005]

Okay, Katie Holmes looks like her eyes are going to slide off her face, but everything else in the movie was great. Who would have thought that Micheal Keaton would be supplanted as "the" Batman? Christian Bale was fantastic. He has the build, the brooding brow, the spark of mischief Batman seriously needed. Keaton had it all but the build. Casting is everything in a movie, and obviously they went all out on this one. From Gary Oldman(on the side of the light, this time)and Micheal Caine (who works in any movie and usually makes them better than they were before) to Liam Neeson and even a small part by Ken Watanebe who shined in "The Last Samurai", the cast truly made the movie. (Even Katie). And apparently Katie makes much better choices in work than her boyfriend. The plot was simple, yet elegant. We all know the story of Batman, where he came from, why he does what he does, and his backdrop, Gotham, and the crime within the city. We are given reasons for the crime, another good performance by Linus Roache (Riddick)as Bruce's father, and some great performances by the villains, especially Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow. The plot is simple but seamless. There are beginnings and endings which flow smoothly. The action is great, the cinematography is excellent, with Gothom stark and dark at the same time. Truly a great experience of a long movie which could have been longer.

Fantastic Four (I) (2005)

How do you do a sequel to boring?

[5/10 · 23 July 2005]

I went into this movie with several expectations. 1: a great plot line with some well drawn characters we could care about. 2: excellent action. Duh-- not one, not two, but four superheroes and one of the great comic villains, Doctor Doom? and 3: outstanding visual effects, on a par with Spiderman. Well heck. The characters were okay. I liked Jessica Alba's no nonsense approach to Sue Storm, although she was a bit wooden when needing to be passionate. Ioan Gruffudd was good as Reed Richards. He somehow looks the part. Michael Chiklis performs well and is enjoyable as the Thing. Who is this Chris Evans guy? He was the best thing in the movie. Funny, a great sense of timing, a great sense of expression. He made the most out of his part and you could tell he enjoyed it. However, all the action was in the trailer, and the best performances and lines were too. I could go on and on about the movie's lackluster plot. The need for the characters to acclimatize to new situations was brunted by The Thing's angst over his physical changes, and the changes in his life wrought by his trip into space, disappearing in the matter of a second when his friends needed him to help them fight a boring evil Doom. Did we ever see a vicious plan hatched by Doom to endanger the lives of everyone in the city, or on the planet, or did it just seem like he done before he started? Same thing with the movie. Seemed like it was finished before anything we really could sink our teeth into appeared.

The Island (2005)

A fun ride....

[7/10 · 23 July 2005]

I liked "The Island" quite a bit due for two reasons: a depiction of the future which wasn't too "over the top", which was refreshing, coming from Bay, and that the leads were very effective at portraying their characters. McGregor, from his acting, and Johansson, from her open, fresh expression. There could have been a little more exploration of the cloning question, and I felt the action was, while visually beautiful, mundane. The score was outstanding, the theme beautifully matching the opening to the film. Pity there wasn't more of it. Sean Bean, to those used to his villainous work in "Patriot Games", and "Goldeneye", was a little weak, but due to writing, not his thespian skills. And what's a Micheal Bay or Cohen Brothers movie without Steve Buscemi? His character was relatively weak, with no real motivation behind his actions in the film. Djimon Hounsou has a pretty good part. Nice to see him carry a substantial role. One good reason to see the film: great visuals, good looking people with consistent positive ideals. Pretty to watch.