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Reviews
Don't Say a Word (2001)
Great potential from both the actor & the director
What a performance from that little actor called Brittany Murphy! As a matter of fact,I have not been liking her ever largely 'cause she always seems half-loose and some kind of a..well,(nothing personal,Brittany.)sl*t. But does she shine in this movie. So believable as one hurt poor soul.
Also the director,Gary Fleder's ability to weave the story out is getting better and better since "Things to do when you're dead in Denver". Still lacking,of course but I'm pretty much looking forward to his next material,really.
Anyway the movie is quite entertaining-maybe because I didn't expect too much from this flick; started with a whimper and ended with a bang. At first I should force myself stuck up in front of the monitor; a regular family guy who's preparing breakfast for his wife & kid is Michael Douglas? Hello!?! Nearly got goose bumps. Besides, what's the point of Oliver Platt's appearance here? His character can definitely be wiped out. Shame to see his talent is getting buried again.
However after some minutes passed and once Douglas is gone out to contact Murphy to save his family;then the fun begins. Moreover, fresh enough to watch the clever little girl here. No crying or whining while abducted. I liked that girl.
Worth the rent and if you're into Murphy,this might be a good buy.
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
I don't know, I just liked it.
I dislike tearjerkers for it makes you feel down,sad and whatever. the cable channel was on, had nothin else to do..and there was Michelle Pfieffer so I just jumped on it. I mean what the heck?
At first..yeah,losing child and screaming,sobbing..there were enough scenes looking very shallow & so predictable. I'll just pass here. But usually,this kinda movies end up finding the kid and that's it. Happily ever after, home sweet home. But this wasn't like that. As last it's happy ending but there were several emotional highs & lows; adjusting each other, starting all over again.
What am I saying here?-it's not a perfect movie. Not even remotely. (heck, is there one?) But for some reason, I liked this movie and every one of the casts here. All actors are pretty good to watch. There are films that aren't good enough-your head tells you so-however,your heart tells 'well,anyway I like this one'. This one is kinda like that. This cannot be explained logically or reasonably. I don't care about the director or writer for this movie. It was all about actors and they made it. And I've seen one young good-looking fella coming here called Jonathan Jackson. Hope to see more of his THIS kind of acting in the future.
Bad Company (2002)
Can't believe Schmacher did this
Should've been much better if this was just plain thriller or action movie. It doesn't have to be comedic. There's no need. This flick has Anthony Hopkins and other actors who look quite serious. If this was just a thriller about a guy who happens to be a CIA agent on behalf of his bereaved twin bro and pays back.With a help of sturdy actor like Sir Hopkins. How's that sound?! Then the lead role could be any new fresh-faced young actors.
I'm SO sorry that this kind of average movie with some cheesy scenes(does he have to learn how to distinguish good wine from bad?) was directed by Joel Schmacher,who once quite a good director("Falling Down" rings a bell? How about "Flatliners"?),and he doesn't seem to get out of big Batman & Robin fiasco. All down hill since then. He'd better get over it fast.
And I personally like Chris Rock-he's quite funny-but sorry,he's just not right for this role. I think he should stick with what he's good at. Plus the woman who's in that Hopkins CIA squad. She's sooo un-CIA; looking so unprofessional with guns, unlike other guy members and also just READs her lines as if she's reading cue cards.
I would have liked this flick if this was directed by some average director and performed by so-so actors. And I have such respect for the actor Anthony Hopkins; but I believe he'd be better off with serious roles in a small movie or tiny but important roles in a big-budget one just like he did in "MI:2" with Tom Cruise.
In the Bedroom (2001)
(a little spoiler) Didn't know it was a Revenge drama!!
Very riveting all the way- also very dark, gloom and slow-paced throughout though.(while this 'slow-paced' is just right for this film so plz don't whine about it,folks.)
I would imagine it was just about tragic family story and wanted to see this film for the sake of the excellent actors-glad to see Marisa Tomei's comeback, by the way.
However, it was much more than I thought. Simply tragic, sad..yeah,it cuts your heart like a knife! I personally go for light-hearted movies thus don't want to see this film again since it's too painful and sometimes frightening to watch this family's or the couple's struggle.
Which means-this movies is THAT realistic. The rural setting is perfect for this story- the chosen actors' performance is by far the best I've seen; most kudos (of course) to Sissy Spacek & Tom Wilkinson.
*spoiler* *Plz don't read the paranthesis if you're planning to see the film.* [At the end, I was deeply surprised that this quiet father got turned into some sort of hitman himself for -I would say- more his wife not his son. Never imagined he's really going to get it done! One of the greatest but also the saddest revenge scene ever.]
At any rate, I cannot say I would recommend this movie to anybody I know or anyone who likes movies. But if you are in serious movies & want to see well-directed, well-acted movie; plus if you have enough guts to swallow all the gritty aspects of this catastrophic story...well, then it'd be not a bad idea if you try this.
Ice Age (2002)
What future 3D animated pictures are supposed to be.
What can I say. I just saw this film today and God, I LOVE it!! Fox people finally got the hang of it; I liked 'Anastasia' pretty much though. I don't understand why 'Ice Age' is NOT in the IMDb #200 list! This should be in it. What are you thinking, people?!? I've seen a lot of animations so far in my life and this is it. 'Shrek'? No way. 'Toy Story 2'? Close but not enough inspiration as this one has. No offense though- I basically like all well-made animations. Probably the FOX image came under a shadow. What if this was made by Disney?-while it is not possible whatsoever. They became too complacent to produce this kind of gem.
Anyhow,"Ice Age" is THE first animated picture that made me laugh a hearty laugh(TRUE!) and also made me naturally sob at the end. I was not forced at all. All the characters are great-they acted very well together. My sis dotes on the baby and the tiger. Denis Leary did a fine job,by the way. John Leguizamo especially. I didn't even know the voice was him!
I got so excited and I don't know if I'm writing this down correctly but PLEASE! Folks who like clean & slick animation and give you laughs&tears, GO SEE THIS! It's a must!!
Most kudos to the writers,the director & animators.
Stuart Little 2 (2002)
First "Little" was better; but..
I *really* expected a lot for this "Little 2" movie since I loved the way they depicted innocent, well-meaning and happy family & their adopted cute little son Stuart the mouse(obviously). Loved Mr&Mrs Little-Geena Davis&Hugh Laurie (they look really chummy, by the way), loved George- Lipnicki and of course,the voice of J.Fox and Nathan Lane. Maybe I liked ('Sixth Sense','Sign' director) M.Night Shamalyn's screenplay better than Bruce Joel Rubin.(No offense.)
For the first half part, this movie was pretty disappointing. It was far from family any longer. It was all about Hollywood action-packed adventure movie. I kept yawning and whispering 'hey..this is gonna be bad~' Moreover, I don't like the way they used POP SONGs in here!! Why didn't they just use Alan Silvestri's scores? That'd be real moving; but Mandy Moore? Celine Dion? Hey I like those gals but please! Even the great song 'Alone again' sounded pretty lame for me.
But after Stuart left for Margalow with Snowbell, then the fun began. You can't think of anything from there. It's really fun,funny,thrilling and touching also. (I won't give out any spoilers here.)
Most of the credits and kudos to Michael J. Fox("Mom! Dad! I'm goin' in!" & "Save yourself!"), James Woods(very scary,let me tell you! My cousine couldn't look at this hawk straight in the eye. Maybe too scary for the kids.), unbelievable Melanie Griffith! I never thought she would make that kinda job. Pretty satisfactory compared to her previous works.
Lastly-Mr.Nathan Lane!! He's the man here. I strongly insist the producers should make 'Snowbell Little' out of this flick. Nathan Lane rocks! He inspires this little white cat into a human being! I will never forget his acting here. He is so~ natural. Of course, Steve Zahn also the greatest. Never let me down both of those guys.
Trivia- I like that little Afro-American boy called Will(George's friend) as well. Very cute("uh..he brought a magazine.")!
So I'm telling you- quite disappointing from the start, very irritating those pop songs;but you'll get rewarded by the last half sequences.
Bandits (2001)
Very disappointing
I saw this movie just because I love actress Cate Blanchette & admire director Barry Levinson. As long as Ms.Cate is concerned, she does fine job-she never disappoints me. Easy on the eye,too.
But I am flustered to understand why Mr.Levinson couldn't revelate this movie a higher place. No, it isn't a normal triangle-romance movie. Anyway, very disappointing quality all the way; in the light of great actors & staff names.
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000)
Real letdown but actors
I did look forward to seeing this film when I first saw the trailer,but very unfortunately,big hope led to a bit disappointment. On the whole,the movie is lame,slow and I had to take a nap to resist til the end! I expected more than this. Not so sure what the director's intentions are through this. Just another woman movie? Too light! However,every cloud has a silver lightning. If you guys are interested in acting or actors,it'd be not that bad. Glenn Close looks very calm&elegant here,Holly Hunter is always great,long-time-no-see Valeria Golino also has her job done. AND my huge star-Amy Brenneman!! She's amazing all the time. Maybe she's not shining like Catherine Zeta-Jones or someone like that;but she does know how to act. Seems like she's getting stuck up in the roles which are needed to be moody,calm,composed,sometimes cold enough to show 'don't-bother' character like the one here, ever since she's made a good impression on the pretty good show "Judging Amy";at present,I still like the way she is ,anyway.Pity that her name was THAT last opening-credited. She deserves better than that,guys!! But Flockhart&Diaz were bad enough to be ignored. Flockhart is just like the same in 'Ally Mcbeal' and Diaz is a blind?!? Surely she could've done better! Either the role didn't go well with her at all or she's done it poorly.