Change Your Image
jefonline
Reviews
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
10
This movie is living proof that the now-dead Stanley Kubrick left the earth too soon. Full Metal Jacket is the greatest army movie of all time and actors like R. Lee Ermey, Matthew Modine and Vincent D'Onofrio are the perfect additions. What makes this so perfect is that the movie looks at the basic training component of the army life and then produces a pretty good segway into the actual wartime situation. I don't know of any other director that did it that way (it also had its risks because Kubrick had to ensure some kind of transfer to the war scenes). He executed it perfectly but what I like most about it was Modine and his character. He's obviously built for the army life, yet is military occupation is journalist. Gomer Pyle proved his worth with a loaded rifle but he took things a little too far. The other thing about Kubrick's direction is that everything was somewhere between good and perfect. Ermey's character was hilarious in the opening scenes where he's yelling at the recruits and I couldn't think of any other way to open up. But the most interesting part was how he was able to use a little less than half the movie to show what the recruits' life was like on the training base in South Carolina then make the transformation to Vietnam. The only strange thing here is that when the recruits are in Vietnam, Joker moves up to the rank of Sergeant, which is not possible immediately after basic.
I Am Legend (2007)
good acting but...
Good acting but that's about it. I waited until a friend of mine brought home the DVD and I wouldn't have done it any other way. I don't know anything about the I am Legend book but now I don't want to. This movie is more of a psychological thriller than an action flick. I was hoping for something along the lines of Resident Evil or maybe 28 Days Later where is much more action with the zombies and what not. I thought I'd see a lot more of that.
The cinematography was great in some scenes and there is some controversy surrounding the alternate ending on the DVD, but this is not the film to see if you want to see some zombie smack down (like in Resident Evil and 28 Days Later). The director of this movie could have done a little better in some of the scenes where it looked like Will Smith's character (Dr. Neville) was going to get killed.
One in the car after it flipped and another when he and his dog were attacked outside the building. I'm sure there are ways to show what was happening without making it look like the lead character was going to die. Also, there was a lot of jumping back and forth between scenes.
One second, it's Will and his wife, the next it's a bunch of people who are trying to escape, then back to Will all alone. There were several decent explosions and the alternate ending was good and had some narration in it to help you understand Dr. Neville's importance, but this is no academy winner. If it was anyone else other than Smith in the lead role, it would have been a waste of time, but it's still far from his best work.
Wrong Turn (2003)
a couple good actors (out of 6)
Another road trip horror. Everything was pretty good except for the character Carly. I could not stand watching this girl throughout the movie. All she could do was complain and criticize everything, just like a certain friend of mine who just happened to recommend this title to me.
The rest of the cast was pretty good, Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku, especially, both put forth really solid performances and even helped to make up for some of the movie's shortfalls. Carly's character I thought, was nothing short of brutal. For me, that's what sets some of the other road-trip horrors apart from this. The whiny, sulky brunette did little more than whine and complain and even held the rest back when they were fleeing the cannibals. I either would have changed the script around to eliminate some of her lines or replace the actress altogether. Someone had pointed out to me that they wished Carly was the first to bite the biscuit. I couldn't agree more.
There are other movies that this reminds me of due to the nature of the plot (The Hills Have Eyes I and II, The Hitcher, Wolf Creek, and Cabin Fever) The only mistake the director made was with the cannibals laughing so much. It was hard to accept this as a really good horror because the cannibals sounded like a bunch of drunken retards on and off throughout the movie.
If they had kept it more serious, it would have made for a better effect. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a bit of a thrill and get set for some Eliza Dushku. She's another reason why this was easy to watch and it's similar to most other road-trip horrors because it seems that each stars at least one beautiful woman (Dushku, Jessica Stroup in THHE II, Vinessa Shaw in THHE I, Sophia Bush in The Hitcher remake). Even the Texas Chainsaw Massacre had Jessica Biel in the first remake and Jordana Brewster in the follow up.
The other strength of Wrong Turn was a solid soudtrack. Dushku was so good in Wrong Turn that the DVD has a special feature solely on her, and maybe a little on her looks too. I loved how the DVD cover just barely captured the bottom of her navel. I should rent Tru Calling now.
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
uh oh
I'm not too sure what happened with this movie but I don't think it was as good as the first one, and was equally as 'weird' as the 2nd. I do think that this trilogy is an example of what happens when a director takes on a project and another director tries to do a sequel to it.
It's the same story with the 2 remakes of The Hills Have Eyes. In that case the guy who did the first apparently backed out of the 2nd one. In the case of Resident Evil, it's pretty much the same story. Paul WS Anderson did a pretty good job of the 1st movie, but the 2nd, directed by someone else, wasn't nearly as entertaining.
This one, the 3rd installment, proved to be borderline disaster, especially with some of the dialog, was bad at times, survived only by a few good scenes (death scene near the end with the red lasers). I also noticed that the 3rd one took a few scenes from the original, and I'm not too sure if I liked that.
Milla Jovovich looked stunning as normal, but now I am hoping she can talk Paul WS Anderson into coming back for the 4th. I really liked the last death in the movie where the zombie was sliced by the intertwined lasers but that was one of the few bright spots. I really think that to make Resident Evil Degeneration any better, you need the movies' original director, Paul WS Anderson. The other thing I liked about it is the last couple camera shots tell you there is going to be a 4th.
I find it hard not to get hooked on the story, though. I really thought the 1st movie was good enough to buy the DVD but thought they took some steps backwards with the 2nd and this one.
Disturbia (2007)
good debut for labeouf
This is one of those movies that you watch mostly because you either a) have heard good things about, or b) there's nothing else on. This is also one of those movies that you find yourself staying up until 3 am because it's that good. It came on at 1:15am and I thought i'd stay up watch it until I got bored. I didn't get bored. 2 things: Shia LaBeof and the beautiful Sarah Roemer made it worth watching. Both are good actors and the latter is a complete knockout. I believe I caught this one on its movie network premier and it isn't scheduled to be on again this weekend so it was worth the watch. So i would recommend it because the direct DJ did everything to make a half decent horror movie and mix it with some sex appeal. Usually that is a big no-no, but he pulled it off.
Behind Enemy Lines (2001)
proof Owen Wilson can act
I've had this title on DVD for quite some time so it was just a matter of getting around to watching it again. I'm starting to see here just how much of a challenge it is to make a movie and not make some type of mistake in the process. I've got more respect for Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman than before. Hackman was pretty good in Crimson Tide but I thought he was even better in Behind Enemy Lines. I really liked how he stayed by one of his men even though the man (Wilson) did something he wasn't supposed to do and that's fly over enemy territory. There wasn't even much that should have been re-done or corrected. I'm not sure how Wilson switched uniforms with a Bosnian soldier at the end. When the 'victim' was shown to the Bosnian General near the end, it was revealed that the victim had a stamp on his hand which proved that he was not American. Meanwhile Wilson was able to escape and eventually set himself up for rescue. One thing I like about Wilson is that he is proved at playing all sorts of different roles. Among them are: Wedding Crashers, BEL, Starsky and Hutch, Shanghai Knights and Zoolander, You, Me and Dupree, The Big Bounce, I Spy. He strikes me as one of those guys who can be involved in a movie about just about anything. If you haven't seen BELs yet and can appreciate Wilson as an actor, you should definitely enjoy this one.
Civic Duty (2006)
needed some more action
Not too bad but could have been better, although it did a pretty good job showing what may have actually happened shortly after 9/11. This movie did a pretty good job making you think that Terry was actually going to kill Mr. Hassan near the end and you kind of feel sorry for the poor guy because you know he isn't associated with any terrorist group. The thing that was most interesting is that Terry is shown going through all the guy's personal items hoping to find something that may connect him to an extremist group. It could have been a bit better I just don't know how, but the Arab kid did good job. It's one of the few post-9/11 movies that uses somewhat known actors and actresses in the cast.
United 93 (2006)
powerful
This movie was well done but wouldn't say it was great. The filmmaker did a pretty good job but one big thing he forgot to include were the subtitles for the hijackers once they had taken over the plane's cockpit. It doesn't have as powerful affect for viewers who don't understand Saudi or Iraqi language.
The one thing I really liked was that director Paul Greengrass really got things going in a hurry without much delay. I thought it was good to have the movie begin in the terrorists' hotel room at 05:35 and show pretty much their every move.
It's hard to imagine what actually took place on Sept.11 on that aircraft, but it's crazy to imagine the hijacker with the bomb standing in front of the entire cabin for half an hour waiting for something to happen. If the hijackers took over the plane at roughly the same time the WTC planes were hijacked, that means the passengers aboard Flight 93 would have had that much more time to organize their revolt. I would think that even a skilled hijacker would have been able to get the job done even if he had less time to work with than they may have planned for. I guess my thought is that if the other 3 planes hit their target, and this one didn't, could it be possible that Flight 93's hijackers weren't as efficient as the others were?
In turn, what if the other 3 planes involved in the attacks were delayed by 20-30 minutes, would they have been thwarted too?
The thing I didn't like was that some parts were unrealistic. Even though it was clear that it was fake, how did the one hijacker get onto the plane with a bomb? Doesn't that say something about America's security at the airport? Even though it was fake, it's hard to believe the guy still got on without question. I also would have thought that the hijackers would have started killing anyone who did anything suspicious, such as placing a call on a cell phone. According to this movie, when the plane hit the ground, many passengers were still alive. It makes me wonder if the 3 other groups of hijackers actually killed the passengers before they crashed into the WTC and the Pentagon? If the Flight 93 hijackers had started killing passengers, they may have been able to stay on their mission. it kind of tells me that the Flight 93 hijackers were probably quite nervous and as the movie went on, it looked like it was obvious they were losing control.
Other than the lack of subtitles for the hijackers, the film was well done and I liked how the camera was focused on the ground in the last seconds of the flight.
Because of the plane's long delay in takeoff, it's been brought up that if the flight actually took off on time, the terrorists may have been able to take control earlier than they did, and thus, crash the plane on target. I thought that was kind of interesting because after they took control of the cockpit, one hijacker asked the leader why they waited so long? The reply was that he was waiting for the right time. If the flight hadn't been delayed, things may have gone accordingly for them, as they took over the plane's controls after the WTC had already been hit, meaning that Flight 93 fell behind because of the delay in takeoff. If they departed on time, they likely would have crashed in Washington, DC instead. If director Greengrass was able to find a way to highlight that scene a little more, it may have made for an even more powerful ending.
Everything in the film seemed pretty realistic so it was easy to relate to the feeling onboard once the hijackers took over. It also made me wonder if there are any other movies, besides World Trade Centre, that tell the story from the victims' point of view.
Crimson Tide (1995)
really well done
I thought this movie was really well done because mostly due to the ending. Shortly into the plot, you can tell that the CO and the XO are not going to get along very well (especially when the CO announces over the speaker system that the XO is 'worried' that the crew members might be 'on the edge.' But the thing about the movie that was really good was the ending and mostly because it didn't go the way I thought it would. I also couldn't believe how many actors turned down roles in this film (Pitt, Pacino and Val Kilmer). The other thing was the idea of mutiny amongst the crew. I don't think there's many army/military movies which show 2 of the leaders fighting each other, even though it wasn't really physical.
World Trade Center (2006)
spectacular
Because of the sensitivity of the subject, this is one of those films that would either be a) a surefire Oscar-winner, or b) a complete screw-up on the director's part. Because of some absolutely phenomenal camera shots this movie was a lot better than I expected. Acting was the same. Nicolas Cage and Maria Bello did not disappoint. He's a top-notch actor and she is the same. The fact that the first plane crash came less than 20 minutes into the movie is what did it. Where some directors decide to take forever to get into the details, this guy got right into it. Everything in this movie looked so real, it was almost easy to imagine being in NYC that Tuesday morning. Like I said before WTC was something that was going to be either a complete masterpiece, or a complete waste of time. The only part that was kind of hard to believe was that Michael Shannon's character was one of only 2 people who got the idea to go on a night search...where was everybody else who survived to live past the afternoon? The plane crashes in this were somewhat amazing too. How did the directors manage to pull off a similar effect??
The Hills Have Eyes II (2007)
not as good as 1st one
Things were pretty good in the sequel but the director was going to have to work twice as hard to come up with something better than the 1st one: 1st-about half of this movie takes place in the mines where it's had for the characters to see what is about to happen to them, and twice as hard for us to see what's going to happen to them. In the 1st movie, parts were shot at night, but not the entire 2nd half of the film. It was pretty entertaining right up until Missy was carried off, from that point on, you can't see anything-major flaw. 2nd thing: the director should have made an attempt to achieve some continuity between the 2 movies. Although it's a different director, he should have tried to establish some connection between them rather than have 2 movies that focus on the exact same subject ( a family of savage cannibals) but are 2 completely different stories. I would have tried to get 1 of 2 of the survivors from the 1st movie and throw them in the army trainees featured in the sequel.
JESSICA STROUP message board!!
She is one of those actresses that just seems to have it. I saw her for the 1st time in the Hills sequel. She is gorgeous. She looks completely natural. I looked her up and saw she has only been in about 4 movies. I have trouble believing that a young woman that good looking has only signed onto a few films. Hopefully that number will start to grow.
Rudy (1993)
good, very good
You don't have to be a Notre Dame fan, or even a football fan to like this movie, although it certainly makes it more fun to watch. This one gave me a good look at the impact that this particular school has (or had) when it comes to football in the United States. It's kind of hard to believe that all this actually happened at South Bend way back in 1975. Does that mean that it never happened anywhere else at all in history? That's kind of off-topic here, but it was good to watch nonetheless. This movie shows you what can happen when you decide you want to do something bad enough and all the (*fun stuff*) you sometimes have to go through to get there. I though Sean Astin did a stellar job in the lead role, he was a little weird here and there, but I think one of the interesting points about this movie is that in South Bend (and a lot of other US cities), football takes precedence over just about everything. I was also surprised to see Vince Vaughn's name in the credits as I definitely did not recognize him in the scrimmage scene. These players aren't professionals, even though some do make it that far, I thought Rudy did a good job shedding some light on how the sport of football rises to the top in terms on national pastimes in the nation. Also, it would have been cool to have actually been there to see the real Rudy make that sack and get carried off the field, but I'm not that old! The one thing I might have changed in this movie was to make the score within a TD or a FG vs. Georgia Tech and put Rudy in on 3rd or 4th down (even if that isn't the way it actually happened). I recommend that anyone liking a good sports story take the time to watch this and if you happen to be a fan of the Fighting Irish then you march over to your local video store and dish out the $20 to bring it home and watch it over and over and over again!
The Paper (1994)
The paper does deliver
Kudos to my fellow Canadian from Manitoba who got it dead on! This is one of those movies that can should be played during college and university recruiting presentations. Being a newspaper journalist myself, this one kept me up until 2 or 2 in the am on a Sunday night. It was that good. The end of the movie makes it all worthwhile. I am surprised I had never heard of this movie until the day I saw it. Mchael Keaton, Glenn Close and Randy Quaid were excellent and this movie gives you a very good look at what it's like to be working in the newspaper business, with deadlines, dealing with superiors and the things you have to go through sometimes in order to get the job done. I guess it's a little late to be wondering about a sequel to this one but hopefully another director can take a stab at creating what this one just did.
One Hour Photo (2002)
creepy!!
I saw this for the 2nd time last night and it changed my mind. First, I thought it was another really good Robin Williams flick, but the 2nd time I saw it, it was confusing, weird and did a really good job making Williams look really creepy. I actually wondered why an actor like him would be inclined to even accept the role? The director did a good job making this guy seem like the biggest loner. When he got fired from his job at the SavMart, what was he dumping into the bin when he was paged over the intercom? and how did he find out his boss' address in order to take pictures of his daughter playing with a toy? Also, how did he find out Mr. Yorkin was staying in that hotel room getting ready to do the redhead? Couple thing I didn't understand? Also, his escape from the hotel was horrible! As soon as he saw that security guard at the front, he got scared.
Wolf Creek (2005)
good good
The tagline a little misleading when it says it's based on a true story. The true story is not about 3 twentysomethings hiking through the outback, but anyways... Everything in this movie was pretty well done except for one thing, the psycho. Listening to him talk with a heavy Aussie accent was the hardest part. The plot got going quickly which was good and then when they pull up to Wolf Creek, you know something is going to happen soon. They make it to the crater and back and when the girl tries to start the car, that's when the movie really takes off. I didn't like the killer too much, I thought he needed to be a little more like the wacko from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This dude (John Jarratt) was psycho right from the start, it was almost like he was drunk or something, because he was so helpful to these complete strangers. It was late at night when the psycho found them in their car and brought them back to his camp which was like 2 hours away from the crater (he originally told them that he was 'just down the road.' Anyways, when they got back, they sat around a campfire while the psycho gave them each a glass of something that looked like water, but definitely was not... The next morning, he had one of the girls tied up in his garage, one had her arms and ankles tied together, while the guy was hung from a wall by his arms. One of the best attributes of this is the camera-work. The scene of the 2 girls clinging to the edge of the cliff late at night with Taylor standing at the edge, looked very intense. The thing I didn't like was Taylor himself because his accent was so heavy. It was like watching Paul Hogan try to humour someone before killing them???
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
damn good movie
I saw this movie last weekend and still can't get over how good it is. Almost makes me want to rent the DVD just to see the extras. What was so good about this one is that the plot gets going right away, no messing around for half an hour. And nothing in this movie appears fake or unnecessary. Once the family to the gas station, I thought they were done right there because the old dude there seemed a bit off. But once the man gave Doug and his family a shortcut to get to California by taking a side road in the desert of New Mexico, that's when I knew they were done like dinner. Everything else was just brilliant, few flops here and there, but well done nonetheless. March 06 The one other thing about this movie is that it pokes fun at the US near the end in the house when the US anthem is being played. Alexander Aja did an awesome job here shedding some light on what the government did between 1945-62. The one thing I couldn't figure out was the scene back at the camp when the antenna started moving around. Apparently it was supposed to be a distress signal from young guy to Bobby, but can't tell for sure. Was the guy's left hand figures chopped off in the fight in the house? According to wikipedia, he lost 2 fingers, but by the final fight, they appeared to be reattached (it was hard to tell because they were also taped up). I still think that the sequel should have picked up where this one left off because the ending here was absolutely brilliant. March 8 My idiot friend thinks it was a bad idea to have Doug not kill the young girl mutant at the end because he thinks the audience would love to see the unexpected twist ha. and when Bobby found the mutant consuming his mother's remains, instead of running away, should have taken aim and shot him??? March 10..the other thing that might have made this film even better is a slightly improved score. There were several scenes (when Doug goes off looking for help) when they could used audio with a more intense, frightening sound, something like a Marylin Manson or a Ministry guitar track.
Cabin Fever (2002)
Read this if you plan to see Cabin Fever
This is one of those movies that either a) never should have been made, or b) be completely redone. To its credit however, it did get off to a pretty good start. That's what kept me watching...a bunch of friends huddled around a campfire in the middle of the woods, that was a good start. Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there. The part where it lost me was when the guy originally shot by Bert came to the cabin looking for help...there was something about that scene that just did not click. One of the worst parts was when Bert fixed the truck and drove off on his own after Karen's blood splattered on the windshield. Really poorly done. The little kid at the gas station yelling 'pancakes' was just plain freaky and the kid's dad was just psycho. The other thing I didn't like was that there was no sign at all where the flesh-eating virus started. There was the hobo in the woods, but that didn't suggest an unstoppable virus. The ending was also pretty bad, although it might be seen as a foreshadowing to what i heard will be a sequel. When Marcy realizes everyone is dying, including herself, she starts shaving her legs and revealing the virus effects. That was like the director's horribly attempt at putting a sexy spin on things. Also, I saw this movie shortly after seeing The Hills Have Eyes, which I'm still amazed how well done that one was, so my expectations were pretty high for this one.