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Film
Prophet's Movie Reviews Page 3
Traffic (2000)
Starring Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Don
Cheadle, Erika Christensen
Film Prophet's Review...
An enormous, tremendous casting decision as Film Prophet was invested in
their characters during the clever psychosomatic undertones. The whole
cast is among the best and deepest of all-time who were allowed to
develop down to the supporting cast with likes of Dennis Quaid, Miguel
Ferrer, James Brolin, Albert Finney, Topher Grace, Salma Hayek, Benjamin
Bratt, and Luis Guzman. Nothing short of brilliantly direction by Steven
Soderberg with depth and mildly suspended with music and outstanding
sound effects as Film Prophet was expressively motivated. Written
superbly to the screen, the plot has several stories of dealers,
abusers, narcotics officers, and the law enforcement who pursue each
other under the American government. There are three comprehensive
subplots from political to family components between the cross-section
of the drug trade. The story infiltrates aspects of its society's war of
drugs that remains terrific and conspicuous. Dealt with temptations of money and
power, a Mexican man resists them, but he is caught in a web of
corruption that leads to an untenable situation. Back in the states, an
Ohio State Supreme Court Justice is named the new anti-drug czar by the
president. Collecting information, the uncompromising Justice prepares
to supervise the country's task force and partner them with Mexico's.
Third, in San Diego, two undercover DEA agents work overtime to bust a
midlevel drug trafficker who gets paid off when their new prisoner cuts
a deal to testify against a wealthy drug dealer. The dealer is arrested,
shocking his pregnant wife. She and her son are quickly threatened by
her husband's associates and tailed by the DEA agents resulting in gun
violence and explosions. She vows to keep her children safe and to get
her husband out of jail. Fine details and profundity in the script and
if read, it may be puzzling, but on screen, it's golden. The point is
that there will always be problems with drugs with an economically high
demand on them as there is no cure for abuser's addiction that will not
go away and not everyone will be clean from them. In an impossible duty
the Justice had, played by Douglas, he aimed to limit drug usage as he
struggles to keep his adolescent daughter who experiments with drugs on
the straight and narrow path. The film is opened on a bright, peach
color that shifts to a dark blue all done by the cinematographer
representing the change of language, nation, and drug-based scenes. The
rate of the timing was seamless like the camera angles as there were a
gathering of strong, intense, heavy, and chilling cinematic moments.
Final Grade: A
Spanglish (2004)
Starring Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni, Paz Vega, Cloris Leachman, Shelbie
Bruce, Sarah Steele
Film Prophet's Review...
In a discovery of cultural values, two different cultures are combined
as the story sees how far they are apart. Foremost, the family in
America is coming apart in complexity as the wife at the home, Leoni,
hires a native Mexican woman Flor, Vega, who speaks little English from
Mexico to be the housekeeper for the family. Her golden child daughter
briskly narrates it as her father left her mother as she is the only
person there for her and keeps a close eye on her as they enter America
for her job. Of all of the horrifying pitfalls she worried about in this
new American culture, Flor never thought of being the peril of a truly
embraced American family. That's all for the plot including a few
segments here and there dealing with enduring parenting struggles on how
to be a fine parent and a difficulty of understanding each other's
foreign language. Given that, the movie puts the viewer at the level of
the English speaker who can't understand the Flor at first glimpse, and
vice-versa. All of the female performances were evenly exposed as
splendid as can be in a James L. Brooks directed film from Tea Leoni to
the two separate daughters in their first ever movie. Brooks adds a
variety of attributes to his characters that don't necessarily blend in
with each other. Leoni's character is a hurried, cautious woman who is
not mad as she says she is energetic. She's enthusiastic, but panicky
about minor things. Her daughter is a bit similar as she is afraid to
look too big in clothes she refuses to try on. Much needed masculinity
to the film is provided by Adam Sandler in a lesser-comedy role than
usual. He is a chef anxious about his food critics and surprised of
Flor's entrance into his home. The relationship with Vega and Sandler
came off nicely on screen as Sandler was warm and sensitive.
Nevertheless, the major initiative is parenthood and sharing without
interfering in this soft, gentle family drama.
Final Grade: B-/C+
Meet the Fockers (2004)
Starring Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand,
Teri Polo, Blythe Danner
Film Prophet's Review...
The sequel to Meet the Parents adjusts to the additions of Hoffman and
Streisand as Stiller's parents in the story. Prior to the wedding of
Greg, Stiller, and Pam, Polo, their two families will meet for the first
time on one weekend. Greg Focker and Pam Byrnes think everything was
just fine when Greg won over Pam's parents, played by De Niro and
Danner, until it's time for her parents to meet Greg's parents, the
Fockers. The hyper-relaxed Fockers who are Hoffman as a retired lawyer
who and who had the most stirring, funny performance and Streisand as a
sexual therapist, and the securely wound Byneses are unjust from the
opening. The first few minutes reminded me of all the characters and
attributes such as the male nursing profession and Greg's Gaylord Focker
name. He is still nervous and panic with signs of worrying of impressing
Pam's parents and hopes everything goes just right, but he gets stuck in
irrational situations that mortify him. De Niro lacks trust in his
Circle of Trust with others and still speaks in outlandish metaphors.
The ideas of matter from Meet the Parents follow over to this movie on
behalf of occurrences like when something embarrassing of Greg's past is
revealed or when some new information is told, it could possibly tear
Greg and Pam apart. The script added a baby nephew who De Niro is trying
to raise flawlessly and a pet dog that humps anything that moves...
literally. There are plenty of female breasts and sexual positions... I
can think of four scenes at the moment where this logic is used. At
present are too many sexually-oriented jokes as if almost everything
submitted to had something to do with sexual characteristics in
all-purpose. The camera then does a close-up shot of the little nephew
who can't speak yet, but has terrific sight and comprehension of what's
going on. Uncomfortable parents may be at unease at letting their
children watch this due to all the horny conflicts displayed. It matches
the same quality of laughter as it's precursor... perhaps a little less.
Final Grade: B-/B
The Killing (1956)
Starring Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gay, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen, Joe
Sawyer
Film Prophet's Review...
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, a robbery at a horse rack track occurs
organized by a man who got out of prison after five years and he needs
cash. All the guys he gets are criminals with jobs and they confront
their wives in apartments about leaving to meet with them not without
asking confirmation and permission first. They devise and execute an
accurate, complex racetrack robbery, but inner tensions and fate works
against them. The direction by Kubrick doesn't fall under his elite
films, but nevertheless, he uses a number of key essentials. Some scenes
are in synchronic flashbacks with a narrating voice to tell us the
occasion and time. The first few scenes initiate suspicion off wandering
looks as he strives on balancing his effects into beauty while observing
the camera panning across some lit interior rooms. The suspense in the
movie didn't come from the story; rather the blasting percussion music
as if something big will happen hyping the upcoming scene. Film Prophet
put in the interest, but got little out of it until the end. The guys
made distractions and they work in their plans, but there are other
distractions in the movie itself. The main problem is with the one on
one conversations with the wives in their apartments. It's very
pointless and doesn't put any buildup on what to expect. All the
actresses didn't have commanding voices to take me into the conversation
and the facial expressions the men have from what the wife says are
non-expressing off the uninteresting talk. For example, "Why did you
come over there... It was for the reason you said... Don't put words in
my mouth... Will you always love me?" The effortless acting was as thick
as a tire and the tough fast talk didn't help. Quit the nonsense Kubrick
and begin the plot already... no excitement and too much unnecessary
dialogue that made most of it ineffective. As the story moves forward,
they begin to steal the gambler's money at the track during the race
using some techniques with a mask and hiding a shotgun in a narrow box
of flowers. The music starts up again with narration after plans are
executed, but disappointingly goes back to more wife talk. They worry,
but with faith, as it adds a painful romantic element to watch. The
movie finishes with a superb ending that got me surprised with the shot
of a briefcase mistakenly opening and the exact final frame in the movie
that would have made me fast forward the whole movie to the end. If the
beginning got rid of most of the wife talk and was much more like the
last half hour, it would have been a different outcome.
Final Grade: C+/B-
Ikiru (1952)
Starring Takashi Shimura, Shinichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, Minoru Chiaki,
Miki Odagiri, Yunosuke Ito
Film Prophet's Review...
Directed by Akira Kurosawa, life is short during grief, humanity, and
grace for a melancholy civil servant who learns that he has terminal
stomach cancer and realizes he has nothing to show for his unsatisfying
life so it is pointless to improve one's self for the future if none
exist. Committed to his job, he doesn't take time off at his bureaucrat
position and absorbs the news of cancer in a nervous stressful way.
Though, keeping a quiet behavior about his illness to others, he comes
in contact with his son and his son's wife who don't have a great
relationship with him. The guy is upset and scared while suffering as it
shows a deep personal conviction. The story is compelling and told in a
varied perspective, though the narration comes from the central
character. Film Prophet did something by turning off the entire sound to
mute on most of the movie's segments and read the subtitles and watch
the actions. Since I can't interpret Japanese and the context is below,
I can still get a perfect idea of what is going on. Some other times I
peaked at the sound to get a sense of the background music and the tone
of voices. This was to test's Akira's masterful work. Without the sound,
I had to put more into the movie and focus harder on the story and
characters. Akira is defined through his respected movies. His films
generally fall in the same grade range because of the consistency of not
having a bad film. He knows how to fill up space on the screen with
extras or set designs in the background to draw our eyes closer on the
significance in front. He uses fluid camera work with some great shots
and pans such where there's a dislocation with the guy's father in
flashback on a train with him on as it is moving in an endless fashion
separating the two, which means little to him now. The guy is gentle,
but with anxiety of death. Vulnerable characters need protection and the
woman he meets impacts excitement and enthusiasm with importance in many
ways. There is a lot to learn, but the movie drags in pace a bit and the
dialogue at times leaves the viewer out of the movie for a while. There
are contractual moments of depression and the principles fall apart past
the middle under the shift of co-worker's interest of his cancer and the
viewer loses its sympathy as the person once had before and ends it as a
special moment expressing life at peace.
Final Grade: B
Super Troopers (2001)
Starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Erik Stolhanske, Kevin Heffernan, Marisa
Coughlan, Steve Lemme, Brian Cox
Film Prophet's Review...
Long yawns, stunted laughs. It's between the local state police office
against the smart-aleck highway patrol who like to have fun on the roads
with goofy communications and chases. The state decides to cut back on
expenditure and because of this, the highway patrolmen are going to lose
their jobs unless they give the state a fine reason to keep them. To do
so, they compete for action farce to keep their jobs against the local
cops. The movie doesn't get enough attention because of the limited
theater play in the past and a cast that has no recognizable names
probably because smart top performers realize the roles aren't
appropriate. Actually, the cast isn't really staring, but just
appearing. It's a quaint comedy that's difficult to please; not much of
a plot to it other than what's mentioned. In fact, there is no plot.
What the movie does accomplish was absolutely nothing at all. Film
Prophet honesty doesn't care for their pranks or what possess those cops
to fool around. It's absurd. The movie would be more suitable for an
audience who isn't sober at the moment so they can laugh cheaply at some
uproarious, but moderate to most, scenes. The locals tend to beat the
patrol to operations such as drug smuggling and a murder, which starts
the mess. There is a lot of animal abuse, random fights break out of no
where with terrible choreography. The troopers had wacky routines which
include hosing men down, acting abusive for no reason... not to mention
the acting was tiresome saying the evident obvious facts which end up
being predictable. It is concentrated on those individuals who laugh too
much at their own actions and the viewer won't comprehend why zilch is
funny, but they can only guess they are always stoned. My knowledge was
disintegrating while watching this film... a bunch of morons in a
non-existing story without characterization. Even the serious parts are
boring as I was anticipating the next gag, although, it comes down in
exhaust during its pointless humor.
Final Grade: D
Birth (2004)
Starring Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny Huston, Lauren Bacall,
Anne Heche
Film Prophet's Review...
The movie tells the story of a thirty-five year old woman, Kidman, into
whose life comes infatuated by a ten year old boy, Bright, who claims to
be her dead husband. A bold movie that creates an eerie feeling of
mourning, unpleasantly excited, and second wishes during its primary
focal point on its controversial crash of a near affair between a woman
and a boy. The director kept focusing the idea of Nicole struggling with
the idea that the boy is her dead husband, but it never stops. She is
about to get married to another man, but the boy tells her not to marry
him, which results in a long delay of film space. Still grieving, she
can not let go of her dead husband, even after ten years have gone by
and this makes her family way upset. Through the balance of delicacy and
wondering, the importance of dialogue wasn't present. Kidman hardly
spoke normally as she sounded like she was whispering through the whole
film, just like Bright. Nevertheless, Kidman was the only sparkle in the
mess. The screen write could have set this story up much better because
there were plenty of dull scenes. The art direction was so miserable.
Disaster begins at the start with low scenery looks of basically nothing
by means of slow, zoomed out captures of a quiet setting. The camera
work and editing were just awful... pathetic. Moments didn't last or
dawn on me since the story wasn't properly established with any
committing power or attention or a reason to care, except for the times
Bright calmly talks to her relatives for proof he is him where he shows
his clear memory. It is too hard to digest, especially the last twenty
minutes. A guideline is that in order for a person to like something, he
or she must understand the something first. The ending was weird,
inadequate, and puzzling that tries to bring us closer to the
characters, but not really as it looks ambiguous. Film Prophet's
expertise on how to make a great film decreased while watching this
terrible quality film.
Final Grade: D/C-
Closer (2004)
Starring Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen
Film Prophet's Review...
Director Mike Nichols treats the film on a problematic subject of
romantic affairs that factors in with sexual relationships. Take in a
coarsening subject and presuming it to maturity, there are two mixed
couples. They all get closer and the movie gets closer to successfully
setting up the film. The cast above are the only four who basically had
lines; I'd say at least ninety-five percent of the film. Damien Rice's
great song, The Blower's Daughter, matches somewhat with an intriguing
look into the lives of four sexually charged people. They make daily
conversations seem interesting with their not so important lives.
However, when they are combined into one plot, it's different because
with only one of the characters, this movie wouldn't evolve the same. It
starts out with a low key tone on movement from the beginning scene in a
bad music video like Hoobastank's The Reason. Then, it goes right under
way with the discussions of the two most important characters who set up
the rest played by Law and Portman. Law is a novelist and he starts with
a little fun on the Internet pretending to be some sex-crazed woman in a
chat room. He also has this thing about people smoking because its how
his mother died so he tests the person he meets if he or she smokes and
yet he pulls one out a number of times and starts smoking. Portman is a
stripper under a different spotlight than usual hidden behind a true
identity. Attraction seems so easy for Law, as they get acquainted
rather quickly soon judging each other after they meet Roberts and
Owen's characters. Roberts is a professional photographer whose photos
are displayed for artistic viewing pleasure. Owen is a dermatologist and
was on the opposite end in the chat room with Law and uses graphical
language and the viewers would think its a porno. However, it was most
graphic by its language. Seeming desperate for sex, each one of them has
a relationship with each other, totaling to six scenarios... viewers can
see where this is heading into... consequences emerge from failing
affairs and lies to true commitment. When time changes in the film,
books are published as if the movie was a book itself written by Law as
the movie is synchronized with it while characters get married, and
partners change. The erotic pairs goes through grace plagued by
dishonesty with a quartet going through sex and lies to betrayal in a
dramatic template. Themes are told across the film from smoking and
strangers to respecting fish and having forgiveness. Commanding and
witty, they were obsessed to know every little detail of what happened
when they cheated. None really stole a steal as they equally acted
opposite each other. Surprisingly, Clive Owen had the most engaging
performance because most everything he said was so humorous, especially
his talk in a private room with Portman, and it's all based off his
sexual perception and asking so many perverted questions. Film Prophet
sees a deserving supporting Oscar nod. Strangely, the movie seldom
resorts to any physical violence or visual sex.
Final Grade: B/B+
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Matt Damon,
Don Cheadle, Julia Roberts
Film Prophet's Review...
Stylish... the movie had lots of its unique style and then some. The
guys have settled in their lives until they go outing Europe in style to
pay off mob boss Andy Garcia, former Casino owner who was robbed in a
neat fashion before, by a certain deadline. They didn't just want to say
no to him. They're too cool to say no so they head to Europe to steal
close to a hundred million dollars in three locations in Rome, Berlin,
and London. This movie contains stories of many characters, mixed in a
situation with parallel relationships that were fun. It's exciting
because the police are not logic to capture the guys until they are
found and ordered to do so from Catherine's character as she plays a
European detective whose ex is Pitt's character and not even Ocean's
members can digest that. The first movie had the cast to pull if off,
which made it cooler than movies with a plot alike it. This one, the
cast remained as strong as it once was and brought in Catherine and some
others as well. I mention style because their dress was prosperous and
affluent. Catherine's wardrobe always altered by scene into something
stunning and Pitt's clothes were impressive as usual. Besides the dress,
the movie grasped attention with its pounding classical, riveting
musical score. The plot was elapsing time showing before what happened
after the event occurs to make the pace of the movie fallback on what
the viewer once saw, but then was explained better and if the guys knew
all long. The movie tricks its viewers with this. The guys do research
before they steal and it's as swift as the dialogue, but it's blown in
the end by unknown rivals. Part of the plan kept changing by minute. It
doesn't give much away as some the viewers would expect to see what
happened last time where they had a major casino bust, but it denies
that to jokes and greed with little parts with staggers like a surprise
celebrity appearance still kept a secret so far counter flicking with
Robert's alter-ego in the film. The movie does overload with a lot of
information and characters, though, it still sets out the importance
that they are thieves as the main cast. Matt Damon had the most comedy
relief by his character and wants to do more than last time. For
example, he sits around a table in a restaurant and tries to speak in
silly metaphors because it seems he's forced to impressive a person,
which received the best laugh. Film Prophet consents with the
cinematography of the film and notices the use of the camera as when
there was an object in a way of what the viewers can't see in the
picture, it blinds them. There are also a few scenes such in the hotel
room where there is a significant amount of golden sunlight color
flashing its silhouette in gloom. The story seals the film with a stamp
of closing enjoyment by mostly... the entire cast.
Final Grade: A-/B+
Alexander (2004)
Starring Colin Farrell, Jared Leto, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony
Hopkins, Rosario Dawson
Film Prophet's Review...
Alexander, Farrell, becomes the King of Macedonia and leads his Greek
legions against the giant Persian Empire. After defeating the Persians,
he keeps going across the known world venturing further than any
Westerner had ever gone before. From a strong-willed young boy to a
grown young man and no matter how much power he acquires, he still is
nagged on by his mother, Jolie, whose age apparently looks around the
same ballpark, by speeches and concerns about him being so great with
expectations of risking all. Except, the movie isn't that great
considering the experienced talented cast it has. Val Kilmer didn't look
recognized as himself. Hopkins was there as a narrator years after
Alexander's period with long speeches about him as he once knew him to
soften up the movie and strengthen it with calm words. The initial
weakness was Colin Farrell in the title role in a Oliver Stone film, who
is taking over Ben Affleck's reputation somewhat. There were some tense
arguments where the dialogue was above likely, particularly the father
and son conflict with power of men, which brought on chilling emotions
aroused by the music. For the most part, they weren't all like that. As
great as he was, his story in a movie did not hold attention for nearly
every scene. The time length of three hours meant there was more to
discuss, but it was too long and needed to cut down the extended boredom
and some talks that were useless. Oliver Stone is exclusive and known
for striving hard for excellence. He did a lot of little things to make
a wonderful cinematic display such as Alexander's battle plans, which
were overly addressed to understand. Historical films need accuracy and
the people who portray them and picturing a black woman as Alexander's
wife gives viewers a high doubt. Stone literally used a bird's eye view
from the sky of war battlegrounds. He doesn't fall to the ugliness
during war and Stone shows post-war scenes only he can do. Through all
the archery and fencing, there was a miraculous scene in a battle where
Alexander on his horse collides with an elephant in a slowed down frame.
A great figure in history is led to madness of control as he controlled
his own men and his emotions are fed off Farrell as a leader in an
intense tragedy and he is the subject of the story. His men idolized him
in a world taken over by war opened to civilization. A bit forceful on
the lines by Farrell, but his character was strong-willed adapted by
personalities like his parents that shaped his conduct into a conqueror
and there is nothing better to do in a world like so. "To live a long
life, there would be no glory."
Final Grade: B/B-
The Princess Bride (1987)
Starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn, Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant,
Wallace Shawn, Chris Sarandon
Film Prophet's Review...
Not all fantasy-romance stories are nearly complete, but this one is on
target of completion. Aided by its charming dry wit, the movie is artsy,
colorful, funny, and bright as it is suitable for everyone. Forced to
marry a prince as his bride, Buttercup, Wright, has suspicious reasons
that let her believe she will be rescued by a legit prince, once known
as Farm Boy originally, who was once lost in her life many years ago.
Westley, Elwes, and Buttercup turn into an innocent lovely couple
against evil configuration. The movie opens with Fred Savage playing an
Atari baseball game in his bed as he is sick and his grandfather visits
him with a book to read as the grandfather narrates the main plot of the
movie. All of the elements he narrates to his grandson from the book are
like a tale that we hear as children and the first few minutes grab
attention like magic. The movie is complete as a fantasy film can get
from fencing to evil princes to giants, Andre the Giant that is, to
chases, escapes, true love, swamps, torture, revenge, trust, and
relationships among all. A tremendous built up plot that doesn't let
anyone down. Some eye catching action moments and the pace is
flawless... it's a pleasing spectacle that is joyful and cleverly off
beam at smart times. An excellent balance of character development
across a fairly wide array of characters. An amazing cast for each role
in their best roles of their career and they have in no way been better
after this movie. The supporting cast is very memorable here. The three
men who kidnap Buttercup in the beginning of the film are Andre the
Giant, Mandy Patinkin, and Wallace Shawn who are all charming. Each of
them have highlight scenes after another. For example, Wallace Shawn
shines in the amount of time he has with his classic word,
inconceivable. The time where he meets the masked man in black who
challenges him towards a option of picking one of the two cups with one
of them with poison in them too. "Never go against a Sicilian when death
is on the line." "Yes, you're very smart, shutup," said by the
grandfather during Savage's interruption remark. All of this and the
writing is ignored and it's so well on an exceptional, quality page that
goes through the limits, rules, and exceptions taking the incredulity
toll.
Final Grade: A-/A
Duck Soup (1933)
Starring Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, Margaret
Dumont, Louis Calhern
Film Prophet's Review...
The four Marx brothers are probably the funniest relatives in a movie
series as they put together an insanely political satirical movie with
comedic wit in their most popular film. Country Freedonia is in a
financial disaster and a wealthy lady, Dumont, donates money to them
only if a new leader is selected, which is so as Firefly, Groucho, comes
to power to prevent revolution in an elegant society. The dictator of
their rival country, Sylvania, puts two spies on Firefly to find out
their plans for war on them, but the spies are goofy and funny as well
as Firefly. Groucho has a relaxing, clever performance with some
free-style pun song singing... the type where everyone knows the words
to the chorus. Directors like Mel Brooks drew their influence off here.
Firefly doesn't seem to care much and tries people's patience and he
spends his time doing foolish acts, but his words are so precisely
shrewd enough to get by. A downside is that a majority of the comedy
acts are just silly for today's appease that don't produce laughter like
it did when the movie was released because comedy has changed during
generations. The people who hear his comments don't let out a giggle,
yet, the writing still matches the objective's aim of audience of a
satire on politics as the brothers deflate the whole idea of it. Some of
the provocative class jokes were thought out to leave conclusions
open... the kind of witty challenging dialogue with question marks at
the end. There are also a few strange characters in the film and they
say comments from outer field. The best scene in the movie is when the
sound is entirely muted while Firefly looks at a mirror image of himself
as someone else is doing the exact same action as him. Sort of a setback
as Film Prophet was expecting some more fascinating scenes, nevertheless
it has many grief-related comedy and the best parts are the on-screen
visual acts that create a foundation of humor forever.
Final Grade: B/B+
The General (1927)
Starring Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Richard Allen, Glen Cavender, Jim
Farley
Film Prophet's Review...
A rousing ol' comic adventure set in the Civil War. It is basically a
story of a train engineer named Johnny Gray, Keaton, who has two loves
in his life which are his train and his girl. However, after being
rejected from enlisting in the Southern army and consequently not being
able to marry his sweetheart, he goes on his own in a beautifully
constructed movie based on a Union's spy capture of a train in
Confederate turf. He was denied his enlisting because he's a valuable,
but very clumsy train engineer. When his train and girl are both
kidnapped by Northern spies, he leads himself behind enemy lines to save
them both. It's a silent movie, but a great one as a matter of fact. The
music does a superb job forgetting that it's even silent. For that, the
direction was magnificent in establishing attention to the adventures
Johnny meets and camera views with its engaging composed music behind it
all. It took me into the time and saturating me there. Johnny, even as a
train engineer, has a struggling relationship with technology and
machinery, but shines as he becomes one with his beloved locomotive and
wrestles with a pernickety cannon that threatens to blow his engine off
the tracks. He continues to inspire awe with every scene he is in.
Marion Mack as his sweetheart Annabelle provided a captivating role as
the predominate female in the movie. Known for its fine setting and
train sequences, the story spends its time on a train that was stolen
and Johnny tries to get it back with Annabelle trapped on it with the
aftermath results. The movement of the plot was a success. The movie
showcased inventive thrills and suspense with stops and twists on tracks
to slow down or go in a different direction, as there is no modern
comparison like this one.
Final Grade: A-/B+
Finding Neverland (2004)
Starring Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Freddie Highmore, Julie Christie,
Dustin Hoffman, Radha Mitchell
Film Prophet's Review...
A famous play writer and author of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie, Depp, is
missing something in his plays after poor reviews and discovers fresh
life to adapt to his plays. Rediscovering his sense of childlike
innocence in reality, his surroundings have affected his work. The
acting by Depp was kind and gentle, and his character was sensitive and
mature and awakens his inner-child spirit for the role. People enjoyed
going to plays at nights, which were the trend of entertainment a
century ago and Barrie has the best of them written out already, but
they are not quite figured out yet. Although, he remains calm every time
and Barrie is never excited. The movie isn't a typical costumer drama as
the movie is telling a story about events that don't need breakdowns
every few scenes. The screen write reminds us the man who created Peter
Pan, as the play of Peter Pan is truly about a family he meets in a
fictional way. Freddie Highmore is the heart of the movie at a young age
and he started to keep me observed. Freddie is the boy named Peter who
inspired new ideas for a Peter Pan play. Barrie got to know four
children who have no fathers. Drawing his time with the kids, he writes
a story about children who don't want to grow up who have pillow fights
and such and everything Barrie observes is transformed to imagination.
However, the mother of the boys, Winslet, is going down with a severe
sickness. Barrie's wild, creative imagination strikes on any point in
time on any location such as writing in a park. It's all based on his
experiences, which leads him to write the children's classic. It is also
difficult to put his fantasy world in a place on stage that isn't
expensive, so he makes some adjustments. The movie did well without
having strong turning points and not falling to boredom easily and
keeping the plot steady and consistent with a constant level tone.
Hoffman needed some more segments and his role could have got more time
because the time he was on were interesting and a change of pace as the
movie was missing an affectionate piece or two before the end. High
expectations were set for theaters plays from the common old lawyers and
doctors audience as Barrie adds aerial scenes in his plays and a child
crowd while expanding minds and taking production into a genius
cornerstone of literature works with a tear jerking moment near the end
that raised the quality of the film.
Final Grade: B/B+
The Polar Express (2004)
Voices by Tom Hanks, Nona M. Gaye, Eddie Deezen, Peter Scolari
Film Prophet's Review...
The movie is based on a beloved children's book with Tom Hanks as the
voice and face of many, including the conductor of the crew. The music
caught my attention from the start and brought that gentle Christmas
feeling where Christmas is a wonderful time and builds a sensational
warm feeling. The story is about a journey of one little boy thrown into
a dream adventure on a magic train to the North Pole and sets a thrill
ride for the audience. The train ride with a dozen of kids in their
pajamas have minuscule adventures and problems every second on the train
before reaching the North Pole on time. The one boy's belief changed
when he was unsure about Santa existing, but seeing is believing sets
the tone as the movie is stuck on the pace of the boy and brings
pondering moments if what he is seeing is true. The visual effects were
done at such a great detail that the actors can be placed in a virtual
setting. The possibilities seemed endless when director Robert Zemeckis
decided to do the entire movie in computer graphics and stop motion.
There was no Grinch that stole Christmas, instead explored youth in
general as the story was easy to follow. It was definitely meant to aim
at children's fantasies into realism and present giggles to some.
Spiritual themes of patience, speed, trust, timing, and belief educates
children to learn basic lessons within the magical Christmas story.
Believing in the spirit of Christmas with an apparent feeling that
people don't want to lose where the excitement once started at a young
age and experience it no more when they get old was observed. There's a
point in our young lives where Santa Claus exists and the story puts a
wonderful, great end to a Christmas movie.
Final Grade: B
The 400 Blows (1959)
Starring Jean-Pierre Leaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Remy, Guy Decomble,
Patrick Auffay
Film Prophet's Review...
A founding masterpiece, yet a simple French feature portrait of a boy
who turns to petty crime at home with rough times. Jean Pierre Leaud is
Antoine Doinel, a fourteen year old boy, who delivers an incredible
child performance that aims for confidence. Fear of being sent to a
reform school and against common doings, he explores freedom from
suspension also, which leads to consequences from stealing and adultery
acts with his best pal. The story has a childhood retrospective about a
realistic character who is never too simplistic to be totally likable
and not a bully or spoiled brat either with a necessary tone. The
poignant music relaxes the viewer as if little is happening, but
deprivation endures the viewer. The eyes tell the story here because the
acting narrates the story itself. Living an ordinary life dealing with
supper, morning alarms, parents, homework, and friends, Antonie sits
through boring literature lessons by his teacher who teaches The Hare
and his kids just don't want to learn and it's hard for a teacher to
teach unwilling students so the teacher gets their attention in a
caustic way. It makes the audience probe correct useful punishment for
an obedience child that is not too harsh. Antonie wants to live his own
life away from school and parents and finds joy somewhere else. What
results is shocking observations and proceedings while skipping
customary activities. "As long as we feed you, you do as your told." His
parents try to persuade him to do well in school without getting into
trouble. Adjusting to expectations by the child from his parents and
peers changes direction that measures and defines life's childhood
hardships that are ordinary with an insightful look at how the movie
adapts over the time span. For instance, he is caught lying for sympathy
to get out of trouble sometimes because of his decisions he makes at his
age. "Oh, I lie now and then, I suppose. If I told them the truth, they
wouldn't believe me anyway. So, I prefer to lie."
Final Grade: B+/B
Saw (2004)
Starring Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Ken
Leung
Film Prophet's Review...
An ineffective gruesome nightmare that doesn't go away too easily, but
it's not worth the torment. An unrevealed serial killer plays a
mortality game with people with a psychological observation on the look
of life. Two men trapped in a room opens the story and the film itself
is trapped in this segment for at least the majority of the film while
they hang out because their ankles are chained to a pole. They attempt
to work together while being taunted by a mysterious voice. Faced with
impossible choices, each victim in the killer's plot struggles to win
back their life. The antiquated setting and the colorless screen used
were a bit bland including the shaky camera with zooming in after
another shot. Film Prophet can't stand moments where people want to tell
the characters to do or not to do a certain action... they can't hear
them. The acting provided was banal and the times were Elwes screams are
chilling, but way over-done because he could pass out anytime alone on
his acting. The writing design was thought out, but wasn't performed and
executed well. The movie basically uses little dialogue and when its in
use, it is weak and relies on the suspense and horror, which wasn't
engaged to its fullest potential. This horror film doesn't pick up the
speed until the final quarter that teases tension and emotions. The
serial killer appears as reticent and tells a victim he wants to play a
game and if the victim gets through it, he says congratulations, you are
still alive. Well obviously. There is no bad, domination that the viewer
can ever feel from the killer during the film. The killer goes by the
nick name Jigsaw and the ending is also a jigsaw where pieces scrambled
are shown rapidly from various places in the film to end it that
attempts to resolve the story and applies a gasp, pause, contemplation,
and a grumble.
Final Grade: C
The Incredibles (2004)
Voices by Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, Spencer Fox, Sarah
Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson
Film Prophet's Review...
An action-packed animated story with distinctive characters where the
Incredibles have unique individual superhero powers like elasticity,
speed, or invisibility. Mr. Incredible is the main character who has the
most standard power as being over-whelming strong as to lifting gigantic
trucks with ease. The character's introduction popped up randomly in the
beginning sequence with Mr. Incredible coming to the rescue in various
spots, but that idea fell flat down when Mr. Incredible marries
Elastigirl. Fifteen years later, the movie shows them relocated to a new
home and are claimed retired from their superhero identities. Mr.
Incredible is trying to lay back in a family life as a husband and a
father to three kids and works as an insurance salesman pushed by his
boss and not enjoying it and he is not motivated as he once was in the
past. Wanting to get back into action, he gets his chance when a
mysterious communication device summons him to a remote island for a
secret assignment. The villain is portrayed as monstrous because he is
self-made with his additional powerful technological gadgets. The
slightly, yet unremembered, composed music earns the audience's interest
into the action. High reputation Pixar gave creator Brad Bird to provide
a computer-generated plot in which could provide a very pleasant future
ahead with creating ingenious characters. The shadowy design animation
was visually stirring as it always is with CGI without too much fine
detail in the background or in the faces, but some films can really mess
the art up. The story had believable emotions such when Mr. Incredible
is listening to a top-secret, only listened once, message and
interferences happen of his wife calling him for dinner or when he is
leaving one morning and his wife thinks he is going to his job, but
isn't. Even with animated characters, that's how great animated films
affect the audience the most, besides the entertaining excitement. The
movie brought my imagination creatively if I had superpowers like them
how cool it would be too. The plot was close to a James Bond film where
people come to a rescue except in this movie, the writing was very
creative in a way where animation can expand reality borders of what
physical, real acting can't do and means of destruction. Many anecdote
phrases and lines, in particular, the ones said by Jackson's character,
who puts energy into him as he freezes items. The third quarter of the
film was totally astounding pumping adrenaline with attention remaining
and could not get any better. More so, a couple funny remarks from the
film, "We're dead... we're dead," in panic said by Dash and the best
line comes near the end with the little boy on his tricycle saying a
line that sums the animated movie up.
Final Grade: A-
Ray (2004)
Starring Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King, Clifton Powell,
Harry J. Lennix
Film Prophet's Review...
"Hey Ray Robinson, let me here you play... That might cost ya." Ray
Charles Robinson led a life as a blink black man who sang his soul and
the people who first felt sorry for his blindness since age seven or
disgusted with the color of his skin began to fall in love with his
talent and blues as soon as he erupted from his auditions to stardom and
his legend starting in bars to a band to greed from his close pals.
Jamie Foxx is the title role and his talented ability matches Ray's
talented gift. Foxx was poised and showed control of every tiny movement
with the head and body language and overall, he was very impressive
underlining a highlight of the film. Autobiographies aren't for the
movie precisely. Rather, it hammers with information visually, but not
too much. It's about a life one leads that's precious and beloved while
it carries a sensation. In the this musical biography on the late Ray
Charles, Foxx adds his soul into the role as Ray add his soul in his
music. It's easier to get a great lead performance from an individual
than to pull a great movie together. The movie establishes the direction
well enough for audiences to anticipate more on-screen music playing
from Ray in front of a crowd. However, some of the parts lacked energy
because the spots with the music was more fun. Nevertheless, it is
almost impossible not to fall in Ray's music, especially when it's
blasting through the speakers, which is just one part of the music as
it's soundtrack and the rest doesn't add up to an amusing total. Kelly
Washington comes in rather mid-section and refreshes the movie back
together until the role becomes sour and sometimes falls as an exemplary
supportive wife. Thankfully, all the energy is in the man himself as the
movie tries to fit all it can about him in almost three hours. One
disappointment the movie sounded off every Ray hit except for America
the Beautiful. The movie slows down at points during his childhood
segments as Ray re-visits past memories through his thought process with
a single mother. The most frightening part of the movie is for Ray
himself of not seeing and what could be there unexpectedly and the
people who take advantage of him as a blind person by cheating on him
with money, but Ray is smart and quick to the beat. Ray took chances no
one thought that can be done, mainly combining rhythm and blues with
gospel. Ultimately, the legend of Ray Charles got a movie all about him
that he can see for himself beyond our land.
Final Grade: B-
I Heart Huckabees (2004)
Starring Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, Lily Tomlin, Dustin
Hoffman, Namoi Watts
Film Prophet's Review...
The movie is a zany philosophical comedy, unlike the usual comedies,
about uneasy love with wild, creatively performances. Jason Schwartzman,
the odd person out from the eye popping cast list, is Albert and finds
himself as the center of the story while experiencing an alarming series
of coincidences and the meaning of which he escapes in forms of
allusions and believes he is living a meaningless life. He gets help
from two detectives, Hoffman and Tomlin, to examine his life,
relationships, and his conflict with Brad, Law, an executive at
Huckabees, a popular chain of mass-merchandise superstores. They spy
around and get in Brad's life with his relationship with his spokes
model girlfriend, Watts. Albert pairs up with a firefighter, Wahlberg,
to take matters in their own hands under the guidance of another
detective. The screenplay makes awkward moments that aren't exclusive.
For instance, there are a few images that were revolting and one of them
was a disturbing image of Jude Law with woman's breasts. The plot wasn't
thrown out there descriptive enough to follow a whole set of characters
within the first dozen of minutes and is victimized as an example to
lose a viewer's interest, which yielded yawns every five minutes or so.
Badly, the first half did not accomplish a strong significance on the
exposition. There was a bunch of cut scenes after another where the
previous one was forgotten. This is a performance movie, not much of
one, so here's a short breakdown on some of those performances.
Schwartman's image did not hold my attention... his voice was bland, and
his lines were just there regarding nothing except uttering his life
conflicts with others around him. He suffers a mid-life crisis in a
human drama way with tedious conversations and cheerfully teasing
through some talks in a complicated way so the viewer can't understand.
Though, much was said about what reality is and how the universe is
cruel to people. Wahlberg had his spots and catch moments. A much
blonder Jude Law held well, but the best part of the movie, as expected,
was a smaller, supporting role in the film by Naomi Watts, who looked
great and delivered her role exceptional. The movie ought to not rely so
much on a couple weak performances, but it couldn't just show plenty of
Watts, the highlight in a comedy role who was spectacularly energized.
Her role came around in between her and Law's character. "We're private
about our seven minutes in heaven." "It's quantity not quality." A large
amount of the second half is on Law's character winding career
breakdowns. The movie doesn't have much depth as it is meant to be and
defines the penetration on absurd standards.
Final Grade: C/C+
Office Space (1999)
Starring Ron Livingston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, Jennifer
Aniston, Stephen Root
Film Prophet's Review...
"You know I can't figure out how is it that all these stupid Neanderthal
mafia guys can be so good at crime, and smart guys like us can suck so
badly at it." Peter Gibbons, Livingston, is a software engineer in a
white collar job down and despondent with his life and the job position
at work until he meets a doctor and decides not to go to work at the
same time his company is laying people off. He launches a goal of doing
nothing because his job isn't motivating him. Peter has two great
friends within the company who might be terminated as they are concerned
and worried so they design a virus account plan to get back at the evil
company. The film starts showing the commute alone in a car in traffic
as Film Prophet laughed hard over the first part of speech where Michael
Bolton, Herman, no relation, in a car raps to his gangsta rap song,
which was just the start of a continuation of hilarious little spots
that the comical genius of Mike Judge has intelligently written for the
screen. Under demands in a hellish constructed atmosphere that most
people picture a cubicle environment like this, the office is full of
those cubicles and fear of their role in their organization might not be
important anymore while their boss, Cole, who is a terrible listener,
tempers the people up, and problems in the staff occur such as
downsizing and job security. The boss hands out orders when they least
expect it and the person just can't say no to them because that isn't
nice, but what isn't nice is handing out orders people can't refuse.
"Yea... if you can just do that from now on, that would be great." The
irritating boss is in everyone's face and the workers hope he won't come
across to engage in a conversation. It's bad enough the workers are in
tight spaces with little air to breathe in their cubicles and sometimes
they have to move to a new desk, which Milton Waddams, Root, isn't happy
about. The film consists of truthful displays such when nobody asks a
question after the boss asks if there are any questions because it might
be embarrassing when there are a lot of people around, or lying to
consultants for what they want to hear. "We always like to avoid
confrontations as much as possible." The acting was really well done on
a toned down comical level where the dialogue was nothing but
spectacular. "You can't just walk up to a waitress and ask her out."
Jennifer Aniston was superb in her supporting role as a waitress and
doesn't like her job either, and the lunch scene with Peter was
definitely memorable. "Most people don't like their jobs, but you go out
there and find something that makes you happy." So many great lines
delivered by every character, but it's a must watch to hear it first,
including the paper jams in the printer sequences leading to a final
conclusion of it. Arguably the funniest cult movie ever put together in
all aspects of film making dimensions.
Final Grade: A/A+
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Starring Cary Grant, Raymond Massey, Priscilla Lane, Josephine Hull,
Jean Adair, Peter Lorre
Film Prophet's Review...
A wacky, enjoyable Halloween night tale in Brooklyn of eccentric
travesty that drew the norm of comical originality. A popular theater
critic, Grant, learns his two elderly aunts, Hull and Adair, serve
poisoned elderberry wine to lonely gentlemen callers and bury the dead
bodies in their cellar. However, that's just the start for the critic.
The story begins when the critic and his newly wed wife, Lane, arrive
just before they go to their honeymoon to Niagara Falls. It starts from
a joyful bliss to a busy, restless night of various characters, who each
get a chance in the spotlight, and happenings that makes a fun,
interesting plot. It is a comedy with crime and suspense and silly, face
reaction stares that are comical in ways. The critic arrives surprised,
making sure his wife won't find out what they do, as the aunts initiate
smiles with high pitch tones and truthfully admits their insane faults
as if the faults aren't insane at all. Most every character has an
irritating quality that adds an uniquely setback and whether it's
Theodore, acted by John Alexander, who thinks he is 'Teddy Roosevelt'
and runs up the stairs yelling the classic 'charge!' line or the voices
of the aunts, they have plenty of super-egos. First of all, it was odd
that two aunts, other known as old sisters, live together in a single
house and something just has to go awkward. The direction by Frank Capra
created a fear of being lonely and getting old with no family for the
first quarter of the film. The audience then finds out the insanity runs
in the family, with the critic in the middle of it all, when an
unexplainable arrival of a lost brother, Massey, and a small doctor,
Lorre, enter the house. The best performance in the movie is done by
Raymond Massey, who plays a murderer and looks like Boris Karloff, and
the doctor is his unusual associate. The writing is also clever,
particularly the spot where a cop narrates his written play to the
critic and gives the brother an idea of a murder plot behind the
critic's back without knowing what's going on until it hits him. The
audience never sees any dead bodies or most of the cellar too. Film
Prophet imagines it was in fact from a Broadway production, since it's
entirely situated on one set and can be adapted to a great school play.
The outside background was fake and painted, but this movie can get away
with that easily because it's black and white and the focus was on the
character's troubles. A funny message is that people shouldn't visit
members of their family they haven't seen in years on Halloween night,
especially right before a honeymoon.
Final Grade: B+
Shark Tale (2004)
Voices by Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Jack Black, Renee Zellweger,
Martin Scorsese, Angelina Jolie
Film Prophet's Review...
A popular culture joke packed movie, as most of today's kids must be so
battered with low-key iconic characters in the mainstream media that
aren't exciting, but with child imagination, anything is possible. This
movie can take either side... it tries to create a frightening
atmosphere of sharks in a Manhattan-style underwater world that can also
be funny too. The movie assembles a look of a life under water just like
human life, so the movie is an apparent fantasy and built to explore off
CGI because it's doubtful there's electricity running and news
broadcasting under water. Now that computer generated animation films
are established and well-known, there comes several movies that happen
in an era past when it became new and once discovered and this one like
the next of the bunch falls in that. Characterization is a big part of
the story seeing as it rides off the stereotypes. Each character has an
unique voice and personality that match their alter egos and adds a
different flavor so the viewer can pick which of them they most liked.
Film Prophet personally liked Scorsese's character as Oscar's new
manager the most to respond from the previous statement. Anyways, Jack
Black is a nerdy vegetarian son of De Niro's mafia character and tries
to build him tough like his brother into eating shrimps. The best part
of the movie is the pairing between De Niro and Scorsese's characters
because it's fun to see those two work on-screen together finally even
if its done by voices and animated figures since Scorsese has directed
many films with him in it. I like Will Smith, but not this character as
Oscar in particular. He starts up as a hip guy who wears long chains and
doesn't want to be a nobody and dreams of a better life than his father
once had. He wants to be rich, but he hates work scrubbing tongues, and
is the central character set in the world of little saltwater fish. The
plot comes about when the son of the shark boss of a fish crime family
is killed, and Oscar on scene of the crime says he killed the shark
since that's how it looks to him and two others to make him look big
back at home and popular among his saltwater fish community, given the
nickname Sharkslayer, attracting those to construct a fake image to him.
This doesn't go over too smooth with De Niro or Zellweger's character,
Oscar's best friend. Zellweger is so great and gifted that she can even
make a CGI character so moving as if she is really acting for an Oscar,
and that word can be used twice because Will Smith's character's real
name is in fact Oscar, it's clever... you had me at hello quote evokes
memories. From the soundtrack, the best song was I Can't Help Myself
from The Four Tops because it wasn't done in the past year just to aim
for the soundtrack and it's a song to remember. Unexpectedly, the
exciting story surprised me at points because of its sub-plot climaxes.
Short, fun, tons of laughs, and to the point.
Final Grade: B-
In the Line of Fire (1993)
Starring Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott,
Gary Cole
Film Prophet's Review...
An assassin, Malkovich, swindles with an aging White House Secret
Service agent haunted for thirty years by his failure of defending JFK
from his death in Dallas and makes sure it won't happen again to another
president in a Wolfgang Petersen spectacle. The characterization is
straightforward. Agent Frank Horrigan, Eastwood, is out of shape and
caught up undercover previously and his young partner, McDermott, is his
close friend while the protectors don't have protection. Through the
whole beginning, all that went through my mind was average, not bad, not
great either... somewhat conventional. The assassin calls the agent
first about killing the president during his election campaign season
and meaning it, not knowing if he is playing with him, but either
outcome, it's an endangerment to be take serious, especially for
Horrigan. There are times where he returns to call him often that
results in too many numerous failed phone traces and mistaken people and
knocked down doors. Expecting a move that doesn't happen, Horrigan's
current career is fiddled and fooled. There were plenty of close-up
shots on Malkovich's eyes and mouth as it just ruined the story for a
bit distracting the viewer from what was being said. Get the camera out
of his face, much similar to Eastwood always getting in Russo's face
trying to flirt with her despite the age difference, which is alright
though since she was the only female involvement, but unneeded really.
The conflict was questioning if Horrigan can do all he can do to save
the president's life, even if it costs his own. Nicely done on the
writing, simply well-made, with the wooden gun and such, but nothing too
special to make it a great top candidate in its genre. The movie held
Film Prophet tense and still at moments, while moving away from Russo's
useless character, as the hardcore suspense nearly saves and refreshes
the plot in a better direction.
Final Grade: B-/B
Das Boot (1981)
Starring Jurgen Prochnow, Herbert Gronemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Bernd
Tauber, Hubertus Bengsch
Film Prophet's Review...
Danger below and above the level of water, all alone in the ship with
each other and stuck with the people on board, no where to go but the
few steps they have in space, have various encounters of other ships and
they so desperate need fresh air to breathe. It was about life in a
submarine during harsh conditions of war. The captain and crew of a
World War II German U-boat follow incredible orders in director Wolfgang
Petersen's first smash popular success in a German movie who knows how
to use space under claustrophobic circumstances. Of course, the crew
gets drunk during a farewell party at night just before they leave,
showing their personality side. The audience later discovers more of who
is who for each character on the boat, merely dragging the movie's
upsurge down that can be completely ignored and still come away with an
understanding of the movie. The crew always needed to be alert, safe,
cautious, attentive, and accurate in a fast manner in such tight spaces
and obviously, this part of the duty was difficult and not fun; in fact,
nothing was fun for them sincerely... making the movie less fun at all.
Their target was to reach the maximum of two hundred and sixty meters
down below under water on tank level, afraid of going deeper and deeper
each attempt as the camera shows them sweaty, quiet, and anxious. They
didn't know what happened above them externally such as their homeland
or planes. They were waiting for orders feeling they were not wanted or
having a big impact, but once that big impact hits them, it hits them
with corollary, including the strong finish of the movie. Technical
aspects such as the many fire disasters were a neat watch. Yet, the
movie needed more excitement and drama and to cut down on long scenes.
There are parts that go from calm and quiet to confessing scenes of
emotional breakdowns to wild water disasters, repeating back and forth,
but Petersen made it close to reality as possible because that's how
life was on the ship for this group of men, gritty and filthy.
Final Grade: B-
The Third Man (1949)
Starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles, Erich
Ponto
Film Prophet's Review...
A splendid achievement in the film noir era in this grand thriller with
its pleasing cast directed by Carol Reed. The shifting point of view
camera angles worked in favor, including the shots in depth of the sewer
chases. It focuses on the social corruption shattered by the city behind
political lines filled with spies and refugees, but Orson Welles and his
appearance later in the film stands out. A popular pulp novelist,
Cotten, goes to post-war Vienna and probes death of a shady friend. He
arrives at Vienna to get a job his friend offers; instead he receives a
shock to attend his funeral. "Is that what you say to people after
death, Goodness, that's awkward?" There has to be a hesitant and
sympathetic beautiful woman, Valli, involved relating to the plot, one
of the central characters, or is about to interact with it. She does all
three, as well as a big part of a sub-plot when she is caught by the
police with a forged Russian passport as Cotten's character sticks by
her. For the majority of the film, the dialogue never falls apart and
the suspicious trend of facial expressions keeps the audience attached.
Searching for a criminal act if any, while the detective, Howard, on the
case first stumbled a rival with Cotten's character, the people he asks
are those who know he is getting too close to find some clandestine out.
The viewer can't tell which character is telling him the truth while he
is asking for details and the mood dissolves into what he listens and
comprehends about. Near the seventy minute mark, the story tips down due
to an odd twist and doesn't go back to the excitement it had before
until the final long shot. There isn't a whole lot to watch it a second
time, but the first time was plausible enough.
Final Grade: A-/B+
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Starring Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Gino
Saltamerenda, Elena Altieri
Film Prophet's Review...
Director Vittorio De Sica displays exceptional neorealist work on an
Italian potent drama creating a significant demand for one man to get
his bicycle back. The movie sets during the devastating post-war
depression, where many people are out of jobs, and the film witnesses
everyday life on the streets in Rome as poetic realism is achieved. Men
being in labor was rare, and one of the only ways of making a pay and
living. Receiving any job was considered appreciated, so the main
character finally gets one to hang up posters and his wife and little
son hear the news and they are happy, but the job requires a bicycle,
which he must buy. The title makes it known what will eventually occur,
stirring up adrenaline... it must have been the poignant musical score
too. On his first day delivering cinema posters, a street thief steals
his bicycle and rides away with it; the viewer right then feels affected
almost as much as the man. Too poor to buy another, he and his son go on
the streets to search for his bike and the thief. The movie delivers
background themes behind the plot about a meaning of life and just how
far a man will go over the edge to reach his goal without associating
with slander. Think about it, a bike then is almost like a computer now,
there's just so many. Every bike all looks the same to the audience, but
not to the man on the search. "Listen, a man who has been robbed has the
right to look." The sharp, striking truth is that the police can
literally do nothing about a stolen bike, except enforce a complaint.
Many ways of this film is relatable, imagining the viewer can be either
father or son in the situation. Not being a specific of a bicycle
perhaps, but maybe some item someone cherishes and longs for that is in
a form of lyrical remedial gift of love. The camera views were well done
with no shaky close-ups people see in current day films and every
performance was moving. One scene that sticks out is the church service
scene where people after are entitled to soup and the man during the
prayer service in a crowd inside the church tries to ask an old man who
might have a connection with the thief about him. The mounting
relationship of the father and son steals the last half of the movie.
For instance, the restaurant scene where the father offers his son wine
and says, "We can do anything we want, because we're both men," except
they really can't because they don't have the kind of money wealthy
people do, such when the boy gets jealous of what another boy of his age
is eating. The ending is priceless and remarkable.
Final Grade: A
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
Starring Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Gambon,
Angelina Jolie
Film Prophet's Review...
The movie tries to take CGI art work to the next level, where humans and
computers co-exist in the same screen and the human performers get to
act with a blue screen backdrop. People acting in a non-visible,
computer generated atmosphere isn't all that easy, as Film Prophet
noticed Paltrow's facial expressions looked a bit dry. The memorable CGI
art work are the massive metallic monsters in far away palaces,
including the start of the movie. Scientists around the world have
mysteriously disappeared and report Polly Perkins, Paltrow, along with
aviator Sky Captain, Law, are on the investigation after the city
receives an attack from giant robots marching through the city. Risking
their lives as they travel to a few exotic places, they attempt to stop
the evil mastermind behind the plot to destroy the Earth, while the
person eliminated scientist doctors before hand not clearly explaining
why. A gothic New York City is its setting with its lighting and shadows
like it was from Batman, but it isn't close. The characters are dressed
as if it were the 1930s, but the setting differs with the future outlook
of the movie. Angelina Jolie does a cameo as an eye-patched captain, for
no more than a few scenes... the trailer pointed out she starred in it,
which is a fault. Paltrow's performance as a reporter wearies down every
time she appears and pouts through the whole movie, as Law remains
consistent, but nothing too great. Though, it's hard to act with nothing
in front of their faces. It's director Kerry Conran's debut film that
attempts to tackle excitement and entertainment in a tiresome manner
that does not reach a peak level. There are series of superimposed
scenes of colorless techniques of just dark blue, white, and black one
after another that were overdone. It seems the world depends on these
two characters of Polly and Sky Captain himself without much of a
supporting cast present, not to mention the human characters made up
just about half of the entire cast. Not a great job for a children
science-fiction fantasy story and movie... unknown heroes in high-budget
movies aren't frequently sensations.
Final Grade: C
Metropolis (1927)
Starring Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gustav
Frohlich, Theodor Loos
Film Prophet's Review...
An achievement directed by Fritz Lang in this German silent feature, the
dictator of a working industry dreads that his workers might strike any
time soon when knowing a robot is invented that can run the factory
alone. The hierarchy is in control and the dictator plays the
leader figure making the big decisions, nevertheless, fears a massive
group of his employers going on a strike since there have been hints and
clues lying around. The group consists of male factory workers in an
industry underground working in lines of steady production that begins
the movie. Their heads are down in sort of ashamed with no signs of
happiness as sluggish, dark creatures with little personality given to
them and seem to be tired of slaving for measly pay. The dictator urges
them not to rebel and to wait patiently for the arrival of a mediator,
who turns out to be a woman who the workers listen to. The son of the
dictator of Metropolis, discovers how things are run in the city and a
woman, Helm, shows him the concept of underground working environment.
Helm is a key character and the cornerstone of the film. Her character
is the mediator and had this knowledge of a high tower that men built
and everything was peaceful and all the working men would listen to her
because she's beautiful. The conflict starts as an inventor, who made a
human-like robot machine efficient enough to run the factory alone
without a need for workers, could be a solution for the dictator's
problem. The inventor kidnaps the mediator to make his robot look
similar to her so that the working class will follow what she commands
of violent acts. Among a first true appreciated art form in a picture...
the lighting is noticeable on certain spots of the pictured mugged by a
steamy gaseous atmosphere. The set was frightening and looked
spectacular. Silent movies concentrate on the every move of the
characters including facial expressions that triggers and helps
understands the situation to the audience by their gestures and moods.
The most memorable thing from this film are the haunting dark faded
shots of pausing looks of concern. It's a German film that represents a
future American system of capitalism with its top elite governor and the
working class in a city. The working people are symbolized as slaves,
while they are also the protagonists who built the glorious pyramid of
Metropolis almost resembling an arena. The only weakness was its slow
extent per scene, which expanded a silent film. It lost the excitement
level it had within the first hour and gets extensive, but the themes
still hold about violence and peace and props to Fritz Lang for creating
an inspiring science fiction film that lasts forever.
Final Grade: A-
Vanity Fair (2004)
Starring Reese Witherspoon, Gabriel Byrne, Jim Broadbent, Romola Garai,
Eileen Atkins
Film Prophet's Review...
Losing its Oscar hype fast, the movie is a leap to a literary story that
had a chance to be clever, but it wasn't. The movie was close to being a
bigger disappointment than The Village for the year, hoping Reese
Witherspoon would rise to the top of her career with this film, but it
was poorly advertised. She is climbing the ladder of success portraying
crafty females. Her role in this movie was an ambitious character as a
prototype for modern feminism in a setting of London in early nineteenth
century. In a costume dress drama with an irritating composed musical
score, south-borne and raised Becky Sharp, Witherspoon, is a mere social
climber jumbling the supporting characters. She begins to find out love
and living off men isn't enough for success as money is necessary too.
In a gloomy side of London, she's unschooled and not nearly striving
enough in a movie about social structure, where the caste system has
little insight. Apparently, the movie assumes the audience would know
something about class ranks in London, but because most of the audience
doesn't, it's unclear and boring. After an hour, I wanted the movie to
end, mostly because I was tired of hearing that pathetic never-ending
music score. At times, I wanted to walk up and leave, which I did, and
come back to the film, and it would be the same jumbo. The story was the
weak link. Overall, it felt like there was too much going on in the
story that added pointless scenes which were given the longer duration
of the screen time. The pace of the story moved way too slow and it
could have cut down a lot of the scenes to make the movie more
convincing. The artistic views were weak also and it was just a bunch of
the same resemblance through the murky set in the entire movie. The
story, dialogue, and the supporting characters certainly did not help
Reese out, as it was Reese who had the light shine on her. Every scene
without her wasn't as appealing with her. Many would expect a funny bend
performance by Reese, but it really didn't happen in this one. Partly,
the blame is on the screenplay for not recognizing she's a versatile
actress. There was nothing present to keep Film Prophet's attention,
with the exception of Reese, but even her performance was middling.
Sorry for Reese because Film Prophet is a big fan of hers.
Final Grade: D/C-
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Starring Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, Owen Davis Jr., William Bakewell,
Arnold Lucy, Russell Gleason
Film Prophet's Review...
A young German soldier, Ayres, faces the mechanized horrors of World War
I in an early best Oscar motion picture. It examines a generation of men
going through an adventure of war of what it is really like for the
soldiers, rather than in most modern war films where history is messed
up and the characters are usually overstated due to its stereotype
placement. This movie is among the best American anti-war films that is
accurate about everyday reality. Director Lewis Milestone opens the
movie with a scene of a crowd bidding farewell to a group of soldiers
marching down the street with dignity in harmony. The movie then
transfers to a scene of schoolboys in a classroom, inspired by their
professor's speech to fight for their country, where the camera zooms in
on a young man's face and daydreams of what it would be like and how
their parents would react to them in a uniform if they joined. After a
hyping speech is said, the young men agree to stick together as they all
leave the classroom... the camera then gets one last still shot of an
empty room as if they left their youth and home behind them, a world
they will never see again. The film follows the soldier's lives step by
step in an overview and not detailing one incident and aspect of it,
beginning with an introduction of an arrogant sergeant who comes in
their bunk room and addresses them to forget everything they knew.
There's a scene where the soldiers are so fed up with him that they
design a tease during the night to blindly beat him, showing their hate
and human compassion of self-esteem. The screenplay was immensely
written filled with numerous memorable quotes. "I shouldn't be here at
all. I don't feel offended." "It's dirty and painful, when it comes to
dying for your country, it's better not to die at all." "It's easier to
say go out and die than to do it." Brilliantly constructed film for the
year when silent films where beginning to transform to talkies. "They
tell me that some people in this world take a bath every week." The film
unveils the development of sound effects as the movie drills this sound
of gun shots and bombs dropping on the ground so broadly during the
trench and war moments. One of the scenes features an isolated soldier
whose eyes were ripped by barbed wire and the viewer can feel his
painful emotions as he cries out loud that he is blind, where his
buddies only can watch from their batteground post in shock. When the
soldiers are in the bottom of the trenches overhearing battle sounds
outside, they get aggravated that all they can do is sit there and wait
and stay hungry while fighting off the rats inside. In the best footage
of the movie, when it came to a battle where the French stormed to their
trench, the Germans begin shooting as one uses a machinery style gun
where an excellent camera view shifts continuously horizontal in the
view from the trenches while it shows the opponents falling down from
the bullets down the line as the camera moves. Also, there's a chilling
part where the lead character watches a French man die in his pit, when
he realizes he is just like him, while he repeatedly says 'forgive me'
even though he is dead, which evokes memories of his courage and
sorrowfulness buried within the soul.
Final Grade: A-/B+
The English Patient (1996)
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Willem
Dafoe, Colin Firth, Naveen Andrews
Film Prophet's Review...
Directed by Anthony Minghella and winner of best picture, it's one of
those casts built for an Academy award fitting film. A Hungarian,
Fiennes, regards fling with a British newlywed, Thomas, which leads to
tragedy in World War II North Africa. In the strange story that's not
ordinary war-like, the horrific effects of love and life near the brink
of war of a man without a present face is dying in his bed and is being
treated by a caring woman, Binoche. The man, who struggles to survive,
breathe, move, and talk, of course has a fascinating past. The movie
plunges on what happened to this person and how he got where he is in
bed, as it is presented by flashback memories. It begins with a focus on
aftermath of war, and the movie does not show one single battle or
anything similar to that, of the injured, wounded, and confused men who
don't remember much, with a nurse and patients section. The man was a
pilot who had companions and one of those companions just got married,
as his wife draws a willing interest of affairs to him. Symbolist,
pilots can't observe everything in the air while the film's antagonists
are the sneaky Germans who had a strategy of leaving mines in the
ground, thus creating a division of air and ground. The setting mostly
takes place in deserts, where the man meets a newlywed who believes her
marriage is a fake. She spends her attention and communicates towards
the man more than her own husband, Firth. There are some sub-stories
involved in the movie with Dafoe's dynamic character and Binoche and
Andrews in current time connecting each other's stories. Still
nonetheless, the centerpiece is devoted to the affection for the pilot
without a face in current time and a woman, but various incidents get in
there way to remain content and lead to painful love creating emotions
from the viewers. There isn't exactly a strong plot, but the dialogue
itself is written well and paced enough to desire concentration to the
film. The movie examines the man's accounts during the war time, which
was sort of a depressing tale while the entire movie is sad and
disheartening. There are rare happy moments because war repercussions
aren't beautiful or happy, even if the war is almost over.
Final Grade: B-/C+
The 39 Steps (1935)
Starring Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey
Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie
Film Prophet's Review...
In the serious thriller that director Alfred Hitchcock made in England
before he went to Hollywood, after witnessing a murder at a London music
hall, Richard Hannay, Donat, is approached by a mysterious woman who
claims she committed the murder in order to foil foreign spies who plan
to smuggle valuable military secrets out of the country. When the woman
is killed, Hannay is mistakenly accused and framed, as he goes on a
murder plot trail while being wanted by the police and a couple secret
agents. Along the way, he bolts on to a nonchalant, but reluctant
blonde, Carroll, gets stuck in a political campaign speech, and together
they attempt to figure out the meaning of the mysterious woman's last
words and given on a map of 'the Thirty-Nine Steps.' Hitchcock's first
hit recipe contains the usual likes of an average and ordinary man who
is framed by circumstantial evidence and plunged against his own will
into an odd situation that he doesn't understand. It was something new
for audiences to see this kind of structure since Hitchcock was not a
recognizable name yet. The modern story has fine movement where he likes
to build up a fear of some sort such as guns, heights, claustrophobic in
tight spaces, crowds, and then the quiet moments of being alone with
just one stranger across. There's an excellent scene where the viewer
can't hear anything, but it can be made out what is being discussed in
dead silence where a man looks in from a window outside of two people
talking inside... scenes like those are winners. Some other great
features of the film are the common fading techniques, the first person
camera view, the suspicion upon looks, and extended background noises of
a phone ringing or sheep baaing. As for the performances, some
performers had textbook said lines and as for others, there is a bunch
of memorable supporting work done. Sometimes it is hard to follow the
dialogue, which hurt the final grade, for the first thirty minutes
because the accent is used too quickly and the viewer would just want to
cry out loud for them to speak up clearly. The film keeps it's mystery
hidden until the final few minutes where it's revealed, but until then,
the audience knows as much as the protagonist. This is where Hitchcock
does a stellar job maintaining the suspense and pace without revealing
the final secret.
Final Grade: B
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
Starring Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Sienna Guillory, Mike Epps, Sandrine
Holt, Jared Harris
Film Prophet's Review...
Resident Evil in 2002 left an abrupt, sudden ending that had viewers
salivating on what Alice will do next. The original was a terrific watch
and after seeing the end of it, Film Prophet would definitely welcome a
sequel in the future, and that sequel is out. The sequel begins where
the first film left off, with Alice, Jovovich, stuck in a zombie area,
affected by a virus leak, of the deadly Raccoon City. She has been
subjected to a biogenetic experimentation separated from her friend by
the vast Umbrella Corporation and she has become genetically altered
into a superior breed with super human senses and agilities. These
skills are unique and are put to the test when others try to remain
alive when she meets a group of humans to co-op. Apocalypse is a
unsuccessful video game made into an incoherent movie that has less
frightening CGI creatures and sounds than the original. This movie puts
more science features in than suspense, where the first movie dominated
at. With a horror video game sequel title, there is not enough horror,
intensity, or excitement in the movie. What the movie delivers is a
bunch of poor edited fast, sped up clips like in Thirteen Ghosts with
close up shots that last for a couple seconds where the director doesn't
use the time sufficiently. Sometimes it's a little hard to see what's
going on where the viewer can't see much of the action, which certainly
is a problem. For example, take the first ten to twenty minutes of
zombie murders and there isn't enough time to catch any of the details
of what's happening in the scene with a lousy camera acquiring method
because it's cut to a next clip rapidly. At sequences, it's too loud and
then it's too quiet and then loud as it is never at a medium level of
sound. Most of the dialogue is irrelevant to the first too. The
supporting cast wasn't as appealing as the first without the presence of
Michelle Rodriguez. The casting director threw in a female, Guillory,
who looked too similar to Mila's character, but Guillory could not act
or say a decent one-liner. Mike Epps plays a comedy relief character and
one of his lines are, "You should have told me you got bit mutherf*cker;
I'm hanging with you and sh*t." The viewer feels little sympathy for
them because the viewer does not get time to adapt to the character's
sentiment. There aren't many occurrences where the characters get a
break to talk, rest, or make a plan. The direction doesn't try to make
sense on any level whatsoever. The final ended as if everyone was gone
and she was the only one left with the town all messed up vacantly. The
movie treats the vacant section with more zombies and people, including
a whole elementary school full of kids. Alice comes in as a hero and
expert who comes across knowing what to do with ease and confidence like
a Laura Croft or Ellen Ripley. An awesome, bizarre final fifteen
minutes.
Final Grade: C
Paths of Glory (1957)
Starring Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready,
Richard Anderson, Joe Turkel
Film Prophet's Review...
The story during World War I between Germany and France is about a
French Colonel responsible for thousands of soldiers and won't let them
down. The war in the movie defines how the twentieth century evolves in
an anti-war movie that still holds relevance today, presenting in a
black and white feature from Stanley Kubrick's early collection where he
began his prime run. A tremendous recognizable opening theme song by
Gerald Fried... influential directed war movie, where the camera
movement is creative of backing up when a character approaches. Through
the battlefields of sounds and fog, the movie never pictures the German
enemy except sitting and hearing the result of their machinery. Colonel
Dax, Douglas, is a commander of a battle-worn troop of the French army.
He speaks to two spiteful generals before he enters the trenches on how
to handle the war. Conversations between the generals and colonel about
tasks and plans that's best for the men arise. Both of these superiors
need support and they are the ones designing the orders revealing a fine
line between officers and soldiers with an uncertain amount of trust.
The first half of the movie, the point of strategies, attacks, and casualties, is projected behind the walls underground
below barbed wire of the French trenches where Germany is prepared to
use their artillery against the French inside their trenches. These men
juggle the concept of having patience, being separate in a group, and
crawling past barbed wires, where the second half changes tone and three
of the Colonel's men are sent to a court trail for retreating a hopeless
attack on ground without given orders leaving others to die with a
devastating outcome to the three after the trail. The movie does not
display any comedy elements and grasps reality by means of wasteful
madness of warfare mainly in the trenches exposing the historical realities of World War I that
the men experience all the way to the final plausible scene in a bar
where a young German girl sings in front of the French troops. Kubrick
achieves an artistic development as the movie remains widespread and
everlasting having a long impact for an infinite time, which generally
makes all his work special.
Final Grade: A-/B+
Amelie (2001)
Starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Serge Merlin, Clotilde
Mollet, Maurice Benichou
Film Prophet's Review...
The French movie embarks with a narration of a very peculiar family with
strange tastes from the birth of Amelie, Tautou. Amelie lived an unusual
childhood growing up as a single child wanting a brother or sister where
her father was a doctor and her mother died coming out of a cathedral.
When both her parents died, she lives alone and stumbles upon a tiny box
in her apartment with things inside of it. Looking for the owner of it
in France, she searches to return the personal treasure of memories,
while counteracting with her fellow co-workers at a coffee shop and
several other fascinating people where she helps mankind over herself.
This film takes normal movie making skills and puts them in a new
context without a clear-cut genre, but the movie exists in the world
inside-out. Known for captivating the French atmosphere with an
appealing story, the movie exposes artistic themes and vision in the
first hour. An unique direction and cinematography using close up zooms
of facial expressions and capturing the sadly dread moments during
various incidents... almost similar to the eerie art direction of
Requiem with a Dream. A different way of photography where there are
gross graphic disturbing images to bear with for a couple seconds after
another and having the sense another will come up shortly that gives
most people that sick aching feeling in the stomach and mouth. Visually,
it's pretty much startling, especially the blend of colors it uses in
the background to the items and clothes being displayed. The sounds are
rare to other films of grasping and sorting out to the next scenic
image. Disturbances of cracking knuckles, pealing skin, screaming,
orgasms, and poking those bubbles on that wrapper are just some of the
unusual acts found. One clip that stuck out best was the complement of
the rain sound beating onto the river when Amelie stands in the center
of a short walking bridge over it where her and her mother used to go.
The story-telling is remarkable because each character has some strange
hobby or likes which makes not only the Amelie character different, but
the entire movie's inspection. It is fun to hear and watch frustrating
French acting too. The story slows down towards the middle with no plot
that relies more on body and facial expressions than on actual dialog
after when she discovers a picture album of torn photos. She eventually
finds the owner, who turns out to be her soul mate from childhood, and
starts a cat and mouse game with him, mainly because she is too scared
to make direct contact with him as strangers. As a secret admirer
without approaching him, she cowardly leaves clues to where he might
meet or see her next and again.
Final Grade: B+/B
Blow (2001)
Starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ray Liotta, Ethan Suplee, Paul
Reubens, Jordi Molla
Film Prophet's Review...
Based on a true story, George Jung, moves to California with Tuna,
Suplee, as a roommate in a stoner movie selling and buying pot for a
profit. Their first scheme was using beautiful ladies who work as
stewardesses to transport the drugs for their market. George and Tuna
spend their time getting wasted and sitting around during their young
adulthood, until the trip where George goes to jail for the first time
and breaks the relation with his group. From choosing an independent
drug business over college or anything else his parents rather
preferred, George finds out it's not that easy being a drug dealer as he
makes his way up on the top of the ladder, but once he is on top, there
is no where to go but down. Problems begin to escalate as his own mother
turns on him, his wife, Cruz, transforms to a greedy addiction, and
George becomes an aging parent of a daughter, where he faces the
consequences. "It was the greatest feeling I ever had, followed abruptly
by the worst feeling I ever had." Great casting... Liotta was a
highlight as George's father as he was superb in a supporting role. Cruz
came into the movie way too late, although, Depp's performance was
strong enough to pull the movie together at the final hour. The movie
opens in a culture of slavery growing marijuana with a rock edged beat.
A very common plot related to past films... a second-rate rendition of
Scorsese's Goodfellas and Casino where it begins with a regular
childhood starting of a tumbling parent marriage for a brief time with a
voiceover narration and then focuses on a troubling adult man's life who
hits the high and the low on illegal actions losing control during a
thirty year time span. The man tries to improve during the end when he
realizes his family is most important over his greed for money. A bit
sluggish paced stuck on the same concern of raising money and the
dialogue is practically entertaining at most parts. For example, the
part where George talks to prison mates about drugs and evolution into
cocaine was not very interesting. Even though the movie had substance
and depth, not much was going on other than the above unless a deeper
interpretation can be issued. America's laws are too strict making
illegal drugs in a free land. An anti-drug message is the matter as I
felt the heart-trending ending and that's what's essential.
Final Grade: B-/C+
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Starring Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost, Dylan Moran, Lucy Davis,
Nicola Cunningham
Film Prophet's Review...
In a British parody of Dawn of the Dead, Shaun, Pegg, seems he is living
no ambition or goal in his life. He works at a television store where
his staff doesn't take him seriously as a provisional boss. His
girlfriend, Ashfield, wants to get out and have excitement, but Shaun is
lazy and spends most of his spare time at a local pub or playing video
games with his unemployed loser roommate, Frost, who is dumbfound and
reckless at driving. All on the same day, his girlfriend breaks up with
him because she's tired of spending their time at the pub. On the same
trail from the previous day, he wakes up the next morning to go to work
as the scenery looks out of place. He notices strange actions by humans
and plans to go to the pub with his friend, mom, and his ex-girlfriend
with her two roommates hoping everything will pass by. Film Prophet
finds it peculiar the movie should be designated as a nightmare since
everyone but himself and his friends weren't zombies in his area when
the day starts. The movie didn't have many direct references on the
original and the British humor only crops up for about thirty minutes
before it got violent, banal, and monotonous. The title lures the viewer
into a parody zombie and horror movie even though that's not all of it.
It isn't a plain spoof of Dawn of the Dead. Rather, it's more of a
British romantic comedy with additional zombie slashing in action. There
is nothing subtle in this unbalanced movie. In essence, it starts out
weary with no humor and a bit weak exposition opening too early. It is
nearly entertaining until the zombies show. It is fun to see where
Shaun's group is headed when the zombies are outside, but the intended
humor isn't there most of the time given that grotesque moments
overshadows any kind of humor or inside jokes presented. The dialogue
was extremely poor written and had to use the British f-bomb almost a
couple dozen times in a couple minutes during a scenario. A notable
thing is that it does capture the annoyance of cellular phones. The
screen write could have had Shaun's lazy friend to actually fire the
shotgun, he thought of in the pub when the zombies were breaking in, in
a cool attempt of using his video game expertise to access the shotgun,
as I was waiting for that and it didn't happen, very disappointed. When
the group gets into the Winchester pub, it starts to drag petty in
places. Weakly, rash suspense and choreography in the final twenty
minutes of the film. The last segments of the movie were about
unrealistic, pity-filled situations in excessive emotional fervor. I was
not fond of any of the performances. Pegg simply can not act in any
dramatic moment where he routes to a bunch of weeping sissy-fits. The
writer shouldn't have resorted to putting the pressure on his acting.
The ending was resolved in many different little pieces that were too
fast. In similar movies, the same sort of sensibility occurs, but
continuing it in terms of the characters is getting slightly stale and
the gimmick is wearing down where nothing comes as a shock any longer.
Final Grade: C/C+
The Insider (1999)
Starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora,
Stephen Tobolowsky
Film Prophet's Review...
Producer Lowell Bergman, Pacino, of CBS struggles to get a testimony
from Jeffrey Wigand, Crowe, on 60 Minutes without being sued. Bergman's
quest is to get Wigand, a recently fired tobacco company scientist, to
come on the show and give up the information on his former employers
about a nicotine drug that has bad effects on the human body. He was
fired for having poor communication skills, so then he teaches a
chemistry class in High School to support his family for the time being.
Trusting Bergman, Wigand agrees to go on camera for a Mike Wallace
interview and risks arrest for contempt of court. The movie is about the
news studio at risk for airing the segment. It's a study of distortion
with psychological, larceny, and public tricks. Michael Mann has never
been a tremendous director in his movies and his movies typically
contain sporadic boring scenes that can be eliminated, but he decides to
include them. He throws a misdirecting scenario and aims at something
else that's at little surprise and poor suspense. The casting is a
little off... instead of getting a veteran actor like James Garner, they
picked Crowe who had to get gray hair. Pacino is too bland for his role
and his voice in moments isn't always clear. Both of them have tiresome
expressions and the rest of the cast doesn't polish the film for one
moment. The Wigand family leaves no effects at all on anything relating
to the movie. His wife, Venora, and two daughters never say much of
anything and appear as mutes. There is a scene during some investigating
angle where agents take their whole computer away because some death
threat message appeared on the monitor. Film Prophet's most dislikable
actor and the director in the same movie turns out to be expectably slow
and jaded. The movie isn't thrilling... Film Prophet is glad it got shut
down at the Academy Awards, here are the nominations and here are no
awards. Mann is a director known for his long, drawn-out scenes. He has
an ability to command a movie at two and a half hours about a simple
true story that could be explained better if it were shorter. It could
use an hour of trimming, though Mann produces more yawns than awes. He's
just terrible at developing personal relationships within the story and
attaching them to the audience. He needs a lesson in using individual
happenings. The characters wander around making any known plot less
important including little entertaining spots with hinges on something
not happening. The audience is waiting for something to occur, but fails
at exciting them where nothing occurs. When something finally happens,
it is all a matter of the same thing and it's between Pacino and Crowe
all the time who need space. "Where do you work? C'mon and tell me, we
have nothing more significant to discuss, Crowe, other than our lame
lives this below average screen write gives our characters to expand
Michael Mann's film. Well, you know, you're making money for your
family," and the response Crowe utters would be something onerous. The
story basically goes back and forth between the airing issue,
questioning certain things without solving a thing. The pain Film
Prophet suffers from this movie the most was attempting to follow the
long-drawn out story where the plot can just be referenced in subtext
alone, except Michael Mann thought it would be great to watch the true
story on screen, and he was off beam since nothing special was riveting
on that screen to the appealing eye. There is absolutely no uplifting
music score or any sort of musical soundtrack during the film, which led
to tediousness and walking away from the movie for five to ten minutes
without missing a thing. Film Prophet knows most of the readers who
thought they liked this movie are probably reading this and saying,
"Film Prophet, you probably didn't understand it, right?" Well, I did
understand it and there was nothing to it. The dialogue is tacky and for
example, every time Crowe's character would talk to any news executive,
who were all a bunch of cowards by the way, it would mention telling the
truth from lies and Pacino's character would come in over-yelling and
arguing about the same thing a dozen of times again solving nothing.
Throughout the whole movie, the grade for the movie kept decreasing
until the grade could not get any lower.
Final Grade: F
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Starring Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jonathan
Lipnicki, Jay Mohr, Bonnie Hunt
Film Prophet's Review...
Jerry Maguire, Cruise, is a football agent suffering a mid-life crisis
balancing his faults who is popular in his work field and has many
responsibilities. He has a busy life until he starts failing to satisfy
his football clients enough and had a dozen or so girlfriends in the
past. One day when he comes to work, he gets an appreciation from his
peers, but his boss, Mohr, is less keen. He tells Maguire he is fired
and leaves a shocking look on Jerry. Steamed up, he gets in contact on
the telephone in his office with one football wide receiver, Gooding
Jr., who popularizes the 'Show me the money' quote. That scene was about
a desperate phone call attempt to keep his client which was great and
hilarious. Before Maguire leaves, he vows to make it on his own. He's up
and positive making a scene, but has no clue what to do next as his
secretary, Zellweger, named Dorothy, walks out with him. She is a single
mother raising a child boy who lives with her sister, Hunt. The movie
shows predictable images of other couples in love in front of Maguire
and Dorothy's eyes. Maguire establishes a cute connection with her boy,
Lipnicki, and it's unforgettable. He also manages to pick up a high
projected player, O'Connell, for the upcoming football draft, but
doesn't succeed. Without getting paid, he still has one client who turns
out to be a great friend, but his Cardinals team is unwilling to show
them the money for a new contract to re-sign him. "The key to this
business is personal relationships." A movie for the football sports fan
plus an additional love story which makes it even more lovable. There is
a scene where Jerry overhears a morning conversation between Dorothy and
her sister when he wakes up where Dorothy admits her affectionate
feelings about Jerry to her sister, is priceless. The concluding quote
towards the finish of 'you complete me' is reminiscing a sign-language
couple they saw when they walked out of their jobs. Cameron Crowe's
presentation of his story is imaginative displaying classic nineties
romantic story telling through the highs and lows and in the end, the
story is relieved of all the entertainment and tension the characters
and the audience confront. Well-directed, edited, and captured on
picture as he brings his characters to life. An enormous cast of too
many familiar faces including Kelly Preston, Jerry O'Connell, Donal
Logue, Regina King, and a whole bunch of NFL cameos portraying a blend
of American characters. A dynamite, exhilarating triple threat
performance on top that expands over the course of the story. Tom Cruise
is a wonderful choice to play Jerry, who has the charisma, energy, and
look. As his pro football player and client, Gooding Jr. sticks by him
and insists that he will 'show me the money' still. Gooding was
well-deserving on his supporting Oscar who was powerful in some great
scenes. Renee's performance was adorable and I was astonished. She was
compassionate, radiant, and charming at the same time. I couldn't blink
an eye without missing her endearing presence. She controls her Dorothy
character who has beyond value looks when she sees Maguire, with a
caring, gentle approach that expresses her deepest feelings and thoughts
very well. Through all the reporting, conferences, contracts, media, and
family Maguire faces, he finds himself battling two lives between his
agent career and his girl. The last twenty minutes was basically a
tearjerker and Film Prophet admits he had watery eyes near the end the
of the Monday Night Football game and Gooding's television interview at
the end. All explorations in identity development is solved through this
film and it's what really matters in life... statement against greed and
selfishness that has swarmed professional sports over-ridding the loyal
loving heart.
Final Grade: A-/B+
Hero (2004)
Starring Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Donnie Yen, Maggie Cheung, Daoming
Chen, Ziyi Zhang
Film Prophet's Review...
In a secluded war torn land, a callous emperor is rising to power with
massive arrowhead armies and to control everything, he will stop at
nothing. A bold warrior, Jet Li, goes on a mission of revenge, against
the emperor, for the massacre of his people. He has no name so people
call him Nameless and if he gets the job done, he will be rewarded with
gold and such. Nameless orates in flashback mode to the emperor and
shapes the story of how he beat three assassins. There is a concealed
division within the characters of master of the sword and archery
techniques, which splits the sides of the land. Nameless and a couple
other characters have the miraculous ability of using a sword that not
many others possess of and archery will not break down their culture.
They have a belief towards a calligraphy system of exquisiteness in
their favor never failing. Jet Li gives a great recognizable face in the
main cast. Film Prophet realizes the movie was released two years ago in
China, but the year in use will be America's release in the theaters. A
stunning creation that keeps the audience intact through its exciting
visuals and beautifully viewed cinematography... an appealing
choreographed martial arts combat film with its movement, camera angles,
and spectacular stunt leaps in the air makes it appear like China's The
Matrix in an approach. Director Yimou Zhang's themes are apparent and
the film is visually striking, although, it does lack a strong committed
story with plot holes of how they got their enormous training skills
along with perplexing character re-entrances from the flashbacks. The
fact that its visuals are impressive ignores the story and focuses more
on the art, which is presently creative. Almost every fight scene,
convincing with hardly showing any gore or blood, changes some kind of
scheme or color of nature from the color changes of forest green to
rainy brown and schemes as the falling of the leaves to thousands of
archery arrows in one direction, all supporting the film. The movie is
measured to be an exemplary of marital arts and intertwining impeccably.
Final Grade: B/B+
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver, Ben Affleck, Stellan
Skarsgard
Film Prophet's Review...
Genius director Gus Van Sant generates a poetic film of numbers,
formulas, loyalty, and choices. He takes measurements of the main cast
and perfectly displays the descriptions of their lives in a beautiful
way to draw the audience's interest to them. A therapist, a college
mathematician, and a working-class vie for a soul of a janitor with a
very high IQ. Will Hunting, Damon, is a college janitor who is smart and
troubled by peers afraid to show his knowledge and to enter the world so
he runs away when he sees the mathematician when he solves his formula
no student can solve. When Will is arrested for an assault, the
mathematician takes him in under his own supervision and lets Will see
an old college classmate of his, Williams, who is a therapist, for an
hour once a week. They communicate about worthy things and teach each
other a thing or two during their course. There's an old rival between
the therapist and the math professor who discovers Will's gift,
involving in some kind of intellectual jealousy and discovery, where the
therapist is as parallel to Will and makes the therapy sessions more
believable, while distancing the selfish cerebral with the professor.
Will is young and should be a student, but he works as a janitor in a
college. He develops a relationship with a college girl where he must
make choices and also makes up first person stories to exaggerate and to
get attention twisting lies because the truth holds doubts if revealed.
The jobs offered to Will are as a winning lottery ticket and any high
job is handed to him on a plate, but he turns them down. Will seems to
be self educated from history, to law, to organic chemistry, and math,
while it's hard to believe he hangs with friends who drink and commit
crime, but there's a strong message about why they are all friends.
There is more to life than just a mind as Will is an uncertain young man
like his friends. An intelligent, great character speaking of wisdom and
virtually points out college is for losers and degrees are unoriginal
and it's a waste of money. He doesn't need college and he will still be
smarter than the average graduate. Not only did Damon and Affleck grace
the screen for a key paramount tim |
