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Reviews
Spider (2002)
Pulls the viewer in to see how a Spider is born.
Spider is a fantastic film. Although slow moving, it's showcases
some superb acting and Cronenburg's grittiness, while keeping
you filled with anticipation and curiosity. Ralph Fiennes, in his
best performance to date plays Spider a mumbling schizophrenic
who can be seen picking up random bits of trash or putting his
hands down his pants to pull out a sock where he keeps his note.
Spider recalls his past, particularly the relationship between his
mother (played brilliantly by Miranda Richardson who plays
multiple roles in the film) and his father (played by Gabriel Byrne)
while he was a small boy. Young spider is played by Bradley Hall
a boy who's trying to deal with the confusing world around him. It's
a remarkable performance for this young actor's film debut. The
film's quite thought-provoking and ends up playing out like a
mystery, to see how a young boy became the Spider he is today.
Missing (1982)
How could an American journalist get lost in Chile?
Missing begins with journalist Charlie Hormon (played by John
Shea) and his wife Beth (Sissy Spacek) spending time in Chile
during the coup of 1973. Charlie wants to get the big scoop and
although the streets are muddled with dead bodies and tanks, he
feels quite safe, and consoles Beth with the line "They can't hurt
us, we're Americans."
Needless to say Charlie turns up "Missing" and the majority of the
film follows Beth and his father, Ed (Jack Lemmon), on a search
for him. During their search Ed finds himself dumbfounded by the
corruption and bureaucracy he constantly comes across, not only
of the Chilean government but also surprisingly of the one he
trusted most, the American government.
One may find this movie slow-moving if you don't really have too
much background into the coup or are old-enough to remember
some of the Cold War politics of the past. You don't get to know
Charlie well enough through the script to really care that he's
missing. These factors may add up to a dull movie for some
viewers or it could motivate you to learn more. The film rewards
every viewer with great acting performances and a cool soundtrack
by Vangelis.
Arrowhead (1953)
Heston v Palance ... should have been a more exciting match.
Charlton Heston stars as Ed Bannon in a role the NRA would
be proud of. Ed has a fierce hatred for the Apache Indian which
dates as far back as his childhood. The movie starts out with Ed
killing some go-between Indians who come in peace to relay a
message that the tribe is surrendering. Ed belongs to the US
Army and is kicked out for the aforementioned action by Captain
Bill North, played by Brian Keith. Keith does a great job in his role,
at times sounding like John Wayne but never carrying it out quite
as coolly or confidently.
Captain North and his men are tasked with taking the Apaches
to an Indian reservation in Florida. However, it's not going to be so
easy thanks to Apache Toriano, played by Jack Palance. The
Captain thinks he and his men can pull off this feat without much
trouble, but can they, without help from Bannon? After all, he's
lived with the Apache and knows how they think.
This film doesn't really have any good nor bad characters
although at the time it came out the Apaches were the bad guys,
why else would they cast Palance as Toriano? It's an interesting
film from a historical perspective (film history, not actual history)
but much finer "cowboy" vs. Indians have been created. In today's
world the movie's very un-PC, but weren't most early films starring
Native American bigoted in some way?
Blue Steel (1990)
Cop out of Blue Steel unless you like Jamie Lee Curtis.
Jamie Lee Curtis does a fantastic job playing a rookie cop, Megan, who kills a thief at a supermarket robbery during her first day on the job. Ron Silver has the best performance as the convincing, although almost over-the-top, power hungry stock broker, Eugene, who picks up a gun during the market robbery that Megan prevented. As any good psychopath would he becomes infatuated with Megan and goes around killing people with her name on the bullet casings. Too make matters worse he courts Megan and she falls for him.
The rest of the film finds Megan working with her fellow men in blue to figure out who the mysterious killer could be during the day while getting her swerve on with Eugene during the evenings.
The cinematography is good including some appropriate scenes shot in blue light. However, the characterization is fairly poor, especially for Eugene where very little of his background is revealed and the plot is quite predictable.
The Hunter (1980)
Not the best ending for McQueen's career.
Steve McQueen plays Papa Thorson a man who lives in the past with the motto "New things are no Good." Papa's a bounty hunter who relies on a law from the late1800's that allows anyone to capture those who jump bail (by almost any means necessary).
Most of the movie shows Papa tracking down and capturing criminals. There are some wacky chase scenes -- one involving a Trans Am and a Harvester in a corn field - but most the action is mundane especially compared to McQueen's other films.
The movie would have benefited greatly with better effects (explosions, etc), some one liners and stronger characterization.
The ending is somewhat sentimental and cheesy. The film is based on a true story - which probably could have used some embellishment. McQueen gives a pretty good performance and it's fun to see Levar Burton in one of his earlier roles.
Recommended for hard-core McQueen fans only.
The Quest (1996)
Good Van Damme but needs Moore plot.
This film wasn't too bad considering it was directed and cowritten by star Jean-Claude Van Damme. The movie starts off in the 1920's with Van Damme dressed as a clown wearing stilts working with street orphans to steal some money from gangsters. He escapes from gangsters before being chased by the police onto a ship. The next morning, out to sea, the ship owners chain up the stowaway and put him to work. Shortly after the ship is ambushed by British cavaliers, led by Roger Moore, which free him only to bring him to an island and sell him to the Mutai to be a fighter.
The action quickly changes from an adventure story to a video-game movie the likes of Tekken. All of the best fighters in the world are invited to fight in a tournament at the Lost City for the prize of Golden Dragon and honor. The fighters are acted by real fighting champions from around the world. Each brings his own fighting style resulting in some satisfying matches which are the saving grace of the film.
This film would have been much improved with plot twists and more attention paid the the back story of Van Damme's orphaned past to gain a better appreciation of why the fighting is so important to him.
4/10 -- diverse fighting but poor plot and not enough one liners.
The Hidden II (1993)
Watch the first film again.
The first ten minutes of this film are great ... but most people who are watching this sequel will quickly notice that it's just footage from the first film which starred Kyle MacLachlan.
Kyle's character, a good alien, kills off one of the bad aliens but not before it spawns. Time passes and another good alien teams up with the daughter of the star from the first flic.
What results is a film with little intrigue and no new concepts. They could have provided more insights into the alien races or maybe showcased some cooler alien powers or forms. The anticlamatic ending will leave many wondering why?
2/10 -- no Kyle, no story, no suspense