Reviews
Hulk (2003)
A comic book movie that seriously considers its characters
Hulk is not the usual superhero movie. There are exciting action sequences but the movie on the whole doesn't leave you feeling exhilarated, but rather sombre. Ang Lee has made a more thoughtful movie, which actually tries to develop its characters, and is interested in the relationship between Bruce and David Banner and Betty and General Ross and the resulting relationship between Bruce and Betty.
First of all Betty. Her father is a career military man and has always been distant from her. She wants to be closer to him, but it seems clear that he doesn't quite know how to do that. She trusts him at times during this film, and those times prove to be detrimental to Bruce Banner.
Bruce Banner in this film is the walking wounded though he doesn't even know it. There is deep trauma in his early childhood and he has buried in down. He loves science and that's the only thing that seems to animate him. He loves Betty as well but can't open up to her - he just doesn't seem to be able to. He's repressed and he often awakens from nightmares that he doesn't understand, and doesn't want to. General Ross scorns Bruce's father and distrusts Bruce as well. David Banner, a military scientist, experimented on himself and passed the changes onto his son and he loves Bruce as the outcome of an experiment and nothing more. After the accident takes place, Bruce isn't able to repress all the time and clamp down on his feelings. Instead he lets go and becomes the Hulk.
After two viewings, I realized how expressive the Hulk really is. The Hulk is Bruce's Id set loose. When he's not bothered, the Hulk is quiet and still. He looks closely at the desert flowers. When provoked, he replies in kind without hesitation. He is the four year old Bruce, full of pain and frustration, but this time supremely powerful and able to fight back. His roars at one or two points in the movie are roars of hurt and frustration, of a giant child who is desperately unhappy and angry. There are also moments when he is tender. When the rampaging Hulk sees Betty in a helicopter, he halts his attack, his anger gone at once, seeming almost wistful and ashamed at the same time. There is another, shorter moment when the leaping Hulk comes to Bruce's childhood home in a military base. He studies the house and we see the Hulk swallow a sob as some memory of Bruce's childhood returns to him.
The Hulk, in the comics, is never a happy story. Betty is always longing for relationships with her father and Bruce, while Bruce is terribly scarred by what his father has done to him. The only way he can fight back is through the Hulk, and becoming the Hulk has repercussions. He is unhappy as Bruce and targeted as the Hulk. The leads in this movie are dysfunctional people, and the movie deals with them in a serious, even realistic way of a dramatic film. The Hulk is not a normal popcorn superhero movie. It doesn't deserve to be one.
Hollywood Homicide (2003)
Surprisingly good movie
Hollywood Homicide was a victim of an unsteady marketing campaign that didn't know whether to advertise the film as a comedy or a cop-drama. It does involve cops and a murder investigation but it is the natural humour in the movie and the interplay between Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett that is the best reason to see it. Harrison Ford is as likable and gruff and easily humourous in this movie as you will ever see him. Having seen Sabrina and 6 Days 7 Nights, I was prepared for the worst, but Ford was on-key here and it was a happy surprise to watch him. He is effortlessly good here.
Josh Hartnett's character had been partnered with Ford's for four months so they are comfortable with one another. It's not played as old cop / young hotshot rookie but as seasoned cop / good but inexperienced kid and it works well. There is a scene where Hartnett wears himself out chasing a suspect on foot while Ford instead follows in the car. The suspect is caught when Ford parks the car, gets out and waits patiently for the suspect to emerge from an alley and then trips him, allow a breathless Hartnett to finally cuff him.
The murder plot is perhaps too dark for this movie and it is the discordant note in it. The movie might have done better to have painted the bad guys as just bad and not evil. But don't bother about the murder investigation or bad guys and watch the movie for Ford and Hartnett. Ford especially sparkles and it would be a shame not to see him when he's so good.
The Siege (1998)
Trips over the plot
(Spoliers ahead)
This movie had alot in its favor for the first half or so. There was some suspense and action and drama. Washington and Shalhoub perform their parts well and ground it in realism. Bening also does well at first but then falls victim to the movie's tangling plot.
By the second hour you get the feeling that everything's still being set up and this results in confusion and not suspense. Bening's character seems to be everywhere at once and during the course of the movie apparently was on everyone's side. I was relieved when she was killed in the end, but of course her last words melodramatically had to be "Inshallah'.
The General played by Willis is pretty much the stereotype of the hard-nosed soldier led astray by his duty to his country. Anyone could have played him and Willis is as good as anyone, so they put him in.
If the Siege had tried not to put so many things into the brew - Islamic terrorists and ethic stereotyping, Bening's baffling character and Willis' General, and tweaked the ending, you may have had a really good movie here. If you want to watch it go ahead, but don't expect too much.
The Fugitive (1993)
My absolute favorite movie
A perfect movie. The Fugitive renewed my waning faith in movies. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire film and at the end, I couldn't believe how good it had been. For me, this is Harrison Ford's best film. His performance as Kimble is done excellently. He never overplays and has just the right amount of quietness and anxiousness throughout. Tommy Lee Jones is superb in the brash and grimly amusing Gerard.
The Fugitive is also something of a movie to learn some aspects of filmaking by, in the way the story is revealed. The courtroom session takes place between the two starts of opening credits, showing the swift and bewildering sentencing of Kimble. And there is the action : the train wreck is the best crash scene I have ever seen.
I'd like to believe if Schindler's List wasn't up the same year that The Fugitive would have walked away with all the Oscars. This movie is smart, brilliantly directed and superbly acted. One of the best movies ever made and my absolute favorite.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Simple, powerful and a masterpiece
This movie is absolutely superb. You watch it and all the simple, unremarkable details just cumulate and you realise that this movie, by being unflashy and ordinary is telling a powerful story about hope and redemption. Andy seems to be the main character but it is Red who finds himself, who is redeemed.
The Shawshank Redemption was overlooked because it looked unremarkable. But this movie has to be seen. My friends are action movie fanatics but they were all stunned by this movie. Stephen King should be thanked for writing the novella and the director should be praised for bringing it to the screen in such fine form. Forget Forrest Gump, this was the Best Picture of 1994.
JFK (1991)
Well crafted suspense
In JFK, Oliver Stone shows how important editing is to a film. Through a relentless collage of black and white and color footage, 35 millimeter film and photographs, he skillfully weaves his conspiracy story. The facts could have been overwhelming and confusing in their profusion, but Stone places them all deftly into the sequence of events.
There are many familiar faces in this movie, but they are almost unrecognisable. They become their characters. The performances throughout JFK are good and realistic and the suspense and drama that binds the whole tale results in an excellent courtroom piece. JFK is truly fantastic film making.
Labyrinth (1986)
Brilliant Fantasy
Labyrinth is one of the best movies made for children that I can remember seeing. I saw it for the first time when it came out and thought it was superb. You are lost in Jim Henson's dreamworld and there is no better place to be. The entire production - the sets and creatures are wonderful and who else but David Bowie could be the Goblin King? With a great heroine and story, a marvellous background and songs sung by David Bowie, The Labyrinth is excellent children's filmaking
The Goonies (1985)
Great adventure movie for kids
The Goonies is a great movie for kids. I loved the setting, the characters, the story and the villains.
The main plot is this: The Goonies find a treasure map leading to One Eye Willie's treasure. The need to find the treasure so that they can prevent their houses from being sold. So they decide to go after it. What follows is real fun, excitement and adventure. I love this film still, though more than a decade has passed since I first saw it.
Lust for Life (1956)
A fantastic biographical movie
Kurt Douglas as Vincent Van Gogh is absolutely amazing. He captures the frenetic passion with which Van Gogh painted. The movie has all the main influencing factors of his life and all of the master's difficulties, trials and illnesses.
The film shows Van Gogh's love of painting. He once wrote to his brother that it was impossible to see the world and not want to paint it. He saw the goodness of the simple people and showed his sympathy for them. Van Gogh's style showed the energy of nature and the toil of the poor. Van Gogh comes through as a man desperately trying to paint enough of the beauty he saw, at one moment bristling with positive energy and at the next unsure of himself and afraid of being always alone.
I was touched by Lust for Life and could not help finding sympathy with Van Gogh despite hs arguing with other painters and and falling in love with an ill prostitute and his societal awkwardness and so on. He came through not as a misfit really, but as one who was not meant for society, and a man to whom society wore upon.
The movie is excellent and moving and the end is truly beautiful in its tragedy. It is impossible to mention all the aspects of the movie I liked but this movie can be seen based on Douglas's performance alone.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Crazy!
Mike Myers has written a weird, wacky and original comedy. Low brow humor to be sure but it works so well. Let's hope the sequel doesn't fall flat.
The Rock (1996)
Good Action!!!
The Rock is Nick Cage's best action film. The characters have moral integrity (especially Ed Harris') and this gave them depth. Sean Connery simply snaps, crackles and pops in this movie. The action doesn't stop though the multiple views work and slow motion bits do wear thin. But this movie has it all!
The Arrival (1996)
Surprisingly good
The Arrival doesn't look too appealing from the ads but it is really good. It is very suspenseful and the movie is quite intelligent and plays very well. Charlie Sheen does a good job as the hyper-strained scientist guy who suspects something. The movie doesn't churn out used cliches and I think that it is one of the better science-fiction movies released this decade.
Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
A great action movie
Die Hard 3 works so well for me because it seems to be realistic and not so fantastic as Face Off and those kinds of movies. The action is tremendous and non stop. I think that putting Sam Jackson and Jeremy Irons in the movie was a stroke of genius.The movie is intense and exciting from the first minute right to the last - wall to wall non-stop action. This is a must see for any action fan. I think it is the best of the series.
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
A masterful film
Clear and Present Danger is genuinely suspenseful. Harrison Ford plays Jack Ryan who in the course of the movie learns that he has been lied to and so he sets out to fix everything. The movie moves at a good linear pace and the way the events are set up is great.
Besides the suspense there is the action and this movie has one of the most exciting ambush scenes I have ever seen. This is one of Ford's best, no doubt. Willam Dafoe plays Clark to whom Ryan finds himself liable. What makes the heroism of the characters plausible is the strong integrity they possess. This is one movie no one should miss
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
One of those simple, good movies
It's kind of hard to say what exactly WEGG is about. Sure he takes care of his dysfunctional family but this movie leaves you with a sense of more than that. The scenes just flow and you take up the details almost unconsciously. The characters drive the story, not any plot.
As usual, Johnny Depp is remarkable in the title role. Leonardo Di Caprio got an Oscar Nomination for his portrayal or Arnie. The relationship between these two is the focus of the movie, if anything. Juliette Lewis is the 'love interest' and her character is unique to this movie. She plays the other concern in Gilbert's life
The movie works well and is never over-dramatic and never tries too hard to make some moral point. The characters are all somewhat unusual but recognisably human. It is perhaps this simplicity that makes this film special
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Should be renamed Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula
This movie almost follows the novel. The count comes to England and is then chased back home. In addition there is the love story which is well done and truly touching. The sets and costumes are marvellous and those alone make the movie woth seeing.
But except for Jonathon Harker's interactions with the count at the castle, this movie is not scary. Gary Oldman is scary as the old count and he makes the film. But the rest of the movie is mystery and eroticism and there is little horror involved.
The characters are also somewhat different than as written. Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra are apparently nymphomaniacs. Van Helsing has been written down to nothing more than a talkative perverted Dutchman. Thank God Renfield has been left untampered.
If you have to see this film, expect to be somewhat scared for the first forty minutes and awed by the ambience of the film throughout. But this is not Bram Stoker's Dracula. That Irishman would have never written characters like the ones in this film.
Batman (1989)
A classic
The best of the series. Batman has everything a great comic book adaptation should have - good performances, a good story and a good look. Keaton gives an mesmerising performance and Jack is brilliant as the Joker. Kim Basinger is also a bit more than the usual pretty face.
Tim Burton's direction is superb and the sets and art direction sets the dark tone of the movie well. And of course, there is Danny Elfman's amazing score
Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966)
A fantastic western
This movie was real fun to watch. It had drama, action and a healthy dose of comedy. It didn't have the usual simple western movie plot and I was interested right through, despite its length. Even if you don't like westerns, you should see this movie. Eastwood only made one other western that was anywhere near as good as this , the dramatic Unforgiven.