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Reviews
Joy Ride (2001)
Creative, but stupid
Joy Ride, starring Paul Walker and Steve Zahn, was a half-hearted attempt at a good thriller. The movie was very silly to say the least. Not only was half of the plot goofy, but the characters were not very practical. The whole movie seemed like a comic book, with extraordinary events supposedly happening in real life.
The Good: I thought this movie had a very strong beginning. It was realistic and creepy, the way any good thriller should be. However, the end was very bizarre and that crushed the entire movie. Despite the movie's poor characterization, I thought the acting wasn't too bad.
The Bad: The writing was terrible. The end makes no sence whatsoever. I won't explain the ending, but if you choose to watch this film you will see that it doesn't piece together. The directing was also pretty bad. I thought it was a poor choice for the director to keep in the nudity scene; That was just stupid and it changed the tone of the entire movie for a few minutes (which is not a good thing). There were not many good things about this movie.
Overall: 3/10 Realistic beginning, weak ending, bad writing. Amen.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
A Fantastic Movie
I love this movie! The Sixth Sense features everything that an excellent movie should feature--great acting, writing, directing, and cinematography. Actually, the cinematography was so good, that I actually didn't catch most of it until future viewings of the movie. Haley Joel Osment and Bruce Willis were both stunning. I was especially impressed with Haley Joel Osment, because he is so young, and so believable.
The Good: The plot is incredible. To me, The Sixth Sense has one of the best plots. The writer did a fine job as well as the director. The plot is so disturbing, original, and twisted. It's great. Like I said before, the cinematography is among the best. The Sixth Sense is jammed with hints and clues as how the movie will end, but most people never realize they're seeing them. To me, that's what makes a fantastic movie. Another thing I noticed about this film is that it had great music. The music played a very large role in the way the overall production looked. The music is actually what scared me the most. This movie was good in every way.
The Bad: I seriously can not find one bad thing about this movie. There are no holes in the plot and no bad acting. You could really tell the director made every part of the movie as detailed as possible with no loose ends.
Overall: 10/10 I cannot say enough about this movie--SEE IT!
American History X (1998)
A Compelling Drama
I was totally amazed with American History X. This movie was about racism and its effects on society, and it helped me realize how much of a problem racism can be. The directing, acting, story line, and cinematography were all excellent. Although this movie has very explicit language, sexuality, and violence, it has a very strong message, and Edward Norton does a top-notch job of depicting this message. I highly recommend American History X for all mature teens through adults. 9/10.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Brilliant
Wow, this is probably the best mystery I have ever seen. The Usual Suspects is a movie in which you must pay close attention to every detail, and I love movies like that.
The Good: Everything about this movie is so well done that I can't say enough about it. It is full of action and drama, with a little comedy twisted in. All of the characters are great, and the actors depicted this characters very well. Kevin Spacey was brilliant, and he fit his role perfectly. As far as directing goes, I don't think The Usual Suspects could have been directed any better. The end is great, and I love putting every piece in its place (although I had to watch it a few times before I got everything straight).
The Bad: The movie was perhaps a little too unbelievable. Kevin Spacey was perhaps a little too smart. Otherwise, I cannot find many, if any more flaws in the movie.
Overall: 10/10
Rain Man (1988)
Not as good as I expected
Many people told me that Rain Man was a very good movie and that I should see it. I took their word for it, and after viewing it I've found that Rain Man was an average movie.
The Good: Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman were brilliant in this movie. They fit their characters very well and both put forth a superb effort. I also thought it was neat seeing their relationship grow throughout the movie.
The Bad: I found this movie to be quite boring many times throughout the movie. It got repetitive, and it really did not send a very strong message, in my opinion. The movie began as a story of jealousy, and ended without much emotion. After a very long and exaggerated middle, I was hoping and expecting the movie to end very dramatically. Instead, it ended abruptly and I did not feel much sympathy for any of the characters in the movie. I thought the movie was a good idea, but could have been written and directed a little bit better. Nonetheless, it was a nice movie, but I don't know if I'd recommend it to very many people.
Overall: 5/10
Spider-Man (2002)
Overrated
Spider-man has been anxiously awaited by many people, including myself. And, although the cinematography in this film is superb, I think that this movie was not lived up to my expectations. The acting was pretty good, and, like I said, the cinematography was excellent, but I felt that the plot was not very good. The whole "Green Goblin" character was too much of the typical villian. They could have gotten more creative in the script, and they could have put a few twists into the movie. To me, this was the typical superhero movie, and I did not see anything that makes it unique among other superhero movies. And, I completely disagree with this movie being in the top 250 (as it is at this point in time). For what it's worth, this movie was partially entertaining and vastly overrated. RATING: 5/10
Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
A Brilliant Comedy
The Good: Chris Farley plays a hilarious ninja. What could be funnier than seeing an overweight man playing a ninja in a movie? His foolish character is hilarious throughout the entire movie.
The Bad: For a Chris Farley movie, the plot is not too bad--but it's not going to win an oscar either. Some of the acting by the less important characters was quite bad, but Chris Farley's funny character makes up for it.
Overall: This is a very funny comedy that you should see when you're in the mood to see something this dumb. ****/*****
Valentine (2001)
A Disturbing and Horrifying Thriller
The Good: I liked this movie because it was the first horror movie I've seen in a long time that actually scared me. The acting wasn't too bad, and the "Cupid" killer was believable and disturbing.
The Bad: The story line and plot of this movie is incredibly weak. There just wasn't much to it. The ways the killer killed his victims was very horrifying and disgusting. I do not recommend this movie to anyone who can not handle gore.
Overall: A good scare, but a bad story.
** out of *****
Jack (1996)
Touching
The Good: This movie is an excellent comedy/drama. Robin Williams does a heart warming performance as Jack, a boy who grows 4 times as fast as a regular boy. There were many funny parts, and many sad parts with a good mix of both. The acting is very good; Robin Williams did a great job of playing a 10 year-old boy.
The Bad: There were a few missing ends to this movie. Some things didn't fit together right. One thing was when he went to jail for getting in a fight at the bar. If he's only 10 years old, aren't the police going to figure it out?!
Overall: Overall, this is a touching movie that I encourage everyone to see. It may not be an Oscar nominee, but all in all it is a good show.
*** 1/2 out of *****
The Musketeer (2001)
A Big Disappointment
When watching the previews, I was expecting this movie to be decent. But I was completely wrong. The Musketeer was an extremely dull movie with very bad acting, writing, and directing. The only thing that I can pick out of this movie that I was impressed with is the fighting scenes. Even though there are only two good ones, they are very entertaining. I do not recommend wasting $7+ on this movie. If you really want to see it, I suggest that you wait until it comes out on video.