Welcome to the new profile
We're still working on updating some profile features. To see the badges, ratings breakdowns, and polls for this profile, please go to the previous version.
Reviews9
jmrlasvegas's rating
It was fun watching a healthy (if hefty) Val Kilmer. His character displayed an attractive and calm way in most of the film. Fun to see Elle Fanning extravagantly made up and costumed. Bruce Dern was a hoot as the crazed town Sheriff and there were a couple of scenes that had some genuinely artistic cinematography.
However, one of the reviews informs us this story came to Coppola in a dream while he was in Turkey. He has a reputation for being a bit of a doper and this dream must have been enabled by an overdose.
The plot is an absolute mess and makes any sense in only about 3 or 4 scenes. I am not someone who requires all loose ends be neatly tied up, but this story goes nowhere.
I don't see any way to pay much attention and enjoy the film. Perhaps if you get bombed, don't think about the story and just enjoy the view, it could be worth your time.
However, one of the reviews informs us this story came to Coppola in a dream while he was in Turkey. He has a reputation for being a bit of a doper and this dream must have been enabled by an overdose.
The plot is an absolute mess and makes any sense in only about 3 or 4 scenes. I am not someone who requires all loose ends be neatly tied up, but this story goes nowhere.
I don't see any way to pay much attention and enjoy the film. Perhaps if you get bombed, don't think about the story and just enjoy the view, it could be worth your time.
I lifted my caption from another review, done in 2015. That review contained info which might explain why everybody does not share my opinion that this was one of the very best segments of the X-Files.
It seems there was a good deal of extra story filmed, which had to be deleted. From the time I first saw it, 25 years ago, I wished there had been more detail about the seemingly perpetual connection between Scully and Mulder, as comrades in past lives.
I have no memory of ever seeing guest star Kristen Cloke in anything else, but she was excellent and very appealing. That element was not rare in the X-Files. There were many terrific guest performances over the years, but this segment always impressed me and when I dug it up to watch it again, all I could think is that it should have been made as a 2-part story. By doing that, it might have been more widely regarded as one of the best stories the series ever produced.
The X-Files was not, fundamentally, about aliens, monsters, Scully's baby or Mulder's sister. It was about a remarkable partnership, which always happened to involve fantastic cases.
I found the concept that these two FBI agents---who probably should be regarded as the most interesting police partrners TV has ever created---had been reincarnated as comrades through the ages, to be far more interesting than the common plots about saucers, black oil, black magic or mutants.
I must admit that the best ever may have been the one, from the same 4th season, about the origin of the cigarette smoking man. However, The Field Where I Died had the potential to be the next best and is worth going out of your way to watch.
JR.
It seems there was a good deal of extra story filmed, which had to be deleted. From the time I first saw it, 25 years ago, I wished there had been more detail about the seemingly perpetual connection between Scully and Mulder, as comrades in past lives.
I have no memory of ever seeing guest star Kristen Cloke in anything else, but she was excellent and very appealing. That element was not rare in the X-Files. There were many terrific guest performances over the years, but this segment always impressed me and when I dug it up to watch it again, all I could think is that it should have been made as a 2-part story. By doing that, it might have been more widely regarded as one of the best stories the series ever produced.
The X-Files was not, fundamentally, about aliens, monsters, Scully's baby or Mulder's sister. It was about a remarkable partnership, which always happened to involve fantastic cases.
I found the concept that these two FBI agents---who probably should be regarded as the most interesting police partrners TV has ever created---had been reincarnated as comrades through the ages, to be far more interesting than the common plots about saucers, black oil, black magic or mutants.
I must admit that the best ever may have been the one, from the same 4th season, about the origin of the cigarette smoking man. However, The Field Where I Died had the potential to be the next best and is worth going out of your way to watch.
JR.
I must declare, first off, that I like Gerald Butler & that I really like looking at Morena Baccarin. Next, I am a fan of these armageddon-themed films and have probably seen them all.
When I say all of them, I mean going back to the 1950s---When Worlds Collide & the 60s, such as The Last Man on Earth & Panic in the Year Zero. Many, during all the decades since, have been pretty cheesy, but some have been quite good.
Until the genre became flooded with pulpy yarns in the last 15 years, I have probably read all the decent novels with the theme: How do I keep my family safe as the world crumbles? There have been some truly great ones. I really am a fan of these stories and was quite disposed to enjoy watching Greenland.
What I always find appealing is the combination of a truly extentential threat (which even flawed characters had no part in creating), followed by unlimited opportunities for the protaginists to do smart, resourceful and brave things to save themselves and their loved ones.
The threat here is typical---space rock. However, it ranks way below average in the exhibition of problem solving skill. Too much poor decision-making, too much bad luck and too many improbable instances of good luck.
I have also, perhaps unfairly, become irritated with what is becoming the common use of children in these movies. It's perfectly OK for them to be included as an extra burden our heroes must bear, but when a kid starts making viewers wish for an unfortunate accident---to give everybody else a break---then the movie would probabaly have been better without including that short character. Space Rock + Kid = Most of the Drama in this film.
There is not much to admire in Greenland.
JR.
When I say all of them, I mean going back to the 1950s---When Worlds Collide & the 60s, such as The Last Man on Earth & Panic in the Year Zero. Many, during all the decades since, have been pretty cheesy, but some have been quite good.
Until the genre became flooded with pulpy yarns in the last 15 years, I have probably read all the decent novels with the theme: How do I keep my family safe as the world crumbles? There have been some truly great ones. I really am a fan of these stories and was quite disposed to enjoy watching Greenland.
What I always find appealing is the combination of a truly extentential threat (which even flawed characters had no part in creating), followed by unlimited opportunities for the protaginists to do smart, resourceful and brave things to save themselves and their loved ones.
The threat here is typical---space rock. However, it ranks way below average in the exhibition of problem solving skill. Too much poor decision-making, too much bad luck and too many improbable instances of good luck.
I have also, perhaps unfairly, become irritated with what is becoming the common use of children in these movies. It's perfectly OK for them to be included as an extra burden our heroes must bear, but when a kid starts making viewers wish for an unfortunate accident---to give everybody else a break---then the movie would probabaly have been better without including that short character. Space Rock + Kid = Most of the Drama in this film.
There is not much to admire in Greenland.
JR.