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nymichael2002
Reviews
South Beach Dreams (2006)
worst movie ever
I decided to rent this movie for a goof because I live in South Beach and I thought it would be amusing to see something filmed locally. I'd like to ask the director for my money back because this had to be one of the most amateurish, poorly acted films that I've ever seen. I've seen high school productions with better acting. The movie's basically about 3 girls that are trying to make it in the music business. One of them is starts out by being the naive innocent one but in reality she's the evil manipulative backstabber. The plot and dialog is so cheesy that I actually couldn't keep a straight face while watching it. The only redeeming quality about the movie is the cinematography which is okay and shows plenty of South Beach architecture and sights. But please do yourself a favor and skip this one.
The World History of Organized Crime (2001)
Very intriguing and well researched
I caught this mini-series on DVD recently and I was very pleased with the production and on how well researched it was. The mini-series is divided into five chapters: Sicily, Russia, Colombia, China and India. It delves into the history and origins of how organized crime started and how it flourished in the above countries and how it continues to affect their societies today. The only drawback was that since this mini-series was produced in 2001 there has been many events that have since changed. For example this was produced before September 11 and since then we all know how the world has changed. But if you're looking to see how the Mafia, the cocaine cartels, the Triads got their start this mini-series will do the job.
Uncovered: The War on Iraq (2004)
great documentary
Robert Greenwald does a very methodical job with this film. It's not sensationalist like Michael Moore's Farenheit 9-11 so it goes at a slower pace but it only serves to drive the point home that Bush and his administration were mistaken to invade Iraq and how intelligence was manipulated. This movie definitely brings up several good points and I recommend that everyone sees this. The interview with Robert Kay was the most impressive one for me for seemed very well thought out and was sent by Bush himself to inspect Iraq for its so called WMD. The quotations from Achmed Chalabi are chilling in retrospect. I challenge all supporters of the war in Iraq to view this film.
Zir-e poost-e shahr (2001)
I was expecting more closure
This movie is about a working class family living in Tehran. The matriarch of the family is trying to keep her family together while going through financial difficulties. The family is broke with only the mother and the oldest son working. The movie takes a real look at how the working class has to struggle in modern Iran. The acting was real and so where the scenarios but the movie left some issues unresolved. Such as what happens to Abbas, the oldest son and breadwinner, after he runs away from a drug dealer. We also never find out what happens to a next door neighbor's young daughter after she runs away from an abusive brother and gets arrested. I don't speak Farsi so I'm sure I lost a lot of the film's dialogue by reading the subtitles.
Jane Street (1996)
waste of time
I had the misfortune of watching this film recently. I had no idea it starred Robert Gant from Queer as Folk who I think is a decent actor so I was shocked that he was in such a lame film. While the movie does feature Carrie Stevens, Gabriella Hall and Linda Hoffman (all very attractive females) in the buff. It doesn't make up for the poor script and lame story. The movie is about a single attractive girl who moves to a new city and her manipulative boss is trying to seduce her. While this is going she's having dreams about her boss's ex-lover who was murdered. I think I'd rather re-arrange my sock drawer than sit through this movie again.
Our America (2002)
A thoughtful and insightful film
I was caught off guard by this film for the only person that I recognized in the cast was Peter Paige from Queer as Folk, he only plays a tiny role of public radio producer. Anyway this film is based on a true story of 2 adolescents from the housing projects of South Chicago that are asked to document their lives by a public radio station. The producer from the radio station is accused of exploiting the youths and tempers flare. The film is a harrowing and brutal portrait of life in the projects and how many residents there don't see much hope of improving their lives. While many detractors of the film will see that this film concentrates on the negatives there are several positive characters also. The character of LeAlan Jones and his family are beacons of hope. Overall I enjoyed this film.
Code 33 (2005)
Riveting documentary
I was lucky enough to catch a screening of this film at the Miami Film Festival. Since it was a local production filmed on location here I was very interested in seeing it. This film is a documentary of how the Miami Police Department tracked down a serial rapist that was terrorizing the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami. The film is real look on how tough the job of police man can be. The documentary shows how real police work is nothing like we see on TV where all cases are solved in an hour and every lives happily ever after. The film showcases on how tedious and frustrating cracking a case can be. This film is probably the most honest depiction of how a criminal case is put together from beginning to end. So I highly recommend this film.
El rey (2004)
entertaining film
I was lucky enough to catch this film at a film festival in Miami. The film is about Pedro Rey who preceded Pablo Escobar as Colombi's main cocaine kingpin in the 1970's. The film is a Colombian production and filmed on location in Cali. While the film is low budget it is very rich in character development and story.
The film pretty much tells the story of how Pedro Rey rose from his humble beginnings to be one of the top cocaine dealers in Colombia. Along the way he befriends an American from the Peace Corps who becomes his main distribution contact in the U.S. The film exposes how the drug money Pedro Rey earns can corrupt politicians, police forces and his own family. The movie was well acted and the characters very real. The film did remind me of Brian De Palma's "Scarface" but overall it was a good production.
Joe Dirt (2001)
pure torture
Just when I thought I saw the worst movie ever made, Freddy Got Fingered, this piece of garbage comes out. Mind you I find David Space to be a fine comic actor. I liked him in "Tommy Boy", "Dickie Roberts" and on "Saturday Night Live". He's also always a great guest on the Howard Stern show but this movie was so bad I don't even know where to begin. The mullet jokes wear thin after the first five minutes and the slapstick humor is really lame. Poorly written and directed there is absolutely nothing funny about this film. The fact that this movie also stars Dennis Miller and Kid Rock goes to show how desperate they must have been to agree to make a film this poor.
Runaway Bride (1999)
the most awful film ever?
This was probably one of the most god awful movies I've seen a long time. It amazes me how the director, Garry Marshall, can find work after putting this piece of garbage out. This movie is even worse than an earlier debacle of his "Dear God" starring Greg Kinear. The plot is stupid and makes no sense and the chemistry between Julia Roberts and Richard Gere is non-existent. I think I'd rather watch paint dry than to watch this film again. It ranks up there with Freddy Got Fingered, Gigli and the Adventures of Joe Dirt as far as bad movies go. This will be the last Garry Marshall film that I will ever see. What happened to the director who filmed "Frankie and Johnny" and "The Flamingo Kid"? There's nothing worse than wasted talent.