markshugh

Steven Spielberg is a genius, master filmmaker and as such Minority Report should be stated as a blockbuster fantastic film, not totally unexpected to be so good. Those in the mood for the action and adrenaline rush of a typical summer blockbuster will find something to their taste here. Yet there are richer rewards for viewers who are willing to engage their brains. Anyone who wants to think through the mysteries and paradoxes presented herein will discover a multi-course cinematic buffet that can keep the gray matter occupied for days to come. Action fans have plenty to engage their attention. Minority Report features its share of shoot-outs, fights, and chase scenes, some of which are quite spectacular. As for the special effects- they are very good and serve the ingenuity of the script, not the other way around. This is a marvelous film that should be watched by fans and non-fans of sci-fi alike.

A remake of the 1984 film The karate Kid isn't as good as the original but nowhere as bad as people were expecting. Generally, remakes fall somewhere on a spectrum of "brilliant re-creation" to "embarrassing waste-of-time." Although the uninspired resume of director Harald Zwart (whose previous efforts include Agent Cody Banks and The Pink Panther 2) might lead one to expect the worst, The Karate Kid falls somewhere in the middle. It is redundant and unnecessary but it's also inoffensive and does nothing to damage the reputation of the original. Despite the roughness of the violence (which probably should have resulted in a PG-13 rating), The Karate Kid offers something for nostalgic parents and children who don't want to see an "old" movie. It's perfectly adequate, which might be the best one could hope for given the source material. Will Smith's kid isn't as annoying as he became. And Jackie Chan, as legendary as he is, cannot take Pat Morita's place. Still- a decent remake.

One of the earliest of Clint Eastwood's Roles. This movie quotable lines about masculinity. The central theme here is bargains. Survival depends on bargains. Copelan at the helm of his first and only film explores the usual themes of man versus man, man versus society, man versus his environment, and the issue of apocalyptic armaments. Clearly, the Winchester repeating rifles at the heart of this drama serve as metaphors for atomic weapons. Copelan emphasizes their role early on by presenting them in the first close-ups so that we cannot overlook them. The durable and dependable Scott Brady must prevent these rifles from landing in Apache hands. Watchable only due to Eastwood's early presence.