jacksonprice-45501's reviews

By the time Sudden Impact came around Clint Eastwood was comfortable playing Harry Callahan. He not only stars but also directs and many consider Sudden Impact the best Dirty Harry movie. Sudden Impact delivers all the action and violence one expects from a Dirty Harry movie. The plot is not complicated, but it does its job. The film is a collage of Harry moments, from his insubordination and denunciation of his superiors as paper-pushing idiots to his brutal confrontations with street scum. No one knows better than Eastwood what makes Harry work, and it's all here. Sudden Impact remains a viscerally effective, fast paced thriller. Unlike many of its contemporary cop movies, it avoids the most obvious signs of being dated and its themes about injustice and vigilantism, as thinly as they are spread, remain relevant. This is a great action film- typical 80's, and you'd be a fool to not give it a shot.

Ridley Scott's Prometheus has been very highly awaited by the science fiction community for not only is it a return to the scifi genre by the esteemed director, but also because Scott started the franchise in the first place. Prometheus is definitely better than most films in its category but then that is a given with the huge budget and Ridley Scott behind the camera. As part of the Alien canon however it might be a bit more complex. Alien fanboys might get offended with where Scott has taken the story and the entire bit with the space engineers will elicit opinion on the extremes. Visually the film is stunning and some scenes are truly awe inspiring. Irrespective of what you think of the film you will surely have an opinion to give.

Here is an effective scene in the opening but it is false promise and the film is a mediocre ghost slasher on a ship. Ghost Ship is essentially a movie about a bunch of anonymous characters stuck in a floating haunted house. In general, this kind of movie can be diverting if it's put together correctly. (Consider, for example, that Ridley Scott's Alien is essentially a haunted house movie, set on a spaceship.) Unfortunately, Ghost Ship shows little in the way of solid craftsmanship. Since the primary asset of a haunted house movie is rarely the plot, this sub-genre must rely on elements like shock tactics and suspense - two characteristics where Ghost Ship falls short. Aside from an occasional, half-hearted "boo!" moment, there's nothing scary about this movie. Nearly all of the characters in Ghost Ship are flat, underdeveloped, and uninteresting. The cinematography is meh and the CGI is barely tolerable.

Fans of Michael Connelly's book will applause to this adaptation of his book of the same title. It does capture the spirit of the book and the McCaleb's character his hellish journey. I was truly touched by the emotions McCaleb faces - saving his own life and the Gloria Rivers' heart, or catching the twisted villain who's on a murderous rampage. However, the twists are there, but the clues are so obvious and come too soon. I have no doubt it's easy for all to get the picture quickly and solve the crime long before the movie ended. It's an enjoyable crime thriller that had made me yearn for more film adaptations of Michael Connelly's books.

Pixar continues to grow with each passing project and Wall E is a great film that continues this tradition. Wall E is a tale of a robot-a very lonely robot and his experiences with love, mortality and human beings. The film works on all levels- there are enough funny gags and jokes to keep the younger audience happy and there is an underlying theme of the effects of capitalism that will be picked up by many older viewers. The setting in space gives an opportunity to the PIXAR animators to try different color palette which is a refreshing change from the colors we are used to seeing. This is an unmissable animation film.

If movies were rated solely on the basis of style, The Quick and the Dead would score highly indeed. With its dazzling photography, inventive camera angles, and throbbing bass score, the film is an experience for the eyes and ears. Director Sam Raimi and cinematographer Dante Spinotti have woven a beautifully elaborate tapestry: colorful and evocative -- and depressingly two-dimensional. There's a lot of movement in The Quick and the Dead, but it's usually a case of going nowhere fast. While the film is too slick and flashy to allow boredom, there's little in the way of substance. Beneath the brightly-polished surface sheen, The Quick and the Dead shows a distressingly hollow interior -- and that's an unfortunate epitaph for any film's tombstone.

Considering the talent involved - writer/director Amy Heckerling and actors Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd - I Could Never Be Your Woman could contend for the most high-profile motion picture yet to take the direct-to-DVD route. This wasn't intended to be the path traveled by this motion picture; had all gone well, it would have been on multiplex screens a year or two ago. Financial mismanagement and bad decisions made the movie unreleasable and it languished until The Weinstein Company executed their home video rights. The result is a mixed blessing for Heckerling - her movie gets to see the light of day but it does so with the unenviable "direct-to-DVD" label. It's good enough to warrant better than the curt dismissal it is likely to receive in some corners.

Robert Zemeckis's Contact is the thinking man's science fiction movie, massively underappreciated in my opinion . The opening shot which pans back into space, quietly humbling us by reminding our insignificance, the transmission and receiving of the signal, the machine and teleportation of Jodie Foster in it to meet the "makers", this film is filled with such scenes and joining them together is a fantastic story with an excellent pacing. Contact polarized critics but this is a very good film and features some great performances by Jodie Foster, Mathew Mcconaughey and others.

Casino is a foray from Scorsese who almost always prefers to shoot his hometown New York. The setting is hedonistic Las Vegas and the Casino is about some friends who decide to setup their empire on the sands. The underlying themes of greed, power, corruption are all evident here and of course the actors shine- Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods and about a dozen more have seldom been this good. The gorgeous shots of the casinos with Scorsese's stylist approach are amazing. Go watch Casino- It is one of the best films of the 90s.

Society left me wanting more- On the one hand it is quirky and daring, but then it doesn't know what to do with the quirkiness. The problem with Society is that it doesn't realize that quirks and offbeat charm can only go so far and that it needs something more- like a substantial premise or great pacing for the other elements to work. Society gets certain quirk elements alright and the ending where a cannibalistic orgy starts is suitably funny or scary whichever way you wanna look. But overall Society is a miss because ofa lack of a good story.

Jurassic park is an average film- I didn't like it as much- perhaps this is so because I watched it at an age where adult worldly concerns because too overbearing to completely let go and immerse in a 2-hour excursion into the prehistoric. But its not just that. The plot is bare, and the characters are cookie-cutter. Sure, I don't expect Shakespeare in a movie about giant lizards, but they could have etched the characters out more. Having said that the film is entertaining, and the special effects are outwardly. The dinosaurs look and feel like real breathing reptiles- thanks to the great work by Stan Winston and co. Regardless of my opinion this is a monster of a movie.