Buddybaba's Reviews

Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees (1991)

10/10

12 January 2007

We showed this at our local Art film movie-house. It is where it belongs.

Watch it if you think that David Cronenberg's adaptation of Burrough's book, "Naked Lunch," is too linear. If you don't know who William Burroughs is definitely avoid this. This has more to do with surrealist dream films than documentaries.

Delightfully mad IMHO.

Bees, Bouroughs, Book of the Dead. Egyptian myth.

Anti-War Sci-Fi Cyberpunk "My dead wife was in the hive. She fragmented." "They were the dead and vengeance was their life." "I was Cain." "The Planet of Television, transmitting the dead."

It's all pretty schizophrenic. Jacob Maker, beekeeper, in the land of the dead and the garden of eden, Iraq.

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The Brothers Grimm (2005)

7/10

Strangely dissatisfying for Gilliam fans

19 December 2005

This was a movie I would have expected from Hallmark. Good filmed work. A fun premise. Decent action. Slightly annoying accents.

I won't be dwelling on the images for much longer than it takes to finish this review. I probably would have been disappointed if I had paid Ten Bucks in the theater but for the cost of a rental I'd recommend it. But this was not Brazil, Time Bandits, Fisher King, and especially not Fear and Loathing.

What's up Terry? Did Don Quixote's loss take the fire out of your breath.

I'll wait for the next real Terry Gilliam movie but for fun family entertainment it's better than a lot of what's out there.

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High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music (1992)

10/10

A film to love even if you're not into bluegrass

1 October 2005

Rachel Liebling, a student of Ken Burns, has created a classic of Americana. The editing and cinematic styling are obviously a Burns spin off but an old nitrated photo of a small country church and great locomotive imagery bring her into new documentary dimensions. The music is perfectly synced with its images as in Bill Monroe's seamless walk from concert stage to his old front porch. Ralph Stanley singing "Man of Constant Sorrow". A young Alison Krause at about the time she won the national fiddling contest. This is not a complete compendium, a chronological survey, or a definitive look at Bill Monroe or any of the individual artists but an impassioned portrait of a true American musical art form. I recommend it highly, 10 out of 10.

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Mindhunters (2004)

3/10

Should be renamed "Plot Hunters"

20 September 2005

Warning: Spoilers

My friend told me to turn off my brain while watching this. I'm sorry friend I couldn't get it entirely off. This had more goofy deaths than "Wishmaster".

1. What's with Christian Slaters character being frozen and breaking apart like the T-1000 in Terminator. The nozzle breaks on a take of liquid nitrogen(?)and everyone watches for two minutes while he freezes from the legs up. Couldn't one of them tough guys push him or the tank out of the way?

2. Don't smoke. It'll eat you up. How did the acid stay in the the cigarette? Or the pack?

3. As soon as the title credits you know the ending. Clue. Hydrophobia (fear of water). Boy it didn't take long for her to be cured.

4. This might explain the ineptitude of the FBI if I believed that this is how agents are trained. I think they would have just fired Val Kilmer's ass before the movie started if he was even suspected of abusing recruits.

5. Not as good as Driven, Deep Blue Sea, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Cutthroat Island, Cliffhanger, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Die Hard 2, or A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. An I hated Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Cutthroat Island. I haven't seen Exorcist, the beginning yet but from what I hear it might make my list of bad Renny Harlin Films.

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Stephen King: Shining in the Dark (1999 TV Movie)

6/10

Again_ No References to the Dark Tower

19 April 2005

This is not a bad documentary just a very incomplete one. There are no references to his seminal work, "The Dark Tower" series which he began in college and forms the backbone of many of his other novels. It is too defensive. It does not discuss the writers that influenced him, ignoring the Bradbury's and Lovecraft's and more that make Stephen possible. I know that King does not put himself beyond them. It's just unfortunate that old SCi Fi/Horror genre stereotypes were reinforced by the piece.

I loved seeing him at his old residences but where was Connecticut. He spent many years in Stratford as a child.

For a supposed literary documentary there is a bit too much Hollywood. Although I was very happy to hear him dis Kubrick's Shining. It is an interesting Kubrick but it's not a King.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

9/10

The Amazing Ring Go's on and on

16 December 2003

It's possible that over twelve hours in one day was too much for my brain to handle but after having seen the LOTR trilogy today my favorite LOTR is still narrowly, the Fellowship. This is not to say that Return of the King didn't blow me away, it did. The problem was that I think Jackson didn't want it to ever end. There are multiple times during the final twenty minutes that said well that was great now it's over and it weakened a very beautiful finale, IMHO. Just shortening some of those goodbye scenes by a little would have helped a lot.

That being said I still rated it 9 out of ten because this is one of the most exciting and beautifully filmed movies I have every seen. The battle sequences were incredible. I will see it again. I wonder what the director's cut of this will look like. Hopefully not more endings.

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Red Dragon (2002)

5/10

A Great Disappointment

6 October 2002

I just came back from "Red Dragon" and I have to say it is time for a great actor, Anthony Hopkins, to take a break and then come back as something other than a "Cannibal Clown" The audience I was with laughed through most of the film. From the tired "who are we having for dinner" opening to the "music goes up when we see a broken mirror behind a door" suspense film cliched ending, I was bored. Nine bucks for what? Read the book.

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Farscape (1999–2003)

Intelligent, original, very watchable

18 September 2002

Let me start by saying that I have been reading SF for over forty years and am a huge fan of shows such as Outer Limits, Dr. Who, Star Trek Next Generation, and Babylon 5. I started watching Farscape in 1999 and have never missed an episode.

To the previous reviewer I ask a simple question, "Why?" You kept on watching without seemingly enjoying it.

The characters are original, well written, and better acted. The effects are brilliantly conceived and every episode done with big screen intensity. I would love to see some of these episodes on a big screen. This series is by far my favorite TV show. It's impossible to convey my feelings for the characters to the uninitiated. Pilot and Rygel are so much more than puppets but they are. Zhan is a blue sexy plant. Crighten is a very imperfect hero, Crais a very complex villain. Don't expect to walk in the middle and get it. Grow into it. Read it like you would novel. It's not perfect but for all it's imperfection it's the most human and literate of Sci-Fi's ever produced on TV. IMHO

It's not for all but for those that get it its an amazing experience.

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Spider-Man (2002)

9/10

Best Adaptation of a comic since Superman 1

3 May 2002

Sam Raimi takes time amid the CGI to develop a story and will be rewarded with a new comic book superhero franchaise. Hope he continues to do the same with Spiderman 2. Purists might complain a bit but can't complain that Tobey Maquire is not perfect for the job. Willem Defoe is an amazingly schizophrenic Norman Osborne/ Green Goblin and hopefully J.K. Simmons will get more opportunities as Jameson of the Daily Bugle in the next installment. Great fun even though the price of tickets has jumped here to 9 bucks.

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Rush Hour 2 (2001)

4/10

Where was Jackie Chan?

14 August 2001

Tucker and the Ziyi Zhang, from Crouching Tiger, in the final karate showdown in the casino with no sign of Chan? What was it with all those Mandella jokes? Is it cool to make fun of Martin Luther King and the fight for civil rights now? I guess now that we're all equal we can laugh at the flaming gay guy in the clothing store together. If the action sequences were better I might have forgiven the bad jokes but Chan is starting to look like he needs to find a young apprentice. I left the theater with a bad taste. The best part was the out takes.

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Cause célèbre (1987 TV Movie)

9/10

Another brilliant performance by Helen Mirren

4 May 2001

It never ceases to amaze me how one actor can so involve you in their characterization as to make you forget the person and remember the part. Helen Mirren is one of the greatest actors alive today. This is now available on video through Lance Entertainment. Watch it and you will be amazed. A great script interpreted by great actors. What more can you want from a film?

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The Green Mile (1999)

10/10

Best Stephen King Adaptation Yet!

19 December 1999

As a longtime reader of Stephen King and a lover of his "The Green Mile" I was overjoyed at the fact that Frank Darabont, the director of Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite adaptations of King's work, and nervous that Tom Hanks was chosen to play Paul Edgecomb, the lead character. I couldn't have been more wrong. Tom Hanks is amazing in this role. The cinematography perfect. The plot smoothed and if anything improved from the book. Michael Duncan is John Coffey. I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. Don't let it's three hour length scare you. This is a great film.

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The 13th Warrior (1999)

A Pleasant Surprise

10 September 1999

This was one of the best and engaging cinematic story telling films that I have seen in the theaters in a few years. Banderas played his part well and the inclusion of Omar Sharif to give some believability to Antonio being a true arab was admirable but you have to wonder if it would have been better to change his initial homeland to Spain and the Alahambra. The cinematography was breathtaking at times and the William's like score did a beautiful job of enhancing the epic like scope of the movie.

I recommend this highly to fans of action/adventure films. Good escapist fare. Drink a little fermented honey before you go.

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Cosi (1996)

Funny and touching Austrailian anti-establishment comedy

4 March 1999

Funny and touching. An unusal blend of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutti and the life of an unemployed stage director who takes a job out of desparation with a mental institution as rec director. Must see scene occurs at the end of the final credits.

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