Reviews

I'm a huge fan of the mini-series since it aired on A&E 10 years ago. I had doubts about the movie version, first, how can any man redo Colin Firth's celebrated performance? And secondly, would Keira Knightly do justice to Eliza Bennet? And most importantly, how can you enjoy the film without comparing it to the mini-series!? Answer to the first question, is Matthew McFayden did a fantastic job, he's a great and passionate actor. Keira Knightly fit perfectly as Eliza Bennet (and believe me I had doubts), but her performance was outstanding. And lastly: the mini-series. For the first 20 minutes of the film, all I could do was compare every actor, every movement to the mini-series. But then I became so wrapped up with the sensuality of the film, something the A&E/BBC miniseries lacked. Granted, the A&E version is more true to the novel, it also has more room for intelligent banter and novel preservation because it's 5 hours long. Although what the mini-series did lack, was the PASSION! Which this movie exceeds. It is not just a great novel, but it's a love story which the film portrays beautifully. The passion in Eliza's heart and love for Mr. Darcy after realizing his goodness is something that is quite reserved in the mini-series.

The film made a great approach in making miniseries fans satisfied by being able to see the passionate and sensual side of Jane Austen and the story.

The director's choices were fantastic. We got to almost feel Eliza's character the part where we see the sunlight Eliza sees with her eyes closed. It was a great choice in trying to connect the audience almost anatomically with our protagonist.

If you are a big fan of the mini-series, don't be stubborn - you will be pleasantly surprised to see a new side to our favorite Jane Austen couple.

FILM: 10/10 DIRECTING: 10/10 PERFORMANCES: 10/10 (although I wasn't really happy with the casting of the Binglys) WRITING: 9/10 ADVERTISING: 0/10 (Consider this movie poorly advertised, especially 2 months before Oscar announcements; shame shame shame)

I who never was in NY during the early 90s, do not know what the rave scene used to be like. According to my friend, this movie is "on-point" to the underground rave scenes. (Yuck, ew, yuck, sick)

I love Seth Green and I think he's a wonderful actor; this role proves it. But Macaulay on the other hand... well I guess it would be hard to play a deranged, delusional, and psychopathic snob, with killer instincts...no pun intended. But it was a horrible performance. Is it to late to ask him to go take acting lessons? The small cameos throughout this film cannot save this movie. Although I did amuse myself by playing "spot the celeb" b/c the story itself made me want to puke manually. The highlight of this film was seeing Culkin in a naughty nurse outfit... I got a huge kick out of that. I stopped watching it after an hour, cus the movie wasn't going anywhere except for Hollywood Hell for being very very bad.

Chris Rock is the funniest man I have ever known. He is ON POINT, in everything he says. He brings up political, health, and social issues, from gun control to race, that really makes you think and laugh because it's so true. His speech on gun control can be seen in Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine." Rock is intelligent and funny, and we see this in this HBO special.

There is a scene in his current film, "Head of State" that shows the views of Chris Rock that we find in "Bigger and Blacker." I also recommend "The Best of Chris Rock."

"There isn't any money in the cure, the money is in the medicine. That's how a drug dealer makes his money, on the cutbacks. . . They got metal on the space shuttle that can go around the moon that can withstand temp. of 25,000 degrees; you mean to tell me they can't make an El Dorado that bumper don't fall off?" (on finding the cure for AIDS)

Rock writes and performs with pure genius and clarity. He says things that everyone has thought about but couldn't put into words. For those who didn't have HBO, RENT IT!! I give this 10/10!

Terrible. Jessica Lange was her superb self and Jason Biggs was at his best. But I didn't buy Ricci's struggle. She didn't seem like she was suffering at all. Ricci's character was portrayed like a brat and a pathetic whiny loser. I'd think about putting a sock in her mouth before an anti-depressant.

This is a great film. It's great to see a big studio take on a film that has few concepts that are unfamiliar to Hollywood.

"The Guru" is absolutely hilarious and cute. Some scenes were absolutely hilarious. But aside from the comedy, there is also the part where we understand the main character because we all know what it is like to dream.

The whole theater clapped after the film ended. I guess we all felt the same good energy from this film.

David Hemmings is hip and Vanessa Redgrave is stunning, but there's more to this movie than the groovy hair Hemmings sports, supermodels, trendy clothes, the psychadelic monagesque scene, and all else that glitters.

Hemmings' character, Thomas, likes to be detached and Redgrave has a secret that keeps being defined and redefined through a photo.

I loved Thomas' randomness. I never knew randomness could be so fun and amusing! And yet there is something so significant in his randomness.

The part when Thomas crashes a club looking for Jane was great. Where did Antonioni come up with a genius scene? Here we have a crowd of fans and groupie wannabes at a mini concert, who go crazy after the band's lead singer throws a guitar into the crowd. Thomas, who randomly stumbles into the crowd, fights over the guitar assuming its significance since everyone else is fighting for it. After he leaves with the guitar and realizes what a piece of junk the guitar really is, he throws it onto the ground. This scene seems random, but is the epitome of the whole film. Antonioni weaves this scene in beatifully.

The mimes in the beginning of the story seem just like a bunch of random extras (or isn't that the point?) and then at the end their role in the film starts to make sense and becomes more significant.

We may never know what the mysterious photo is trying to say... and like the woman who seems to have never existed. Was it all like a mime... a suspension of disbelief?

Redgrave's character, Jane, could be traced back to L'Aventurra's Anna...

I've heard people discuss Plato and Borges, as a way to uncover the theme of this film. There is indeed the question of reality here.

What a great film! One of Antonioni's best! 10/10

Federico Fellini as the writer and director who creates a thematic masterpiece about a man's search for answers, value, substance, and a taste of the sweet life.

As it was quoted in Fellini's IMDB biography, he once said "you exist only in what you do." This is a definite underlying theme in this movie. This film gave birth to the word Paparazzi. And what do the paparazzi do for a living? They follow celebrities and watch their every move....if "you exist only in what you do," then the paparazzi exist only through other people; a very existential tone in this film.



Indeed Marcello, the unfortunate hero of this la-la citta fairytale, who plays a celebrity/socialite gossip columnist, falls into the trap of "other people." Hence the symbolic theme of imprisonment in the last party scene, in which everyone seems to be behind bars.

I would not know about most La Dolce Vita fans, but I thought that Steiner was the real tragic hero of this film. Here is a man at the top of the intellectual ya yas and the elite in this "organized society, where everything is planned, everything is perfect," who fears nothing but his children, who valued nothing but the sounds of nature and were content. The American version of Steiner would be Holden Caufield, who wanted to be the Catcher in the Rye and save the children from falling into society's jungle. (at least that's who he reminded me of)

If you like Fellini, I recommend watching this film. It's definitely at the top amongst the great neo-realist films.

This is a movie you can simply watch and enjoy, but if you want to appreciate it a bit more, watch it again and look for all the symbolisms. Talent such as Fellini's is one I rarely see today. There is so much love, sorrow, joy, emptiness, unredemption within the characters of this film, that you almost feel for Fellini himself.



10/10 . . . Molto Bene!

I watched Amelie and found it extremely witty and charming. I was impressed on how the script was written and how it correlated scenes together.

Amelie changes the lives of the people she would pass unnoticably throughout her daily life, for her simple devotion for passion and humanity. A cute love story as well, but truly a story in which the protagonist shows us a new perspective of life.

I never had any devotion to see this movie. All I could think was "how entertaining can a movie be about a boy discovering ballet?" Well I finally watched it and can't stop watching it!! The movie makes me laugh, cry, even after the 5th time of seeing it. Great performances!!

This movie has a key motor that keeps this movie going, that is Passion. The passion to want to do and be something so much that it can take you anywhere.

The story is written well. I liked how the conflicts between Billy's family and his passion in dancing parallels. With dancing he can escape the family troubles he can hardly understand; he can take flight. I like how the strikes and his struggle parallel and how everything comes to a close in the end. It is a beautiful movie and so close to the heart (really without sounding corny). There was a point where my friends and I got up and danced, because thats what the movie made us want to do...now that's true entertainment.

What do you get when you pass a man's dick and the movie "Wild Things"...oh yeah Swordfish...I can see one of my college-guy friends writing the same story themselves "hmm...this hacker needs to get a code...oh and how dope would it be if we have him get a blow job while he's at it" this is where most of the adrenaline rush is focused on. The trailers made Swordfish seem like a modern thriller, but when I watched movie, I felt I was back in the eighties on some Miami beach shack.

I'm kinda disappointed that Halle Berry had to participate in such a classless movie; honestly I can't help but not see her in a respectable light anymore. As for Travolta, it seems as if he is going back to choosing tasteless movies...Oh well....what can you do. 4/10

This movie was so-so, but the mystery did carry through the movie. We already knew who the bad girl was, but we never knew where she'd take us. This movie reminds me very much like an RL Stine or Christopher Pike book, the Fear Street fans would probably enjoy this movie. It was scandalous, fun, and naughty, I give it 2.5 stars

Great job on the casting part of the movie; the cast worked incredible with each other. Julia did an outstanding performance as well as everyone else who was in the movie. I would be laughing one moment, and then the next instant I'd be teary eyed.

It's been a long time since I've watched a movie that brought pure entertainment to the audience. What a story!! I wonder what the PG&E people thought when they watched this, I'm sure some have.

This is one movie you don't want to screw up with casting, because it portrayed people who were suffering things one could only imagine. And indeed, me and my friends indeed felt their pain and suffering. A movie that takes on various levels of consumption and alleviation. Well done.

It wasn't until after the movie when I realized that I shouldn't have watched the movie after I got my nails done. I had bit off all my nails watching this movie without even realizing that I was.

The beginning of the movie grabbed my attention and from then on I was hypnotized. What I liked about this movie is that it proved a point that was made during the movie; in which most movies never do. I left the movie wishing what had happened in the end never really did happen, but then again it had to happen in order to prove its point.

This movie was full of suspense. I wanted to talk to the characters and tell them what to do or tell them something they didn't know. "Arlington Road" is a great thriller; it is also very disturbing at times. The feeling I got at the end of the movie is the same feeling I got at the end of Seven.

I think what makes Teen Witch one of the best 80s "makeover" movie, is that it deals with issues not let on to seriously yet it still touches the heart.

It seems that everyone wants to be "Cinderella." In this story, a teenage girl who feels invisible at her school wants to be the most popular girl at school. After obtaining witch powers, her adventure begins in finding herself.

We all know that this movie is very fiction, but along with all this hocus pocus, comes a certain message. This message being that no matter what you do to change yourself, the real truth and comfort you'll receive comes from your true individual character and that is how you will succeed and will be truly satisfied.

I enjoyed the "musical" parts of the movie, I think they blended it in very well. Lively was very natural in her role and I liked that. Overall I give this movie a 9+, for a movie that isn't meant to be an Oscar worthy one and is made just for pure enjoyment.

As a teenager, I am easily drawn to thrillers like "The Faculty" and "Disturbing Behavior." It's not likely for me to be eager to see a movie like this one. My mom, who hates the thrillers that are out these days, suggested I watch "Wait Until Dark" with her. It was on TV and she told me that it was a thriller that scared her when she was my age. Knowing the movie wouldn't have the action packed sequences like "Scream", I sarcastically said to my mom "It must be an exciting thriller." And indeed it was. In fact I think I enjoyed it more than my mom did.

This movie has a well written script. I bought Hepburn's blindness. I especially liked Arkin's performances with the three different characters. I also thought Arkin's smooth talk was a nice touch as well as his sunglasses. Gloria was a good comic relief from the suspense that built-up inside me; I still can't get over that "girl scout cookie" line. I never get tired of seeing this movie whenever it airs on AMC. They definitely don't make this kind of movie anymore and I wished they did. There were about 2 confusing scenes. And at times, Hepburn would get too worked up in being blind, that she'd have a delayed reaction on her hearing as well. But there is no doubt that she did an incredible performance. I don't think I have yet seen a thriller that was so smart, sly, and sassy as this one. "Wait Until Dark" is a thriller with class -- something thrillers these days are missing out on.

Terrence Malick de-emphasizes the common depictions in war movies, and focuses on the conscience of few soldiers fighting in the Guadacanal. This movie is a true William Faulkner approach on emphasizing the human mind. Last year, I took year-long courses in HS about WWI, WWII, Vietnam, etc. We would read textbooks that would write about war statistically "100,000 men died for our country" blah blah blah. It seems that what we learned in school, news, and other sorts of media, would try to make war very patriotic. "A Thin Red Line" shows what many textbooks and propaganda seem to hide: The real horrors of war. I can see how many viewers may find "Line" very dry. This movie was full of symbolism that may have been hard to grasp. I believe that the only main character, Pvt. Witt, made the point of the movie clear. Pvt. Witt symbolizes the hope in this movie. Malick brings us to a world that is cruel and savage-like. The only way out from this death and bloody world for Witt is thru the power of the mind. It is only through the mind that soldiers can walk out of this war, and thru this mind, Pvt. Witt finds peace and serenity. Pvt. Witt shows that the real courage isn't thru killing someone, the real courage is sticking to the feelings that remain in your soul, like the love for his wife, "giving calm a spirit", and nature. At his death, he grasps all things he still possesses that will bring him to peace; which is ironically what he wished for in the beginning of the movie "to die with calm like my mom." He finds his peace and calm with the only thing he had left: the memories of his peace during his stay with the families that had lived in nature. The use of voice-overs helped objectify the soldier's experience. One soldier depicts how senseless war is after he shoots a man for the first time ". . . I did something worse than rape, and I don't get touched by doing it." "Line" stands as true literature, poetry, and truth. As the story builds, the meaning of war dissipates; war is not about politics or ideology (after all you don't see any of it intervening during the Guadacanal). I do agree that there were some things that weren't clear in the movie as well as some muffled voices. Yet this movie stands strong. This movie brings back soldiers from the dead, to give them back their character, their dreams, their hopes and fears. The film's foundation is to comprehend the deep and emotional battle within these soldiers in order to bring some hope and truth within the meaning of life. This is a compelling movie that takes patience, understanding, and hope that the other viewers feel the same emotional and complex feelings that lie within the film.

I never fully understood the common critic words "breath-taking," until I saw this movie. It is absolutely beautiful and everything seems to be painted beautifully. This movie is true to itself. "The Red Violin" is a good example of a movie that proves that movies don't need to have the added action, computer generated objects, and big-time movie stars to get the audience's approval. This is a story of a violin who begins an incredible journey in the hands of a violin maker in the 17th century, all the way to the present day. The impact the violin has and the story it tells is so passionate, emotional, and moving as it makes its mark throughout time.

"The Red Violin," plays on a good note. I am pleased a movie has been made that depicts true story-telling. It has been a week since I have seen this movie and I am still bestowed in utter awe.

It seems that these last couple of years (particularly since Pulp Fiction), directors and critics seemed to think that any movie that involved the "artsy/independent" effect, as well as sex, adultery (as comedy), some black comedy, swearing, etc. would make a film to be grade A. If anything, that would be the only excuse for the survival and some praise for this movie. Sure this movie had some laughs, I especially enjoyed Jason Patrick's character; but if you really come down to it, it wasn't worth making. America would have done fine without it. I'd suggest to LaBute to read more of Joseph Campbell and put some of his tactics in his writing; because as it is, the movie really doesn't have a valid reason to exist.

I really want to know if the director purposely made the movie so boring and tried to make viewers so agitated, just so we would know how the characters in the movie felt. I must give the director some respect for taking chances on making a movie that is soooo dull, but ending with a good statement. The truth is, although I liked the plot, I don't know if I really like the foundation it was put on. If I had to change the movie to make it better, I'd change the whole movie. The main reason why I went and saw this movie, was because critics and the movie trailors were calling this a "mystery." Calling this movie a mystery is parallel to wondering what is in school food. So I went and saw it thinking there would be a twist in the end, like "The Game." Ummm. . . well there was a minor twist in the end, but a very disappointing one. First of all, this movie was very long-winded. The movie should've been more faster pace. I think the only thing that saved this movie, was that there was a good point made in the end. Kudrow gave some laughs, Posey had some moments, and the comic relief, or you could say, the "pause or boring relief" from the mailboy (the guy who played the virgin from Scream).