Reviews

I was really excited to watch this movies as everyone had been raving about it. It's racked up some pretty big award nominations (as of this writing, 2/18/21) and even won some "smaller" awards including Best Foreign Language Film, Best Supporting Actress, Movie of the Year, Best Original Score, and Best Original Screenplay. That all being said, I was disappointed. It's not bad, at all. It's just not GREAT. First, it was shot beautifully. Lots of color in the Arkansas landscape. The actors are all DELIGHTFUL! Very funny and heartwarming. Lots of things at play with these Californian-Korean people in rural Arkansas. No messages, at all, though, which is a plus. The story just doesn't seem to go anywhere. Maybe I was expecting MORE. It's a good film, and I love seeing Steven Yuen again (Glenn, from The Walking Dead). It's probably too slow for MOST people, though I don't mind slow movies. This movie, though, was NOT among the best movies of the year. It's good, though. (Walt D in LV 2/18/21)

An amazing epic of storytelling.

Like Unleashed, this tale masterfully combines both martial arts action with compelling drama. Jet Li really can act! This is among the best I've seen. Compare it to Hero.

On a sad note, Li says he has nothing left to say in Martial Arts films, but will continue to do action films. I understand he has a police action/drama coming out opposite Jason Statham, so there's more action to come.

This was a fine way to go out in style. I only wish he had more stories to tell.

9-22-06. Walt D in LV

WOW. One of the greatest movies I have EVER - EVER seen.

Absolutely LOVED it! Before the opening credits were done I was glued to the screen.

It's a Sci-Fi thriller - AND edge of your seat Whodunnit. Incredible.

I wish'd it would never end.

Lucy Liu is a throwaway role. Anyone could have played it. The lead actor, Jeremy Northram was the perfect geeky guy.

This movie appeals to me who loved War Games, Sneakers, and Track Down.

Incredible!

8-22-06. Walt D in LV

I liked this film a lot.

Be sure to watch the Russian version (which is the B Side of the DVD), which is mostly in English anyways, but the subtitles are very good, and actually part of the movie.

This is an epic-like story. I'll be first in line for the sequels as soon as they come out.

Lots of action. Very stylistic. Yes, it's a good vs. evil story, but it certainly didn't FEEL like one.

Plenty of editing and fast cuts. Story was spelled out from the get-go, and was not hard to follow.

7-22-06. Walt D in LV

Slow start becomes a film that keeps getting better as it goes on.

I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happened next. WOW. It just kept getting better and better as it went on.

Now I REALLY have to see Nicolas' Cage version when it comes out this year (2006).

This version had a lot of female nudity (they're pagans, remember?) I figure they'll take that out of the new version. Probably change the ending, too.

All in all, this is a GREAT thriller.

7-8-06.

Walt D in LV

Unoriginal title aside, this is a GREAT film.

Fast, frenetic NON-stop action-packed, twisty-turny complicated storyline.

Paul Walker can act?! Wow. The kid Cameron Bright turns in another winning performance. Perhaps the next Haley Joel Osment or Dakota Fanning.

Extremely violent, coarse language, throw in some nudity and sex.. This film is NOT for everyone.

I think Roger Ebert said it best when he said there was everything here including the kitchen sink. Wayne Kramer is going to be a writer/director to watch!

Heck, the DVD even has DTS 6.1 sound!

6-12-06. Walt D in LV.

Hotter than most modern porn films, and more violent than most films ever. LOTS of EXPLICIT sex and violence. Not nearly as graphic as Irreversible, though. Not for everyone, to be sure.

Decent enough story carried by all the explicit nudity (male and female). Shows penetration, condoms, and anal invasion with a firearm.

Both actresses are enough to please everyone. One with medium breasts, the other very skinny.

Mix up Thelma and Louise (which this is much better, by the way), Kalifornia, and Young Guns, you might have this.

Walt D in LV . 5-19-06 mywife at cox.net

Good movie. Slow, character study. Beautiful scenery.

I thought I was very open-minded, but several scenes really made me uncomfortable. Afterwards, I thought about why. I'd seen male "gay" interaction on screen before, but not like this. These two were very much IN LOVE, and I was not prepared for it.

This is NOT the "Best Picture" of the year, but very decent.

Anne Hathaway has shown she's all grown up and not uncomfortable with nudity here (and in Havoc). Michelle Williams also is bare breasted.

Finally, Ang Lee has shown he still has incredible talent, despite the lackluster Hulk film.

Walt D in LV. 3-31-06. mywife (at) cox.net

George Lucas' first film is a special effects extravaganza and has many merits, but is VERY slow. You can see early ILM work here, but the story moves very slowly.

This film does have a few scenes of female nudity, albeit top only, though in the distance you can see front below.

This movie is similar to Clockwork Orange, 2001:A Space Odyssey, and the newer The Island. I would recommend very highly Clockwork Orange and even The Island. Unfortunately, this film is too much (translated too slow) like 2001 to recommend.

3-19-06 Walt D in LV

One of my favorite films of all time. Hip, like Pulp Fiction, it's just crazy-insane fun. Not for everyone, due to language and drugs, but I really LOVED it! There are also so MANY cameos of great actors we know and love today.

Director Doug Liman has gone on to do HUGE, great movies, such as The Bourne Identity and Mr and Mrs Smith. Here we see some of his early talent.

Writer John August writes the Ask the Filmmaker/Ask a Screenwriter column here on IMDb.com

Just a great, fun movie, that hasn't seen been seen by as many people as it should.

3-14-06

Walt D in LV

February 19, 2006

I watched this movie after hearing how highly rated it was. VERY disappointing. Musical score over shots around Russia, or Europe. I couldn't tell since there was no story, no words (even subtitles). Just a guy with a movie camera recording everyday people in their daily lives.

The music was NOT good, certainly not great. Even movies like The Third Man (1949) had amazing music. Not here.

So you have video and music, with no plot. No words, even silent era subtitles like Chaplin-NOTHING. If the music and video can't keep you interested... Skip this.

There are great films from this era. This is not one of them.

Walt D in LV

Better than National Treasure (which is not saying much) and not as good as Hidalgo (which is not saying much).

I Love Matthew McConaughey. I Love Penelope Cruz - a LOT. But this movie simply went no where.

Skip it.

For adventure, see The Mummy movies with Brendan Frasier, After the Sunset (Pierce Brosnan), The Rundown with The Rock, or even Pirates of the Caribbean, all of which are oh-so-good and FUN!

2-3-06.

Walt D in LV.

P.S. You know, the first Tomb Raider was even better than this!

This show wasn't as big a success as they would have liked, but an average of 5-7 million viewers watched each show several times a week to see who the great 80s band INXS would choose.

Great talent here. In fact, the runner up is now the opening act on tour with the band.

As a big INXS fan, I liked the show alright. Guest host, Dave Navarro was brilliant, Brooke Burke looked great, and most importantly, I was VERY pleased with who they chose to win.

This DVD is a must for INXS fans, old and new, as well as any American Idol fans.

I can't wait to see the Rock Star follow-up show. I'm hoping for Nirvana, Queen, or Van Halen.

12-20-2005.

Walt D in LV.

This film came highly recommended to me, and now I have to question everything this friend of mine says in the future. This movie most closely resembles "Wet Hot American Summer", except that it's at a snowboard resort in Alaska, rather than some summer camp. It is equivalent in so many ways, but most importantly, in the fact that neither is all that funny, and the story is boring.

I sat through the end of this thinking it had to get better. Oh, it did. Well, it tried. For about three minutes before the credits rolled, they showed some bloopers. It's snowboarding, so there were bound to be a few wipeouts. These would have been better on America's Funniest Videos with a voice-over, background music and sound effects. Yes, even Bob Saget voice-over! This is rated PG-13, but I think a PG would have been fair. No cussing, NO NUDITY (even though plenty of situations called for it), no drugs, and did I mention a boring story? Don't get it for the kids, but DEFINITELY don't get it for the grownups.

Save yourself time and trouble and skip this. It presently gets a 5.4 from IMDb.com and there is a reason. See the "If you like this we also recommend" Rat Race movie. THAT's comedy. Van Wilder is funny. Porky's, Eurotrip, and Office Space. I could go on.

Walt D in LV 12-12-05

I so much did NOT want to see this movie. I figured it was like all the others: Lean on Me, The Principal, even Remember the Titans. Well, it is. And it had me gripped in right from the beginning and held me tight all the way through.

Sam Jackson was more low-key than he usually is, but still great. I really wanted to see what would happen to all of the young men on the team, and the team itself. It was predictable at times, but it is a great movie. I was more than surprised.

A side note. This movie is really for all ages. It's rated PG-13 for the language, and maybe very brief drug dealing. No sexual content, certainly no nudity. For an MTV Films movie, that's quite surprising, but I know for many it will be well appreciated.

Walt D in LV. waltcd at hotmail.com. 12-12-05

I just saw this for the first time with my kids ages 5, 7, and 9.. We all LOVED it! It was SO much fun!

It has a very catchy little theme song, that I'm still singing to this day. The special effects were great, even by today's standards. The Blob has just enough scare to know you're supposed to be scared yet without all the blood and gore that horror movies today have. Think Tremors.

Fantastic movie! I'm adding the sequel(s) to my Netflix queue right now! Maybe I'll even see the remake.. This was so much fun..

This is also my first Steve McQueen movie, and I can't wait to see more!

Walt D in LV.. 11-6-05.

A lot of reviews talk about the race issue that this movie dealt with, which it does, but I don't watch movies for messages or meaning. I watch for entertainment, which this movie gives.

There ARE a couple of slow parts, but other parts you might think are slow, are actually not because of the great dialog. There are many scenes of the two men just sitting around talking, and it's VERY interesting.

Poitier is amazing as always, Curtis does well, and there is a great supporting cast from the various police and the villagers. A very GOOD movie.

Walt D in LV waltcd@hotmail.com 9/4/2005

I debated about watching this or Nine Queens first. I'm glad I chose this one. And I chose it first because of the very familiar cast and, I guess, the English language.

WOW! This movie right away sucks you in and gets you involved. You love the characters, the plot twists, and can't wait (or guess) what happens next! This is a heist movie with lots of "grifts" or swindles done throughout. I love this stuff! Reminds me of Sneakers and Grifters.

John C Reilly is always great, of course. Diego Luna steps up well to a starring role, and English-speaking, at that. Maggie Gyllenhaal is sexy as ever. This movie is just so much fun! And yes, I have NOW seen Nine Queens (or Nueve reinas) and it's good- 8 stars- but not quite THIS good.

Walt D in LV. 8/24/2005

This is a nice piece of work. Very sexy and engaging enough plot to keep my interest throughout. Its main disadvantage is that it seems like it was made-for-TV: Full screen, and though there were several sex scenes, there was absolutely no nudity (but boy did it come close!). Strange, too, since Netflix shows that it was rated R.

Nonetheless, very titillating, and I wish Alicia Silverstone made more movies like this.

One Netflix reviewer stated that it was part of a series, but I have been unable to find out what series that is. I'd like to find out, though, because this movie was THAT good.

Walt D in LV. 8/23/2005

This movie caught my eye mostly because of the actors in it, and partially because no one had written a review of it on Netflix. Heck, only 305 people had even rated it THERE, and only > 32 < here on IMDb.com, as of today 8/21/2005. Well, it IS a movie worth watching. But only if you have an open mind, you like independent films, and especially like dialogue-only movies. If you only crave the Hollywood blockbuster action flicks, this is simply NOT for you. Also note the R rating, especially for the language. This turns a lot of people off. But if you love the scenes in movies like Pulp Fiction where people are just standing around talking (and believe me, I am NOT comparing this movie to Pulp Fiction, nor is the dialogue anywhere NEAR the same level of perfection), but if you do enjoy a lot of talking, perhaps a little quirkiness like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or even Wild at Heart, then you might be interested here.

Walt D in LV. 8/21/2005

Completely boring seemingly made-for-TV movie showcasing the untalented Kristy Swanson. I only watched this because my father, who states there're no good movies out there left to see, picked this up at a video store, and said it was really great. I should have known better: he also states that his favorite movie is "Best Seller" with Brian Dennehy, another borefest! Swanson and Vincent Spano did fine enough acting jobs, but there is just not a great story here. This movie can be shown on the Lifetime channel, and people WILL watch it. You, however, my dear viewer, actively visit IMDb.com, perhaps the greatest collection of movie information available. Stay away from this one, because you have only so much time in your life. Walt D in LV. 8/21/2005

This movie was very simply, great! Everyone had fun making this movie, and you can tell. Your basic high school movie with freshmen and seniors, popular and unpopular kids, but with them all having special powers! It's like a more simple and fun X-men meets Revenge of the Nerds.

The special effects were sometimes state-of-the-art, sometimes very intentionally campy.

This movie was just great fun, right down to the soundtrack. Remaking so many great 1980s hit songs such as til tuesday's Voices Carry, Modern English's Melt With You, Thompson Twins' Lies, Spandau Ballet's True, and so many more! The only thing I didn't care for and that kept this movie from 10 stars, was that it was a bit predictable, and not just from the trailers. Still, a great, GREAT family movie (only PG!).

Fun for EVERYONE, including some jokes only adults would get.

Walt D in LV. 7-30-05

This movie won the Audience Award at 2005's Sundance Film Festival. Hmmm. Must not have been a strong year. Don't get me wrong. It's a good movie, sometimes great. Pulling from great movies like Pulp Fiction, and others. It's not a documentary, though it could have been, especially with today's reality show craze.

For a pimp movie, there was almost NO nudity, nor were there any sexual scenes, which could have made it even better.

This movie was more about the music, and it DID have a great soundtrack, in fact, I think I'm going to get it. I don't really like a lot of rap music, but this was powerful stuff, in line with Eminem's 8 Mile.

This movie is worth seeing, but don't believe all the hype.

Walt D in LV. 7/25/2005.