Reviews

I orinally saw this film when I was 16 and it blew me away. I saw it with my mother who started crying her eyes out as soon as we came out of the film because it reminded her so much of that time period. I recently watched this film again and I have to say it is still one of the most impactful war films ever made. What makes it better than most war films is that it fully develops the many different characters and gives you a true idea of how war really impacts these young men and what Vietnam must have been like. It reminds us that war is real and violent and even the best intentioned people are capable of doing the worst things.

I must say after seeing this movie I am now starting to see that Colin Farrel will probably be a big movie star. There is no question that he can act, has charisma, and I can even admit he is a decent looking guy. But that said as an actor in LA I know at least a dozen struggling American actors that are just as talented, charismatic, more experienced, and physically attracive that could jump into his shoes. But since the Hollywood machine has decided to make him a start I wont deny that he will certainly fulfill that role. Now onto the movie. The Recruit starts out as a very fine movie and Al Pacino and Colin Farrel do a fine job of acting. I found myself fascinated by this hollywood spin on the internal workings of the CIA. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for each twist and turn of the plot and the movie delivers for about the first two thirds. The last third of this movie turns into the same old tired hollywood plot with one of the main characters of the film spending the last 10 minutes giving what seems to be an extremely misplaced monologue that explains the whole plot of the movie.

And if you have been following the reviews of this movie you have probably heard similar things from most critics which begs the question why didn't the director and studio execs who saw the final cut and read the final draft of this screenplay didn't notice the same thing and rework the ending? Well I guess I am asking this question of the same industry that releases movies like Congo. Anyway I give this movie a 6.5 out of 10 stars and I would recommend waiting for the video.

I went into this movie not sure what to expect but this movie creeped me out more than any movie I have seen in a long time. I wont give anything away about this film but I thought about for quite a few days afterwards which says a lot about this film. Naomi Watts does an excellent job carrying this film and it is very apparent that she has great things ahead of her. The direction of this film is very tight and does a great job of keeping you on the edge of your seat without resorting to over the top violence or gore. I highly recommend this film and a lot of credit must be given to the writer of the original Japanese version of this film which I would love to see if it's ever released in the US. 7 out of 10 stars.

I must say the in the realm of Bond films that this one is fairly decent. Pierce Brosnan I have to admit is one of the best Bonds and has surpassed Roger Moore. Pierce Brosnan has come as close to getting Bond back to the level of Sean Connery as anyone could and I hope we can look forward to him as Bond until he gets tired of this role. The movie as a whole was entertaining and I do tend to prefer the Bond films with more action but this one goes a little over the top. And although I love Halle Berry, and not just because she is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses working today, but she just wasn't believable as a tough government agent. I have no problem with her being there as a glamorous beautiful woman Bond hooks up with but watching her run with a a gun was pretty amusing. She definitely didn't rise to the level of Michelle Yeoh or Famke Janssen in Brosnan's other outings as Bond. This one is good but I still think Brosnan's best as Bond is Tomorrow Never Dies. 7 out of 10 stars.

I saw this movie for the first time last night and I must say I was extremely disappointed but I am thankful that I didn't pay to see this. I read some of the other comments on this movie and I wonder if I saw the same film as some of the other reviewers here. My first complaint is that this movie seemed to have no coherent story. There are so many side plot points that add nothing to the movie. Deniro's character proposing to his reporter girlfriend??? Why is this in the film?? Some people have compared this movie to "Natural Born Killers" and I have to ask are you serious??? "Natural Born Killers" was obviuosly a satirical look at the media and violence while this film was promoted as a cop buddy action story. All the performances in this film were superficial, over the top, and campy. There wasn't any character development at all. I am guessing some of the actors in this film just needed to make a house payment. All in all I am not sure what studio executives thought this was a good script and then decided that this piece of crap should be released to the theater. Do yourself favor and don't waste your time with this pile of junk. 4 out of 10 stars.

I realize I am going against the majority here but this film didn't quite do it for me. I have always been an avid fan of Spider-Man and I collected this comic when I was a kid but this film just seemed like it was missing something. Some of the special effects were very distracting and I felt like I was watching a cartoon at times. It's obvious we have come along was since the days of the Spider-Man television series but it just still seemed a little fakey. The main problem I had ,however, was that many of the characters in the film just seemed very bland to me and I really didn't care about them. Although, I think Tobey Macguire is a competent actor and that his understated performances works well in most films I don't feel this was one of them. I would just like to see a little more of the inside of Peter Parker. Overall I would recommend seeing this film because it is neat to see a more realistic Spidey but this doesn't quite rise to the level of Christopher Reeve's first outing as Superman or Michael keaton's outing as Batman. I am hoping that Daredevil and The Incredible Hulk will offer a little bit more and maybe Tobey will kick it up a notch for Spidey 2. 6 out of 10 stars.

The first time I sat down to watch this it was just because there wasn't anything else on. I mean what would a single guy in his late twenties be interested in a film about relationship between Chinese-American women and their mothers? Well I was wrong. This film was very captivating and moving. It does excellent job of showing the universal issue of generational differences and the love that exist between parents and their children. All of the perfomances in this film were excellent. 8 out of 10 stars.

The first time I saw this movie I was only 12 years old and I saw it at a Drive-in as a double feature with Halloween II. This movie has always held a nostalgic place in my heart so I recently purchased it on D.V.D. and I must say that at the grand old age of 31 I still find this movie very entertaining and I would venture say that it would hold it's own even if it was released today. No, it's not on the level of Gladiator or Braveheart but with a solid script by Oliver Stone and John Milius and solid performances by James Earl Jones, Mako, and yes even Arnold this movie is definitely worth a second look. This is one of Arnold's best!

Everyone has been telling me for so long to see this movie and I must say it rocks. It kept me thoroughly entertained and I felt that all the performances were very understated but excellent. Kate Hudson's performance was great but let's not forget the performances of Billy Crudup and Jason Lee.

I just saw Traffic recently and I must admit it was entertaining but I am somewhat shocked at how high of a rating this movie has received. One of the main problems I had with this movie was it's lack of character development. As I was watching I found it hard to care what happened to any of the characters and after awhile I started to lose interest in the story in general. I think the film would have been much better had it focused on maybe one of the story lines in the film. I also felt that the subject matter, although, somewhat interesting might have been more relevant in the early 90s or late 80s. I think everyone at this point is well aware that the so called "War on Drugs" is a waste of time and money. Over all a good movie worth seeing but it wasn't anywhere near the level of "Out of Sight" and definitely does not deserve a best picture nod.