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mattyboombattie74
Reviews
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Wonderful Music, Exquisite Set Design, Mediocre Phantom...
This film was well-done for the most part, but its casting choices remove the passion and torment expressed by the title character. Gerard Butler is a wonderful actor, but he is not a singer. His portrayal of the deformed Phantom in love with the young Christine Daae does not capture the emotion that the audience sees when viewing the story on the stage. Too much was given away regarding the Phantom's past. In the stage version, the audience is left to decide for themselves; is he really a ghost with supernatural powers or is he merely a madman who hides from the world? The film leaves nothing to the imagination; he is a man. a He is a madman who has locked himself away behind his own private "mask", and scares the performers in the Paris Opera House with slight of hand, cheap tricks and outright sabotage. While the story of the film follows very closely to the play, the reworking the scene of the chandelier crashing and having it occur at the end of the film was a poor choice. When we see the Phantom do this on-stage, we understand that his battle is with Christine now just as much as it is with Raoul. Now, we just see him as angry and insane. We lose our ability to sympathize with him and in a way, secretly cheer him on. Also, the changing of the costume that the Phantom wears for the "Masquerade" sequence was a poor choice. It is obvious who it is behind the mask. He is not dressed as the Red Death, he simply wears a black mask and a red cloak. No intimidation is seen on the faces of the party goers, just a blank stare of bewilderment. Overall, the film was decent, yet lacked the raw passion that one experiences when seeing the performance on stage.
The Riverman (2004)
Well Done Film
I watched this last night on A&E. A well-done film that stays true to the book that it was based on. Elwes's portrayal of Bundy was chilling to watch, as I remember vividly the interviews with the real Ted.
I was disappointed with the ending though, how it did not focus on Gary Ridgeway (The Green River Killer) more deeply. The film showed Bundy as nothing more than a narcissistic "entity", when his problems and motivations ran much deeper than narcissism.
The film also failed to mention that Ridgeway was spared the Death Penalty for the GR murders on the condition that he would help locate the remains of other missing women in the area. Perhaps more of Bundy's victims' families would be able to enjoy this sense of closure had Florida kept him alive in isolation rather than sending him to the electric chair. Keeping a man like Bundy alive, yet alone, is a worse punishment than death.
Overall, a well done movie. 4 out of 5 stars.
Murder by Numbers (2002)
Attempt at Hitchcockian Theme Falls a little Short (spoilers)
Just as Hitchcock loosely based 1948's "Rope" on the 1924 case of Leopold and Loeb, such is the case with this film.
At first, the parallels between the real-life case and the film are amazing; cruising for a random victim, murdering for the intellectual thrill, allowing the slightest errors to trip up the "perfect crime."
The twist to the story doesn't mirror the real-life case though, in the sense that the boy who is perceived to be weak and easily controlled is the real culprit in the crime. For fans of the genre, the twist is easy to spot early in the film.
It's obvious that the pompous character is the patsy, as well as the fact that Cassie was the victim of the man who is going before the parole board.
A decent film, with some flaws that could have easily been avoided. 3 out of 5 stars.
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
Good film for the time
This is a good film for the mid-1980s, when the Cold War was still going strong and it was clear who the enemy was. Eastwood gives a good "tough-guy" performance as Tom Highway, a no-nonsense, combat hardened Marine.
It's a bit disappointing to see that many people who reviewed this film refer to Eastwood as a "drill sergeant", which he is not. The Marines are not "raw recruits" and it's not boot camp. By their various ranks, these men have been in for awhile.
Overall, it's a good film, with a few far fetched scenes that were typical at the time. 3 out of 5 stars.
Red Dawn (1984)
Great Film for its time
This was such a great movie for the time it was released. I still watch it on video occasionally, and it has lost some of its flair, but brings back good memories. In 1984, I was eleven. I really thought that something like this was possible, if not inevitable. The "Evil Empire" was going to attack, it was simply a matter of time. This was before Gorbachev and Glasnost; WWIII was going to happen whether we were prepared or not. In retrospect, it is easy to criticize the film as "impossible." But, in 1984, who knew that the Berlin Wall would come down 5 years later?