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daveyramone
Reviews
Sideways (2004)
Every year the academy does something to cause me to lose faith in it
I'm not going to waste my time and yours examining all of the great aspects of this film when you could be heading out the door right now to go and see it. Suffice it to say that this film is a complete joy. It's one of those rare breeds of film that combines emotionally complex and touching characters, a moving story, and a bunch of light-hearted laughs.
It is a crime that Paul Giamatti wasn't nominated for the best actor Oscar. He gave a moving performance along with Virginia Madsen and Thomas Haden church (who were both nominated in supporting roles), but his was clearly the best. I truly hope the academy makes up for this snub in the future, because it is these kind of decisions that make me want to skip watching the awards.
Do yourself a favor and see this movie right away and do someone else a favor and take someone with you.
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
What's next? Star Trek XII: So Very Tired?
WARNING: SPOILERS SPOILERS and more SPOILERS
I can't believe that anyone like this movie. Let me qualify that statement by saying that I am a huge Star Trek fan and am not in fact "high or something." This was easily the worst of the TNG movies and is in a virtual three way tie with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Final Frontier for the worst of all the Trek movies. From the very beginning this movie seemed to be trying to pander to a new audience that is now accumstomed to the fast paced action and expensive special effects of movies like the Matrix and Star Wars Episodes I and II. Don't believe me? What about that ridiculous dune buggy scene in the beginning of the movie? Since when did Picard compete in off road sports? That scene began the utter ridiculousness that was Star Trek Nemesis. This movie also saw the marriage of Riker and Troi, which completely came out of left field. Yes, I know that they had a renewed interest in each other in Insurrection because of the rejuviniating effects of that Planet, but there wasn't the slightest implication that they would get married. Their marriage just seemed pointless (unless they were trying to give TNG fans what they want to see considering this may be their last film. But trust me, that wasn't what I wanted to see. I'll always think of Riker as a "Kirk-esque" ladies man). Then there was the whole bulls**t of the Romulan plot to clone Picard and assassinate him. Yea that makes a lot of sense clone one starship captain, not an Admiral, or the head of Starfleet Command.
The sheer banality and insipidty of the movie culminates in a battle scene that at first seems promising, but ultimately ends with the melodramatic collision of the Enterprise and the Romulan ship. Destroying, or in this case severly damaging, the Enterprise hardly seems compelling anymore (considering the destruction of the Enterprise in Star Trek III, Generations, and the beating that it took in VI). Then there's the death of Data, or should I say the old Data? Because now we have the new Data that was found at the beginning of the movie and conveniently given all of the original Data's memories. Wow, they really went out on limb with that death scene, which despite what many think isn't derivative of Spock's death scene in Wrath of Khan. You see, Spock's death scene was poignant and was left a little ambiguous because of the simple word "remember" that Spock uttered to an unconciouss McCoy before meeting his demise. It's not like they found a Spock clone at the beginning of the movie and gave it all of the original Spock's memories through a mindmeld. That would have been ridiculously stupid because then there would have been no reason for me to care that Spock was dead. With Data's death in Nemesis, there was no reason to care since it was quick and devoid of emotion and because of the obvious solution for his abscence in the next movie...a brand new Data. Wow, I can't believe the writers had the "cajones" to do that, wow, wow...WOW I can't believe any of you like this movie!
Frankly, if this is what the Star Trek movie franchise is going to be, then I'm glad that it may be ending. I'd rather have this "Generation's Journey come to and end" than throw down another ten bucks to see another movie that seriously convinces me that I could take ONE monkey writing at A typewriter for ONE year and produce a Star Trek movie script about TEN times better than Nemesis. Say what you will about me or this movie, but keep in mind that I've been a Star Trek fan for a solid sixteen years and have not, until now, seriously considered writing hate mail to Paramount and swearing off Star Trek forever. Trust me, it won't be dificult considering how awful Enterprise is and how remote the possibility is of a Voyager or DS9 movie ever being made. I'll stick to Kirk and green orion animal women for now, thank you very much.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
A classic Horror flick, but even classics have their problems
*Attention* The following contains spoilers
I'm sure there are plenty of devoted horror fans out there who will consider what I am about to say blasphemy. But, keep in mind that I too love horror movies and am a fan of the Nightmare on Elm Street series. But just because you like something doesn't mean its perfect, or even close to perfect; and A Nightmare on Elm Street certainly isn't perfect. The concept of the movie is fantastic: a boogeyman that can kill you in your dreams. Wes Craven does an excellent job of blurring the lines between dreams and reality, as well as providing the audience with some cheap scares and genuine suspense along the way. However, the ending to the movie is one of the worst "cop-outs" I have ever seen in a movie. Just when you think that Nancy's confrontation with Freddy is going to lead to some conclusion, be it her death, Freddy's death, or whatever, Nancy simply utters the words, "It's just a dream Freddy, I'm not going to play your game anymore," or something to that effect. At this point Freddy disappears and we are shown Nancy and her mother leaving the house on a beautiful, yet eerily foggy day. Nancy gets in her boyfriend Glenn's car with the rest of her friends as her mother waves goodbye. Now, just as soon as the gullible audience starts to believe what they're seeing, the top of Glen's convertible comes down to reveal its red and green stripes...wait a minute that looks a lot like the colors of Freddy's sweater...and then Freddy's are breaks through the front door of the house grabs Nancy's mother and pulls her in...could it be, are they still in a dream?
I guess so, there's simply no other plausible explanation. Apparently, when Nancy told Freddy that she knew that it was all just a dream and the jig was up, Freddy decided to stop toying with her and just kill everyone in one fell swoop. So apparently, everything we've seen in the movie up until this point was just a dream; it was all one intensely elaborate plot to drive Nancy to the brink of insanity and then kill her. It was supposed to be some huge twist to have the audience scared to the very end, to have everyone leave the theater terrified by the unexpected ending. Instead, all it did was ruin what had been a good horror movie up until that point. Apparently everything else that happened in the movie was pointless because Freddy never intended to kill Nancy, in fact, he never actually killed anyone, he was just messing with her and the audience, making us watch a movie that didn't actually matter until the end.
I'm not sure if Wes Craven originally intended the movie to end this way. I would like to hope that he had some better finale in mind, or even on paper. I want to believe that it was some idiotic movie exec that decided the end should have some scary twist at the end and had to be changed. Whatever the case, I want to know who wrote Nancy Thompson into the script of Part 3, which is simply ridiculous considering she drove off in a car apparently possessed by Krueger at the end of the first movie. Call me crazy, but I assumed she was dead.
Now, I'm sure that many of you, whether you're huge fans of the genre or not, are thinking that I've been way too critical of this movie. And perhaps you're right, maybe I should just accept the flaws of this movie like I do all the others of the countless horror movie sequels I've seen. But there's one problem with that: major flaws are intrinsic to horror sequels. Consider the fact that the bad guy that died in the previous movie always inexplicably returns. I expect flaws in the sequels, not in the original. The first Halloween, Friday the Thirteenth, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and etc. are all classics not only because they scare you, but because they're not full of glaring holes in the plot or ridiculously stupid endings. The fact of the matter is that the ending of A Nightmare on Elm Street is awful, it leaves so much to be desired, and falls far short of being classic. If you don't believe me ask yourself, what could have made the end better, how would I have done the ending? If you find yourself with a pretty long list, then I think I've proved my point.
El mariachi (1992)
Don't expect "Desperado" or "Once Upon a Time in Mexico"
Robert Rodriguez's acclaimed $7,000 film is well deserving of all the praise it has received, especially considering its "shoe string" budget, but if you're expecting a shoot 'em up movie or action on the level of "Desperado" or "Once Upon a Time..." look somewhere else. The first in this series of three movies focuses more on storytelling than bloodletting. While there are action and chase sequences, don't expect huge explosions or massive bar shoot-outs that you may be accustomed to in "Desperado." There simply wasn't money for those kind of sequences in "El Mariachi," but what it lacks in raw action, it makes up for in a well written and well developed plot. The movie begins with a mariachi looking for work who arrives in a small pueblo in Mexico and finds none; however, he does find a bar owner named Domino, whom he quickly falls in love with. Unfortunately for him, he's also being chased by a drug lord named Moco after he was mistaken for Azul, a criminal out to get the drug lord. Yes, that should ring a bell for those of you who have seen "Desperado," but rest assured that this movie is not the same movie. Overall, "El Mariachi" is definitely worth watching at least once, if for no other reason than to see how a good movie can be made for next to nothing.