Archive for category Classic Movie Review
Classic Movie Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Posted by Joel in Classic Movie Review on August 17th, 2009
“COWABUNGA!!!”
Can you say: nostalgic!! With the 25th anniversary of the Ninja Turtles this year, and the fact that I picked up two of their movies, I thought i’d review one of my childhood favorite films: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Let’s see how it fares now!
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
-It’s Dark: They say damn, the action is minimal but fun, but the tone of the film is darker then anything the turtles have done in this medium. It feels more like a film then anything else the Turtles have done.
-The Turtles: The animatronics are really gorgeous looking (thanks to the Jim Henson Company), half the time you forget you’re looking at 6 foot turtles. The voices are great too! Also, props to the guys who made Splinter, he just looks awesome!!
-Nostalgia Value: it hits the roof, it’s a complete guilty pleasure film in all ways.
WHAT I HATED ABOUT TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
-Dialogue: it can be kind of jarring, especially the fact that they use a lot of references to films or tv shows…it becomes kind of dated. Plus hearing Shredder speak the words “Get thoses….turtles” is kind of funny.
-Action: there’s not too much, seems like everytime there is action, they cut to something else. Not cool guys, not cool.
OVERALL
Fun movie, great for nostalgic. Obviously not Oscar worthy but it’s a real guilty pleasure
RATING: 3.5 OUT OF 5
Classic Movie Review: The Crow
Posted by Joel in Classic Movie Review on July 22nd, 2009
“Abashed the Devil stood and felt how awful goodness is”
Miramax had quite the time trying to appeal to major audiences, I mean Warner Brothers had the Batman franchise, and Orion Pictures had Robocop. Miramax needed money to stay a float during theses times where Blockbusters would destroy the box-office, leaving independent company such as Miramax high and dry for cash. So the company that brought audiences movies like:My Left Foot and Red, would have to try something drastic. In comes Alex Proyas’ “The Crow”, a pure early 90’s superhero flick painted in a gothic grungy overtone…so how does it fair? well let’s look.
WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THE CROW
-The setting: Seemed quite gothic in nature, which was essentially what it was suppose to entail, a sort of Burtonesque cityscape, where villain’s run amock and terror is on the rise. Sharp Steeples on the churchs, dark mooded picture for a dark story to come.
-The Story: a true-to-form average everyday revenge story involving a immortal man….reminds me of Highlander and the Punisher, where a man is killed and the people he loves are killed and it’s up to him to take vengeance on thoses who have wronged him. I’m not saying it’s bad, quite the opposite, it’s a really cool concept for a film in the early 90’s for sure. Especially the circumstances that theses events take place, I mean the guy’s girlfriend is rape/beaten/stabbed/etc. He is shot, and thrown out of a 6 story window. The man deserves his vengeance.
-Alex Proyas: Really great director, and if you don’t know the name, well here are some of the films he has directed: Dark City (one of my favorites), Garage Days, I,Robot, and Knowing. He loves to dwelve into the sci-fi nature in a real world realm. The Crow isn’t truly essentially a real world kind of place, in some instances it is, but what he does with the surreal aspect is just fun and intense. He knows how to play around with the camera and gives the audience some well deserve thrills.
-The fact that they used Miniatures: My friend Scott knows all about this, as much as CG is a great tool, it shouldn’t be used to carry your film, unless it’s something like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, you know, when they have creatures and such (once I do my Event Horizon review, you’ll understand why It bugs me) but the fact that a movie like The Crow would use miniatures for their landscapes and such, it’s just smart filmmaking. Why use CGI, when sometimes it becomes dated, and doesn’t look as good as when it orignally released, when you could use real environment as backdrop to lure the audience in, and keep the real world feel. Miniatures last longer as backdrops then CGI does…George Lucas will understand that one day!
-The Acting: it’s basic 90’s acting, so nothing truly spectacular, but I will give it to Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee mind you) who does a pretty good job acting like a man in pain….too bad he died making this movie.
WHAT I HATED ABOUT THE CROW
There wasn’t much I disliked about the movie, but I do have a fiew points.
-Some of the character’s dialogue were kind of off: As much as I love a little nod to Poe’s “The Raven”, he pretty much intimidated a guy with a complete lyric. Also some of the character’s were kind of too off the wall, it’s fun to be off the wall, but when they are trying to be menacing, it becomes pathetic really, maybe that’s what Proyas was trying to convey, but it was a little turn off.
-It’s essentially a 90’s film: This is minor, and I know Scott is gonna be like “WTF man!” but it’s essentially true, a lot of film’s theses days cater to other film generations, for instance, a film like let’s say The Dark Knight, will be watchable 10 year’s from now and still seem like “Oh that could happen now, or , it feels present day, and not something made 10 years ago” but the Crow feels dated. It was made for a 90’s generation where people were into Grunge and listened to Nirvana on a daily bases.
OVERALL
The Crow is still a really fun action/superhero/revenge type film, but it does feel a little dated. It should still keep it’s cult status as far as i’m concerned.
RATING: 4 OUT OF 5
Classic Movie Review: Terms of Endearment
Posted by Joel in Classic Movie Review on July 22nd, 2009
Aurora Greenway: I just don’t want to fight anymore.
Emma Horton: What do you mean? When do we fight?
Aurora Greenway: WHEN do we FIGHT? I always think of us as fighting!
Emma Horton: That’s because you’re never satisfied with me.
1983’s Best Picture winner “Terms of Endearment” knows how to pull its punches, whether being a bittersweet narrative into a woman beyond her years attempting to re-enter the dating scene, or the terrible truth that some people will never succeed in impressing their parents. This film is underlined with emotion, varying from sweet and innocent to depressing and tragic. This is my look into the mother-daughter dramedy “Terms of Endearment”
WHAT I LOVED ABOUT TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
-Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger: Beautiful acting from theses now veteran actors, both deserving in their nominations and ultimately MacLaine’s win. The movie starts off with a baby in a carriage sleeping and all we here is a man and a woman presumably downstairs of the house they reside. MacLaine decides to check on the sleeping baby and ends up coming to the conclusion seeing that the baby wasn’t moving that the baby had suffered crib-death. She pokes and prods the child until the baby starts wailing and crying. Just a perfect way to start a movie about a mother-daughter relationship that relys on the daughter feeling everything she does isn’t enough for her mother. Shirley’s character Aurora is the realisation of a parent who never seems impressed with her child. Spoiler Even in Emma’s dying breath, she seems to be reaching out for her mother’s approval, a heartbreaking moment if I ever saw one Spoiler end. Debra Winger’s Emma also delivers a quirky fun character who seems to be longing for more. She loves her mother to every extent and loves gossip. She is outgoing and even when she discovers that she is dying, she still continues with her optimistic view on life. The drama theses two go through is just part of the poetry that is life.
-Supporting Cast: Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff Daniels, John Lithgow, and Lisa Hart Carroll are great stepping stones to the lives that theses two ladies lead. Jack Nicholson overcomes a lot of the actors, creating an eccentric “ladies” man who has a hard time coming to terms with his emotions. Truly a oscar winning performance.
-The Writing: You couldn’t write a better story. The themes of life, love, and tragedy are underlined with comedy and serious overtones. The script is witty and charming. The moment of death in the film hit me in the way it should have, in shock. I didn’t know how to feel at first, until Aurora began to freak out, I really couldn’t believe it. It felt like you grew up with the characters and seeing something as tragic as that really prevails to hit the heartstrings.
WHAT I HATED ABOUT TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
-I don’t think there’s anything I really hated about the film, but I think it would have been neat to see how they could have used DeVito as a love interest. He seems to be there just as a kind of stalker type, but never really gets a shot at Aurora. Also a little bit more with the Kids could have helped us feel more, especially for Emma’s youngest, Melanie. I guess if I had to complain, it would have to be with the way they present the film in the media or medium, as a kind of fun, chick flick, kind of romp, which will turn away a lot of viewers. That knocks off only half a point tho in the final score.
OVERALL
This film is great, truly a film deserving of the Best Picture status. Not a film for everyone, but if your a film lover like I am or you love character development, then this could be a film for you….Also this is essentially a chick flick (yes I know, at first I was afraid of what I was about to watch), but it’s truly a sweet drama.
RATING: 4.5 OUT OF 5