Gone in 60 Seconds is a silly movie. All my car-crazy (more or less former) friends love it, and I can understand why, but it is none the less silly. Flashy, showy, and to a certain extent even a little cool, but oh-so shallow and plump. The paper-thin plot of a bunch of car thieves [...]
Posts filed in Review
I want to practice writing reviews. Ergo, posts containing my pathetic excuses for reviews, will be tagged “Review”.
That wasn’t too hard to grasp, was it?
Amadeus
Had quite the movie-athon yesterday. Here’s part two, Amadeus, with three and four coming as soon as I can find the time to read them.
Amadeus is often portrayed as the lifestory of one of if not the best musical composer in the history of mankind. (Disagree? Go listen to his Requiem while you wait for [...]
Assault on Precinct 13
I watched the 2005 remake of John Carpenter’s 1976 cult classic Assault on Precinct 13 yesterday, but I’m not really sure why I bothered. I’d probably be much better off watching the original.
It’s New Year’s Eve, and the 13th precinct in some American city or other (I never really got which one, but it seemed [...]
Iron Man
So. The second most anticipated movie of the year or something, Iron Man. I was a skeptic, I have to admit as much. Sure, I’d heard from both Loki and Kalle that it was a phenomenal movie, but they’re both something resembling Marvel fanboys. And me? I’d encountered Iron Man in some minor spots in [...]
Wayne’s World
Earlier this week it struck me that it’s been almost two years since I watched Waynes World, and so, naturally, I sought to rectify this.
Amazingly, I still laugh out loud when I watch this movie. Which is incredible, really, when you tale into account that this is a spoof movie, an SNL movie, where a [...]
Lord of War
It’s been nearly two weeks since I watched Lord of War, so this’ll be a brief review, but better late than never, eh?
First off, what struck me during this second watching of Lord of War was how similar, in many ways, it was to Charlie Wilson’s War. They both dealt with serious subjects, and they [...]
Hero
After the awkwardness of The Sword and the Sorcerer, it felt good to watch one of my favourite fantasy movies, namely Hero. (Granted, it’s more of a historically based wu xia movie, really, but seeing as its pretty much based on a myth and not on what the historian in me would call history, and [...]
The Sword and the Sorcerer
The Sword and the Sorcerer is one of the many fantasy movies produced in the early 1980s, most of which have in common that they are so full of cheese and plot-holes you might think they’re Swiss.
In this particular case, the plot revolves around the kingdom of Eh Dan (Edain, anyone? Or Eng Land?), peaceably [...]
Almost Famous
Almost Famous has been described as doing for the 70s what Rock Star did for the 80s. Do I believe this description is an accurate one? Perhaps. What I do believe is that it’s a great movie.
Supposedly, Almost Famous is based on writer/director Cameron Crowe’s own experiences as a Rolling Stones journalist. In it he [...]
Rock Star
Rock Star is the movie about the young Chris (Mark Wahlberg), who idolates the Heavy Metal band Steel Dragon and sings in a Steel Dragon tribute band (from whence the immortal comment “We’re not a cover band, we’re a tribute band!” arises). The first half or so of the movie portrays Chris’ day to day [...]
Superhero Movie
Rather out of the blue, I ended up seeing Superhero Movie with a friend last night. And man, am I sorry. But I’ll get back to that. First, a plot synopsis.
Rick Riker is Peter Parker, only more (exaggeratedly) so and with more unmotivated and unfun slapstick accidents happening to him. He is in love with [...]
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
Gollancz Fantasy Masterworks.
464 pages, paperback.
1984.
In 1811, a sect of Egyptian sorcerors set out to open the gates to the Ancient Egyptian realm of the dead in order to call back the old gods, vanquish Christianity, and resurrect magic. They failed, horribly, yet something happened that night.
1983: An American college teacher and literary scholar, who has [...]
The Illusionist
What to say of The Illusionist? It’s a very plot-driven and -focused movie, with some great twists and turns, where a young Austrian stage magician struggles to win the love of his childhood darling.
Sounds like dull stuff, right? Well, it gets a bit more interesting once we discover that the childhood sweetheart is engaged with [...]
Enchanters’ End Game by David Eddings
Approximately 445 pages (again!).
1985.
Corgi/RandomHouse paperback.
I feel like most of what can be said of Enchanters’ End Game has already been said in the reviews of the series’ four other volumes, so I’ll restrict myself to summing up the main points, before going on to comment on more general elements of the series as a whole. [...]
Castle of Wizardry, by David Eddings
Ca. 445 pages.
1984.
Corgi/RandomHouse paperback.
The Orb of Aldur has been recovered, and is to be returned to Riva, where waits not only the Warders of the Orb, but also a profound change in the life of young Garion.
Before I started reading this book, I had received some vague warnings (if they can be called as much) [...]
The Golden Compass
I’ve been meaning to do this for a long time, but it wasn’t until earlier this week that I finally got around to getting myself to a screening of The Golden Compass.
In a parallel steampunk universe, the Catholic Church-like Authority is trying to suppress all competition and innovation, in their belief that this is what’s [...]
… and the first ones of 2008
A few ones more…
Ghostbusters
Do I really have to sum up the plot? Didn’t think so. So, this used to be one of me and my friends’ favourite movies when we were 7-8 years old, and I have no idea how long I’ve spent playing Ghostbusters with sticks or LEGO. The movie was still fun, but [...]
2007 — The year’s movies
All the movies are rated on a scale from 0.5 to 10.
THE YEAR’S FIRST HALF.
January.
1. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Am. 2000) 8.0.
2. Taxi Driver (Am. 1976) 7.5.
3. Batman Begins (Am. 2005) 9.0.
4. Eragon (Am. 2006) 2.5.
5. Underworld (Am./Br. 2003) 6.5.
6. Catch Me If You Can (Am. 2002) 8.0.
7. Sense and Sensibility (Br./Ch. 1995) 7.0.
8. [...]
The last movies of 2007…
I’ve been over a month since I last reviewed any movies, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t watched any since.
America’s Sweethearts
A romantic comedy about two self-absorbed actors who’ve been an item for several years. Has some parodical elements which are worth watching — especially the ones involving Billy Crystal’s calculated PR man — but the [...]
Magician’s Gambit by David Eddings
Book three of the Belgariad.
1983.
446 pages, Random House/Corgi paperback.
In Magician’s Gambit, the hunt for the Orb of Aldur finally came to an end. The characters pretty much remain the same — there’s some awkward attempts at developing Mandorallen, if that is indeed what it is, by making him suddenly experiencing fear; but it doesn’t take [...]
Posts