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4/10
It can stay in a CGI galaxy, far, far, away..
6 April 2000
Well, I was generally disappointed with this film. It had started well enough, the usual Star Wars fan-fare and scrolling intro to get people in the mood, but too much time was lost in the middle with a stupid pod race. Really, the two Jedis should have just made an appearance at the race and observed young Anakin to be good with the force and then take it upon themselves to train him.. the plot of having to raise money for a Hyperdrive was pretty poor.

The use of CGIs was very badly done I felt. There were too many CGI graphics used and the overall effect was poor - realism, is supposed to be conveyed to an audience, the fact was, the CGIs looked like CGIs and this should not be the case. It would have been better to see actual models used as in the Classic Star Wars films to be used and then CGIs applied over the top of them. I hope that George Lucas goes back to his roots for the next two films.

The Jar Jar Binks character is completely annoying - due to a bad choice of characterization voice. A more sensible sounding voice would have made it more enjoyable. The grammar of the language used throughout this film is not very Star Wars and more your average-speaking 20th Century american would use, which is far from accurate when trying portray a civilisation in a galaxy, far, far, away..

The lightsabre fights were okay, but why did they call them light-swords? Has George Lucas forgot himself? The end sequence similar to that of Star Wars IV - A New Hope, why copy it? It would appear some more original thinking is required for episodes two and three.. if anything the ending should have been more dark and depressing.. it was promised that these three prequels were in fact going to be a more 'darker' feature, obviously, Hollywood has decided otherwise.

The only other saving features were R2D2, C3P0 and The Emperor character which he'll soon become in the next two films.. apart from that there was very little to call Star Wars, a disappointing 6 out of 10.
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Toy Story 2 (1999)
10/10
An improvement on the original..
4 February 2000
Well, I saw this film in Australia on New Years Eve. I enjoyed it far more than the original, as it has more interesting bits in it. The spoofs of Pleasantville/50s US TV shows, Star Wars, etc. is good and there's only 1 musical number in the middle as opposed to about 3 or 4 in the original, which is much better.

The comedy works even better this time around with tongue-in-cheek digs at the original Toy Story goings on and the little snippets of former Pixar productions, such as the Tin Toy Demo which appeared on the TV set, when Hamm is flicking through the channels.

Rex is my favourite character in the entire film.. but all the characters and the new ones work well in this film. Just one thing though, do not try to analyze this film for any implications might have regarding merchandizing of Buzz Lightyears etc., just go out, get the coke, the popcorn, and enjoy it.. it's great!

10 out of 10.
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Sleepy Hollow (1999)
6/10
A good nights sleep at the cinema..
30 January 2000
I was very disappointed with this film.. it would appear that the films distributors wanted to make as much money as possible from this film, therefore cutting a whole 9 minutes of action from the 18 rated US version and releasing it as a 15 certificate.

The story could be concluded in a single line - a headless horseman has been killing people in a place called Sleepy Hollow.. and that was essentially it. The film wandered around aimlessly trying to entice people with what will happen next, but it was all too obvious and predictable. There were no surprises, maybe because they were cut from the English version. The script was poor, and the actors were struggling to deliver to their true potential, partially because there wasn't enough of it to go at.

As for directing, Tim Burton did a reasonable job, but I would not go as far as to say as I enjoyed this more than Batman, for example. The special effects were reasonable and the cutting of heads was nicely done. Although I'm sure there would have been more horror for if it were not cut itself onto the editors floor.

I hope if Tim Burton reads this that he will restore the film to its full length and let it have its 18 Certificate it should have, maybe then I could enjoy it and not fall into a Sleepy Hollow when watching it.

6 out of 10.
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2010 (1984)
9/10
A superb piece of film-making
8 August 1999
When I saw 2001, I thought how brilliant a piece of film it turned out to be. Many people could not understand the meaning of the Monolith, but its meaning became clear in this sequal 2010. The acting is first rate throughout, with superb casting and Roy Scheider in one of his best films since Jaws.

The atmosphere generated by both films (more so, this one) is down to the excellent writing behind them. Arthur C.Clarke had a vision of a future and although he admits being 100 years out (talking today) there will be a time when computers like the HAL 9000 and expeditions into space take place just like in the films.

I only hope that sometime in the future, the two novels 2060 and 3001 will make it from paper to film.

I recommend this film to anyone, it is enjoyable for all the family.
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