ciervo76 Reviews

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Better than the first

[10/10 · 6 December 2002]

Although "Chamber" is better than the first Potter movie, I enjoyed the first more. Not to say that this new installment wasn't enjoyable, I just like the plot better in the first.

Now about "Chamber of Secrets." The special effects were much better done in this one, and even more important the 3 kids (Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson) turned in much better performances than the last film. However the biggest difference was in Columbus' directing which was almost flawless this time as he crammed in even more detail. I can't wait to see how "Prisoner of Azkaban" will turn out since that is more complex, and it has three Quidditch games that are important to the plot.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

The best picture of the year

[10/10 · 24 December 2001]

Never have I seen anything so spectacular, so awe-inspiring. This film is done in the same style as the Star Wars Trilogy (operatic saga set in another universe with a past, present, and future), but LOTR is better than any of the Star Wars films (and that's saying a lot) as it pays attention to detail with incredible sets, grand cinematography, perfect directing, and nearly flawless acting. Also the score by Howard Shore fit the film perfectly, and even the two Enya songs weren't annoying. I can't wait to see it again, and hopefully the Academy will make up for last year's mistake by giving LOTR: FOTR best picture of the year. The adaptation of Tolkien's masterpiece was right on even if they did have to cut some things out from the book.

It (1990)

book was better

[7/10 · 13 August 2001]

The first half was definitely better than the second half as the kids turned out to be better actors than the adults, especially Jonathan Brandis's performance as Bill. I am not a Brandis fan, but one cannot overlook the excellent job he did in this film, but the best performance was by Tim Curry as Pennywise, as he delivered a near perfect performance as Stephen King's most memorable character. The second half wasn't that good, and the monster at the end was cheap looking, but it still was a decent effort for television, but out of all of King's TV movies, The Stand was the best.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

A very good film

[9/10 · 8 August 2001]

This is one of the few action movies that actually makes a point. Of course, it has great action, but that was mixed with good acting, even by Arnold, great directing and writing. The last scene with Arnold Schwartzanegger was a classic. The visual effects were great of course as was the makeup. It is just a great movie on all levels, and it is very fun to watch, and it's one of the few sequels that is better than the original although it didn't connect well with it (John should have only been 7 years old).

American Playhouse: Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1983) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

I saw it on MST3K

[1/10 · 6 August 2001]

This is the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. There was nothing good at all about, not even Raul Julia's performance (which at the mediocre level was the least worst part of this movie, there is no such things as a best part for a film as horrible as this). The "special" effects were cheesy and poorly made, the directing was atrocious, and everything else in it was terribly and painfully bad. But the writing was by far the worst part of it, as they make fun of anteaters (I still never figured that one out), and little kids running around and messing with people's brains which causes the ruination of Hollywood's greatest film "Casablanca." Sure, I saw it on Mystery Science Theatre, and it was a hilarious episode, but this was by far the worst movie they ever showed, even worse than "Prince of Space" and "Time Travellers". My rating of this movie would be -1 stars out of 5 because it is the negative of artistic quality and entertainment value instead of just the absence of it.

Extra Terrestrial Visitors (1983)

i just couldn't give it a 1

[2/10 · 6 August 2001]

Yes, I saw this on Mystery Science Theatre, and it was very, very bad, but that guy's shirt made me laugh for at least 10 minutes straight. (They wisely did not comment on it, and just laughed at him too). I would say that is enough to give it a 2 instead of a 1, and besides it wasn't as bad as "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank."

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

A Great Film

[10/10 · 2 August 2001]

This is basically one of the best films ever made. With the help of superior technology, Steven Spielberg was able to create an artistic masterpiece that is entertaining to watch. All of the acting was excellent, especially by young Haley Joel Osment who done a much better job than he did in "The Sixth Sense." Also John Williams composed one of the best film scores of all time which highlighted the film in a perfect way. I even liked the song! It's just like watching a Stanley Kubrick film (most specifically, "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Eyes Wide Shut").

Also the ending was nothing short of spectacular. Spielberg put everything on the line, and he came up with the most brilliant ending imaginable, not to mention it was totally unpredictable (maybe even for psychics); no one could have guessed it, that's why I think a lot of Americans didn't like it; in general we tend to dislike something if we don't expect it.

WARNING, DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM YET:





They were robots at the end, not aliens. Spielberg said so himself, and you can tell by the tv screen where their faces should be that is showing David's life.

Battlefield Earth (2000)

Great Book, Horrible Movie

[2/10 · 2 August 2001]

How can they make a movie so bad that is based on a book so good. "Battlefield Earth" is one of the best science fiction books ever, but it is one of the worst science fiction movies ever. Please read the book. Now about the movie: the acting was terrible, the directing was just as bad, and the writing...well you get the picture: completely pathetic. (which again boggles the mind since it was based on L. Ron Hubbard's masterpiece). The effects were okay, but not spectacular, so the movie doesn't even have that. It's just a very, very bad movie.