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nicole3699
Reviews
Earthquake (1974)
Not Too Bad
I recently saw this movie again on American Movie Classics after not seeing it since it was broadcast on TV in 1977 when I was five.
I feel that the special effects were good for 1974 standards. I was disappointed that the elevator blood splatter scene was omitted from the AMC version. I had read about it on IMDB and that movie's website.
It would be great if this movie was remade now, which all the CGI effects possible. Of course, it may have a Titanic-esque budget, but I would see it.
City of Angels (1998)
Goo Goo Dolls Video made this movie seem better than it was
I had seen the Goo Goo Dolls' video for "Iris" with clips from this movie, and it made the movie look pretty good.
When I did finally saw this movie on TV, I was majorly disappointed. What a bore!!!! About halfway through, I was in a somewhat trance state, because it could not keep my attention. Dennis Franz plays a completely obnoxious and repulsive character. His scenes made me cringe.
The song "Iris" finally came on towards the end, all 20 seconds of it or so.
By the end I really didn't care about what happend. This movie is lame. I'm just glad I didn't waste 9 bucks to see it in the movies, or rent it from blockbuster, but saw it free on TNT.
Heartburn (1986)
Very Good Drama
Heartburn is probably classified as a "chick flick", but I don't care. It is a very good story about real people living in the real world. I'm sure there are many men out there that would probably fall asleep during this, due to lack of machine gun fire or kung foo fighting. But for women it is a great slice of life piece. I could watch it over and over again. It has some great comedic moments, from Mark (Jack Nicholson) and his friend Arthur (Richard Masur) several times as they have profound discussions about every day things in a Woody Allen type banter. One part that always touches me is when Rachel finds out about Mark's affair and confronts him. A few minutes later she is packing up to leave and we hear Carly Simon's song "Coming Around Again" on the soundtrack. If you listen to the lyrics of the song it perfectly fits the action that is going on at that moment. It helps the viewer understand Rachel's despair. Her idea of the perfect marriage has been shattered.
Anyway, if you want to watch a movie with heart, then this is it. I think many of the people who say this movie is boring or garbage are too used to today's action standards and dismiss it too quickly. By the way, this is also a semi biographical account of now director Nora Ephron's marriage to a Washington journalist. The book is also a good read as well. If you think Mark treated her badly in the movie, it is nothing compared to the book.
In summary, Heartburn is a movie for people who are emotional and intelligent.
Don't Say a Word (2001)
Read the Book, it's better
I read the book for this before I saw the movie on tape. The movie was a disappointment. I have to say that the movie has only the basic plot points from the book. The book is much more suspenseful, as well as much more graphic with the violence. Also, the dilemma and treatment of the kidnapped daughter is much more brutal than in the movie. The book also goes more into the past of Elizabeth, how she ended up the way she was, and it makes more sense in the book. Also, it was her mother that died, not her father. Plot points are explained better in the book. Do yourself a favor, go to your library and check out the book, you won't waste your money on the rental and get a much better story.
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
OH MY GOD
I had read many reviews of this movie on IMDB, most of them were pretty good, and I was curious of this "shocking ending". Well, finding it wasn't too easy. My local Blockbuster didn't have it, so I had to buy it through a used VHS dealer through Amazon.com. The price was $4.25 (not much more than a rental) so I said, alright, I'll do it.
The movie came in the mail a week later, and that same night I watched it.
Boy oh, boy what a nostalgia kick. I grew up during this time, and had a great laugh over the fashions of the day.
Most of the movie is campy B rated slasher fare, not really scary. Now I know that this is not an Academy Award contender by far, but I do have some criticisms:
***SPOLIERS AHEAD***
What is it with the cop and the cheesy mustache? He shows up, in the beginning of the movie with it. Then later he comes back with BLACK DUCT TAPE above his lip. And they have close ups of it too!!! What's the problem, I know they had a tight budget, but they couldn't afford five bucks for a fake mustache??
Now to the ending; Yes it was shocking I suppose. But it needed at least five more minutes after that, to wrap up the story. And in answer to someone else's previous comment, it was not a computer generated image of Angela's head on a guy's body. It was a plaster mold of Angela's face made into a mask that the guy wore. (I learned this from the movie's website.) Also, the sounds he/she makes are bizarre.
My friend kidding around watching it with us at the end said, "What the hell?" Then jokingly said we traumatized him, because he didn't want to see another guy's plumbing, and the end reminded him of The Crying Game.
I suppose it is worth watching, for a good laugh.
The Exorcist (1973)
Still scares me
I just recently watched the new "version you have never seen" and didn't really see any major difference except:
***SPOLIER***
The previously deleted spider-walk scene. You hear fast footsteps, then Reagan's mother turns around and sees her daughter crawling upside-down on the stairs, like a spider. Then Reagan opens her mouth to scream, and blood comes pouring out of it.
I thought that scene was very creepy. I wonder why they cut it out to begin with. The scene was maybe seven seconds at the absolute most. I suppose they had their reasons.