surfandski Reviews

Basic Instinct 2 (2006)

Sharon you sex goddess, you rule !

[7/10 · 28 June 2007]

I could not agree more with the fact that people ARE indeed to get this movie just because of their dislike for what they perceive to be a cocky actress full of herself. But if a guy behaves like her (hey JaaAck) they cheer him on. Well Sharon you have a new fan honey. Oh sure some of her movies have been crap, but have you watch anything from DeNiro lately, the only thing left for him to be is in a dog food commercial, plueeeeeese ! Sharon Stone rules the screen on this one, and her male counterpart is also very good. I have never seen this guy on anything before and I was pleasantly surprised. From the opening scene this movie rocks, and entertains the pants off you...almost literally. There is a good plot about who the possible killers might be, but of course you know who the killer is, you have to be dumb not to (so no this is not a spoiler), but it is the doubt that she puts in her psychiatrist mind that is the backbone of the movie, and as far as he is concerned, it COULD be someone else. Now yes, 1 minute before one of the main characters is killed you are like, OK wake up dude, you can't be this dumb, but I am willing to overlook that little factor because the movie has delivered so much fun all the way up to that point without breaking pace. The production is excellent, and like someone mentioned before, the photograph of the buildings of London are beautiful, it makes you realize how uninteresting American cities really are. So stop beating this movie up just because you personally don't like Sharon Stone, there is a LOT to like. You watch !

Fast Food Nation (2006)

Brilliant and uncompromising, a must see

[8/10 · 18 March 2007]

Don't ask me why, but when I rented FFN I thought I was renting a comedy about the FF industry. Instead what I got was a gut wrenching portrayal of the people that work in the low paying, dangerous jobs of the fast food industry. Some people seem to be disappointed about this movie, their complaints seem to be about the movie they were expecting rather than the end product they got. I hope I keep seeing more of Catalina Sandino, she was great in Maria Full of Grace and here again she shines as the face of the illegal immigrant underclass. Lots of nice little supporting roles by well known faces. Every time I see Bruce Willis in a good movie I keep wondering why he keeps putting out the crap he usually puts out, because when given a serious role where he doesn't have to use that stupid smirk,he always steps up to the plate. But the bigger message of FFN is not only about the working conditions of the poor, but also about what we are becoming as a nation, or actually what we have already become, an economy where maximizing profits by squeezing every penny from every element of the production line (humans included) is the ultimate goal. Where almost unnoticed every workplace is becoming a sweat shop and the goal is to provide cheap products for a workforce that in the end is losing its economic might. China and India will not turn into America, America will turn into China and India, and the machine won't care. As K. Kristofferson's character says (paraphrasing here). 'The machine has taken over, it is a thing of science fiction, all that matters is pennies by the pound, pennies by the pound'.

The Corporation (2003)

A must see too understand how capitalism really works.

[8/10 · 31 March 2006]

Excellent documentary about the influence, development and the demise of planet earth under the corporate structure. The film exposes the excesses of corporation and how capitalism has turned into savage capitalism. Lots of business luminaries contribute to the debate on the good and bad of corporations. Although watching this film is a bit depressing, as it exposes how the planet is being plundered and destroyed by a corporate world that is only interested in the bottom line, there is some hope in the fact that most of the people talking in this documentary are business men themselves who like sky divers who have floated for too long thinking themselves as fliers, now realize that they are falling, and although the ground is far away, they see how it is coming faster than previously thought. One thing lacking I believe is a larger expose on how to make the corporate world better as a whole. In the end we are left with the feeling that the corporation rides the turtle (earth) across the river like a scorpion, the very nature of the scorpion will destroy them both. Unless things change very soon we are a doomed planet.

The Interpreter (2005)

Nothing great

[5/10 · 31 March 2006]

When you get a Sidney Polack movie you are going to get a lot of Sids supporters that somehow refuse to accept that every so often, good ol'Sid puts out an average movie that does not measure up. The Interpreter is one of those movies. First of all, the relationship between Penn and Kidman is a waste, not only isn't there much chemistry between the actors, but also between the characters. The plot starts to get very contrived towards the end with the movie trying to make the characters more interesting than they really are. By then the audience is completely uninterested, actually bored. Bad dialogue between the two main protagonists, a silly ending, too many closeup shots of a relationship without chemistry add to the disappointment. Too average, too slow, too pretentious, not worth the time invested. 5/10.

Hostage (2005)

Another Willis disaster...haven't we suffered enough !

[2/10 · 25 March 2006]

Folks, Bruce Willis has a special place in my life, he has been in the only two movies I've ever walk out of. The first beauty was Hudson Hawk, it was so long ago that i don't even remember it, but if you ever saw that pile of trash you know why I race for the exit 40 min into it. And now 20 or so years later he rewards me with my second bullet, Sabotage. All you have to do to know how awful this movie is going to be is to insert the DVD and listen to the music of the DVD menu. I knew at that moment before I even pressed 'play' that I was in trouble. 20 minutes into the movie, after watching Bruce and his usual 'I need some Peptobismol' expression, plus his one of his off-springs trying to act, i decided to start fast forwarding at 2x, 10 minutes later at 4x, and 10 min later I jumped straight to the last chapter and watch your 5 blow ups, 10 fires, exploding water, and all that crap that the movie gods seem to think we haven't had enough of. Pass up this dog. 2/10

A History of Violence (2005)

One of th worst movies i've seen this year.

[3/10 · 25 March 2006]

The are only two reasons i can think this movie has gotten such high ratings in this site, either the studio paid a bunch of posters to pump it, or they couldn't bring themselves to trash the film of darling Cronenberg. Either way stay away from this dog. This is the kind of movie that you find C. Thomas Howell in, but he was either busy or he thought this would be beneath him. For starters, the writing is really bad. The backbone of the story is a good one, there is tons of potential in it, but it seems that the words have been written by the last scrip writer left in Hollywood. Ed Harris and W. Hurt have a couple of nice little roles, but who cares, everything else is so fake that you can never get into the story. And then there is Ashton Hall, this kid must have earned his way into this movie the 'hard' way, because he is just AWFUL, every time he had a scene my girlfriend and I were screaming at the screen. If you want to go through the pain of a movie like this rent a Brian Buzworth film. Talk about letdown 3/10.

Saw (2004)

Yeah baby, this is the one you have been waiting for !

[9/10 · 10 January 2006]

This movie is the balls. Just when you are tired of watching the same crappy rehash of stories that you can predict what is going to happen for the next 30 minutes here comes this dandy that locks you in right from the start, and I mean RIGHT FROM THE START. Yeah sure the killer has planned things a little too perfect but it doesn't take away from the original script, and to cap it all off you have a great twist(S) at the end. This is a story where the overlap between present and flashbacks is perfectly done, it actually enhances the flow of the film rather than detract or distract from it. It reminded me of the Usual Suspects in the cleverness of the script and the final twist(s), even though the subjects matter is completely different. The way in which people 'must' die or kill is in every case perverse and brilliant. I am not much for this type of movie but this one left me wanted for more. I have not seen Saw II but after seeing this one, I am gonna have to watch it, doubt it can come even close. For sheer entertainment value Saw gets a 9.

Dopamine (2003)

A true find, all felling, no BS

[8/10 · 8 January 2006]

Rare independent film about the nature of love, is love and feelings all chemistry or are humans blessed with something special that no other animal has? Well produced and with an excellent cast this film is carries along softly and yet never boring. Everything feels real and interesting. The director is a born filmmaker, unfortunately I don't see any other films-to his credit. We should see more of this very talented cast in the future. Checkout Nicole Wilder as Machiko, you can't play cute and sensual any better than that. Hope to see more films from this director and cast. If you are tired of watching the same crap over and over again, get yourself some Dopamine.

Sin City (2005)

Visually stunning, highly entertaining

[8/10 · 3 January 2006]

I have never read the stories that this movie is based upon so I could not comment on how it compares. That might be a plus since I got to experience this movie with no background information. An it was awesome. All stories in the movie are very good, but I believe it is Mickey Rorke's plot line which is the best part of this film, I think they should have put that story as the 3rd of 4 story lines, rather than 2nd (could not have been 4th because of the plot line) because it is so sooooo good that what follows, although very good, is no match. The look of the film is superb, the combination of black and white with color is stunning, the cars look real but with a story line look to them (check out the headlight of the car that flies through the air, little oval beams in front of it).

Sideways (2004)

First rate characters, first rate casting, first rate acting

[9/10 · 22 April 2005]

It is a joy not to be disappointed by a movie that you have been waiting to watch, and Sideways delivers. Kudos to the casting director that somehow saw that these were the right actors to play these roles. On first look you would not think so. Giamatti's performance is very good, as usual, but he has to be careful not to keep playing these roles of the guy with the anger management problem. Still he shades his character beyond that, and there are some gut wrenching scenes in this movie (i.e. Giamatti opening his mother's drawer) where the feelings experienced by his character comes through the screen in spades. But it is Thomas Heiden Church in my opinion who shines here, he delivers one of the great comedic performances of the last 10 years. His tiger growl after Sandra Oh invites the two buddies to her home is hysterical. Sandra Oh, one very underrated actress, is again perfect in her role. And finally Virginia Madsen, what a joy to see her given a character that is worthy of her talents, her monologue on why she likes wines is delivered with a Deneuve sensuality that freezes you on your couch. 9/10

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Original, well acted, yet inconsistent...

[7/10 · 22 April 2005]

You have to give it to Charlie Kauffman, his scripts are very, very original, almost as if he is trying to outsmart himself (Adaptation, Being John Malkovic, and now Sunshine...), however they always have this quality of leaving you a bit empty, because he always starts so strong maybe his endings lose a lot of the punch, or he just does not want to deliver one. In any case, this is a good movie. The acting is superb, Carey and Whinslet have a perfect chemistry here, and although not much is shown, much is perceived. I think that looking at 50% of the audience giving this movie a 10 is overrating it. What are you going to leave for the Godfather, or the Quiet American? 7/10

Step Into Liquid (2003)

Holy Mother of God !!!

[8/10 · 29 March 2005]

This movie just blew me away. Before going any further let me say that I am giving it an 8 because I have yet to see Riding Giants and also that you should not rent the DVD unless you have an HDTV of 40' or larger where you can enjoy this movie in all its splendor. The camera work is absolutely fantastic. And whether you are a surfer or not, it won't matter, when you watch this movie you will be transported for 90 minutes into the tube, plus you get to see some terrific places. Better yet the whole family can enjoy it while you all go 'Wow, wow, WOW' every 15 seconds. Beware that if you are married your wife will probably end up pining a poster of Laird Hamilton in your room, and your youngsters, well they will be on the next plane to Hawaii, hell I am packing my bags as I write...surf's up.

8/10

Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

A Brilliant script with acting and direction to match.

[10/10 · 27 March 2004]

This movie is a true gem. One of the few critically aclaimed movies that is worthy of all its praise. It is a real treat to watch a movie that you have not 'seen' before in one way or another, this is one of them. This movie oozes originality, from an excellent script, to unknown excellent actors, a direction that transports you right into the harsh world of the undocumented immigrants of London. As far as Oscars are concerned, as the old saying goes 'we was robed'. If you are sick and tired of the all american cinematic fast food rehash that Hollywood cranks ad-nauseum while wasting millions, then treat yourself to this european gourmet dish. 10/10.

Vanilla Sky (2001)

A great cast deliver an excellent story in top form.

[8/10 · 17 January 2004]

Vanilla Sky is an excellent adaptation of the Spanish film Abre los Ojos (open your eyes, which I have also seen). What Vanilla Sky has over the original is excellent performances from all its cast members. Along with Magnolia, this is probably Tom Cruise best performance, I am not a great fan of his commercial work, but you have to respect the man here. His facial expressions are a joy to watch in every shot, it is a great, underrated performance, like George Clooney's performance in Solaris. Cameron Diaz also shines as the 'villain'. I agree with a reviewer here which says that the music was distracting, even though the soundtrack is excellent, it is not appropriate, it seems as if Crowe is trying to make a video of every sequence. However do not let this minor issue stop you from seeing this movie. One of the great things about Vanilla Sky is that although the movie may seem confusing to some, everything is brought together at the end WITHOUT CHEATING. Many movies nowadays tend to get away from a straight narrative, nothing wrong with that, but with a script so full of holes that you could not put it together even with crazy glue, using the BS excuse that they will 'leave it up to the viewer to figure out what they really mean' or 'if you look carefully, it is all there'. Not here. In short, a great surprise from a movie I was not expecting much. 8/10

Intacto (2001)

Just for its originality it is worth seeing.

[8/10 · 17 January 2004]

This is one strange plot. The story centers about an underground group that trades and steals luck, from one person to another, you'll meet the sole survivor of a plane crash, the sole survivor of a concentration camp, an incredible contest with people running blindfolded through a thick forest, he who can run through the forest at full speed without hitting a tree will get to challange the luckiest man in the world (Von Sydow), these challanges are lethal.

If you enjoy unusual films, this is one to see. 8/10

My Dinner with Andre (1981)

Outstanding, if you love dialog this is it.

[9/10 · 17 January 2004]

This movie is not for everyone, it is about 2 friends having dinner at an NYC restaurant, that is it. However it is quite the conversation as Andre has been going around the world experimenting and trying to find himself so he tells his friend all what he has experienced recently. Also it is about what is important in life. I have seen this movie twice (call me crazy), some people might find it slow. Not me. 7.5/10

Bowling for Columbine (2002)

Absolutely brilliant !

[10/10 · 9 November 2003]

This is a movie for the ages. This movie will have you laughing your head off while at the same time challenging to think about American violence and our obsession with guns. Are we a nation of killers with guns, or does access to guns make it to easy for us to kill? Moore explores both sides of the issue while giving us a tour of our insane world, by presenting it as it is. 10/10. Awesome.

Witness Protection (1999 TV Movie)

A family drama filled with outstanding performances

[8/10 · 9 November 2003]

Witness Protection is a great film from HBO about a family that is forced to entered the witness protection program after their lives become endangered. However it is NOT what you might think, shootouts, narrow escapes, and a face off between mobster boss and betrayed loyal soldier, instead it is turned into a drama about a family disintegrating under the pressures of the situation they are in, and what an excellent drama it is ! The performances are all a knock out, in particular that of Mastroantonio, as the wife who stands by her man and whose life of luxury starts unraveling, this actress has a range that had never been exploited until now, her confrontation with her husband in the kitchen is to be remembered, she is so good that I am really upset about how many more roles she could play if only we had known. Sismore plays the mobster connected husband to perfection, his known ability to play sinister hoods is utilized to play a husband that keeps emotionally exploding as his life and family start to crumble. The actors playing their children are also in top form. The young child playing the daughter is amazing as a girl that is becoming traumatized on a daily basis by a stress filled environment. Finally there is Forrest Whitaker, his performance is fine for the role but again, Forrest is a monotone actor, he plays every character the same way, I never understood what the big hoo-ha-ha is about him, but in this role his demeanor is exactly what his role needs and it complements a movie that has absolutely no flaws. Kudos to the director for bringing out such performances from such unlikely actors. As someone here mentioned, I don't know why this film was not a theatrical release because it would have brought Oscar nominations for everyone involved, it is one of the best films of the year.

Mystic River (2003)

BRILLANT...NOT !!!

[5/10 · 20 October 2003]

I really wanted to like this movie but, this movie is so mediocre that is even hard to write a review about it. What the fuss is all about is beyond me. The performances are mediocre at best, with the exception of Tim Robbins which puts out a great one. Starting with Marcia Gay Harding, when they get into the 'vampire' dialog it is hard not to laugh at her. Then there is Laura Liney, why she thinks that people in Boston speak like southerners??? Then there is the editing, this movie just does not flow right, I can't put my finger on it other than it is all wrong. Then the music, it reaches crescendos at the most inapropriate times and then we have a couple of blues tunes courtesy of Kyle Eastwood that should have been left in the trash bin.

I was really psyched to see this movie, I had read the book and eventhough the book is not well written, the basis of the story is very good and I thought it would make a great movie, ohhh but leave to the screenwriters of this dog to screw that up, even the ending is all wrong. In the book there is a real reason about why the girl is killed, in the movie they change it to a bogus reason, read the spoiler at the end. Do yourself a favor, skip this turkey. This is 5/10 and I am being generous.

SPOILER

The reason the girl is killed is because the mute brother of her boyfriend does not want his brother to marry her and leave the house since he is very attached to him, thus he kills her. In the movie they make it an accidental shooting and they top it off with an accidental beating????????????? Talk about extreme PC towards mute people.

Mystic River (2003)

A total disappointment, waaaaaaay over rated. Save your money

[5/10 · 18 October 2003]

I was looking forward to this movie. There was so much hype about it, and after reading the book which I considered to be a very good story line that was not well written I figured that it could play really well as a movie. Boy was I ever wrong. For starters, with the exception of Tim Robbins performance which is very good, the rest of the performances are quite mediocre, the worst being Marcia Gay Harding's. You can't believe how bad it goes on the 'vampires' scene you hardly can contain your laughter, and last but not least Laura Linney who thinks that Bostonians speak like southerners????????? What's up with that ! The score is another flaw in the movie it rises to angelic heights at the worst of times and there are some blues tunes courtesy of Kyle Eastwood that should only be played when teaching how-NOT-to play the blues. On top of it, the real reason for why the girl is murdered, which I will give at the end as a spoiler, is changed in the movie to something completely bogus. Why they would do that is beyond me but it completely devalues the whole story. This is a long novel and a long movie, yet the flow of the story is just off, I don't know why and how but you'll know what i mean if you watch it. Folks, anyone that is giving this movie a rating higher than 7 must be caught in the last 5 year trend of media smooching towards Clint Eastwood films. This movie is just dull. 5/10...and I am being generous.

SPOILER AHEAD

The reason the girl is murder is because the young mute brother does not want his older brother to leave, since his brother is planning to marry the girl and leave, he kills her to keep the brother at home. In the movie the murder is attributed to an accidental shooting and the stealing of a car, which plays out as such a lame excuse that you have to contain yourself from throwing crap at the screen. Is this PC towards mute people, who the hell knows, but it just makes the whole story line so freaking lame.

Real Women Have Curves (2002)

A labor of love, it shows through and through

[8/10 · 4 October 2003]

First of all let me say that my writing will not make this movie justice, I am not a good writer so you WILL have to rent it. I cannot remember seeing a movie where a director/writer loves her characters and her people so much, this movie is as good a movie of the 'everyday hero' as you will ever find. In spite its title, it is not a 'chicks' movie, it is a movie that everyone can appreciate. The performances are honest and heart felt, America Ferrera is beautiful as the main protagonist. Another wonderful thing about this movie is the lack of nastiness or violence, every characters strives for a positive in life, other than the mother who cannot help her jealous feelings, but even then there is no nastiness. Please rent this movie, not only will you love it, but you will be sending a message that we all love a story more than a car crash. What a pleasant surprise. 8/10

Narc (2002)

Gritty urban crime drama. Excellent performances.

[8/10 · 21 August 2003]

I wished this movie had been better promoted when it came to theaters because it deserves it. The performances and writing are first rate. Ray Liotta plays the best role of his career, a harsh cop but without that over the top attitude that sometimes filters through every Liotta role. I think on of the best things in this movie is a strong performance by the secondary cast, in particular the criminals. 8/10

Spider (2002)

Slow, pointless, and disappointing

[6/10 · 6 August 2003]

Having seen all of Cronenberg's movie I was looking to what was referred as it best work yet. What a let down!!! This movie is slow even for people that like slow movies. And then I kept waiting for some kind of payoff at the end because I thought that there had to be something more to it...but there was nothing there. If you are really surprise by the ending then you have been watching to much American Pie. I do not understand all these viewers that had trouble understanding this movie, there is no mystery here, what is that they did not understand? this is a pretty straight forward story, so anyone who is waiting for some plot that they have to unravel or be surprised at the end is going to be completely disappointed. On another topic, Ralph Finnes performance is a good performance, but it is not great, this is not a hard role to play since it is a monotone performance. Sorry folks I wanted to like it but...5/10.

Solaris (2002)

A beautiful masterwork. Clooney's absolutely brilliant.

[8/10 · 2 August 2003]

I will not tell you the plot of Solaris, you can find that anywhere. This movie is a thing of beauty, anyone that needs a car chase or some kind of explosion, nudie scene, or murder, stay away, everyone else please watch. I was not a fan of George Clooney, now I am. His performance is one of the top 5 in the last 20 years, this role is so hard to play and yet he plays it beautifully. Kudos for the director who gave this pretty boy the role of his career. McElhone is excellent as his wife. The only weakness on this movie is Davies, too over the top, too cliche, it is a shame because it is the only thing that stops this movie from being absolutely perfect. As far as the direction, it is fantastic, this is one of the most intimate movies ever filmed. The presentation of Clooney's encounter with his wife from the beginning to the end of their marriage is gorgeous, 100 words are maybe exchanged and yet a lifetime is presented. The score is excellent, it is so original, it would have been out of place anywhere else but here. As far as anyone saying this movie is slow, they have been playing to many video games. This is an excellent mystery/romance/sci-fi/thriller, all wrapped into one. 8.5/10

Second Skin (2000)

A good mystery/thriller

[8/10 · 31 July 2003]

I have no idea why people are giving this movie a bad rap. This is a really good (small) movie with a great surprise ending. You will not guess it, which is more than you can say for 90% of the movies out there. The story moves along through twists and turns. Yes, the lead actor, whatever his name is, is and odd looking duden and maybe miscast, but the plot is so good that it carries him along. Natasha is in top form, I wish she would stop making other crap movies because when she is given a role she plays it well, really well. I don't know if I would go out of my way to see this movie but I usually watch it when it shows up on cable, twice already. 8/10