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Reviews
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Absolutely terrible - I love it
This movie is absolutely terrible and I can't refrain from watching it when it's on because it's so bad. It has to be one of the most over the top movies I have ever seen. The explosions are ridiculously huge, the situations are totally unbelievable to the point of being stupid and don't even get me started on the acting. At one point I almost expect Geena Davis to come out with the line "Christina! Bring me the axe!" You'll know it when you see it.
I get that suspension of disbelief is a major part of watching action movies but some ask you to do it a lot more than others. The action in The Bourne Identity or a film like Ronin, while exaggerated, is for the most part possible in real life, just not very likely. The action in this film however is almost cartoonish. But that's what makes it so great.
If you like a clichéd, over the top action movie with equally over the top acting from the lead you'll probably like this. I had to give it 7 stars for pure entertainment value.
Beloved (1998)
It's in there if you want to see it...
Beloved has many moments of powerful beauty which more than make it worth watching, despite its 3 hour length. Some of Thandie Newton's scenes are extremely disturbing and even frightening as she expresses Beloved's obsessive, all consuming, needy love for her mother simultaneously coupled with homicidal rage at her for daring to separate them. Denver's inner self is often written on her face, saying more than a page of dialog could. Oprah as Sethe is always Oprah but somehow she shows you this woman's truth. It would be very interesting to see how this movie would have been with a different, lesser known actress in the role. Baby Sugg's sermon is a picture of the almost forgotten awareness of a state of love and freedom in the midst of a world filled with despair, loss, separation and hatred.
I have also read the book and found it to be an extremely confusing, disorientating and yet somehow compelling experience. It is written I think to recreate in the reader the way we experience life ourselves, as emotional colors, in remembered snatches, through different lenses, and without it always making sense. I would definitely read it again having seen the film. I can sense that there is much I missed in the book the first time around and just because something is difficult, does not mean it isn't worth making the effort. I would say the same thing about the film.
The Jackal (1997)
Worst casting I have ever seen.
This movie has the worst casting I have ever seen.
Richard Gere was totally wrong for the role of the Irishman. Why get Richard Gere to do a bad Irish accent when there are plenty of good actors who could both look and sound more convincing as an IRA terrorist? It just doesn't make sense.
Bruce Willis didn't seem threatening or scary in his role as the cold blooded assassin at all. He phoned this performance in.
Sidney Poitier, while undeniably a legend was totally out of place in this movie. His acting style is a little too old fashioned (almost stagy) for the modern feel of this remake. He would probably have fared better in the original "Day of the Jackal." All in all, this movie seemed empty, boring and contrived due, in large part, to the totally inappropriate casting. I didn't feel like the actors were connected at all, either to the script or to each other. What a waste of time and a waste of actors who can do (and have done) much better work.
The Stepfather (1987)
I know the two sequels must be even worse but it's hard to imagine how...
Am I the only person who thinks this movie was atrocious? I just saw thisfor the first time on cable. The only reason I watched it is because Terry O' Quinn, currently of "Lost" fame, was in it. I thought it would be interesting to see him in something much earlier.
The problem lies not in his performance but in the terrible writing, and the wretched score. With a better script, O' Quinn could have really mined his character and shown us the layers to his insanity. Instead we are given a two note performance - creepily fake stepdad and totally crazy stepdad. A rather weak effort from Hack has as its only highlight a great slap across her daughter's face about 30 minutes before the end. Schaekel fares a little better as the daughter although she too seems limited due to the insipid lines she was given.
I usually love bad, campy movies but this was just wretched. The whole thing has the feel of an 80s detective TV drama. I can't believe there were actually two sequels made...I can't even imagine how terrible those must be.
A friend recently told me he loves this movie because in the 80s when he was in the navy and stationed in the middle of nowhere in Scotland, this was the only movie they had on tape so they watched it incessantly...
unimaginable....