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Lei ting zhan jing (2000)
Fun, if you can look past the terrible production
I'll admit that much of the acting is very bad, the dialog is even worse, many of the stunts look so fake that they're ridiculous, nothing about the action scenes is in any way believable, and the story itself has been done to death... BUT...
Coolio is consistently funny as the South Central LA drug dealer trying to make a Chinese connection, Norika Fujiwara is as beautiful and sexy as you could want an actress to be, Mark Dacascos is actually pretty good in the movie, and even the fake-looking stunts are fun to watch as long as you don't let yourself get shaken out of the story by the extremely poor production values.
So although I grimaced in a few places, after it was over I realized I had enjoyed watching it.
3 Days to Kill (2014)
Not bad. Clichés run amok, but good sense of humor
There's not much originality in the story line or the characters, which seem like they were lifted from a hundred other movies, but what set this film apart is the fun sense of humor that runs through it. It's not a comedy, just a straight action/thriller, but there's a good bit of humor happening between the super-spy and his daughter. There are also a few good laughs in the separation of the professional and personal lives of a couple of characters. If you're looking for a smart, innovative film, this isn't it, but if you're after a decent action flick with a few laughs, under the PG-13 rating, then this one's worth a look.
The Wrong Box (1966)
It's zany, it's satirical, it's good clean fun
This is the kind of comedy that entertains with twists and turns in the plot. One crazy event leads to another, all caused by mix-ups, assumptions and misunderstandings. That said, it is well written and quite funny in a 1960's British way, with plenty of satire to go along with the zany happenings of the story. Michael Caine, Dudley Moore, and Peter Cook are all good, and Peter Sellers is fantastic in a small role. But ultimately the film comes down to a cleverly crafted plot that was derived from an old novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.
The movie is clean enough to watch with your family, though the young kids will miss much of the humor, and some of the comedy comes from the fact that characters pretend to care about the deaths of older family members, when in fact they don't.
Kalifornia (1993)
More melancholy drama than thriller, but a well told story
Kalifornia is a gut-wrenching drama dressed up as a thriller. To describe the plot gives one the sense of a real suspense-style "psychotic killer" movie. And there are places where this film straddles the line between suspense movie and horror flick, but for the most part, it's an incredibly sad, character driven drama. Juliette Lewis's performance as the child-like young woman with abuse in her past, and no self worth at all, pathologically drawn to an abusive psychotic... well her performance is nothing short of outstanding. And Brad Pitt is very good as the abusive psychotic who's taking advantage of her weakness. But watching this movie is sort of like watching someone torture a puppy for an hour and a half. It's excruciatingly sad. David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes are good too, and the story moves along at a nice pace. It's well-written, and the story is well told by director Dominic Sena. If you have to stomach to watch this poor abuse victim being used throughout the whole film, then this movie is very, very good. If you can't stand to watch stuff like that, then stay away from it.
Jackie Brown (1997)
Excellent crime drama, but not typical Tarantino
Tarantino's fans don't seem to like the fact that this isn't a typical Tarantino movie. It's more realistic and doesn't have the super-crazy action violence that Tarantino is known for. As such, it has a gritty feel to it, and the violence comes off more effective because of the realism. But don't judge it by how well it conforms to his pattern; judge it for what it is. It's a great crime movie.
Based on an Elmore Leonard novel, the story is clever, and the characters are outstanding. The cast, especially Samuel L. Jackson, but also DeNiro, Robert Forster, and even Pam Grier, bring these multi-dimensional characters to life with plenty of depth and believability. I'd recommend this for anyone who wants a tough, R-rated crime drama.
Transsiberian (2008)
Slow-paced, subtle, smart but boring film.
Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson, and Ben Kingsley all give fine acting performances in Trans-Siberian, but ultimately, I think the director missed what he was going for. He tried to use subtlety to let the viewer know that something sinister might be about to happen, but doing so took so much time that the first 45 minutes of the movie were just too slow and boring. The two main characters pretty much sat around small-talking for 45 minutes before the plot really began. Then about 20 minutes later it became very suspenseful for about a half an hour. Overall, Trans-Siberian is really not exciting enough to call it a thriller, but it's too simple to call it a drama. When I think deeply about what was subtly revealed about the main character, I like some of what the director was trying to do, but I wish he had cut about 20 minutes of it. It just wasn't worth the time to watch it.
1st to Die (2003)
They did the worst thing a filmmaker can do
To me there's really only one thing a filmmaker/writer should never ever do. They can use all sorts of little cheats and suspend the laws of physics for stylistic effect as much as they want, but when they use those same cheats to resolve the main mystery of the plot, then that's just too stupid. To avoid giving too much detail I'll use a hypothetical example: Suppose you're watching a suspense film and the heroine is up against the wall with killers all around her. They're armed, she isn't. She has no help and no way out, and the situation has been tensely evolving to this point for two hours. Then she just magically turns invisible and flies away with no explanation for how, when, or why she suddenly developed the ability to fly and turn invisible. The end. Good film? No. A terrible cheat. And 1st To Die is just that way. The plot's mystery is resolved by a sudden revelation that someone can do something that's impossible. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.
Any idiot can write a good mystery if you don't have to explain how it worked within the laws of physics. Imagine the old "locked room mystery" where the victim has been killed in a room that has been locked from the inside, so how did the killer do it? If the answer is that the killer suddenly developed the ability to pass through brick walls without disturbing them, then it's not a very good mystery, is it?
Silver City (2004)
That wasn't a movie; it was a political ad
I don't really consider myself a conservative, so I wasn't personally offended by this film, but it was pretty clear that the plot and the characterization in this film were secondary to the message. And the message is that all conservatives are either evil or stupid (or both). The characters are one-dimensional -- either good, freedom-loving Americans, or brainless, greedy, evil conservatives. There's nothing clever or creative, just anti-conservative. I don't really mind the political bias itself, but it shouldn't be the only purpose behind the movie. And clearly it is.
On the positive side, the cast is wonderful and Chris Cooper's impression of W is funny the first two or three times, but after that it's just the same old joke being told over and over again.
So if you really hate the conservatives, you'll probably enjoy this film, but if you're looking for something with realistic characters and a story that's less black-and-white, then you'd be better off watching something else.
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
For what it is, it's very good
Journey to the Center of the Earth is a family/adventure movie. If you're looking for an intense, shocking thrill ride for adults, then this will disappoint you. But if you want something you can enjoy with your kids, then this is a good choice.
It's not realistic or even scientifically sound, and it's not brilliant. Sure, the filmmakers could have taken it a direction that would be more enjoyable to adults, but they would have had to move it to at least a PG-13 rating for that kind of intensity, and then it wouldn't be the family movie that it is. My wife and I both enjoyed it without our kids, but it lacks the intensity you find in PG-13 adventures.
Burn After Reading (2008)
Funny story, funny characters
Burn After Reading is more comedy than drama, but the humor starts off slow because the film takes time to set up several characters and their story lines. Then it becomes hilarious. It employs several different kinds of humor, some so subtle you might miss it if you don't pay attention, and some that hits you like a pie in the face. It also uses shock humor, sexual humor, and good old watching-a-moron-be-a-moron humor.
I've only seen it once, but I intend to view it again. It has a great cast (I loved J.K. Simmons in this film), and my wife and I still laugh about the film months after we viewed it.
Fargo (1996)
Dark, but well done
Fargo is a dark crime drama. There is some subtle Coen Brothers humor mixed in, but ultimately it's a story about bad people doing a bad thing, and a good cop investigating it. The Coens' masterful direction somehow seems to convey two perspectives at once, as you can clearly see the action through Jerry's (William H. Macy) eyes, but you can also see it through Marge's (Frances McDormand) eyes: two very different viewpoints.
The Minnesota culture in this film adds a lot of charm, and Frances McDormand was wonderful in it. Still, I found it hard to sit through the gruesome violence and the generally evil attitudes of the criminals depicted. But after it was over, I thought about it for days, relating to the various characters in my mind, especially Margie (Frances McDormand).
Barton Fink (1991)
Deep, meaningful, slow, and boring.
First it should be noted that this is not so much a comedy as a comedy/drama. The comedy parts are indeed funny, but there aren't that many of them. The drama parts are desperately slow and dull, but the entire movie is absolutely rife with metaphor and symbolic meaning. Also, the acting performances are fantastic.
So if you're the kind of person who likes to think about every possible idea the filmmakers could have been intending to communicate in every scene, then you'll have a great time with this movie, but if you prefer a story that moves from plot point to plot point at a reasonable pace, then you might find this very hard to sit through.
Personally, I felt the filmmakers were trying to beat me over the head with symbolism, metaphor, and atmosphere to try to make a point that most people already agree with.