rmizzi-1 Reviews

Batman (1989)

A thrill ride from start to finish

[8/10 · 3 January 2009]

When Batman came out in 1989 I was completely blown away by it and was taken away by the fact that I was finally seeing my childhood hero on the big screen. I thought it was THE perfect film . However today almost 20 years later Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have been released and I have realized that this movie has some flaws and as a Batman fan i appreciate this film less now than I did twenty years ago . However I still think that for a neutral cinema goer this film is Great and deserves a high rating.

Before I start praising the film let me get the flaws ( big flaws, there were some other flaws but I don't think it's fair to mention them) :

1. Who is Batman ? Why does Bruce Wayne, a billionaire dress up as a bat and fight crime at night ? OK his parents died when he was a child and then... ? Also as the Joker says ' Where does he get those wonderful toys ?' I don't even think the director knew how Batman really got his batmobile , batplane and all his gadgets !

2. The Joker is Bruce Wayne's parents killer -big mistake it ruins Bruce Wayne's ambition to become Batman.

3. Batman Kills -HUGE MISTAKE

4. The plot was pretty weak compared to the Dark Knight.

And finally :

5. It is true that Bruce Wayne is a little crazy , what do you expect from a guy that dresses up like a bat ? But in Tim Burton's world he is borderline physco. From sleeping upside down (what was Burton thinking ?) to shouting 'Come on lets get nuts ! ' .

Now that we got the flaws out of the way let us see why Batman is a great movie.

1. When you compare this film to the other 3 Burton/Schumacher films it is the biggest 'Batman' movie out of all of them .

2. Michel Keaton was an excellent Batman despite being a shabby Bruce Wayne. He proved doubters wrong with an excellent and dark performance as Batman.

3. I had believed that Jack Nicholson played the Joker excellently however when compared to Ledger's Joker I had second thoughts. Still they are two completely different types of Jokers. Heath's portrayal is unique and only briefly seen in the darker comics. Jack's portrayal was more like the lighter comics were the Joker was seen more of a comedian than a psychopath but Jack still passes the role with flying colours.

4. Great and exciting action sequences which would look good even today.

5. Excellent portrayal of Gotham City as a city haunted by crime and corruption.

6. Great portrayal of other Batman characters namely Vicki Vale , Alexander Knox , The Major and Harvey Dent. I was abit disappointed with Commissioner Gordon , I though he should have been more included in the film but compared to his usage in other films I can't complain that much .

7. Excellent Bat mobile which is my favorite in the entire series (even Nolan's)

8. It was good to see the Joker's origin even though it is quite unrealistic.

Anyway way guys when leaving the theater in 1989 I was in heaven , I Was delighted to see a hero who I had followed on the comic book be put on the big screen in such a professional way . I couldn't wait for more sequels to come out but as you know there were not as I expected .

Today 'Batman' still remains the best of the Burton/Schumacher film series but when you compare it to the Nolan series there is a big difference. But when you see Batman for the first time like I did back in 1989 you'll be completely blown away by a movie which is a thrill ride from start to finish

8.1/10

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Dosen't deserve the name 'Star Wars'

[4/10 · 15 November 2008]

Have you ever been disappointed ? Have you ever felt like a kid waking up on Christmas morning and finding no presents ? Well that is exactly how I felt after watching Star Wars Episode 1 on Opening night. Disappointed and angry.

Now before I go into the reasons why I hate this movie I won't to show you just how much I was just like the rest of the world anticipating this movie. I love Star Wars and for me the original trilogy was the reason I love movies. So when in 1993 it was announced that George Lucas was going to write a prequel trilogy I was in Cloud Nine ! I thought I was going to see a great story about how one of my favorite characters in cinema history : Darth Vader , turned from good to evil . I was filled with anticipation and spent the next 6 years following every piece of Star Wars news that was released. And when that they day in May came I couldn't wait to see it. However I was so wrong ! The film actually started well but as soon as the Jedi arrive on Naboo the film goes downhill !

As the film finished I asked myself : Why is this film so bad ? How can a Star Wars film never leave me with the magic it always does ? After viewing the film for a second time I came up with many reasons .

The film's story is a complete miss-mash of politics , Jedi and diverse and stupid sub-plots . Now I love politics and I love films about politics . But why oh why does George Lucas have to include tons of dialogue involving politics ! The plot is also confusing and leads you to ask questions : What is the Trade Federation ? Why are they causing war ? Why is Tattoine not in the Republic ?

In my opinion George Lucas made a huge mistake to introduce us to Anakin as a 9 year old boy . He should have been 13 or 14 not 9. In this film we see the future Dark Lord of the Sith as a 9 year old boy racing pods and shouting 'yipee' . There are other characters in this film which are completely miscasted and a waste. Obi Wan for example just runs around the place and contradicts his master. Yoda , supposedly the most powerful Jedi of all time just sits on his a** talking ! But in my opinion the character which could have been so much more and could have over taken Darth Vader as my favorite Star wars character but in a 90 minute movie , how many words does he utter , 14 ! Yes 14 words ! What a waste ! This brings me to another point.

The Dialogue in any Star Wars movie is not great and never has been . But this movie is the King of all Bad Dialogue Movies. Some lines are even pathetic like for example the first line we hear the future Dark Lord speak 'are you an angel ?'This film has good cgi and special effects I Can admit that but without a good story and good dialogue it is useless. Even when you think about it the story is just a more modern looking version of the Original Star Wars there is a journey to another planet , a jedi master dies and a Skywalker ends up blowing up the big space station.

But know you would ask what did I expect from this film ? Well I expected a good story first of all and the story should have been only about Anakin ! Forget about the Republic and the Quuen and Jar Jar just focus on Anakin and thats why this film fails .

Is there anything about this film which I like ( besides Darth Maul) well I appreciate that George Lucas tried to show new elements to the Star Wars galaxy which makes sense since it is a Republic but there are some elements which just don't feel like Star Wars like Gungans and battle droids for example. I also like Qui Gon Jinn as a character and it is thanks to him that this movie is not one of the worst of all time. There was also the final lightsaber battle which in my opinion was the best in all 6 films.

In conclusion for me this film was a major disappointment and doesn't deserve the name 'Star Wars'. Poor dialogue , bad acting and a terrible storyline make it a far cry from the original films.

4.1/10

Luke Mizzi

Batman Returns (1992)

This is not BATMAN

[4/10 · 16 July 2008]

I'll always remember the anticipation I had for this film back in the summer of 1992 a young 15 year old kid who was still feeling the euphoria of Batman 89' . That film in my opinion brought Batman to life and made people forget about the campy Batman. Batman 89' was not only dark it was heroic and for me it was THE definitive Batman movie.

So when it was announced that another Batman movie was going to be produced I was very excited and expected it to be just more of the same with some new villains. I really hoped that Two Face would be the main villain but when it was announced that Catwoman and the Penguin will be the villains I didn't protest because I thought that they might do the job.

Anyway the big day came : Premiere night. Now in those times there was now internet to give away plot details so I'll I Knew is that it's Batman against Catwoman and the Penguin. I still had tremendous anticipation. But as the film started I was starting to doubt whether I was in the wrong theater as the Penguin's origin came up . Throughout the film my heart sank as I watched this poor excuse for a Batman film.

After watching the film a couple times more I tried to analyze why I ,a Batman fan do not like this film and the reason is simple it is not a " Batman" film it is just Tim Burton taking Batman his own way,this macabre, morose, dark abomination was a Batman film in name only .

Quite frankly and excuse my language the film's plot Sucked !! What is it all about ...is it about Batman? And if so, just what the heck was he doing besides standing around brooding – seemingly a secondary character to the villains? The Penguin story was pathetic , after living in sewers with his stupid Red Circus Gang he tries to become Mayor of the City and almost succeeds !! I also found nothing appealing about the kidnapping and the potential murder of young children?Also you have these penguins with rockets attached to their back about to attack Gotham ! Penguins for God's sake !! This was the best and most exciting climax they could come up with for this film? On top of an already cluttered film, you have this Max Shreck,a character who was never in the comics tossed into the mix. What was the point of his preposterous power plant storyline? He wants to build a new power plant for Gotham, and Bruce opposes him. Wow, that's interesting! A ray of hope in this film and this why it gets 4 stars is the Catwoman story line which was told well.

Another thing which angered me and which made me ask the question : is this really a sequel to Batman 89' ? I really don't think so ! so many things are different . Gotham City looks different ,cluttered and small. What happened to Harvey Dent ? Vicki Vale ? Alexander Knox ? The old mayor ? Nothing is present or is explained.

Finally, just when did The Batman do anything "heroic" in BATMAN RETURNS? I wanted to see Batman do some classic "Batman stuff" like chase down and dispense justice to street thugs, crime kingpins, and the like. How about some iconic, Batman-like poses once in a while? When, at anytime in this film, did you feel like Batman was saving the day? When he's taking on the Red Circus Gang? When he's foiling the Penguin's kidnapping plans? When he's saving Gotham from a mass of missile-equipped Penguins? Come on ! Batman is a superhero, yet there is nothing heroic about BATMAN RETURNS. There isn't one moment in this depressing film where we are given the iconic, heroic Batman. Never does this film offer anything a Batman fan can feel good or proud about. There is nothing about this Batman that makes you want to cheer.

But now here comes the questions is Batman Returns the worst Bat-film ever ? Well in my opinion this can be put it one sentence.

Batman Returns is a Great Tim Burton film, a bad and weird film and a horrible Batman film So if you are a Tim Burton film you'll like this film , if you are a normal movie goer you'll find this film "weird " and if you are a Batman fan like me you'll hate this film.

Luke Mizzi 4/10 ****

Goal II: Living the Dream (2007)

Goal 2: This Time the dream is Real - NOT

[7/10 · 20 February 2007]

I was very excited about seeing Goal! 2 after Goal ! was a great movie.However as I learned that Santiago will play for Real Madrid my excitement faded. The film's plot contrary to other users comments is a very strong one,we see a dark side of our hero Santiago(as fame consumes him),we see the price of fame. One thing that I found stupid in the plot was the fact that Real end up winning the Champions League,in a very unrealistic game. However how the writers of this film managed to twist the plot was very clever.Like for example the fact that Michael Owen moved to Newcastle in exchange for Munez,was a very good twist. There were two things that annoyed me in this film. The fact that this film is one big advert for Adidas,now even in the first film there are a lot of Adidas related stuff,but in this film they push it. Another thing was how the matches were made.The actors were added into real matches digitally and the final product ended up so fake ! In total Goal! 2 is a film which movie buffs will find very fake,mixed audiences (like myself) will like and football fanatics will love.

7/10

MTV Icon: Metallica (2003 TV Special)

a great to tribute to the gods of metal !

[8/10 · 8 October 2005]

When I heard that mtv where going to make an ICON show I thought that they were gonna ruin the name of METALLICA. But i was to be so wrong The documentary was quite interesting getting the band's history from the days with cliff to now. Most of the performances were fantastic . Starting with sum 41 i thought they were gonna blow it you know since there a 'teen' band but they did a great job. Next Avril, she tired really hard and pulled it off despite the guitar wasn't that great. Limp Bizkit gave the best performance on stage however they did keep true to Metallica's version of Saniturium . The winners of the night were definitely koRn . They gave a fantastic performance of One , a classic song. There were some mistakes. Like for example RObert was being honored with the band . The guy hasn't even been with the band for a year . Jason should have been up there. But the biggest mistake of the night was Snoop DOGG ! WHAT THE HELL WAS MTV THINKING LETTING HIM RUIN A CLASSIC SONG