Movie Night: Jurassic Park.

Review #642: Jurassic Park.

Cast
Sam Neill (Dr. Alan Grant), Laura Dern (Dr. Ellie Sattler), Jeff Goldblum (Dr. Ian Malcolm), Richard Attenborough (John Hammond), Ariana Richards (Alexis Murphy), Joseph Mazzello (Tim Murphy), Bob Peck (Robert Muldoon), Martin Ferrero (Donald Gennaro), Wayne Knight (Dennis Nedry), and Samuel L. Jackson (Ray Arnold) Directed by Steven Spielburg (#126 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind, #168 - Raiders of the Lost Ark, #169 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, #170 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, #302 - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, #351 - Schindler's List, #480 - Jaws, #563 - The Sugarland Express, and #573 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial)

Review
Jurassic Park is probably one of the most defining movies of the 1990s, and the special effects are the forefront of why this movie is what it is, which is awesome. The effects for the movie are so fantastic to look at, it has managed to not look dated after over 20 years, but it really comes down to the fact that the effects just look great. And yes, computer generated imagery can look good for a film, provided that it doesn't get abused and is used effectively, which this film does (of course it helps that they also used life sized animatronics). The film itself is also pretty good. While the effects may sometimes overshadow the story, it does actually have its moments of scares, making for a decent thriller. I especially like the kitchen scene near the end, it makes for a good way to end the movie, The characters are at least enjoyable, each having at least one memorable scene, especially Neill and Goldblum (Life does indeed find a way). For some reason, it is refreshing to see Wayne Knight (Hello, Newman) in this movie. I guess it's because he is probably the best person to portray a smarmy character and yet still be funny. The science behind the movie is probably questionable (So...flies can just suck blood from a dinosaur and then just happen to get stuck in amber and later just happen to be found preserved millions of years later? The exposition explaining this is actually nifty though.), but the movie manages to shine over it with some fun action and excellent special effects. Take the movie for what it is, and it is one pile of fun.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: The Apartment.

Review #641: The Apartment.

Cast
Jack Lemmon (C. C. Baxter), Shirley MacLaine (Fran Kubelik), Fred MacMurray (Jeff Sheldrake), Ray Walston (Joe Dobisch), Jack Kruschen (Dr. Dreyfuss), David Lewis (Al Kirkeby), Hope Holiday (Margie MacDougall), Joan Shawlee (Sylvia), Naomi Stevens (Mildred Dreyfuss), Johnny Seven (Karl Matuschka), and Edie Adams (Miss Olsen) Directed by Billy Wilder (#106 - Some Like It Hot, #194 - Ace in the Hole, and #422 - The Fortune Cookie)

Review

Billy Wilder was a fantastic director who always managed to showcase a theme he wanted to get across with memorable characters being the most notable highlight. And in this movie, there is no real exception, the movie is up to par with Wilder's other work reviewed here. Jack Lemmon is enjoyable to watch, especially when he shares scenes with Shirley MacLaine, the two just connect well with each other, they just have a certain spring to them, especially when they play gin rummy with each other, it's a refreshing scene given the preceding scene before it. The movie has a mix of warm and cold moments, essentially having some sadness mixed with layers of hope, it's good to have some sentimentality. The movie is great to look at, black and white film has many possibilities for looking stylish, and the cinematography by Joseph LaShelle looks wonderful. The movie is a good comedy-drama, it has its moments of both, I especially like the scene where Lemmon keeps switching the channels of the TV during a sponsor commercial, only for there to be an "alternate sponsor". The movie is enjoyable along with being clever, and Wilder is the reason for it, and the perfect person to make a movie like this.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: The Bucket List.

Review #640: The Bucket List.

Cast
Jack Nicholson (Edward Cole), Morgan Freeman (Carter Chambers), Sean Hayes (Thomas/Matthew), Beverly Todd (Virginia Chambers), and Rob Morrow (Dr. Hollins) Directed by Rob Reiner (#108 - This Is Spinal Tap, #232 - The Princess Bride, and #363 - North)

Review
I do wonder how it is in real life for patients with lung cancer after they are diagnosed. Evidently after about a few days, you can be fine enough to go travel around the world to cross off stuff to do. Yes, it truly is a good idea to go cross stuff off a list before you die with somebody you barely met (the setup to them meeting could be compared to how couples meet in terrible romance films) instead of going home and settling things with your family. Granted, it seems he probably did that beforehand while in the hospital, but let's not forget that after he gets home, he gets to spend a grand total of one day before he get sicker. Is it selfish? You decide. These are characters that are at best just okay, it's the performances that make the movie look interesting because without these performances by Nicholson and Freeman, the movie would lose a lot of its strength. The supporting cast is small and barely focused on, but I guess Sean Hayes is okay, he's really just playing a cliche snippy assistant, which you can see done better in other movies, such as Arthur (1981). Is the movie funny? I guess so, but the movie hinges on if you like the premise. If you like the premise, you'll probably watch the movie. If you feel that people don't just spend of their time away from their families to go globetrotting with their friend before dying like me...you'll have to forget the movie immediately. Is it a well made movie? Yes, but it is not well made in its script, the key element. Or in this case, bucket.

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Kill Bill Volume 2.

Review #639: Kill Bill: Volume 2.

Cast
Uma Thurman (The Bride/Beatrix Kiddo), David Carradine (Bill), Michael Madsen (Budd), Daryl Hannah (Elle Driver), Gordon Liu (Pai Mei), and Perla Haney-Jardine (B.B) Directed by Quentin Tarantino (#638 - Kill Bill: Volume 1)

Review
The first film mainly set up the premise of revenge with loads of bloods. The second movie sets up the back story and gives the main character more depth. It's a good thing to have some story that helps develop the mythology, for one thing we actually get to know her name, which helps (unless you're the Doctor), I suppose. The action is still good, though it never hurts to have some dialogue for once. To decide which Kill Bill film is better depends on what you want the most, action or back story/emphasis on dialogue. For me, I like the scenes with Gordon Liu, there's just something so amusing about his scenes, or maybe it's his beard. Liu is such a random character who makes an impression with only flashback scenes, it's stuff like that which make this film not weaker than the first film but at the same level. These are movies chock full of influences from other forms of cinema, with sprinkles of pop culture references and chock full of bloody action. This is at heart a mostly fun movie that manages to be what it wants to be, entertainment. This movie still makes an impact after 10 years, and I imagine that we'll remember this as a classic even 60 years from now.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Kill Bill: Volume 1.

Review #638: Kill Bill: Volume 1.

Cast
Uma Thurman (The Bride), Lucy Liu (O-Ren Ishii), Vivica A. Fox (Vernita Green), Daryl Hannah (Elle Driver), Julie Dreyfus (Sofie Fatale), Chiaki Kuriyama (Gogo Yubari), David Carradine (Bill), Michael Madsen (Budd), and Sonny Chiba (Hattori Hanzo) Directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Review
I knew that eventually I would have to review a Quentin Tarantino film, and I had a feeling it would be this film. So how is this film? Is it a masterpiece, a great film, or something possibly overrated and slightly over hyped? In a way, it could be all four answers. The movie manages to be very stylish and memorable with the fight scenes, somehow you can make blood squirts look new, that or I'm just not used to so much blood. Does it need to be realistic to be better? No, I guess not, when we want a film to be more realistic or sillier really varies depending on the film (Best example I can think is the James Bond franchise, does it make sense to love all the eras despite their flaws? Yea, they all have their own qualities and flaws, some more than others, but you get the idea.), and in this case I can forgive it. The cast seem to flow well with each other, Thurman's character is a cool assassin, and that's all you need to know, her swordplay is great to watch. The movie is heart a tribute to 70's cinema films, such as martial arts and kung-fu films along with various others, and in the end this is a movie that is well made, it's a movie that doesn't require much story to work, it's just a film with a lot of determination...and blood, but there you go. Is it a great movie? It might just be one, ask yourself this question: Did you like The Wild Bunch? If you did, there's your answer.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: The Birdcage.

Review #637: The Birdcage.

Cast
Robin Williams (Armand Goldman), Nathan Lane (Albert), Gene Hackman (Kevin Keeley), Dianne Wiest (Louise Keeley), Dan Futterman (Val Goldman), Calista Flockhart (Barbara Keeley), Hank Azaria (Agador), and Christine Baranski (Katherine Archer) Directed by Mike Nichols (#175 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and #550 - The Graduate)

Review
What we have is a wild, weird movie full of fun scenes that make a unique experience. The biggest reason this movie works is the cast, they all seem to just mesh together awkwardly, which makes sense given the premise. It really is Hackman's facial expressions that just sum up what kind of world he's in, and any time you can end a movie with him in disguise at a nightclub with he doing the most uncomfortable expressions ever is pure gold. Williams and Lane are just watchable in every scene they share together, I especially like the scene where Williams tries to demonstrate how to dance for a musical scene by channeling dances, such as Madonna. The way that Williams moves and his energy make a strange scene into a great one. Does the movie have its cliches? Yes, but it embraces them, this is a movie on its own terms, with some great music and some good jokes. What we have here is a movie that is flashy, silly fun with a touch of decor for flavor.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Being There.

Review #636: Being There.

Cast
Peter Sellers (Chance the Gardener/Chauncey Gardiner), Shirley MacLaine (Eve Rand), Melvyn Douglas (Ben Rand), Jack Warden (The President), Richard Dysart (Dr. Robert Allenby), Richard Basehart (US Soviet Ambassador), David Clennon (Thomas Franklin), Fran Brill (Sally Hayes), and Ruth Attaway (Louise) Directed by Hal Ashby.

Review
What we have here is a movie based around a simple man who may have secrets that even he probably doesn't know about. The best quote to describe this movie is also the quote used to end the movie: "Life is a state of mind." My thought on this is that life is merely our mood at the time, if we feel a certain emotion, then that is how life is to us at that point. It varies, like our moods. But Chance is a different case. He's a man who spent years gardening and watching television. That's all he had done, until he was kicked out. His life evolves purely out of accidents out of his control, the movie's implications are still hilarious though. This was Peter Sellers' last movie released when he was alive, and he makes the most of it with a perfect performance for a character as strange as him. His walking, his face and most of all his delivery make for a really interesting performance. The rest of the cast is also good, MacLaine works best with Sellers, and Douglas nearly steals the show from Sellers, the main three cast members all manage to be intriguing characters, yet they also manage to feel so real. The movie has its moments of drama, though it also manages to be a very good comedy. It has its subtle moments, such as the music that plays when Chance leaves the house and cross the street for the first time. The end scene is yours to interpret, much like how it's your decision to interpret exactly who Chance is. This is a movie with a great deal of quirks, the biggest one being its biggest strength, and that just happens to be Peter Sellers.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.